HOT, HOT, HOT!!!

Every time I pick Issey up from school, her hair is wet from sweating under the cap under the sun. It has been so HOT in Vancouver. The car external temp read 38 degree Celsius yesterday afternoon! Today, Mommy sent Issey to school in a little colourful summer dress from Trinidad. She looked so cute in it.

We even packed a swimsuit to school as they have a tiny pool in the back yard for the children to cool off from the summer sun.

Not a Typical Toddler

So some of the teachers at school inquired about Isabella's background and ethnicity as they were curious since she did not look like a typical Chinese toddler. They were not surprise to learn that Isabella is a mixture of multiple ethnicities. She is Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish and Trinidadian. I guess that explains the curly light brown hair?!?!? This makes our little princess even more unique and special! She is also taller than all the oriental toddlers in her class.

Eventful Weekend

Wow, this weekend was a busy two days. We went to Playland for the MDA summer event and had a great time. Isabella went on several rides including the train, cars and horse rides. We even went to the playhouse TWICE... one with Daddy and another time with Uncle Paul.

Isabella even ate a hamburger and had cotton candy for the first time! She enjoys going on rides with her big cousins Luke and Ian. Daddy won a few toys for Issey playing balloons and darts. He popped every balloon... a perfect score!

The next morning, we all headed out for brunch at Grandma's house. We had Issey's favorite... home cooked Pho! Yummy. We headed to the Caribbean Days around noon and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the music, food, and sun!

Isabella danced with Daddy and had some roti skin and chicken curry for lunch. Unfortunately, she did not play in the bouncy castle because the (rude) employees did not believe that she is potty trained even though she only had big girl panties on. Well, I promised her we could play in the bouncy castle we have at home :-)

Preschool

Today Daddy dropped Issey off at Preschool and she did not cry. We are so happy to see that Issey is starting to enjoy school. Daddy said he had to leave to go to work but will be back to pick Issey up in the afternoon. Issey's response was, "Yeah Daddy". Daddy asked for a kiss and Issey's response was, "No Daddy. No kiss, see you". Daddy realized that his little princess is growing up and does not like to be kissed or to give kisses in public anymore.

The head directress at the school sent us a progress report of Isabella for July 15, 2009.

Another Day at Preschool

Today, Isabella did not want to go to school. She said, "No school, I want Om home and BaBa home". In other words, I don't want to go to school and I want to stay with Grandpa/Grandma.

On the ride to school, Issey constantly looked out the window to see if she recognized the area around Grandma/Grandpa's home. When she did not see the house she was terribly sad. We promised that she would get to see her Grandparents and Megan on Saturday morning as we are all heading out for Dim Sum. Finally, after several conversations about school and dim Sum, she agreed to go to school.

Fourth Day of Preschool

Today Daddy dropped Isabella off at school again for day 4. Isabella cried when Daddy left to go to work.

Isabella wet her pants because the teachers did not help her with the potty in time. I am so sad to hear that. I hope the teachers will be more attentive with the potty situation in the future. When Mark picked Issey up from school, he found her playing alone outside in the playhouse. She had dirt and sand all over her face and hair. Poor little baby was so tired from the day.

Third Day of Preschool

Daddy took Isabella to school today so Mommy can work.

Issey was at school from 9:00am to 3:00pm. She played, learned, had lunch and a nap. Wow, Mommy is so proud of her little girl for being so brave at school!

Second Day of Preschool

Since Isabella was sick last week, today will be her second day at Preschool.

Mommy took Isabella to school today and stayed for 45 minutes. Mommy was able to leave the school for an hour. But when I returned, I heard Isabella crying for Mommy. My heart broke into a million pieces. I think Daddy will have to take Issey to school because it is too hard for Mommy to see Issey cry.

Overall, Issey did pretty well. She even stayed to have lunch with the other toddlers. She made a new friend in the older class. Her name is Mia. She seems really nice and enjoys playing with Issey.

Tonight, Daddy is taking Issey to the Killarney Pool for some Daddy-Isssey time.

I hope day 3 will be even better.

Caribbean Festival in Maple Ridge

Yesterday, we took the new bridge, Golden Eye Bridge, to the Caribbean Festival in Maple Ridge. It was a long ride from Vancouver, but Isabella did very well in her car seat. I don't think I can take the long car ride EVERYDAY... I don't know how people can commute for hours each day to get to work.

Anyway, back to the Caribbean Festival. Lots of things to see, music to hear and good food to each. Isabella and Mommy had the Jerk Chicken while Daddy enjoyed the Goat Curry.

Allergic to Preschool?

Some of Daddy`s co-workers think Issey is `allergic` to preschool!

After Visiting the Hospital

After visiting the Children's Emergency Hospital on Tuesday morning, the doctors informed us that Isabella had gastroenteritis and severe dehydration due to the vomitting and diarrhea. Mommy took the rest of the week off to care for Issey. Daddy made sure we had everything we needed before heading into work in the afternoon. We took lots of baths to cool her down. Some of the baths were for the diarrhea accidents. I was glad to see she still enjoyed taking baths.

Today is the sixth day and Issey still has diarrhea. Poor little baby was too sick to eat or play. However, she is feeling a little better today so we took her out for her favorite food... Dim Sum. She had a couple of bites.

After Dim Sum, we took her to Metrotown to do a little shopping. We visited a Dinosaur Exhibit inside the shopping mall. Issey can actually say Dinosaur!

Issey has such a lovely smile... I think she is starting to look just like Daddy! She has started saying te phrase `yeah boy` just the way Daddy says it.

We got her a "get well soon" Minnie Mouse at the Disney Store. After being out all morning, Issey fell asleep with Minnie Mouse on Mommy`s bed. Both Minnie Mouse is Issey are asleep on their belly.

Sick Little Baby

Vomit at 8:00pm
Diarrhea 5 times between 9:00pm to 9:20pm
Vomit at 11:00pm
Diarrhea at 12:00am
Vomit at 1:00am
Vomit at 3:00am

Fever of 100.7 F at 9:00am after a dose of tylenol
Fever of 100.8 F at 9:30am

Alright, Daddy is coming home from work to take us to the hospital.

Official First Day of School

Today, July 6th, is Isabella's official first day of classes. We are starting with gradual entry so the plan is as follows:

Day 1 - Isabella and Mommy stays until lunch time
Day 2 - Isabella and Mommy stays until after lunch time
Day 3 - Isabella and Mommy stays until nap time, but Mommy will leave for a few hours in between
Day 4 - Isabella goes to school the whole day and Mommy stays until lunch time.
Day 5 - Isabella goes to school like a big girl

Well, Day 1 was not too bad. Miss Tayna said Isabella is doing well for the first day as she was willing to play independently without Mommy. Isabella would look for Mommy every 1/2 hour or change of activity... but resumed with her activity once she was sure Mommy was in the vicinity. Isabella brought her baby cabbage patch doll to school for comfort. All the other girls (and boys) wanted to play with the baby doll but Isabella did not want to share her doll with others.

Isabella did not enjoy snack time as they were serving green apple slices with milk. So you can imagine she was hungry by noon time. She enjoyed circle time, plaing with paint (but did not like getting paint on her hands or clothes). She spent a lot of her time on the indoor swing.

Daddy pick us up at noon and took Isabella out for lunch. Isabella is spending the rest of the afternoon together at home.