Siloso Beach

We enjoyed another day at the beach last weekend. We found a different beach club on Siloso beach that was a lot of fun and great for kids because they have a pool and big beds where everyone can stretch out and enjoy the sunshine. The weather here has been absolutely beautiful for several weeks. The rain has stopped but we're still getting a nice breeze from a cooler direction (west? who knows, they don't do weather reports here since it doesn't tend to change day to day) which makes it really pleasant to be outside in the shade. I'd compare it to an average May in Houston where you can be outside and not sweat through your shirt in 5 minutes.


Ben got to order a mango juice at the swim-up bar.


Ben is becoming very interested in our shoes. Thank goodness he's only wearing Daddy's so far! He is crazy about a pair of flats I have in the closet but he only brings them to me to wear. We leave most of our shoes at the door outside and Ben is learning how to take his own off and put them on the rack before he comes inside.


Silly boy eating his raisins.


I bought a little snack trap for Ben to carry around and feed himself without making a mess all over the house. So what does he do? Pull out raisins by the handful and eat them off the floor!

Pink??

I had my 16-week ultrasound yesterday for Baby #2 and we got some exciting news - the doctor is pretty sure we're having a girl! The umbilical cord was positioned in a way that it could be hiding some boy parts so the doctor wouldn't promise me it was a girl, but all signs are pointing in that direction. I compared my ultrasound picture to some online that were definitely girls and they looked identical so we're starting to think pink :) We couldn't be more excited! Of course if we find out later it really is a boy we'll still be thrilled (and I'm sure Ben would vote for a brother over a sister any day) because what we want more than anything is a healthy full-term baby. My next ultrasound is in 3 weeks so we'll hopefully get a confirmation then.

The Playground

Ben is loving the playground these days. Especially because he can tell me he's not ready to stop playing. Here he's saying "more" on the see saw so I won't stop.


His favorite thing is the tall slide because he's finally big enough to do it all himself. He'll climb the stairs...


...cross the bridge, climb up a little higher, and wave down to Mom...


....then head down the slide....


....and jump out do to it all over again!

I love it because I know he'll sleep well tonight after he totally wears himself out! It will be even more fun for me once he can safely do it all alone and I can stop doing the protective mother hover behind him and sit down and watch.

Ben also thinks a small step on the side of the playground is loads of fun. I haven't figured that one out yet but if it makes him happy, I'm happy.


There's a small slide in another courtyard that is entertaining sometimes, but not quite as much fun after all the excitement of the big one. I'm really glad we opted for a low-rise condo that is spread out instead of a high-rise on a small plot, because Ben has plenty of outdoor space to explore.


Ben had a great time on this toy car at a playground yesterday afternoon. He's finally getting the hang of how to speed around so it's one place I do get to sit and talk while he has a great time...fun for both of us!


I love to watch Ben try to negotiate large objects into his chair with him. The big wagon was a no-go today but he was having a good time with the ball.

Dancing to Timbaland

Ben learned "where did it go?" today and he had a lot of fun hiding toys and waiting for me to ask where it went. It's the first time he's played a game with me instead of the other way around so we laughed a lot together playing today.


We are so fortunate to have a live-in maid right now because it frees up so much of my time to completely devote to Ben, not to mention the fact that I am able to get help lifting him and a lot of rest during the day which is so important for the next baby. That was a big factor in our decision to have a baby over here because it wouldn't be possible for me to do everything and still spend several hours off my feet every day if we were back in the States. The Lord has really worked all the timing in our favor for trying to add to our family this year and we are very grateful.

Here are Ben's latest dance moves. He is very particular about what type of music he'll dance to (Timbaland is still his favorite, although some days he likes a little Justin Timberlake as well) and he has to be right in the middle of all the speakers. I love to turn the music up just before bathtime and burn up any energy he has left!

Children's Garden

Ben got some oranges from a friend in class on Wednesday and decided to try them out when he got home. Pairs of oranges are supposed to be good luck for the lunar new year.


Thursday and Friday were holidays here so we took advantages of Matt's time off and went to the children's garden at the botanic garden. Ben loved the big slide out of the treehouse and made Daddy take him several times.


He had a great time playing in the water area and pumping water.


The fountains are always a lot of fun. They stop every 5 minutes for about 30 seconds and each time Ben would look over at us and sign "more" because he wanted to keep playing.


After we dragged Ben out of the water we dried him off and sat down for ice cream...those little hands kept signing "more" nonstop! His poor eyes were bloodshot from putting his face in the fountains.


Ben's fine motor skills continue to impress me. This kid that sometimes trips over a grain of sand can feed toothpicks back into a small hole....go figure...


Here's a belly update at 15 weeks. The baby's growing! We've been getting lots of ultrasounds and I just love seeing the little one develop in there.

Layin Low

Ben and I haven't exactly been adventurous lately but we have managed to get outside a little bit. We've really enjoyed our neighbor's orchids. A lot of the doors in our complex are decorated right now for Chinese New Year because it's said to be good luck for the next year. We never quite got around to buying the traditional mandarin orange trees so hopefully we won't have bad luck in the year of the rat :)


Ben had a lot of fun stacking rocks one by one in the hole of this log...it was probably the most exciting thing he got to do all day. Like I said, we haven't gotten out much! I'm spending as much time as I can laying down just to be safe.


Ben wore these goggles for a couple of hours this morning but obviously didn't want his picture taken in them! I still thought it was cute.


He's not exactly saying the right numbers, but Ben is "counting" the animals in his book.

Successful Surgery

I'm back home! The surgery went well and the doctor was very pleased with the results. She sees a 50-60% success rate in cases like this so we really hope to be part of that fortunate group. Since I spent 3 1/2 days in the hospital on full bed rest with no complications, the doctor sent me home on limited activity instead of bed rest here. Hopefully I will be able to work up to one outing a day and maintain that level of activity for the duration of the pregnancy with no problems. I can swim and lift Ben only when I absolutely have to, but other than that I can't do anything strenuous like exercise or carry groceries. For anyone that knows me, you won't be surprised that I'm not too upset about the no exercise rule!

When we checked into the hospital on Tuesday morning I started getting really nervous about the procedure and the fact that I was in a hospital on the other side of the world. The guy that wheeled me into the OR didn't speak a word of English and I was beginning to freak out, but the anesthesiologist was there when we arrived and he spoke excellent English and immediately put me at ease. I was impressed because he placed the IV himself, which I've never had a doctor do before, and spent some time talking to me before my doctor arrived. As soon as she was ready they knocked me out and when I woke up in recovery I really thought I was dying...not from pain but because I had been intubated and I had no idea how uncomfortable it is when the the tube is removed! It took several minutes for me to calm down and breathe normally while I was still coming out of the anesthesia and trying to open my eyes. It really made me wonder what poor little Ben went through every time he was taken off the ventilator! His throat must have hurt for weeks.

Afterward, I just stayed in bed for 3 days watching TV (the two English channels...no cable) and reading while the nurses monitored me closely for any pain, contractions, infection, or bleeding. Thankfully I haven't had any yet but I'll stay on antibiotics and anti-contraction medication for a few weeks just to be safe. I do have to say that the hospital here was really nice. The facilities were a lot like a US hospital, but they have a concierge that checks you into your room, tea time at 3, and hot chocolate and cookies before bed. The food wasn't bad - I got to choose from Chinese, Western, or Indonesian dishes at each meal. The best part of staying in the hospital was that a nurse came twice a day to check the fetal heartbeat so I got to listen to the baby a lot. The worst part was that I only got to see Ben once during my stay so I really missed my little guy! He was so happy to have me home this afternoon and I was thrilled to hug and kiss him. Matt did a great job of balancing time with me and with Ben, and he still managed to get some work done at the office. Now we have the whole weekend to relax and next week is Chinese New Year so Matt will have several days off to be home with us.

So now all we can do is wait and pray. I will try to take it easy and make sure I'm getting enough rest and some time off my feet every day and hope the weeks fly by! We are praying that the Lord will keep this baby in long enough for it to grow healthy and strong and that we'd have no other complications this time around. And if that's not the plan, then we're praying that the Lord will prepare us for whatever we have to do to bring a healthy baby home.

We'll take some pictures this weekend and get them posted soon. I've had a few requests for belly shots so as soon as I start showing we'll share some of those, too. Right now it still looks like I just had a huge Freebirds burrito and that's why I can't button my pants. Enough of my rambling...can you tell I haven't had many people to talk to this week?? Several of my thoughtful friends dropped by but it is sure good to be home and have some company.