Wiggly Piglet’s Playpen

It’s easier now that Mckayla ays what she wants to eat. Before, it was a guessing game. We ask and point, then she approves with a nod or shakes her head (with crying sometimes) to disapprove. Now she makes her request loud and clear – “fan fan” (rice), “mien mien” (noodle), “bao bao” (bread), “tsai tsai” (veggies), and “ro ro” (meat). She’s in carnivore phase right now. Most nights she requests more meat and can’t get enough of it. She used to pick out meat from her plate to get rid of it, now the meat is what goes in her mouth first. On the downside, she eats much less veggies now.

As I was cleaning up my closet too make more space, I rediscovered my box of stuffed animals. The old stuffed animals that survived through the years – Winne the Pooh, Tigger, Big White Harp Seal Huggie, Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel (her boyfriend) in wedding outfits from McDonald’s, 2 Teddy Bears, Zashikibuta (pig from Sanrio), and Shamu. With some dusting and washing (few of them had to go in the washer), they’re now sitting comfortably in Mckayla’s room joining her existing collection of stuffed animals.

Mckayla sleeps with lots of “stuff” in her crib. She’s got Patrick the Dog, giraffe, pig, little white dog (she calls her MeiMei), Glow Worm, Baby in the Pod, and Nemo. Of all of her friends in the crib, Glow Worm and Nemo “talk”. Few nights ago, Ted and I woke up around two in the morning by “My name is Nemo, they call me shark bait”. Then, followed by the music from Glow Worm. We checked in the monitor and realized Mckayla was up and playing with her friends. We turned down the volume on the monitor and eventually it was nice and quiet again. Then next morning, when I got out the shower, I was greeted once again with “My name is Nemo…”. Last night, after I returned home from dinner, I went in her room to check on her and to say good night. I carefully removed Nemo and Glow Worm from the crib and laid them on the bed next to the crib, hoping for a quiet night. Early this morning, we heard Mckayla crying. And a couple minutes later, the crying stopped then it was “My name is Nemo” again. We figured she must have reached through the crib and activated Nemo. But to my surprise this morning, when I went in the room to get Mckayla this morning, she was lying in bed with Nemo in her arm. Somehow, she got Nemo off the bed and into her crib. Maybe we need to move her out of the crib before she climbs out herself sooner than we planned.

We went out for Indian tonight for dinner. My Mom had never had Indian food before and she wanted to try it out. We went to a buffet restaurant so she could have more choices to sample the different kinds of food. But, after we were seated, we realized they no longer serve dinner buffet style. So we ordered three different curry dishes with different types of naan bread. And of course, we ordered Mckayla’s favorite chicken biryani. We were all stuffed and the food was yummy. Mckayla ate a big piece of naan bread and had a big bowl of chicken biryani. Her belly was big and round after dinner. To our surprise, Mom really enjoyed the food and wanted to try out other Indian restaurants next time. Glad we found something other than Asian and Italian food (pizza and Osteria in Palo Alto only) that we all enjoyed.

Ted finaly put together the swing and slide set we bought for Mckayla for her first birthday. On Saturday, despite being very ill, Ted and Mckayla did a test run after he had put them together (took him almost the entire day with many interruptions… lunch, Mckayla vomitted x 2, missing tools, confusing instructions). Mckayla loved it and couldn’t get enough of it. We had to drag her back in the house because it was pretty windy out that evening. On Sunday, she asked for the swing as soon as she woke up from her afternoon nap (she slept for almost three hours after the movie). And yesterday, she dragged me to get her shoes on to go outside as soon as I arrived home from work. Then again when Ted arrived home. She definitely loves her new swing/slide set.

Mckayla was feeling much better on Sunday. She slept through most of the night and didn’t wake up from coughing until six in the morning. Ted went to check on her and they both fell asleep again. We decided to head to the movie theatre for matinee showing of the “Up”. Mckayla did pretty well at the theatre, better than we expected. She pointed out the dogs and birds, and commented with “uh oh” appropriately. While watching the movie, Mckayla snacked on her cheerios and water. Unfortunately, she coughed and gagged on the cheerio. After that, she got a little antsy and wouldn’t sit still. She climbed up and down the stairs couple time and we had to take her out for some “light” and fresh air for a few minutes. Otherwise, we got through the entire movie. I think next time, we would probably go in the theatre after the previews were over, so she can sit a little longer in her seat. And I think the theatre was little too dark and too loud for Mckayla’s liking. Would definitely try to take her to the diaper date movie if it’s available.

This all happened on Thursday evening while Mckayla’s very ill. But since it’s her first time ever, I think it deserved a blog entry of its own. While I was getting her bath ready (the first for that night), Mckayla sat in her potty seat. She got up a few times and finally sat still for a bit. And then magic happened, she peed in the potty for the first time ever!

Nanny called me yesterday at work to tell me Mckayla’s not feeling well. She started with cough the day before and went to bed with a low grade fever. She got up in the morning and was doing pretty decent. Drank her milk and ate her breakfast. But by lunch time, she was very upset and kept pointing at her throat with fever up to 100F. She took a dose of Tylenol and went to bed for her nap after few episodes of crying and screaming. While I was at work, I e-mailed her pediatrician and called the advise nurse because she’s also coughing with lots of phlegm in her chest. I left early from work and picked her at home for the appointment. The doctor did a quick exam and Mckayla was cooperated with her. She even pointed at her throat when I asked her to show the doctor where’s owie. According to her pediatrician, lots of kids are coming in sick and hand-food-mouth disease is going around. We were sent home to be on close watch and bring her back if she doesn’t get better in the next few days with pulmicort/albuterol nebulizer treatment. After we left the doctor’s office, Mckayla was exhausted and fell asleep before we got to dinner. She didn’t eat much as expected and we were glad she drank lots of water. On our way home from dinner, Mckayla got very cranky again and looked very lethargic. My Mom was in the backseat with her and told us that she felt very warm. She fell asleep again before we got home. We took her temperature, and it was all the up to 103.9. I gave her another dose of Motrin and used cold compress on her forehead while Ted called the advise nurse. They weren’t too helpful as usual and told us to call back if it doesn’t get better and if fever is above 106. About half and hour after her medication, Mckayla was feeling better and very playful again. After a quick bath, it was time for bed. She refused her milk again and kept crying as we try to put her to sleep. Then, she started to cough and gag from the phlegm in her chest. Before I knew it, she vomited all over me. Ted bathed her again while I hop in the shower myself. She was more calm by then and fell asleep quickly. After we cleaned up the mess and was about to go to sleep ourselves, we heard Mckayla crying through the monitor. I got up to check on her. This time she woke up herself up from coughing and vomited all over her bed. Another round of cleaning and we finally all hit the sack for a night of not so restful sleep.

We’ve been told that Mckayla “looks” older than her age many times. Most people guess she’s 2 year old when she was barely one. It’s not because she’s bigger physically but I think it’s her face. Last week, the receptionist Peggy at Gymboree told me that Mckayla looks very mature now, more like a little girl than a baby. She hasn’t seen Mckayla for about two months. My Mom said the same thing the other day. She also said Mckayla “lost” her baby look since the last time they saw each other in Taiwan a month ago.

We left Mckayla at home with her Nanny and my Mom on Sunday while Ted and I went out for a big treat with our friends. We brought back some yummy bread and sweet treats from the restaurant and bakery. Here’s a picture of Mckayla enjoying her first very sweet treat – shortbread cookie.

She couldn’t get enough of it and kept asking for more. When she saw Ted taking the last piece of cookie from the bag, she immeditately shoved her last bite (a pretty big bite) into her mouth and asked for more. But too late, Daddy ate the last piece without sharing the Mckayla.

And here’s the picture of Mckayla when she realized there’s no more cookies.