Friends have all things in common. Plato (427 BC - 347 BC)

Being a first-time Mommy is such a pleasure, especially when you're surrounded by fellow 1st-timers. A lot of our friends have children of their own, mostly below the ages of two. It's great to have a 'support group' you can discuss the babies with. And it's also great when we get to meet up and introduce the babies to each other.

Living in a house full of adults, Mikhail always seems very excited and highly intrigued when he faces a fellow 'little one'. And whenever we have the chance, we try to set up 'playdates' for him. So far, he's enjoyed it very much and appears to be as sociable as his Daddy is.

Mikhail & Ian: ShyGuy and FlyGuy

Nadia is my oldest friend in the world. We're the kind of friends who can be thrown to different ends of the world, not be in contact for a decade but still be able to suddenly pick up from where we left off. We're as different as night and day so we don't usually see eye to eye on everything. Her tongue is as sharp as mine (maybe even sharper!) and I think she finds me as annoying as I find her sometimes... It's amazing how we haven't killed each other off! Heheh! But seriously, she's a gem. And she married a helluva nice guy.

Ian Harris Hashim is the firsborn son of Nadia & Justin and he is an extremely sociable baby! The second we met him, he gave us a brilliant grin that melted our hearts completely. And he kept on bestowing us with that grin all through tea-time! I swear, that kid is insanely friendly and it's such a wonderful trait to have!


Ian has amazingly strong legs! He was bouncing around ALL the time I was holding him. My arms had a great workout.

I think Mikhail was a bit taken back by Ian's initial friendliness. Mikhail kept looking at us with this perplexed look on his face. But it didn't take long for the boys to start talking to each other and taking turns grabbing at each others cheeks. Even the ladies at the table next to ours were amused.


Mikhail and Ian; as different from each other as their mommies are :)

But Mikhail seemed especially taken with Ian's parents though. He took turns sitting in Justin's lap, and then Nadia's. He kept giving them shy smiles and laid his head on their shoulders. Both Wan and I were bemused at his manja'ness.



Mikhail was very manja with both Aunty Nadia and Uncle Justin.

Ian is now Abang Ian as Mama Nadia is pregnant with number two. They're all very excited and quite frankly, so am I! Now I have a point of reference to ask if (when) I decide to have our own No.2 :)


Mikhail & Mish'al: The GoldFish Gang

Mish'al is Faraz and Dhafer's adorable little firstborn son. His very unique name reflects his very unique parentage. Got Malay blood, Arab blood, Kelantan blood, Singapore blood... Hehehe, the boy is a roly-poly bundle of exotic'ness (not sure if that's a word...)

Faraz and I spent our pregnancy days sharing pregnancy info... and now, we share infant info. Heheh! She's a great person and a great friend so I hope our sons end up good friends too :)

Mish'al, or nama glamer... Mishi, is sooo very very chubby! With pouty lips and a cheeky grin, he's definitely his parents pride and joy. I think Dhafer is especially proud since the boy is a spitting image of him! Faraz and I had exchanged several photos of our sons before we eventually met up. We both declared that each other's sons were chubby with poofy cheeks and ended up calling them The Goldfish Boys.

We finally met up in Secret Recipe for tea and the boys had a great time staring at each other and talking in secret baby-code while the mommies exchanged infant-info and the daddies talked about... whatever men talk about.

A pleasant afternoon with great company. We'll be doing it again soon, I bet.


Hello Mish'al! It's great to finally meet you. Heard so much about you... You ARE chubbier than me!


Uh, what's he doing Mommy? Mommy?


Like Fathers, Like Sons

Lots of Hellos!

To list down and describe all of Mikhail's 'playdates' would be a long and detailed affair. Suffice to say, he's met a lot of little ones and hopefully, will be meeting more. It's good for him to learn how to play with people his age instead of just the giants who surround him at home :)

Speaking of friends at home, meet Mikhail's two teddies.


Mikhail's Furry Friends...

The small fair one is named Aboo (named after Mikhail's first clear "words"... Abooooo). Aboo was the very first teddybear Mommy bought for Mikhail. Bought him in KLCC while Mikhail was still in my tummy at 7 months. Aboo had waited for the next 2 months sitting in Mikhail's crib. And from Mikhail's birth, they've been inseparable. The other guy is named Aboon. I forgot why though. I bought him coz I thought Mikhail has outgrown Aboo and might want a bigger teddy to hug. Yeah... right. From day one, Mikhail has shown nothing but contempt for Aboon. Only recently has he started being nice to him. And even so, he still obviously favours Aboo.

As a Mommy, I only wish the best for my son.
May he find great pleasure in friendship.
May he be surrounded by good people, sincere people... great friends.
May he be protected from poison-pals and hurtful hypocrites.
May he build, maintain and cherish a circle of friends that he can rely on and who can rely on him.


Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.
George Washington (1732 - 1799)