An Update About the Littlest Kid

Ihsan

He turned 2 in early August.  Masya Allah. Sometimes I take Allah's mercy and kindness for granted because this little bundle of unlimited joy almost didn't happen. One after another medical emergency he overcame and, masya Allah, here he is.

Of course, here's a report card of his general progress.  Area for improvement is clearly his eating habits.  It's still woefully miserable.  Last week he seems to be eating lots of pasta.  So I gave him pasta with varied creamy sauce each day.  But that was short lived.  However, he often comes down with something after a good eating episode. Yesterday he developed a symptom-less fever which broke this morning, only to leave some kind of mild diarrhoea behind. That diarrhoea is not unwelcome; it'll help to flush out all the leftover virus in his body.

In terms of speech, there's no worries at all. With his 2 sisters talking (and quarreling) non-stop, he knows how to form short sentences and express himself although it many come out jumbled at times. Just now, he was trying to tell his youngest uncle (whom he calls Babum although youngest uncle is known as Pak Ucu to everyone else; dunno where Babum comes from)  to eat together with him.  It's supposed to be: Pakusu, mari makan sama-sama dengan Ihsan. It was a jumbled up sentence that came out: Babum! Makan! Cican! Camacama!

(Note: He calls himself Cican. Cican Bin Ooman.)

He can count from 1 to 10 in Malay.  But this is purely by rote. He has not understood the concept of numbers yet.

He is somewhat obsessed with Elmo. Thanks to aunties and uncles who bribe him with videos of Elmo whenever they want him to go to them.

He still does not look too steady on his feet.  Sometimes he stumbles and falls. His running is hilarious too.  He can go up and down steps while holding on to the railing for support. However, sometimes he is a bit delusional of his capabilities and wants to forgo the railings. He cannot jump and hop yet although he's always pretending to jump.

Oh, and, while the 1+ year old toddler was an anarchist, this one is a bit OCD (not in a clinical way). In the past, all he wanted to do was to pull all books off the shelves.  All books.  It was a nightmare and room doors had to be closed because of his love for unbearable mess.  But now, when he takes books from the shelves, it's only because he wants to 'read'  those books.  When cupboard doors are open, he wants the doors to be closed again. Likewise for fridge doors. Or floor rugs which are folded in the corner. Or prayer mats not laid out properly.  It's much nicer not always having to clean up after a huge mess.

But sometimes, things do get messy.  He has 3 toy boxes (the size of shoe boxes)  and 1 lego box.  If he wants one toy that he knows is inside one of those boxes, he will  open and tip over the entire box. Getting him to put away that glorious pile of toys in the middle of the living room takes about one hour of convincing, cajoling, threatening and more threatening. The actual clean up takes no more than 5 but it is not right to always do the tidying up for him, right?

He's copying lots of good stuff and so I am constantly reminding myself and the older girls to always display our best. A few days ago, I was carrying him in one hand and manoeuvring the stroller with the other. (another story this love-hate relationship with his stroller). I almost bumped into a lady (who was thankfully unaware) and I said "Oops!" Ihsan immediately said, "Sowwie Aunty!"
Of course, Aunty couldn't hear it but I was impressed, both with his assessment of the situation and his tone of apology. And I pointed this out to the girls who were with me, "Did you hear the way adik said 'sorry'? That's the way it should be said. Blah blah blah..." Then the girls fussed over him. And he explained (in that breathless, laborious way that kids take to pull words out of their mouths), "Sebab. Mak. Ajar. Cican. Sowwie. Aunty."  (Because - mak - teach - Ihsan - (to say) - Sorry - Aunty.)

Precious.

Medical issues: 3 appointments lined up in the next 2 months at KK for 3 different things. All will be well, insya Allah.

(The 2 older girls will get their airtime in the next post. Now, I have an appointment with a mountain of laundry.)