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Little Miracles · Growing Up
Bible Verse of the Day

Growing Up

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Window Opening

July 13, 2007 in Ethan, Growing Up, Milestones | 1 comment

A couple of days ago, as we were fetching Ethan over to Mrs Tan the babysitter’s place in the morning, the car window on Ethan’s side suddenly moved down.  We turned to check how that happened, and realized that Ethan had accidentally pressed the “open window” button!  We already had the child lock in place all along but now since Ethan’s fingers (and sometimes toes) can reach the window button, we have to disable that too, knowing how inquisitive he can be!

Thanks goodness our car has that feature! 😀

Party Time!

July 9, 2007 in Entertainment, Ethan, Funny Moments, Growing Up | 3 comments

Last Saturday morning Ethan woke up in a kind of pensive mood. It was raining and we had breakfast at home and later went out for a quick lunch.

Ethan was soon to find out that he would be attending his very first birthday party that evening. Well, besides his own birthday party in January, that is. It was little Ching Ern‘s birthday and that evening we arrived just as the guest of honor arrived. 🙂

Ethan wasted no time in getting acquainted with his surroundings. Almost immediately, he spotted the staircase and insisted on going up. Pete and I had to take turns attending to him while we ate.

Ching Ern’s Mommy and Daddy really went all out in making sure the party was enjoyable! There were party bags for all the kids and birthday favors in the form of chocolates too. We tried to make Ethan wear the cone-shaped party hat, but he yanked it off his head (as expected). Actually he tore the hat at first and then we managed to fix it and put it on his head, and THEN he yanked it off!

Ethan met a lot of old and new friends also, but it was definitely a challenge getting them to pose nicely for the camera.

Ethan was really enjoying himself during the party. When he wasn’t climbing up the stairs, he was walloping the whole mini box of raisins that came along with the goodie bag, or giggling loudly when we blew on the party toy…you know the kind of whistle that has a tube of paper attached to it and the tube will extend when one blows on it? That totally cracked him up big time!

And at one time, he even took a breather, just to rest his head 🙂

One of Ching Ern’s presents was a little ride-on car which had all the toddlers excited. It was so hard to get the kids to leave the toy alone that in the end all we could do was take photos of them playing with it! We are bloggers, after all!

And the highlight of the evening, besides the cake-cutting ceremony, was when we tried to put all the kids in a row on the couch to take a picture. I was skeptical the plan would work, but anyhow we managed to get some good shots. Well, almost… 😛 In the process of trying to get the kids to smile, we adults started clapping our hands joyfully. Soon, one by one, the kids all joined in the clapping extravaganza. Doesn’t Ethan look like he is totally relaxing on the sofa?

What a good time we had at the party! Happy Birthday Ching Ern!

The Fear Conqueror

July 6, 2007 in Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting | 2 comments

 

Last weekend, Ethan (ye of exceptional motor skills) mastered the art of climbing on top of our bed.  Ours is a bed with a side platform all round it, so all he needs to do is to climb onto the platform while holding onto the mattress, then hoist himself up onto the bed.  Ethan did that perfectly well and has been doing it most of the time when he is in our room.

Two nights ago, he was doing it again, but somehow he lost his grip and fell backwards flat on the back of his head.  He looked stunned for a moment, and then started to wail loudly!   I hugged and comforted him immediately of course, and naturally he would not let go of me after that.  But about 30 minutes later he was at it again, climbing up onto the bed in the usual manner.  After his shower that night, as he was about to sleep but still playfully sauntering around the room, he seemed to have forgotten his fall earlier, and tried to climb up and down our bed again.  But on one occasion, his hand missed the grip on the bed, and his body lurched to the left side of the bed, head first!  Thank goodness Pete was there to break his fall!  Our boy was of course shocked by this second incident and found comfort in Mommy’s arms again.

You would think these two incidents would deter him from climbing up our bed, right?  However, Ethan is a boy that chooses to deal with his fears head on: “Face my fears and I will fear no more!” – that’s his motto.  So he’s still at it now: climbing up, climbing down… well, sometimes when he remembers, he will reach out his arm for reassurance while climbing.  Hehehe….

Mommy’s Little Helper

July 4, 2007 in Ethan, Funny Moments, Growing Up | 3 comments

Ethan is becoming quite a little helper now. Especially when I dress him up or when I am changing him. You see, I have a routine established right from the onstart and he understands it perfectly well now.

After his bath/shower, I will take him to his changing table and dry him up with his towel. Sometimes he will get a toy to play with, sometimes a tube of cream. Don’t ask… 😛

I would then apply Drapolene, followed by powder, and then put his diaper on. Then I would give him a body massage with baby lotion, apply Baby Vicks on his chest and back and then dress him up. The last step would be to apply baby cream on his face.

Just recently though, Ethan has taken the extra effort to *help* me cap the Drapolene, Vicks and baby cream back. After I uncap the bottle/tubes, he would grab hold of the cover and very carefully place the cover back on top of the tube or bottle. He is very happy when he has accomplished his *mission* because I proudly proclaim “Good boy!” Sometimes he wants to cap it back on immediately after I have uncapped it, so much so that I have had to explain to him that Mommy is still not done yet! And sometimes he even *reminds* me of the baby cream that I’ve forgotten to apply!

Amazing what kids can do, eh?

A Battle Half Won

July 3, 2007 in Entertainment, Ethan, Funny Moments, Growing Up | 6 comments

Recently we noticed that Ethan gets easily agitated when faced with strangers, especially those in close proximity with him. It was as if he felt his personal space being invaded when these strangers come into close contact with him. Strangers to him also meant people whom he had not seen in a long while, friends and relatives included. This behavior is especially apparent when the *stranger* looks at him and starts *talking* to him. It could be just a harmless “Hello!” or “Hi!” and Ethan would retort with a sharp whine and squeal as if to say “Don’t disturb me!” Surprisingly, he is okay in the malls where there are lots of people around but when these people start interacting with him, he becomes uncomfortable. I’ve read and heard that this is a phase some toddlers go through.

So Pete and I decided that we needed to put a change to that and make him less afraid of strangers. We reckoned we could turn things around if we brought him to places where there were a lot of people who would interact with him, and vice versa. This does not just mean the malls, but gatherings and parties as well.

Last weekend gave us two opportunities to do so. The first was a barbecue party with Pete’s co-workers at Gold Coast. Ethan was obviously very uncomfortable among all the people there and stuck to Pete and me like glue. It was really hot too, so that did not help the situation at all. Nevertheless, Ethan was very fascinated by the swimming pool and we had to take him there several times just to make him happy. There was also a mini playground area, with a rotational tic-tac-toe board which kept him occupied for a while too. Oh, and he went topless for the second part of the evening because of the immense heat 😛 And because he would not let Pete or me go, we could not take any pictures to commemorate the occasion. But just imagine this: Barbecued ribs, grilled shrimp, smoky air, very HOT. ’nuff said.

Two days later on Sunday, I took Ethan to his playgroup. This time saw the most attendees ever since we started the playgroup. Ethan and I were the first to arrive at Charlotte‘s house. I brought along Ethan’s toy train to be shared with the rest of the kiddies when they arrived (was I glad I did, because it was met with enthusiasm from all the kids!). Wei Xuan, Hin Lerk, Ching Ern and Sze Yi also came armed with their toys, full of energy and of course, with their Mommies.

Throughout the playgroup, Ethan was very vocal, although we could not comprehend what he was trying to say. Of course, we entertained him by responding in a manner we thought he understood. We were actually hoping that Ethan would be able to pick up a few words from Wei Xuan, but instead Xuan chose to communicate with Ethan in a language only Ethan and she could understand: baby blabbering! That was hilarious!

I really feel the playgroup is an excellent avenue for the kids to enjoy themselves and interact with other kids. It is so important to have that available for them especially at this formative age, because they can learn so many things: Sharing, imitating (good things, I hope), leadership and expressing themselves, among others. Plus, it is a good time for us mothers to chit chat too!

So we had two group interaction sessions for Ethan over the weekend, and guess what, we are already reaping the benefits. Yesterday when we were in the lift and 2 other people came in, Ethan was not that shy anymore! He did not let out a cry of disdain when they spoke to him, instead he smiled at them, lifted his arm and then leaned his head on Pete’s shoulder. This morning he did the same thing when one uncle came into the lift with us too! I definitely see progress! 🙂

What a Beautiful Sunday!

July 2, 2007 in Ethan, Food & Feeding, Growing Up, Milestones, Parenting | 1 comment

That night after the “No Breastfeeding Before Bedtime” incident, Ethan woke up (I think) once in the middle of the night. Not too bad I would say, but it was relatively harder to put him back to sleep after that. He seemed more well-rested though and only woke up way past 9:00a.m. the next morning. I was so worried something was wrong that I quickly took his temperature for sanity’s sake! This was because normally Ethan would be up and about at around 8:00a.m. 😛

It was going to be an exciting day ahead because we were going to the Family Carnival at The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. We all had breakfast together; Ethan had a wholesome and nutritious meal of oats with milk and slices of banana.

At the carnival, Ethan was VERY well-behaved. There weren’t any baby chairs in sight, so we stacked two chairs and Ethan sat on them. Another milestone? You bet! And what did our boy eat? Some wan ton mee, a strand of laksa and he had his first taste of orange juice! I gave Ethan a choice of Apple Juice, Orange Juice or water, and he reached for the orange cup, perhaps attracted to its color?

Ethan also got himself a balloon teddy at the carnival. You know, those balloons that could be bent and twisted till it resembled some cute thingy? Well, of course, he had to show his affection by biting the poor balloon teddy on its nose and thereby bursting it! Surprisingly he was not in the least bit perturbed by the loud blast… Mommy jumped up in shock but our boy was the picture of perfect coolness. The nice uncle replaced his *headless* balloon teddy with a new one, anyway. 🙂

After spending all our RM50 worth of coupons, we went home, took a shower and had a brief nap. It was playgroup day and Ethan needed all the energy in the world!

Long Story Worth Reading

June 30, 2007 in Breastfeeding, Ethan, Food & Feeding, Growing Up, Milestones, Parenting, Sleep | 6 comments

I want to remember this special and historical day for as long as I live. I want to have every single detail of today etched in my mind for ever. Read till the end and you’ll know why.

Our Saturday started before 8:00a.m. when Ethan woke both Pete and me up. Ethan had somehow *found* his way to our bed again the night before, and although for most part of the night we slept in the shape of an “I” or “H” or at times a “Z”, we all had a good night’s rest. Maybe it was because we all *knew* it was already the weekend 🙂 In typical Ethan fashion, he crawled over to me, put both his hands on my cheeks and tried to wake me up. My mind was awake but my eyelids were still closed, so he rolled over to Daddy’s side and started playing with Daddy instead. We lazed around in bed and soon got up for breakfast. Ethan shared a bowl of Kellogg’s Frosties with full cream milk with me. I didn’t want to give him too much because of the high sugar content. After that I made 2oz of Isomil + Pediasure for Ethan in a bottle and Pete tried bottle-feeding him. As expected, he rejected the bottle. So I tried giving him the bottle myself instead. Pete gave him the bottle cover to play with and Ethan had a field time putting the cover on the bottle and then removing it. He then grabbed hold of the bottle and opened his mouth wide while putting the bottle nipple into his mouth. We thought he would be happily drinking the milk then but alas! It was only for a while; he had hardly drank 2 sips and he was repeating the entire process over again: close bottle cover, remove bottle cover, play with bottle, pretend to drink from bottle. In the end I decided to mix the milk with some organic arrowroot cookies which I had bought for him a few weeks ago. Guess what? Cookies, he liked. Cookies + Milk mixture, he pushed away. So much for the semblance of a plan. As a last resort, I just poured the remainder of the milk into his mug and gave it to him to drink….and you know, I was surprised he actually drank a few gulps that way. Finally to make it a wholesome breakfast, Ethan had a cup of his favorite grape-flavored yogurt, which he finished joyfully. I then gave Ethan his shower, and after that I breastfed him.

Today, I introduced the shape sorter toy his Ipoh Ah Ma bought for him some months back. Ethan was very excited when he saw the new toy and began playing with it immediately, although he can’t really play it the right way yet. He can turn the hands of the clock on the toy though 😛

We then went out to have dim sum for brunch where Ethan demonstrated once again that he was really becoming a big boy, on the way to independence and self-feeding. He now eats his siew mai using a chopstick ala satay style. Yup, he eats with only one chopstick which is pushed into a piece of siew mai. He will eagerly hold the chopstick and feed himself the piece of siew mai, chomping away happily after that.


Oh, and following Uncle LB‘s suggestion, Ethan tried lormaikai for the first time today. It is of course a form of rice and we are not at all surprised that Ethan loves it!

Next, off we went to Queensbay Mall. I did some clothes shopping and then we went to Toys R Us. The toy car which Ethan took a fancy to had been shifted to the back of the store. So now all the toy cars were grouped together. Of course, Ethan had to take his weekly rides in them. Hmmm….I’m still wondering if I should get one for him…. the problem is where to put the car? He discovered the police car this week…. just look at him having the time of his life!

After that we were at Borders, where we allowed Ethan to wander around in the children’s section, much to his delight. Ummm…actually he also wandered OUT of the children’s section, much to HIS delight too…. and so it wasn’t too long before our boy got knocked out while I was carrying him. He fell asleep in my arms and after a while we placed him in the stroller, while he was still sleeping. We did our grocery shopping in Jusco and then proceeded to the elevator, ready to leave Queensbay Mall. However, as soon as the lift music played, Ethan woke up alert and happy. When we reached home it was already 5:00p.m. and after we unpacked, it was half past five.

And only THEN did I breastfeed Ethan. He was such a good boy, and didn’t even demand loudly for his milk. All I did was sit on the sofa, and he came up to me with this adorable puppy-dog look that said it all, “Mommy, can I have some milk, please?” How could I say no to that?

This was also the first time we had gone out shopping for more than 5 hours that I did NOT have to breastfeed Ethan in the Baby Room in Jusco. Very very good weaning progress indeed.

Ethan played with his toys for a while, watching some TV too. Then we headed out to Old Town for dinner. Nasi lemak and roti bakar were the order of the day. Since Ethan did not take a lot (most of it was just the nasi lemak), I made him another 2oz of Isomil + Pediasure when we got home. I mixed some oats with the milk so it became oatmeal! And was I glad I did! Ethan loved it and ate a lot of it 🙂 It was already about 9:00p.m. then.

Suddenly I had the idea of trying to put him to bed without breastfeeding him. After all, he had had a lot of the oatmeal and he was already very full by then. We gave him his warm shower and got him dressed in his peejays. I then immediately took him straight into the room, and tried to make him go to sleep. To distract him from breastfeeding, I hugged a pillow to my chest and just laid down with him on the bed. After some giggling and smiling, he tossed and turned and finally fell asleep amid my singing and humming the lullaby song his Ipoh Ah Ma sang to him when he was a little baby. It was about 10:15p.m. then. Yes, he fell asleep WITHOUT me breastfeeding him. This was the first time ever and I hope this will mark the first successful step towards a successful weaning ahead.

It was really an odd feeling when it dawned on me that my little boy did not need me to breastfeed him to make him go to sleep. On the one hand, I am happy that we are making progress in this arena, but on the other, there was a part of me that missed that special bond we shared. My labor of love would eventually come to and end soon. We knew this would happen sooner or later. Of course, Ethan has to grow up someday. But it still left me in a poignant state. Motherhood does strange things to people, and although I know I will feel a sense of emptiness inside of me when Ethan is fully weaned off, I am thankful that I had the privilege to enjoy the breastfeeding journey while it lasted.

For now, good night my darling Ethan Boy. Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite….! …..as clichéd as it may seem.

Imitation with a Twist

June 26, 2007 in Ethan, Funny Moments, Growing Up | 2 comments

Ethan is learning to imitate what we do. But he does it his way….yes like Frankie did it his way…

I mentioned before that Pete likes to play with Ethan by crouching on all fours and staying really still. And then when Ethan runs over and *finds* his Daddy, he would giggle with glee! Just about a week ago, I noticed that Ethan likes to creep and squeeze himself behind his high chair (His high chair is right next to the wall, so when he does that, he will be holding on to the back of the chair, with his back facing the wall). We notice that when he has assumed this position, he would stay absolutely still. Very very still. Then just yesterday, Pete peeped at him from behind the wall and Ethan squealed in delight! I tried peeking at him from the top, same thing happened. Left, right, under… all with the same effect. Then it dawned on us that Ethan must have thought he was hiding from us. Much like what Daddy has been *playing* with him all this while.

Kebab?

June 25, 2007 in Ethan, Funny Moments, Growing Up, Milestones | 1 comment

Just a few days ago, Ethan started saying something that sounded like “kay-bak” (chicken meat in Hokkien).  Or was it “ke-bak”?  Or maybe “kebab”?  Hehehe..

Yesterday he woke up at around 6:30a.m., rolled around on the bed, sat up and said “kay-bak“.  We don’t know for sure what it means yet, but we can’t wait to find out.

Climb High Climb Low

June 22, 2007 in Ethan, Exercise, Growing Up | 2 comments

Climbing is one of Ethan’s favorite past times now.  He loves climbing up the sofa, climbing up his toy train (it looks pretty dangerous, because the train has wheels and our boy will try to climb on top of the seat), and anything else that is worth climbing.  In fact, Mrs Tan our babysitter has also reported that Ethan has been quite the climber recently.  Traits of a boy emerging, eh?

Last weekend, when we were at the play area in Gurney Plaza, Ethan happily ran to the slide and started attempting to climb up it.  No, he did not use the slide ladder, instead he climbed *up* the slide…yeah, the part where we are supposed to slide down.  The first attempt saw him climb one or two steps up and then he slid down, then he held on to the sides, put one foot on the slide, followed by another and then slid down again.  I could see the persistence and determination in his face (which mirrors mine…*ahem*) when he tried again and again, and he finally succeeded.  Hey, this takes immense upper body strength okay?

Now, he can also climb up his Fisher Price chair on his own and watch TV … yeah, like a tua-tow-keh…  Look at how he is enjoying himself!

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