Winter Illumination at Tachikawa

On Sunday, we decided to take a short trip about 45mins away, to a gorgeous park. They were having a winter Illumination, so we thought we`d just drop by and see some pretty lights...and yes it was so so beautiful, though it was freezing cold...we made sure Gabe was bundled in 4 layers of clothing coz he`s still recovering from a cough.

We walked and walked and walked, i was pretty bummed out by 2 hours...could feel Lucas protesting away already. But, worth the walk coz Gabe enjoyed himself and we enjoyed it too. Plus, it was our 5th Wedding Anniversary..so romantic hor....and yes surprisingly when i tested the hubby, he remembered...SHOCKING!!! Anyway, enjoy the pics...

At home...Mummy & Gabe....

Teaching GAbe to walk down the stairs....how cute is his new Mickey bag which we put his water and some snacks...

Being Sick is NO F.U.N...for Mummy

The past few days have been so so tiring...i am literally exhausted. Gabe was down with fever and a very very bad cough. Actually he has had the cough for like the past month, just that it didn`t see, to bother him at all, and knowing from previous experience, it will go away just takes time.

But then on Saturday late afternoon, he started to have fever and by night it was at 38.7 deg. I was worried coz i was alone and pregnant. I really didn`t want to make a trip to the emergency clinic by myself. So, i sponged him and stuck a couple of cool packs on him. He was whiny and took awhile for him to fall asleep, and the damned cough kept waking him up. It was only after 1am that he fell into deep sleep and even then i couldn`t sleep well coz i was worried he`d start heating up.

Anyway next day, still fever but down abit. But my poor boy was so pale and whiny, thankfully he drank milk and water and still ate so i was thankful for that otherwise we`d really need to go to the hospital. Throughout the next 2 days, he stuck by me like a leech, demanded my attention 24hrs, not even letting me go to the toilet alone. And whatever time i have, we`d sit down and he`d want me to read and play. And of course, the big joy for him was that he didn`t need to go to school for the next whole week...*moan*.......

So u ask, what did we do? Well, before that, FYI, he`s super fine now just a bit of a cough which seems to be less phlegmy and no more fever at all. But thing is, he`s got so used to me playing with him, that he EXPECTS it every time he sees me not doing anything...so yes i TRY to act like I always have something to do,but after while, he insists...sighhhhh...

Yeah, so his fave toys and things we do like a zillion times a day:

His Fave toy of the moment...drawing drawing....we`d sit together on the sofa and take turns to draw...what do we draw? Mickey, house, car, star, Anpanman, sun, flowers, train....yes, then all those, you just keep repeating 10 times or more till he`s done bored and moves on to his next fave toy.

Now, sometimes it gets abit too much for me, and i turn cruel...i hide the pen and he`ll search for it till he gives up...yeah u try doing this 4 -5 times a day for an hour...

His #1 fave book...and fave page...he knows nearly all the vehicles...this is one really well-used book, every cents worth...shoved to my face 6 times a day...how do i escape? Yup, i hide the book

His #2 book.....it`s a press the picture thing, in English & Jap...he knows both languages...and can press and press till his fingers are tired and u do it for him....again, every cents worth....how do i escape? Yup hide this one too

His fave #3 boook....animal sounds...he finds the sheep really amusing...route of escape? Hide the book

So, yeah those are how we pass our time...seriously...it just repeats and repeats everyday...sometimes i really wanna hide them all, but then he`d be bored and start to whine...either way, he whines....sigh....

Grandma, we`re happy you`re coming...I`m sure you`d love to encourage your grandson to learn more, so we`ll pass this duty to you...

Fun & No Fun

Alrighty, finally some time to put up a new post. We haven`t been busy so to say, rather my pregnant self has been too lazy to do much. Some updates. I have quite abit of time to myself now that Gabe is going to school Mondays to Fridays. Not full day, so don`t call me cruel. Mon, Tues & Fri is special school from 10am-2pm and then Wed & Thurs is normal school from 9am-3pm. He`s doing well at special school, but at Melody (normal school), he has not adjusted yet. He clings and cries whenever we leave. It`s heartbreaking to dump him there, but i do not have much of a choice now. I`m like huge at 35weeks and really have no energy to entertain him much at home.

And recently, we were told that because he has a previlage whereby i can get people to fetch him from home and back from special school because i am pregnant. So we applied for this service, and for the next 3 months, I do not have to fetch Gabe back...yay!! Isn`t this great???

So anyway, December 3rd week onwards school closes and we will not be sending him back till like end January in case he brings back any virus to me and Lucas. Bet the boy will be super duper happy. Here he is carrying his Melody chool bag, abit big for him, but not too heavy. Yup he`s trying to hang on so he doesn`t need to go...

We`ve been going to the park every week to let him sit on his bike which he loves so much and always has such a good time it`s lovely to watch him. And he`s a pro at it now, and i think somehow his legs are stronger now and he can walk like much much further and more stable.

Now, that`s fun....and then, there`s no fun. Recently, Gabe has been testing my patience to the extreme. Breakfast times are a horror coz he doesn`t fancy it much. He doesn`t want much milk, and he is so so fussy about what he gets served at brekkie. Alot of things are not to his liking. I`ve tried bread and various types of biscuits. All rejected mostly. And worst part is, i put it in a bowl, and the boy sees he doesn`t want it, he uses his hands and stir stir the food, making it all come out, then throws one by one to the floor or just swipes it all down. When he`s in a foul mood, he just tips the whole bowl over and lets the food drop to the floor, then proceeds to show you an empty bowl....now, tell me i should smack him? You can scold him all you want, he just gives you the `not bothered face` and keeps eyes glued to Mickey Mouse...sighhhhhhhh..........why oh why.......

So because he doesn`t eat much he usually starts to whine in school by 11am coz he`s hungry and lunch isn`t served till 12pm. Nothing much i can do....But i`ve recently started to feed him cake....cheesecake, shortcake, choc cake...and well he does eat it, so I`m gonna stick to that mostly..even if it`s not standard brekkie for kids...

And then, Lucas...my gynae has said that she doesn`t want to induce me too early at 38 weeks, so Dec 30th is unlikely unless something crops up and we need to. So Lucas is prob popping around Jan 6th, 7th or 8th. My only fear is that i go into labour before that and epi is not available...then i`m in deep deep trouble...

Grandma is coming 28th Dec, yay!! Gabe will be so happy to have another playmate to shove his books to....we can`t wait to see you Grandma..prepare urself for Mr Terror On.

Till next post, toodle doo...

THE Search for a Nursery School

Ok, i have to admit, since i found out about Lucas` arrival, i have been panicking a little. Mostly it`s whether i can deal with 2 boys at home...especially in the early stages of newborn. Yes babies sleep alot and jus feed...but NOT ALL babies. Besides, i will be so tired from all that interrupted sleep. So i thought, it`s time to send Gabe to a fullday nursery, not everyday, but maybe 2-3 times a week so i have at least some time to Lucas & myself. It breaks my heart, trust me, but i do not want to become one of those stay-at-home moms who suffer from depression, wears ratty clothes for the whole week coz they can`t find the time to do the laundry, whose hair looks like it could do with a good wash and whose contact with the outside world is stepping on the balcony to retrieve clothes or maybe to consider jumping off the balcony.

So, Gabe dearest, sorry, Mummy has to win this round. But also, not just to make myself feel better, i do feel Gabe is ready to mix around more with friends his own age. Sometimes, you just know when your child reaches a certain stage and Mummy`s company is just not quite enough, especially when Lucas comes along. So, some of the signs Gabe showed to prove he is ready for the next step:

1) He grabs the chance to take whatever pen/pencil there is and proceeds to draw on walls and especially the floor.

2) When you have to dig through kitchen cabinets to find something for him to play with and even then, he gets bored of it like in 1 minute. Obviously, interesting stuffs like knives and scissors are No Nos.

3) Everytime he sees you sitting down, he takes his story books and brings it for you to read to him. And loves to see you point to this n that.

4) He is walking everywhere...and can start to open doors on his own, especially when at every minute he starts calling me `bah`...and if i do not answer, it gets louder until you do answer. And he can sense your presence walking out of the area even though you`re as quiet as a mouse. And closing the door doesn`t help...he can tip toe and pull the handle now...going down the hallway to find you..sighhhh....

5) When he can no longer play for long periods with his toys when last time he was so engrossed with them.

6) When he starts to think that Mickey Mouse & Friends are real...and that all other cartoons with children in it are scary...yes, he hates cartoons with children figures in it...I will not have my son think that all `Friends` should look like Mickey Mouse....

So i guess there`s more too his needs for socialising now, and the attention i can provide to him is no longer enough. So perhaps we`re making the right decision here.

Then comes to our search for a nursery school we feel would benefit him well. Not easy...so far we have tried calling 4:

Poppins Nursery
Sounds fancy huh?...well it does look the part too....and it`s perfect in a sense that it`s just like 15 mins walk from our apartment, so i can fetch and pick him up everyday. Plus, the teachers there are able too speak some level of English, and the nursery area looks spacious for kids to run around....Unfortunately, it is FULL..as in VERY FULL..the fulltime daycare has a waiting list of 100 students....the 50 hour a month package has a waiting list of 30 students...so in the end i registered Gabe for the 50 hour package. I think we`ll have to wait till like March next year for any space...Bummer..

Kids Duo
This one, in terms of location is also good, just behind our apartment, and they have a bus to send Gabe back...the downside is that this is either from 9.30am-1.30pm OR 2.30pm-6.30pm...for me, it`s pointless as it doesn`t give me much time at all. Plus, the building area is small, not much space for the kids to run around.

Global Kids
Also good, just behind our place, and fairly newish...we called and they told us waiting list is 60 students..and they only take in 16 students at a time for 2-3 yr old....yah, prob wait till end next year!!

My Melody
This one i have to take a train 4 stops away, not far. And walk 8 mins. But compared to the other 3, it`s the farthest..still no biggie if it`s twice a week..besides, it gives me a chance to exercise abit. And, the timing is from 7am-8pm...And they even have weekend daycare at JPY1,000 per hour on Saturdays if needed. Saw the building it`s a 3 storey building and there are many kids...

So out of those 4, we probably will go for #4 coz there isn`t much of an option at the moment. And hopefully by March next year Poppins will have space and we`ll transfer Gabe. So, tentatively Gabe will start on October 16th, twice a week, about 6 hours per time, on Wednesdays & Thursdays. Then maybe when next year if we`re still there, I`ll up the frequency to 3 times. But the thought of so many students there is scary...germs will be going around...time to feed him more vitamins.

And so...Gabe`s schedule will be pretty hectic:
Mon, Tues & Fri: 10am-2pm daycare half day at Wanpaku
Wed & Thurs: 9am-4pm daycare at Melody

I hope he adjusts well and not think that I`m pushing him away....
Think I myself am gonna take awhile adjusting to not having him at home for half the day everyday...

Mummy still loves you very much Gabe, hopefully this new arrangment suits us both ....you`re growing up..have fun!!

Mother Farm Visit

Over the weekend, we decided to bring Gabe to this animal farm since he knew quite a handful of animals. And we brought along his bicycle so he could roam freely. It was a beautiful day with loads of sunshine yet not too hot. We reached the farm at about 3pm and Gabe had a blast, though he hated sitting on the grass at first. But he loved the animals and kept smiling.

Father n Son bonding over IPAD after a nice day...i suggest they do it every weekend