I have been blessed with a lot of things. But one thing that I'm really really greatful for is my family. Abang Iqie is five, Abang Afeeq is three, and Rayna is one and a half years old. And I just celebrated my 6th wedding anniversary.
We're now paying close attention to Abang Iqie's reading and writing skills. He gets Maths and doesn't need much guidance. But he thinks reading and writing are a nuisance. Whenever the car stops, I would always ask him to spell whatever words we could see. Be it a billboard, names of shops or advertisments. Some letters still slipped his memory, and he has to recite his ABC to remember them. But on different occassions, that doesn't seem to be a problem. Is he practising selective memory like me? I sure hope not. But with a bit of encouragement (by that I mean a little bit of scolding and threatening and bribing), he seems to be on the right track. And I have to make sure that his memory lapses are not a permenant thing ;)
I also notice that Abang Iqie is a bit like 'by the book' type of kid. He listens to us when we reason with him. And we when set rules, he abides although he would try to get his way around them sometimes.
Abang Afeeq is still enjoying his play time a lot, especially now that Mummy and Daddy don't seem to pressure him to do any homework yet. Well... That time will come my darling. He's a bit cheeky, always trying to cook up something funny. But he can also be notorious especially if he is provoked, and if things don't exactly go his way. At the same time, he's a darling. Always says 'I love you' when you least expect it. He's a cheeky and tough Mummy's boy. And he reminds me a lot of myself :))
Although Rayna is only one and a half years old, she's more advanced than her two bros. She's very independent. She won't allow me putting on her shirt and pants after shower. She wants to do it herself, and blind me, she can! She can also eat on her own. She can understand us perfectly. Whenever she has poohed in her diaper, she would come to me and tell me that she had poohed. When I tell her to shower, automatically, she would take off her pants and shirt and head to the bathroom. She then would take the stool, place it right in front of the wash basin, demand for her toothbrush, and brush her own teeth. Of course I have to brush her teeth all over again. Once that is done, she would put back the stool where it belongs and enter the shower area. She would also shampoo herself, rub her tummy with the shower gel including her feet, and rinse herself.
Rayna has also started to utter words that we can understand. I can even have a decent conversation with her about simple things. Her obsession nowadays is cats. Whenever she sees one, she would follow and would want to kiss it. That doesn't happen to just live cats, but to pictures of cats too, on books or on the phones.
I guess these are the things that really make me feel blessed! Alhamdulillah.
Ieja
Abang Iqie is now 6 and learning to read. He can spell quite well now. He can multiply and subtract quite well too. But he sometimes lacks focus. So Hubby and I really need to see his work after he's done. There were times when he held back his tears because I lost my patience when he was not focusing on his numbers or letters. There was this one time when I really lost my patience and I screamed at him. He held his tears so hard that when I finally finished with him, he ran to Hubby and cried in the room. I felt so guilty and felt like crying too...
Abang Afeeq is now 4 and is a cool and playful boy. I'm sometimes amazed with his I-don't-give-a-rat-ass attitude. He can ignore everyone around him and just go about his business like nothing affects him. But sometimes I can sense his middle child syndrome. He wants the attention, especially when it's bedtime or shower time. I don't mind giving it all to him, and when it is necessary, I always make sure that he is given the priority. But I'm quite worried when he's not eating... He has lost some weight... He's really into cars so he has more than a dozen Hot Wheels cars in his collection. He even has his own Hot Wheels wall-mounted track, and a track carpet to play his cars with.
As for Princess Rayna, she is sweet and so not girly :) Whatever the brothers do, she can keep up with them. They jump on the bed or off the bed... she's right behind them. And knowing that she's quite protected, she sometimes 'demands' things, especially if she sees something that she likes from Abang Afeeq. Poor Abang Afeeq... Rayna really likes to disturb him. She's sometimes his shadow - much to his dislike! So, I have to put up with the shouting and the fighting and the wrestling. She's also very cheeky and learns things very fast. She can understand all of us easily and she can say words that are easy and familiar to her. She's now into bears (her soft toys), but not Barbie-like dolls. Most of the times, she plays with her brother's toys - which are so not girly...
