#jaudan

[whatmeawrites]

Jaudan's 1st birthday

Jaudan turned one year old last month. No longer a baby. Officially a toddler. 

On his birthday, nothing special was arranged. Mommy had to go to work and couldn't spend the day with him. So we light up a candle when he woke up and let him eat his first mini cupcake (which he didn't seem to enjoy, by the way). 

Two weekends after that, we organized a small ball-themed birthday party inviting a few kids from the neighborhood and some relatives. Nothing fancy. We prepared cakes, jellies and popcorn for the kids. Oma decorated the house with balloons, which made Jaudan go ballistic for two whole days. The kids seemed to enjoy the party because it was filled with presents and goodies. And most importantly, the birthday boy was happy and got so many presents for the whole three months! Blocks and books and toys. Yeay!

Happy birthday, little man. We have big hopes for you, but mainly is for you to be blessed with happiness and healthiness always..

[whatmeawrites]

My son turns eight months old today and despite the fact that I am happy, I couldn’t help but feeling sad.

Before I went to sleep last night, I thought about how fast Jaudan is growing and how I truly have been enjoying the time that he is here with me. I see my life right now as complete. I don’t need to define what happiness is because there in the eyes of my son and in his smile, there is where my happiness lies. It’s in him. It’s when he opens his eyes in the morning and finds mine. It’s in his soft chubby cheeks that always feel good to be kissed. It’s in the warmth of how his skin smells. It’s in his hands that always lift up wanting to be held by me whenever I’m around. It’s in his peaceful sleeping face that I always find comfort at staring. It’s in him and through his presence I feel pure joy and complete happiness. And I am terrified every single time thinking how my life would be if I lose him. In that moment, I thought about the parents losing their children, their babies in the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting tragedy. I couldn’t imagine how those parents must be feeling. One minute they were dropping their children to school and the next to be receiving a phone call, or worse even, looking at the news and found out about that they have lost their children. I thought about how their world must have collapsed there and there, how they have to faced their children’s empty beds at home and realizing that their babies are no longer theirs, taken away in such a sad tragedy, and then, gone. They don’t have anymore babies to greet them in the morning. They don’t have the children who want to be held by them. No more chubby cheecks to be kissed and no more staring at them sleeping. I thought about these thoughts last night and I was overwhelmed with emotions and sadness. Just thinking about it made me so emotional and I couldn't even begin to imagine what they have to face.

Parents lose their children of many reasons; cancers, sickness, SIDS, accidents. Whatever the cause, I can't imagine how these parents feel. I then thought about my late brother, and how my mom must have been feeling all this time, moving on with life with such a big hole in her heart. I remember what she used to say whenever she's sad thinking about him; "In the end, Allah will take whatever is His, we don't know the timing. I am so glad I have the chance to spent 41 years with him." I thank God for every minute of my son's existence, for his health and happiness, and I thank my son for these wonderful eight months. You made my life has a whole other meaning, Jaudan.

[whatmeawrites]

Jaudan, almost 8 months old!

when i said life goes by really fast, i genuinely meant it. i mean, this little boy is almost eight months already and in five months time he'll be one year old? i mean, come on! 

i honestly been enjoying this (almost) eight months. seeing how fast my baby boy grew really has been amazing. i can still remember how small he was during his first two months and the noises and cues he used to make are still attached to my heart. well a lot has changed, and this baby soon will no longer be a baby. below is some facts from Jaudan's 7 months old self..

weighs 9,1kg and is 69cm tall

this boy moves and moves and moves a lot and he can't keep still! he likes to crawl, jump and try to stand up (i mean really? at 7 months?). he also likes to 'hike' into a pile of pillows or our bodies, anything that he can used as a step. 

drinks around 900ml of fluids including milk, water and fruit juices

eats up to 40 spoonful of his food. i am a happy momma after all the drama he put us through. Jaudan eats a variety of carbs, veggies and fruits. he has also started taking cheese and yogurt. next week we'll be introducing him to chicken, meat and fish

fake coughing is still his best weapon

grunts and stretches simultaneously when he's angry, you know, the hulk style

started his own baby talking and actually respond when we talk to him. oh, and he knows when somebody calls his name, he'll start to look where the voice comes from

wants to be picked up whenever he sees me, which melts my heart every.time

sleeps through the night again, and wakes up from 4.30 - 6am, but sometimes cries or 'breakdancing' in the middle of his sleep so momma needs to calm him and rock him back to sleep

always softens up whenever i sing him 'jaudan sayang, jaudan sayang mommy.. kalau bukan jaudan bukan sayang mommy' with the rhythm of nina bobo song

and he can sing too! sometime he sings us a lullaby and it's pretty darn cute

bringing him with us when we hang out has been a lot more enjoyable ever since he can sit on his own. whenever we are in a cafe/restaurant he sits on the baby chair and he never fusses

is still the cutest and most handsome baby i have ever seen..

[whatmeawrites]

oh, hello...

oh, it has been looong since the last time I posted!

I have been thinking whether to move this blog to a more sophisticated platform like blogger or wordpress, but it takes too much effort I already feel tired just by thinking about it. 

how's life on my side? it's pretty great. there has been some rocky times starting on october but it's looking good starting december. hopefully things are looking even better next year. can you believe 2013 is in three weeks? crazy. 

well I do have a lot to post, especially about Jaudan's progress updates. in the meantime, I'll leave you with the latest move of that handsome baby boy in the video below.

[whatmeawrites]

i have been meaning to take jaudan to ride the 'andong' for weeks. now that he's getting older and started to be aware of his surroundings, i made a vow to take him out at least once a week so he can see things and experience something. this is a photo of him riding the 'andong'. he went for two rides and he seemed to be enjoying it. and that face with a mini cap, so cute!

[whatmeawrites]

our weekend

on saturday, we took jaudan for his 4 month visit and another round of vaccination shot. he was asleep in the car and when we got to the doctor's office, he showed his 'i'm about to cry any minute from now' face, and when the doctor examined him he showed the same face and when the doctor injected the shot, he cried for like 3 minutes and then stopped. what a smart boy!

we then went to oma's place. initially we wanted to swim but we decided to postpone it to next week since he just had his shot. he loved playing in oma's place because well it's so big and bright and a lot to see! jaudan took a nap there and stephan and i had lunch with oma. we then went home, and at night jaudan and i had our weekly massage session. 

this weekend has been relaxing. i will be facing a busy week ahead and it's just so good to be able to chill together with stephan and jaudan. next week we are planning to introduce jaudan to swimming for the very first time. i am now ordering a neck ring and a swimtrainer and i can't hardly wait for next week!

*did you see those little shoes in the first and second photos above? it was his first time wearing shoes. i am such a proud momma!

[whatmeawrites]

braving ourselves for the next 14 days

idul fitri is just 4 days away. jaudan's nanny and our maid have left and went back to their hometowns. we hired a temporary nanny who has been with us 3 days prior to the departure of the real nanny, but up to last night he hasn't liked her. this morning it's do or die for the temp nanny. though it hasn't been 100% smooth, i can say that so far (now its 4pm) it's going okay. he is drinking just slightly less than the usual amount, but still within his normal range. he naps 3 times and poops 2 times. one can only hope that for the next 2 weeks it will be like this. amen.

[whatmeawrites]

just the three of us

last sunday, stephan and i took jaudan along for a brunch in gourmet world, kemang. no nanny, just the three of us, for the first time.

i packed all of the baby necessities into my bag that i transformed into a diaper bag (note to self, buy a stylish bag for baby bag). we went out after jaudan had his second feeding, changed him and put pants on him (first long pants! and oh my he looked just like a big boy) put him on his carseat and then we drove off. the trip was quite easy; he was a true gem in the restaurant, looking at people and the place, fell asleep while we're eating and woke up exactly when we stepped back into the car, causing chaos because he had to have his milk right away. so we had to stop in the middle of the road, he drank his milk, spit up a bit to mommy (note to self, bring clothes to change for mommy and papa, not just for baby), refused to sit back to his carseat and cried hysterically so we had to calm him by stepping out of the car in the middle of the street, then he fell asleep on mommy's arm for the rest of the trip back home. 

it was pretty intense. but so much fun. i look forward for more trips to come, just the three of us.