29 July '09 miracle

I need to journal this down.

Because Kim went to bed at 8.15pm. And slept till 5.30am. She had some milk and then continued to sleep till 7am. Then wanted to play hair stylist. Insisted on taking her comb and brush and mirror and combing my hair with all three items.

At about 7.30am, she said, "Papa? See." And then headed for her room door (which was closed). I asked her, "You wanna see Papa?" She nods vigorously.

We enter our room where Peen was still asleep and she whispers, "Papa." And looked rather pleased. :) She knows to whisper but most of the time she forgets herself and shouts loudly, "Papa....Eeeep (sleep)."

A new backpack

I made a tiny backpack for Kim some time ago for school.

However, in view of the many many things that I need to pack for her for school, they wouldn't all fit into it. And the teacher didn't seem too pleased that I had another sling bag just for her mattress cover and elephant. So I decided to sew another bag. A bigger backpack in the same fabric. Thankfully there was enough fabric. Only this time, because it's an adult size bag, she wouldn't be able to carry it. I used an old bodypac as a size reference and followed the same instructions as the little one I made.

I added the same front pocket like the last time. I thought I'd need more pockets this time so I also added a side pocket for a water bottle and on the other side, I added a doggie collar to clip on elephant to the bag. Yes, it's Dumbo attached to the bag. She likes elephants so I bought her Dumbo to bring to school. Would have preferred Huffalump but it's not as easy to locate. Oh well. She loves it anyway since it's an elephant. She calls it Da diang (for Da Xiang in Chinese).

Kim dresses up

It all started with an innocent meal at BK. A nice BK crew guy gave Kim a crown to wear. She was thrilled and wore it the whole time. She really liked it and would put it on very often while at home. As you can imagine, it very quickly disintegrated and started falling apart.



So I decided to attempt to make one. Going back to Ikatbag to check on how Lorraine made hers, I embarked on mine. I followed the BK crown design so I put in some pipe cleaners to help the three sections stand.

Kim did like it - thankfully. And would want to wear it whenever she saw it. Even while eating!



Here is Kim wearing the crown looking rather cheeky. Actually, I thought she looks a little like Hannah here. You see the thread beginning to unravel. Oops.



Even Chyna gets to dress up. Miss Bossy insists.



No escaping. Doesn't matter if it doesn't fit.



The crown wasn't very well made. The pipe washers started sticking out so I removed them. It started to look sad and droopy. Ok, so it doesn't really look that way here but that's cos I propped them up for the photo.



So in the end I made another two crowns. This time I used straws instead of pipe cleaners. So far they look pretty hardy. But it hasn't gone through grubby hands and furry heads yet. We shall see.

Week 4 Day 1 @ My First Skool

I am happy to report that there has been more progress today. Kim didn't cry at all during separation. Just looked glum when she waved goodbye.

I was a little worried and even contemplated not sending her to school today because she had fallen last night and scraped both her knees. :( She cried of course. When she fell, when she had her bath, when she saw them and tried to scratch them off, which of course, made it more painful.



I think she was trying to scratch off what was causing her pain, thinking that it's painful because it's there so if it no longer is there, it will no longer be painful?

Anyway, Peen thought I was being silly. So I dressed her in long pants today so that she wouldn't scratch at the wounds. Of course, being the overly concerned mother of my first child, I thought of putting on plasters. Well, I know we should leave them exposed so they would heal faster but this is a 19 mth old who wouldn't know better than try to scratch the cause of the pain off. But plasters would leave a sticky residue. So I used some gauze and surgical tape and taped up both her knees.

She cried when she saw the bandages. Oops. I think they looked more serious than they really are. But they are meant to be cushiony too!

Anyway, back to Week 4 Day 1.

I went down to spy on her just now and saw her having just returned from the playground. The class was drinking water. The teacher was taking out each child's bottle and putting them on the table. Our little Miss "Helpful" was climbing onto the table to pick up each bottle and walking around to find the owner of the bottle. The teacher had to make her sit down to drink from her own bottle. :D

Today, in addition to the usual stuff, I had also packed the mattress cover (thankfully the mattresses the school has is almost the same size as her cot mattress so I just packed one of her fitted sheets), milk powder and bottle.

We were going to see if she would take milk under peer pressure. Tsk tsk. Parents resorting to peer pressure to get the child to do what is needed.

The report from the teacher is that she did drink but mostly played with the bottle. Apparently the holes aren't big enough for her to drink. Hmmm.... Well, I must confess I don't have experience in the milk bottle since Kim had given up on them since she was 3 mths old. Maybe we should use a sippy cup instead.
At about 12.35pm, I was asked to pick her up. She was having a bad running nose and was talking incessantly with the kid next to her and the teachers. Poor kid. Well, I took a while to pick her up (15mins) cos I was busy trying to figure out what was wrong with my Brother. It's jamming so I was cleaning it. Ahh...that will probably be another post.

I went down, only to be told that my baby is now fast asleep. So I've left her there.

13 July - the first time Kim has fallen asleep without Mommy around. And still sleeping when I took this photo.

Ruby Anniversary

40th Wedding Anniversary



A kiss for Mámà



A kiss for Tōu Tōu (She still can't say Gong Gong)

Happy 40th wedding Anniversary Daddy (Tōu Tōu) and Mummy (Mámà)!

Week 3 report card @ My First Skool

Kim is settling into childcare well. Today, when Peen and I sent her to school, she did not cry. She was all teary (eyes red and quivering pouty lips) but summoned up enough courage to wave goodbye to us both. Oh, our baby is so brave.

When I picked her up from school, Teacher Shirin had a chat with me. Here are some things we discussed.

1) She is settling in very well. Did not cry today. Yay!

2) She ate the whole plate of spaghetti. But did not finish her apple portion today. My kang tang girl. But she ate 4 helpings of blueberries (while watching Hi5) before her nap.

3) She is more comfortable with the place and has started to explore in areas unfamiliar to her.

4) Her tiny horns are beginning to show. She stood on her chair after lunch and refused to get off. Also, at the playground, she was instigating other kids to run around with her.

5) She talks quite a lot and plays with her friends.

6) There are some kids in the playgroup (3 yr olds) who really like her. Kim is in the toddler group (2 yr olds). There are especially two boys who seem to like her alot. Teacher Shirin thinks it's cos she is small and cute. She mentioned that one even tried to kiss her today! Yikes. We will have to find out who this boy is and let him know that he would need parental consent please.

A side note. I try to walk pass the school with Kim whenever I can to let her see what's going on and that she doesn't have to be tense all the time when we approach the school. I have witnessed for myself some kids (actually two boys) standing at the window grill shouting her name and waving at her. I dunno about Little Miss Popular but mummy was quite overwhelmed at the reception!

7) Teacher Shirin showed her a bottle belonging to another kid and asked her if she wanted to drink milk from the bottle and she said yes. She even wanted to take the bottle. Teacher Shirin thinks that Kim may be receptive to taking milk in school and perhaps afternoon naps and asked if I wanted to provide the bottle and milk for her.

Well, a total of 4 weeks (one week MC). Three weeks of actual school. She has settled in quite well and isn't crying her eyeballs out. Thank God for that. I just pray that she would always be confident and assured that she is truly loved.

Here is a video 5 minutes after collecting her from school.



Mom: Do you like school?
Kim: Nods vigorously
Mom: Do you like your teacher?
Kim: Nods vigorously
Mom: Do you like your friends?
Kim: Nods vigorously
Mom: Just now, did you feed the turtle?
Kim: Nods vigorously
Mom: Did the turtle eat alot alot? (Why do pple tend to repeat themselves?!) *Rolls eyes*
Kim: Bed (signs "bread")
Mom: The turtle eat bread, issit? (Very bad English!)
Kim: Nods
Mom: Ohhh... Did you feed the turtle?
Kim: Naaaa.... Nods
Mom: Did you play with your friends just now, with the toys?
Kim: Yaaaeeeee
Mom: So do you like school?
Kim: Nods. Yaeeeee
Mom: Do you like your teachers?
Kim: No
Mom: Do you like your friends?
Kim: No

That's for asking SO MANY TIMES Mom!!!

The week of hoarseness and syringes

26 June - night. That was when it all started. I'm journalling this because it's such an unforgetable week for Peen and myself. At least for now. And Peen claims that he has earned his daddy badge.

Kim fell sick and started running a high fever on Friday night. Doesn't she look miserable in the pic above? It continued for at least another 4 days. Even with fever medication, it fluctuated but hoovered at about 38.5 to 39.6 degrees. We just couldn't bring it under control. We had never had such a bad bout with Kim before so we were worried. She was so uncomfortable that all she did was ask to be carried and cried.

She would refuse she medication, spitting them out. Alot of crying. We had no choice but to constantly sponge her and she would also cry. So much so that she became hoarse. :( Poor baby. For about a day or two, she hardly spoke and even when she did, we could hardly hear her.

Tai Kin diagnosed her as having Croup. That is the constriction of the upper respiratory tract, affecting the vocal cords, hence the hoarseness. Kim was given steroids on Monday. Thankfully, she started getting better. We had so many people praying with us. Thanks guys.

Right up to Wed, she was still running a low grade fever. But by Friday, she was alright again. A whole week. I was worried that the Monday following would be a tough one sending her back to school since she missed a whole week. But to my surprise, she was ok. Aside from the separation tears, she was ok by the time the teacher walked to her class area. She was ok for the rest of the day, even playing with her friends and she even ate lunch! Thank God.

Hi5 Addiction

We passed by a tablefull of Hi5 DVDs and the little one was really excited. She was grabbing them and continuously telling us it's Hi5. :)



Each morning when she wakes, she would ask to watch a Hi5 video. Actually, she would randomly remember throughout the day and ask to watch Hi5. Sigh. Truly, an addict.



Hello, my name is Kimberley and I am a Hi5 addict. :D