Misha: Standard One

Just a quick update so I don't forget the details. Misha started Standard One this year in the same school as Meera. 

We attended orientation in December so she already knew the location of her classroom and the general lay of things (toilet and canteen being the most crucial). Her teacher, Ms. Goo, seems like a very strict and no nonsense type of person. 

School started on a Wednesday and that weekend Misha developed a high fever. Coincidentally, there was a flu epidemic at the time, so paranoia was high at the time. Because of that, she missed 3 days of school while we waited for the results. Thankfully she just had the garden variety virus.

So far she is adapting well to school. She doesn’t like it (she’d rather stay at home and play all day) but everyday whenever I ask her “How was school?” she will always say “Good!” LOL

She started taking piano classes (JMC course under Yamaha since April 2018). It’s a group class so I attend with her. She likes it and can play quite well. There will be assessment in March and she will finish the course and progress to the next level, JMX, which will be a group class without parents.

Since starting Standard 1, we got her a desk and chair (like jie jie) and she spends a lot of time sitting there and drawing. She loves to draw and is quite good for her age. She puts in a lot of details which surprise me sometimes.

Something I wanted to highlight about Misha. Whenever I send her to school or even when our neighbour sends her to school, she will also hug me goodbye and say ‘see you later’. She used to do this when I dropped her off at kindy but I didn’t expect it to go on especially since there are other people around when I drop her of now. But she is quite insistent about hugging me goodbye. In the mornings I usually drop them off at the entrance so I don’t get down from the car, she will try to touch my shoulder and try to get me to pat her or give some other physical reassurance before leaving the car.

Misha: Starting Kindy

Misha was super excited about school. Santa gave her a school bag and she was so thrilled with being able to put it on and go to school like 'jie jie'. She kept asking me everyday, 'Misha go to school?' like she couldn't believe it. 2nd January couldn't have come fast enough for her (same can't be said for me...dread having to wake up early).

This year school started on a Tuesday. Woke the kids up at 6 am (Meera set her alarm but woke up before it rang! Excited much?!) We dropped Meera off and since we were still early, stopped for breakfast. That did not sit well with Misha...she kept asking us to go to school. 😂

We got there early, parked and got down. Teacher Yi Yi immediately came forward and took Misha. We just followed behind. This round we were better prepared.....no lingering around. Jing took some pictures and we left quite quickly. Misha told us bye quite happily and we left. First week they still don't have uniform yet and school finishes at 12 (normally will be 12.30).

When I fetched her she was full of stories about the whole day. She managed to pee on the bathroom floor (and pour water by herself)! This seemed like a real highlight for her (said it a few times and to anyone who asked her how was school).  She also fell down in the bathroom (slipped cos slippery I think but that didn't really make an impression on her). She also told me she cried cos stomach pain and she asked for me. but 'teacher put oil and then better'. (When I went back later that day to fetch Meera I spoke to Teacher Myrra. Misha complained of pain after break time so maybe she ate too much. Apparently she ate all her food and milk and although it seemed like she was struggling, she refused to stop drinking her milk until it was finished.) Decided to give her less the next day.

Day 2 passed without incident. She only drank a little bit of the boxed milk so decided not to send milk anymore. Will try to get her to drink it in the car on the way to school.

Misha: 35 months plus

Looking back at the last post for Misha....Six months have past! *gulp*

I am not even going to attempt doing monthly post on all that! Who am I kidding by?! By the time I get up to speed she would be in kindergarten. So this post is gonna be a catch-up session for the past half year.

I read thru my last post and realise she has really moved on from a baby to a full blown toddler!

Schedule:
6.45am: Wake her up and send Meera to school (used to give her milk in the car but she takes ages to finish with a straw cup so most times she only gets it once we come home)
7.40 am: Milk (3.5 oz). Then we go up to change and she gets to watch I pad or TV while i get some stuff done
8.30 am: Breakfast (sometimes it's closer to 9am)
Tuesday and Friday we go to playgroup after that. Other days I try to do some tot school stuff with her. Not very consistent  though
12.00pm: Lunch (she eats on her own and sometimes can take an hour to finish!)
1.30 pm: Milk 3.5 oz. then a bit of TV
2pm: Nap. Usually asleep by 2.30pm (she will sleep until I wake her to go fetch Meera)
6pm: Dinner (she is starting to eat more of the same dinner as us. Occasionally I make her a separate dinner if she cant have what we're eating)
7.30pm: Daddy gives her a bathe. Then comes downstairs for milk (3.5 oz), a bit of TV
8pm: Daddy puts her to bed. Usually asleep by 8:30pm

Potty Training
She still wears a diaper to sleep. Most times she poops in the toilet but sometimes, especially if we are out the whole day, she might poop in her diaper after we put her to bed. Notice she doesn't like to poop outside. Our last holiday to Malacca she only pooped once in the hotel toilet during our 2 nights there. The minute we got home she almost immediately went to toilet!

Eating
For the past 2 months Misha will usually have the same dinner as us. I still make her a separate lunch or sometimes leftovers from the previous nights dinner.She eats really slowly if she feeds herself...an take up to an hour! Yet she will just sit there and plod on...never asking to get down. Right now her weight is

Sleeping
She is still sleeping in the toddler bed. I stopped putting the couch next to her bed since January and she was fine with it. Recently though, she fell off the bed during nap time. I heard her cry out and when I looked at the video cam she was on the floor. She seemed a bit dazed but after a few minutes she climbed back up and continued to sleeping. When I woke her up that day I tried to ask her about it but she didn't seem to remember falling off the bed.

Teeth Brushing
Just started letting her use the kids toothpaste (before this it was the baby one which is supposedly safe to swallow). She loves to brush her teeth especially now that she can use 'jie jie's' toothpaste. And she also gets to gargle with a cup so it's all very new and exciting for her! LOL

Squint
We had another appointment with the orthoptist in February and there was no improvement in the squint. She suggested doing some eye exercises as well as continuing with the patching and to follow up with her in six months time. She also said that if it didn't get better, Misha might have to start wearing glasses! Our next appointment is in August and sadly I don't think her eyes have improved at all.




Swimming

In May we went to Chery's house for a play date. She has a shallow pool in her house so I brought along Misha's arm floaties. Surprisingly she went in by herself and had a really good time splashing and kicking about. Nothing like our past experiences in Malacca. After that I took her to the clubhouse pool a couple of times and she had just as much fun. I guess her fear of water is finally over.

In July we went to Melacca again and this time she really enjoyed the hotel pool. She was fine going down the slides and even sat with Meera and Daddy under the water bucket!

Meera: Standard One

After a week of Primary School, I am relieved to see that Meera has settled in quite well. Still early to tell but it's looking good so far. Last year, Meera had to take an assessment and based on her results she was put in 1J. There are 3 classes for her year. 2 are of equal standing (1J and 1M). 1K is for kids who did not do as well so the teacher can adjust their lessons accordingly. Basically they are streamed from the beginning. Right now her class has around 35 kids.

On the first day we tried to go early to get her a good seat. By the time we got there, quite a few kids were already sitting down but luckily managed to get her a seat in front. I also informed the teacher about her poor eyesight (forgot to wear glasses on the first day!). We stayed for quite some time, went and had breakfast and came back during her break time to see how the canteen was managed. Food is not that great (I suppose same as when we went to school) so will be packing food for her for now. After that I sent Jing to the train station and came back home. Fed Misha and went back to make sure pick-up was okay. Was a bit nervous since the van was taking her to Tadika Gula-gula. Needn't have worried cos Mdm. Loh was also there to make sure things went smoothly.

The whole week passed by quite quickly. Meera got chosen as Asst. Monitor. (Monitor has to be a boy...the first boy didn't want the job so passed on to another boy but he was too talkative so a third boy was chosen). Not sure quite how it was decided but Meera said the teacher asked them who wanted the position and some kids raised their hands and then there was a vote of some sort.

Right now she is sitting with all her kindy friends. And she also only seems to hang out with them during recess time. The workload seems very light now...the same can't be said for the weight of her bag!

On the first day we paid RM146.60 for books (and misc.). Have yet to get a receipt or list of what we paid for but seems like that is the norm. We collected some of the books on that day but after that she has been coming home with more books as well (I know since I need to wrap them...sigh). I am starting to get concerned that her bag may not be big enough!

Misha: 29 months

We went to Melacca for 2 nights and Misha had a better time in the pool...still hesitant to walk in the water but she did attempt it a few times. We used the Kinderkot as usual and she went in by herself when it was time to sleep...she even managed to take a nap on one of the afternoons (after quite a while of talking and tossing around.

Sleep

We have been going out a lot during this month so she missed a lot of her naps. She handles it quite well..usually taking a short nap in the car (sometimes not at all). After Melacca she seems to be better at taking naps at home...no more crying when I put her down and when she wakes up she will usually just wait quietly till I ring the bell.
Jing was off for quite a number or days between Christmas and New Year so we went out a lot and there were a lot of late nights. After that Meera started school so had to wake Misha up around 6:45am during the weekdays. Due to all this (or maybe it was just a phase), Misha is starting to take longer naps again. I also started to change her into 'pajamas' for naps...just a t-shirt and pants. But maybe that also helps signal its bedtime.

Toilet
I have been trying to get her to squat and pee for the past few months but she didn't seem to be able to do it till now (5/1/16). Went to Kanna Curry House with my parents for lunch after playgroup and suddenly she tells me she wants to go to toilet (maybe triggered by our conversation at the time...my mom was saying something 'bout squatting toilets) and Misha then says she wants to squat and pee! I decided to take the opportunity and took her to the toilet there. She was quite willing to squat over the toilet (unlike Meera who was terrified of the hole)  and after a few tries she managed to pee (I had to to bribe her with a 'surprise' to get her to do it). Not sure if it was luck but she did it really well without splashing the sides or her shoes. *beam*

Playgroup
Our first session started with only 4 kids and Misha was so excited to go. She also seemed to remember what went on during the session and was quite eager to participate for most of it.

Neutropenia
7/1/2016 - Took Misha for her test at Putrajaya. And finally they have discharged her! No more follow-ups! I still need to check her blood levels if she has a fever and looks unwell but the doctor said all her blood work is looking good.

Also got her weight: 10.9 kg, height: 87.5cm, head circumference: 45.5cm.

Milk
She is finally drinking milk without having to watch TV. I noticed that she has been drinking her milk quite quickly this month. The last week of school holidays I just put the cup on the dining table and told her to drink it there. She asked for TV but I just said no. And since Meera was around and drinking at the table Misha just followed along. Since then I no longer let her sit on the couch to drink and she is usually done within 15 minutes. Sometimes she won't finish but I just take it from her and say done. I no longer try to get her to drink more with the TV.

Misha: 28 months

Sleep
Still having issues...seems like this is the new norm. Not sure if she's ready to stop napping but I feel like its too soon! She is averaging about 11 to 11.5 hours of sleep a day...I've read they should be getting at least 12 hours so it's not really that low but less than ideal. Maybe she just has low sleep needs. For now I am still putting her down for naps and she will usually sleep about 45 minutes.

Eating
Misha loves fruits! and is quite adventurous to try new things. Let her have pomegranate and the seeds didn't faze her a bit...she just chewed through it and kept asking for more. Also gave her pineapple and although her tongue felt funny, she still continued eating it.

Tot School

Starting to have more regular session with her...she loves using the scissors and glue. She also likes doing puzzles. She can do the wooden ABC puzzle quite quickly and loves doing it! And she is very proud when she completes it







Playgroup
We had our last session of playgroup as school holidays have started. The last session was in a playground and Misha had a lot fun. Can see a lot of improvement from the time we started in August. She is more willing to participate in the singing and dancing...most of the time.

Talking 
She is quite good at telling us what she wants and getting her point across. Notice that she can't really say words with c or k well...comb is tomb,

Misha: 27 months

Finally made the move to a toddler bed for Misha (10/11/2015). So far no major issues. Initially, I put a thin mattress on the floor just in case she fell off the bed...but she doesn't move much. After a few days I removed it and just put her small sofa bed instead. She did come down from the bed after her nap a few times but I quickly went in and put her back in bed and told her she has to wait for the bell. Within a week she seemed to understand what was expected and after opening the door she would say 'bell', I would say yes and then only she would come down. So I think the transition was pretty smooth. At this point she was still having sleep issues (very short naps and protesting naps) but she was quite good with obeying the rule of staying in bed.

Sleep
This has been an issue for the whole month although it is slowly improving. Initially she was crying for a long time before each nap and the minute she woke up (after a very short nap) she would start screaming or crying till I got her. But for the past 2 weeks it's been slowly getting better. Right now she will be calling out for a few minutes then sleep. And when she wakes up she will also just keep calling out (no more shouting...much). Usually she just says things like, 'Mummy go downstairs' or 'Mummy enough sleep'.

Talking
She is really talking a lot now. Sometimes in full sentences. Her favourite thing to say is 'I wanna...'
She will even say 'I wanna don't want...' sometimes.
She is also singing a lot of songs...Twinkle star, ABC (she knows almost the whole thing), Row your boat

Squint
Took Misha to the orthoptist on 3/11/15 to check her eyes and confirmed she has a squint in her right eye. So we now have to wear a patch on her left eye every day for an hour to help strengthen her right eye. She has been quite good with wearing the patch. It's quite sticky so removing it is a bit painful but I use the same patch for 2-3 days so its not always so sticky (not to mention it saves cost as well).

Potty training
She pooped with me holding her over the toilet...only happened once so far. Most times she insists on the toilet insert and she never poops when we are out of the house.

Halloween
We went 'trick or treating' at BSC and Misha was quite excited about it all...she even learnt how to say trick or treat and raise up her pumpkin container for sweets!

Cameron Highlands trip
Went for 3 nights with my parents and brother. We stayed in one room and she managed to sleep well in the Kinderkot. No naps though. Surpirisingly at the end of the day, after changing to pajamas she would simply go inside herself and lie down. Most times we were still getting ourselves ready for bed (bath etc)  but she just went in and slept! Must have been really tired I guess.



Sunway Lagoon
Jing had a company event there and this time Misha really loved the pool! Initially she was very hesitant to go in but after  awhile she put her feet in and slowly she got braver...even went down the slides! At the end of the day she kept saying 'I like it...swimming.'