:: Eating Yoghurt all by myself ::

I'm starting to let Hannah feed herself. It is impossible not to be messy at this stage so I'm reminding myself that it's ok to see a little mess, so long she's trying to put her food into her mouth. She's taking little steps to more independence, and I'm sure she's enjoying it.

:: Photo Booth ::

The macbook also has a photo booth that Hannah and I are very amused with. It is a fun feature to use.

:: My Little Princess ::

It's been a long while since I did any kind of scrapbooking, and I was itching to create something. It is much easier to scrapbook when inspired by a good photo. This one was taken by my brother yesterday when we attended a wedding dinner.

:: Supress, Distract or Substitute? ::

Just read this off a parenting book and I thought it would be helpful to remember.

To supress is to deny the child a specific action. To distract is to attempt to redirect the child to a new activity. Substitution, in contrast, offers an equally desirable experience similar to the original one that caught your toddler's curiosity, but the place and timing will be under Mom's control.

I am still learning to strike a balance as Hannah learns to explore on her own two feet. She wants to go everywhere and touch everything. She usually responds when I tell her to come, but thinks Daddy is playing with her when he tells her to come. In fact, she intentionally veers off in another direction! For now, I am more preoccupied with catching her from her trips and falls. We've also set up our room such that she can almost roam freely. Of course, there are boundaries like the bathroom, Daddy and Mommy's bookshelf and the fan that she is not allowed to touch. I'm glad I'll have more time with her soon to see if I can substitute anything instead of just saying "no, no, no". I try not to say it so much because it seems to be showing in her vocabulary now. Well, that's another story...

Other than this quote being related to child training, I was also thinking that sometimes we adults are really grown up kids. I was thinking, doesn't that sound like us? And perhaps it is biblical as well, that we 'put off' our old conduct that is undesirable or wrong, and 'put on' (substitute) what is pleasing to the Lord. I think in biblical counselling this is done too. Take away a sinful word, thought or action and replace it with a godly response.

:: tdeger tdeger tdeger ::

Hannah has been amusing me the past two days with her babbling. It goes like this "tdeger tdeger tdeger" without the aspiration (i mean the puffs of air that comes out of your mouth). She says it everywhere she goes!

:: Hannah and Lambey Series Completed ::






















It was actually completed just before her 1st birthday, but I didn't have time to put it up and forgot about it until now.

:: All Smiles ::

Such a lovely photo of Hannah and her Po Po by my younger brother. It is indeed rare to get a full smile and her looking directly at the camera. Sometimes looking at Hannah now and how she's grown leaves me speechless. And whenever I look at her I am reminded that she is indeed a good and perfect gift from God.

If I have to 'give up' my passion for teaching in school and devote my time to training her to know and love God, then I must never turn back or feel bad about leaving a seemingly promising career. There are days when I step in and out of the classroom and feel so satisfied just teaching and being with my students. It is difficult to describe, but the feeling unsettles me and I wonder (again and again) if it's right to leave it all and stay at home. I know it is, because it is my God-given duty to do so. I cannot and will not look back.

Having said that, I miss Hannah quite abit as school begins again. 2-3 hours a day with her is simply not enough for instruction in righteousness. Thankfully it won't last long.

:: Hands Free ::

For those who have yet to see Hannah walk. Specially filmed for my parents and brothers and sister-in-law overseas who have missed the action :)

:: Photo of the Day - Walking alongside Daddy ::

It has been a joy to watch Hannah walking alongside us as we hold her hand. She squeals in delight when she can chase someone. She even runs sometimes. She comes up to me and wants me to hold her hand to get to places too.

:: Finally Taking Flight ::



Our 1-year-old is finally letting go and taking some steps, much to our amusement :)

:: Hannah nods her head ::

David and I were only 3 days away in Malacca for a short holiday and we came back to find Hannah more active and alert. She learnt to nod her head ("If you're happy and you know it, nod your head") and also say yes by doing so. It's a funny sight. This seems to be another phase of 'awakening' of her mind as she learns new skills. Thank God all little milestones like this. It is a joy to experience it all.

Other things she can do...

• "How old are you?" - she points her index finger to signify 'one'
• Play peek-a-boo by covering her hands over her eyes
• Walk about with us holding her hand
• Clap hands
• Wave hands
• Stamp feet (not too obvious but she's trying)

:: Hannah turns 1 ::

:: Everyday Baby Matters - Sleep ::

for interested mothers on how Hannah is doing with sleep. the rest of you might be bored :)

The thing about raising children is that they really change all the time. Just when you think you've got it, they kind of move on to another stage and sometimes undo many things that you've been working on for the past couple of months.

A very popular topic with parents is sleep - either the parents are not getting enough, or the child is not getting as much as the parents would like (sometimes because of their own convenience). I have to admit I'll groan when Hannah wakes up too early. It's just seems so torturous at times to start the day when I'm still half asleep. Anyway, Hannah's sleep patterns seem to be changing a little, probably because she's going to be one soon and doesn't need that much sleep, and maybe because of children's camp last week when I was absent from her daily routine for a week.

Hannah used to be able to sleep on her own. After her milk and some bedtime bible verses, we would put her in her cot, say goodnight and leave the room. She would sometimes play on her own for awhile and then eventually fall asleep. That worked really well for quite a few months...until the past week or so. She'll wail when I'm more than a metre away from her or when David is reading to her, and I have to stand over her cot and sing until she's sleepy enough to close her eyes. If I move away out of her view she'll start again. It makes me think she's really insecure without me. I was startled by her behaviour and felt really guilty because I'm not sure if it was the children's camp week that upset her whole schedule and expectations at home. So I'm just giving her a little more time to realise that I'm really not going anywhere until January when I head back to school for 1 more month. Other than falling asleep at night on her own, she has been sleeping through the night quite well, except for an occasional waking now and then. She also wakes later for her milk feed in the morning.

Of course, it isn't that easy. The same thoughts go through my mind over and over again. Should I ignore her when she cries when I walk away or when she wakes at night? Sometimes I really don't know the answer. At these times I need to be reminded that I can still ask the Lord for wisdom in the minute details in life. Right now I'm just trying to undo some of the damage I caused last week. Maybe things will settle down in awhile more.

I wanted to write about more than just sleep, but this will do for now, because I need sleep, and prefer to do some reading too.

:: 11 Months Old ::

:: Photo of the Day - It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas ::











I seldom do post-processing, but this is just for fun. used picnik to soften the photo...plus some vignette.

:: Seeing Stars ::

This morning Darrell and David were having Honey Stars cereal for breakfast and Hannah thought it was the star biscuits and began signing 'Please' over and over again. I don't blame her though...look at the resemblance!

:: Photos of the Day - The 3 Cousins ::





















Finally we can put them together for a photo :)

:: All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth ::

After the traumatising teething week for Hannah and Mommy, the top front teeth are finally growing out, along with other teeth beside it too! Looks like Hannah will be getting her two front teeth out by Christmas! :)

:: A Contribution - Scrapping Hannah ::

Thank you Sandra for taking time to do a few pages about Hannah :) If you'd like to give it a try, scrapblog is a powerful online tool that you can use. Moreover, it doesn't cost anything.

:: Please? ::