What “Sair Hoon”?

Both sides of Ethan’s grandparents have been concerned (since he was born) that Ethan would be “sair hoon” (Hokkien meaning: intimidation of strangers) when he attained a particular age. According to them, most babies would be “sair hoon” at about 3-4 months, and would refuse to be carried by anyone else, except those they were familiar with.

I can understand Ethan’s grandparents’ concern, given the fact that they do not reside in Penang and only get to see him like every once in a while.

However, they need not worry as our boy is far from being “sair hoon”… whenever we go shopping or out for a meal, salespersons, waitresses, friends we meet, you name it... all have offered their “baby-carrying” services and Ethan has consented without so much as a whimper! On the contrary, our boy would be smiling happily. He is happy as long as there is someone…ANYONE….carrying him.

SIGH… good in a way, cos we know for a fact that Ethan is indeed a sociable guy, but it is also quite dangerous, come to think of it. So we make it a point to keep our eyes peeled on him at all times.

Saturday Morning Exercise

Today, instead of leaving Ethan with the sitter and hiking up Penang Hill, Pete and I decided to wake up early and head for the Botanical Garden with Ethan for a family morning walk (By the way, with baby around, “early” translates to getting to the Botanical Garden at 9:00a.m.)

We loaded Ethan into his stroller and pushed him around the garden, following our normal route, except we didn’t hike up. Wow, I tell you… that little guy of ours must be close to 9kg now cos when we were pushing him uphill, it was a workout all right! Either that or we’re not that fit anymore la.

It wasn’t push push push all the way and we did stop and smell the flowers too though (pun intended). All in all, a good exercise for everyone and we would certainly do it again soon.

New toy for boy

The very canggih Fisher Price high chair we ordered from the States finally arrived. It is supposedly highly recommended for feeding, as it will keep baby entertained while mommy is fixing his meal. On top of that, it emits 6 songs and cheerful sounds! It also comes with teether toys attached; toys that would not dropped even if baby hurls them. What more could a baby ask for?

Well, Pete wasted no time in setting up the chair, despite the numerous components it comprises. Pete always has a knack in fixing things up, and he loves doing so.

Anyway, after the chair was ready for its opening ceremony, we put Ethan in it. He seemed a little confused though, as he was used to the sleek and simple Ikea high chair we also have (and plan to pass to the baby sitter). This Fisher Price one was a different story altogether! It was BEEEEEEEG, albeit a little on the ugly side, but it is functional. It has cushioned seats, so when our boy jerks his head backward *sometimes*, he would not hurt his head. Heh.

We showed him the toys the chair came with, and soon enough, he was playing happily with them. Ermmmm......Playing here means chomping and sucking on them toys...just in case you were wondering.

Me and my Ikea high chair

Huh?...what's this Daddy? A new toy you fixed for me?

Hey...I'm getting the hang of this! This chair is pretty darn cool!

Okay Mommy...now I'm ready for my meal. Feed me NOW!!

Ali Baba

A baby babbling incoherently makes adults come up with interesting games to occupy their time. Since last Saturday (Sept 9), we have had loads of fun as Ethan embarked on his journey of verbal exploration.

Ethan: Baba… bababa….
Daddy: Ali…?
Ethan: Baba….
(Daddy and Mommy laughs)
Daddy: Ali….?
Ethan: Baba…..

See, what did I tell you? Loads of fun. Hours of endless entertainment. All packed in a cute lil baby called Ethan.

Not so Bulat anymore…

Ethan has moved on from the Caterpillar Shuffle to moving commando-style. Now, he very rapidly pushes his entire body weight forward, while his whole front is still on the floor, especially if an enticing toy is placed out of his reach.

In fact, this milestone makes him officially MOBILE and because of that it is becoming apparent that our Ethan boy is losing some of his chubbiness, that contributes to his bulatness. The folds on his thighs are also not as prominent as before, although they are still visible.
How did he get from being this tiny baby:


To this angel at one-month old:


To his bulat-est at 6 months:


To what he is now: Cheeky, adorable and very very much lovable!

Time really flies.
I guess he has to grow up someday. He can’t be bulat forever.

The Caterpillar Shuffle

Ethan is able to sit for a much longer time now, with no support. However, when he gets tired, he will topple over to one side and move over to face his front. We like to put him on his playmat, as we feel it encourages him to use his limbs and allows him more freedom of movement. Anyway, once he is free to go on his playmat, he will begin to do the Caterpillar Shuffle.

Instructions for the Caterpillar Shuffle (Ethan-style):

1. Lie down on the floor, face front.
2. Push up and support torso with arms.
3. Push butt up and try to move forward.
4. Move backwards a little.
5. Roll over
6. Squeal
7. Rotate body (Clockwise or counter-clockwise depending on mood)
8. Repeat the above steps in any order
9. Repeat till tired

Ethan has been performing the Caterpillar Shuffle for some time now. But yesterday, to our delight, Ethan made some progress! He lifted his butt, and being attracted to his toy we placed in front of him, just out of his reach, he began pushing himself forward! His first crawl!

Quickly, Pete grabbed the camera to record this historical moment. Unfortunately as soon as Ethan saw the camera, he stopped moving, turned to face the lens and SMILED a wide toothless grin. SIGH… this happened a few times – we tried cajoling him with the toy again and again, but our boy just wanted to pose for the camera.

In the end, we were not able to capture any shots of our crawling baby (YET). SORRY…. We’ll try again some other time (and be sure to post the shots).

Fact or Fiction?

It is widely believed that when one is pregnant, one ought to constantly look at pictures of cute and adorable babies to ensure the baby one is carrying will bear similar features of cuteness and adorability.

Not wanting to tempt fate (no matter how sceptical I was), when I was pregnant with Ethan, I had two pictures I looked at almost every day since I was about 5 months pregnant. One picture I placed on the fridge and one I placed by my bedside.

This is the picture I looked at every night before I drifted off to sleep:

... and this is the RESULT of looking at that photo:

Go figure.