etha*n is 6mths

actually, he's past 6.5mths old now & yes, a lot of new things have developed. & since im way too lazy to get into the nitty gritties, i’ll just give you a bit of the highlights:

1) he went on his first 2 plane rides to sabah for christmas & then coming back to KL on new year’s day. he was ok-ish on both trips. thank God it was just a 2.5hour flight each way.

2) of course, that means that he's also gone on his first trip back home to sabah to get in touch with his sabahan roots. we even managed to get a picture of us wearing our kadazan costumes. it cost me rm35 to make one for etha*n. i had my own & the husband pinjam-ed his from someone.

3) he "began" his swimming lessons (although it’s still confined to just one toe dipped into an inflatable pool). it was too cold for him though so his whole "swimming" experience lasted about 5seconds tops.

4) he got sick on my first work day of 2009. it started off with a blocked nose, progressed to a runny one & graduated to full-blown cold (with cough added in the mix). & yours truly had to be the hero that sucked the snot out of his nose –eeuuww indeed but i tried not to think about it. yes, even when i tasted the "savory-ness" hehehe… disgust? of course! do it again? only if i have to. after he recovered from the cold, datang pulak the rashes which we thought were measles but actually were not. so because he wasn’t feeling all that great, etha*n didn’t actually put on any weight in between 5mths and 6mths. so slim & sexy my son. poor thing.

5) however, we found a new pediatrician that we’re quite happy with. her name is dr. padmini at dr altaf's children's clinic in ttdi. the only downside is that she only works there once a week as she has opted stay home to take care of her special child. the upside is that she also works 2days a week in sri damansara which is just opposite where we live.

6) heres a big one: etha*n is now sporting 2 lower teeth!! so cute lah... i dunno what made me decide to check one night & when i did, they were freshly cutting through the gums. its more prominent now though. i find it amazing how fast they're growing. now if only his hair would grow as fast. anyhoo, i think the other teeth are coming too because he seems quite irritated with his inner mouth --hes always putting his fingers in, sometimes ALL 10 fingers together.

7) heres another big one: we had our first separation when i went to awana genting for 3d2n for work. etha*n & the husband went over to my mil's to stay for the 2nights that i was away. i missed him so much. but im not sure whether he missed me or not. when i came back, he didnt seem to miss me pun. tsk tsk tsk... so i dont know whether to be sad or happy that he can be independent. i chose to be sad. so, during the cny break we stayed home for some bonding time away from other people. it was just the 3 of us, lying in bed in front of the tv.

8) & yet another big one: etha*n can SIT on his own now. sometimes i'll be a in split-second state of panic when i dont see him in his playpen. actually, hes sitting in one corner with his toys & is not visible.

9) he can even crawl short distances. a bit dangerous this because he'll start grabbing the table cloth and anything within sight. the most common things to grab are:

- the mail when i get them from the mailbox while im carrying him
- the front grill which is rather helpful cos he grabs the the grill shut so i can put the padlock on also while im carrying him
- the house keys, which he tends to grab when im about to lock or unlock the house door. macamlah pandai kunci pintu.

10) etha*n also starting to form his own personality. of course he smiles a lot BUT he also has a temper. he doesnt like it when i leave him in the playpen & will start a whine-y cry even before i've lowered him into it. his version of a tantrum is just the crying lah.

11) hes also vocal now. makes a lot of loud noises & the hilarious bit is that when you tegur him for being loud, he gives a softer, almost whispered, version of it muahahaha. gilos. i dont notice any ma-ma-ma or ba-ba-ba or any of those text-book sounds that babies are supposed to make at this stage. the sounds he makes are just aaaaaaaaaa. either the loud or quiet versions.

12) when he turned 6mths, we re-started him on solids – rice & vegetable porridge or rice nestum or fruits or rusks with milk. last weekend i made him rice & ikan bilis porridge. looked so boring to me. he ate it though. this weekend i have to go shopping for his food stuff. before that i have to make a few calls to get some tips haha.

13) we got a walker/rocker as a gift when etha*n made his debut in the world. & finally, he can use it now. so, hes standing for limited periods at a time on this contraption & its rather cool cos it has those toys in front of it with music & squeeks & what-nots. thanks husband's boss for getting it for us.

ok i'll be uploading some new pictures later.

happy half-year birthday my sonny boy.