|
|
You are currently browsing the archive for the Growing Up category.
Ethan is a natural with numbers. He picked up counting on his own, without our prodding or pushing. He can count to a hundred very well now, but I was totally surprised when he started counting in Chinese one day when I was out with him.
He is exposed to both English and Mandarin in school, as he has two teachers: one for English and one for Mandarin. And so by the by, he has also managed to pick up counting in Mandarin too, although to us, it sounds rather *slangy”, if you know what I mean… 🙂
Finally, just slightly after 9 months, she uttered the word that has the ability to wrap me around her little adorable fingers.
Last night, Hannah awoke, let out a “come carry me” cry, stood up in her cot, faced me and said, “Mameh….!”
She’s currently under the tutelage of her big brother to perfect the pronunciation, and from the looks of it, it will certainly be “Mommy” really soon.
…can we say that that’s officially her first word? 🙂
Ethan is a very friendly and sociable guy. Only catch is that he tends to get REALLY shy amongst strangers or even familiar faces in a new surrounding. It takes him some time to warm up and then he’ll be his usual boisterous self.
Just like a couple of weekends ago when we attended his classmate Griffin’s birthday party. Ethan was all excited in the morning of the event, because it was a pirate-themed party. He read aloud the words on the gift too, he said, ” Happy Birthday Griffin. From TWO Ethan!” (the 2 dots were read as *two*)
But as soon as we stepped into Griffin’s home, Ethan clung on to me like a leech and didn’t want to join in the games at all, even though several of his friends were there.
By the by, he warmed up and soon he was running around happily and playing with the birthday boy and his other friends too.
More smiles could be seen as time went by. He even posed happily in front of the pirate ship backdrop 🙂
…and he found some *treasures* to play with too!
Can you tell just how much he is enjoying himself? LOL
Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, he downed two sausages by himself.
…and a LOT of yummy chocolate birthday cake!
After that, he went home with his very own mini treasure chest which contained goodies, among them a really COOL telescope.
Is it any wonder he told me, “Mommy, I LIKE Griffin’s house!” 🙂
Today marks the last day of the schooling year for Ethan. I can’t believe that it’s been 3 months since he started school. Feels just like yesterday that I was bringing a clingy toddler to class, and now, I’m glad to see that he is happy to go to school every day.
It certainly makes it easier when I see him ask to “wear his bag” and run eagerly to his class. He’ll say bye to me, and when I pick him up, he’ll exclaim, “Mommy!” as he runs to hug me.
He’ll tell me all about his day in school, who he played with, what he did, and sometimes he would proudly bring back and show me the art and craftwork he has done.
It makes me proud too that he has made many new friends in school. In fact, when I show him a picture of his classmates, he can remember ALL of their names!
His grasp of the alphabet and phonics has also increased tremendously, and even though he was only introduced to the Letterland characters in August (when teacher was teaching M), he can remember all of them now. I was really amazed, and still am.
He has also surprised me when he started counting in Mandarin! His school employs a dual-language approach, and although he sometimes looks a little bit confused when the teacher speaks in Mandarin, I’ve caught him singing in Mandarin too! And sometimes, he tells me he learns “Chinese” 😛
Of course, he’s also had his share of fun in school. From birthday celebrations, to bringing goodie bags back from school, to special events, Ethan certainly enjoys it.
His class had a little Halloween class celebration not too long ago, where the kids had a fun activity to paint a *ghost* made from dough.
Ethan is a very *work-proud* boy and when he brought his YELLOW ghost back home, he could not stop showing it around.
And of course, nothing beats that smile on his face when we praise him sky high for his beautifully painted yellow ghost! 🙂
So school ended with a blast, or rather a SPLASH, today as the kids all had a great time playing in the giant rubber pool in the school compound.
On the way back from school today, Ethan told me, “I had so much fun in school today Mommy!”
I’ve no doubt you did, sweetie… 🙂
Ethan loves numbers! And the amazing thing about this is that we didn’t even force him to learn his numbers. He picked it up all on his own, with his own interest.
Here’s a really cute video of him counting, finger actions included…(a result of nothing else better to do while waiting for the food to arrive). Check out how he positions his fingers for numbers 3 and 8. Priceless!
I’m happy to note that the sibling relationship between Ethan and Hannah is significantly better now. Granted, he still sometimes prevents her from playing with most of his toys, but he now (usually) will say “I’m the big brother, Hannah’s my little sister”, and I find that really sweet.
Ironically, I got them cute outfits that had the words “Big Brother” and “Little Sister” sewn on them, and thought it would be a good idea to have a picture taken of both of them in it.
Precious, precious, simply precious shots! 🙂
…although it was tough to take the pictures too, because Hannah kept wanting to touch Ethan’s hair and ears, while Ethan wanted to prevent her from doing so, while saying “Cheese!” at the same time! LOL
I asked Ethan to put his arm around Hannah in the last picture above 🙂
Don’t they both look happy? 🙂
Last week, Ethan only went to school for 3 days. His school was closed for 2 days on Thursday and Friday, because all the staff was involved in a charity concert the school had organized. This meant that I needed to find something for Ethan to do that won’t keep him bored.
So on Thursday morning, I took him to the children’s library. It was just a very small one, but Ethan was VERY excited to step into a library…so much so that I had to remind him to NOT be too noisy (not that there were a lot of people there to disturb anyway).
Ethan chose several books and we sat at the table to read them. Then I taught him how to put the books back in the rack or the bins so the librarians could arrange them back again.
My only complaint about the children’s library was that the books were very old, and during the time we were there, I didn’t really see any books that were that good. But the important thing was that Ethan had fun!
I told him we could borrow the books, but he told me he wanted to BUY them! LOL
Anyway, in the afternoon, we had lunch at Fatty Loh’s at Nagore Road, and then drove to Queensbay Mall, where we went to the bookstore to get some magazines, and then went to the post office to post some letters. There were some Halloween decorations up then, and Ethan went absolutely crazy! He of course wanted a picture taken too, but he was moving so much it was hard to get a good shot.
Then we did a quick round of grocery shopping, and headed back for home.
Friday morning, we baked some chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting. Ethan was asking for it the whole morning, and he was quite the helpful kitchen helper indeed. He helped me pour the mixture, mixed it, and then he helped to lay out the cupcake wrappers in the molds. Oh, and of course he helped in eating too!
We did have a great time, and I am quite sure I answered his question when he said, “School’s closed today, Mommy?” 🙂
When I feel down, when I feel hurt, when I feel sad, it’s amazing how Ethan always manages to make it all feel better. Just like whenever he wakes up from a nightmare, and comes to me asking me to make it better for him, likewise, my little boy does the same for me.
Yesterday, I felt really gloomy and sad. Clumsy me had knocked over my freshly expressed bottle of EBM and 2.5oz had spilt onto the kitchen counter. While cleaning the mess, Ethan asked me what I was doing, and I told him I spilt the milk. He looked at me gently, came over and said, “Don’t worry Mommy, we’ll pour more milk later, okay?”
And then after I had downloaded some photos from my camera, one of the nicest shots I had taken of Ethan and Hannah ended up corrupted. I was fiddling with it on the PC trying to restore it, and Ethan wanted to know what was wrong. I sadly told him that one of my favorite pictures was spoilt. He immediately put his arms around me and said, “Here’s a hug Mommy. Don’t worry, everything will be okay.”
You just gotta love him 🙂
(By the way, I am still trying desperately to restore that picture. If anyone knows how to restore a corrupted jpg file, please let me know!)
Followers of the “Children should be seen and not heard” school of thought would certainly click their tongues in disapproval and shake their heads in despair should they see and hear what Ethan is like these days. When he is watching TV or doing something and he is concentrating: Ethan: Be quiet! Shhhh…. (holds finger to his mouth). No talking!
*****
Daddy attempts to change the TV channel.
Ethan: No watching FOOTBALL, Daddy!
and lately…
Ethan: No Daddy, change the channel to Playhouse Disney, PLEeeeeeeeASsssssssE!!!! PuhLEeeeeeeeASsssssssssssE….???!!!
*****
When someone laughs at him, with him or loudly:
Ethan: It’s not funny, uncle!! That’s not very nice!
*****
At the restaurant, a waiter approaches us.
Waiter: Sir, do you need a baby chair for your son?
Ethan: NO! I’m NOT a baby! (points at Hannah) Hannah’s the baby! I’m a BOY! I’m THREE years old!
*****
At the restaurant again, the waitress assists Ethan by pushing his stool closer to the table.
Ethan: NO! No touching me!
*****
When I am having a conversation with someone:
Ethan: No talking Aunty! Mommy talk first!
*****
When about to go out:
Mommy: Okay buddy, go put on your shoes.
Ethan: No no, not SHOES…sandals!
In school:
Teacher: Alright, take off your shoes.
Ethan: Not shoes, teacher. SANDALS!
Last week, Ethan surprised us yet again with another one of his newfound abilities: Coloring INSIDE the lines. I bet he must have picked this up from school, because we never pruposely force him to color inside the lines. I prefer to allow him free reign of how to express himself artistically. And look how handsomely that has paid off!
I’m so proud of my boy, and can’t believe how much he has grown up! 🙂