Author: James

Kids

First 9-1-1 call

This morning Lia was just roaming around the bedroom while Karen was playing with her computer, when all of a sudden Lia dialed a number and picked up the phone to listen. Karen asked, “Lia who did you call?”

LiaPhone

“阿姨” [auntie Kari] answered Lia.

At this point Karen heard a voice at the other end, so she hung up. Then Lia pressed redial, and once again Karen hung it up. This happened one more time before the person on the other hand called back, asking Karen why we called 9-1-1 three times! “Oh it was my 1-year-old daughter”, Karen replied.

“Anything wrong?  No one forced you to say that, right?” asked police.

“No.  Sorry about that!” answered Karen.

Apparently Lia had dialed 9-1-1, her first 9-1-1 call.  Looks like the phone will now be off limits!

Kids

Roseola Virus

After the fever went away, a mild fever developed again, and then red spots appeared on Lia’s body. Auntie Carol recognized this symptom and pointed us to this article on the virus Roseola. It affects children 6 mo-2 years old, is spread by those without symptoms, and usually doesn’t come with any symptoms until when the fever subsides.  It certainly fits with Lia’s symptoms.  Thankfully the fever only lasted 3 days, because it can run a maximum of 7 days!

Health

Ear Thermometer

Getting the temperature of a baby can be tough, as Lia despised having a thermometer in her armpit for 2 mins. We thought about getting a temporal thermometer but heard they can be highly inaccurate. Measuring her orally would be next to impossible as she would close her lips shut. It also may be tough to do a rectal measurement because how much Lia would squirm, plus it’s very disgusting. So we’ve settled on using a ear thermometer, and after a little research, came to Braun Thermometer 4520, which is the same as what they use in hospitals, except less heavy-duty and does not include other non-essential features such as anti-theft.

Braun4520

It seems that 4020 is even better than 4520, but they’re difficult to find. On the other than, 4520 is readily available at Target and other places. We bought one and gave it a try, and for the most part it’s done a pretty good job. Repeat measurements usually fall within 0.2 degrees, as long as we position it correctly. The best part is being able to take her temperature when she’s sleeping, and even when she’s awake, because it only takes 2 seconds, Lia actually leans her ear over for us.

A very worthwhile investment.

Kids

Lia’s Vocabulary

Let’s recap what Lia has learned so far at 15 months…

mommy, daddy, ear, eyes, eyebrow, nose, chin, neck, foot, hand, nail, hair, face, heart, toe, piggy, bear, ducky, zebra, giraffe (jaraff), turtle, lion, tiger, spider (byder), ant, monkey (money), doggie, chick, chicken, kitten, owl, bird (birt), squirrel, bunny, raccoon, elephant, horse, mouse, deer, bee, hippo, butterfly, fish, alligator (algege), shoes, water, milk, veggie, mushroom, bread, waffle (wavvo),cheese, strawberry (stowbay), orange (Ojjy), watermelon (manan), cheerios (cheero), mango, plum, pair, apple, kiwi, banana, blueberry (bubei), avocado (agogo), rice, noodle, soup, tofu, odwalla, vege, jamba, juice, amen, hallelujah (ahyiwooah), ouch (outoo), hi, hello, bye bye, oh oh, two, three, four, five, eight, nine, ten, M, O, P, Mickey, Tigger, Elmo, clock, stair (dare), swing (sing), chair, truck, car, table, man, brush, comb, painting, light, bib, button, rattle, keys, baby, cup, moon, pants, slide, tunnel, rock, vacuum, ipod, phone (iphone), camera, fan, ring, umbrella (umbeya), computer (puter), dirt, pillow (pill), book, wall, dot, towel, bubble, monitor (mago), star (dar), mirror, hat, balloon, ball, spoon (boon), tree (chee), pine cone, towel, escalator (elgo), zipper, money, diaper, mole, flower (fowow), egg, water, unbuckle (abaco), more, all done, open, touch, unlock, knock, turn, twist, come, bounce (bunce), pop, hush, smell (mell), push, poo poo, hot, cold, young, old, happy, off

And in Chinese 

躺 [lie down]，眼睛 [eye]，鼻子 [nose]，嘴巴 [mouth]，耳朵 (erdo) [ear]，下巴 [chin]，頭 [head]，脖子 [neck]，眉毛 (meimo) [eyebrow]，手 [hand]，腳 [foot]，肚肚 [tummy]，禱告（大糕）[pray]，抱抱 [pick me up]，大便 [poop]，轉轉 [turn]，飛機 [airplane]，貓 [cat]，騎馬 [ride horse]，帽帽 [hat]，來 [come]，蓋蓋 [lid]，叉［fork]，背 (A-背) [piggyback]，夾夾 [hairclip] ，梳梳 [brush]，畫畫 [painting]，蝴蝶 [butterfly]，襪襪 [socks]，踏 [step on]，摸摸 [touch]，臭臭 [stink]

And a little Taiwanese

阿公 [grandpa]，阿媽 [grandma]，阿姨 [aunt]，哈秋 [sneeze]，

Overall she’s making good progress, thanks to mommy, whose daily lessons at home have paid off!

Kids

Lia Has A High Fever

On Sunday we found out that Lia had a temperature of 101. She has no symptoms other than the temperature and she was still her normal playful self, but was especially clingy and loved to lay down. She also lost her appetite, as usually she’ll eat almost anything we give her for dinner.

It was hard to pinpoint where she got it from. Saturday morning we went to Old Country Buffet for lunch, and we noticed a girl constantly coughing while getting food. We didn’t explicitly get that food, but it’s still easy to see how food can easily be contaminated in a buffet situation. Then she attended a baby shower with a bunch of adults and kids. No one seemed visibly sick from the event, but Lia did have some mushrooms from a kabop. Then there was Sunday morning at Sunday School with 18 kids and accompanying adults, and I thought I heard the Sunday School teacher cough quite a few times before she handed some toys to Lia. There are other possible causes, but it’s hard to know what Lia has with so many factors.

Last night her fever reached 103.3. A little research on the internet showed that she should be dressed lightly so the heat can dissipate, and that giving bath helps. Late last night we decided to move her to our bed, and in the morning when the garbage truck came and we thought she was sound asleep, she uttered “Truck!” with both her index fingers pointing toward the ceiling, and then looked over and said “Hi” to each of us.

She doesn’t feel as hot any more, so we pray that she will recover soon!

General

Chase Freedom Deteriorating

chase_personal_freedom

Chase Freedom credit card seems to be getting worse. For a while you get 3% on your top 3 categories, 1% on remaining, and every $200 you accumulate, you get to request a $250 check. Not long ago, they took away the extra $50 check benefit, and the way the top 3 categories are calculated. Now, they can’t even do their math correctly! I looked at last month’s statement and I earned a measly $1.30 for rewards even though I charged over $900 on this credit card! Even at a flat one percent I would expect at least $9 in rewards. Needless to say, I called in and they would get back to me in 5-7 business days. Had I not called, it would have just gone unnoticed…

The morale of the story is, don’t trust banks to “do the right thing”. Always verify all your bank and credit card statements!