Ethan's 4th birthday is coming

The party is this saturday and I am not done! arrrggghhh. I have to confirm the people and liase with FrisknRomp, the organisers du jour about the party's activities. so anyway, I start to tell Ethan that we can't do this next year, and obviously he's not listening.....

I so want to give him everything, yet not give him so much that he won't treasure what he has or learn the skills to get his own stuff. But it's tough, it's easier to just watch his face light up when you tell him he's having another party. I actually think it's less energy sapping to plan another cos then it becomes the next bribe. Maybe I am getting a little too tired. Plus trying to blog meaningfully across a number of topics at 2 am in the morning isn't helping. They'll be waking up at 6, bright-eyed and bushy tailed and me, harassed and harried, but sooo proud of my little darlings, and despite the fatigue, looking forward to another fun day with them. I don't know how long I can last out, think my funds are non-existent already and I will be forced back into the workforce to pay the bills, the price being less time with my little precious darlings. So it hurts so much, I just want to focus on the birthday and hope I am spending the money right, by giving him memories of a wonderful childhood which will help carry him through life.

Rollerblading

Ethan can now roll along on his blades. It's been a journey of many false starts but I think we're finally getting there. He's going to be better than me soon and I'm still learning how to stop. Ethan is trying to salam like his father!!!

Rollerblading

Ethan was having his roller blading lesson yesterday. It was probably lesson three??!! and at lesson 2, hw could not even get out of the grass and yesterday he just got onto the cement and started moving. I am sooo proud of my little boy who has grown so much and so fast.

So it's been more than a year

So I have been busy with everything else. But time again to chronicle the little cute things that Ethan does, and also when he's with Micah his little bro.

Ethan's grown up a lot and has been attending school. I must say I have been spending less time with him for obvious (2nd kid) and not-so-obvious reasons. I don't know if it' the pregnancy or the looking after 2 kids or the lack of exercise but I have been barely able to keep it together. I have taken no-pay-leave and am slowly recovering from what is possibly chronic fatigue.

Ethan has been blossoming in many different ways and he is as sweet as he ever was. And still such a joy to be with. He is as energetic as ever so we can barely keep up. I hope to be able to post photos and notes on what I can remember of my sweet Ethan in the last few months.

Ethan doing his "pose"

Ethan on 7 October 2007. See how much he has grown up?

Ethan's first stay at the hospital

Ethan suddenly had vomitting spells in the middle of the night sometime in September. It's been so long (more than a year) and yet the feeling of fear and hopelessness is still quite fresh in my mind.

The bummer was, I had work to do that night. So I had sent hubby to go be with my baby. I finished about 2am in the morning and so went up to check. There was a wierd smell in the room and to my horror, I realised that my baby had diarrhoea right there on the bed. My stoned hubby apparently slept right through it - Men!!! I cleaned Ethan up and then fed him some more water. He was so exhausted he was just whimpering, my poor baby. After that he had some more diarrhoea and vomiting that I lost it. I was just wailing. Something is seriously wrong with my baby and I couldn't do anything about it. Hubby saw my distressed state and offered to bring Ethan to EastShore. So we went.

Ok, so I don't like people sticking needles into my son. It makes him cry which tears at my heart. It's worse when they can't find a vein and keep sticking into him. By then all the stress and baby crying has resulted in niagra falls on my face, and I was miserable. They recommended he stay in the hospital and be dripped. Of course I requested for a private room to be with my lil'one.

Ethan fared remarkably well for the next few days he had to be in the hospital and was attached to a drip. I think he had to stay for 4 days. Of course at the end of it he was running around the place and we were begging the docs to let him go home. I started feeling unwell right about the third day and started vomitting myself. Apparently his Gastroenteritis bug thingy is very virulent. I was sent to bed by my doc who threathened me with saline drips and hospital stay!!! So Ethan was discharged to my mum's. Guess what, they all got it. My mum, hubby, the maid, my brother.

So we sent for reinforcements. My cousin Margaret came and helped out. Her husband, Eric came by to bring her home. Needless to say they fell ill too. In fact, Cousin Eric landed up in the hospital for 3 days. Ugh. Dark times.

hip bandana

I bought this bandana for Ethan when he was about 8 months old. It's taken this long to fit and also taken this long before Ethan is vain enough to wear it!

swimming in blue

This is Ethan having fun at the pool at my friend's condo.

so much to update and so little time!

work's been very disagreeable, so I've had no time. hubby's work also disagreeable so he hasn't been able to send me photos, ugh.

Reading
some time last week, think it was the weekend, I was trying to rearrange Ethan's cards and Ethan read "spoon" off one of the cards he saw! proof that Glenn Doman is working!!!

Vocalizations
Ethan can say so many words already. Ethan can count one to ten, get from A to D in sequence, realises "p" comes after "o" and "z" after "y". Other words - "home", cut, spoon, knife, fork, daddy mummy, gong gong, mamak,yeye, nainai, cut, car, drive, no, yes, ethan, got, "ku" (uncle), fan, make nan nan, biscuit, pear, grape, apple, bao bao there, go, don't like, papa (okay not quite papaya), nana (okay not quite banana), good, moon;
don't know if I have gotten all

I am very proud of my little boy though. i think he is progressing very well.

My boy doesn't want to come home at night

Ethan suffering from separation anxiety. He doesn't want to come home with us cos he wants his grandma. I know it's better than him missing the maid, but I still feel terrible. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I am now getting my mum to help with the Glenn Doman english cards. Ethan doesn't want me to do the cards with him anymore. He does love the picture cards I still get to do with him though since I have been doing those since he was a few months old.

Makes me want to just quit and stay home to be with my little sweetheart.

My boy read a word today!

Ethan read the word "ball" when it was presented to him. No pictures to guide him.

Other firsts :
Ethan realised yesterday that he can float with the help of arm floats and that has made the world of difference to hhow he feels. He loves his pool time. Again, I am still waiting to get photos from the daddy.

First trip to the beach on the sand

Ethan was at the beach 2 weeks back and loved it! He was happy to dig in the sand and even more fascinated with the water! I couldn't persuade him to try his feet on the sand though and had to let him play in the sand in his shoes. what a shame but I am confident I can help him overcome this fear of "dirt". Let's see how I fare!

"separation anxiety"? doesn't quite cut it

I leave for work during the work day week, tearing myself away from my lovely boy. They call it "separation anxiety", such a clinical name. But what it feels like for me is a real heart wrenching, chest tightening, eye tearing, brain numbing pain that starts from the chest and spreads. And it dulls and quiets at work, until I get too busy to think about it, much like how one ignores a skull cracking migraine. Then at the end of the day as I approach my mum's place, my heart starts to expand and finally slowly when I first hug my son, then the pain of the day of being away starts to slowly ebb. I hear it all the time, "You'll get used to it", "It's better like that, there's no way you can manage him yourself" but really I didn't and now having returned to work for the last 12 months, it's gotten more poignant, if anything.