December Recap

I feel like the past month has had such a whirlwind of events. The week after I got back from LA, we went out to Chinatown on Sunday (despite M's reluctance since the weather was awful) and had lunch with JM after church to get caught up with what's been happening at church (isn't it ironic that we have to get updated from someone who hasn't been there in months when we've been going there every two weeks?).

Baby K was cranky at the restaurant, but she had missed her morning nap (not uncommon on the weekends) so I didn't think too much of it. Our lunch with JM ended up lasting for three and a half hours (lots to catch up on!). By the time we were done, it was dark out. Baby K slept for most of the car ride back, but woke up some time before we made it home and started crying. I was sitting in the front passenger seat and reached to the back of the car to comfort her. When I felt her hand, it was burning. I had M pull over and I went to the back to take off her coat and give her some water. That seemed to calm her down a bit, but she was still not a happy camper. We got home, took her temperature, and it turned out she had a fever of 103.4 degrees. M and I stayed home the next day, brought her to the doctor, and was told she had an ear infection. We alternated between giving her Tylenol and Motrin to bring her fever down, but it kept coming back up every time the medicine wore off. That night, her fever rose to 105 degrees. We called the hospital call center (it was past midnight already) and they told us to give her a lukewarm bath, which helped tremendously; she felt so much better that she was even clapping her hands in the water.

It took three days for baby K's fever to completely clear up. I didn't bring her back to daycare until Thursday. However, by that time, we noticed a rash developing all over her torso and back area. It didn't seem to bother her, but it was quite disturbing for us, seeing the red dots all over her body. I did some research online and figured it was roseola, which is suppose to go away on its own. We called the pediatrician the next day (M was worried because he noticed it had spread to her arms) and they gave the same diagnosis (geez, I felt like I could've been a doctor!). Accordingly, the rash was gone by Friday, allowing us to breathe a great sigh of relief.

It took a few more days after that for baby K to get her appetite back (oh, did I forget to mention the part about her vomiting?). Dinner time was quite a challenge, but I was reluctant to force anything down her throat since I didn't want her to throw it back up. I was afraid she wasn't getting enough nutrients, but she was still pooping every day (often multiple times a day!) and she still had tears in her eyes when she cried (otherwise it could be a sign of dehydration) so I just let her eat as much as she would. Baby K finally got back to her normal "good" eating habit two days ago. One thing I've noticed about our little girl though -- she's not a big fan of veggies (which I'm surprised about since I love veggies). She'd eat all the pieces of chicken I give her with no problem, but when I leave veggies on her tray, she would hand them back to me or drop them on the floor. It's pretty funny sometimes (when it's not so frustrating!), and it's amazing to see how she's developing her own personality and communicating to us her likes and dislikes.

We had our first big snowstorm for the year last Saturday. Baby K and I went to a lady's brunch at AFD's place to enjoy some good food and good company while daddy was out shopping in the area. By the time he came to get us, the storm had really picked up and it didn't seem as if the plow trucks were doing much to clear the roads... or maybe the snow was just coming down too fast. The drive home was pretty slow, but we eventually got there. Baby K was so tired from the day of fun that she slept through most of the evening, allowing M and I to make lasagna for dinner that night. Comfort food for a cold snowy night -- it was perfect!

We woke up the next morning to find over a foot of snow covering our house. We brought baby K out in her little snowsuit. I laid her down on the snow and was afraid she would sink in and we'd lose her, but I guess she was too light; she just kind of stayed on the surface. She was not a fan of the snow though. I accidentally brushed some snow on her face with my glove and she immediately started crying. That was pretty much the end of her "fun day in the snow."

So we moved on to the dirty work: clearing out the driveway and sidewalk. M used the snowblower for most of the driveway but since he has a bad back, I spared him from shoveling and did that myself (we had to shovel parts of the driveway and sidewalk since the snow was too high for the snowblower). My arms were still aching two days later, but I suppose it's good preparation for carrying our growing little girl, who's getting heavier each day.

This morning, M was in baby K's room, sitting by her crib and watching her. She wakes up all of a sudden, sees M, and yells out "da-da!" with a grin on her face. It was such a priceless moment I wish I could have captured it on video! Times like this, there's no greater gift than being a parent.

Fire and Water

I'd like to thank those of you who offered your condolences. Your kind words mean a lot, and I truly am grateful to have friends like you in my life. The weekend has left me emotionally drained; I am still exhausted despite the nine hours of sleep I had last night, and want nothing more than to climb back into bed. But yet I chug along, praying for enough energy to get me through the day. My eyes were all red yesterday (I suspect due to sleeping with my contacts on during the flight back) that M thought I had pink eye. They weren't itchy so I wasn't as concerned, but I acquiesced when he told me to wear glasses instead of contacts. They look fine today, so I can affirm that I do not have pink eye.

We had the viewing for my grandmother on Friday. It was limited to just family members, but there were still about 25 of us who filled the room. In front of the casket was a long table filled with my grandmother's favorite foods. An urn was placed in the middle of the table for burning incense. The Buddhist monk performed whatever ritual was common for such an occasion, chanting non-descriptive phrases in what I can only assume was Mandarin. At one point in time, he had us all follow him in a line to walk around the room while he continued chanting. After circling the confined space for the fourth or fifth time, we looked over and realized that a little fire had started where the incense was burning. I still don't know how it happened, but we were able to quickly get it extinguished.

My grandmother's interment was on Saturday. The ceremony was over and we were up at the burial site by late afternoon watching the lowering of the casket into the ground. Off to the side were some of my uncles burning paper "money" and other "valuables" when all of a sudden, the sprinklers went off. Not only that, but it was only limited to the area where my grandmother's grave was. It would have been comical if the affair had not been so somber. I mean, seriously! Aren't these things timed? Don't they usually go off in the mornings or even in the middle of the night? It took a while for the workers to turn the system off, but they eventually did.

One of my cousins said that the fire and sprinkler incidents were signs from my grandmother, assuring us it was okay to leave. That's one way to look at it... or they could all have just been a mere coincidence. But I don't think there are such things as mere coincidences. To me, things always happen for a reason. I tend to believe they were more signs from God; I just don't exactly know what they mean.

Grieving

Earlier this year, when M and I were contemplating on a vacation spot, Los Angeles won by a landslide despite the long flight we'd have to endure with a 10-month old. People would ask, "Why LA? Why not somewhere closer, like Florida?" My answer was simple: "I wanted baby K to meet her great-grandparents." It seemed like a good enough reason back then, but little did I know how much that trip really meant...

My grandmother shares the same death date (is that what you call it?) as John F. Kennedy. She passed away on Sunday, November 22. It came as a shock to me when I heard the news that afternoon. Having seen her only two months earlier, she appeared to be in good spirits and good health. I guess you never know though. My mom reminded me that she was 90 years old after all, and that she lived a full and happy life, but that did nothing to stop the sadness from overwhelming me.

Our trip to LA two months ago is just another example of God's impeccable timing. I am so glad my grandmother got to see baby K; I will always remember the smile on her face as she held baby K on her lap. The picture below with the four generations of females in the family will be cherished forever.

My Babbling Baby

Here's our talkative little girl during dinner time (just a warning: you may want to lower the volume). We even managed to capture her clapping in this video! Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Baby K!

My Little Climber

My apologies, but you'll have to view this video sideways. If anyone can figure out how to rotate this (without any kind of special software installed), please let me know!

Upcoming Birthday Weekends

Baby K is so special that she gets two birthday parties this year! Her birthday happens to fall on a Wednesday, smack in the middle of the week, so we're going to have a family get-together this weekend, and next weekend, some friends will be coming over. I suppose we could have gotten away with just one celebration, but it would've been too much to have 40 people over at our place at once (plus kids!), so though it's two times the work, it's also more manageable this way.

I'm usually pretty anal and have a list for everything I do (M makes fun of me and my lists all the time). However, old age and laziness (or stress) has kicked in, and I'm not as organized as I used to be. I think we have most tasks completed, but we still have to place the order with Boston Market (yes, we are getting this thing catered), order the balloons, and clean the house. Gosh, I hope I'm not forgetting anything!

As for daycare, since all the kids in baby K's room are so young (baby K is the oldest there), I haven't decided if I'm going to do anything next Wednesday. It's baby K's actual birthday, so I would like to, but I don't know what. It's not as if I could bake a cake for all the kiddies to enjoy. If anyone has any ideas, let me know!

Daycare Situation

A few weeks ago, I blogged about some qualms I had over the care baby K was receiving at daycare, given that there's been some turnover and a new person had just started in her room (see here for old post). I gave it my best shot... I really did! However, additional incidents happened since then that got me even more worried -- so much to the point that I was in tears one day last week when I picked baby K up.

Earlier this week, M and I had a call with VB, the person in charge of the infants area, to voice our concerns and to see if baby K can even switch to another infant room. Apparently, we were not the only parents who had spoken up about Mal's performance (although I think we were the only ones with a long laundry list of blunders she committed). One of the measures they were going to take was to ensure that Mal would not be left alone with the infants at any point in time. Mal was off on Wednesday, so that was a non-issue. Then comes Thursday. Imagine my surprise when I went to drop baby K off yesterday and saw that Mal was the only caregiver in the room! One of the other parents was sitting outside the room holding her son. I asked why she wasn't going in, and she said that baby L (baby K's classmate) had just hit her head and she was waiting to see if Mal can handle the situation (obviously not, since baby L continued crying and Mal continued ignoring her). I told the parent about the conversation I had with VB, and that Mal was not suppose to be alone with any of the infants. We spoke for a few more minutes before going into the room. By then, there were five infants in there, and Mal should have called for backup but she failed to do so until another parent told her to (they are only suppose to manage a maximum of four babies at a time). I felt so uneasy that I stayed there for over half an hour until LB, baby K's primary caregiver, came in.

Once I got to my desk, I immediately e-mailed VB, asking why Mal was left by herself with the infants. VB said that she shouldn't have, and would investigate what happened that morning. She must've had a long talk with Mal, because I noticed a dramatic improvement when I went to pick baby K up last night (also, Mal was not the only caregiver there). This morning, I was glad to see three caregivers in the room (and Mal wasn't one of them). I don't know where she was and I didn't bother asking. I don't want to get the woman fired, but at the same time, I don't think she's necessarily fit for the job. It takes a very special kind of person to work with infants so young in age, and not everyone is cut out to do it.

On a related note, baby K's daycare is hiring, so if anyone has experience working with kids and is interested (there's an infant caregiver, toddler caregiver, and pre-school teacher position open), please let me know.

11/10/09 UPDATE: Mal tendered her resignation! Next Friday will be her last day. I was shocked. Though it was her choice to leave, I can't help but feel guilty over how things played out. Hopefully she'll be able to find something else more suitable for her.