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April 2013

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Ya Gotta Love The Beautiful Game

April 30, 2013 in Ethan, Exercise, Growing Up | No comments

Last Saturday morning, Ethan attended his first soccer practice.  It was an 8-week program we had signed him up for, and he had been eagerly looking forward to it.  All this while, he had only been watching soccer (football) matches on the telly and also “practising” his skills indoors.

Here he is, reluctantly posing for the camera because he could not wait to go for the practice.

Don’t those boots look totally awesome? 🙂

He was given a jersey with a random number, coincidentally his was number 20. #rvp

I thought the jersey was super cool.  It was black on one side and if you turn it over, it was silver grey; made such that they could use it for home and away games with other teams!

The kids went through some basic dribbling exercises, taking turns to shoot and defend and then just controlling the ball.  The soccer practice ended with a match between Ethan’s team and another team.

Ethan had a whole lot of fun and has been telling me about his “plans” on how to score goals in the upcoming match this coming Saturday.

Removing The Stitches

April 30, 2013 in Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | 2 comments

Six days after Hannah’s wound was cleaned and stitched up, we visited the doctor again to have her stitches removed.  She was in good spirits and could hardly wait for all the stitches to be removed.

The nurse told her it would be easy-peasy and would not hurt.  First, the steri-strips (little paper bandages adhered by glue) were removed; she had 4 of these, and then we waited for the doctor.

The doctor came in shortly after and told Hannah it will just be a quick snip-snip and then it will all be over.  She laid down on the treatment table, and although there was a very slight discomfort when the doctor tugged gently on the stitches, the entire process of removing the stitches took no longer than 5 minutes.

The doctor advised us to keep the wound area dry for another week or so to ensure it heals well, and also to avoid putting lotions, creams or sunscreen.

Thank you everyone, for your prayers and support 🙂

Our First Visit to Six Flags New England

April 28, 2013 in Emma, Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah, Parenting, Vacation | No comments

We had planned on going to Six Flags New England after lunch, when the accident happened.  And when we were done in Urgent Care, it was already about 4:00p.m.  Pete and I were ready to go back home to rest, but then Ethan and Hannah asked, “Mommy, Daddy, are we going to see our surprise now?”

You see, we had told them both that we would be taking them for a surprise that day.  They remembered.

So I checked with the nurse and doctor and Hannah got the go-ahead, with the caveat to avoid getting the wound wet.  So we made the 1.5 hour drive to Agawam, MA for our first visit to Six Flags.

We had gotten season passes to the theme park, so we’ll definitely make a few more trips there before we leave for Malaysia.  Hannah took a quick power nap on the way there, but was all excitement as we arrived.  Unfortunately we had to queue up to change our printed season passes to photo-ID ones, and that took about 30 minutes or so, a LOOONG wait for people with kids, let me tell ya.

Here are some of our pictures.  Because Ethan and Hannah wanted to go on ride after ride, Pete had to take them on those rides when I had to breastfeed Emma or change her and then I would meet them at a later time somewhere.  On rides that the kids had to be accompanied by an adult, we had to make use of the parent swap, where either Pete or I would ride with one kid first and then subsequently, we can ride with the other kid without having to queue up again.

It was quite an experience being in a theme park with three kids now, especially also since Emma chose that period of time to poop a few times!

It got colder in the night, and I could not believe that we actually stayed up till park closure at 9:00p.m.  Well, we will definitely be back! 😀

The kids are already requesting to go back the next day itself! LOL

Hope to get more pictures during our next visit!

 

The Accident

April 24, 2013 in Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | 5 comments

It was just like any normal Saturday.  We woke up and lazed around at home, before getting ready to go out for lunch.  We were all still a little tired after our trip to New York, but we were all glad to have had a good night’s sleep.

Lunch was at our favorite Japanese restaurant; Ethan would have his favorite chicken katsu set and Hannah loved the oranges that were provided as dessert.  The kids had finished their lunch and I was just about to finish mine when the accident happened. 🙁

Ethan and Hannah had got up from their seats and were playing not too far away from where we were seated.  The restaurant was rather empty at that time, so they had quite some space to themselves.  Suddenly, we heard a loud thud and when Pete and I look towards the kids, we saw Hannah faced down on the floor.

I got up immediately to help her up, and I was shocked to see blood running down from a big wound on her forehead.  I hurriedly took her to the bathroom to wash up, but after wiping the blood away, my knees went weak when I saw what a big gash it was.  I decided to ask Pete to wash the wound up instead.  Hannah was sobbing, but I could tell she was very strong.

We did not see how the accident had happened, but Ethan said Hannah had ran and tried to grab on to a nearby pole.  She missed and hit her head on the back of a chair and then fell on the floor.  The impact from either the chair or the floor must have caused the big gash.

The waiter gave us a couple of band aids to cover the wound up meanwhile, but we knew we had to bring her immediately into Urgent Care.  When we arrived at the medical center, the nurse calmly told me she had to check if a doctor was available.  Well, thankfully we were able to get someone to see Hannah almost immediately.  She had stopped crying then, which was a good sign.

Upon checking the wound and cleaning her up, the doctor said that he would need to stitch up the wound.  First, some numbing gel was applied to the wound and I had to hold a cotton gauze on the wound to make sure the numbing gel would take effect.  After 10 minutes, the nurse replaced the cotton gauze with a fresh piece and also a fresh application of numbing gel.  The nurse also gave Hannah an “I Spy” book to occupy her time while we waited for the gel to take effect.

I tried my very best to put on a brave face for my darling Hannah, although being a Mommy, I was all freaked out beyond belief.

She asked, “Is it gonna hurt, Mommy?”

I told her, “No Hannah, the doctor will only sew up the wound so it will become better.”

And she replied, “Okay Mommy.  I will try my best to be brave.”

And she was. Indeed. 🙂

The doctor came in soon after and got ready to stitch up the wound.  Hannah held my hands when the doctor put the first stitch in, but she said she didn’t need to hold my hands after that anymore.  All in all, there were 3 stitches and also a running stitch all the way through the wound.  Hannah kept very still throughout the entire procedure, although she did seem a little bored towards the end.

The doctor and nurse both said that Hannah did very well, and that she deserved a gold medal, to which she replied after they were done with the stitches, “So where’s my gold medal?” 🙂

After the stitching, the doctor washed the wound up and put an adhesive-like substance on either side of the stitched wound and then applied a thin striped bandage to cover the wound up.  The stitches would be removed this coming Friday but meanwhile we were told to keep the wound dry.

Hannah left the medical center with three pretty stickers too, all her own choices.  We’re praying that her wound would heal up beautifully and well.  She’s looking forward to removing her stitches in a few days’ time.

To The Big Apple And Back

April 22, 2013 in Celebrations, Emma, Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Vacation | No comments

Last week, we made a quick trip to New York and back.  The primary reason for this trip was to get Emma’s birth registration and Malaysian passport done at the Consulate General of Malaysia.  Previously for Hannah’s case when she was born in California, we did not need to make the trip to the Consulate General of Malaysia in LA, and we only needed to Fedex all the necessary documents.

However, now that Emma was born in the East Coast, the rules for birth registration at the Consulate General in New York were different.  Not only did the Consulate General require the baby to be physically present at the point of birth registration, submission could only be done from 9:30a.m. – 12:00noon.  Same-day collection would only be guaranteed if we submit the documentation at 9:30a.m. in the morning, so in order to comply with that and not have to wait to collect the stuff a day later, we decided to go to New York on Thursday, stay the night and then submit the registration early Friday morning.

We left a little later than planned on Thursday morning (what’s new?), and while Emma was wide awake when we drove off, she fell asleep a few minutes later.

Hannah and Ethan were as excited as ever about our trip.  Here’s Hannah showing you how happy she is…You would know by now who’s the one who’s ever willing to pose for the camera and who’s just the opposite. 😛

Emma was dozing away beautifully and only woke up after we had our lunch; we stopped at Subway in Rocky Hill, Connecticut before heading on towards The Big Apple.

Traffic was unbelievably heavy on a week day, and even heavier when we arrived in NYC.  We drove straight towards the Financial District and parked our car near the Staten Island Ferry Terminal.

There wasn’t a long wait thankfully, and we boarded the ferry not long after.  Emma was quite fidgety at that time, and we soon found out why: she pooped while we were on the ferry!

Pete managed to take the kids up to the deck to get a closer look at the Statue of Liberty though.  It was rather cloudy that day but the kids just loved the ferry ride.

Upon arrival at Staten Island we took the next ferry back to Manhattan.  On the return ferry, and after changing Emma, I put her in a baby sling, and took her up to the deck for about a minute or two.  She was still really restless, even though I had fed her, and even when we put her in the stroller and pushed her out from the ferry.  In fact, Emma only settled down and fell asleep in the car, as we made our way to our hotel.

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Here, There and Everywhere

April 17, 2013 in Breastfeeding, Emma, Food & Feeding, Growing Up, Parenting | No comments

During the past one month where I have been learning about this new world I’m in, Daddy and Mommy has brought me to so many new places!  So many new things to see, I can safely assume I have been to more places than most of the newborns around! 🙂

  • I visited my pediatrician twice; once when I was 2 weeks’ old and one more time when I was a month old.  I didn’t like it when they undressed me and placed me on this weighing scale thing, but Daddy and Mommy sure seemed happy after they took my weight.  Also, I had a Hepatitis B jab during my 2nd visit.  Didn’t like that at all!  Hmmph.
  • I’ve followed Daddy, Mommy, Ethan and Hannah out on countless occasions to several restaurants for their meals.  Japanese food, Vietnamese food, fast food…they sure eat a LOT.  Me?  I’m just contented with Mommy’s breast milk – yummy!
  • One several occasions, they brought me along to this ice cream store called Coldstone Creamery where they bought their ice cream to go.  Daddy said something about me crying, so they had to get it to go.
  • I’ve also been to grocery stores, sometimes just Mommy and me.  It’s never too early to learn about shopping, they say.  Mommy pushed me around in a stroller and managed to get the groceries done.
  • Mommy has also brought me along to my brother Ethan’s school to drop him off, and she also takes me down with her when she drops my sister Hannah off at her school.  The cool weather is just right for me, but there were a couple of days when it was a little bit windy.  I heard Mommy saying that it’s much warmer now and that it was a good thing I was born a little later, after the unforgiving cold winter.

I’m looking forward to more exciting outings ahead…psst…I heard that they are planning some as we speak!  Well, I ain’t complaining as long as they keep me clean and dry and ensure that my supply of milk is readily available all the time! 😀

Cooking Class

April 16, 2013 in Food & Feeding, Growing Up, Hannah | No comments

Lately Hannah has been slightly disinterested about going to school.  She would grumble about being sleepy in the morning and I would have a hard time waking her up.  Then she would be all clingy and did not want us to leave her in school in the morning, sometimes citing tiredness or tummy upsets.  Her teacher however, says that she is enjoying her time in school, and her uneasiness wears off after about 3 minutes.

Nevertheless we tried many methods to make her like going to school: bringing a soft toy, bringing a book to share, telling her about something interesting that would happen in school.  Some worked for a while.  She’s also been asking me to pick her up a little earlier from school.  You see, her class has activities in the a.m. and then lunch at about 11:30a.m. After lunch, the kids wind down for some quiet time or nap time, around 12:15p.m.  Hannah asks me to pick her up around 12:30p.m. and we’re guessing it could be that she’s a bit bored by the non-activity.

In any case, I’ve decided to start her off on a weekly cooking class on Fridays in school.  Hopefully it will be something she will look forward to every week for the next 2 months or so, at least till we leave.  (She’s been looking forward to her Phonics Adventures classes every Monday and Wednesday, so having a Friday cooking class to look forward to could be the answer!)

She had her first class last Friday, and I was surprised to see her get up early that day, all by herself too!  The Cooking Class method must be working, as she was excitedly looking forward to it the whole week!

Last week, she made Dunkaroo Dip, using yogurt, cool whip and confetti cake mix.  She definitely had fun making and sharing it with us when she brought it home.  We had the dip with some Teddy graham crackers.

I’m sure she can’t wait for her next cooking class! 🙂

Emma at 1 Month

April 15, 2013 in Emma, Milestones | 3 comments

Scrap Credits
The Endless Love kit from K Designs
Cozy Alphas from retrodiva {designs}™

Amazing how this tiny little bundle of joy is totally dependent on me for everything!  And it’s equally amazing how much I love her so…

Weight

9 lbs 4.5 oz (4.21 kilos).  Suffice to say, the infant carrier Emma *travels around* in is getting heavier by the day!  Her weight gain is excellent, and she is right on track, gaining approximately 1 kilo since she was born a month ago.

Height/Length

22″ (55.9 cm)

Motor Skills

  • Emma can slightly lift her head for short periods of time during tummy time, and at times she will just end up sucking on her fist.
  • She is still not very interested in toys, preferring to look into the eyes of the people carrying her.  She also likes to look at pictures on the wall.
  • Emma has a very firm and strong grip, and apart from grabbing onto my finger, she will hold on tightly to my hair too!  I have had to ask Pete for help in breaking her grip sometimes!
  • Emma loves sleeping in the sleeping sack, just like her brother Ethan.  It gives her tremendous comfort and keeps her warm too. She has begun to sleep less during the day, but just as I was hoping she would sleep longer through the nights, she wakes up like every hour or so too.  I blame it on the occassional growth spurts she gets, but I’m praying I’ll get more and more sleep soon.
Communication and Social Skills
  • To date, Emma looks rather serious and does not smile “willingly” yet.  I’ve only seen her smile a couple of times to me, and on a few occasions when she is sleeping.  We’re hoping she will smile more readily in the next month.
  • I can more or less tell the difference between her cries for hunger, for comfort, for burping, to be changed, or simply just for a hug and cuddle.  Emma loves to be cuddled and held, and I can always see the comfort on her face when I hold her.
  • Emma can recognize the familiar faces around her pretty well now.  If she cries and I pick her up, she will stop crying immediately.  Sometimes, if she wants milk, and Daddy picks her up, she will continue crying up until she gets “transferred” into my arms, and she will stop crying, just like “magic”.  She will sometimes remain quietly in her rocker, and when she hears my voice or sees me walking past, she will let out a cry.
  • Emma loves going for rides in the car.  More often that not, the vibrating and soothing effect of the moving car will provide her the comfortable environment to sleep in.

 

Others

  • Emma’s umbilical cord stump dropped off on day 6 after she was born.  I was definitely surprised because I had expected it to fall off around the 10th day or so.
  • “Baby acne” still prevalent on her face and head, similar to those seen on Ethan and Hannah when they were wee babes.  Doctor says the acne will run its course over the next month.
  • Emma’s eyelashes are growing beautiful and long, just like her siblings’.  They frame her beautiful deep-set brown eyes so well too!
  • Emma loves to fall asleep in my arms, and more so if she has bare skin to skin contact.  I believe this must be due to the fact that she was exposed to the skin to skin concept immediately after birth.  She just seems so contented that way.

Food and Feeding
She is 100% on Mommy’s milk.  Occasionally I give her 1 ml (400IU) of Vitamin D drops (as prescribed by doctor) because babies who are exclusively breastfed and who live in the higher latitudes are advised to be supplemented this way.

Brain Power

April 9, 2013 in Ethan, Funny Moments, Growing Up | 3 comments

While checking through Ethan’s homework one evening, I came across this “solution” my boy wrote for one of his Math questions:

Now, don’t you wish you had written that when you were in school? 🙂

Those “Hannah and Mommy” Chit Chat Sessions

April 4, 2013 in Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting, Sleep | No comments

Each night (well, most nights…when Hannah is not too overly sleepy), as I tuck her in to sleep, we will share a special minute or two just to catch up with each other.  Sometimes she will request for a bedtime story and sometimes she will tell me a bedtime story instead.  At times, we’ll help each other make up stories…short and funny ones.

Yeah, my Hannah still sleeps with me and is very much attached to me.  She says she will move to her own room when we get back to Penang, so hopefully she’ll keep her word.

Our chit chat sessions are special moments I would treasure forever.  Even though I need to nurse Emma, Hannah is being very much the helpful big sister by bringing me the nursing pillow and then as I nurse Emma, Hannah will ask, “Can I hug your hand?”

Now how do I say no to that? 🙂

We chat about everything at all: how her day was, what day it would be the next day, what we would be doing the next day, how Hannah sleeps like a starfish, we discuss how we’d share the blankie…and then she would yawn, close her eyes and fall asleep.  It is the perfect end to every day.

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