A great 4 days!

Andrew had 4 days off this last weekend due to a Thursday and Friday holiday for Deepavali (the Indian holiday similar to our Christmas) and we opted to stay in Melaka and not do any travelling, but we found plenty to keep us busy here. On Thursday, Evan and I went over to the nanny's house to celebrate Deepavali with her and her family. She had invited us over and I thought it would be nice for us to take her the gifts we had bought for her and her 2 young grandchildren and let Evan play with them for a bit (they are 3 and 2). Andrew elected to stay at home and enjoy a couple of hours alone. Well, when we showed up, it seemed like the celebration was more in honor of us. Ramyee had prepared all these dishes, had flowers for me and had bought all these snacks for us - which she thought we'd might like...and later sent them all home with me...like dried prunes...yuck!! It was a nice gesture though! I guess they had expected Andrew to show up as well because her husband had broken out his best cognac and scotch to share....did I mention this was at 10:00 in the morning??!?! I think they were trying everything to be the best hosts to us. And then it seemed like she invited her whole family to come and meet us. We met some of her sisters, brothers, nieces and nieces husbands....it was crazy!! It was a little weird because here I thought we'd just be joining them for whatever they had planned for themselves and it turned out being some sort of welcome to Malaysia event for our family (which I had to endure alone...thanks Andrew!!) Anyhow, we did have a nice time, but Evan was exhausted once we got home after all the attention he'd received while we were there. He must have been passed around to 20 different people....I had to wipe him down once we got home!!

On Friday, we decided to try out this water park that we'd seen from the main highway on the way to KL. It's in a resort called A'Famosa that's about 20 minutes outside of Melaka that we'd heard about but had never been to. Anyhow, when we got there we realized this place was huge....it said it was on 540 hectares (which I think is over 1000 acres) and had everything. It had condos, an animal safari, an archery area, a go-cart track, a fishing pond, a paint ball area, horseback riding....and a water park. It wasn't a huge water park, but big enough. It had several children slides, a big wave pool, a long lazy river (they claim the longest in the world...but I'd have to challenge that!), and several older kid/adult slides. Andrew said the one he went down even scared him a bit!! Anyhow, E had an amazing time!! We had to our pool at the club the other day (yes, how nice is it to still be able to swim in November?!?) and while there has always been this small slide in the kid pool, he never seemed to pay much attention to it. Except the last time we went, both Andrew and I took him down it and just as soon as we'd hit the pool, he'd say "gen, gen" and use the sign for "more"! So that is why we thought he might enjoy this water park....and he most certainly did...as evidenced by the pictures below:

This was the bug signing "more" so Dad could take him on the slide again!! Too much fun was being had here...

We had a pretty low key Saturday, just getting out to grab some dinner and then on Sunday the boys geared up to watch the OU/Baylor game on our Slingbox. It was an evening game, so Andrew finally got to watch one live. We thought it was going to be a complete blowout, but Baylor managed to keep it at least interesting. While Andrew couldn't get Evan to actually yell "Boomer Sooner", he did manage to get him to throw both hands up in the air (like "touch down") every time Andrew yelled it. It was hilarious...the more we laughed, the more he continued to do it. Although, we missed catching it on camera, so I can't post it, but here are a few in his OU gear. I'm still waiting on those Red Raiders to have a decent season so we can sport some red and black and teach him how to "get those guns up"! He is getting such a personality lately. In addition to signing "more" all the time now, he has also gotten on the kick of blowing kisses...to everybody....even the grocery store cashier that I tell him to say "bye" to. Now if he hears "say bye", he automatically goes to waving and blowing kisses...it's just too cute!!! Here's E getting his groove on...as he loves to do!!We were trying to catch the "Boomer Sooner" hands up, but all he wanted was the camera!

And here is the bug on his favorite step having some cheerios!

In addition to all the cute things, E has also managed, in the last 2 weeks to get a busted lip, a bump on his eye, and just today a bump to the middle of his forehead. I guess the days of bumps and bruises are now upon us. The busted lip came from him trying to climb up the stairs. He was trying to crawl up too fast, looked back at the same time and missed his hand on the last step...hitting the step with his mouth. I thought it had just scared him and hurt a bit, but then I saw blood and I was the one that freaked out. He had managed a small cut to his bottom lip from one of his bottom teeth. He was a real trooper though...only cried for a few minutes while I put some ice on it an then he was done. It got a little swollen and bruised for a couple of days, but it didn't stop him from attacking those steps again just minutes afterwards....what a little boy!!! I took a picture so we'd remember his first real boo-boo!!See the right, bottom lip, purple mark- that was the day afterwards

As for the bump to the eye, we had him in the bath tub the other night and he tried to stand up, then slipped and caught his right on the tub ledge. I think it broke a small blood vessel and left a mark, but didn't leave a full black-eye....my poor little guy!! Then today he was reaching down to pick up one of his toys near this glass table we have upstairs in our sitting room, and I guess he didn't realize the table was in the way...because he leaned forward right into the table! Ouch! I can't believe what a tough kid he is though. He didn't really even cry, but it did leave a bit of a bump and red mark right between his eyes!! You'd think I was a horrible mother with all the latest incidents, but they all just seem to happen so quickly, even when I have my eyes on him!!

We head to KL on Thursday for Andrew's board meeting and will be staying over so we can make my Dr. appt on Friday. We will also be bringing back with us, for a weekend visit, the live-in nanny/maid we'll potentially be hiring...to see how she likes Melaka and how she might like living with us and vice-versa. She seems more than qualified and comes well recommended from her previous employer, so we hope it all works out. I'll have to post more on this a bit later.

Anyhow, sorry for the long post, but I thought I'd catch everyone up on what we've had going on lately. Hope everyone is doing well and we miss everyone dearly!!

Ho, Ho, Ho

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, we took Evan to a Christmas bazaar in KL a couple of weeks ago to see Santa Clause. Surprisingly, he wasn't too impressed with Santa. He neither cried nor was too excited. In fact, it looked more like he just wasn't quite sure what to think of this guy with a long, white beard dressed in funny clothes. Here are some of the pictures of E on Santa's lap:

Here is one of Evan and Dad posing by Frostie!

And here is one on our way home where Evan fell asleep just minutes after this picture because he was wiped out from the day! Of course, no smiles....I think he always focuses on the orange flash button on my camera and becomes mesmerized!! I promise he is the happiest and most smiling little boy I've ever known....just not when it comes to being photographed! He's definitely not his mother's son when it comes to this trait!!!

The bazaar was hosted by the Association of British Women in Malaysia. One of my British friends from here in Melaka was helping to organize the whole thing, so she enlisted some of us in Melaka to help out. I helped out with the cake stall, which by the way had some fabulous desserts...aside from the minced pies (although, these seemed to be a favorite among all Europeaners)! I had a good time and had the opportunity to meet a few other women living abroad. Most had lived in the Middle East or SE Asia for the last 10 years or so....crazy...I don't know if I could stay abroad for that long! There was one teenage girl who had lived in Qatar for 4 years, South Africa for 6 years and was new to Malaysia, but would be going to university in another year back in England. I thought, how strange, to spend most of your childhood and teenage years in another country and then finally return back to your homeland....not knowing many back home, I'm guessing! I think Europeans are a bit different than Americans in that way....they can move around the world their entire lives and be completely okay with it and learn to adapt to the culture they are living in. Americans, on the other hand, seem to be used to the luxuries you can't find anywhere else expect in America and never tend to want to leave their life styles. I guess I like a bit of both....the cultural change has been good and interesting to experience (as it was while living in London as well), but I don't think I could ever say I'd like to live here....or anywhere outside of America for that matter....indefinitely. There is something to be said about "being home"! Home away from home works for awhile, but I think our hearts will always be in America. Who knows, people say the longer you live abroad, the more that changes....guess we'll see!!

We are truly blessed!!

With Thanksgiving upon us, I thought it would be a great time to announce our latest blessing.........God has chosen to bless us with another child!!! That is right, #2 is on the way and is expected to arrive around May 20th (I'm 12 weeks along now)! We couldn't be happier about the surprise. While yes, it was a bit of a surprise, I don't think we could have planned it any better ourselves. We knew we wanted a second, but I'm afraid we might have continued to put it off until we were moving again. With the baby arriving next year, this will guarantee me at least a full year to year and a half at home with him or her before we move again (although guarentee is a pretty strong word given nothing is ever certain when it comes to COP). In any case, I might have to make the decision on whether to return back to work when we move (which by the way, I've been out of work an entire year now and I've yet to miss one bit of it.....I absolutely love the "stay-at-home mother" label!! (sorry, Dad I know you hate to hear that!!).....and I will at least feel comfortable about returning, given already having that time with him/her as I am doing with Evan right now! These years are so precious...I'm just so grateful the timing of the 2nd is going to work out well for us. Not to mention that we will be getting some full time help, which says enough in itself.

While it will be tough raising two young ones so close in age (well isn't raising children in general just a tough thing regardless!!!), Andrew and I have thought about all the great things that will come with them being 20 months apart...like the built in playmate they will have in each other, the fact that we are still so new at the baby thing it won't be that difficult to get back in the groove, and that since this is our last (not sure we could manage 3 even if we wanted another!!) we will still be young enough (also a relative word!!) to enjoy ourselves after they are both a bit older!!!

Anyhow, we are completely over the moon and so looking forward to getting started on this new journey. I have had a bit of nausea this time around and not much of an appetite for anything (maybe that's just cause Chinese/Indian/Malay food didn't sound appetizing even before I was pregnant!), but hopefully that will pass soon. I feel like I'm getting much bigger much quicker, but I hear that is pretty normal. We've decided to have the baby in KL as opposed to having it here in Melaka. COP is completely with us on that, so they've agreed to put us up in an apartment for a few weeks prior to the birth so that I will be nearby the hospital. Andrew is going to try to work it so that he is able to work out of the COP office in KL during the same time, but has to get that cleard with Petronas first. I've found an OB that we really like and the hospital is really nice and only about 10 years old.....it's actually in better shape that the hospital I had Evan in!! Knowing that I will be able to deliver in KL with a Dr I really like, has made this whole thing really unstressful. I was a little worried initially thinking I would have to deliver here in Melaka. While I had a friend that recently had her son here and said it was completly fine, I just wanted to have the comfort of knowing they had the latest technology and also had a NICU (just in case)....and the hospital in KL does!! God willing, all will go just as smoothly with this pregnancy and delivery as it did with Evan.....

I'll be sure and let everyone know what we are having once we find out.....believe it or not, another little boy would be completely fine with me - they are such a blast! But a little girl.....well, we all know how fun it is to shop for little girls!!

Happy Halloween!!!

While Halloween is not celebrated here in Melaka, we didn't want Evan to miss out on the opportunity of at least getting to dress up. Actually, I think it was more fun for me and Andrew to dress him up and then have a good laugh.....especially when he couldn't figure out where his hands had disappeared to!!! It is a shame they don't celebrate the event here because I'm sure Evan would have had tons of fun at least seeing the other kids dress up and handing out candy....since he is still too little to have gone trick or treating anyhow. I thought everyone might like to have a look at our little green dinosaur!!

We do have a Christmas bazaar to attend in KL next weekend, so at least he'll get an early glimpse of jolly ol' St. Nick. Yes, it's probably a bit early to start getting into the Christmas mood, but we'll take it!! They don't do much here in Melaka for Christmas either, so we have to get it when/where we can. I think we'll probably also travel to Singapore sometime next month to get some more Christmas feel....they say they do a great display of lights on Orchard Street and have a snow blowing machine at one of the malls where we grocery shop . It's a little hard to think about winter when it's 90 degress everyday. We are definitely looking forward to some chilly air when we travel to Oklahoma for Christmas. We'll be going to Laredo first, but I'm almost positive the weather there will feel much like it does here. I remember one Christmas sitting outside in nearly 80 degree heat on Christmas day!! I'd really like to be able to wear a coat....and have a nice, cup of hot chocolate!!!! Ahhhh...the things I miss the most right now!! We are actually in monsoon season right now, so we get a little bit of rain everyday and it stays pretty cloudy....and we've even had a few cool breezes now and again (cool is relative here!!). Although, it definitely has been a nice relief from the constant heat!! Evan and I even took an evening walk yesterday and it actually felt like we were back in Houston in the fall.

Anyhow, I'll be sure and get some pics on the blog of our bug when he meets Santa Claus for the first time next weekend..... wonder how he is going to react?!?!?!

Oh and by the way, I've changed the blog template to include a place at the bottom of each post for you to add comments or send us an email....we'd love to hear from you!! We miss everyone terribly and can't wait to see everyone at Christmas!!!

I'm addicted......

to our new Slingbox that is!!! We've had it for just about a month now and it's fantastic. It was suppose to be a Christmas surprise for Andrew so that he would be able to catch the OU games, but as always he had to spoil the surprise. He happened to read an email that my sister-in-law sent that told me his brother had gone out and purchased it for us. As it turns out, I have benefitted from it much more than he has...given that only a couple of the games have been televised at a time that isn't at 2 o'clock in the morning our time. For those of you who aren't familar with the Slingbox (we weren't before we moved here and found we had NOTHING to watch in the way of television......all the nightime series showing in the US right now are about 1 season behind here!!), it is a device that hooks up to John's cable box in Oklahoma (by the way, thanks again John for all the trouble with the initial set-up), which then allows us to get live television through our computer here in Malaysia. It's so cool.....the software gives you a remote control just like the one you use for your television at home and you control the channels exactly the same way. I've managed to keep up with Grey's Anatomy, House, Brothers and Sisters and some of my other favorite shows with it. The daylight savings time change the US has coming up is going to be a big plus for me....it now gives me an extra hour in the morning to get Evan down for a morning nap before the good 8:00 shows begin!!! Isn't technology just amazing....what else could they possibly come up with?!?!?!

As for an update on our little stinker.....he just continues to learn something new everyday. Not only is he climbing up every stair in the house (and we have plenty of them!), he has also learned to come down them too. Luckily, he has finally taken to sliding down on his bottom (I think I finally made it look fun to slide down, that he thought he'd try it out.....and now like to show off for us!!).....but on occassion he still tries to walk down holding the stair rails. It terrifies me, but I figure the faster he learns to do it on his own under my supervision, the sooner I can stop worrying that he is going to fall as soon as I turn my back.....wait a minute - will that ever happen?!?!?!?

He also still loves pushing buttons and totally digs the leggos he got for his birthday. He loves having Andrew and I build something and have him come and knock them over. He occasionally contributes to the building, but loves the destruction phase much better!! He is such a little boy!! Sometimes I wonder what he processes in that head of his. While he still isn't saying too much in the way of "real" words....he definitely knows what he wants...... and then gets totally frustrated when Andrew and I can't figure out what it is that he is pointing at and asking for!! He's also finally able to get to his feet in the middle of room without having to scoot over to something to help himself up, so I now have to sweep the floors twice as much since he isn't keeping them clean with his bum any longer :-) Oh and I totally have to share his poop stance....which probably wouldn't be funny if we weren't living in Malaysia where they have the holes in the ground for "doing your business".....but every morning after I get him down from his highchair after breakfast (he is definitely on a schedule), he'll play for a bit, find a place where he thinks I don't see him, hunch down to squat, and then grunt for a bit while he goes about his business. It's absolutely hilarious....he looks like a true Malaysian....I'll have to try to get a picture of it to post!! I'm sure one day he will appreciate me sharing that one with everyone!!!

Anyhow, here are a few of our latest pics:

Playing peek-a-boo with Boss...the day BeBe and Boss left back for Texas :-(

E loves those buttons.....one of our playdays at Jusco's playland
Our latest trip to the zoo....not so sure what to think about the loud birds!

In Malaysia and off to Thailand

Sorry, I started this post a couple of weeks ago (well, now it's going on a month ago) and never got around to finishing.....so here it is:

My parents arrived safely on Sunday evening and Jennifer, Evan and I went and picked them up in Singapore on Monday morning....yes, all by ourselves.....and managed just fine. Our driver's mother passed away on Sunday, so he obviously couldn't take us and Andrew had an important meeting to attend....so we went alone and it was a piece of cake. It was a pretty good feeling to know I could navigate so comfortably in such a new and crazy place. I was pretty impressed with myself...as were my parents as I had us running all our errands around town as well. Anyhow, they had a day to recuperate from their jetlag and then we hauled them off to Phuket on Wednesday morning. We stayed at a place called Laguna Beach Resort...it was beautiful....nice rooms, with a great view of the Andaman Sea.....a gorgeous pool and other nice amenities. It was raining on the day we arrived and alot of debris had washed up on the beach, so we were a little disappointed about how dirty the water and beach looked, but the next eday verything cleared up and it was blue skies and nice, clean sandy beaches for the remainder of our stay. We didn't do much other than hang out at the pool everyday....Jen went on a snorkeling excursion one day and said while it was nice to see some of the other islands ....there were way too many people there and the reefs were ruined by how commericalized it had become. She said when you pulled up to Phi Phi Island, there were 30 other speedboats there taking other people on the same excursion....and this is during their offseason. Evan really enjoyed watching the elephants they would bring daily to play the harmonica, give the kids rides and play in the sea. Well, Evan probably had more fun watching the other kids watching the elephants. He spent alot of time bonding with his Boss during the trip. Boss was the designated babysitter to stay in the room with Evan while he napped. He even changed a couple of poopy diapers....way to go, Boss!!! He even stayed with Evan one night while the rest of us caught a cab into Patong Beach...to check things out. This is the infamous place in Phuket where they have all the outdoor market shopping.....as well as tons of outside strip clubs....with women hanging out ready to spend a night or weekend with whoever might pay them. It was actual quite disgusting as you saw all these older (much older!) men (mainly European), with these young (very young) Thai girls! It was actually a very sad sight.

We had a great time with some nice, relaxing pool and beach time, some really good Thai food, and some good shopping.....did I mention how dirt cheap everything was!! And we couldn't have had better weather. It was wonderful the entire time we were there until the day we were leaving. Actually, while we were in the airport.....it began pouring down rain. So yes, we were delayed.....for 2 hours!!! Of course, given the latest accident at the airport, we were all quite okay staying put on the ground until it passed. Evan thought it was a joy to spend his entire birthday in a airport!!! Thankfully, we made it home safely and prepared for Evan's birthday party the following day.

I thought everyone might like to see a few pics from our trip: Evan and BeBe in the Hotel reception....Evan with a big bite of something in his mouth!! Evan and Boss checking out the pool areaThe baby elephant goes for a dip...and yep, gotta love those in speedos!!!Evan and Dad hanging out at yet another pool bar.....teaching him early!!A view of our pool.....that's Andrew and I in the back going to take another ride on the fun water slide

BeBe gets her hair braided....Me and Jen pose for a quick picture after one of our many, great Thai dinners!The baby elephant gives Evan a kiss...Dad and Evan pose for a picture on the lawn outside our hotel room....this is Evan's silly face he makes when he meets new people or just feels like being silly!!Evan posing in front of the water with his new monogrammed shirt he got for his birthday....he is going to love me when he gets older!! By the way....he still loathes the sand...he hates to get it all over his hands!!BeBe and Evan posing after BeBe has her hair braided.....One last one of the the gorgeous sunset we took in every night we were there!!

Evan's 1st Birthday

Since we didn't arrive from Phuket until late on Sunday evening, we ended up having Evan's birthday party on Monday evening after Andrew got home from work (.... his Nana even joined in via webcam at 5:30am.....thanks Nana for waking up so early to be a part of the birthday party!!). We had tons of fun!! Evan wasn't too found of his birthday cake....but we later found out why....the icing was tasteless and the cake wasn't so good either ...so who could blame him?!?!? He loved opening his gifts (especially tearing the paper), but really wasn't interested in anything but getting to open a new one. After all were opened, he busted into his new leggos and his pool of balls and had a great time!! He was entertained for a complete hour afterwards. He was so beat from his party that he slept until 10am the next morning - we could hardly believe it. I had to check in on him several times just to make sure he was still breathing!! Anyhow, we sure did miss those that weren't able to help celebrate, but we thank everyone who sents cards and gifts!!! We know they were sent with tons of love since they travelled such a long distance!

Aside from the party....Evan is totally enjoying having his BeBe and Boss in for a visit!! Boss really seems to wear him out...because come naptime, he is beat and is out for at least 2 solid hours each time (yes....we are officially back to 2 great naps a day!!). I have been able to sleep in every morning since the grandparents have breakfast duty....so I, too, love having them here!! Boss still hasn't managed to get Evan to actually say "Boss", but he swears he heard him say it at least once!! Sure..... They also claim he can say "two, three" when counting!! I think they hear what they want to hear sometimes :-) But he sure does seem like he is wanting to say more these days....it just won't quite come out!! Dad has managed to teach him a few things, like having Evan shake his head "no" whenever he asks him - "what does Boss say?" , as well as trying to teach him to crawl instead of scoot. So the last couple of days, Evan has started this new thing where he sort of crawls on one knee and drags the other leg...it's a riot!! Why the child needs to crawl now that he can walk (and oh yeah, he is practically running these days!!!), I have no idea!!

Well, we are off to KL tomorrow to do some shopping. It is time for Evan to graduate to his big boy car seat soon so we are going to buy one tomorrow. I can't believe my little one is a year old now!! Hope you enjoy the pictures!!