Thursday, June 12, 2008

1 year old developments

We brought Ethan to his 1 year general check up at the Klinik Desa in Petagas on Monday. He still weights 9.8kg and is now 76cm. We were so proud of him as he only let go a short and small cry when the nurse gave him his MMR jab. He even looked at the needle, such a brave boy!! Anyway, the nurse told me that at 1 year old he can now eat soft rice instead of porridge which he has tasted without a fuss two nights ago. I'm also slowly changing his baby milk to milk for above 1 year old child. His latest skill is doing the "flying kiss".

Update:
I've been wanting to post this up for my own reference but keep delaying. Anyway, just want to record down the 12th month developments of my precious Ethan according to "What to expect the first year" (Murkoff et al, 2003):

By twelve months, you baby...should be able to:
  • walk holding on the furniture (cruise) - not quite. He can pull himself up in his cot or on the sofa though.
  • use a few gestures to needs met - he will make noise, forward his body, turn his body etc
...will probably be able to:
  • play patty-cake (clap hands) or wave by-bye (most children accomplish these feats by thirteen months) - he can clap hands, wave bye-bye and started to give flying kiss
  • drink from a cup independently - nope (am trying to get him to sip from the cup but he still refuse or maybe he doesn't know how to sip from the cup yet..)
  • pick up a tiny object neatly with tips of thumb and forefinger (many babies do not accomplish this until nearly fifteen months: continue to keep all dangerous objects out of baby's reach) - he tend to pick up tiny stuff from the floor if he sees them and able to feed himself his baby biscuits
  • stand alone momentarily (many don't accomplish this until thirteen months) - have not let him try to stand on his own
  • say "dada" or "mama" discriminately (most will say at least one of these by fourteen month) - definitely "dada" first ;p
... most possibly be able to
  • "play ball" (roll a ball back to you, many don't accomplish this feat until sixteen months) - he doesn't roll the ball, he will throw the ball at you instead ;p
  • stand alone well (many dont' accomplish this feat until sixteen months) - not yet
  • use immature jargoning (gibberish that sounds like a foreign language, half oa all babies don't start jargoning until after their first birthday, and many not unitl they are fifteen months old) - not sure what is jargoning means but he does make some sort of baby sounds as if he is talking or singing along with us when we sing ;p
  • walk well (three out of four babies don't walk well until thirteen and a half months, and many not until considerably later. Good crawlers may be slower to walk, late walking is rarely a cause of concern) - not walking yet
...may even be able to:
  • say three words or more other than "mama" or "dada" (a good half of all babies won't reach this stage until sixteen months) - not yet
  • respond to a one-stop command without gestures ('Give that to me" - without hand out; most children won't reach this stage until after their first birthday, many not until sixteen months)- not yet

Ethan in the early morning of his 1st birthday :)
Ethan during his 1st birthday party in his Levi's polo shirt from my Lil People Boutique (BTW, go check it out if you haven't seen the new arrivals...)- he looked a bit confuse with so many people around maybe hehehe...

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The morning after...

As we reached home from my parents' house after Ethan's birtday party, both hubby and me opened Ethan's presents and arranged them nicely on the floor in the living room (Ethan's new territory hee..) . It was hubby's great idea to see Ethan's reaction and of course to give him a nice surprise the next morning ;)

Ethan's presents before and after we, the parents, happily opened them up for him ;p

Below are a couple of video shots of how he enjoyed getting all those lovely gifts :) The first one when he first saw all the presents and the second one showing him playing with his favourite present which was hand picked by himself - the big teddy bear from his grand uncle Nicky and grand aunt Doris :)

See how happy and excited our precious lil' boy was, thanks to all family members, relatives and friends for the wonderful birthday gifts and "ang pow" (red packet)!! :)

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Ethan's 1st Year Birthday Prayer

This was a prayer dedicated to Ethan especially from his "Aki" (grandpa in Kadazan language). It is such a lovely prayer which unintentionally missed out just before meal. Nonetheless, it was really sweet of my dad to actually prepare a special prayer for our special lil' boy, Ethan :) So I would like to preserve it here in my blog which goes...

O God, our Father in Heaven, Holy is Your Name. Today is a very special day for our family as we celebrate Ethan's 1st birthday, 1st born of Alvin and Joyce.

Thank You Dear Lord for bringing up Ethan safely through out the trying days up to now. Ethan is now one year old today. Guide and protect him safely from all the dangers of growing up as a child into maturity of manhood and grant that he may play well his part in this world as a role model. Let us all help him always so that he knows Jesus is his spiritual Mentor and Virgin Mother Mary as his spiritual Best Friend.

Bless both Alvin and Joyce for giving them this great privilege to raise Ethan. Help them to be true to their great responsibility and also to all those who are jointly associate to Ethan's upbringing with tender care and love.

Let us also always remember how Jesus says: "Whoever receive one such child in my Name receive me". We are happy to receive Jesus in this child, Ethan. We want to love and serve Jesus in this child, Ethan.

Thank you again our Father in Heaven, for giving us this privilege that we are able to celebrate Ethan's First Birthday. Please help us always to ensure that whatever we do and say are always good so that this little soul may copy our good deeds and that he may never be led astray in his life as he grows up.

All these we ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and Redeemer. Amen.

Such beautiful prayer prepared by my Dad. Thanks a lot Dad, we all love you very much and thanks for always being there when we need you!! :)

Ethan with his "Aki"

Monday, June 9, 2008

Let's get the party started

We had a small 1st birthday bash for Ethan at my parents' home last Saturday. Here's a video and some photos for the sharing :)

Here's a link to Aunt AgnesDiary entry on Ethan's bday bash :)

A cake with 1 candle


This was Ethan's 1st birthday cake. Isn't it cute? ;p The cake was made by Deana whom I asked to decorate the cake based on what Ethan enjoys i.e. his songs especially Old McDonald, Ba Ba Black sheep and the ABC songs. Hence, the animal farm theme and the alphabets around the cake. A 2.5kg yummy chocolate cake indeed! Thanks Deana, many have complimented how nice the decor was and of cos it tasted yummy too!! At the end of the day, we only left with a small portion of the cake even though with another 1kg cake :) (a surprise birthday cake for our friend Dominic who shares the same birthday as Ethan)

Here's the link to Deana's cakes blog on Ethan's birthday cake :)

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Sparkly day

There are two reasons why I feel today is a bright sparkly day although its a bit cloudy outside...First because my precious little baby Ethan is no longer a baby (sshhh..he is taking his morning nap now..) as he turns 1 year old today :) Secondly, my blog finally got approved by SocialSpark to start taking opportunities although I've done and entry about SocialSpark just a few days back:) So double yay for me!! Hee...Anyway, I would like to thank Hannie for helping me to get my coding installed properly. Without her and due to my laziness to go find out myself what went wrong I probably would still unable to start earning some extra pocket money hehe...So cheers to you Hannie!! :) So now I'm looking forward not only to make new online friends via this wonderful programme, but ultimately I am eager to take more opportunities from it. Call me greedy but hey why not grab a great opportunity to earn extra income while doing what I like i.e. blogging right. And oh...btw, another thing I like about this programe is their code of ethic. They do practice the followings:
-100% Audit-able In-Post Disclosure
-100% Transparency
-100% Real Opinions
-100% Search Engine Friendly

Not sure if you have noticed but I seldom update my blog a few days back ...well, that was due to me in my lazy mode...and yes, sorry though I have read all the comments that you folks wrote, but I haven't got around to answer all of them...I'm truly sorry if you think I've abandoned you...but worry not coz I didn't as I did read all the comments and really enjoy having comments in my blog...just that I was in a lazy mood (yeah I better be frank then making all sorts of excuses right...)But from today onwards, I will definately start replying comments and those in my chat box again okay :)

Oh well, I best stop writing nonsense now. Instead I should again remind you to go get yourself registered with socialspark.com asap :)

Sponsored by SocialSpark

Ethan Turns 1 Year Old!!

* Ethan at birth * 7th June 2007 (35 weeks 2 days)* 4.41pm * KK Specialist Centre * 2.8kg * 46cm *


Teddy bears and seas of blue
Smiling in honor of you
An infant, not long ago
Now, one candle is aglow
You are growing up so fast
How quickly a year has passed
You are special, sweet, and wise
A present before our eyes.

For a year, I’ve watched you shine
An angel I can call mine
Sent from Heaven, just for me
Filled with hope and dignity
A blessing, now and always
You brighten all of my days
Precious child, I love you so
More than anyone could know.

Baby’s breath and sun-filled skies
Ladybugs and lullabies
Starry nights and bright moonbeams
Tender hearts and lasting dreams
Each, a gift within your view
During this time, made for you
May only good things come your way
On this, your very first birthday.

© 2007 – Jill Eisnaugle’s Poetry Collection


Happy Birthday to you our precious Ethan!!!
We love you unconditionally!!
Hugs and kisses from mummy & daddy