pesta kaamatan 30-31 may 2007

kotobian tadau tagazo do kaamatan!

what better ways to celebrate the harvest festival in the truest of spirit
other than to join in the traffic jam heading to KDCA
& finding an appropriate place to park
in an almost impossible jampacked roadside.

that was us, on 30 may, a family of 4,
crowding the place even more & for our first time,
witnessing the merriment of the various ethnic groups in sabah,
adorned with jewellery on their beautiful costumes, with songs & dances,
giving thanks to the rice gods for a bountiful harvest.

young & old passed this billboard before the KDCA entrance (below).

we were greeted by the lively kulintangan traditional music,
accompanied by the gong players in the background.

i'd to wiggle my way in to have the above picture taken.

an seizing the moment
to try his hands at the kulintangan
when the musicians left for a break.

han didn't want to miss out on the fun!
the festivities were contagious & getting to eveyone!

2 lucky boys got their picture taken with 3 beautiful maidens
from kota belud dressed in one of their traditional bajau costumes.

differences versus similarities

it's amusing watching my 2 boys interact with each other. both have their own unique pepsonalities plus i get to see their differences & similarities through playtime, mealtime & bedtime. so here goes...

although 3 years apart, big bro an & lil han enjoy the same things. they both love anything automotive/machinery, thus sharing similar toys, books & tv programmes. sometimes we do get 2 of the same toys for them (based on the advise of many) but different colours, it works for only a short period of time. why? the big bro would reason that he needs 2 lorry containers for his so-called fear factor stunt & begins to imitate joe rogan himself & the lil one would occasionally walk away with whatever big bro is playing with & claims that it's his toy. boy oh boy!

it's the same situation for books. i'd say it's normally han who grabs whatever his big bro is reading & wants it for himself there & then regardless of the numerous books he can choose from the shelves or baskets.

not enough books for 2?

i've got loads to say about their mealtime cos the appetite of these 2 brothers vary a great deal. big bro an is picky with food. it was worst when he was younger. his disfavour toward food gets in my hair. i suppose i lost most of my patience with him in this area. his common remarks would be 'yucks!' or 'smelly!' whenever he's oppose to eating whatever that's being offered to him. he's also gifted at regurgitating his food at any given time. we, at home, call it induced vomiting.

hubs loves to cook & is good at it. if not for him & his patience, an wouldn't be opened to try other food. hubs would try all sorts of dishes to provide variety & to generate an's interest in food. every once in a while, he'd become daddy's assistant in the kitchen, helping out with the preparation for cooking or baking. despite the kitchen being a mess, an would proudly eat whatever he has made with daddy even if the cake is a lil on the hard, rubbery side. kudos to hubs for his ingenuity!

an's favourite food includes pizza, cheese, KFC, mcD, fried rice, sausages & roti boom/bom. at one time he only wanted to eat roti boom/bom for lunch! hubs had the biggest headache that week :o)

as for the bigger eater han, no problema! he eats rice, veggies, meat, fruits, etc! he's a rice person ~ must have rice, must eat rice! hooray for hubs! one of his boys turned out to be just like him! han definitely has a bigger appetite than his big bro despite his small frame/size. on the plus side, he certainly doesn't share his big bro's taste for food. if we go to a fast food restaurant for an's sake as a treat, we'll make sure han has his bowl of porridge/rice when he gets home.

roti boom/bom is super yummy
with its rich fillings of
margarine & kaya (coconut-egg jam)
plus the additional egg.
now you know where an gets his tastebud from :o)
* guilty me *

ah! bedtime! both love soft music to be played before they hit the sack after a long play day. an loves stories to be read or told to him, whereas han prefers to be sung to. if hubs is around, he'll do both. he'll tell an a story or 2 first while the lil fella waits for daddy to finish up & sing to him. if daddy is away, mommy will just lie in between them & scratch both backs until they fall asleep. i'll be too worn out then to either tell stories or sing songs & my boys would understand :o)

eye in the sky

on the faithful day of 17 may,

an old friend sms-ed me, asking me to go out
for a rare, engaging sight of the rainbow encircling the sun.

i left the workplace during lunch hour with friends.
it was a hot, humid day & the midday sun was glaring mercilessly at us.
the batteries in my loyal cam were flat
but thank goodness for agnes & her new cam
which was in her handbag with charged batteries.
great thing i'd my sunnies on or else
i wouldn't be able to see much thru the monitor
especially from pointing the cam directly at the sun.
i believe i did look kinda silly at that time!

i adjusted the exposure to -2.0
cos the sun was just too darn bright.
my eyes were squinting even from behind my sunnies.
who was i kidding! it was the midday sun in all its glory!
but my eye in the sky shots were
well worth the blinding light in my eyes.

i've always loved rainbows!
it's after all God's covenant made to noah,
thus the name chosen for our first-born :o)

z o o m i n g han

i was lying on the bed waiting for
lil han to settle down before his bedtime.
he was in the mood to z o o m around
like an airplane, so i let him.

i love this shot in particular.
besides extending both his arms
backward like the wings of an airplane,
he was also seriously
z o o m i n g with his lips!
boys & their sound effects go together
like bread & butter!

i must say there was

much drool lost in the act
of becoming an imaginary airplane :o)

famous 5

yup, birthday boy an is definitely famous for many of his antics. those around him would know! i've been reading up on the emotional expression of a 5 year old child & he has definitely grown into one! i won't elaborate on it since this is a writeup on his birthday which we celebrated on 10 may 2007 :o)

it was a daddy & son day. hubs had previously missed 3 of his birthdays due to work & couldn't make it back in time. so this year, daddy made it up to an & cancelled one of his biz trips just to be with his much delighted birthday boy.

mommy of course ordered the cake & wanted it to be thomas the tank engine. the lady who's known to make yummy cakes didn't know who thomas was but tried her best in producing a cake with the tank engine. i did give her my cake design, colours & all. the kind lady altered one or two colours, her reason being too much colouring isn't good which i okay-ed. the cake however, to everyone's amusement, came out looking candid! she told me she was going to do a big thomas & it ended with a small thomas + 3 malaysian flags (very patriotic of her), 2 small bunches of flowers & the biggest laugh was over the 2 awkward looking ultraman figurines :o)

2 questions came from the birthday boy:

"mommy, why thomas look different?"
"mommy, why is the ultraman on my cake?"

the chocolate cake was no doubt mouth-watering!
i know i ate a lot!

mommy also ordered pizzas for an as per his request which was the same request as his 4th birthday. sigh! when an likes a certain something, it'll be the SAME thing he'll ask for over & over again (such as fried rice, roti boom/bom & the obvious, PIZZA!).

what has an taught me for another year?
to practice more PATIENCE!
i'm seriously running out of it :o)

fun with photoshop

besides photographing my boys & everything else,
i also enjoy photo editing heaps!
my favourite software is photoshop & has been for eons
unless i'm convinced otherwise which i think NOT!

i like this picture of an & lil bro han slightly in the background
with a thumb in his mouth.

the original picture was coloured & i found many elements
that were bland, so i coverted it to grayscale,
then selected duotone to add more shades to it.
i love sepia toned photos as much as
the traditional black & white ones!

filter -> render -> lighting effects -> lens flare

it was fun playing with the lighting effects & lens flare
for it felt like i'd conducted my photo shoot within
the comfort of my palm & loyal, dutiful mouse :o)

filter -> sketch -> water paper

the water paper effect is simple yet artsy.
the turnout of this picture reminds me of a postcard.
i think i'll use this effect in future for creating
my own personalised postcards & greeting cards!

filter -> stylize -> glowing edges

i was pleasantly surprised when this picture
looks more like chalk drawing despite its glowing edges!

what happens when...

my boys watched johnny & the sprites.

i believed it was the first time they
saw the new series played on telly
at grandma's place while chilling out
on a mid sunday morning after Mass.

big bro an went from laid back
to finger-biting...hmm...

lil han was just sitting a couch away &...

he went from deep concentration
to finger in the mouth as well!

i've never seen both of them do that
at the exact same time.

my boys must've been bewitched by
johnny & the sprites!

page boy 101

wedding bells chimed on 21 april 2007
marking uncle nico & aunty faridah's
auspicious day!

i was their page boy (lucky me!)
& my gorgeous aunties, their bridemaids.
left to right: aunty jessica, audrey & atika.
they were also daddy & mommy's
bridemaids almost a decade ago.
i was definitely out of the picture then :o)

the well-behaved 'me' sitting next to
aunty audrey.

uh-oh! but NOT for long!
look at me doing my break dance moves
during the group photo session.
uncle wee caught me in the act with his camera!
the wedding photographer had to pause
many times in order for me to regain my composure
so that he can take decent pictures
without me being clownish.
daddy & mommy sure weren't pleased
with me after that although i made others laugh.

my beautiful aunty & handsome uncle!

breastfeed no more

to wean lil han @ age 2 was by far the hardest thing for me to do. i was literally torn! my milk supply is definitely drying up & when i'm not working, he'd be stuck to me 24-7, refusing to drink powdered milk & preferring to attach himself to his comfort zone as we call it.

i was told by some to stop, others to continue & many gave suggestions on ways to deter him from my breasts. i've even heard stories of mothers nursing their child up to primary 6. the first word that crossed my mind was YIKES! but i'm sure of one mother (wife to an old friend of hubs) who nursed her daughter till primary 2. how did she do it? beats me!

an opportunity was presented to me in the form of a short trip with hubs (without the boys) for 4 days 3 nights. i've never been away from han since he was born & what better way to help him forget his comfort zone in the gentlest possible way.

did it work? YES although not instantly! when hubs & i went to fetch him from my parents-in-law's place, he seemed shy with me initially & played with hubs mostly. as we got into the car, he sat on my lap then turned towards me & pleaded for his ne-nen! he cried almost all the way home as we were doing our utmost best to distract him. once we reached home, i asked hubs to distract him further as i rummaged through the drawers looking for gauze & first aid bandages. i then covered & taped both nipples thoroughly & applied amway's tropical herbs baby oil on the exposed gauze bandage for added effects. i was ready & went upstairs to face han. the minute he saw me, he struggled away from hubs & headed straight for his ne-nen! lo & behold! han's stunned expression came next when he saw his bandaged ne-nen. he slowly pulled my t-shirt down & told me to "close". i explained to him that mommy's bleeding & in pain, so the doctor "put medicine" & covered my wounds. he believed me.

han still snuggles up to me when he sleeps. he'll put his hand on my chest & say, "mommy painful. bleeding." he's really trying his hardest to adjust (so proud of him) & i must say he's doing pretty well. we've also noted an increase in his food & formula milk intake which is a great sign. hopefully he'll put on a few more kilos in the months to come.

to breastfeed han till the age of 2 has been a personal accomplishment for me as an didn't take to my breasts too well & i only managed to nurse him for 2 ½ months. i used to think something was terribly wrong with the way i breastfed him & may be i was doing it incorrectly. now i know that there's no right or wrong in breastfeeding for every child is different.

i reckon it was a good 2-year stint for han & mommy. i'm sure he feels the same way :o)

part two: lok kawi wildlife park

i was trailing behind my boys
the whole time & clicking away!

an attracted to the parrots

trying to get a closer look at one of the animals

they played with the adorable & friendly
baby proboscis monkey behind the glass

lil han observed everything with amusement
in his eyes

it was in fact a hot day, so lil han had
drinking breaks every now & then

part one: lok kawi wildlife park

jalan penampang-papar lama

WDT no. 63
89507 penampang, sabah.
telephone: 088-765710

open daily 9.30am-5.30pm

entrance fees:
malaysian (adult/child) - RM10/5
non-malaysian (adult/child) - RM20/10
senior citizen (60+ malaysian only) - FREE
handicapped - FREE

our 1st family excursion took place at the lok kawi wildlife park & it was fun, fun, fun! good news for sabahans i.e. since it's an excellent place for both young & old to visit. despite the park's soft launch, its site nearing completion + without much advert, it actually attracted many on the saturday that we went. i was truly amazed at the number of visitors coming in & out of the park. kudos to the sabah wildlife & forestry departments for a job well-done!

we started with the children's zoo, a friendly place for kids to pet the animals. big bro an was very keen to get a ride on the elephant's back but we missed it. never mind, we'll make it up on our next trip for sure!

i touched the turtle's hard shell.
i too was as excited as my boys.

big bro an & lil han enjoyed the animals
but were more cautious,
not ready to pet them yet.

there are helpful directions strategically placed in the park, so we followed the path that led us to more wonderful sights & we saw among others...

colourful parrots

ostriches standing tall

affectionate proboscis monkeys
which both boys absolutely adore!

restful yet regal looking tigers

my all-out favourite, elly

beautiful gentle creatures they are!