Deathly Ill

Ok..maybe I have exaggerated a little bit. But it is official--both of my kids are sick--at the same time. It is only inevitable that this happens since they share the same room.

Besides the fact that Caleb coughs right in Abby's face, that is.

I hate feeding them medicine--especially for Abigail, where I have to use a special device to squirt the thing into her mouth. It sounds easy, but it really is not (any mother who has an infant who squirms around during this process understands.) And the aspirator (fancy term, isn't it.) Using it to clear up her nose is almost impossible. When I finish, I actually have the urge to do a somersault.





How did it happen? Well, I blame the weather--it has been very unpredictable the past week.

Or, I blame their auntie, who was diagnosed with bronchitis and tonsillitis a few days ago (Although, both the Internet and her doctor assured that none was contagious.)

Or, I can blame on the nursery they attend at church (Although, only once a week.)

Wait a minute. I took them both out for a morning walk yesterday. Let me think.

Maybe, it's just that time of the year (Although, I decided against giving them the flu shot.)

As I am finishing up this entry, I feel the urge to grab a Ricola. Uh, no.

I was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mom yesterday

Before our walk yesterday morning, I told Caleb we were going to the park on our way home. He got excited (in his little 2-year-old mind,) and got dressed. I was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mom yesterday because I had decided to put red socks on him, and had him put his own shoes on.

The red socks and the backward shoes

Then, when we got to the park, every single playground equipment was covered with dew, like it rained the night before. I was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mom yesterday because I should've known this in advance. I let my son down. He couldn't play at the park.

Mommy, why is the playground wet?

In the afternoon, I was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mom because I bought him a Pushup. I'm not sure if I've lost my mind, but I let him go at it. I held my breath and clenched my fists tight as I watched the Pushup melted, minute by minute, in his chubby hand. I could wring his shirt out with the sweet juices the Pushup left behind. He might as well rub the whole thing on his shirt instead of eating it.


I was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mom yesterday. Hopefully I'll be a better one today.

Cleaning up is hard to do

One of the perks of being a staying-at-home mom is that I get to clean up. Besides scrubbing the toilet (yay,) wiping down the stove, the best part (not really) is to organize the kids' room. Now that Abigail has finally moved into Caleb's room, it's only natural (right?) for them to share the same closet. That means folding and putting away everything that is too small for her, and only display the ones she can and will wear.


Here I was, sitting in the 3'X5' closet, staring at the mountaineous piles of clothes (all Abigail's,) I wanted to cry. While it was a blessing for Abigail to receive excellent hand-me-downs, I did not realize how much we got. I folded and catagorized, catagorized and folded. That was yesterday morning.

This morning, the same pile was still sitting at the same spot.

Our princess, she is 4 months now

Our little princess, Abigail, has turned 4 months last week. I am happy to say that she is now on a regular schedule, although very rarely she falls off the track. She now weighs 15 lbs and is 26 inches long. The doctor gave me the green light to start feeding her rice cereal. I forget how much patience this process requires; it takes about 15 minutes to feed her one bite (our portion of bites.) She spits out most of it, with her little tongue reflex. She also likes to "blow bubbles," and soaks up about 2 bibs a day. It has been fun seeing Caleb watching intensely as she does her bubble blowing sessions.

Abigail also has been sleeping through the night. She is able to sleep from 7:30 pm to around 6:00 am the next morning. This is good news for both me and Benny. Gone are the days when she had to be fed every 2 1/2 hours--although a few of my friends are at this stage right now--I can only be thankful. VERY thankful. (Hang in there, girls! You will get through this stage, I promise!)

Our little princess is growing up. Fast. It's almost shocking to think that she is almost 1/2 way through her first year. That means, we are getting closer to the day Daddy has to guard our front door, and to conduct a background check for every boy who dares to even glance her way.

who needs expensive toys?

So. Being a mother of a boy is quite an adventure. Not only I have to prepare myself for a few emergency-room runs his first few years of life, I also have to hold an encouraging smile while I am watching my son jump off our bed with a superman cape velcroed on his pajama. Then, as my husband decides to play rough with him like a dog playing with its raggedy toy, I can only stand there and thank God that at least daddy is doing his job.

But then again, there is another end of this spectrum. While I was holding my breath when Caleb decided to find out for himself whether or not his neck would snap when he jumped over the couch, I was thankful that he can entertain himself in such a money-saving way.

Who needs expensive toys? Evidence captured. Both Caleb and I had a good laugh. That was a moment money can't buy.

He's almost two.

Caleb, my first baby, is going to be two in about two weeks. I can still see the hospital room, still feel the physical pain as I was healing after having him, and still remember visiting him in the NICU for the first week of his life. I remember being a mother for the first time, the excitment, as well as fear. Fearing that I would not be a good enough mother for him, fearing that he was going to be a horrible child despite how much we were involved in his life; and fearing the unknown. But he surprised us all. He was the perfect baby. He still is. He will always be my perfect baby.

The past two years have gone by in lightening speed. I can't and don't want to believe that he is going to turn two already. He is growing up so fast that I don't have time to remember everything. He is learning to speak, as we are learning his needs. Every morning he would ask for "ga-gam" (teddy bear vitamin candies.) Then he would ask for "miuk" (milk,) as well as, "yo-yo" (cereal.) Then he would go off to play with his "bok" (blocks,) and asks for his "ki-ki" (blankie.) When lunch approaches, he would order some "A-ga-ba-ga-ba-gans" (peanut butter and jelly sandwich.) When nap time comes, he would make sure I change his "dee-pu" (diaper) first, and then turn on his "toe-toe" (he has a baby Einstein turtle that plays music.) After everything is set and done, he would yell out from his little bed, "la-liu, uh MUCH" (I love you, so much!) and goes off to dream land.

He loves music. Ever since he was just a newborn, he would stop crying at the sound of music. Any kind of music, any song. As he became older, he learned to sway from left to right (on his own) each time he hears something. Now his favorite song is the Elmo song (la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, Elmo's world...la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, Elmo's World...). He would sing with it when he hears it, or when he doesn't hear it. Just seeing his little face lights up each time the song, the stupid song comes on means the world to me. I have to remind myself that he is not going to stay two forever. He is growing up by the second.

I don't think I will allow myself to forget this: a few days ago he bent down to his little sister when she was in her car seat. As he bent down to her he whispered to her, "la-liu, uh MUCH!" I thought I would die right there. There he was, all 36 inches tall and 30 lbs. of him, telling his sister that he loves her. So much. I really thought I could die that day and I'd be happy, because I have just witnessed the cutest act in the history of mankind.

Of course, besides being perfect 99 percent of the time, there is that 1 percent of time when he isn't perfect. Far from it, in fact. Watching him explore and act in defiance at times truely made me believe in our sinful nature. He knows how to manipulate, how to cheat, how to get away with things. At this point, both Benny and I would have to cover our laughing faces when we discipline him. It is during these times I pray, boy do I pray, that God would give us the wisdom to deal with him and his tryings.

There are so much more to remember, too much for me to capture all down in words. Caleb. He is my son, my joy, my heart. I know that he is still a baby, there are still many more years to come, many more memories to remember; I just can't and don't want to believe...he's almost two.

Updates on the kids

Here are some updates for the kids:

Abigail:

• She is now almost sleeping through the night (from approx. 11pm to 4:45am,) which makes things a lot easier.
• She no longer throws up every other day. She just does it once every blue moon.
• She has doubled her birth weight--about 14 lbs now and healthy.
• Her jaundice is finally going away--not completely gone yet, but going away.
• She is beginning to respond to the world around her--smiling at Mommy, Daddy, even Caleb.

Caleb:

• He is learning to speak so much! Every thing has a name, and he is starting to understand that there are consequences in life.
• He is getting ready to be potty-trained. I think his wet diapers started to bother him..
• He is finally getting back to semi-normal: He finally starts to sleep on his own, without calling out to us!
• He still loves his blankie (that's his life,) and he has a new attachment--his singing turtle.
• He loves going to the stores and exploring new things.
• He is finally starting to have separation anxieties--he would cry for Mommy and Daddy when dropped off at church, or when he feels like we're not around, for example--but he usually adjusts well after a short while.