My Little Man

I always wanted a son.

This is something I’ve never really revealed… but it’s true.
I’ve always wanted a son as my firstborn child.
When I found out I was pregnant, I began to end my daily prayers with “I pray for a healthy, happy baby… boy.”
So when it was discovered that I was indeed carrying a baby boy, I was ecstatic!
I thanked God profusely for answering my prayers, and I still do.

Mikhail is my dream come true.
My answered prayer.
My blessing.

I keep having to tell myself NOT to be the kind of parent who force their child to be whom THEY wanted to be.
You see, when I was younger, I wished I was born a boy.

Boys seemed to have it all!
They could climb trees, get dirty and yell their lungs out and people would just bemusedly shake their heads and go ‘Boys will be boys’…
But if a GIRL did the same thing.
Hmph… kena cubit la gamaknya!

I was a rambunctious little girl.
Okaylah… I was a tomboy of sorts.
I had an aversion to all things girly and frilly (Barbie dolls were icky to me).
I wanted to do whatever the boys were doing... and MORE!
And I felt that a lot of my ‘adventures’ were thwarted due to the fact that I was a girl.

So... I’m going to be the kind of Mommy who allows her little boy to be just that… a little boy.

If he wants to climb the monkey-climbs upside down – go ahead.
If he wants to run up and down the street pretending to be The Flash – go ahead.
If he wants to paint his face with my lipstick and play Red Indians – go ahead.
Jump up and down and bellow “I can fly! I can fly!”? – go ahead.
Make mud-pies and fling them at the nearest tree? – go ahead.

BUT

If he DOESN’T want to do all that… and prefers to curl up with a good book under the shade of a tree instead of running around with newspaper-kites… I’ll be just as happy to oblige.
If he prefers to sit in his toy-room and play quietly… that’ll be great too.
If he is like his Daddy and doesn’t like getting dirty in the playground… it’s fine.
I’ll survive.

But there goes my new excuse to behave unladylike!
Hehehe…

I’m lucky my boy is surrounded by boys.
Male role models to look up to.
Boys to play rough-and-tumble with.

Mikhail has his Atuk to look up to and revere.
And he has many uncles.
I’ve got two brothers and Wan has three.
And ALL of my friends who were pregnant with me in 2006 gave birth to boys…
And those who are expecting again this year, have discovered that they’re carrying … you guessed it… boys!

So the outlook looks good for Mikhail.
Lots of buddies to hang-around with.
In the playground or the library… doesn’t matter to Mommy.

As long as he is my healthy, happy little boy, Mommy Diha is a happy mom!

Little Mommy in all her 'girlish' glory...

Mikhail messing up while eating his Calci-Yum. Mess some more, sayang... Mommy tak kisahhh...

Mikhail is rarely messy. He takes after his Daddy in not liking to play with dirty stuff. Goo and slime used to be a source of fascination for Little Mommy, but Mikhail scrunches his nose in disgust at such icky stuff.

When we go to the beach, he's fine once he's IN the water. But the sand, whether wet or dry, grosses him out. He just refuses to stand in it and when he gets sand on his foot, he'll examine it with great gravity and grunt until we clean it off.

I don't like sand between my toes!!!

Mikhail's Ayah Ngah (Wan's brother) is staying in Sarawak. On the rare occassions when he comes back to the Semenanjung, he spoils his nephew.
The last time he came to visit, he shocked us by bringing Mikhail a huge gift from the toystore. It was a billiard table! Complete with cues, sticks, chalk and balls etc.
Of course, being only 1 year old, Mikhail has to be content to watch his uncles play with his new toy. And the most he can do is bang the balls around. Which he does... with great delight.

'Ayah Ngah, thank you so much for this FANTABULOUS billiard table! Come back soon and play with me!'

Final gift at the airport... a frog-lolly.

'Ayah Su... for the last time... GET ME OFF THIS FROG! What IS it with my uncles and frogs?

Mikhail's Uncle Ayman is not at home enough to really bond with him. So Mikhail often greets him with a wary look... And while we chat with Ayman, Mikhail will continue to stare at him curiously. He allows Ayman to pick him up and play with him though. After a spell of staring.
His Uncle Irfan is his couch potato buddy. I think Irfan sees Mikhail as a very funny little source of entertainment. Mikhail's little quirks never fails to amuse him.

'Miiikhaaail... that's your 4th biscuit... Perut dah bulat dah niii...'

Nadia & Justin's little boy, Ian Harris Hashim, is an adorable character.
He's the most sociable baby I've ever met!
We don't meet up very often, but when we do, the boys are left to play on their own devices. Practice their social skills.

Boys and their toys: Mikhail & Ian

But for some reason, at our last playdate, Ian started to whimper whenever Mikhail came close to him. We were keeping an eye on the boys so we didn't see any mischief on Mikhail's part. Yet, Ian kept crying out whenever he saw Mikhail approach him.
Quite funny, really!

'Apa ni, Iaaaan... I didn't DO anythinggg!'

And here's Mikhail's favourite boy of all....
The Daddy.


'Do you love me or not?'
'Du-uh, Daddy...'

Almost-14-Month-Old Mikhail

My last post was on Mikhail's 1st Birthday. It's been almost 2 months since then without any updates. It's not that I have nothing to update about. I have TONS of things to share!

Let me try to make a quick update on what you've missed in this past 2 months...

Mikhail has learnt to walk.

I know this is a major milestone, and I wish I could tell you the exact date and situation where he took his 1st step.
But I can't.
He had been 'infecting' (walking while hanging-on to furniture) for quite some time.
He then proceeded to walk a couple of steps on his own... usually from one parent to the other, or from the couch to the TV-stand.
Then he just took more independent steps... and more... and more... and TADAAH!
He's walking.
I do remember that a few days before he seemed completely comfident in walking those many steps on his own, he had a fever.
My grandmother said that this was common for babies... 'Demam nak jalan'.
Feeling unwell... but STILL attempting to walk.

He had his 1st haircut.

It was unplanned. His hair was growing out in unruly curls and they were getting into his eyes. My grandmother had given us a stern warning NOT to cut his hair because she adored the curls. None of us were willing to take the role as his hairdresser... But the hair was really bothering him and I felt that he should at least have a trimmed fringe.

It just so happened we were at my mom's house when the hairdresser was there to cut her hair. So we thought "Heck! This lady's a professional! We'll get HER to trim the fringe... (and none of us will bear the blame... heheheh)'

So I promptly sat Mikhail in my lap, the smock was pulled over him, I held his head tight (my ultimate fear was having him jump up and the scissors poke his eyes... SHUDDER!) and Doris (the hairdresser) expertly trimmed his fringe.
Mikhail sat there in my lap, his eyes following each snip and when it was over, he promptly slid down and continued his toddler-adventures.

"This strange woman cutting my hair...Mommy's tight grip on my head... All that's fine... But the PINK smock???"

Mikhail is really playful now.
It's really a blessing that he got SO MUCH toys as birthday presents (Thanks Everyone!)
He can play like a big boy, instead of having to be entertained by us all the time.
I can actually leave him with his toys and he'll occupy himself for a long time before he wanders out to look for company.
He kicks balls, push the buttons on his laptop, sway to the music from his portable piano, jabber to his teddy, try to insert blocks into the boxes etc.

"Lots and LOTS of toys for lil' ol' me..."

But when he feels like quiet time, he'll grab his favourite picture book and head straight to Mommy. Then he'll sit in my lap and we'll enjoy a nice time pointing at the pictures and making up stories (Mikhail does all the pointing).

Mikhail pointing. "I want to play with YOU!"

Mikhail had his 1st Hari Raya Aidiladha which we celebrated with Wan's family in Putrajaya.

Early in the morning, we all headed for the Putrajaya Mosque for the prayers. I stayed in the compound with Mikhail while Wan joined his family inside the mosque. There was a LOT of people in the congregation. And quite a few who were in the compound as well (women waiting for their spouses, mostly).

Mikhail had fun toddling around and grinning at all the ladies.
He kept coming back to me and giving me a perplexed look, going "Da da?".
"Daddy's in there, Mikhail. Daddy's praying."
He would stare at me for a second and then flash his grin and continue on his quest to mengorat every makcik in Putrajaya.
"Salam Aidiladha! .... Where's my Daddy?"

Mikhail knows how to bergaya.

Sometimes, after his bath, I would show him to different outfits and ask him to choose. More often than not, he would always point to the one that I was hoping he would choose! Heheheh... Sama taste la kita!
He has a penchant for collared t-shirts and shorts as opposed to the Mothercare onesies. He also has a pair of tan sandals that he adores, and wants to put that on, even though it clashes with the rest of the outfit.

Wan and I have made a pact to go out for a family dinner every Saturday.
Our first one was to Tony Roma's in Pavilion.
Wan and I shared lamb chops and steak while Mikhail had a portion of mashed potatoes all to himself.
He behaved handsomely and scribbled with his crayons (which they provided) while we chatted and ate.

I think it's good to bring him for restaurant dining once in a while...
We also take him out to barbecues, parties, kenduris etc and have done so ever since he was born (after the whole pantang period lah).
I'm hoping it exposes him to good social skills and he learns to behave. Alhamdulillah, it seems to have worked. A few weeks ago, my parents took him out for lunch at Tarbush and came back with glowing reports on their well-behaved cucu.
Am praying this behaviour lasts!

Ready to head for dinner! (Mikhail's black turtleneck was a gift from Auntie Tracey; and he chose to wear it for that dinner date :))

Mikhail experienced his first Christmas holidays.

The songs, the Christmas trees, the lights, the santas, the cookies...
He was enthralled by it all.
We took him to see the singing tree at Pavilion (yeah, again :) we like it there!).
Mikhail swayed to the songs and we all were very impressed with the tree.
Who would have thought that they could construct a lovely white tree with spiral platforms for the carollers to sing on. Lovely.

(Before anyone bazookas me with 'You are so murtad for celebrating Christmas', allow me clarify that we do NOT celebrate Christmas but like any NORMAL person in a multi-racial society, we enjoy the various holidays)

We also went to Cherating with my dad's family during Christmas. Lots of swimming, football, eating and sleeping went on there. It was lovely to hang-out with the family... Watching my husband play football with my cousins reminded me of my childhood days... Not that he was around then lah.
In the hotel lobby, there was a cute Christmas tree with a cute Santa next to it.
Mikhail was very much curious about it. He poked its eyes, pulled the beard and tried to snatch off the hat. I don't think the Santa was very amused. Hehehe!
"Look! I'm BIGGER than this fellow!"

Mikhail has discovered his mischievous side.

This LittleWan's curiousity is growing day by day.
He has discovered that certain keys opens the door and others start the car. So now, he will take those particular keys and poke it at the relevant places... And if he wants to go out, he'll grab both keys and head to the front door.

He has discovered how to work the door latch. One evening, I was taking a shower while Wan and Mikhail were watching TV. When I was done, I tried to open the door and it refused to budge!
I had to bang on it for Wan to come rescue me. And when the door was opened, I was greeted by an innocent little boy, staring up at me with a great big grin. He had quietly left his Daddy's side, went to the bathroom door and pushed the latch to lock his Mommy in!
Bahaya... bahaya...

Mikhail has also discovered his bossy side
He would shove a fresh diaper in my lap whenever he has pooped. It's his effective way of demanding to be changed.
And when he's hungry, he reaches for his bottle and whacks it to whomever he deigns shall be his official susu-maker for the day.
If he wants to play with his toy trumpet (he can't blow hard enough), he will grab it and shove the nozzle to my mouth (Mommy's the designated trumpet-blower, apparently).

We take him out a lot. On weekdays, mostly, when the malls are not too packed with people. That's when Mikhail can run free on the shiny floors while Mommy and/or Daddy trail behind him to catch him before he jumps into the fountains or tugs at the security guard's pants.

I LOVE that my son is showing his own independent character... though I do get wistful over that fact that my baby is growing up...
Mikhail's Faraway Look... Hoping Mommy doesn't notice he's got his hands in the water.

Yeah... Our Mikhail is no longer a baby... He has his own independent character.
I can't bundle him up in my arms and snuggle anymore cause he'll only tolerate that for about a minute before he wriggles around, trying to escape so he can go play.
He knows how to communicate his wants (via pointing or mini-words like 'mamamam' for food and 'car' for going out).
And he's hilarious! I don't even know how to describe the hilarity but just watching him toddling around, doing his thing, amuses us to no end.
He refuses baby food now, and only wants 'adult food' - especially anything WE eat. I can actually order a McDonald's Happy Meal and he'll finish off half the stuff in it.
He recognizes the camera and often stops to pose for a picture when he sees us aiming it at him.
Cheeky Little Dude

But the more he grows up, the more he knows how to show his love and affection.
He showers us with slobbery kisses... and gives us squeeze-tight hugs.
His sleeping routine now does not involve cradling or rocking, but cuddling and rolling. We'll roll around in bed and he'll insist that we smooch him (right between the eyes, on the bridge of his nose) while he drops off to sleep.
He's a loving little fellow.
And we love him to bits.

Mommy's Boy - I love you sooo much, Mikhail!