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Little Miracles · Growing Up
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Growing Up

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The Wonder of Aromatherapy

June 21, 2007 in Breastfeeding, Ethan, Growing Up, Miscellanous, Parenting | 3 comments

A couple of weeks ago, we noticed that Ethan seemed to be breathless at certain times.  It happened quite frequently, sometimes when he was playing and sometimes when he was just walking around.  More often than not, he would giggle and laugh and then he would follow up with a really deep inhalation, as if he was out of breath.  Because I had childhood asthma, I was afraid that Ethan might have inherited it too.  Although breastfeeding does substantially reduce the risk of contracting asthma, it is not 100% full-proof.  So I called Dr Jessica, his PD, and described his symptoms to her.  She said that since Ethan did not seem out of breath, and did not look pale when he was doing so, she reassured me that the symptoms that were presented were not those that indicate the onset of asthma, rather she suspects that it might be habitual as Ethan could have picked up this behaviour from someone he had observed.  She advised us to not make it a big issue though, and not even to tell him “No” when he does it, because that would sometimes encourage the child to do it more and more often.  So we were to monitor the situation and to let her know if it persisted.

Then I remembered that I had not diffused my aromatherapy lamp for a few weeks already.  Me, being careless and all, I dropped the lamp and the diffusing palette at the top cracked to pieces, so it was no longer usable.  Pete suggested that I get the diffuser replaced so that I could diffuse it again.  A few days after that, I managed to obtain the accessory concerned and started diffusing Eucalyptus.  Eucalyptus is well-known for its Asthma-curing properties, and I diffused it diligently every night when we sleep.  Both Pete and I simply love the aroma, and I’ve used it since Ethan was born.  After a couple of days, we were thrilled to noticethat Ethan was not exhibiting the breathless symptom anymore.  Up till today.  So, does aromatherapy do wonders?  Possibly.  We don’t know if what he had was the start of asthma or not (contrary to what the PD said), but we are certainly glad the breathlessness is no longer there.  Yay to Eucalyptus!

Tantrums tantrums tantrums!

June 19, 2007 in Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting | 4 comments

Last week, I read about Bryan‘s possible transition into the terrible twos, but little did I know that perhaps it was also Ethan’s turn now.  We were out shopping last weekend and really, Ethan is beginning to show signs of a decision-maker.  A hot-tempered decision maker, make that.

Scenario 1
As usual he was fascinated by escalators and would insist (loudly) that we take him up and down the escalators.  If we release him to wander around on his own, he would very quickly find out where the nearest escalator is and RUN towards it.  He will have no qualms about stepping onto the escalator on his own too, so we need to run after him and accompany him on them.  As soon as he gets off the escalator, he will want to go again, either UP or DOWN.  The moment we walk away from the escalator, he will scream to no end.  He doesn’t seem to show any possible signs of getting bored with the escalators.

Scenario 2
We were in Toys R Us and Pete put Ethan in one of those little toy cars on display.  Ethan was having the time of his life!  Pretending to drive the car (it was a *Flinstones* kinda car….so he could move it by using his legs), opening and closing the door….it was hilarious!

Soon it was time to go, and I tell you, it was really torturous trying to pry Ethan away from the car.  Pete carried him out of the car, and tried to distract him with some other toy.  But Ethan would inadvertently run back to the car, open the door and get in again.  We tried taking him out again and again, each time accompanied by shrieks and screams and protests.  He only calmed down when we diverted his attention to the escalators…..

Scenario 3
Borders Children’s Section: Ethan’s favorite part of the bookstore.  He especially likes the corner where they have the story-telling section.  I suspect it is because there are steps there and he loves to climb up and down them.  3:00p.m. and it was story-telling time.  Of course the folks in Borders needed to use the story-telling corner and we told Ethan we have to make way for them.  Ethan screamed again at the top of his lungs, protesting when we were trying to take him away.  On the bright side, we can be proud that our boy is showing a keen interest in books…. 😛

So, are we bound for more tantrums?  Only time will tell…

A Day of Records

June 19, 2007 in Breastfeeding, Ethan, Food & Feeding, Growing Up, Parenting, Sleep | 4 comments

Two new records have been set.  Here’s the scoop… 

Yesterday I tar-powed Belacan Fried Rice for Pete and myself for dinner because Pete was on leave.  I then picked Ethan up from the baby sitter’s and arrived home around 6:45p.m.  When Pete and I were having dinner, we put Ethan in his high chair and gave him his grape-flavored yogurt, which he absolutely adores.  After a few spoonfuls, he showed interest in the Belacan Fried Rice instead, demanding loudly for it and gesturing that I gave some to him.  So okay la, I gave him a couple of spoonfuls, not before warning him that it was slightly spicy though.  Our boy enjoyed the rice and the yogurt tremendously, had some water to go with it and after dinner, he played around with his toys and watched TV.  I sliced a mango for dessert, so we all enjoyed it as well.  I went about my usual errands: washing the milk bottles, preparing my working clothes for the following day, doing a round of laundry….the works.  After I had taken my shower, it was already 8:30p.m. and I prepared Ethan for his shower instead.  By the time he was done and all dressed in his peejays, it was about 8:50p.m.

Do you notice something different?  Do you see where I am getting at? No?

Ethan did not ask for milk AT ALL since we arrived back home!  Usually as soon as we reached home and unpacked, he would come over to me, hug my legs and request for milk, and it usually happens around 7p.m.  But nuh-uh, that did not happen at all today.  And I only breastfed him after his shower.  That’s a significant achievement in terms of not asking for milk!

After the breastfeeding session he slept for about an hour….. and we discovered that it was really only a nap because he woke up in alarm when Pete tried to trim his nails!  SIGH…we really need to educate Ethan on the importance of trimming nails.  Because he squirms and evades us when we try to trim his nails when he is awake, Pete has to do the deed only when Ethan is in slumberland.

So after he woke up, he was his playful self again, running around the house (yes, at 10p.m. +).  And he only fell asleep when it was past 11p.m.  *This* time he slept till way past 5a.m. in his cot.  And that’s another record and MAJOR achievement worth noting down. *grins*

We’d like to see more of these records, please… 🙂

Daddy’s Day

June 18, 2007 in Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting | 6 comments

Yesterday was the second time Pete celebrated Father’s Day.  After church in the morning, we had a fantastic but private celebration, just the three of us…I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves:

This Toy Rocks!

June 18, 2007 in Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up | 1 comment

When Ethan was hardly 2 months old, Pete went to the States for a short business trip and brought back, among others, a Fisher Price infant-to-toddler-rocker.  This little chair had a toy bar attached to it with 3 toys dangling from it: a pig, a lamb and a cow, which played Old McDonald’s when its tail was pulled.  That’s not all, it also came with a vibration mode which supposedly helps baby relax.  We loved the chair and so did Ethan… it helped him practise his batting and hitting skills (he would punch at the toys when he was lying down on the chair and excitedly play with the rattles) and I remember we were absolutely thrilled the very first time he pulled that cow’s tail and made music!  Well, this toy has certainly transcended time, and it is a really useful toy, because we still use it.  Yup….up till today….

At a few months’ old, Ethan used this chair just to relax and pass time looking and playing with the toys (this was before he learnt how to roll over):

 

Then when he could cruise, this was one of his favorite items to cruise around:

 

Sometimes (actually we still do) we put him in the chair to have a short nap:

 

Now, he has mastered the art of climbing on top of the chair all on his own and down again.  And finally he has also learnt how to enjoy the rocker function too!

Here’s to a toy that absolutely RAWKS!

Learning German?

June 15, 2007 in Ethan, Funny Moments, Growing Up | 5 comments

We have strong reason to believe that somehow, somewhere our boy is beginning to speak German.  That is really strange because none of us can speak German.  Well Pete and I did take a couple of French classes in the university, but German is totally our of our league.  Anyway, Ethan has been saying “Ja ja ja..” very often nowadays.  “Ja” in German means “yes”. 

Me: Do you know where we are going now?
Ethan: Ja!
Me: Yes, we are heading for Queensbay Mall for dinner!
Ethan: Ja! Ja!

Hmmm……I must start teaching him how to say “Ich liebe Dich, Mommy!” soon 🙂

Soba Yoshi

June 15, 2007 in Ethan, Growing Up | 2 comments

Pete and I love Japanese food, so it’s not a surprise that Ethan loves Japanese food too.  He loves it so much that he is now so at home when we go to our favorite Japanese restaurant, Soba Yoshi.  He loves to walk around and explore the area when we are there, and since the restaurant consists of 2 adjoining shops, he always has a field day there.  The waitresses also enjoy his company.  Once, when we stepped into the restaurant, our table was already set for us, complete with Ethan’s baby chair and our appetizers.  Psst…now Ethan also gets a serving of appetizer 🙂 

Sometimes when Pete and I are eating and Ethan is making a fuss, the waitresses will willingly babysit Ethan.  Just a couple of weeks ago, they even took some photos of him and last week, they told me that they had already developed the photos.  When we were there last Friday, Ethan was as usual running around and he accidentally knocked his forehead on the table edge and fell flat down backwards.  But he got up and proceeded to walk around happily still.  The waitress was astonished as to why Ethan didn’t cry…. hmmm……

Good food and free babysitting – you can only get it here… oh and here too!

A Nudge in the Footie Direction

June 12, 2007 in Ethan, Growing Up | 2 comments

Last Saturday when we were at the Toys ‘R’ Us outlet in Queensbay Mall, we got this new toy for Ethan.  Doesn’t he look like he is totally enjoying himself?

An innocent encouragement in that direction in the hope that he will eventually be blessed with the midfielder skills of Zidane and the striker instincts of Thierry Henry (given that his head does look a little like Henry’s), couldn’t hurt, right? *grin*

The Wheels of The Bus

June 12, 2007 in Ethan, Funny Moments, Growing Up | 2 comments

I used to sing The Wheels of The Bus to Ethan since he was a tiny baby, complete with actions.  It was much easier last time when he was seated in the rear-facing infant carrier, because then I could do the actions while facing him.  Now I can’t do it anymore because he is sitting in a front-facing car seat and furthermore I am sitting in the co-driver seat in front now.  So I sing The Wheels of The Bus to him when I change his diaper.

Me (singing while holding both his feet and making rotationary movements): The Wheels of the Bus go round and round, round and round, round and round…..
Ethan: *smiling happily*
Me (holding his hands and moving them left and right): The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish……swish, swish, swish……swish, swish, swish….
Ethan: *smiling happily*
Me (holding his hands and lifting them up and down): The people in the bus goes up and down, up and down, up and down…..
Ethan: *grinning ear to ear*
Me: The horn on the bus goes (I touch his nose repeatedly) beep, beep beep…..beep beep beep…beep beep beep!
Ethan: *giggles and tries to avoid me touching his nose*

But lately this has been happening instead:

Me (singing): The wheels of the bus goes round and round, round and round, round and round…
Ethan will hold up both his feet and tries to rotate them himself!
Me (happily): Good boy! *quickly apply Drapolene and powder .  It’s hard getting him to lie still while I do the deed now!*

And also…

Me (singing): The horn on the bus goes …?
Ethan reaches for my nose and touches it!  How’s that for innovation?

Bringing Love from Ipoh

June 11, 2007 in Ethan, Growing Up | 2 comments

Ethan’s Ah Kong and Ah Ma from Ipoh missed Ethan so much that they made a trip to Penang on Sunday to hang out with him.  I had a piping hot homecooked meal ready, so we all had lunch together at home.  It was the first time Ethan had the chance to taste Mommy’s homecooked Claypot Chicken Rice, which he so enjoyed up to the extent that he kept impatiently asking for more, much to the amusement of his grandparents.  Ethan had some of the lotus root soup too (which was unsalted) and finished his meal with a cup of nutritious yummy yogurt.  Ah Ma also brought some homemade lychee and carrot jelly from Ipoh too, but Ethan wasn’t yet accustomed to the taste of it.  Never mind, Pete and I will gladly finish up the jelly! 😀

Ethan was at first rather shy when we picked up my Mom and Dad from the bus station, but still he kept peeking at my Mom from where he was sitting in his car seat.  When we reached home however, he warmed up to them and soon was giggling and laughing loudly.  Ah Ma and Ah Kong, I’m sure, had a good time “chatting” with Ethan, and Ethan will of course look forward to their next visit!

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