Well, we've been all over Houston, to Alabama, Dallas, and Mexico (but just Daddy on his hunting trip) so things have been pretty busy at the Kirkham household. Or Kirkham collection of suitcases would be more appropriate. We have bounced from house to house no less than 12 times since we got here in November and I've spent an outrageous amount of time packing and unpacking these poor kids. Ben about lost it today when he saw me packing everything up again to leave Grandma and Grandpa Kirkham's house one last time. The boys have been very patient but I think we'll all be happy and relieved to be back in our own house again, even though we're going to be really sad to leave on Tuesday. I'm already dreading leaving but won't let myself think about it just yet. We're in the home stretch now and loading up all the stuff we've bought and received for Christmas in our 7 suitcases for the long trip home.
So on to happier things, like what the boys have been up to lately!
Alex LOVES to eat. No big surprise there, since he's not exactly a lightweight, but I didn't know kids could get so excited over a bowl of cereal or a jar of peas. He says "mmmmm" the whole time when he's enjoying his food. He's already at 3 meals a day to keep that tummy full.
Who is that?!? 
We had several different Christmas celebrations and unfortunately I never got a group picture at any of them. I was just horrible about taking pictures this entire trip. First at the Kirkham house we opened gifts before Christmas and Ben quickly got the hang of tearing everything open. It was a slow process for him because he would make sure every shred of paper was gone before he'd continue.
Alex was more interested in hitting the pretty packages and drooling on them.
Then we were off to Alabama to see Great-Grandpa Kirkham. Alex wore his santa suit on Christmas Eve but unfortuntely the hat didn't fit so well on the big head :)
Ben enjoyed opening more presents, of course, but he would usually be happy with one and abandon the rest of the gifts. He'll learn.....
We came back to Houston on Christmas day and were surprised to find out our rental car was upgraded to a convertible. Not the most practical car in the world for a family of 4 and all their stuff, but a lot of fun on a warm Christmas. Ben loved watching the roof fold down and feeling the wind. We swapped it out the next day for something a little more practical.
On the 26th we had Christmas morning #2 with the kiddos and let them open the rest of their presents at Grammy and Grumpy's house. They were so cute in front of the tree.
Are all those gifts for ME?
Ben was a little overwhelmed by all the gifts and maybe we made a mistake by wrapping things separately, but I thought it worked out well because I packed everything he didn't open so it will be all new later on in Singapore! I hope to stretch the gifts out all year because toys are at least twice as expensive over there and it kills me to pay so much for the exact same things.
One great toy and this kid is happy for hours.
Dr. Ben was crazy about his new medical set and took everyone's blood pressure.
He was also lucky enough to get some great board shorts that Daddy picked up in Indonesia.
But Ben's #1 hands down is still Kitty Abby. He absolutely loves her and she tolerates and sometimes even likes him in return, especially when he leaves chips on the floor. Ben's other favorites at the moment are ceiling fans (which should always be on), lights (which need to be tested repeatedly for correct function), anything broken, and dancing. He is an absolute ball of energy and has been talking up a storm since he got here. His sentences are getting longer and making more sense every day.
He enjoyed singing along to the ABC song, even though he was always a few beats behind the music.
It has been a wonderful trip "home" (we never know which place to call home because our place in Singapore is home since that's where we live, but coming back to family will always be home in our hearts). I think it was a little selfish of me to plan the trip to be so long because I didn't consider how long the boys, Ben especially, would be out of their normal routines and sleeping in new places. Alex is still pretty portable, although he needs to most equipment out of all of us. It's definitely time for us to get back and sleep in our own beds and enjoy our friends and habits back in Singapore.
One unplanned gift we'll be taking back with us is a big cast on Matt's left arm. He broke his wrist on his hunting trip and will be needing surgery as soon as we're in Singapore.
Oh my! We had no idea matt broke his wrist. I hope everything is ok and you guys make it back safe and sound! Can't wait to see you guys... Singapore misses you.
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