Ethan's Turned 1!

YL: Wow... One year has gone by in a flash! Ethan's no longer a baby but a playful toddler who's showing more of his personality day by day. It's a little saddening to see how he's lost his baby fats (compare his look in May and now!) but with his active crawling, standing and cruising with support these days, it's hard for him to keep all that fat on.



In celebration of Ethan's 1st birthday, his paternal grandparents flew all the way over from Singapore to Houston to visit him. Really sweet of them! The celebration took place in a few parts.

Part 1: We had a steamboat buffet lunch at Kim Son Restaurant (a Vietnamese-Chinese restaurant that we often patronise) with Ethan's adult friends on 10 Oct. Good food, and lots of chatting about food in a round table setting... And I must add: Ethan looked really smart in his collared long-sleeved checkered shirt (his 1st time in one) and jeans that day.





Part 2: We had a kids' party held at Gymboree Central Houston (where Ethan takes gym classes) with his playgroup mates and their siblings on 13 Oct. We could tell that Ethan really enjoyed himself there. Despite arriving in a rather tired state (he had a poor morning nap) for the afternoon party, he rose up to the occasion and was thoroughly engaged by the gym setups, songs and activities guided by the Gymboree instructor. There was one cute thing that Ethan did that made everyone in the party burst out in laughter simultaneously. We were all seated in a circle, and the Gymboree instructor was asking in an animated, sing-song fashion, "How old is Ethan turning today? 50? 17? ..." And when she came to "Is Ethan turning 1 today?", my little boy had crawled into the center of the circle and raised his right index finger straight up into the air without anybody's prompting/help! We were so amused, thrilled and proud to see him respond this way!



So the babies and kids played for about an hour in the gym area - part on their own, part guided by the Gymboree instructor (the key group activities were maracas shake, leg bounce along with Noble Duke of York song, baby soccer, bounce down a giant air log that was set at an incline aka the birthday candle that day, bubbles and parachute time). Throughout the party, the Gymboree instructor would sporadically ask "Whose party is it?" and everyone yelled back, with fist punching into the air, "It's Ethan's party!" (Honestly, I was a little uncomfortable with this... it's like too much of an emphasis on the occasion?? Afterall, we all knew why we were there. But oh well... I didn't make a fuss over it.) At the end of the playtime, we were led into a party room which was set up in a Sesame Street theme. Elmo was highlighted a little more though, because that is Ethan's favourite character. (Evidence: He is thoroughly absorbed when we set him before the computer to watch Elmo's song being played over Hulu.com) We had Sesame Street plates and cups, Elmo balloons, party favours with Sesame Street book and Elmo figurine etc, and Ethan's birthday cake shows Elmo carrying a "1". As the lights were dimmed, the birthday song being sung and cake with lit candle set before him, Ethan looked around with a face of puzzlement, as if saying "What's going on?" And when all turned silent for Ethan to blow out the candle, he stared at the candle and... did nothing. A 1st-timer at a birthday celebration, so that's expected. Well, Lionel and I helped to blow out his 1st candle and we all started on the simple, but yummy party food (chicken nuggets, mini "pinwheels", red eggs (prepared by Ethan's grandma), juices, baby biscuits) By this time, Ethan was truly tired and was acting cranky (he took a taste of his birthday cake and rejected further attempts of being fed with it in screams and tears..) He must have been really thankful when the party ended and was comfortably nestled in his infant car seat. Anyway, I'm truly glad that we made this party happen for him, and added joy to so many mums and babies that day.

Part 3: On Oct 14, Ethan did the traditional Chinese practice for 1-year olds: picking items that is said to indicate his forte when he grows up. We placed 5 items on a tray for Ethan, and he took them in this order: abacus, book, red egg, red packet, calligraphy brush. Will Ethan be a businessman when he grows up? We'll see.
At night, we went out for a family dinner at a Turkish restaurant.



Part 4: The finale was opening presents, held on Oct 15!! As expected, he was more interested in the wrapping than the gifts themselves then. Most of the gifts turned out to be toys, which is great! I'm sure Ethan's going to have a lot of fun exploring each of them.





So there, a rather lengthy entry about Ethan's birthday celebration. Looking forward to more fun days ahead with him! And here's a shot with all 3 of us:

Happy Explorer

YL: Ethan's really into exploring these days. He enjoys dropping things onto the floor, putting them into his mouth, or just touching and turning them over and over again in his little hands. It's a joy to see his ever-changing expressions too - analytical, curious, shocked, happy, excited, wary etc. Lionel mentioned that he's going to miss this phase of Ethan's growth where he's so cute and dependent, almost clingy. Over the past few days, with the grandparents around to bring him out/carry or play with him/buy him toys, he's certainly been in an ecstatic mood! (See centre picture below.)

Ethan In A New Look

YL: We brought Ethan to his 1st haircut in a salon on Memorial Day. We like the outcome; he looks more boyish and hmm, mischievous too!

Chatty Ethan

YL: Ethan's 7mths old now! I took him for a weight check just yesterday, and he's almost 21lbs (9.5kg). He's making new sounds every other day, and finding different ways to play with his toys. His present favourites? Making the sound "booo.." and blowing saliva out of his mouth concurrently. And squirming hard enough to slide down his bouncer and land up sitting on the carpet. Here're a few recent shots of him:

Precious Treasure

YL: To celebrate his 6th month birthday, I brought Ethan for a photo shoot. Here's a collage of our precious treasure!


These days, Ethan's really interactive. He's making new sounds every other day, and we try our best to make sense out of them. He is our joy.

Sitting Without Support

YL: As of 6 Apr, we are convinced that Ethan has mastered sitting up on his own without support. In fact, he enjoys the new view from an upright position so much that he would "complain" if he's left to lie down for too long. He seems to enjoy his self-created game of balancing too - while sitting on our laps and facing us, he tries to go hands-free as we jiggle him (i.e. rock him gently in an up-down motion). It's funny to see how he would deliberately stretch his arms out to his side for balance and quickly duck and have his arms thrust forward when he senses that he's about to topple. Now that he can sit alone, it means that I can place him in the child seat within the shopping cart when I do grocery-shopping at the supermarket. Previously I had to wear him in a sling or be content with buying just a little (there was no way to manage a stroller with a big basket of groceries or with an additional shopping cart when I'm out on my own.) So far, I've tried it once. And both he and I were absolutely thrilled! This aside, we thank God that Ethan's pretty much recovered from a severe flu. For almost two weeks, he was having a stuffy nose, and a phlegmy cough which affected his sleep at night, and made feeding difficult. Moreover, the first few doses of medication made him puke hard - a frightful sight to bear for both Lionel and I. We are so glad that that period's over. These few days though, he has been somewhat more difficult. Like the time when he first got back from Singapore, he often screams his demands and grows impatient easily. Is it an indication that he's entering a new phase of growth?

Ethan's 1st Cereal Feeding

YL: Ethan had been showing signs that he was ready to start on solids over the last couple of weeks. He watched intently at us whenever we ate or drank. He occasionally opened his mouth wide, and would lean towards our spoons or cups. And so finally, on 22 March 2009, we offered him his first cereal feed. He definitely seemed to enjoy it! For me, feeding Ethan by spoon for the first time and seeing how he "savoured" the rice cereal was truly a delightful & fulfilling experience. A pity Lionel couldn't try feeding Ethan too; he's running a flu and wanted to avoid passing the germs over.

An Independent Sitter... Almost

YL: Ethan's almost able to sit on his own! He leans forward and uses his hands for support presently.

Here, he's sitting up to watch TV. So cute!

Growing Boy

Yuling: It's amazing how fast babies grow. Week on week, there's something different about them. I wish I had the discipline to log the changes more regularly on this blog, for future reading pleasure! Since we returned from Singapore on 5 Feb, Ethan seems to be a lot more nimble with his hands. He grabs on to rattle toys and shakes them. He explores stuff toys with his hands, turns them around and seems to be able to bring them towards his mouth with increasing accuracy. And he hits hard at the swinging toys that came along with the bouncer to bring on music and moving lights. It's great fun to observe him doing all these! And as we pray for his healthy growth, we pray too that he'll quickly recover from the hives that he's developed in Singapore.

Tummy Exercise

New Year Resolution

Yuling: Both Lionel and I hope to cut 2 inches off from our waistlines within the year. Er... But look at what we had on 1 Jan 2009. =P
Lionel: Just realised that Yuling has an advantage. Breast feeding is equivalent to running 6 miles a day!!!!

What leads to Attitude?

Yuling: Coining Lionel's words, "Motion + Altitude = Attitude". Why so?? Ethan seems to have an in-built sensor to motion and altitude. He fusses whenever the car stops for a red light, or when we sit down for a rest while carrying him. Hmm...