Little Miracles · Milestones

World Cup Mania

June 18, 2010 in Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up, Milestones | 2 comments

worldcupmania

Everyone’s high on World Cup Mania nowadays…yes, even Ethan! And when the newspapers published a pullout with pictures of the 32 teams, Ethan was VERY excited and wanted to learn how to say the names of all the countries. He kept the pullout and has been learning the names of the countries ever since. His favorites are Brazil and South Africa (because the team’s jerseys are yellow).

And now, he can proudly name them all! (I love the way he pronounces “Ivory Coast” :))

And you know what? It’s not only from memory that he can name the countries! Ethan can really read…here he is, reading from our World Cup Guide magazine.

So is this an indication of interest in:

A: Sports
B: World Geography
C: Reading
D: All of the above 🙂

Iron Therapy

June 16, 2010 in Food & Feeding, Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones, Parenting | 4 comments

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When Hannah was being treated in the hospital for her pneumonia a month and a half ago, the pediatrician took a sample of her blood for testing too. The results showed that her red blood cells were a little bit on the pinkish (i.e. not red as they should be) and also slightly smaller than usual. Further tests showed a decreased level of Serum Ferritin (iron) in the blood (only 10ug/dl when the acceptable range is 37-145ug/dl for females).

Hannah’s test results indicated either a Thalassemic condition or iron-deficiency anemia.

Her doctor asked if either Pete or I had any history of Thalassemia, but since we are both blood donors, it is highly unlikely that we are Thalassemic or even carriers. So it became apparent that Hannah was most probably deficient in iron. This could happen because she is exclusively breastfed, and might not have sufficient iron in her solid food intake. Exclusively breastfed babies receive sufficient iron from their mother’s breastmilk from birth till about 6 months of age, after which the iron levels in the milk could drop a little; and if other food sources do not provide adequate amounts of iron in the diet, the child might be deficient in iron. (Source: Ask Dr Sears)

Because iron-deficiency in toddlers/infants from birth till 3 years needs to be addressed immediately, Hannah’s pediatrician prescribed an oral iron therapy solution to be taken for 3 months. Hannah was to take 2.5ml of Maltofer twice a day for 3 months, after which her iron levels will be retested. In addition, doc also prescribed a Multivitamin syrup to improve her appetite.

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It has been 1.5 months now, and I have to say it’s really working. Hannah, whom we thought was already very active pre-iron-therapy treatment, is now MORE active and MORE vocal than ever. Her appetite has increased by leaps and bounds and she loves trying different types of food. We’ve also been giving her lots of iron-rich foods like chicken liver, beef, pasta, tomatoes, bread, etc just to boost the iron levels.

I thank God that feeding her the iron therapy and multivitamin is not stressful, because she is very cooperative and I simply use the syringes to administer both the iron and multivitamin. Plus, because she is on an iron supplement, it is important for her to drink lots of water to prevent constipation, and Hannah has also been a very good girl in gulping down water. 🙂

I can’t wait for the iron therapy to end and the test results to show a favorable level of iron in Hannah’s blood come the end of three months. Meanwhile we’ll have to deal with *slightly more pungent* poopoo for a few more weeks! 😛

“Bar-beeee!!”

June 15, 2010 in Funny Moments, Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones | 2 comments

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Hannah’s favorite word (besides “Mommy”) has got to be “Bar-beee!” She is definitely NOT referring to the doll of a similar sounding name, that’s for sure.

When she opens a book, she will point at the pictures and say, “Bar-beee! Bar-beee!”

When she hears a dog barking, she’ll laugh and say, “Bar-bee!”

When she sees a bird flying, she’ll point and scream, “Bar-bee!!”

She even points at our photographs at home and goes, “Bar-beeee! Bar-beeee!!!”

All the soft toys and animals are “Bar-beee!” to her.

I know she will soon outgrow this phase when she adds more words to her vocabulary, but right now sometimes it is just so amusing to hear her go, “Bar-beee!” and he brother *correcting* her, “Not Bar-beeee, Hannah…that’s an apple!” LOL

A Fun and Enjoyable KL trip

June 6, 2010 in Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones, Vacation | 2 comments

Last weekend we took a drive down to KL. It was a 3-day weekend, so we got to spend 2 nights in KL.

For a long time now, when Hannah rides in the car, she has been turning her head to see what’s in front. Hannah was still in the infant car seat which was rear-facing, and seeing that she is so curious about “what’s in front” (plus the fact that she LOVES being in a forward-facing stroller), we figured it was high time she was *upgraded* to her front-facing car seat.

Both Ethan and Hannah looked SO adorable in their matching car seats. Here they are, all buckled up and ready to go! 🙂

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And yes, they both have matching CHEEKY grins too. I guess it’s hereditary.. 😛

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It was a rather relaxing trip, and we didn’t really want to rush around everywhere. But we did manage to stop by 1-Utama for lunch and a quick walkaround. We rented a stroller for Hannah, and Ethan wanted something to ride in too, so in the end, he got to ride in on of the kiddie firetrucks. I tell you, that firetruck was a BIG HIT with both his cousins, Collin and Jonathan! 🙂

firetruck

On the day we were to leave for Penang, we decided to go for a short dip in the swimming pool in Pauline KorKor’s condo. Believe it or not, it was Hannah’s first time ever in a swimming pool, and boy, was she excited! Ethan was of course, the eager beaver, and he slid into the pool all by himself!

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For someone who was having a first-time experience in the pool, Hannah really enjoyed herself, and she didn’t show a single sign of fear.

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Ethan was even strong enough to climb OUT of the pool on his own!

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We really had an awesome time in the pool. I did two laps, and Pete did one (shortened by the fact that he hurt his forehead on the wall of the pool…OUCH).

Ethan told me later, “Mommy, I had a great time in the swimming pool. Did you have a good time, too?”

Of course I did, baby. 🙂

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Hannah at 14 months

May 20, 2010 in Hannah, Milestones | 1 comment

Scrap Credits
Spending My Time QP from Mystique Designs
Harvest Spice alphas from Shabby Princess Designs
Elegant word art (angel eyes) from Bethany

Weight

10.3 kilos (she appears to be a little bit thinner now, but taller)

Height/Length

About 76-77 cm.

Teeth

6 incisors (4 top and 2 bottom), 2 more teeth appearing at the bottom (probably incisors), and 2 pramolars appearing at the bottom too.

Motor Skills

Hannah is very steady in her walking now and sometimes, I do realize she is picking up enough speed to start running.
She can climb up the couch by using her upper body strength to hoist her butt up, first putting one leg up and then pulling the other leg up.
She is very inquisitive and wants to touch everything and open every drawer or anything that has a handle. Did I mention she can open the fridge door all on her own now?!!
She can perform the “fingers crossed” manoeuvre, on both hands.

Communication and Social Skills

Hannah is a very sociable baby, and does not mind being around anybody.
Words she uses on an every day basis are “Mamak” (when she wants food), “Baby” (when she points at pictures – don’t ask me why), and my personal favorite: “Mommy!!!” It’s only fair that she calls Mommy first before Daddy, given that Ethan called Daddy first. Anyway, Daddy to her now is still either “Dedek” or “Baba” 🙂
Hannah can say “A” and “E”, which sometimes frustrates her brother, who wants her to say the entire alphabet! 😛
She knows how to lift my shirt/top when she wants milk.
Hannah is able to imitate/parrot the people around her. We recently noticed she has been clicking her tongue, and were curious as to how she might have picked that up. Then she said something like, “Baby, Baby! *click click click*” ; Ah, so she picked that up from strangers who talk to her that way! LOL
Hannah can shake her head and nod her head. Of course when she nods, her whole body moves too! I don’t think she fully comprehends the meaning of shaking and nodding yet, but it’s a whole lot of fun when I ask her, “Hannah, do you want more porridge?” and she either shakes or nods. 🙂

Food and Feeding

She’s on Mommy’s milk 100% and is still loving every bit of her porridge! She can finish quite a lot now, and eats at an amazing pace! I’ve started giving her a little bit of our every day foods, just so she can soon join us at the dining table too 🙂

New foods she has been introduced to include:

Organic Brown Rice Crunch snack
French beans (chopped finely and added to porridge)
The white part of Char Siew Pau
Siew Mai dumplings, containing chicken and shrimp (she loves this!)
Pasta (spaghetti and spiral pasta(fusilli))
Beef
Prawn Fritters (from Mama’s restaurant)
Chicken liver

Shapes in Chinese

April 25, 2010 in Ethan, Growing Up, Milestones | 1 comment

Ethan has been picking up Chinese in school (like a sponge, I might add!), because his school employs a dual-language approach. We’re happy he is learning a new language, though we aren’t forcing it on him. And I am quite certain he will soon be speaking WAY more Chinese (Mandarin) than me!

Lately he has been picking up the Chinese words for some basic shapes. I don’t know if his pronunciation is accurate, but he certainly sounds adorable saying it!

First he learnt how to say three shapes:

And now, he can say SIX shapes! Way to go, Ethan! 🙂

Hello, hello???

April 23, 2010 in Funny Moments, Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones | No comments

phone2

Hannah is beginning to role-play a lot these days. She started picking up the comb and *combing* her hair a few months ago, and just lately, she began holding my cellphone to her ear, as if she was talking to someone.

I wonder if this is a sign of things to come…..hmmm….

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Hannah at 13 months

April 10, 2010 in Hannah, Milestones | No comments

Scrap Credits
An Enchanted World collab kit from Designs by Anita
Every Day Alpha from Jen Yurko