Happy birthday, Adik

Adik’s birthday was last Tuesday. Sorry… mak ni pergi Jakarta. Abah took her out for dinner and Mummy bought loads of chocolates and she was happy.

Where Abang was unexpected, Adik was very much planned. One day I felt so nauseous and I knew that I have one life inside me. Doctor confirmed it and Mummy and Babah was ecstatic. Abang was 3 and had just started talking.

Mummy and Babah tak sabar-sabar nak tahu if I was carrying a girl, and when Dr Rachagan confirmed it we beamed at each other as if she was the first girl to be born ever !

My baby girl was 10 days early. Ha ha… At that time, Mummy, Babah and Abang moved back to PIL's house because takut Mummy kena pegi hospital malam-malam and nowhere to put Abang. On the 14th of December we came home to get clothes and found the house was burgled. Typical.

Due to stress I think, Mummy was hospitalized that very afternoon because again, I had a ‘show’. Babah was upset because he was at the house with the griller so Aunty Su and Uncle Hood sent Mummy to SJMC. Mummy was put up in the labour room overnight and the next day was ready to push. The nurses and doctor kept warning Mummy not to as she was not fully dilated yet but she just had to because her little girl was eager to get out. And out she came, screaming like mad and Mummy’s world was complete.

Akhirnya the Doctor presented with this cheeky one. Sama je macam abang dia, teruih bukak mata, sibuk nak tengok keliling.

Mummy asked for an early discharge because Abang was distressed having to leave his Mummy alone in the hospital. We went home the very next day, ready to be a family, the four of us. But we went right back in the hospital 3 days after that because she was jaundiced. It was different in Malaysia where they kept the baby in the nursery. In England, Abang was with me the whole time, only leaving me for an hour to get his medication but here, Mummy was left alone and was called once in a while to feed her baby. Or maybe because she needed to be under the purple lights. Ha ha…

Adik hated her crib. She would fall sleep in it sure but every night she would start wailing and I have to take her and put her on my shoulder. Only then she would sleep. She didn’t want Babah’s shoulder you know, it was Mummy’s that she most coveted.

She was a happy baby. A cheeky one. I remember once Abang and I couldn’t have proper meals because she refused to be left alone. Didn’t sleep the whole day either so Mummy had to feed her son toasts and cereal.

How Abang loved his sister. He would be on tippy-toes looking at his sister in the crib and would be the first one to check on her if she so much whimpered. Tapi sekejap je. Bila dia dah biasa, dia buat tak pedulik aje…

Can you guys just look at that cheeky and very naughty smile ? I wonder if I had expected her to be this cheeky and naughty then.

Adik too loves her brother. Most of her cheeky smiles were reserved for him and many times I saw them playing together while she was on her bouncer. Ada aje barang yang abang nak tunjuk. Abang main cak-cak, geletek-geletek dia and he would call me to look at his laughing sister, face all proud and happy. He calls her Titi for some reason and so it stuck.

Look at that face, sort of saying "Hang jaga na... Kuchi kuchi ngan aku konon.. Hang tunggu aku dapat kaki, dapat mulut...." Her brother marah dia kelmarin because he was trying to correct her sentence but she refused to listen. Dok ulang je benda yang salah. Last-last abang fed-up and started howling.. Drama kan anak-anak aku ni... ? And then you know what she said ? "Abang, this is my mouth and I can do whatever I like with it ... Okay ?"

Ha ha..

From the very beginning I noticed that sometimes, Adik looked like her Atuk, Kamil’s Dad. Not the face, more like the way her eyes looked at certain times. And I had always felt so troubled by it, not because I do not want her to look like her Atuk, but because the eyes looked melancholic. Macam sayu dan sedih. At times, I would look at Abah and wondered whether he wears the same sad look, tapi macam tak de… It is funny on my part lah but that is the reason why when people talked about muka dia ikut belah mana, I would always answer “Abah..”, to be received with frowns and odd looks, especially from Kamil's family.

This is best Atuk look I could find. I dunno why I thought so

I was very enamoured with my little girl, as all mothers are wont to feel of course, which is why the I felt so troubled when I had to go back to work. With Abang, I was a student so my schedule wasn’t tight. I get to see Abang grow. But with Adik, I had to leave her from 7 am to 7 pm (or worst kalau jam gila2 punya kat KL, 8 or 9). And the amount of traveling I had to do didn’t help. That was when I vowed to look for a job that doesn’t require much traveling.

Mummy did, but when Adik was about 10 months old, Mummy was sent to Geneva for a convention, then to Vienna. So much for a new job. It was the worst trip of her life because she kept missing her baby. She remembers singing Babah’s stupid song for his babies in the shower, missing her little girl.

I am now living in this lovely place where she thinks I am her everything. When she looked at gambar kawin Mummy and Babah, she said, “Ini Babah ke ? Eeee… tak handsomenya…. Tapi pulak Mummy cantiklah, ada flowers-flowers ni…..” He he… Tensen Babahnya. As soon as I get home, there will be a shadow following me around, talking non-stop and never failing to make me laugh.

Sometimes Mummy feels guilty bila dia ajak main Wii and Mummy pulak nak tengok Mark Harmon. But she would always try to entice me by blinking her eyes rapidly or making her huge eyes even bigger. Tahu aje macamana nak buat mak dia ikut cakap dia.

This morning she told me (while I was on the john no less), “Mummy... semalam… Abang kan main Game Boy atas katil….”

Then she quickly begged me to, “Pleeeease forgive himmm, Mummy ! Pleaseeee !” hands clasped together, before I had the chance to say anything.

Alahai kau ni, I wouldn’t know if you didn’t tell me you know, you Silly Milly…. So much drama from one so small !!

My darling little clown, you can really make me laugh with your cheeky remarks and yet astound me with your beauty. I would take time to just have a leisure look at you, taking in your smiles and your mannerisms and your facial expressions. You mean so much to me, sometimes I ache for you.

I love you lots, little one. And I hope that the world will smile kindly at you when you smile naughtily to it.

In her car seat. Gambaq tak clear sebab Babah tangkap guna his PDA. Camera kena curi kan, sehari sebelum dia sampai..



Babah tak leh lekang dengan anak... Dukung aje... Dah pesan banyak kali, toksah nanti dia asyik nak berdukung je... Tak nak dengar kan... Sampai sekarang dok kena dukung lagi... Nasib baik haluih...




This trip to PD was the high light of her life. Often times she would come up to me, sigh dramatically and announced, " I miss PD. Kan Mummy ? Do you miss PD ?"

If I dared to say yes, she would clasp her hands and said, "What are you waiting for ? Let's go !" Ha ha... After Langkawi, she would do the same trick but insert Langkawi where PD is....



I love her at this age... About 2 years old probably... Sangat naughty, sangat cheeky.. And so gorgeous !

Whenever she is hungry, this naughty girl would climb on the very high chair and banged the table. Sometimes if she saw me cooking, dia awai2 dah tunggu tang tu... Tengok muka nakai tuh... How did she manage to climb up the chair ? She would scale the table via the dining chair then jumped in. First time I caught her doing this, rasa nak pengsan, okay.

This high chair is at MIL's place now. She still loves sitting on it..

With her beloved Abang.