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!!

This is Malaysia

I took these pictures several weeks ago and was going to write a post about it and never got around to it....imagine that!! Anyhow, I thought everyone might find it interesting too see a few of the things we've come to notice about things here in Malaysia and don't quite understand.....like......

1) How is it possible to lose a load of this size right in the middle of a busy downtown street?!? If you understood how traffic is already, you can only imagine what kind of a mess this caused. Do people slow down or stop until everything is checked out and moved out of the way....oh no.....it turns into let's just see how small of a space we can squeeze through to get past it!! So like the rest of the Malaysians we inched through the part of the road not occupied by the broke-down lorry....at the same time trying not to take out the guys on motor bikes to our left. Oh yeah, did I mention Andrew and I got hit a few weeks ago while sitting at a red light......some idiot thought 10 seconds was too long to wait to try to turn left.....so as they do here, tried to squeeze through the few inches he had between us and the ditch on his left side..... and his side view mirror clipped ours as he didn't quite gauge the distance well enough. Andrew nearly had a fit honking his horn and rolling down his window to yell at the guy, but yeah....a whole lot of good that did!!!! Luckily, no serious damage, just some scratch....although it felt like he had pulled the whole mirror off....maybe the mirrors are made to withstand stuff like that since it probably happens all the time.
2) Malaysians will take a some tin and boards and make anything from a food hawker stall to a fruit/vegetable stand.......to yes, even a roadside barber shop. That is right....what you see below is a gentleman laying back and getting a shave. I thought this was hilarious. I was sitting at a red light, turned to my right and noticed this make-shift barber shop. This is Malaysia!

3) Why everyone thinks it is okay to double-park in the middle of one of the busiest downtown streets and make it almost impossible for everyone else to travel down. The picture below does not do justice of what I speak about. I took this at a very empty time of the day, but hope to capture one later of just how crazy it can get. It's a one way road with 2 lanes, but about the only rule that applies is that it is a one-waystreet ......no lanes apply when it gets busy. I'll have to post that picture at a later date. But the double-parking thing happens all over town and it is absolutely the most frustrating thing ever. It's hard enough to have to navigate through moving traffic, must less the ones that just stop in the middle of the road to park. These are Malaysians. We once even had one of the Singapore taxi cab drivers honking at a Malaysian car telling us how they "do this in their country", but how it is not allowed in Singapore.....think there was a bit of hostility in that comment?!?!?
And 4) what in the world is up with the pillows and tissue box holder in the rear window?!??! We thought it was just a few people when we first noticed it, but it seems like just about everyone does it. Are the pillows for napping during long journeys.....in case of a break-down they will have something to rest on.....because please tell me they are not for decorative purposes....a house is for decorating, not a car!!!
Anyhow, these have been some of our latest observations of the country. It is definitely quite interesting and sometimes makes us wonder what on earth we are doing here!!! No seriously, we are really enjoying ourselves and the new experiences. We look forward to the rest of our time here. Who knows maybe we'll bring back the fad of having decorative pillows in our rear window back to the states with us when we return!!!!

Enjoying our visitor and looking forward to more....

It's been 2 weeks now since Jennifer arrived and we have enjoyed every minute of having her here. Although, I don't think she was quite aware of how much work a one-year old would actually entail...so she is off having a nice, relaxing (baby-free) time in Tioman right now. Only Jennifer could travel to some remote island by herself and have a great time doing it!! She was hoping to get some jungle-trekking, snorkling and beachtime in for a few days. I'm just glad she is able to experience a little bit more of what Malaysia has to offer. It's tough to get alot in when having to travel with a little one, so I'm glad she ended up deciding to go on her own. Our driver brings her back to Melaka Sunday evening.

As for things we've done since Jen has been here....well, we visited one of Melaka's tourist attractions....a place called Mini Malaysia. It has replicas of traditional Malaysian houses from each of the 13 Malaysian states....sounds a bit interesting, doesn't it?? Well, it wasn't....it was hot....and they all looked the same!! Evan enjoyed himself though...it was the first time we had him in his back carrier and he loved it!!We also went to Jonker street one evening....a street that closes down on the weekends in the evenings and are then filled with all sorts of vendors...from food to Malaysian souvenirs to a bunch of junk!!! We had a good time and Jen was able to do some good Christmas shopping. We also spent a weekend in KL. Jen and I went to Chinatown (while Andrew stayed at the hotel with Evan and put him down for the night.....I know, what a great dad, isn't he??) . We ate some great Chinese food and did some bargaining on some knock-off Coach handbags and pirated movies. We were then fortunate enough to get a taxi driver back to the hotel that lectured us the entire way about us doing our part to keep "those sort of people" in business. Yeah, yeah....us and the thousand other people there!! Actually, it was really nice, not crowded at all. I think because it is now Ramaddan, most of the Malaysian Muslims were off eating instead of shopping. It started on Sept 13 and goes through Oct 12. Andrew says it is quite interesting around the office, as more work now gets done since people don't take there regular snack breaks during this time - they are only allowed to eat and drink between 7pm and 6am - but they are more uptight now since they are all hungry!! While in KL, we also made it up to the Petronas Twin Towers Skybridge - it was quite a view (In the picture below, Evan is sporting the 3-D glasses they gave us in order to watch this video prior to going up to the skybridge) ....and then thought we needed Jen to take our usual photos in front of the towers as well.

We also went to the Aquarium in KL. It was pretty interesting. They had an underwater viewing that let you stand on this conveyor belt thing and let you see the fish all around you. We also got to see the fish getting fed. Evan kept thinking he could actually touch them...not realizing there was glass between him and the fish.

Let's see, what else have we done.....well, we've had alot of pool time and Jen and I actually went out and played 9 holes last Monday while the babysitter looked after Evan. We had alot of fun...I think it actually made Jennifer consider a stay-at-home role, she's sort of liking this not working thing......sorry, Matt!!

So, my parents arrive in Singapore on Sunday night, and Evan and I will go and pick them up first thing Monday morning (with the driver, of course....I'm still not brave enough to tackle Singapore on my own!). We are so excited to have them here and I know they are thoroughly looking forward to seeing Evan....well, probably more hugging and kissing him...since they practically see him everyday on the webcam. We aren't giving them much time to settle in because we then all head out to Phuket, Thailand on Wednesday. We'll be there until Sunday. We've heard so many great things about Phuket (aside from the latest plane crash....we are playing the odds here....what is the likelihood of 2 planes crashing at the same airport in the same month....be praying for us nevertheless!)) that we can hardly wait. This will be the first vacation with family, so we are looking forward to having some babysitters on hand...party, party, party!! I'll be sure and post some pictures when we return. We actually return on Evan's 1st birthday, so we are planning on having his official party on Monday instead so he will be well rested and in a good mood. What a lucky kid.....not many (American kids) can say they spent their first birthday in Thailand!!

As for other latest Evan news....his naps aren't as consistent as in the past, but he is still taking at least 1 good nap a day with 2 on most days! He is walking around everywhere on his own and he has also learned to climb up the stairs with no help at all. But, we are still having some trouble coming back down. He thinks he can just walk down them and is being totally resistant of having me try to show him how to come down on his tummy or bottom.

Here is one where I caught up to him after he was trying to touch the pictures on the nightstand and turned away as I told him "we don 't touch those".....which by the way has fortunately deterred him from actually touching them....wow.... let's see how long the obedience lasts.....
And here is one that shows the multi-tasker that he is already. He manages to walk with things in both hands as well as drink from his sippy cup while walking.... we are so very proud of our little guy!! And.... I continue to stay fit following him around all day long!!!!

And one last one that shows how I was able to finish this post........he kept busy taking everything out of his diaper bag.....and what you fail to see are all the shoes to the right that he pulled down from this shoe rack we have in the entry hall....this kept him busy for at least 20 minutes!!

I'll be sure and get some vacation pictures as well as birthday pictures out on the site soon after we return. I should have tons more time now that I have some of the grandparents around to keep E entertained for the next 16 days!! I'm not sure I'm going to let them go back home!!

I think it was only a phase.....which is hopefully over!!

Sorry for the delay in getting another post out. I've gotten a bit behind for a couple of reasons.....one, because we haven't done much to really warrant writing about lately and two, because my handsome little guy has elected to spend all of his time with his mommy during the day......AWAKE..... and not napping! Yep, for the last 5 days prior to yesterday, he decided he was only going to take one nap a day or for a couple of days....no nap at all!! Oddly enough, there was no change to his night time sleep. We'd go through our normal bedtime routine and then lay him in his bed and walk away and he'd fall asleep on his own....just like he has the last 5 months ....and sleep through the night. But for some unexplainable reason, it just wasn't working for naps any longer (he'd wail if I walked out of the room after putting him in his bed!!). Maybe it is his new found freedom to walk around and there are too many exciting things for him to see, so he doesn't want to close his eyes for one second thinking he might miss out on something.....who knows. All I know is that for those few days I was seriously considering making him an only child!!! I realized I am way too spoiled by what a good sleeper he has been. It required no effort at all to get him to nap or to sleep at night up until now. So these few days were very trying. But we added some rocking and reading into our nap time routine and then I put a few soft books in his crib and now it seems like after I rock him for a bit and put him in his crib - he plays with the books for awhile and then falls asleep. I know this because the last three naps he has fallen asleep in the most awkward, uncomfortable looking positions (like he was sitting and then just leaned forward and fell asleep). I didn't dare try to move him though, afraid I might wake him..... but he'd eventually get into a more comfortable position on his own. The funny thing is up until about 7:00 at night, he'd be in the best of moods - laughing and playing and not fussing one bit!!Although, I did have to be by him constantly because if I put him in his pack-n-play and went to the bathroom where he couldn't see me, he would pitch a fit!! I'm not sure what it was all about, but luckily it seems to have passed. Yesterday and today he has taken 2 really good naps each day (I think the last 5 days were catching up with him!!). I hope I'm not speaking too soon. Of course, I can completely deal with the no napping during the day, but I'm just thankful that nothing has impacted his nighttime sleep - I'm not sure I could handle the every 2-3 hour wake-ups again or not wanting to sleep at all....I like my sleep too much now!!!

One of my best friends is on her way to visit as I speak. She should be arriving in Japan soon and then flying into Singapore. Since she doesn't arrive until 1am, she is staying at a hotel and Azman, Evan and I are going to pick her up tomorrow around noon. We are so excited to have her!! She'll be staying with us for an entire month.....I hope she doesn't get too bored.....or change her mind about having children of her own while she is here, given Evan's latest sleeping habits (although like I said, hopefully that has passed!!). We are going to try to get in a couple of trips while she is here. Given Andrew's work schedule, I don't think we can manage much more. I think we are going to try to go to another resort on another Malaysian island called Langkawi (it's suppose to be like Tioman, but a much larger island)....and then when my parents are here, we are going to try to make it to Phuket, Thailand. They arrive on the 24th - in time to celebrate Evan's 1st birthday at the end of the month. So we'll have a house full for about 8 days, but it will be so nice to have some company around - and let them get a bit of the experience we have had. I know it is such a long trip, but we really do appreciate them making it all the way over here to visit. My parents are here for about 16 days, so Evan will be completely spoiled by the time they leave, I'm sure of it!! They are already travelling with 2 extra pieces of luggage with just "Evan stuff"!! I swear that BeBe and Boss still manage to find a way to spoil E even from 10,000 miles away!!!

Other Evan news to report......he is walking even more on his own now (as evidenced by the picture below.....don't worry, his dad was right near by - we weren't going to let him fall into the pool!!!). He used to just want to either walk to you or to something to hold onto nearby, but now he'll get going and walk to something clear across the room. Of course, if he can find a wall - he likes the security and would rather just walk along it (he looks like Spiderman!!) He still only has 8 teeth completely showing with the other top 2 still wanting to pop through....but haven't. I still can't get him to say much more than "DaDa", sometimes "MaMa" and "NoNoNoNo" and I swear he has said "Ball" on occasion. He is pointing at everything he wants now, which is why I can't wait for him to start talking so I can figure out what it is that he actually wants!! And he makes this absolutely hilarious noise when he sees something he wants to put in his mouth.....something that sounds like he is eating while he opens and closes his mouth. The good thing about it, is that I can always tell if he's found something on the floor to put in his mouth, because he'll make the sound before he does it...so he gets the "Evan don't put that in your mouth" before I can even check to see what he has!! He also loves looking for things. For the last few weeks, he loves to take these balls he has and roll them either the couch or the armoir in the TV room and then look underneath to try to find them. He can entertain himself forever doing it! It's too cute!!

The pictures above were from another pool day we had last weekend. We had a nice relaxing 3 day weekend with Andrew since he was off on Friday for Merdeka. The 2nd picture is of Evan with a mouthful of Dad's yummy chicken pasta salad (he loved it!!)....thus the bigger than usual cheeks!!!

Hope you enjoy the video below. It isn't the best, but it will give you an idea of how active Evan is lately!! He was throwing the balls this time as opposed to hiding them.....and he is giving climbing the stairs on his own one heck of try!!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting PS. There were no near misses in the making of this video ;-)