Bible Verse of the Day

May 2011

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Been getting these, “Oooh, is that your girl?  She looks JUST like you!” and “When I look at Hannah, I see you immediately!  She looks exactly like you!” remarks rather often.  So I decided to do a little experiment.  We all know how a photo proves a lot:  see how Ethan resembled Daddy from way back when? (by the way, Ethan still looks like Pete now…like a *mini Pete*)

Anyway, you guys be the judge…

This is a picture of me when I was little:

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Yes, I was a chubby lil one… 🙂  And here’s a recent picture of Hannah.  She is a little bit older than I was when my picture was taken though.

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What do you think?  Does she take after moi? 🙂

And here’s another one of my “little girl” photos…

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And one of Hannah taken 2 days ago, wearing her pair of Mary Janes.  She insisted she wanted me to take a photo of her, and she made sure I got the Mary Janes in the picture…

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What’s the verdict then?  Is she every bit Mommy’s little girl? 🙂

I’d say she does look like me somewhat…but with a tinge of naughtiness and cheekiness which I am quite sure she inherited from Daddy!  What say you?

Time and time, we had planned on going to The Botanical Gardens for a family exercise session, but time and time again, circumstances, (reasonable) excuses and sheer laziness got the better of us.  Granted, Ethan and Daddy do go there quite often…well, it’s either there or the Youth Park.  Ethan and Daddy has about an hour or so of bonding time on Saturdays when I accompany Hannah to her parent-toddler class, so they’ll either go for a walk/jog or football session.

Anyway, I digress.

I was gonna talk about our recent family exercise session at The Botanical Gardens. 🙂

It was the long Labor Day weekend, so Monday was a holiday too.  I remember years back I used to arrive at The Botanical Gardens before 7:30a.m. for a hike up Penang Hill.  But now, I’d be happy to reach there by 10:30a.m. 

Anyways, we decided against riding the tram and decided instead to take a walk around the park.

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Ethan, who was brimming with boundless energy, kept on asking us to “Hurry up!”

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His stamina was quite good, and he could run for a long while before he got tired.  When it was obvious it was a shorter distance to walk on the pavement, Ethan decided he wanted to make a detour and climb up and down a mini hill by the road instead.

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Every time either one of us caught up to him, Ethan would quicken his step and try to outrun us.

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…and every time that happens, little Hannah would ask us to “Catch Ethan!”  Not a problem at first, but when she started to get tired, and whoever was in *charge* of her had to carry her AND run after Ethan…well, let’s just say it’s a combo of cardio and strength training at the same time.  Try carrying 13 kilos and sprinting! 😛

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After the workout, the kids were all rosy-cheeked and exhausted (we thought).

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Well actually, the adults were also rather tired out themselves…but that is certainly not a deterrent.  We’ll definitely do this again.

I’d very much like to take the kids along to the gym too…that is, IF I can find a gym in Penang that has a section/classes specially catered for the kids. 🙂

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Scrap Credits
Kit “May Part 1” at DMS from Nanine & Mélie.Designs

Weight

12 point something kilos, maybe close to 13 kilos even.

Height

Around 83cm

Teeth

Well, well…she finally cooperated and opened up her mouth long enough for me to count her teeth, and whaddya know?  Our little Hannah has 17 teeth now!  Yep…it’s an ODD number.  She seems to be missing her bottom left canine/incisor though.  Will take her to the dentist next month for a checkup.

Motor Skills

  • She is more or less comfortable with her movements now, and can do most of the things her brother does.  She runs a lot though.
  • Hannah loves dancing and will move her body to the music when she hears it.
  • Hannah can feed herself rather well, with either a spoon or a fork.  Of course, there will be some mess when she self-feeds, but it’s part and parcel of learning.
  • Loves to reach and touch the buttons on the elevator.  She can only reach the bottom-most row though, so she can only press G.  But she will still proclaim, as proud as can be, “See? I press G!”

Communication and Social Skills

  • Hannah’s competitive streak is beginning to surface.  For example, when a song starts playing, and someone else sings, she’ scream, “Noooo!!! Hannah SING!”  Thank goodness her brother is matured enough to say, “Never mind Hannah, we sing it together, alright?”
  • Hannah is becoming curioser and curioser.  She loves to ask, “What are you doing, Mommy?” or “Where are we going now, Daddy?” and when we answer her, she’ll reply with a knowing, “Ohhh…” Or when we tell her what we are doing, she’ll request, “Let me see…”
  • She can also express her likes for certain things. For instance, when she hears a song she likes, she will say, “I like this song.  What’s this song?” or when she eats something she likes, she’ll say, “Mmmm…nice.  I like this one.”
  • When she does something wrong, or when she accidentally physically hurts me, and I wince in pain, she’ll say, “Sorry Mommy.”  She gets this empathic trait from her brother 🙂
  • Loves to *socialize*.  When someone is on the phone, she’ll run along and ask, “Say Hello?” and then she’ll say, “Hello Aunty!” or whatever into the receiver.  That’s right.  She’s not shy at all, this girl.

Food and Feeding

  • Hannah is weaned off the breast during the daytime.  She will only ask to be breastfed after I have taken my bath at night and when she is ready for bed.  I’ll work on weaning her off her night feeds soon.  Just don’t ask me when.
  • She is able to feed herself with a spoon or fork.
  • She can drink quite independently with a regular cup or with a straw.
  • She is very open to trying new foods, and can eat quite quickly too.  Her current favorites are carrots (boiled in soup) and tuna sandwich.

Sometimes…when my kids are in the mood to pose for pictures, I will grab this opportunity to snap a few random shots.  Usually what I get is a series of pictures that money definitely cannot buy…and pictures that are bound to light up even the dullest day, and guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

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These pictures were taken in the compound of our condo, while waiting for Daddy to get the car ready to take us out for dinner last Friday.

Getting warmed up…

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Watch and Learn…

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…and Copy!

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I asked for a SERIOUS shot and this is what they gave me…

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Time to get cheeky again!

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“Where’s your nose?”

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“Simon says, ‘Touch your hair!'”

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Last Friday, when Ethan came back from school, he told me he had a Mother’s Day gift for me in a little brown baggy, but I was not allowed to open it until Sunday, because it had to be a surprise.  I asked him if I had to keep it in the fridge, but he said no.

However, just to be on the safe side, I asked him to show it to Daddy and then Daddy can decide if it needs to be refrigerated.  Well, turns out it did.

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Ethan did drop *hints* here and there, so I had more or less guessed what it was…so when I opened the baggy this morning, it wasn’t really a surprise to me,…well, the only surprising thing was the star sprinkles on top of the blueberry muffin.  Nevertheless, regardless of whether it was a surprise or not, I was more touched by the effort he put in and the genuine excitement and pride he felt when I told him I LOVED it.  It was a gift from the heart, with words that he wrote all by himself and it was really yummy too (I shared it with both Ethan and Hannah)…

Happy Mommy’s Day to me, and to all the lovely mothers out there too!  Take the day off if you can…you so deserve it!

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This is how Ethan classifies age and age groups.  According to Ethan:

  • At the age of 0 years, you are considered a baby.
  • At the age of 1 year old, you are considered a small toddler.
  • At the age of 2 years, you are a medium toddler.
  • At the age of 3 years, you are a small kid.
  • At the age of 4 years, you are a medium kid.
  • At the age of 5 years, you are a BIG kid.
  • You remain a BIG kid from 6, 7, and so on until you attain the age of 12.
  • At the age of 13, you are a small teenager.
  • At the age of 14, you are a medium teenager.
  • At the age of 15, you are a BIG teenager.
  • You remain a BIG teenager until the age of 19.
  • When you hit 20 years old, you become a small adult.
  • At the age of 21, you are a medium adult.
  • At the age of 22, you are a BIG adult.
  • You remain a BIG adult until you get married and have kids.
  • As soon as you have kids, you become either a Daddy or Mommy.
  • And when those kids grow up and have their own kids, then you move on to become Grandpa or Grandma.

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During our regular visits to Toys R Us, Hannah never fails to “test drive” the kiddie cars.  Of course, it’s rather difficult now because they do not have any which aren’t chained up.  But that does not deter her, for she will just climb in and out of the cars one after another in a row.  Sometimes she finds herself stuck and unable to get out, so I will have to carry her out from the front windscreen of the car.

Now, doesn’t this scenario sound familiar? 🙂

Yes, it was exactly what her brother, Ethan, did several years ago, when he was about 1.5 years old.  See photo evidence below:

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Ethan has definitely outgrown that phase, but it looks like his sister is quickly learning the ropes! 🙂