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Emma at 22 Months

January 26, 2015 in Emma, Milestones | No comments

Emma-22monthsScrap Credits
QP freebie created using “let’s play dressup” kit from Studio Dawn Inskip ScrapbookGraphics

Weight

7.9 kilos.  Slowly but surely hitting that 8 kilo mark!

Height/Length

Not measured.

Teeth

Still 15 teeth (I think): 7 bottom teeth (3 incisors, 2 canines, 2 molars) and  (maybe) 8 upper teeth (4 incisors, 2 canines and 2 molars).

Motor Skills

  • Loves stamping and stomping her feet (like a dinosaur).
  • Can tiptoe.
  • Beginning to walk a little faster, leading to a run.

Communication and Social Skills

  • Learning to say “deh-deh” (Daddy), Mimi (Mommy) and “fa-wah” (flower)
  • Loves flipping through books and sometimes she would choose books and ask us to read them to her.
  • Emma can respond accurately to questions such as “Where’s your nose?”, “Where’s your hair?”, “Where’s your tummy?” and when we say “Where are your eyes?”, she will blink her eyes. 🙂
  • Gets a little jealous sometimes.  For example when Daddy has Hannah sitting on his lap, Emma will quickly run over and show Daddy her “Please carry me!” look while having her arms outstretched.
  • Loves music and dancing and will mimic whatever is happening on the TV.  She loves Hi-5 songs.

Food and Feeding

I’m glad to see Emma is getting a little more chubby especially on her cheeks.  She loves the homecooked porridge I feed her and she will keep on asking for more.  I’ve started adding some sweet potatoes in her porridge (orange and yellow ones are no problem for her and she enjoys them).

Others

  • Emma is still on her dietary supplements of Izumio hydrogenated water and Super Lutein capsules.  She’s taking well to them and I pray that her skin condition will improve further as she is beginning to drink more of the Izumio now.
  • I finally started introducing the toothbrush to Emma.  She enjoys brushing her teeth now…but frankly, I think she enjoys the act of gargling and spitting even more.

 

Emma’s First Haircut

January 18, 2015 in Emma, Growing Up, Milestones | No comments

We visited our family hairdresser yesterday for our haircuts, and since Emma was behaving rather well, and also because I thought her hair had grown considerably in the past few weeks (maybe it could be due to the Izumio and S Lutein supplements she has been taking daily!), we decided to let her get her first ever haircut!

Well, not really a haircut, more like a trim here and there.  I held her in my lap and the hairdresser put her in the little cloak to protect her clothes.  Our little princess did so well!  She hardly moved at all, and sat still throughout the entire process.

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No tears, no complaints 🙂  She only turned her head on occasion when her siblings distracted her.

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Her hair is so much neater now! 🙂

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Our Holiday Achievement: Swimming!

January 14, 2015 in Ethan, Exercise, Hannah, Milestones | No comments

During the long year-end holidays that just passsed, we decided that Ethan and Hannah should make full use of it to learn a lifelong skill in swimming.  I planned for an “intensive” 10-coaching sessions course for them, and worked hard to ensure they completed it before the craziness of the school term began.

swimcoach1

I’m pleased to say that we completed our ten lessons on the Friday before school began.

Even more so, in just 10 lessons, I’m so proud that Ethan and Hannah can now float and move in the water.  They are no longer afraid of putting their heads underwater and have gained water confidence in leaps and bounds.  Both kids are learning their forward crawl, and also a little bit of backstroke.

With a little bit more practice, we should be able to add the breathing part of the crawl. 🙂

The kids really look forward to each coaching session, and don’t even mind the slight drizzle during some lessons.  It helps that the coach was super cool with kids and he was able to tailor each lesson to each kid as he deemed fit.  For instance, Hannah was initially more comfortable on her back, whereas Ethan was more confident on his front.  So Hannah started learning the backstroke kick first while Ethan did the forward crawl.

swimcoach2

We would have loved to continue with the coaching sessions under this swim coach, but our schedule currently does not permit.  Perhaps when the next holidays come around, we’ll arrange something.

Meanwhile, I hope to take the kids swimming at least once a week or once a fortnight at least, just to ensure they keep practising. 🙂

Her Tooth Pouch

January 9, 2015 in Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones, Parenting | 1 comment

toothpouch1

Hannah will turn 6 this year, and she is expecting her first tooth to drop any time soon.  It could be next year too, but we never know.  No wiggly tooth yet, but it could come at an unexpected time. Anyway just to be prepared, I made her a tooth pouch to bring to school too, just like I did one for Ethan last time….you know, just in case the inevitable happens when she is at school.

toothpouch2

She was so happy to see that Mommy finally finished the project, and she even showed her tooth pouch to her teacher!

“Mommy, I really LOVE the tooth pouch you made for me!” she would gush every now and then.

It was my pleasure, sweetie! ♥

Back to School for the New Year

January 5, 2015 in Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones | No comments

hannah-1stday

My little snowflake Hannah starts Kindergarten 2 (K2) today.  Her school is not observing the one-week delay in school start date due to the floods in the East Coast.

How did time fly by so fast?  I could still remember the first day I took her to her Playgroup class 3 years ago… and now she’s all independent and grown-up.

*insert music for reminiscing here*

Anyway, she was very excited and got up on her own at 6:30a.m. today, washed up and got herself ready.  She chose her entire outfit and was pleased as punch that they matched from head to toe.  She wore the hairband I made for her today, so in a way, she took a piece of Mommy along.

Well okay…I’ll stop being so emotional.

Have a splendid year ahead, snowflake! 🙂

Swim Lessons

December 22, 2014 in Emma, Ethan, Exercise, Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones | No comments

swimlesson1

Okay, we’ve tried.  On several occasions.  In different pools, different circumstances.

But we have not been successful in teaching the kids how to swim.

Now how can we be swimmers and our kids don’t swim?!  That’s totally unheard of.

The furthest we got (so far) was teaching Ethan how to blow bubbles and Hannah how to move with arm floats.

Sigh.  Epic fail.

Then some friends were saying that kids would learn much better and faster with a swim coach.  Refusing to believe this but also curious to give it a shot, I contacted this well-recommended swim coach and arranged for some lessons for Ethan and Hannah.  After all, they were on holiday now so swimming lessons seemed like the perfect thing to do.

We decided on combined lessons at first despite their age gap, and also because I figured it would be more conducive for me, taking the kids by myself to the pool with a baby in tow.

So first lesson started off okay.  The kids were kicking happily and then the coach moved to teaching them how to blow bubbles underwater.  Hannah had some water enter her nose and she shut out completely.  Didn’t want to continue and said she didn’t want to learn how to swim anymore. 🙁

Ethan, on the other hand, continued with the lesson and at the end of the 45 minutes, he could already float.  In his own words, Ethan said, “Mommy, floating in the water is like MAGIC!”

As for Hannah, after we came home and had a short chat with her, she said she would prefer individual lessons, so from the 2nd lesson onwards, the kids were on individual lessons.

And what a transformation that was.

After the second lesson, with some 1:1 coaching, our little Hannah was able to float and kick and move!  She even says, “I’ve changed my mind now, Mommy.  I LOVE swimming lessons!”

swimlesson2

Well, that’s certainly half the battle won!

They have completed 4 lessons thus far, with 6 more to go each.  So far, they can both move while kicking in the water, and Ethan can do the wall push too.  Both Ethan and Hannah are also more confident in the water and they can open their eyes underwater now.  They are also perfecting their “float on the back” technique : something I like to call “facing your fear”.

Ethan can kick and move quite far in the water now…very proud of both of them!

Before they began their coaching sessions, the coach did not promise me that the kids would learn how to swim like a fish at the end of the 10 sessions, but he did say that the kids would be taught water confidence and would be able to float.  Based on their progress thus far, I could not be happier..!

After he started to float and move in the water, Ethan asked, “Mommy, why didn’t YOU teach me how to float and blow bubbles??”

“But I did!  I tried but no one would listen!” I said.  Duh.

And just in case your were wondering, yes, I take all three kids out on my own for the swim lessons. 🙂  Emma loves playing with sand, when she’s not busy drinking milk or munching on dried cranberries.

Well, if I am adventurous this coming week, I might change Emma into her bathing suit and let her paddle in the water a little.  We’ll see. 🙂

emmapool1

emmapool2

Emma at 21 Months

December 19, 2014 in Emma, Milestones | No comments

Emma-21monthsScrap Credits
Nostalgia QP freebie from Delicious Scraps

Weight

7.8 kilos.

Height/Length

Not measured.

Teeth

15 teeth: 7 bottom teeth (3 incisors, 2 canines, 2 molars) and  (maybe) 8 upper teeth (4 incisors, 2 canines and 2 molars).  She wouldn’t open her mouth wide enough for me to check her upper teeth, so I’m just guessing the 2 molars have erupted based on her recent sleepless nights.  I happened to catch a glimpse of her 2 lower molars though, and I suspect a couple more are on the way.

Motor Skills

  • Emma loves walking everywhere now and I have seen her attempting to jump, tiptoeing a little.
  • She loves to climb the stairs on both feet, with us assisting her on her arms.
  • She can gingerly go down one step on her own.

Communication and Social Skills

  • Emma says “ma ma” quite consistently now.
  • Other words: “ball”, “woh” (when she hears a dog barking), “koh” (for “cow”)
  • Loves playing with her siblings.
  • Nodding and shaking her head to show us what she wants and is more consistently done too.

Food and Feeding

Emma loves food and trying new food.  She will walk towards anyone who is eating a snack or fruit and ask for some.

Some new foods she has tried this month:

  • Persimmon
  • Fried banana (“pisang goreng”)
  • Banana kuih (“kuih kodok”)
  • homemade pancakes – just a couple of bites

Others

Emma is currently on some health supplements (carotenoid capsules and hydrogen-infused water) to help heal her eczema from within.  I’m pleased that she is taking well to the supplements and her skin condition is seeing much improvement.

Emma at 20 Months

November 21, 2014 in Emma, Milestones | No comments

Emma-20monthsScrap Credits
a hopping hallOween QP freebie from Sahlin Studio

Weight

7.7 – 7.8 kilos.

Height/Length

Not measured.

Teeth

11 teeth: 5 bottom teeth (3 incisors and 2 canines) and 6 upper teeth (4 incisors and 2 canines).

Motor Skills

  • Emma can do a perfect down dog.
  • Her walking speed has increased in leaps and bounds.  I have no doubt that she’ll start hopping, running and jumping soon.
  • She can also climb up the stairs (on all fours) pretty quickly now.
  • She has a pretty strong grip and she loves to hold on to the grille gate and place her feet on the bottom-most bar.  That’s how she greets Daddy’s return home every day.

Communication and Social Skills

  • Emma will shake her head for “no” and “I don’t want to”; and nod her head when she means “yes”.
  • She seems happier nowadays, and we delight in hearing her giggle all the time.
  • Seems to call “Mahmeeee….!!!” only when she is desperate enough to get attention.

Food and Feeding

Emma is eating almost everything we eat now with the exception of very salty or very sweet foods.  I’m also not giving her shellfish and dairy just yet.

However, we can see that she really loves food, and shows a keen interest in whatever we are eating.

She loves her nutritious bowl of homemade chicken porridge and is getting better and better at self-feeding.

I also found a little pre-loved plastic straw bottle, which Emma loves to drink from now.  You’ll see it in the picture above.  We’re hoping this will help her drink more water.

Emma at 19 Months

October 28, 2014 in Emma, Milestones | No comments

Emma-19monthsScrap Credits
I Love You Dairy Much QP freebie from Just Us Dreamers Designs

Weight

7.6 – 7.7 kilos.  Our latest visit at the pediatrician had her weight read at 8.1 kilos but I reckon that was just the additional weight of the diaper and clothes.

Height/Length

Not measured.

Teeth

11 teeth: 5 bottom teeth (3 incisors and 2 canines) and 6 upper teeth (4 incisors and 2 canines).

Motor Skills

  • Emma is now walking more and more and getting confident in doing so.  She started by using her arms for balance but now, sometimes she will just walk really quickly without extending her arms.
  • Eagerly tries to walk up the stairs!! :O Mommy is getting tired just chasing her around the house.
  • She has also started to attempt climbing up on stools and chairs and anything at all within her climbing reach.
  • For the past few months, she has started to turn around to “see” what is in front when she is placed in her rear-facing child seat in the car.  Recent studies have advised that the child should be at least 10 kilos and aged 2 years before switching to a forward-facing seat, so wait we will.

Communication and Social Skills

  • She understands when I say “Let’s go upstairs” or “Let’s go downstairs”; she will point to the direction we want to go.
  • She also understands simple instructions like “Please bring me the car”, or “Please give this to Mommy”
  • Says “Buh-bye” very clearly while waving and at the right time too, e.g. when a show she is watching has ended, or when leaving a room to bid farewell.
  • Emma loves to hold the remote and she will sometimes pretend that it is a phone, holding it to her ear and pretend to talk.
  • Says “uh-oh” or “oh” when she accidentally drops something.

Others

  • Ever since she started walking, I have been showering her without the use of the bath tub.  She stands in the shower stall while I wash her.  So we definitely have a pre-loved baby bath tub for sale now. 😛
  • Lately I have also noticed that when she is about to poopoo, she will stop whatever she is doing, look at me worriedly, and say something in “baby talk”.  It could be “per per” or “baba”.  Sometimes she will point to her diaper too!  Perhaps it’s about time I start potty training for poopoo.

Food and Feeding

Most of her diet still consists of Mommy’s milk but she is showing an increasingly keen interest in the food and drinks we take.  Soon (we hope) she will be able to eat whatever we eat at meals.  She will sometimes self-feed herself with her hands, and I allow her to do so with finger food and snacks.  Sometimes she will also attempt to feed herself with her spoon.  This is all well and good and in line with my relaxed approach to baby-led weaning.

eating

Some of the foods she has tried in the past month are:

  • Red lentils (in the form of homemade dhall): she made a face at first but she liked it a little after that.
  • Dried cranberries (courtesy of Daddy)
  • Moringa leaves (these are from my home garden 🙂 – I plucked some leaves out and added them to her porridge)
  • Flaxseed meal (sprinkled onto her porridge or oats)
  • Bayam (local spinach)
  • Wolfberries/Goji berries (usually added into her porridge or soup)
  • Udon (which I cut into small lengths and feed her using chopsticks)

Her favorite food currently is homemade pumpkin and beetroot porridge.  Sometimes I add in a bit of chicken for that extra taste.  I love the bright color and interesting texture of this combo, and Emma loves it too!

pumpkinbeetroot

So far though, she has not taken a liking to tacos, naan, bread and guacamole. 🙁  I’m working on it…

Baby Steps: From a Baby to a Toddler

September 29, 2014 in Emma, Milestones, Parenting | No comments

My little baby Emma became a toddler not too long ago.  Whilst we were expecting her to walk around 12-13 months, she had her own plans and preferred to take her own time and was so far only cruising and not walking unsupported.

Because she tended to scratch her skin due to eczema, I have had to dress her up on sleep-n-play onesies that cover her feet most of the time.  That could have caused her apprehension to walk sooner because it was quite slippery compared to stepping out on bare feet.  A few weeks ago, I decided to put her in regular onesies and allowed her to explore.

By and by, she gained some confidence and started reaching out from point to point and taking baby steps to reach places.  Over the next few weeks, she started walking more and more.  From two steps to three, then four, then all the way to the foot of the staircase!!  Oooops!!!

Awww…I’m feeling emotional just watching her attain this milestone of hers, officially elevating her status from baby to toddler.

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