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Growing Up

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Bungalow

September 16, 2008 in Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting | 9 comments

Ethan got himself a bungalow last Saturday.  Make that “bungalow”…in inverted commas.

It was “presented” to him during his playschool session as he was having his snacks.  He was happily munching away on his biscuits and then he apparently turn around to look at me, lost his balance somehow and fell down from the bench.  Normally he would be able to break his fall with his hands, but since his hands were full (holding the biscuits), he hit his forehead on the ground, earning him a gigantic bump on the left side of his forehead. 🙁

We were SHOCKED.  As was Ethan, because he didn’t immediately cry, but only after a while did he wail out loud.  We tried to put an ice pack on the bump, but Ethan would not allow it to be there for long.  After a few minutes of on-and-off ice packs, the bump subsided a little.

He looked his normal self, and was smiling away a while later.  In fact, if I may say so myself, it certainly does appear that he has become more active (and mischievous) after the fall, believe it or not.

Here’s a sneak on what the bump looked like in the evening:

I took this picture right after THE MATCH.  The TV in the background shows the logo of Liverpool: we beat Man U 2-1!!!  Woohooo!!!  Sorry, couldn’t resist that 😛

Little ones to Him belong

August 20, 2008 in Christianity, Ethan, Growing Up, Milestones | 5 comments

Here’s what Ethan looks forward to when we go to church on Sundays:

  • Pointing at the numbered pews and loudly exclaiming “One!”, “Two!”, “Three!” and so on.
  • Pointing at the words projected on the projector and shouting the letters out loud, much to the amusement of everyone around him.
  • Sitting on the seats like an adult would.
  • Giggling at toddlers nearby.
  • Making his usual rounds around the church sanctuary.
  • Kneeling when we kneel and praying (hands in prayer position) when we pray.
  • Raising his hands in worship during The Lord’s Prayer.
  • Wishing everyone “peace be with you” with his hands clasped together and flashing the most adorable smile ever.
  • …and of course, THIS:

How we dewormed our kid

July 2, 2008 in Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting | 11 comments

During Ethan’s recent checkup at the PD’s, I mentioned to Dr Jessica that I was rather worried about Ethan’s eating habits; that he did not want to eat pieces of meat and vege, but instead only liked the carbs.  I told her I was concerned if he had worms in his tummy.  And that was when Dr Jessica said she was glad I brought it up, because she normally dewormed her patients when they turned 2.

She prescribed Vermox for Ethan, and it was probably a good thing too, because lately he has a bad habit of playing with his mouth and tongue.  And goodness knows what he has touched before that.  The booklet of instructions contained in the Vermox box specifically warned that it should be administered on kids 2 years and over only.  The dosage was 10ml (the entire bottle) and according to Dr Jessica, it had a sticky constituency.

Pete and I were scratching our heads, trying to think of an effective way to feed 10ml of foreign liquid to Ethan, when even 2.5ml of medicine would be met with protests, kicking and screaming.  I know the Vermox is a chocolate flavored one, which is usually okay with kids, but Ethan doesn’t really like chocolate too.

I kept the box of Vermox in the fridge for a few days, and of and on, Ethan would pick up the box out of curiosity and ask me to open it.  We did consider pouring the Vermox mixture into the small plastic cup provided and coaxing Ethan to drink from it, but the whatif was if Ethan pushed away the cup, the whole mixture would be wasted.

Then Pete suggested mixing it into Ethan’s “nenno”.  I was a bit apprehensive at first because the risk was that if he rejected it, then he might reject future feeds of “nenno” too.  But then last night, I took a look at how much 10ml was compared to Ethan’s nightly 6oz feed, and it was rather negligible.

So I bit the bullet, made Ethan’s milk last night with 6oz of warm water, 3.5 scoops of Pediasure and poured the 10ml of Vermox into the mixture.  The 0.5 scoop of Pediasure was a little assurance to offset the smell and taste of Vermox, if any.  I took a whiff of the mixture I had concocted and it smelled vaguely like chocolate milk, though visually it still looked like “nenno”.

After Ethan’s shower, I took him to the room to dress him up in his peejays.  Gave him his milk when he asked for it, and sang him a few songs.  While singing “The wheels on the bus”, I mentally kept track of the decreasing amount of milk in the bottle.  Halfway through “Thumbkin”, and he was almost done.  I sang a few more nursery rhymes, complete with actions, and voila!  He polished the entire bottle of milk 😛

….together with the Vermox 😆

Then and now

June 24, 2008 in Ethan, Growing Up | 7 comments


Scrap Credits
Playdate Mini kit from Amy Bleser
Paper word strips from Sugarplum Paperie
Elegant word art (boys are kisses) from Bethany
Polka dotted arrow from Dúnia
Confetti from Aja Abney

When once he clung to Mommy, now he will happily play with his toys. Although most of the time he still plays in silo, he is slowly overcoming his shyness.

When once he will only play with the ball in the playground, he now loves to slide down the slides in addition to all other activities.

When once he didn’t want to join in the singing and clapping, he now willingly obliges, sometimes even offering to be the first one to hold the *window* for the Window Song.

When once all he wanted to do was to run away from the singing session, now he waves and smiles happily at the kids. His attention span is still very short though, and it won’t be long before he prefers to walk around the hall, or to *disturb* Daddy.

When once he would not want to even be a part of any song, now he loves the action songs. He doesn’t do them all though, but it is apparent his favorites are the ones requiring everyone to move around the room…and of course, the one that ends with everyone “falling down” on the floor!

When once he could not wait to go home after the session, now he will wait patiently for Teacher Puva to give him a sticker or two. He’s a real gentleman and will not bulldoze his way for his stickers, but will sit and wait.

When once he pushed teacher away when the class was over, only content to wave and give a flying kiss, he now gives a nice hug before we say goodbye.

The 3 months or so with this parent-toddler class has indeed been a blessing, and we look forward to more.

A hug makes my day

June 13, 2008 in Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting, Sleep | 6 comments


Scrap Credits
Always Welcome kit from Kelly Puddy
The Promise Collection Alphas from Shabby Princess Designs
Doodle Me Big doodles from Mikkel Paige Original
Monogram ampersand & cluster from Sugarplum Paperie
Word Art – 3 from fei-fei’s stuff  

Getting Ethan to bed is a routine for us now.  He takes his shower at about 8-ish and then has his “nenno” while I dress him up in his peejays.

Then, he will get his fair share of word videos, where he repeats the words he sees.  Sometimes he prefers a good Barney DVD to while his time away.  He kinda knows that he is only allowed to watch the TV after his bath, and so when we undress him and tell him it’s time to bathe, he will very obediently run to the bathroom.

Anyway, after watching his videos, I will tell him it’s time for bed, and he will either walk to the room on his own and wait for us to open the door for him, or if he is in a “manja” mood, he will ask us to carry him into the room.

He will then roll around on the bed, and sometimes, he will only want Mommy to be there with him.  In this scenario, he will push Daddy away gently, wave goodbye and even give a flying kiss to Daddy 😆

Then he will want to hug me to sleep.  There were a few times where I told him to hug his pillow to sleep instead, explaining to him that Mommy will hug my pillow and Ethan will hug his pillow.  Well, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.  But in the middle of the night, if he wakes up because of a nightmare, he will need to be hugged and comforted to sleep.  Even in the mornings, if Ethan wakes up and I am not in bed, he will go over to his Daddy and hug him instead.

I know he will soon outgrow his hugging needs, but I am not sure if I am ready to let go yet…because I’m sure you know how therapeutic a hug can get, huh?  I guess I’ll cherish it as long as it lasts…

Sweet sweet words

June 10, 2008 in Ethan, Growing Up, Milestones | 9 comments


Scrap Credits
You are so beautiful add-on kit from Doreen Stolz
Acrylic alphas from A work in progress
Beach Blanket freebie bent frame from Maria LaFrance
Edgy Valentine grungy heart element from Nicole Norcutt
Paper word strips from Sugarplum Paperie

Our three-day holiday weekend came and went in the blink of an eye. But Pete and I are always thankful for those precious moments we get to spend with our darling Ethan, and we know that Ethan loves weekends and holidays as much as we do too.

I have no doubt in my mind that the precious quality time we spend with him is by and by making him more confident and sure of himself, and last weekend I was an even more prouder momma of my little boy when he began uttering more words 🙂 😛 🙂

Our days and months of showing, telling and teaching him what an apple is finally bore fruit when our boy, who was watching an educational video, suddenly said “Air-puh!” I was pleased, of course, but I wanted to make sure the word is consistently said.

After our Saturday evening walk, I saw Ethan wandering in the kitchen and asked him,

“What are you looking for, darling?”

And our boy promptly replied,

“Air-puh!”

And so, even though we were still full from the dinner we just had, I happily relented and cut him some slices of “air-puh” 🙂

There are many more other words which he picked up recently, much to the amusement of Mommy and Daddy, among them “elephant”, which he consistently refers to as “eh-pah-pah-pah….”, a variation of the “air-puh”, methinks.

And also, it thrills me to no end that he has also started asking for “book” when he wants to sit on his throne. Chip of the old block, eh? 😆

Introducing Mr Independent

June 7, 2008 in Ethan, Funny Moments, Growing Up | 10 comments


Scrap Credits
 Freebie Maio from Mitia Assef
Elegant word art (Little Things Big Things) from Bethany
Rustic Walk alphas from A work in progress
Stamp cluster 12 (modified) from Lindsay Jane Designs
Confetti from Aja Abney
Polka dotted arrow from Dúnia

Ethan is starting to live up to the Mr Independent tag on his peejays, yeah, the one his Daddy got him from US. The things he can do, he must do by himself, some bordering on being a perfectionist at heart to obsessive compulsive disorder-ism. Ah well. Maybe it is his own style of doing a Frank Sinatra “I’ll do it My Waaayyyyy…..”

When we are getting ready to go out, he wants to take his own shoes and place them on the floor for us to wear. If we help him take his shoes, he will protest loudly and demand that we put them back on the shoe rack where he can take them himself. Sometimes, when he is all done and ready to go and I am still not out of the door, he will choose a pair of shoes for me from the rack and place it at the doorstep, all ready for me to put them on!

When he asks for his “nenno”, and I give him his bottle, he will refuse it. He wants me to put it somewhere where he can retrieve it himself. Then he will finish the entire bottle.

He wants a spoon of his own when we go out and eat. If it is rice, he will attempt to scoop the rice and feed himself. If it is noodles, I will put some of the noodles on his spoon and he will feed himself with the spoon.

He has a peculiar way of drinking water (I hope this only happens at home, though). He wants me to carry him up to reach for every one of the cups from left to right IN ORDER of arrangement, rinse it and fill it with a little bit of water, then he drinks from it, repeating the process with all the cups. We have a stainless steel mug rack with 2 layers which can hold 3 mugs per layer. So imagine me doing this with a *slightly-heavier-than-a-rice-sack* on one arm SIX times! Ah well…as long as it gets him to drink water happily.

Speaking of drinking water, nowadays when we are out and about, he prefers not to drink from the straw in his tumbler, rather he would ask me to unscrew the cover of his tumbler and he will hold the entire tumbler with both hands and drink from the rim. I guess he figured it’s faster that way…

All his Yakult bottles need to be arranged in a single row across the shelf in the refrigerator. If the shelf cannot fit all, then he has to rearrange them all over again. Same thing goes for his books. He must arrange them all neatly in a row, otherwise he gets frustrated.

Well, that’s what makes Ethan … Ethan! 😛

My little prince, the ambassador!

May 29, 2008 in Celebrations, Ethan, Growing Up | 16 comments

*** updated with photos of prizes *** 

While waiting for the laundry cycle to complete late last night, I logged in to check my email. That was when I saw a mail from Brenda of Baby Sasha N Mom. I almost fell off my chair when I opened the email because it was an email to inform me that one of Ethan’s photos had been selected as the winner of the recent Cushie Tushies Lil Ambassador Contest!

The judges were the two owners of Cushie Tushies themselves and here’s what they had to say:

These photos are fantastic 😀 There is nothing better than seeing real lifeshots of Bubs wearing our gorgeous nappies… It makes all of the blood, sweat and tears so worth it… Thanks so much for sending them to us! I am a sucker for the Zoo Mania print and I think Ethan has the pose of a Tiger down perfectly in Ethan so that would have to be my pick for the winner.

Thanks again, Shell

Wow so many cute photos! What gorgeous kids! I have to agree with Shell,though – the photo of Ethan is my winning pick too! It is such a good actionshot and shows off the nappy really well. And what a cheeky grin – I am sure other parents would look at this child and want their kid to look like that:-D Thanks for sending them through Brenda! It is great to see our products in use!

Cheers, Cath

I was beaming all over with pride when I read those words. I mean I know it’s not like I won the lottery or what, but still I was so so happy.

And even better, here’s what my lil ambassador prince won:

1 Cushie Tushies Couture Diaper & 1 pair of BabyLegs

AND….

Ethan will also be featured in the STAR BUY ADVERTS in 4 Parent/Baby Magazines in July & August 2008. So watch this space when I announce which magazines they are gonna be!

Thank you so much, Cushie Tushies and Baby Sasha N Mom! You guys really put a smile on my face today 🙂

***

Updated June 3 2008

And look what the postman brought yesterday:

Thanks again to Cushie Tushies and Baby Sasha N Mom!  Love love love the minky blue camo couture diaper and the baby blue baby legs that go with it!

Daddy’s finally back…and a poop encounter

May 21, 2008 in Celebrations, Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting | 15 comments

Last Monday morning, Ethan and I woke up nice and early, and got ourselves ready to go to the airport to fetch Daddy. Daddy had been away in the States for two weeks now, was supposed to be back on Sunday, but because of some flight delay, he only arrived on Monday morning. I had been telling Ethan about Daddy’s return and I could tell he understands. When he woke up on Monday, he looked over to Daddy’s side of the bed and said “Daddy!”

Anyway, off we went to the airport. The last time I took Ethan along to fetch Pete from the airport, Ethan was hardly 2 months’ old. But the last time Ethan stepped foot in the airport was during our Singapore trip last year. Upon arrival, Ethan pulled my hand and headed straight for the escalator, but I told him I wanted to check first if Daddy’s plane had landed…and it had! So I told him we’d only go one round up the escalator and down the stairs, but because Pete had to wait a long time for his luggage, I had to take the restless Ethan up and down a second time.

When at last Ethan saw his Daddy coming through the arrival gates, his lips curled up in the sweetest smile imaginable, he gave his Daddy a hug and a kiss and reached his hands out to him. Pete had to carry Ethan around after that. Hahaha…. Ethan kept looking at his Daddy over and over again just to check that he was really back.

It’s definitely great to have Pete back again. This time round, Daddy really went overboard getting clothes for Ethan. Pete said that had I been in US, I would have bought even more!

I especially like the adorable pajamas he bought. It’s made snug-fitting on purpose because the material is flammable, and instead of the traditional long sleeve and long pants pjs, these were short-sleeved tees and shorts which are simply adorable and cute. Don’t you think Ethan would look cool in them? Gonna try them on him tonight…

For lunch, we went to the Fatty Loh chicken rice shop in Nagore Road (because the one in Fettes Park was closed and *someone* just HAD to have chicken rice). When we were almost done, Ethan asked to get out of his baby chair and made a straining face. Immediately, I hurried him off to the toilet at the back of the shop. Took off his jeans and Itti Bitti D’lish diapers (which were still unsoiled) and there and then, it marked the first time ever I helped Ethan poop in a public restroom. Cleaned him and dressed him up again, and we were on our way. So proud of him.

And since Pete’s return, Ethan has been simply overjoyed. Walking up and down escalators with Daddy, wrestling with Daddy in bed and pulling Daddy to the swimming pool were just some of the activities he indulged in.

Then when Ethan was ready to call it a night, he laid down on the bed quietly, looking at Daddy with so much love, still taking it all in that his Daddy was indeed back home.

We’ve missed you Daddy…and we are SO GLAD you are back home 😀

Missing you already…

May 16, 2008 in Ethan, Growing Up | 8 comments

 
Scrap Credits
You are so beautiful add-on kit from Doreen Stolz
Template Challenge 11 from ChrissyW
Dandelion dream alphas from A work in progress 

My Mom and Dad left Penang for Ipoh today.  One week really passes so quickly, that in the blink of an eye, it’s already time for them to leave.  In the span of the one week that they spent with Ethan, his fondness for both his Ah Ma and Kong Kong has grown in leaps and bounds.  And I am sure the feeling is mutual too.

Both my parents have been an immense help during the past week, even volunteering to help me clean my living room windows and wipe the TV cabinet (*so ashamed*).  Most of all though, I am impressed at how obedient Ethan is with his Kong Kong.  Remember the difficulty we faced in getting Ethan to sit in his car seat?  A few days hanging out with Kong Kong, and Ethan would willingly climb into the car seat on his own and allow my father to strap him up.  Of course, Ethan, being very much into his terrible twos and all, received a fair amount of reprimanding from his Kong Kong too.  And now he will obediently NOT go to the playground in the evening when his Kong Kong says, “No no.  Dark already.  Don’t go to the playground.” 🙂

It also helps that Ethan has established a morning walk routine with his buddy pal grandfather.  Oh, did I mention that Ethan has been waking up at 6:30a.m. for the past one week or so?  Anyway, he will play with his toys, watch TV, drink his milk and patiently wait for my Dad to get ready.  As soon as he sees that my father is all dressed up, Ethan will rush to the door and wait for my father to open the door.  Then Ethan will climb atop our little wooden stool in our porch and wait for Kong Kong to put on his sandals for him.  And off they will go.  On working days, this routine allows me to take my shower and get dressed for work with no interruption.

So basically, Ethan goes up, down and all around with Kong Kong.  Pull here and pull there.  At e-Gate, it’s always up the stairs to the first floor to experience the wonderful view of the sea with Kong Kong.  It’s no wonder that Kong Kong is all tired out every evening 🙂

However, I think the tiredness is definitely all worth it just to see that adorable face of Ethan light up every time he sees his Ah Ma and Kong Kong.

This morning, when we dropped him off at Ah Poh’s place, my Mom told Ethan that Ah Mah and Kong Kong were going back to Ipoh today and immediately there was a sorrowful look on Ethan’s face.  I know he understands what is being said, because as soon as Ah Mah clarified that they will be back in a week’s time on Saturday, he smiled a little.  He hugged Kong Kong extra tight right before we left him off at Ah Poh’s, and cried a little.  And as we left him at the door, we could sense that Ethan was holding back his tears, so we quickly said a quick goodbye and left.

Ethan definitely misses Kong Kong and Ah Ma and I am sure they miss him more.  He will surely be looking forward to next Saturday.

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