Raising a Toddler :)

Jotting down a few details where we've made a decision to keep our home with minimal furniture as possible to cater to our toddler's needs and of course, ensuring her safety.


FLOORING
Our entire house is installed with wooden flooring to soften the impact of our toddler falling on the floor as she loves to jump / climb and tumble. 

BATHROOM DOORS
Our bathroom doors are closed AT ALL TIMES so that she doesn't venture into the bathroom and decide to explore the things in there ie toilet bowl! On the other hand, it is for her safety too so that she doesn't slip / fall. I've been to houses where the bathroom doors aren't closed and the toddler/s are free to roam into the bathroom at any time. 


COFFEE TABLE
Nope, we don't have this in the house. We only have our toddler's activity table which comes with 2 chairs from IKEA. Quite reasonably priced and if you see the table's condition, it has gone through so many things ie painted on, stained, colored, decorated with stickers (some have been peeled off) etc.


LIVING ROOM
We try to make as much space as possible for our toddler to run around, play with her scooter / rides in the house.

It is easy for us as well to cater to play dates as the kids are free to roam around the house under the watchful eyes of adults.


SOFA
We only have one 3-seater sofa with washable sofa covers and I don't need to suffer from anxiety attack should anyone spill a drink / food / paint etc!

On the other hand, as above, the adults would more likely sit on the floor to join the kids play with the toys and interact with each other. 

Alternatively, the adults could also sit at the dining table to have coffee and conversation :)


STOOL
Easy for our toddler to brush her teeth in our bathroom as she'll insist to brush her teeth at the sink in front of the mirror (so she can look at herself and check-out her teeth) "Eeeeeeeeee" ... The stool is also useful as she's able to carry it around on her own ie to the sink if she wants to wash her hands before / after meals. We have 2 stools, one for the bathroom and another in the living room.


BEDROOM
One King-sized mattress and a toddler's bed side-by-side (same height). Easy for me to bf toddler till she falls asleep ... she'd normally start off by sleeping in her own bed. Come morning, she manages to find her way to snuggle in between hubby & me, hence the reason why we bought a King-sized mattress! 

NO bed frame ... as she's fond of using our bed and hers as a trampoline, on a few occasions, she'd fall off the bed but since we only use a mattress, it isn't that dangerous. Just the other day when her cousin sister came over (of the same age), she "invited" her cousin sister to join in on the activity! *aih!*


STORAGE SPACE
For her clothes / shoes / toys are organized in a way that is easily reachable for her. 


HIGH CHAIR
The chair which we place at the dining table makes it easy for her to join us for meals and very importantly, to recite our supplications before our meals, conveying our gratitude to God the Almighty in blessing the family with food.

This helps her to focus on finishing the course of her meals and when we go to a restaurant (or even a mamak shop!) she'll be the one looking for the baby chair ... on her own!

She'll also use this chair at hubby's workstation where hubby would be using the computer and she'll sit by his side using the iPad / coloring / cutting paper / etc.


HOUSE CHORES
We have a number of things which are easy for her to grasp / use whilst cleaning ie broom to sweep the floor after she's done playing / vacuum cleaner (the small one) which she can use to vacuum her little sofa chair from food crumbs, etc .


LAUNDRY
Our washing machine is a front-load so she'll help with putting in dirty laundry. She would occasionally "help" with folding the washed clothes but this doesn't seem to be her favorite activity. What she LOVES to do is to organize the clothes in the wardrobe! She'll move at a fast pace to complete this chore and ask for my help if she can't reach a specific drawer or she's not sure where the item should go.


Our way of making our home safe for our toddler ... to the best of our ability ... as we can't make it 100% childproof though our intentions are to make it so. 

Toddlers have their own intelligent brains working ALL THE TIME ... if they can't reach or grasp something using one method, they're almost ALWAYS able to find an alternative method, way beyond what our adult minds could even process!!!! :D

Majlis Perkahwinan di Pontian (Februari 2014)

Assalamualaikum! 

Hari tu balik kampung sebab ada wedding cousin :D

Memang seronok sebab tahu yang ramai akan balik dan berkumpul ... tak yah tunggu Hari Raya. 

Sampai je kat rumah arwah nenek :( [sebab dua2 atuk dgn nenek dah meninggal dunia, makcik dgn keluarga dia tinggal rumah arwah sekarang] hubby buat kerja dia dan saya pun sibuk amik camera amik gambar mana2 yg dah siap set-up (feeling lah tu macam pro camerawoman!) chewah ... sangat!

Paling best, pilihan deco pelamin dan bilik pengantin sangat lah sweet & simple ... SAYA SUKA!

Kita amik gambar dalam bilik jap:

Suka betul warna katil pengantin ni ... ni konon2 amik gambar dgn cahaya matahari sekali tu! Hahaha ... 

BAJU NIKAH ... hahaha sangat lah kan nak amik gambar dgn lighting kat belakang tuuuuuu

 suka suka suka!!! :D

Lari jap keluar rumah ...

Color theme utk majlis nikah adalah biru muda dan dijalankan di rumah pada hari Jumaat jam 10am.

Tempat bunga ni cantik pulak ... 

Masuk balik rumah amik gambar pelamin plak:

Disebabkan majlis private, saya amik gambar2 atas je lah ya. :)

Selesai sahaja majlis nikah dan makan tengah hari, kaum Adam bergegas ke masjid untuk solat Jumaat. 

Pada pukul 3pm pulak, ada majlis khatam Al-Quran untuk kaum Hawa sahaja ... kemudian makan lagi ... 

Lepas solat Isya', kaum keluarga dan sanak saudara bergerak ke Dewan Jubli Intan untuk set-up dewan bagi majlis resepsi hari berikutnya.

Dewan ni kosong ya ... maka pelamin kena set-up sendiri, meja2 & kerusi2 makan kena pasang sendiri, meja2 buffet line pun kena buat sendiri jugak. 

Pelamin di Dewan Jubli Intan, Pontian

Walaupun nampak macam banyak benda nak set-up, tapi sebab semua orang pun ringan tulang sambil diselit dgn lawak jenaka etc, kerja tu tak terasa bebannya. :) BEST SANGAT!

Disebabkan saya ada budak kecik, kitorang terpaksa gerak balik dalam pukul 12 tengah malam cam tu, nak bagi dia tidur sebab akan sibuk hari berikutnya. 

Hubby plak lepas je dah hantar kitorang balik, dia patah balik ke dewan untuk tolong apa2 yang patut.

Hari berikutnya ... 

Ahli keluarga semua sibuk menjalankan tugas masing2 ... dari pukul 11am.

Bila dah pukul 3pm tu ... terus bergegas ke satu2nya bilik yang ada hawa dingin yang agak kuat untuk mengerjakan solat Zohor. 

Ada banyak sofa kat situ makanya budak2 kecil boleh nap jap atau ibu2 menyusu boleh bf jap atau orang2 dewasa boleh solat jap ... Alhamdulillah.

Lepas solat, memang perut terasa lapar ... maka barulah dapat check-out buffet line ni! 

Apa yang penting, ada ice-cream!!! 

Budak kecik tu dah makan 4 ice-cream ... tapi dia makan atas je, bila dah stok nak cair je, hulur kat Ummi atau Daddy ... ish ish ish!

Haaa ... jangan tak tau, roti canai pun ada! 

Tebar pakcik, jangan tak tebar! hehehehe

Mamat yang tengah tu yang jual ice-cream, sangat peramah orangnya! Masa tu dia bawak 700 kon ice-cream ... sumer habis dalam kol 3pm cam tu... lakuuuuu ... :)

Macam sedeeeyyyy je akak tu en TAPI saya suka lah dome makanan macam ni! Suka! :D

Dalam kol 5pm tu, dewan dah nak kosong, tinggal ahli keluarga, sedara mara dan orang2 yang buat pelamin. 

Pasangan pengantin cepat2 amik gambar dgn kaum keluarga dulu baru bergegas keluar dengan photographer nak buat outdoor photoshoot. 

Kami pun bergotong-royonglah mengemas dewan dan mengerjakan solat Asar.

Siap sapu dewan dan basuh bilik air tu! Walaupun bilik air tu tak lah bersih sangat masa kitorang mula2 guna dewan tu ... :( sedih betul ... takpelah, bukan rezeki ... 

Dah siap packing sumer, beransur pulanglah kitorang dah nak dekat Maghrib.

Lepas je mandikan budak kecik tu, letak dia atas katil sambil tengok TV dan botol air kat tangan. 

Saya pun gi lah mandi jap ... keluar je dari bilik air, budak kecik dah tidur sambil mengenggam botol air kat tangan :) amboi senang betul dia tidur, Ummi tak yah bf pun! 

Solat Maghrib jap lepas tu landing atas katil tengok TV ... Daddy pulak buat kerja sikit pastu tidur ... maka dua beranak tu tidur Ummi tengok TV sampai tengah malam ... barulah dapat tidur ... 

Memang best lah buat kerja kahwin untuk sedara mara ni ... kitorang semua tengah tunggu sapa punya giliran pulak lepas ni ... tak sabooooo ... :D



Nota Kaki: 

1) Info lebih lanjut mengenai kadar sewa di Dewan Jubli Intan, Pontian, boleh rujuk di sini KADAR SEWA

2) Sekiranya kaum keluarga atau sahabat handai yang ingin menunaikan solat, bolehlah ke bilik VIP yang berhawa dingin terletak berhampiran dengan pintu masuk utama dewan. Elok juga dijadikan bilik menyusu untuk kaum ibu ataupun tempat istirehat bagi kanak2. Disebabkan bilik itu banyak betul sofa yang besar2, kenalah bekerjasama sikit untuk susun atur sofa bagi meluaskan kawasan di dalam bilik.

3) Dewan dan bilik air perlulah dibersihkan sebelum majlis bermula dan selepas majlis selesai. Bilik air besar kemungkinan berada di dalam keadaan yang kurang selesa atau mengeluarkan bau yang kurang enak jika tidak dibersihkan terlebih dahulu. Di kawasan dewan ni tiada bilik solat jadi tempat untuk mengambil wudhu' hanyalah di bilik air ini. 

4) Bagi yang mempunyai kaum keluarga yang datang dari jauh dan ingin mencari tempat bermalam, disarankan juga untuk pergi ke Pontian Garden Hotel . Hotel ini terletak tidak jauh dari Hotel Pontian dan bersebelahan dengan restoran Marrybrown. Boleh dapat diskaun kalau tetamu Pontian Garden Hotel berkunjung ke restoran ini. Buffet sarapan juga disediakan. 


Semoga maklumat di atas berguna untuk sesiapa yang ingin melangsungkan majlis di Dewan Jubli Intan, Pontian, Insya Allah :)

Toddler's Hiding Place

Our toddler is turning 3 yo soon.

The ONE thing we've managed to figure out is her favorite storage space to hide her toys!

Last Monday, her cousin sister came over so they played with the toys and of course, by the time she left the house, her parents had helped clean up the toys to the best of their ability.

Here I was, trying to find some of her toys to keep them in the usual place so it was easier for her to find in the future.

I noticed that her crayons with caps were scattered around her doll house and some were discovered under the sofa ... But I couldn't find the crayons anywhere!

Some of her toys were missing too so I was searching high and low for them! 

I tried looking for the stuff again today, under covers, under the bed, in the laundry basket ... Even the dustbin! To no avail.

I then finally decided to ask my daughter, "Baby, have you seen your crayons? Ummi can't find them!"

She happily said, "Over here, Ummi!" and brought me to her car where she happily opened the cover of the seat!

Lo and behold .... ALL of her crayons and missing toys were in the storage space! 

This was the FIRST time ever that I haven't been able to find her toys! 

I quickly grabbed her and suffocated her with kisses! Too cute!

Hubby did mention too that he noticed her opening and closing the cover but had no idea what she was up to!

I texted him, "In the event you can't seem to find the TV remote or anything, look for it in her car!"

:D

Toddler Development at 2 years & 8 months

Alhamdulillah!

Our toddler is 2 years & 8 months old, still bf!

I must admit, it DOES get frustrating at times! Especially when I wake up in the morning and suffer from severe back aches due to bf for an extended duration. huhuhuhuhuhu

Despite this, we feel extremely blessed with our toddler's development! 

She watches TV series such as Bubble Guppies, Umizoomi, Dora the Explorer, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Super Why and Word World, amongst others.

We consistently have conversations with her and she responds accordingly, we don't really have baby talks with her ... as far as I could remember.

I must admit, her vocabulary at this stage is even more advanced than when I was at her age! Hahahaha ... ie acorn, squirrel, supermarket, camping, building, crown, magic wand, witch, etc ...

She's able to identify colors and even counts to 40 ... with some assistance to transition between x9 to x0 :D

In terms of her choice of toys, she doesn't really play with dolls but prefers blocks and activities which requires skills ie using a pair of tongs to pick up cotton balls and transfer them into another container.

Of course, she's one active toddler, can't sit still and would run around the house at every given opportunity until and unless you give her a task to complete :)

She's incredibly helpful in terms of completing house chores such as doing the laundry, folding the clothes, keeping the folded clothes in the wardrobe, cleaning up the mess and her toys, arranging things etc.

She's very observant too! At one time, she was helping Daddy bake some bread. Daddy had set the dough aside and wait for it to rise. She immediately went to the kitchen drawer to take out a clean cloth and covered the dough. :) Not to mention that she'd take out her apron and Daddy's too before they start baking together.

On another occasion, I was watching a heart-wrenching video so I did cry a bit. She saw me cry, took my face in her hands, kissed me on the lips & face then wrapped her little arms around me ... aaaaawwwwwww what a super sweet moment!!!

Recently, her cousin sister came to visit the grandmother. Since I stayed very close by my parents' house, I brought her to my moms.

Initially, the cousin sister (4 months younger), didn't want to play with my toddler, haven't warmed up to us yet. 

So my toddler took a book where they had animals printed on them and asked the cousin to join her to read. 

Cousin wasn't interested.

She was persistent in coaxing the cousin to play with her ... so I helped out a bit. 

I took the animals and started making animal sounds, asked my toddler to make them too. Then we played with the animals and made the animals run / hop / jump etc.

Not long after, the cousin sister joined us both to play. 

We then moved on to a dancing session since both of them immediately had their attention distracted by "High-5" which was playing on TV. 

So there I was, dancing and jumping with 2 young toddlers ... and laughing too!

There was this one time where the cousin sister spotted my brother's guitar and started to play with it. So I decided that all 3 of us sat down to play with the guitar. 

Suddenly, my daughter exclaimed "I know!!!" and she rushed to the coffee table and took a cloth belonging to her cousin. My toddler wiped off the saliva from the cousin's mouth and when she was satisfied, placed the cloth back in its place. 

I had then asked both of them to drink water. My toddler went to the coffee table again and grabbed my bottle and the cousin's, handed it over to us then only grabbed her own bottle and all 3 of us started to down the water. :)

Once done, my toddler willingly collected the water bottles from us and helped arranged all 3 bottles on the coffee table. 

During meal time, my toddler took her own baby chair and set it at the dining table (with my help, of course). 

Her cousin sister had also dragged a stool and sat next to us. 

My toddler was eating thosai and she started to feed her cousin sister too! 

To return the favor (I guess), the cousin sister offered water from her water bottle and handed it to my toddler. :)

Throughout their playtime, they managed to share their toys (well, mostly my toddler shared her toys with the cousin) and I would occasionally step in to help if they started to have their squabble.

My sister still baby talks with her daughter so we couldn't really hear her pronounce any words clearly. 

When we were watching TV together, I'd have conversations with my toddler, asking her what color was so-and-so, what animal was on TV etc. 

My sister saw how responsive my daughter was and from then onwards, I noticed that my sister started to speak to her daughter properly ... no baby talks! 

At times when hubby & I brings our toddler out, we'd often receive the same questions "How old is she?" When we mention her age, they'll respond with "Only 2-yo? Wow, she can communicate very well! I thought she was 3 /4!"

Alhamdulillah! 

I'm happy with her progress! :)

Different toddlers have different developmental stages so there's no right or wrong method in how you raise your child.

I hate it when people say "She's at x age so she should know how to ..." in the event my toddler isn't able to do something ... for example, isn't potty trained.

All I care about is that she's healthy and happy ... and that WE are happy to just be around her!