Bible Verse of the Day

Hannah

All about Hannah

She had Croup

March 28, 2011 in Breastfeeding, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | 1 comment

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A couple of weeks back, Hannah suddenly awoke in the night, coughing really badly.  She was completely all right when she went to bed, and we were very surprised that she had suddenly developed a cough.

Her cough was very forceful and in between coughs, it sounded as though she was drawing in a lot of air, and trying very hard to breathe.  It wasn’t asthmatic wheezing, that I know for sure, having suffered that for a few years of my childhood, but rather, it felt like she was trying to clear something in her throat.  The sound of her cough was similar to that of a barking seal.

I suspected she had croup, because the “barking seal” cough was a dead characteristic giveaway.  Croup is a respiratory condition caused by acute viral infection of the upper airway.  Upon checking my favorite childcare book by Dr Miriam Stoppard, I confirmed my suspicions.  The forcefulness of her cough made her throw up a few times that night too, and in the end, I carried her over my shoulder instead and patted her back to sleep.

The following morning, she seemed all right, with just a slight cough, but no “barking seal” syndrome.  I called up the pediatrician, who advised us to monitor her condition that day, since it sounded like a mild case of croup.  We weren’t really fans of going to the hospital, so we monitored and prayed that it would all be okay.  And we were glad that she recovered soon after.  As always, I have to say it must have been some of the breast milk that helped the recovery 🙂

Anyway, it was our first experience handling a child with croup (pronounced “kroop”), and we learnt a few things from it:

  • Croup will come suddenly without any warning.  A child who seems okay might suddenly wake up at night with croup.
  • Croup attacks usually occur at night, but are thankfully shortlived.
  • Air-conditioning should be turned off to reduce the dryness in the air that may cause a dry throat that could bring on the croup attack.  To make the air around Hannah moist and damp, I placed a bowl of water under the bed.  Dr Miriam Stoppard also suggests bringing the child into the bathroom and turning on the tap.
  • A child suffering from croup that causes vomitting due to forceful cough should not be fed anything.  I learnt this the hard way 🙁
  • If it is mild, the condition can be monitored at home.  After all, croup is a viral infection and antibiotics is not needed to cure it.
  • In any case, call the doctor to check for what needs to be done.

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She’s okay now, and I really do hope the attacks won’t come again. *prays hard*

My (almost) Foolprof Plans

March 22, 2011 in Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | 1 comment

The one week school holidays is over, and we’re back to our usual routine.  We didn’t travel anywhere for the holidays this time round, but the kids (Ethan especially) did get a good rest at home.  For one, he was allowed to sleep in and watch a few kiddie shows on the telly in the mornings.

But the kids can’t be sleeping, eating and watching TV the whole day long, right?

I knew I had to think of things for the kids to do to occupy their time..something that would (hopefully) keep them active and alert, tire them out so that they would be able to retire earlier at night… hehe.  An idle mind is the devil’s workshop, no?

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My plan backfired, of course…the kids didn’t get tired, on the contrary, it made them hungrier for more activities.  In the end, it was Mommy who got tired cleaning up after them. 

My Morning Sunshines…

March 22, 2011 in Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | No comments

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Every morning I am greeted with two happy smiles
With hugs and kisses that never go out of style
Looking sweet and adorable is only their morning call
But they’ll be up to their pranks and mischief in no time at all!

Hannah at 2 years

March 18, 2011 in Hannah, Milestones | No comments

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Scrap Credits

February Part 4 collaboration kit from Sweet Digi Creations & Laurence Designs 

Summer Picnic Alphas from retrodiva {designs}™  

Boxed words from Chantal

HoldEmUps from Tara Dunstan

 

Weight

Around 12 kilos or slightly more.

Height

Slightly more than 82 cm, but she certainly appears to be growing taller each day.

Teeth

She still wouldn’t open up her mouth long enough for me to count accurately, but from what I could see/estimate, Hannah now has 16 teeth: 8 incisors (4 top and 4 bottom), with 4 pramolars appearing on the right side (top and bottom) and left side (top and bottom); bottom left pramolar is taking its time to grow!; also 2 canines starting to appear at the top jaw, and 2 canines on the bottom jaw.

Motor Skills

  • Hannah can imitate actions (especially those in songs) really well, and can pick them up almost immediately.
  • Loves to climb up and slide down a slide, not showing any fear at all.

Communication and Social Skills

  • Hannah can communicate really well with us now, and can carry on simple conversations, like when we ask her where she wants to go for dinner, she’ll reply “Pappa Rich!” or “McDonald’s!”
  • She adamantly insists that she is not a baby anymore.  When we ask her, “Is Hannah a baby?”, she’ll say, “NO! Toddler..”
  • She uses a few phrases rather often: “Don’t want”, “Don’t want anymore”, “Don’t do that!”, “Mommy COME!”, “See?”, “Here?”, “There?”, “Go away!” etc
  • Hannah is starting to choose the clothes she wants to wear.  Sometimes when I lay out her jammies, she’ll say, “No Mommy!  Not this one!”  and then she’ll lead me to the chest of drawers where her clothes are kept and wait while I open it for her to choose which one she wants.  She’s also very choosy on the diaper she wants to wear…
  • Tantrums are upon us, as she sometimes demands to get her own way.  We’ve had to put our foot (and feet) down on several occasions, with Hannah stubbornly refusing to sit on the naughty stool, kicking and screaming all the way.  Eventually she did calm down and sat on the stool, and said her “sorries”, but we’re anticipating *tough* days ahead.  SIGH.

Food and Feeding

  • Although Hannah is still breastfed, I’m in the process of weaning her off.  There have been days when she did not need to be breastfed the whole day, and only needed the breast at night.  There’s still a lot of work to be done, but we’re getting there.  Sometimes when I tell her there’s no more milk left, she’ll quietly obey, look at me and say, “Cup?”  And then I’ll just pour her some milk in a cup to drink from.  She currently takes fresh milk and chocolate milk and also a little bit of GainPlus formula, sometimes mixed with oatmeal.  Hannah is also taking yogurt in her daily diet, as an addition to her dairy supplement.
  • Loves all other food. 🙂

Potty Training

  • She is able to tell us when she needs to go poopoo and can poopoo in the adult toilet using a child toilet seat about 95% of the time.
  • Lately she has also started to pull her pants and diaper down by herself when she wants to peepee.  Sometimes she’ll say, “peepee”, and we’ve had success on several occasions.  She’ll smile happily when we hear the peepee trickle into the toilet and she’ll say, “Sticker!” (yes, I’m giving her a sticker for every successful time she peepees or poopoos in the toilet)
  • Of course there are times when she asks to peepee or poopoo but it’s just a false alarm 😛

Hannah turns TWO!

March 15, 2011 in Celebrations, Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones | 5 comments

On March 2nd 2011, my little princess Hannah turned TWO.  As usual, I was again left in wonderment at where the time had flown.  It seemed like just yesterday that I held her as a wee babe in my arms, and now she has blossomed into a little toddler, all geared up for the terrible twos.

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We went out for a family dinner at Friday’s for the simple reason that the kids love the food and service, also because they provide “birthday song singing” plus a slice of complimentary birthday cake/dessert.

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And how old are you today, Hannah? 🙂

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Oh yeah, she couldn’t stop doing that…it was like she “knew” we were celebrating her 2nd birthday that day…

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The staff at Friday’s asked Ethan if he’d wanted to sing Hannah a birthday song, using the salt shaker as a pretend mic, but in the end he had a bit of a stage fright.

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Hannah…looking on in awe at the birthday dessert that was presented to her.

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She blew out the candle perfectly!  She’s a professional now, I’d say! 🙂

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…and she couldn’t wait to dig in!

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Haha…she also insisted on *cutting* the cake!

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And when we got back home, after the kids were bathed and dressed in their jammies, it was time for presents!  Here’s Ethan giving Hannah an extra loving big brother hug, while presenting her with a present from him.

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Hannah screamed in delight when she saw what it was, and she exclaimed, “Baby Bop!!!”

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After that, she peeled open the present Daddy and Mommy gave her excitedly.

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And discovered a *new friend*: a baby doll!  I finally found a doll which is age-appropriate for her and which she absolutely adores!

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Happy Birthday Hannah!

Did you catch me on TV yet?

March 10, 2011 in Celebrations, Hannah | 1 comment

 

After seeing Ethan Koko’s face on the Playhouse Disney Birthday Book in January, I wanted SO SO much to be on the birthday book too.  And just a few days ago, my dream came true and I really couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it!  I wasn’t just featured on the birthday book, I appear FIRST in the set too!

Woohooo!!!  I’ve been elevated to celebrity status,…even if it’s just for this month.. 🙂

Hannah’s Birthday Celebration in Penang

March 7, 2011 in Celebrations, Ethan, Hannah, Milestones | 3 comments

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Slightly more than a week away from Hannah’s actual 2nd birthday, we had a very simple lunch gathering/celebration in Penang.  We chose to have the lunch at the Chinese Recreational Club.  It was actually my first time having lunch there, with rice and dishes.  I had been there before, but it was for a wedding course dinner.

The kids were very excited (as they usually are) and Ethan (more than Hannah LOL!) was looking forward to celebrating his sister’s birthday. 

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Also, another reason for the excitement was that Ah Kong and Ah Ma from Ipoh came all the way to Penang to join in the fun and celebrations.

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Took me some time to coax her into this gorgeous dress her Daddy bought her, but she was sweet-talked into it when I told her it was going to make her VERY pretty! 🙂  She had wanted to wear sandals at first too, but we managed to persuade her into her Mary Janes.  Don’t you think Hannah looks adorable? 🙂

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After our very satisfying and delicious lunch, we had a cake-cutting ceremony (we ordered a cheese cake this time round, and everyone had seconds!).  Hannah again proudly showed off her perfect blowing-out-the-candle skill, and enjoyed the cake and the attention.

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…and she was also extra eager to cut the cake:

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Ethan also had *other* attractions besides the food.  Anyone and everyone who has an iPhone or iPad is immediately Ethan’s best friend, and on that day he was best buds with Tuah Kim Poh (with her iPad) and Uncle Yao (with his iPhone):

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Of course, Hannah was not distracted at all, and preferred to enjoy her yummy birthday cake!

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And Dale makes TWO!

February 24, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah | 1 comment

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…or is it FOUR? 😀

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Couldn’t tell if Chip was happier or Ethan and Hannah were happier…when we brought Dale home a couple of days ago.  I can’t believe that we actually finished collecting 2 sets of ’em Guardian cards!

Dale won’t be lonely now, that’s for sure! 🙂

Celebrating Hannah’s birthday in KL

February 23, 2011 in Celebrations, Food & Feeding, Hannah, Milestones | 5 comments

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Although it would have been a good 2 weeks more before Hannah officially turns two, we decided to have a birthday celebration for her in KL anyway.  This would also make it easier for the “Klang Valley” folks to attend the celebration.  And besides, we were planning a short vacation to KL anyways…one of the reasons being to visit that mecca of storage and organization solutions… 🙂

I was looking for a kid-friendly place to have the lunch celebration, and decided on Marmalade in Bangsar Village II.   I’d read great reviews about this restaurant which offers healthy and delicious food and was looking forward to having lunch there.   Reservations were made like 2 days before the event, and we were very pleased with experience.

The restaurant was abuzz with activity, and as we walked in, who should we bump into but Paik Ling and her family!  Good to meet her again after such a long time, and I was amazed by how much her boys have grown!

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And here, we have some random shots taken at lunch:

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Ethan *telling* us what he thinks of his Oreo milkshake.

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Enjoying Spaghetti Carbonara (for the first time!)

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Hannah: Love that dress you’re wearing, darlin’….where did you get it from?
Caitlynn: Ooohhh yes, I got it on sale at the *Princess Mall* last month!

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Contented in Pauline Korkor/Godma’s arms…

 

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Special yummy cookie treat for the birthday girl!  Unfortunately neither Ethan nor Hannah wanted to eat it.  Ethan said, “Mommy, if we eat it, the face will say, ‘Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!'”
So Mommy had to eat it all on her own…

And what about the food at Marmalade?  I was in full blogger mode that day, as I tried to capture as many shots of the food as possible… For starters, we had Healthy Nachos, topped with delicious minced beef and melting cheese…really good, especially with the three different dips: guacamole, salsa and sour cream!

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We also ordered a plate of fries served with aioli.  Surprisingly, Ethan was very adventurous, and loved the aioli dip (maybe because it didn’t have such a strong garlic taste as expected)!  Fries were done to perfection, not too oily and not too soggy.  Just the way I like it.

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Of course, the kids’ meals arrived first: Spaghetti Bolognese and Spaghetti Carbonara.

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Hannah didn’t want to eat much (perhaps she was excited about her birthday?), but Ethan ate quite a lot…maybe cuz he wanted to go play in the kids’ play area (which I must say is a welcome addition to any restaurant).  I was pretty surprised he was willing to try the Spaghetti Carbonara that day too 🙂 

Drinks we ordered: Day Starter on the left and Paw Paw Passion (Papaya milkshake) on the right. 

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Sounds of Havana: a very colorful salad, which tasted absolutely delicious…and of course, healthy to boot! 🙂

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I had to order the Spaghetti Pesto with Chicken , which was highly recommended by Rinnah.  And I was glad I did.  The spaghetti was served perfectly al dente, and the combination of herbs and flavors infused into the pasta was simply sublime.

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Hubbs ordered his all-time favorite, the Spaghetti Aglio Olio.  Almost everyone who tasted it said it was better than that Italian restaurant we like to frequent in KL.  Maybe because the aglio olio here is cooked in a more oriental way.  Me?  I love both versions!  Yeah, I’m a pasta freak 🙂

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Moroccan Lamb Shank for the lamb lovers…the lamb was tender and very flavorful.  I didn’t try the brown rice served with it though, but those who did said it was done just right, and didn’t taste anything like brown rice should…whatever that meant. LOL

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And finally, we ordered a plate of the Turkey Ham, Bacon and Mushroom Quiche.  I was incredibly grateful I had space in my tummy for this dish, because it was SO good!  Had been ages since I had quiche, so I relished and cherished every morsel.

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So after lunch, we headed back to Pauline’s house for cake cutting and presents.  This was the cake I baked for Hannah.  We brought it all the way from Penang, with me holding on to it in the car and then setting up the fondant pieces before the birthday song was sung.

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The ribbons at the side of the cake were not there initially.  I had to use them to salvage the cake the night before because it was falling apart.  Find out how I saved the cake here.

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Hannah’s surprised expression was priceless as she saw her favorite character on her cake: Baby Bop.  We had kept the cake a secret from her all this time.  I had shown the cake decorations to Ethan but everytime Hannah was within earshot of us, he would cheekily say, “Hannah – nothing!! hehehe…”

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Ethan asked Hannah to say hi to Baby Bop, to which she happily said, “Hi Baby Bop!”, while waving her hand.

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Hannah was smiling all the way when we sang her the Happy Birthday song.  She even knew how to blow out the candle on cue, without getting saliva all over the cake!  Everyone was SO impressed 🙂

The boys tried to *help* her to cut the cake…

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…but ultimately, the birthday girl got to do the honors…

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Busy opening presents…

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…and being “creative” in using the presents…

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** I don’t have the heart to throw out the Baby Bop figurine yet.  Just the other day, Hannah asked to let her “touch Baby Bop”. SIGH.

Hand-me-downs ain’t that bad…

February 18, 2011 in Funny Moments, Growing Up, Hannah | No comments

Remember Ethan’s doggies?

Well, our little big boy has grown out of his doggie craze, so Hannah has naturally inherited all his doggies (and other soft toys).  Hannah especially loves the 2 doggies, Whiffer and Plopper, just like Ethan did.  But she takes it one step further, and even sings to them!  Her favorite song for the doggies is the “I Love You” song from Barney, complete with the hugging and kissing actions.

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Such is her devotion for her two doggies that we had to bring them along with us to KL when we were there for a vacation recently.

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