A long post. I once wrote that I may not write about Khalish's toddlerhood in details, but, now that I am spending less and less time with him during weekdays, I realise how precious such posts are. Today, at breakfast, Kamal and I had a fantastic time looking at photos of our infant son, with notes to remind us of his antics. So, here I am, with the aforementioned long post, on Khalish. Enjoy it (as always, as much as Kamal and I do).
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A post written last Saturday, yet, could only be completed the following Saturday (which is today) due to the slow Internet:
Khalish's first sentence upon finishing his breakfast, "kita jangan pergi jalan-jalan ya, mommy; kita main puzzle saja." Kamal and I did have the intention to bring him to Shah Alam for a morning exercise held by our friends' Wellness Now Club for its Weight Loss Challenge. It remained an intention as the boy slept too late yesterday, resulting in a late start to Saturday for him. Kamal ended up going to Shah Alam alone. He asked about the daddy's whereabout as soon as he woke up, but, he was happy enough to have the mommy all to himself, too.
We played all the puzzles in the house, yes. We conversed a lot, as well. The last thing he said before he took the afternoon nap was, "esok, kita pergi berenang ya." Kamal and I never taught him the word 'berenang'. He must have acquired the word at play school. A lot of new words from the teachers and peers actually. New games. New songs. Mostly from the ten hours he was away from us. We are happy with the positive changes, of course. Nonetheless, I, particularly, do miss being the first to witness his progress. I asked Kamal's favour to be back for dinner, but, I am happy enough to have the son all to myself all day long, too.
It is not a secret that there lies a sentimental soul behind my firm, rugged facade. Now, as I behold the innocent face of a sleeping child (yes, I am one of the mothers that Cougar Town acknowledged or mocked - depend on one's take - who looks at her child while he or she is asleep), my memory cherishes those moments I spent solely with him, especially during my long leave from work.
Some of the memories, translated into photos:
Khalish has always loved Herbalife smoothie, and, he made each smoothie session special. As he heard the whizz of the blender, he knew the smoothie would be ready in seconds, hence a dash to the dish cabinet to choose a cup he fancied. There was a session when he used two different cups simultaneously, for different imagination settings, Kamal and I thought. We simply let his imagination run wild (although I preferred to have less dirty dishes, ha ha). Nowadays, he demanded to help with the smoothie preparation. He would be the one to scoop the formula and the ice cubes into the blender. Mister Sandman, I wish for a Duktig pretend play kitchen by Ikea, or a more creative idea from
Ikea Hackers.
He loves to drink water, too. At first, I bought a racing car bottle with spill proof straw as his water container, which he loved. One day, during a trip to Chini, we left the bottle in my parents' car. It was never found. The next bottle was a sippy cup, the one Khalish used for milk. Not his favourite. He turned to our 1-liter and 2-liter water bottles (as pictured) instead. Since then, he brought a 1-liter water bottle to play school and daycare center. I wished the smaller Chech was more aware of the importance of water; how I often wondered why my Chinese friends in the primary school often carried a big tumbler of water everywhere.
About habit, I think obsession manipulation in Khalish's Lego creations is a habit. He is known in this blog for an obsession towards escalator. That has been apparent in the things he built (with the Lego pieces). Apart from the basic escalator, he also constructed truck with escalator, boat with escalator, and aeroplane with escalator.
Of course, there were also Lego creations for Hong Kong, where he was introduced to endless escalators. On your left is a 'Hong Kong ferry', and, on your right is 'Hong Kong' itself. After today's afternoon nap, as he assembled another set of puzzle, an idea crossed his mind, out loud, "nanti mommy belikan puzzle Hong Kong, OK."
Ah, more of geek genes. I am a happy, self-confessed cool geek, but, Kamal has the complete look (how fortunate). Although Khalish's facial features resemble mine, his interests are similar to Kamal's. To further emphasise the point (which has been repeated again and again in Chech: Eccentric), Khalish tried on the daddy's spectacles. He did not like the image he saw through the powered lenses though, so, the scene only lasted for a few seconds. Phew.
The boy has always fancied books, as well. His favourite book is the one with illustrated lullabies, so much so he could match the illustration to the respective song. Nevertheless, his past selection of reading materials were not confined to children's books only. I have caught him browsing through the adults' books several times. It must be the thickness of the books; more pages, and, in the case of parenting books, more photos.
One unusual day, not only did Khalish ask to do number two at the toilet (which rarely happened as he still prefers the diaper), he also requested to read while at it - a behaviour that I suspected he imitated from a television program. A note to myself: more waterproof books, please. When he did not insist for Timmy Time, I would read him a book or two during bedtime. He often reached for Let's Look by Baby Einstein. That, and a toy truck.
As soon as he was ready to further relish the day, it would be a book he sought for again. I long for such moment. These days, he prefers the photographs that Kamal and I shot, replaying one slideshow after another the whole time he sips the breakfast smoothie.
Nonetheless, all work and no play would make Khalish a dull boy, eh. One day in late December, Kamal came back home with a big wrapped box. A gift! For Khalish! From the lovely Uncle Michael and Aunty Cathy, whom we had the opportunity to know through WoW Nutrition Club.The boy was extremely excited to receive the surprise package. He insisted for a photo. He also insisted to be the one who unwrapped it. As soon as the content was revealed, he smiled from ear to ear to find a motorbike. He jumped to find that the motorbike could move on its own with a tap of a switch, and, better still for a little boy, it blared tunes with the move. The motorbike even turned around when it hit an obstruction, which was great enough for it to be an object of Khalish's fascination, for a good half an hour that evening.
Another Khalish's idea of fun: sing! With a makeshift microphone! Here, he belted the most popular song in the world, 'Happy Birthday to You', with lollipop as the microphone. He was two then.
Five months later, I managed to catch him in the act, with another so-called microphone. Only bigger. The mini torch light sat in a drawer of the television cabinet for emergency. The infant Khalish loved to rummage the cabinet for toys, and, when he failed to find any, he made one. Every time Tom Tom Bak's Ada Bakat Ke segment was on air, he would run to that drawer, took out that mini torch light, and sing along to the talents featured by Pak Nil. He would dance, too. "Look, mommy. Khalish dance." I love this phase!
To tone down the hype from all the singing and dancing, he would usually turn to drawing. There was a phase of lorry sketches on doodle board. That, the mommy had to draw more. I prefer the current phase - colourful swirls with crayons on sketch pad, all by himself.
This phase: KLCC on mini doodle board. His 'KLCC on sketch pad' is now a display on the side of our refrigerator.
And, this phase: anything to postpone that morning bath. Ha ha. And, again, I love the concentration.
A note here: I first used Crayola for our first art activities. He was barely one year old then. How I underestimated his creativity; he broke all the crayons as an expression of art. I then resorted to the more sturdy oil pastels for children. However, it left stains on his fingers, and all the things he touched. Unlike Crayola, the stains from the supposedly children-friendly oil pastels left on Khalish's desk surface were only washable with sodium bicarbonate. I chanced upon Maped, a set of plastic crayon that promises to leave no stain on the skin, and if there is any stain on other surfaces, it is easy to clean. Now, I am in love with Maped art supplies.
Last, but not least, Khalish and jigsaw puzzles! Aside from 'My Body' and 'In the Garden' jigsaw puzzles his daddy bought at a supermarket in Kelana Jaya during a spontaneous trip to the Nutrition Club, he really loves the 100-piece solar system jigsaw puzzle by Melissa & Doug. (It is one of Khalish's tactics to postpone a bath, hence another no-clothe pose.)
Another weekend with just the two of us (that Kamal attends to Herbalife clients and other works today and tomorrow). I would love to plan for an outdoor excursion on Sunday.
Oh, may all of us have wonderful weekends.
