River Turns 1

2 October 2013

Happy Birthday River !

She looks so grown up in this picture 

No worries about calories intake for now

Enjoying life's sweet moments

Sunny smile for a sunny day

September 2013

Tues 20 Aug

A charming new photo of the royal baby and parents. Prince G has been making headlines and is an unstoppable media sensation...even when he's fast asleep.

Fri 6 Sept 

With 4th aunty is back in Klang since 1 Sept, Bikia met up with aunty and cousins Romina and Felicia. They had a Japanese meal at Mid Valley.

Sat 14 Sept 

As I couldn’t make it for the 6 Sept get-together, I met up with aunty and cousins in Klang. We had dinner with 7th uncle & family at a Japanese restaurant.

And now, some snapshot from River’s hectic schedule. From painting to swimming to smiling for the camera, it’s a busy life for 11 month old River.

Happy smile

The innocent look

Bright & cheerful smile

Bravely setting forth to a brand new world – the other side of the pool. Looks like she's waving goodbye to mum while dad pushes her off on her journey

Busy

Looking pensive. What's on your mind, River ?

August

Sat 3 Aug 2013

Touch down at KK airport at 6.10 PM.

Tues 6 Aug 2013

Although Dad doth protest that KFC is not healthy (hormone injections), methinks it is fine as long as it is an occasional treat. We each had a piece of KFC for dinner, with the 3 other vegetable dishes that mummy had prepared.

Thurs 8 Aug 2013

It is the first day of the Raya holidays. Dad and I went to pick up Bikia who flew in at 1 PM. 

After lunch, we headed over to Center Point. I had a rock salt body scrub whereas Mummy and Bikia opted for foot and body massage respectively. 

Just as we were about to leave, panic unfolded as there was a fire in the building and everyone rushed to get out. However, it was not to be a quick exit as many cars tried to leave at the same time and there is only one exit point for each floor. All’s well that end’s well as we manage to get out without seeing any actual fire or smoke. 

After dinner, we went for a walk at Sutra Harbour. Bikia successfully clock in 10,000 steps of walking for the day (tracked by his smart phone app). I must have come pretty close as I had my jogging session before dinner.

Fri 9 Aug 2013

In the afternoon, we were back at Center Point. This time, it was facial for me whereas Mummy had a body scrub and Bikia had a foot massage. The lady manager called Bikia “Daniel” a few times. We didn’t know that Bikia had changed his name…

In the evening, we headed to the beach to have a stroll and watched the musical fountain show.  We managed to catch the 9 PM and 9.30 PM performances. It ended with Sarah Brightman singing “Time to Say Goodbye”, a clear indication that it was the last song for the night.

Sat 10 Aug 2013

I went for my dentist appointment while Bikia had his haircut just before lunch. Gums bleeding after the dentist visit, as the nurse did a thorough cleaning job.

After lunch, we headed off to Rasa Ria Resort at Pantai Dalit. We had a leisurely stroll at this resort. To our surprise, there are Segways for rental (RM30 for 15 minutes) which you can only drive at a small, designated area in the resort grounds. Bikia and I agreed that our Austin city tour (Segs in the City) is way better.

Our Skype session with Austin started at 8.55 PM. We had a 1 hour baby show, starring River as the main actor, and Abi and Anica with supporting (but important) roles as her parents. River is now able to stand up and walk with very minimal assistance from the supporting actors. With 7 teeth and able to eat solid food (she doesn’t like rice that much though), she has made good progress since our last Skype session in July.

Sun 11 Aug 2013

French toast for breakfast, prepared by Master Chef aka Dad.

We were at the airport on time for my 10.45 AM flight. However, I was stuck in the plane for 2 hours due to the non-functioning radar tower. Bummer.

Mon 12 Aug 2013

Traffic was smooth as some city folks are still on leave due to the long holiday weekend, as well as school holiday for the whole week.

July Celebration

Fri 12 July

The three of us were back in KK to help dad to celebrate his birthday a few days earlier.

For the birthday dinner, we were at Deep Sea restaurant for a meal consisting of soft shell crabs, ostrich meat, longevity noodles, steamed fish and vegetables.  

July family photo

Sat 13 July

We requested for siew mai for breakfast. There’s no such thing as too much dim sum.

We were at Suria for a short shopping session before lunch. Beh Ling only bought one skirt whereas I bought a pair of pants.

View from Suria balcony

After a long chat after lunch, we had a lazy Saturday afternoon, taking a short zzzz.

Then it was off to the beach to get some coconut water. Alas, there were no fresh coconuts available, and we decided to head home for dinner.

Sunset at Tanjung Aru

Our Skype session started at 9 PM with Abi connecting from Austin 8 AM local time and Anica calling in from Belgrade 3 PM local time. River is obviously enjoying the attention of her Belgrade relatives and the attractions of Belgrade.

Sun 14 July

Dad bought two fresh coconuts this morning, which we had as part of our breakfast.

First to take off is Beh Ling and we were at the airport early to send her off.

At KK Airport

Fortunately Dad remembered that no liquids allowed for cabin luggage and two chili bottles were removed from Beh Ling’s white luggage.

Then in the afternoon, it was time for me and Bikia to head back to KL. 

Mon 15 July

Traffic back from work is perfect after 7.30 PM as many Muslims have left earlier to break fast at home or at various eating places in KL.

Tues 16 July

Happy birthday, Dad !

Sun 21 July

We finally made it to the No Reservation restaurant, using Abikia’s groupon deal. Japanese food was fine but soooo sloooow. 

Mon 22 July

Hit by royal baby fever ! 

Tues 23 July

Debut of HRH Prince of Cambridge. 

Fri 26 July

Abikia is in Tioman for 3 days, for his open water diving certification. He is now certified to dive up to 18 meters.

June

Sun 2 June 2013

Mum and dad arrived back in KK after a short weekend trip to Singapore. Unfortunately I had to spend the whole weekend in KL finishing the necessary work before flying down to Singapore on 3 June.

Abikia was back in KK to be a part-time tour guide for his KL friends who were in town for the Kaamatan celebration. He can be a part-time nature photographer as well because of this picture perfect postcard photo.

Spectacular sunset view in KK

He had bah kut teh dinner with mum and dad after he picked them up from the airport. 

Back in Austin, River is now 8 months old !

River's eyelashes

Someone is very hungry !

River tries her hand at writing

River's room

Smiling with mum

Sun 9 June 2013

Lunch appointment with Abikia at a kopitiam in Brickfields.  It has been a busy work week so I definitely earned the right to have a nice lunch break. It was a simple meal of mun fun (rice with gravy, meat, vegetables) and chicken soup.

Unfortunately, there was a parking ticket waiting for us when we went back to the car. It was parked at the side of the road with a yellow line as we couldn’t find any proper parking space. Lesson learnt – get a proper parking space or eat elsewhere !

Back to work after a hearty lunch. 

Thurs 13 June 2013

Bikia is on his way to London for a short weekend trip while I was poorer by RM1330 after sending my car for servicing. The air-conditioning was not functioning due to leakage and that alone set me back by RM1100. 

Sun 16 June 2013

Grandma and grandpa are very impressed with River’s crawling skills after watching Anica’s video of her crawling extremely fast. 

Fri 21 June 2013

Thanks to our neighbour (the country where President Obama spent his early childhood years) the annual haze situation has returned.

The situation is worse off in Singapore which is closer to the above mentioned neighbouring country.

Sun 23 June 2013

Weather is only slightly sunny due to heavy haze condition.

Mon 24 June 2013
School closed for 1 day due to worsening haze condition. Driving to work was a breeze and I arrived 30 minutes earlier than usual. If only the traffic could be like this every day (minus the hazardous air situation).

Tues 25 June 2013
It finally rained after weeks of scorching Sahara-like hot weather!
It helped to clear the haze too.

Sun 30 June 2013
It’s like an Amazing Race episode as we were trying to locate the restaurant that Abikia had purchased Groupon voucher. We finally found it after looking for it for half an hour. And the reward? Finding out that it’s closed on the last Sunday of the month. Bummer.

We went for sushi at a nearby place instead. After all the walking and searching, an air-conditioned place was exactly what one needed to recuperate.

Back in Austin, the weather is all clear as River dazzles us with her smile.

Austin family photo

Flower Girl

Posing with dad