A VERY FUN SWIM!

P. S : I did a short write-up here, the other time. So here's the long version of it, hehe! This post is very long & full of cute pics (taken in mid Oct 09). You've been warned, people!

Ryan loves to swim. Ok, he doesn't so much swims, but he waddles happily in the baby pool & he splashes water all around. Yep, that's Ryan's version of swimming. He's beginning to enjoy it more these days so we try to indulge him ... sometimes. He still hates water being splashed on his head or face but that's a small "issue" to him. If being slightly wet means, he gets to splash around like a fish-wannabe & he gets to have fun with his playmates around the pool, he very well takes it like a "small" man ... haha!

I had to repeat the two cute pics in the short post, as they were too cute, not to! Ain't these 2, cuties? Ok, I'm biased coz I am related to them ... but they are really very cute, ya?

My two little cuties, getting ready to jump into the pool.

All together now .... aawwww!!!

Ayra has her 1st (head) dip in the pool.

Look at my wonder girl, jumping with joy! I'm surprised that I got such an "active" shot, in mid-air no less. It's either I'm getting better at getting candid photos or I'm just fast with my fingers, haha!

A splashing good time!

Ryan no like being splashed ... but that doesn't stop his cousin from doing it, haha!

I want to go there, Papa!

More splashes, for little Ryan.

I splash too ... but no one gets wet. I wonder why?

He looks kinda cute here.

Hubby, contemplating about life ... whilst his boy stands around.

What a happy girl, she is! Ayra is always so full of life, I'm very thankful that she's a big part of our lives! What will we ever do, without her ....?

Dunno what the kids were doing but they both had the same hand movements ... haha!

I'm over here Kakak ... come & catch me!

Hubby, repositioning his boy's new goggles, which we bought not because Ryan puts his head underwater (nope, he'll never do that). Its coz I got the idea that since Ryan hates water in his eyes, a pair of goggle would help greatly. Yep! it did! He was as happy as peaches. As expected, at first he felt weird using it but later on he kept saying he wanted to wear his "specks" ... haha!

Ayra trying to hide behind tiny Ryan ... errm, its not working, my dear.

Look at my hand Papa.

Wait here Papa, while I go & check things out.

Ryan looking into the water ... whilst (in the corner) Hubby's legs enjoy a short tan.

Hey! I can see my hand.

My little pinky model, strikes a rather "sexy" pose.

More adjustments, as Ryan tends to get water in his goggles.

Here's Ayra asking me to snap pics of her, bobbing her head in & out of the water.

Ayra : Ryan, here's my lovely armpit ... you wanna show me yours too?

Ryan : Errm ... no thanks, Kakak.

Ayra striking another mode-ly pose. She comes up with the cutest of poses, it makes me wonder if she's made for the runway ... haha!

Look at me! I'm doing the wet hair look. Hey ... where's Ryan? You think he wants to join me too?

Ryan : Arrrgggghhhh! I'm the sea monster!

Ayra : Aiyah! You don't scare me, little one!

Come on everyone ... wave your legs in the air!

Some splashes!

Hubby chuckling at his son.

Another cute pic!

Ayra doing her peace sign on Ryan. Haha ... my boy no like!

OK, its time to rest a while.

Trying to look super cool ... (Notice the by-now wet, bulging diapers in his swim suit ... haha!)

Hubby must have ... just been splashed by Ayra & Ryan ... haha!

Look at my girl ... looking dainty, for the camera!

Errmmm .... where did everyone go???

Another sweet pose from my niece. She was the digicam's best model that day ... hehe!

Ayra : This is how you swim, Ryan.

Ayra : I need a short break!

Ryan : Ok lah! Hey ... whose board is this? Can I borrow it?

On the left, a young boy joins us ... for a splashing good time.

After a good splash, Hubby had to clean his glasses.

As Hubby adjusts Ryan's goggles, yet again ... our young friend strikes a conversation with the pretty Miss, in pink.

Ayra : Are you still taking our photos?

Errm ... is this the pangs of puppy love, we see? Two youngsters ... just sitting around ... acting rather shy ...

Our young friend ... looks rather adoringly at Ms Ayra (if I must say so).

Ryan, seems to be the "in-between-third-party" ... as the two youngins sat around.

Just having a small chat ... not that Ryan understands any of it.

Ayra : Let me catch you! (Side note : Ayra was always trying to hug & give Ryan kisses when her new friend tried to chat her up ... dunno why? Maybe she was feeling very conscious & felt weird ... that another boy was paying attention to her, someone that's not her cousins or her own set of friends, maybe).

See our young friend ... always (stealing) glances at my sweet niece? Aahh! Is this admiration ... or just an innocent look?

Ryan, having a splashing good time ... sitting on his Daddy!

More wild splashes!

Ayra ... going for a short swim. (She's not really swimming though ... her feet's touching the floor. And I thought she was really swimming ... haha!)

Doesn't my boy look contented, having his Papa as a cushion ... as he splashes merrily away!

Hey! Where did Papa go?

A last chat up, before we go.

After a quick clean up & shower, Ryan insisted on stopping by the small, deserted playground. Oh well, why not?

As my two kiddies swing away, the little boy on the other swing looks on wearily ... haha! We had to "spoil" his peace, as we joined in on the playground.

Now its Kakak's turn to swing!

All tired now ... waiting for the feeder service to arrive.

What a fun day!!!

I had to mention 2 things about this day though. First, about the young friend we made in the pool. I think it was quite obvious (to me anyway) that he kinda "liked" my niece. Must have found my adorable niece quite an attractive beauty (because she is!). I guess its been a long time since I've seen (openly) such innocent puppy "love" or crush. He was just trying to chat her up & it was all rather innocent. I don't think he even knew its a simple "crush". I guess even at a young age, its inevitable that you feel a liking or admiration for the opposite sex. I guess its all sweet & innocent ... just to see. I don't remember liking anyone when I was soo young but its pretty amusing to see innocent & sweet admiration from a person that holds no hidden agenda or motive. I even overheard him asking Ayra (among other things) ... "Do you come here every Saturday?" Awww .... if that's not puppy love ... than at least its just an invitation to be ... just friends, I guess. Well, for his info. no .... we don't come here every Saturday, just that Saturday ... hehe!

The other thing was .... how late we got home that night! We took the feeder service to IMM (for a simple dinner) coz we parked our car (on a per entry basis) & decided to leave the vehicle there. Since trying to find a parking space in IMM during makan time, was extremely irritating ... we thought it would be wise to leave our car at the club & take the feeder bus instead. NOT! The stupid feeder bus was supposed to make pick-ups at the same drop-off point, every roundabout but as we waited & waited & waited ... for more than 1 & a half stinking hour, I can tell you that the bus did not come! So there we were at 8 + at night, two adults & two kids, all tired & ready to go home ... waiting like stupid goons! Meanwhile other bus passengers (at the public bus stop) came & went .... I was getting really pissed off at having to stand for more than an hour, when I pestered Hubby to just take a cab or something. Finally, Hubby could tell that I was nearing boiling point & the kids were dead tired .... so he walked all the way to the club. Why am I not surprised, when Hubby finally arrived, he said that the feeder bus was parked leisurely at the bay of the club. Arrggh! I was beyond pissed! We wasted close to 2 bl**dy hours of our time, for nothing! Ok, blame us for believing people can be reliable & keep to the (feeder) schedule. Trust us to be so trusting & gullible! - there's no next time, I tell you! By the time we sent Ayra home & reached our own place, Ryan & his parents were damn exhausted!

It was a really fun day! Too bad it had to end on a rather sour note! But if you asked the kids ... it was a damn good day! Oh well! Lesson learnt .... never depend on a fedeer service. Just walk if you have to, ya!

TRANSFORMERS, TRANSFORMERS ... EVERYWHERE!

Yes ... my boy is obsessed with Transformers. Yep, when I say obsessed I really mean O-B-S-E-SS-ED! He can watch the 2 Transformers movies all day, his record was 3 full movies in 1 day! He plays with his Transformers figurines every single day, I tell you! Yes! he even kisses them sometimes ... just to show me (or whoever's available) ... that he looo-ves them plastic robots. Yes, other robotic machinery are called "row-bot" (robot) but Transformers (which are "special" robots), are "blessed" (by Ryan), with the name of - "Mem-mem".

By now, friends & family know what Ryan means when he says "Mem-mem" ... & that excites him even more, I guess. When people amuse him by acknowledging his interests, he gets very excited & proceeds to gush about his "love-affair" with them "Mem-mems". My sis even said once - "Isn't he a bit young for Transformers?". I (really) never thought so ... as Ryan liked them, almost immediately, at 2 + years old. I only realised my sis comments were true, when I started searching for some accessories for Ryan. I had wanted to buy a small haversack with a Transformers picture (of Bumble Bee) or logo for his nursery class next year ... but all I could find, were bags that were sized for a primary school-er. Way too big for my tiny boy! We searched high & low for the bag & nearly gave up. Finally, we settled on a ... errm .... "replica", in a local pasar malam ... & it cost us only a mere 6 bucks!

I used to be a big snob about buying fakes (still am, I guess). Things that were not original, were shunned big time by me. I guess that's why I over-spent BIG time, in my previous lifetime (yep, the lifetime before Ryan was conceived & born)! Now ... I'm not too sure. I still don't fancy fake stuff ... sorry, their quality is horrible & the workmanship is downright disgusting (most times). But these days, I'll rather get a look-alike than buy a fake good that tries to pass off as the original thing. Yep, Ryan has used shoes that looked like Crocs (but they are not fake Crocs, ya!), Winnie the Pooh face towels, Thomas the Train bathing towel, etc. Things that are subjected to a lot of wear & tear & won't be able to last that long. Don't wanna spend money on things that get tossed ... just after a few months wear. Well, that's just me .... these days!

One thing that I refuse to buy fake - his Transformers! Almost immediately after the 2nd movie, the fake Transformers popped up in several small shops. Of course, Ryan never fails to point them out to me ... hehe, I guess in a hope that I'll buy them for him? Nope! ... Never have, never will! If I had to spend a small fortune to buy a toy that's supposed to transform from a shiny yellow Corvette to a COOL robot alien, then I'll rather spend my money on the REAL ones. So there! Yes, they are rather expensive but we've been lucky that we did not spend a large amount of money on his Transformers figurines, as we had a bunch of (free) Takashimaya vouchers, that needed to get used ... so we purchased my son's obsession with them. Thank God!

These pics were taken in the cavernous Vivo City. The 1st four photos were taken in the huge Toys R' Us, one of Ryan's favourite store (but of course!). There has been an Optimus Prime at the entrance, for the longest time (since the 1st movie?) but as Ryan didn't fancy Optimus ... until recently, he never wants to get his picture taken with the Prime. Now its sooo different! He's come to love & admire the Autobots leader sooo much, that he sometimes picks the Prime over the lovable Bumble Bee. Haha! kids ... they love one thing now ... another, the next minute! Luckily, I took the pics with Optimus this time (way in October), as Toys R' Us recently changed the huge figurine with a Ben 10 one! (Yucks! never liked Ben 10!)

All hail the leader, Optimus Prime!

Isn't Optimus handsome, Mummy? Can we take him home? Please ... pretty please???

These were taken in the store. Sshhh! I'm sure photography is not allowed but I kinda secretly snapped these 2 photos, as I knew Ryan loved them.

Mummy, I'm a Transformer too! ... Yes???

Well, we had some time for Ryan's old favourite (hehe, old ... as in just a couple of months old) ... Thomas The Train.

A jeep ... with Dinosaurs (& an egg) on top.

Hhhm ... looking a bit tired, I see.

This photo of Ryan on a carousel, looks rather dark (just like the previous 2 pics too). I really don't know why? Sigh! must be my digicam acting up again!

Same ride ... but a much better photo, rite? My silly camera is playing tricks on me again!

IS IT DECEMBER ALREADY???

Yep, a whole year is nearly coming to an end ... so have you done everything you set out to do in wee January 2009?

Me ... I stopped making new year resolutions so many eons ago ... coz first, I never get them done (haha! lazy being the key word here). Secondly. resolutions become meaningless when its all a bunch of "promises" that are always-never fulfilled. Thirdly, I know myself too well ... it'll just be a waste of time to tell myself, order thyself to go and do something ...

So after all is said & done, the year is gonna end whether I made resolutions or not. Whether I made it through the year, unscathed & alive is more important to me. This year has been a mixed bag of emotions - good & bad, happy & sad. There were high points & low ones were, aplenty.

I learnt a lot about myself ... how weak I can get, how strong I can be, how the future ... can be changed if I want it to. As we enter the month of December, I foresee a bunch of enjoyable times ahead - with bonuses, birthdays, public holidays, etc. But December also brings a lot of sadness to me too - its the month my lovable cat, Baby died (last year, in 2008). It is also the month my dear Mother-in-law passed away.

I know Hubby always gets (very) sad this time of the year. I know he misses his dear mum very much. I miss her too ... sometimes. She was a gentle, loving, wonderful lady. I lucked out when I got her as my mum-in-law coz I never had an "evil", demanding, naggy or ever-imposing MIL, like a lot of married women. I had a relatively smooth relationship with her. She was very caring, ever self-sacrificing (to a point of suffering) & she's always concerned about our well-being.

One of my greatest regret was not being able to have my son, Ryan ... whilst she was still alive. I know she would have loved Ryan very very much. He (Ryan) would be her only grandson ... to carry on the family's surname. And I guess coz Ryan looks soo much like his Daddy, I know Mum would have loved him even more.

I was blog-hopping the other day & saw a bunch of cute photos of a cat that looked like Baby. I was quickly reminded of him, how he used to meow (excessively), greedily eat too much, slept like a piggy & being nonchalant about most things around him. When he was alive, he did not fail to "irritate" me (most days) but I knew I loved him. Being with me for close to 18 long years, he was like a "son" to me, someone that I had the responsibility to take care of ... until his end of days.

Why do we miss the ones we love so much ... when they are surely gone? Is it because we miss telling them, how much we loved them, how much they mean to us, how much they brighten our days, how much regret ... we would feel in our hearts because we were too shy ... to say it? Why do we keep silent with tender words of kindness (& love) but easily lambast those who hurt us? Isn't it more fulfilling to tell someone you love them ... rather then being nasty & horrible to them? We don't value the ones that we love, the ones that love us despite our imperfections, in spite of all our weaknesses, in spite of all of our wrong-doings, in spite of all our warts! Shouldn't we show & profess love ... now .... before its too late ... for regrets!

I do not wish to live with regrets (though that's aplenty) ... that's why I am making a concerted effort (more than ever) to tell & show the people who love me .... that I love them too. Who knows ... if our time runs short? Who knows if its our (or their) time to leave? Who knows what tomorrow brings? Everyone ... please give the ones you love, a big hug tonight! It'll be worth it, I tell you!

Sigh ... I guess we all miss ... the ones that are gone, the ones that are lost .... but they will always be remembered in our hearts ... forever.

Rest in peace, Mum & Baby! We miss you both ... always!

P.S : As I write & read this entry, I can't help but have tears in my eyes. Yes ... I'm mushy & cry easily but ... I can't help it. That's just who I am, I guess.