London 2011

Dear Amirah,

Papa kena gi outstation for 5 days. This time to London. After did some thinking and consulted some people, mama decided to take my annual leaves and ikut Papa. the reasons being were because it will be just a short trip, mama can do quick shopping while papa is working :), free accommodation and the best part, also free airline tix. Yup, free airline ticket sbb Papa boleh redeem Papa punyer Enrich points yg byk tuh. So, boleh dpt return ticket from KLIA to Heathrow for mama. Mama just bayar tax jer. So, overall for the 5 days trip to London, Mama just paid about RM1,800 aje.. so, sgt berbaloi kan?

But the down side was, we can't bring both of u along. lagi pon, takut Amirah n Fina kena jet lag lagi, and Mama can't afford to bring both of u jalan2 sebab Papa pergi kerja time tu.. takkan kita nak duduk kat hotel saja kan? plus full price airline tickets for both of you, dekat RM4000 sorang = RM8000. so, apa yang Papa n Mama buat, we called back up from Perlis.. we decided to minta tlg Mak Tuk, Tuk Ayah, Si Ti and Si Di jagakan Amirah n Fina kat Kajang.

Well, overall for Mama, the London trip was a shopping trip.. boleh dikatakan mcm shopping raya laa kot... anyway, plan asal takde laa nak beli byk sgt pon, however we ended up borong sakan pulak... From 2 luggage of about 25 kgs total, we brought home 3 luggage (addition of 1 big luggage) with total of 60 kgs. Some major items yang Mama n Papa bought were of course toys and plush (Simba n Nala) from Disney Store; sgt banyak baju, seluar n kids clothing from Primark; Samsonite luggage from Bicester Village; shirts papa yang sgt byk; one top from Burberry; Handbag from Gucci; jerseys and sports related from Lillywhites, 2 dresses from Zara, etc.

We stayed at Marriot Hotel, Marble Arch. Short walking to Oxford St. Papa was only available on Saturday and Sunday. So, we spent our time shopping for both of the days. We also went to Notting Hill on Sunday afternoon tu. On Monday n Tuesday, Papa kena work. So, mama kena jln sorang2 or jalan ngan wife boss Papa, Michelle. On Monday, mama jln2 kat Oxford Street lagi, before going to Hard Rock Shop and lunch kat Hard Rock Cafe dengan Auntie Michelle. Malam, mama ngan Auntie pergi tgok musical show, Mamma Mia kat Prince of Wales Theater. The show was really fantastic. Sgt2 best. I'm sure both of you will also enjoy it. At the end of the show, they would sang all the hit songs again and danced together.. even some of us pon would stand up and danced along. Nanti dah besar, i will bring both of u to see such shows ya.. We were lucky that with only 62.50 pounds, we could get box punyer seating, macam VVIP pulak.. even the seatings located below cost about the same, yg penting kena pandai cari booth yg jual seat murah.

On the last day (Tuesday), mama jalan sorang2. Mama decided to take a hop on hop off bus tour from the Original Bus Tour. Last 2 years during winter, we took the Big Bus Tour. Mama stopped at some main landmarks of London and took some pics before ended up taking a short tour to the Tower of London.. i only found out that the Tower of London was also the same place that they used to shoot Harry Potter. Finally i ended up to make a quick stop at Disney Store, to grab those lovely Nala and Simba for both of u. Our flight back to Malaysia was later that night. We arrived the next evening.

Amirah dengan Adik ikut sekali ambik mama n papa kat airport on Wednesday tu.. amirah ngan fina dtg ngan Si Di, Tok Ayah n Mak Tok. Amirah tido dlm kereta. Fina duduk dgn Mak Tok. Fina excited sgt bila nampak papa n mama... kejap nak ke depan, kejap nak ke belakang. As for Amirah, bila nampak mama pegang Nala, Amirah pon bangun.. Mama bg Simba dekat adik... Mama n Papa really missed both of you when we were in London.

For both of u, these are some of the pics that Mama n Papa took in London. We Love both of You.

4th of July, Birthday's Mama n Zoo Negara

Its 4th of July and its Mama's birthday. We took a day off just to spend our time together. First we took our beloved yellow RG 7111 car to the workshop in Ampang to change the windscreen. Well, the car got a crack on the windscreen quite sometime ago. But we couldn't hold any longer. so, we decided to ahead to Ampang instead.

While waiting for the car, we had a birthday lunch at Restoran Ikan Bakar Sekinchan. We went to the restaurant in Kota Damansara before and it turned out not that good. But this time, it was far better than our previous experience. We ordered ikan siakap n cencaru bakar with other side dishes. we took our own sweet time there as it would take 2 hours for the car to be ready. Then, we decided to walk to the workshop. On our way there, we stopped by Manjaku store. Mama decided to get some of the things, while Papa called the workshop's owner to fetch us at Manjaku instead.

Well, the car was ready. Then, we suddenly decided to go to Zoo Negara. Amirah n Fina were really excited that we were going to see animals in the zoo. They really had a great time, watching the shows, particularly parrots and the sea lions, walking and running around as well as taking the tram. Some animals that attracted them that day were the hippos, giraffes, elephants, lions, tigers, fish, penguins, cows, ponies, monkeys, etc.

After that, we decided to relax a bit and enjoyed some ice creams. yummy. well, fina n amirah slept during our way back to Kota Damansara. We really had a blast day, filled with unplanned activities. Quite awesome really, when we just decided on activities adhoc instead of planning them earlier.

Since the zoo visits, kakak Amirah kept talking about the zoos and the animals that we saw over there. She also mentioned on the animals at the night safari and the aquarium that we saw back in Singapore.

As for Fina, a zoo visit sure improved her vocabs on the animals. Now, she even knows how to sound like the animals that she saw in the zoo. And of course, Fina enjoyed more at the zoo as she was braver than her big sister. :)

2 years and 4 months old

Dear anakku Amirah Elisha,

Today, you are 2 years and 4 months old. Happy Birthday, sayang! we are so proud of you and your progress, dear.

its been a while since mama updated the last entry. amirah pon dah dapat adik, Amirah Elfina who just turned to 6 months old last 5th March. We call her Baby Fina or Fina or Adik. Amirah loves her very much. she never hurt her baby sister and really takes care of her... mama noticed today that when Baby Fina's saliva drooled from her mouth, Amirah quickly got off from the bed and grabbed a tissue to wipe her little sister's saliva off her sister's mouth. that is so caring of her! and everytime she got home from the nursery, she would ran into the house to find Baby Fina to say hi to her and kissed her. such a very sweet kakak.

mak tok and tok ayah had gone back to Perlis. and amirah so far had managed to go to the nursery without fail unlike when mak tok and tok ayah were around. she would become very lazy to go when they were around. hehehe...alhamdulillah she is doing better in the nursery and getting used to the environment.

she even has friends now. nevertheless, there were times when she got home with a little bruise. some kid apparently bit her back once and pinched her back once. mama had discussed with the owner of the nursery and she promised us that she would make sure that amirah would feel happy in the nursery and so far she is from what we had noticed.

amirah's pronunciations are getting better now. her vocabularies are getting improved. some other words that mama could think of she can say now:
tok ayah
tow truck
police
pororo, aish, boopy (all pororo characters), minnie mouse, duck (donald), dibo, pooh, sponge bob, apin (upin ipin's cat), pat pat (little einstein)
bomba
choo choo (train or bus)
nyam nyam (eat)
kakak, mama, papa, adik, baby
ami-ah (amirah)
buah
banana
mama mia
nyamuk
digigit
nak
poo poo
car
fish
milk
air
dan sebagainya... tak larat nak list down...

she now knows how to make a simple sentence. Eg:
"mama, kakak nak!", "papa, kakak poo poo", "baby milk/air", "kakak milk/air", etc

she really enjoys singing. kejap kejap nyanyi... kejap kejap nyanyi... her first song that we notice she can sing clearly is "Nina Bobo"

Nina Bobo
Lullaby
(Bahasa Indonesia)

Nina bobo,
oh, nina bobo,
kalau tidak bobo,
digigit nyamuk.

Adik sayang,
adikku sayang
tidurlah tidur
dalam buaian.

Other version

Ni-na bo-bok, Ni-na bo-bok.
Ka-lau ti-dak bo-bok di-gi-git nya-muk.
Ma-ri, no-na, Ni-na pu-as sa-ya.
Ka-lau ti-dak bo-bok di-gi-git nya-muk.

Lullaby
(English)

Lullaby
Oh, lullaby
If you are not sleeping
The mosquito will bite you.

Dear brother/sister
My dear brother/sister
Sleep oh, sleep
Oh, lullaby.

Other version

Nina, sleep, Nina, sleep.
If you don't sleep you will be stuck by a mosquito.
Come, lady, Nina, make me content.
If you don't sleep you will be stuck by a mosquito.

Yes, it is an indonesian song. amirah was raised by listening to indonesian children folk songs. her grandparents (SiDi and SiTi) have a nice collection of Indonesian children songs which amirah really enjoys listening to the music. Another song that she likes besides twinkle twinkle little star is "Naik Naik ke Puncak Gunung"

Naik Naik ke Puncak Gunung
Children's Song
(Bahasa Indonesia)

Naik naik ke puncak gunung
Tinggi tinggi sekali
Naik naik ke puncak gunung
Tinggi tinggi sekali
Kiri kanan kulihat saja
Banyak pohon cemara*
Kiri kanan kulihat saja
Banyak pohon cemara.*

and also "Satu Satu"

Satu Satu
Children's Song
(Bahasa Indonesia)

Satu, satu, aku sayang Ibu
Dua, Dua, juga sayang ayah*
Tiga, Tiga, sayang adik-kakak

Satu, Dua, Tiga, sayang semuanya.

Nevertheless, amirah also does listen to english children songs such as the followings:
10 little ducks
row row row your boat
london bridge is falling down
twinkle twinkle little star
baa baa black sheep
if you're happy and you know it
and many more

in conclusion she likes singing. oh, not to forget and dancing too!

lately, she likes jumping here and there. she also seems to be practicing of some routine and singing some songs that we are not familiar of. a few days later we received a sms from the owner of the nursery:

".....pihak taska akan membuat perjumpaan dgn ibu bapa mengikut giliran dari sekarang untuk berkongsi tahap aktiviti anak2 anda. konsert bagi kanak2 pula akan berlangsung tidak lama lagi dan untuk makluman, anak2 anda sedang berlatih sekarang! TQ"

i see... no wonder why... hehe.. can't wait to have the first ever meeting with her teachers and to see her concert! need to prepare a videocam since our previous videocam was stolen.

dah besar rupanya anak mama and papa ni. keep it up! we are proud of you, dear..

Florence part 1 - shopping paradise

Amirah and Paula - on the way to the Barberino Outlet Stores

Amirah and Papa at the Barberino

One tired little girl after some shopping spree

Mama in front of Prada Store - Mamma Mia!

After shopping in Polo Ralph Lauren Store

Amirah at home - trying on her Papa's swimming goggles

Preparing Amirah for cold weather outside

We never thought of having this opportunity to stay in Florence for a few months... the best thing was that the location was really superb... it was not in any of the middle east countries that Petronas could send Papa to.... or else Mama would really need to think about bringing Amirah along... having to spend about 2 months in Florence was really fantastic... how we wished we could come here again someday...

One of the best activities that Mama and Amirah loved to do when we were in Florence were definitely shopping! shopping in Florence during sales period was considered relatively cheaper compared to some branded items which were also available in Malaysia during sales time...

Our everyday routine when Papa was not around was to enjoyed ourselves playing around in the room and watching Amirah's favorite cartoons (Little Einstein, Upin & Ipin, Madagascar 2, etc). Mama would feed her for lunch everyday before we went out to the Florence city which was just a few blocks away from Palazzo Ricasoli, where we were staying...

In order to bring Amirah out, Mama had set a rule that Amirah had to stay in her stroller during the walk or else, we would just stay in the room and never go out... at first she was quite reluctant to sit inside her stroller but later on, she began to understand the concept and how Mama would be very tired if Mama need to hold her while pushing the stroller all at once....

One of our favorite stores when we go out to the centre of Florence was the Ilcentro, where most of our groceries were made there. We were lucky enough that we were given Buon Chef coupons for about 700 Euro to spend each month in some groceries stores, restaurant, etc which could accept the coupons. Ilcentro was one of them... almost everyday we would stop by the Ilcentro to buy some groceries items or some other personal things... they also sold some everyday toys that Amirah could play in the room so that Mama did not have to spend any cents to buy...

Other favorite stores that Amirah and Mama loved to visit when we were in Florence was definitely the Disney Store!!! the best thing we loved about the Disney Stores was that they frequently change their items especially their sales items... the sales or clearance items were really cheap and affordable to buy... most of the toys that we brought home to Malaysia were bought from here... Amirah's Cinderalla dress, High School Musical Ball, Princess tumblers, Disney handphones, Nemo's bath figures, princess stationaries/colors sets, Mickey's drinking glasses, pillow, Princess handbag and hairband set, etc.... those were some of the items that Mama can think of....

Another worth to buy items could be find in the Zara Stores... we happened to be in Florence during the sales time... so we did get good bargains for some of the items... We managed to buy a Zara t-shirt as cheap as 2.99 Euro each... Definitely you could get that cheap from Zara store in Malaysia... Mama also bought a pair of Zara boots to wear in one of Papa's formal dinner....

United Color of Benetton was also a good store to be visited during sales time.. Mama bought a small handbag and a few t-shirts at 1.99 Euro each.

Papa also enjoyed shopping in Florence. One of the best bargain that he got was from Massimo Dutti.... jeles mama... hehehe...

There were also bazaars which we could go everyday in Florence to buy souveniers.... items such as local t-shirts, leather items (eg: handbags, purse, wallets, jackets), fridge magnets, scarfs, etc could be find at affordable prices if one knows how to bargain with these Italians.

Mama also shopped a lot of tapestry kat florence... sangat laa mata rambang... hehe

The first weekend in Florence, we went to Barberino Outlet located about 20-30 km from Florence.. the place was quite cold as it was located at a highland... We took a bus there together with some other Papa's friends... Amirah met her new friends from Venezuela; Santi (3 years old) and Paula (1 + yrs old - same as Amirah)... Mama also met some shopping friends; Aimara (Santi n Paula's Mom @ Alejandro's wife) and Irene (Vinky's wife)...we really went crazy in the Outlet... For the first time in Mama's life, Mama managed to grab some Prada's stuffs from the store... no kidding... these were original Prada that we were talking about.... we also grabbed some other things in Polo Ralph Lauren, Adidas, etc which were available at the Barberino Outlet… The stuffs that we got were really cheap compared to Malaysia… We also managed to get an Adidas swimming suit for Amirah which as soon as we got home from the Outlet, she took out and tried it on her.... and also a nice Burberry dress for her...

Okay... will be right back ... i think that will be enough on the shopping part in Florence...

Venezia, Italy

8th - 10th January 2009

Finally we reached to the end of our Euro Trip. Our last stop before going back to Palazzo Ricasoli, Firenze was Venezia aka Venice. We arrived in Venice via train after a transit in Milan. I love Venice because there were lots and lots of things to look at and shop. I was crazy about murano glass and its jewelleries... after all, it was all about finding the right shop to bargain... bought also some pinnochio puppets and a few gondola models. Amirah was quite ecstatic to see water all around, as if she wanted to jumped into it. we travelled from a place to another via water taxi. cool though... luckily we arrived venice just after the flood but the water condition was not really good.

one of the main attractions that we went was Piazza San Marco, which has the same name as one of the piazzas in Florence. There were lots and lots of birds in this Piazza that made amirah really excited about it. the birds did not scare of human and would come near you if you fed them. so, you can imagine how long we had to spend in that piazza until amirah tired of looking at those birds.

We also took a gondola ride for about 30 -45 mins, lalu belakang rumah rumah orang and through some small channels. the man who gave us the ride somehow did not sing to us and was not wearing the normal uniform that they used to, unlike the one we always saw in the TV. maybe due to its cold wheather. summer aje kot...

Our last night was very splendid. we decided to have a very nice and romantic dinner. after all, we were in venice, weren't we? Papa took mama (and amirah) to a very nice and fine seafood restaurant for the dinner. amirah was very sporting that she slept during the entire dinner... kasi can laa kat mama ngan papa.... hehe... some of the dishes we ordered were spaghetti di frutti di mare and grilled seafood... on the way back, we tapau some eggplant and egg sandwiches for amirah.. somehow, i really loved those eggplant sandwiches... one of the best simple sandwiches that i ate so far..

on the 10th, we departed to Firenze where Papa would start his class again and mama would start to become a full housewife for the next 2 months in Firenze while looking after our lovely daughter, Amirah.. home sweet home :)

Zurich and Lucerne, Switzerland

Engelberg

Engelberg Train station

confident aje si kecik ni jalan atas snow

excited dapat jalan atas snow

on the way to Mt. Titlis, Engelberg

Engelberg

Engelberg

Old Town, Lucerne

Old Town, Lucerne

Old Town, Lucerne

Old Town, Lucerne

Old Town, Lucerne

Old Town, Lucerne

Zurich

5th to 8th January 2009

Finally we arrived in Switzerland! my dream place!!

well, we actually arrived in Zurich late in the evening.. after so many transits in Germany... somehow there were problems with the ICE train that for a certain reason, it did not stop where we were supposed to before changing to another train. anyway, we arrived in Zurich safely in Zurich SBB Station, right in the middle of Zurich city. It was colder in Zurich, as expected. even the water of the fountain located outside the station was frozen.

Our hotel located at the outskirt of the city, which was closer to the airport (lupa pulak tak naik kapal terbang laaa).. luckily the train system was really good there and quite near to the hotel to. The hotel (NH Zurich Airport Hotel) offered good facilities, about the same standard as the Mercure Hotel. we were so glad about that.