Frog Farm

We were looking for something new to do again this weekend and we decided to head back to the farms, only this time to check out frogs! People eat a lot of frog legs here and also take "nutritional" essence of bullfrog...no idea what it's supposed to be good for....but it must do something because this frog farm was huge. We saw tank after tank full of big fat bullfrogs and we got Ben some food to throw to them. It was pretty entertaining.

These guys were over 2 pounds each!

We went to a tank at the end that apparently doesn't get fed as often because these guys were ready to eat anything.

Ben said hello to the frogs the entire time. I think he really enjoyed it because now he'll talk to us about the goat farm and the frog farm.

Back at home the boys have been up to all kinds of things. At bedtime they were both enjoying the ceiling fan together. I'm not coordinated enough to bathe them together yet so Alex hangs out while Ben takes a bath, but he gets to enjoy the books and songs with us before I bathe him and put him to bed afterward.

Think Ben is a little big for the swing now? Our big one finally gave out so I'm renting a small one like Ben used to use at Grammy and Grumpy's....only Ben seems to be spending more time in it than Alex!

Crazy kid insisted on wearing my swim goggles at breakfast. Hey, if it makes the food go down easier, why not?

What's better than one pacifier? Two pacifiers!

Ben loves to be like Daddy, so if Daddy wears a hat and sunglasses, Ben wants his hat and sunglasses.

I'm really proud of Ben because he peed in his potty two days in a row! We're still not seriously potty training because of the major blue jeans attachment at the moment, but any time we're in the bathroom I try to get him to sit on his potty and we're having some success. The more I think about it, the better it seems to wait anyway because there is no way we'll be able to make a 24-hour international trip and guarantee he'll get to a bathroom as soon as he needs it, so diapers seem to be a good thing for the time being.

Here's an updated view outside our windows:
Unfortunately, all of the bedrooms face this construction site and some days it drives me absolutely crazy. They work 14 hour days, 6 days a week. The tall piledriver is loud enough that I can hear it on the baby monitor so I don't know how these poor kids can sleep. It does disturb Ben's naps some days but hopefully Alex just thinks that's normal since it's all he's heard since he came home!

Funny Ben

I am constantly amazed at what a little man Ben has become. It is so much fun watching him learn and grow into a true individual as we see more of his personality each day. I had virtually no experience with babies or kids other than my own, so I had no idea how much fun 2 year-olds can be! Ben is learning several new words each day and he surprises me all the time with the things he knows and understands already. I'm using a lot of phrases like "after (blank) we'll do (blank)" or "we need to (blank) and we'll come back to (blank)" because he's very receptive to things when he understands why we have to leave or why I'm saying no to something. Yesterday he asked to watch Elmo, as usual, but when I said no because it was time to eat lunch, Ben said "okay, after lunch we'll watch Elmo". Even though I hadn't agreed to it, I had to give in after I finished laughing. He's using my tricks on me!

He's always liked music, but now Ben is really into singing. He knows several songs now and asks to sing ALL of them before naptime and bedtime. I'm pretty sure it's also a stalling technique but it's a lot of fun so I usually sing along as long as Alex isn't waiting for his turn to go to bed. I'll have to get video of our little performer soon. He's also quite the counter these days and can get up to 8 in Spanish and 16 in English. He may be counting in Mandarin but until I learn what it sounds like I'll have no idea.

Ben had his second dentist appointment yesterday and he was a perfect little gentleman the entire time. I had coached him on holding his mouth open and spitting water into the sink and he did everything just as the dentist asked except show his teeth with his jaw closed because every time the dentist came near his mouth he opened as far as possible. Guess we didn't need to work on that as much as I thought! Afterward, he and I walked to Tanglin Mall and enjoyed some tea and a snack together at Starbucks. He walked everywhere right next to me and then sat in his chair next to me eating his muffin like a little man and I sat in amazement about much he's matured - no stroller, no diaper bag (although I still have to carry a diaper and wipes in my purse until he'll take off his pants for potty training!), no running away like a wild man. He's growing up so fast! Part of me can't wait for Alex to get this age so we can see his personality and part of me wants to keep him a baby forever and savor every minute before it slips away.

As a very wise friend told me, "the days are long but the years are short". I couldn't agree more! I often remind myself to enjoy the regular moments, like playing under the quilt after naptime or just rocking a sleeping baby, because they'll be gone before I know it. Some days when they're both testing my patience I halfheartedly wish I was still working some, but the other 99% of the time I wouldn't trade this special time for anything in the world. I'm overwhelmed sometimes that God has entrusted us with these beautiful little boys and that they can be so loving and trustful, but I'm incredibly thankful for the joy and laughter they bring into my life every day.

I read this poem this morning and I think it's why I'm feeling so reflective today:

Children Are A Gift From God

by Sandra Tolson

God sent me two packages
That needed special care
"Take care of these tiny gifts
For they are very rare."

"Watch over them with all your love
And let them feel your touch
Take care of their every need
For you are needed very much."

"These gifts will grow up very fast
As you soon will see
Love them with all your heart
And let them be what they will be."

"When these gifts have fully grown
Look at Heaven up above
Know they exist because of God
And all his precious love."

A Day At The Farm

First, look at who is 3 months old already! What a beautiful boy :) Now if I could just figure out the secret to getting him to sleep he'd be a perfect little baby. Not that I'm the first mom to have that problem...I just feel a little behind the curve since Ben was so different from an average newborn that I have no experience to go on, but I still have to chase a 2-year old while I'm learning. Ben came home on a strict eating schedule that didn't change until his first growth spurt. He never woke up at night, although we set our alarms and woke him up at scheduled times for a few months. Once he was big enough to skip the overnight feed and we stopped waking him, he slept 10 hours every night. Ben weaned himself off his pacifier around 3-4 months with no help. (Not to say Ben was a perfect baby because it took him an hour to finish a bottle and he only napped on my chest, or later Grammy or Grumpy's chest once I went back to work) Now Alex is the complete opposite! He does sleep well most nights but I think he's falling into the habit of waking up instead of truly being hungry so I'm hoping to break that pretty soon.

Over the weekend we were looking for something entertaining for Ben and we stumbled upon a goat farm. It's in the Kranji Countryside, as though a small island of 4.5 million people could truly have a country area. It was far enough away from the city center that we could actually believe we weren't in Singapore for a few miles.

Ben loved the goats!

And they loved him!

Alex was just along for the ride but it will be fun one day when he can enjoy these activities as well.



Ben decided the goats needed a kiss...not exactly what I would have chosen for him to do but since he already had goat all over his face it was worth getting a picture!

Later we stopped at another farm that had cows as well so Ben got to see quite a few barnyard animals. He is turning out to be quite the animal lover which makes me happy because I love doing anything that involves furry creatures, especially since we don't have any pets at home at the moment. I'd love to adopt something here but it would break all of our hearts to leave it whenever we move and I couldn't put an animal through a 24-hour plane trip. So farms it is for now....

Where has the time gone?

I am shocked that it's already October! That means Alex is almost 3 months old...time really flies. It's a little deceiving living in a country with no real seasons, too, because usually by this time of year in Houston there have been enough nice days to make you believe that summer really does end eventually. I've heard people compare Singapore to the movie Groundhog Day because pretty much every day you wake up and look out the window you see the same thing. Not that it's a bad thing, but I do wish for a change in the weather to remind me of the time of year every now and then.

Anyway, look at how big Alex is getting! He's smiling a lot these days and just beginning to laugh a little. I can't wait to get that on video.

Testing out the bumbo chair. Alex may get to spend more time in it once I get Ben out!

Alex had a few days of blissfully easy sleep, but I think he was teasing me because today he's back up to his old tricks. It takes me several tries and usually at least 30 minutes to get him down for each nap, not an easy task with a 2-year old in the house who only talks in one volume - loud.

Ben is becoming much more interested in Alex because he's starting to see some reaction in his little brother. When Alex is playing on the floor, Ben brings him toys whether Alex needs them or not. It appears that we're going to have two blue-eyed boys, which is great news, but really hard when I'm trying to correct the red eye in every picture! Right now I can't fix Alex's eyes most of the time so he'll just have to live with red eyes in his baby book.

We have postponed any sort of potty training because of these blue jeans. Ben will not be separated from them at the moment, so the day I decided to strip him down he cried for the jeans for an hour before I gave in and put them back on. Apparently they look better with a rubber belt, too.

Yesterday was a national holiday for Hari Raya (a muslim holiday for the end of ramadan, I think) so we spent the morning on a hiking trail through a nature reserve so Ben could see some monkeys. We saw several from the car but never happened upon any in the forest, but Ben had a great time exploring anyway.

Remember the days when you didn't avoid puddles?

And one last video....I know Ben is too young to read but I didn't know he'd already memorized some of his favorite books! He knows what to say on nearly every page.

At The Pool

Ben still loves the pool more than anything! He jumped in over and over and over and over and over...

Afterward, we let the little naked boy run around in his towel to warm up. I remember when this towel used to drag the ground...Ben has grown so much this year!

Mama and my two beautiful boys. Alex got to dip his feet in the water and I hope he will enjoy swimming as much as Ben because we love to spend our weekends at the pool.

Formula 1 Race

Singapore is hosting its first ever Formula 1 race this weekend and it also happens to be the world's first night F1 race, so it's been a big deal here all year. Since Singapore is such a tiny country (only 250 square miles) they tend to get really excited here about anything that will get them recognized in the world. And since Matt has gone through Nascar withdrawals here, he has been among those people who couldn't wait for the race to get here. Formula 1 is like Indy car racing in the states with the low race cars following a street track in the city, so it is pretty amazing to see how they transform the familiar roads into a racetrack.

It was fun for Matt and I to go out last night and watch the practice laps because it was our first time out without kids in 3 months! We tucked the boys in bed and then headed to the city to see the action. Our seats faced Marina Bay and had a beautiful view of downtown at night.

The fun thing about this kind of racing as opposed to Nascar (where the cars drive in circle for hours) is that we were able to walk all along the track and stand a few feet away from the cars as they screamed past. As you can see from the pictures, they were moving!

Here are a couple of video clips from two different vantage points.

It was more exciting than I expected, but I still didn't mind giving my ticket to Matt's friend so the two of them can enjoy the real race tomorrow night. It coincides with the boys' bedtimes so I'll catch the action from the comfort (and airconditioning!) of our living room.

Wish Me Luck!

Ben has been watching Elmo's Potty Time every day for two weeks now and he's interested in sitting on his own potty, so I think it's time to start training. I hadn't really planned on starting yet, mostly because I'm not sure I'm ready to put in the effort, but I don't want to pass up a good opportunity. Diapers are really easy right now but it would be pretty convenient to only have one boy in diapers. I think I'm going to try the quick and dirty (literally) method that many moms here suggest - just roll up the carpets, strip down the kid, and let him figure out what happens when he needs to pee. The nice thing about our condo is that we only have marble and wood floors so it will be easy to mop! Now I just need to teach Ben that his potty isn't a toy...

After he emptied the contents of his pockets into the potty (just the usual - keys, money, and a phone) Ben stepped into the potty himself. He said "one foot, two foots". While I'm proud of his counting, I'm not so excited about using the potty for storage or entertainment. Right now it's totally sterilized but I cringe to think about what might happen after it's been used a few times!

After Ben retrieved his phone from the potty, he shared an important call with Alex. Ben is becoming much nicer to Alex these days, doing things like climbing up on the crib to say good morning to his brother and saying goodbye to him when he goes to school. Ben loves when Alex smiles and I really look forward to the day that Alex will respond to Ben's antics.

Every day when Ben notices my camera he's been asking to have his picture taken...I thought this was a pretty cute one! He had just finished brushing his teeth, which also requires washing the face and hair.

We hosted a playgroup here last week and had 9 2-year olds and 3 infants in the house...it was pretty crazy! Ben loved sharing his big bed with everyone. He's the one playing "night-night" in the middle of the bed.

Afterward it looked like a tornado had passed through! Luckily there were no casualties except for a few books with movable parts.

And what has little Alex been up to? Eating and growing! He's such a good baby, even on the days he barely naps and I can tell he's exhausted he is still a happy boy.

His neck is getting really strong, as you can tell by the way he can lift that big old head! It takes some work :)

And here's a recent conversation with Ben. I love to hear big words come out in that little voice.