September 30, 2011
by yati
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No, I can’t swim and no, it’s not me who is having a swimming lesson.
Yes, today Nora had her first swimming lesson and she loved it. Half an hour splashing around in the kids pool… and jumping into the pool and sliding into the pool.
Goodness… I was more scared than her!
She’s looking forward to her next lesson 
And after her swim, we went to the playground for a bit more play and have a little picnic.
September 25, 2011
by yati
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One of the books that she loves to have me read at bed time at the moment is one of her library books titled ‘Get into Bed’. It’s about a big bear, George, trying to get a little bear, Bartholomew, to get into bed and sleep. I think Nora just likes the voices I make and also that I sometimes change the characters to Mama and Nora.
Most times, bedtime is a nice affair… sometimes it can be very testing.
Like this evening.
After watching Charlie and Lola, she went to switch the TV off signaling that she’s ready to listen to her bedtime stories. So I took her to bed and tucked her in, reminded her to read her d’oa and read her stories. Once I’ve finished reading the fifth book, I told her it is time for her to sleep. Which she knows but that doesn’t mean that she’s going to make it easy for me tonight.
First she asked for Cookie Monster, who was in the front room, so I went to get him for her. Then she said she wanted to sleep on my bed. I said OK, took her to my bed, and sometimes it is easier to get her to fall asleep on my bed than hers. But once we got comfortable, she started crying and said she wanted to sleep on her bed.
We went back to her room and she asked for Cookie, which she threw away earlier on as she decided she didn’t want to sleep with Cookie. So when I’ve tucked her in with Cookie, she insisted she wanted to go to the toilet. Took her to the toilet and put her back in her sleep sack after and lay Cookie next to her again. She picked Cookie up and threw him to the end of her bed and picked up Milllenium Bear instead.
After much grumbling and not being happy with anything… she fell asleep… just like that.
And I am now very tired.
September 23, 2011
by yati
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It turned out to be a lovely and warm September day. We had our weekly Friday morning trip to the library… and her normal routine of lunch and nap.
But today, after her nap, we took a little trip.
For one day/evening, Malaysians has descended upon Trafalgar Square! Food galore!
Nora didn’t really enjoy the tube journey in though. It has been awhile and she usually doesn’t complain. But today, at every stop she kept indicating that she wanted to leave!
Once we did get to Trafalgar Square, she loved enjoyed herself! I think it’s just the big space for her to run around. We even went into the National Gallery which to her was this huge and wonderful maze!
When I did managed to get her out of the National Gallery, we did start stuffing ourselves with satay, apam balik (peanut pancake) and karipap. And I tapau (brought home) fried noodles and also Laksa Penang.
It was a nice day out… until Nora got very tired.
Jules didn’t get there until about 5pm and Nora and I didn’t leave for home until almost 6pm. And when we did get to our stop, she didn’t want to walk any further. She was sobbing saying ‘Nora penat’ (Nora’s tired) and I didn’t have the strength to carry her home.
So we waited for a big red bus.
She’s fast asleep now and I’ve eaten my noodles and laksa.
How I miss Malaysian food… and how I’m glad that Nora just gobbled up all the food I got for her… apart from the bubur charchar… it was a bit too sweet!
September 14, 2011
by yati
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Scott asked about Nora yesterday and one of the many stories I told him was this.
Nora was in bed with me and woke up in the middle of the night, probably around 1am, and said ‘Mama! Weewee!!’
I was so tired out that night and just said to her ‘Oh! Nora! Just weewee in your nappy’, to which Scott exclaimed ‘What kind of a mother are you??!’ and laughed.
Did she weewee in her nappy? Of course not! She pestered and pestered and pestered me that I did get up and took her to the big toilet.
Tried to be a lazy mom… but I have a very determined child… failed.
September 10, 2011
by yati
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Nora is still trying to grasp the concept of gender… girl or boy. Obviously she doesn’t really know the difference and gets a bit muddled up sometimes.
Like yesterday, after she used her potty, she said ‘Nora good boy’ and I told her that she is a girl. So, she went on to say ‘Nora girl. Mama girl. Daddy girl’.
Jules wasn’t very impressed with that.
But before that… whilst Jules was occupying the bathroom, Nora did say ‘Daddy good boy, poopoo toilet’. Not too sure that Jules was impressed with that either 
Oh… Nothing to do with gender issue… yesterday I was putting some rocket leaves into a bowl to have salad for lunch, and Nora said ‘Mama makan pokok!’ which means ‘Mama’s eating a tree!’… well… close enough I guess.
September 8, 2011
by yati
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I know that people say that the first year is the best year to enjoy with your child, but I think I enjoy my time more with Nora now. We actually have conversations… even if sometimes I could only understand half of her sentences or mostly being told off by her!
Like this morning when I was dressing her. I got her top, leggings and panties out of her cupboard and said to her ‘Nora pakai seluar’, which was meant to mean ‘Nora put on your panties’. The word ‘seluar’ means trousers/pants but it’s also used as a short version for ‘seluar dalam’, which means panties.
So, when she heard me tell her that she said ‘No, Mama. Not seluar. Panties’ and then pointed to her leggings and said ‘Seluar’.
Well… That’s me being put right!
There was one night… in the middle of the night, she woke up and started calling for me. I was seriously tired and called out to her saying that I’ll be there in a minute which she piped back ‘OK’. A minute passed, I guess, and I did nothing, she started calling for me again with the ‘Where are you mother? You said you’d be here in a minute’ tone of voice. I had to get up as she will go on and on until I do something.
Sometimes, when I put her to bed, and after she recites her d’oa and I’ve read her bedtime stories, we’ll start chatting about things… Nan and Ucu in Malaysia, her friends at Nursery, what she was up to during the day… it’s nice…
September 4, 2011
by yati
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Nora was two on Friday… and all grown up.
I hope she had a lovely birthday. She Skyped with family in Malaysia who are always excited to see her. We went to Battersea Park Zoo and went out for lunch. I booked her swimming lessons and we went to the park. The weather was perfect… sunny and warm. We had a nice lengthy walk home from the park… going through the hospital she was born in. We sat in the hospital grounds sharing a bottle of orange juice before we continued our walk home… but not before stopping at the pet shop to say hello to the fishes, rabbits and parrot.
I hope she likes her presents… she has a mini kitchen and a shopping trolley from us.
And thank you everybody for the birthday wishes, cards and presents.
September 1, 2011
by yati
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Spent the whole evening baking the cupcakes… and first thing in the morning decorating them.. for Nora to celebrate her pre-birthday bash with her friends in Nursery.
August 31, 2011
by yati
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… that she’s not yet two.
That’s what I keep hearing at Nursery.
The Busy Bee section of the Nursery is divided into two areas: 18 months-2 years and 2 years-3 years. Nora has been in the 2-3 years age group for a couple of months now.
So they keep forgetting that she’s not yet two.
Tomorrow I’ll be taking cupcakes to Nursery… to remind everyone that she’s not yet two; she will be two on Friday.
August 30, 2011
by yati
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Nora was standing in front of the fish tank when Jules arrived home and pointed out that there is a little fish in the tank!!
Jules and I had a proper look and in between the big fishes, fake plants, pineapple, VW Beetle and little snails, there were two baby fishes!! How did they come into being as we are ‘almost’ sure that the similar big fishes are all female!
Amazing. It will be more amazing if they survive and not eaten by the big fishes!