Week 191 motherhood – final appointment with ped, indoor gym, Mother’s Day festivities, DDing

Hugging my 2 kiddos at the ball pit

Week 191 motherhood with 3.5 year old and 16 month old.

May 9 to 15, 2024:

We had our final appointment with our first pediatrician this week. What a bittersweet moment! The kids had to do their second shot of the Twinrix vaccine. It was a serendtipious event though that he updated us about his move and that he actually might not be relocating to the west coast after all! My eyes lit up when he told us about this. But then (!), he said that there would still be a change in the way he practises in that he will be working only out of the Scarborough clinic (which I didn’t even know he worked out of on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays) as a walk-in doctor only. And the clinic is in Victoria Park/Ellesmere (a 20 to 30 minute drive for us). So although the news was nice in that he wasn’t moving out of the province anymore, his new working location wouldn’t be convenient for us. However, if we had anything pressing/we wanted to see him, we technically still could. This is nice and reassuring to know, I guess.
He also told us that there is a nearby doctor who can take us as patients after all! Yay! It is a for sure thing as opposed to previously thinking there might not be a chance. It just will take time for her clinic to call us to confirm (and later in the week, they did call us and we have an appointment with the new clinic in late June!). Yay!
The 3 year old previously cried at the talk about getting a vaccine shot again but she was okay and willing to go after a day. Both kids didn’t cry when the needle went into their arms. Good job!!! It was like nothing for them. The 3 year old was very happy to receive a pediasure drink after the shot as a “reward” from the nurse. She was very happy to drink the beverages at home afterwards (and she finished the one that her sister chose too).
DH made a card for the ped and we gave him a small gift as a token of our appreciation for his love and care too.
On Friday, we attended the EarlyON “mothers and caregivers day” celebration at the Thornhill site. It was so thoughtful that they served pancakes, fruits (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, bananas), and hot chocolate for everyone to eat. The 16 month old used the wooden fork to eat blueberries with. She enjoyed it. There was a flower making activity station too, but we didn’t end up doing it. Both kids played in the sandbox with the kinetic sand again while I chatted it up with another mommy friend about our recent cruise trip. Outdoors, they had a planting activity and different things for them to play too.
For the last half hour, everyone went outside and we did some Zumbini songs. I would have been so happy to dance by myself but the 3 year old wanted me to hold her. The day afterwards, my calves and biceps were so sore from all the dancing and jumping while carrying the 31-pounder. The 16 month old didn’t want to stand independently to dance either. Grandma and I took turns holding the kids. It was really nice to see all of the facilitators (except one) at the event. It was a full house. It was really smart that they figured out a loophole to get everyone to attend without having a capacity limit (they opened the outdoor space).
We had a mother’s day dinner with my 103 year old grandmother (who was very alert and awake that night) and our relatives. The 3 year old sat in DH’s lap while the 16 month old sat in grandma’s lap. I was lucky to be let off the hook and was able to eat in peace (for the most part).
On the Saturday, DH and I brought both kids to the Family Stay and Play EarlyON again, this time at the Richmond Hill site. DH hadn’t been to this one before. There were so many Mandarin-speaking families again. The 16 month old loves playing with the play cashier and putting a credit card on it like she’s buying something. She can make marks with a marker too. The 3 year old needed to be held during circle time when we did the songs and parachute activity. All the other kids must be regulars at this program because they knew what to do (lie down during the “sleeping bunnies” song and then pop back up awake at the right time in the song). My kids don’t really adhere to the instructions lol…
In the afternoon, we attended my friend’s son’s 2nd birthday party at an indoor gym in Markham! It was the 16 month old’s first time at such a gym. Both kids gravitated towards the play kitchen part where they had so many different types of Asian food toys (like a dragonfruit, Asian potato chips), a rice cooker, waffle maker, clothes washer. They were able to independently go on the short slide too.
It was the 16 month old’s first time in a ball pit and she was so unfamiliar with it at first lol. It was funny because I laid her down in the balls and she looked so unsure. She said “Ma ma” after a few seconds lol because she wanted to be picked up. Too cute.
The kids slid on the big slide with us. It was awfully fast even for me.
We had cake and snacks with the birthday boy and sang the birthday song. It was really cute to see the 3 year old sit next to the other kids at the party and eat together (finally). They loved the blueberries and goldfish crackers especially. The 3 year old tried the “pokemon” honey crackers and chips ahoy mini chocolate chip cookies too. She finished off with the crunchy cheese stick snacks. Such a feast. They both enjoyed sitting there to snack even after all the other kids were done eating.
Later, we played some more in the play structure. DH and I took turns with each child as they wished. It was such a challenge to crouch and walk with the kids because the play structure is not meant for adults. My knees hurt the next day from all the bending and crouching lol.
Surprisingly, the 3 year old didn’t even pass out when we got in the car after the event. The 16 month old did though. I thought that for sure both kids would have passed out because they had such a long day. (When we got home though, the 3 year old did pass out in the car.)
Sometime this week, I distinctly remember myself speaking out loud in my sleep two days in a row. The 16 month old wanted to nurse during the night and I said in Cantonese, “Get away from me” and then in English the next day something similar too. Sigh. It’s not easy nursing her throughout the night on demand. DH keeps jokingly asking her when she is going to start sleeping by herself.
There was one night again this week where she slept from 10 p.m.-ish to 3 a.m. by herself. I was able to sleep in my own bed finally for 2 hours-ish (because I stayed up on my phone until 1 a.m.).
On Mother’s Day Sunday, we visited DH’s mom in the hospital where she has been staying after a broken hip. Both kids were willing to wear the kids’ mask in the hospital! I was proud of them. But after the 16 month old had a nursing session in the cafeteria, she didn’t want to wear it anymore.
For dinner, we had another lobster feast at one of my favourite restaurants. Unfortunately, the 16 month old started to have a bad cough and she ended up throwing up some of her milk with phlegm on me (which caused me to kind of lose my appetite). But also, I guess I was kind of done eating at that point too. It is so difficult to dine out with both kids these days because unfortunately the 16 month old has refused sitting in a high chair and needs to be held. This will all pass eventually though.
After dinner, I tried something that marks yet another “new adventure” and the start of a new hobby — DDing! It was thrilling and we actually got something this time. I blogged about it but haven’t posted it yet… I’m not sure if I will or not. But definitely ask me about it in person or on text if you read this — I will tell you about it.
I had a dinner date with a friend at a Vietnamese restaurant to catch up. It was nice to get out of the house and dine out.
DH and I attempted another DD adventure when I got home but we didn’t have success this time. It is safe to say that I am definitely addicted to this and I couldn’t sleep the first night. I laid in bed with so many thoughts running through my head about all the possibilities.
On Tuesday, we had the second session of the Seamless Transitions program at my alma mater. The 3 year old was more comfortable with the environment this time and didn’t need DH beside her the whole time. She played next to me and DH was able to use his laptop sitting on the other side of the room. I noticed that the activities that they have at this site are very closed-ended. They had a human body cut out of a piece of paper and put on the floor with a basket of things for you to put on the body like eyes, ears, nose, etc. But this is a closed-ended activity. Even after my child added what she wanted to do body, when the educator later put it up on the wall, someone had removed the black pom-pom that she had glued on the forehead. Someone deemed it not fitting.
They had a 30-minute part where the parents/caregivers left the room. The educator already spoke to us prior to this that we could stay with our child under our special circumstances if we wanted to. This is what we did. I stayed with the child. The other kids were fine actually when their parents left the room. One girl cried for about 30 seconds but then was fine and distracted with the educator’s dance and songs. I know all those kids will be just fine in kindergarten in September.
The 3 year old told me she didn’t want me to leave when she saw the other parents leaving, and I told her I would stay with her. She was comforted by that.
When it was snack time again, she didn’t want to eat. She said she wasn’t hungry. I couldn’t even coax her to take the lunch box out of her bag. We watched the other kids eat and then she wanted to sit in my lap because she wasn’t comfortable. She said she wanted to eat in the car afterwards.
The 3 year old was playing with playdough at the table when I noticed something disturbing. There were 2 other kids playing with playdough too at the same table when one of the educators came by. She asked, “Are you making ice cream?” to one of the kids. The kid didn’t respond. The educator then asked, “Do you want to make pizza? Pizza is very healthy. Yeah, it’s good.” Then she said, “How about dumplings? Do you want to make dumplings?” And she started to roll out the playdough and started rolling it to make dumplings. The other 2 kids started to follow her too. They abandoned their original creations on the table in order to make the dumplings. The educator said, “No, yours is too big. Make a smaller!” And during this whole time, I was just shocked and in disbelief that she was doing exactly opposite to what you should be when observing and guiding open-ended play. Open-ended play is the new thing when it comes to kindergarten and guiding kids to play. You shouldn’t be labelling or assuming what kids or making. And you definitely shouldn’t be guiding the child to make something other than what they’re already making. And not only that, but to criticize and say that the child wasn’t making something “correctly” (too big) is definitely a no-no too.
The educator also asked if my child wanted to make dumplings together, but I said, “No, she is doing her own thing.”
Geez. Such terrible play concepts!
I noticed also that they had an activity where they wanted the kids to sort play foods between “healthy” and “not healthy”. That is also not the best way to categorize foods they eat. Instead, the correct labels should be “eat more of” and “eat less of”. You can still eat “unhealthy” foods with a balanced diet. When you place restrictions on kids and what they eat, it makes them want to desire more of it. By teaching them what to eat “more of” and “less of” instead, it is a better and healthier way to teach about eating habits.
On Wednesday, it was Buddha’s birthday! DH was able to take the day off and we visited the temple. I’m pretty sure it was both kids’ first time there. We “bathed” the Buddha. Then we had lunch, walked to the car dealer to retrieve the car after a tire change, and then later that night, DH and I had our monthly date night. It was really nice to peacefully eat and slow down. I eat so many faster these days because I know I have to scarf everything down quickly.
For the past week too, the 3 year old has been imitating the younger one by nodding or saying “heh”. It’s definitely a case of wanting to be the younger one. We have to ask her to “use your words”.