Pictures!

Backing up to our last day in Singapore, my happy little baby played on the bed while I finished packing. It is no small feat to pack an adult and two small kids for a 7-week trip! Planning for over 24 hours on the road is the hardest because I don't want to be caught without something while we're en route anywhere so I tend to carry an excessive amount of stuff on the plane (see below).

Here was my load...it had to have been well over 80 pounds of stuff on the stroller (including kids) and a lot more in my backpack and purse. But we used nearly everything in there, including about a dozen diapers, so I don't regret carrying anything!

A view from the front side and a tired Mr. Ben in Tokyo wondering when we could get on the plane. He was already covered in all kinds of food from the day but for once he didn't ask for clean clothes. The red cup had been full of pretzels that he happily ate for dinner. Ben thought traveling was great because for once I didn't harrass him to eat well and let him have as much juice, sprite, and pretzels as he wanted.

A few hours later he was sacked out on the plane. We did his usual bedtime routine, minus the bath, because I brought his pajamas and books on the flight. The dry air did a real number on his hair!

And finally, we made it to Houston! I had to get a quick picture to commemorate Alex's first time in the United States. He's technically been on US soil before because we had to take him to the US embassy to get his passport, but this was his first time in the country.

Once we got to Grammy and Grumpy's house, it was great to enjoy some beautiful sunshine and fresh air after such a long trip. Ben had a great time on the playground but couldn't figure out why this was all bent....it was a casualty of Hurricane Ike but thankfully a huge oak tree fell just on this one section of the playground and didn't damage anything else.

Alex has been loving all the attention and lets us know by giving us big smiles all the time.

The boys were so happy to see Grandma and Grandpa Kirkham on Saturday! Ben was showing Grandma his new flashlight.

Alex was excited to find someone who looks just like him :)

Ben has found plenty of things to keep him busy here and his second favorite activity is playing "deadbug". You just roll on your back and stick your hands and feet in the air....

....but if you're Ben, there is no limit to the number of times this can be repeated!

His #1 favorite activity is anything having to do with kitty Abby. He says the phrase so often now that it comes out as "kibby Abby". She has to be around at every meal (not that she minds since Ben is quick with the handouts) and Ben knows where she is at all other times, just in case she needs a magazine....

...or some ketchup....

....or a little affection....

....or just some good ole conversation.

Ben asks her if she's had a good day and even told her to wash her hands today. He hasn't tried to help her with that yet but I'd love to see what happens if he does! She seems to like the attention and plays on the ground with Ben whenever he's shaking her toy.

Alex has been drinking formula like it's going out of style so I decided to let him try some rice cereal tonight. He seemed to like it and about every other bite actually went down, but his face still said "what was that stuff??".

Back in Texas

We all not only survived the long trip, we actually did really well! I was so proud of my boys because they really were on their best behavior the entire trip and slept quite a bit on the overnight flight. I got pretty much no sleep since I felt like I was on duty the entire time and would wake up at the slightest noise but I'm slowly catching up. Going to the bathroom with two kids was the most tricky part! Both boys have done really well with the time change during the day so far but Ben is still awake for several hours at night. Hopefully that will stop soon so I can get more than a few hours' sleep at a time! It's tough having two kids waking up at night.

They are both so happy to see all their grandparents, but Ben's favorite entertainment at the moment is Abby the cat. She's the first thing he talks about in the morning, the one he's looking for all day, and the last thing he talks about before bed (or in the middle of the night). Luckily she's enjoying all the attention, for the most part, and happy to be the recipient of his affection and kisses.

We've taken lots of pictures and I'll share more once I get more time. I still have only unpacked one of three suitcases because there are just lots more fun things to do around here!

Here We Go...

Tomorrow is the big day....the day when I spend over 24 hours traveling with a 2-year old and an infant. I must be out of my mind! We're waking up at 3am to catch a 6am flight to Tokyo (8 hours long), then have a 4-hour layover, then get on a 13-hour flight to Houston. With all of the time difference, we get in on the "same" day about 8 hours later. I have the feeling it's going to be the longest day of my life, both in hours and in sheer torture. I've been doing a little experiment this week to get the boys ready for the time change because it's tough to adjust to a 14-hour time difference, even for an adult. We've been waking up and going to bed an hour earlier each day so last night the boys were in bed at 5pm and we all woke up at 4am today. Now if I can get them to sleep around 4pm tonight, maybe 3am won't seem quite as painful tomorrow!

I am hoping and praying they'll both be on the best behavior while we're traveling and we'll have some very helpful flight attendants and nice passengers around us. Alex is still easy because he doesn't need a lot of entertainment yet...just give him something to chew on and he's good for 30 minutes. Ben is easier these days because he loves to watch videos so as long as the batteries hold out on his DVD player he can watch Elmo all the way to Texas. And if they'll both sleep at the same time for at least a couple of hours and I can catch some sleep, I think we'll make it!

If you happen to think of us tomorrow, please say a little prayer for a patient mom and two well-behaved children! We are SO excited to go back to Houston and see all the grandparents and family and friends we've missed for so long. A weird part of the expat life is that I'm basically putting my life here on hold for 7 weeks, so I've been saying goodbye to friends all week knowing I won't see them again for nearly 2 months, then I'll go back and pick up with my Texas friends I haven't seen since January. It's nice to have a network of friends on two continents but a little sad that I miss out on big stretches of their lives no matter where I am. I've been so grateful for the thoughtful friends that faithfully keep in touch even when I'm terrible about emailing sometimes because it make the miles shrink away and I've become a huge blog addict so I can watch my friends' kids grow and keep up with things back in the US. Thank goodness for the internet!

Huggable Baby and a Trip to the Zoo

I just love this picture of my smiley little baby! He is friendly to everyone now, even strangers in elevators who start talking to him. Hopefully he can charm some flight attendants into helping us next week when we get on our long flights.

And here's our huggable big boy at the zoo yesterday. It takes a while to get out of the house with all the accessories he has to wear!

We didn't get to see the white tigers because the exhibit is closed indefinitely. We found out that a few days ago one of the cleaners at the zoo jumped into the exhibit, swam across the moat, climbed up on the tigers' side and started antagonizing them. They of course they attacked him and the man was already dead before anyone could get in to help him. Pretty sad.

We did enjoy the baboons because there is a nice observation house right in the middle of their exhibit where we could watch all their antics up close. Ben kept pointing at the fans inside the house instead of watching the animals....go figure....

They just opened a new kids' park inside the zoo and we took Ben to enjoy all the new activities. This was the first time he'd seen a carousel and he was curious at first, but a little unsure once Daddy strapped him onto an animal.

Once it started going and Ben could wave each time it came around he got a little more excited but he still turned down a chance to ride again. And can you guess who picked the animal for him to ride? (hint: not Momma)

We saw some horses and Ben was saying "ooohhhh".

He got to feed some little ponies and goats.

But the best part is the new water park! It's a great play area and Ben absolutely loved it, but I need to remember to bring a swimsuit for myself next time because there were way too many places to get soaked.

Another fun thing I'd been wanting to do for a long time was feeding the elephants. They have an interesting show about the working elephants of Asia and afterward we got baskets of bananas and carrots to feed them.

Ben loved it!

We love the Singapore Zoo because it's so natural and a lot of animals have free run throughout the area, since it's a natural habitat for them. We ran across this little guy sitting on a fence and he was too busy scratching his fleas to care about the boy talking to him.

And last but not least, a look at the brothers...

Our Week

Here's Alex at 4 months. He's actually really close to sitting on his own but any time I prop him in a chair he just slides right down.

Ben has been obsessed with glass lately...windows, mirrors, you name it, he's got prints on it. Now I'm regretting not hanging the TV higher on the wall so the bottom half wouldn't always be covered in little fingerprints! Thank goodness someone was smart enough to put all the buttons on the top.

An interesting way to play with the tent!

It's raining (of course, but now it's truly monsoon season so I can't complain) this afternoon so here are the two boys watching Elmo:

This one isn't supposed to be watching TV yet but no matter where I put him he turns that head all the way around!

Alex has discovered the joys of the mouth...it's hilarious to watch him maneuver everything in that direction. He's quite the drooler now so I guess teeth may be appearing in the near future.

We've been playing on the porch a lot just to get outside and Ben loves the bubbles. I've tried to teach him to blow but all he does is "pffft" so I'm still doing all the work. I don't know what the bubbles have done but Ben is thanking each one as it pops.

4 months!

Alex had his 4-month checkup on Friday and he's doing great. He weighs 16 lbs 3 oz, putting him in the 75th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for length at 24.8 inches. I was surprised that his big head was only 16.5 inches and 50th percentile, so it's very average. Not many parents get excited about having such normal measurements, but anyone who's had a preemie or low-birthweight baby can understand our joy! Ben only weighs about 25 pounds and has rarely even registered on the weight chart in his life. I forget sometimes that Alex was a preemie himself because I don't have to correct for his age in any of his development, but I do laugh to think how big he might be if he was born full-term.

I got my first night off as a mother of two this weekend and it was wonderful. Two girlfriends and I went across the border into Malaysia to a resort and spent a day and a half relaxing by the pool and enjoying a massage. It was also nice to eat an entire meal while it was warm and sleep all night! I thoroughly enjoyed my much-needed break while all my boys spent some time together, but I was really excited to get home to see them all today. Thanks, Daddy, for taking great care of everyone!

Our Week in Pictures

For a pretty uneventful week it seems like I sure took a bunch of pictures!

Here are the boys hanging out watching Nemo. Little Alex loves TV more than Ben so I have to make sure he plays out of sight of the TV or he'll just sit there in a trance. Or I just have Ben stand right in front of him so all Alex can see is the back of Ben's head. Whatever works.

Our friends Cameron and Jack came to play one afternoon and it was fun for both boys because each had a friend 2 months older to play with. Alex was happy to share his playmat.

Ben was not quite as happy to share his cars but he quickly came around. He's really good about sharing most of the time, although when a kid takes his shopping cart on the playground the claws come out.

Ben disappeared after his bath one night and this is where I found him. I was just going to leave him to sleep in his tent for the night but he finally came out!

I've always thought mullets are hilarous. For those of you who aren't familiar with the infamous hairstyle, it's short in the front and long in the back. (Business up front, party in the back!) I don't see Alex from this view that often so I completely forgot he has a tiny mullet right now and I had to get a picture. The only long hair is right along his neck.

Bedtime has been a challenge with two kids but we're finally getting a nice routine down where no one cries and both boys get to sleep when they're ready. If Alex gets one last nap while we're eating dinner, he can play while Ben gets his bath and then read books with us in bed while Ben drinks his milk. Then as soon as Ben is done, I give Alex his bath and bottle and he's off to bed as well. There are definitely exceptions when Alex is tired first and I have to figure out how to juggle their bedtimes but I love the days when it works out well and we can all cuddle in bed together.

Alex has learned the fine art of dragging everything into his mouth. I couldn't figure out why his blanket was always wet when he woke up but I realized he's been chewing on it as soon as he wakes up all the time. Ahh, back to the world of drool on everything....

Ben had some red kool-aid...can you tell?

Another playdate and this time a girlfriend for Ben! Kiana wanted to hold his hand everywhere we went.

We all had breakfast together then went to the botanic garden to let the kids get wet. Ben loved playing in the fountains, as usual, and even watered some plants with his bucket this time. He's going to have a great time at Grammy's house "helping" her keep her many plants watered!

I pulled out Ben's old walker so Alex could play with some of the toys. His feet are still several inches from the ground so he won't be going anywhere for a while.

But who was more interested? Ben immediately came over the check out all the toys.

And I should have expected this....

Here's Ben in action, messing with the baby swing and butchering the ABC song...

And here was the highlight of our week - Alex was chuckling for me! He won't do it all the time yet but when something is funny he has the cutest little laugh.

Trick or Treat

Ben had a great time trick or treating. It was his first time since last year he was in bed well before the fun started and I couldn't find a costume anyway. This year my sweet friend Lou Anne brought one back from the US for him so Ben went out in style. The sunglasses were his personal touch, of course.

We started with a parade around the pool but we could never get Ben pointed in the right direction, or even close enough to his friends to get a decent picture.

Ben and his friend Aiden got their first pieces of candy and Ben was pretty interested in this whole transaction process and was excited to see candy piling up in his bucket.

This is why I didn't even bother with a costume for Alex! I should have gotten something just for the pictures, but it's so hot here and I couldn't find a single infant costume that didn't look like it would roast the little guy.

Ben was taking inventory of his loot in the elevator. It was definitely different trick or treating in a complex instead of a neighborhood because it was crowded and complicated getting kids in and out of the elevators, but it was nice that all the front doors were so close together. Even so, Ben only lasted about an hour and he'd had enough. He never complained about his costume and didn't try to take anything off, even though he was all sweaty under the hat and probably couldn't see with his sunglasses on!

Ben and I went to Ikea on Saturday because it was raining (again) and I really needed to get out of the house. It has to be one of the most popular places in Singapore because it's an absolute madhouse on the weekends, but Ben thinks it's a playground so he didn't really care. He loves all the couches and kids things, I like the food. We both agree on the best thing there - the chocolate mousse!

This was our big purchase - a $10 play tent. Ben keeps dragging all his buddies in there to play and took care of some important phone calls. Alex isn't quite as excited but loves to watch Ben in action. I don't think he needs any toys as long as Ben is running around him.

And here's a look at what both of the guys are up to this week.
Alex is babbling and smiling all the time now!

And Ben is working on some new dance moves...he's trying to get his shoulders into the action and we were all laughing so hard. Good thing I happened to have my camera in the car with me! (and remember, the passenger sits on the left so I wasn't driving, even though this looks like it was filmed from the drivers' seat)