Potty train suceess at school

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

Ethan and Mommy (11/07/09)

I love you, Ethan.

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

New vocabulary after preschool

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.