At home, we got the girls to wash their hands as frequent as possible. When we’re out, we warned them not to touch railings, lift buttons, actually just about anything. We also got them to use the hand sanitizer if they’d touched anything we thought might have germs. In school, their temparature is taken before they are allowed in the school compound.

Naturally, they asked us what is all this fuss about. We told them there’s a virus called H1N1, and the ways one can contract it. After a while, they started forming ideas themselves.

Zara being a bit paranoid will came out questions like, “How do you know if you have H1N1?”
“Mummy, I have a bit of a sore throat, do I have H1N1?
“Mummy, I just touched the XXX (which could be anything), will I get H1N1?”

And she said, “H1N1 is the king of virus. All the other germs listen to him, and they will attack you. So you’ll be very sick.”

Over dinner, the little one said, “I got H1N1.” pointed to her wound from her fall yesterday, “See my H1N1.” o.O”

I can make them soup they would never drink, ask them to eat vege they would normally give it a pass, all I have to say is, “It’s good for you, help your body to be strong, to fight H1N1” And they would cringe and gulp.

When I was giving them their dose of DHA pill (which they love btw, no coaxing required) just now, Zaria said, “I eat fish pill (which is what they called) already, then can squash the H1N1.”

Remember this photo? Which I posted here when Zaria was 15months old?

Her love for my belly button hasn’t reduced even at 30 months. She doesn’t really ‘depend’ on it for comfort, but she loves to poke her finger in my belly button, or wriggles her finger in my belly button.

When she watches TV and if I sat next to her, she would put her finger in my belly button.

At night when I lay on my stomach to read to her, she’ll try to lift my shoulder up (and sometimes make the dramatic sound as though she’s exerting herself trying to do that) so that I’ll lay on my side, and then she’ll have access to my belly button. While I read to her, this happens :

Sometimes when we’re out and about (in public places), she would lift my t-shirt to reach for my belly button. After many times of telling her not too, now when she has the urge, she’ll say, “In public cannot poke poke belly button right? At home only right?”

Normally at bed time, I’ll tuck them in then I’ll go for my shower. At times, Zaria will tell me, “Can (I) poke poke your belly button first?” So I’ll lay next to her and let her poke my belly button for a while.

Nowadays she even wants to control what I can do with my belly button. If I appled lotion after my bath, and the belly button caught some of the lotion, she would tell me off, “Why got cream in your belly button? You cannot put cream in your belly button oh-kay??!! Next time don’t put huh?”

If I wear a dress, she will tell me, “Why you wear dress? Now I cannot poke poke belly button already.”

If I go to sleep at the same time with the girls, with Zara on my left, and Zaria on my right (yes, we’re still co-sleeping, with Zara on her own bed parked next to ours, and Zaria on our bed in between us); Zara will ask me to hold her hand or put my hand on her tigh (as long as I’m touching her); Zaria will ask me to turn towards her so she can poke my belly button. Imagine how uncomfortable it is for me? With me lying on my right facing Zaria, and my left hand stretched towards the left to touch Zara until either one fall asleep?

On our way home from school, just for the sake of discussion, I asked the girls if I can have another baby.

Here is a gist of how the conversation went.

Zara : NO!
Zaria : Cannot
Me : Why?
Zaria : *very quickly*You can only carry me. You can only sleep with me. Oh-kay?!
Zara : If you want to have another baby, then you must get married again, then I will have a Step-father. I don’t want to have step-father (I have been telling her you have to get married then only can get pregnant).
Me : I don’t need to get married again. I’m already married. Remember or not, when mummy have mei-mei, did mummy get married again?
Zara : Oh.. You just went to the doctors only right?
Me : Yah.. So, can I have another baby?
Zara : NO!
Zaria : NO!
Zara : If you have another baby, sure you will have a boy one. I don’t like boys. So naughty.
Me : Maybe it’ll be a girl. Then you’ll have another mei-mei.
Zaria : I don’t want mei-mei. I don’t want baby.
Zara : I got mei-mei already. You have another baby, then you will have no time for us any more.
Me : You two can play together right?
Zara : But we still need you to play with us. If you got baby already, then you will forget about us.

Not that I’m considering having another. I have closed shop. But it’s nice to see their reactions. 😛

Having 2 daugthers who are of similar sizes do have its advangtage. They can share clothes.

If a dress is too short, just add a pair of pants.

She saw how her jiejie wore the dress with a pair of pants, she wanted the same (although the dress is long enough for her).

I get a lot of pleasure these days talking to Zaria or just listening to what she has to say about things. This girl does not at all speak like a two and a half, but like a little old lady, and the things she says always bring smiles to our faces.

She likes to look at the photos in our study, those photos were taken before the girls were born, and she would always ask me, “Where is meimei?” last time. After explaining to her a few times, now she would point to the various photos and say, “This one I not yet born?” (she’s stopped calling herself ‘mei-mei’ and refer to herself as I or Me). “This one jiejie born already? I not yet born?” and to those photos with her, “This one I born already right? Remember, yesterday, I went to ….” and she’ll start telling us where the photo was taken (but the timing is always ‘yesterday’) and what she was doing.

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We were at my sister’s place on Saturday, and my BIL whom Zaria has not seen for a while was home. She came to me, and peeped at my BIL and then asked me in a small voice, “Mummy, what’s the name of the boy?” (BIL, it must have boosted your ego as Zaria called you a boy, and not a man)

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Over the weekend, Daddy and I sneaked out for our hair cuts when the girls were taking their naps. When we came back home, we were expecting kids with teary eyes or complaints from them, but was pleasantly surprised when Zaria dashed out with a big smile to hug me and said, “Mummy!!! I’m so glad to see you.”.

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She was entertaining herself in the study, and I caught her like this.

Two nights ago, she was in the study, and she asked me to show her “Where’s your mama gone” and “Sugar-Sugar” on my computer, I told her I had to finish work first.
“When you are done, you call my name ok?”
“ZA-REEE-AH… like that. Ok?”
After I’d done with my work, I showed her those videos as promised, but it was taking a long time to load. “What happened?” she asked.
“Zaria, Something is wrong with the video”
Like a tech support, she pointed to a key on my key board, “Maybe you need to press this button first.” o.O”

After showing her the videos, I asked her to go to the room first while I shut down my computer. She could now reach for the door knob and open the door on her own, but she didn’t close the door after her. Daddy, who was in the room, told her to shut the door immediately, or else we’ll get mossies in the room. “But mummy need to come in.” (How thoughtful to keep the door opened for me. Daddy should learn from her.)

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Yesterday after dinner, she wanted a drink, and she said this, “I cannot drink cold drinks you know. I got running nose. I better already, after that I can drink cold drinks. Wait ah, after I get better first. Five minutes.” (It’s obvious doesn’t know how long is five minutes)

Doesn’t she talk like an old lady?

Zaria has become very possessive recently.

When Daddy reads to Zara, and Zara sits on his lap, Zaria will quickly try to squeeze herself on Daddy’s lap too. Sometimes pushing Zara away in the process.

When Zara lies close to me on the bed, she would try to squeeze herself in between us (even though there are lots of space on my other side). Failing to do so, she would complain “Mummy, jiejie don’t take turns.”

When I carry other babies or toddlers in the park, she will quickly leave whatever she is doing and come over and tug on my t-shirt, “Mummy, cannot carry XXXX.” (XXXX the name of the toddler or baby).
When I reply, “It’s ok, mummy carry XXXX for a while.”
She will then say something like, “I want to go home now. It’s getting dark. Put XXXX down.”

The latest incident further proved her possessiveness.

Normally I would carry her on my back after our daily park visit.
Two days ago, on our way home, Zara fell and scratched both her knees. She complained she couldn’t walk, and asked me to carry her. So I asked Zaria to walk and then I piggy-backed Zara.
Zaria : *screaming* “Mummy, I want you to carry me!!”
Me : “Jiejie fell down, she cannot walk, mummy need to carry her.
Next thing I knew, she plonked herself on the road, siting ther and telling me, “See, I fall down already. Now you carry me.” o.O”

I didn’t fall for her trick, even though she cried all the way home, I got her to walk.

FIL stayed over for the week, and this morning when Zaria came down for breakfast, she asked, “Yeh yeh, what are you doing in my house?” o.O”

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Zaria : “Mummy, I love you.” (she’s saying this so frequently now, and it really makes my day.)
Me : (just asked for the fun of it) “Why you love mummy?”
Zaria : “Because… (thinking).. I like you.”
Me : “But why you like mummy?”
Zaria : “Because… (thinking).. Because… (still thinking).. You are cute.”
Haha.. I think she couldn’t find a reason.

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After getting down friom the car in the car park, I was carrying Zaria to enter Ikano (for those outside of Malaysia, it’s where Ikea is).
Zaria : “Mummy, Where are we going?”
Me : (just for the fun of it) “We’re going One Utama.”
Zaria : “No, this is not One Ooftama.” (she knows where we were but she was playing along. “Where are we going?”
Me : “We’re going Five Utama, maybe.”
Zaria : “No, this is not Five Ooftama. This is Ikea.”
Me : “Who said this is Ikea. This is Five Utama.”
Zaria : “No..” *she took a sniff of the air* “You smell (and see).”
(The Ikea smell is unmistakable, that’s for sure).

I love the way Zaria uses words she’s familiar with to pronunce new words. I love :

The way she says milipede as Lilly-pede. (Lilly is a name Zara gave to her toy tortoise).

The way she says matchmaker (from Mulan show) as Fat maker (since the matchmaker is, well, FAT).

Credit : Picture taken from iCandi.

The way she says rambutan as Rumple-utan. (from her story book Rumplestiltskin & another story about Orang Utan)

The way she says accidentally as Accident gently.

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I like the way Zara talk back to Daddy (but not when she talks back to me).

Once Daddy kept correcting her Grammar, and she got fed up, “Don’t be such a show off, dad.”

Another time Zara wanted Daddy to bring her to my sis’ place so she can play with her cousins, and Daddy replied, “Why do we want to go there? So boring, nothing to do.”
Zara very quickly answered, “Oh, when you go to your mother’s place you happy la, got things to do la. When I ask you to go to my cousin’s place, you say boring la?

I like the way she prayed on some nights.
“I pray that my Daddy will not dilly dally when we want to go out.”
“I pray that my Daddy will not fall asleep when he’s jaga-ing (Malay : looking after) us.”

The last the whole family met up was probably during Chinese New Year. Although I had met up with my sisters’ and brother’s family separately on a few occasions, it took my father’s birthday for every body to (agree to) meet up at the same time.

In the car, Zara suddenly realised and asked, “Where is Ah Kong’s present?” When I told her there was none, she asked, “Why we go to Ah Kong’s birthday party with no presents?”

Zara was extremely happy to meet up with the cousins, the aunts and uncles. Zaria on the other hand clung on to Daddy and me (she has been pretty clingy after all the attention we’d given when she was unwell), and kept saying, “I want to go home now.” after we’d stepped into the restaurant.

This is the 6th birthday ‘party’ we’d attended this year (although my dad’s party wasn’t a real party with musical chair and all, but more of a dinner), and the 6th time Zaria cried when the Birthday song was sung. It’s strange. Every party we attended, when the cake was whipped out and the candle litted, Zaria’s lips would start trembling, and the minute the first note of the birthday song was sung, she would cry. We always have to carry her out, away from the singing to calm her down. Her reason, “It’s too loud.” and she told us afterwards, “I don’t like birthday(s).”

Since her birthday last year, she has this thing about birthday song and cake cutting. We just hope she’ll out grow this when it’s her 3rd birthday or it won’t be fun having the birthday girl cry when her own song was sung.

Some photos :

Ah Kong and Zara cutting cake

Zaria cried and just clung on to me

Norman monkeying around with Tasha

Norman monkeying around with Zara

The beautiful girls

The very sociable Sam was too occupied with games

Not by me, but by 2.5yrs Zaria.

Because of her fall, and the various visit to the doctor, Zaria could do a review on doctors.

She calls Dr Patrick Chan (the chest pead in case you are interested) from Gleneagles, “Toy Doctor”; because he has heaps of toys in the waiting room.

She calls the dentist, “Auntie Dentist”, and she’s the only female doctor she’s seen recently.

And here is her review.
Meimei: “I like boy doctors. I don’t like girl doctors.”
Me : “Why?”
Meimei: “Because girl doctor the whole thing is (was) so painful.”
It took me a while to get it….
The dentist caused her pain (although she was cool throughout), but the rest of the male doctors only listen to her breathing… but I was surprised she used the phrase “the whole thing”.

Like an old lady this one.