Of course we're in...:P, we were ranked #15 in the nation last week (RPI wised). We're seeded in the Chicago bracket as #7 and will be playing St. Mary #10 this friday in Oklahoma City where the salukis will be wearing their white jersey for the first time in NCAA Tournament, we usually got to wear the maroon one since we were the under dog, but not this time. I don't know anything about St. Mary, but really hope we can pull thru and move forward to the second round in which we will face the winner of #2 Oklahoma State University or #15 Southestearn Louisiana game, I think OSU will win it and that's what so scaryy....playing OSU in their backyard. But hey, sometimes miracles never cease so who knows we'll run a little deeper and meet the Illini in the elite 8..hehe..it's a dream match up.
We won the Saturday game against Indiana State, but we didn't win by default, it should've been one easy game for us..turned out it was tougher than expected. Sunday game (the semifinal) was against Southwest Missouri State, just like last year. We had a 23 point lead in the first half, we hit so many threes and completely owned the bears in the first half...even their coach said "the salukis were so hot in the first half that you could fry an egg on their back". But the bears suddenly came back in the second half while we seemed to be playing not to lose rather than playing to win. They drew so many fouls and finally took the lead in the last 40 seconds of the game and won by 4 points.
I thought this year would be the year we'd break the curse (the last time we won the tourney was in 1995, exactly 10 years ago!!!)..it would have been awesome to give Brooks and Heirston the trophy that they deserve cause it's their last year. I know the tourney is not that big of a deal especially since the salukis have won four straight leaque titles and have been invited to the NCAA tournament back to back. The ESPN says that we are a lock for the NCAA even if we don't win the tourney, so it's good to hear..but still...why can't we get to monday night and win it, once and for all?!?!..Arrggh..I'm still bitter here..hopefully we'll make some damages in the NCAA. I'll be rooting for you guys in front of my TV!!!.....
Akhirnyaaaa hari Jum'at dateng juga, I've been waiting for the weekend to come cause it's March Madness Weekend Babyyy. Salukis finished the conference game in style and came up as the number one seed in the conference, so we'll get to play the first game on saturday at savvis center against whoever wins friday night game (it's either Bradley University or Indiana State). We're now in the Top 25, sitting at the last rank but that's fine caused it's nationwide!!..woohooo...
Anyway..this week has not been a smooth week for me. It was started on Sunday night (pass midnite) when Jibran was suddenly threw up all over the bed that we all had to get up, washed him, changed his clothes, changed my t-shirt, changed the pillow and bed cover. Jibran rarely throws up, kayanya semenjak lahir baru 3 kali deh dia vomit gitu..and it smelled like cheese cause he ate lots of cheese in the afternoon, we had lunch at Old Spaghetti Factory where he ate some of my food, so maybe it's the cheese or something, mungkin yang di pake special kind of cheese yang mungkin belum cocok untuk di makan Jibran kali yaa. Anyway, jadi pas hari senennya Jibrannya lemes...didn't want to eat anything, he didn't even want to drink his milk, but thank god there wasn't any vomiting scene lagi sih.
But I was the one who didn't feel good the next day (tuesday)..i got hit with a migraine..it was soo bad that I couldn't do much of anything..Errghhhh I hate migraine. Rabunya dua2nya baik2 aja tapi pas jam 5 sore Jibran had a bowel movement and it was a lot and very wateryy...and he had another two BMs before 9 o'clock..poor baby...i don't know what could be the cause..he ate just about the same thing he eats everyday. So I was afraid to give him any food and he seemed to lost his appetite too..I gave him lots of water and a few sips of pedialyte..thank god he hasn't had any BM anymore up until now, but his appetite is still low and he doesn't drink that much milk..langsung keliatan pipinya kalo kurusan..padahal baru aja gemukan lagi sejak balik dari jakarta....
Sekarang Jibrannya lagi napping, he's down to one nap a day now, kadang masih 2 kali sih tapi jaraang...seringnya cuma sekali from 1 to 3 o'clock. Minumnya udah 100% whole milk..dan sekarang babblingnya tambah sering dan lebih kedengeran seperti real words, only in french or maybe finnish..hehe. Intonasi nya juga beda2 kalo dia lagi ngomong in his happy mood sama kalo lagi kesel atau marah2 gitu. Kata dokternya sih karena kita ngomong ke Jibran in 2 different languages...so it might slows him down a bit at first in the speaking area. But it is better for him in the long run..it will make him smarter cause it improves brain activity and he will have more vocabulary, better sentence structure and comprehension skills later on. Dan katanya juga sih menurut research, children who brought up learning two languages score higher on standardized test. We'll see lah...
Hmm..apalagi yaah, nanti sore kalo jadi mau botakin rambutnya Jibran..hihi..abisnya kalo gondrong sedikit suka di jambak2in sama dia. I will post picture of his new 'do later......!!!.

This is ME!!!

Me as a baby

The afro me
and finally..

The monkey me!!!..hihihi
courtesy of: http://www.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~morph/Transformer/index.html
Sebenernya ini udah di tulis dari kemaren kemaren...tapi kok maleeessss banget ya nyelesainnya?..Anyway...last week was full of event. Ada 2 keluarga yang balik for good ke jakarta. Salah satu nya mas heru n mbak susi dari carbondale, memang sih sejak kita pindah ke st. louis jadi jarang ketemu lagi..but we always visit each other once in a while. They are really nice to us, we used to hang out at their house every weekend, just to chitchat until pass midnite..they always cook delicious indonesian food for us, gives a hand to help and all that. Too bad I didn't get the chance to take them to the airport, I called them the day before their departure but they had disconnect the phone. They promised to call me to let me know the check in time so we can meet in the check in area but i guess they were too busy they forgot to call me..huhu.
The other family who has gone back home is MD, Mbak Risti and Rashad...Rashad is Jibran's buddy..they are only 2 weeks apart at birth. Sekarang kalo ngumpul2 agak sepi deh..biasanya ada 2 babies..sekarang tinggal 1. They had an early flight..so all of us went to the airport around 4.30 in the morning to bid them farewell..ugh why why why everybody is going home?!?!..I knew I wanted to go home for good sometimes..but after my last visit there..i realized that i'm not ready to go home..not mentally, emotionally, physically (not until i lost this bellyyy..hehe..oh man i'm so shallow..:p), not financially and other possible lly. I know I want to be around my family more than anything but i'm just not ready yet to face whatever the hell i have to face back home. I do feel guilty most of the time for being away from my family for so long, especially now that there is Jibran...all they want is to be near him, to watch him grow and witness his every milestones..and i take that away from them. Huhu..sedih jadinya kalo di pikir. Airport is a sentimental place for me, makanya pas kemaren ke airport itu jadi inget waktu harus balik lagi ke sini...masuk nya di lama lamain, kita baru masuk ke boarding area pas orang2 udah ngantri masuk pesawat, padahal itu juga udah di anterin sampe ke dalem, passed the check in area..passed the immigration gate..masiih aja kurang...and i'm not good in saying goodbye to my family cause then my voice becomes strangled in my throat, my heart is throbbing and tears start streaming down my cheek..huhu..cupu banget deh pokonya.
Anywayy..we have heard the news that MD and family have arrived jakarta safely..we wish you the best of luck and continual success in your future endeavor..mudah2an bisa cepet adaptasi sama lingkungan dan suasana baru. We miss you guys already..=))!!
So after we took them to the airport, we went home to catch up some sleep...woke up at noon, had dimsum and planned to go to st. louis mills right after, but jibran was sleeping on the way there, kasian kalo turun pasti dia bangun, so we stopped by at target, d and yoga went inside and i just waited in the car sambil nemenin jibran bobo...made some phone calls, played with the camera..and i even had a chance to pluck my eyebrows..:D. Abis dari situ baru deh ke mills where jibran played in the PBS kids play area..he looked so happy. He walked like he own the place.
Monday was a valentine's day...I woke up to find a cute package, a small red teddy bear with a red Mrs Fields heart tin filled with decadent chocolates and a card that says.."To my wife: Thank you for being you ...and for being mine"...ahh..monday is not that bad afterall..=))
*taken at legian, bali
Birth date: 1/19/04
Current Age: 12 months and 3 weeks
Weight @ Birth: 7 lbs 3 oz
Length @ Birth: 19.5 inches
Current Weight: 21 lbs 3 oz
Current Length: 29.5 inches
Diaper Size: Pampers first steps absorbent pants (1T - 2T)
Clothing Size: 9 - 18 months
# of Teeth: 1 (hihihi)..2 are on the way though, you can see and touch the sharp little pearls on the surface of his gums
Pacifier: Yes
Thumb Sucker: Nope
Siblings: No
~Milestones~
Mobility
Sits without support: Yes
Crawling: Yes
Standing w/assistance: Yes
Walking w/assistance: Yes
Standing unassisted: Yes
Walking unassisted: Yes
Bends over & picks up an object: Yes
Walks backwards: Hmm...i havent noticed this one yet
Dances to music: Yes, he sways back and fourth and also do the headbanging thing
Climbing: Yes
Running: he tries it all the time but haven't really got the hang of it
Verbal
Babbling: Yes
Responds to own name: Yes
Understands No: Yes but does it anyway..=)
Combines Syllables (wordlike sounds): Yes sometimes
Says Dada and/or Mama: Yes, mostly dada though (and i thought i'm the one who is with him 24/7)
Uses 2 words skillfully (Hi, bye, etc): Hmm..not really
Vocab of 5 words: No..he would says "hawaa" (hallo) when he picks up the phone. He says "deh" (does he mean 'that?') a lot and "deeh" means a lot of things for him
Other
Eating Solids:Yes
Finger Feeds: Yes
Can use spoon & fork: Nope. not yet, i haven't taught him that.
Waves bye bye: Yes
Picks things up with pincer grasp: Yes
Plays patty-cake: hmm..what's a patty-cake??
Imitates others:No..i don't think so
Indicates wants with gestures: Yes, when he wants his binky, he'll go to the kitchen and point to where his binky is. and when he wants some snacks, he'll go to the kitchen pantry and point to it
Empties containers of contents: Yes..not just containers, but also the kitchen cabinets,my underwear drawers..you name it!!
Plays with ball: Yes, he loves ball..he plays basket ball too in his own tiny basketball backboard and rim
Turns the pages of a book: Yes
Has temper tantrums: Oh yes..unfortunately
Attached to soft toy/blanket: Nope
Enjoys pretend games: Yes, lately he likes to pretend that he tips over when he walks and then he would just lay there and laugh.
Likes riding toys: Yes
Will read book alone:Yes
Can peddle when put on a trike: No, he can't reach the peddle on his new bike, the one that pakde sam and bude dien gave him for his birthday..=)
Scribbles: hmm?..i guess no?
Anything else?
Jibran loooveess to throw stuff into the toilet bowl...at first he threw things into the trash can, including the remote, the phone etc..but i moved the trash can into the counter top so he couldn't reach it..and now he throws things into the toilet bowl..yea..and my book became the victim just now. But he knows where things are supposed to be, like yesterday he took off the living room's table edge guard and today he found it in my room, he picked it up and ran off to the living room and tried to put it back to the table..hehe. He gives me a kiss or a smooch whenever i ask for it. I have a good laugh everyday with him, just watching him do his things and acts silly all the time. He is my silly boy..i couldn't ask for a better baby..=)
*playing peekabo in the plane's bassinet, on our way home to j-town
This has been a busy week indeed, had to wake up early to take dendre to the metro station these last few days, came back and picked him around lunch time in downtown to check out some open houses..apointment with the mortgage officer and this and that. But we're getting this close to sealing the deal now. I'm so excited..:-)
Akhirnya...the long awaited tooth has finally appeared!! Jibran udah ada gigi nya satu di atas..hehe..tapi kok satu yah..bukannya biasanya kalo tumbuh sekali dua?..dan ini kok di atas..bukan di bawah dulu..kaya kelinci gitu jadinya..hehehe....he's gonna leave toothmarks everywhere now. Ketauan udah ada giginya pas sehari setelah entry di bawah di post..jadi sebenernya pas nulis itu juga udah ada giginya tapi kita belum ada yang nyadar..hehe..good thing daddy realized it when they were in the bathroom at like 5 in the morning (we were still jet lag at that time). Oh well.. I think that explains his crankiness lately...memang tambahan sempet jet lag dan lagi pilek sih, jadinya semakin aja deh. ..and plus i think he is bored..soalnya sekarang setiap hari di rumah dan yang di liat lo lagi lo lagi gitu kali ya pikirnya kalo dia liat gue..hehehe. Waktu di jakarta kan enak..rumahnya juga nggak kecil kaya apt disini, udah gitu banyak orang kan..dan ada aja yang dateng, banyak yang ngajak main dan bercanda..banyak yang bisa di berantakin juga...jadi nya seneng dia. Sebenernya kalo di pikir..anak2 kecil yang tinggal di indonesia itu lebih exposed sama orang banyak daripada anak anak bule disini, tapi kenapa anak2 di indonesia malah lebih banyak yang pemalu ya di banding anak2 bule??..
Anyway..i think i'm gonna send Jibran to day care, enggak buru2 sih..maybe when it's getting warmer, sometimes next month lah..in the meantime harus cari dulu yang bagus dan deket rumah. Palingan dia di day care nya dua kali seminggu aja dan nggak seharian penuh...maybe from 10 to 4..just so i have enough time to manage the house and do something, could be a part time job or anything that generates money for me, hehe. Lagian kasian kalo di rumah terus setiap hari, the space is limited, the toy is limited too..nanti daripada dia kebanyakan nonton tv, mendingan di day care kan..banyak temennya, banyak mainannya yang edukatif dan belajar mandiri juga dan yang lain2 lah..pasti banyak bagusnya dengan di titipin di day care..so he can learn to share dan manner2 lainnya..di rumah memang bisa sih di ajarin tapi kan susah praktekinnya kalo dia cuma sendirian aja.
oh it's breakfast time for jibran now..i'll write some more later...

What's up everybody?? This is Jibran and I'M IN DA HOUUUUSE!!!. I just had my first birthday a few days ago. Two gatherings, two big cakes, lots of presents..I was so excited.everybody was coming over. I'm a big boy now, but I still don't have any teeth. One year old and no teeth, what's up with that?!?!
We're back in st. louis now, but i'm still terribly jet lag and out of sync, hence i'm so cranky and demanding. I'm sleeping at the wrong time and woke up at 3 AM ready to play and give mommy a headache...and and and...I miss everybody back home. I miss my bunda, auntie hanna, om ibnu, jiddy, yangti, yangkung, aunti nung, mas dika, mas alvin, salsa, abil, mbak is and so on and so on. I even miss playing with the fishes at bunda's, I miss dipping my hand into the ikan lohan fish tank. That fish scared the hell out of me at first..I told mom I don't mind if it's lindsay lohan..but not ikan lohan!!! But then we became friends and i always throw stuff inside the fish tank..and he will wiggle his tail and swim around.
I'm soo sweepy now, catch you guys later..i'm looking forward to play with my stl family and also looking forward to toddlerhood and HEY, getting some teeth!!!
Sampe di Yogya jam 3 sore..langsung ke rumah bude nya Jibran sebentar abis itu ke rumah pakde nya dan nginep disana. Nggak pergi kemana mana lagi setelah itu.
Day 2 (Sunday)
Pagi pagi nggak kemana mana, yang lain pergi ke pasar burung dan taman sari. Siangnya pergi ke keraton dan sempet di bohongin tukang becak. Katanya lagi jam istirahat di keraton, jadi tutup..makanya mendingan naik becak aja dulu muter muter nanti baliknya pas jam keraton buka. Tapi kita tetep masuk dan ternyata keratonnya buka bow..hehe..emang katanya tukang tukang becak disitu senengnya ngapusi wong. Abis itu yang anak anak kecil pada ke tempat penyembelihan kuda…katanya dagingnya itu banyak di pake untuk nge gantiin daging sapi, jadi ada restoran2 yang pake daging kuda instead of beef, tapi bilangnya tetep beef..gosipnya sih kebanyakan restoran padang untuk rendangnya..hiii..nggak tau bener nggak tau enggak..yang jelas selama di yogya gue nggak mau makan daging sapi!!. Akhirnya kita di drop in di tempat bude nya Jibran karena malam itu mau nginep disana. Malemnya jalan2 keluar, nelusuri sepanjang jalan malioboro, ke mall nya trus ke pasar sore malioboro.
Day 3 (Monday)
Pagi pagi bawa Jibran ke Mbah Urut..abis itu mampir beli lotek. Siangnya ke pasar beringharjo dan pulangnya sengaja berdua dendre naik becak..hehehe..padahal lumayan jauh, enak sih bisa sambil foto foto banyak. Tadinya malah di ajakinnya naik andong..waaahh males deh kapan nyampenya kalo naek andong, ngeliat kudanya jalan lenggak lenggok aja gue udah nggak sabar sendiri. Trus balik dan sorenya pergi lagi ke dagadu sama ke desa wisata kasongan, tempat kerajinan tangan gitu deh..tapi karena udah kesorean jadinya udah pada tutup. Sebelum maghrib udah sampe rumah lagi..dan gue mendadak meriang, agak anget plus pusing plus I have a veerryyy sore throat..seperti ada luka di tenggorokannya. Jadi yang ada tiduran aja..huhu, my first time visiting the family and I got sick..jadi nggak enak!! Tidur terus sampe jam 11 malem kebangun gara2 Jibran nangis…dan nangisnya baru selesai jam 12.30..ampun deh, untung pas bangun itu pusingnya udah berkurang. Nggak ngerti nangisnya gara2 kenapa, pokonya teriak2 sekitar semenit dua menit gitu..abis itu 2 menit diem…trus 2 menit gitu lagi..gituuu aja terus sampe 1.5 jam. Di kasih susu nggak mau, binkie nggak mau, di kasih minyak telfon juga nggak ngaruh..biasanya kalo gitu dia masuk angina, tapi ini kayanya enggak. Aneh deh..
Day 4 (Tuesday)
Pagi2 ziarah ke makamnya neneknya dendre from his dad side. Lokasi nya di daerah bantul di tempat khusus pemakaman keluarga. Baru pertama kali nya ini gue ngelakuin ritual yang namanya nyekar..biasanya orang jawa yah yang sering nyekar, mau puasa nyekar, pas lebaran nyekar, mau kawin harus nyekar dulu…pokoknya sering deh. Gue mungkin termasuk yang beruntung nggak pernah nyekar..karena keluarga gue yang ada sejak gue lahir masih sehat sehat sampe sekarang. Eh ada sih satu nenek buyut gue dari nyokap yang udah meninggal pas gue smp, dulu lumayan deket juga..tapi enggak tau kenapa kayanya nyokap gue juga nggak pernah nyekar tuh. Mungkin makamnya udah di gusur di jadiin pertokoan?. Tapi kan yang penting di doain terus, doain dari mana aja sama aja. Anywaaay..abis itu makan soto kadipiro..trus mampir lagi ke kasongan yang mana ternyata barangnya itu bagus bagus banget, dan murah murah pula!!. Rasanya pingin banget beli banyak buat pajangan2 rumah..tapi gimana bawanyaaa…nanti kali ya kalo udah tinggal di Jakarta balik lagi ke situ!!!. Setelah dari kasongan, kita ziarah lagi ke makam neneknya dendre from his mom side..kalo yang ini gue belum pernah ketemu…trus di depannya ada makam kakaknya yang meninggal waktu umur 5 bulan..=((. Selesai urusan ziarah, beli oleh2 makanan kering khas yogya (iyaa…apalagi kalo bukan bakpia)..belinya di tempat bikinnya langsung di perumahan penduduk. Dari situ mampir ke pasar beringharjo lagi sebentar…trus balik deh..packing dan pulang ke Jakarta.
Memang nggak banyak jalan jalannya di Yogya, soalnya kan tujuan utamanya ketemu sodara..gue udah pernah dulu ke tempat tempat wisata nya dan dendre juga udah sering boalk balik yogya. Lagian gue nya juga nggak fit banget badannya..dan memang nggak mau ngajak Jibran keluar keluar, kapok nanti kaya di bali lagi pas pulang pulang sakit..huhu..sekarang kan batuk pileknya juga masih. Jadi praktis Jibran ikut pergi nya cuma ke keraton aja. Tapi biarpun nggak kemana mana, it was still a trip to remember..puas liat hamparan sawah, liat petani petani..liat becak yang bersliweran di mana mana. Puas liat mbah mbah..hehehe..what is it with Yogya and mbah2..kayanya orang2 tua disana lebih produktif ya dari pada di jakarta dan centil2 lagi..kalo liat orang bawa kamera yang langsung “Mas..mbok ya aku di shooting”..hehehe..
Sorenya sampe di Jakarta langsung sholat maghrib dan cabut ke dokter tht..i can’t stand the pain in my throat anymore..asli sakit banget. Dokternya juga kaget banget waktu liat rongga rongga sekitar amandel gue..katanya kena virus diptheri..langsung di kasih obatnya yang dosis tinggi..kata nya kalo sampe jum’at gue nggak sembuh juga, harus di rawat inap..nah lhoo..kok jadi beginiii??. Tapi harusnya sih sembuh, mana kata dokternya menular lagi…gue harus pake masker kalo mau deket2 Jibran. Ya ampun..padahal beberapa hari ini Jibran lagi seneng senengnya nyium bibir gue kalo gue bilang..”smooch”..gitu sambil monyong. Mudah mudahan aja dia nggak ketularan ya.
-amin-