Akmal's Year-End Concert

akmal have been waiting for this day. he was super excited because, back in may, he was selected to present the opening speech at this year's concert. he practiced diligently for months, hoping to get each pronunciation, each tone, each word right. i kept asking his class teacher if he was doing ok and if there was anything we had to do to help him with his speech, her reply was always the same, he's doing great, he's doing wonderfully. nearer the day, she reminded us to ensure he was well-rested and that he drank plenty of water so that he's able to give his best.

akmal's concert started at 2, we left home around 12.30pm, after the boys' football. akmal had his concert outfit out since the night before and was ready in super fast time when i asked him to shower.

and gave his best, he did. he was excellent and garnered a loud applause. we were so so very proud of him and his hard work. akmal was on cloud nine and could not stop smiling whenever he remembered his speech and the audience's reaction.

this year, akmal and his classmates performed taylor swift's shake it off. he loved that song, after listening to it on a daily basis for two months. he picked up the steps quite fast and would dance for us a few nights a week and let us know of changes and new steps.

after all classes have performed, the pre-3 students had a special sing-a-long and dance, somewhat of a farewell to thank teachers and to thank parents.

alhamdulillah, akmal went home with a huge smile on his face and for the first time ever, was upset that school was off the next day, as he was excited to reminisce the concert with his friends and classmates. after 8 years in a row, we're glad to finally have a breather from kindy concerts for a few years.

The Three Octoberians

…will soon be the four octoberians, insyaAllah. october's always been a very hectic month, probably the busiest out of the year. exams top the list this month, for both schools. and then there's concerts and graduations. for this year there was also football tournament for amir and his check-ups with a dietitian. then there is of course, the three birthdays. for hubby and me, there's no more big celebration, just a small family dinner sometimes separately, sometimes together.

this year, with me hitting the last 4 weeks of pregnancy, i was not up to having any celebration, small dinner or otherwise. but my mom wanted to have lunch one sunday, i thought, why not bring over a cake for ariff, the fact that it was 4 days before his actual birthday would be a sure surprise for him. hubby bought him a 10-pack hot wheels set. i asked salwa from juz cakes, who were so nice to accept a last minute request. ariff loved his hot wheels cake. i was also surprised by hubby and my sis with my own ice-cream cake.

of course, we still went for dinner on ariff's actual birthday. again, at chili's. hubby surprised ariff with another gift, a steering wheel that he now carries everywhere.

for my birthday, 3 days after ariff, we went out for dinner at tony roma's. i wanted to escape chili's but wanted somewhere nearby, considering it would be monday the next day. so it was the same venue, different restaurant.

hubby's birthday the week after was a family dinner, like me, at chili's, like ariff. we went before the actual day as i was schedule to be admitted for delivery on hubby's birthday and did not want to stuff myself with a big dinner the night before.

Week 37 - Preparation

with roughly 4 weeks to go before we hit the full 9 months (38 weeks), i have somewhat settled the preparation to welcome baby no 5. 6 weeks ago i had basically nothing done, now i'm pretty much ticked everything i listed down. the past 6 weeks was just me making list, browsing, comparing prices, contacting seller, redoing list and purchasing items.

this time around, clothes took a back seat. yes, i still bought some but not many. we focused on the big items as we've given away all of them when we moved 2 years ago. while clothes took a back seat, they were the first things i bought. of course, you can't go wrong with mothercare. i grabbed them during the sale and from someone who shipped over from the UK. i also grabbed some from FOS especially in newborn sizes. i added socks and swaddling blankets to the list as i've given those away, i just kept clothes of the 4 eais.

cot bumpers and comforters…

of course the toiletries...

then came the feeding items - formula, avent bottles, sterilizer, drying rack.

and then the bigger stuff - cot, changing table, bathtub, playpen, car seat and stroller.

i have more stuff on the list, particularly for the next few months - baby cook, baby snug, food feeding items.

there's also stuff for me - maternity clothes (which i wore over and over again for 6 months), maternity belt, postnatal pack, postnatal clothes (thin t-shirts, long pants, socks), maternity pad, undies and the postnatal massage service (which i tried before deciding on)

once the changing table arrived in early september, i set out to wash and fold the clothes and organize the changing table. i like the many, many compartments and drawers of the table.