etha*ns turning 1

etha*ns turning 1 in july. the birthday theme is liverpool fc / football.

its not really a big do but the husband's relatives are so many that it seems like a big do.

we're having it at my mil's house (cos we live in an apartment). the kids will be going to a small playground for their games. i've outsourced this to my sil & cil to plan & administer. i'm hopeless at games. i hope parents arent expecting a carnival-like atmosphere with ferris wheels and clowns on stilts. its just a simple afternoon in the playground with some drinks and sandwiches for the kids.

for the kids menu, we'll be featuring lots of fried finger food, cupcakes, candy, potato chips etc (so please be forewarned that the menu will sport some mighty unhealthy food choices ya!). my motto for the day is: let the children live life to the fullest! but we will be making one dish thats healthy (either rice, noodles or pasta) so the kids will have something thats filling and nutritious. oh ya and there'll be fruits too... i think.

we'll also have a movie screening once everyone's had their dinner & are settled in. thinking of featuring one of the newer cartoons. i wonder if ice age 3 will be out by then?? even came up with posters for the movies but it depends on whats available. i'll paste it in front of the tv room. maybe i'll come up with a movie stub for the kids too. i found microwaveable sweet popcorn at cold storage. yippee! personally i like them salty but hey, these are little kiddies.

we're not having any clowns or magicians or ponies cos we dont have the money for it. & i'm still thinking of what else i can do thats cheap but fun. we MIGHT have a photo booth if i can find a polaroid camera to pinjam. but i heard that the camera cartridge is pricey. i have an inflatable gym which we'll blow up for the kids to play in but my mil's house is a bit cramped so not sure where to put it. i was thinking of the playground where the kids will be having their games but the husband doesnt think its a good idea.

i have half of the party packs ready but need to get the other half from a party supplies shop. i ordered the cake & cupcakes from www.specialcakes.net based on recommendations so i'm praying they'll taste as good as they look. we've hired the caterer (phew). we've bought the alcohol (for the adults, not for the kids). i've got the husband and etha*n's jerseys. original ones ok. tsk tsk men. i'll go get my ciplak one some day soon. nak kena cari mana pun i dunno. i just hope they'll be cheapo-cheapo. i've created the decorations (ok ya im anal lah ok... i started planning from like january haha) so i dont need to buy any. hopefully they'll turn out ok when i print them out.

ok then wish me luck. will post the pictures after the event. my boy is turning one! so fast.

etha*ns 11mths in pictures

i love you my son

my son loves me too

tagas yang tia pandai pakai kasut

i just got up from a snooze

can you tell from my sleepy eyes?

etha*n is 11months old

there are so many new things thats happening with him and which arent all big sudden changes that can be pinned to any particular time or date. its in the little things that he does or say or the looks of understanding that he gives that shows me of his progress.

he tries to walk on his own (i.e. without holding onto anything) quite often and has taken his independent steps forward (backwards, side-wards and round-about-wards as well). but he does all this mostly in his playpen (my fault this because i just cant cope with running after him all about the apartment). so, whenever he is outside of his playpen he regresses to crawling. methinks its because he can explore faster crawling than walking at this point.

my mom & mil have both been on my case about not religiously giving him shoes to wear because he might not want to wear them when he actually needs them later. but but but... my readings have told me that he should learn how to walk first before using shoes because he needs to learn to find his balance with his feet. anyways, whatever it is, just to let my elders feel better (& to keep baby's feet warm), etha*ns started wearing shoes when he goes out. my mother calls him "tagas" which can loosely be translated to "ulu" or "kampung" for not being used to wearing shoes. at the moment, whenever we attempt to shoe him, he curls his toes so that its difficult to shove his foot in. & gosh, he so loves un-doing the velcro straps on his shoes. at times, he'll take a shoe off and proceeds to biting into it with gusto. at these times my mom says "tu lahh... tagas! tia pandai pakai kasut!" my poor son. speaking of shoes, i find it a bit hard to find nice looking baby shoes in kl. maybe im not going to the right places. personally, i would love to be able to buy shoes that are similar to adult shoe trends. stylo lah sikit horrr...

etha*n is still not much of an eater (or drinker for that matter). he eats but the portions are very small. if we're lucky he'll finish that small portion that hes given. but mostly, he doesnt finish it (hence us giving him a small portion in the first place). i'm guessing hes bored with his rice porridge every day (even if its jazzed up with meats / fish / vegetables every day). i tried giving him pasta, but he doesnt take to it much either. he likes mashed patatoes from kfc but its just way too salty for a little kid isenit? i tried making him some mashed patatoes myself but he didnt like that either. but when it comes to adult food, he'll eat whatever you give him. rice, cakes, noodles, crackers... whatever. but so far, we've only been giving him small pinches of food just to give him a taste of what we eat, not as a whole meal. i'm noticing that maybe its to do with his spoon. when i feed him with his spoon, i always have problems. he'll cover his eyes with his hands lah. turns his face away lah. but when i use my hands to feed him, hes fine. but how to feed him porridge with my hands right? he loves bananas but when i use a spoon to feed him, same thing, big problem.

the most recent "word" i've heard him say is "adeideideideidei" which i believe is the term "adui". my family uses the term "adui bah" or "adui dogo" quite generously in our conversations with each other and with him. we dont use it to indicate a "physical ouch" really. it's hard to explain but i'll try :-). i use it to show love when i'm with him. when he does something cute i go " aduuuuiiii bah etha*n!" or when i'm just rolling about and playing with him in the room i often go "aduiduiduiduidui". last night, while playing, i pretended to put his pacifier in my mouth. he launched forward to grab it while saying "adeideideideidei". no joke ok. i got my mom to come and witness it too. of course the husband said etha*n could have been attempting to say the indian term "dei". hihiihi...

etha*n has a special way of waving. he hails a salute more like it. sometimes when he sees someone familiar from afar, he'll just hail an open palm up as if he's a politician haha.

this morning, as i was getting ready for work and he was sleeping in his cot, i heard a sudden clapping. when i turned around thinking that he was awake, i found him still asleep... eyes closed... but hands are clapping. hahaha... farnee farnee.