Bible Verse of the Day

Daddy’s home…

April 7, 2008 in Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting | 7 comments


Scrap Credits
Spring Forward mini kit from Eva Kipler
Netter’s Alphas from Scarlet Heels
100% Tampons apostrophe & brackets from [ v.vv ]
Doodles: Doodle Me Big from Mikkel Paige Originals
Boxed words from Chantal

My dearest darling Ethan boy,

Daddy came back from India last Saturday night. After four nights away from us, you were able to hug him once again. Daddy took the cab home from the airport because he didn’t want Mommy to go to the trouble of fetching you to the airport at night and all. I had been telling you that Daddy will be home soon, and while you were enjoying the videos of yourself on Mommy’s cellphone, our doorbell suddenly rang. You climbed down from the couch, curious more than eager, and followed Mommy to the door. The moment you saw Daddy, I could feel your emotions in your eyes…how much you missed him and you even had to do a double take to make sure it was indeed Daddy. I had to reassure you over and over again that it was Daddy, because at first you didn’t look like you believed me. It had, after all, been days that you had not seen him.

Last Tuesday, while you were still at Ah Poh’s, Mommy fetched Daddy to the airport. He had travelled to India on a short business trip. I asked you not to worry, because he won’t be away for long, and he will be back on Saturday.

Daddy told you the night before he left that he would be away from home for a while and you pretended to ignore him then. But on the morning of the day he was to leave, when he carried you to Ah Poh’s door, said buh-bye and told you to be a good boy while he was away, you grunted and let out a whine of despair. Although I know you still do not know how to express yourself in words, I can feel that you missed him. In fact, we both did miss him a lot, didn’t we, Ethan boy?

Please don’t be angry with Daddy for being away. It was only for a few days anyway and did you see how happy he was to hold you in his arms again? He hasn’t been travelling for a long while now, the last time being when you were about 3 or 4 months’ old. You probably didn’t realize it then. But you have been a good boy, and I can tell in your eyes that you were looking for him for the past few days. You looked ever so confused when you could not find him anywhere at all. Well, he is home now, so you go knock yourself out having fun with him, yeah?

The night that he left, it was just you and me home alone. Daddy had suggested that I have my dinner and my shower first before picking you up, and I thought that was an excellent idea. It allowed me more time to spend with you, without running the risk of being lethargic.

It’s a good thing too that your Ah Ma and Kong Kong from Ipoh were here from the second night onwards. They miss you so much too, you know. I’m so glad you had a lot of fun with them both.

Since Daddy returned, you have made his day with all your giggles and funny antics. The Sunday morning after he came back home, when Daddy woke up, I asked you to give Daddy a good morning hug, and you ran over to him, put your arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheeks. I thought that was simply adorable.

All my love,
Mommy

A Day with Gramps

April 4, 2008 in Ethan, Growing Up | 7 comments

 
Scrap Credits
April template challenge from Kelly Puddy
Life is Good mini kit from Amanda Heimann
rayoflight solids (black paper) from fei-fei’s stuff
Boxed words from Chantal
Elegant word art (grandparents) (edited) from Bethany
HoldEmUps from Tara Dunstan

Today Mrs Tan had a day off; a day off from caring for Ethan while I was working, cos Ethan’s Ah Ma and Kong Kong from Ipoh are here for a visit in Penang, and they volunteered to look after Ethan for the first time the whole of today.  I was working from home today too but most of the time, I was in the *study room* with the door closed, unless I needed to come out (most of the time, I came out to change the DVD for Ethan if he was watching 😛 ).

We headed to the nearby mini market in the morning for some quick marketing for tomorrow’s meal and then had a speedy breakfast in the coffee shop.  Ethan was so well-behaved!  He really adores his Ah Ma and Kong Kong and since they arrived, he has been in a really cheerful, happy mood.  Before we headed out for dim sum brunch, Kong Kong even took him for a walk by the poolside.  I hope Ethan’s not too much to handle, knowing how active he can get!

When we came back after brunch at around 1:00p.m., Ethan had already yawned a few times so I knew it won’t be long before he fell asleep.  Hoping he would be able to sleep in Ah Ma’s arms without crying for Mommy despite knowing that I was around, I resumed my work in the study.  I could hear him giggling and laughing intermittently outside as he watched his DVDs, but a few minutes later, there was complete silence.  Well well, whaddya know, that fella had drifted off to dreamland!  I moved him to the bed and he slept for a complete two hours straight!

He woke up smiling and downed about 3 oz of milk, then he hung out with his grandparents till dinner time.  As usual, we headed for Queensbay Mall to have our dinner (and also for Ethan to expend his energy of course!).  Dinner was a delicious and scrumptious meal at Friday’s, and then while my Mom and I shopped for a few grocery items, Ethan pulled his Kong Kong by the hand here and there and everywhere.

Ethan had a very enjoyable day today.  The weekend started early for him this week, that’s for sure.  I’m sure he made both Ah Ma and Kong Kong very very happy too, as much as they have made him.  Sweet dreams, my darling Ethan boy.

The lure of water

April 3, 2008 in Entertainment, Ethan, Funny Moments, Growing Up | 2 comments


Scrap Credits
XOXO template V2,  rayoflight prints and solids & aking hardin alphas, all from fei-fei’s stuff

It all started one day when I decided to get my hair done.  I checked with the salon and my hairdresser told me that a haircut and treatment would take approximately an hour and a half.  It was impossible to ask Ethan to wait around for me for that long a time, so I very sweetly requested Pete to take Ethan for some male bonding time at the mall, while I had some me-time.

And Pete told me that ever since that outing, Ethan has taken a fancy to the flowing water decorations on display at a particular shop in the mall.  Ethan has never noticed these before.  You know what I am referring to?  Yup, those electrically operated pieces of decoration, some with rotating lighted balls, some with mini waterfalls and pretty rocks.  Now, each time we pass this shop that sells them, Ethan would stop and stare, without fail.

I wonder what’s going through his mind when he looks and giggles at these pieces of decorations.  Wait ah Ethan….when we move to a house, we can ask Daddy to get you one, okay?

It must be the santan!

April 2, 2008 in Ethan, Food & Feeding | 5 comments


 Scrap Credits
Serie bleu kit from happy-scrap
Happy Easter freebie Alphas from Kate Hadfield

Some children like sweets.

Some children like cakes and cookies.

And yet, some children would do anything for chocolates.

But my boy…?  Give him a bowl of thab tim krob anytime!  Could it be hereditary?

Ethan at 26 months

April 1, 2008 in Ethan, Milestones | 4 comments


Scrap Credits
Spring Romantic bonus from Doreen Stolz
Feb 29th blog freebie paper and alphas from miss SCRAP
Handcut paper alphas from Grazieli Niclass
Joy word art from fei-fei’s stuff

Weight

I put him on the weighing machine at home and the scale showed 11 kilos.  Can it be trusted?

Height

Getting taller and taller – can reach the bottom-most buttons in our condominium’s elevator now…if he stands on tip-toe

Teeth

Sixteen: 8 incisors, 2 canines (upper), 4 pramolars (2 upper and 2 lower) and 2 molars (bottom).  Salivating a lot recently, perhaps a sign of more pearly whites to come?

Motor Skills

  • In addition to walking on his tippytoes, he has taken a liking to walking on his heels too.  And no, it’s not cos I have not mopped the floor often enough.
  • Running up and down slopalators and escalators on his own.  Don’t try to stop him, because keeping him back might cause him to fall.
  • Can operate a DVD player on his own.  He can take the DVD from the case, hold it (sometimes he puts his finger through that little hole in the DVD), puts it into the DVD player.  He has also observed that some DVDs I usually put into our Sony player and some rather scratchy ones I put into the Pioneer player, and he will insist on putting the right DVDs into the respective players.
  • Stomping around loudly.

Communication and Social Skills

  • New words:

    • Ball (says this very well, and knows the meaning of it too. He amazed me when he repeated the word while watching the VCD I borrowed from Samuel‘s mommy.  I had played it before a couple of times but he wasn’t interested.  Then about 2 days ago, I took the VCD and packed it into my bag.  As usual, our inquisitive boy demanded to watch it, and soon he was repeating some of the words from the video!  Of course, I promptly made a copy of the video before returning it) – now he says “ball” every time he sees a ball.  It is music to our ears!

    • Train (from the same video, but inconsistent)

    • Baby (also from the same video, also inconsistent)

    • Cut Cut (we don’t know what this means yet)

    • Eh-ta-ta! (escalator) – He would say it every time I show him the video of him walking up and down the slopalator and escalator.

  • Likes to watch himself in action on video.  He normally requests me to play videos I have captured of him with my Nokia N73 and then he would laugh and giggle in glee.

Food and Feeding

Getting more and more demanding in exhibiting his independence.  Prefers to feed himself, never mind the mess he makes.  Can handle and feed himself buns and biscuits.  His manipulation of the spoon has improved too, and he will be very pleased when we praise him for a job well done.  Still don’t know if he is a leftie or rightie though, because he appears to be able to handle both hands rather well.  Loves to hold the knife AND fork though.

 

Toilet Training

Not completely toilet-trained for big business yet, but getting there.  His favorite *spot* for big business is at Pete’s side of the bed, near the curtains.  Whenever Ethan goes and stands there quietly (sometimes with straining sounds), I will quickly take him to sit on his throne.  He does his business almost every morning without fail 🙂

First step to socializing

March 31, 2008 in Ethan, Growing Up | 6 comments

So after some due consideration, we’ve finally decided to enrol Ethan in the parent-toddler class we took him for the trial class earlier.  This would mean an hour and a half each week of fun learning activities for him, and it would be the perfect ground to establish his socializing skills.  Although we take Ethan out many times a week, be it to the mall or to restaurants, he hardly has any direct contact with kids his age, hence when he meets strangers or come face to face with large groups of people, he tends to shy away, sometimes screaming in anger.  This is apparent in almost all family gatherings we have been to.

Last Saturday was Ethan’s second session at the class (including the trial class), and we can see some improvement in his socializing skills already.  At the first lesson, it took him some time to warm up and start playing, but last Saturday, he eagerly *attacked* the toys he wanted to play with.  Although he is very much different from the rest of the kids, preferring instead to play on the playground frame cube instead of sitting down quietly like the rest of the kids and listen to the teacher, we can tell that he thoroughly enjoyed himself there.  Why, after we had lunch, Ethan fell asleep on the way home and continued sleeping even after we reached home…with a smile plastered on his face!  By the way, I need to remind myself that I have to get some sunblock for Ethan, given the fact that he would be spending more time in the sun than usual now.  Last Saturday’s class ended with an outdoor picnic for all the kids, complete with biscuits, fruits, ice-cream and water.  Ethan totally dug the biscuits 😛

We also find the teachers at the school very patient and very professional – they look as though they have been dealing with kids all their life!  People running these programs need to have a way with kids, as is apparent with both teachers we have met so far.

We had to pay for three months’ fees in advance at the school (RM112 X 3), so let’s just wait and see what these three months would reap for Ethan.  Meanwhile, I have a hunch he’s gonna look forward to every Saturday in eager anticipation!

Where does the food go?

March 29, 2008 in Ethan, Food & Feeding | 6 comments

Ethan is a healthy toddler who eats non-stop, so to say.  After we come back from a meal outside, he will ask for yogurt, fruit juice, Yakult and sometimes fruits and biscuits too.  Then after his shower, he will take about 5oz of milk.

Lately, he has also acquired a taste for the Old Town roti bakar.  He will happily chomp down one piece on his own (see pic above).  And that’s not inclusive of the hor fun he steals from my bowl.  Tonight at Friday’s, in addition to the spaghetti he spooned and forked into his mouth on his own, he also used his hands to pick several pieces of tomato and chicken to eat.

So how come he’s still as skinny as ever?  Not that I am worried or anything…. I am okay with it as long as he is growing up strong and healthy 🙂  Well, it must be all the running around he is engaging in.  I mean, have you seen this boy running up and down the sloping walkalators?

Ethan’s Easter Sunday

March 25, 2008 in Celebrations, Christianity, Ethan, Growing Up | 5 comments

All this while, Ethan has only been wearing open-toed sandals. He used to have a pair of covered sneakers, but (I think) because that pair was not made of breathable material, his feet stunk when he sweats and we never put them on him again.

I had bought a pair of brown sneakers for him sometime back. They looked so boyishly cool, I just had to get them. Plus, they were on discount then – how could I resist? I got the smallest size available, but Ethan still could not fit into them at that time.

But just recently, I decided to try if they fit. Lo and behold, they did! Well, there was a small space when he wore them, but I figured they would fit perfectly with a pair of socks.

So on Easter Sunday, I dressed Ethan in his new white striped GAP polo shirt (*new* because I bought it so many months ago, but my string-bean kid can’t fit into it yet. Even now, it is a little loose), matching new socks and his new shoes. Handsome, boh?

At times he felt rather weird with socks, so he asked us to remove them so that he could *air* his feet. Lawl!

In church, Ethan was fascinated with the brick wall surrounding the altar, and because we sat at the side of the pews, it was a good thing he could be kept occupied there. When he saw us kneeling in prayer, he too joined us. He even followed my cue when I showed him how to position his hands in prayer position.

What an absolutely awesome blessing from The Lord this Easter!

…and now to teach him how to recite The Lord’s Prayer…. 🙂

My incurable diaper addiction

March 24, 2008 in Ethan, Growing Up | 9 comments

Since I switched Ethan to cloth diapers exclusively, I have seen tremendous improvement especially in prevention of nappy rash. Ethan has really sensitive skin and all this while he has been prone to diaper rashes. He gets it off and on, and sometimes when there is no rash, his nappy area would be slightly reddish too. In fact, there were a few times that the over-drying chemicals in a famous disposable diaper brand caused him so much discomfort that he was walking around like a crab! Hence I am very happy to note the vast improvement in his skin condition now. Not only has his nappy rash occurrences been reduced substantially, the redness has totally GONE!

This is why I have been investing in cloth diapers recently, not only for now, but for the future too.

And this brings me to the reason why I am so elated today. About a month ago, I ordered some cloth diapers for Ethan from Nicki’s Diapers, and I asked my manager if he would be so kind as to bring the stuff back for me in Penang. He very willingly obliged, and today my manager arrived from US and I finally got my parcel! Look! More gorgeous diapers to adorn that cute lil bum of Ethan’s.

By the way, I also added a wetbag (the disco dotted one) and two cloth wipes to add to my collection.

In addition, just last week, I managed to squeeze in an order for a crocheted pair of wool longies from Sweet Seats. I read that this could be used as a soaker for fitted diapers and is extremely great for heavy wetters (like Ethan). I was so eager to try them on him today, but unfortunately when I put it on him, he made a face as if to say, “What on earth is this Mommy?” You see, he has never felt wool on his skin before, hence the strange reaction. I’ll try again another day then. But they do look gorgeous, eh?

And finally, as if my loot for the day was not enough, my order from Lil Danzell came today. I have wanted to get Ethan a camo print diaper for the longest time, and I have actually ordered a fitted camo one, which has yet to arrived. Then recently I fell in love with the Blueberry Minky diapers and as luck would have it, they had the camo green print available! I also got another Blueberry in jaguar print and an itti bitti d’lish in (Liverpool) red. These three diapers are really luxurious and feel very comfortable. They look good too, don’t they?

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to run off and find some earplugs because Pete will be berating me on my diaper expenditure. 😛

“I’m growing up…oh yes I am!”

March 21, 2008 in Ethan, Growing Up | 10 comments

 

Mommy is really busy these days, so I asked her permission to log in and keep my fans entertained.  I think it’s high time people out there see it from my point of view.  I hear Mommy and Daddy calling me a “little big boy” very often nowadays, so I know I have grown up in more ways than one.  Let me tell you what I mean…

I now willingly allow Mommy or Daddy to trim my nails (including toenails) while I sit comfortably on the sofa.  According to them, I used to kick and scream whenever they tried to cut my nails, but now I don’t see why I need to.  I treat the weekly sessions as relaxing manicure and pedicure sessions.  Aaahh….bliss!

Also in the grooming category, I go for monthly hair cuts at the salon now.  I love it when I put on the very colorful cape and my whole head gets a nice neat shave.  Thankfully, Mommy asked the hairdresser not to shave my head bald, instead I come out of the salon in an awesome macho crew cut Top Gun kinda hairstyle.  Daddy always says I look naughtier after a hair cut.

I also like to be independent and prefer to eat on my own if I can.  Sometimes if I am in a bad mood, I will refuse to eat until they allow me to hold my own fork and spoon.  Of course, 50% of the food I scoop up ends up on the floor, but it’s the thrill of holding the utensils that ignites my excitement.  The other day I managed to grab Mommy’s steak knife in Chili’s and she almost fainted.

Oh, I have also learnt how to step on and off the escalator on my own now.  Donno why Mommy and Daddy always insists on holding my hand.  I try to break free whenever I can, much to their shock.

In terms of fashion, I like to think of myself as having inherited Mommy’s delectable taste in fashion.  I absolutely love it that I am in wearing these groovy-looking cloth diapers all of the time now.  Mommy must think I look good too because she keeps snapping pictures of me in them!  Well sometimes Ah Poh, my babysitter, puts me in the traditional cloth nappy, which is fine if I am indoors, but I like to choose the design of diapers I am to wear if I go out.  I mean the other day, they wanted to put me in yellow diapers with a blue outfit?!!! Come ON!!!!  Of course, I struggled la…until they took out the blue matching diaper 🙂  For outer wear, I prefer comfortable shorts as opposed to pants and jeans.  Everyone should know why.

I’m picking up some personal hygiene habits too.  I love to brush my teeth after my shower every day now.  Mommy will sing this lovely “This is the way I brush my teeth” song, and I will brush and chew and gnaw away at the bristles.  Two days ago, I bit off some of the bristles, and Mommy suddenly stopped singing and became hysterical instead.  Donno why.  Oh…I also know now that cotton buds are used to clean ears, and I am proud to say that I can do so myself now…sometimes one in each ear at the same time.  He he…

For my big toilet business, I use a special padded toilet seat.  I have one at home and one at Ah Poh’s place.  I love sitting on my little padded throne.  Mommy always cheers and claps when I am done with my business and my favorite part is when I get to flush.  Wheeeeee!!!!! 

So do you agree with Mommy and Daddy that I am a “little big boy” now?

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