At the Playground

Look at all those teeth! #16 finally came through recently.


Ben loves going to the playground with Daddy...I think because he's a lot more active than Mommy these days. I look forward to being able to do more physically with Ben after this baby arrives, especially to pick him up and carry him around again. I miss it so much!




Ben is obsessed with drinking from cups these days...and he's apparently not too picky about where the cup comes from! I stripped him down to his diaper because he gets completely soaked enjoying this activity.


Big cups don't deter him, either...


He also tried out some chopsticks after watching me eat with them (that's all you get with local take-out here!) but didn't have much success.


We finally bought Ben a booster seat over the weekend and I could barely pry him out of it today. Who knew a new chair could be so much fun? And yes, he's naked again, but this time because he was playing with markers and that means color everywhere!


Baby #2 is growing right along and things have been going well lately. He's such an active guy and I feel a lot more kicking than I remember getting from Ben. I've also had the pleasure of feeling the kicks straight to the bladder with this little guy, a joy Ben spared me from. I'm about the same size and nearly the same gestational week of Ben's delivery so it's been hard not to be thinking about how unexpected and traumatic his birth was for us. We thank God every day for the miracles he performed in keeping Ben alive and healthy but we sure don't want to go through that again.

On an interesting note, my doctor was going through the records I brought about Ben's birth and she noticed that even though I had a normal low transverse abdominal incision I had a vertical uterine incision (I can't tell her why...I was a little out of it that night!). It's not common to do that anymore unless special circumstances require it so that means that I will always need a c-section for future births to minimize the risk of the scar rupturing.

Stacey and Jason, part II

Ben loves my baby belly and the way my belly button is changing! He was getting all excited to see Aunt Stacey and Uncle Jason again on Friday but had to go to bed before their flight arrived.


We picked them up at the airport and got some pepper crab on the east coast, then headed to the historic Raffles Hotel for their famous Singapore Slings.


On Saturday, we all went to the Bird Park where Ben got up close to a few penguins.



I was so excited to watch Ben feed the lorikeets but it was getting really hot and most of them had taken refuge in the shade below the visitor bridges. He only got to see a few but seemed to like them enough that he'll be interested in seeing them again on our next visit.


Being silly with Uncle Jason and Aunt Stacey...


Ben was pretty fascinated with our visitors and thought it was hilarious every time Stacey blew her nose.


On Saturday night we took a ride on the Singapore Flyer, currently the world's biggest ferris wheel, to get a nice view of the city. It had just rained but stopped right in time for us to enjoy the sights. Stacey and Jason were very fortunate to get good weather here because it rained for a solid week before they arrived, stopped for a few days, rained the entire time they were in Phuket, stopped again when they got back, and started raining again today now that they are gone.


Here's a view of Marina Bay and the buildings of downtown. You can see the floating parade platform that they use for the National Day parade and the grandstands on the right. Now they are building the Formula 1 racetrack in front of the stands for Singapore's first race in September. And yes, Matt already has tickets!


We took lots of pictures! The capsules are nice, air-conditioned bubbles to enjoy on the 30-minute ride and ours wasn't full so we had plenty of room to walk around.


This will be Singapore's first casino when it's finished in a few years.


This ferris wheel is TALL!! It's 165 meters at the top, about 42 stories high.


Afterwards we went to check out Singapore's mascot of sorts, the merlion (half mermaid, half lion). We spent the rest of the evening showing Stacey and Jason around the waterfront area where most of the city's nightlife is situated.


It was so nice to spend Easter with some family! We all went to church and brunch together, then we sadly let Stacey and Jason pack up and head to Melbourne for the rest of their vacation. We loved having visitors here and hated to see them leave but we know they're having a wonderful time in Australia right now. Our next scheduled visitors will be Grammy and Grumpy Shepherd in August, so at least we have that to look forward to!

Ben has managed to find new entertainment now that the house has gotten quiet again. Today he kept digging through his pajama drawer and bringing me random things, so I just kept putting them on him.


He's finally tall enough to climb in the chair on his own! Can you tell he's excited?

Fun with Markers

Stacey and Jason have already left to spend a few days in Phuket, Thailand, so we're entertaining ourselves until they get back on Friday. Hopefully they'll be recovered from their jetlag by then because we have a lot to do over the weekend! It's so exciting to see some family, but also to get to share our Singapore lives with someone. I never thought I'd live so far away from my sister so thank goodness for phones and email!

While Ben is waiting for his entertainment to return, he has managed to take his art to a new extreme. I took off his clothes because I found out that the markers are NOT washable on fabric and he took advantage of all the new canvas to color. (they do wash right off skin and the floor, thank goodness)


The diaper came off as well (lucky for me he figured out that trick several months ago) and Ben even managed to color on his little bottom. That's true talent.


Baby #2 is growing and getting more active by the day. We had our detailed 20-week ultrasound last week and everything looks great so far. And it's still definitely a boy! He was consistently measuring large in all the fields so the doctor thinks I'm actually a week more pregnant than originally thought, but she hasn't changed my due date yet. It was originally July 23rd so that may end up being correct after all. We will be thrilled with any July birthdate because that would mean the baby would be full-term!

I'm on my way to (gulp) sign Ben up for preschool tomorrow morning. I have really mixed feelings about it but it's only 3 mornings a week and it's right across the street. He won't actually start until the end of May so I have a long time to get used to the idea but I can't believe my baby will be going to school already! He's learning so quickly now that I think the external stimulus will be great for him, as well as the added socialization he can't get at home. Ben has quit crying when we leave him in the nursery at church so I think he's old enough to do some more activities on his own. Plus, that will give me some time to relax at home and finish cooking baby #2. That's pretty high on our priority list this year!

We Got Visitors!

Our budding artist...





We found the suspension bridge at the botanic garden and Ben had a great time rocking on it and hanging on while others shook it. Ah, the joys of free entertainment...



Aunt Stacey and Uncle Jason arrived from Dallas early Monday morning! Unfortunately I haven't gotten a picture with them in it yet but Ben is loving the presents they brought. We are all so excited to have them here!!

Indoor Entertainment

Well, the rain has returned to Singapore so we've spent lots of wet afternoons inside looking for entertainment. Ben figured out that he fits nicely into his lego wagon when he dumps them all out.


He learned that his shopping cart fits into the shower.


He cleaned Daddy's desk with a baby wipe, along with about half of the house. Ben is actually pretty helpful at restaurants because he'll wipe up the table when he's done.


We got bored enough to go check the mail and were excited to find Easter cards from Grammy and Grumpy. Ben says thanks for a card with his own name on it!


This is a pretty common event in our bathroom. Unfortunately in this case, I haven't been able to get the lid out of the drain yet so the sink floods on a regular basis when Ben plays! It probably doesn't help that there are several q-tips, wrappers, and a pen down there as well.

Julia Gabriel Play Day

Last Friday was Ben's final day in his play class because he moves up to the older group next week. He had to say goodbye to his buddy Farkhan who was always nice enough to let Ben strum along with him on the guitar.


Making a little music with the other kiddos...


One last chance to enjoy music time with his teachers. Elizabeth in the pink shirt was his particular favorite and he managed to find some time in her lap every class.


Sharing a little dinner with Daddy...


Ben brought home his first art collection from play class! I might have helped him with a few of the masterpieces but I'm proud of all his work regardless. I was really amazed at the crafts ideas that the teachers would invent and even more impressed that these little kids (12 - 18 months) could mostly do them.


On Saturday we all headed to Changi park at the end of the airport's runway to take in some sunshine and see the airplanes. The island comes to a pretty abrupt end but the water was very pretty. Those islands in the distance are also part of Singapore, although I have no idea what's on them.


We tried to show Ben the airplanes as they took off and he was interested in the noise, but was too preoccupied by cracks, leaves, grass, and just about everything else to look up and see the planes. It was still a fun place for us to see the planes take off because when a 747 or 777 leaves the runway it seems like it's just barely overhead.


We sat down for lunch a little farther from the runway and Ben would make the airplane sign when one went over but was much more interested in eating Mom's food!


As for baby #2, he is an active little guy! I've been feeling him move around for several weeks and now I'm getting some serious kicks. It shouldn't be long before Matt and Ben get to share in that exciting experience. I only got to feel Ben strongly for a few weeks before he was born so I'm hoping for several months of that pleasure this time.

Another Boy!

Oops....it's a BOY!!! Matt and I need to start looking in the other half of the baby name book!

I have to give the doctor credit for warning me last time that the umbilical cord could have been hiding some boy parts because she was right! That kept me from going out and buying little dresses and bows or getting too caught up in the idea of having a girl. We are so excited to know that Ben will have a little brother.

Here's a good look at the little guy. I could clearly see all of his fingers while he was waving to us.

My Name is Trouble

A conversation with Ben...


His shirt is becoming more true by the day!

Taxi Cabbin'

My sweet little boy in his taxi carseat...


Even more adorable was when I looked back over and the little guy had fallen asleep!

Best Friends

Puppy and blankie are becoming permanent companions to Ben lately. I had to eat my words about not taking them anywhere when we dropped Ben off at the church nursery on Sunday because he took his friends with him. He's going through a really rough separation phase right now and freaks out when I leave, even if it's just for a minute, so his little buddies seem to help.


The rain has returned here so we've been looking for indoor entertainment. Ben worked on his balancing skills at the playground on Saturday.


Later we went and had some Memphis-style barbeque, which was wonderful, and Ben helped himself to the pulled pork. It was one of the best western meals we've had here even though it wasn't the same as Texas barbeque...we were not complaining!


Ben also helped himself to my barbeque sauce and licked it off each finger.


I'm not sure where he found these today but suddenly Ben likes his little sunglasses! I used to have to take a picture as fast as possible before he ripped them off and now he's bringing them to me for help getting them on.



I could hear Ben talking before I went in to get him this morning so I had to grab the camera and see what he'd say...he's learning several new words a day.