And that’s just one of the things he busied himself with while we were cleaning our apartment back home…amazing, ain’t it?
All about Ethan
A little less than a month ago, we (literally) packed our bags and left our San Jose apartment. I admit that I felt a little sad to leave the place, but honestly, I didn’t have much time to dwell on it because we really had to hurry through all the packing. Coupled with the fact that little Hannah decided to attain her personal milestone of rolling over on that very same day we were to leave, we virtually had to pack while making sure she was safe 🙂
I think Ethan had no real inkling as to what was happening when he said goodbye to his friends at daycare though. He was still all jovial and boisterous.
And with all the rushing, we managed to make it to SFO and checked in about ONE hour before takeoff!
It was also our first time flying with a stroller, and both the stroller and the infant carrier had to be stored separately in the aircraft.
This time we managed to get the front row seats because Hannah was provided with a bassinet. Front row seats means more leg space for us and more running-around space for Ethan!
I couldn’t resist this adorable photo of Hannah fast asleep in the bassinet. When I first put her there, she did not sleep long because (I think) she felt cold. Later on, she fell asleep in my arms and then I put her in the bassinet with her blankie.
And during our short stop in Hong Kong for refuelling, I carried Hannah around in my sling, sans stroller! Check out her rosy cheeks, a result of being exposed to warm weather, I think.
The journey home was a lot easier than we had anticipated. Ethan made himself busy with whatever he could find, and Hannah … well, let’s just say I have mastered the art of changing soiled diapers in turbulent weather! She’s also exclusively breastfed, so no worries about bottles, powder and hot water!
Our little family is safely back home in our home in Penang now. And trying our very best to adapt. 🙂
Here’s Ethan doing the downward-facing dog pose:
During our past 9 months or so here in San Jose, Ethan has definitely enjoyed a tremendous time here. And while we are in the midst of all our packing, I do think it is inevitable that Ethan will miss the precious time and the fun he had at daycare when we leave.
From a rather shy and not-too-many words little guy, Ethan is now talking non-stop, complete with a mind of his own! His confidence has skyrocketed, although he sometimes still is a little shy with strangers.
He has learnt SO many new things at his daycare: singing, dancing, reading, counting, adorable expressions, good manners…the list goes on.
He’s also made many womderful friendships. Wouldn’t it be cool if these kids were to meet up again a few years from now?
And I bet he also learnt a few things about how to be a good big brother too!
Yes, Ethan will definitely miss daycare here, but I am just so very thankful that he at least had the splendid opportunity to experience it.
And now, I just pray that we can find a good daycare back home that Ethan will love just as much.
It has always been a struggle to feed Ethan medicine. Back when he was still breastfed, I would just rely solely on breastfeeding to get him well. But when he was weaned, I dreaded it when he became ill. Usually, we just let nature take its course and he would eventually get better. Most people say that over-the-counter medicine for kids in the US are more palatable and hence, we should buy some to take home with us. Medicine that comes in various kid-approved flavours like cherry, bubble gum and grape definitely appeal to kids.
Well, most kids, anyway…but not Ethan.
Ethan has been coughing for several weeks now. The problem is he refuses to drink a lot of water AND he refuses to take medicine. We bought a bottle of Tylenol in GRAPE flavour. And although the mixture tastes really good, just like concentrated grape juice and nothing like the yucky tasting Rhinathiol or Polaramine, Ethan would have none of it.
We forcefed him this Tylenol Grape a few times, or rather we *tried* to feed him with it, but he would just spit it all out. Even though the characters in his favorite Dr Hippo books drink Grape medicine when they are sick, Ethan does not want to follow suit.
Now, our typical conversations would go like this:
Daddy: Ethan do you wanna drink GRAPE?
Ethan: No! I don’t want it!
Daddy: You have to choose: either drink Grape or drink water.
And of course he would gladly drink the water.
We tried to add the Tylenol into his chocolate milk a few times, but after just the first time, he suspected we had added it in, and he told me, “I don’t want grape Mommy!” And he would stand behind me as I poured the chocolate milk for him, just to make sure I did not add anything else in.
Sigh…
He is still coughing though, but I guess we have to wait for him to heal himself. Here’s what we go through every day:
Ethan: (coughs)
Daddy: Are you still coughing, Ethan?
Ethan (shaking his head): Nooo…I’m NOT coughing Daddy…
Daddy: You just coughed Ethan. You have to drink Grape!
Ethan: No Daddy. I don’t wanna drink Grape Daddy.
And then today…
Hannah coughs.
Ethan: Hannah coughing? Drink Grape!
Mommy: (coughs)
Ethan (immediately): Mommy, are you coughing?
😛
Looks like our bags will not have bottles of grape-flavored medicine then!
I have no doubt in my mind that Ethan will miss Gilroy Gardens when we get back home to Malaysia. Almost every weekend, when we ask him where he would like to go, he would exclaim, “I wanna go to Gilroy Gardens!” It’s a good thing we decided to get the season pass (Lotsa Card) so we could enjoy unlimited entries into the theme park.
Well, last weekend, we made our final trip to Gilroy Gardens before we head back to Malaysia. As soon as we turned into the theme park, Ethan said, “I see it Mommy! I see the Gilroy Gardens signboard!” Yup, he was THAT excited. He even started dancing to the music before we entered the theme park.
Because it was our last visit (for a long time anyway) there, it was as if Ethan could feel it too, and he wanted in on as many rides as possible. Normally he would bypass the race car ride, but that day, he insisted on getting in.
And when we were ready to take the choo-choo train ride, Hannah was awake, so for the first time, our little family got on board the train together. There were only a couple of rides that allowed infants on, and the train ride was one of them.
The hot sunny weather was the perfect recipe for a good splashing time in the sun. And that’s exactly what Ethan had. There was this water squirting area where the kids could play in the water, and Ethan had a jolly good time there.
It was a fantastic day at Gilroy Gardens, and for what it’s worth, I think I am gonna miss this place too.
Goodbye Gilroy Gardens! We hope to come back again next time! 🙂
Reasoning
Daddy: Is Ethan a boy or a girl?
Ethan: A boy!
Daddy: Good! What about Daddy? Is Daddy a boy or a girl?
Ethan: Daddy is a boy!
Daddy: Very good! Is Mommy a boy or a girl?
Ethan: Mommy’s a girl!
Daddy: What about Hannah? Is Hannah a boy or a girl?
Ethan: Ummmm….ummmm…
Mommy: Hannah’s a girl!
Ethan: No! Hannah’s a BABY!
Authority
Mommy: Ethan, let’s go take a shower!
Ethan: No, Mommy, I don’t want it!
Mommy: You gotta go take a shower Ethan, you wanna be clean, right?
Ethan: No Mommy, NO! Go sit the naughty stool! Don’t do it again, okay, Mommy?
Customization
Daddy (playfully to Hannah): Who’s your Daddy?!
(Hannah smiles happily)
Ethan runs really quickly towards Hannah.
Ethan: Where’s my Ethan?!
Daddy: Who’s your Daddy?!
Ethan: No no Daddy, stay right there, okay?
Ethan (to Hannah): Where’s my Ethan?!
Last week, Ethan had his first visit to the dentist. I know we should have brought him when he was about two or two-and-a-half, but I was searching for a good pediatric dentist, fussypot that I am. Anyway, I stumbled on this pediatric dentist’s site and the pictures in his clinic looked really cool; with soft toys everywhere and smiling kids, I knew this was where Ethan could go.
I promptly made an appointment, and although we arrived at the clinic a little late, we quickly registered (while Ethan busied himself with Super Mario Bros.) and were ushered in. I went in with Ethan while Pete stayed in the reception area with Hannah.
The dentist’s examination room was nothing like the regular dental clinic. It almost seemed like a child’s playroom! Ethan immediately went for the Ikea bolster thingy, which coincidentally was the identical one he has at home.
Then the dental assistant got Ethan to warm up by giving him a giant toothbrush to brush the “dino”‘s teeth:
It was funny cuz Ethan wanted to brush his own teeth at first! 🙂
Next, the dentist came in and explained that he would just be checking Ethan’s teeth and *counting* them. Unfortunately, despite Ethan saying “okay” back home when I told him what the dentist would be doing, he refused to lie down. So I had to hold Ethan, one leg on either side of my waist, then I faced the dentist, and lowered Ethan’s head so his teeth could be checked.
There was some buildup along the gumlines of some of his teeth, but thankfully no cavities. As usual, the dentist asked Ethan to brush at least twice a day and floss too. And as expected, when his teeth was counted, he had only 18: the 2 missing teeth were his two bottom incisors, just like Daddy’s. 😛
We were then ushered to the x-ray room where Ethan was the perfect angel while his teeth x-rays were taken.
No fuss, no mess…he just bit on a piece of material for the x-ray to be taken, then his teeth picture was snapped; twice: once for the top jaw and once for the bottom.
Here’s his anxious look waiting for the x-rays to be ready.
Well, that soon turned to happiness when he was asked to choose a balloon: Ethan chose the red one:
His teeth x-rays looked fine, and we could see the permanent teeth below his milk teeth. It is possible though that he will still take after Pete and have 2 incisors missing in the bottom jaw.
Oh, and before we left the clinic, Ethan was asked to choose a toy too. He is very into musical instruments, so he chose a purple recorder!
We were told to make another appointment for cleaning of his teeth, so I did. And his teeth-cleaning appointment was 2 days ago…
I had explained to Ethan that it would just be a very simple brushing and cleaning and he would get a balloon and toy after that. On the way to the clinic, he was all, “I wanna see Mr Dentist!”
But as soon as the dental assistant was ready to start the cleaning procedure, Ethan looked very troubled and began sobbing. He lied down on the bench-like chair (totally flat, not reclinable like a regular dentist’s) and looked very upset. Maybe he wasn’t very sure what to expect, but after a few minutes of consoling and reassurance (and me holding a red balloon for him) he quietened down, wore his *sunglasses* and had his teeth cleaned.
The dental assistant did the following:
-
flossed his teeth
-
brushed his teeth with a toothbrush to show me (and Ethan) the correct way of brushing
-
cleaned his teeth with a rubbery vibrating tool
-
wiped his mouth and teeth dry with cotton gauze
-
applied flouride *bubble bath* on the teeth
-
wiped his teeth again
Ethan was to refrain from food and drnks for half an hour after that.
Good job, Ethan! Look at how sparkling clean his teeth are now!
And this is the toy he chose:
Looks like I’ll have to get him a balloon and toy the next time he visits a dentist in Malaysia!
We made a 4-hour-or-so drive northeast to South Lake Tahoe for a one-night holiday last week. Pete had taken the week off from work, and the decision to travel there was kinda impulsive. We knew it would be our last vacation to somewhere in the States before we headed back to Malaysia next month, yet it would be our very first trip together as a family of four.
Thankfully, I managed to secure a hotel room at the last minute at a whopping 40% discount, and even better, it came with a king-sized bed with the famous Tempur-Pedic® mattress, which was absolute heaven for our weary bodies. Unfortunately the hotel did not provide a crib for Hannah, so we had to bring her infant-toddler rocker for her to sleep on.
So how was our holiday?
Well, to tell you the truth, despite the rather long journey, and having to make a few pit stops for when Hannah needed a feed, or for when Ethan had to go to the potty, or errmm…for when Mommy had to go potty, I think we did pretty well. Took us slightly longer than usual to get to our destination, but it was definitely very worth it. Of course, we were entertained along the way by the usual chatters and singing from our very willing Mr Bulat (when he wasn’t asleep).
Let’s just let the pictures tell the story…
Here’s Ethan enjoying the sunset at the recreation park by the lake. Our little boy kept whining that he wanted to “go home” but he seemed very happy when we stopped by the lakeside after dinner! LOL
A picture I took of Pete and the kids. It was supposed to be just Pete and Hannah, but Ethan wanted in on the photo too, as you can see!
Before we left for home, we drove to indulge in the scenic view of Lake Tahoe. Here’s a family picture taken with the picturesque Emerald Bay in the background. Hannah was asleep…or so we thought!
She promptly awoke, I guess cuz she wanted to take in the spectacular view too! She was all smiles, so we did what every smart parent would have done!
And then of course here we have Ethan wanting to leave the scenic spot because he insisted he had to go to the Men’s to wash his hands!
Oh yeah…I won’t forget pictures of the breathtaking view.
It’s summer now, so there’s no more snow where we were. The temperature was also way warmer than I had anticipated. I had packed a considerable amount of warm clothing, only to have them occupy luggage space instead!
This was the closest Ethan got to seeing snow:
Not bad for a 2-day-1 night vacation eh?
Ethan asked for pasta for lunch today, so we decided to go try this place called Pasta Pomodoro. Coincidentally, they have a Kids Eat Free promotion on Tuesdays, so it was great because Ethan doesn’t really eat much.
The kids’ meal came with a drink (either milk, soda or apple juice), a main course and chocolate sundae for dessert. Here’s Ethan enjoying his milk…
He wasn’t at all interested in the meal we ordered for him, however. I ordered Easy Cheesy Pasta, which was like mac-n-cheese with conchiglie (shell pasta). Instead, Ethan asked for what Daddy was having: Frutti di Mare, i.e. spaghetti with mussels, clams, shrimp, calamari, garlic, tomato sauce.
Excellent choice, I’d say! It certainly did not bother him that it was slightly spicy too!
He finished his entire plate, then gulped down the whole glass of milk and then tucked into his chocolate sundae dessert.
And when we were done with lunch, as we were heading towards the car, he told me this, “The pasta was good, Mommy!” He had never ever said that before. 🙂