Still in suspense

We've returned from our Dr. appt in KL today and no such luck on finding out what we are having....bummer...I was really hoping to finally know! I think Andrew must have jinxed us because he woke up this morning saying he had a feeling we weren't going to find out today...and sure enough. What we did find out is that the baby is healthy and growing just as expected. We got to see his/her face, hands and feet....and legs, which by the way were crossed and why the Dr wasn't able to give us an indication of what we will be having - what a stinker........the baby, not the Dr!! Even though I was a bit disappointed that we didn't find out, it was a nice feeling to know all is going well thus far. But what makes it even worse, is that we now have to wait until we return from the holidays and have our next appt....Jan 16th!! Another month....the suspense is killing me!! I'm not sure how those couples do it.....those that never want to find out the sex of the baby until the baby is born! I could never do it!

Anyhow, we are busily getting ready to leave on Monday now. We have everything we are taking laid out and I will spend tomorrow getting it packed into the suitcases. Luckily, I think we are going to end up having plenty of room to bring things back with us. I was hoping to do some gender specific shopping for the new baby while we were back in the states, but I guess that won't be happening now. Although, I'm sure I'll still manage to do some shopping anyhow. Since we are allowed a baby shipment from the US, we are going ahead and purchasing a crib and dresser and double stroller while we are there for the holidays and having it shipped to us here. I've got a 500lb limit, so I'm hoping to get a few other items included in the shipment as well. I'm glad COP offers this perk because things here just aren't made of the same quality and if they are US type products they cost about 2-3 times as much. For example, you know the simple exersaucers you can get in the US for about $80-90, you find them here (KL or Singapore, not Melaka) for about $220.....it's absurd!!

Wish we had been able to share some exciting news with everyone today, but guess you'll have to wait now too!! We'll be sure and let everyone know how our 26 hour trip back home with a 14 month old goes.....I have a feeling it's going to be an adventure like no other!! Hopefully, it just doesn't turn out being like our last trip back home.....a 2 full day journey!

Oh and by the way, we will have Christmas cards headed your way, but I'm not sure you'll actually get them by Christmas....sorry for my poor planning this year. I'd been thinking about starting the Christmas card process since the end of October and just never got around to it....so, sorry if they are so late. Below is a picture of Evan that I had intended to be our Christmas card, but Andrew thought it looked more like a card we'd send out if we were living in some place like Norway (guess the wool pants and vest looked to snowy!), so we went a different route with the ones you are actually getting. But, I thought this one was too cute not to share with everyone!!

Hope everyone has a great holiday season!!

Less than a week away....

until we make our 25 hour trek back to the US!!! We are so excited. It has been 6 months since we've been back and not that I miss it too much...I'm just ready to get to spend time with all our family during the holidays. We leave on the 17th and will spend through Christmas day with my parents in Laredo (also travelling to Eldorado to see my grandparents and other family members) and then on the 26th we will travel to Oklahoma to spend some time with Andrew's side of the family. We then head back to Melaka on the 2nd of January. We might be needing some of the Malaysian warmth after spending some time in OK with the weather they have been getting the last few days. I think Andrew's mom is secretly praying for some serious winter weather so that our flight is canceled and we can stay a bit longer!

I love Christmas time and it will be so much more exciting this year with Evan. Last year, he was just a tiny one so he pretty much slept through the holidays. We are looking forward to watching E spend some time with his cousin in Oklahoma. Since Evan wasn't getting around much on his own during our last visit, it was a little hard for Drew and him to play together, but I think this visit will be a whole different story. His BeBe and Boss are also thrilled to see him again. They've gone out and bought him a new slide and swing to play on while we are there and he also got a new red wagon...so his Boss is eagerly awaiting for E to arrive so he can pull him to the playground down the street from their house in it. And well, his Nana and Pop are just dying to see him too ....they haven't seen him in 6 months (well, except via our webcam), so they aren't going to believe how much he has changed since they last saw him! I'm still amazed at how much he changes on a daily basis these days!! His lastest is turning around in circles when you tell him to dance and then turn around and we've finally got him saying "please"....although it comes out more like "eezzzz". He is much better at asking for "cheese", which actually comes out like "cheese"!

I've spent the last couple of days trying to get things in order (as well as do my holiday on-line shopping.....I just love the internet!!) before we head out. I'm trying to ensure we take the right things - hmmmm, 80 degress in Laredo....and 40 degress in Oklahoma - that presents a problem of its own....and then making sure we take enough luggage to be able to bring back things from Christmas and all our other "can't do without" US items. And well, I'm just not really fitting into any of my jeans or other winter clothes any longer, so guess I'll have to do some shopping while back in the states. By the way, big news on the way - hopefully we find out what we are having on Friday....hopefully, the baby will be in the right position...I'm tired of calling him a her or her a him! Although, I have a really strong feeling we might have another boy on our hands....guess we'll know soon enough!!

We went to S'pore this weekend and had a great time. There were Christmas lights, trees, and music everywhere we went. Our hotel even had 2 beautiful, REAL trees in the lobby....they smelled wonderful and looked beautiful!!! I miss not having our own tree this year, but it was nice to surround ourselves in the Christmas feel while we were there. E and I got our flu vaccinations while we were there as well. We thought we'd wait and get E his when he visits the pedi while back in the US, but then I thought it might help against anything he might catch while we are travelling back. Although, I think it takes a couple of weeks for it to become effective so hopefully neither of us catch it while travelling. This was the first injection he has had since he was 6 months old, so we weren't sure what to expect....and strangely enough, we got nothing when the Dr gave him the shot. He tensed up a bit, but never let out even the tiniest whimper....he actually laughed at Andrew and I as we tried to distract him!! What a tough little man....sure hope his set of vaccinations go as well when we visit the pediatrician next week!!

And oh yeah, E got his 5th haircut while we were there as welll.

Well, we hope everyone is having a great time getting ready for the holidays and looking forward to being away from work for a bit and enjoying some family time....we sure are!!! We'll be sure and post something this weekend about what we are having.

Priceless!!

When my parents came for Evan's birthday in September, my mom brought along my old cowboy boots she had stored away from when I was little. While Evan and I were going through his closet yesterday to clean out some of the stuff that doesn't fit any longer, we came across the boots. I figured he had a bit longer before he'd actually fit into them, but as we discovered....after 5 minutes of trying to squeeze him into them.... they barely fit him anymore. He has quite a fat foot so it made it almost impossible to get them on. He was a good trooper as I forced them on to at least get a picture!! It was hilarious...since they are so slick on the bottom, he had a hard time trying to walk around in them on the wood and tile floors. He would just stand there until I took his hand to help him walk. :-) Anyhow, here are a couple of the pictures we managed to take of him in his....or rather Mommy's.... cowboy boots!

"Get your guns up"

So how about those Red Raiders?!?!? Just when I'd written them off, they went and gave the OU Sooners one of the biggest upsets of their season. Since we are big supporters of the Sooners as well, we hated that it ruined their standings, but I have to say it was fun to watch. I had told Andrew that I was was going to put Evan in his TTU outfit for the game and he told me it was fine, but we had to make it a bet. If Tech lost, then Evan wasn't allowed to sport any Texas Tech stuff to support them for another 5 years and that he would take the same bet with the Sooners. Well.....we all know what kind of season the Red Raiders have been having, so I couldn't put my money where my mouth was, soooo..........we comprised.......OU shirt and TTU shorts!!

Should have taken that bet!!!!

We were in KL from Tuesday through Thursday with Andrew...at yet another hotel....for a 3-day meeting he had there. Some fascinating information - we did a count and found that Evan has stayed in 15 different hotels...and cribs...since he was 5 months old....what a little traveler! Ever since he has started walking (which seems like forever ago now!!), he seems to find a favorite spot at every new hotel we go to...mainly by the windows. He'll hang out there forever playing with his toys...or in this case, pretending to talk on the phone....and watching all the cars and people below. I had to include the 3RD picture below because it's his serious face - not from just not smiling this time, but because he was right in the middle of "doing his business"....can you see the concentration!?!?!

I thought this one was also worthy of posting. On the way to KL, we came to a road block the police had on the main highway....we still never figured out exactly what it was for....but they would occasionally pull over a car (maybe checking registration or something). Anyhow, as we were slowing to go through the road block, we pulled beside this truck. How safe does that look? I guess this is why Andrew gets a little nervous about Evan and I travelling alone on the highway. There are lorries like this all over the road....it's a bit ridiculous. The laws here seemed a bit skewed...they'll pull people over for no registration, but they will let lorries like this continue on the highways....go figure!!

Oh yeah, and I forgot to post this one the other day....I was stopped at a red light and tried to be sneaky about capturing this one. I didn't want her to see me taking it, but we see this all the time. I've only seen 4 on motorbike at one time, but Andrew has said the most he has seen is 6 (one in the basket. 2 kids between the mother and father and then one of the older kids standing up on the back wheel pegs). It's very scary. So needless to say, car seats are not required in this country. I know that this is the only means of transportation for some people, but keep the kiddos at home or at least consider a bus. This poses additional obstacles for those of us driving. I always try to give the motorbikes with kids on them as much space on the road as I can....it just breaks my heart when I see these tiny babies in their mothers arms though!!! Or rather one arm since she has to hold onto the husband with the other arm!!

I thought some of you might be interested in seeing some of things that we see that just make us go...."WOW"!!

Hope everyone had a delightful Thanksgiving and enjoyed time with your families. We spent our Thanksgiving at our American friends house last night (along with some of their local Chinese friends from their Hash running group). It was a great meal complete with turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes and marshmallows, and even pecan pie!! Of course, there was also something called oxtail soup served, but Andrew and I both had to pass. We are so horrible about not trying some of the local stuff. Anyhow, we had a great time and Evan was a complete angel...for most of the night. We didn't get him home and into bed until almost 10:00. He was being quite the party animal!! We are so looking forward to travelling home for the holidays to see our families....it will be here before we know it!!

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!!