We visited my MIL's side (in Salak Selatan) on the second day of CNY because everybody gathers and the lion dance will be that day.
Since I didn't host any birthday party for Zahra, I decided to make some goodie bags for the kids (for the Salak South gang and officemates). There is a long story about Zahra's goodie bag but I'll write about it later.
Chocs + honey star/coco crunch/milo + heart balloon + whistle
The lion dance scheduled at 3PM so we were rushing like mad, suap Zahra lunch, pakai baju raya, solat etc etc and drive laju-laju, sampai sharp2 at 3, only to find that the lion dance will come at 4PM. Sabar je la...
Since this is my 3rd time in Salak South, I don't feel that awkward anymore. But I feel very bad because I still can't remember their names. Chinese name is hard, at least to me. Can I just call everybody Ah Chong? Haha kidding. Btw, I feel bad because they always remember about us, sometimes siap belikan Zahra hadiah and pass it to my MIL and I macam confident when my MIL told me, "This one is from A, this one is from B" but when I jumpa, rupa2nya salah orang. Sigh.
We had 1 hour to kill before the lion comes, so as usual I put my smiling face, because I can't talk Mandarin (or to be exact don't even understand it) and they don't talk much English. So yeah, can you imagine? Haha. Well, I'm getting better in mixing without conversing.
My sister joined us and it was her first time celebrating CNY in real Chinese home. I wonder how she feels but mustn't as awkward as my first time. At least dia ada geng kan.
Few pictures for you! :D
Zahra giving her birthday goodie bag to the cousins (alamak not sure the pangkat..but they are sons n daughter of anak saudara my MIL. Wow..it sounds complicated). And I can't remember all their names!
The only day Zahra gets to drink whatever she wants hehe. I rarely give her air kotak because it's sweet that day she gets to drink the whole pack! And guess what, balik rumah pun mintak the box drink lagi. "Mummyyyyy..zahya nak air tak!"
Star of the day - Emir Qalef! Everybody was so excited playing with Emir as he's the smallest and it is their first time meeting Emir.
My smiley baby in red samfoo!
The lion dance preparing to perform
Bertafakur in front of the house I think.
The kids were playing with the lions. Last year, Zahra was excited with the lions and this year, she cried watching them! Ish ish ish anak mummy. According to MrComot, she was OK when she saw the lion but the moment they hit the drum, she cried while saying 'tatottt layen tatottt layen' and pointing to the lions. I think must be the loud noise. However, I didn't manage to witness the drama because I was in the room with Emir, protecting Emir's ears ;) The lion dance's pics are taken by my sister.
The kids were playing with the lions. Last year, Zahra was excited with the lions and this year, she cried watching them! Ish ish ish anak mummy. According to MrComot, she was OK when she saw the lion but the moment they hit the drum, she cried while saying 'tatottt layen tatottt layen' and pointing to the lions. I think must be the loud noise. However, I didn't manage to witness the drama because I was in the room with Emir, protecting Emir's ears ;) The lion dance's pics are taken by my sister.
Lions eating mandarin
Handing kau foo plate of pamelo and mandarins
It was scorching hot and Emir fell asleep during the lion dance performance. Memang panas giler sebab rumah tu atap zink pastu ada kipas je. Angin pun angin panas. But Emir such a good baby, takde cranky and doesn't mind the uncomfortable-ness.
Zahra playing with other kids. Can you spot her? She's still the smallest, after Emir :)
Lotus root chips
My first time having it and it is yummy! Other than the lotus root, we had the 'ngaku' (arrowhead chips). This one every year ada, lupa nak snap pic. Looks like potato chips but creamier with a hint of bitterness. I love ngaku chips as well!
Angpows for the kids. We also got angpows, despite of being married with kids hehe, thanks aunties/uncles! We divided into two for both kids.
A full pic of Zahra in pink cheongsam. Pose with limau lagi.
And dance!
It was around 5PM and Zahra doesn't have her usual nap. Zahra ni jenis kalau keluar, tak boleh tidur, walaupun dia mengantuk sangat. She will force her eyes open and go hyper. The moment we hit the car, terus pengsan tidur.
The aunties requested us to stay until dinner time and they are going to buy us KFC, but with two kids in hand, and Zahra dah hyper semacam, we decided to go back at home and rest. Maybe next year we'll stay for dinner..depends on the situation.
A very tiring day but we had a blast catching up even though we are talking chicken and duck hehe..
