Baby Contest Semi Finals

Ethan's made it to the Semi-Finals of the Best Breastfed Baby Contest! It was held yesterday at IMM and was quite a babies galore with lots of babies, baby goods, anxious parents and for Ethan -- a few new friends! Here we are with new friend, Isaiah (10 mths) while waiting to be judged. He had to do a few simple tasks like grabbing various objects offered while Mummy had to answer some questions about his feeding details and development. Results will be out in 2 weeks if he makes it to the Finals -- fingers crossed!!

After coming home, Ethan had a real good afternoon sleep on his favourite place - Mummy and Daddy's Big Bed. Phew... it's tiring being this cute!

Morning Cappucino

Ethan was so happy this morning! In fact, he hasn't cried yet... Sigh, though there is good and bad news in all of this. The good news is that Daddy set a record last night putting him to bed without much fuss in only 30 min. But the bad news is that he woke up 6 times in the night. Mummy is very tired cos she woke up for most of them in the wee hours of the morning.

However this morning he was so happy that Daddy made his cappucino after Ethan's breakfast but before his bath. We were hanging out together, and when Ethan saw the cappucino he had a huge grin on his face and let out many chortles! Here he is trying to get a taste of that yummy smelling drink. We have a barista in the making...

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!

No Bottle Mummy!

Ethan seems to no longer want his bottle, yearning more for Mummy. This has brought some stress as we are trying to wean and separation anxiety is setting in too. On the bright side, Ethan will drink his milk from a sippy cup or a spoon, so for this morning's breakfast Daddy sat him on his high chair and fed him from the sippy cup. A fair amount got spilt of course, but Ethan had enough and was very happy afterwards!

He then happily played on the big bed with us for a while. When Ethan plays he's VERY focussed on his toys. Looks like Dad on his computer.

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...

Mr Mischevious

Ethan's looking extra mischevious in his bath today. Look at him grinning and having a fine time with his bath toys.

We introduced his fishing net toy to him today. He's managed to grab it but doesn't know yet that he's supposed to scoop up his bath toys in it. Daddy placed Mr Octopus nicely in this net for the good photo opportunity!

Bye Daddy

Daddy is going to Cambodia for a few days. Poor Ethan will miss his Daddy. Plus he's been a bit sick the last few days. Checking in now early in the morning... Be a good baby and get well soon, and show Mummy lots of love.

Sentosa

In yet another first, Ethan visited Sentosa, the Dolphin Lagoon and the Underwater World! It was staff and family outing day for Barker Road Methodist Church, so Ivan and Ethan tagged along for the day. First, we all got on the bus. Because of Ethan, everyone insisted we take the front row!

At the Dolphin Lagoon, Ethan got on Dad's shoulders so that he could see all the dolphins putting on their stunts. But Ethan got distracted playing with Daddy's hair and ears. And Renata's friends got distracted by cute l'il Ethan. Some of them took more photos of Ethan than of the dolphins. Quote: He's cuter than the dolphins!

Up close and personal, Ethan was able to appreciate Underwater World much more. We would sit him next to the tanks of big fish and he would stare and stare at them and while reaching out to touch the glass. In the tunnel with the travellator, he was so fascinated that we went around 3 times! Except that whenever we pulled out the camera he would turn away from the fish and stare at the lens instead.

Ocean Views on the Boardwalk

Ethan went to the Changi Boardwalk the other day to watch the sunset and enjoy an evening stroll with Mummy and Daddy! It was also the first time Ethan has seen the ocean... actually it was merely the straits between Malaysia and Singapore, but it still looked really big for Ethan.

It was a bit cloudy so the sunset wasn't great, but we got nice pics of the family anyway. Look how happy Ethan is to have both Mummy and Daddy around!

Church Camp

Ethan went for his first Church Camp with Mummy earlier this month! (Daddy couldn't come because he was away in East Timor) It was a pretty special time as Por Por & Ah Gong came along too. We had a great time together and are particularly proud of Ethan who travelled very well for an 8 month old baby. Here he is at a pit stop along the highway getting some lunch on the way up.

Apart from meeting many friends at the camp, Ethan loved the bed in the hotel which was big, soft, comfy and a lot of fun to roll around. Unfortunately he also rolled off it onto the floor and had a nasty shock. Thank God he recovered soon after and even smiled bravely at Mummy to let her know he was OK after a good cry!

Bath Time with a Growing Baby

Ethan is growing so fast! He's more difficult to handle at bath times now cos he likes to move and splash around a lot. I've had to take out the insert so he sits upright most of the time. He loves to splash Daddy and also likes his bath toys. We keep squirt toys such as Mr Whale, Mr Crab, Mr Dolphin, and Mr Seahorse nearby and he always reaches for them and promptly puts them in his mouth, never letting go until he's out of the bath and on the change table!

Best Breastfed Baby

Ethan entered the "Best Breastfed Baby Contest" in the 7-12 month old category. He's healthy and huge! Just look at him! 9kg now and all thanks to mummy's milk. We'll be notified by post within 2 weeks if Ethan got thru to the finals which will be at IMM over a weekend coming soon!

Quinny 2nd Stage

Ethan is almost ready for the second stage of his stroller. This is where he no longer sits in the car seat but directly in the upright canvas seat of the Quinny stroller. It's a big undertaking to reconnect the seat back to the frame so we let Ethan try the same model in Toys R Us. The shoulder straps were still quite high, though he looked very comfortable. However, sleeping would prove more challenging at his small size now. Looks like we'll wait for a couple more months!

Mr Piggy

Ha ha ha... Ethan fell asleep in the car while biting on his teething ring. His hands fell away, but the teether was still there for a long time. Looks like Mr. Piggy!

Phuket Without Bubs!

We didn't blog about it earlier, but a few weeks ago we had a romantic 4D3N getaway to Phuket without Ethan. He stayed with Renata's parents and we almost cried when we left him in the early morning. We told him that it's actually for his own good that mummy and daddy spend time alone together.

The first day felt very strange and free... no baby to constantly think about. We enjoyed the freedom and missed him all at the same time. We stayed at this lovely and very reasonable place called Naithonburi Beach Resort . We love to go in the cheap off-season so they only had a few guests.

Renata hasn't ridden on Ivan's bike since getting pregnant, but we rented a scooter on one of the days. This fun little automatic scooter cost us about SGD$12 for 1 full day. Renata even tried riding it all by herself - first time on scooter!


Then Ivan took over and the 2 of us roamed the Phuket coast line taking a long ride up and down hilly roads, stopping at shopping places and roadside pad-thai in order to get to this snazzy restaurant that was well-rated. It's called Ratri Restaurant at Kata beach and the food was absolutely fantastic! Not cheap by Phuket standards, but neither very pricey at about SGD$30/pax and one of the most memorable taste sensations we've ever had! They have live jazz playing there too, but they weren't on that particular day we were there. It was great nonetheless.

On another day we took a snorkelling excursion. It's been years since either of us have been snorkelling and it was very fun. When we stopped at one island we were caught in a very blustery rain-storm for 20 min which quickly passed and we were on our way again. That's why it's off-season and our rooms and excursions were so cheap!

We had a great time in Phuket, spending lots of time with each other and forming new memories that weave us together. Ethan will enjoy a stronger family for it, so though we missed him we would definitely do it again if possible ... thanks grandparents! Ethan took to our excursion quite well, though on the last day he began missing us and wanted to go "home". The smart little baby communicated this by leaning towards the bedroom door indicating that he wanted to go out, then strained towards the stairs, then leaned toward the front door of the house, and reached out for our car. When he saw that the car was empty he settled down, realizing that he had to wait one more day for mummy and daddy to come home!