My exploration in life… (diary for baby!)

It is today, Sunday, 25 May 08, that RACHEL took to YEN’s coaxing to ask her to "sayang" each of us (including FELIX) and kissing us (by giving us a peck on the cheek.  I was so happy!  It feels almost (not as much, of course) as good as YEN giving me a peck.  What was so satisfying was tht she understood YEN’s instructions.

So she does understand who "daddy" and "mummy" are, but she just doen’t address us.  I really look forward to her speaking with us soon.

At work, the first semester has ended.  It climaxed with the third "Meet-the-parents" session of the year, with me speaking to parents almost non-stop from 7.15am to 4.45pm, then adjourning to Tiong Bahru Plaza to meet the last two parents and students for the day because the school closed at 5pm (some "Eat with your family day" was on, apparently).  I made a mental note, earlier, to not speak to certain parents for too long a time, knowing that they are capable of speaking quite a bit and possibly holding up the other parents who would be waiting.  All in all, I’m quite satisfied the way it went as I accomplished most that I wanted to.

Teachers still return to school next week for meetings and all.  We then break for the remaining three weeks before starting the rest of the school year all over again.  It is much welcomed and needed.  Hopefully, I can bond with my children over these weeks and prepare for the next semester better this time…  =)

RACHEL has prolonged her illness run - she fell ill to stomach virus again, and this time, FELIX has joined in on the act.  FELIX vomitted a total of six times and counting from Friday.

We kept RACHEL away from play-school for a week as she would be having her birthday the coming Monday - on the Vesak Day holiday - and YEN didn’t want her sick again then.  Now, our little prince is the latest victim.  We brought him to NUH this time this morning.  The queue was much shorter than at KK Hospital and the doctor seemed a little more professional in the field of child illnesses.

I was on medical leave the week before this one as I surrendered finally to a bout of headache and flu.  It was examination week anyway, so I thought I could afford to go on leave.  Now that I’m back and the examinations are over, the pace hasn’t let up as there are loads to do before the children go on a month-long break.

The demands of work for both YEN and I are really a little too much for us to take.  We are always behind time on things we need to do for our work.  So many things, so little time…  and many a times, those demands are placed on us, some of which we do not understand the intent or see the use of, but still have to do them because others say we have to.

YEN has also felt being inadequate in her role where she needs to not just work on the nursing area of things, but also the administration and management of staff, etc.  At home, she has had little rest too as the children, especially our priness, prefers her more than me (sometimes crying when I come home and wants to carry her).  So she has to pacify the children whenever they cry and I am of not much help.  Sigh.  Poor YEN…  =(

It is today, on 4 May 08, that FELIX took his first "steps" when he crawled.  At eight months, this is a norm, I think.

We are still anxiously awaiting for RACHEL to make meaningful conversation with us.  I cannot say she hasn’t uttered her first words - she is a Hi-5! and Barney fan, and she can say things like "Bye bye", "one two three four five", "Hi 5!", etc., not very accurately, and sometimes, still sing along to songs on the CDs (though still in her own language), but she’s getting there, slowly…

She has learnt some thing in play-school, I think.  She knows how to throw things like used tissue paper into the rubbish bin at home and even drink cans in bins outside.  She still cries when we drop her off, and I think that will take some time to change.

Reading up on news of the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease really unsettles me.  If children so unfortunately gets "hit" by the strain that might prove fatal, they are supposed to be kept away from other children and there is no found cure for the disease.  It can prove fatal and if the child does get the disease, it’s really like hoping that the child will get well.  I really hope no children, especially those among my friends, get something as potentially disasterous as HFMD…  =(