<3 socks

dear ezra, 

there may come a day when you look back at all these photos that we have taken of you, and as you look closer at the photo above, you may start to question mummy's taste in socks and why she chose those with heart-shaped patterns. 

let me tell you...

that you are very much adored and loved by the kor kors and jie jies in church. this pair of socks, in particular, is given by jie jie chern, who tenderly thought of you and decided to share a bit of her own with you. and you seem to like it :)

she is not the only one. there is jie jie en-si who gives you an affectionate pat on the head when she sees you and got down on her knees many times to play with you. then there is kor kor abel and kor kor asher who exclaim, "baby ezra!" to welcome you the moment they see you. kor kor en-yi suddenly seemed a lot older when he plays ball with you. and there is kor kor titus, who is very much intrigued with you and can't stop commenting about you :) ("he looks like a doll", "why does he keep chewing his toes?", "when can he start to walk?").

there's also kor kor luke, who shows a special interest in your age. ("how old is he? when he's xx years old, i'll b xx years old!") and not forgetting kor kor timmy, which wrote in a card for you, that he was praying for your health.

thank God for these children in church who tenderly and unreservedly show their affection and befriend E. these are probably the boys and girls he will look up to as examples, and my heart is warmed to think about that :)

7 months

ezra boy,

you are seven months old!

one thing im exceptionally thankful for, is your smile. you smile when we make eye contact with you, you smile when we carry you, you smile when we talk to you, you smile when you see someone familiar, you smile when we ask you to, you smile when we point the camera at you.... you just smile soooo much and it is very contagious! after starting you on semi-solids, there were points of time when you seemed to experience some tummy discomfort and seem grouchy and fussy most of the time. it was then that we realised how we missed your smile and how we have taken it for granted. oh, do keep smiling my dear! you are the sunshine in our lives :)

 

we are thankful that you generally take your solids well. to this day, you have tried broccoli (makes you fart), pumpkin (you like but we don't, but pretend to), spinach (like!), apple (not so much), banana (gave you constipation), and pear (like it with rice cereal). yet, how come you are still waking up at night???

this has been an incredible month for you and us! you just reach your milestones in a blink of an eye, leaving us to wonder, when did he ever learn to do that?! you were so adept at rolling, then you decided it was too cumbersome and decided to pick up crawling instead. of course, not on your knees yet, but somehow, you manage to drag yourself to get to places. it was during times like this we witnessed your determination (stubbornness) and how you simply will not relent in getting what you want. 

den, two front teeth on your bottom gums sprouted out all of a sudden, catching us by surprise, but leaving us very excited too! it must be rather itchy and uncomfortable for you, since you are gnawing at everything and there was one night when you had a fever for no particular reason. we are amused to see how you try to get acquainted with them. sometimes you chomp on your fingers forgetting they are there, and then wail in pain.

can you get any cuter? your squirrel cheeks, toothy grin and sprightly nature melt our hearts countless times :)

thank God particularly for sustaining your health and keeping you free from illnesses. of course, we are concerned that you don't seem to gain as much weight as you should :( but day by day, we just do our best, and commit the rest to God. 

just one thing i would like to highlight to you, my son. a recent BS put this thought into my head, and has changed my perspective about teaching you. i used to think that my example could be sufficient in leading you to the ways of God.. but i realised that there is so much more i can do. i would like to regard the time i have with you as borrowed time, and as the seconds tick by, so does my influence diminish. it is tempting to assume that you are still so young, and there is little you understand, but we hope to start, as parents called by God, to instruct you and teach you as best as we can. may we grow together as a family, in His grace and knowledge :)

like every month, i say again, oh please slow down! you probably can't, and so, we just treasure every moment with you.. every smile, every sleeping face, every cheeky grin, every awkward sleeping posture, every tug of my hair.... moments you make our loved ones smile, moments when you go dizzy with excitement and all four limbs flail in excitement.....

:) we are truly blessed to have you.