Proud Milestones

Yesterday was certainly a day to be remembered. Truthfully, it was not one that I looked forward to. I dreaded it long before it arrived, yet I knew I just had to embrace and accept it. Yes, yes... It was Ian's first day at kindergarten.

Ian is certainly the baby of the family. He gets away with practically anything! He loves hugs and snuggles, giving and receiving kisses, long cuddles, and speaks with the cutest pelat. I definitely wasn't ready to let go of my little baby. I wanted to keep him home all the time! (Also, since Aiden goes to afternoon school, it didn't seem right to send his baby brother to school in the morning and separate them into two different schedules.)

Unfortunately, my maid is going home for Eid holidays. Remember my whole saga of being a maid-less mum? Well hello, round two! The thing about having good help is to also remember to appreciate them. And my way of appreciating her is to allow her to balik kampung. It would be good for her to spend time with her family during Eid. But the consequence of her absence.... *sigh* Seriously, I cannot bear the thought of leaving Ian crying at day care again. Hence the early introduction to the kindergarten, so he can hopefully get familiarized with the teachers.

First official photo with his kindergarten uniform.

Aiden was super excited about his baby brother going to kindergarten. He wanted to walk Ian to school! I guess it must have been a huge thing for Aiden, walking Ian to his old school, cos as soon as he woke up, the first thing he asked was whether we had sent Ian to school.

Ian was somewhat excited too. He kept pointing to his kindergarten uniform and his socks, and even agreed to pose for pictures. The uniform was a bit too big for him, but he still looked super cute wearing it. Oh, it felt just like yesterday that I brought him home from the hospital. And fast forward to today, he's already starting on a new phase in his life. I am sooooo proud of Ian for making it to this gigantic milestone.

Ian, is that a peace sign, or a loser sign? *giggles*

Waving goodbye excitedly.

Making himself comfortable in class. He wanted to draw like everyone else, so he kept saying "Draw!"

Barely two hours later, my maternal instinct decided that it was time to check up on him. Based on my previous experience, he's usually not too comfortable with strangers. As expected, I found him in a pool of tears. The teachers reported that he cried for me. *sigh* It's okay Ian... baby steps yea?

Tears running down his cheek.

On the other hand, Aiden scored his own milestone too yesterday. He has successfully fasted full day since the start of Ramadhan, hence yesterday was his tenth consecutive puasa and tarawih! Hubby and I are both extremely proud of his achievement and his persistence. So proud, that we decided to reward him with an early duit raya.  (Aiden actually has a different end game in mind; he wants us to download Minecraft on the iPad if he fasts the full 30 days.)

However, getting him to day 10 had its own ups and downs. Coaxing him to eat during sahur was an agonizing affair; my maid had to resort to suap him just to get him to eat. He would get so cranky after school, he would whine "Mummy... I want to eat", again and again and again. Sometimes my patience would run thin, that I would tell him to just break his fast. But never once did he take me up on the offer. And for that, Hubby and I both mutually agreed that if he gets to day 30, he truly deserves the coveted Minecraft.

The two boys in matching jubah.

Getting ready for tarawih.