Z is 16 months old!

This whole month seemed to pass quicker than before. I truly believe the earth rotates a little quicker now and the clocks know that too! I think there was a study about this.

*Started writing this post on the 20th November but didn't get to post it until today.

My baby is 16 months old today! I forgot about this until in the evening when someone asked me how old is my son & I replied her quickly; 15 plus months. It was only when I saw the date & internalised that it's 20th today that I realised that my baby is another month older!

Zach with his cheeky smile. 

Updates:
1. Z can walk steadily now, almost without fall/sitting on the floor in between steps. He could climb easily onto and down from his bike, alphabet train and other toys.

2. He is about 32 inches tall, that's 81 cm. My father in law said for boys, you'd know his adult height when you take the height at 2 year old times with 2. He is almost 3 feet now and if he reaches 36 inches by July 2014, then, he will surely grow to 6 ft (180cm) as his maximum height. We predicted he would be at least the same height if not taller than his dad. SJ is 6 ft tall. So, am expecting 2 tall bodyguards to go out with me when he is older :)

3. He has about 14 teeth now. He has molars popped out at the bottom and I could see his molars are sprouting out on top too. I bought a toothpaste for Z that is suitable for 4 years old and below. It was extremely expensive, imported from USA and made from natural ingredients. It was written on the tube that it can be swallowed and has a yummy bubblegum flavour to it. There was a toothpaste speciality store near my office and they had rows and rows of children tooth paste in that shop. I would usually drawn to new shops & of course I had to walk in to see what they have.

I hope this tube would last for a very long time (maybe until like when Z was 4 years old!) because I can buy 6-7 tubes of our usual Colgate toothpaste with this one Branam Xylitol Tooth Gel.

On the plus point, Z was very excited to see me open the cap of this toothpaste and squeeze onto his cute tiny blue toothbrush. I would just touched the paste onto the brush and it was really little but I guess he could taste it in his mouth because he was biting and sucking the toothbrush. Z would let me brush his teeth willingly for a good 1-2 minutes before he grab the brush and proceed to brush on his own. I have been demonstrating gargling my mouth with water and spitting it out in a very exaggerated motion but Z haven't master the spitting of water from his mouth. He kept drinking the water from the cup which was really funny. I guess the only way to improve is don't give up and keep on trying. Same thing with everything else in training a baby or toddler. Being persistent! Which is something I am quite good at :P

4. Something very funny happened yesterday; Z was attempting to sit on his tiny bull-dozer. Z loves everything with wheels. We were at my best friend (also Z's Kai Ma) to visit my little Kai Lui and the only magazine there was there was about baby products and it has strollers pictures in them. Z was pointing excitedly to the wheels on the strollers as he would usually very fixated to magazine with cars. The boy-mechanical brain is like inborn and comes naturally. 

Z attempting to sit on his mini bulldozer. Poor bulldozer!

5. Z's favourite word is 'ai-yah!' with a loud sigh like an old man! It is really funny hearing him especially when he tries to get up from a sitting position, picking things up from the floor, pushing his toys or walking. He is also babbling away many baby words. I can imagine that he is quite fun to have a conversation with because he is so animated! 

6. Z's vocabulary is getting bigger and he is absorbing these by himself without us consciously repeating to him. The adults in the house have a habit of saying things out loud and explaining to Z when we're with him and I guess by this way, he is learning and having a lot of input. I opened a picture dictionary bought by SJ for the first time this week and was very surprised that he could recognised many pictures when I called out the names. I was such an impressed and proud Mommy! Could see in this video that his favourite things are the vehicles.

               

Am really proud of my baby. He is knowing and growing so fast! 

Z started walking at 15.5 months on 31st October 2013!

Z has been cruising, holding on to things or people while walking at 10 months plus. He is a very careful baby, he wouldn't go to areas that were new or different. We were very amused at this behaviour. He would test by touching the different designed tiles/glass doors/walls with his finger tips before he decides if it is safe to venture to these new areas. I had no idea where he got this trait from as I am definitely not a careful and gentle person. So, he definitely got this trait from his Dad.

Z has been cruising for months. He dare not stand on his own without support. At about 14 months, he would sometimes be so mesmerized with the things that he was seeing and he forgot about the support, he just let go of things while standing & started clapping. We noticed that he could stand unsupported but once Z realised that he wasn't holding on to things, he would either quickly hold on to something or sit down on the ground.

A few weeks later, Z was getting more stable and was walking more. My favourite moment is when Z's tiny cute hand hold on to my index finger while we walk together. He walked like a drunken person with a cute grin on his face, he was so happy with his new achievement. He could walk by himself unsupported if he 'thought' someone was holding on to him. Our helper, L told us if we hold on to his collar at the back, urging him to walk & assuring him that we were holding him, he could walk by himself with us holding very minimally for quite a long distance. This proves that it's all in the mind, when you think you have a safety net or someone to depend on if you fall, that gives you confidence to move ahead without worry!

On the 30th October, SJ & I witnessed Z took a few steps unsupported. He would quickly (almost running) walked from the sofa to the table (about 3-5 steps) and then back. Our baby wants to run before mastering the skill of walking! He was doing that with the grandparents, great-grandma, uncle & parents cheering on. He has such a huge cheering squad!

We were saying to each another that Z could be walking unsupported in a week time but we were wrong because he was was walking by himself the next day!

On the 31st October 2013, Z walked by himself unsupported. A new milestone! It was such a nice discovery for me after I got home from work. He was laughing so much each time he walked. It was such a funny & happy scene seeing him walking unsteadily. He got so excited that he just kept on walking and walking; practising his new found freedom & skill!

A week later he was mastering his skill of getting up to a stand position from the floor and has successfully achieved that the next day, on the 11th July 2013! He has been doing a lot of squats with a lot of encouragement from Grandma. He could do squats to a music beat, which is really funny to watch! Yesterday he mastered picking up things from the floor while he was standing!

My baby is growing so fast. Time to baby-proof the house & talk to him more about being safe in the house.