Ethan and Serafim Hosea

Sera 1st birthday party

2010-09-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

Sera went to Tiffany's 4th year b'day party. It was Sera 1st birthday party. Koko had fun swimming and taking pictures with the digger that was parked outside the club.

Summer at UCEC

2010-09-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

Crazy Hat Day (Mcqueen hat)

Dinosaurus Day (the kids painted Dinosaurus on a white shirt)

Sunglasses Day

Crazy Hair Day

Ethan the Rock Star

2010-08-13T06:46:00.001-07:00

Mei-Mei Sera at 2.5 months old

2010-08-13T06:43:00.000-07:00

Sera 1st trip to Downtown Disneyland

2010-08-13T06:38:00.001-07:00

Koko Ethan at Home

2010-08-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

Ethan wore McQueen hat cause it was silly hat day at school

Ethan wore Batik to school cause it was International Culture Day

A little Family Trip on Sunday Afternoon

2010-08-13T06:32:00.000-07:00

Koko Ethan and Mei-Mei Sera

2010-08-13T06:23:00.000-07:00

Sera is 40 days old and bald

2010-08-13T06:18:00.000-07:00

More pics at Legoland

2010-08-13T06:15:00.000-07:00

Ethan's at Legoland

2010-08-13T06:10:00.000-07:00

Ethan visited the Legoland for the 1st time. It was his daddy and me time after Sera was born. He had so much !!!!!!

Sera is 1 month old

2010-08-13T06:06:00.000-07:00

Koko Ethan and Mei-Mei Sera

2010-08-13T06:03:00.000-07:00

The kids with Nai-Nai

2010-08-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Preschool Graduation

2010-08-13T05:56:00.000-07:00

Ethan and his friends performed at the Preschool Graduation. His classroom theme was about food. They sang : "Yummy, Yummy in my Tummy" song. He was so cute and smart, singing and doing his movement on the stage. Phopo, Nai-Nai and Papi got the chance to see his performance live, while Mami stayed home with Sera.

More pics of Ethan's 3rd birthday celebration

2010-08-13T05:51:00.001-07:00

Ethan's is 3 years old!

2010-08-13T05:39:00.001-07:00

Ethan is 3 years old today. He celebrated his birthday with his friends at the preschool and sunday school. He was really happy to share his birthday with his friends.
We thank God for His blessings towards Ethan for the last 3 years. Please keep him safe, guide him in Your ways always and give him good health day by day. Amen.

Sera's 1st week

2010-08-13T05:31:00.000-07:00

Sera was learning to differentiate between nights and days. Mami and Papi had sleepless nights :)

The Precious Gift has arrived

2010-08-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

Our daughter was born on May 20th, 2010. She was just perfect and beautiful. Her name is Serafim Lisette Hosea. Her weight was 6.9 lbs and 19 inches in height. She was born when mami had her at 37.5 weeks. The delivery was quick. By the time we got to the hospital mami was fully dilated, 10 minutes later, Sera was born. But mami had been feeling contraction a week before with some discharge. Mami and Papi had 3 false alarm until Sera was born healthy and complete.

We thank God for the speed delivery as well that mami was released the next day. We were so happy since we missed Ethan so much, thinking about him a lot when we were at the hospital. When we got home, Nai-Nai and koko Ethan welcomed us warmly. Ethan was so happy to see mami, papi and Sera.

Happy Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-09T14:38:00.000-07:00

It all began when i picked up Ethan from school on Friday (May 7th). His teacher called Ethan and then Ethan gave me a picture of him that says I LOVE MOM and a card written of Poem for a mother. Then while giving me all this, Ethan said: Happy Mother's day.

Then throughout the weekend, he kept on saying "Happy Mother's Day". Then one night before going to bed, he said: "Happy Mother's day, I love you, Mommy". I can't describe how i felt when i heard my son said those words to me. I thank God for the opportunity to be a mom, it is really a priviledge and honor to take care of my son and to love him. Eventhough sometimes it's just so much to do, endless houseworks, endless hours of advices, ups and downs, it's all worth it when you hear back your son says that he loves you, when he hugs and kisses you. Those moments are priceless.

Today, we also celebrated Mother's day at the church. The Sunday School was going to perform by singing a song at the chappel. Ethan was some reason since he was still a baby does not want to go up to the stage and sing. This time, since Ethan was able to attend his Sunday School class without us being with him, he was able to participated and sang up at the stage with his friends and teachers. He sang (opening his mouth, eventhough he did not remember the words), he stood at the stage holding a yellow flower that was later given to me. What a wonderful mother's day present i could ever ask for.

Thank you Lord for all Your blessing on this Mother's Day.

Ethan's 1st Certificate

2010-05-07T08:02:00.000-07:00

Ethan got his 1st Bible Verse Memorization Certificate for the month of April from UCEC this Wednesday (05/05/10). The certificates were given out to the students at the Chappel. The Acting Director, Ms. Stacy called out the students' names to the stage and they all received the certificates and shouted out the memory verse for the month of April together. We are so proud of you, son. Keep doing the good work.

Love,
Papi and Mami.

Ethan's Bible Verse Memorization (May 2010)

2010-05-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

I am always with you (Matthew 28:20)
If you shall ask anything in My name, I will do it (John 14:14)
Casting all your care upon Him for He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7)

Ethan's Bible Verse Memorization (April 2010)

2010-05-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

Honor your father and your mother (Matthew 19:19)
Be kind to one another (Ephesian 4:32)
Even a young child is known by his doing (Proverbs 20:11)

Ethan memorized all these 3 verses for April.

Mommy, happy?

2010-04-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

Lately, Ethan has been asking this question a lot:

"Mommy, Happy?"
"No wet on the pants, mommy"
"Yes, Ethan, Mommy happy if Ethan no wet on the pants"

And now, everytime he poops, he would get his blue or white potty, do his business and after he finishes, he would lay down on his back and get his two legs up on the air for me to wipe his bottom. Then he would ask me again: "Mommy, happy?", then i answer, "Of course, you did very good, mommy happy"

During night time, i always wake him up in the middle of the night for him to pee. With his eyes closed, he would ask me again, "Mommy, happy?".

Nowadays, if he does something that he knows that would make me mad (like, being messy when eating), he would right away ask me, "Mommy, happy?". If i tell him that mommy is sad since Ethan is being messy on the dinner table, he would response, "Mommy, happy please". Then i would smile to him and he smiles back at me. How could you stay mad if your son does that to you?

I love you Ethan. Thank you for making mommy happy and sad every day.

Bible Verse Memorization

2010-04-23T07:22:00.000-07:00

Ethan learned a new Bible verse this week.
He says: Be Kind to One Another (Ephesian 4:32)

He still remembers last week Bible verse lesson.
He says: Honor Your Father and Your Mother (Matthew 19:19)

Way to go, son!

We hope you will learn, memorize and do it in your daily life.

What did you learn at school today?

2010-04-14T07:40:00.000-07:00

As usual, everytime i pick up Ethan from school, i would ask him what he learned at school. It was on this last Monday (04/12/10) that he answered this:
"Honor your father and mother", 19:19.

WOW.....i was suprised to hear his answer since he usually answered : "ABC" (he learned ABC at school).

Later on that night, we figured out from our friend who came by to our house that the bible verse was taken from Mathew 19:19 "Honor your father and your mother".

Now, everytime we ask Ethan what he learned at school, he would repeat that bible verse over and over again.

This would be Ethan's 1st Bible verse that he remembers. Way to go, Ethan! We hope you will learn many more Bible verse, remember them, keep them in your heart and do it in your daily life as you grow.

The Beginner's Bible

2010-03-31T07:44:00.000-07:00

Mommy purchased a book called "The Beginner's Bible" and we received the book last night. Ethan was so excited to open the box. Everytime he saw a box in front of our house, he would think that inside that box was a birthday present (we sometimes buy his toys online). That's why he thinks that way.

We opened the box and he was so happy that mommy bought him a Bible. He grabbed the book and browsed thru the pages. Not only that, he read the Bible. In his own version, by seeing the pictures on the book, he read the Bible to us.

One particular story that he loves so much is the story about Jonah and The Big Fish. He asks me over and over again, "where's the story about Jonah, mommy?" I'd then say, "it's on page 257. Look for page 257." Before going to bed, i told Ethan to bring the Bible to our bedroom. He asks me to read the Bible over and over again. It'd be a priviledge for us to read the Bible to him every night. Ethan won't be satisfied with 1 story only, he would ask for more and more and more :)

It's so joyful for us seeing Ethan's big interest in reading Bible Story. We hope that he would treasure His words since he was little until the rest of his life and always looking forward to hearing His words.

Our son is growing up

2010-03-29T14:21:00.001-07:00

Tick Tock Shark

Everytime, Ethan takes a nap at our store, he would ask me to read "Tick Tock Shark". One day, I've been trying to put Ethan to bed for 2 times but he hadn't fallen asleep yet. When i tried to put him to bed for the 3rd time, the store was busy but he told me that he wanted to sleep. So i read the book fast from the beginning to the end. He complained: Slow, mommy.

The next week we came to the store and it was Ethan's nap time. As we walked to his bedroom, he told me this: No fast, mommy. Slow, okay?! I laughed, he remembered what happened last week and reminded me to read his "Tick Tock Shark" book slowly.

Deep and Wide Sunday School Song

As Mommy and Ethan were driving home from school, he was listening to Deep and Wide Song. Ethan responded: Papi piano (meaning, papi plays this song on his piano). Then i asked him, "what about, mommy?". Ethan answered: "Mommy, in the kitchen. hot, hot..cooking food, no touching ok?!" I replied: Mommy cook for who, Ethan? Ethan: "For me, nyummy nyummy for my tummy".

Visiting Neighbor

Last Friday, Ethan and I visited our neighbor who gave birth to her 2nd child. Ethan was playing with her older son, he was about 3 months older than him. But the playtime didn't go smoothly as 2 of preschoolers trying to learn to play together, sharing, and play nicely. Ethan asked me to go home instead. I told Papi what happened and he responded: "Koko hurt me, Koko no share". I hope the next visit will be better.

Don't Be Afraid

Ethan has been learning about Bible at school. I would review the lessons at home from time to time. A few of the story that we reviewed was about Daniel & the Lion and David & Goliath. What happened to them and why Daniel survived in the lion cage and why David won over the Giant Goliath. We learned that they have Jesus in their hearts. I would then keep on reminding Ethan if he's afraid of something, don't be afraid since we have Jesus in our heart.

One afternoon, as the days were getting hotter last week, i took him for a walk around our neighborhood. We have many neighbors that have dogs in their houses. As we walked, i told him to turn right instead of left, since the houses on our left hand side have many dogs. But he insisted of turning left instead. I told him that mommy is scared of dogs. He would then responsed: No mommy, don't be afraid. You have Jesus in heart". I smiled when i heard him say that, meaning that he remembered what i told him about not being afraid. We walked and walked and suddenly we heard a dog barking. Ethan stopped and turned the other way and said: "I'm scared, mommy". hahahahaha....we then walked the other way. Of course, this would be different if Nai-Nai or Papi accompany us in our afternoon walk. Well, with Nai-Nai, she's not afraid of dogs. With Papi, he would speed our way passing thru the houses with the dogs :)

Mommy and Me Day at UCEC

2010-03-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

Date: March 12, 2010 The school invited the mothers to come and celebrate 1 afternoon of Mommy and Me. We had hotdogs for snack. Next month, it'll be Daddy and Me. It was fun and Ethan was very happy to see Mommy at school. We had story, singing, craft and snack

Chinese New Year 2010

2010-03-18T08:40:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures that we took when Ethan celebrated Chinese New Year at his preschool and Sunday School at the church.

At Preschool, they celebrated Chinese New Year by inviting the parents to have potluck lunch with their children and teacher. Papi went to school and be with Ethan since Mommy couldn't make it. We dressed Ethan with his Chinese Custom that Yeye gave him last year. Ethan was excited to see Papi at school.

At Sunday School, we also celebrated Chinese New Year. The children sang : Jesus Loves the Little Ones like me, me, me (in Chinese: wo, wo, wo). 2nd verse: Jesus Loves the Little Ones like you, you, you (in Chinese: ni, ni, ni).

A Trip down to Memory Lane (San Diego Sea World)

2010-03-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

Mommy forgot to put our 1st trip to San Diego Sea World with Ethan on this blog. We went there last October 2009.

Ethan was scared to see the shows (Sea Lions, Shamu). He was always been like this if we go to a theme park. He does not like watching the show, he would rather go sightseeing. So rather than pushing him to sit still and force him to enjoy the show attractions, we went sightseeing for most of the time we were in the Sea World.

BIBLE (Preparing for Easter)

2010-03-11T12:58:00.001-08:00

Ethan has been learning about Easter at school and from his Easter bible at home. He likes it very much when mommy reads the Bible. Since we read it almost every night, he remembers most of the stories. He would then tell some parts of the Bible stories by himself to mommy and papi.

Questions that i ask Ethan about Easter and he answers:

Who died on the cross? Jesus
Was the people surround him sad? they were crying
Did Jesus stay die? No
When did Jesus wake up? third day
Where did Jesus was buried? in tomb
Then, what happened? empty tomb.
Then? an angel came and said: Jesus is alive again.

He also likes when mommy reads about Peter denying Jesus for 3 times. He would pretend to be Peter, saying No, No and No.

Mommy: Hey, you're with Jesus
Ethan: No
Mommy: Yes you are
Ethan: No
Ethan: I don't know Him. He ran and cried.

It is a difficult concept to understand about Jesus died on the cross to save us for young children. We hope that Ethan will understand this concept as he grows older and accept Jesus as His savior one day.

As of now, we are thankful and happy that Ethan likes Bible stories.

Being Funny...

2010-02-25T09:08:00.000-08:00

About 2 weeks ago, Rev. Edward Shyu and family came to town and visited our church. Ethan met Shyu family in the nursery. Funny thing happened as they exited the church, wanting to go home. They were walking thru the hall in front of the church kitchen. Ethan was standing in front and saw them walking towards him. Then he said this:

"Another one, another one, another one...."

I laughed when i heard him say that since Shyu family has 5 children and Ethan's comment describes them perfectly.

I reported this to Papi and Ethan always gets excited when i report good things that happen to him to Papi. He would then describe what happened to us over and over, again and again. However, if i report bad things that happen to him, meaning he was being naughty, he would ignore and stay away from us, as if he does not want to listen.

B.I.B.L.E

2010-02-10T08:16:00.000-08:00

Ethan can sing "The Bible" song from start to finish really well.
The BIBLE, that's the book for me.
I stand alone on the Word of God, the BIBLE.
He asks me to read the BIBLE when we go to sleep at nightime and he would sing the song 1st before reading the BIBLE.

2 nights ago, he said this:
Ethan: "mommy, bible is holiwut"
Mommy: "hah?", what, ethan?"
Ethan: "bible is holiwut"
Mommy: "hah?", bible is hollywood?"
Ethan: "no, bible is holiwut"
Mommy: thinking and trying to understand what he said, then i realized what he was saying was: "bible is holy word"
Mommy: "bible is holy word?"
Ethan: "yes", nodding his head and smile. Yeah, mommy understands what i said.

I'm sure he learned this from school and i was right. I asked him who taught him that, he said: Ms. Carol, Ms. Esther, his preschool teachers.

Come out and Play

2010-02-09T07:35:00.000-08:00

I was waiting Ethan finish playing at his preschool playground yesterday afternoon. He was having so much fun at the playground since it's been a while since he was able to play in the playground again since he was sick. 1 week after he got back to school after he recovered, Papi drove him to school not too early that he would skip playing in the playground, since we do not want Ethan to be in cold wheather. Not to mention, the raining that we've been having, so the kids were off from playground for a while. I also too pick up Ethan right after i got off from work and just in time before his playground time.

But yesterday, he wanted me to wait for him until he finished playing at the playground. One thing happened that I won't forget is Ethan suddenly said this to me: "baby S (calling his little sister in mommy's tummy, please come out and play with me". Wowwww....i was very suprised. We've been telling Ethan about baby S and we are happy that he starts to understand and respons in good ways.

Papi and Mommy pray that you and baby S will be good brother and sister who care for one another, get a long and help each other out.

Bedtime routine

2010-02-09T07:28:00.000-08:00

Every night before going to bed, we always prepare the things that we bring upstairs to our bedroom, which are: glass of water for papi and mami, bottle of water for Ethan and a bottle of milk to give Ethan when he needs his milk around 4-5AM in the morning. Oh, and Ethan's paopei. He still needs his paopei to fall asleep at home, but not in school.

Anyway, sometimes, Mommy remind papi what to bring, don't forget this and don't forget that. One night, Ethan was already upstairs and he saw Papi was still downstairs. He then said this: "Papi, give me 1 susu please. Big bottle". I was changing clothes in the bedroom when i heeard him say that to Papi. He copies my way to remind Papi not to forget to bring his milk bottle when he goes upstairs.

Boy, Girl, and Angel

2010-02-09T07:22:00.000-08:00

One night, as i was wiping his bottom and penis, getting him ready for bed, i was having a conversation with him as followed:

Mommy: "Ethan punya burung, soalnya Ethan is a boy. Papi juga ada burung, karena papi is a boy"
Ethan: "Yes, burung"
Mommy: "Kalo mami, engga ada burung, karena mami is a girl"
Ethan: "No, mommy is an angel"

Papi was brushing his teeth and giggled when he heard Ethan's comment to my conversation with him.

Last Christmas, we put an "angel" on top of our christmas tree. And Ethan's 1st response seeing that "angel" was calling it "Mommy".

John Mayer Fans

2010-02-05T08:03:00.001-08:00

Mommy and Ethan love John Mayer. Yes, it's true!

Mommy has John Mayer playing "Waiting on the world to change" on her BB. Ethan loves listening and watching John Mayer play his guitar and sing that song. He would then copy his style and dance around. He would play this song over and over again on Mommy's BB.

It's so funny to see him dance, pretending that he's John Mayer. Ethan has been very into music ever since he was a baby.

We hope that music continues to be a part of Ethan's life so that he would play music instruments someday and praise the Lord with his voice and music talent. That's one of the reason we love teaching about songs, music instruments to Ethan. So that he will glorify His name in his life through music when he grows up.

A melody, to make this life more beautiful.

A trip to Toys R Us and Music Store

2010-02-05T07:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, after picking up Ethan from school, i decided to bring to Toys R Us just for fun, no plan in buying toys for him. He was excited when he realized that I made a turn to that complex parking lot. Ethan recognizes directions. He immediately said: drum, mommy. Yes, the drum store is in the same plaza at as the Toys R us. But we're going to Toys R us 1st, then Music store.

At Toys R Us, Ethan was hooked up playing Thomas the train table set. Then we walked around the store, the next thing that interested him was ball. I told him that we're going to see balls, and he told me : "No kicking, okay?!". He somewhat reminded him self not to kick the balls inside the store. And indeed, he didn't kick any balls. He was just browsing around the ball sections. He saw basketball, football, baseball. I explained to him that Ethan has already had all those toys at home. He nodded his head. Then we went to cars rack where they have all these automobiles (fire trucks, garbage truck and etc making sounds and movement when we play them). Ethan was a bit afraid to hear the sound that's coming up from the trucks. He would then hold my hands. Then i told him, it's time to go. He walked to the front door and left the store.

One thing that Papi and Mami like about Ethan is he does not whine, wanting to buy toys if we go to target, walmart and toys R us. He would say to us: I want that one, I want this and that. But, that would be just it. We hope that he would continue to listen to us on the things that we say no and yes to.

After that we went to the music store. He would directly go to the drum section and looked for the drum sticks. He sat and played the mini drum. He tried different drum sets and played them. I videod him on my BB. Ethan was having fun playing drum for about half an hour. And then, he told me: "i'm done, no more". Then i said to him, let's go home. He walked to the front door and exited himself, again with no whining, eventhough i know how much he loves playing drum at that store. His behavior teaches me that if Ethan has enough playing with a toy or doing something, that means that he's done and ready to move on. It's better and easier that way rather than pulling Ethan from something that he was playing with and telling him to go home, we would then struggle with him since we wanted him to stop but he was not ready to stop yet.

Thank you Ethan for being good on our field trip today. For sure, it makes us want to take him to those places again seeing his good behavior.

Things Ethan learns from Preschool

2010-02-04T13:15:00.001-08:00

We noticed Ethan learns the following from school:

1. Table manner (eating slowly, holding his snacks with 2 hands & bite them 1 by 1)
2. Pulling up and down his pants when he needs to go potty
3. More vocabularies everyday (he mostly speaks in English but understands Indonesian when we speak Indonesian to him)
4. Telling his friends "Stop it" when they push or hurt him or take something that belongs to him.
5. Tells Papi and Mommy what happens at school.
6. Tell his teacher if his friend pushes him.
7. Hold scissor and cut
8. Focus on doing 1 thing for a longer period of time
9. Concentrating and finishing puzzle
10. Standing in line
11. Sings more songs
12. Tell story about Jonah and the whale
13. Fall asleep at school without his pacifier (still with paopei at home)
14. Open his shoes
15. Tell Papi and Mommy which teacher who "time-out" Ethan when he makes a mistake
16. Remembers his classmate's and teachers' names (Carol, Ester, Jennifer, Stephanie, Ting-Yui)
17. Ethan would tell us what happens at school when he remembers them over and over again.
18. Ethan has better hand coordination in doing craft (dealing with scissors and glue).
19. Ethan learns to be independent and to be on his own while Papi and Mommy is not around him.
20. Ethan learns to follow instructions and rules at school.

Ethan's allergy

2010-02-04T09:29:00.000-08:00

Ethan is sensitive to cold wheather. We found out about his allergy when he was about 1 1/2 years, back in Indonesia. When he gets cold, his muscus would blog his breathing airway and makes him throw up since he can not get his muscus out from his mouth yet since he's still little. He would throw up especially when we give him milk. He needs medicine to help him get rid of the muscus and the good thing is not difficult to ask Ethan to drink his medicine. Thank God also, Ethan likes wearing warm clothes, socks and put on minyak telon, minyak kayu putih and vicks vaporub. He enjoys this. I guess his body feel better also after we give him all those stuffs above. But he also enjoys ice cubes and ice creams which we need to limit for him especially during winter time.

Recently, it happened on January 22, friday night when he was sleeping on his bed that we felt hot on his forehead. We temped him and he was 102 degree. We were suprised. We gave him tylenol and his fever came down. But over the weekend, his fever was still on and off. It was off after we gave him tylenol but it was on again after 4 hours. We needed to get him to a doctor since there must be an infection that causing the fever.

We went to the doctor on Monday morning, the doctor told us that his muscus was already on his lungs and he needed to do breathing treatment to help Ethan breath. The doctor gave us antibiotic and medicine to help him breath easier. Ethan was not able to go to school from Monday to Thursday. He was sick for 1 week and he lost some weight. He refused to drink milk since milk is sticky and it's hard for him to swallow due to his muscus.

On the other hand, he enjoyed his time at home with Mommy. And when it was time to get back to school again, he needed to adjust to his routinity again. That was harder than we expected. When papi drives him to school, he would say: No. He cried again when papi dropped him off. When i pick him up from school, he says: go home, mommy. But he's back to school and starts to enjoy school again now, after 3 - 4 days of adjustment. And he enjoys drinking milk again. His appetite is back to normal. We thank God.

Potty train suceess at school

2010-02-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

Not until recently that Ethan was successful in his potty train at school. When he began his preschool in November he was wearing pull up diaper. He was able to potty at that time at home but still train him when we go somewhere. He was not able to hold his pee at that time. I let his teachers train him with pull up diaper at school.

I also monitored his progress with his teacher at school. 1 week i told his teacher to let him use his underwear instead of pull up diaper. He had accidents and refused to go pee when his teacher told him too. The next week, he went back to wearing pull up diaper.

In January, i discussed about his potty train progress with his teacher. I wonder what's wrong with his potty train at school. Ethan was doing really great at home and when we go outside. He always tells us when he needs to pee or poo. He could also hold his pee longer as he gets older. Perhaps he's not comfortable telling his teachers when he needs to pee or poo or perhaps his teacher did not push him enough to make his pee/poo. So, I insisted his teacher to let him use underwear and not pull up diaper (he understands that if he uses pull up diaper, he can pee on it, and won't tell teacher or me that he needs to go). He understands that concept, diaper means he can wet on it. On the other hand, if we put underwear, it means that he needs to tell us when he needs to go. His teacher tried this method and it worked out! Ethan has not had any wet pants this week. We are so proud of him. Yeahhh....!!! He even can sit on regular toilet bowl to poo, having his stoll under him to hold his feet while he sits and does his business.

A very nice blessing in January

2010-02-04T09:05:00.001-08:00

God answered our wishes and prayers to give a little sister for Ethan. We found out the baby gender when we did the ultrasound. It was very much obvious since we did not see anything under there. We were so happy. Well, Papi was very happy and i was happy too eventhough i wouldn't mind having another boy. We told Ethan that he's going to have Mei-Mei (little sister), but he was non responsive. Nevertheless, we kept on telling him to be a good Koko (big brother) and care for Baby "S". Yes, we already found her name, we even found her name before she was conceived.

Thank you Lord for the wonderful blessing in our family.

Spending Christmas at Jacksonville

2010-02-04T08:55:00.000-08:00

We made a suprise visit to Jacksonville to visit Nai2, Kuku, Kuchang and Titi Jonathan. We really had a great time there, spending family time during Christmas. We arrived at Jacksonville on Dec 24th, close to midnight and went back to LA on Dec 28th.

Jacksonville was a nice place to get away from hectic days in Los Angeles. We were able to relax and really enjoyed our vacation. Nai2 was very suprised to see us there and couldn't believe when she saw us standing in front of her bedroom door, waking her up. We also enjoyed watching Ethan played with Jonathan. Ethan learned about airplanes, buckle up during flight and he seemed to enjoy the trip as well. He was quite well behaved on the airplane. At first, from LA to Las Vegas (we transitted there) it was tough to tell him to sit down and put on seat belt but he listened to us on the next flight from Las Vegas to Jacksonville and he even wanted to put the seat belt on his own.

We surely want go back to Jacksonville again someday, perhaps a trip to Orlando and visiting Disneyworld.

UCEC The Best Story Ever Told

2009-12-15T09:49:00.000-08:00

Ethan and his friends at UCEC celebrated Christmas last Thursday (Dec 10th, 2009). They performed "The Best Story Ever Told". It was the story of Jesus' birthday. The performance began at 7:00pm and lasted for about 1 1/2 hours. It started with a testimony & principal's greeting for about 15-20 minutes total and it was show time.

Ethan's classroom (8 students) were dressed little stars as they symbolized the brightest star on the sky the night Jesus was born. They sang: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. As Ethan walked up the stairs to the stage with his friends, he looked a bit confused, seeing so many audiences sitting below the stage. I think he was also looking for his mommy among those audiences. Then he started singing and danced. They sang another song at the end together with the whole UCEC students.

Ethan did wonderful tonight. We are so very proud of him. May God uses Ethan since he's a little kid to become blessings for others.

To God be the Glory.

Thanksgiving Retreat 2009

2009-12-01T07:49:00.000-08:00

This year, we spent our Thanksgiving with our church's friends at the Retreat, Rancho Capistrano. Last year, Ethan and I were in Indonesia. 1 year has gone by, time flies so fast. Ethan enjoyed his retreat very very much. He participated in his Sunday School class, singing, following teacher's instructions, playing, snacking, krafting and at the end of the retreat, he and his classmates performed 1 song for the Indonesian and English Congregations. The song was: God is Big. Papi and Mami are very much proud of him and his accomplishments. Ethan just loves to sing.

Ethan's 1st Thanksgiving Lunch at Preschool

2009-11-19T07:20:00.000-08:00

Ethan celebrated his 1st Thanksgiving lunch with his friends and teacher at school yesterday. It was a potluck lunch. The parents brought the side dishes while the school cooked the Turkey. We had fried rice, mac and cheese, chicken/salmon nugget, fried dumpling, turkey, grape juice and fruits (grapes, orange and apple). It was delicious. The kids were full that afternoon. Ethan was very happy to see mommy at school. But when it's time for mommy to go back to work, he cried.

But before the parents went home, the kids did a little singing performance. Check it out at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dayplace/4116731118/
(thank you to Eric's mom who share this video with us).

Enjoy.

More words

2009-11-18T07:41:00.000-08:00

When we turn off the light, now Ethan says: Gelap
When he eats and looks into his bowl/plate, now he says: Banyak
When we drive home, now he says: almost there
When papi/mommy drives the car, now he says: be careful
When Ethan wants something, now he says: pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee....pleaseeeeeeeeeeee
When he bumps into someone, now he says: sorry...excuse me
When we eat out in a restaurant & his glass is empty, now he says: more water please to the waiter
When we eat out and gets our dishes on the table, now he says: thank you to the waiter
When we say "i love you" to Ethan, now he says: i love you
When Ethan's playing with his doll friends at home and the dolls fall down, he says: are you okay?
When he eats food that he like, now he says: enak, nyummy

We just love watching Ethan learns more vocabularies and the way he says them.

Mommy just found out that Ethan likes Macaronni and Cheese. He didn't like this before. Now, he does. Mommy is happy. A simple food and yet healthy. That makes my life so much easier.

Eek...Poo Poo

2009-11-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to post this but have been forgeting to do so.

One night, before going to bed, Ethan told me that he wanted to Eek (Poo Poo). He was wearing diaper at that time since we were just about to go to sleep. Ethan jongkok and he started to ngeden. His face started to get red and he said:

Ethan: "Mommy, big eek"
Mommy: "Oya? big yah, Ethan?"
Ethan: "Keras"
Mommy: "Oya, keras? ngeden lagi"
Ethan: "Mommy, stuck."
Mommy: "Hah, eek stuck?"
Ethan: (Ngeden lagi)..."There you are", said Ethan happily
Mommy: "Are you done now? "
Ethan: "Ya, i'm done"

I was laughing thru all of this.

2nd week of Preschool

2009-11-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

Ethan is progressing well at school. He is more independent nowadays, do not cry anymore when Papi drops him off in the morning (this started yesterday). He gets excited in the morning, wakes up, eats breakfast, gets dress and rushes Papi to take him to school by knocking on the bathroom door while Papi is still taking a shower...hihihi....

We are so very proud of him.

His vocabulary is expanding more and more, in English of course. His teacher told me that Ethan's doing well at the Christmas performance practice. His teacher also told me that she's working on keeping Ethan to sit on his chair since he sometimes like to stand on his chair instead of sitting on it. We're working on that now. He naps well at school and does not use his pacifier at all. But once i pick him up, he starts to ask for his Paopei again. Oh well....

The other day when the school wass off because of Veteran Day, he felt lonely at home, just him and Nai2. Before he took his nap that day, Nai2 asked him if Ethan wanted to sleep with Nai2 or Teacher and he answered: "Teacher". I guess he missed his friends and teacher that day.

Good job, Ethan. Keep up your good work! Thank you Lord for helping Ethan to enjoy school more everyday.

Papi and Ethan (11/07/09)

2009-11-10T15:12:00.000-08:00

Ethan and Mommy (11/07/09)

2009-11-10T08:01:00.000-08:00

I love you, Ethan.

Ethan at 30 months old (2 1/2 years old)

2009-11-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

New vocabulary after preschool

2009-11-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

We noticed Ethan learned new vocabulary after 1 week of preschool:

He usually says: "Ya". Now, he says, "Yes" instead.

He usually says: "What's that?". Now, he says, "What is this?" instead.

And one day, Ethan walked into Nai2's room. Nai2's was shredding old docs by hand. Ethan made a real mess by throwing and kicking the shredded papers all over the carpet. Nai2 got a bit angry. Ethan got a bit upset and come running to me, crying a bit. Then, he went back to Nai2 and say this: "Don't cry, Nai2". I guess he learned this at school as his teacher tries to calm him down when he has to say bye2 to Papi in the morning ... "Don't cry, Ethan".

And Ethan can drink from a cup nice and easy, without spilling the water. Yippeee!!!

Sunday School

2009-11-09T10:35:00.000-08:00

We've been training Ethan to be independent in his Sunday School Class. We had a success of 1 month, followed by 3 weeks of Ethan being dependent to us again. Last Sunday, as he started his preschool for 1 week, Ethan was able to be independent in his Sunday school class again. One of the kids' parent (Katherine) told me that as Ethan realized that Mommy has left the classroom, he started to call my name and look for me. When Mommy didn't show up, he was sad and quiet for a bit. But he didn't cry. Then he joined his other friends in the classroom. This behavior shows that he understands that Mommy is gone for now but she will come back and pick up Ethan when class is done. And that's what we keep telling Ethan when he goes to school. This surely helps Ethan understand that Mommy and Papi will come back.

5th day of Preschool

2009-11-09T10:26:00.000-08:00

Today, we are going to have Ethan do a full day at school, meaning he's going to nap at school.

Papi dropped him off at school in the morning as usual and I picked him up from work. I arrived there around 4:15pm. Noone was in the classroom. I asked the teacher and the kids were practicing for Christmas performance at the Chapel. I never went to the chapel, so Ms. Staci (The Acting Director) showed me the short cut to the Chapel. I was just standing by the front door of the chapel and i saw Ethan at the very front part of the Chappel (near the stage), i thought he didn't see me, but he did. He ran, cried a bit and hugged me. Then he showed me around the chapel and talked what he's been doing. Then we went back to his classroom for snacktime. The teacher asked me if Ethan wanted to eat his snack then go home, or go home right away. I told her to let Ethan have his snack first. He ate 1 slice of cantaloupe and 2 cookies.

Then, when i told him to go home, he didn't want to. He still wanted to stay in his classroom with me being with him. I thank God for his reaction, meaning that he began to enjoy his preschool. His teacher also told me that Ethan napped well, considering this was his 1st time napping at school. Then we said goodbye to his teacher and friends.

Thank you Lord for helping us on Ethan's 1st week of preschool. Ethan did good and we're so proud of him that he can adjust quite easily.

4th Day of Preschool

2009-11-06T15:05:00.001-08:00

Papi dropped off Ethan at school this morning and he forgot to give Ethan’s paopei to teacher. He cried as Papi left him in the morning.

Papi was running a bit late picking up Ethan from school. Ethan was already napping in his teacher’s arm that afternoon. When Ethan heard Papi’s voice, he jumped out of his bed and cried as Nai2 held and carried him immediately out of school, since the other kids started to wake up when they heard Ethan cried. Teacher told Papi that Ethan did well today, only cried in the morning.

Ethan fell asleep in the car on the way home. Mommy taught perhaps we could try Ethan napping at school tomorrow.

3rd Day at Preschool

2009-11-05T09:29:00.000-08:00

Ethan was late getting to school today. When he arrived at school, the kids already lined up to enter their classroom. Ethan usually arrives at school during playground time. Since he was late this morning, he missed that playtime. He cried as Papi said goodbye.

I was concerned how Ethan would do at school since he came in late and missed his playtime. And not to mentioned that he woke up early again this morning.

To my suprise, when i picked him up at school, he didn't cry when he saw me. He said: "Mommy coming". and started to talk about his day at school. His teacher told me that Ethan did not cry at all in the classroom, he finished his lunch (for the 1st time, he had chicken noodle soup today) and he didn't even look for his pacifier.

Ohh, i was so happy and i thank God for helping us to go thru the 3rd day at preschool.

Everynight before we go to bed, we read Elmo's book which titled: Schooltime. The book tells us about Elmo's experience going to school. The book really describes what Ethan is doing at his preschool (playing blocks and cars, learning ABC, singing, reading books, snack time and time to go home). It really helps Ethan to adapt of his new routine of going to school everyday.

2nd Day of Preschool

2009-11-04T10:09:00.000-08:00

Papi dropped off Ethan this morning. On the way to school, Ethan was cheerful and talked a lot with Papi. Papi brought Ethan's Pooh and Robot doll to accompany Ethan in the car. When they arrived at school, Ethan said bye2 to his friends: "Bye2 Pooh, Bye2 Robot". We are sometimes amazed by how friendly Ethan is to everybody, even his doll toys.

Papi stayed with him a bit and it was time to say bye2, Ethan cried. But his teacher hold him and comforted him.

In the meantime, i called the school from the office around 9.30 and the vice principal said that Ethan was crying on and off when Papi left him.

I picked him up around 12:30PM today and his teacher (Miss Carol) told me that Ethan did better today. He didn't cry at all while they're in the classroom. I really thank God for this. He helped Ethan managed his 2nd day at school. He cried when he saw me, but not like yesterday. Only a few seconds and he started to tell what's going in his classroom.

Thank you God for helping us on Ethan's 2nd day at preschool.

1st Day of Preschool

2009-11-03T09:04:00.000-08:00

Date: November 2, 2009

Ethan woke up around 6:15am this morning. We had the daylight saving time on the weekend. That's why Ethan woke up so early that morning. He ate his breakfast (bread and milk) and got ready to go to school. He was excited to go to school. I took Ethan to school for the 1st day, since I had to prepare and hand over lots of Ethan stuffs to teacher and also pay the tuition fee.

Ethan arrived at school at 7:30am. The school was still quiet. There's only 1 teacher and 2 kids. It was too early. The teacher told me usually the kids starts coming in close to 8:30am. Ethan played and ate breakfast with his friends. When breakfast almost done, i told the teacher that i'd go (sneaked out, i couldn't say goodbye to Ethan, he would not let me since he's very attached to me).

On the way to work, I called the school and asked how Ethan's doing. He cried a bit after I left but he's playing now, that's what the teacher told me.

The vice principal asked me to pick up ethan during his lunch hour, around 12:30 for his 1st week. We'd like to make this adjustment gradually, so Ethan won't be too shock into going preschool and adjusting with his new routine. If things are improving, next week we will try napping at school.

I left the office at 12:00, arrived at school around 12:20pm, I saw the vice principal before entering Ethan's classroom. She told me that Ethan was just crying. I told her that Ethan might be tired since he woke at 6 this morning and it's been more tham 6 hours that he's awaken. I tried to peek Ethan by the classroom window, but he already saw me and cried instantly when he saw me. He cried hard. It was like: oh mommy still loves me and come back again for me. It was like he was saying that to me through his tears. I carried and comforted him. The teacher told me that Ethan only cried when i left this morning and during lunch hour. He only ate a few spoons of his lunch today. He's not yet familiar with the school food and eating by himself.

I drove him home and tried to get him to take his nap, but he didn't want to. I needed to go back to the office again. I sneaked out on him again. He cried when he found out i was gone again. Nai2 comforted him and put him to sleep close to 2pm.

Thank you God for helping us to get thru the 1st day.

Getting ready for Preschool

2009-10-23T09:59:00.001-07:00

Ethan will go to his Preschool starting from November 2nd. This will be Ethan's 1st time going to school and being apart from Mami and Papi for quite a long time. We are very nervous about this, especially me being the mom. I think about how he'll do on the 1st day and how he'll survive 1st and 2nd week, his adaptation process all the time, will he like the school food, will he be able to take his nap, and etc. Gosh...i'm more nervous than Ethan. It's so hard for me to let him go and to be independent and having someone else take care of him for at least 6 hours everyday. It's going to be tough for me. I have so much worries in my mind and heart. Please pray for this transition process so everything will go smoothly. Please pray that Ethan will love going to school and that his teacher, helper and friends will like him. Please pray also for us so that we will learn to trust Him that He will always be with him even when we are not around him all the time. God is Immanuel.

Learning to be Independent

2009-09-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

Ethan did very well at Sunday School this last Sunday. He was again able to go to his class without Mommy or Papi by his side. Last Sunday was the 3rd week in a row that Ethan became independent in his Sunday School class. We are very proud of him. We tried 2 times before we didn’t have to accompany Ethan in his Sunday School class We hope that he stays that way. Thank you to Ethan’s teachers and helpers who also helped a lot and for caring for Ethan. May God bless your ministry.

Cool Cuts for Kids

2009-09-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

Ethan got his first hair cut at a salon this last Saturday (09/26/09). I usually cut his hair from birth until last August (the last time i cut his hair). Since my mom and mother in law ask me to have a different hair style for Ethan, I'd figure to take him to a salon. I booked Ethan at 10:00AM. We had to make an appointment, or otherwise, the waiting would be quite long. Ethan's name was called up. We sat him on this car chair with TV on in front of him. The hair stylist came and forced to buckle the seat belt, Ethan started crying and struggled. Then the hair stylist forced to button the cloth cover and Ethan struggled and cried even more. We didn't force him any further. We let Ethan go and I tried to calm him down. Cool Cuts is specially designed for kids. The salon is designed with car and train chairs for the kids to sit on while they have their hair cut. They have TV in front of the each chair. They also have TV/game sets and Thomas The Train table set on the waiting area.

Anyway, then another hair stylist came and approached me, she’s much nicer than the 1st one. I told her that Ethan needed to see someone else got his or her hair cut 1st since this was Ethan’s 1st hair cut at the salon. She agreed to let Ethan watch other kids got their hair cut. After a while, I decided to try Ethan again and called the nicer hair stylist. I told her that I think Ethan would be more comfortable to sit on my lap rather than having a hard of time trying to sit Ethan down and buckle him. Ethan does not like to be forced and buckled up. So i sat on the chair and had Ethan on my lap and it worked! It took probably about 10 minutes to cut his hair and we did it. I was so very happy and delighted with the result. Ethan also understands that he got a new hair cut and he looks handsome.

Very good job Ethan. Way to go!

Give Thanks

2009-09-24T08:07:00.001-07:00

We give thanks to the Lord for He is good and faithful. We thank Him everday for all of his blessings and protections in our life. We thank God everynight for blessing us with a wonderful son. We ask for God's wisdom in teaching and taking care of Ethan so he will someday be a man of God who loves and obeys Him. We pray that God will prepare Ethan to go to preschool next year, to be independent, to have good friends and teachers that will love him, to cheer Ethan up when he misses us at school, to listen to his teacher and to love going to school from day 1 until he finishes his education in the future. We pray also that God will help us in teaching Ethan to be independent by going to school and have a piece of mind when he's at school.

God is IMMANUEL.

2 years and almost 4 months old (1 week short)

2009-09-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

Ethan has been into counting these last couple of weeks. Mommy would ask him how many butterflies, elephants, ants, turtles, etc in his reading books, and he would count them one by one correctly, up to 5. If the page has more than 5 pieces of elephants for example, he would then count them: one, two, one, two..one, two...he gets impatient if there's too many of them in 1 page. Ethan upgrades his puzzle skill to 12 puzzles. I used to wonder when Ethan could settle down to do 1 activity that requires focus and patient, since he's a very active boy. However, as he grows older, he's more focused and have more patient in doing 1 activity. He can concentrate more. He also loves us reading stories before going to bed. Believe or not, he loves mommy to read "Monsters Inc" before going to bed everynight. He remembers Monsters Inc character's name, Sully, Mike, Boo and Randall. He can help mommy tell the stories. Mommy usualy read the stories and stop so that Ethan can fill in the blank.

Example:
Mommy: "Mike is having a dinner with his girlfriend named..."
Ethan: "Celia".
Mommy: "It was her..."
Ethan: "birthday party"
Mommy: "And Mike wanted to make it..."
Ethan: "special"
Mommy: "but Mike had a tons of reports to hand in to....."
Ethan: "Roz"
Mommy: "to lady collector of..."
Ethan: "paperwork"

Ethan still loves ball. He's getting better with playing basketball. Oftenly, he would shoot the ball and score. He also can differentiate slow and fast movement. Singing fast and slow, walking fast and slow.

Ethan enjoys music very much. He would sing better with music on (papi playing the piano), meaning that he would sing his ABC's from start to finish with piano on.

2 years, 3 1/2 months old

2009-09-09T08:56:00.001-07:00

Mommy is super happy. Since last weekend, Ethan was able to sleep thru the night without asking for his milk. Yeaaahhhh! We substituted milk with water and Ethan is okay with it. We've been trying to let go of his milk during night time since he was 1 1/2 years but no success until last week. I guess as Ethan grows older, his own body realizes that he can tolerate no more milk during night time. Way to go, Ethan.

As far as potty training, it's still in the work. Now, Mommy tried potty train Ethan during night time, it did work 1 night, but Mommy was not able to get good sleep since she was so nervous that Ethan would have accident. Mommy woke Ethan up twice that night to go pee and he peed on his potty with his eyes closed. Anyway, Mommy decided to train Ethan during weekend nights only since Mommy's afraid not getting enough sleep at nightime and would feel sleepy at the office. Mommy would also like to try potty train when we go out as well this weekend. Potty train has been fun, challenging and also tiring. We just have to be constant at it.

Funny time at Dining Table

2009-08-26T12:24:00.001-07:00

Last night (08/25/09), Nai-Nai made Noddle. We sat in our dining table and we shared about how our day went. Ethan did not want to be left behind, he also joined our conversation, even with louder voice. This always happens, Ethan joining into our conversation. But last night, he served us food to us, for the 1st time. We kept on eating until there's no more noddle in the big bowl. Eventhough we were already full, everytime Ethan saw an empty plate, he would get up from his chair and spooned out the noddle into our eating plate. Funny Ethan.

Ethan at Tiffany's 3rd Birthday Party

2009-08-26T12:19:00.000-07:00

Date: August 22, 2009
Location: Buena Park

Ethan was very happy to be able to swim and bathed after that. He was so happy!

I am 2 years and 3 months old

2009-08-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

We thank God for His protection and love to Ethan everyday. He's getting bigger and taller. He can speak more clearly and understandable. He can make 3 sentences and finish 5 - 6 puzzles. He's also learning to control emotion. We punish him by Time-Out when he does something that we forbid him to do. We all struggle with Time-Out, but it's done for Ethan's best interest. Potty train is still on-going. We have dry and wet days. Ethan loves singing even more lately. He just loves music.

Yesterday, when he turned 2 years and 3 months old, this happened:
Nai-Nai was looking for her swimsuit as Ethan just finished taking a bath. Ethan approached Nai-Nai and Nai-Nai told him that she's looking for her swimsuit. Then Ethan responded: "Think...Think...Think" (FYI, Ethan loves watching The Super Sleuth Winnie the Pooh. Everytime Pooh and Friends try to solve a problem, they'd sing their theme song, which is Think..Think...Think).

Ethan poses for the camera (Part 4)

2009-08-18T12:25:00.000-07:00

Ethan poses for the camera (Part 3)

2009-08-18T12:01:00.001-07:00

Ethan poses for the camera (Part 2)

2009-08-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

Ethan poses for the camera (Part 1)

2009-08-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

And ACTION....

Pictures at San Mateo, Seafood buffet lunch with Ei's Family

2009-08-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

Pictures at Pier 39, San Francisco (Part 2)

2009-08-18T11:17:00.000-07:00

Pictures at Pier 39, San Francisco (Part 1)

2009-08-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

Pictures at Carmel Aquarium (Part 2)

2009-08-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

Pictures at Carmel Aquarium (Part 1)

2009-08-18T10:57:00.000-07:00

Pictures at Casa De Fruita (Part 2)

2009-08-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

Pictures at Casa De Fruita (Part 1)

2009-08-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Pictures at Sequoia National Park (Part 2)

2009-08-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

Pictures at Sequoia National Park (Part 1)

2009-08-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

Location: Sequoia National Park, Fresno, CA

Being a full time mom for 2 weeks

2009-08-17T11:05:00.001-07:00

I took my 2 weeks vacation which started from August 3 - 14th to be a full time mom for Ethan while Nai-Nai visits her other grandson.

I kind of planned ahead of what i should be doing during this vacation so i can spend the most out of it. No 1 on my list is to teach potty training. Eventhough Ethan started to do well at home, it is still work in progress. We have wet and dry days. I bought more underpants for him, Disney underpants.

My husband and I also planned a 4 days trip, going North CA. We travelled from August 6 - 9th. First, we visited the Sequioa National Park in Fresno. It was so beautiful up there. I liked being up there, but not so much the road that we had to take to get up there. Ethan also enjoyed the walk in Giant Forest Park, the air was so fresh and the view was so beautiful and serene. Ethan learned about big, tall trees, big rocks and mountains. We spent the night in Fresno, met Silas' friends who were very friendly. Ethan had a great time playing with their daughters who are 8 and 5 years old. The next day, we drove to Carmel and introduced the Carmel Aquarium to Ethan. We stopped at Casa De Fruita on the way there. Ethan enjoyed watching the ducks and fishes on the pond and the train that circled the pond. Anyway, back to Carmel aquarium. The aquarium has 2 parts, outdoor and indoor. Ethan loves the outdoor part. As for the indoor, he likes the big aquarium with lighting. But he was scared when we entered the aquarium areas with dim lights. We skipped those areas. Ethan learned about fishes, dolphins and other sea animals. After that, we drove to San Francisco. We spent 2 nights there, visited Rev. Stephen Hosea family and the Pier 39. Ethan loved visiting Pier 39. He learned about Sea Lions and Boats. At first, he was afraid when he saw the sea lions but got used to it after a while. The sea lions were laying on the dock and we told Ethan that they are asleep. Now, everytime we ask Ethan about his experience with Sea Lions, he would respond: "bobo (meaning sleep), hehehe...Ethan pa pa (meaning scared)". The next day, we joined the Sunday service at IEC San Francisco and ate lunch with Ricky's Family in San Mateo. Ethan had a great time playing baloons and running around the restaurant with Terrance. The buffet lunch was delicious. Thank you Ricky and Ei for your hospitality. Then, we drove back to LA.

During our trip, we mostly played Barney DVD "Learning to Sing", so Ethan sang and sang :)

Potty Train

2009-07-27T11:13:00.001-07:00

I started Potty train when Ethan was 18 months old, in Indonesia. It didn't work. I started again back in LA on and off, no success. Then i decided to wait until it's summer time to start again. Not to mention that i'm a working mom, so the only time that i get to do potty train is during weekends only. It's hard, since sometimes we go out during weekend, not staying home all day.

Anyway, we started again during this summer, when he turned 2 years. This time I started to get serious about it. At first, Ethan didn't want to sit on the potty, he would run and pee on his pants when mommy was not looking. Or he would tell mommy that he'd pee or poop after he wet his pants. I tried sitting him down with toys or books in front of him, still didn't work. He would not sit and i had to force him to sit, but the pee or poop didn't come out. I tried to make Ethan sit on his potty everytime he finishes his meal since he usually poops after eating his meal with the TV on. Ethan usually poops 2 - 3 times a day. Mostly in the morning.

Things are getting better nowadays. Not only he can poop, he can also pee on his potty chair. YIPEEE!!!! MOMMY IS SO HAPPY. Ethan is off diaper when he's home nowadays. But, i need to ask him if he wants to pee/poop and i need to pay attention to his reaction (if he starts to touch his penis, cross his legs), then most likely he needs to go pee/poop. Now, he tells mommy that he needs to pee/poop, he only says 1 word, which is "eeK" for pee and poop. When i hear him say this, then i would get the potty chair, pull down his pants and sit him down and he does his business :)

Last weekend, twice i noticed Ethan's progress on potty. 1st, when i said : "Ethan, please use the potty when you want to pee". Then i walked to the kitchen and found him sitting on the potty and peed, but with his pants on, i still need to help him get his pants down. but hey, he did what i told him to do, sit on the potty when Ethan wants to pee. And the other day, i told him that mommy needed to pee. When i came back, i saw Ethan held his potty chair and showed mommy that he just finished pee too.

Very good job, Ethan eventhough accidents still happen from time to time. But i'm seeing improvement and progress :)

2 years and 2 months old

2009-07-24T08:06:00.000-07:00

Ethan lovessssssssssssssss to sing and dance lately. Eveytime he hears a music, he'd just dance. He can sing a bit here and there.

ABC's
I love you
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Little Monkey Jumping on The Bed
Andy Lau song (yes, correct :)
And chinese children song taught by Nai2

He is more into pretend play nowadays with his toys and dolls.
He can count from 1 - 10 and learning 11 - 20.
He is enjoying coloring more.
And more alphabet spellings.

Photos of Ethan (2 years and 1 month old)

2009-07-13T09:58:00.001-07:00

More pictures from CA Adventure

2009-07-13T09:47:00.001-07:00

Giving Instructions

2009-07-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

Ethan has been the kind of kid who likes to give instructions ever since he was about 1 1/2 year. When we play Choo Choo train with him, this is what happens:

Ethan said:
"mommy come..papi come...nai2 come..."
"duduk..."

we follow his instruction and when we do not sit where he directs us to sit, then he reponses:
"no....duduk...here...this way"

When Ethan sings or dance, here's what happen:

Mommy sings with ethan, then he said: "no mommy...". Ethan continues to sing. (translated: mommy stop singing, now it's my turn to sing).

We just have to listen and observe him carefully to understand what he wants us to do. It gets tricky sometimes since he still learns to pronounce words correctly.

Knowing directions (2 years and 1 month old)

2009-07-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

Lately, since last week, Ethan started to recognize his way home. Here's what happened:

On late Sunday afternoon, we picked up Nai2 at church and were driving home. As we passed the golf course near our house, Ethan said:

"no...papi...brum...brummm...that way" as he points his fingers backwards. Now this happens everytime we are close by to our house. He recognizes the way to get home and he does not want to go home, he still wants to play and go somewhere else.

We laugh to see his reactions everytime we drive home and pass the golf course.

After 2 weeks of swimming

2009-06-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

Ethan can swim by himself on his life vest jacket now. He kicks his feet and moves his hands. He can even swim round and round in a circle. He also understands if the pool water gets into his mouth accidentaly, he needs to spit out. Swimming with Ethan is so much fun now and mommy / papi can also swim as well. The weather is getting hotter nowadays so we'll be out in the pool everyday. Yipeee....!

Learning to swim

2009-06-25T08:41:00.000-07:00

We have been swimming almost everyday for the last 2 weeks. Ethan takes his nap time, wakes up and eats lunch and then comes swim time. Usually nai-nai would let him play in the backyard and wet his feet by the poolside while waiting for mommy to come home from work. I usually get home around 4:10pm. Then it's swimming time with Ethan. We usually swim in the jacuzzi since the water in the big pool is still quite cold. Ethan never wants to swim with his ducky floater. We gave up trying to get him to use the floater. Then last sunday, we bought him the life vest jacket.

On the first day swimming with a life vest jacket, Ethan refused to wear it, but we managed to put the jacket on him with a bit of struggle. On the first day with the life vest jacket, i basically held him all the time and sometimes I waited in the middle of the jacuzzi with hands reaching out to him and he jumped to grab my hands.

Second day, Ethan asked Nai-Nai to put on the life vest jacket. Yeahhh...he knows swimming is fun with the vest. Again still in the jacuzzi, Ethan started to follow mommy from behind if mommy slided accross the jacuzzi back and forth. I told him to kick his feets and move his hands and he did so. I saw his improvement from day 1.

Third day, as the wheater was quite hot, we swam in the big pool. Ethan has improved so much and began to swim without mommy holding his hands. But of course, i still need to watch him very carefuly, he sometimes flipped to the side and over and drank the pool water accidently.

We hope the wheather will warm up and we can swim in the big pool. I wish potty train would be this easy but unfortunately not. Mommy needs to be patient with Ethan when it comes to potty train.

Disney California Adventure

2009-06-25T08:34:00.001-07:00

Date: May 13, 2009

We've been telling Ethan that we'd visit Disneyland again and see Mickey and friends. He got excited, he then told us what he saw the last time we went there.
Ethan said: mickey...minnie...pluto....desy....goofy...bye-bye....(he remembered the parade that we saw and us waving goodbye to those characters as the parade ended the last time we visited Disneyland).

This time, we visited the Disney California Adventure.
The theme park is not as big as Disneyland, in fact it's much smaller. We were having a difficult time at first getting Ethan to entar live perfomance shows. He got scared, i don't know why, he just didn't like seeing live on stage shows. He cried and asked us to get out when we wanted him to see Playhouse Disney show. Thank God he enjoyed "Aladin". That show was a 1 hour show and it was beautiful. I recommend to see Aladin show when you visit Disney California Adventure. I think this was the highlight of our trip.

For sure, we'd come back again to Disneyland, i'm not sure about going back to CA Adventure though.

When Ethan is 2 years old and 2 weeks

2009-06-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

Spelling
Ethan can spell more letters now. Last night, as we finished eating dinner at a pho restaurant, we took a walk down the restaurant complex. I tested him to spell the letters from the display words from the stores’ windows. He managed to spell a few of them correctly. Ex: A, B, C, D, E, F, M, H, O,...

Wait and stand in Line
Ethan understands when mommy told him to wait. He’s learning to stand in line now.

Saying 2 words
The most often phrase would be: mommy come, papi come, nai-nai come!

Understand us better
Ethan can understand pretty much what we say to him. Ex: Ethan, ride on your stroller when we arrive at the market, okay. And he replied: No, walk! He can now hold onto our hands when we walk in public places. He was not able to do this before,

Good appetite
Ethan looks chubbier nowadays. We just love to “cubit-cubit paha” Ethan. He also enjoys when we “cubit-cubit paha”-nya.

Make own story
Ethan would speak in his language and end the sentence in an understand word: Ex: “(gibberish talking)….No”. “(gibberish talking)….Okay”. “(gibberish talking)….tung-tung (hurt)”.

Imitate everything
I mean everything.. yeahhh….! He’s learning by watching us.

Remember directions
He knows which way to go to Ernie’s house (he’s our neighbor son). He knows which way to turn when mommy drives Nai-Nai to adult school (he sees the school on his left side and point it to that direction).

Learn to bath by himself
He can wet himself from hair to toe by using “gayung”.

Begin to understand there’s hot and cold
Before Ethan says “dingin” (meaning cold) to any temperature. Now he can say hot and cold.

Help Mommy and Nai-Nai buy grocery
Ethan can get the milk, bread and prepackaged chicken and put them into the trolley.

2nd year old check up

2009-05-29T08:09:00.001-07:00

Ethan and I saw Ethan's new pedic doctor at Diamond Bar Kaiser Permanente Clinic yesterday for his 2 years old check up. We transferred from Baldwin Park to Diamond Bar since it's much closer to our house. I am so grateful for this new clinic which just opened last year. It makes my driving much more convenient.

Check up was good.
Height: 34.5" (50 - 70% growth percentile)
Weight: 33.2 lbs (95% growth percentile), Doctor told me to start giving Ethan 2% reduced fat milk since Ethan has gained a lot of weight over the last 6 months.

Doctor also ordered Ethan's 1st blood test for anemia. We went to the lab. The nurse that drew Ethan's blood was VERY unprofessional. To begin with, he made Ethan scared of him by the way he talked to Ethan. We needed to draw 2 tubes of blood. The 1st tube was fine and when we got to the 2nd tube somehow the blood was not flowing fast enough to fill the 2nd tube and Ethan was crying and struggling the whole time. The nurse began to pinch Ethan's upper arm expecting the blood to flow faster, didn't work. He somehow began to pull out the needle just a bit away, then inserted a bit deeper. THAT MUST HURT! Then after it's all finished, the nurse told me that the 2nd tube might not be enough. If it's not enough, Ethan has to go back and draw the blood again. Then he asked me if i wanted to have him take the blood one more time just in case the 2nd tube is not enought and i said: NO MY SON IS IN PAIN.

Ethan stopped crying as soon as I held him in my arms and walked away from the nurse. Ethan even said bye-bye to the nurse as we exited the lab room. My son can still be polite to him after that horrible blood draw experience.

At home, Ethan told Nai2 what happened.
Ethan: "Nai-Na..tung-tung (pain/hurt), Om (a man).." as he pointed to his left arm.
Translation: Nai-na....i'm hurt by a man.

More pictures of my 2nd birthday

2009-05-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

I am TWO years old

2009-05-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

Date: May 24th, 2009
Location: Toddler class as IEC Church
Height: 34.5"
Weight: 33 lbs

More pictures from Disneyland

2009-05-26T08:18:00.001-07:00

1 day before turning 2 years old

2009-05-26T07:54:00.000-07:00

When Ethan met Terrance for the 1st time

2009-05-26T07:46:00.001-07:00

Location: Battambang Restaurant
Occasion: Celebrating Mommy's 30th birthday
Thank you for visiting us. Until we meet again...

Celebrating Mommy's B'day

2009-05-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

Date: May 14th, 2009
Location: Home