It's month #23, a month short of your 2nd birthday, and the hives are not letting up. In the first week of January, we followed Papa and his company to Koh Samui, Thailand, for their annual trip. This time, we took Kakak with us as a Christmas gift to her from us.
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| This is how I eject you off the plane, Mama? |
Feeding you on this trip was horrible. Not only did the itchiness make you too uncomfortable to focus on eating. Mama also didn't know what was causing your attacks and my theories kept changing now that I had begun to consider that you were perhaps responding to something familiar. Was it fish? Milk? Chicken? Beef? For a while, it seemed like fish was the culprit. But then you'd have chicken or beef and you'd still break out anyway. It's. Been. Frustrating.
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| Look, the plane just spat some wheels out |
The trip itself was quite fun. We stayed in a suite overlooking the sea and right beside Uncle Jimmy and Aunty Jynet. Most nights there, Uncle Jimmy's room became the go-to room for the company activities. We had a Master-Chef challenge among ourselves there and whatever we served up became the night's potluck dinner. Mama and Papa copped out by making a salad, ha ha. We actually got the cab to take us to Tesco to buy the ingredients! We also had the gift exchange in that room and there was much laughter due to the silly gifts that were popping out of wrapping paper.
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| Should I eat this and watch Mama go nuts? |
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| Ok, so I've got bee-stung lips. Doesn't Scar-Jo? |
You really loved the spacious suite and had a crazy old time running around in circles and rolling your dough balls. On the second night, you tripped over the rough, jut carpet and bruised your lips pretty badly. We took you swimming and you delivered an impromptu performance of our birth country's national's song, the Negarakku. Aunty E.E did say that Cheh-Cheh Vanessa has been pleased with your progress in singing this song. It appears she has been your singing teacher.
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| Naw, I don't want sunblock on my nose, Papa! |
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| Yeah I've got patriotism down pat! |
Back home, you've been demonstrating an open-mind to sharing your belongings, even hot favourites like raisins. Must be the gazillions of times Mama repeated the phrase, "Please share okay, baby honey? It's nice to be generous!" Either that or you're in some kind of Love-All-Serve-All phase :)
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| Eat! Papa, you must eat raisins. Good for you! |
Lately, you're not so particular about sitting on Mama's lap in a car journey anymore, and Papa is just as good a car-seat as I am. Mama noticed this coming home from a lunch with Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Brian and Aunty Angeline.
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| Didn't like the vegies but everything else was just dandy! |
Meanwhile, you're becoming intrigued with water beyond the swimming-pool. Doing the 'teh-tarik' with water and some bowls and cans in the bathrooms has become a firm favourite. And watering the plants at Kung-Kung and Poh-Poh's house is now an emerging past-time. I'm sure one day, you'll graduate to washing their car, too.
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| I think Mr Baobab needs a drink! |
Last week, we took you to Pantai Hospital and had your blood tested for allergies after Dr. lam suggested the test to allay our doubts and anxieties. He has warned us before that such tests are often inconclusive, expensive as they are. But he also understood our need to eliminate some factors. So he hooked us up with a specialist who conducted the test.
During the chat with the specialist, Mama had a sudden, cold realisation: somehow, many child specialists just don't have the patience to really listen to a parent's detailed observations or theories. Nope, there's always a pre-meditated, confident answer. It almost seems that all cases related to allergies can be treated with one standard solution. And if not, too bad. Not that the specialist was arrogant or bad in anyway. But they all seem to be cut out from the same cookie-cutter.
Mama managed to set up an appointment with Dr. Sanjay this Friday. Hopefully, he'll be able to alleviate your hives. I'm taking Uncle John's appearance out of the blue on facebook to recommend this pediatrician as a divine pointer from Jesus so who am I to reject a sign from God?
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| Bedtime book of the month: "The rabbit needs to slow down, Mama!" |
