Monday 9 October 2006

Baju Lawa untuk Nuaim

Nuaim has a thing for checked collared shirts, which he calls 'Baju Lawa'. He has them in almost every colour, and every morning after his bath he'll grab one together with a pair of matching long pants. Most of them are short sleeved, although he does own a couple of long-sleeved ones, which he calls 'Baju Datuk'. I think he's trying to emulate his paternal grandfather, who regularly wears them on his trips to KL. Nuaim would even wear them to bed, if he had his own way, but nowadays he favours 'Baju P. Ramlee', which is what he calls his pyjamas (I have no idea what gave him the idea to call them that).

Nuaim has been wearing these shirts since he could walk, and although the shirts still fit due to the loss of some bodily fat, he has definitely outgrown his trousers. I thought I'd buy him a few new pairs . I was also keen to see Nu'man wear something other than the baby bodysuits evryone keeps giving him, so decided he should get his own brand new checked shirt for Hari Raya.

So there I was in the children's department of Jusco 1 Utama, among many other parents procuring brand new clothes for their offspring. I found a cute shirt and a pair of shorts for Nu'man, and two pairs of trousers for Nuaim. Then I thought I should get a shirt for Nuaim too. After all, his brother's getting something new so why shouldn't he? But all the checked shirts on offer looked boring to me (except for the one I bought Nu'man, but I didn't want them to wear similar clothing) so I bought a PLAIN shirt with some checked trimming around the collar and pockets.

When I reached home and announced that I bought him new trousers, Nuaim wanted to try them on immediately. Then he saw the checked portion of his new shirt peeking out of the shopping bag, and he wanted to try it on too. He was excited at first, but after he put it on and realised the checks weren't as visible as he'd hoped, the smile vanished slowly. Being the good boy that he is, he didn't sulk, but he kept his head down and wouldn't look me in the eye, and kept asking everyone for affirmation that he looked 'lawa', to which we all said yes. It almost broke my heart to see him so upset, and very quickly I stowed away Nu'man's new clothes and promised to get him a new checked shirt for Hari Raya.

Now I just have to decide on the colour.