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!

Dong Dong Dong Zhiang! a.k.a. Zara's first CNY!

Chinese New Year 2011 was probably the most meaningful CNY I've ever had. Looking back at the family photos we've snapped customarily throughout the years, I've been able to witness my own transformation from cheeky kid to pimply teenager to career woman to just-married and now... to Mummy. Wowee.

The same time last year, I was just over a week from popping (though I didnt know it at the time), and we werent even sure if we'd get to celebrate because we were so worried Zara would arrive early! Of course, I was so huge that buying new clothes was not an option, and my family was so convinced I'd have delivered by then, we didnt even dare to plan our traditional CNY first day get-together.

CNY 2010 - Zara enroute!

(Secretly, Naz and I hoped Zara would come early because we'd been warned that having a Tiger baby - Naz is a Horse and I'm a Goat - would mean we'd be eaten alive! Well, as luck would have it - she is a Tiger, and yes, sometimes I think we are being eaten alive LOL!)

So it was with great merriment that we welcomed the Year of the Rabbit with our almost-1-year-old in tow. She had no blinking idea what was going on but nevertheless sailed through the festivities with little fuss... even managing to 'present' Ah Kong and Nana with a mandarin orange each in exchange for her first Angpau. Yes... an early lesson in bribery!

Heading the wrong way... (she thought the orange was for her!)...

...But managing to get to Nana & Ah Kong eventually!

I won't blab too much as I'm dead tired - God knows how I'm still awake at this hour - so I'll just let the piccies do the Dong-Dong-Dong Zhiang!

Reunion dinner at Bagan, Port Klang - not the best food,

but no pork, which is a lot to ask from my thoughtful family!

Wonder where she gets that cheeky face from!

After THREE biccies, only an ice cube could

keep her entertained!

And then she resorted to terrorizing the restaurant

in her alter-ego Evil LadyBug costume!

CNY Day 1 - Breakfast to start the hectic day!

Ang Pau? What the heck do I do with this?!

Traditional CNY spread @ the Lee Household -

Teow Chew porridge! Oh, and that brown looking

stuff at the bottom of the pic is my Mum's courageous

attempt at making homemade Halal chicken bah-kua!

Zara spent most of her first CNY eating (Ah Pek style too!) -

and we discovered how much she LURVES porridge with Marmite!

Our first customary CNY family portrait!

The extended Lee Family...

By 3pm she was cranky as hell... poor critter.

CNY Day 2 - Mummy and Abah being silly as usual...

See what I mean...

Poor Zara has to deal with these crazies for parents!!!

Looks like that crazy gene slipped through!

Gong Xi Fa Cai everybody!