Not enough time in the day to post!!!

Okay. That is a poor excuse. Although, Ethan has been sick for the past week, taking amoxicillin for an inflammed ear infection and vomiting with fever and teething. Poor guy. A few hard nights with not enough sleep and no energy for me to post. However, I have waited long enough and as Ethan is asleep beside me, I am typing away. More Ethan developments. He can now respond to following questions with following answers "What does an elephant say? " Puts his arm up and says "OOO" "Where should we go now?" "What should we do?" He will put his arm out and point. He says "Ka" for car, "Da" and pointing down is down and "Bao" in singular form is his favored blanket. Food, snacks and drink is "Mum um": which is very confusing. He finally held his own bottle of milk for the first time this weekend. I think playgroup and seeing the other kids drink from their sippy cups and plastix mugs goes a long way with Ethan. We can have vowel conversations that go like this Ethan: Oooo EEEE Mommy:Ooo EE Ethan: Ah eee Mommy ooh EEE and so on. Oh and best of all, when he wakes up. He will come over and crash on top of me and give me a good morning kiss with the kissing sound. Smack! It's fantastic!! He does it for daddy as well. He has started bringing over books for me to read before bedtime or will adamantly point to them and request : DOG Guh which means i'd better have a story with a dog in it. We are getting better at brushing his many many many teeth. I've lost count how many he has now. HAHA. He has a stool in the bathroom for when we he is ready for potty training that he can stand up onto by himself and come down as well as lift it and throw it into the bathtub. Speaking of the bathtub, he would probably spend the better part of the evening in the bathtub than get out. While the bath tub is filling up, he will look around for things to throw into the bathwater. Latest were his once worn jeans just out of the laundry. Dad's t-shirt.Alternately, while he is in the bathtub, he will throw out of the bath, his soap bottle, shampoo bottles, balls, and lately a shower puff which was filled with water and landed on the jeans I was wearing at the time. There are pictures to post here of him in the bath. There are so many things that just seem to happen daily that are so amazing and wonderful. He really tries to go out ... Woah! Ethan just woke up crying and then immediately got sick all over the bed, himself and me so we just took a shower and got the icky clothes and sheets tucked into a plastic bag, sprayed with disinfectant spray for laundry tomorrow as well as the whole 2nd floor because Daddy can't get sick now. Ethan is now fast asleep. Poor guy. It was bound to come up since he'd only had one poop today, 2 fevers and panadol suspension- the latter usually makes him vomit. We saw the doctor today and tomorrow I won't give him any pain relief if he is "well in himself" as they say here which means: happy go lucky as usual. Ah ok back to where I left off. He really tries to go out of his way to please you. He'll bring you things to play with him, he'll help put clothes into the washing machine, he will give you anything you ask him to get unless its toilet paper or something he knows he shouldn't have... I'd better join Ethan in dreamland now. I'll post the pics from the video camera soon. Oh good news. We managed to get a camera on ebay- the same model we had before so Daddy and I will be snapping away as soon as it arrives.

Ethan is 16 months old!

Hiya, I managed to work out how to do video clips on the camera but unfortunately the video quality is very bad. Maybe I can ask daddy to help me figure out how to make it clearer. Here is Ethan playing on his electronic drums. And no he isn't trying to fly or acting like a chicken, he is dancing to his drum beats. Ethan playing with his toys. Ethan with his favorite blanket. "Mom, I can't decide which I want. Blanket or shape sorter..."

Mr. Speedy going up the stairs... Hahaha.

Lunch time. Our big boy can eat with a fork!

Ethan is much better and dad is back home

Hiya, you are probably wondering if we found the camera. The answer is no but we have a video camera that can take photos so this is what i'll be using for the time being. I may try video-ing. We will see as it's different to upload onto the blog.

As you can see by the photo, Ethan is much improved. He has a bruise on the side of his cheek when he fell into a four legged wooden chair. You can also see that he's got a lot of teeth. We have started brushing them as there are so many... but its a struggle as he usually bite down on the toothbrush and won't let go.

He likes toys and books that make noises and this past Friday, Mama Zee came with us to Lancaster for some retail therapy. We managed to buy a whole bunch of books that make automobile noises, boat noise, bird, grasshopper and one that even sounds like the toilet flushing.

Ethan is getting really good at eating with his fork and spoon and there seems to be less and less dropping onto the floor- fingers crossed. ;)

Adam came home yesterday which was really great for the both of us. Ethan missed his daddy very much.

He has added to his repertoire of animal noises and can also do a monkey. Which is usually "Ahhh ooh".

He has started to refer to bottles of juice as "Nay Nay" which before usually meant milk bottle which is interesting.

He has also started talking on and on .. ba ba ba ba da da dad , ahhhhh! etc and at increasing loud volumes. Adam got woken up by his Screaming BAAAA!!!!!!! BAAAAA!!!!! BA!!!!!!!!! this morning. LOL.

Today, we went over to Mama and Papa Zee's for Sunday lunch. It was awesome. We had roast beef, carrots, leeks, roast potatoes , yorkshire puddings and for pudding(what we call dessert) plum crumble with custard- it was soooooooooooooooooooooo gooooooooooooooood. Ethan ate lots and lots and no food dropped to the floor! He really liked the yorkshire pudding and carrots and gravy and potatoes...he liked EVERYTHING.

Papa Zee is doing really well and recovering for losing a kidney but sometimes sneaks around doing things he shouldn't so he hurt his side and is taking painkillers. Naughty Papa zee.

Daddy, who gained a kidney, has been usually going for a nap between 5pm-7pm ish every evening and he is walking without any pain. He looks skinnier but this is a good thing as the water retention, during the dialysis period - pre operation, has all gone. And with drinking 3-4 litres of water every day- its no wonder he has no water retention as he has to go to the bathroom often. We joke like he is a pregnant man since he has a scar like a large cesaerean and has to go to the bathroom so much.

That's it for now. Tomorrow Ethan will be 16months old!

This time last year, this was where we were at. http://www.ethanzahler.com/2007/08/back-at-work.html

I was pretty miserable as I was going to head back to work and Ethan would go to the nanny's and Adam was having headaches every day before we discovered he had kidney failure. What a year this has been...

More developments..then fever, vomiting and teething

Well, over the past weekend, Ethan started doing some pretty cheeky things.

One is to offer me some of his dinner on a fork or in his hand and just as it nears my mouth, he'll pull it away and puts it into his mouth. (Well at least he is eating...) When he is done eating, a sure sign is him using both hands to smear whatever food we are eating all over the table top.

He also is fascinated with the buttons on the dishwasher and washing machine. I figure this is b/c we never had a dishwasher and the washing machine was outside in Taiwan with the lid on top. Here, the lid faces outward and he enjoys opening it, throwing things inside and closing it.

If he sees me sweeping, vacuuming, mopping or wiping something off the floor, he wants to help which is great. Very impressive seeing a little guy grab an adult broom and try to use it and very sweet to see him take a dish towel and wipe the floor clean. He also will put his toys away if he sees me cleaning up or you ask him to.

He will bring me books and look up at me as if to say, "Mama. read this to me" but as soon as i do, he is off doing something else- i think he just likes background noise. There are those few precious times though that he does sit still on my lap as I read and it's a really great feeling.

Things he says: "Boo yaaa... PFFFFT. AHHHH"- high pitched and lately everyone he comes into contact with he greets them with "DOG- Guh!!!" He has quite worked out that dog isn't two syllables.

New toy:An electronic drum board. It has 6 round pads on it which make different sounds, and comes with microphone and drumsticks. We can record music on it, and it plays different beats like slow rock, mambo etc. HE LOVES it.

He also love his V-Tech bus that Mama Zee got him and will bring it over to me so I can help him put the shapes into their corresponding places. When each shape goes in, a song is played. He grabs the pieces and I help him to put them in the space. He also like Auntie Paula and Uncle Bob' Shape sorting box.

Not sure if Imentioned this already but he has a fascination with the toilet bowl and how deep it is and sticks his hand into the toilet bowl water- ewww- which immediately gets washed in anti bacterial soap

The bath is his favorite time and he protests loudly if you take him out of the bath sooner than he is ready. He is fascinated with pulling out the bath plug and putting it back in and wonders why its attached to a chain. Therefore, we fill his tub about 20cm and then use the shower nozzle to keep the amount of water the same and him warm as he lets out the water or splashes it out.

Today, I made the mistake of bringing in his blanket and in the middle of the bath, he stood up and kept pointing at it and was very mad as to why he couldn't have it in the bath with him. I mean, hey, why not have a soggy, soaking wet favorite blankie on him before bedtime- No thanks!

Then on Sunday, he started feeling poorly. Got a fever, started throwing up anything he ate or drank, and sticking his finger in his mouth. So it was Ibuprofen but Monday he really got sick and was dry heaving in the kitchen sink- poor baby. Tuesday, we went to the clinic and found out it was stomach flu, with sore ears and he is teething so he is on amoxicillin for the next 7 days. Since he started vomiting, Adam was banished from the house as he is taking immunosuppressants to make sure the kidney isn't rejected and thus more suceptible to cold and such. He is staying with Mama and Papa Zee until Friday or Saturday.

Today, Ethan woke up bright as could be and it was nice to see him back to his happy self- screaming "AHHHHH" "EEEEEEE" all over the house. As well as his appetite and no fever all day! He's been eating fruit puree, lots of juice and water and milk in the night.

So this morning, we went into town to the library to get some bedtime storybooks and he proceeding to grab books off the shelf and throw them to the ground- some he would pick up and give them to me to put back...LOL. Today was his 5th time to the library and during the summer, there is a TEAM READ competition so Ethan gets a special TEAM READ certificate. YAY!

We had lunch after we got home, a nap and then we went over to Mama and Papa Zee's for a walk. Papa Zee and daddy were sleeping so Mama Zee took us and Bruno for a walk. We also went to pick up our laundry since Ethan's been sick and we don't have a dryer and it's been raining all week- icky... today it was gloomy at best but no rainy in the afternoon. So thanks to Mama Zee and her dryer.

Pizza was for dinner and then bath time for Ethan and bed. Oh and on Monday, Ethan got a slumber sac- it's like a grobag just a diifferent name since his 2.5 one getting too small for him and it was only 15 pounds at a local store!

This is the pattern but it is in the front zip style. So now he has lots of room to move around and it will last until he's 3 yrs old.

That's it for now. Hopefully daddy can be un- banished soon. We miss him very much!!!

Ah one more..

Right so i was just doing some catching up on a friend's blog about her two boys and she mentioned Cheezies which reminded me of how Ethan has lately been eating similar snacks. Corn puffs with carrot powder or cheese and onion and he was doing great, eating away, until he discovered that he has enough power in his fist to squash them into dust, open his hands and start flicking puff dust everywhere. Since this discovery, he will eat a few and squash a few- very messy. He has also tried this with all his dinner foods and then smears the remains all over the table- grrrr.... Okay, i'm off to bed.. its about midnight here- Ethan and I both slept alot- from 9pm to 10am this morning (tuesday) and then from 2pm to 5pm- hahha... it was nice to finally catch up on sleep. Bless him! All is well in our little world.

Ethan's newest developments

Okay, as this is Ethan's site, here are his new developments. My goodness, there are so many I'm not sure where to begin. While we were in Manchester, he learned - the answer to "What does a snake say?" Ethan's super quick response "SSSSSSS" (This is with or without showing a picture of a snake) Big thanks to Auntie Anna and Uncle Rob who helped baby sit him and teach him the above while the family was in hospital. - He can also say -bra as in .. we say "Z" and he says "Bra". Uncle Dan has been trying "Big" in the hopes Ethan will say bra but no luck so far--- - When you say Uncle Josh, Uncle Dan or Uncle Rob, Ethan will use his hands to tap his chest. Now that we are back home, - He can eat two whole bananas during the day, yogurt , a zillion cherrios, cookies, lunch, dinner and juice and still want a couple of bottles of milk. Yup, he is getting chubbier arms, hands, thighs, legs and feet but his face seems to be the only thing not so chubby. - He insists on feeding himself usually with his fingers but he has his own fork, knife and spoon. Even though the food is on it, he will pick it off with his fingers to eat it. He loves baked beans, anything with potato, chicken, fish fingers, rice porridge, cream corn and egg soup with rice and pretty much will eat anything we are having at the table. - Since coming home, he has been climbing up the staircase by himself and usually when we are not around which is quite scary as it is quite steep. - He can go down the two bathroom steps by himself by stepping down. - He has learned to get on his Lion and sort of get off by himself by lifting his leg over the seat but he sits on it backwards. - When he wants to show off he will go through his entire vocabulary ("Ma ma, Ba ba, da da, Bao bao, sheh sheh, go go, dog guh, pfffft , ah! Eh? )and then tilt his head to the side and smile at you as if to say "Aren't I cute?" - Lately , if his blankie is on the floor, he will lay flat on the floor with his head on his blankie as if taking a little rest. - He has taken to wanting his blankie while in his high chair at the table which can be a bit messy- good thing we have two identical blankies... - He saw some boys at playgroup drinking from cups and now wants to drink from cups only... - In his sleep, the last couple of nights, he will say "Da da" or "Ba Ba?" - very sweet. - He has just learnt how to back away from things and people. - Mama Zee got him a car that is a shape sorter and plays musical tunes and he likes pushing the shapes through into the car and bobs his head to the music when sitting down. - When he is really happy, he starts drooling and throws his arms out to the sides like a cheerleader going "Hurrah" while walking forward, but he has no pom poms. - He can squat down on his legs and get back up again. - He can help put away toys- selectively... - He will give you things (usually) when you ask him to. - He will nod his head to say thank you after you've given him snacks or food. - He likes mirrors and he is fascinated with the bath tub plug. Today he managed to turn the cold water faucet on in the bath tub. - He is also fascinated about the toilet. The toilet cover- lifting it up and letting it slam down, he loves the inside of the toilet bowl and tries to play with the water in it. Speaking of the toilet, he tried very hard to flush the toilet as well. This is probably because we are always telling him NOT to do all of this so he wants to do it even more. - He has pulled the toilet paper down so it pools in a big pile on the floor. Maybe we should use the Taiwanese way and buy packages of tissue instead of rolls of toilet paper - We have tried coloring but usually this end with him eating the crayons or biting the tip off of them and spitting it out. (Yes, i'm thankful he spits it out..) - He still is very talented in using the remote control for the TV- using the volume button and channel changing button with expertise. - He will carry a book over to you to read, start turning the pages and as soon as you start to read he will go somewhere else and start doing something else. I'm sure there is a ton more and i'll add them when I think of them. Also, you might wonder why there aren't any videos or picture- I think I may have left the camera in Manchester somewhere. Most likely while I was packing, Ethan grabbed it and threw it in the garbage bin so it's probably at a garbage dump in Manchestersomewhere - well... i'll keep praying it comes back to us somehow. Keep your fingers crossed. I'll try to use my phone more to capture the little angel/terror..hahaha. More later...

Daddy's kidney transplant

We have returned from a week in Manchester (we returned last Thursday) and both Papa Zee and daddy are doing well. The transplant took place on theThurs. 7th of Aug. with Papa Zee going in early in the morning and then Adam going in shortly after noon time. They both were out of the recovery ward by the evening and back in the renal ward very sleepy from the anesthetic. Adam's new kidney started working at once as his urine output was enormous. - A really good sign. Papa Zee was walking around the next day and soon had to go back and rest. They stayed in hospital until Papa Zee was let out on the wednesday and Adam was let out on the Thursday. Now that they are both at home, both are anxious to do more but need to take it easy as the surgery wounds will take months to heal. For daddy, this means lots of rest, no lifting of anything at all, and remembering to take medication on time as he can not forget or it means rejection of his new kidney from Papa Zee. The wound is still pretty tender so walking is slow but everyday gets better. Papa Zee is proud to show off his belly to most of the family and lifts up his shirt often to show us his wounds and the healing process of them. Mama Zee tells him every now and then that he doesn't need to lift his shirt "that" high- and it gives us all the giggles. When we got home, and I unloaded everything and everyone, our welcome home gift was the flooded kitchen thanks to a loosening of the hoses of the dishwasher- groan.... Grannie and Gramps came over for a look and helped out a bit by taking daddy and Ethan to their place so I could mop up the flood, unpack and organize stuff. That night we all had a bit of fun relaxing and watching Ethan. Ethan has been great through all of this but was very happy to be home in Low Bentham as he was screaming out loud "Ahhhhhhh!!!" repeatedly and smiling away as he rediscovered all the rooms he knows in the house. It was nice to be back home. Daddy has to go to Manchester every second day to get his blood tested to make sure the kidney is still happy and so far so good. Mama zee has been an enormous help with helping us do a load of shopping and looking after Ethan to give me a rest and so mommy and daddy can spend some one on one time together. August 5 was our 2 yr England wedding anniversary and we have yet to celebrate so hopefully when daddy is feeling much better we can do something special.