Steven is Home!

Steven came home from work last night after I had gone to bed. It was a pretty rough night for all of us. Brandon woke up at around 3:30 am, and Steven tried to get him back to sleep. As Brandon hadn't seen Steven for a week, this really confused Brandon. He wanted Mommy. However, once I was with him, he kept looking at the door to see if Daddy was there. In the end, Steven was the one who had to get Brandon back to sleep, but I think it took a couple of hours...

Brandon was so happy to see Daddy in the morning. Daddy brought Brandon a little Paddington Bear and a Paddington Bear book from London. I got a London coffee mug and some coasters since we don't have any. And, Steven brought Team Bierly back a London magnet. So nice for Steven to bring us gifts. We missed him!

Steven was amazed at how much Brandon has changed in just one week. He was shocked at how many words Brandon can say and at how Brandon mimics what we say. Steven said, "Uh oh." Brandon said, "Uh oh." Steven said, "Whoa." Brandon said, "Whoa."

Steven also asked Brandon to nuzzle his nose, and he did! I wasn't sure that Brandon knew what that was even though I've tried to show him a few times. He loved giving Daddy eskimo kisses!

I told Steven that he left a 15 month old (almost) and came back to a 15 year old. Ha! I hope that time doesn't really pass that quickly!!!

Jo came with me and Brandon to Mt. Elizabeth Hospital this morning. We had another follow-up with Dr. Chiang. The doctor said that Brandon looks good, but he said that we should keep on the inhaler for one more week. We don't have to go back for any more follow-up appointments. Glad about that. Dr. Chiang agreed that Brandon probably has some allergies here. Almost always a runny nose and cough!

Brandon weighed 10.4 kg (almost 23 pounds) again today.

After the appointment with Dr. Chiang, we went down to the laboratory for Brandon's bloodwork. We wanted to check Brandon's labs, especially his iron to see if it has improved since his 12 months appointment. We have been giving the iron supplements, so I'm really hoping that his iron is no longer low.

Jo came with me today in case I needed help/support for the lab work. I held Brandon down, and Jo tried to distract him. Two lab techs drew the blood from Brandon's arm. The one who was actually putting in the needle couldn't get the vein the first time. Then, she just kept poking the needle in Brandon's arm in every direction trying to hit the vein. It took her a few minutes to get the blood to come. Brandon cried but handled it like a champ. Ughhh!!! We should get the lab results back tomorrow or Thursday.

The three of us headed to the Paragon after the hospital. We went to Toys-R-Us to look around for a bit, and then we went down to lunch at Din Tai Fung. (I managed to escape Toys-R-Us without buying Brandon anything. I didn't want him to think that he gets a toy everytime he has to get something painful done at the doctor's office.) Brandon ate almost a whole pork chop at lunch. Hope that meat brings up his iron!!! :)

We hit up the grocery at the Paragon before taking a cab home.

After Brandon's nap, we went over to Wendy and Sofia's for an afternoon playdate. Sofia had several new toys from her birthday party that Brandon loved, including a tent with balls. Balls, balls, balls!!!

Jo, Jessie, and Jake were at the Great World Mall when we left Wendy's apartment. Since Wendy lives in the apartments connected to the mall, we met them at the mall for a bit. Brandon was ecstatic when he saw Jessie and Jake. He was smiling and laughing with them. He even held Jessie's hand when I let him down to walk.

We all walked home from the mall, and Jo, Jessie, and Jake came up to play with Brandon for a few minutes before his bath.

I can't believe that Brandon will actually be 15 months old tomorrow! Where does the time go???

Something interesting - Jo told me today that Nicole Kidman's sister's four children go to school across the street at the Overseas Family School. This is the same school that Jessie and Jake go to.