It's been a while since this blog was updated as the Lum household was busy battling with colds. We are all finally recovered, thank God! But looking back, it was two long miserable weeks for everyone!
It all started with Lucas having a runny nose. Then Ryan began to feel a sore throat, followed by me getting the same and finally, Saria breathing with a congested nose. It is not fun to be sick. But as a parent, I now realize nothing is worst than when the kids are sick at the same time. For us adults, we strive to rest up and drink fluids to get better. But for kids, they tend to do the opposite -- They have trouble falling and staying asleep, and they refuse all food and water. Lucas, for example, would only doze off momentarily during the day when he felt extremely tired. It was perhaps the congestion making him uncomfortable so he fought every attempt of us trying to put him down for a nap. He would not eat anything other than small bites of fruits and sips of water. So his tummy disappeared within a few days. If we tried to force anything onto him, the end result would be ugly -- An unconsolable toddler crying hysterically and inexorably. At night, while he could sleep a bit longer he would wake up several times crying, needing comfort and company which meant no sleep for daddy and mommy. So for more than a week, Ryan and I were dragging our sick bodies to attend to our sick kids, day and night. Nanny May was of tremendous help during the day, though it was also impossible for her to deal with two needy children alone. So she and I tagged team during the day, while Ryan and I shared the load at night. Comparing that with night feedings, waking up just 2 to 3 times to feed and fall right back to sleep feels so much easier all of a sudden.
After 2 weeks of couping up in the house, Lucas and Saria finally recovered. Lucas went back to his usual naughty self and I was so glad to see him smiling, running/climbing everywhere and eating like a piggy again. I decided to bring him out for some fresh air since the weather warmed up a bit that week. I brought him to Ocean Beach for the first time and boy was the bugger ecstatic seeing so much sand! Not only did he dig his hands in to play with it, he also dove into it and had his first taste of Ocean Beach sand.
As for Saria, she had her 2 month appointment with Dr. Lee a week ago. Without further adieu, here are her latest statistics:
Weight: 11 lb 12.5 oz (74%)
Height: 1' 9.85" (28%) note: The nurse probably made a mistake as this didn't make any sense at all.
Head Circumference: 39.4 cm (67%)
Poor girl also had her first 3 shots, though luckily she did not cry as loud as I thought she would. All in all, not a bad progress considering she was only around 30th percentile across the board at birth. At this rate of eating and sleeping though, I suspect she could well beat Lucas's record by 4 months. We'll see.
Finally, before I forget, here're 2 snaps of my little girl's first real smile @ 8 weeks. She is such a darling when not screaming and crying bloody murder, hehe!
As for Lucas, he's 16 months old and has become more communicative and interactive. He babbles a lot and attempts to repeat words after us. His favorite words these days are "Apple", "Bubble", "Daddy", "Wo Wo" (i.e. dog). He points at what he wants, shakes his head to say "No" and follows instructions such as "clean up", "put your friends into the tub" as we go through our daily routines. He smiles when he sees other kids in the playground and loves to approach and play with them. At home when he sees Saria, he reaches out to touch and kiss her. Frankly, I wonder if he knows Saria is his baby sister but his action and sweet-looking face definitely show that he enjoys being a big brother. 
