Summer Recess is Over - Part 1

Hi folks! I'm back. I hope all of you had a great summer. It has been a very busy summer for me, and hence, my prolonged absence from my own blog. The first autumn leaves in my garden are starting to turn golden brown and also gently falling to the ground. So, as we are preparing to start off another new season, I thought perhaps I should bring you all up to date what we have been through in the summer. However, before that, I would like to reflect on the song that we sang in church yesterday:

"Be still and know that I am God,
Be still and know that I am God,
Be still and know that I am God."

For those of you who are Christians, you would know where I am coming from. In all the hustle and bustle of our lives, it is important sometimes to stay still and meditate on God and His Greatness.

Well, the highlight of my summer is to see how my little girl has grown. In the last couple of months, she has grown incredibly close to me. From the moment she opens her eyes in the morning, till the time she sleeps at night, she would want to spend her every awake moments with me; that is if I am at home and not working. She would only allow me to wash and dress her, make her milk for her and feed her etc..etc.. As many nights of the week as possible, I would try to get home early so that I can put her to bed and also read to her. Currently, we are going through the The Complete Winnie the Pooh series together. She took me by surprise yesterday. At the end of our reading, she put her hands together and spontaneous said a prayer out loud by herself. It went something like this:

"Dear God,
Thank you for today. Please don't let papa and I have bad dreams tonight....(She
paused and turned to me and asked," Are you working tomorrow? To which, I answered, "Yes". She then continued...)Please bring papa home early tomorrow, because I want to hug and kiss him".

It turned out that she had been taught how to pray at Sunday School that morning. It warms my heart that not only is she growing physically; she is also maturing mentally. Just to illustrate, the following conversation took place just a couple of weeks ago:

She was trying to find some of her favourite clothes to wear, but could fine none as they were all being washed.

Me: "Why don't you ask mummy to buy some more clothes for you the next time you go out shopping with her?"

Elly: "But, what if we spend all your money?"

Me: "Don't you worry Elly, papa will just go out to work and earn more"

Elly: "But I don't want you to go out to work. I want you to stay at home with me everyday. It's OK papa, I won't spend your money."

Me : ....speechless...

Elly: "Make sure you don't give mummy too much money to spend."

Me: Hahaha!


Well,these moments with my child mean the world to me. I will cherish them for years to come. It has indeed been a memorable summer. Will write more about it later.

Trickiest Task

Once a week, it is my turn to get my daughter ready in the morning and send her to the nursery school. I usually get her up at 7am, and give myself an hour to do everything before we head out the door. After I get her to the school, I would then have to head off to work. As any parent (usually mum) can testify, this is probably the most hectic time of the day. Add to that, the pressure of getting to work on time; this can turn the hour into an absolutely manic time.

So, how do I do it? First of all, I would get her up and plump her straight in front of the TV. Bad habit I know, but this is my way of expediting things. Then I would proceed to make her the milk (she takes a special milk formulation), and also give her a bowl of rice krispies. While she is having her breakfast, I would dash upstairs to wash myself and get ready. After that, I would proceed to give her a body wipe and change her. Yep..right in front of the telly. Then, I would get her to brush her teeth in the downstairs toilet. After that, I would try my best to tie her hair. I find that this is the trickiest part of the morning. It would take me multiple attempts before I get it right. First of all, I would have to comb her hair. Then I have to divide her hair in the center on the back, as I want to tie it into 2 equal pony tails. So, symmetry is very important. I would then proceed to tie one pony tail at a time. This is made all the more harder every time she moves her head. She just can't stop wriggling about. So, with one eye on the clock,this can sometimes be a frustrating task. However, perseverance usually trimphs and wah lah...the result as you can see on the photo above. Not bad, huh?

Princess Elly

Yeah…..I call my little girl Princess. Who doesn’t??? She loves that I call her that . In fact she loves everything about Princesses….Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White …etc. Oh yes, her favourite is Snow White; she even has a SW costume that she wears to her never ending ( and costly!!) friends’ 3 years old birthday parties. So, I ask her,

Papa : Do you know why you are called Princess?

Elly: Why, papa?

Papa: Because your papa is King………..Ha! Ha! Ha!

Sorry…I love my own crap jokes. Luckily, my little girl loves my jokes too. She has a wicked sense of humour, you see.

I could still remember the day she was born. On my part, there was no overwhelming rush of emotions that you always read about when some one is recounting their experience at childbirth. I always thought that that is such a stereotypical response, and probably as a result of reading too many mushy women’s magazines.Bor-rriinnng!!. Instead, I breathed a sigh of relief and a silent prayer of thanks that to the Almighty that my little girl had arrived safely. Yes, we knew the sex of our baby from the ultrasound scans during my wife’s pregnancy. I see no point in not knowing. It certainly makes the exercise of deciding her name and buying her clothes much easier.

So, Elly it is. I decided on that name when I was reading an article about a brilliant consultant neurologist in London who is also a great musician. And before you start thinking that that is also what I aspire for my little girl, let me just stop you right there. To me, it was just a nice sound to that name, and more importantly, it is also short and uncomplicated. It should make her life easy in later life when she has to fill in all the forms. When I’m asked what her name is, I always say that it is Elly with a “y”, and not an “ie”. This is because Ellie is the short form of Eleanor, and that would not do, as it sounded so dated, so Pride and Prejudice, if you know what I mean.

Having said all that, I would not blame you if you are beginning to think that I am a boring old fart with no feelings for anything romantic. Far from it; I have always felt a deep bond with my little girl right from the start. For example, during the first night when we brought her back, she would calm down immediately as I held her and sang to her, “Titis embun…berjatuhan, malam sepi….tak berteman…..”; (heck, where did that come from??)....the song just floated from deep within the recesses of my memories. I didn’t even remember learning this song…it must have just seeped into my being from all those years ago as I grew up in Malaysia. The tune just lulled her back to sleep. We seemed to be able to communicate from the very beginning. I knew and understand her every cry and grunt. ( Wah…boasting only ah..ha..ha) Quite often, I would tell my wife what the problem was.

There were also other special moments that we shared together. Just this morning, she wanted me to paint her finger and toenails for her. A few weeks ago, as I was helping her to the potty for a wee wee , she suddenly said, “ I love you, papa”. Words just can’t describe how I felt (ok…ok…there might have been a tear welling up, and the throat was tight like I was experiencing an anaphylactic attack.....damn, where's my Epipen!!!) There are also times when she would come to me with something that she knew her mummy would not approve of. She would whisper into my ears and then said its our secret ( or “sikriiiitt” as she would pronounced it). We are now into making deals and shaking our hands on it. Little girl’s honour……….and once she shook her hands on it, she would keep her side of the bargain. I would also always treasure her look as she waves to me from the window of our lounge as I reverse my car out of the driveway to work each day. It sustains me through a busy day at work. She also never ceases to amaze me. I would discover something new about her every single day when she was a baby. From the time she was 12 months old, she knew how to operate the TV, video and DVD player. Her favourite programmes were Andy Pandy, Max and Ruby, Angelina Ballerina, Snow White, Cinderella and of late Mulan and Pocahontas.

Elly, with her toes painted.

During our recent trip to Malaysia, she had learnt how to play the card game “Uno”, from her cousins, Angeline and Ben. In fact, she then taught me how to play it herself. Not bad considering that the game is meant for an age target of 7+ and she is only 3 and very soon 4 years of age. She has also demonstrated her competitiveness through this game. She would insist on winning each time and would cry if she lost. Not wanting to spoil her and yet at the same time not wanting to break her spirit, I would allow her to have her cry; and when she has finished crying, I would encouraged her to try harder to win by using her brains; without making it any easier for her. Turn your tears into your strength, I would say.

So my little princess, I thank God each day for the little miracle that you are. You would always be your papa’s Numero Uno ( pun intended). It is a joy to see you grow. And yeah….can’t wait till the day that I can take you diving!