Walking is Hard Work

Ethan's been hard at work practicing his standing, balancing, walking and (at grandparents') stair-climbing skills -- all important skills to be a fully mobile toddler! Going from all 4's to just 2 feet takes quite a bit of coordination. Here he is deep in contorted concentration while cruising around the chair in our living room! It sure makes me realise and appreciate how much coordination our bodies perform everyday in doing simple things like walking that we don't even think about!

Chawan Mushi

Gosh! Look what gourmet delight mummy made for Ethan... it's chawan mushi for babies! This low-salt alternative still has bonito stock so it still has some saltiness as we're gradually relaxing the no-salt no-sugar guide since we're past 12 months. Mummy's chawan mushi is the smoothest and best there is (she says the secret is very slow steaming that takes 15-20 minutes to cook) and result is always delicious. Youre looking at the baby cup version without the shitake mushrooms but Ethan still lapped it all up. His expression changed and he grinned at mummy with a big smile on his first bite. He then proceeded to wolf it all down!

I Think I'm In Control

Oh the joys of remote controls! Ethan quickly grabs one whenever it's in sight. The more buttons the better, so this stereo remote control isn't the best but it sure does make him happy. He's blasted us by turning up the volume to deafening decibel levels on a few occasions.

Rain Drops on My Head

Standing and exploring is much more fun than sitting down. So since Ethan now spends more time trying to get out of his baby bath rather than sitting in it, he has graduated to the shower. Here his favourite things to do are grab the silver coloured shower hose (he likes all wires and cables... doesn't know about wireless yet) and to feel the droplets spraying on him. He looks a little cross-eyed in this photo staring at the rain drops. You would too if you were trying to examine each one! Thankfully his eyes are normally straight at other times...

Ethan Loves Music

Ethan loves to explore the TV and stereo when music is playing. Now that he can cruise along he likes to stand there, explore a little, and dance to the music. Though he enjoys sweetie baby music, he seems to prefer things with stronger rhythms and beats. In the middle of this range is this children's rendition of What A Friend We Have in Jesus!

New Haircut

Someone's hair was getting a bit long so we had a haircut this morning. It's quite tough to cut a wriggly baby's hair, especially when he keeps trying to turn around see what you're doing. As a result, things are always a bit uneven and today Ethan had a "hole" in his hair. Some doctoring of the cut resulted in an acceptable "tough guy" cut with short hair all around and longer one on top. Perhaps Ethan knew we were trying to ensure he is groomed well and looking handsome because he immediately grabbed the brush on his change table and began brushing his own hair!

You can't see the "hole" on this side nor his crooked fringe! He was getting restless so we had to stop and we'll continue the haircut tomorrow...

De De

Ethan's first word! He repeats it very often... just that we're not 100% sure exactly what it means. The word is De De or de de depending on what you think it means!


What does this oft-repeated phrase conjure in Ethan's mind? It could be:

1. Daddy (this is Ivan's vote, backed up by the fact that Ethan sometimes says De De when he sees a picture of his Daddy)
2. Computer - as in compu-de-de (this is Ethan's favourite thing and he also says de de when looking at the PC even when it's off and no picture of Daddy is on it)
3. Anything Electronic (Ethan sometimes says it when he sees a handphone)
4. All of the above (Daddy is highly associated with the computer and handphone so de de could all these things which make him happy)

This has got me thinking. Poor mummies. They do most of the work of baby raising and the first word out of a babie's mouth is not usually "mama" because the Mmmm sound is more dificult than the hard De or Da sound. Is it the same with other languages I wonder?

New Eyes Checkup

Renata went for her one week checkup. All is healthy and she has 6/6 vision now. Near work makes her tired as her eyes are still adjusting but that should resolve by itself as she gets used to things. The normal dry eyes after effect is diminishing so all looks very well!

Ivan now has perfect vision in his right eye with 75 degree astimatism remaining in his left eye. We'll see if it resolves at the 3 month checkup. Looking at things with 2 eyes he has 6/6 vision so all is good.

Egg Sandwich

Babies can eat bread and egg yolks (not the whites) so this morning after his milk, Ethan had the yolks on toast. Unfortunately no salt or butter for him yet though. These little egg-sandwiches were baby-sized so they could fit into his mouth. So cute!

New Eyes

Look who just got LASIK! After an unqualified success for Ivan, it was Renata's turn under the excimer laser. Poor Renata had the vision of a bat with 1300 degrees of myopia and mild 75 astigmatism. The 1 day checkup was good so the most critical part of healing is over. We'll report back with her vision a week later!

For a very short period, none of the family needs glasses. We say very short, because with genes from us the next person likely to need them is Ethan!

Brunch Date - No Ethan!

We left Ethan with Grandma and Grandpa to enjoy an anniversary brunch ALONE together! We tried not to talk about Ethan but had to keep reminding ourselves. Here we are at lovely P.S. Cafe in Dempsey Rd. It's our second time here, the first being with family, and the review is the same - Great food, great lush forest ambience, sub-standard ambivalent service. But we enjoyed our couple time and the super movie afterwards... Ratatouille!

Birthday Number One

Ethan had his first birthday which was a family affair at Grandma's and Grandpa's accompanied by popiah and a "Dog" birthday cake. Unfortunately he was a bit under the weather and rather moody that afternoon so we didn't get good photo shots.

Of course, Ethan didn't really understand all that was going on and didn't even know that he was getting so many wonderful presents. He did like cousin Heather showing him how to use A. May Nah's notebook though...

Happy Birthday Ethan! You've been a wonderful blessing to us and we love you so very very much... XXXOO, Mum & Dad.

Almost One

Tomorrow Ethan turns one year old! It's time for reminiscing so I was digging thru the old photo folders and found this cute one which I hadn't posted. Ethan was 9 months old and had gotten an inhaler from the doctor. He absolutely loved using it and was fascinated by the whole thing.

Feeding Myself

Ethan is gradually getting better at feeding himself, but sometimes he just likes to play like he's doing with these tamago biscuit balls. These are the yummy Japanese egg flavoured ones. Thankfully they're in his suction bowl which is why he can't manage to pull it off and fling them all about.

Our Anniversary!

Today is our third wedding anniversary! I called Renata this afternoon to tell her that I was extremely pleased to have married such a wonderful wife. Quite a good catch if I do say so myself! It was a rather ordinary day with us rushing to work, then me rushing back to take care of Ethan while Renata went to teach a class at church. Thus marks our 3 years together, and though today was "ordinary", there has been everything wonderful about having a companion who shares your passions in life and who strives to be supportive and sacrificial.

my favourite pic from our wedding album

In just a few more days Ethan will turn 1, which will be quite a celebration for the family! What an action-packed last few years getting married, being in ministry, travelling to so many places, having a wonderful baby boy, and seeing God do so many fantastic things. Really nothing ordinary at all.