Of high distinctions, colds, birthdays, and Montessori teacher training

First of all, happy 3rd wedding anniversary to us!
I know that technically we have been married 4.5 years already and we do consider the July one as our official anniversary, but it's had to ignore this day where we passed the official milestone of being married in everyone else's view.
As an anniversary gift, I received my final semester results this morning.
And as I had hoped and worked so damn hard for, I got High Distinctions for both units this semester.
So so so incredibly happy, and proud of myself.
I could not have achieved it without my husband, so I say this is the perfect testament to us :)
That as a team, we conquer it all!
This has done tremendous things for my SAHM esteem and ego.
I thought I wouldn't be able to do it all... the study, the mothering, the home... but I did.
Not on my own of course, which is why hubs gets at least 50% of the credit too :)

Besides that, things are tough around here now.
We are all 3 battling a cold.
And the one having the worst time is our littlest family member.
Most of the day he's happy and content.
But when it comes to feeding or sleeping time, all hell breaks loose.
Blocked, runny nose with thick gross phlegm means it's so hard for him to breathe or swallow.
I can understand and sympathise, but there's not a damn thing we can do for him beside regularly suction his nose to clear it since he is not yet capable of coughing his phlegm out or blowing his own nose.
Sigh.
But this usually means the bug is dying and we're coming to the tail-end of the illness, so fingers crossed that it'll all be over soon.
I'm so over the lack of sleep and having to battle a screaming child with our trusty snot sucker.

Xander's 1st birthday party will be happening this Saturday.
Small affair with about 9 people coming over for some grub and cake.
Only about 2 hours since that's as much as Xander can take in terms of stimulation and activity.
A small part of me wishes that we could have some family present, but I know that it's not going to happen so I've moved on.

Xander got his first birthday present of the year from his ah ma in Singapore (Jude's mom) - a Tigger soft toy! He hasn't warmed up to it yet and seems pretty oblivious towards it, but maybe he'll come to like it soon. He's just not really a soft toy kinda kid I guess. Give him a book any day.

As mentioned in my previous post, I've started a online 12-month fast-tracked Montessori teacher training program. It's designed with the 2-6 year old age group in mind, so this is the perfect time to start. By the time I'm done with the course and get my certification, I can start our Montessori homeschooling with Xander after he turns 2. This will give me so much more confidence in ensuring I know what I'm doing and it's just my way of making sure that I do my best to give my child the best. And to us, giving him the best has absolutely nothing to do with material possessions, but everything to do with education, love, attention, and affection. Is this the best way to go about achieving that? I don't think anyone has the right answer. But this is my journey to hopefully find the best way in achieving it.

Xander updates:
He claps, he signs "bath", he has attempted signing "all done/finished", he stands up from the sitting position without needing support, he loves walking around the house with various different objects in his hands.

Gotta go wake him from his nap before his sleep tonight goes out the window entirely.
I'll be back!