Evian Roller Babies

This YouTube video is hilarious and a must-see for parents and non-parents alike—extremely funny and well executed.

Check it out:



Enjoy.

Oh, the Joy of Toys

Since Ethan recently had his first birthday, he got quite a treasure of toys. (So much for my de-cluttering efforts…) As I was shopping for his birthday present, I found that over half the toys were interactive, with lights glowing, horns blowing and every childlike voice coming out of them that you can think of—cute at first, but sure to make you want to toss it to the bottom of the toy chest soon enough.

Brent and I had read that it's much better to get toys that are not interactive for him to play with. These will help him develop better and learn more. Ethan seems to like both types luckily.

What has your experience been and what do you think??

Also, I was against the idea of ever letting Ethan play with any sort of toy guns. Is it wrong to deprive him of acting out "cowboys and indians" or is that "cops and robbers" nowadays??

Watching Television

Last night we let Ethan watch a “Baby Einstein” video for the first time. He seemed a little interested, but not as interested as I thought he would be. I heard these videos are like crack for babies. In a way I was glad. I am not sure about how much television to let him watch at his age and in the next few years. I told myself that I didn't want him to watch a lot of television at a young age. But I can see how tempting it would be to plop him in front of the TV so I can get some stuff done.

So my question is how much TV is too much TV??

Also, at what age is a good age to let them start watching??

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks.

Losing My Religion…

This song keeps running through my head this morning, so it inspired me to add a new post to my blog. It begs me to think about Ethan and His religion. Does he have one yet?? Are children born religious or is religion what we as parents decide to instill in our children. What do you think??

I didn't grow up being religious coming from a 3rd generation Chinese family. I remember asking my parents if they believed in God and the response I would get is “I believe in my own two hands.” I can see their point. Both my parents have worked tirelessly all their lives to provide for us and have what they have. Although, my belief is that they Must have had some help from above.

Brent was raised Catholic. I believe in God and consider myself to be a Christian. Brent thinks I am not religious, but more Spiritual. This leads me to ask "What religion will Ethan be?” Brent's response is usually “He'll be what he'll be.” — which leaves me wondering still. Aren't we the ones that will influence what his religious beliefs will be?? So do we start going to church when he's old enough to know?? We don't go religiously now (no pun intended). Do we baptize him?? (That is Catholic, right??)

In the end of the day, I respect most religions, except ones having to do will killing people (and animals) and I try to live my life being a good person and always striving to do the right thing—not that I always succeed. I do have to thank Brent, though, because he has taught me how to be a better person.

McDonalds??

So we are on our way to the fireworks in Dublin on Saturday night. I had just fed Ethan at home before we left.

Since we were in a hurry (as usual) to get out the door, we forgot baby food. We stopped by McDonalds to grab ourselves a quick dinner before picking up my husband's grandmother on the way to the fireworks. Well Ethan started getting upset and was obviously still hungry.

I decided it was OK to give him some of my fries to pacify him until we could get food later. Well, my husband had a fit. He was not happy at all. I guess my thought was “well, it's just a little bit and he'll soon be asking for McDonalds himself”. So why not??

Let me know what you think.

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate??

My husband and I, for the most part, agree on how we want to raise our son. We do, however, encounter moments when we don't agree on certain things. One of our biggest battles is whether or not to vaccinate our 11 1/2 month old son.

My husband is against vaccinations, whereas, I am in agreement with the doctors and am pro-vaccines. There are pros and cons for both sides, but at the end of the day, I believe Ethan is safer taking the vaccinations he needs to prevent him from getting any fatal diseases. This to me far outweighs a slight chance of getting autism by getting vaccinated.

I've been referred by some co-workers who are medical professionals to not believe everything you read or hear about. One reliable resource they recommended it the Center for Disease Control.

Let me know what you think.