And so I did start a new blog, usingmyrightbrain.wordpress.com to talk about our adventures here in Oz and some other stuff that I'm willing (keyword!) to share in FB. But for more personal stuff (that are still worth publishing in the net, more for my documentation), I decided to continue with this blog :)

I know, my mind is that muddled sometimes...

Well anyway, I was planning to start that new blog because I wanted to monetize it and I didn't want to have this blog open for all my FB friends to read. I find it too personal. I know, weird...but that's just me. hehe, So I was able to make one post in wordpress and share it in FB but so far, I haven't added to it yet. Maybe laziness, or just prioritization...but I haven't got the mojo yet.

What made me decide to continue with this blog however is that I recently found its convenience in documenting stuff about Ethan. I consulted it about a week ago to check on how his speech was at about this age (1 yr 5 months) and compare it to Ianna's. The little girl has very few words in her vocabulary right now - Papa, Apa (for grandpa), Ba (for bear). That's about it. I was trying to remember how Ethan was at this age because I seem to recall him being a very talkative chap (until now, his vocabulary is quite huge for his age, I believe and as feedback from his teachers). So, I checked and was honestly relieved that at this age, it was the same for him. He didn't really start mumbling words until 1yr 9 mos (well, based on my posts, I started writing about his words around Sept 2009).

I know that kids develop at different rates but I was just a bit worried, to be honest. Maybe it's brought on by what we are experiencing with Ethan about school and his "behaviour". He still continues to wander in the classroom, and sometimes still gets time out, or gets too mischievous and we get a call from the school principal. Behavior that is, to us, what we would call back home as "makulit" or "pilyo". But here, it's a cause for concern for them and we have experienced being asked to take him to preschool first before enrolling him to kindergarten. Something which we have, fortunately, overcome because the public school where he is enrolled in now, has far greater experience in dealing with kids who haven't really settled in and behaved as how the "school people" think they should behave.

So he's in kindergarten but that doesn't mean that everything's fine and dandy. We still get recommendations for him to visit a paediatrician and child psychologist to have him checked. His teacher told us that she's seeing signs of him having ASD, perhaps Asperger's, as his literacy and numeracy are superior. He doesn't have any learning disabilities but more of a social one. So, we've scheduled a consultation with a child psychologist this July, and let's see. We are trying to keep an open mind and just see...whatever would be able to help Ethan. Because reading up on Asperger's has also made us see the supposed signs.

Although we still maintain our stand that back home, his behaviour is quite common among kids. It might even be what is expected for kids his age who have just started school, rather than the exception. Or maybe, we are just not as keen on labelling kids and categorizing them into however would make us understand why some kids are more precocious or mischievous than others.  Maybe it's more of a western concept, or I am just stubborn.

But whatever would be best for our child, it's a GO for us.

So, will keep you updated. Let's see how the assessment would go :)

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About the little girl...

She has 5 teeth now, and walks well on her own. She started walking on her own around the end of February. She's also learning how to play with kuya Ethan. You'd see them giggling and running after each other now.

She has preferred shows - In the Night Garden, Sesame Street, Playschool (all on ABC for Kids channel), and lulled to sleep by songs from In the Night Garden or those from Giggle and Hoot.

She still doesn't like anything that has dairy in it - yogurt, choco drinks, milkshakes, etc. She still prefers my milk, and eats more solid food. That's one difference with kuya. She prefers solid food while kuya prefers milk.

I think her attitude is nearer to mine ;-) stubborn and short-tempered. And she knows what she wants and you can't sway her. But when she smiles, ah I love it. And her giggles. The smell of her breath. Her hugs and kisses..I can't get enough of...even Ethan's are still very much precious to me :) the perks of being a mother to two very malambing kids.

I love it...

We're enjoying our new life but missing our old one at the same time. Just taking it a day at a time. Hopefully, one of us gets a job soon. BTW, I applied as a volunteer in a government hospital...I hope I can get in. I know I would enjoy it.

Till next..