Tons of Pictures (Part I)

I'm playing catch-up for a week's worth of pictures and we took a lot while the grandparents were here! I split the post into two because I had so many to share.

We visited the butterfly world on Sentosa Island last week and really enjoyed the tropical setting and all the beautiful butterflies.
Ben learned to say "buttafly" and pointed out some of the most colorful ones. I think he was more interested in running down the trails than enjoying the sights like we did.

Some of the species were just gorgeous!

Afterward, we let him cool down in a little fountain and I took his shorts off so he would hopefully not get too wet....

...but of course, being Ben, he was soaked! He had a great time, so I just let him get wet and go home wearing only his diaper.

There's just no way to keep this kid dry when he wants to wash his face everywhere.

We went back to the zoo one afternoon for a quick visit and Ben insisted on bringing his shopping cart. It was definitely one of those days to pick your battles and it just wasn't worth the argument. Ben did get a lot of stares!

Here's Alex at 6 weeks. I think he already has more fat on him than Ben has at 2 years! He's growing so well and it's so much fun to have a chubby baby this time around. I just love the rolls he's developing on his little legs.

Ben had a favorite book he insisted that Grumpy read to him every day. I think this picture was just before naptime because Ben was slowing down a bit. He was in high gear every day with so much attention and he'd just poop out at naptime and bedtime.

Finally after two years, Ben got his first haircut! It was definitely not a professional job, just some kitchen scissors and a comb, but it was a big improvement over the shag he was developing. I didn't even cut off enough to sweep off the floor because his hair is so fine.


Ben did the final styling on his own.

Alex spent plenty of quality time on Grammy's chest while he could. This little guy loves nothing more than a warm body and a good nap and I think his smile speaks for itself!

One rainy afternoon we took Ben to an indoor playground to let him burn off some energy. He loved diving into the ball pit.


Grumpy taught him how to hang from the handle of this slide toy and Ben went back and forth over and over.

When the rain cleared up we hit the botanic garden again and Ben tried out the new buggy board that connects to the stroller. I think it will be a huge help for the places that a double stroller won't fit and a lot more fun for Ben because he thinks it's an exciting ride.

Before I could get his clothes off Ben had run into the fountain. Once again, we had to take a little naked guy home in just a diaper!

Alex didn't get caught up in Ben's excitement, to say the least. It barely interrupted his nap.

Keep on reading...more pictures below!

Tons of Pictures (Part II)

I took my parents to downtown Singapore for a little more sightseeing and we couldn't pass up the opportunity for some pictures with the merlion, Singapore's mascot of sorts.
We enjoyed a nice lunch on the riverfront after touring a museum and little Alex napped through it all. He's a portable little guy. After Ben came home from the hospital he didn't go to any public places except the doctor's office for about 6 months, so it's been nice to have the freedom of carrying a baby along on our outside activities.

We couldn't walk past the ice cream sandwich vendor with getting one. It's a true sandwich here with a slice of ice cream on folded sweet bread and one of my favorite local treats.

Ben's newest hobby has been playing with the sliding porch doors. All 4 move independently so it is quite an exciting game for him, probably not so much for Grammy who would sit patiently with him to make sure he didn't explore the porch railing!

Another fun game is sitting in the baby's chair. He always has to lean over and turn on the vibrations and get a nice massage while he's relaxing.

Ben is helpful to find a pacifier when the baby starts crying, but sometimes it doesn't make it straight into Alex's mouth. Ben quit using his around 3-4 months so it's a pretty interesting toy now.

Another first - the two boys together and neither one is crying! Matt figured out the trick...put a sleeping Alex in Ben's lap while Elmo is on TV.

Ben watched him for a minute, gave Alex a kiss, then went back to watching Elmo. Not the sweetest moment in the world, but definitely a step in the right direction!

Another little smile from Alex just before bathtime. He smiles all the time when he's falling asleep but we still haven't gotten a real one face to face.

I set Alex on the bed for a minute to grab more diapers and he was asleep when I turned back around. It amazes me at how easily he sleeps, I guess because Ben has never been one to fall asleep just anywhere. Ben has always taken some work to get to sleep, especially during the day. I'm especially proud of little Alex today because he slept for 6 hours straight last night and I'm a different person! Hopefully he'll continue to sleep a little longer at night.

We very reluctantly said goodbye to Grumpy and Grammy. Their flight left at 2:30am (ouch!) so Ben was in bed well before they had to leave. Alex said his goodbyes a little later before he went to sleep.

We all hated to say goodbye, especially knowing that Alex will be a different baby entirely by the time we head back to Houston for Christmas. We had a wonderful two weeks with my parents and already miss them so much. I got an email that they made it home safely and their kitties were very happy to see them, so we're glad to know they survived the long flight once again...it's not an easy trip! We all appreciated them going through it to come visit us.

Ben spent a lot of time yesterday wandering into the guest room and asking from "Gammy" and "Gumpy". He had a great time getting some much-needed attention while I tended to Alex and we adults had a wonderful time visiting and catching up with one another. Now we're looking for new types of entertainment and Ben is finding it with all the baby's toys right now. I think he enjoyed this old toy a lot more than Alex!

I'm still working on getting Alex settled into a routine so that he and Ben aren't hungry and sleepy at the same time every day, but so far I haven't had much success. Some days I can get them both to take a nap at the same time (like right now, the only reason I have time to sit at the computer!) but usually I want a nap, too. Hopefully in a few more weeks we'll get a nice schedule for everyone so I'm not juggling kids at naptime and dinnertime...and maybe I could answer an email or two! I got spoiled very quickly to having some grandparents around who enjoyed helping out with the kiddos.

Pictures!

We are having a great time with Grammy and Grumpy! Plus, whenever people come visit, it's like Christmas because they bring all kinds of things from the US for us. Ben is in love with this barking puppy that Aunt Stacey sent for him.

Alex is enjoying his new wardrobe as well. I had to laugh at this "automatic sprinkler" onesie because in about 12 hours he showered me, had a diaper blowout, and pooped in his bathtub. We definitely have to carry extra clothes for this kid.

Ben had his first mechanical breakdown of his beloved cart, but he immediately turned it over and tried to fix the wheel himself. He's such a little engineer already.

My parents have done so well with the jetlag but they still get a little worn out by the end of the day! It could also have something to do with the heat here and possibly a 2-year old with limitless energy. Ben has been in high gear since the minute his grandparents arrived!

Alex has had no trouble finding someone to nap on. He loves to sleep on someone in the evenings and we've all enjoyed relaxing on the couch and watching the olympics at night so it's worked out well.

Ben and Grumpy have been having a great time in the pool together.

Sweet baby taking a nap on the couch....he's growing so fast! We did find out that it was a staph infection on his neck. No idea what may have caused it but it's cleared up now and healed well.

We tried out the new double stroller at the botanic garden. It's nice because Alex can stay in his carseat on one side while Ben sits on the other. I'm not sure Ben was too crazy about it but he stayed strapped in long enough for us to walk a bit.

We all enjoyed the beautiful orchids in the National Orchid Garden.

Ben insisted on walking the entire time in the orchid garden, hills and all, but he did take a few breaks.

A beautiful photo op with the grandparents.

Back at home Ben has new games he likes to play with both Grammy and Grumpy and he's very specific about who's allowed to play! I'm not included in most of these but I love seeing how much fun he's having.

We picked up food from the hawker stand one evening and Ben showed off his love for noodles...both wearing and eating them.

We all went to the zoo and Ben had a terrific time feeding the kangaroos. Last time he called them dogs but this time they were all kitties. Go figure...


This picture really made me laugh - Matt was telling Ben to look at the giraffes but Ben was busy checking out something on the ground. He's still a bit young for the zoo but he's enjoying it more each time we go.

Alex sleeping...again....he's been such a good boy while we're dragging him all over Singapore. As you can probably tell, this boy hasn't missed a meal! He's filling out so fast.

We went on the Singapore Flyer so my parents could get a bird's eye view of the city and we were lucky enough to get our own car on the huge ferris wheel. Ben got a little activity pack so he was pretty busy the whole time.

A nice shot looking towards downtown and the grandstands for the upcoming Formula 1 race.

And yes, Alex does wake up! Here's the little guy in his sling, although he's about to outgrow it. It's been really handy for carrying him around anywhere that's not very stroller friendly.

Grandparents!

We are all so excited to have Grammy and Grumpy Shepherd here for two weeks! Ben was so wound up when they arrived on Thursday that he wore himself out well before dinner. He hadn't had so much attention in weeks and he was thrilled. Baby Alex has had no shortage of welcoming arms to sleep in but hasn't seemed to notice anything different otherwise. It's wonderful to have so much time to spend together with my parents and watch them enjoy their grandsons.

Here are some pictures from the past week. I'm hoping that I'll finally get myself organized now that Ben has other sources of entertainment and I'll be a little better about posting!

Alex is growing like crazy. He was 8lbs 12oz last Tuesday, so he really has put on 2lbs since he was born. Unfortunately, we were at the doctor to check out a weird bump on the back of his neck and it turned out to be some kind of infection. He's been on two different antibiotics all week (7 doses a day, all around the clock) and we've seen a lot of improvement, but he still had to suffer through having the infection cut open and cleaned yesterday. Poor baby! He was not happy about that at all.

Both of our boys! This is still about as interested as Ben gets, although he was handing out free high fives to everyone yesterday and he even included Alex so maybe they're becoming friends.

Ben's old froggy pacifier is becoming a permanent fixture on Alex's face. I like it because Alex can hold on to it and I'm not constantly popping the pacifier back into his mouth.

We got a package full of goodies from Grandma and Grandpa Kirkham and Ben was so excited to try on some new clothes and decorate himself with stickers. We heard "more stickies" all afternoon!

And finally....the grandparents arrived! Their flight got in here at 5:30am after 24 hours of travel, so needless to say they were pretty exhausted. They have both done great with the jetlag so far, though, so I'm really impressed. It might have helped that there was a new little guy they were looking forward to meeting!


Ben loves having someone new to play with on the playground and at the pool. He and "Gumpy" have had all kinds of fun together.

Since Ben has been helping himself to a lot of Alex's new toys, Alex got to return the favor and claim Ben's new little Elmo for a chew toy. Or maybe he was just trying to let me know he was hungry!

Time Flies

I can't really say it's been a busy week because we haven't done much, but the days have sure gone by quickly. Alex has still been doing a lot of this (yay!!):

He's been such a good baby so far because he only cries when he's really hungry and usually when he's awake he's content to watch the world around him. I'm sure Ben is plenty of entertainment! The big brother has been very helpful this weekend, handing me diapers and wipes and making sure that Alex had his pacifier whether he needed it or not. I had to laugh when I walked by sleeping Alex and saw that Ben had put the froggy pacifier right by his mouth!

I've gotta say how much I love this combi stroller. I bought it when we moved to Singapore because the big Graco strollers that are so popular in Texas are completely impractical here with taxis and stairs everywhere. This one is lightweight and smaller, but even better because it lays back as a bassinet. A little flap covers the leg holes so Alex can't slip out and suddenly I have a portable bed for the him. He's actually still sleeping in it at night because he doesn't seem to like all the open space of the pack and play so in the morning I can just wheel him around with me until he's awake.

Ben's having more and more bad hair days...I think the time for his first haircut is fast approaching! Probably just a trim, since there still isn't a lot of hair there.

He's talking much more these days and we're understanding a lot more as well. We got to swap out our car for a minivan this weekend (and I never thought I'd be excited to get a minivan but we love it!) and Ben keeps talking about the "new car". He also copies Daddy in the car and holds his hand on the handle above the window, even though he can barely reach it. Never a dull moment with him!