Toughest pregnancy

I'm in pain almost all the time.

I enjoyed being pregnant with ZK and ZY, after all that morning sickness of course.

With ZK, it was wonderful all the way with no scary spotting episode though there was the fear of cervix incompetence given a minor surgery on my cervix just a few months before falling pregnant.

Sure, I had some pain in the tailbone at the beginning, and some bad backache. I started experiencing the pain in the muscle or bone or something in the pelvic region between my legs nearer the left perhaps just before I left Evanston at 32 weeks. It made standing on one leg difficult and changing pants and undies was a literal pain. The memory of the pain was stronger in Singapore - wonder if it was the heat... I even took a mirror to my private parts to see whether there was a bruise coz it felt like one *.*

With ZY, scary spotting and bleeding episodes aside, it was quite lovely even though I had a full-time job by then, and even though the pelvic pain started a bit earlier than 32 weeks, and even though I had this new horrible pain towards the end that shot through my legs (or was it just the left leg?) almost every time I stood after sitting for a while. It paralysed me on the spot for seconds to minutes before I could move again.

With monkey, well, I had those scary spotting and bleeding episodes. I had backache for a while. But the worst was the pelvic pain which started way earlier. At first, I felt the pain when I moved or stood on one leg, and it was between my legs right at the bottom left. Now I can feel the pain without moving, and the pain can also be felt on the front left of my pubic bone. In fact, the pain is always there; it's just a matter of severity. There are times when it's so painful I could hardly move. Like after ZK's birthday dinner this year. The soreness is like a big bruise - I never minded bruises but when the soreness becomes severe, the pain is quite debilitating. I'm also worried if the paralysing pain I had with ZY would come back later in the pregnancy..

I also started having leg cramps this past week. They usually happen at night. Not uncommon for my pregnancies. But yesterday, I was going up some stairs when a cramp happened and I just fell forward. So thankful I was going up, not down. And I had colleagues by my side.

On the vanity side, my belly button is now totally turned out. It simply went flat by the time ZK was due and it went flat earlier with ZY. Now, I'm walking around with a third nipple showing in the middle of my bump, yikes. The saving grace is how the boys react to my belly button - they love it! Though ZY would sayang, sayang, and suddenly poke me there. It hurts!

Silly boys pretending to be like me!

And of course, my weight - suffice to say I started on a high. I think I'll hit the big EIGHT this time and be heavier than Sito - it's such a psychological barrier! In the past, I would just eat since I'm getting fat anyway. But this time, I don't have much appetite - a combination of age and the various discomforts I guess... So sad...

But monkey is such an understanding little baby... I often feel tired after exertions, e.g. chasing the boys. I even feel pain in the abdomen from the physical strain. Then I worry about not feeling him move. But the next still moment, he'll give me a good punch or roll to reassure me. In fact, he's downright violent at times! Please continue to be understanding, especially in the sleep department when you're born! :)

Saturday, 2 Jul 2016 - 24w1d

I suddenly realised - from the pregnancy app - that monkey is now over 30 cm big! Gosh - I've been in pain and too busy to keep track of his growth and suddenly, wow! No wonder I look so pregnant now hoho!

Saturday, 9 Jul 2016 - 25w1d

Brought ZK and ZY to the clinic. Was supposed to bring only ZK but ZY wasn't well and couldn't go to school. We only brought ZK into the doctor's room though.

ZK: Are you going to cut Mama?
Doc: Yes *without batting an eyelid*

*.* Then he asked me why ZK asked him that. Well, my little boy thinks that I have eaten the baby and I must be cut to let the baby out!

Like the doc said the last time, we couldn't see the whole of monkey in the scan from now. And with him moving, it was hard to see clear stuff. Doubt ZK registered what he saw as a baby...

Today

I'm in bed right now, just writing. The pelvic pain was pretty mild for most of today until after the kids were showered. And just now, I was lying in bed while waiting for the freshly mopped floor to dry before I got my laptop, and felt the horrible pain. Couldn't move for a while. Sighs... It's likely symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD), going by the symptoms and Wikipedia. But both this and the last doc didn't seem to think much about it and mentioned possible strain due to baby. I'm thinking if I should go get a referral at polyclinic to see a physiotherapist... Shall read more about it first..

Water warts

So I was talking about ZK's water warts. After that first treatment at the skin clinic on 13 May, he couldn't have a proper shower for almost a week due to the pain from the blisters. So glad when they were no longer painful!

But on Monday, 23 May, we found more spots on him - this time on his right leg, elbows and his wrists!

What a nightmare.. We couldn't tell whether they were water warts. ZK went down a tunnel slide just on Saturday so they could also be some negative reaction, right? But to be safe, I started putting the gel from the doc on him. The doc said the gel would take time to heal the spots and indeed, the spots remained after a few days and a couple seemed to grow.

Sito did some massive googling on Friday night and found a mummy's account of how she eradicated water warts using apple cider vinegar. So on Saturday, after the boy returned from school, we started the apple cider vinegar treatment. And ZK became the plaster boy while I became the crazy mama whose fingers smelled like ACV!

The thing stung a bit less than the gel but amazingly, within a day, the biggest spot scabbed over! I gave the gel one more go and forgot about it, focusing only on the ACV. More spots continued to scab over and in less than a week, I could go without ACV in the morning. In the evening, I stopped applying ACV on old spots as the scabs hurt even more.

ZK had a couple more new spots within that week but after the ACV treatment, they scabbed over. We also had a scare with ZY during the week cos of unknown spots on his face! But after a dab of ACV, they were gone within the day. The little boy now says "I don't like it" when he sees my finger or a cotton bud near his face :p

A painful scab

Within two weeks of treatment, ZK's spots were greatly reduced in numbers. I still found new spots here and there but most disappeared quickly. Made us wonder if they were water warts! When we went back for a review on 7 June, the doc said the new spots were probably molluscum dermatitis, as a result of the body responding to the irritation caused by the treatment - and they were a good thing! He expected him to be free of spots in four weeks or so. We left happily with an open appointment.

But until the spots were gone, ZK was not to shower in school or participate in water play. Just to be safe - for himself and other children. And he had been going to school covered in clear adhesive tape. "But I'm not a paper!" he said :p When the spots on his limbs healed, we switched to tape for the spots in covered areas as that was more gentle on his skin. Even plasters tended to wrinkle his skin. Poor boy...

And two weeks later, ZK was free of molluscum dermatitis and was down to two stickers, but somehow, a new pimple was found on his scrotum! I wondered what went wrong... But at least this was discovered when the pimple was small. After a few days of ACV treatment, it looked ready to burst.

All was looking good by 2 July. But our happiness was shortlived as we found two little ones on his right leg. At first I thought they were mozzie bites but then one was pearly white - classic symptom *.*

It took a few more days plus buffer to make sure they were truly gone, but finally, the weekend before our Bintan trip, we declared ZK free of water warts. Yeah yeah yeah!! He has all those scars on him but he's young; they'll probably disappear.. In any case, I've been applying some kiddy moisturiser on him in the hope that it helps. Now, please stay free of those warts!

Battle of wills

This evening, I won a battle of wills against ZY. It took a gruesome 30 mins of crying on his part and endurance on mine, but the parent won.

After ZY had his fruits, he was holding ZK's Bumblebee when ZK came over to claim his toy. Faced with the approach, ZY threw the toy away towards the dishes. I told him that he should not have thrown the toy and to say sorry. He refused and wanted me to carry him out of the baby chair. I refused. And the battle started.

For the first half of the battle, he was alternating between asking me to carry and asking Mum to carry. He was just rubbing his eyes and face when facing me, but when he turned to Mum, he was also stealing glances at her through sobs!! Mum tried to demonstrate to him how to say sorry, e.g. sayang Bumblebee which suffered the throw. He refused. I compromised a little - instead of saying sorry, just admit that he threw the toy. He refused.

When Mum left, he turned to alternating between me and N. I told N to just focus on cleaning up and retreat to her room. That left ZY with only me. He started complaining about his eyes, his nose. I cleaned him up but refused to budge otherwise. At one point, I decided to give him (and me!) another way out and asked him, who did it - ZK or ZY. He said ZK *.*

Now that reminded me of the battle of wills against ZK when he was just over two as well - that was when we just returned from Malacca and were heading out again for dinner. ZK hit Dad and refused to say sorry. He even said it was Dad's fault. I was occupied with baby ZY so Sito took on that battle. He won after some crying, but it was distinctly a swifter victory - way under 30 min.

Who is the naughtier boy??

ZY can be so stubborn! He was such a poor thing, crying so much and starting to cough. But I could not back off. From our experience with ZK, we - so glad that Sito and I are aligned on this - know that ZY can understand this already.

The turning point came when I asked him whether he wanted to be carried for perhaps the 10th time. Yes he did. So I asked him to say "Yangyang did it". And he said it!

So finally, I could carry my baby. I also demonstrated to him what he did earlier and mimicked him throwing the toy towards the dishes. He took the toy and made a throwing motion though he did not throw; he just said, "Not like this; no throwing toys!" This is his style - whenever I tell him to do something correctly, he would demonstrate what not to do (motion only) and what to do (actual action).

This wasn't the first such battle but it was the first serious one. Think there's more work to be done for this little one....

Babymoon and ZK's birthday treat

So we wanted a babymoon. And the best time fell on ZK's birthday week! One stone two birds :)

We chose Club Med at Bintan as it has a Mini Club for age 4-10 :p So we left ZY with Mum and left our hearts wondering what mischief he would be up to (lots!) as we departed for our holiday...

Monday, 11 July

ZK was very excited the whole morning but first, we had to settle their morning routine and send ZY to school. Then it was some final packing before we could set off.

On the way to the ferry with his little suitcase full of toys

Restless while waiting for the ferry to start

Staring as we left the ferry terminal

I kind of dozed off and woke to this as we neared the Bintan terminal

We checked in at the Club Med counter at the ferry terminal, and waited a bit for our bus to send us to the resort. But our room was not ready so after a briefing by the welcome team, they sent us to the restaurant for lunch. We had some time to check out the Mini Club before collecting our room keys.

The room was a short walk away from the main building but there were many stairs *.* Sito found a shorter stairless way on the next day when he was up and about. We found our suitcase outside the room and stepped into a little room with a little TV, a balcony and a bed for ZK!

ZK's bed, which he never used, obviously...

As Sito wanted to rest to get better from his fever, I took ZK out to his favourite activities - sand and pool!

Mama eye-powering in the shade :)

The amazing lure of filling a bucket with sand over and over again...

Selfie for me!

Walked a short distance to get a drink for the thirsty boy

Then I got my feet stuck in the sand on purpose for him to dig me out!

Pool time!

Despite the float, he was still afraid to get into the water. But after a while, he let me carry him. Or rather, I let him hang on to me like a koala bear. And slowly, we progressed to holding hands and holding fingers. But that was it. Better than nothing! I felt good in the water and he was practically weightless in water too.

ZK took this photo and said, "That's a lot of Mama!" *.*

That's us having fun!

We went back to the room to shower and rest for a while. But the boy didn't nap. Sito was feeling better by then. We tried to Skype ZY but that boy wasn't interested!!! Bah.. When it was time, we headed out for a quick dinner.

After a lunch of pizza and fish nuggets, I was glad he had some noodles!

But he got very tired during dinner and almost dozed off. We had a GO with us at dinner and had to leave him early. It was later that we found out that the GOs must dine with guests. We were lucky to get this GO Tohid coz he worked at the Mini Club so ZK had a familiar face when he went to the Club.

It was dark by the time we went back to our room and we were treated to lots of stars :) We all went to bed early.

Tuesday, 12 July - birthday!

ZK woke at a decent time, just past 6 am, which was 7 am Singapore time. He must have been so tired! Then he went to play with his toys while the adults tried to sit up :p

Four years old - so good, can play on his own!

We were all hungry due to the early and small dinner the previous night. ZK had a breakfast full of carbs - toast and cereal loops - before we sent him to the Mini Club. He wasn't terribly keen, not knowing what it was, but when we got there and he saw toys in the room, he just went straight in *.* We said bye and went relaxing :)

But we went to find him a few times that morning, mostly without being seen. The most important one was the first activity - trapeze!

Found our little boy strapped up and waiting for his turn

Climbing up to the trapeze was difficult for him...

Up high with the experts!

ZK was a little scared when climbing up coz it was quite high. We were fine if he wanted to come down instead but he went up with some encouragement. When he was up there, he swung a short while and was let down. He had difficulty letting go of the rod to hold the ropes as he was scared. But he managed. Later he said he didn't like it very much coz it was scary. He was the youngest kid there, as he just turned four. We were very proud of him that he tried it at all :)

He enjoyed the trampoline a lot more while waiting for the rest of the kids to finish. And then we said bye and went walking around again. We went back to find him at the next station - golf but they were just finishing. Their next activity was water play at a 30cm pool so we just let him be.

We were joined by GOs at lunch again and heard that the kids would take lunch at another restaurant when the resort was full. Think he had spaghetti with the kids judging by the stain on his shirt... So we had lunch with no fuss before picking him up back at the Mini Club room. He had a shower and a little nap before we went out to the sand and the pool.

Us at the beach :)

ZK wanted to experience the waves

Happy us at the pool!

Holding on to Papa's hands

After a shower and a rest, we were back at dinner. We were so full all the time!!

ZK telling Papa about his ice cream just before his cake arrived

There were night performances but we never made it as we had to go back to bed. In fact, after his birthday dinner, I was in such pain from the pregnancy (more later) that I could only go back to the room.

Wednesday, 13 July

It was a day that the parents had looked forward to - massage! But first, the kid...

Watching Pink Panther while Papa was doing his morning thing

ZK didn't want to go to the Mini Club at all. But somehow when we got there, he just went in *.* Oh well, good for us! We took a buggy ride to the spa centre and were treated to a lemongrass drink before going in for our massage. First, they soaked our feet and gave us a shoulder massage. Then they cleaned our feet and sent us to the beds. Sito had a 90-min massage while I had a 30-min scrub followed by a 60-min massage. It was gooooood.....

Our seaview massage room

It started to rain before lunch so we took a sheltered route to the restaurant. Passed by the kids' restaurant on the way and had a glimpse of our boy :)

Seemed to be making friends :)

And found him interacting with a GO instead of watching TV like the rest after lunch

Again, shower and nap time. But it was still drizzling at the end of nap time so we lazed around until quite late. By then, we only had time for the sand. Anyway, it was pretty cold to go into the pool...

After meals of junk food like nuggets, ZK had satay!

His fave remained - ice cream, which he had at every meal

Today, we had lunch and dinner without GOs. We were accosted at every meal except breakfast since the first dinner. This day, we decided that we didn't need to make small talk - we're not the sort and not all GOs could make small talk too. So nice to have meals on our own!

Thursday, 14 July

Very soon, it was our last day!! It was very hot in the morning but we had only time for the sand and the pool. The sand was especially hot coz the shelter wasn't much help against the morning sun. Much better in the pool..

Hanging on to Papa in the pool

Having a drink after checking out

With nothing much to do, we sent ZK to the Mini Club where the kids were having their face painted. We left him to sit right outside to relax. But soon he came out with tears - the GO said he wanted us, awww...

I want my Mama...

Dozed off at lunch - the result of waking up at 4.30 am...

We went to the lobby after lunch to collect our boarding passes and to check that our suitcase had been brought out. ZK woke and asked for more nuggets *.* Then a GO came by with a Mini Club certificate for him! We left soon, amid much fanfare by the GOs...

All cheeky while waiting for the ferry!

Today, he told Mum that he liked Bintan, more than that time with the cable car. Ok, point taken. We figured that if we had gone for other Bintan resorts, it could be cheaper than Sentosa anyway... But well, no wistful thinking until we get past monkey's infancy!

Four years of parenthood

As marked by our dear ZK turning four :)

We started with a haircut to make him even more of a 小帅帅

This was the second time he had a haircut in a big boy's chair and he did very well! We got ZY to look at ZK so that he too could have a haircut - this outlet does not have a kiddy chair :p We like EC House coz we can cut the kids' hair in any outlet at the same good price, unlike QB House which effectively chased us out the last time we tried to get ZK a haircut, bah!

ZY in an elevated seat as well but with a kiddy cover

ZK couldn't take his eyes off his Bumblebee!

We promised ZK the toy for his birthday a long time ago. When Sito got the toy some months ago, we put it in the wardrobe where ZK took an accidental peek one day. He asked about it innocently but full of hope that it was for him. We hid it better and told him to wait for his birthday. And ta-da! The Amber is meant for him as well, to complete his Robocar Poli collection but we asked him to share with ZY. So ZY was very happy too :)

Out for a spin with Bumblebee and Amber

And for the first time, I made a cake with frosting!! ZK wanted a "blocks cake" after we eliminated "poo poo cake". There are Lego cakes online but they are either non-yummy fondant or not too good-looking cream cakes. If it's not too good-looking, well, I can make it!! Took a bit of planning and had some help from Ah Yee to get natural food colouring - except for blue which remained synthetic. But it was a good cake! Will post recipe.

Blocks!

After blowing the candle and making a ceremonial cut, ZK promptly removed all but one of the Oreo cookies! Luckily I took one for ZY right after ZK took his first!

ZK got two big Lego sets from Ah Yee and Mum. He spent that afternoon putting together one set. Love Lego - such a good and long way to spend time :p We didn't go anywhere for dinner this time as Sito was having high fever. He had to get better as we were leaving for a short holiday the next day...

So we just came back from a babymoon trip to Bintan Club Med. It doubled up as ZK's birthday treat as well. He loves going to a hotel - read: sleeping in a different place with sand and pool - so guess this was a great trip for him? :)

We came back to this after housekeeping on his birthday and saved the setup for when he came back for a nap :)

And that evening as we walked into the restaurant, the restaurant manager was there to greet guests and I told ZK to tell him that it was his birthday. We didn't arrange anything but he was very nice to prepare something quickly and got the staff to sing a song for ZK. But this ZK was more interested in his ice cream - also from the manager - and a lizard he spotted *.*

Happy birthday my dear boy!

He's still too young to make any birthday wish but I do have a wish - I wish that I could be a better parent to my boys!

ZY had a fit again!!

I was only glad that this time, I was with him.

Got back earlier on Friday and was working from home when I got a message from school at about 5.45 pm. ZY was having a fever and they would watch him - everyone was on high alert following his fit in school. I asked them to sponge him while I made my way there.

ZY started coughing some time on Saturday, and he woke a couple of times before 10 pm due to the cough. When he coughed himself awake again past 10.30 pm, I gave him some Prospan to relieve the coughing. Then he decided to read his book instead of returning to bed. But the next moment, he wanted to be carried and measured 39.2 deg. I was carrying him while Sito was preparing the Ibruprofen for his fever when I felt his arms twitch.

That was the start.

Cleared the duvet and put him on our bed - his eyes were not really rolled back but were unfocused. Then his arms twitched again and his little fists went to his face and his lips turned black. I turned him to his left while his fit continued. His fists looked like they were rubbing his eyes but his eyes were at best half open. His mouth was a bit wet, probably a mix of saliva and the water he had after Prospan earlier.

Got Sito to bring the fit medicine while I watched the clock. Then realised I didn't know what the medicine was for - to give during or after the fit??! Anyway, we called for the ambulance.

By then, ZY was conscious and muttered something but he was slurring. I got Sito to watch him while I changed and packed some stuff. Tried to give him some Ibruprofen but he took his head - glad he was responsive anyway!

The journey to A&E this time was quite unlike the last - ZY was alert and looking around in the ambulance while lying facing down on me. He didn't speak though.

The paramedic took ZY off me to put on Sito's lap and wheeled them in on a wheelchair while I followed behind. For some reason, one of the paramedics tried to get me to stay outside. Um, no... They'd got his ID and there was no reason why only one parent could follow. And please, I'm a NUH A&E veteran by now *.*

We were given cubicle 3 instead of 4 this time. And while waiting for the doctor, ZY got comfortable with his legs crossed at the ankle and his hands behind his head, staring at the TV. He cried when they tried to take his vitals - he really disliked the thing stuck to his toe. I took the opportunity to make him say something and he did! "I don't want it!" Phew!

We were attended to shortly and ZY was given a suppository for his fever. And after a while, the doctor returned to say that his colleagues heard ZY cough and diagnosed croup. He was then force-fed an oral steroid. Poor baby - he must have got the virus from me :( We were glad to hear from the consultant on duty that the same virus could manifest differently in different children so ZK might not get the same.

So glad we brought his shoes. He walked around a bit and was happy before falling asleep. He slept quite a while in my arms until we were finally discharged. Managed to clarify with the doc that the fit medicine was to stop the fit.

Watching TV holding my hand before sleeping

We all got into bed by 3.20 am. I moved the humidifier to our room when ZY was sleeping. And there we were until 6 plus. So tired!!

ZY's fever continued and kept hitting 39 deg until Monday. So afraid he would have another fit! Most of the time, he was willing to take the medicine. Else we would pour into his milk. Yesterday evening, I threatened to pinch his nose if he didn't take the medicine and he did, "I drink", he said. So cute.. But his temperature went up right after that and Mum and N and I were trying to bring his temperature down just before he fell asleep. My poor baby...

This morning around 4.30 am, he was very hot again and we gave him medicine in milk. But he was happy and fine when he woke until around 1 pm when he got a bit hot again. He refused Paracetamol or milk and went straight to sleep. I sponged him until he cooled down. It wasn't until 5.30 pm that we managed to get some Ibruprofen in him as his temperature went up - YouTube was a good bait!

Wet towel on his hot head, blanket for his exposed belly and cold legs

Went to NUH for a review this morning. The consultant was very kind and reassuring - his breathing was considered fine though it was loud. His super cute voice was also normal for croup. It was ok to not eat much so long as he was drinking enough; she wasn't concerned about his lack of poop. And his fever sounded very viral so we could only monitor him and give medicine when necessary. She reviewed and agreed to how we alternated Paracetamol and Ibruprofen. We were given an appointment on Thursday for a blood test in case the fever persists.

The boy sleeping in his fave position while waiting for his turn to see the doc

Had a pleasant surprise at the fees today. Consultation was $35 instead of $102 and medicine was $3.60 instead of $15. Our subsidies quite good leh...

So now ZY is sleeping. Gave him only Zyrtec since he had Ibruprofen shortly before dinner, which consisted of fruits and a bit of fried egg. He already woke once. Hope he'll only get better from here...

And ZY is two!

Our little ZY turned two on Monday! Apparently the whole week, he went round saying "me happy birthday, me happy birthday". And when it was his friend's birthday and his teacher asked whose birthday it was, it took a couple of seconds for him to say that it was his friend's happy birthday!

We had a nice long weekend of celebrations for ZY. Well, kind of, since they went to KidsStop on Friday morning - it was centre closure day but I had a meeting that morning.

私の彼はパイロット！:p

Since we would be out the whole of Sunday, we thought we would give him his present on Saturday - he got a scooter one year before ZK did!

My happy boys with their scooters in their helmets

Headed down to the void deck to play for a really short while. We thought we could avoid the mozzies if we stayed away from the playground but all of us got bitten quite badly within minutes!

And one week in, ZK realised his scooter was not as tall as his little brother's. Well, ZY's scooter is indeed a better make. So I adjusted his handle bar to the same height.

We went to the zoo on Sunday! The last time we were there, I was pregnant with ZY... This time, I happened to ballot successfully for corporate passes, yeah!

Metres away from the white tigers...

Polar bear! (somewhere inside...)

We took a little break there. I made egg sandwiches for everyone but it would be the first time the boys were getting them so I was apprehensive. I prepared other snacks just in case but to my delight, the boys tried and liked my egg sandwiches :) They were then distracted by fruits but well, it was a good start! I look forward to making more sandwiches for them :)

Oh! Orang utan! Look!

Part of the troop, minus Jiejie and AhYee

As we moved through the Africa section of the zoo, ZK started to smell the animals. And he didn't like it! So while he had wanted to see the giraffes, he backed off once we got there *.*

Had some ice cream amid the smell though!

My boys :)

We didn't go into the kids area as we didn't want ZK's water warts to spread. So poor ZY had no water play as well. But we made a quick stop just outside, at the merry-go-round.

The kids had fun but the adults were dizzy after the super fast ride!

(ZK was clutching an electrical fan, btw....)

Passed by Ah Meng's statue but ZK didn't want to be in the shot.

ZK was tired as he very early so he took the stroller instead and ZY pushed him for a short while

ZY loved the elephant show!

ZK had to retreat from Papa's shoulders to the stroller halfway through the show. He was really quite tired. He fell asleep as we moved out of the show area. It was drizzling a little when we got to Ah Meng restuarant, like the last time! We went straight to the KFC at the entrance/exit for lunch - I finished up the last of my not-too-popular sandwiches while they got the chicken.

ZY minus his pants due to a diaper leak - still so cheeky!

ZY enjoyed his popcorn chicken

ZK slept through lunch but there was plenty of chicken left. I had one, and we kept one and some popcorn chicken for him. Just as well cos he woke at the carpark. We took different cars but heard he had some popcorn chicken on the way back. ZY expectantly fell asleep on the way, and continued sleeping for a while after that. My tired babies :)

And when ZY woke, it was time for the cake! Unlike ZK who was very into Thomas by the time he was two, ZY still hasn't shown any particular liking for any cartoon or character. I gave him a few options and it seemed that Robocar Poli made the mark. So...

Ta-da! But why the shy face??

I showed this photo to AO who said that he didn't seem shy - he looked like he was thinking.... Possible... Like, what's this??

We sang happy birthday and helped ZY blow his candle

We went to Putien at Vivocity for dinner. On the way home, this birthday boy was very high! He kept singing and singing! I now have a very cute recording of him singing 两只老虎 :)

Sito and I decided to do a little celebration for ZY on his actual birthday on Monday. So we got two little cupcakes and steadied ourselves to wake early. But the boys were kind to us and woke at 6.45 am! So we all got up at a decent hour and sang happy birthday to ZY again before they had the cupcakes for breakfast.

Still the same face - until it was time to blow the candles. He was getting the hang of it!

And then we found that Google Photos did a wonderful montage of ZY's birthday. Edited it slightly.

Showcasing my baby turning two!

ZY is now nursing a fever as I type. And a cough and running nose too. Must have caught it from me :( The school notified me at 5.30 pm yesterday so we picked the boys up earlier - lucky I was home earlier from a workshop! The teachers are also very careful with him now - must detect fever before a seizure hits!

Hope my baby gets well soon... Jia you and fight the virus!