When I was in Singapore last week on a business trip, my best friend and I ventured out to a place where we hadn’t been to for a very long time. It was an impromptu decision and was made based on the fact that I had wanted to eat some Prata!
So down to Circular Quay we went, not knowing if the place we both had in mind still exists, just because we were in the vicinity. We both were pleasantly surprised that the place, once known as Shah Alam, situated right behind Boat Quay is still alive and well.
It is now called “The New Shah Alam”. It still has the same vibe and as far as I recall, they used to serve one of the best Nasi Goreng Merah and Nasi Goreng Ikan Bilis in town. We used to frequent this place quite regularly in our younger days. This is where we usually meet up with friends for dinner after work, or sometimes for supper after a long night at the office, or simply after partying. The food we ordered was usually accompanied by a few glasses of Teh Tarek or Teh-chinno…and sometimes, with a disgusting glass of Milo “Dinosaur” – basically a chocolate drink topped up with plentiful of powdered Milo, a brand of a very well-known company which I boycotted 5 years ago.
I ordered a piece of Egg Prata (which I finished before the above pictures were taken), a plate of Mee Hoon Goreng because the girl next to me was eating it and it looked oh-so-good-that-I-just-had-to-have-the-same-thing, while Aunt Antsy ordered Chicken Murtabak. It was too much food to finish between the both of us.
We then took a walk along Boat Quay and realised that apart from new watering holes that pop up every now and then, nothing much has changed. It was a trip down memory lane.
Time really flies! My son turns 2 today and the last 24 months seemed to have zoomed by so quickly. (And, unfortunately due to work travels and pressing commitment, I am not able to spend the day with him on his 2nd birthday. But I’ll certainly be making up for it!)
Long gone were the reflux days, the never-ending breast-feeding sessions and our deprivation of sleep. Gone were breast and/or bottle feeding, the sleep training, introducing solids and preparing mushy, tasteless baby food. With Squirt turning exactly 2 years old today, I am being reminded of the milestones we went through with much nostalgia; milestone moments which I never get to go through again. Kind of wistful in a way somehow, as, it is really having a rather easy and chilled baby like Squirt that makes me (or any sentimental mother) want to have another baby! (Just for the record though, having child #3 will no longer be possible since Silver Bullet has already had a successful vasectomy done; which means, unless I, heaven-forbid (!) get myself pregnant outside this matrimony, there will not be any more mini-me or mini- Silver Bullets running around in our lives or outside our very special, wonderful marriage)
Squirt is probably one of the happiest child there is. He has his moments of tantrums, of course, but generally, he is easy-going and is always smiling. He loves, loves, loves school – so much so that when he wasn’t going to school on the two of the days because we put him on a part-time, 3-day curriculum, he gets supremely upset and angry. He cries and he cries and he cries and he cries! And here we are thinking that we should be easing him into the school routine, one step at a time!
Some days he eats well, some days not; and on days when he is not eating well at mealtimes, it is likely because he is teething and not feeling a 100%. However, when it comes to food though, Squirt is usually up to try almost anything. He is a cheese and milk monster and can’t seem to get enough of them. He loves, loves corn and spaghetti pesto too, and already, prefers to do most of the feeding himself. He discovered that ice-cream and chocolates can be heavenly and sometimes get upset if he did not get that last bite!
Judging from his motor skills, we have a sneaking suspicion that Squirt could be a lefty. Although he does use his right hand, we notice that he mostly tend to instinctively use his left most of the time. It would be interesting to see when he finally chooses his dominant side. And if he does, he probably got it from me and confirms my suspicions that I could have, at the early stages in my life, been a natural lefty, but was trained to use my right instead. In fact, up to this day, I still feel comfortable switching to my left unconsciously for simple tasks. I actually even have been wearing my watch on my right for as long as I can remember, even though my right is a more dominant one. Leftist tend to be a little bit more on the creative side too, they say, but it would be so cool to be ambidextrous too!
At this point in time, Squirt has not outgrown his cot yet. He doesn’t seem to be in a hurry and he also has yet to figure out how to climb out of his cot. I guess it will just be a matter of time before he makes his first attempt, which would immediately prompt us to start his transition to a toddler bed. For now, it’s all as is, but like any 2 year old, nothing remains the same forever.
Happy, happy, happy 2nd Birthday little Squirt! Mama is so sorry for missing your birthday, but do know that I am thinking of you and I’ll be making it up to you as soon as I can. I’ll be looking forward to giving and receiving lots and lots of hugs and kisses.Keep that contagious smiles of yours and your silly antics. I’ll be seeing all of you soon.
P.S:
In case you are wondering about that funny little mark on his nose: Squirt decided that it was fun to run and jump about on a bouncy mattress and subsequently fell off the bed and had a carpet burn.
