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Sunday, August 31, 2008

Ikhwan's Gadgets - Part 2


Obviously, it's no longer suitable for Ikhwan to still be lying down on this bouncer for he may topple over. This picture was taken when he was only a few months' old, 'eating' his teether which was bought by his mother. The bouncer was a present from my parents to celebrate the birth of Ikhwan.

The car seat was a gift from my sister and brother in law. Other than sitting around or sleeping or drinking his milk while inside the car, Ikhwan loves other activities too. Among them is playing with his pelican, flipping through his black-and-white cards or 'reading' his cloth book.

Whenever we stop at traffic lights, if he's very much awake and active but still not yet engaged in 'reading', I would ask him "Nak buku?" (meaning "Would you like a book?"). Immediately, he would point up. Then, I would ask him to choose either the cards or the cloth book. He doesn't have any particular favourite. But for cards, it seems that he knows which one is the train, and for the book, he knows which page shows the blue fish.


This Fold & Go Diaper Changer is a changing pad, organiser (no, not meant for you to record your appointments, haha) and travel case in one! Whenever we go out with Ikhwan, we never leave this diaper changer behind. What a cool idea to help parents during those diapering accidents! :)

When folded, it's very compact to fit into the diaper bag or to be hung on the stroller. When unfolded, it is a full size changing pad with easy access to other compartments. The see-inside mesh pockets can hold 2 to 3 nappies (although it can store up to 4 if you force it, like I usually do) and refillable wipes container.

The diaper duck dispenser is a separate item. Again, the small size of the dispenser makes it easy to fit into diaper bag or stroller pouch. The dispenser can store a roll of 12 durable and easy-tear bags. The idea behind this baby accesory invention is the same as pulling and tearing off aluminium foil or cling wrap out of its dispenser at perforation whenever we need one. One thing about the dispenser is that the duck makes it look too catchy to the eyes of Ikhwan. We just don't like him wanting to play with it!

Now, here's one cool thing about the bags. Each bag has a fresh baby powder scent. Although of course, it's not scented enough to make you wanting to smell the bag close to your nose and forget what’s inside the bag, haha...

Nowadays, we use the dispenser and the bags only occasionally. The cost of buying the refill bags is of course more than buying those small sized non-scented plastic bags. The latter option is not just cheaper, but still serves the purpose of 'bag it, then toss it away', whenever we are on the go.

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Friday, August 22, 2008

Ikhwan's Gadgets - Part 1

I've shared with you some of the Ikhwan's toys before. He now has quite an extensive collection of toys, the number of which has increased notably since we bought him his first toy. I'd definitely share more in the future.

Meantime, other than toys, Ikhwan also owns a number of 'fancy' and cool gadgets (or should I say, accessories). If toys are something that BOTH Ikhwan and I can enjoy playing with :-), the gadgets are more for his developments and safety, while at the same time, making his and his parents' life easier. I admit some of his gadgets are not really necessities, but heck, I love shopping them for Ikhwan. After all, these gadgets do amaze me in terms of their designs and functionalities.

Take the foldable drying rack here for example. Don't you think whoever came out with the idea of airing baby's bottles this way, brilliant? The rack allows bottles (even those very tall ones) to be placed upside down - what a quick and easy way to clean and dry the bottles! The rack also provides neat and easy storage for nipples, cups, valves, bottle covers and other accessories.

The one next to it is a microwave sterelizer. Pour in some water into the container, place the nipples and bottles (upside down) inside it, then put in the microwave. The power of microwave will heat up the water to create steam. What happens next, well, you get the idea....

I remember assembling Ikhwan's cot with the help of my dad - quite a tricky task! The cot is further accessorised of course - all in the name of fun and learning :)

So far, Ikhwan had only spent a few nights sleeping in the crib. Why? Being cheeky and cuddly, just before he sleeps, Ikhwan would want to play with our hands, fingers and
elbows (gasp! he's like his dad). So, we thought it'd be difficult to satisfy his before-sleep routines if he were to sleep in the cot.

Nowadays, we put a mattress on the floor and all three of us sleep there every night. The thing about sleeping this way is that, sometimes it's hard to get him to bed. His parents may already feel drowsy and sleepy, but Ikhwan would still be active - crawling here and there, climbing up our bodies, playing hide-and-seek (he really enjoys doing this with me...) etc etc. Hahaa...

Hopefully, as he grows up more, he would want to sleep back in the cot - a 6-year old can still fit in there anyway...

For some of Ikhwan's toys, we noticed that he enjoyed playing with those more in the past than today. Likewise for his gadgets, there are those that no longer (fully) amaze him. This particular dreamshow, which we attach to the cot, used to occupy him before he dozed off. Or simply, we would switch it on to let him listen to any of the 3 soothing lullabies, while at the same time, he would gaze upon the characters, stars and moons which are projected onto the ceiling/wall.

These days, we, the parents who occupy him before he dozes off, hahaa. Other than that, the dreamshow also consumes so much battery power, and I suspect it's also already broken. So, until I get the batteries replaced and probably having it fixed, the dreamshow is hardly switched on anymore.

Well Ikhwan, Ayah would share more of your gadgets in the future, ok! :-o

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Sunday, August 10, 2008

All I Need

I listen to all types of music. I'm also more keen to listen to English songs than Malay ones, probably because I was exposed to English songs since at a very young age. My wife on the other hand, prefers the latter or at least a mix of both. Whenever she rides with me and all she hears is English songs from my car stereo, she would sometimes ask me to tune in to a different radio station.

I don't really mind listening to Malay songs actually. They sure have improved and varied these past years in terms of genres and catchiness. Occasional listening to Malay songs is fine with me - as long as not too many or listening to them for too long.

Anyway, I enjoy any songs that are soothing to the ears, but bands like Yellowcard, Green Day, Boys Like Girls, Maroon 5 and All American Rejects top my lists of favourite singers. My preference has surprised a few people before. Guess, my personality doesn't quite match my taste in music - they reckoned I'd be more into pop or slow/sentimental music. Yeah, that may be true in the past, like when I was below 10 years old.

In my opinion, there's nothing wrong (for me at least) to like music. I've never been overly obsessed on any particular artists. I always never let music come first before other important matters like praying times or when calls for prayers are being summoned by the muezzins; or let it interefere with my chores where silence is needed. But I do sometimes need music to accompany my reading or when doing house chores.

Anyway, here's a video clip of a song that I can't seem to get enough of, whenever I listen to it. It's a beautiful song, called All (I Need) by a talented band (One Republic). As I understand it (from the lyrics), the song is about someone whose relationships and social life is affected due to much clinging on to the past. But my interpretation could be wrong..., so what's your interpretation?

Another catchy song from the band is called Mercy. Absolutely love it!

By the way, now that I have my own mp3 lists of favourite songs (see below my profile), hope you guys will enjoy it as much as I do... and for those enjoy the oldies, I've added hits from Belinda Carlisle too! Just click on the 'Menu' and scroll 'Left' or 'Right' to find out the track numbers of her songs. More oldies will be added soon of course... :-)

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