The Dance of Life

Well I’m
25 weeks now, and the baby is moving a lot more, especially in the evenings or
anytime during the day. My belly is
getting bigger and rounder and I’m getting heavier. I gained 20lbs now. I’m now starting to feel back pains,
especially when I’m doing house chores. I am trying to avoid standing a lot and bending. Lately, I’ve been having Braxton Hick
contraction, it lasts a minute. Last one
I felt was yesterday when I was playing with my brother in law’s son. I first I thought it was cramps but when I
talked to my doc, she said it could be false labor but that it’s normal at 2^nd
to 3^rd trimester.

The other
night, in our bedroom, Helena and I were talking and reading to the baby,
Helena was telling him about her first day of school when the baby moves.

Helena got so excited that she put her
hands on my belly right away. But of
course, the baby stopped moving. It
always happens, when I feel him moving, and I tell Mike and Helena about it,
the moment they put their hands on my tummy, he stopped moving, then when they
took it off, he moves again.. baby’s playing with them I think. This morning, though, Mike was gone for work
already and Helena and I were talking about her rainbow dream. I felt the baby moved again, I took Helena’s hands right away and put it on my belly.  She felt the baby moved and she was very happy, she’s like, "again, again, again!" We think the baby was doing his morning exercise cuz he was punching and kicking, quick jab to the right and to the left.. damn, I think our little boy is going to be a kick boxer! Wait ’til I tell Mike when he gets home, he wanted a basketball player not a kick boxer.. hahaha! But oh boy, I love every move you make, my little one!

Only
15-16 weeks more to go and it sure doesn’t sound too bad when you look at it
from the 16 week standpoint but when I say I am 25 weeks, it sounds like I am
not progressing!

My next
monthly checkup will be on the 21^st, I’ll be 27 weeks then.

My belly photo
at 6 months >>

The other day, Helena’s
teacher called me and said that she won’t be Helena’s
teacher anymore because she will be teaching the ESL classes only. I’ve talked to the principal after the phone
call with the teacher and she said they’d just reorganized classes and so Helena
will have a new teacher this Friday, together with the other non-ESL
pupils. From 22 pupils in one class, it
has lessened to 18 pupils, too, which is a little better. Twenty-two children are way too many for one
class anyway. Even 18 are still many I
think but better than 22.

Today was another first day for Helena,
it was the start of their regular school. This time Mike drove us to school because it’s his day off. It’s good because Mike will get to see Helena
on her first day of school. We met her
new teacher, his name is Mr. Reynolds and the assistant teacher. I gave the assistant Helena’s
school supplies as Helena joined
the other kids sitting in front of Mr. Reynolds. The classroom is new so everything is not
there yet, the principal said they’re still completing all the classroom
materials and everything will be ready by Monday. Mike and I stayed in the classroom and
watched Helena for the first 20 minutes. It’s so nice to see her participating with
the discussion as they learn their calendar, today’s weather, their colors and
the alphabet. I was anxious to leave her
but Mike said she’ll be fine so we went home. I almost cried in the car, I still can’t believe she’s gone to school
and won’t be with me at home anymore.

Mike and I started reliving our childhood memories when Helena was going to pre-school back in Cambodia. It was easier then because I was teaching at
the same school, and her classroom was just beside my classroom at the
time. During my breaks, I got to visit
her in her classroom and watch her in the playground or in the gym or during
their swimming time. Now I can’t do
that. *sad*

When Mike and I got home, it felt different. The house was so quiet, I missed my Helena already. I told Mike we’ll go and pick
her up early and he agreed.
I know that this is a very big
step in her sweet life, and I want to make the most of it for her and later for
her little brother but the separation still hurts.  Thanks to Mike, cause he’s more calm about it
than I am, and he reassured me that our daughter will be fine and I will be
fine. I couldn’t stop looking at our
wall clock. When it was 25 minutes
before Helena’s class is over, Mike and I drove to Helena’s school. We were
both excited to ask her what happened on her first day.

While waiting outside her
classroom, with the other parents, the principal came and waited with us. She told us that Mr. Reynolds won’t be the
morning kindergarten teacher but only for a few days until they find a
permanent teacher for the new class. We
all chatted in the hallway until the classroom door opened and the children started
to come out in a very straight line. I
saw Helena before she saw us and I saw her face the moment she saw
us. Her smile was even bigger and came
running towards us, we both gave each other a big hug, a big kiss and I told
her I missed her so much that I was thinking about her all the time. She said, “I was thinking about you too, Mommy!”
Then she went to give her Daddy a big hug next, “I missed you, too, Daddy!” She’s the sweetest girl! When we asked about her first day, she
replied, “I made another new friend today, her name is Addy and we worked on a
puzzle together! My teacher showed us the bathroom, too and I ate all my snacks!
My dolly had a great time, too.” Last time she brought her little teddy, but
today she brought her little stuffed dolly to school with her. She was oozing with joy!  Now I’m not too worried, she’s loving school and that’s what matters.

P.S. Helena’s first day of school photos are coming very soon.

“What will I do now that you are going to school?” I asked
my little girl. “Make a card for me,
mommy.” Imagine how many cards I’d be
making the whole school year long, hahahhaha. It gave me an idea though.

Last Tuesday, it was Helena’s
very first day at school. We’d already
prepared the clothes we’re going to wear for school the night before. That morning she woke up early and was very
excited she couldn’t even finish her breakfast, she wouldn’t stop talking about
it, and she was really looking forward to it. I was excited for her, too, but at the same time feeling sad, “My baby
is now going to school, and she won’t be with me every morning of every day
from Monday to Friday.” The thought of it scares me. But she has to go to school no matter what so
I packed her snack box, her school supplies, checked her backpack and we were
off to school. Her school is not far but
we have to take 2 buses to get there, the first bus took less than 10 minutes,
then we got off. Instead of catching the
second bus, Helena and I decided to walk to school because we were still 40
minutes early. The walk took 20 minutes
and she still had time to play in the playground when we got there and time to
look for her classroom. 

We’d already met her teacher and saw her classroom during
the school orientation last month so it was easy to find the classroom. I stayed with Helena in the classroom until they were ready to start the class. Together, we explored the classroom, it was
spacious and full of lots of toys and educational materials for the children to
play and work with. When it was time for
the parents to leave the classroom, I didn’t go home. I went to the parent’s room and waited until Helena’s
class was over. I met and chatted with
some school staff and other parents. It’s nice to talk with them about our child separation experiences. Then I decided to have a tour around the
school building and oh boy the building is huge, I actually got lost but
eventually found my way back to the parent’s room. It’s nice to know where places are though,
like the gym, the library, and the office, short cut to Helena’s
classroom, the bathroom, and all. Also,
from time to time, I’d peek in Helena’s
classroom to see what they were doing, I was in the playground, too, during
their recess, just observing, together with two other mothers waiting for their
kids as well.

Today, school finishes early and regular classes will start
on Friday, so after 2 and a half hours of waiting, I went back to her classroom
to pick her up. I chatted with her
teacher for a bit, and on our way out, I asked Helena,
“How was your first day of school, sweetheart?” and happily she said, “It was
great, Mommy! I made a new friend and we drew and our teacher read to us, I
really liked it, it was fun!”

On the 24^th of August, we gave Mike a surprise
birthday dinner at Laurel Point Inn’s restaurant.  But first we went to the mall to shop for presents. I planned to buy him a leather jacket. But after long hours of checking out 2 malls,
I ended up buying him 2 polo shirts and a pair of khaki pants. Cristine and Kenny were leaving the next day
but Kenny and Helena wanted to play
so we met with them in the mall, as usual they were so happy to see each
other. Now we have 3 kids with us in
tow.. hahaha. Poor uncle Rick, he’s the
favorite of them all, he’s stuck with 2 toddlers and one baby!

Mike didn’t expect the dinner to be at the Laurel Point Inn’s restaurant, when Rick told him when we were on our way (from Mike’s
insistence, hahaha), he was a bit worried cuz the restaurant’s too expensive. But we told him it’s really a surprise dinner
party for him and he was fine. The dinner
was wonderful, we all had delicious meals and the kids enjoyed themselves, as
well.

We took some photos outside the inn to end the day.

Mike’s birthday is really on the 29^th but we
celebrated it early cuz Rick and Kazuyo will be moving to Vancouver that day. Anyway, I felt a little bad on
the 29^th cuz I was not in a good mood and it was Mike’s real
birthday. For some reason, I was
upset. I even started crying and I didn’t
know why. Mike was upset too cuz it was
his birthday and I was being moody. I
don’t know, I guess it’s one of the pregnancy moods, I know pregnant women get
them sometimes. Out of nowhere, I told
Mike life was easier in Asia, I guess I just missed my
family and friends. Also I haven’t felt
the baby moved all day and that could be one of the reasons. It’s funny how can you get so attached to something
that’s the sized of a kidney bean inside your belly. J Anyway, I felt better
the next day. The baby was moving again
and I was able to talk to my sister a bit on the phone. Thanks to our new technology, now we have a
means of communicating with our relatives for free. My sister and I use skype to skype phone
calling, it’s very clear and we can talk as long as we want.  Carol and I had a little chat too and it felt good.

So now that Mike’s birthday’s passed, fall is coming, yay! I can’t wait for the leaves to turn to
different colors again!! Helena and I
will go nutters playing with the colorful leaves on the ground. *grinning*