Bible Verse of the Day

February 2009

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At the OB/GYN’s clinic

February 27, 2009 in Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting | 8 comments

 
Scrap Credits
Sweet Surrender QP  from Irene V. Alexeeva
Word Art (Remember Moments) from Dirty Feet Designs aka Heather Benson

Yesterday, I had my (now) weekly prenatal checkup with the OB/GYN.  I am 38 weeks along now.

Coincidentally, Ethan’s daycare provider had an appointment in the morning, so Ethan had to tag along with us to the medical center for the checkup too.  It was the first time we brought him along, not because we didn’t want to before, but because it would be a daunting task keeping his curious little hands away from all the equipment in the examination room.

Anyway, while in the waiting area, Ethan was very much his active little self, even offering his *services* to put away all the magazines that people had left strewn on the chairs.  Of course, it goes without saying that his curiosity got the better of him and he began asking what this was and what that was.  He even rehearsed saying, “Hi doctor!”

Then when my name was called, he looked on in amazement as the nurse took my weight.  And in the examination room, he insisted on sitting on the chair by himself, and pointed at the pictures on the wall, asking what they all were.

But when my doctor came in, Ethan became very quiet all of a sudden, and it was only a few minutes later that he mustered up the courage to say hi to the good doctor.  For the first time too, Ethan heard his sibling’s strong heartbeat when the doctor did his routine checkup.  I was also due for a cervix exam, and while Pete *entertained* Ethan, the doc informed me that although the cervix was softening, it was still closed.

The checkup was all done in a jiffy, and Ethan said “Buh-bye!” to the doctor as we left.

He’s gonna be an awesome big brother, don’t you think?

“I wanna brush teeth!”

February 24, 2009 in Ethan, Growing Up | 10 comments

 

…and he does it HIS way…
… asking for his toothbrush and toothpaste
… complete with gargle and spit action using his own cup

… and yes, *sometimes* (actually more often than not nowadays) he would insist that Daddy and Mommy brush our teeth too, after he has completed his task!

How can we turn down a “Mommy, brush teeth!” or “Daddy, brush teeth!” request that comes with a gentle shove towards the bathroom?

Ethan is a big boy now…

Cheeky empathy

February 23, 2009 in Ethan, Funny Moments | 1 comment

Scrap Credits
Freebie Janvier   – Partie 5 kit from Scrapmalin
Chipboard & Glitter alphas from Creative Confusion Designs
Priceless price tag from Digital Fingers by Louise Williams
Label Alphabet & Words from Scrap-Pit

Just look at what Ethan has been up to recently…

He would ask us to stuff his toy football or basketball under his shirt, and he would proclaim “Tummy!”

And then he would prance around the house, and more often than not, his *tummy* would then fall out! LOL

Chatter matters

February 20, 2009 in Ethan, Growing Up | 10 comments


Scrap Credits
QP from Bronwen van Esch, made with Kim B’s new Roche kit
Elements from Freebie Janvier  – Partie 5 kit from Scrapmalin
Stained Alphas from Designs by Sarah

Oooh yes. Another phase we are going through right now.

Ethan has moved on from asking “Apa tu?” to asking “What’s that?” almost everywhere he goes.

So our conversations will go a little something like this:

Ethan: Mommy, Mommy…what’s that? (pointing at item)
Mommy: That’s a computer mouse.
Ethan: What’s that? (pointing at the screen)
Mommy: That’s a volcano, darling.
Ethan: VOLCANO… what’s that?
Mommy: That’s the color purple.

Or sometimes when we are in the parking garage:

Ethan: What’s that? (pointing at one of the vehicles)
Daddy: That’s a truck.
Ethan: What’s that?
Daddy: That’s an SUV.
Ethan: SUV.  What’s that?
Daddy: That’s a car.
Ethan: A Car!  What’s that?
Daddy: That’s our car!
Ethan: *hop-hop-hops towards our car*

It ain’t always easy though.  Sometimes he asks some trying questions too:

Ethan: Mommy, what’s that? (pointing to somewhere on the couch)
Mommy: That’s the middle of the couch, darling. 😛

or…

Ethan: (pointing to a decorative item on the wall of the restaurant we were dining in) What’s that Mommy?
Mommy: That’s called a buluh sumpitan in Malay. 🙂
Daddy: Blowpipe laaa!!!

(ooops)

***

On a separate note, Ethan likes to practise the many words he learns every day.  Pete related this incident to me one evening when he was fetching Ethan back in the car:

Ethan: Sunny?  Sunny outside?
Daddy: No Ethan, it’s dark outside now.
Ethan: Sunny?  Glasses…. sunnyglasses?
Daddy: You wanna wear your sunglasses.  No Ethan, it’s not sunny, you don’t need your sunglasses now.
Ethan: (pauses) Moon???  Moonglasses?

He is truly the JOY of our lives 🙂 

Valentine’s Day by the Bay

February 17, 2009 in Celebrations, Ethan | 6 comments

Last Saturday (Valentine’s Day), after lunch, we decided to take a drive to Monterey Bay. It was an hour and a half away, and although the weather was yoyoing between rainy drizzly, and sunshiny, we decided to go anyway. Pete had been to Monterey before, but Ethan and I had not.

Ethan, as usual, fell asleep almost immediately while we were driving on the freeway, and only awoke when we arrived at Monterey Bay.  The place was jampacked, and it took us quite some time before we found a parking spot by the side of the road.

 

Ethan, in his just-woken-up state, of course wanted to be carried, and refused to walk on his own.

 

Monterey Bay is a very picturesque place, and the streets were filled with shops bearing familiar names like Ghirardelli, Thomas Kinkade and Nestle Tollhouse, among others.  There were also little stalls serving clam chowder samples in small cups to passers-by. Of course we couldn’t resist trying them! 🙂

 

The view by the sea was simply breathtaking!  Ethan was also fascinated by the telescope but it was way too heavy for him to handle anyway!

We didn’t go into the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but we did walk along the exterior part of it.  It had wooden benches on wooden platforms overlooking the sea.  Our boy had the time of his life, making rhythmic sounds on the wooden platforms with his tapping feet and oohing and aaahing at the waves below.

 

We could tell that Ethan was intrigued by the beach and the waves and the seagulls, and it wasn’t long before he pointed and said, “I wanna go down there!”

Believe it or not, it was Ethan’s first time ever at the beach, looking at the waves coming into shore.  Look at him displaying his excitement!  He laughed out loud every time the waves came in and didn’t seem at all afraid! 🙂

(Note to self:  need to take Ethan to the beach when we get back to Penang!)

 

While we were walking back to our car, we passed by the Ghirardelli chocolate shop, and I noticed every one was eating a piece of chocolate as they walked out of the store.  Curious, we walked in, and the sales person was indeed handing out samples!  We each got a piece of milk chocolate with peanut butter filling chocolate square – Ethan got a piece too!  

Ethan was never much of a sweet tooth, and I thought Ethan would take one bite and pass the rest of the chocolate to me, but I was dead wrong 😛

He bit off piece by piece till he was all done!  Psst….that’s the first time he has had peanut butter… (peanuts are still off limits!)

 

It was definitely an enjoyable time for all of us, for Valentine’s is all about spending it with the people you love…

Credits
Elegant word art (every time you smile) from Bethany
Mag-papier5 from Freebie Janvier  – Partie 5 kit from Scrapmalin

My adorable Valentine

February 13, 2009 in Celebrations, Ethan | 8 comments

 
Scrap Credits
Chocolate Dipped QP from Amy W. Designs 2009
Magnetic Poetry pieces from Digi-Designs by Nicole
Hearts! freebie from Andrea
Elegant word art (love is in the air 5) from Bethany

I received an early Valentine from a special guy today…and it’s not Pete! 😛

Well, to be fair, the Valentine was *for* Pete too! LOL

Today, when I picked Ethan up from daycare, he was very excited about the “heart” he had made, and wanted to hold on to it all the way to the car.  It was the first time he presented us with a Valentine card and he was really happy when I told him how beautiful it was! 🙂

Most importantly, it was a Valentine that was given from the heart…

Our little computer whiz

February 13, 2009 in Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up | 4 comments

Ethan has taken a strong liking to the computer.  He frequently asks to use the “peter, peter, peter!” (Nope, he is NOT calling his Daddy by name; that’s how he calls the “computer” for short!)

Most of the time, we’ll tell him we’ll let him play on the computer AFTER he has had his dinner, or AFTER he has taken his shower.  Seems to work some of the time. 🙂

Previously when we allowed him to play, he would need our assistance to click on the mouse, but he has since mastered how to do that all by himself.  We normally allow him to surf the Playhouse Disney on Disney Online site, because most of the characters he loves are there.

Check out how he performs the left-click on the mouse in the snippet below.  In this video I took, he is doing some digital coloring on the My Friends Tigger & Pooh section of the site.  See how Ethan drags the numbered honey pots to the corresponding number on the picture and clicks the mouse to fill the picture with color.  And look at how jubilant he is when he finished the activity!

Last night, he asked for the computer again.  I told him he would get just 30 minutes before it was time for his bed. 

And he said, “Okay Mom!” 🙂

I extended the 30 minutes to 45 minutes because he was so well-behaved, and when it was time to shut down the PC, I told him that was all for the night, and he obediently helped me shut down.  He got his bedtime books ready (one for Ethan, one for Mommy and one for Daddy), scooted into the room, and before long he was in dreamland.

That’s my boy! 😀

He speaks Hokkien!

February 9, 2009 in Ethan, Funny Moments | 7 comments

 

Scrap Credits
Sweet Shoppe Cookie Decorating Template from Sweet Shoppe Designs
Courage Kit  from Summertime Designs
Freebie Janvier  – Partie 4 kit from Scrapmalin
Cartoonish Alphas from Faith True
Scribble Alpha from Amy Sumrall

Ethan is constantly amazing us with his neverending ability to pick up new words.  And even more so, his smattering of Hokkien, which he speaks with an accent, …. well, sorta. LOL!

Most of the time, we speak to him in English, but we used to throw in a few Hokkien terms before, and while he did not repeat after us then, he says them now, much to our amusement.

One of his most-used Hokkien terms is, undoubtedly, “kakai”.  Sometimes he would wake up in the mornings, sit up in bed and go, “I want to go kakai”…except it’s funnier if you hear him say it.

And oh, of course he’ll ask to go potty when he is ready, but he will also say “I wanna pangsai” or just “pangsai”, while he is sitting on the throne.

He also recently picked up the term “geelee!” when I started tickling him one day, and he also loves to use the word “BULAT!” Well, okay, not exactly a Hokkien term, but I used to cup his face in my hands, rub our noses together and say, “Who’s Mr Bulat?” and he would giggle.  Now, *he* will be the one cupping my face and going, “Bulat!”  Oh, you’d be surprised at how precise his pronunciation of “BULAT” is!

…and it is just so ENDEARING when he does that! 🙂

Ethan is three years old!

February 6, 2009 in Ethan, Milestones | 6 comments

 
Scrap Credits
Vintage Valentine freebie  from Fanette
Cover Stories #4 Alphas from Kellie Mize
Sweet Love Sampler ring from Kristin Aagard Designs
Love Bug elements from Redju Designs

Ethan turned three on January 31st 2009.  Having survived the “terrible twos”, are we allowed to heave a sigh of relief now?

On the contrary…I think not! 😛

Weight

He was weighed in at about 29.3lbs when he visited the doctor last month, and that converts to about 13.3kilos.

Height

36 inches.

Developmental Milestones

  • He is becoming more assertive in his actions, and knows how to take his stand when he wants something.  Surely a sign of independence, but sometimes can lead to tempers too.  He even says, “NO! Don’t do that!” when it suits the situation.
  • Can count from 1-40 now, but strangely he leaves out number 16.  He is learning really fast, and he knows the concept, i.e. I have heard him attempting, “Forty-ONE, Forty-TWO,…”
  • Calls out endearingly to his Daddy, for example, he would say in a singsong way, “Oh Daddy…!”, and sometimes when I pick Ethan up before fetching Pete after work, upon seeing his Daddy, Ethan would smile and go, “Hallo Daddy!” and “Miss you Daddy!”
  • Does not really like to reply in the affirmative YES, but he uses the term “okay” sparingly.  Lately, he has even started to reply “Okay, Mom!” (yes, that’s right, Mom and not Mommy!).  Oh by the way, his favorite word is “NO” 😛
  • Loves to show us what he has built or done, especially with his Lego set.  He’ll go, “Look! Look!” while proudly displaying his masterpiece.
  • Learning to take turns by saying, “My turn!”
  • Has a great sense of humor, and sometimes does things that makes himself laugh out loud.  He especially finds it funny when we accidentally drop things, and say “Oops!”, and he’ll laugh and say, “Funny!”

Food and Feeding

Depending on his mood, he will eat a lot or very little.  There have been times when he will finish 2 whole bowls of rice, and sometimes he would even take the chicken meat.  But sometimes, he would reject rice completely, choosing only to have bread or cheese or muffins or chocolate milk.

Our boy is a chocolate lover!

February 4, 2009 in Ethan, Food & Feeding, Funny Moments, Growing Up | 2 comments

Scrap Credits
Plum Pudding kit from Stacey Towers
Elegant word art (love chocolate) from Bethany

We have never known Ethan to have a sweet tooth.  Yes, he likes to play with candy canes and sweets, but they hardly ever enter his mouth. 

Lately however, our little boy has been showing a keen interest in all things CHOCOLATE.

It all started when Mommy began craving for come chocolate milk.  So off I scooted to get a gallon.  It sure did taste good, but was rather sweet too.  I didn’t give any to Ethan at first, but you know our boy…of course he was curious when he opened the fridge and saw that big container sitting there.

So I told him it was chocolate milk and asked if he would like to try some…and what happened after that, as they say, is history.  He simply LOVES chocolate milk now, and can down about three half cups at one go.  Sometimes he would even wake up in the middle of the night requesting for chocolate milk.  I sometimes mix a little bit of fresh milk to his chocolate milk, just so it is not too sweet for him. 

In fact, since he loves chocolate milk so much, we have stopped his night bottle feeds on Pediasure now.  He only has Pediasure with his bottle once a day, in the morning. 🙂

And guess what?  He is also incredibly addicted to chocolate cake…Ethan’s Mickey Mouse birthday cake was a chocolate cake, and he has been eating most of it.  He asks for chocolate cake and specifically wants ONLY the brown part!  He’s not a fan of the cake frosting, you see.  Well, he finished the last of the cake yesterday, but he is still asking me for more…perhaps I ought to bake a chocolate cake in the next few days.

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