Sleep

Alex is my best friend today! He has slept through the night (7pm-7am) twice now so it's giving me hope that the days of getting up at night are nearly over. I started a "dream feed" about two weeks ago, where I just sneak in his room around 10pm, pick him up, and wiggle a bottle in his mouth. He barely stirs but that sucking reflex is so strong that Alex will down the whole bottle in about 5 minutes. Then he's back in the crib with a full tummy and I'm off to bed. Most nights he still wakes up at predictable times and I have to get up and reswaddle him and occasionally feed him, but last night he went the entire night without a peep. We were both in such a good mood this morning! It's amazing how much a good night's sleep can do for you, but also how you can survive for so long on a little sleep. Thank goodness the newborn weeks go by so quickly because I don't know how I was functioning on a couple hours here and there.

Ben got his first real haircut (as opposed to me butchering it in the bathroom) last week. It was a great place with TVs and balloons, so he was plenty distracted and sat completely still. If he would do that at home I think I could do a pretty decent job myself. When the lady pulled out the shaver I was a little unsure because Ben doesn't exactly have loads of hair, but it does look nice with the edges all shaped and trimmed.

Here's the before:

During:

And after (though the style only lasted for about 3 seconds before Ben patted it back down):

Since it's STILL raining every day we haven't been doing much, but we do go outside and play every afternoon if it isn't too wet. Ben has to have all his gear - shopping cart, sunglasses, keys in the pocket, and occasionally a phone. Alex is easier to pack - just a pacifier for this guy.

Sweet baby never lasts long with a little motion and the heat...

Ben's latest game is to go in the kitchen in the condo below us, even though he knows it's not ours. Most of the places in Singapore have a separate entrance into the kitchen so maids can come and go without going through the living area. We never use our kitchen door but the maid does open it sometimes to get a breeze since the kitchen is not airconditioned and Ben thinks it's so much fun to go in that door. So that makes it even more fun to go in the identical door in someone else's unit! Thank goodness the maid there is really sweet and thinks it's funny to chase Ben back out. In this picture he's pointing in the direction he wants to go and already laughing because he knows I'm about to say no.

Since it was a rainy afternoon yesterday we pulled out Candyland to see if Ben would be interested in a game yet. He didn't get the idea of the game at all but he was really good about taking turns drawing cards. If nothing else, it's helping him practice his colors and waiting his turn.

The countdown has begun - only 1 month until the boys and I are on our way back to the US! We can't wait!! Well, I can't wait....they have no idea what they're about to go through with the flights and jetlag. I'm a little nervous that Alex's first plane ride will be an 8-hour flight to Tokyo, followed by a 13-hour flight to Houston. Let's hope this guy is a good flier! We bought Ben an early Christmas gift yesterday - a portable DVD player so he can watch as much Elmo and Thomas as he wants and save my sanity on the trip.