Talia is Coming

The name Talia (tal-yuh) is a Hebraic contraction of "dew" and the name of God, thus meaning "dew of Heaven". In Jewish tradition, dew is gentle and ever-present thus representing God's kindness. We thought this is a wonderful meaning which we hope is expressed in Talia's life as she grows up.

This Talia is about to descend upon us very soon. Renata is having minor contractions already. Here she is getting hooked up to a machine that measures Talia's heartbeats and detects any contractions. Look what a nice picture Renata drew with her uterus!

Handphone Conversations

Ethan just loves to chat on the phone. He sometimes also chats using the remote control or the alarm clock, but he usually gets it right and is on the phone. It's a great way to get him to verbalize all that cute baby-speak, and he even intersperses it with a few SMS's!

Chloe or Talia?

She will turn Ethan's World upside down... and probably move it a new domain name too! We thought her name would be Chloe but now we also like Talia, and here's her ultrasound. In the beginning you can see her spine then after a few seconds look out for her head. You can make out her eyes and face and even her hand and individual fingers!

Birthday Party

No, it's not Ethan's birthday but Kelly's, Ethan's cousin (actually their daddys are cousins). This was Ethan's first kiddies party, so he was younger than most of the kids but being there was great for him cos he watched all the others and learned valuable lessons on how to play!

A little magic show entertained the kiddies, and Ethan clapped and raised his hands on cue following all the other kids! He hasn't figured it all out yet but he sure knows it's fun!

Slave Baby

This cute baby was found cleaning windows, boxes, and balcony railings... and wearing only a loincloth too!

Latte Lover

Ethan has been a regular fan of Daddy's barista aspirations. He runs to the kitchen and stares whenever he hears the grinder going and stays to watch the final milk pour. I've been giving him bits of frothed milk previously, so this morning I decided to make him his own! Of course, it's not a cappucino but a coacacino - Ethan's very own mini cocoa latte!

Left to Right: Daddy's Cappucino, Ethan's Cocoacino

So how did Ethan like it? We took a few videos, selected the two best and stitched them together. Absolutely a must-see! Look for the wiggles of delight and turn on your sound to hear a toddler's appreciate aaaahhh!. This is one of our favourites of our fine food loving son!

Aspiring House Cleaner

Ethan sure has taken a liking to house cleaning. We've concluded that he gets this virtue from Mummy and not from Daddy. The other day when the vacuum cleaner was off and on the floor he walked over and started vacuuming the floor. Way to go Ethan! And with jazz in the background too...



Then this morning Daddy was in the kitchen making his breakfast. He reached up spilled some powder so I had to get the broom. Ethan watched intently as I cleaned up the mess then after I was done, quickly grabbed the broom and proceeded to sweep not only the kitchen but the living room for a good 10 minutes! Good job son!

Now we know why people have 10 children.

Snow in Japan

On the last couple of days we went to a ski slope where there was still snow in the spring season. We stayed at a little pensione (like a bed and breakfast) and this was the view outside our bedroom.

It was just 3 minutes to the slopes, so we went there the next morning and made sure Ethan was warm enough. We had most of the gear for him already except for sunglasses and mitts (no gloves cos he's too small) which we got for just $13 each at the ski-shop. This is also the first time that Ethan kept sunglasses on, which is good cos he really needed them with the glare off the snow.

All this high altitude stuff was tiring, so everyone had a nice nap after lunch. This was why we chose a place only 3 minutes walk away!

We went back in the afternoon and rejoined the "snow park" for which we bought 500 Yen tickets to. It's specially for kids, with gentle slopes, and a covered travellator that goes up the slope! Since Ethan is still too young to learn to ski (min 3 years old) we went sledding instead!

He loved the action but Daddy had to brake using his feet which caused the snow to fly up into Ethan's face which he didn't like so much...

Coogee Beach and Park

At Coogee Beach in Sydney we had a lovely breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa after which we played on the lovely grassy area near the beach. Sydney has many wonderful city parks with green grass and the weather was cool so Ethan had a wonderful time scampering around the grass where he could run and fall and not get hurt.

A Mopping Good Time

Absolutely hilarious and must see! Ethan was watching Mummy mopping the floor at home and tried to grab the Magic Mop. He obviously wanted to help out with the chores, so Mummy let him and took this video. You would never guess that this is his first time mopping the floor! Watch through it all for the surprise ending...

The Happy Bi-Ped

It's amazing to look at Ethan now and realise that one year ago, he thought his legs were for putting in his mouth and banging on his keyboard toy! Watching him happily toddle around the house is quite heartwarming as we see him become a full-fledged bi-ped!

A Day at the Beach

It was a beach outing day and we were all ready with our hats! You may have heard about our hat escapades during the Christmas Service at WEFC and here is Ethan with his hat! He's still struggling with seeing the point of it, though he always chuckles when he first sees Daddy with his own hat.

Ethan changed into his swimsuit and we walked out onto the sand. He was very puzzled when he first felt the squishy stuff on his toes but he took to it very quickly! We sat on the sand together and played with our dump trucks, rakes, and spades.

Ethan's favourite toy was the spade. We think it's because it looked like a giant spoon and reminded him of the food he loves. In fact, he tried eating the sand... twice... after which the not-so-good taste put him off repeat ventures. It was such a joy to see him having new experiences, learning new things, and enjoying himself. Now I really understand why parents are so happy when they see their children happy.

Mummy sat and played with Ethan too. Here is a video of him playing with the sand and his shovel. He'll have tonnes more fun when he's able to build sandcastles...

After a fantastic day we walked along the beach, drifting off into the sunset and refreshing ourselves with scrumptious food and the cool sea breeze...

Can you see Ethan still holding onto his spade?

Holi-Day

This week, Ivan took some leave and we had a holi-day. We called it a holi-day because we still had some night ministry to attend to so it was only in the day! Since we weren't going overseas we planned fun things to do which included spending more money on yummy food. On the first day of holi-day we went to explore Parkway Parade and found yummy sashimi in a shop that felt like a mom-and-pop store out of Japan. There were also toys nearby where Father and Son took a ride together...

Being a Tuesday, this was followed by half-priced waffles at Gelare on the East Coast. Ethan sure loved his first bite of waffles! On the second day of holi-day we trooped over to Vivo City to try out the wading pools on the third floor. Ethan even brought his own swimsuit and towel. The weather was perfect and Ethan had a great time.

After splashing with Mummy and Daddy he sat for ages in the deeper part of the pool looking through the glass and splashing the water around him.

Splish splash... goes Ethan's feet. Water sure is fun!

Ikea Fun Park

Looking for places to go, we decided one day to make Ikea Tampines the destination for the day, and what a great choice is was. We discovered that Ikea is really a fun park - with free admission, free rides, and even free parking at Tampines. You only have to pay for food which is quite reasonable!

The day started off with a ride on the Spinning Egg Chair. We twirled Ethan around and around and he squealed with laughter so much that Daddy thought he better stop before Ethan may barf! Why is it that kids love getting dizzy? We also played on the Bouncing Air Bags and the Revolving Chairs in the nearby Happy Home Office section.

Ethan really enjoyed the Swinging Curtains - so much so that we were even thinking where we could hang this excellent exercise equipment in the house.

We then went to the driving circuit where Daddy's vroom vroom sounds completed the effects. It was a very happy time with Daddy as the car seat, engine, and sound-effects rolled into one as Ethan spun his steering wheel.

But by far the best time we had at the slides. This blog post is quite some time after the actual Ikea day - so we want to note this as Ethan's first time on a slide. I picked him up and put him at the top. He looked down the slide and then up at me very apprehensively. A little guiding push and as Ethan slid down his face changed to unabashed joy and excitement! He screamed with laughter and as he got off the bottom he immediately stretched towards the slide for another around. We must have done the slides close to 20 times that day! Ethan is hooked and it is extra fun at Ikea cos it is air-conditioned! Here is a video of Mummy bringing him on the slides for the umpteenth time!

Crawly Crawly

I suddenly realized that I haven't taken any videos of Ethan crawling around yet! He's so cute padding around with his little hands slapping the floor and we must remember these times as soon he'll be walking about. This clip has nothing but him investigating things and crawling around... very cute, but the kind of thing only parents watch over and over again!

Standing Tall

Ethan has started to stand and now at 11 months can hold onto things and stand for about a minute or so! He always looks very pleased with himself when he learns new things. You can't really see the pleased look cos of his pacifier, so I took it out and did this short video. It had to be stopped short cos he was reaching for the fan and actually grabbed it!

Looking Back

I was looking back at some older photos and videos and I found these... this is Ethan and Daddy having a grand time together at the McCafe in West Coast Park a few weeks ago. We certainly looked pleased to be with each other!

And 2 months ago, Ethan looked like this! It's amazing to look at these videos and see how he has developed and grown in this short period of time.

Cute Baby Laughs

Sigh...one can never get enough of a baby's laughter. We sure feel fortunate cos Ethan is such a happy and bubbly little boy. Though he has a few favourites that always seem to bring on the smiles, different things tickle him more at different times. He used to find the phrase "Winnie the Pooh" always worthy of a belly rumbling laugh, but no longer. Here is finding Daddy's popping sounds rather amusing...

PlayPen Fun

We have brought out the playpen and placed it in our living room. Unfortunately it takes up almost all the space we have, but Ethan is getting more mobile and the mat on the floor is not safe anymore cos he's rolled off and hit his head on the floor before. So far, he seems quite happy with the fun l'il place he has to his own.


The video looks dark in the preview, but it lightens up quickly. A bit lower quality than usual, cos Daddy accidentally left the video on the wrong setting!

Love That Inhaler

Poor Ethan needs an inhaler. His breathing has been sounding "chesty" and Dr Chang Li Lian said he should have one. No surprise since his Dad had asthma when young too. The BIG SURPRISE was how well he took to the inhaler. At the doctor's office he very calmly accepted the aero-chamber and breathed in very well. Normally, kids fight aero-chambers fiercely! Dr Chang said that he's one of the best... no, the best one she's seen for taking the inhaler when so young!

Even more amazing was that over the next few days he actually LIKES the inhaler. He grabs for it and pulls it towards his mouth. After the first dose, he bounces up and down and reaches for it for the second dose! The kid is getting high!



Here is also checking out it's operation and construction. Looks like he's almost figured out how to work it, but he won't have the strength to push it for a long time...