Sunday, October 19, 2008

That's it for another update

I'm sorry daddy is so slow with these things. I'm sure as soon as I really understand how slowly he updates my blog, I'll light a fire under him and see if I can improve his work rate. Daddy's excuse about Oliver keeping him awake and disturbing him all the time is starting to wear a bit thin. Oliver only sleeps once or twice during the day now and only wakes up briefly once at night. He's started eating a lot more. Daddy says he eats nearly as much as I do (his bottles are the same size), and he eats very fast. I like to enjoy dinner times, the longer the better. Anyway, daddy had better finish up and go to bed now before he starts rambling.

See you next time!

Now it's daddy's turn to lie down


... and be jumped on! Oliver has been able to pull himself up to standing since mid-October, and has even climbed the first half of the stairs a couple of times. I have enjoyed Oliver's company once or twice in the last few weeks, but most of the time, I shout things I've learned from mummy and daddy: "Don't touch", "No, mine", "bu yao dong!". But the thing that really annoys daddy is when I run to him shouting "Teacher! You see you see you see!".

Oliver mobile in October!


Then in October, he suddenly just took off like a rat up an drainpipe! We have to keep the downstairs bathroom door locked shut now, he loves to crawl out there, and behind the sofas, and under the table, anywhere and everywhere! He has a very stylish crawl, with his belly in contact with the floor rolling his shoulders and hips like a freestyle swimmer. He got his first tooth about the same time too, so he leaves a bit of a trail wherever he goes. He's not very dribbly. Daddy says I wasn't very dribbly either, but there was nobody to follow me around shrieking "Eeeww!" every 10 seconds.

Lying down until September


...and that was it for the next few months. It was a big relief. All Oliver wanted to do was turn over, watch and laugh. I didn't pay him much attention, just running to get mummy or daddy if Oliver poked his legs over the side of his bed.

Taking the world in


That was it for another few months. Oliver seemed to be content to take the world in after that. Whenever he could, he'd turn himslef over onto his front and look around. If he couldn't, more whinging. It was comparatively easy to entertain Oliver for a while, mummy or daddy just had to turn him onto his belly, and he'd just look and be happy.

And then Oliver got out of his bed


How exciting! Mummy and Daddy almost wept for joy. After nearly 6 months of lying on his back whinging, he flipped over at the end of July and seemed impressed with himself. Apparently I was demonstrating my (assisted) walking skills in Thailand when I was only 5 months old, so Oliver's taking his time.

Do I look big in this?


Daddy keeps saying we'll go clothes shopping, but it never seems to happen. This is also from July. 3 months have gone by since this photo was taken and daddy still hasn't bought me any new clothes. Time to stop reading Malaysian political blogs daddy, and start browsing clothes shops!

Daddy doesn't like to see me using a bottle still, but he's outvoted. All that talk about democracy, and he still wants his own way - what a silly billy!

Time to catch up

Everything that hasn't happened in the last 6 months is Oliver's fault. That's what daddy says. Oliver did spend a lot of time crying and power napping. Then at nights he spent a lot of time crying and not sleeping at all. He's a lot better now, sometimes we even play together nicely when mummy and daddy are watching. This picture is from July, Oliver's about 4 months old

He eats a lot better than I did when I was a baby, apparently. Mummy and Daddy say I was much less trouble. Seems like I'm in credit - time to spend!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Finished, for now


That was all that was on the camera. I'm glad I had a chance to share with you. Maybe if daddy can be arsed to take pictures more often, and update my blog a little more frequently, I could give you more detail about my life in Malaysia. For now, like the chocolate-flavoured rice flakies I've just finished, there's "no more!". See you next time!

TV breakfast


I like a big bowl of cereal for breakfast, daddy is very pleased that I eat it all by myself now. I'm sometimes a bit tired and grumpy in the mornings, but a quick blast of "Toy Story" or "A Bug's Life" soon sorts that out. Oliver is watching the TV too - you can just see his head poking up above the arm of the sofa. He doesn't stay sitting up for long, either falling over, or mummy noticing what daddy has done, whichever is sooner.

It's probably about 8am in this picture, as I go to school at 8:30. You can see that the sun outside is already very bright. Usually we walk the short distance to kindergarten squinting into the dawn. On rare, wonderful occasions, it rains and daddy carries me to school on his shoulders, under an umbrella. Those mornings are the best.

I love my puppy!


Auntie Jamie brought me a puppy from Australia. I won't go to sleep without it now. Every afternoon when I sleep for a couple of hours on the sofa, and every night, I have to hold my puppy as I drop off to sleep. Puppy is a relatively recent addition, I still love my Tigger that auntie Shona gave me when we visited her in England. He might even be under us somewhere in this picture.

Practising my wing chun


I'm not really practising wing chun, I'm conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. Star Wars is on the TV, and I love the music! Every time one of the themes starts, I'm up on this chair conducting with gusto! I love the Star Wars movies, though I've only seen the 3 older ones. Daddy seems a bit reluctant to get the newer ones for me.

Welcome to my office!


This is where I write my blog. Actually, I don't write my blog - I have a ghost writer. I live my blog! It can get crowded in here when everybody's busy, but that rarely happens when I'm around. The office empties out fairly quickly when I turn up. I suppose that means I'm the boss.

Boy or girl?


Whenever I go out walking with daddy, people always ask him this question. Unless I'm wearing a dress. It was worse when we went to Thailand, everybody said "oooh, handsome boy!". Daddy's daddy got fed up of everybody saying "pretty girl" about daddy when he was my age, because he had long ringlets. Daddy got taken to the barber's. I'll just have to wait.

Leaving it late for a haircut again


Long hair is nice, but typical temperature in our living room is around 30C - clothes and thick hair don't help anybody stay cool. Daddy is still offering to do my hair with his clippers, but mummy insists I go to a hairstylist. Daddy says I can have hair as long as I want when we live somewhere chilly, but he doesn't like to see me red-faced and sweaty all the time.

This picture is from the end of April 2008.

Oliver at 2 months


He's still growing - though mummy and daddy are mystified by his bottle size. He still only drinks about 125ml of "tastes just like powder", just 3 times a day. Mummy is still giving him her milk, but his bottles have been the same size since he was about 3 weeks old. He has started trying to talk, and daddy has long, silly conversations with him in the evening where they both gurn at each other and make funny noises.

I don't pay Oliver much attention at all - he's not very interesting.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

The workbenches are getting smaller.


Daddy made our workbenches from the old doors that were in our house before we decorated it. Once I couldn't reach the worktop, but now I don't fit under it! They're quite deep, so I love to hide under them, especially if daddy is chasing me and saying "don't touch". I post things through the holes where the door locks were too. Daddy does make a fuss when he has to move everything to get something important back!

I like to site next to daddy while he's typing and draw. My favourite thing at the moment is to draw around the outline of my hand. Daddy will only let me have a pencil. When I ask for a pen, he takes me on a tour of the house and shows me how I've used a pen in the past. If I see daddy using a pen, I hold out the back of my hand and ask him to draw a star on it. I've often got stars drawn in pen on the back of my hand when daddy picks me up from kindergarten. I don't think daddy approves.

Oliver's shirt and tie


Nanny sent the shirt in the post, so here is Oliver, wearing Nanny's shirt. Oliver's bigger than I was at his age, but daddy says that he slept better when I was a baby. Oliver always wants to eat, and wakes us all up at night.

Monday, March 10, 2008

I want the camera!


Daddy won't let me use the camera, but there are some signs that he might. He gave in a couple of days ago, after I'd cried for a while. I know he says he doesn't give in to emotional blackmail, but that's not my experience. Do I look triumphant? I was trying for 'satisfied'.

I'm not quite sure how we managed to make this photo, but I had my hand on the camera when it happened! Daddy says he might let me use the camera again soon. Next time I'll blow my nose, and try to catch daddy soon after he has had a shave.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Too young to vote

My little brother Oliver's eyes are clearing up a bit. They've been stuck shut with yellow stuff a lot of the time since he was born. Mummy and daddy clean his eyes with cotton wool buds and warm salty water. He is gradually sleeping more at night and less during the day. Everybody is pleased!

I don't pay much attention to Oliver, at least when mummy and daddy are looking. While daddy was checking my uncle's registration for the election this weekend, I jumped off the sofa and swung a playful slap at Oliver while he was wriggling on his bed. I don't think daddy saw.

Daddy has started complaining about Malaysian websites again. He usually does, especially if he has been trying to access government websites. He often asks me "how can they be so bad?". How should I know? Anyway, it seems that the website for checking registrations for the election is becoming very slow as the date draws nearer. He said something about a hastily set-up second server, and used a lot of extra words that only daddy uses. I recognised some of the words: the ones he always makes a nasty face for. I can't wait to learn them!

Anyway, as far as I can work out from what daddy was saying, if you're planning to vote this weekend, and you want to check your registration at the Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (Election commission) website, don't leave it to the last minute! I'd vote, but I'm 19 years too young. I have to wait until I'm 21 in Malaysia. Daddy would vote, but he's too foreign (he does grumble about mummy being allowed to vote in the UK). I don't think Oliver will ever vote, he's either asleep or eating mummy.

Friday, February 29, 2008

Yellow

Oliver's a bit yellow. The health visitor said we had to take him to the doctor for a check. The doctor said "he's not yellow, he's Chinese!", but then said he's a little jaundiced, but not enough to worry about. The next day, another health visitor came and said "he has to have a blood test". So Oliver went back to the doctor, who did the test and said "jaundiced, but not enough for photo therapy". We have to go back again in a couple of days. Oliver didn't seem to mind being pricked in the heel, but he did object to having his foot squeezed. I gave him a cuddle later that evening to show him how much I loved him. At least that's what daddy told me when he made me put my arms around him.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Wo yao chi

Daddy was a bit slow getting me a snack when I came home from school last night, he just wanted to veg out on the sofa with me and watch the 3 oldest Star War movies - I love them! I grabbed his chin to pull his head towards me, pointed at the kitchen and said "wo yao chi!", chinese for "I want to eat!". Daddy will have to put a bit more work into his language skills, if he's to keep up with me.

If you've been reading the Malaysian news recently, you may have seen some pictures of election posters. The place is covered in them. BN (like BNP in the UK, only made up of BNP One Colour, BNP Another Colour, BNP Less Common Colour sub-parties, bizarrely) are the incumbents, and have the most posters. The local government offices have been very busy tidying up towns, trimming verges, clearing drains. Daddy suggested that maybe there weren't enough BN voters where we live, as the local council gassed us like badgers later that night. The photo is from the bedroom window, just before they did our side of the street. Mummy is still in a lot of pain from the birth, so we couldn't run away. It wasn't very nice, the fogging man deliberately targets windows to get the stuff inside the house. In the past, we've joined the crowd of neighbours walking around the block, turning and backtracking as the fogging man and the wind change direction. Like a carnival, kind of.

The next day, two very nice men came and explained they were checking for Aedes larvae, as one of the neighbours had Dengue Fever. There have been a lot of mosquitoes recently. We have mosquito nets over all the windows, but they can come in whenever we open the front door. Daddy didn't suggest his BN theory to the nice men. But he does mumble about not being allowed to vote, while mummy can in the UK.

Oliver and me


It's all going fairly well. Daddy has been better at getting up on time on school days since Oliver came home. Oliver's my new little brother. Mummy and daddy were struggling to find a name they both liked, but he'll probably be called Oliver - it's not official yet. Daddy liked "Leroy" or "Winston", but mummy wasn't keen. They both quite liked "Gabriel", and mummy was very keen on "Frederick" for a long time.

Do you think he looks like me?

Didi


I surprised mummy and daddy a couple of days ago. When I came home from school, I sat up at the dining table with my cookies and milk. Just when mummy and daddy looked like they were going to nod off, I stood up, pointed at the baby and shouted "didi!". Didi is chinese for "younger brother". I think mummy and daddy were impressed.

And then we had to go to hospital


Mid March, they said. Mummy woke daddy up, complaining of tummy ache and wanting to go to hospital. Daddy woke popo up and asked her to look after me. An hour after mummy arrived at the hospital, she had a baby (24th Feb 2008, 3.45kg). Daddy took me to see him later, but he wasn't very interesting. Watching the midwives rushing around when I started headbutting the viewing window was funny.

I forgot all about my new didi until I came home from school the next day. Daddy made me walk the whole 60 metres home. I was pretty grumpy, until I saw mummy cuddling that baby from the hospital on the sofa! I was outraged, livid. Daddy put Star Wars on, and I soon forgot about it. The baby's all right, actually. He just lies on his little bed on the floor and moans for food occasionally. When daddy picks him up, he sucks his arm! I was never that silly.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Still expecting a March baby

It seemed like we had so much time left to get everything ready for the new baby. Mummy was complaining a bit, but still rushing around doing everything.

The doctors were all sticking to their 11th March estimate, but mummy said she didn't think she could last that long.

I've had my new 'sensible' haircut for a couple of months. It was shorter than this. Daddy still wants to use the shears on me, but mummy has very consistent ideas regarding girls' haircuts.

Malaysian domestic animals 2

Daddy has been busy again. The kitchen cupboards were full of soft, white-bodied insects. They look exactly like the termites on wikipedia. They seemed to be hiding in between the IKEA base units and the concrete-and-tile worktop. After a few days of cleaning and spraying, and the termites increasing in number every day, daddy took out the base units. Interesting! The first picture is underneath the hob, with the oven removed. Can you see the tunnel made of sand (or dirt, or dust?) from the top of the cupboard, going upwards across the concrete worktop?


The second picture is where the power leads for the hob and oven are connected. Can you see the dust around the edge of the cover, to the right? The termites put the dust there to cover them as they crawl from the panel into the cupboard side. It seems like they used the pre-drilled holes for the shelf-supporting pegs to get into the chipboard.

Daddy used a syringe to squirt lots of termite poison into the wall, before sealing it in there with caulk. My daddy is the caulking king!


Once they got into the chipboard, they ate it - the third picture is the edge of one of the cupboard sides. Daddy threw some of the kitchen away and made some new bits out of the 'leftovers' from when the kitchen was new. IKEA base units are hard to fit into a concrete kitchen and worktop, but daddy has a saw and caulk, and he's not afraid to use them! That happened a couple of weeks ago, and there's no reappearance of termites in the kitchen. The livingroom door frames have plenty, daddy was pulling trim off one last week, when it suddenly pinged off the wall, covering him with dozens of live termites. A pity we didn't get a picture.

Malaysian domestic animals


I've moved into my own room, too. Kind of. I go to sleep in there, and when I wake up, I go to mummy and daddy's room and climb onto their bed. Sometimes daddy or mummy put me back to bed and sleep next to me in my room. Daddy couldn't sleep, the ceiling was too noisy. He removed several carrier bags full of 'bedding' from the attic above my room, but doesn't know what made the nest.

Such a long time between updates...


I don't know what daddy has been doing (besides playing Tremulous), but he hasn't been helping to update my blog. Naughty daddy - grow up! I'm growing older - this is a pic from December 2007. I like handbags, mostly. My hair is getting longer too, daddy wants to cut it down to stubble, but mummy won't let him. The teachers at school have been putting my hair in elastic bands. I still don't say much, "Daddy", "Popo" (granny), "Wee", "Bird", "Wow", "No" is about it.

There's lots of news, perhaps daddy will get round to adding it.