Shoo Flu Shoo

The cold erupted into a full-blown flu - sore throat, fever, the works and we spent Mikey's birthday (which was yesterday) at home. Bummer! We'd plans to go out to dinner and coming home with a sinful-licious cake, but that all into the garbage, along with the two boxes of tissue I went through.

I've been popping Tylenol flu (both drowsy and non-drowsy versions out of desperation) tabs every four hours, and still my nose keeps dripping. But it's good both Kayla and Mikey appear immune to whatever's ailing me.

I'm gonna go get more sleep now.

Ah-Choooo

Lack of sleep, work stress...whichever the culprit, I'm down with a nasty cold, my first in a long long while. And it sucks. I'm just worried Kayla will catch it but according to, yes, the internet, my body's busy making antibodies to fight it and she'll get them when I nurse her.

Alright. This giant human pacifier has to go get some real rest...before the cold turns into something nastier. Ah-chooooooo and out.

Clutter Control

If there's anyone in this family who needs a walk-in closet, it's Kayla. I can't even begin to describe the number of tops, bottoms, onesies, pyjamas and dresses she has, not to mention new pieces she's already outgrown that still have their tags on. All I can say is some rooms are starting to resemble a baby boutique.

Recently, we welcomed (I use "welcome" because while it's tiresome to sort through the stash, these hand-me-downs have helped us saved a lot of money) another huge bag of 12-18m clothing. I hear there's another bag of 24m and beyond that's sitting quietly in a corner at grandma's. To make room for the new, we had to get rid of the old...so I spent close to two hours weeding out the 6-9mth items in her closet. I haven't had time to even go through the new stuff... and I haven't figured what exactly to do with the clothes we've accumulated since she came into this world. Ebay? Garage sale? Craigslist? Goodwill? Starting a baby consignment store (yes, we really do have that many items)?

Then there are the toys! I don't even want to start.

Of Birthdays and Balloons

We haven't done anything exciting lately, due in large part to the magazine's print week. No street festivals, excursions to the playground or outings with mommy groups. Only daily visits to the flat bed of green minutes from our place, and more recently, a shopping trip for Daddy's "surprise" birthday gift.

Surprise in quotes because it's no longer one. While Kayla was napping, I quickly stuck the two shirts I bought in a box, but forgot to hide it when I heard Kayla screaming over the baby monitor. Mikey came home from work, looked at the box and asked very matter-of-factly, "Is that my present?" Sigh.

Speaking of birthdays, Emily (Kayla's adorable cousin) recently turned five. Happy Birthday, Emmie. As usual, she threw an awesome birthday party at her home in Oakley, and Kayla decided she wanted one of her birthday balloons. Try saying "Boon" with your lips shut. That's "Balloon" in Kayla-speak. As for new words in her ever-expanding vocabulary, she now knows: socks (she goes "ocks"), hat (she says "at"), tiger (a very long "tieeeeeeeeeee" and short "ger"), and a whole bunch of words she can't pronounce like train, truck and Mommy. She does, however, lets out an extremely endearing "Da-dee" whenever she spots Mikey coming down the stairs or walking in the room. Can't wait to hear her say "Happy Birthday Dadeee!"

Success!

Kayla had her first bowl of chicken "chok" (cantonese for congee) today and she loved it. No dinnertime drama (I pushed dinner up by half an hour and it seemed to work magic!), and nothing wasted (of course, I overestimated again and ended up cooking enough for, well, the three of us). Though the chicken wasn't seasoned and the porridge had no salt, it actually tasted surprisingly good. Guess what's going to be on the dinner menu in the next couple of weeks - chok, chok, and more chok. Chok with spinach, chok with carrots, chok with salmon, chok with fill-in-the-blanks. Welcome to detox diet, Kayla style. We'll see how long we last.

Dinner Tantrums

What would I do without the internet? So it seems dinnertime tantrums are legitimate and commonplace though the methods of dealing with them are as varied as jellybeans.
http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/eating/dinnertantrums.html
I'm not about to put her on the floor with her food, but on the other hand, this can't continue. Someone ought to write a handbook for babies, and people ought to stop gushing about how wonderful parenthood is. Dealing with a human being who cannot tell you what she needs or wants is like playing charades blindfolded - beyond frustrating. Ugh!

I'm gonna try and and feed her a little earlier tomorrow and we'll see if that helps. If that doesn't, we might try a different chair or perhaps placing her in a different spot. Maybe all she needs is a change of scenery.

Dinnertime Drama

Of late, Kayla's been crying at dinnertime and we can't figure out why. She's in her high chair like she always is at mealtimes, but the minute I start feeding her, she starts crying. The food's comfortably warm and somewhat tasty, I think (she's still on an Earth's Best diet), she's comfortable, but something's clearly wrong. I've tried bribing her with applesauce and still, she cries.

It's really bizarre and I hope we solve the mystery soon. She's not eating as much as I'd like her to at dinnertime - you really can't feed her much in between her very sad-sounding sobs. I've tried singing to cheer her up, carrying her to calm her down but nothing works. Maybe I should start cooking her meals like I planned to, ahem, a long time ago.

Pictures!

I know... it's been a while. You know how it is with digital technology - too many photos, too little time. We've only just managed to upload a fraction of what we've stored so here goes. My faves, of course.

Shake hands....

Kayla had her first lesson in etiquette today. When you meet someone, shake their hands. And she does it with finesse. But seriously, she's learning so much everyday that I finally understand why people compare babies' brain power to sponges. Sometimes I think I underestimate their ability to understand and pick up on stuff. She knows now when I'm upset with her for attempting a dangerous stunt. She knows to think twice before doing anything when I say "be careful." And more endearingly, she knows how to give me a kiss and a hug when I ask for it.

But it's not quite the real deal, not just yet. In her world, a hug equals leaning her head against your chest; and a kiss is more like a lick on the cheek. Wet, but wonderful. She's still perfecting her blow kisses - sometimes it comes from eyes, sometimes they come from behind her ears, then there are days she sticks her fingers in her mouth. We'll get there.

A Walk in the Park

If there's one thing I've learned with this entire "stay home mom" stint, is that it's never a walk in the park. Throw a demanding part-time gig in the mix and there are days where I feel I'm being pulled in a million directions (sometimes literally by Kayla who tugs on my top from every angle reachable). But I think it'll work out - I don't think I could just stay home with her and not do anything else. (it'd kill me). Already I'm drowning in baby talk, baby books, baby poop, baby fill-in-the-blanks... work, though tiresome at times, is my lifebuoy. Breathe baby breathe.

Another lesson: Learn to live with the mess, and in a mess. It's okay to have a room littered with so many toys that it looked like a tornado paid a visit. It's okay not to know what's on the table for lunch or dinner so long as you can cook it in a minute in the microwave. And it's definitely okay not to remember brushing your hair before you head out so long as you've something to tie it up with. Oh gosh. What have I become?!

But what's been the hardest for me has been patience. Never one to live life languidly, I now have to put everything on hold when coaxing Kayla to take a nap (sometimes it takes up to an hour!), try not to go crazy when she's having a major meltdown, and live my life according to someone else's schedule, not mine! But I think I've come a long way in this department, though I know there's way way way more to be patient about in the future (like when she decides she wants to feed herself, pick her own clothes and what time she wants to come home).

Don't get me wrong, though. While I may appear to complain a whole lot (it's embedded in my Singaporean DNA), I really do love spending time with my lovely daughter. She's pure joy, a bundle of fun, and the reason why we're learning to appreciate the little things in everyday life -
through her eyes.

On a separate note, Halloween's approaching and her Daddy and I can't meet eye to eye on what to dress her up in. I like Princess Fiona (comes with a wicked wig!) but Daddy prefers a dog with a horrible collar. I say Sheep and he says Elephant. For some reason, I think we're going to end up with Bumble Bee. Stay posted!

Shame on me for the silence

The past couple of weeks have been a wee bit rough - but happy rough. We'd visitors (Yay!) and were having a ball discovering and rediscovering the region's attractions as much as they did. Still, that's no excuse for failing to report on Kayla's progress, or lack thereof.

Her sleep crawling spell has sort of ceased though she still wakes up screaming and crying for no reason and sits up by herself in bed. And she's talking a whole lot more now but still not making much sense. Extremely enthusiastic about ducks, lukewarm about bunnies and definitely crazy over babies. I can't take her anywhere without her yelling "Baby" whenever we pass a tot or babe in arms.

Unfortunately, I've to keep this short. Got a ton of work to finish but in good Governator fashion, I'll be back!