The Pride of Us

Ahhhh...Its been a while since I last updated this column. It's been so busy around here that I haven't been able to call my time my own. Off to work at 10a.m, back home at 10p.m. There's lesser time to be with the kid nowadays. The purpose why I created this blog is mainly to track the improvements of Muhammad Fahyim Syakir, the kid who is slowly turning into a joker without neglecting his intelligence.

He is fast approaching 2 years old now. (1.9 years to be exact). For us,every Saturday is the day for little Fahyim to go to Gymboree and visit his grandparents. When he wakes up on Saturday morning, he will run to the front door and grab his shoes while mumbling the word "shhssst" (shoes) for numerous time. He knows it is and outing day for him after spending most of the time at home during weekdays. It reminds me on how Diyanah used to go out a lot during her pregnancy days. So that basically justifies my inference on this behavior.

Last week I sat in front of the TV with my son watching the never ever changed channel ( Disney Junior 613 which was airing Let's Go Pocoyo as usual), suddenly the boy got up and started moving in circles. It was these guys who thought him that.

The Martian Brothers!

What happens in this show is, an object such as keys or scissors will appear in the middle of this group of aliens. A background voice will pronounce the name of the object and out of the sudden this aliens will move around it in circles like the Red Indians while pronouncing the name of the object continuously. Amazingly, the kid learns from it and it stays in his head.

At home, we normally speak Malay to him but he is more influenced with the English speaking TV shows and starts picking up words from these shows instead of the Malay words conversed by us. It is quite an intriguing method  I must say. I hope by learning English from the TV and Malay from us, it will somehow create a fine balance in his comprehension of the two languages.

He grows so fast and remarkably got some valuable skills under his belt. He can count 1 to 10 while going up and down the stairs. He can differentiate between up and down by literally lifting his hand up and down respectively while pronouncing the gestures cheekily. For a 2 year kid, to be able to memorize alphabets up to the letter H is by far an outstanding achievement thanks to playschool and Youtube. 

I hate to admit that the media nowadays plays a paramount advantage to the kids education. The only challenge is to control the number of hours spent by the lad infront of the TV. 

Contractor in progress?

The Ultimate Power of Pocoyo!

I have never experienced this much cartoon since Aladdin and the Lion King. Everyday my TV set at home was fixed to the 613 channel which is the Disney Channel. It was one after the other, I went through various types of cartoons from Jake and the Neverland Pirates to Timmy Time and from Higglytown Heroes (it should be called Higglytown Hideous..hahaha ) to Elmo's World. But  I have never once in my life came across a cartoon series that has this much superpower to effect and influence the mind of young Fahyim. It is ultimately "The" frickin show and it is distinctly pronounced as " LET'S GO POCOYO"!!

There's another red squid called Fred and he is not in the picture

This blue dude wearing a blue suit with an ear flapping cap really really is something different. I must call its creator a sheer genius because he managed to design the show in a funny way for the purpose of education to these toddlers. 

Fahyim picked up a few words from the show including the names of the characters in it.  Pato the yellow duck is his favorite. He will pronounce Pato's name whenever that duck appears on screen. He can now say umbrella in his baby accent which is so cute which he picked up from the show. 

The only drawbacks of this show to me is the impishness of Pocoyo, his power of influencing the kid is shocking. The kid tends to imitate any and every move Pocoyo does. Be it facial expression, gestures and even its laughing style. 

Last two days, there's an episode where Pocoyo carries a red ball and started hopping around. My son ran across the living hall to pick up my Manchester United football and started hopping around imitating that stubborn Pocoyo. 

Because of the love and affection that my son has for this blue dude and his friends, I decided to find him some Pocoyo stuffs and I came to the knowledge that there's not much baby outlets that sells its products. There is one in Robinsons@Gardens and another one at Manjaku in Bandar Baru Bangi. 

Surprisingly, a t-shirt cost me MYR70 bucks and a sweat pants costs around MYR50. That's hell of a price tag for a kid's attire. Cekik darah punya Pocoyo. When we saw the price tag, I looked at my wife and she stares back at me. A mutual understanding was formed without any verbal interactions. We glanced at little Fahyim to seek alibi for spending our hard earned money. 

That lad was already on the floor hugging a Pato shirt and overjoyingly smiling at the shirt. At that point, another mutual understanding between a husband and wife was formed and finally we bought our boy his first Pocoyo merchandise. 

As long as you're happy me boy.

Sir Fahyim Strikes Back!

If you recall correctly on my previous post on the early stage of this blog, I once mentioned how I spend my leisure time after working hours on a daily basis. I do play video games. I hold my Playstation 3 very dearly to my heart.

Since I got a walking minor in my house, I manage to lose view on two CD's and only recovered ONE which is the Gran Turismo after an intensive searching by my maid. After going through almost one month of clueless searches, I decided to buy the FIFA 14 and regarded that the FIFA 12 is missing in action.

This story brought me back to last week, when suddenly, out of nowhere, the FIFA 12 made its way back to the TV shelf. I was quite surprised but not that excited because I've already got the FIFA 14. Once my finger touches the start button of the Playstation to play my favourite FIFA 14, I realise that somehow, the said game was gone. It was inside the PS3 the whole time, but this time FIFA 12 came back and FIFA 14 has gone absent. *sigh*

I definitely know who is the culprit behind all this..

The Prince of Pocoyo!

I ask the maid and as usual, she had no clue. That little boy only manage to grin when I show him an example on how a CD looks like. I was quite naive expecting him to show me to the location where he hid it. An in-depth search commenced for two weeks. I took a peek in my bag considering that the lad might put it in there like what he did to my wedding ring, but nothing inside. I explored his toy motorcycle and nothing shiny was in sight.

I didn't play any video game for two weeks. My wife liked it. But she know I don't. One fine day, when I was interrogating my son about the CD which he replied in words such as " Abetiiii" ( I don't know whats that supposed to mean) or " Oh noooo!", my wife asked me to check under the sofa. I said to her, " It can't be there, it's heavy". " Have you checked? You never know" she replied.  After contracting my left bicep to lift the sofa, my wife sighted a shiny object lying far behind the couch. IT WAS THE CD!!. Hahaha thank God! We made it after only just two weeks!

To think back on how Fahyim did it. It is merely simple. He might have climbed the couch and slip the CD behind the couch. Stupid me. I don't have this Inspector Gadget or Detective Conan intellectual skills like my wife.

But anyway, I am back with my gaming routine and the kid got a brand new toy. The first post I made on this blog concluded that I will try my level best not to spoil the kid with toys. But the grandfathers didn't bother. His "Atok" bought him this..a remote control car with a Feng Tau sound system. The kid can even drive himself when his legs get longer.

 
Major road humps ahead *haiyaa*

Fahyim and Ritchie

My wife and I took leave for two days this week to join our families vacation in Kuching, Sarawak. My father is a very busy man. He is a training consultant which means that he is on the move most of the time. He misses his grandchild so much resulted him to plan for us to meet him in Kuching.

So we went there and spent 3 days visiting that beautiful place with beautiful food. We went to this Cultural Village to see various types of Sarawak's ethnic houses but the temperature was roasting. Hot weather is equivalent to Fahyim's grumpiness. Fahyim's grumpiness is equivalent to sweaty mom and dad. Hahahaha.

Nevertheless, a visit to Semenggoh Nature Reserve to meet the Orang Utans was cordial though. The scorching weather does not stop us from trekking into the jungle to meet them. 

When we touched down at Kuching Airport on Saturday, the taxi driver told us a tale of "RITCHIE" the boss of Orang Utans. We was told that he was a rebel, protestant and  an insurgent dominant male Orang Utan in that Reserve. He once bit a visitors fingers until it fell of. Wutha?!. At first, I thought it was just a locals way to dramatized the attractions that they got there until the tourist guide that brought us to the reserve told us the same story. It seems that it's parents were shot when he was young so now its taking its toll on humans. 

Freakin obese Apeman

Fahyim was exuberantly excited seeing the Orang Utan. He called it "GOGO" as in gorilla. Hahaha! Normally, he will feel crotchety dealing with these kind of weather but the excitement kept his grouchiness on check.

We went back to the hotel and had cheap seafood at TopSpot. It cost us only MYR 150 for nearly 7 dishes consisting crabs,fish,squids and prawns. My wife saw an Instagram clip of Baby Afia eating rice courteously. She decided to present Fahyim with a plate of rice thinking that he might replicate what can do. 

Instead, he did this.

                                        

FAHYIM SYAKIR 1.7 YEARS

My son has a curly hair. People tend to mistake him for a girl because of his long curly hair. Even though the mother style him up in a manly manner. Some nitwits will still call him a she. For example " How old is SHE?" "Waahh.. SHE is so active!!" . Of course HE is active, coz he's a frickin' boy !

The other reason might be his nasty lashes. Its so long sometimes it reminds me of the lashes that Snuffy had from Sesame Street.

                                     

 



So my wife and I sat down and heavy-heartedly reached in a resolution to snip away all the curls that sometimes look like a ducks backside. Hahaha..we kept it long because it looks cute on him but people are playing with gender issues here. So bye bye curly wurly..

BEFORE

AFTER

Chillin with Pocoyo.

I have been cutting his hair myself since he was born and I thought I did not bad.

Fahyim has been a tremendous learner at his playschool. Last week was my turn to lough and my wifes' turn to sweat. Chasing the kid inside the play area was a big ask for her considering the level of fitness she is at. Hahaha. Fahyim was by far the fastest learner there. He enjoyed it so much and we're glad that he picked up a few words of praise from the teachers. 

So much has changed since he was a little boy. I remember clearly the time when he struggles to lift his head and roll his body. I remember how sour he can smell in the morning similar to the scent of a "Songkok" worn by Sekolah Agama petang kids.

He does not like to be carried like a kid nowadays, he can basically interpret things correctly using gestures or mimics of the face. I recalled during Diyanah's maternity, she hates staying in. She likes to go out and see shopping malls or bazaars or eateries. We seldom stay home. This traits was victoriously passed to the child. He feels bored if he stays in. He somehow knows when weekend comes where he will take his shoes and park it infront of the main door. What a kid. 

First day at "school"

Last Saturday was the day in history where it was the first time my son gets to mingle around with a group of little rugrats in a playful environment. We enrolled Fahyim for a 45 minutes weekend playschool session at Gymboree Playschool in Bangsar Village and it was his first class.

I got my barney bag and my woody pony. Let's do this!

Frankly, I was quite impressed with his level of commitment and participation during the class given the fact that it was his first time and the habitual evidence of his resistance to abide orders. Fahyim finishes 80 percent of the activities instructed by the teacher without being forced. I was quite shocked with his proficiency to understand the English language conversed by the teacher. Well..I guess Pocoyo does help.. Haha.. There was a time when the teacher asked the parents to sing along to "Pop goes the Weasel". I was never a good nursery rhymer so that was a setback for me. I only know that particular line only - Pop Goes the Weasel and that's it ...Hehehehe.

The play class was compressed with approximately 10 songfull activities into 45 minutes.It is quite rushy if I were to comment. Most of the activities for Fahyim's level of age comprises the education about shapes with a mix of hand and eye coordination type of activities.

The settings and design of the place was very interesting for a kid of his age to wander around. They got those colorful slides, the swings, the tunnels and the play mat was one of the highest quality I've ever stepped on. So you wont be worried if your infant falls on it.

Aduhai..sapo plak nak kemas bola2 ni

I end up sweating like a pig chasing over Fahyim to guide him throughout the whole process. I never thought I paid money to burn calories here. My wife was laughing like a chimpanzee spectating his husbands armpits cries in vain. Next week will be her turn to participate and my turn to tease.

All in all, i'll be looking forward to see his progress next week. This first week he didn't make enough friends as he was so starstrucked by the amazing play area. He was busy climbing the slides and rolling on the floor rather than making friends.

Next week is going to be exciting for him. :)

Big ass feet with a big ass stamp

Gymboree Play & Music Bangsar Village

And so it goes..Fahyim is in the verge of reaching 18 months old. Take my word, this might probably be the naughtiest age range of a baby boy. It is so monstrous,strenuous,atrocious or whateverous you can call it. This disquietness of him running around like a headless chicken can conclusively cost you your back, your arm and maybe your waist.

I have been observing my child and try to read his character as many times as I could. He is a very friendly boy. He is not afraid to initiate contact with other babies particularly the bigger ones. Some kids are afraid of him because most of the time he is a bit rough when it comes to physical contact. He probably just wanted to hug the kids but end up clutching their attire or accidentally poked their cheeks.

Last week my wife and I had our normal lunch date at a restaurant in The Weld just opposite my office. The owner of the restaurant got a baby boy whose age range is similar to Fahyim. That kid is far different if to be compared with Fahyim. He is much more composed, disciplined and clever too. Karl Huzaimi is the name given to him. The kid response promptly to his mothers instructions all the time. When his mother asks him to "wave" or say "thank you", he's chances of responding is quite high. Unlike Fahyim, he will do so if he wants to or whenever he's in a superb mood. 

We went to Medan, Indonesia last week for a short holiday. If I remember correctly, a total of  5 shopping malls in 3 full days was successfully visited and my wife ended up buying only a pair of shoes because the kid's temperamental state was quite high whenever we are out of the hotel. He refuses to sit in the stroller and whines when we picked him up. This behavioral patterns sums up the next step that me and my wife should do to nurture him. He needs a bit of discipline and socializing for him to move forward.

My wife has been scouting some play schools that we might consider to enroll him on. We purposely extended our leave just to see this play gym in Bangsar Village which is 5 minutes away from our house. GYMBOREE PLAY & MUSIC is the name of the gym. We were impressed with the owners (Pn. Jasmine) ability to portray their services and how their programmes will benefit our little monster. She is well experienced in this line of business that she can easily identify the traits and facts of our child to 99 percent accuracy. In shock I was but later on I learn the curriculum vitae of this lady was beyond debate. 15 years in experience and runs a chain of 6 centres including 2 in Singapore. This brand was originated in the States and this lady was handed the master frachisor for Malaysian market. "No competitors" she claimed.

The programmes requires either one of the parents to be present during classes. It is merely to stimulate the lifelong bonding between parents and the child. My wife and I went for lunch and discussed about it. Did the maths and decided to enroll on a package that consists of 48 classes for 45 minutes each session. These classes includes play,art and music. From my point of view, anything that adds value to nurturing our child and has the best value for money, I'm all up for it. We paid MYR 2,780 for the package and so the journey begins!

T-shirt, membership card and other freebies which I'm too lazy to read.

In other words, from now on, I have to spend 45 minutes of my beautiful Saturday with Fahyim at school..no more in front of the TV. Hehehe..