alex writes and spels?!?

i heard alex and karol in their bedroom talking while i was still in bed. i didn't realize what they were doing until andy and i went to their room after they left for kindergarten.
alex likes to draw. most of the time she forgets to clean up and leaves her work on the table. this morning was no different and as usual andy got hold of her work. i've saved many of her works many times before, but this was the greatest save so far....

now i realize, what the fuss was in the morning. alex was asking karol what words he would like alex to write for him. see how many words/names you can recognize! :))

sick day = play day at home

the biglets were sick and had to stay at home for the whole of last week. the only good thing about it is that they can play with mommy, daddy (when he's not at work), and of course andy. alex usually likes to draw by herself. sometimes, she also likes to boss karol around into playing a diner in a restaurant, a student in school, or a sick cat. it usually starts nicely, but most of the time it ends up into a fight. sigh!

so one day, mommy had to think of some way where all three piglets can play together. we all built a tower of blocks. well, sort of! karol built a truck while alex and mommy patiently waited for andy to put a block. in the end, only alex and mommy was left. alex was so amazed at how tall the tower is. i had to take pictures of her with it. and, thinking the tower was taller than her, she had to tiptoe at one of the pix. :D

filipino songs

alex used to be able to sing "ako ay may lobo, "bahay kubo" and "sampung mga daliri" with her own funny thwang. however, over the course of time and since she's out of practice, she has forgotten the lyrics.

a few weeks ago, she learned the jollibee counting song in filipino. and last week, she asked me to teach her again "bahay kubo." she hasn't memorized the whole song yet. but she would sing bits and pieces of it from time to time. one time i heard her singing and it went something like this

bahay kubo, kahit munti
ang halaman doon ay sari-sari
singkamay at paa

cool song, ain't it?! :D

five year old alex

on the day of her birthday, i took her to the old town to go to church. unfortunately, we went to the wrong church and wasn't able to hear mass. on top of that, the shoes she was wearing gave her blisters. i really felt so bad for her, as we had to walk a long way until we got to the pharmacy to buy plasters, and finally to the shoe shop. we got her a new pair of hello kitty sandals to save the day.

afterwards, we headed to mcdonald's for her happy meal lunch and had ice cream right after. since we missed the mass, we dropped by at our church to say a little prayer. then, we went straight to pickup karol from her old kindergarten.

it was the first time she visited there after she left last december. she was so excited to see her former teachers and classmates and yet, she became a little bit shy when everyone gathered around her. it was a nice feeling seeing her happy there. we were lucky that they accepted her back (plus karol) even if they were full. we just need to wait for the doctor's go signal so alex can go back to kindergarten.

in the evening, we had a simple dinner and of course a cake. but alex had to pretend to blow her candles since we didn't have lighter nor matches around the house. (sorry, mommy's fault) then she got a boxful of art supplies from mommy and daddy. she was so overwhelmed and couldn't help exclaiming, "wow! so many!!!"

two days later, she had another celebration with two of her closest friends and more family of course. she got nice presents.

* thanks to julinka for the littlest pet shop cat doll which she now takes to bed every night.
* thanks to natalka for the paint your nails barbie. another addition to her collection.
* thanks to tita lucia and tito peter for the microphone that allowed her to sing more.
* thanks to babka for the vaccuum cleaner which she so loves.
* thanks to dedko for the scooter she's been wishing for for a long time.

two more days later, she got the best ever birthday present. finally, after months of waiting the doctor gave the go signal... and tomorrow (oops! it's actually already today), alex will be going back to kindergarten! yay!!!

* thank you LORD for another blessed year!!!

yesterday, today, tomorrow...

it's past 12 midnight so it's already alex's 5th birthday. i just finished the last touches for my very first fondant birthday cake.

i have been trying to teach alex the concept of date and time for quite some time now. she already knows the days of the week and the names of the months. but i think, she hasn't fully grasp what yesterday, today and tomorrow mean. most of the time she refers to the past as yesterday, whether it be last week, last month or last year. :D

yesterday morning, at breakfast, i thought it would be good to try to explain to her that tomorrow is already her birthday. while i was doing a monologue, she looked at me and asked,

"so mommy, when will it be three-morrow?"

then she gave me a mischievous smile, and i couldn't help but laugh and hug her. happy birthday my dear little, funny, smart alex! :)

alex's bests

yesterday we cut karol's hair for the summer. no more side parted hair. i will really miss that boyish hairstyle :(. now, he's a skin head and he looks almost like a different boy. or in alex's words, "he looks like a boy that is without a name karol."

--ooOoo--

in the morning, alex was having snack in the kitchen while i was cleaning up. i gave her a slice of banana bread which i baked last night. then she wanted to tell me who are the best ones for her...

"you are the best, for baking delicious cupcakes and cakes.
karol is the best, for finding a merry go round one time*.
babka is the best, because she takes me to playground everytime.
and daddy is the best, because he likes mo all the time."

*this happened almost two weeks ago. we were shopping in pandorf outlet store when karol disappeared. daddy found him outside by the playground in one of those merry go rounds where you drop coins.

"i see"

another interesting dinner conversation between alex and daddy :D

alex: daddy, did you know? germs are everywhere!
daddy: i see.
alex: no, you don't see. you hear.

makes sense! now, i'll remember this everytime i say "i see" or "I C" (sms style) :D

chewy and bitey

alex: mommy, why do we say chewy?

hmmm... mommy had to really stop and think how to explain this. knowing she likes chewy candies, i made a contrast between chewy and hard candies. hoping she gets the picture, i said that chewy candies we can chew and hard candies not.

well, she probably understood alright because she blurted out, "aha! and there are also bitey candies, which we can bite."

my little lyricist

alex started singing almost the same time as she started talking. singing and talking is like breathing for her. what amazes me most though is her ability to memorize songs.

when she was about two years old, i tried an experiment. i sang bahay kubo to her every nap time. on the third day, she memorized the whole song. unfortunately, she has totally forgotten it already.

anyways, then there are those times she just picks up the lyrics on her own...

♪♫♪barely even friends, then somebody bends unexpectedly...
stethoscope as rhyme, song as old as time
beauty and the beast♪♫♪
-- beauty and the beast ost

♪♫♪when somebody loves you, everything is beautiful
every hour spent together, ready, get set, go...♪♫♪
-- "when she loved me" (toy story 2 ost)

three hands!!!

i don't know what is it with this day, but alex is pulling so many of her antics. it could be that she's bored and is missing karol, who is at last back to kindergarten after three weeks.

mommy decided to put andy in the car seat while she goes about hanging newly washed clothes. alex decided to entertain andy and tried to put rattle socks on her. of course andy was kicking nonstop. alex kept trying to talk andy into staying still to no avail. exasperated, she blurted, "oh my gosh! if only i have three hands!!!"

took a lot of self control for mommy not to roll on the floor laughing. :))

she still didn't give up though. kept trying and talking to andy. one time she almost called andy "karol!" proof that she also tries to boss karol around :D and then i heard her again say, "oh my goodness! i wish for a third hand!!!"

this time she approached mommy who couldn't hold her laughter anymore.... the more she tried to explain why she needed a third hand, the more mommy teared up from laughter. :))))

eyelids

after lunch conversation with alex

she suddenly remembered tangled, the movie we watched at the cinema. she remembered the princess hitting the prince with the pan and closing it's eyes (i.e., fainting). then she remembered the chameleon.

alex: she (referring to rapunzel) also found a lizard.
mommy: ah! that's her friend. it's a chameleon; it changes it's color.
alex: everything?!
mommy: yes!
alex: even it's eyes?

mommy had to stop and think for a while...

mommy: i think not. maybe it closes it's eyes and then the eyelids change color.
alex: eye what?

mommy closed one eye to show what eyelids were.

mommy: eyelids! see, there's skin...
alex: so why not eyeskin?

long pause... mommy had to stop herself from laughing. then, honestly answered...

mommy: i don't know.
alex: because that would be silly.

the end! :D

the kiss

i discovered something interesting from the conversation i had while i was putting alex to bed. she was on her way up to bed when she started...

alex: mommy, when are we going to aia's house again?
mommy: i don't know. but we might go to adrian's house on sunday.
alex: again?!
mommy: yes! you remember him?
alex: yes, but i kissed him.
mommy: you did?!! why did you kiss him?
alex: because i love him. he has lots of toys and i thank him.
mommy: aahhhh...

mommy trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing tried to continue on with the conversation.

mommy: you remember that?
alex: yes! we were there when there was party...

HSP

Henoch–Schönlein purpura (HSP)

Henoch–Schönlein purpura (HSP) is a form of blood vessel inflammation or vasculitis which affects the capilliaries and frequently the kidneys. It results in a skin rash associated to joint pains (arthritis) and sometimes cramping pain in the abdomen.

HSP is an unusual reaction of the body's immune system in response to an infection (either bacteria or virus), usually of the upper respiratory tract. Drugs can also trigger this condition. HSP occurs most commonly in children, but people of all age groups can be affected.


The Symptom

Alex usually wears tights/leggings during winter. One day, when she came home from kindergarten, we found red spots on the area of her calf. It was a cross between a bruise and an insect bite, and has a very deep red to purple color. At first we suspected they were bruises. We dismissed it since it didn't hurt her. So we thought it might just be some form of allergy from wearing tights and having very dry skin.

After a couple of days or so, similar spots appeared near her elbow. Then, the last straw was the one that appeared on the joint of her middle finger. At this point, we still didn't have any idea what it was so we decided to take her to the doctor.

The pedia immediately suspected HSP and recommended Alex to go to hospital. The doctors in the hospital had her admitted on the very same day; she stayed for 10 days.

Various tests were made to check her blood and kidney. They took blood and constantly monitored her weewee. She was immediately put on antibiotics. Later on, we learned that this was a wise move since she was also positive with Streptococcus pneumoniae (or pneumococcus).

Then more medications were prescribed when the test results came out positive for HSP. Thankfully, she didn't have any of the associated symptoms. Her kidneys were clear, but they had to put her on Prednisone (a synthetic corticosteroid drug) to prevent further complications, plus other meds and supplements to counter some side effects.


Meds

Now Alex is home. However, she cannot go back to kindergarten until she finishes the countless medications she took home with her:

Penbene (syrup) - antibiotics
Prednisone (tablet) - sytnhetic corticosteroid
Famotidin (tablet) - inhibits stomach acid production
Ascorutin (tablet) - for blood vessels and a lack of vitamin C.
Zyrtec (drops) - antihistamine
Kaldyum (capsule) - potassium
Celoskon (tablet) - vitamin C supplement
Biogaia (drops) - probiotic drops
Vitamin E (tablet) - supplement
Fish Oil with vitamins D & E (syrup)

Most of these she has to take twice a day, some even thrice, except for the supplements. As if a 4-year old taking tablets is not bad enough, Alex also had to be woken up at odd hours for the not so tasty antibiotics. :(

Oh well, you gotta do what you have to do. Looking at the brighter side of things, we have at least a couple of things to be thankful for. First, Alex is doing ok. Ever since the beginning, no one would suspect that she's sick, except for the rashes. Secondly, the prognosis for HSP patients are excellent with no long-term problems. Hopefully, it will not recur for Alex.


It's not over yet, but I believe we are getting there. Thank you Lord, and thank you everyone for all your prayers!