Dayana's 10th Birthday

Happy Birthday Dear Dayana..

Dayana is our 3rd photographer in the family - comes after Daddy and Kushairy.  She likes to take pictures of everything in everywhere. That should explain the difficulty to post her pictures here.

Our petite Dayana was born on Friday morning, Sept 29, '00, just as my mother and little sister were boarding the flight leaving KL.  There was no way of contacting them, so imagine their surprise when they finally reach our Chandler residence, on the night of 30th Sept, to find baby Dayana, our 2nd US citizen, sleeping in her cot, a full 2 weeks before her due date.

Now 10 years old, optimistic Dayana is almost always without fail the first one to offer to carry Ryan whenever possible.  In the recent exam, she managed to obtained 4As and a 100% in Bahasa Arab which put her 4th in class.  Khatam Qur'an this year and now reads Qur'an with Sarah and Iman.  She studies and practices piano diligently, been elected a prefect since in 3rd grade, and selected as Tokoh Nilam in school.

Someday.. when she is older, I do hope that, when she reads this, she can feel the enormous love and admiration I have for her..

I'zzah 7th Birthday

Happy Birthday I'zzah..

4+2=6

I wish every day were Daddy's birthday. So that Daddy could stay away from work and I could have get-out-of-kitchen free card every day.

Daddy turned 42 today - exactly 13 weeks after we celebrated our 20th anniversary. Another Wednesday. Older kids at school. The three of us went for our usual outing. Intended to catch Angie Jolie's "Salt" but couldn't get there in time because I got side-tracked by 30% shoes sale. Bought 2 pairs. And a black purse. And a handbag. And 2 tudungs, with the appropriate bling bling - not at the shoe store of course.

Lunch at Jusco. Pizza, bread, mushroom soup and mango lassi. Brought home a box of pizza for Iman, Dayana and Izzah. Sarah was fasting.

Dinner at Waritha. Me, wearing new shoes, new purse, new hand bag, new tudung and new bling-bling. Daddy, wearing 10-year-old tshirt and pants. Poor Sarah has to wait an extra 15 minutes before eating. Dinner was late because we ordered late, because we came late, because I made Daddy turn around the car half way to Waritha, because I thought I didn't switch off the the iron after pressing my new tudung. It turned out to be unplugged, but precious minutes were sacrificed.

Dinner arrived- rice with paprik chicken, sotong tom yam, kerabu pelam with additional kuey tiaw and nasi goreng kampung. No surprise there. Our standard family Thai dinner. I was still slurping the tom yam after Daddy settled the dinner bill. Daddy handed me a small card, with Waritha's phone number on it. "Bulan puasa ni, we call ahead before coming here for dinner, k?". Not many things can make me smile wider.

Came home. Solat. Watched Fringe and Leverage (still are watching, while writing). Great day. Daddy doesn't need new accessories to look good and stay youthful because at 42, Daddy has 6 fountains of youth - 4 girls and 2 boys. He looks good just by being a Daddy. I, on the other hand, need a dozen more bling bling. And a facial session SOON. Because I was the one who gave birth to the 6 precious fountains of youth.

Happy Birthday Daddy

Taken at Gerik Mosque last month.

Daddy wants nothing for his birthday tomorrow. He told us that many times before. Unfortunately we still can't find any shop around town that sells nothing like Daddy asks. Yup, we checked every shop. They all sell some things, but no nothings.

So we, the children under 40 especially, decided to come up with something for dear old Daddy. Did I say old? I mean cool Daddy. So here it is.

From Sarah:

Happy Birthday Daddy. I love you with all my heart; and please don't fake another heart attack when you see my report card. I'll try harder, OK?

From Iman:

Reasons my father is the best:

He is funny and makes me laugh all the time. He drives me to school. He fixes my shoes when they are broken. He brings me awesome gifts from overseas. He took me to Pizza Hut on my last birthday. He buys novels for me to read. He buys me Dunkin Doughnuts. He rides bicycle with us around Taman. He takes us to great hotels with swimming pools during school break. He lets me carry Ryan sometimes and he is always always there for me. Thank you Daddy.

From Dayana:

The things that I love about my Daddy:

Daddy takes me to great movies. Daddy buys me pretty blouses and t-shirts. Daddy teaches me to read the Quran. Daddy is handsome. Daddy is not lame. Daddy helps me with my homework and takes me to the park if I finish my homework early. Daddy makes funny faces. Daddy taught me how to swim. Daddy bought me the prettiest swimming trunk. I will always be your little girl, Daddy.

From I'zzah:

I love my Daddy because:

He tickles me for no reason. He cliks (sic) my nails. He carries my school bag. He helps me wear my socks. He buys me a new watch. He likes to take pictures of me and put them up on the fridge. He buys chocolate ice cream for me. He teaches me to ride the tricycle. He let us watch cartoon on Sunday morning. He buys putu mayum and apum balik from Pasar Tani for Sunday breakfast.

Last but not least, from our 7-month old Ryan:

Dear Daddy, I love that you are my Daddy. They tell me you are the greatest Daddy that ever walk on the face of the earth; I'll just have to see about that. Now here are my requests for MY upcoming birthday:

1. Lose that goatee, it's ticklish. Really!

2. When you come home from work, please hug and kiss ME first before you hug and kiss Mommy. I am way cuter and I smell nicer too. It always hurt my feelings when you do Mommy first because I am sure Mommy can wait for her turn like the rest of the family.

3. If you are thinking to give me another sibling, DON'T. I like to be the youngest and I won't share my toys. And I absolutely do not fancy sharing Mommy with another rugrat.

4. Wake up at my nighttime feeding because when Mommy dozes off, I need someone to play with.

5. Get me my own handphone so that I don't have to grab and chew yours all the time.

You get that Daddy?

From all of us:

Happy Birthday Daddy, may the best is yet to come.. We love you so much.