Groovin'

It has been too long since we took Craig out to the city. So we decided that we will eat out for dinner. On the way back, we dropped by a CD shop to browse around and C could not resist the beat of a song that was playing at the store. Modestly, he moved his booty as evidenced by the video below. Enjoy!

Father and son days

After enjoying a year of Stay-at-Home-Mom privileges, I returned to full-time work two days ago. This means my days of long commute and brown bag lunches are back. As Craig is a month short of turning 18 months, the creche that we have him registered at would not be able take him in just as yet. Hence instead of diving straight back into his doctoral research, Brian will have to take another month off to stay-home with C. I'm confident that the two boys will have a blast bonding over books, toy trucks and cars, duplos and daddy's music of preference (Though I beg to differ, B reckons that it's never too early to introduce C to White Stripes!).

My handsome boys:

I have mixed feelings about heading back to work but I believe that it is time for us to move on to another phase in our lives: for me to resume my professional life, for B to make progress on his research and for C to embark on new learning experiences.

Thankfully my first work week was a short one (I was back to work on a Thursday!) and my mom arrived yesterday for another visit. Her being around will definitely alleviate some of the pressure and anxiety of my work mode as she helps B with the curious toddler and eases the burden of meal preparation for the family. Here's to ten days of comfort mommy-cooked dinners!

Toddler diarrhea

Travels and sicknesses occupied most of our days last few weeks leaving us with very little energy left at the end of every day for luxuries like blogging. Soon after my last post, Craig was admitted into the hospital for an intestinal infection. Turns out his fever was not vaccine-related but a precursor to a bout of diarrhea, vomitus, diaper rash, temporary lactose intolerance and yeast infection (in that order!). While the little boy was not too sickly throughout, his Pediatrician recommended that he be admitted for observation.

After two nights of antibiotics treatment, he was allowed to go home when his fever finally broke and when his blood work came back negative. I stayed over with him the first night while Brian took over the next as I had to leave for Toronto for work. It was extremely tough to leave but I knew C was in the good hands of my mom and Brian. Yiyi also flew in to surprise C and her visit definitely sweetened his otherwise miserable weekend in the hospital.

By the time I returned from Canada, the toddler was almost back to his normal self. Unfortunately, he had another bout of diarrhea almost ten days later when we made a day trip to Malaysia for work. This time his fever was short lived though. A few days of intense lactobacillus supplement, his stomach finally stabilized. (By the way, we highly recommend any Probiotics supplement which contains the strain of LactoGG lactobacillus)

In the midst of all these, he turned 16-month old! Here are some tricks up this toddler's sleeve:

• Says almost 70 words (guess who's counting AND listing!)
• Hums when you ask him to sing
• Plays "baby-pictionary" with his parents on the floor with crayons
• Knows and says what's hot and stays away
• Rummages the pantry and asks for crackers and cookies regularly
• Goes to the kitchen, points at the pot where we make his food and says, Mam mam, around meal times
• Plays hide and seek with his parents (we hide, he seeks)

P.s. Some new pixs of C here.

Little did we know

When I was Craig's age, my mom told me, I would throw up whenever I had fever. So far, that has been the case with Craig, too. (Should I be consoled by this fact that at least he does takes after me in some ways?!) After the last vaccination shot he had three months ago, he threw up in the middle of the night with a temperature. Then, over a month ago he barfed profusely at the onset of a viral fever. So, we were prepared this time when we took him in for his 15-month vaccination. At least we thought we were prepared.

As always, the little boy took the jab in stride and merely let out a brief cry. And as we were getting ready to leave, the doctor informed that he may experience some mild side effects in 5-10 days' time. "In 5-10 days' time???" I thought. But don't side effects manifest almost immediately? Apparently not this time. After some online research (which I really should have done before the doctor's visit) , I discovered that reaction to the Mumps-Measles-Rubella-Varicella (chicken pox) vaccination typically show up days later. Common reaction include fever (I read: Barf!) and rashes. And, some toddlers also experience intermittent fever over a period of two weeks.

This information does not bode well for me at all as I leave in a few days' for a week for work. Thankfully my mother will be arriving tomorrow and Brian will not have to handle the situation all by himself. Besides, the boy started having a temperature today (no vomit, yet - I'm keeping my fingers crossed). Hopefully after tomorrow the side effects would have run its course and C will be fine while I'm away.

Sicak! Caliente! Panas!

No matter how you say it, it's still hot, hot, hot! The weather here has been most unbearable - almost saturation-point humidity plus sweltering heat from the scorching sun. You would think the occasional precipitation would bring some relief to the soul but in reality, the rain actually worsens the humidity (imagine water landing on hot surfaces - yes, steam!) and leaves one feeling more clammy than before. And under such draining conditions, one hardly has the desire to do much - even on a weekend.

However, it would be heartless to cage up an active toddler at home. So we decided to brace the mugginess and go for ice-cream at The Daily Scoop (Click on name to their site) an ice-cream parlor that serves up the most delightful concoctions, and most wonderfully, very close to where we live. It was the right thing to do as after a few scoops of Utterly Avocado and Nutty Macadamia, the world was a better place for all three of us!

Craig helping himself to the cold treat:

Happy ending to weekend:

What do you see?

Imagine yourself lying comfortably on a couch. Now take a deep breath, relax and tell me what you see in the picture below:

Today Brian and I found ourselves being tested mentally but unlike the Rorschach test we were not being evaluated psychologically. It was merely a Craig Thomas test of his parents' patience and limits. This afternoon, the boy was playing in the den alone for a few minutes as we both had various chores in different rooms around the house. As our living space is small, we were always aware of where the little boy is and what he's doing. And when I finally was done with what I had to do, I found the toddler hard at work on a piece of, well, postmodern art. Up till a few days ago, he was barely interested in his Crayolas but today, he gave us quite a piece of work. So here it is - Craig's first piece of "artwork" - not quite Kandinsky's Composition series but it's a start.

Toddler angst feeding the creative soul:

Association

Craig turned 15-month-old yesterday. Many baby books cite this month as a month of milestones and we are excited as we anticipate the little boy's next developmental milestone - be it physical, mental, emotional or verbal. He continues to surprise us on a daily basis with how much he understands of what we say to him and also the words he attempts to say - he says at least one new word everyday!

Today he surprised us by his ability to associate a tune to a song to a word! I was playing with him and humming the tune of nursery rhyme, Sing A Song of Sixpence. He smiled and shouted, pie, pie! (For those of you who are not familiar, the word pie appears numerous times in the song). This was truly a major milestone for the boy and as his parents, we are SO proud of him!

Missing So. Cal.

Two days ago, though down with a running nose and a cough (we're very thankful that there's no fever!), we decided that Craig was feeling well enough to go on a small outing to the beach park nearby with another mom and her two little girls. While it was a beautiful park with sufficient amenities it falls short of the beautiful beaches Brian and I used to go to in Southern California. And I hope C will get to visit those beaches one day. Meanwhile, the beach parks that we have here will have to do.

Craig was so excited to see a dog and decided to run towards it:

Ahh... Southern Californian beaches:

Early talker

A little over two weeks ago, Craig and I took off to visit my parents in Ipoh. We decided to stay a fortnight as Brian was going to be away for the two weekends consecutively and I didn't want to be home alone with the toddler. Besides, this was going to be my last long visit before I head back to work in July. As always, C had a blast with his grandparents (Gung Gung especially) and it was a a double bonus when B dropped by for two nights on his way back to Singapore from his travel the first weekend. Check out more pixs here.

Looking out at our plane as we waited to board. Hard to believe that the helpless baby I once held is now an increasingly independent toddler:

C is entering a really fun stage (though every stage he's been through had been a fun stage for us!) now that he's walking and learning to talk. He understands simple instructions like, "Give ... to mommy," and even slightly more complex ones like, "Get the book and give to mommy" (referring to a book lying on the floor and without gesturing). According to the last Baby Center email I received, C would be considered an early talker as he knows close to 20 words while an average toddler his age would probably be able to say three to four words. He attempts to say new words on a daily basis. It's especially cute to hear him say, "shhh" (shoes), "lala" (umbrella) and "car."

Any empty box is a respectable toy:

Since our return last evening, I have been busy working! Sure, I'm still officially on my extended maternity leave but duty calls (yet again!) and I've to rise to the occasion. In fact, there will be another trip coming up for me when B and my mother will have to tag team again on the little boy.

Reading corner

Remember that corner of the house where I found Craig contemplating the world the day after his viral infection? Well, he tucked himself in that little space again the other day - this time reading. Among books that were strewn around, he sat in the tiny nook which, by the way, has the best light in the apartment, for almost 10 minutes going through pages of his various books. You can also watch the short video HERE.

Lately, other than his exploding verbal and passive vocabulary, he has also been toddling - for real this time! Yesterday, I decided to put some shoes on him and made an errand-trip to the mall. When we got there I let him loose from his stroller onto his feet - he had the widest smile ever. He was so pleased that a whole new world has opened up for him now that he's a beginner bi-ped.

Attempting to pull along his toy crane:

Craig's list

As Craig approaches his 14th month, his speech development has been impressive. I honestly did not expect him to be able to say some of these words so soon but here they are:

1) Dada (still no mama, yet!!!)

2) Book

3) Ball

4) Clock (he points at wristwatches and calls them a clock!)

5) Truck

6) Cheese

7) Pipe (don't ask me why this word!)

8) Kai kai (Cantonese baby word for walk or going out)

Craig is fascinated by the ubiquitous pipes of Singapore public housing:

He also effectively signs the word, pain, and gestures his wants by pointing - most often at the front door as he's always up for a walk. His passive vocabulary is also expanding daily and we found ourselves losing count of how many words he knows. The challenge for me is to ensure that both his English language and Cantonese vocabulary grow equally. Fun days, these are!

Spontaneous excursion

Easter Sunday was off to a wet start but unlike last few days, it was really comfortable. As the day was still pleasant by the time Craig woke up from his nap, we decided to check out the Chinese Garden. Though it's so close to where we live (two train stops away), we have never thought of going there. But we are glad that we did today. It boasts of a Chinese Garden and a Japanese Garden. We only managed to see the Chinese part of the park and promise to return soon for another excursion. It drizzled a little when we first got there but the sky soon cleared up and presented us with a lovely weather for such an outing. Check out more pictures from today here.

Quiet weekend

It is a good weekend so far but the weather has been dreadful - it's presently rainy outside but extremely hot and humid in the apartment. (We're talking about 150% humidity!!!) Craig is in a much better mood than he was last few days and having his dad around helps. He is cutting his 8th tooth and we think that that has contributed to his fussiness.

I have been able to catch up on sleep and hence feel much rested overall. Since it's Saturday, I'm determined to leave the house solo to run some errands and have some me-time come rain or shine!

p.s. Just uploded some 13-month pixs of C here.

Update

After 36 hours of non-breaking fever, Craig emerged the victor in his battle with some nasty virus clan. By Tuesday morning he was almost back to his usual happy self though his eyes were evidently battle-weary. Though tired, he continued to fight - this time with us as we tried to put him down for a nap that he clearly needed. No point asking who won that contest! He finally succumbed to a long 3-hour nap with me in the afternoon. Today, he seems all fine but still a little clingy and fussy which does not bode well for a mother who is still engaged in her own viral match.

I found him tucked in a corner contemplating the world this morning:

Les Miserables

It all started when I felt a slight scratch in my throat on Thursday night. We all know where this is heading - my down with a cold. As Craig's primary caretaker, I tried my best to be vigilant about not spreading my germs to him. Evidently I did not try hard enough. On Sunday 3 pm, the little boy was still his usual curious self - surveying every room in the apartment and stopping to poke into anything interesting along the way. By 5 pm, he could hardly move a limb! We were at a friend's place for dinner and before dinner could start, C started throwing up. Upon confirming that he has a fever, we decided we'll head home and skip dinner. But on the way back in the taxi, he threw up a few more times and looked extremely pale. He could not even keep his eyes open. We made a quick decision to bring him in to ER.

The doctor confirmed that he has a viral infection and that otherwise, he seemed fine. We were also told to expect a few days of high temperatures. So, here we are - after the first 24 hours, Craig is still feeling miserable. He hasn't much appetite though he did manage to take some cereal for both lunch and dinner. His fever, though rather low grade, has not broken. We are monitoring and waiting as we anticipate another long sleepless night...

Sunday 4:30pm: Joyful on the train

Sunday 6:00 pm: Miserable!