The Firsts

On 010110 (does that not remind you of a binary code?? Hehe), a couple of 'firsts' happened.

Mr Liow's first attempt at cooking, following a recipe he printed from the Internet after researching a few days ago. He made Hor Fun (which is being sold in Chinese restaurant as 'Chow Fun' in Tucson, and served without gravy). And it was tasty. Well done, lao gong! I can sit back and relax from now on. The kitchen will now be yours!

Next up was AN's first attempt at speaking mandarin. She does say a few words like 'bao bao' (carry)...and I can't remember what else but there are other words she does use, although she does not construct a full sentence in mandarin.

It is wierd though, that she fully understands us when we speak to each other and responds. Last night while Mr Liow was playing games late at night and since she woke up in the middle of her sleep, I decided to heat up some milk for her. She then repeated the few words I said to Mr Liow: "Mummy said 'he nai' ? " ('he nai' = drink milk).

The next 'first' is not so good news.
Baileys' third eyelid in his left eye seems to not be able to go back to its original position. It does not really look like Cherry Eye but then, what else can that be? I read up about cherry eyes (if that's what it is for him) and not all articles agree on the same. Some wrote that cherry eyes do not cause discomfort, some wrote that the eyes will feel dry and uncomfortable. Some mention about massaging the eye to improve the condition, some mentioned that massaging will only provide temporal comfort. We will have to bring him to the vet this afternoon. I pray he needs no surgery. I don't know what is going to follow if he's operated on and we don't have lots of time here to find out. What's going to happen if infections set in after surgery and he does not recover by the time we go back? And I pray that both B and M will never need to be cut open for any other reasons after they were neutered.

Tonnes of pictures to upload but I am feeling lazy. The little breaks in between while AN naps gives me time to upload them few at a time but I am unable to bring myself to do it. I can sit there and stare into space, just to breath properly and rest. I really need a break from AN. Just some time away from her. Mr Liow tries to help but when AN notices that Mr Liow is trying to do things that I have always been doing, she will start to misbehave and become demanding.

Mr Liow has stopped spending his time at home on computer games. He's spending more time around us now (playing games on Wii instead so that we can also watch him, sitting by AN while she practises writing her alphabets or draws etc.)

Then, whenenver he was home, he would always have his back to us. Often, AN didn't even realise his presence and even when she did, it did not make any difference to her. She had nothing she needed from his backview.

For that, I am thankful.

Now, if only I can apply leave for just one day to be away from AN. I spent 4 hours out with Joey in dec 2007. When will it be again that I get to do something without AN nagging at me to be physically near her?

I am not upset at this point. Just thought it would be nice to experience freedom again even if it is for just a few hours.

2009 went by so fast. What have I achieved? What resolutions can I make for 2010?