Week 72 and Week 24 - Sleepless in Singapore

Charlotte seems to be getting a lot of teeth lately - she has 3 coming in as of this writing.  Several nights over the last week she has gotten up 4 times!  She isn't so fussy - just wants milk but needless to say we collectively are a tired bunch.  She has so many teeth she is about to look like a Yue Minjun painting.  We are not sure either if she is too hungry - now she is playing in the park twice a day.  Tonight we gave her a large dinner of spaghetti, a fried egg, and raisins (usually she would just get spaghetti).  She told us when she wanted a bath (or when she was 'done').  We will see how this goes tonight.

Charlotte likes swinging!   Daddy spent some quality time with her yesterday and I think pointed her towards the more enjoyable parts of swinging.  Now she loves it in the park (and leans back as well - which makes all of the difference!).

Charlotte has begun the amusing habit of - picking her nose!  No pictures yet - just realizing that is a cute habit forming (well, maybe not cute in public, but cute to us idle parents).

Her hand foot and mouth is seemingly gone though I have a mild version of it - which unfortunately made me a bit grumpy.  I went to the doctor today and he was worried about all sorts of things - enlarged heart, extra fluid around baby, smaller size in development - all due to my catching it.  Luckily none of that showed up and all is well and reassuringly 'average' on the developmental scale for the cheese curd.  I am glad I didn't read too much about it or I would have been worried all week.  Ignorance is truly bliss in some cases.

We celebrated Imee's birthday this week and reunited with the twins for a rainy date playdate.  It has been raining a lot so Charlotte has not been in the park as much as she would have liked (plus with the end of HFMD).  

 

I have finally figured out the SLR in the new house - the low light setting!  Alas - I wish the house wasn't so dark but at least I know how to deal with the camera beast inside of it...

Let's start with the cheese curd this week - here is her 4D scan from today.  She has Matt's nose and mouth!

And here is the cheese curd - I hope there is a lot of fluid there as it looks rather uncomfortable from here!

 Ok - on with the Kumquat.

Charlotte loves her some rice crackers:

Scoping out shoes...

 

... and more shoes...

Funny face and the fan:

Charlotte with Uncle Luigi - back from his Italian tour:

Cutie pie!

Swinging is A-OK!

Sliding is cool too!

Charlotte on TT's wheels:

With Uncle Luigi at The Garden Slug:

Celebrating Imee's birthday:

Similar to a few weeks ago - but happy and cute nonetheless!

Week 71 and Week 23- Hand, foot, mouth

Another week has blown by - Charlotte is now saying her name which is good.  But sometimes we ask her her name and she just thinks for a second and says "No?".

Sunday Charlotte was fussy and we thought she was teething yet again (I mean, serious fussiness).  And then we notice a rash on her feet and her diaper area - thinking that the rash causing saliva had a long reach.  She got up on Sunday and Monday night to have milk (2 bottles on Monday night).  So I took her to the doctor on Tuesday - and a mild case of hand, foot and mouth disease it is!  Argh - ultimately good in that 'building her immune system young' school but not so good in her no park (or social play) for the next 4 days or so.  Sigh.  We hope it subsides sooner than that.  Luckily she is mostly herself with just intermittent moments of whininess.

In pregnancy news - no change really.  Some, eh, physiological issues (normal in pregnancy, not fun ever) came back today but aside from that I just need to continue to remind myself to sleep on my left side.

Here is Charlotte today playing with Daddy's (heavy) shoes:

Riding the big slide alone!

Nice bokeh here:

Charlotte riding Bucky:

A cute pic of our neighbor TT:

Charlotte figures out how to navigate within this dome like sphere structure:

Shopping in the house:

I don't like hand, foot and mouth disease!  Yucky!

But I am still on top of the playground world (well - for a few days this week anyway):

My gym

So Matt and I audited a My Gym class with Charlotte yesterday.  Audit may not entirely be the right word as we still had to pay for it ($35 for a trial that is refundable if you sign up for the class plus $2 for the requisite socks for the parents that we did not know about.  The kids all get their hands and feet sanitized and can go barefoot).  Matt, generally against organized anything, was on par in his general distaste for this, but he gave it a shot (after some spirited coaxing from me).  What really set him over the edge were the 10 parents and 2 kids waiting for the class to begin (luckily only one parent per child in the actual class - which made for an unusually large peanut gallery but a bearable class experience).  Thankfully there were only about 7 kids - mostly Chinese and a couple of Muslim ones besides Charlotte.  There were 3 teachers - so a rather acceptable teacher to child ratio (though I think it goes up to 12 students).  The main teacher was Filipino and she spoke with a sing/song cadence of someone who has a lot of experience cajoling toddlers to do what they are told.  Speaking of singing - the class had singing and songs throughout.  This was good for us as we are definitely deficient in exposing Charlotte to age appropriate music - I mean, I don't want her to be the only kid who doesn't know the lyrics to the "wheels on the bus."  We all sat around in a big circle - reminiscent of my kindergarten days (though then, probably due to ease of application, we sat around in a big duct taped square).  This 'waddlers' class was for kids aged 8 - 18 months - which is a rather large age spectrum if Charlotte is any reference.  At the start of 8 months Charlotte was barely crawling and now she is sprinting.  Along with the singing there was a lot of swinging back and forth on my lap, 'reaching' for cookies and 'picking' apples (e.g .stretching).  Charlotte is a new 16 months old and I looked at her and often her face read "WTF?"  I was relieved that I was the parent during this early portion of the class because even though I was a bit taken aback by all the singing (and the other parents chiming in) I felt like I needed to 'fake it till I make it' because if I had a sour expression on my face I would have lost Charlotte altogether.  So I sang, I grabbed apples, I was the enthusiastic parent not to be outdone by other, more genuinely enthusiastic parents who maybe don't get the quality time with their kids as I luckily do with mine.  There is even a point where Charlotte was sitting on my lap and I had to roll backwards while holding on to her and then roll back forwards.  So here I am, with my comely British black socks on, holding on to Charlotte in one hand and my skirt in the other, trying desperately not to flash my fellow parents... good times, good times.

I asked Matt to switch roles (and socks) with me right when we got into the 'gym' part of the class.  This was sort of like a gymnastics class - with a balance beam, padded mats, and even parallel bars for the kids to play on.  Charlotte seemed like the most advanced kid there, walking on a beam on an incline with ease then doing this tuck and roll maneuver with ease (beaming Dad said the teacher was shocked that she knew to tuck her head - Matt taught her that that same morning).  There are ropes hanging from the center of the ceiling with D-rings at the end - the staff then placed plastic swings and a hammock so the kids could experience the sensation of swinging.  Charlotte was fine cavorting with another boy in the hammock but really wanted nothing to do with the Little Tikes swing.  I don't know why she doesn't like swinging but she has more or less been consistent about her dislike.

I was thinking that 45 minutes seemed like a short time but in actuality it is quite long for someone around Charlotte's age.  There was an exercise to quell 'separation anxiety' - all of the kids sat inside the circle (with some large Duplo/Lego looking toys) while the parents symbolically sat outside the circle.  Charlotte didn't do so well here as she was too excited by being so near to a plastic ball pit.  So one of the instructors had to keep her inside the circle.  She didn't want to be closer to daddy which was good - as I am sure that she knew he was right there, sitting outside the circle for her.

Finally the class drew to a close, there was more singing and dancing - something about how many bees are in the hive of a hand puppet.  I think we had lost Charlotte at this point
as she is a bit of a free thinker/doer and probably had tired of all this structured time.

So how was it?  It was ok - Charlotte was able to try some more athletic things but I think she gets enough of this sportiness by her once or twice daily visits to her local park - and that seems to tire her out enough so that she sleeps through her next nap/overnighter without too much orneriness.  I suppose if you were a kid without access to a park/condo facilities then this would be a nice way to exercise out your child while spending time with them in a structured way.  Even though the class was for 8-18 months I think Charlotte was a bit too advanced for it - I would much rather have put her in a class with a bunch of older kids (e.g. up to age 3) so that she could emulate sharing behavior and other good traits that hopefully this older cohort set has mastered.  Plus (not to sound too Tiger Mom) I was just sort of hoping for some slightly more intellectual stimulation, something along the lines of puzzles or building blocks instead of just creative exercise for the sake of energy expenditure.

So for now My Gym will not be our gym.  But we are still on the lookout for maybe something to round out Charlotte's idle time.

Week 70 and Week 22 - Doing it alone

Charlotte has had a week of firsts - sort of.  I have managed to assemble a breakfast that she can eat on her own (scrambled eggs, toast with jam cut into finger size bits, and some raisins).  It is quite cute to see her eat and drink on her own.  She also sat on the potty again (we are contemplating potty training before the Cheese Curd is out) and managed not to fall off of it.  She can ride the horsey and slide by herself at the local park.  We also took her to a structured play gym (called MyGym) - more on this later but I think we find our unstructured gym time to be equally as beneficial.

Charlotte is also 16 months old this week...

Just for fun - here are the words that Charlotte says..

1. no
2. more
3. no more
4. cracker
5. thank you
6. apple
7. oh my gosh
8. mama
9. daddy
10. yaya
11. one 
12. two
13. up
14. Elmo
15. careful
16. hot
17. eat
18. bubble
19. purple
20. night night

I am sure there are more - these are just what I remember for now...

Regarding the pregnancy - I thankfully did not have any belly issues this week.  And I can sometimes feel baby moving during the day now...

Here is Charlotte riding the horsey for the first time at our park:

Charlotte climbing up to the swing:

Looking sweaty and contemplative:

On the horsey - Harley Davidson here we come!

Eating her monkey at Al Forno:

Charlotte not too sure about these swinging contraptions or the fluorescent lighting (at MyGym):

Contemplating this Japanese dog - where is Tiny the Great Dane?

About to escape via scooter from our park:

Charlotte contemplates potty...

... and wonders if Bucky is potty?

Charlotte looking sneaky with my phone:

Koshiro visits the park!

With Aunt Nicole at Fortune Centre:

Photo of the week:

Pregnancy rant - again

Writing about pregnancy is a bit of a slippery slope.  At first I think I would jinx myself for writing or talking about it - so the first 12 weeks are a blur, a state of purgatory where you have to subtly decline the sushi and the alcohol (the sushi being more of a giveaway for me - as I am not much of a drinker).  And it is rather difficult to believe (even after being pregnant once) that somehow one wrong move, a belly flop in the pool sort of thing, will do something to irrevocably damage the fetus.  This is a nerveracking period.

So now I am in, what I call, the boring middle - the glorious 2nd trimester.  I felt the baby at week 19 - a miracle as I think I didn't feel Charlotte till week 28.  Nothing too obtrusive yet - just some lower belly rolls right when I go to bed.  It is cool. 

Boy do I look pregnant - in that 7 month kind of way (I am only 5 months now).  I am in a depressing 3 outfit rotation - comfy yes but not the most stylish nor the most flattering.  I envy the girls who can dress stylishly during this transition period - I mean, I try to do my hair when I go out but I cannot think of investing $200 in Seven for all Mankind pregnancy jeans.  But maybe it would make me feel better if I did (oh, the psychology of consumerism).

I think I was better about exercising the last go around but I am just not feeling it as much now.  I am managing to lift weights so I can add back some definition in my arms.  Luckily at this point I am at the stage where I have a belly but am not bloated in my ankles - gosh I cannot imagine a less attractive feeling than that.  Actually bloated ankles and bloated clavicles - that is some serious whaling at both ends.  The one thing that I do manage to do is try to get pedicures - so I can feel colorful and human at least... somewhere. 

 I know in many things you are supposed to enjoy the process (it's the journey, not the destination) - but I am just not one of those people who feels that way about pregnancy.  Here (maybe like marathon running) it is all about the destination.

Week 69 and Week 21 - New Camera, new teeth

Wednesday night, after I wrote my last blog entry, was the beginning of a week of Charlotte teething.  This lasted until, well last night.  Less eating, slight fever, general grumpiness, getting up once or twice a night - all of the usual characters showed up this week.  There were many nights of Panadol to allow her to sleep better.  We are glad the teeth are in (the second ones in from the back on the top - I am not sure if I mentioned her back top teeth are in - which gives her a grand total of 12 teeth!  Eight more baby teeth to go!).

Words this week?  Charlotte has said water and flower - so the "er" words are emerging.
We need Grandpa Drake to upload some videos - as I think Char learned fastest with him.   Could you please oblige via youtube Grandpa?

She also knows where her belly is and smacks "aaah" after drinking some water (not sure where she learned either of these things).  She says apple all the time but always throws her apple pieces on the floor.  We gave her some peanut butter and there was a big rash that ensued - so no more peanut butter for now (we are not sure if this is concurrent with heat rash but we are being conservative).

I also have a new camera - the Canon S95.  The ergonomics are not the S90 (which I was used to) but I can manage.  Also the video is good but not as good as the Flip.  But if I just want to carry one camera the S95 is it!  I have taken all these pictures in low light as our house's lighting is not conducive to flashless photography.  Argh.

We went to the Dargans and met with Olivia, Clarice and Mike.  It was great exchanging labor stories as they had the opposite labor experience as we did (66 hours - amazing).

In pregnancy news - I still have belly issues - my tummy is not the machine it was with Char.  I am very stomach sensitive but not so emotional these days.  I didn't even flinch today when I got a flat tire (enter Matt to the rescue!).  It was one of those days but it didn't phase me as much as it could have.

Here is Charlotte playing with Imee in her cardboard 'house':

Although this photo is blurry - it demonstrates Charlotte mad new skills of fake phone talking:

Charlotte having a drink on the sofa:

Charlotte sports her new full body bib from Ikea - great for those normally messy spaghetti dinners:

The dads in their polos and the girls in their pink dresses:

She sleeps again:

We have this Great Dane in our new neighborhood - Tiny is her name and she is one.  Charlotte loved meeting her!

Charlotte loves her new carrier - Daddy!

Photo of the week!

Week 68 and Week 20 - Back in the blogging groove

So we are in our new house.  When I say in I mean in a literal (and mostly psychological) sense, though I am still frustrated we aren't fully moved in because we have a bookshelf that hasn't been installed (there is a benefit from buying from Ikea than from no name mainland China as the latter probably uses stupid flimsy screws that cannot be found outside of China.  This has now happened to use twice over two moves). 

Charlotte hated the house the first night - up most of the night crying, sleeping with us, etc.  The second day and night was much better - I suppose she is change averse (who isn't) but once she realized this is her new home - she has embraced it with reckless (sleep) abandon.  In fact the third night she slept till 9AM - and Matt was late for work!  There were a few days of 9AM, but now she is getting up at 8AM. 

On the pregnancy front - I did the 20 week scan yesterday (sans Matt) and the Cheese Curd (haha) has all her limbs and a brain and skin over her spine - so all is well there.  O and the Cheese Curd is a girl - so my parents have 2 daughters who each have 2 daughters!  I forgot to mention last week that I felt the baby move - at 19 weeks (not a lot - just when I am about to sleep).  I have been less yeast infectiony this time around (sorry if TMI - this is a journal for me too) but have had more bouts of indigestion then I ever did with Char Char.  I will post some of the alien like photos sometime - they need to be scanned and dealt with and quite frankly my multi media at the moment is still stifled by, well, my lack of finishing unpacking because of that stupid (scapegoat) bookshelf.

Speaking of multi media - I have taken more photos and videos on my phone and uploaded them to Facebook - which is good to keep people informed but not so good for my photo organization/posterity.  I don't know how to upload the droid videos to youtube... does anyone?

Sometime today or tomorrow I am hoping to get the Canon S95 - yeah!  I miss having a little camera (besides the phone - which takes surprisingly decent photos but you know, I am a bit of a camera snob).

For your information - the 85mm lens is great for the park but rubbish at home.  Charlotte runs up to it and there is a minimal distance (I think around 5 feet) that you need for it to work.  Great for the park - but you must focus on the right thing!  It is bokeh crazy so you must be quick with finding what you want to focus on.

Ok, enough blabbing.  On with it!

Here is Charlotte playing with Luigi's kids at our old house:

Charlotte asleep in the car (reprint from FB):

Charlotte with her new Vietnamese dress:

 

Charlotte drives with her daddy's smile:

Charlotte at the grocery store:

Charlotte had a funny face day:

And enjoyed the swing - for once:

Charlotte wants to show that she can slide like a lady:

Wisconsin family would be so proud of her multiple dress week (this one is short!)!

Charlotte and Bucky:

Charlotte and Daddy:

Charlotte laughing at this 'fake' dog (but still petting it):

My favorite pic of the week: