Gobbling Bananas

[PREVIEW IS BLANK BUT VIDEO WORKS!]

One of Ethan's favourite new foods is bananas. He gets it mixed in with his rice cereal and it sure makes everything yummy and sweet. We often pack his dinner when we do our dinner and grocery outings. One of our favourites places is IMM Jurong (but only on weekdays when it's not so crowded). Ethan enjoys his dinner and is a very good gobbler, finishing all his food so that Mummy and Daddy can enjoy some couple time over their meal later.

Little Boy

Renata took this picture a few weeks ago when Ruth came over to visit from Australia. She had a great time with her nephew. Both of them look so happy! Ethan looks more like a little boy than a baby in this photo. I think it's a sneak preview into his future toddler years.

First Flu

The flu bug has been going around and it looks like Ethan is experiencing the first of what will probably be a number of childhood sniffles to come. He had been having congested breathing for a few days but we were alerted to the possibility of a developing flu when Ah Mah noticed a fever while holding him on monday. Must have shared my flu with him because his cough sounds suspiciously like mine!

Non-XO Fish

We went to our favourite fish bee hoon joint in Clementi on Thursday. We always order the normal non-XO dish cos it's cheaper and you can still taste the XO! Ethan had carrots which if gobbled while strangers walked by and reached in to touch him at lightning speeds too fast for parents to stop.

Family Fun Day

Today was Family Fun Day at WEFC and we all trooped to Woodlands Stadium for some telematch games with the church family. Daddy did some running around while Mummy and Ethan watched, cheered, and laughed from the sidelines at all the silly antics going on.

Someone soon got tired and cranky then fell soundly asleep... Though Ethan was too young for any of the games, he showed a very good sense of style even in his sleeping poses. Relaxed and stylish all in one go.

Rrrrrr... Ha ha ha!

Ethan's learning to make sounds with his mouth. When he learns something new he often finds it very funny and will laugh and laugh when we repeat it back to him. The baby development books says it helps him know that he's doing well and affirms him continuing to try out more sounds. Here he is chuckling away over the Rrrrrr... sounds!

Peekaboo!

Yes, it's the age-old favourite game and a couple of weeks ago Ethan started to find this extremely amusing, often roaring with laughter most approvingly. I caught this one on video last week when I was changing him just before dinner. It's shakey cos I was ducking below the table while holding the camera above with one hand!

Time to Unwind

It has been a busy busy week but now we have a chance to unwind... Renata was preaching at BRMC, and Ivan had his second missions weekend at WEFC which was an absolutely amazing time seeing God at work among the people! Yeah! Here's the Tan family enjoying having Ethan with them since he's usually in Woodlands on Sunday. Grandma especially enjoyed parading him amongst approving aunties!

We hadn't managed to celebrate Renata's birthday so here was the opportunity with Ruth visiting from Sydney. We went to Waraku, a Japanese restaurant we liked, and of course played with the baby whom we love. A new game he likes now is "Standing" where we lift it up then bring him down until his feet touch a solid surface. He instinctively tries to "stand", then giggles and collapses.

Pouring Water on Mr. Penguin

One of the water games we play with Ethan is The Pouring Water Station. We're trying to get him comfortable with water on his face and head! Just beginning now he's learning that it's fun to pour water on his friend Mr. Penguin. Soon, it will be fun to pour water on his own head and face...but we'll need some more time! We also discovered he likes to "swim" in the front position but he doesn't do the frog-like kick that we thought babies did. Hmmm....maybe that will come later?

Fun on the Change Table

We've discovered a new game at the Change Table that thrills Ethan each time. It's a variation on the Classic "Peekaboo" game but instead of hiding behind a blanket, we duck down under the change table and 'magically' reappear to peals of laughter from our tickled Bub! Mummy discovered this game by accident one day while fiddling with the night light that is neatly located under Ethan's bed -- and it's been a favourite since. It even works when Ethan gets cranky -- he stops crying and forgets to fuss when we pop out from below him!

Sunday Swimming

Today and next weekend are Missions Emphasis Weekends at church so I'm busy preparing things and the various things going on. Renata and Ethan came for early service then came back home. By the time I got home from church, look who was having a nice nap in the big bed without me!

After a nice loooong nap we all got up out of bed and went for a quick swim. Our Learn to Swim book, for 6 month to 4 year old children has arrived! We highly recommend it to parents who want to be involved teaching their l'il ones to swim. Today we did the "Water Pouring Station" game and a bit of the "Cheek Dip". We discovered that Ethan really looooves the feel of flowing water. After the pool, I brought him into the shower with me to feel water running down his face. A little at a time, but frequently says our book-tutor.

My New Teething Ring

Oooh... someone's got a colourful new teething ring! On our day off this week the family trooped down to Takashimaya to spend some vouchers that a few wonderful people gave us! We bought a case for our l'il camera and, of course, a few baby supplies. The main objective of this mission was teething rings. This nice one has gel inside that can be refridgerated or frozen so that it will soothe poor Ethan's sore gums. Ethan sure looks like he's enjoying it!

Folding the Laundry

Our home is quite small so laundry gets folded on the sofa. Ethan is helping Mum with a pile of it while sitting on his own "mini-sofa" that gives him more support. Like Dad, he quickly tired of folding laundry and started playing with his own toys.

Vaccinations at 6 months

Today we went to the clinic for Ethan's 6 month checkup and 6-in-1 vaccination. Medical care is so good and well organized! We have a nice booklet that tells us what he's had and when, and a checklist of developmental milestones. Tracks moving object - check! Raise head and looks up at 90 degrees when placed on stomach - check!

Injections for these vaccinations are quick but not painless. That needle goes straight into the muscle on his thigh. Ethan is normally very good about going thru pain, but he's been extra bothered cos of his teething recently. He and Dad are looking a little worried waiting for their turn in the venepuncture room.

After that Ethan fell fast asleep even before we left the hospital. He was biting on his teether and feel asleep with it in his mouth. By the time we took this photo it had slid out...he looked even cuter when it was half inside!

The afternoon/evening brought on a mild fever due to the vaccine (it's quite normal). One teaspoon of kiddy paracetemol and he cooled down soon after.

Get Well Soon Ah Mah

Ah Mah had a toothache and had to go to the dentist this week, and because of that Ethan missed his usual Monday's with her and Yeh Yeh. So today we all had a nice dim sum lunch and Ethan presented his Ah Mah with a "get well" card. It's his first art-work!

Mr. Drooly

More and more drool! I used to think that baby's drool was so disgusting and wondered how parents ever put up with damp spots on their shoulders and now I am one of them! "Ahh...it's only drool/pee/poo!" goes the saying now. Better get used to it cos with teething, the drool is only increasing!

Inquisitive Independance

Ethan is growing not only in size but also in his ability to sit up and play by himself. After having his milk dinner, he sat in his high chair while we ate ours... mostly smiling and playing with one of his toys. He's getting more and more engaged with his toys, often biting them then taking it out to examine, then biting it again and repeating the process!

Right now he's having a bit of a cry cos he can't fall asleep by himself. Probably teething is making the poor fella feel uncomfortable.

How to Relax and Enjoy Oneself

Ethan is already a master at relaxing and enjoying himself. Here he is looking stylish, cute, and laid back all at the same time while listening to his musical keyboard. Like Daddy, he focuses really hard when he's concentrating at a task but when it comes to relaxing he really knows how to enjoy himself.

If you zoom in on his gums you'll see white things poking through. Ethan's started to teethe as there are times when he sounds like he is in pain and bites on things more. No tooth has actually seen daylight yet though!

Swim-Fest

We bought Ethan a new swimming wetsuit and he looks soooo cute in it. This photo doesn't do his new sporty outfit justice! We got this from Kiddy Palace - it's their smallest one sized for 1 year old. Our tubby 6-month old baby fits into it with some room to grow!


Now that we spent $26.90 (after discount) on this wetsuit, we are trying to maximize use of it before Ethan outgrows it. So this morning we took him for a quick dip before his morning bath. It's a bit colder in the morning so he wasn't laughing as much as the previous day!

The wetsuit is really good! Not only does Ethan look very stylish, but he's kept warmer as compared with wearing only shorts. His favourite water activity is zooming around on his l'il speedboat!

Bethany Methodist Nursing Home

After our Good Friday service at Woodlands EFC, we popped by Causeway Point for a quick lunch and to buy a swimsuit (more on that super-cute item later). Then we went to Bethany Methodist Nursing Home as some of Renata's church group from BRMC were there to host a service for the residents. After the service we mingled with some of them and of course (a) Ivan couldn't understand any of the dialects and (b) Ethan brought much joy and big smiles to their faces! Here's one lady who really enjoyed carrying Ethan. He took quite a liking to her as well, happily sitting on her lap for quite a while.

Afterwards there was a short reception where Ethan also got to eat his tea-time milk snack. He finished that, but then was very interested in what Mummy was drinking. He wanted the water so much that we gave him a bit to try...from a different type of bottle! Most of it went down his shirt but he had lots of fun!

Bumper Sandwich

This evening while washing up in the kitchen, I heard the familiar tired cry for attention about half an hour after putting Bubs to bed. I thought he was just fussing but went in to check when it got persistent-- and found Ethan's head sandwiched between the cot rails and the bumper cushioning that was supposed to protect him from bumps arising from his newfound mobility of being able to squirm his way around the bed! Somehow in his half asleep state he had managed all this before raising the rescue alarm. Fortunately no harm was done and a loving cuddle soon sent him (as we say round here) to fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars a few minutes later!

Swimming!

Such fun! We took Ethan swimming for the first time and he luuuurrrrved it! A few months ago we tried when we were on a short holiday but it was cold and Ethan cried lots. This time we waited for a warm day, got him used to the water, then let him sit in his baby float toy that A. Pek Ya & Wan Ling bought for him!


Ethan liked swimming with Daddy almost as much as Daddy enjoyed it! Mummy was on the sidelines taking pictures and saying, "Be careful!" Now that Ethan likes the water so much, we can't wait for our baby swimming book to arrive which will teach us how to teach him to REALLY swim!

Less Cereal

Ethan's been eating less Cereal since last week when we were in Thailand. He has been having just a third of his usual portions and seems to need a bit more comfort sucking. Its ok as he is making up for it in the milk he drinks, but it does mean that this Milk Bar has to work a little harder! Could it be a reaction to the changes he had to cope with during the trip? Or maybe its part and parcel of the teething process? (He has been needing to bite on things-including Mummy! -drooling, and been a little irritable at times) We are still trying to decode this mystery, but as with everything we are sure it will pass- our 8kg baby is going to need more than just milk to fuel his energy and growing needs!

Playing with Daddy

We're at home playing by ourselves just after dinner! Mummy's going out to play Kendo so Dad is doing some funny sing-song stuff to entertain Ethan. At this very moment, Ethan is sitting on my lap biting his blanket while watching me type. He's adjusted back to the routine at home after being in Thailand. Things changed for him a little bit but now after 2 days it seems all systems normal!

Reflections After Travelling with a Baby

The challenges of travelling overseas has made us learn more about Ethan's behaviour and parenting in general. Here are my musings...

• Sleeping with us make for a sticky Ethan. We really saw it with Ethan! You see, he's been sleeping in his own room since 1 month and sleeping thru the night since 8 weeks - heavenly! We only sleep with him in our bed for short naps during the daytime. But after this trip and 4 nights of sleeping with mummy and daddy, he learned to wake-up during the night to get our attention! It became more pronounced on night 3 and 4 and continued when we got home. He cried more when we put him down for the night and even woke up for mummy's milk a few times. He has only woken up during the night ONCE in the last 4 months when he was having a growth spurt. So these wakings are certainly due to having too much sleeping with mum and dad! Now after 2-3 days things have returned to normal, thank goodness!
• Routine, routine, routine. Because this was a mission trip and we had to meet certain timings, we had to change Ethan's schedule here and there. The one hour time difference also affected him. Things were a bit more difficult because of this but still manageable. He got extra grumpy on the last day when he had hardly afternoon nap cos we had to check out. Next time, we would try to ensure he gets sleep even if it means paying for 1/2 day at the hotel as he much more grumpy on the return flight as a result.
• The Quinny Zapp is a great travel stroller. We packed it in it's own bag and took it as hand carry so it was ensured of not getting damaged. With a toddler that's all we would need, but as Ethan can't sit up by himself yet, we had to bring the Maxi-Cosi car seat and check it in on Tiger Airways. Their regulations say they can take it for $25/sector. Not wanting to pay $50 round-trip, I packed it in a big cardbox box and checked it in. Everything was withinn our 15kg/pax limit so no extra costs! When he becomes a toddler we'll travel with just the Zapp and will pack it into it's bag just before getting on/off the plane.

Teaching Ethan Swimming

We just bought a book on how to teach babies to swim. It was a toss up between Water Babies and this book which we ended up getting, buying from local online bookseller Zakoola.com for the first time! It hasn't arrived yet though... so Ethan has been dunked yet either!

Making Adjustments

On any trip when you travel with a group, adjustments must be made... and certainly on a mission trip! One of Ethan's adjustments was bathing in the sink! On this trip we stayed in a cheap hotel so things were relatively easy for us.

Though things were quite cramped in the sink, Ethan enjoyed playing with the water coming out of the faucet and looking at his handsome self. You can see though that his cuteness was slightly marred by what we think were insect bites he got a few days before we left Singapore.

His skin condition got worse during the time we were away due to his sensitive cheeks. As a result, he was more bothered and cried more during the flight back. But now we're back home with our full array of creams and medicines and things are okay. Over all, our brave little trooper experienced many new things and enjoyed the new sights and sounds. He less enjoyed the change in schedule though, especially his sleep times. We're keeping in mind for the next time we take a trip with him...

First Flight on an Airplane

Just before 9pm on Wed 28 Mar, we boarded the airplane for Ethan's very first flight! Here we are standing at the door waiting to walk out on the tarmac and up the stairs into our Tiger Airway's plane. For those who don't know, it's a budget airline carrier so there are no sky-bridges and no bassinets for babies.


Ethan was an EXTREMELY good baby on the flight! He sat with Mummy the whole time, except when she had to make bathroom trips then Daddy held him. He hardly cried at all during the flight. We tried to make him suckle during take-off and landing so he would swallow and equalize the air pressure. There was toddler in the row in front of us who wailed quite loudly, and we think that upset him a bit but generally he was a very good baby!

Family Mission Trip

This evening we are flying to Thailand on our first mission trip as a family. Ethan is the youngest tripper of our large team,, turning 6 months old during our time there. We will be back just after Sunday night (so no blogging until next week).

Do pray that Ethan will take to flying and travelling well! We hope he'll behave too, so Mummy can fully participate in things and Daddy can minister and do his work well.

Spotty

Poor Ethan got a bunch of spots appearing on his face over the weekend. It was there during his child dedication on Sunday but flared up more after that. We think they are insect bites. Thankfully they don't seem to bother him at all.

Child Dedication

Yesterday, we had a Child Dedication ceremony at our church service. Ethan was one of many babies/children to be dedicated that day. Both sets of grandparents plus Goo Ma (Auntie Mei) came to witness the event!


Pastor Kenny prayed for Ethan and for us. May you grow up to love God and fulfil the purpose for which He created you my son! Perhaps Ethan will be a pastor like his daddy, but he can find his own path and be anything he wants... perhaps the doctor that Daddy didn't end up becoming, or the war journalist that Mummy considered being! If he becomes a medical missionary ministering in the middle-east he can combine all three!! (I can hear grandparents gasping right now...)

New Haircut

Tomorrow is a big day! Ethan's having his "Child Dedication" at church and both sets of grandparents are coming! We gave him an "army style" haircut so he will look neat and smart for the occasion. He does look smarter, and Mummy thinks his new haircut emphasizes his eyes but Daddy thinks he also looks fatter in it. Hmmm... post a comment and tell us what you think!

Sitting Up

Ethan is rapidly picking up new physical skills! He literally grows stronger and more confident each day in sitting up, holding himself up on his stomach, and pushing himself along the bed (not exactly crawling yet, but the first stage). Here he is sitting up. After a few rounds of his he'll get tired and let us know that he's had enough exercise!

Sippy Cup on My Own

After lunch, Ethan continued sipping on water. He didn't like water when he was younger, but we kept trying to give it to him once in a while. Finally, when he started cereal he would take to water which is a great thing! We got the Avent sippy cup add-on, complete with cute little handles. It has a soft rubber sipping spout which is great for Ethan to bite on so he likes this one more than his other sippy cups. He's grabbing at the spoon and bottle more often now, wanting to feed himself!

Making Friends at Ikea

On Thursday we went to the new Ikea in Tampines! It's huge and the restaurant and play area for kids is really nice. Our primary reason for going was to buy the Ikea ANTILOP High Chair. After looking at various models, we decided to go for the one which many people (including personal reviews on the Internet) say is cheap and good. Ethan tried it out at the restaurant and he quickly made a new friend! A toddler came over and they had a short discussion on the pros and cons of this particular model.



At home, Ethan seems to like it. We put a cushion on the back (didn't buy Ikea's inflatable one for $9) and find that it's very good.

Hanging Out At Church

As you can see, we've been having fun with our new mini video camera and it's working really well. We love how it's small so we have it with us very often, and get quick video clips. I've also switched over to using Picasa2 for our photo and video management software. This allows blogging from within the software (not that well implemented) and video upload to Google Video (this works great). So our little videos are as easy to manage and blog as photos!



Ethan was just hanging out in the church office last Sunday after services and meet-ups with people were over!

Sleepy and Tired

Today is Wednesday, Renata's kendo night, so I stayed at home with Li'l Bubs at night after coming back from the Love East Timor DA meeting. I was tired since I'm slightly sick, and Ethan's been a bit cranky. He kept wanting attention, until even being with me didn't seem to satisfy him. So I put him down and left him alone to cry a bit to see if he would fall asleep. It had been only 2 hours since his dinner so he shouldn't be hungry...

20 min later and bubs is still crying, so I warmed a bit of milk in the bottle. He gobbled it down, finished it, and wanted some more because it was only about 40ml. Poor fella was hungry! "Sorry Ethan, I'll get you some water." So I put him down and off I went, but when I came back 1 min later the little guy was fast asleep! Looks like just a bit of milk did the trick!

Here he is in the dark. Sleepy and tired, but a bit of milk popped him off to baby-dreamland...

Toes Discovery

Ethan has just discovered more things to suck on! Attached to his feet are 10 funny finger-like things that fit perfectly into his mouth! He seems to enjoy this new taste sensation and was last seen popping his toes into his mouth in his bath.

Eat This Book

Eugene Peterson has published a new book and it looks like Ethan is interpreting it quite literally...

A Fun Day Off

Yesterday was our day off, so we went out and about trying to run errands and have some fun as a family. A big objective of the day was to look for a high-chair for Ethan. There is of course the ubiquitous Ikea ANTILOP High Chair for the bargain basement price of $33 ("cheap and good" say many parents), but we wanted to see what others there were.

Here is the Graco Contempo Highchair on sale at Robinsons. We were surprised that Ethan is already quite stable in it and seemed to find it comfy. I didn't know high chairs were so expensive. This one was $168 on sale!



Ethan napped in his comfy stroller quite a bit then woke up when we stopped for tea at a local coffee shop. It's a bit noisy but you can hear him laughin as he play the "Choo Choo" game with him. It's hard to describe... Daddy just made it up one day and Ethan loves it...

Teething

Ethan seems to have started teething. He's been drooley and constantly wanting to bite on whatever he can get his hands on. Unfortunately we forgot where we stashed his teething rings until just 2 weeks ago, so Ethan's had to improvise in the meantime. So far he has tasted tissues, books, toys, fingers, blankets, spoons, pillows and his ABC flashcards!

Tummy Rub

Last week we got a new MP4 video camera - a Sanyo Xacti C40 that saves MPEG-4 video onto an SD card. It's a tiny thing that we can use anywhere to get more precious videos of our little one while he's still small. It's much better quality than the video from our digital camera (used in previous blog posts) at 640x480 at 30fps. Though the quality is just slightly less than DVD, it's quick and easy to use and much cheaper than a full size DVD quality camcorder.

Here is Ethan getting a tummy rub to calm his angsty mood. This was taken when he was still pink from his mild allergic reaction to cereal with formula milk. His first taste of non-breastmilk wasn't so good!

Home Internet Down

Our internet access at home has been very unreliable in the past week. Grrr... Singnet hasn't responded well either. Some sites can be accessed but slow. Many other sites cannot be accessed at all. It's very strange, and we can't log in to Blogger to update our blog.

A Bit Sick

Ethan was a bit sick recently. It could have been the ham that we ate the previous night that also gave Mummy a tummy-ache, or it could be a mild allergic reaction to the new cereal we tried to give him. The previous cereal was "rice only" so we added breast milk, but this new cereal was "rice and milk" - the milk being from skimmed cow's milk. It looks like his body didn't like this cos he went slightly pink and was in a not-so-good mood.

Prisoner!

This morning I came into Ethan's room and found him like this! He had pushed himself all the way to the corner of his cot and was peering out of the bars...

It was actually quite late in the morning (around 8.45am) and Ethan had been up for quite a while. He seems to wake up anywhere from around 6.30am to 8.00am but will usually amuse himself for some time before he gets hungry enough to start fussing so that we can hear him. This morning, he wasn't fussing - just playing - and slurped down his 160ml breakfast very quickly.

His rash has been the best it's ever been for the last few days but still not 100% disappeared. I've started wrapping him up in his light cotton blanket so he can't swipe at the creams I've been putting on his face. Kind of like a temporary straitjacket so he can't hurt himself!

Ethan's Prayers

I sat down this morning to do a very quick video blog, but then I picked a song and memories and thankfulness kept flowing for an hour. So here's Ethan's Prayer of thanks and simple hopes for the future. It's our best video of Ethan yet!



Hint: You can always click on "Google Video" button for larger video window

Daddy's Love Makes Me Happy

Daddy's love makes me so happy I just can't stop smiling and laughing. Mummy took this video of me having great fun with Daddy.



I was so happy that that night I actually chortled myself to sleep!

Drinking From a Cup

Today Ethan walloped a huge amount of 2.5 tablespoons of rice cereal with milk. This is quite a lot considering this is only his fifth day trying solid food. He seems to love it, and at this rate will work his way up to a full meal (3-4 tablespoons) by the end of the week. At that time, we'll start giving him a second meal with cereal. Currently it is lunch, so next it will be dinner which should send him off to dreamland quite effectively.

Because he's eating solids and not just milk, Ethan gets thirstier so he's taking water now. We decided to give that to him from a sippy cup and he's taking to it quite well. We're quite proud of him that he's eating well and drinking water happily!

On the negative side of things, solid food (no longer breast milk only) means poos are smellier, and the nappy changes sure are manifesting this new reality.

Head and Neck Exercises

We give Ethan a bit more tummy time now. This is when we roll him over on this tummy and for a short while he can pull himself up to this position. The world looks quite different and interesting from this vantage point!

However, Ethan can't hold this position for too long so... whump... his head drops back down onto the bed! Don't worry, he wasn't hurt at all. He picks himself up with a curious look a few seconds later!

Daddy Rocket

Ethan's got a new toy -- it's a Daddy Rocket! It can give him a bird's eye view of things around house -- just twiddle Daddy's thumbs in the desired direction and off we go!