Self Comfort

Ethan is realising that mummy can't be with him 100% of the time as she also needs to do things around the house, go to work and have some time to rest too! So he is learning how to administer Self Comfort by sucking his thumb and stroking his own head. Its his first step towards independence in this big and sometimes confusing world that he is learning to make sense of and we are proud of his little achievement. Happy sucking, son!

Super Eye Lashes

Ethan's growing quite a set of eyes - nice double eyelids and long eyelashes! I waited till his afternoon nap to capture this pic of His Cuteness.

End of 24.7

Ivan's finished the 24.7 Prayer Week at his church. This morning we went to visit The People's Bible Church (TPBC) who are continuing the unceasing prayer in Singapore for 365 days! After the service, Ivan dropped off Renata and Ethan at home before going back to WEFC. But first we stopped at Adam Road Hawker Centre.

Ethan's been really good recently - except for not wanting to take the bottle. He was very happy taking it from birth but recently has become a bit fussy, wanting Mummy at feed times. The funny schedule last week with Ivan going in and out during 24.7 Prayer probably confused the poor baby too! But he must get used to the bottle again as Renata is back to part-time work so Ethan must be able to drink happily at the grandparent's homes!

He's a real charmer, but look out when he's on a crying spree! Gosh...

Daddy's Home

Ethan's been missing his Daddy since he left for the Urbana Conference and is glad he is home! The boys have been enjoying warm baths and afternoon naps on the comfy sofa. Mummy is glad too. It was a little tough being home alone and having to transition to starting work again but thank God for our supportive parents who have made it a lot easier!

Pepper Lunch

We're having nice family time at Pepper Lunch today. Ivan's been busy at church with 24.7 Prayer this week so we have had less time together. He left at 5.30am but came back bathe Ethan before going for our family lunch. Renata is getting back into part-time work routine and also into her pre-pregnancy pants!

Happy New Year

Ethan looks very happy at home even though Daddy is on the other side of the world! Ivan has just finished Urbana06 and is preparing to fly home soon. He will arrive just after midnight on 3 Jan, so Ethan will be taking a late night drive to the airport to see his Daddy. Ivan had a great time teaching, ministering, and receiving at Urbana, but is missing home with Renata and Ethan. See you soon my son!

First Christmas

We've just celebrated our First Christmas with Ethan and it's been a time of appreciating and enjoying the warmth of Family and friends over an amazing spread of festive food! Unfortunately the excitement of new faces proved a little overwhelming for Ethan and he needed some space to process it all.

The highlight of the Season for us was the opportunity to meet with God at the Christmas Eve service at church. It was a simple time of reflecting and giving thanks for the many blessings God has showered on us in this past year and renewing the wonder of the greatest gift of all -- His own Son, Jesus. Somehow having our own baby has made this Christmas particularly meaningful for us. As I look at Ethan while singing the Christmas carols, it's almost as though I'm being transported back to that First Christmas and am filled with a fresh sense of perspective and wonder at God's amazing Gift to us. May we learn to live each day as a people who have been touched by the awesome Mystery of the God who stepped into the skin of a tiny Baby to be Immanuel -- God with us!

Away From My Son

I am now at the airport waiting to check in for an 8 day trip away without Renata and Ethan. This is the first time I am travelling leaving wife and son at home. A myriad of indescribable emotions are inside me. It's one thing to miss your spouse, which i have done on several working trips before. It's another thing entirely to leave your son. Of course God knows what I'm feeling. After all it's Christmas. Jesus left Heaven and entrusted himself to first-time parents in a humble family. May you have a blessed Christmas, not forgetting that while we enjoy friends and family, God made this possible because He gave up His son.

Poop Accident

Twas the week before Christmas and we were feeding Ethan in the car while out doing Christmas shopping, when we heard the familiar sound of a big poop...but we never imagined just HOW big- until Renata started feeling something wet and warm in her lap! Thank God Ivan was around because it started spilling onto the seat as well! We had to do a quick rescue operation before heading home to shower, change, clean the car and head out again. Life certainly hasnt been boring since Ethan's joined us!

Back on the shopping trail after the Rescue Operation

Hand-y Skills

Ethan is beginning to discover his hands and what he can do with them- like playing with his toys, sucking on his thumb and (maybe) even making the Baby sign Mummy has been teaching him for Milk! (Closed fist raised high toward mum or dad)

Chatty n Chubby

Ethan's getting very chatty nowadays, and has so many things on his mind. When he's in a good mood he just gurgles and coos and it's soooo cute! It's especially heartwarming when Daddy comes home at the end of the day and Ethan is so happy to see him... he will stare and coo and gurgle for a long time!

Family Worship at Woodlands EFC

It was a special Sunday today as Grandpa and Grandma came to visit Woodlands EFC cos Ivan was preaching. Here they are with Pastor Kenny, our senior pastor who once had the pleasure of Grandma's roast pork earlier in the year. It was also the first time Ethan heard Daddy preach, and we had hoped Ethan would sit through the entire sermon but he started to cry when he heard Pastor Edward's booming voice during the announcements.

Daddy preached from the story of the visit of the Magi in Matthew 2:1-12, Finding Hope in Surprising Places. Our church website now includes full length videos of our sermons - cool stuff!

Ethan's New Friend

This week Ethan visited Samantha and Aunty Janice. They are Mummy's and Uncle Roy's church friends and Sam was born just 2 weeks before Ethan -- so they are almost the same age! It was nice to chat and realise how much they both have in common. They even have similar strollers & car seats! Too bad they were too sleepy to play but we are sure they will have many opportunities to make up for that.

Ikea Fun Park

A few weeks ago we went to IKEA in Tampines and it was one of the most fun days out we had yet! This was not only because parking was free, but also because admission to this fun park is also gratis. Throw in some creativity and with all the props around IKEA it really is a wonderful FREE theme park.

Picture above is Ethan in the spinning egg chair. It isn't spinning here... yet. But after Ethan got comfortable, I twirled him around at startling speed and he loved it. Funny how kids like feeling dizzy! Didn't want to overdo it so we moved over to the driving circuit. Daddy provided all necessary sound effects happily seated on the floor with Ethan

Things were going wonderfully well but the day was far from over yet. We enjoyed many of the children's rooms and Ethan exercised and swung around with these hanging curtains. This was perfect timing cos a few weeks ago, Ethan's shoes were quite new and he was just getting used to it all. It was so fun we were even thinking about where we could hang these swinging curtains in our home!

Things just got and better when we found the slide! I ran over and lifted Ethan to the top. The very first time he looked down at the slide and looked at me apprehensively. A gentle push and as Ethan slid down, his expression changed to pure ecstatic joy. He screamed with laughter, got to the bottom and strained towards the slide to go again. The video really captures this well. It shows him going down twice, but we must have done the slides close to 20 times. The icing on the cake was that it was air-conditioned so Daddy didn't have to sweat at all!

Vivo City

On Thursday we had a big family outing to the new Vivo City. Mei took us for lunch to Carnivores, a Brazilian eatery with fantastic sandwiches. After that we went for a walkabout to explore Singapore's newest mall. Ethan dressed up very smartly - doesn't Grandma and Dad look proud!

Heather was happy to see Ethan too and wanted to sit next to him at lunch time. Here she is posing with her cousin while holding onto her precious balloon.