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If you’re going to San Francisco…

November 12, 2008 in Entertainment, Ethan, Vacation | 7 comments

…be sure to wear some flowers in your hair…

***

…so says the song.  But of course, we didn’t have any flowers in our hair that day.  Hehe..

Instead of heading out to the malls last Sunday, we decided to take a leisurely drive to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco instead.  I had been telling Ethan about the sealions there, and I was sure he would be fascinated by them.

The weather is kinda chilly now, so I dressed Ethan up in long sleeves, long pants and put on his new pair of Osh Kosh shoes.  By the way, the shoes only cost $13.60 (at 60% off) – is that a bargain or what? 

 

Anyway, they make him look rather big boy, don’t you think?  Look at how eager he is to go “kai kai” 😛

 

As we buckled him up in his car seat, I put the hood of his jacket over his head, and surprise of all surprises, he didn’t remove the hood immediately.  So we had a picture taken.

 

The trip to Pier 39 took only about 45 minutes to an hour, so it was not that tiring.  Once we arrived, Ethan was all excited.  He wanted to run all around, so we had to keep a close eye on him.

There were many street musicians around too, some playing the drums and the rhythmic tunes really intrigued Ethan!

 

He saw this statue of a giant sealion, and a couple of kids were climbing it.  Of course, our boy had to join in the fun too.  Oh yes, we definitely had trouble prying him away from that one!

 

There were many shops and attractions at Pier 39, in fact, there were escalators too!  So Ethan definitely had to get on those!  We also saw a bungee-trampoline, where kids can be strapped onto a bungee rope and bounce off a trampoline.  It was for older kids though, but Ethan wanted in on the fun too.  He even tried to climb over the fence to get in.

 

The view was amazing, and from where we were, we could see the Island of Alcatraz.  Tried to get a good picture of it in the background (and at the same time, ensure that the people in the foreground looked good too), but it was really difficult!

 

Our next stop was of course the sealions!  Ethan was very happy to see them and stood there for a very, very long time.  He giggled when we imitated the sounds the sealions made and laughed when some of the sealions fell into the water.

 

Well, we definitely had fun that day.  And to cap it all off, we all sat down for a nice meal of clam chowder.  Ethan enjoyed the chowder tremendously!  In fact, I think we should have ordered a separate bowl for him!

Will we be coming back again?  You bet!  And I really hope so!

Two thumbs up for accessories!

June 27, 2008 in Entertainment, Ethan, Funny Moments, Parenting | 8 comments


Scrap Credits
Berrylicious kit from A work in progress 

Accesorizing definitely has its advantages. In addition to giving my outfit added pizazz, I found out that accessories can double up as items to occupy a toddler’s fidgety hands.

A few weeks ago, when we attended BIL’s wedding dinner in Sungai Petani, I wore a black tube dress and a shawl, and as an afterthought, I threw in my 12 silver bangles, bought aeons ago at that place called Isetan. Pssssstttt…this is THE place for accessories, people, because despite the long period of time these bangles have been hibernating in my drawer, not one of them were discolored. Every one of them was as good as new.

So wore them I did. Little did I know that Ethan would be so very fascinated with them. At our dinner table, when he had finished all his snacks, he suddenly spotted my bangles and reached for them. He would remove them from my arm one by one and put them on his arm. Then when he was done with all of the 12 bangles, he would jiggle his arm up and down, creating a nice jingly sound. Then he would take them out one by one again and put them back on my arm, and then repeat the entire process.

When I wore a simple chunky bangle the following night, he also grabbed hold of it and pretended it was a tambourine. I know that’s what he was thinking, cos he was shaking it very much like how we would play a tambourine, and he had been watching Baby Einstein’s Meet the Orchestra a lot.

So is it any wonder why I am so into accessorizing these days? But be careful though, if you are wearing those delicate dangling earrings. Just be sure your toddler doesn’t yank them off!

I love Barney!

May 8, 2008 in Entertainment, Ethan | 10 comments


Scrap Credits
Romantic’s kit from happy-scrap
Polka dotted arrow from Dúnia
Lil Ladybug kit freebie from LorieM Designs

It all happened one fine day a couple of months back, when I was keeping a baby audio CD in our TV drawer cabinet.  I opened the drawer and lo and behold, the kay-poh-chi Ethan came over, peered over my shoulder and saw a Barney DVD set.  He took it out and asked me to play the DVD for him.  His Aunty Pauline was the one who had bought this DVD set so many many moons ago, but at that time, Ethan was very disinterested in it, that’s why we kept it away.

Anyway, I took out one of the DVDs and played it.  Ethan was … transfixed.  He didn’t finish watching it, but he was definitely enjoying himself.  By and by, he began to participate in the activities and action songs in the DVD.  In fact, it is through Barney DVDs that he learnt the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and One Two Buckle My Shoe song, just to name a few.  He can now watch the entire 45 minute to an hour Barney show without interruption.

That’s not all, he sometimes will request for his Barney soft toy too.  This toy was also a present from his Kor Kor but it had been in his cot, untouched for such a long time.  See, here he is posing with Barney, when he was a wee little baby of 5 months’ old:

 

Looks like Barney mania has hit him.  There’s a clip of a Barney live performance in one of the DVDs that Ethan can repeatedly watch over and over again.  He even imitates the way Barney walks (big steps) sometimes.  You know, I still don’t understand the fascination of kids with Barney, but when it causes Ethan to give me a loving adorable kiss on the cheeks after the “I Love You” song, nothing can be sweeter.

The Word Whammer

April 11, 2008 in Entertainment, Ethan, Funny Moments | 9 comments

 

When Daddy came back from India, you bet I was happy!  It had been days that I had not had a bout of wrestling with him, so I was definitely looking forward to that.  No fun wrestling with Mommy ma…always must let her win. 😛

Anyway, a couple of days after Daddy came back, he presented me with a surprise: a new toy!  Boy, was I excited!  Upon first glance, it looked similar to the Fridge Phonics toy I got for Christmas last year. Same color scheme and there were also plenty of alphabets.  There was also the very familiar red musical note button that played the alphabet song, only that it was a different singer.

I soon discovered that this toy is called the Word Whammer, and it is a rather advanced version of the first Fridge Phonics set I have.  Che-wah…Daddy thinks I advanced liao…don play play lo…. With this Word Whammer, I can make many many three letter words.  They have also included two alphabets of certain letters, like “d” and “m”, for example, just so I can make “dad” and “mom”.  I haven’t quite figured out how yet though.

Just the other day, while I was playing with my new toy, I made the word “hoi”, which I think is a very Malaysian word.  How many times have you heard or seen people using it?  Ha…..

The lure of water

April 3, 2008 in Entertainment, Ethan, Funny Moments, Growing Up | 2 comments


Scrap Credits
XOXO template V2,  rayoflight prints and solids & aking hardin alphas, all from fei-fei’s stuff

It all started one day when I decided to get my hair done.  I checked with the salon and my hairdresser told me that a haircut and treatment would take approximately an hour and a half.  It was impossible to ask Ethan to wait around for me for that long a time, so I very sweetly requested Pete to take Ethan for some male bonding time at the mall, while I had some me-time.

And Pete told me that ever since that outing, Ethan has taken a fancy to the flowing water decorations on display at a particular shop in the mall.  Ethan has never noticed these before.  You know what I am referring to?  Yup, those electrically operated pieces of decoration, some with rotating lighted balls, some with mini waterfalls and pretty rocks.  Now, each time we pass this shop that sells them, Ethan would stop and stare, without fail.

I wonder what’s going through his mind when he looks and giggles at these pieces of decorations.  Wait ah Ethan….when we move to a house, we can ask Daddy to get you one, okay?

Stimulating Fun and Learning!

March 18, 2008 in Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up | 11 comments

Last Saturday, after months of procrastination, we finally took Ethan for the free trial parent-toddler class at a nearby childcare center/school.  We attended the 11:00a.m. session and it lasted for about 1 hour and 40 minutes.  As an afterthought, it probably would have been better had we gone for the earlier class…you’ll see why later…

At first Ethan was quite shy when we first entered the playroom.  The teacher was very friendly and encouraged Ethan to make himself comfortable, and very soon, he was busying himself with the giant lego blocks.  He also found a wooden hammer which resembled the one he had back home, so I suppose he was happy.

The parent-toddler class is broken up into several sessions of activity, the first of which is a freestyle play with toys indoors.  After that, all the kids adjourned to a shaded play area with various activity stations, such as the artist area (complete with easels, paints and paintbrushes), sand pit (scoops, sand toys and lots of sand), a creative corner (with play-doh, glue and paper cutouts), mini-slides, mini houses and a water station.  Much to my surprise, Ethan enjoyed being an artist, complete with the artist apron.  He didn’t seem too keen on paints and brushes when we had the Little Artists playgroup before… When he moved to the sand pit, he was a little apprehensive at first, perhaps because he had not touched sand before.  But soon he was so engrossed with scooping up the sand that he had to forgo the water station, because the time had come for everyone to move on to the next activity.

After we washed his hands (by the way, I absolutely love the taps that were installed for the kids: just the right height!), all the kids moved to the outdoor playground.  I love the special soft padded rubberized surface the playground was built on.  Kids can play around barefooted without hurting their feet.  Ethan immediately grabbed the basketball and held on to it for dear life.  That’s why most of the photos have him holding on to the basketball.  He refused to let go of it even while he was sliding down the slide.  Oh by the way, he also enjoyed doing some slam dunks on the mini basketball net!  How cute is that!?  Future MVP, perhaps?

Next up, the kids were all given some biscuits and water, given that they would definitely be hungry and thirsty by then.  Ethan boy had TWO helpings of biscuits (that’s two bowls), and finished every bit of it.  He really eats a lot but I just don’t know where the food goes.

I could tell Ethan was pretty tired then.  Pete and I were also very hungry too (that’s why we ought to have gone for the earlier class), but there was still one last activity remaining.  Everyone gathered in the music room, sang some songs and watched a video about the very hungry caterpillar (which made us even hungrier).  While most of the kids remained in the story-telling area however, busybody Ethan chose to explore the area and ventured up the stairs.

After everything was over, we all sang the goodbye song and the kids were all given stickers.  Ethan, who had to wait for his turn, was rather impatient, so he ran away at first without his sticker.  We had to take him to the teacher in the end, and she very nicely gave him a special teddy bear sticker 🙂

We have yet to decide if we want to enrol for the class though.  The parent-toddler class was a very good experience for Ethan and we could tell he really enjoyed himself. He’s probably ready for some good fun and mingling around with kids too now.  So we’ll wait and see.

Anyway, we had expected Ethan to fall asleep in the afternoon after all the playing around, but instead, it was Daddy who fell asleep!  Ethan only drifted off to dreamland at 6:30p.m.!!!  We had to wake him up to go out for dinner at about 8:00p.m.

Little Drummer Boy

January 26, 2008 in Entertainment, Ethan, Funny Moments | 10 comments


Scrap Credits
Close knit-sampler from Kim B’s Designs
Stitched heart and Stamp Cluster from Lindsay Jane Designs
Star doodle: Doodle Me Big from Mikkel Paige Originals
Into the Mystic embellishments from Wenchd Grafix
Boxed words from Chantal
Sweet Serenity Alphas from Shabby Princess Designs

Here’s another parenting tip I have learnt.  Toddlers ADORE chopsticks.  Okay, I know they might poke themselves in the eyes with it, but when push comes to shove, we just gotta let them play, be themselves and well…. just keep a watchful eye.  Anyway, a few days ago we were having our family dinner in Old Town and Ethan suddenly decided he wanted to stand up in his high chair and wouldn’t sit still.

After a bit of struggling, I offered him my pair of chopsticks, and he eagerly took them, proceeding to *play* on the table.  It really looked like a professional jamming session, I tell ya.  Check out the intensity on his face as he plays to the rhythm.  It’s no wonder he enjoys Baby Einstein’s Meet the Orchestra so much, yes… especially the Percussion section.

I Love Rock N’ Roll

January 17, 2008 in Entertainment, Ethan, Funny Moments | 9 comments

Yesterday evening, as Ethan and I were hanging out at home while Daddy had his futsal game, we watched American Idol. It was the first episode of the season and the program showed people attending the auditions in Philadelphia. All of a sudden, the show played the song “I Love Rock n’ Roll” – you know the song that was made popular by Joan Jett? As soon as Ethan heard the song play, he gave me a big grin, stood up and began *dancing*… he turned round and round on the floor and kicked and tapped his legs to the rhythm. And he even did all this while holding on to his Yakult bottle. Of course I spurred him on by singing the song and dancing too! Unfortunately, we were having so much fun that I only managed to capture the last bit of his dance, which was energetic but not as much as the part which was not captured on video. Apparently his love for this song is not a fluke because he was dancing again to it when they repeated the American Idol episode later that night and also when I hummed the tune to him this morning.

Everybody sing together now:
“I love rock n’ roll
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby!”

Mastering the Cube

December 10, 2007 in Entertainment, Ethan | 4 comments

Today, I had the opportunity to revisit the solution to the Rubik’s cube.  I first learnt how to solve it when I was in secondary school, and have been out of touch since.  But today, because Michelle brought a miniature version of the cube to work, I decided to try and see if I could remember how to solve it.  I borrowed the cube back home to attempt solving it, and also to ask Pete if ever I got stuck… hehe…. and I am mighty pleased with myself that I have succeeded!  Yay! *pats myself on back*

Well, Ethan too was fascinated with that miniature colorful cube.  Look at how intently he is concentrating on turning the colorful sides of the cube… all except that last picture, of course!  Perhaps he too will learn how to solve the Rubik’s cube in due course, with Daddy and Mommy’s guidance, most definitely! 😀

Here’s looking at you, babe!

December 3, 2007 in Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up | 9 comments

Two Saturdays ago, I received an SMS from Paik Ling who informed me that Ethan’s photo had appeared in the December issue of the Mother & Baby magazine.  Naturally I was filled with pride like any mother would and I was also anxious to get myself a copy, because I wanted to know which photo of his had been selected.  That weekend, I scoured every bookstore I came across in Penang, but unfortunately the December issue was not available yet.  The Klang Valley stores usually get their stock way faster than Penang’s, so I was resigned to wait a few more days because the magazine was still not available even on Monday.

Then on Friday, Jojo‘s mommy IMed me to congratulate me because she spotted Ethan’s picture in the mag.  Apparently she had just bought her copy that very same day from a bookstore in Queensbay Mall.  I was excited because I would finally be able to get a copy that evening too, since that’s where we normally will have dinner Friday nights.

So immediately after dinner, we stopped at Borders to get ourselves a copy.  This is the first time Ethan’s photo has appeared in a magazine although I have been dilligently submitting his photos off and on.  I am so very proud of him 🙂  Hopefully this will be the first of many many more to come!

Turns out that Jojo’s mommy had a good reason to buy this month’s magazine too, because one of Jojo’s picture had been chosen as well!  Congratulations Jojo! 🙂

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