Zara's Progress Report - 14 Months

I have been a bad mummy for not updating this blog as often as I'd like. With the media launch of BuggyBabyBoogie.com coming up in less than 2 weeks time and Abang's wedding reception in exactly a week, life has taken a turn to hectic and Zara's joined in for the mad ride!

 

Despite it all, my daughter at 14 months is a good sport - definitely a very different baby from the one she was at 4, heck,even 6 months ago! She's good natured, friendly (most days, depending on her mood LOL), loves a good laugh and is cheeky just like her Abah.

 

New Skills & Quirks

Runs everywhere, sometimes holding her hands back as if about to take off! But she is pretty clumsy (gets that from Abah!) and always seems to walk into something or lose balance and fall over for no obvious reason. She wont cry when she falls though - Tok reckons her head must be immune to all the bumps and knocks she's had!

 

When she's finished with something, like her bath or a meal, she will sign "Sudah Habis!"

Dances a LOT, and especially loves music with a definite beat that she can jig to.

Can pretend to wash her tummy when asked to.

 

Has now graduated from the baby bathtub to the shower, and loves it too yay!

 

Loves putting things on her head - boxes, bowls, and anything that will stay there.

 

 

Loves sitting in boxes, and will even squeeze into one that she knows is far too tiny for her!

 

Can sit on a little chair steadily by herself when asked to.

More confident with steps, often stepping straight down or up one level without crouching first.

 

 

Can point out things and people she recognises in pictures when asked "Where's.... Nana / Ah Kong / Nanie / Tok / Abah / bee / bug / frog / tiger... 

Will go through books carefully, pointing out objects she recognises.

 

Will sing along to Violet, her electronic toy puppy, 'barking' at the right intervals and even scrolling through songs until she gets to her favourites.

 

Violet also does a great job of sending her to LaLa Land!

 

Can finally open the peekaboo doors on her toy airplane!

 

Is still fascinated with doors, boxes and cupboards, and will spend ages opening and closing them over and over again.

 

Will select a DVD that she wants to watch and hand it to Mummy.

 

 

After discovering several DVDs missing from their cases, I finally found them one day UNDER the DVD player! Soon after, I caught her sliding them one by one under the DVD player... She had been observing us inserting DVDs into the player and was trying to copy us!

 

I discovered Zara's treasure drawer one day after opening a random one and finding an assortment of strange (and missing!) things in there - a bag of coloured stones, a remote control, coloured bread clips, etc. Seems she had been squirreling away these objects all those times my back had been turned.

 

Sometimes Zara's stash ends up in my handbag!

Communication Skills

New sounds - Katakatakatakaiiiiiii....! / Begum! / Boh! / Degehdegehdegehdegeh... (no idea what they mean either!) 

 

New words - Maam-Maam (makan). Figures right! No "Mummy" or "Abah" yet, eventhough she knows who is who, boohoo! 

Can understand and follow instructions like "No", "Sudah habis", "Wash your tummy", "Give it to Mummy a.k.a. Thank you", "Minum Susu", "Sit", and "Come here".

Interests

 

Has moved on from Sesame Street's Beginning Together series and started with regular Sesame Street - particularly loves "Playtime with Grover", "Elmo Loves You" and "Elmopalooza". I have spied her jigging away and singing in her seat to particular songs that she likes.

 

 

Enjoys being read to with sounds and actions.

Really enjoys running around and playing with her cousins Lara, Ilhan and Mika, especially when they go to KizSports.

Loves sitting on her trike and being wheeled around.

Enjoys playing catching and peekaboo with people.

Absolutely loves slides (both water slides and regular slides).

Fascinated with water and enjoys swimming with Mummy, Abah and Ah Kong.

Feeding

Has 2 main meals a day and one light meal for lunch after a small 5oz bottle of susu or a packet of cold fresh milk.

 

Breastmilk first thing in the morning and another bottle (8oz) of Enfagrow A+ or Friso at bedtime.

 

Will eat anything and everything EXCEPT papaya!

 

 

Can feed herself bread, bananas (in their skins), and biscuits.

Can drink fresh milk from a straw.

Sleeping

Naptime still once a day, from 2-4pm after lunch.

Night sleep has more or less settled back into her previous routine, with bedtime at 10pm, waking at 6-7am to move into the big bed, and continuing her sleep til about 9ish.

Teeth

Has five teeth, three on the top and two on the bottom, but no sign of any new ones.

 

New bad habits!

  Still slapping mummy hard on the face, even after being scolded many times for it.

Her 'anak burung' impression, where she goes from person to person at the dinner table with her mouth wide open, begging for food!

 

Loves to water the floor with her sippy cup.

 

Is a Big Bully and pushes her poor 16mth old cousin Mika around all the time.

 

Cannot resist tissue boxes and will shred every piece of tissue she can get hands on.

 

*   *   *

 

Looking at this list I've just made, I find it wondrous yet scary at how fast babies advance once they hit the big ONE. They suddenly become these little people that you cannot recall ever having been red, helpless, squirmy grubs that only ever poo-ed and sucked your boobs dry.

 

Zara now has a distinct personality that I find so enjoyable, and she is a treasure to hang out with, even when she decides to throw a tantrum in the middle of my lunch date with Aunty Sofia. Yes, there are days when I want to run and hide from the little critter, but until she turns TERRIBLE TWO, I am planning on soaking up every fabulous moment with my little BFF*.

 

 

Love you my little Bunsky! 

 

*Best Friend Forever

Zara's 1st Birthday Partaaaayyyy!!!

We may have had just a quiet day on Zara's actual birthday, knowing that she probably wouldnt understand what the fuss was all about, but the truth is I had actually been dreaming up a birthday party for her since she turned 10 months old!

As every new parent will know, your baby's 1st birthday party is usually more for the parents than for the baby :-) The birthday girl (if she has already started walking) will wander around aimlessly amongst all these unfamiliar kids and wonder what the heck is going on, and probably pass out before the party is over. Although this premonition did turn out to be quite true in our case (!), we still wanted to treat our Peanut to a fun do just to mark the occasion, hoping she would make some friends for a future playdate, and have some nice piccies in her album for when she's older. Mummy and Abah also needed an excuse to hang out with friends we hadnt seen in ages (thanks Zara!).

That's why on February 27th, the Sunday after her birthday, we threw our little girl a Sesame Street party at Fitfor2, Bangsar Village II, with the help of our friends at fluff&stuff. The idea was that the kiddos would go and play for an hour or so at KizSports next door. leaving the parents to chitchat in peace, and then everyone would come together aftewards at Fitfor2 for makan and cake. Grand plan right! I'll confess now, that was easier said than done!

We invited Tok and Nanie, Ah Kong and Nana, Zara's cousins and friends of ours who have kids around the same age... and boy, did it turn out to be one heck of a long guest list! The end result was a birthday party with almost 100 guests, 30 boisterous kids high on sugar and 2 very exhausted parents who must've been crazy for organising something so insanely elaborate.

Despite that our daughter did have a marvellous time, so marvellous in fact that she KO-ed right before we were supposed to bring out her birthday cake. And I believe the other kids did too, since so many refused to go home, long after the party had ended LOL.

So, my Peanut did get a party that she probably will never remember, but... at least we have the nice photos! I sincerely hope that when she grows up she'll look back at them and realise that her Mummy & Abah were so excited to celebrate her 1st birthday that they willingly lost their minds in the process.

Mummy & Abah love you Zara. You will always be our number ONE!

Zara's birthday cake, with her beloved Elmo holding court.

Cant have a Sesame Street party without Ernie and Rubber Ducky!

Zara and Cookie Monster share a common love for FOOD.



Everyone who came got a birthday cupcake to take home.



We even had a fancy registration table! Thanks Fluff & Stuff! And Mum for doubling as the receptionist!



Zara with her Ah Kong.

The birthday girl in a rare moment of solitude.

Time Out with Mummy.

Yes, you read right. Ah Kong even had on his special T-shirt.





It may not look it, but she had a blast at KizSports...

...Such a blast in fact, that she began to wilt rather quickly after that...

...And here she is, wilted. Right before her birthday song. Check out that pout!

We had to wake her for the cake, so that the other kids could go home.

 

Yeah, she wasnt too happy about that!

Grumpypuss notwithstanding, Happy Birthday Zara!

Zara's 1st Birthday!

I have shamefully neglected my blog, so to all those who have emailed me asking why, I'd like to say Im sorry and that I've been really up to neck with stuff since Zara's birthday and all will be revealed soon enough :-)

So before I forget the little details of Zara's birthday I thought I should post up some pictures of the precious moments we shared with our little girl on the day.

It was a quiet day with Mummy and Abah until Ah Kong & Nana popped by with a gift and a carrot cake for their precious. Zara knew something special was happening when she saw the candle coz she had seen the same thing at cousin Mika's birthday 2 months earlier!

She 'blew' out the candle with the help of Mummy and Abah.

After tearing off the wrapper herself, she finally got a glimpse of Ah Kong & Nana's gift - Zara's very own Violet puppy that sings and talks to her using her name! So canggih the toys nowadays! Zara now loves playing with Violet in the car - less stress for Mummy in the driver's seat!

Zara's gift from Mummy & Abah... hmm, wonder what it could be?

A tirke?! Could it be?! Her expression that day cracked me up LOL!

Helping Abah assemble the trike.

Yay! Im a big girl now!

ONE!

A special moment with Ah Kong @ 20th February 2011

To my dearest daughter, the light of my life, Zara Aaliyah...

Today, you're officially a year old! Mummy simply cant believe how fast the year has sped by.

I remember, like I'll remember for the rest of my life, the first time I ever saw you. Dr Alex pulled you out and placed you - plop - on my chest. Your eyes were open - deeper and wider than I've ever seen them since - and you stared right at me, alert, unblinking... as if you too had spent the last 10 months wondering about the face behind the muffled voice. There you were, exactly as I had seen you in my dreams. I blinked in shock - and then I gasped "My baby!" - maybe I thought saying it out loud might make it feel more real. And then you blinked back.

I knew then, as I know now, that you and I are forever bound. The cord may have been cut, but my heart is wrapped irretrievably around yours. And though someday you will want your freedom, your independence, there will be times when you'll want to, need to, look to your heart and seek solace. There I'll be, as I've always been, since we shared that quiet unblinking moment on the first day of your life.

I love you, as I always will.

Happy Birthday my darling girl! Mummy will always be proud of you...

Zara's Bread-venture!

Mealtimes have also gotten more challenging as Zara has gotten older.

Heinz bottled food worked well enough until recently, but now that she's turning one, the urge to make her 'proper' meals has overpowered me. So I caved and bought a Philips Avent Food Steamer and Blender, and this last week, I've been experimenting with homemade recipes to great success... and great failure.

My new toy...

Behold my attempt at gourmet Pumpkin and Lentil Stew with Couscous...

OK, so she hated that.

But she really likes my Creamed Rice with Apple/Prunes, Cheesy Brocolli and Cauliflower, and Porridge with Carrot and Marmite.

Despite my great effort in the kitchen though, nothing has held her attention more supremely than....

BREAD.

And all that was left were these breadcrumbs...

Naptime Strategies

Over the last few months, Zara's daily routine has been pretty shaken up by my new business (all that travelling), the addition of an extra meal into her day, and perhaps also because she's getting older and wants to do as much as possible with her awake time.

As a result, her naptimes have gone a little bonkers, and getting her to bed during the day has gotten so much tougher.

I tried using all the methods we'd tried before (rocking, singing, holding her tight and patting her) but to no avail. She would scream for as long as I tried to force her to sleep, no matter how tired she was. She would fight sleep by slapping me, biting me, kicking me, banging her head repeatedly on my chest, while displaying all the signs of exhaustion (tugging at her hair and eye-rubbing). But still she would not sleep!

And so her Abah and I have had to devise new (and rather strange) ways of getting her to bed at naptime. Among them...

Mummy's Sleep Tent - A single sized bedsheet stretched over her playpen...

And Abah's Sleep Cocoon - Put on Sesame Street, ensconce

her between two pillows, and leave alone for 5 minutes...

Another method that has worked pretty well this last week has been to hug her and blast a fan in her face. The breeze from the fan makes her blink, which makes her 'rasa nyaman' and sleepy, and she's out like a light in 2 minutes.  

Failing all of the above, a car ride usually works pretty well, but again, like the trip to Aquaria proved, nothing is ever fool-proof when it comes to Zara!

Zara's Day Out @ Aquaria

KL - much as I love this crazy city - has a dearth of fun places to take very young children out for a day. The roads arent pedestrian friendly, much less stroller friendly... most malls still find the concept of baby-friendliness rather alien (one mall I went to didnt even have a baby changing room), and you really see the worst in KL-ites when you're waiting for a lift with a stroller! (I really lost my temper with a few folks recently after they pushed through ahead of me into the lifts, knowing full well that I couldnt use the stairs!)

One of my dearest oldest friends, Katrina was in town for a couple of months recently with her 7 month old son, Dylan. Now Dylan has an interesting fascination for fish and so when she asked what would be a good place to take the kids out on a playdate to, naturally the first and only place that came to mind was Aquaria! Initially I was a little worried that we'd have problems moving about with our strollers in there, but thankfully the day turned out pretty well, despite how it started :-)

This time, I'll let the piccies do the talking...

In the car on the way to KL...

In the stroller heading out of the carpark...

Upon being released from captivity (Zara, not the racoons!),

the screaming finally stopped (thank GOD!)...

Dwarfed by the 6ft long Arapaima! WHOA!!!

Wow Mummy, look at all the fishies!!!

Hey, how come I cant catch these things?!

Fish are tiring!

One for the album.

Only as we were leaving did we discover why it was compulsory

 to have your picture taken at the entrance...

so they can charge you 20 bucks for this when you exit!