Mikhail: 6 Months Old

My Little Wan is 6 Months Old Today!
Hooray!

Half a year has gone by... It's really true, they really DO grow up too fast!

I look at Mikhail and I'm amazed at how big he is now. And I don't mean size.

He's a real, live, playful baby and I'm enjoying every single moment of it.
I love playing with him and reading books to him and watching tv with him... Basically, DO stuff with him.

It wasn't too long ago when all I could do was hold him and nurse him and that's it. When he was soooooo tiny and new, I was half-afraid I'd break him if I rocked him too fast or hugged him too hard. I barely even kissed him during the first few months of his life because I thought his cheeks looked too tender.

Now, Mikhail is my official teddybear.
He's hugged ferociously and smothered in smooches. His cheeks make great targest for kisses. His Daddy has a blast just rolling around with him and tickling him silly. We both live to hear Mikhail's infectious giggles.



I get asked this question a lot "What can he do now?"
Sometimes, this question is asked with a very serious look and I am half-tempted to answer "What can he do? Oh, he can speak 4 languages, do a somersault and bake a cake".

But no... I guess that's what all mommies face. People are just curious about the little one's development.

Okay... so, what does Mikhail do?

He loves clapping his hands these days.
He'll do it everywhere, even in the bath, where the claps will be followed by water splashing on his face. He'll clap at the most funniest of times, like the time his mommy came out of the shower, slipped and accidentally bumped her head on the door. Little Mikhail was clapping away like I did that whole thing as a grand show for him.

Mikhail also loves to grab his feet and attempt to put 'em both in his little mouth.

Sometimes he tries to suck his thumb and his toe at the same time... Like a baby's version of Nescafe 2 in 1.
Now not only do I have to deal with his drool dripping down his arms... his feet are soaked in 'em too.
The Makciks tell me that this is a sign...
'Mikhail nak adik tu... adik pompuan'.
How they interpreted foot-eating with that, I have no freakin' idea.
Makciks have interesting powers.


Mikhail had learned how to flip over on his tummy a few months ago, he now can spend a long time playing while on his tummy. But he has yet to master how to turn back on his back. I sometimes find him flailing his arms out like superman while grunting for someone to help flip him back on his back. My mom says it's not like he doesn't know how (he's done it before), he just likes having people flip him.
My Mikhail, the human pancake.

Mikhail has also inherited my preference for 'cool temperatures'. To put it bluntly, we both can't stand heat. We'd get all sweaty and uncomfortable and grumpy. Mikhail's worse than me... the fellow is REALLY berdarah panas. If we go somewhere just a teeny bit heaty, he'd be stripped to his nappy. My Mother-In-Law calls him 'Wan Kutub'. Heheheh!

So when we took him on a trip to Cameron Highlands, he was absolutely delighted.

At first, being the paranoid-freak mommy, I dressed him up warmly (okay, I may have overdone it with the fur-lined hat...) but after awhile, Mikhail got grumpy and I took off each layer till he finally rewarded me with a grin.

He had a lovely time sampling strawberries and feeling the cool breeze whip around his face.
We're definitely going there again one day.

Mikhail has a new face every week.
A few weeks ago, he had a perpetual frown on his brow.
A week ago, he had a habit of thinning his lips and sucking the lower lip in.

NOW, his new face is the perpetual-pout.
He'll pooch his lower lip out ala Angelina Jolie.

Even when he's playing happily in his crib, he'll have the poochy-pout fixed on his face. I take a lot of pictures of Mikhail and for the past few days, I can't get a single one without him pouting.
Can't wait to see what Mikhail's next new face will be like.

I can go on and on and on about Mikhail but I think this post is long enough.
Though I want to write about his first surprise trip to the movies (special movie premiere of Pirates plak tu), I guess it'll have to wait till next time.



Till then, Cheers!

Here's Mikhail giving his impression of Joey from F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

"How ya doin'?"

My 1st Mother's Day as a Mother

I know some people consider Mother's Day as a commercial ploy, soppy sentimentalism, "we should love our mother every day", bla bla bla...
But I've always used it as an opportunity to dedicate the day to my mother, either by a card, a thoughtfully chosen gift, flowers or any other suitable celebration.

And this year, I get to celebrate Mother's Day as a Mommy :)

I didn't think it would be a big deal.
I mean, Mikhail's only 5 months old and Wan seemed very busy the past few weeks, I doubted he had the time to even THINK about doing something, least of all actually DO it.

So I didn't get my hopes up at all. I was just looking forward to spending a lazy Sunday with my son and my husband.

The night before Mother's Day, I was busy at the laptop while Wan was fooling around with Mikhail. We were both amused at how hyper Mikhail was. Jumping, rolling and squealing away despite the fact that it was past his bedtime. But since he was not cranky and since Wan was happily entertaining him, I left them be.

At the stroke of midnight, Wan sneaked up behind me and I heard a soft scratching sound.

I turned to find him carrying Mikhail who was busily scratching at the tiny gift box and card clasped in his little fists!

I was completely surprised and took those items from him with a gigantic grin plastered on my face.

What made the moment even more comical was when Mikhail slipped onto my lap and his Daddy went "We surprised Mommy, give me five!!!" and quite promptly, the little guy raised his right hand to slap his daddy's palm.
I know it was just a coincidence but it was definitely a cute one!

After much gushing and 'oh-my-goodness' on my part, I finally read the card. It was a beautiful card made even more special with the touching words that Wan penned.
I may not actually BE a SuperWife and SuperMommy, but being described as such is still wonderful!

With eyes that were a little blurry (bergenang air mataku...) I took the little black gift box, sweetly tied with a little silver bow. Imagine my utmost surprise when I saw, lying on a black velvet cushion, a lovely white-gold bracelet with an exquisite charm in the shape of the letter M.

M for either Mediha or Mikhail or Mommy :)
A perfect gift for the occasion.
(Thanks sayang, you are brilliant!!!)

I absolutely LOVE this bracelet.
It's a simple, classic design and it carries great sentimental value.
My Totally-Unexpected-1st-Mother's-Day-as-a-Mother-gift is now my favourite piece of jewellery.

After putting the bracelet on and admiring how it gently glittered on my wrist, I turned to give Mikhail a hug and found him lying on the bed, rubbing his eyes, half-asleep.
The excitement must've been too much for him.
In less than a minute, the little guy was off to Dreamland.

The next day was spent pleasantly as well.
As a daughter, I woke up early and made my mother breakfast on the 'pangkin'.
As a mother, my boys took me out for a day on the town.

We went to 1 Utama in Damansara, just window-shopping and showing Mikhail the sights. Of course, he ended up with a few things :) Then I had croissants and coffee for tea with my husband while my son napped in his stroller.

We then went to see Wawa, Wan's youngest sister, at her hostel in SDU. After which, we headed towards home and stopped at Ampang Point for dinner.

There was a sale in the lobby; Mom's Care items slashed to almost 80%. Of course, we had to go scout for stuff for Mikhail. And of course, we ended up buying a few things, even though Mikhail can't use them till he's older (but they were great bargains!!!)

Then we had a lovely dinner at the restaurant upstairs (I felt like having a hot bowl of ball&vegetable noodles).

After stuffing ourselves silly, we headed home and spent the rest of the evening lazing about in bed, all three of us, while listening to Mikhail coo and babble and squeal and generally make a lot of noise while his parents chatted.

It may not seem like much to some, but to me, this was a P.E.R.F.E.C.T Mother's Day.

To all mothers out there, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, and may your journey of motherhood be filled with love, laughter and happiness for your entire family!


MIKHAIL'S MOTHER'S DAY MESSAGE TO THE WORLD