End of an Era

Four years ago to the day (April 19 2010), Noah had his last b***feeding. Today, April 19 2014, Maya just had her last feeding. She took some formula and then drank her "maman milk" and went to sleep. The end of an era for her and for me and the beginning of a new and exciting chapter. Bye bye baby Maya. Hello little girl Maya.

Last Feeding Today

Tonight (April 19 2014) will probably be Maya's last time b****feeding and probably my last time b****feeding ever. Crazy crazy. Overall, she has been dealing well with switching to formula. She seems aware of the change but has been drinking her formula. This last week she had a minor stomach bug (she threw up once - her first time) though and refused her morning formula and said "maman" and signed milk. I put down the cup and a little bit later she drank it up without any fuss. 

Noah Swims!

Noah started swim classes young but because of his ear problems, he stopped classes for almost a year. When he started again, he had become scared to let go of the edge or the board. After much effort (and some tears), he overcame his fear and during his swim class on Friday (April 11 2014), Noah swam across the width of the pool and back.

He repeated the feat the next day.... (see video below):

And below, jumping in and swimming to the edge.

jump and swim

As an incentive and something to look forward to once he could swim, we had promised him a pool party when he was able to swim the width and back on his own. So, as promised, just after his swim, we sent out some last minute evites and rounded up some of his friends for a pool and pizza party on Sunday. He had a blast and already is so much more comfortable jumping and swimming than in the videos above.  It is so great to see him playing in the water happily without wings or boards or ear molds. Congrats Noah!

From 2 to 1

Today (April 11), Maya had her last daytime b***feed. She only has one feed before bed now. From two... to 1. Baby Maya is growing up...

Last morning feed - she likes to hold my hand when she drinks

Drinking while checking out Daddy with the camera

Also today is Grandpa's birthday so Happy Birthday Grandpa Steve. Miss you.

From three to two and two to one...

On Wednesday March 5th, Maya had her first ever breastmilk-free day. From three feedings, she is now down to two. One in the morning and one at night. So far, she seems fine. She likes cheese and yogurt and formula but is not much of a fan of cow milk.

At the same time, Maya seems to be moving from two naps a day to one nap a day. She goes down around 12 and sleeps for 2-3 hours and then she is done for the day... She is still in transition so she sometimes falls asleep too early and then has to do another nap but more and more she is doing one nap a day. 

Maya: A Year of Firsts

Some of Maya's firsts in this first year... A few firsts seem to be missing, like the first time she sat up on her own or the first time she said a word but these were so progressive that I don't know when the first time was. By six months she was sitting up well and by 12 months she was saying Dada and Mama well and purposefully (plus a few others here and there). 

0-1 month (February 25 to March 25)

• First breastfeed:  morning of February 25th around 11 am
• First time Maya saw her big brother: afternoon of February 25th 
• First time in a car: February 28 - on the way home in Celine's car
• First bath: March 2
• First walk outside in the poussette: March 3
• First time without her umbilical chord: night of March 3-4
• First subway ride: March 4 to go to her pediatrician's
• First bus ride: March 5 to go to the US embassy
• First time over 5 pounds: March 15
• First time sleeping in her big girl crib: March 18
• First taxi ride: March 25

First time seeing Noah (February 25 2013)

1-2 months (March 26-April 25)

• First lolette:  March 26
• First time over 3kg: March 31
• First bottle (breastmilk): April 4
• First evening without Maman (but with Daddy): April 24
• First nail cut: April 25

First Breastmilk Bottle (April 4 2013)

2-3 months (April 26-May 25)

• First time over 4kg: April 28 (4.087kg)
• First night alone in her room: April 27 to 28 (she was in her bassinet in our room the first three weeks, then in her crib in her room but I slept on the couch in her room)
• First tear: April 29
• First real smiles: May 9
• First haircut: May 17 (we trimmed the crown of unkempt hair in the back of her neck)
• First blow out diaper: May 17
• First time playing happily on her own in her park for over 15mn: May 17
• First time over 10 pounds: May 18
• First time in the pool: May 25

Standing up with Maman (May 25 2013)

3-6 months (May 26- August 25)

• First plane ride: June 14
• First boat ride: June 14
• First tram ride: June 16
• First night in a hotel: June 14
• First night in a pop-up bed: June 14
• First time in US: June 17
• First time rolled over (both ways): July 18
• First time really laughed: August 4 
• First solids: August 8
• First clear "more" sign (she did milk a few weeks earlier): August 25

In her first hotel room (Hong Kong June 17)

6-9 months (August 26-November 25)

• First taste of formula (in cereal): September 16
• First time walking holding hands: August 28 
• First clear "food" sign: September 20
• First fever/sick day (roseola): September 27  
• First bye bye wave: October 25
• First time standing 5 seconds on her own: October 25
• First wobbly steps (1 then 1 then 2): November 1  
• First time taking four steps on her own: 14 Nov
• First real snaking : November 19
• First tooth (bottom left from her perspective): November 21 

 Standing on her own for a few seconds (October 27)

9-12 months (November 25 2013-February 25 2014)

• First time clapping: December 5
• First times sitting up alone from lying down position: December 6 
• First time letting go of the couch to take a few steps to mom (as opposed to being let go and walking a few steps to mom): December 5
• First time getting up on her own and picking up objects from floor without falling: December 27 
• First taste of chocolate: January 1 2014 (ok but not entirely won over yet)
• First taste of cow milk: February 10 2014 (ok but not super exciting)
• First taste of pizza: February 15 2014 (she was a big fan)
• First taste of ice cream: February 25 2014 (too cold)
• First piece of cake: February 25 2014 (she ate the whole thing)

Walking well (December 17)

First piece of cake (February 25 2014)

From four to three

The day of Maya's first birthday was also the last day I fed her milk as a four pm snack.  From four breastfeeds a day, she is now down to three. 

At the funky ice cream shop - Maya's last 4pm feed

On Wednesday, she had yogurt and fruit as a replacement which she seemed fine with and today, some formula (in a sippy cup) which, I am happy to report, she downed happily in my arms. 

The beginning of the end of breastfeeding

New shoes and new skills

Our little Maya is growing up... she now has a pair of big girl shoes. Seth was in the US last week and brought back some shoes for Maya... Not much choice in her tiny tiny size but we found something that fits and seems comfortable. She was a bit apprehensive at first but after a little bit, was off.

Our little girl in her big girl shoes - no more slipper shoes

Also new, Maya started pointing at things last week. She points so I can tell her the name of the designated object or points at something she wants and a few times, she pointed to a flower in a book when I asked her "ou est la fleur". 

She also is doing her signs more and has added two new signs - mouse and slide. Mouse does not seem very useful but somehow there are lots of mice in the books we read her hence the mouse sign. She signs "cat" and "food" in the evening to tell me she wants to go feed Lhasa with me. Or "bath" when it's time for her bath. She also signs "cat" when she wants to go home (abode of Lhasa the cat) or slide when she wants to go down the slide. It's so much fun watching all of it slowly coalescing.

She has been removing a cover I put on her or me when playing peekaboo for quite a while but she just started hiding herself with a burp cloth and peeking out with a huge grin when I ask where is Maya.

Finally, Maya has started accompanying her "singing" with some "drumming". She stands by a door or wall or table and drums with her hands and then tries to hum jingle bells or some other tune. She is so proud as she looks up at me. Hopefully, I can catch it on video sometime soon...

First Long Bike Ride

Our new apartment is near a large park with playgrounds and sand and lawns to fly kites and BBQ pits and bike paths. The other day (Dec 28), we took Noah for a bike ride in the park.

He ended up biking the whole length of the park and back (or about 7km).

Noah on his bike...

His first long bike ride! Since then we have gone back for another ride (though a bit shorter this time). He is getting very good and comfortable on the bike (after a short hiatus when we were in the US and moving).

No more spit up!

Maya, like Noah, was a little fountain. She would drink her milk and then thoughtfully share 1/3 of it with my clothes and the floor (Noah generously shared about half his milk)! A week or so ago (a little before her 10 month birthday), I suddenly realized (as it was pretty gradual) that the spitting up had basically ceased. She sometimes has a few drops dribble out but almost nothing and only rarely even that. Like most things in life, you get used to it but am I glad it is behind us! 

An Upstanding Girl

Maya has been able to walk for a little while now, but getting up from the ground has been another matter. If you put her on her feet she could walk across a room but if you sat her down she could not get back up. The first step was being able to pull up on a chair or couch or crib. She has been doing that for a few weeks. But since she cannot crawl, getting to the closest couch was not easy as it involved slow snaking. 

The second step was to stand up using a low step or cushion on the floor for support which she started doing a few days ago. 

And, finally, today (December 27 2013), she was able to get up entirely on her own. She repeated the feat 6 times this afternoon! This afternoon she also started picking up a lego or string off the floor and straightening up again without losing her balance. 

Second Tooth!

Maya's second tooth finally pushed out (December 19 2013)! 18 more to go!

Maya Walks!

On August 28, at 6 months, Maya started walking holding our hands. A few weeks after that, she began walking holding on to one hand. On November 1, just after her 8 month birthday, she did her first solo steps and now.... 

Maya Walks!

Busy Day: First Tooth and Snaking

November 20th was a busy day for Maya -  at almost 9 months, she got her first tooth (bottom left from her perspective) AND she started snaking across a room (and upped her max number of steps on her own to 5!). Lots of fun and craziness ahead.

A few steps

On November 1, Maya took her first step on her own, since then she did two steps and today four wobbly steps.

our little girl - very happy and proud

walking is easier when you are holding something

Birth to 3 months: Maya's Firsts

Maya is three months old today. 

During the last three months, she has been very busy discovering the world and trying new things. 

Below is a chronicle of Maya's firsts.... (we will do a separate "Portrait of Maya at three months" post).

0-1 month
First breastfeed:  morning of February 25th around 11 am
First time Maya saw her big brother: afternoon of February 25th 
First time in a car: February 28 - on the way home in Celine's car
First bath: March 2
First walk outside in the poussette: March 3
First time without her umbilical chord: night of March 3-4
First subway ride: March 4 to go to her pediatrician's
First bus ride: March 5 to go to the US embassy
First time over 5 pounds: March 15
First time sleeping in her big girl crib: March 18
First taxi ride: March 25

1-2 months
First lolette:  March 26
First time over 3kg: March 31
First bottle (breastmilk): April 4
First evening without Maman (but with Daddy): April 24
First nail cut: April 25

2-3 months

First time over 4kg: April 28 (4.087kg)
First night alone in her room: April 27 to 28 (she was in her bassinet in our room the first three weeks, then in her crib in her room but I slept on the couch in her room)
First tear: April 29
First real smiles: May 9
First haircut: May 17 (we trimmed the crown of unkempt hair in the back of her neck)
First blow out diaper: May 17
First time playing happily on her own in her park for over 15mn: May 17
First time over 10 pounds: May 18
First time in the pool: May 25th

Happy three months Mango Maya (all these pics were taken the day before her 3 month bday). 

Three Years and a Half: A Portrait

Here is our little guy (who is not so little anymore) at three and a half years... still as smiley and happy. 

For the stats, he is 1m4cm (about 41 inches) and weighs 16.3kg (36 pounds) (according to my home measurements).

The main changes since the last post three months ago (see Three years and three months: a portrait post), I would say, are: 1) He still is interested in everything but his interests have further deepened; for example he is now very much into anything space related and wants to know all about the big bang, the planets, asteroids, moons... and asks to watch YoutTube clips about space stations and satellites, 2) He is out of the "why" phase - he still asks a lot of questions and always demands an explanation, but his automatic response to anything you say is no longer why, 3) He increasingly plays WITH his friends making up scenarios and stories and games, negotiating the sharing of toys and taking of turns and 4) His speech is even more complex and his diction is even clearer. 

Our little monkey.

Noah CAN (abilities in no particular order and in addition to those listed in the 3 year + 3 month portrait post):

• Provide useful sous-chef help in the kitchen. He has become much more capable in the kitchen and needs less guidance with the things he can do. He can wash veggies and remove the stalks (e.g., for mushroom), he can break eggs into a bowl without getting (too much) shell in, he can measure out flour and liquids in a cup and put the right amount in and grate large amounts of cheese.  He can stir things as they cook (we supervise him on that one), man the blender (no touching the blade though!), make balls of dough and roll them out (e.g., for pita bread), remember ingredients and steps for various recipes, and tell me what to do next when helping with a recipe he has done with his dad previously. By far his favorite aspect of cooking is buzzing the food processor (e.g., making "carrots beep") and cracking eggs. And, of course, tasting the food along the way. If you're not paying attention, he can taste his way through an entire bell pepper and a few cloves of garlic.
• Swing  his own  swing pumping his legs; he was almost there a few weeks ago and last week I took him to a nearby playground with a swing and he had it - pumping his legs and swinging his entire body to create momentum - I don't know why but it felt so great to see him happily swinging on his own; 
• Go to the bathroom and wipe his butt on his own (though he will often come out and ask me to check whether all is clean before putting his clothes back on - it is almost always clean);
• Move all the chess pieces appropriately; I don't think I had told Noah about Tonton Charles's love and mastery of chess yet Noah showed much interest in the game and in learning to play chess; I bought him a set for Hannukah and he got some books and chess learning games from Tonton since then and he has learned to move all the pieces and do very simple problems; 
• Play with his friends making up scenarios and games - just the other day, he picked up a rock from the ground which became a pet rock named "Montessori" (his name choice) and he and his friend Kathryn took Montessori to art class (Montessori had to draw in the sand), and to the slide, and to nap and when Montessori was in a bad mood after his nap, they rocked him (i.e., ran around the playground while holding him); Noah has also gotten much better at negotiating a relationship and compromising and figuring out how to share and take turns without parental intervention (though parental intervention is still necessary sometimes); and
• Do 50 piece puzzles on his own.

Little monkey monkeying around

Noah DISLIKES (in no particular order - I reiterated certain dislikes from last time that are still applicable):

• Not getting his way - this never changes and almost always involves food. Overall though he is pretty easy to manage even when he does not get his way; 
• Waking up too fast and moving fast in the morning (especially when it comes to eating breakfast) or after his nap. It had become pretty hard to get him out the door in the morning so we started a new routine a little while ago where he dresses before eating breakfast and we provide him a clear choice every morning. He can either fuss/whine/drag along but if he chooses that path and we are not able to make it out the door by 8:30, the next morning, he eats breakfast at school instead of at home or he can cooperate and eat breakfast at home tomorrow morning. Since he was presented with this new routine and choice, he has been much better in the morning.
• Coloring in drawings made by others (ie coloring). He can do so pretty well when he tries but finds it very boring and generally does not put very much effort into it (when I asked him in view of doing this blog entry what he disliked - coloring was his only response!).
• Not getting to do/eat what the adults are doing and eating. He is a big boy and does not appreciate being treated like a little boy.

 

Noah working on his "sad face" - he still can't fully wipe out the smile from his face

Noah working on his surprised (?) face

According to Noah, Noah LIKES  (in no particular order - I reiterated certain likes from last time that are still applicable):

• Playdates: Noah still has regular weekly playdates with his friends around Singapore. It has been the same friends every week for the last 2.5 years, and he is enjoying it more and more.  (As we described above, they invent games, scenarios, and imaginary worlds to live in.) When asked about what he likes, this was his first, immediate answer.
• Swinging: Noah is always asking to go to the "new playground" (which we have now been going to for the last year and is no longer the newest playground we discovered in our neighborhood but it has remained the "new playground" - something like the "pont neuf" in Paris). The main attraction of the new playground is that it has swings, and Noah loves to swing.
• Climbing on slides/walls: Noah likes to climb on everything he can!
• Art class, computer class and speech and drama: Just this month, Noah's school introduced some specialty segments. He now has a special art teacher for an hour every day, and he has "computer class" and "speech and drama" once a week. He loves the art class---we'll post some photos of his many masterpieces shortly ---and he looks forward every week to his other classes.

According to us, Noah also LIKES:

• "Why" books: Noah always wants to understand how things work. Everything. A few of his most recent queries: Why do onions make you cry? Are there more girl ants than boy ants in an ant colony? What do you eat in the country of Nauru? How do snakes have babies? Why is there fire when a rocket launches? We have recently started our own notebook where we write his questions, look up and jot down the answers, and then Noah illustrates. 
• Books (and videos, and photographs) about space: One of his most frequent topics of interest is space. How did the moon get up there? How many moons does Jupiter have? Why do we only have one moon when Jupiter has more than 60? Why is there no one on Mars? How did the robot (the Mars Rover) get to Mars, and what is it doing there, right now? Why does the moon change size? Why aren't the astronauts on the space station wearing their suits? (And can I see a video of them wearing their suits?)
• YouTube videos: He has learned that the answers to everything can be found on YouTube. There are clips of astronauts and anteaters and everything else you might want to know about.
• Books, especially (these days) the Gruffalo, various Dr. Seuss books, Comment On Fait les Bebes, Le Doudou des Camions Poubelles. Just the other day, a visitor sat down to read him the Gruffalo. But it became quickly clear that really what he wanted was to read the Gruffalo to her. Well, he can't actually read, but he can fool you sometimes. We've only had this book for a few weeks, so we were surprised he knew it so well.
• The Lorax movie. We still have movie night every once-in-a-while and Noah very much enjoys and looks forward to it. These days when asked to pick the movie, he usually goes for the Lorax.
• Theater, especially theater for kids. He recently saw "The Cat in the Hat" and "The Gruffalo." During the show, he laughed, participated where appropriate, and generally had a great time. During "The Cat in the Hat," he asked lots of questions about what was going on, but for "The Gruffalo," which we saw a few months later, he had figured out what this whole theater thing was all about and was really into it.
• Origami: Noah has recently decided to help decorate his sister's room. Since he likes folding paper (and cutting, and gluing, and tearing), we have been teaching him some simple origami.  His origami skills are not entirely honed yet but he enjoys trying and likes the finished product. He is also making some drawings to go on her wall both at school and at home.
• Drawing: If we are busy with something and leave him to entertain himself, he will most likely sit at his table and draw pictures.
• Cooking: Noah still loves to cook, both real and imaginary food.
• Eating: As always.
• Going to Sentosa: riding the monorail, watching the people fly in the wind tunnel, play on the beach, go to the aquarium, do some luging and ride the "elevator" (a large viewing platform which goes all the way up and then turns slowly so its passengers can see the view).
• Playing games with us such as candy land, snakes and ladders, I spy, find the penny, orchard, connect four... he has gotten very good at figuring out how to play his games but also the new games we get every week for toy exchange.
• Toy and book exchange.
• Going to the library and picking out new books to bring home.
• Looking countries/cities up on his globe.
• Maps and figuring out what street we are on, where we are going, how we get from place A to place B.
• Giving and receiving TONS of hugs and kisses - he is very affectionate these days.
• His little sister-to-be: he always talks about her and kisses my tummy and tells her he loves her and asks her what she is doing right now.
• Watching the "word on the street" sesame street video podcast which provides in a fun way the meaning of a word - so far we have watched veterinarian, persistent, remember... etc. The other day, we watched "activate" and later that day he used the word correctly in a sentence - so cute.
• Piling stuffed animals in his bed. In his old small bed, he was allowed three animals as there was no room for more but now that he is in his big boy bed, there is plenty of room and I have noticed that more and more animals are ending up in there. 
• Making "sculptures" out of chairs and rubber bands.

Overall, this is a great age - Noah at 3.5 years is a fun kid who is generally enthusiastic about everything he is doing. He is interested in the world around him and can and will carry on long and complex conversations about any topic. He is pretty independent but still loves to cuddle and give and receive tons of kisses and tells us he loves us all the time.  He has not lost his stubborn streak (luckily) but we can generally come to some agreement about how to proceed in whatever situation. Noah is a great little guy and a pleasure to be with and interact with (in my very unbiased opinion of course).

Hanging in there!

Ziplining?

I wonder if I can jump down from up here?

Maman - what do you think?

Peekaboo

Made it up

Hmmm the view is pretty nice from up here.

Are you going to come up and join me?

I found a nice drum up here!

New Bed for Noah

A while ago, in preparation for the arrival of baby Mango, I had asked Noah whether he wanted a big boy bed and give his crib to Mango or whether he wanted to keep his crib (now barless on one side) and we would buy a new crib for Mango. He did not hesitate: he wanted to give his crib to Mango and wanted a big boy bed. A few weeks ago, we went to Ikea to check out the beds and ended up buying a simple adult wooden bed, comfy mattress to go with it and of course new sheets. The plan was to paint the bed white to fit the colors in Noah's room and add some blue, green and red decorations. Below, Noah making dinosaur shaped potato stamps. 

First try at making dino imprints on paper...

A bit blobby but oh well. Next we painted the light wood color white and the little slates on the front of the bed, red, blue and green. Noah got to help paint the bed white and choose the colors and order for the dinos though I think all the waiting for things to dry was not very satisfying (to him or to me).

Stamping the side of the bed....

But, eventually, on January 12th, after a few days of painting, stamping and building, the bed was ready for Noah to move into. Below, Noah excitedly trying his new bed. 

Pretending to sleep - yup comfy!

Since he started sleeping in the new bed, he has slept like a big boy and has not had any night pee accidents - the crib with its new mattress has been reassembled as a newborn crib and is sitting in Mango's room. And, as a perk, we can now lie down next to Noah to read him his bedtime stories. I am calling this operation a success!

In order to accommodate the bigger bed, we had to move things around a bit in his room. Here Noah  (and rabbit) showing off his new and improved room.