Moo-ving in

To all our family and friends who celebrate Chinese New Year...

we wish you Happy Moo-Moo Year!! ;p

Ethan with his funny face during last year CNY at big bro's house

His latest habit

Watching telly on the floor...

Sleeping on the floor...this happened while waiting for me to prepare the potluck dishes I brought to my parents' home on Xmas day..poor baby....

Taking a break after tired of playing..

Being cheeky

Day dreaming....what were you thinking about Ethan...??

19 Months

Ethan at 19 months

Height: 82cm

Weight: 11.8kg

Have you got talent?

Do you have a special talent? Are you one of those who has creative flair for craft making etc ? I know I have several friends who are into it .... and I'm gonna talk about one particular friend here...let me show you some master pieces by a dear friend of mine, Hannie. She is an avid scrapbook and card maker for months now and she never seems to stop doing it...so much ideas...Anyway, one day I was cracking my head on what birthday gift to give to my dear hubby...I've been wanting to give him something different than the ordinary birthday gifts...then suddenly it hit me in which I said to myself, why not present him a family photo of us in the form of a scrapbook page for a change :) So without much delay, I contacted Hannie through YM to discuss and get the page done...she came up with a fabulous page which I later sent to the photo shop for framing...have a look and what say you? :)

This was the final 12"x12" scrap page

Just showing you the details - see the heart and the buttons

More details with the wordings specially chosen by me ;p

And the final product after being framed - how do you like it? I know hubby likes it :)

Besides the birthday page for my hubby, I have with me some cards that were especially handmade by her too..have a look at these...I love all the works that she has done ....you can see it for yourself from her scrapbooking blog ...don't you think these make lovely and more personalized gifts for all occasions? ...and if you're interested why not contact her directly. I'm sure she will be more than happy to help you :)

Anniversary card

Funky birthday card

A lovely Christmas card from Hannie to me ;)

Picky eating behaviour

Ethan started to refuse his food since New Year eve...I thought he was playing up initially coz he stopped eating when family and friends drop by while he was having his meals...he will take a few spoons before he started to "lock" his mouth...being the impatient person that I am, I started to get frustrated and angry and started scolding and even forced and punished him...mealtimes became a battle ground for both of us and it drove me nut...then I thought to myself...this is not right...maybe something is wrong..perhaps he is bored with the food but then again I told myself he has only started eating pure solid food less than 2 weeks ago..he can't be bored with the food already as I cooked different menus most times...he used to love them that he even asked for more sometimes...it's a nerve wrecking to see him refusing food and it made me worry that he’s not getting the nutrition that he needs...I felt hopeless and kept wondering what's going on...I finally decided its time to open the pages of my "What to expect the toddler years" (1997, Murkoff et al) on the second day and true enough him refusing to eat during meal times is actually part of his developments ..it is normal for toddler to start refusing food as they are learning to be independent and thus trying to choose the type of food they like. And just to reconfirm, I did a search on the net to find out more...

"....it is perfectly normal for children to go through periods of saying they dislike something even if they loved it the day before. It is often due to their growing independence. This is why toddlers often go though periods of being fussy with what they eat." - having a mind of their own now...

"Refusing to eat is very common to toddlers because they are reaching a stage of learning control. To them, food is the easiest thing to control, eat or not eat." - aren't they smart as they now want to control us instead hehe

"...at about one year of age. The child now grows at a slower pace and does not require the amounts of food that were necessary to fuel the earlier growth. " - thus the reason why they don't eat as much I supposed....

"A common reason babies don't eat solids is that they are getting more food than they need the easy way, from the bottle. No toddler needs more than 24 ounces of milk a day and you can even cut down to 16 ounces. " - I may have overdosed him with his milk as I give him almost 24 ounces a day...

"...instead of aiming for a nutritionally balanced day, aim for a nutritionally balanced week" - ok now I know...

"Be aware of how little food a young child needs. A TABLESPOON PER YEAR OF AGE (i.e. two tablespoons for a two-year-old) of starches, fruits and vegetables is an adequate serving size. As for meat or chicken, a serving is the size of the CHILD'S PALM" - oh my...how little..no wonder...

and Murkoff et al said that "When it comes to eating and growing, a toddler's body works in mysterious ways. Toddlers manage to grow and thrive taking in amounts of food that, from parental point of view , seems insufficient to nourish a grasshopper" - thank goodness as I was worried sick about this ;p

So now I don't have to worry too much as my lil' boy is actually growing up and this is one of the phases that is perfectly normal..phew!! ;p

If you're having the same problem or getting yourself ready for this phase, here are some useful links:

• Managing mealtimes with your toddler
• Picky picky: When your toddler won't eat
• My toddler won't eat
• What to do when your toddler won't eat
• How to encourage your toddler to enjoy mealtimes

Tech chic must have!! I want!!!

Hellow :) I know I've been MIA (on and off) ..thanks to all with the season greetings and yes Deana I'm still on leave...will be back to work on Monday..uhuhu...

It's almost 4am and I've been up since 2am (fell asleep with Ethan while putting him to bed as usual...or was it Ethan putting me to bed instead haha..) to do some house works i.e. washing the dishes and Ethan's bottles (I can't stand seeing the sink with dirty dishes in it in the morning..not even a single teaspoon as it will spoil my morning mood hee...) after the trip to Utan Paradise (which I will make an entry later on) and now blog hopping..and what did i see???

Such a pretty and stylist lil' thing don't you agree???!!! I soooo want it!!! Such great temptation...

oh me...oh my...It was love at first sight when I saw it here...Dear Santa...I promise I will be extra good this year and please please please pretty please can you please put this under the tree before we bring it down and store it away...I know I know...just another wishful thinking obviously!! hahaha...I haven't even look at the specs but I just love the color and the design...the designer Viviene Tam uses peony flower...according to Lilian Too...peony flowers are good for the singles especially if u carry it around with you all the time...okay let me just have a quick read on the price and specs ... ok here goes, to own one, it will cost you roughly about US$700 and the specs are not bad if you're just using it for word processing, surfing and some basic applications. Definately not suitable for the heavy users of graphics , games etc...BUT most importantly, does it suits me?? OH YES INDEED!! I WANT!!!! I've checked the HP Msian site...none yet :( Oh Santa.... where are you????!!!!

Anyway, I have stories to tell but have not got the chance to do so ...and of coz pictures to share...though not as many, as hubby has been away due to work commitments. Hence, my Xmas cum NY break has not been what I've planned to be...wanted to bring Ethan out for a swim, picnic, out with his cousins especially hubby's 2nd bro who is back from KL, to attend Xmas and NY parties, celebrate hubby's bday, out with my friends, pampering myself with facial and pedicure sessions etc etc...but oh well...some other days perhaps...I hope next year it will be a more eventful Xmas and NY and I hope you had a blast on yours recently! ;p I'll be back with more stories...so later folks! Oh psssttt... please help me to look for dear Santa for the HP Viviene Tam's design would you? I'm sooo in love with it!! ;p