Start Year Review

the boys are growing each passing day. the less i write about them, the more i forget. this blog was mainly created for them and occasionally for other (insignificant) things in my life.

amir
he'll be turning 5 in 3 days. i honestly cant believe how fast he's grown and how many younger brothers he has at such a young age hah!! amir's very insightful, he's very fast, he's very inquisitive, he's very curious. underneath that stubborn, irritating, annoying, exasparating facade is a soft-hearted, responsible, clever, mature boy.

when he's lazy, he's extremely lazy. he wouldnt even pick up a toy car and would just say 'amir penat'. but when he's ok, he can be relied upon to watch over his brothers, mainly akmal as akmal doesnt fight back. with the other two, it'll only last as long as they keep their hands to themselves. amir's gotten into the habit of carrying akmal. he loves doing that, even said he wanted to carry akmal down the stairs. ok...mummy draws the line somewhere...

he's in 2nd year of kindergarten. next year hubby and i plan to move him to a school nearer to the house as he needs to interact with students that will be his classmates in primary school. we want to wait for asyraf to be old enough as we want to enrol them together. we're slowly instilling the thought of a new school in them, so as to not shock them when the time comes. amir's been in his current school for 3 years and is very familiar with the surrounding and is close with his teachers. we would have a problem with after-school care though. to send them back to the current daycare would be a hassle but there's limited places that offers after-school care in our area.

amir's very easy now. he's slowly moving from the baby-toddler phase into son-child phase where we can have good conversation, ask for opinions, talk about past and future, really dig into his mind and see things from his point of view. everytime hubby and i plan an outing, be it short trips, movie time, day out at the mall or just a simple dinner at the restaurants nearby, we would always say 'amir ok je...tak payah pikir sangat'. however, there's still that tantrum throwing, menyakat adik attitude that he has which irritates the heck out of hubby and i, therefore his body is full of cubit marks.

asyraf
unfortunately, after 3 years, asyraf is still full of tears. we thought it would go away but it hasnt. if he fights with amir, he'd cry. if he fights with ariff, he'd cry. if he wants a certain dvd to be played, he'd cry. if he wants to eat a certain food, he'd cry. basically, he cries quite a bit. his teachers even say, at the mere mention of 'cikgu sally' he would cry. wonder when he will outgrow this stage, it can get extremely annoying.

asyraf has moved on to the playgroup class in his daycare. last week, we found out that the headmistress, ummi, would like to move him to the pra-tadika class in the kindy next door. hubby and i were sceptical. that was amir's class last year and we know the workload that comes with the class. not heavy, per se, but the syllabus looks tougher than we think asyraf can handle. amir was already 4 when he entered the pra-tadika class, while asyraf just turned 3 in november. asyraf was born a year after amir but they are actually 22 months apart, that's a pretty big gap, especially at this age. we're not sure if he's ready for the challange. he cant even hold a pencil right. but ummi said we'll see how he progresses at the playgroup class. cikgu sally is his class teacher now and she can teach him to write. if all goes well, he may move up to the kindy by mid year. ummi said asyraf is clever and can cope with the pace of the class.

we've always been worried about asyraf as he doesnt talk much previously, he also doesnt answer questions as fast as amir, and at times have difficulty putting a sentence together, its always peppered with 'ummm...' 'aaaa...' but when asyraf likes something he's very determined and focused to the point he frowns and ignores the world around him. that trait, said ummi, is important when he faces this challange. so, we'll see what the year brings for asyraf.

asyraf has started toilet training end of last year. he's mainly ok, about 90% there. he is able to let us know when he needs to use the toilet. his accidents are less than amir's and seem to catch the idea faster. i can actually recall his accidents, which shows there are not many. for the past couple of days he awoken to dry diapers, hopefully he can be diaper-free at night soon. i've actually felt that we've spent less on diapers recently so yeay...

one significance factor in asyraf's growth is his speech development. a year ago, he would not utter a single word. asyraf would prefer using more of his hands and feet and less of his mouth. now, its different. hands and feet are still active but so is his mouth. asyraf talks and asks and comments and mengadu (menadu as amir would say) and whine and shouts. he would be 'kerapa...kerapa...kerapa' and 'mummy, kat school kan...' and 'tengok amir tu...'. the bad thing that comes with it is that he tends to use words that we dont normally use, unfortunately.

ariff
ariff starts class this week, he's in toddler 2-3 class. ariff's quite fast in picking up things due to the fact that his brothers are constantly doing things. he skipped his baby phase and jumped straight into toddlerhood. now when his abangs ride bycicles, he wants to ride bicycles. when his abangs colour, he wants to colour. when his abangs watch 'up', he wants to watch 'up'. when his abangs are doing their power rangers pose, he wants to do his power rangers pose. he follows them, not realising he's not there yet. because of that, he's excited to start class, he's excited to wear the uniform, to take part in sports day, convocation, exams.

ariff hates to be left behind. when hubby takes amir and asyraf to the car wash or takes them grocery shopping or swimming, ariff is usually not part of the team. he would cry and scream at the window watching them drive away. amir, in the car, would cry too...he's soft hearted. there are times he cant be calmed down and would just sit in front of the window or on the staircase waiting and crying. other times he's better...running off with tears on his cheeks to find akmal. at least akmal's around.

he's now starting to talk. his favourite phrase is 'mok nyer...' (mok punya). those two words are a phrase to him. he would say 'takkkk...' even though the answer is a clear blue 'yes'. he answer to every question is always 'bab' followed by a repeat of the question. he refuses to be called 'ariff' and wants to be known as 'mok'. when we say 'ariff lah', he replies with 'mok lah...'. of course asyraf and amir are not abang and abang long to him, they are acap and mir.

ariff loves cleaning. he gets excited looking at the broom, he loves to help me fold clothes, he likes picking up toys. he likes putting cloth on his head, making it like a tudung. he likes carrying handbags and i have no idea where he picks them up since i hate handbags. when he comes home everyday, he would run to the kitchen following his abangs and would rush to the drawer that stores his bowl, picking up his red bowl and then the matching spoon and cup.

ariff loves eating and sleeping. when he's doing both, he's an absolute angel. he will sit and eat quietly on his stool while his brothers scream and shout and climb everywhere. when he sleeps, he'll sleep, regardless what's happening around him. he can sleep while being carried from the bed to the car to the steps of the daycare. but once he steps into the bathroom, ariff can be the little devil. he would stand on the edge of the bathtub (and has fallen many, many times), he would spray water on his brothers and father from the bidet, he would lie down in the middle of the bathroom playing with his toy cars, he would run in and out of the bathroom dripping wet (and has fallen many, many times).

ariff still bites. if he's angry he would first scratch asyraf's face (since he's forever in a battle with asyraf, never with anyone else) and then he would bite. he's very soft and mellow but there's no stopping ariff when he's angry. with akmal, however, he's the most lovable elder brother. he treats akmal like he's the only brother he has. he wakes up looking for akmal and would quickly run to lie down next to him holding on to his hand. for someone who refuses to look at the baby we brought home from the hospital, he's now the most protective older brother akmal has.

akmal
ah...my baby. my ickle baby. my itty bitty baby. the boy who refused to do anything for 9 months. for 9 long months, akmal would just lie down on his back. if he's on his tummy, he would stay on his tummy. he never rolled over, he never rolled to his side, he never shuffled. he did nothing. i was worried. who wouldnt be. of course he's normal, of course he's responsive, but come on, who wouldnt worry, after watching 3 boys terrorise the house, to see her baby lying down watching the world go by.

then suddenly, a week after he turned 9 months, akmal surprised us. over the space of 2 days, akmal sat, crawled and he finally turned over. now he turns and turns and turns, he crawls from one room to another and then into the bathroom. now he sits everyone, now he shuffles, now he needs looking after. now is the time when daddy and mummy need to stop everything and run after akmal.

akmal's passed the 'sleeping through the night' test with flying colours a few months back, unless he's not well (which can be a once a month affair). if he's ok and his nose is not blocked he can sleep from 930pm to 7am (or 730am on weekends). akmal is not dependent on bottles like asyraf. he drinks maybe 5 bottles a day, sometimes 8oz, sometimes as low as 4oz. he goes through 2 1.6kg tin of dupro a month, which is lovely. i'm hoping he will stop his formula intake by the time he reaches 18months and by looking at him now, it looks mighty possible.

foodwise, he still takes nestum at home (as his mummy doesnt know how to make porridge). occasionally he also eats rice and pasta and of course fries when we are out. in school he eats porridge (cikgu rajin, takpe).

akmal's voice can always be heard over his brothers's screams. he's not one to be drowned. in the car, we can always make out his 'hotelllll...hotellllll' or his 'atatataaaa...atatata....'. maybe he'll be a talkative cheeky bunny like his abang long. oh dear god...that scares me. soon, he'll be taking proper solid food and will be eating at the same table as his brothers.

he'll be 1 in a couple of months. soon, he'll be running around with his brothers. soon, he'll be eating solid food with his brothers. soon, he'll be bottle-free like his brothers. soon, he'll want to go out to the playground like his brothers. soon, he'll be power rangers-ing with his brothers. soon, there'll be more scream and shout in the house. i'm sad to end the baby era but at the same time, i'm so looking forward to crossing over to the next phase. i think i'll chose the happier of the two feelings.

my botak boys in 2010...