He Cracks Me Up!!




Alexandre now has four little teeth, with a couple more on the way soon. Why does Nature have to make teething such a painful ordeal for our poor little ones? Alexandre’s been pretty good about his teething so far (no fever, etc…) but he had a tough night last Saturday (Aug. 27) when his two upper middle teeth cut thru his sore gums.

This little kid cracks me up… he has developed a very mischievous laugh nowadays (how do they learn this?). He’s already learned the art of letting out a short, clipped laugh when he wants to get your attention, or in response to my saying “no” when he is about to do something he’s not supposed to do (like licking the walls)! [That’s the look in the photo you see here]

First time parents like me often torment ourselves thinking about ways to keep our infants stimulated and how to help them along with their development. But, you realize that, at this age, almost anything can occupy their time… For example, when he finds an open drawer full of clothes, or a trash bin… everything comes out piece-by-piece… Another little game he likes to amuse himself with these days is to crawl quickly, while sliding himself along the floor by pressing down one hand on a flat, smooth item (like a CD case, or a flat, plastic toy, or a remote control) – using it as a sort of cross-country ski. Today, he used a DVD, which he had managed to take out of its case (it was “What Dreams May Come”)… He also tried it with the air conditioner remote in our room, but because he had the rubber buttons facing down, it didn’t slide very smoothly!

The other thing I try to do is expose him to other children. But, it seems he’s more intrigued by adults. Yesterday, I was playing with him in the baby pool at the Club – and, while there were other kids in and around the pool, I noticed that he kept smiling at adults -- the lifeguard, a mother sitting on the ledge of the pool watching her son. It was so apparent that he was trying to get the attention of the adults until they would smile back at him. He even smiled to the point of letting out that little clipped laugh of his. The lifeguard eventually smiled at him. But the boy’s mother was too intent on watching her own son in the pool. Poor Alexandre! I wonder if he ever feels disappointed when people don’t smile back. So far, it doesn’t seem like he does. He just seems to move onto staring and smiling at some other adult if there’s someone else around!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Our Last Night With Dad...

Friday, May 13th ... the night my father died, was a shock to all of us. I'm only able to write about it more clearly now... Though we were expecting him to pass soon, we didn't expect that it would happen less than two hours after my brother Tang, his son Jeremy, my son Alexandre and I arrived to see him. Alexandre and I had just flown in that afternoon to Chicago, on a flight from Hong Kong. We all drove to my sister Ying Ying's house in Champaign, where Dad had just been transferred from Rush Hospital earlier that day. The 3 of us were planning to take care of him in the comfort of home, during his last days of life. When I did see him, it was heart wrenching. I barely recognized the person lying there in bed – his eyes, red-rimmed and teary, were rolling up into their sockets, tubes were coming out of everywhere helping him to breathe and take care of other bodily functions. He was breathing noisily like a fish out of water, his temples had sunken in, and he could bare...
Read more

Cooking Mamas Assignment: Moroccan Royal Couscous

Image
This time it was my turn to choose a dish, and my co-cooking mamas asked me to find a Moroccan recipe--knowing that my mother-in-law is half Moroccan. Having experienced my mother-in-law's authentic homestyle cooking, it was pretty clear to me what dish I had to choose for this challenge. A Tagine would be too simple... It had to be something we wouldn't cook just any day. So I chose the ultimate special occasion dish: a Moroccan couscous. But I didn't ask for my mother in law's recipe. It's a rule of mine never to compete with her cooking. In French/Moroccan hubby's eyes (or tummy) his mother's couscous is the best -- full stop. And I must say, no restaurants we've tried together have ever served a better couscous than hubby's mummy-- ma belle mère. I cook by starting with a basic recipe, and then adjusting the elements for my preferred taste, texture, appearance and smell. So, I researched many recipes to find one that seemed to resemble the ...
Read more

Fruity crumble

Image
Homemade fruit crumble is always a favorite in our household. Over the years, I've tried and adapted different recipes. But the basic recipe I use for the crumble topping (below) is a combination of a crisp/crumble topping and it gives a crispy/crunchy texture. For the fruit filling, I change it depending on what type of fruit I have. Mixed Red Fruit and Pear Crumble INGREDIENTS:  CRUMBLE TOPPING: 1 cup oatmeal (not instant) 1 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar (vergoise) 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (adjust to your taste) 1 teaspoon nutmeg (adjust to your taste) 125 grams cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces A teaspoon of orange flower water (optional) FILLING: - About 6 cups of fruit in small pieces. - Variations: Pear/Apple/Dried Cherry: you can use 4 very ripe pears and about 3 tart apples (granny smith) and add a handful of dried cherries. You can also add raisins or dried cranberries. Instead of apples, ...
Read more