Bible Verse of the Day

February 2010

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I am often amazed at how much Ethan has grown, how much he is a big boy now, and the fact that he is starting to ride a bike makes me realize how true the adage “How time flies” is.

He will sometimes ask to be taken downstairs to the porch to ride his bike, and we’ll try to get him to do *something* first before we take him down, e.g. finish his dinner 🙂

Still needs a little fine tuning on the pedalling aspect, but he gets the bike to move anyhow…now, doesn’t Ethan look cool, bike, helmet and all? 🙂

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Even though Hannah cannot yet eat these cookies, she still insists on grabbing hold of the cookie jar and strutting around with it…almost like holding her own bag! 🙂

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I’ll have to admit she does look cute! 🙂

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Endearing shot of Mommy and Ethan, taken during the reunion dinner.

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Found some time for a family photo too. This year, we had reunion dinner at a Chinese restaurant in the new Flemington Hotel in Taiping. Atmosphere is certainly different than that of a reunion dinner at home, but one thing good is that we don’t need to do the dishes!

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Ethan being *shy* when asked to pose for a picture.

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…and now, he’s all warmed up! 🙂

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Ethan being all big-brotherly and sharing a *conversation* with Hannah.

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My little princess and me 🙂

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In Ipoh, a picture taken with Ah Ma and Ah Kong, and the two girls: Hannah and her little cousin Caitlynn. The boys (Ethan and Collin) just weren’t interested. Haha.

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Instead, they were busy with Collin’s birthday cake. In Taiping, Ethan was all “I wanna go to Ipoh to cut Collin’s birthday cake!” So here they are…those 2 boys observing a momentary silence as they await what will happen to the cake.

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…and finally…Ethan striking a PIRATE pose!

Guess who’s been getting into the American Idol craze recently?  Do you think Ethan can pass the scrutiny of the judges, especially with his unique rendition of the ABC song, which he learnt from Choo Choo Soul?

 

Well…Ethan himself certainly thinks so!

 

…and then lately, he has been saying this…

 

Surely, he will give Ellen Degeneres a run for her money, huh? 🙂

Hannah has an excellent training regime to aid her in her walking.  Superb trainer and the sessions are fun for both the trainer AND the trainee.  Watch:

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Sometimes they fight and grab stuff from one another, sometimes they cry and scream…but it’s always a joy to see them play together so adorably.

I’m glad this is happening more and more often now.

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And sometimes, there are even moments of great brotherly love being displayed…. (awwww….)

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And sometimes things get out of hand….

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Scrap Credits
Collaboration kit from Jennysscrapplace

Wonderland numbers from Jessi Calger
Netter’s Alphas from Scarlet Heels

Weight

Probably around 10 kilos, plus or minus.  We do notice that she has become less “round” since she started walking.

Height/Length

Getting taller and taller!

Teeth

4 incisors (2 top and 2 bottom).  Next 2 top incisors are appearing too.

Motor Skills

  • Can shake her head left and right.
  • Tries to crawl and walk into small tight spaces.
  • Able to manipulate an object to get it out of a tight space.
  • Can squat and the stand, and then squat again, whilst holding toys in both hands.
  • Can do the “wobble-walk”
  • Loves for us to hold her by the arms and lead her on walks around the house.
  • When she wants to get somewhere fast, she will either use the wall for support, or crawl.
  • Throw things and then closes her eyes in anticipation of the loud sound it makes.

Communication and Social Skills

  • Says “Mameh”, “Mamma”, Dadeh”, “Baba”, “Mamba”.
  • Imitates and responds in a smiliar fashion when we “blow” on her tummy.
  • Loves the remote, and will do whatever she can to get a hold of it.
  • Can make “pathetic”-looking faces just so we’ll feel sorry and carry her.
  • Can “manipulate” us by purposely knocking her head on the wall when she’s in the cot, and then crying so we’ll pick her up.

Food and Feeding

She’s on Mommy’s milk 100% and also LOVES drinking water from a regular cup.  Sometimes I have had to pry her hands from the cup!

New foods she has been introduced to include:

  • Heinz Teething rusks, which she absolutely LOVES.
  • Red dates (cooked with porridge)
  • Organic baby oats (mixed into porridge and sometimes served just on its own with water)
  • Regular fragrant rice
  • Fish (Jade perch)

When it’s time for her porrdige, she will smile and look very happy.  Then, if she has the mood to eat, she will open her mouth eagerly and wait for me to feed her.  Sometimes if I am a little slow in feeding her, she will pull my arm or shirt!

Ethan’s birthday culminated in a celebration amongst relatives.  We decided to have a buffet lunch at the E&O Hotel, and it goes without saying that Ethan was very much looking forward to this celebration.

See, he even willingly posed for a nice shot before we left for the hotel.

 

… and then, he started being his CHEEKY self again.

I think the part Ethan enjoyed most about the birthday lunch was the chocolate stuff: chocolate-covered marshmallows from the fondue station, chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake….

..and the part that Hannah enjoyed the most was the teething rusk she was chewing on.  She even fell asleep while holding it!

…and woke up for a moment to give it a few more chomps, then she was off to dreamland again….Even after she awoke, and her Ah Ma was carrying her, she was still holding the rusk.

Such “devotion” can only be admired. 🙂

So anyway, after our very filling lunch, we all adjourned back to our home to cut the birthday cake and to open the presents.  After three days of preparation, I was very pleased to unveil the birthday cake Ethan had requested for.   On the 1st day I made the cream cheese frosting and chilled it, on the 2nd day I baked the cake, and the night before Ethan’s birthday, I relived my childhood playing with *edible play-doh* a.k.a. fondant.

After he had cut his Thomas cake in school a few days back, I had asked him if he liked the cake, and his reply was, “Yes…” and then after that he said, “Where’s my Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake, Mommy?”

I had told him the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake was gonna be for his home celebration.  Haha.

err….you see that small DENT on the lower left of the cake?  That was caused by Mickey having the first taste of it; you can see his nose is a little bit blue… 😛

I chose to make the nutritious and rich carrot cake with cream cheese frosting I had tried a few weeks back.

And his expression when he saw the cake was just priceless. 🙂

The birthday boy then continued opening all his presents, including the HUGE present from Daddy, Mommy and Hannah.  I had to enlist the help of one of my neighbors to help store it first lest Ethan sees it in our home and spoil the surprise.

He tore open the wrapper, and…..immediately got on it!

…and wouldn’t get down!  It was a tricycle in his favorite color: YELLOW.  He had wanted one since a few weeks before we left the US, so we figured it was high time we got him one now.

Look….all the pictures we took with him after that were of him on the trike.

Ain’t it weird that you can’t see the rest of  my body in the photo above?

…and one with both his grandmas…

Ethan definitely had a LOT of fun on his birthday.  He proudly announces he is FOUR years old now, and that he can play toys that are meant for “FOUR AND ABOVE”.

He even asked me for more presents to open… 🙂

Happy birthday, dearest Ethan Boy! 🙂

Being an SAHM poses a different set of obstacles to overcome every single day.  Obstacles that the corporate world could never ever train you for, no matter how many learning courses you attend.

Some days, I have had to battle with my (on-the-way-to-independence) toddler on why he has to finish his dinner.  Coaxing him and promising him something he would like *if only* he would finish just a few more spoonfuls.

Some days, I have to sadly throw away most of the porridge I cook for Hannah.  She would take just one mouthful and then subsequently close her eyes and turn away when offered the porridge.

But some days, I taste sweet triumph…just like today.

Ethan, who, for as long as we can remember, will only agree to taking “rice with soy sauce”, asked for rice with FISH and CARROTS today.  And he really ate them.  Hallelujah!

 

Hannah, finished her entire bowl of rice, oats and millet porridge cooked with chicken, red dates, pumpkin and broccoli…and even asked for SECONDS!

Ahhhh…sweet victory indeed. 🙂

Two days before Ethan’s birthday, we ended up having dinner at Friday’s.  The birthday boy had requested for spaghetti…yes, he said “PLEASE…???” 🙂

 

While Ethan and Daddy went to the loo, I inquired on whether the folks at Friday’s could sing a birthday song for Ethan that night.  I knew he loves to blow out the candle, and he loves cake, so we agreed to have them sing for him.

After our dinner, a group of Friday servers came over and Ethan was asked to stand on the chair.  Of course, he willingly did it.

Ethan looked very overwhelmed but he was very happy when they started singing, not in the least bit perturbed by the loud voices.

And after blowing out the candle, he dug in to the slice of chocolate cake, finishing every single morsel.

It was the perfect end to a little family celebration.  And even though he wasn’t yet officially 4 years old then, Ethan proudly announced that he was! 🙂

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