Ethan's first Christmas

Ethan decided to take mom and dad for walk around 7:30am and so the whole family got some exercise. Then we all came home and Ethan played with many toys and kept mommy entertained while daddy prepared Christmas dinner. It was really yummy. We had roast chicken, potatoes, spiced veggies and cranberry sauce. Dad is a great cook. Then afterwards, we opened presents from Grandma and Grandpa Zee but I thought the wrapping paper tasted the best. Grandma and Grandpa Zee got me a really cool car. It tastes really good. Then we all played together some more.

This is what i first started doing...

Hey Mommy got the order of things wrong so this video is the one you should watch first then the next video under it. Ethan

Daddy! Daddy! Look what I can do!

Today was the first time that I actually showed mom and dad what I can do. Impressive is it not? I'm not sure what is going on with my leg. Still trying to work the whole crawling thing out. So far I haven't moved forward yet but i'm determined.The feet that you see in the video are Gong Gong's. Mommy was filming. You'll also notice how my hair is growing at an incredible fast rate. I also have two top teeth coming in to join my lower two teeth and I managed to bite Gong Gong when he wasn't looking. MWAHAHAH! I like to make blow rasberries which sound like "PFFFFFFFT!" and make "wooahh" and "ooh-aahh-oooh" sounds and ofcourse the high pitch squeals that make mom laugh. I'm incredibly inept at flipping over onto my tummy, maneuvering myself in any direction I want to be in and grabbing any and everything for a swat, or taste or just to throw in any direction especially dropping things on the floor.

Well, that's it for now, I'll make sure mom writes more about me later

Luv you all, Ethan

Hey Daddy! Let's play ball!

Hey Daddy,

Check me out. Do I have good ball handling skills or what? I'm gonna practice lots and lots so that when I see you , I can beam it at your head.

Ethan

Playing ball

We also got some chewy balls- well soft balls for Ethan to chew on since he is showing an early talent for sports. ahahah. Here he is playing while sitting up. He's a bit tired since it's almost bedtime.

Ethan in his vroom vroom!

Today, Ethan had a great sleep. He was asleep at 7pm last night and slept until 5am for a morning feed before going back to sleep for another 3 hrs to wake happily playing in his bed at 8am. Then Gong gong, A-ma and mommy went to the park for a stroll. Afterwards, we went back to Gong Gong and A-ma's house and played for a bit, had a feed and nappy change. Then Gong Gong suggested we get a excer-saucer thingy and so he and mommy went shopping for Ethan since he is just learning to sit and loves to kick. We went to 4 different stores and this was by far the coolest and manliest one. The others were variations of lime green, orange, yellow and white. Gong Gong was set on getting this one - grey and the seat has a white grid on a grey background plus it is made in Taiwan rather than China so the materials are much safer.

Mommy this bed is too soft for me to sit up on !!!

Look! I really can sit up but I just don't wanna right now. Plus mommy's and daddy's bed is a bit too soft for me to support myself but i'll show you another time. I can even slap my hands down but you'll just have to wait and see.

Ethan.. supposedly going to sleep...

This was taken Nov. 22 at 8:00pm. Ethan has just had his bottle and was falling asleep but he needed to have his shirt and nappy changed and then put into his Grobag. All of which woke him up and this was the result.

VRRRRRROOOMM!

This was taken about a month ago so sorry about the lateness.

MMMMM. Must.. eat.. monkey!!!

Fantastic! WAY to Go Ethan!

Photos of Ethan eating rice cereal

15 days gone by so quick.

The last 12 days, Ethan has been spending alot of time with his daddy. They have shared many giggles and walks together which i'm sure daddy will keep close to his heart while he is England until we join him. This week, the nanny has been giving Ethan Lamb broth added into his formula which is said to be very nutritious and is evident by how strong her grandsons are. Ethan keeps eyeing anyone eating food as if to say, "ME TOO, GIMME SOME NOW" . So far he has tried, sweet potato, carrots, unripe papaya boiled soft in broth, and grapes. He tends to prefer the sweeter foods. The last two nights, Ethan has gone back to regular schedule of going to bed around 8-8:30pm rather than 9- 9:30pm and that extra hour has done us both some good. Then at around 2:30am- 3:00am , he gets hungry so he has a feed Then back to sleep. He now wakes up at 5:30-6:00am wide awake, cooing and rolling over in his crib. New developments: a couple of days ago, I started reading to him before bedtime and made a buzzing sound. Ethan really liked the sound and smiled. He still smiles when you do it and he also smiles when you make a clicking/clocking noise with your tongue. This morning, after his nappy change, he got dressed in a cute blue outfit with Tigger on it and then I picked him up. He gave a big burp and I patted him and just as we were about to go to the nanny's he got sick all over his pants and jacket and me. Poor guy. So I wiped the sick off and I thought it may be best to rinse his mouth so gave him some water to drink and more yucky stuff came out. So off his outfit came and into a new one. Then we were off. We got to the nanny's and I let her know about Ethan being sick and asked if she and A-ma could take Ethan to his pediatrician. While I was asking the nanny , Ethan let out some more yucky stuff. I must say that although he was expelling yucky stuff, he was completely unfazed by it all and smiling away. No fever so maybe just an upset stomach. Maybe from the lamb's broth? Well,we will see. I'm just waiting for a call from A- ma which should be any minute now. Just got off the phone with A-ma and the pediatrician says that Ethan has a slight cold. His throat is a bit red and the vomiting could be due to gas. No runny nose, no fever. So the doctor gave him some medicine to settle his tummy and soothe his throat. The pediatrician also told the nanny that it is too early to give Ethan Lamb's broth but that it wasn't related to the vomiting. He is now sleeping but if he keeps getting sick then they are to bring him back to the pediatrician. (No wonder he was a bit fussy before his nightime feed last night. )Awww. Poor little guy. Mind you, it is funny how he just takes this in stride and it's the adults that always worry. A-ma will go over to the nanny's later this afternoon to check up on him. Luv to you all, Joanne

Ethan says NO to breastmilk and YES to formula and rice cereal

Yesterday, the nanny informed me that I didn't need to bring breastmilk for Ethan anymore because he refuses to drink it. The manner in which he refuses to drink is quite funny. There are three ways he does this. The old way, was, he used to suck in milk and then spit it all out so it would go everywhere. Other times he would go Pffft! and it would spray everywhere or he would flat out purse his lips so tight nothing could get through those tiny lips of his. But now there are two new ways The first is that he will take the bottle teat in mouth and push it to back and forth to the sides of his mouth , then push it out with his tongue and then suck it back in- obviously playing with it. The second way is his newest development. He will take it in his mouth and pretend to suck it. This performance deserves an acting award as he has fooled the nanny, the nanny's daughters, A-ma and I for more than several minutes, thinking he was drinking but the level of milk was not decreasing. If you were to look, it appears as if he is sucking and swallowing. Sneaky Boy! The only way he does drink breastmilk is during the wee hours of the morning, while he is still half asleep but hungry. He now prefers formula mixed with baby rice cereal in his bottle, and has started eating fresh yam or sweet potato. Yup, he definately has a sweet tooth. Another funny incident, involved the poop in his diaper. A-ma went over to visit him at the nanny's and asked if Ethan had pooped yesterday. Nanny Tang was more than happy to show the diaper to A-ma and was so proud because he did a good poop( not the runny one but more solid- like soft clay/mud consistency) and she said the color was very beautiful. I believe it was yellowish. This has kept everyone laughing for hours. Later that evening, after picking him up, Ethan was ready for bed but by the time we got home, he was cooing and it was apparent that he wanted to play for a bit. He now likes to roll onto his front, chest down and butt up in the air. He has been using his legs to try to push himself forward and is bound to get the hang of crawling soon. He also is very quick at grasping things within his reach by using a raking movement- blankets, hankies, hair, glasses. Other developments include, playing peek a boo- I hold him and Adam hides behind my back. Then, he ducks left and right. Ethan will whip his head back and forth searching for him and give huge smiles and giggles. He is learning to wave goodbye and will fan his fingers open when you hold his hand up to wave or kiss goodbye. He also has to be the center of attention when people are about or he will in no uncertain terms let you know by making noises of exasperation or just a fake cry that we are incredibly rude to talk over him and ignore him. That's it for now, Joanne

More Halloween Photos

Ethan's first Halloween.

Let me start by saying that this blog is intended for family and friends to let them know about Ethan and then our family's going ons. As this is something Ethan may read in the future, I have tried to kept it lighthearted. After much thought and consideration, Adam and I still believe that we should keep this site for Ethan and will no longer be mentioning anything that doesn't have to do with Ethan.

I thank everyone for your well wishes, prayers and support for Adam, Ethan and I and I ask that you continue to do so.

The following are pictures are from Ethan's first Halloween event. ( Which included dressing him up, taking the photos and going to the hospital to be with daddy.) Ethan was very happy to see his daddy and vice versa.

Adam had the idea to put Ethan(spider) in the baby carrier so he would look like he was on the spider web (me). Very cool idea daddy!

Joanne

Ethan had his first foods yesterday!!

Ethan has been looking at us eating with envy the past few days or so and so we thought we might as well let him try some solids since he is nearly 6 months. So after mommy went to buy his Halloween costume, she went to the baby store and got some samples of rice cereal (Nutriben- made in Spain) and a few jars of organic baby food (HIPP) which is a UK brand and baby spoons. We would have used the one Mama Zee got for us but its still a little bit too big. Ethan took to the rice cereal straight away eating 8 mini teaspoons and still wanting more but we gave him the rest of his bottle. . Adam and I thought it smelled quite sweet so I tasted it and was surprised at how sweet it was. So no wonder Ethan liked it so much. I'm going to throw out the rest of the sample packets and get HIPP's bland rice cereal since I don't think it's a good idea for Ethan to get used to sweets. We caught it all on video for all of you to see so hopefully Adam or I can post it tonight for all of you to see. After his bottle, Ethan was still interested in eating so we decided to give him HIPP pears baby food. Of course it was much blander than his rice cereal so he ate the first mini- spoonful, and then proceeded to spit the second and third spoonful at Adam and me. We had pears on our clothes and on the bed. Never the less, that didn't stop us from giving him more which he let fall out of his mouth. Always being the polite boy that Ethan is, he decided to wipe his mouth- with his hand- smearing pears all over his face. Unfortunately, we didn't get this hilarious part of the feeding experience on tape but i'm sure there will be many more episodes to come. Love you all and take care. Joanne

Ethan's Halloween Outfit

This coming Friday, Ethan will be going to his first Halloween Event at the cram school I used to teach at. It should be a fun and exciting adventure and I will be sure to post up pics.

For now, this is a picture of what his costume looks like.

Optical illusion or is Ethan really sitting up?

Our outing to the new park on Wen Shin Road

Here is Adam and Ethan boy racing down the hill in the park.

Happy handsome daddy with uninterested and unfazed Ethan.

Ethan is his Jungle gym

Ethan is his outfit sent by Auntie April

Daddy and his baby boy!

So sorry. I should have mentioned that I took these photos just as Adam woke up and before he had made himself presentable so please do not think he looks like this. Despite his kidneys, he looks healthy, handsome and full of life.

Joanne

Lovin' da bouncy chair

Auntie Samantha at Chong Der Washington Campus