Thursday, Nicole was up early again. Getting bored with her own toys, here she rather tried her hand on the vaccum cleaner.

Po Po, did I do a good job?

Boy, all that hard work made me thirsty!

This ugly pig is Nicole's new favorite toy. She laughs vigorously each time I shine the pig's light on her.

Running out of things to do, I took Nicole out for a breath of fresh air.

Nicole knows exactly which one is our mailbox.

In the afternoon, Daddy and Mommy took Nicole to the Kidspace for a little fun.

Wednesday after getting off from Pre-school, Nicole took her nap. When she woke up, she helped herself to a bowl of congee. From the look of it, she really enjoyed her afternoon snack.

Tuesday Nicole woke up early around 6:30am. After breakfast, pretty soon she lost interest in watching TV, she played with her toys and read her books, run up and down the stairs ......it was a long, long morning.

Mah Mah came to pay us a visit after work.

After her bath, Nicole played dressing up with her winter gears.

Love from big sister Nicole.

Nicole gives tender loving care to her brother.

Holding Baby Jason's hand, Nicole tried to teach him sing "Hallelu- Hallelu- hallelua, praise ye the Lord."

Baby Jason is taking in more milk and sleeping much better now.

Nicole's first ride with Baby Jason.

Aside from my body aches, worrying about the morning taking Nicole to Pre-school and Baby to the doctor's office also prevented me to have a good night sleep. So I got up early to get Nicole ready. She was surprisingly co-operative with me this morning. I had no trouble dressing her, feeding her or even putting her shoes on for her. As soon as Becky got ready with the Baby we all set out. Chris had his hand full with his tea cup, his lunch as well as his sportswear for tonight's basket ball game, so he handed me the key and the baby bags. Nicole refused to walk down the stairs to the garage, so Chris had to carry her besides all the other stuffs. I pressed on the remote control to open the car, wow, big trouble !!! The alarm kept blasting. I handed the keys back to Chris, but his hands were too full to operate the alarm switch. I took Nicole from him and he piled all his stuffs on the hood of the car. He tried and tried, but he still couldn't stop the alarm. He opened the car door with his keys and started looking for new batteries. He couldn't find it on the left side, for the first time I saw him losing his cools. In a slightly raised voice he talked to Becky,"I'm looking for the new batteries." Thank God that did not blew Becky off. She searched the left door storage area again and found the batteries right there. After replacing the old batteries, Chris finally stopped the alarm with the remote control. I felt really bad for causing all these turmoils unintensionally.

Baby Jason kept sleeping soundly in his car seat. Nicole sat in her own car seat right by Jason. She enjoyed looking and talking to Baby along the ride. After dropping her off at the Pre-school, we were a little early for Jason's Doctor appontment. Becky stopped by McDonald to buy us breakfast. I especially enjoyed the coffee and the McGriddle.

This morning's doctor visit brought us good news. Baby Jason now weighs 6 lb 11oz. He had gained pass his birth weight! Doctor was well pleased and announced that we don't have to worry about Jason's weight anymore. This is quite a relief for Becky.

This was the first time Nicole rode with Baby Jason.

Nicole insisting to put on her gloves and tie her hair before getting in the school.

Jason being fed at his doctor's office.

Look, Doctor said I had gained weight and I am OK.

This morning, Grandpa Kwan came to pay Baby Jason a surprise visit.

A nice weekend.

Nicole spent both Saturday and Sunday afternoon with Mah Mah. Becky and I therefore had more time to concentrate feeding Baby Jason every two hours. It was a lot of work. First Becky had to pump out the breast milk. She gets one and half ounce to two ounce each time. When Baby finished with the breast milk, then we gave him a second bottle of formula. Sometimes he fell asleep after the first bottle, we had a hard time trying to wake him up to drink a little more, but on the whole he was consuming a lot more than before and as a result slept much better too with a full stomach.

These two free afternoon also allowed me time to do my exercises, mop the floor, clean the stove top thoroughly and applied new aluminium foil for protection etc. I even found time to do a little yard work outside. However, my muscles ached all over during the night disturbing my sleep. I guess I am getting too old to do these kind of work anymore.

Nicole looking cute and pretty in her Sunday School outfit.

Nicole coming home from Mah Mah's place.

Back to pre-school, but.......

As soon as I heard Nicole's cry, I jumped out of bed to get her dressed, because we decided to take her to pre-school today. Then I sat her down for breakfast. This was the first time since my return from my Croatia she let me continue feeding her even when she saw Daddy coming downstairs to the kitchen. She even followed my instruction to say "Good morning" to Daddy both in English and Chinese. I got her juice ready in her backpack while Daddy helped her to put her shoes on. Then off they go and left me feeding the Baby.

I was changing the Baby's diaper when Becky came home, I was surprised to hear Nicole's voice too. Becky was all upset because the school refused to let Nicole stay, unless she has authorization letter from her doctor. That was pretty understandable, besides she is going to take Jason to see the Pediatrician today anyway, because doctor wanted to see and weigh Baby Jason again, so we could just take Nicole along to get that note. When Chris found out about this, he called the doctor's office. The doctor was willing to fax the authorization to the school, so it saved a trip for me and Nicole. I thought that worked out pretty well considering everything. However, worrying about Jason's weight and feeding, wasting time taking Nicole to school, then rushing off to the hospital to rent a breast pump while leaving me with two babies to take care, all these became too over-whelming to Becky.

Nicole did not give me much trouble the whole morning or at lunch. She still resisted going for her nap though. Becky finally managed to lay her down in bed. I did not know she got all frustrated and worried upstairs being not able to wake up Baby Jason for his every two hour feeding. Luckily Chris came home in time to calm her down. Before the doctor's visit, Baby Jason did use to go to sleep easy. He cried a lot especially during diaper change. Ever since they started bottle feeding he probably had more in-take of milk or formula. With a full stomach, he now sleeps much more soundly. So before we had trouble putting him to sleep, now we had trouble waking him up instead.

In the afternoon after eating one big bowl of strawberries, Nicole still kept asking for food. To keep her mind off, I had to spend full time watching Teletubbies with her, reading one book after another, drawing one Nemo after another. One trick she enjoyed very much was pretending the egg she forced on me was yukky. She laughed so much she would even rolled on the floor then got up and asked me to do it again and again. I really wonder why she never got tired of it. She was having such a good time, laughing , rolling and running to catch me, even her hair got wet with her perspiration. I had no choice but to give her a nice bath after she finished her dinner. I am glad the two of us get along much better now. In fact, this afternoon she even sat still to let me cut her hair. I guessed we did quite a good job, because no one mentioned anything negative about it. They probably didn't even notice that Nicole had a hair cut. Ha, Ha.

Following the doctor's order to feed Baby Jason every two hours, it keeps Daddy and Mommy very busy on top of everything.


Nicole keeps Daddy busy too. Baby Jason seemed more interested in sleeping than drinking his milk.

A very good morning and then .....

Nicole's cry woke me up. I hurried to her room. She was standing up in her crib wearing yesterday's dirty T shirt over her pyjama. Wow, I guessed she managed to put it on herself. It wasn't easy because that shirt was kind of tight. She did not give me a hard time to get her out of bed or laid her down to change her diaper. Boy O boy, with all the stuffs that she ate she had a big poo-poo. It was so bad I had to wash her in the bathroom. The whole morning she was super good. She ate her breakfast and drank her milk. She sat down to watch her new favorite - the Telatubbies. She did not ask for anything else to eat. Occasionally, she came to take away the book I was reading and want me to play with her. I asked her what are you cooking, an egg? She zoomed away upstairs and returned with a plastic egg for me. How amazing that she knew exactly where her little egg was among all her toys here and there! For lunch I put the little bit of leftover congee for her to eat it herself while I cooked some Udon noodles for her. She finished the congee in no time and another small bowl of the noodle too.

When Nicole finished watching the Telatubbies I told her it was time to go for her nap. She said,"No, later." That was the first time I heard her say the word "later". She ran back downstairs. I managed to change her diaper downstairs. When Becky finished feeding the Baby, I offered to hold him while locking Nicole inside her room but not yet in her bed, for I was afraid Becky would be too hungry since she didn't come down the whole morning, not even for breakfast. So I tried to heat up all the dim sum ready for her and Chris. That was too bad, she didn't like it at all because it was too hot even with the heat already turned off. However, she took a break from her lunch and went to put Nicole to nap. I was grateful for that even though Baby Jason wasn't quite co-operate with me. Every time I thought he fell asleep and put him down, he started crying again. They took him out for his first doctor's appointment. Doctor thinks he is not gaining weight as he should, and now there is one more thing for Becky to worry about.

When Nicole woke up from her nap, she was whining again. I soon found out the reason for her irritability. Probably she kind of overeat yesterday, she had another big poo-poo that was really bothering her. So off we went to the bathroom to get clean up. After that she was quite cooperative except she wanted to eat one thing after another, but that did not spoil her appetite for dinner. She finished a big bowl of Udon noodles and still asked for soup and chicken when we ate. I could only hope all that food wasn't too much for her.

This was Jason's first visit to Doctor's office. Doctor said Jason is losing weight instead of gaining weight, so a bottle of formula was ordered for Jason right at the office.

Nicole getting well.......

Nicole was gradually feeling better. However we decided not to take her to Pre-School on Monday and Wednesday, because her nose was still running. We did not want her to spread anything to her school mates.

Nicole's tongue sore was probably gone, because on Sunday she even could eat the grapes Grand Auntie Sue offered her. Starting Monday, she could eat her regular breakfast, cereal with raisins. As her appetite gradually returned, she kept asking for jello and icecream which Mommy usually doesn't want her to eat too much. So she would have a fit when we offered her something else, like the congee that I specially cooked for her. Usually she likes congee very much, but since her mind was on jello and iceceam she just absolutely refuse to try it. Giving in to her, I left the bowl of congee in front of her and went to get a little jello for her. When I returned with the jello, she was helping herself to the congee and loved eating it very much. That ended the battle.

Then another battle just begun. Ever since she got sick, she had been refusing to take her naps. First I had to fight to change her diaper, she won't let me do it because she knew after that we would put her to bed. No matter how you tried to persuade her, she just tried to run away. Sometimes it made me so angry, I just lift her into her bed screaming, hoping she would quiet down after I left the room. Well, of course she won't stop crying. Worrying her crying would wake Baby Jason, I had to get her out of bed. When Becky finished feeding the Baby, I offered to hold the Baby and let her try. Monday, it took her quite a lot of effort, like reading a book, putting babydoll to sleep with her etc., she finally managed to keep Nicole in her bed and lied down. Meanwhile, Baby Jason was giving me a hard time, crying and sleeping on and off, and Becky didn't even have her lunch. All these upset Becky very much. She said I was too rough with Nicole and it wasn't her fault waking the Baby etc.

Tuesday, Nicole cut down her whining, but her request for food was almost non-stop. She kept dragging me to the kitchen, then with hands stretched she wanted me to hold her to the counter so she could search for food. After feeding her lunch, it was time to put her in bed. Of course, she simply refused. So I told Becky I had no way of putting her to bed and asked her to try again after feeding the Baby. I didn't know that displeased her very much, saying that I just did not have enough patience with Nicole. So unhappily she went to try, but she also didn't have the luck. Chris came home from work because it was half-day for him on Tuesday, so I asked him to take care of Nicole because he usually has no problem putting her to bed. Well, this time, he tried and tried. Nicole used all kinds of deterring scheme, like wanting to say good night to Po Po, reading a book etc. etc. but after all that she still did not want to go to sleep. Finally, even Chris had to give up and just left her crying in her crib. She kept crying and yelling. I did not know if they mind me picking her up, so I waited. Pretty soon, I heard all 3 of my babies crying. I hurried to see if I could calm Nicole down by holding her for a while. Since I was pretty tired myself, so I thought perhaps if I put her down in my bed and sleep with her, then we both could get some rest. Well, it didn't work out at all, because once she saw the big exercise ball stored in my room she wanted to get it. That really defeated my purpose of bringing her to my room. So I had to get her back to her room. She started to cry louder and louder. Chris probably couldn't stand it any longer. He came up and said he would take her out for a while. After packing everying, diapers, snacks, drinks and jacket, he took Nicole to Kidspace. Though I finally get some peace and quiet, I couldn't help but wonder would this be a good idea, would it encourage her to cry more each time she refuse to take a nap?

Nicole beginning to feel better.

With restored energy, Ms. Nicole busy working back in her kitchen.

Adding a little sugar to her cup of tea.

With return appetite, Nicole kept asking for food, so she eating these crackers.

and drinking her juice.

After eating a whole pear, Nicole still wanted to eat. So here she is snacking on cereal while watching TV.

Nicole was having so much fun, she jumped right into the basket of toys.

I was getting the laundry out from the dryer, when I turned around I was shocked to see Nicole not only got herself up on the table but sitting right in the laundry basket too!

Baby Jason is so cute!

Baby Jason saying Hi!

Pretty comfy and content in his car seat.

Looking snug and cozy in the nice swaddle Uncle Alvin bought.

I wonder if it is safe to have this big fellow sitting next to me.

Hey, Mom, I am a little squashed here.

Nicole was still very fussy because her coughing and runny nose as well as her sore tongue kept bothering her.

Nicole getting sick.

Nicole went to school on Monday as usual.
Not a synptom did she show.
Tuesday she was happy at home,
Playing with her toys or her phone.
Wednesday in school Mommy picked up a note,
That was when we got to know.
Nicole was exposed to Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease,
This sickness really put her out of ease.
Poor Nicole was so miserable,
Nothing interested her whatever we put on the table.
She had no appetite at all,
The cereal she demanded, half the bowl she let it fall.
She absolutely refused to eat,
But to you she liked to feed.
Her tongue turned white and sore,
Red spots appeared on her hands more and more.
You offered her congee, she cried for ice cream instead,
then she fought for the spoon and spilled the ice cream,
enough to make you scream and mad.
All day long she wailed and groaned,
Nothing could stop her moan.
Using all your wits to calm her down,
All you could do was frown.
Running to meet her needs tired you out,
Your patience would soon wear out.
Thank God her coughing and fever were gone,
though a small congestion still lingered on.
Hope soon she will get over her illness,
and fill her days with happiness.

We didn't know Nicole has caught the Hand, Foot and Mouth disease at school on Monday, Tuesday at home she was holding and kissing baby each time when she saw him. We could only hope Baby won't get it from her.

Starting Wednesday, Nicole began to lose her appetite, refusing to eat the nice dinner I prepared for her.

The food that Nicole refused to eat, she liked to feed it to you instead.

We decided to seperate Nicole and the Baby to prevent spreading of the disease, so we told her Mommy takes care of Jason upstairs while she can take care of her baby downstairs.

A new TV !

The big new TV is just perfect. Everyone enjoys it especially little Nicole.

Mother and daughter admiring the new TV together.

Doesn't the new TV look great?

The big screen sure draws Ms. Nicole's full attention.

Baby Jason coming home

As we waited for the coming home of Becky and the baby, this morning went painfully slow. Nicole acatually was quite co-operative with me, but she required a lot of attention from me. She did allow me to finish my morning exercises while watching her play.

At 11:30 am while I feeding Nicole her lunch, Ma Ma came with loads of stuffs, dim sum for lunch, meat for making soup. She also prepared the sparerib for me to cook on the rice for tonight's dinner. Then she left to shop somemore for us. I am really grateful for her thoughtfulness and help. Chris called to let us know they will come home after Becky takes her lunch. I figure that probably would mean another hour before they will arrive home, so I put Nicole down for her nap. However, she could not sleep. She was still talking to herself and singing her made-up songs when Baby Jason finally got home. Baby's crying kind of woke her up an hour later. Uncle Stephen and Auntie Sue came to visit. We took a lot of pictures with Nicole holding the baby and kissing him. She was concern every time she heard baby crying. I am sure she will be a good big sister.

Baby Jason is home!

Sleeping soundly in his car seat.

Nicole was happy to see baby brother coming home. She wanted to hold him right away.

Nicole planting a big kiss on Baby Jason.

Visit to the hospital

I was helping Nicole to get dressed, when Chris came home from the hospital to pick her up for Pre-School. She ate her breakfast without any fuss. Before long, they set off for school and I was left alone to enjoy my DVD while I still have time.

At 11:00 am Stephen gave me a ride to the hospital. Baby was in the room with Becky. He looks very cute with a round chubby face. Chris thinks he looks more like Becky. Great Uncle Stephen gave Baby a big lucky money, stayed for a short while then left. Chris also had to go to get Nicole a present, supposedly from her brother Jason. He ended up buying her a baby doll with a pacifier and a drinking bottle. I wrapped the box up and hid it in the closet. Then Chris went to pick Nicole up from school and bring her to the hospital to meet with Jason. She was happy to see her baby brother and was quite gentle with him. She seemed to like the present from her Baby Brother too.

Po Po holding Baby Jason for the first time.

Big sister Nicole meeting Baby brother.

Nicole getting a present from little brother Jason.

Mnn... I wonder what it is.

Wow, Daddy look! It is a baby doll!

Nicole taking care of her baby at home.