Home Quarantined

No, not because of the H1N1 virus, but because of an equally not fun virus E has contracted....a hand, foot, and mouth virus (not to be confused with foot and mouth that comes from pigs and cattle). I hate to even think about how he might have gotten it...disgusting! I guess I'm just thankful this is the first time he's had it. Apparently, it is a very seasonal virus and is very common in small children who are in day cares or in our case, school. I have to believe that is where he got it, but the principal said the last case the school had was a month ago (which we were never told about...not very happy about that, but that is a different story!), so he couldn't have gotten it from the specific little boy she mentioned. In any case, he has it and is now not allowed to return to school for 2 full weeks. And since it is highly contagious, we are stuck at home until it passes, which is supposed to be 7 to 10 days. The Dr. did mention he seemed to get a very mild case, so we are lucky. Some of the initial symptoms of the virus are normal cold symptoms like fever, runny noses and sore throats...none of which E had, which is why I wasn't sure what he had. The only thing he got were a few red blister-like bumps on his rear-end and later in the day I noticed 3 -4 spots on each hand and feet. While the Dr did notice a couple of red spots in his mouth, it hasn't seemed to affect his appetite, which is also a big plus. SOOOO....the big question is "will Cooper get it now"? Well, the Dr. said it was HIGHLY likely, so now we are just waiting. He doesn't seem to be showing any signs and E is into day 3 now, so maybe, just maybe we will luck out and Cooper won't end up getting it. With as much as Cooper has his hands in his mouth, I have a feeling we won't be that lucky, but we'll keep our fingers crossed and in the meantime, continue to keep the boys as far away as possible from one another.

Just another reason I am ready for this little adventure of ours to come to an end soon! This isn't something I think he would have caught back in the US....while I think they do have cases of it, I've read that it is very common here in Asia....hmmm, anything to do with the fact that people here think running a little water over their hands (which they may or may not have used for wiping!) after using the toilet is actually practicing good hygiene!?!?

Here are a few random pictures from this month....mostly from our indoor playtime, which looks like we'll be having alot more of over the next week. Hopefully, we won't all have gone mad by the end of it!!

Did you notice what a mess they made of their toys just so they could empty the boxes to sit in them!?!? This was a fun clean-up morning when they were through playing....especially since Mommy is a bit anal and likes to get everything back into it's assigned bin!!

This one is actually a picture E took of Coop!

No, Cooper didn't take this one of E...I think Marte did!

A new favorite play spot...and it continues to be even after a few bumps to the noggin - why don't they learn from things like that!??!

My mom and dad brought this pool with them when they came and we've actually only filled it up once with water to play outside - it's been a bigger hit inside!! They love to hide under it....Cooper was actually under it when I took this picture.

The crab pool float has also been another inside hit. He hates to be in it when we are at the pool, but you can't get him away from climbing in and out of it when it's inside....go figure!

And of course, Evan has to do everything Cooper does! Isn't is suppose to be little brother mimicking big brother?!?!?!

The pool also serves as a good containment area...on this particular day they threw a few cars and other toys in it to play with - it managed to keep them entertained for a good half hour. It also served as a place for E to go through one of his flashcard sessions with Cooper. It's darling he shows Cooper one of the flashcards and says "Cooper, what's this - what's this....it's a dragonfly....say dragonfly"! And here I was worried that I wasn't spending enough one-on-one time with Cooper teaching him things like I did with E....guess he has big brother to do the teaching now!

And why is it that big brother will show no interest in a toy for ages and then as soon as little brother wants to play with it, it suddenly becomes the only toy in the room?!?! That's been the case with the rocking horse...E has had it for over a year and a half and hardly ever wanted to be on it and now that Cooper LOVES being on it, he all of a sudden has a desire to want the same thing. Needless to say, "sharing" has been a hot topic in our household lately!!

Little Tiger on his 13 month birthday!

One afternoon I went to check on E and this is how I found his bed....he'd placed all his animals and blankets on the railing of his crib. Yes, he is still in his crib and doesn't seem to mind one bit, so I'm keeping him in it for a bit longer. I think we'll go ahead and convert it by his 3rd birthday. We know he does well in a toddler bed since he used one while we were back in the states for X-mas, so hopefully the transition goes as smoothly here at home.

Of course, the only blanket that he didn't put on the bed was his favorite blankie that he can't do without.

E was trying to give Coop "a haircut" with my curling iron. As you can tell, Cooper wasn't enjoying his haircut.

I thought they both looked like such big boys sitting on the step having their drink and snack after their nap, so I just had to get a picture of it!

Cooper at his Gymboree class, loving every part of it! I think he gets a little braver at walking everytime we go...maybe it has to do something with the cushioned mats, where he knows it won't hurt if he falls.

We joined E at Kidz Gym when Cooper was finished at Gymboree.

And nothing like 2 sleeping boys after a long, hard day of playing in KL!!

Since BeBe and Boss left, I've tried to keep up walks to the clubhouse with Evan on the days he doesn't have school and it's not too extremely hot out. He so enjoys his walks. The kid is going to love it when we make it back to the states and he can actually spend extended times outdoors and not become beet-red after 20 minutes!

Yes, the emptying of toy bins...so he can sit in them...has become a real favorite of Coop's

Some more fun times!!

The Melaka Tower

Yesterday, we ventured out to downtown Melaka and tried out another tourist attraction we'd yet to visit, The Melaka Tower. It is much like the Eye on Malaysia that just takes you up to give you a view of the "beautiful" city of Melaka. You know I still shrug everytime I think back to the conversation I had with an expat wife that lived here several years ago...for 4 years...who said they absolutely loved this place. What in the world am I missing!!! Don't get me wrong, it's been a great experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything, but I don't think I could ever go as far as saying I've ever "loved" it!!! I know they were here during a much different time...when the COP project was in full swing and there were other American expats, so maybe it made the experience a bit easier....but "loving" it....I don't know! Maybe we aren't as adventurous as I once thought we were! Anyhow, I digress....

It was actually a decent attraction. It took us up - not sure how high...high enough on a Malaysian engineered contraption, that is for sure.....and then did about 5 turns and back down again. The boys loved it and they don't seem to have a fear of heights one bit! Andrew and I, on the other hand, were glad to be back down at the bottom safely (given that they had performed some sort of maintenance right before our ride)! After our ride, we had a nice afternoon lunch out and then headed home for a good nap!

I'm not sure if I've ever posted any pictures of Melaka, so here are a few of the downtown area and as far as we could see of the city from the tower.

The boat is some other historical site, but I couldn't even begin to tell you about it...never have visited it either!

I believe the 2 tallest buildings are both hotels. You can actually get a glimpse of the mountains in the background....where I'm sure it's much cooler!!

Those are our 2 malls on either side of the street...The Dataran Pahlawan and Makhota Parade

This one shows the Melaka River that winds through downtown Melaka - they offer a river cruise that we've yet to take also...it's been dubbed "the sewer tour"....can you guess why we haven't been real excited about going on it?!?!?

That's the Eye on Malaysia at the top of the picture that we've gone on a couple of times...overlooking the Melaka Straits. The red roofed buildings are all shop lots that have various types of businesses in them.

And way, way back in the background is where the condos are - a big expat community, as well as where Andrew's plant is located. In the foreground are rows and rows of houses...essentially a specific neighborhood - called "kampangs"

Good Times!!

Nothing but fun times for my two little ones lately. Andrew had a 3 day holiday so we decided to head up to KL and just hang for the weekend. We had nothing on the agenda (which made it extra nice and relaxing), just decided to get out of Melaka for a bit. We enjoyed some good (this is a relative term) Western food, some fun pool time and lots of fun playtime.

We took the boys to their favorite KidzGym to play for a couple of hours and then went and did some grocery shopping. Later that afternoon, Andrew and I caught a flick (Night at the Museum 2.…good, but much like the first) while Marte stayed with the boys while they napped. The next day we hung at the pool for awhile and then later that evening had some fun feeding the fish at the hotel we always stay at (I swear the people there feel like family now as often as we see them!!) and then went over to the KLCC play area and had lots of fun with the boys. Cooper loved the swings (E still hates them to this day…he’ll get in one but just for a minute) and the springy rides they have (you know those that just move back and forth….what are those called anyhow?!?!). Evan loved going through every tunnel and slide the park had….and there are tons of them! We then went and had a nice outdoor dinner to wrap up the evening. The kids loved it - they love making new friends with the waiters and waitresses everywhere we go. Andrew and I had planned on taking advantage of the evenings and going out someplace to have a few drinks and listen to some music, but instead (the old people that we are) we ended up just hanging out by the pool, having some wine and reading our books….did I just openly admit to that?!?!? It was too nice to pass up!! The pool is on the 22nd floor of the hotel, which overlooks the Petronas Twin Towers so it’s a beautiful site….not to mention the ambiance provided by the dimly lit pool and all the other city lights…and the wonderfully nice breeze you get that high up. So nice in fact, that Andrew fell asleep on one of the loungers….at 10:30!!! Wild times!!

It was a great time and I so enjoy spending these moments with my wonderful husband and my amazing little boys - you know the relaxing ones where there is no schedule, no agenda…life does not get any better than this! And you know what, they were perfect angels the entire weekend….maybe they, too, sensed the relaxing time we were having !! Now….how do I emulate the weekend so it’s like that ALL the time!?!???!

My little E is finally getting to that point where he is a bit more adventurous. He's always been my more timid and cautious one and now I think he is starting to let loose a bit more! He even made several little friends while we were there...they were a bit older than him so it took him a little more to try to keep up! I heard him at one point saying..."hey guys, wait for me....what's your name?" If you know Evan, that is so out of character for him. Coop on the other hand....my little social butterfly!

Feeding the fish and ducks outside our hotel.

And back home again...

Coop loves looking out the windows and making his "ooo ooo" monkey sounds