Bye 2010 and Hello 2011

Its that time for the year again when i reflect on the good and the bad, the joys and learning for 2010..

In terms of work, earlier n the year there was a change in management and with that comes in a lot of changes and adjustments.. I think I have grown a lot, presenting to the board et all. However I ended the year feeling tired and desperate to get off work, in low spirits.. The new year brings in another change in management and i hope that i will be able to cope with the changes and adjustments that I will have to make...

In terms of my personal life, our little family started the year with a holiday in KL which was fun fun fun! We then celebrated a significant milestone in Dia and us as parents in March, which is her 1st birthday.. The adventure continues and then we found out that I am carrying Dia's sibling... We were happy and estatic but I was personally scared and a bit sad cause I will have to start introducing other milk to Dia.. After weeks and weeks of trying we finally made a breakthrough in week 10 and alhamdulillah Dia is finally off BM and completely on FM now... It just comes to show that with faith and determination we will be able to achieve what we set our mind to. We started the year with a holiday and we also ended the year with another holiday but this time its with the hubs' family.. We headed to KK and alhamdulillah managed to celebrate christmas over in Limbang..

What's to come in 2011? i pray that all will go well with little bubba and according to my scan a couple of days ago, if i deliver at 40 weeks like i did with Dia, we should be able to expect little bubba to arrive by early june.. I hope and pray for STRENGTH and PATIENCE in 2011, for both work and our little family..

So to my dear readers, thank you for keeping up with my little 'diary' to document my journey.. pray forgive me if i have offended anyone but its a collection of my thoughts and feeling. like it take it, hate it then bin it! :P See you all next year...!

To my dear husband and Dia, I love you both to bits..! and we gonna have FUN FUN FUN over the weekend! hehehe

oh and bag buddies, I am back!!! LOL

Tired, Happy and Content!

We made a quick trip to Limbang again yesterday afternoon since one of Anjai's uncles was not able to make it for the gathering last 21st.. We left home about 3ish and thank god for no traffic at the border at all.. We spent a couple of hours and left around 8.45 and again alhamdulillah no traffic at the border and managed to arrived home at 10pm.. I am tired, and still tired but i am happy/glad that we decided to make the trip..

Little bubba is 18 weeks today and I now look forward to the scan we will have on Tuesday.. Can't wait to you little bubbaaa..! Oh I also received comments that baby bump is pretty small for 4 months haha and that is sure different to when I had Dia.. I was huge! another difference is that I have a stronger sense of smell..! haha

Other than the scan, I am also looking forward to NYE! hehehe

Merry Christmas to my readers or rather happy boxing day!!

Can never bring too much!

Alhamdulillah, the family holiday and gathering went well..

One learning point for me during this trip was that I can never bring too much FM! Given that we just started to fully feed Dia FM, i was unfamiliar with how much FM she needs! I did not want to bring the whole can of FM so brought some in a medium sized container.. By the fourth morning I was left with FM for 1 feed only! HUHU!!! So lain kali, bawa saja even if panuh bag and barat! hahaha

Oh and yes alhamdulillah Dia is now fully on FM!!!! weheee!!! Although occasionally she'll pat on my Bs and ask me if its still sakit and I said 'awu sakit'.. A white lie won't hurt kan?

I am 17 weeks along now... And Dia seem to be embracing my growing belly more and more.. She will randomly rub or hug or kiss my belly and say 'Baby' or 'Adik'.. I hope and pray that Dia will shower her little brother or sister with lots and lots of love..

Oh and we are enjoying our leave.. very very much! Everyday is now an adventure and we never know where we will head out to next!

Day 3: KK & Family Gathering in Limbang

Excitedly waiting to board the plane

Happy when we got her the model of the plane

Iski ia main!

Blessing the food and gathering

Digging in

Anjai's Grandmother

Yadu and Uncle Jack

Yadu with Dia's second cousin, Shannon

After dinner

Presents for lucky draw and games

Yadu presenting a lucky draw present to Uncle Randai

Uncle Richard giving Benilda a token for her good results in her recent UPSR

We got a lucky draw present too!

Aunty Edah giving away 'ang paw' to the kids and these 2 decides to join the que. LOL

Uncle Richard made some mugs with personalized x-mas greetings on it and this is when he presented it to my FIL

MIL giving Yadu her x-mas present

MIL and Aunty Gayah

Musical Chair for the kids

Karaoke Time!

This was taken at approximately 1am. Dia woke up and insisted that we join the crowd in the living room and all the while, nodding in and out of sleep!

Dia posing with presents we got that night! 1 lucky draw present, 1 mug, Dia's Angpaw and *ehem ehem* Best Duet Karaoke! LOL

Day 2: KK

Early morning feed

Taking a bath together

Breakfast at Starbucks

Npping while Mummy and Daddy Shops

Meeting Mr Ant at 1Borneo

At the Adidas Shop with Daddy in 1Borneo

Berdudun while waiting for Dinner

The Kids playing while Dia looks on

Last dinner in KK

Day 1: KK

Waiting to check in our bags and get our boarding pass

Dia and I waiting for the flight

'Alaaahhh... No Krispy Kreme Donuts'

Soon after landing in KK and while waiting for our bags..

The girls making themseleves comfortable at the apartment

Dinner

Tired after an afternoon of strolling around suria sabah..

Hubs enjoying the Crabs!

Si kecil pushing si kecil! LOL

21 months!

Dear Dia,

A couple of hours short till you turn 21 months my darling daughter.. Happy 21 months my sayang..! Reason why I am writing to you now and not later today is because we will be a bit occupied with a couple of things and I am taking advantage of the peace and quiet to write while you and your daddy sleep.. hehe

Mummy and Daddy was officially on leave by Friday afternoon and one of my mission was to fully wean you off BM.. Alhamdulillah it has been 34 hours since you last had my BM.. After 2 nights of utter pain after you bite mummy's nips (which i don't totally blame u for cos maybe you were just forcing some BM out but supply is very little), you finally took your bottle while you slept last night.. You woke up twice, once at 1am and then at 4am asking for your midnight feed. I woke up sleepy and tired but very happy of the progress you have made.. Keep it up my little missy.. I have to say I will miss BFing you my love.. It was a good 20 months..

Tomorrow we go on a short holiday to KK with your Daddy's family. Aside from Kak Alya, Aunty Mamai, Uncle Yahya, Yadu, Yaki and Usu Kuyang, your granduncles and aunties will also be there.. You might not remember them as the last time you met them was a year ago, so please promise me that you will be nice and friendly. I understand you hesitation when you meet new people but get over your hesitation quickly okay.. We have been looking forward to this for quite sometime now so we hope you will have a great time..

After the trip to KK, we will go straight to your Daddy's Yadu place in Limbang for a family gathering to celebrate x-mas.. There you will get to see more of your daddy's family.. You might still be a bit tired after KK but remember its a tiny sacrifice to make and always make time for your family.. After all we never know when god decides to take us away so make the best efforts you can..

Ok I better go now and join you and your daddy.. I Love you my little missy and be a good girl okay.. I promise we will be spending a lot of time together in the next 2 weeks, doing different activties.. Love u angel..

xoxo,

Mummy

TC's Birthday

We went out for Dinner with TC and Izam to celebrate TC's birthday on Friday night..

Dia eyeing the cake while Mummy and Aunty Ciceh poses for the camera! haha

The surprise birthday cake

Dia helping Ciceh blow her candles

Cutting Ciceh's cake

All of us with one notably missing person (incl partner and little one)

Our little family enjoying the view

Dia with Uncle Jam and Ciceh

Had a great nite.. Have a good drive to KK tomorrow and have a great time.. who knows we might even bump into each other there.. LOL

I need a break..

3 working days left and I have to say I cannot wait for my leave and holiday to begin!! Yes people I am that tired of working and I think if I keep up, I will turn into a negative, bitter and burnt out person.! One that I am sure no one will like.. A break is very much needed at this point.. So yes, I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO MY LEAVE!!!

Speaking of work, I finally bought a table planner for next year..! and this means I am already jotting down things to do/attend for next year..! huhu 2010 has been a big and crazy year for me (in terms of work) and it will be even BIGGER and CRAZIER next year.. With Little Bubba on the way, I hope I will be able to balance it all well and will not over exert myself. (I have received comments from colleagues that I forget that I am pregnant! LOL).

Oh I am now 16 weeks along.. *weee* A friend asked me which diapers I intend to use for Little Bubba because she wanted to pass me hers.. I was overwhelmed.. Overwhelmed because she thought of me (awwwwww..! LOL) and number 2, because I haven't even thought about it.. I'll start thinking about it when I reach 20 weeks.. but there is a couple of items that I want to get, mainly items that I wanted to buy but didn't because I found out late, didn't think it would be that useful or the hubs talked me out of getting the item.. hehehe *I think I should invest in a second Breast Pump!!!!!!!*

Ok I better stop daydreaming of my holiday and the wonderful shopping I will get to do for Little Bubba..! Back to work now..!

One step closer

For the first time ever last night, Dia fell asleep being bottle fed, by ME! Part of me is happy that we (Dia n me) are now able to do that but another part of me is kinda sad.. Happy because we are now closer to our goal of complete weaning and I am sad because I feel like my baby is moving further and further away from me, like she doesn't need me as much anymore.. But I shall ignore that crazy talk and be happy.. We are hoping that this trend keeps on..

so last night we started on project 'FM mid-night' and I was more nervous than you would think I would be..! I was contemplating the number of hours of sleep I would lose! LOL True enough last night I did not sleep well cause I was on alert mode..! Around mid-night Dia started tossing and turning and wanted her mid-night feed so I went and prepared but as I gave her the bottle she screamed (in her sleep) 'Mummy aja!'.. Hubs and I looked at each other and decided to give her want he want.. for now lah.. hehehe

I have been sneezing non stop since yesterday and I am hoping that I will not get sick cause the amount of work that I need to complete is crazyy!!! Think i will forgo any lunch dates for now.. huhu Ok this is depressing.. *4 working days left, 4 working days left*

Salam Ma'al Hijrah

I hope I am not too late in wishing everyone a happy new Islamic year...! For me personally a new year brings hope for a new beginning.. A new beginning indeed..! I will not be able to say exactly what happened but I hope that the new beginning will bring on positive changes.. and that I will be able to cope and not be overwhelmed with the said changes.. Amin..

X-mas is 16 days away and I can already feel the x-mas joy seeping in! well maybe because we spent the whole of Tuesday in Seria and KB, x-mas shopping..! Fun fun fun! Apart from clothes for the little girl, I have packed (i.e. place in her luggage) almost all of her stuff.. hehe can you tell how excited I am for our trip? hehehe

Lunch with the Girls

Had lunch with the girls at Nonya just now and here are some photos.. (uploaded here supaya Atein jelessss.. :P)

As requested I have added a list on the side for items to be brought along (other than clothes the little ones) when you are traveling with a baby.. Of course these items are things I THINK are essential so it might not be agreeable to others.. Oh and if i missed anything let me know ah.. hehe But basically its broken down into these parts..

Bathing

• Bath towel
• Toiletries including tooth paste, tooth brush, bath gel
  
• Minyak-minyakkan we usually put on the little ones like minyak kayu putih, etc
• Diaper Rash Cream (just in case)

Feeding

• Formula (for formula fed babies)
• Bottles - at least 2 so you can alternate
  
• Thermos for hot water
• Plate and Cutleries - in case some places does not carry kids friendly plates and cutleries..
  
• Sippy cup
• Bip
  
• Dishwashing fluid - we have had experience where we said we'll just buy it when we get to our destination but find that its quite difficult to find so its a good idea to bring one from home.
  
• Sponge and Bottle Brush - same reason as the above
• Snacks - I usually bring lots of this and make sure to bring varieties so they don't get bored of the same thing.
• Plastic container - always a good idea to bring for sterilizing purposes
  

Others

• Toys or books to entertain them
• Panadol, in case they look like they are developing a fever, cough or sniffles
  

In terms of clothes, I usually bring about 2-3 extras of PJs, Day Clothes. In terms of Diapers, I estimate how many Dia will use in a day and bring at least 1 extra daily, for example i estimate that Dia will change Diapers 4 times daily so I will bring 5 (1 extra) for each day that we are away.

Oh two items I bring EVERYWHERE even if I am going out for dinner here is Wet wipes and tissue cause especially with an ever so active child they tend to touch something so its useful to have both wet and normal tissue.

as you can see the list are quite over-whelming and will take up at least 1 luggage! haha That's what we normally do, assign 1 luggage for Dia, ONLY.. LOL

Good luck E13!!! Anything just gimme a shout k.. hehe