..aryanna nadyne || full of life and hope..

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

2012-01-16T15:09:00.000+08:00

It's been quite a while...

From the moment Khaliq came into our lives, we've been really busy. Just after a month Mommy delivered Khaliq, Ayah Ngah's solemnisation ceremony took place at Aunty Intan's home in Gombak. I attended the ceremony with Mommy and Dadda while Khaliq had to stay home with Wan Ndak. Tok Mama was away in Japan at that point of time.

On the 17th of December, we had Khaliq's Aqiqah ceremony. We invited close friends and family and it was quite an interesting affair. Khaliq was really well-behaved during the ceremony.

Baby Idzhar's goodie bag.

Idzhar behaving himself.

We celebrated Christmas in Langkawi Island up north with Adida and Mak Lel. Tok Abah and Tok Mama sent us to the airport and Pak Su picked us up from the airport when we arrived back from Langkawi.

It was a much needed holiday for Mommy before she goes back to work. We went on the cable car, visited the Underwater World, sightseeing and shopped till we dropped (well... at least Mak Lel did...) It was Khaliq's 1st experience on an airplane too... not that he'd remember it.

Idzhar and Mommy boarding...

Me making silly faces...

So happy that we've arrived at our destination.

With my Trunki, just arrived at the hotel.

Isn't he just adorable?

Lunch with Mommy and Dadda before the cable car ride.

With Adida and Mak Lel in the cable car.

Jump!

Mommy and her two babies.

Breakfast at The Loaf.

With the penguins at Underwater World.

Made a new friend.

With Aunty Debbie, Dadda's friend at her 'cafe' on Pantai Chenang.

Pantai Chenang.

Dataran Lang.

On the way back home. (update status?)

And then there were Ayah Ngah's wedding receptions.

Aunty Intan's side on the 31st of December at Maju Junction.

The lovely couple in pink.

And our side on the 1st of January, 2012 at Dewan Tabung Haji, Kelana Jaya.

I was one of the flower girls.

The happy couple in blue.

Tok Abah, Tok Mama, Pak Su and Wan Ndak attended the wedding too.

Dadda was the MC.

Adik had his share of attention too.

With Tok Uda and Wan Uda.

With Adik who was well-behaved on that day.

My family with the bride and groom.

The women in PJ family.

The whole PJ family in blue & pearl.

So that was how I bid farewell to 2011 and welcomed the new year.

Now, back to school. Huhuhu... (Dadda jangan sentap! :)

Please welcome a new addition to our family... baby Idzhar Khaliq

2011-10-27T17:05:00.001+08:00

My baby brother, the latest addition to our family, baby Idzhar Khaliq was born on the 17th of October, 2011 at 5.47pm, weighing 3.41kg.

Mommy and Dadda sent me to school that morning and went straight to the hospital. Tok Abah picked me up later that day and brought me straight to the hospital to see Mommy and the baby. I was so delighted to see my new baby brother and am so excited to be a sister.

Will update soon with more stories and pictures of us! :)

PJ's Annual Family Trip 2011

2011-10-01T18:36:00.001+08:00

Yes, it was that time of the year again where we had our PJ Family trip... well, actually not really. This year we decided to move the trip earlier than usual. So instead of having it at the end of the year, we went in September, on Malaysia Day holiday because it was a long weekend.

Plus, we wanted to go to the East Coast this time so end of the year might not be a good idea because of the monsoon season. Apart from that, Mommy's due to give birth in October (anytime now...) and there's another good reason why having the trip earlier was a great idea. I will reveal the last reason at the end of this post.

So, we started quite early (although not as early as the others) on th 16th of September. As usual, it was quite a problem for Mommy and Dadda to wake me up early to have my shower. I mean, I've been waking up early every morning for school every weekday, why should I wake up early on weekends and holidays, right? Right??

Aaaanyway, we thought we were the last to leave home but it turned out that Ayah Ngah, Che Ah and Cu Na were even worse, hehehe... Anyhow, they managed to catch up with us since Dadda was driving slowly because he didn't want Mommy feeling uncomfortable during the long journey there.

We stopped by at a rest area to meet up with Ayah Ngah but they proceeded first to meet up with Papa and Mama at a waterfall area (Cemerong) on the way to have a short picnic. We however, didn't join them and after our meal, headed straight to Paka, Terengganu.

We arrived at the Rumbia Resort at around 3pm and rested while waiting for everyone to arrive. At around 5pm we had our tea and I met up with all my cousins at the cafe. We then walked over to the river nearby and went on a short cruise around the area and the sea. It was soooo cool and all of us had fun!

The next morning, I was also the last to wake up hence the last to have breakfast at the cafe. Everybody else were already getting ready to start the game. While the adults were taking part in the games, Mommy took me to the pool to swim.
This year, Mommy didn't take part in the games because she's pregnant so she spent most of her time with moi. Dadda had Che Ah as his partner this time.

After swimming, Mommy took me in for my shower and right after, we joined the rest of the family. I took part in the kids games.

After the morning game session Papa treated us to seafood lunch at a restaurant nearby. The food there was delicious.

Everyone went back and had a good rest after the big meal. At around 5pm, we headed to the beach. The adults continued with their game while the kids played with sand, including me! Yes, there was a time when I hated sand but learned to like it that day building sandcastles and all. I did take my time in the beginning, though.

That night we had a specially prepared dinner at the resort. Oh, I forgot to mention that the resort belongs to the company Ayah Ngah works in so he organised everything this time.

And then we had the prize giving ceremony...

The baby inside Mommy's tummy got a present too...

And the overall winner went to...

Ayah Ngah and Cu Na!

The next morning, only Dadda woke up to go and see the sunrise. He took some cool photos of it.
Cuna, Cek Ah & Ayah Ngah joined him later.

After breakfast we took some family photos before leaving back for home.

On the way back, we stopped at Kemaman, Terengganu to have a break.

I'm now looking forward to next year's trip because it'll be the FOUR of us next year, InsyaAllah! :)

p/s : Ayah Ngah made an announcement on the final night that he will be tying the knot to Aunty Intan really soon!
Unfortunately, Mommy might not be able to attend the engagement ceremony because it'll be held at the end of October, during her confinement period. Perhaps she'll be able to join the solemnisation ceremony in November. Let's keep our fingers crossed ;)

It's been quite sometime...

2011-08-31T20:53:00.010+08:00

I know it's been quite a while since my last update so I'm gonna make this quick, simple and non-draggy.

So, a lot of things have happened in the month of August and September, and I mean a lot!

First thing's first... the August birthdays...

There were Paksu's on the 10th, Tok Abah's on the 15th, Mommy's on the 17th and Kak Nadhrah's on the 21st. Mommy's birthday fell on Nuzul Quran day so she, Dadda, Pak Su and Adida were on leave but not Tok Mama. Tok Mama eventually decided to apply for leave too since everyone was not working on that day, hehe... The night before, at the stroke of midnight, Dadda and I wished Mommy a Happy Birthday and we wrote it on my board. Oh, and I did a card specially for Mommy too!

Dadda tried to have a surprise birthday and baby shower party for Mommy but it didn't really happen because firstly, it was during fasting month so we were more concentrating on fasting, breaking fast and the Terawikh prayers at night, second, only Selangor had the day off and most of Mommy's friends are working in KL, third, it was raining so heavily that day that everyone was stuck in a bad traffic jam. Nevertheless, some did turn up. Aunty Uma, Uncle Gerard and Jadrien came. She made a huge cake for Mommy and brought some cookies and food.

Uncle Nuar and Wan Ki came too. In the end, we had a simple and cosy gathering amongst close friends and family and it turned out really nice and sweet. Mommy was happy for everything except for the fact that I had a fever at the end of that day and it lasted for days!

When we went to Papa and Mama's house in PJ that weekend, we had a small birthday celebration for Kak Nadhrah.

Anyway, since all their birthdays were in August and it was the Ramadhan, Tok Abah had said earlier that the August birthday dinner treat will be after Eid in September. And so...

The Eid arrived...

We spent Raya eve and the first day in PJ this year. We also visited Tok Nong's house on the first day evening and drove back to Rembau straight from there. The next day, we went to Adida's house in Muar.

Just recently, we finally had the postponed and long-awaited August birthday dinner promised by Tok Abah at Le Meridien.

It was such a wonderful treat! The food was really yummy and we had fun!
Thank you Tok Abah :)

Coming real soon...

The Annual PJ Family Trip...

July happenings...

2011-07-27T17:07:00.007+08:00

July is almost over.

Come 1st of August, Muslims around the world will celebrate the starting of the holy month of Ramadhan where fasting starts. Let me tell you what I've been doing in the whole month of July, the month prior to Ramadhan.

On the 2nd of July, we celebrated Dadda's birthday. Mommy and I gave him a jersey of his favourite football team, Liverpool FC with the name of his favourite player at the back plus tickets to see them play here in Malaysia a couple of weeks later. We had 2 birthday dinners, one with Mommy's family to celebrate both Dadda's and Wan Ndak's birthday and the other with Dadda's family, to celebrate the birthdays of the July babies, Dadda, Tia, Ayah Ngah and Che Ah.

Tok Abah, Pak Su and Tok G left for Mekah to perform the umrah on the 6th for 2 weeks.
So, only Tok Mama and Adida were in Subang while they were away.

The next day Mommy and Dadda celebrated their 4th year wedding anniversary. We didn't really have a big celebration but Mommy bought a small cheesecake to be shared amongst 3 of us and I had all the strawberries on the cake, yum! That weekend, on the 9th Dadda, Mommy, Tok Mama, Adida and I travelled to Johor Bahru for a weekend getaway. Well, it was mainly to attend Tok Naim's (Tok Abah's best friend) daughter's wedding there but to us, especially Mommy and Dadda, it was like an anniversary holiday. Although it was only over the weekend we had lots of fun at the wedding, hotel and on the way back, stopped by to visit Nek Wan in Rembau.

Tok Abah, Pak Su and Tok G came back recently and they bought a lot of souvenirs for everyone. I got 2 jubahs and several t-shirts from Tok Abah. Of course they brought back dates, raisins and chocolates too plus other souvenirs from Jordan (they went there first for sightseeing before proceeding to Madinah and Mekah).

Besides all these, I attended other weddings here and there and we also went to a Hi-Tea held by Mama and her friends to celebrate the arrival of Ramadhan. We've moved to Tok Abah's house in Subang Permai and will be staying there until the baby arrives as Mommy's getting too heavy to be climbing up stairs to our apartment in D'Rimba.

So, we're slowly settling down and preparing ourselves for fasting month.

I still haven't decide if I'm going to start fasting, though and while I think hard on my decision, I want to wish all muslims Selamat Menyambut Bulan Ramadhan and Happy Fasting!

May this holy month brings joy and rezeki to all of you who embrace it :)

My trips with CIC so far...

2011-06-27T14:33:00.000+08:00

As some of you might already have known, I attend the Children Islamic Centre (CIC) in Kota Damansara. Since I turned 3 this year, I was allowed to attend the 4 and 5 year old classes too and they have so many fun school trips all year round. My head teacher, Teacher Zana allows me to join my seniors in some of the short and interesting trips.

So far this year I've gone to 2 school trips. My first trip was to the National Zoo with my seniors from my branch and also other CIC branches around Damansara and Taman Tun. Mommy woke me up really early that morning. I almost fell asleep at the shower! We went to another CIC branch at the The Strand, Kota Damansara at around 8am.

Who's more excited? Hehe. With my beloved Teacher Zana. It was raining that morning..

I said goodbye to both Dadda and Mommy before they left. After having breakfast there, we left in a school bus. Teacher Zana took a photo of me with her phone on the bus and sent it to Dadda.

The MMS pict sent by Teacher Zana, on the bus to the Zoo! :)

When we reached the zoo, the other students from other branches were already there, queuing up. We did a light exercise together and started our mini exploration of the zoo to see some of the animals there.

Light exercise? More like chicken dance!

Thank god I was wearing a new pair of sports shoes Mommy had bought months earlier. She bought them just because she liked it, not knowing that I would really need them now for this trip. So, thanks Mommy for having this obsession for shoes! I think I was the youngest among all the students there.

Yes, you read that right, it Adidas Stan Smith! Thank you Mommy!

In the afternoon, we headed back to our respective schools and waited for our parents to come and fetch us. I brought back a bunny hat and some other merchandise from the zoo. It was an exhausting day but I had loads of fun.

Ready to go back.. Pakai topi pulak.. :)

Told Dadda that I wasn't tired after the Zoo Trip, but 2 minutes inside the car... Zzzzz....

My second trip was to a hypermarket just nearby our school. That trip was also for the 4 years and above but Teacher Zana asked Mommy if they could take me along. It was during the Health & Science week and we were there to learn about food especially fruits and vegetables. This time, we didn't join other branches as each school went to hypermarkets nearest to them.

So, when we went to the Carrefour accross the road from us, others went to other Carrefours or Tescos near them. I learned about the food, names of fruits and vegetables and at the end of the day, we took pictures together and went back to school with some goodies.

Our trademark 'PEACE' sign whenever there's a camera in front of us!

I'm really looking forward to my school trips in the future.
I really enjoyed my trips so far. I wonder where will we go next...

Have a look at the album slideshows below of my CIC trips!
Thank you CIC!

What happened during my school break...

2011-06-20T17:29:00.002+08:00

I had 2 weeks break from school recently. During that time I still went to my playschool (CIC), but I didn't have to wear my uniform and we didn't have to attend classes. So, we did some activities, watched some TV, slept and played most of the time.

Last week, the 2nd week of my school break, I didn't go to school everyday. Dadda wasn't around as he had a meeting in Terengganu. He left on Tuesday together with Papa & Mama. They were also going to Terengganu to attend a wedding on Thursday. So, I went to school on Monday but on Tuesday, I followed Mommy to her medical check up with her doctor, Dr. Nor Ashikin. She scanned Mommy's tummy and we finally found out that the baby is a 'boy'!

I was actually quite disappointed to have found out that it's a boy for I had always wanted a baby sister. But now, I've learned to accept the fact that I'm going to have a baby brother and am really happy and excited and can't wait for the baby to come.

Anyway, after learning about the great news, I followed Mommy to her office in KL. There, I met Mommy's friends like Aunty Mary and Uncle Terry who is a radio announcer there and yes, Mommy works at a radio station. They were in the midst of moving a new and better office so the old office was in a huge mess. I had my books and the iPad to keep me occupied while Mommy finished off her work. At around 4pm, we carried some stuff into the car and headed to the new office which is much nearer to our house. Aunty Mary and Aunty Farah followed us in our car.

Peace with Aunty Mary

Playing with bubble wraps with Aunty Jackie & Uncle Terry!

That night, we had dinner with a friend of Mommy's from her previous office before she started working with this company. Aunty Adi was already waiting for us when we arrived at The Curve around 8.30pm. The next day, I had to go back to school but after school we had dinner with Tok Mama, Tok Abah, Pak Su, Adida and Mak Lel at Sri Thai restaurant in PJ.

Yes, we miss you Dadda, that's why we had to dine at fancy restaurant!

THREE is the new PEACE!

On Thursday, again I followed Mommy to her old office. This time I had a friend. Aunty Mary had also brought her son, Jayden. I had a lot of fun with him playing and running around the office. The 4 of us went out to the nearest McDonalds for lunch and at the end of the day, before we left, we took pictures together. Mommy had to carry a lot of stuff to the car because she was on leave the next day and they were to start working at the new office on Monday.

Inside the studio for the very last time with the RedFM crew!

I went back to school on Friday. That night, Dadda came back from Terengganu and we picked him up from PJ. He bought me and Mommy a new pair of kaftan dress and I ate 4 turtle eggs they brought back from Terengganu that night.

I hope I'll have as much fun when the next school break comes just as I had last week.

I'm 3!

2011-05-10T09:24:00.005+08:00

Sorry, this post is long overdue coz Dadda was too busy building his business! Good luck Dadda!

I celebrated my 3rd birthday at Tok Abah's house in Subang Permai on the 9th of April recently.
My birthday is actually on the 10th but we did it a day earlier as it was a Saturday and everyone could spend time with us as long as they liked.

We started the day off with some tahlil prayers for Umi Mae and other family members who have left us.
It was attended by just family members from both Tok Abah's and Tok Mama's side. After that we had lunch together outside. Everybody then went inside to watch a special video of me that Dadda had prepared earlier.

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My Year 1 slideshow courtesy of Dadda

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My Year 2 slideshow courtesy of Dadda

At 4.30pm, Mommy showered me and I put on my birthday dress bought by Tok Abah and Tok Mama. I had a special badge on that said 'Birthday Princess'. By 5pm, all the other guests had arrived. It was not a huge party, we only invited family members and close friends but they all had children around my age and that made the party fun!

The 3 of us (+1) on my 3rd Pororo birthday! Click on image to go to album!

They all received a blue 'Pororo' party bag each. Pororo is a penguin cartoon character I love to watch on TV. Mommy ordered them specially for my birthday. The bags have a picture of Pororo and his friends and they're all printed 'Happy 3rd Birthday Nadyne'.

Mommy also ordered a huge Pororo cake from her friend, Aunty Uma. She eventually gave the cake as my birthday present so Mommy didn't have to pay for it. She also made Pororo cupcakes for my school friends. Thank you very much Aunty Uma! I really, really loved the cakes. We had guests till night, even when I was already asleep. I was really tired that I went to bed earlier than usual that night. I had a lot of fun, though. The next day, on my actual birthday, we decided to just relax at home. That night, after a light dinner, we went back home.

On Monday, Mommy didn't go to work as usual but I went to school... like usual. Mommy took a day off from work and apparently went out for a date with Dadda after sending me to school, hehe... She had told me earlier that they would come back that afternoon with Pororo cupcakes and more party bags for my friends in school. I thought they were just making an excuse to leave me in school while they enjoyed themselves.

But true enough, they did return that afternoon with cupcakes and party bags! I was happy and excited to see them but at the same time I had to control my excitement and remain cool in front of my friends. They sang the 'Happy Birthday' song for me and we recited our doa before we ate our cakes. Just before we left, I distributed my party bags to all my friends.

Reciting doa before eating the cupcakes. Click image below to go to album!

It was a really enjoyable weekend for me!
I want to thank everyone who came to my party and made it a fun and unforgettable event.

I'm officially 3 years old now and practically a lady!

Mommy and Me Time

2011-04-14T00:19:00.000+08:00

This was a conversation I had with Mommy a few days ago...

Me : Mommy, Nadyne nak tido dengan Tok Babah. (Mommy, I want to stay with Tok Abah)

Mommy : Tak boleh (No, you can't). Tomorrow kan Nadyne school. Semua orang work (Everyone's working). Tok Babah, Tok Mama, Mommy, Dadda, Pak Su, Adida... semua work esok. You have to go to school.

Me : Mama dengan Papa?

Mommy : Papa pun work (Papa's also working). Mama pergi Korea dengan Che Ah, jumpa Pororo. (Mama went to Korea with Che Ah to meet Pororo)

Me : Chu Na?

Mommy : Chu Na pun pegi school (Chu Na also goes to school). Chu Na nak jadi doctor, dia kena belajar rajin-rajin (Chu Na wants to become a doctor, she has to study hard). So, kalau Nadyne nak jadi doctor macam Chu Na, Nadyne kena rajin pegi school, belajar sampai pandai (So if you want to become a doctor like Chu Na, you have to go to school and study hard)

Me : Adida?

Mommy : Adida engineer.

Me : Pak Su?

Mommy : Pak Su pun engineer.

Me : Che Ah? Mak Lel?

Mommy : Diorang accountant.

Kalau Nadyne nak jadi macam diorang semua kena rajin pegi school (If you want to be like them you have to go to school) Nanti Nadyne boleh kerja macam diorang (You can have good jobs like them). Chu Na nak jadi doctor so nanti kalau Nadyne sakit tak payah le pegi jumpa doctor lain, jumpa Chu Na je (Chu Na wants to become a doctor so when you're sick we just go and see Chu Na). So, kalau Nadyne nak jadi doctor, Nadyne kena belajar rajin-rajin sampai pandai, tau! (So, if you want to be a doctor, you too have to study hard!)

Me : Huh. Tak nak lah (I don't want to)! Nadyne nak jadi Batman! (I just want to be Batman!)

Mommy : Hah??? (Confused)

Tok Mae... In Loving Memory

2011-04-06T08:53:00.004+08:00

Amongst all Tok Abah's siblings, I think the person I'm familiar with the most is Tok Mae.
In fact, she was the closest aunt in-law to Dadda too.

Tok Mae is Tok Abah's younger sister. The one right after him. She's the kind of person who's really warm and caring and you just feel comfortable whenever you're around her. Naturally, her house was our favourite hang out place. Any chance we got, any reasons at all, whenever we're around KL, we'd think of her place. Whether to stop by and kill time or just dropping by to 'tumpang solat' (pray).

On top of that, her husband, Tok G is cool too! He didn't seem to mind us dropping by at any time of the day. Mommy would make it a point to at least bring some snacks whenever we stopped by and only call to say we're dropping by when we're about to reach her place. There's a reason for all that.

You see, Tok Mae was a person who LOVED entertaining people, especially her family members. If we tell her way beforehand that we're coming, she would be preparing food and snacks for us. So, Mommy will almost always call her at the very last minute to inform her we're coming so she doesn't tire herself preparing for our short visits.

Tok Mae had a particular habit where she was always wiping and cleaning. Her tables and floors were always clean. Tok Abah had joked once and said she had OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). Mommy says I took that habit from her. I do wipe almost everything especially spilled drinks even when we're eating in restaurants. One more thing that was her all-time favourite was the Karaoke. I think her two kids, Umi Putri and Ami Putra enjoyed it too. Mommy and Pak Su used to join them till late at night.

You were always never allowed to do anything or help her in the kitchen when you're at her house. She'd make a fuss even if you just want to take your mug to the sink! She'd make us sit and talk and tell stories and just relax and watch TV while she goes back and forth from the living room to the kitchen doing God-knows-what. That's how she makes you feel welcomed and show that she's so happy to have you come visit all the time

That's why no matter how much you spend time visiting her, no matter how much we talked or told her our stories, no matter how much we laughed, joked and sing with her, it's just never enough and you're never satisfied. That's why you always look forward to spending time with her. That's why you love getting her long, carefully composed SMSes. That's why you feel you've never had enough of her and that's why you're always so reluctant to leave her when it's already late and time to go home. That's why.

I remember Mommy used to tell me that I should talk to Tok Mae and make her happy. She and Tok G were always delighted to see me everytime. Mommy also told me one day that Tok Mae was not well. So, once when we were at her place, I told her "Tok Mae, be 'tong'" (Tok Mae, be strong) just before we were about to leave. And not long after that, Mommy told me that Tok Mae is not sick anymore but it would be the last time I'd be seeing her. I didn't really understand.

That past couple of weeks, Tok Mama had been away, working. The morning she arrived back home, Tok Abah drove her straight to see Tok Mae. I tagged along. Mommy and Dadda followed a bit later in another car.
We were preparing for Umi Putri's wedding that afternoon so I thought that's why we were in such a hurry.
Little did I know that it was the last time I'd ever saw Tok Mae...

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi, Narrated AbuUmamah [Ibn Majah transmitted it.]

The Prophet stated that Allah, who is Blessed and Exalted, said "Son of Adam, if you show endurance and seek your reward from me in the first affliction, I shall be pleased with no lesser reward than Paradise for you."

http://muttaqun.com/sickness.html

After perhaps more than 5 years, Tok Mae lost in her battle against Cancer. She left us on Friday, 11th of March at around 7.15pm, around Maghrib, about an hour before her daughter, Umi Putri's solemnisation ceremony.
I finally realised that Tok Mama was actually rushing to see Tok Mae for the last time before they buried her the morning Tok Mama arrived back home. That's when all of us including me saw her for the very last time too.

Nonetheless, that very afternoon, Umi Putri's wedding went on as planned. It was Tok Mae's wish that the wedding would go on just like any other normal wedding. It was afterall a celebration of lives - Tok Mae's and Umi Putri's new life with Uncle Irsyad.

Mommy told me on the very same day that Tok Mae is no longer in pain and she is now in a beautiful place with Allah. She said that although we all really loved her so dearly, Allah loves her more.
He has 'lent' Tok Mae to us for years and He has every right to have her back.

I'm grateful that I had the chance to know Tok Mae and that I have memories of her with me.
She'll always be in my and everyone else's hearts. Perhaps someday I'll understand better and I'll be able to tell my future siblings about a woman I once called Tok Mae.

May her soul rest in peace amongst the blessed and chosen ones.

Al-Fatihah.

These are just some memories that we have of her in our albums.
As you can see, Tok Mae was quite camera-shy..

Guess what...?

2011-03-18T14:50:00.000+08:00

I have great news!

I am going to be a SISTER!!!

Yes, it's confirmed!

I went with Dadda and Mommy for our first check-up. After the long wait for our turn to go in, we finally got to see Dr. Nora, the doctor who delivered me almost 3 years ago! Of course I was delighted to see her (and err... the toys in her room...) and so was she. We even took pictures together.

Then, I saw my future baby sister or brother on the screen!
Well, at least, I saw the heart beating. It was so tiny.

According to Dr. Nora, this baby will be born in October. Estimated due date : 21st October.

I'm so excited! I can't wait to have a sibling.

So this is an official announcement. As of this moment, Mommy is 2 months pregnant!

Will keep you updated :-)

Please pray for Mommy & my new brother or sister inside her tummy..

My CNY Holiday

2011-02-23T23:42:00.000+08:00

This is long overdue...

As some of you may have known, I had spent my Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday all around the East Coast of Malaysia. This was because one of Mommy's cousin got married to a Kelantanese and they had their wedding on the 2nd day of CNY.

We started our journey on Wednesday, 2nd of January morning. I had to wake up early that morning to get ready. As soon as we're ready, we all jumped into the car. Tok Abah was driving.

On the way, we stopped at a McDonalds on the highway for breakfast.

After that, we continued our journey.

Our first destination was a resort owned by the company Ayah Ngah works for.
He had made the bookings for us about a week before our trip.

We had a bungalow all to ourselves.

That night, everyone was tired so we went to the nearest mall and had dinner there. I had pasta and warm milk and it was delicious.

The next morning, we walked over to the resort's cafe to have our breakfast. I went in my pyjamas.

And we met Mak Lel, her brother and his family there too. They too were going on a holiday trip and decided to stay the night there.

After breakfast we packed and got ready to continue our journey. Next destination - Kuala Terengganu. At the gallery where they sell the famous Malaysian Batik and silk we met up with the rest of the troops - Nek Wan and gang. They went ahead after that to another shop while we had our lunch by the river.

After lunch we were all set to head straight to our final destination, Kelantan. It was another loooong journey and I slept most of the time.
Over there we checked in at a hotel Tok Abah had booked prior to our trip.

Tok Noor and Tok Uda were there too along with their family.

That night, Tok Abah took us all out for dinner at a place called Tarbush but Tok Jah had secretly asked Tok Noor to pay for everyone.
So, dinner was on them. Thank you Tok Noor and Tok Jah!

Next morning, after breakfast we headed to a very close friend of Tok Mama's family, Wan Ani and Tok Amin's house about a half an hour's drive from our hotel. That afternoon, Mommy's cousin, Pak Long Ayush were to have his solemnisation ceremony with his new bride, Aunty Yan. Pak Su was his Best Man.

The solemnisation ceremony went smoothly. The reception was held the next morning.

Immediately after the reception ceremony, we headed straight back to KL because Tok Mama had to catch a flight to Frankfurt the next day.

We had a short stop over at Primula Beach Resort, Kuala Terengganu where everybody else was staying the night before continuing on their journey back.

After that, Tok Abah drove all the way back to KL and it took us nearly 10 hours to reach KL because of the bad traffic jams along the way.

All in all, it was a very tiring, hectic yet fun-filled holiday for all of us.

The Ram and the Rat are in me..

2011-01-20T17:17:00.003+08:00

I was born on the 10th of April so that makes me an Aries, just like both my grandmas.
This is what I found on Aries babies on the internet:

Get ready for the ride of your life this little soul is a powerhouse of energy and talents. Active is the keyword, and fearless too, so remove tall objects once climbing is mastered or attach a bungee cord for safety's sake. Innate confidence and natural leadership abilities can lead to success in a myriad of fields. Discipline is needed, but not so firm that it breaks her spirit.

And here's another one: The Rambo of the play group has arrived!

With an Aries baby around, you can expect lots of action and activity in your midst. Don't expect this tot to sit still with a rattle -- it just won't happen. The Aries baby is one who makes a lot of noise and will definitely be heard. There's really no choice!

As a Fire sign, the little Ram will be dynamic and always up to something. Will this be a tough baby to deal with? More than likely. To that end, parents would be wise to show this child how to work with other babies early on. Things such as sharing won't come naturally, they must be learned. Even where siblings are concerned, the Aries child won't be a walk in the park.

What the Aries baby may want most of all, however, is attention, so parents be well advised. In a play setting, the Aries tot will easily get the attention of others on their own. This baby will also start many things early, the better to get to the finish line, so to speak, in a hurry.

To sum up, the Arian baby can be quite independent but enjoys interacting with others. This baby is a fairly physical child and craves constant stimulation. They will be ready from day one!

According to Mommy, I'm everything like the description above, although the fearless part is not really showing at the moment. Ok, ok... I might be quite a challenge sometimes but isn't that supposed to be good? It shows, that I have a strong head on my shoulders, right?

'Strong Head'

Anyway, Arians are born anytime between March 19th to April 20th (more or less) and the symbol for Aries is The Ram.

However, the year I was born, 2008, was the year of the Rat, according to Chinese horoscope. Apparently, I am an Earth Rat, although I'm not entirely sure on how you determine that.

So according to the Chinese horoscope I love to be loved and cuddled. Rat babies tend to depend tremendously on their parents, but later in life they develop natural leadership qualities. During their baby years, Rats mature slowly, but gain momentum as they become toddlers. Eventually, they begin to exhibit active mentalities, so, in the early years, plenty of sleep is necessary (no wonder!).

In school, the young Rats are eager to learn. It is then, too, that Rats begin collecting things, and like to fill their bedrooms with pebbles, shells and keepsakes of every kind (oh my, Mommy's gonna have a headache!). Generally, young Rats are smart little people who are artistic and literary students.

Showing off my artistic abilities..

They are well-rounded and many of them do well in sports, too. Being born in the first sign of the Chinese horoscope motivates these children to be pioneers and gives them a need to be first in line.

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My sporting ability recently @ the Family Trip! :)

So, I don't know how Rams and Rats are supposed to connect and neither do I know whether I'm more of a Ram, a Rat or both equally (or if that is even possible?). Last year, it was the year of the Tiger, Tok Abah's year.

This year, when Chinese New Year comes, it's going to be the year of the Rabbit - Tok Mama's year!

It's a long way to go to another year of the Rat.

Whatever it is, I guess I am a perfect example of a RamRat!

HAPPY 2011!! Ending 2010 with a FireFly family trip..

2011-01-07T10:59:00.004+08:00

Hi everyone! Happy New Year!
How's 2011 looking so far?

So, I went back to school on Monday. After more than a week of holiday, honestly, I really didn't feel like going back to school. Tried my luck telling Mommy that I didn't want to go to school on Monday morning but she said that I had to and she and Dadda had to go to work. So, with a heavy heart, I let her carry me to the car and Dadda sent me to school.

I wonder if my friends felt the same too. Or were they excited having to go back to school after such a long holiday? I was happy once I was in school though, because all my friends were already there. Some of them stopped coming to school once the official school holiday started more than a month ago. Even my headmistress, Teacher Zana, who went on confinement leave since about 2 months ago was finally back.

Owh, I actually wanted to tell you about my holiday trip. We went to see fireflies with Dadda's family (the usual annual PJ Family Trip).
We went on the 26th of December. On the way there, we stopped by at a place called Bukit Melawati to check out some historical sites.
We had to take a train ride up the hill. Once we reached at the top, we went to visit the museum there.
After that we played with some monkeys while waiting for the train back down.

After lunch, we continued our journey to the hotel and rested for a while. That night, after dinner, we went on the boatride to watch some fireflies. There's only one kind of tree that the fireflies like and you can find this tree along the river, all the way for about 28km apparently. It was such a beautiful sight. Imagine Christmas trees all along the river banks and they go on for as far as your eyes can take you.

The place where we stayed & watched the Fireflies;

The boatman then purposely took our boat near one of the trees and brushed the leaves gently. All the fireflies started flying around us and some came into the boat and on our hands and palms. We were all laughing excitedly. Some even followed us back to the dock. When we finally went back to our rooms, freshened up and changed into our pyjamas, I sat and watched Mommy, Dadda, Tia, CuNa, CheAh, Ayah Ngah, Abang Iky and Kak Miza played a game called Taboo until it was time to sleep.

The next morning, after breakfast, it was time to play games. We started off with Ayah De's game which was kinda like the Amazing Race.
There were 3 games for kids which I took part and got 2nd place in 2 out of the 3 games played.
One was a puppet game and the other was carrying a ping pong ball in a spoon game.

My pictures during games;

Me 'posing' with my cousins during prize giving ceremony;

Oh yeah, we were the overall CHAMPION! :)

We checked out at around 2pm and had lunch at KFC on the way back.
That night, Che Ah treated us to some pizzas in PJ.

I'm sure you can tell that I had a great holiday and that was the reason why I wasn't really keen on going back to school, hehehe...

p/s: there were sooo many great pictures from our family trip, the next post I will let you feast your eyes on them one by one! ;)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

2010-12-24T13:04:00.004+08:00

Here's wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy Blessed New Year!
Hope the new year will bring you lots of happiness, joy and more achievements.

Looking forward to more exciting things next year!

Au revoir 2010!
See you next year!

Love love,

Nadyne...

Eid-ul-Adha &; ehem ehem... shh...

2010-11-28T20:12:00.002+08:00

It seems like I'm only talking about Eids here. I'm so busy nowadays that I could only talk about big events right now (yeah, right!).

Anyway, of course, Eid-ul-Adha came and went. I'm sure you know that I'm going to say it was fantastic and all that but the truth is, I've had better ones. Eid, that is.

Helping out Mama melapah daging.. Help 'tengok' ajer..

This year, Eid-ul-Adha fell in the middle of the week on a Wednesday. That made it difficult for us to go anywhere unless Mommy and Dadda took extra leave days, which they didn't. So, we went back to PJ and celebrate Eid with Mama and Papa. I did however got to see the korban at the mosque after the Eid prayer.

With Mama & Papa at the masjid where they had the ibadah korban.

So, enough about Eid. I've news to tell you! I heard that Tok Abah and Tok Mama are planning another umrah trip and Mommy has asked Dadda if she could go along. And guess what? She plans to take ME along! Oui, MOI! How exciting is that? Anyway, it's still a plan and nothing has been booked yet so I'm not gonna talk about it and jinx it.

But I'm really excited! That'll be another plane trip! Woohoo!

Will keep you updated.

p/s: Dadda also was fortunate to go through the Hajj experience back in 2006/07. Check out the album here!

Eid-ul-Fitri 2010

2010-10-30T20:28:00.002+08:00

Yes, yes... I know Syawal month came and went. I was just too busy attending all the open houses and weddings and other events. You know how it's like.

So, to sum everything up in a not-so-draggy post, I'll just let you feast your eyes on the photos we took during the month of Syawal.

This Eid, we spent our first day in Tok Mama's hometown in Rembau. On the eve of Eid everyone worked together to prepare some traditional food. They're a must for every Eid and have to be done according to Nek Wan's specification too! - Ketupat and Lemang.

Tok Uda was the one who had to look after the Lemangs since everyone was late (we also arrived later that night, after the Takbir at PJ)

The morning of Eid, Mommy and I got up and got ready as soon as the rest of the family left for Eid prayers.

When everyone came back from prayers, we gathered and took some pictures together in our red outfits (it's our theme colour this year).

Nana Belle gave this to me when we visited her in Scotland in April.

The 4 generations of women in my family.

With Mommy,

Mommy and Dadda,

Mama Lyana,

Wan Andak,

Wan Cu,

Tok Abah,

and Pak Su giving me a money packet.

Then, we went and visit a few relatives...

The next day, we went to Aunty Huda's house in Muar.

It is normal to have 'open houses' throughout the month of Syawal and we are encouraged to visit friends, old and new in this month too. So, we went to some relatives and friends' houses, especially ones that we don't get to meet often.

The first house we went in KL was Cu Jeed's house.

Her mom cooked and we tried Cu Jeed's kuih raya.

We also went to Aunty Abby's house in Putra Heights

and Tok Mae's

and Uncle Rosh's

and Aunty Ciah's (she did her daughter's birthday celebration too)

and finally, Uncle Ded's in Tropicana.

On top af all that, we also held our open house at Tok Abah's place in Subang Permai.

Did we have a good Syawal?
Yes, we did. We had a GREAT Syawal!
Hope you all did too!

Esok Hari Raya!!!

2010-09-09T17:25:00.000+08:00

I, Aryanna Nadyne on behalf of my parents Adzfar (Ed) & Ainul Aniha (Nia) would like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers and fans a;

VERY BLESSED AIDIL FITRI,

SELAMAT HARI RAYA &

MAAF ZAHIR BATIN!!

Esok Hari RAYA!!

Both Mommy & Dadda are just too busy preparing & packing my stuff.
I'm just excited to be celebrating my 3rd RAYA already..

Check out my past RAYA experiences here;

August Birthday Celebrations & Ramadan

2010-08-24T12:38:00.000+08:00

How's everyone's Ramadhan so far?

As usual, August is a month of celebration in our family because it's the month of Pak Su's, Tok Abah's and Mommy's birthday. This year, their birthdays happened to fall in the month of Ramadhan.

Pak Su's birthday was the day before fasting started so we didn't have any celebrations. Besides, we just had a Graduation barbecue dinner for him 2 weekends before. It was also sort of a farewell dinner for Pak Ngah Ajad who'll be flying of to Cairo, Egypt in September to further his studies.

Happy Birthday Pak Su @ Kayu SS2

Tok Abah's birthday was on a Sunday, 15th August, and it was the first weekend of Ramadhan so we had an Iftaar get-together on Saturday, the day before Tok Abah's birthday. All Tok Abah's brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces came to Princess Garden for the Iftaar. There were quite a variety of food to choose from and Tok Mama cooked her special Sweet n Sour Crab.
Yummy! It was the first time I tasted crab and I loved it!

After dinner, we prayed together and before the Tarawikh prayers, Ami Iqbal gave a short Usrah and talked about Solat. I prayed next to Mommy and after that played with Kak Alia. After the Tarawikh prayers, Mommy brought out Tok Abah's birthday cupcakes to celebrate his 60th birthday.
Mommy's friend Aunty Dilly joined us that night too.

Enjoying the Terawikh prayers!

Happy Birthday 60th Birthday Tok Abah !

Thank you Auntie Dilly for joining us!

A few days later, on the 17th, it was Mommy's turn to celebrate. She took leave from work and I was delighted because she told me the night before that I didn't have to go to school and I get to go out shopping with both Mommy and Dadda on her birthday. I remember waking up on Tuesday morning feeling really excited. I smiled the minute I opened my eyes and saw Mommy and Dadda still sleeping next to me. Right then I knew she was telling the truth when she said that I didn't have to go to school that day.

We got up, got ready and Pak Su arrived. He was to join us shopping too! Yippee! In the afternoon we came back for a while and Pak Su helped Mommy with the drill and put together some stuff. After Zohor prayers, we continued our shopping. That night, we had dinner with Tok Abah, Tok Mama, Pak Su, Adida, Mak Lel and Wan Ki at Shogun, Sunway Pyramid. All the August babies received their birthday presents there. Mommy got 2 pairs of tops and a pair of earrings. Pak Su gave Mommy a Man Utd gold shirt too!

Happy birthday Mommy! Look @ my smug look!

We love Shogun!

With my favourite aunts & Mommy's presents!

The month of August have always been a happening one. I'm now looking forward to shopping for Eid.

Happy fasting everyone!

Check out the albums here:

What I've learned in school so far...

2010-08-10T19:01:00.000+08:00

Just a quick update on what I've picked up in school since I started attending
CIC (Children Islamic Centre) slightly more than a year ago.

Of course I now know my ABCs and how to count 1, 2, 3 in English, Malay and Mommy taught me to count 1 to 10 in French too. Apart from that, I can now recite the doa before I eat and before I go to bed too.

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Nadyne singing the A,B,C..

My latest achievement this past couple of weeks (that I think Mommy and Dadda are so proud of) is to be able to join Mommy and Dadda when performing the solat and read the Iftitah and Al Fatihah in full.

And besides the usual nursery rhymes that everyone knows, I can also sing the 10 Malaikat (10 Angels) song. Don't believe me? Here's the proof...

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Nadyne solat - with doa iftitah & Al-fatihah
(the video a bit dark because we used Dadda's handphone camera)

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Nadyne singing the 10 malaikat song..

SELAMAT MENYAMBUT RAMADAN AL-MUBARRAK & BERPUASA!!

Football fever and some other...

2010-07-23T15:50:00.003+08:00

Yes, yes... I know I've been really slow in updating this and it's been quite a while now.
Well, what can I say...? I wish I could blame it on the World Cup but really, it was not just that.
It was a whole bunch of other stuff that has been keeping all of us occupied...

But who am I kidding? Of course it was mostly because of the World Cup!
All of us had very little sleep in the whole month of June and early July because of this phenomena that is REALLY new to me but even I got sucked into it!

Mommy, Dadda, Tok Abah, Tok Mama, Pak Su, Adida (Aunty Huda) and everyone else's life had revolved around it. Even Mommy came back from work on time everyday!
We had to make appointments and inform everyone before hand whenever we meet or have family gatherings but once World Cup started, our schedule automatically became one.
We didn't have to call each other to ask. When the time came, we drove over to Subang Permai (which I call 'Princess' Garden') and everyone will be there. It was amazing!

When it was over, we felt a little bit empty and it took a bit of an effort to go back to our normal, pre-World Cup life routine. Fortunately, knowing my family, there were already strings of activities to be done right after. We were juggling between the matches and attending all the June weddings and on top of that, celebrated Dadda's birthday and Mommy and Dadda's 3rd wedding anniversary during the weekends. World Cup came and went and then came the family events...

Peace!! Happy Birthday Dadda!

First there was a small gathering at Tok Mae's house to prepare for Umi Putri's engagement ceremony. In the Malay culture, before we get engaged, we'll have a small get-together to discuss and get to know the future in-laws. Two weeks ago, Umi Putri's engagement ceremony was held at Tok Mae and Tok G's house in Taman Melati, a month after the small gathering.
And then, it was Umi Aida's turn to get engaged. The ceremony was held last Sunday in Tok Amaz's and Tok Pah's house in Seremban. It was a humble but fun and joyous evening for all of us.

My smug look!

With the lovely couple, Ummi Put & Uncle Irsyad..

Enjoying the Dadih!

These had happened on every single weekend of June and July so far and it's not about to end!
Next weekend there will be Nek Wan's tahlil for arwah Nek Tok in Rembau.

Then, Pak Su's convocation will be on the final week of July which we will celebrate with a barbecue party with the whole family on the 31st of July. That'll leave us with only 1 weekend before Ramadhan and fasting starts. I heard that we might have something to do on that one last weekend too.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

I'm also anticipating my Ramadhan weekends to be filled with buka puasa (breaking fast) event and gatherings right on till Eid and even then, my Eid weekends will most likely be filled with open houses too!

Phew... what a great and hectic 2 year old life I'm having... but I LOVE IT!

Some pictures are here;

Dadda's 31st Birthday

Putri Narrima's Engagement 10-07-10

Will update more soon.

Mother's and Father's Day

2010-06-27T16:39:00.000+08:00

This post is waaay too late... but I'm writing a short one about it anyway.

Here in Malaysia, we celebrate Mother's Day every 2nd Sunday of May and Father's Day every 3rd Sunday of June (I initially thought it was 2nd Sunday of June). I don't think it's worldwide, every country celebrates them at different times.

This year, we celebrated Mother's Day on the 9th of May at Chilli's Bangsar with Tok Abah, Tok Mama, Pak Su, Aunty Huda and Mak Lel. We had to wait quite a while to get a table that night because I guess everyone was celebrating but it was worth it. Tok Abah was the one who treated us all to the wonderful dinner. We were so full that night and had lots of fun! Just look at everyone's faces, hehe...

Loot at my 'garang' face!

Special kisses to Mommy!

Another smack on Tok Mama!

My usual 'mammam' pose!

A couple of weeks ago, on the 20th of June, we celebrated Father's Day at Grandmama's in Pavillion, KL. This time, it was Mommy who paid. Tok Mama, Pak Su and Aunty Huda joined us too. It was actually a last minute planning as everyone was very busy during the day. Tok Abah, Tok Mama and I attended a wedding, Mommy had a work event, Dadda had to work and at night, there was football as the World Cup season has started.

So Mommy had called Tok Abah and Tok Mama after her event to organise things and finally everyone rushed back home, changed (we didn't even have time to take a shower!) and Dadda drove everyone straight to Pavillion, KL.

We all agreed to have an early dinner and rush home for football right after so by 10pm, we were already back at home for the football match between Italy and New Zealand. Although everything happened so fast, we really had fun and I'm pretty sure everbody had enjoyed their food.

Dadda's birthday coming up soon.
I wonder what Mommy and I should get for him...

My First Trip Overseas... Part III

2010-06-21T14:17:00.001+08:00

After spending 4 days in Edinburgh, we finally came back to Uncle Keith's in Cheltenham on Tuesday, 27th April. On the way back from the airport, we stopped by at Tesco to buy some food and stuff to bring back home to Malaysia.

The next morning, Uncle Keith drove us to Abingdon because Dadda had some things to sort out and we also went to visit Dadda's old school there. A couple of students took us for a mini tour around the school compound but unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos in the school premises.

From Abingdon we went straight to Coventry to visit University of Warwick where Dadda went to study. We bought some souvenirs at the university shop and then headed straight to Aunty Dij's house about 5 minutes drive from the campus. I played with her kids and we had dinner there too. She was expecting us so she had prepared some really delicious food.
Even Uncle Keith had enjoyed the rice with chicken and lamb (or was it mutton?)...
Yum...! Thank you Aunty Dij!
We then drove back to Cheltenham later that evening.

Search Amazon.com for toys r us

The next morning Uncle Keith dropped us at a huge Toys 'R' Us while he rushed off to the office for a while to settle some things. Around noon, he picked us up and drove straight to Aunty Shaly's house in Castle Cary, Somerset. Aunty Shaly too had been expecting us so she had prepared Chicken Rice which we happily ate once we arrived as we were already starving.

After the meal, we went to Stourhead Garden and it was breathtakingly beautiful! Just have a look at the pictures and you'll know what I'm talking about. Sadly, we had to leave later in the evening as we were leaving for home the next day. Mommy and Aunty Shaly promised to see each other as soon as Aunty Shaly comes back for labour or confinement later this year.

On Friday morning, Uncle Keith dropped us off at the bus stop where we took the bus to Heathrow Airport to go back to Malaysia. I was really sad to leave Uncle Keith but was also happy to go back and meet Tok Abah, Tok Mama, Papa and Mama for I had really missed them dearly.
Uncle Keith had really, really helped us a lot while we were there.

Thank you so much, Uncle Keith! Hope to see you again, maybe in Malaysia real soon!
I waved goodbye to Uncle Keith from the bus and after a few hours we reached London.

Our flight was scheduled at 10pm so we had plenty of time to go around London. Mommy and Dadda left our bags at the airport and then we took the underground train to the central of London.

We walked around to look for souvenirs, had lunch at Dadda's favourite kebab store; Taza Kebab, met some of Dadda's friends and finally boarded the plane at around half past 9, but not before Mommy shopped at the duty free shops, hehe...

Mommy had made me change into my pyjamas before boarding so I could go to sleep right after my meal and wake up just a couple of hours before landing to have my breakfast (although it was around 6pm in Malaysia when we arrived).

When we finally landed in Malaysia, Tok Mama, Mak Lel and Pak Su were already outside waiting for us while Tok Abah waited in the car. They were delighted to see me finally running out of the Arrival hall, still clad in my pyjamas.
That night, we unloaded our suitcases and presented everybody with their souvenirs.

So, that was my first overseas trip. I hope I will never forget but if I do, I have these posts and pictures to remind me. I hope to see everyone I saw during my trip again, someday.
I really, really had fun on my trip.
Owh, and I also bought some shortcakes for my friends and teachers in school.

Thank you Dadda, for taking Mommy and I for an unforgettable trip far, far away from home...
We love you!

My First Trip Overseas, Part II

2010-06-01T14:24:00.017+08:00

Sorry it took quite a while for me to write this sequel. I've been pretty busy...

Anyway, so we flew to Edinburgh on Saturday morning (24th April) from Bristol airport. Our flight was at 7am so we had to wake up early and be on the road by 4am! Uncle Keith drove to Bristol airport and left his car there. We arrived around 8-ish and Granny Glenda was already waiting for us!

We then went straight to Granny's house in Dalgety Bay where Pops Pete was waiting for us and there were a lot of toys, especially Thomas, for me to play with!
Of course I was so delighted to see them.

Later in the afternoon, after we had our lunch, Granny took us out for some grocery shopping at a nearby Tesco and then went straight to a park in Aberdour. We played for a while and then went back home to rest. When we arrived home, Aunty Jill was already there waiting for us with her sons, Torin and Arlo. We played, ate and watched Thomas and Friends together before getting ready to go to bed.

The next morning, we had breakfast and immediately got ready to go to Bathgate for Aunty Rachel and Uncle Steve's wedding. Aunty Rachel is Mommy's friend. They knew each other when Mommy went to school in James Gillespie's, Edinburgh, ages ago. So, this is the whole purpose of our trip to UK.
Needless to say, we really had fun at the wedding which lasted forever!

Uncle Keith drove us there at noon and came to pick us up later in the evening. The event lasted till the wee hours of the next morning but of course, we didn't stay that long.

Monday morning, Granny drove us (Dadda, Mommy, Uncle Keith and I) to a shopping mall in Edinburgh to have lunch with Aunty Jill and Nana Belle (my other Scottish granny). Everybody had a lot of catching up to do so I had to keep myself busy with whatever that was around me! Thankfully, that restaurant was real 'kids friendly' where it had toys and finger food to keep me entertained.

After lunch, we went to the Edinburgh castle with Uncle Keith (because Mommy had admitted shamefully to Dadda that in all the time she stayed in Edinburgh, she'd never been to the castle! What a shame, Mommy!) Dadda had been to the castle when he went to visit a friend years ago so he promised to take both of us there. It was so windy when were at the castle compound that I fell asleep most of the time.

I only woke up when we stopped to have tea at Queen Anne's cafe somewhere inside the caslte area. After that, we took a walk around town, went into a bookshop and several souvenir stores and then headed home by bus. Oppss, I forgot, we also had an early dinner at the famous Kebab Mahal!

The next day, we went back to Edinburgh town to meet up with the newly weds. We arrived at the bus station, took a tour bus and got off halfway through the tour and walked all the way to
Mommy's old school, James Gillespie's High School, where we met Mommy's headteacher, Mr. Wallace (he was the Assistant Headteacher then). We stayed for awhile and talked to him, took some photos and walked back. On the way, we stopped to take pictures at Pak Su's school, Sciennes Primary School and the apartment where Mommy and Pak Su used to stay with Tok Mama.

Our final stop was Aunty Anna's shop called The Covet. Aunty Anna's one of Mommy's school friends too. She owns a very 'posh' shop which sells leather goods such as bags, purse as well as jewelleries. We then had to bid farewell to Aunty Rachel and Uncle Steve Aunty Anna before taking the bus straight to the airport where Uncle Keith was waiting for us to fly back to Bristol.

Aunty Rachel and Uncle Steve will also be leaving for their honeymoon on Friday to Venice and board a cruise to go around Greece and later this year, they will probably migrate to New Zealand. Hopefully we will see them again, perhaps in New Zealand next time. Keeping my fingers crossed!

I really miss everyone in Edinburgh; Granny Glenda, Pops Pete, Nana Belle, Aunty Jill, Torin, Arlo, Aunty Rachel and Uncle Steve. I got a lot of presents from them, books from Granny, Pops and Aunty Jill and a lovely bracelet from Nana Belle. I didn't get to meet Aunty Jill's daughter, Rosa, though, because she was really busy preparing for her big exams.

Don't miss the next part!
I promise it'll be the last of the My First Trip Overseas Trilogy series.

It's going to be more interesting and more photos to look at too!

My First Trip Overseas, Part I

2010-05-15T11:34:00.003+08:00

I was looking forward to this trip since last year!
Finally, the day came when I had to wake up real early at 6am,
not to go to school but to get ready to go to the airport. Woohoo!

Days earlier, I heard Mommy and Dadda talking and worrying about our trip (they mentioned something about a volcano in Iceland?).
Mommy was really angry at the volcano and kept saying

"let us go there first and then you can erupt all you want and we can get stranded in UK but not here!"

I guess the volcano did somehow listened to Mommy and our flight were right on schedule.

Tok Abah, Tok Mama, Pak Su and Mama sent us off and at the airport, Umi Yoyoi walked with us right till the boarding room. She was able to do that because she's working there.

The flight to UK took about 13 hours. I had fun and really enjoyed myself on the flight. I played games, watch movies, ate and slept.

Finally, we landed. Mommy put me on the stroller we borrowed from Aunty Alma (because mine is too big) and walked out of the airport. Everything was normal till I felt the wind blew. It was really NICE and COOL! Wow! So, this is why we were looking forward to this trip...

Anyway, we then took the bus to Uncle Keith's house in Cheltenham. I think the journey took 2 hours. I slept all the way and when we finally got off the bus, it was already dark and it was freezing! We took a taxi to Uncle Keith's house but he wasn't home and had left the keys with his neighbour for us. We ate supper Uncle Keith cooked and left for us and slept.

Next morning, I woke up because I heard some noise outside our room. I thought I was dreaming but when I woke up and looked outside, there they were, lining outside the fence. I saw sheep in the field or meadow behind the house! I immediately serenaded Mommy and Dadda with my rendition of Baa Baa Black Sheep. I didn't realise that it was 6.30am because it was bright and sunny outside. I found out that the sun comes out early in UK, apparently. To my surprise, I woke Uncle Keith up too and he peeked into our room to wish us Good Morning, hehe... sorry about that, Uncle Keith.

So, when all of us were finally ready, we went down and Uncle Keith had fixed us some breakfast. He asked Mommy and Dadda of our plan. They said they didn't mind doing whatever Uncle Keith had planned for us. So, off we went to our first sightseeing tour with Uncle Keith.

We came to a place where there were lots of ducks and a river. It was beautiful. We walked around, had tea and scones and finally went to see a miniature village. Mommy said the name of that place is Bourton-On-The-Water.

After that, we went to a museum quite near to Uncle Keith's house. Mommy was the one who wanted so much to go there. She said the museum was the birthplace of a composer named Gustav Holst. I was asleep most of the time we were at the museum. By the time I got up, we were upstairs, somewhere, playing with old toys.

That night, Uncle Keith made Fish n Chips for tea and then after watching a bit of TV, we went to bed. Tomorrow's another big day. We have to wake up at 4am to drive to Bristol (which was about a couple of hours from Cheltenham) to take another flight to Edinburgh.

Why were we going to Edinburgh? That's the whole purpose of this UK trip. I'll tell you all about that in my next post... Stay in touch!