Pitter-Patter and All That

I won’t waste blogspace with justifications and excuses for not blogging for so long.
Suffice to say that procrastination attacks me too…

Wan Mikhail is now 1 Year 5 Months and 1 Week Old.
If I use the cliché that he’s the “light of my life”, I’ll also have to add that the light is positively blinding me.

I cannot believe how much he’s grown!
I know, I know… that’s clichéd too but it’s true.
It feels like just yesterday he was bundled up in the swaddling blanket, nursing in my arms and being burped on his Daddy’s lap.
It feels like just yesterday we were rooting for him as he tentatively crawled across the floor.
It feels like just yesterday we were waiting for him to take his first step.

Now, Mikhail has started to run.
With arms akimbo and his little legs making speedy pitter-patter on our floor.

A few weeks ago, Wan scooped Mikhail up in his arms and cradled him close.
“Lama tak pegang dia macam ni…”Mikhail lay quietly in his Daddy’s arms... for about 2 seconds, and then he started to wriggle.
“Alaa… Mikhail… Daddy tak puas la pegang Mikhail macam ni dulu…” says Wan, trying to keep the wriggling boy in his arms.
With a final wriggle, Mikhail squirmed free from his Daddy’s arms and ran towards his overflowing toy box. He grabbed his toy airplane and threw a look to his ol’Dad
“I’m not a baby anymore, Dude.”

Indeed, he isn’t.

Okay, in a nutshell, HOW IS OUR MIKHAIL A BIG BOY NOW?


He feeds himself; with minimal mess.
He uses the fork and spoon though occasionally, Mommy will swoop in and poke his food for him with the fork.

At our last family lunch in Cozy House at Great Eastern Mall, a lovely young Chinese mother couldn’t stop gushing over how well-behaved Mikhail was, eating his chicken chop with the fork and sipping water from the glass. She asked us how we trained Mikhail to eat on his own and we told her we just gave him the utensils and let him practice. She then asked whether he made messes. And we said ‘Of course!’
He’s a kid; he’ll make a big mess trying to grasp the mechanics of feeding himself. But once he gets the hang of it, they’ll be less mess.

Speaking of which, Mikhail has an odd quirk. He HATES messes. Even a tiny smudge on the table would warrant his little finger pointing to it with a high-pitch ‘Hmmm?’ and a questioning look darted to either me or the Daddy (usually me). And I’d have to wipe it off before he’d continue eating. If there's rubbish on the floor, he'll point to it with a disgusted look on his face and go 'Eeeeshhh eeeshhhh'
I KNOW he didn’t get that Monk’ ness from M.E.

He flirts.
This one you gotta see to believe it.
We initially thought it was just a coincidence that he’d give a lopsided shy smile to the pretty girls and tilt his head for a smooch. Then at shopping malls, he’d point to the marketing people giving out balloons and will ONLY take a balloon from the pretty girls. A guy offered him a balloon and Mikhail turned his face away, spurning the poor sap.

When we go out to eat, he’ll squirm down from his chair and make his rounds. Waving and smiling at all the ladies (and some men too…). Store-owners and stall-keepers would hand him freebies (he’s got lots of lollipops) and restaurant staff would give him extras (the mamaks at Pelita would always give him a plate of poppadum).

Last weekend, we were having dinner at Alamanda while Mikhail made his rounds. A young Arab couple stopped in their tracks and the man just PICKED MIKHAIL UP and gave him a bear hug and KISSED HIS CHEEK!
I was half-amused and half-appalled.

He watches TV.
Playhouse Disney, mostly. He’s a big fan of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and recognizes the characters whenever we see them around the malls. He dances to Johnny and the Sprites and does the actions with the Little Einsteins to fly the rocket.

But he also watches dramas.
And his face is a cacophony of emotions when he does. He’d smile, frown, pucker his lips… macam pahammmm jer.

But his favourite is always the advertisements. Especially the one with Fasha Sandha for Garnier, the Sunsilk one with Wardina, Nora Danish etc, the KFC one with the children, the Oligo Coco advert and all the others with pretty ladies and catchy tunes. Even in mid-bath he’d wriggle to get out when he hears that the adverts are on.

He shows his emotions.
My favourite moments are those where Mikhail sneaks up behind me and suddenly plants a wet smooch on my cheek with the requisite ‘Mmmmuahhh!” sound.

He shows anger or frustration by frowning and puckering his lips while making the ‘Hnnhhhh’ grunt. He indicates his impatience by clapping his hands together once and taking a step forward (usually when we’re holding onto something he wants).

And when he’s sleepy, he’ll grab his Abu-Bear and lay his head on the couch while pointing at the door to his room.

Yes, our boy is growing up.
I’m cherishing every second and I wish I had the time to document each and every thing. I’ll continually try to, I’m not giving up on this blog (or the diary/scrapbook that I have). But I’ll be sure to commit everything to memory. And remember the good bits during his terrible teens...

That’s all for now, folks.

More updates to come!
Pinky-swear.


Mikhail: Apple of Mommy's Eye