Vivo City Fountains

Ben has been so cuddly lately! Sometimes he just wants to crawl into my
lap and hang out for a while and I'm always happy to have the company.


He's getting so long...I can't believe this guy used to sleep on my chest a year ago.


This must have been a great toy because Ben was cracking himself up! This went on for a good 10 minutes...


We went to Vivo City mall yesterday because they have a great outdoor
playground including some baby fountains. Ben was a little unsure at
first because the fountains move around and he didn't seem to happy to
get splashed at first.


He did make a new friend...


They had to investigate each other first thing.


Ben didn't seem to mind getting wet as much with his new buddy!


Pretty soon he was having a ball and investigating the source of the water. He
did get a couple of face shots when he wasn't prepared for the jet of
water, but he just laughed them off.


Here's the little guy in action:


Someone woke up so happy this morning! It's a little hard to get excited about playing before 7am, but how could anyone resist that smile?

Hide & Seek

It was a pretty quiet week here last week since I couldn't take Ben anywhere he might get other kids sick. One of the only places we could go was the botanic garden, so we fed the fish and swans a few times.


Ben did learn to find the two most important things in Mom's purse - money and keys! I bet he'll be looking for the same two things in about 15 years.


Ben and I started playing hide and seek last week and we both think it's hilarious! I'll run and hide and he'll look room by room for me until he finds me and he gets so excited. We both laugh the whole time, then do it again....and again...and again...and it's still just as funny!


I had to get a picture of Ben in his new outfit. He seemed to like the tiny crocs but definitely wasn't a fan of the hat. I don't know what Singaporeans will think of monster trucks and camoflauge!

Blisters

Poor little Ben, this virus has just covered his feet in blisters. He's already acting fine again but these have to hurt! The rash on the rest of his body seems to be getting better, or at least not any worse, so hopefully he's on the mend.


Ow!!


But as long as he has some buttons to push he's happy. Lucky for him, my old cell phone won't work here so he has a new toy.

HFMD

Ben got a new toy to keep him (and me!) entertained. So far it's been a hit because he can crawl through it and stand by it to play, so it's keeping him busy. Thank goodness I got it last week because it looks like we'll be spending the next week cooped up at home - Ben came down with Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease over the weekend. It hit several kids in our playgroup last week because unfortunately the kids are most contagious before they show any indication of being sick, but on the plus side, I can talk to other moms going through the same thing and find out what to expect. It's pretty much a couple of days of fever and a week of rash, mostly on the hands, feet, and inside of the mouth (hence the name). Ben's rash was becoming pretty evident by bedtime so I hate to think what he may look like tomorrow morning and I hope the blisters in his mouth don't keep him from eating. Poor little guy...I just hate knowing he doesn't feel well and there's not much I can do about it but I can't believe he's made it this long without ever really catching anything!


So here's what we did last week before he got sick! Ben had a great time playing at home and was happy to share his enthusiasm.


Thanks to his latest growth spurt, Ben is able to reach lots of new surfaces and check them for interesting items. I just think it's hilarious when he's scavenging our bathroom counter and all I can see in the mirror is some fingers and the top of his head.


Yesterday was beautiful and we enjoyed a bike ride at East Coast Park. It's definitely something we'll do again. Ben loved having his seat in the front of the bike because the view was great, but Mom and Dad didn't so much like having to pedal with our knees out to avoid bumping his seat!


Here he is getting his first ride on Dad's shoulders...he absolutely loved it!


I figured out why Ben takes so long to go down for his naps - he's too busy in his crib! He has two toys that play music and he loves to run back and forth keeping them both on at the same time. It's definitely better than crying, though! You can see him jump to restart the one on the left as soon as it quits. This was after his nap one day but he was still enjoying his private concert.

Ben's First Year

It's always hard for Matt and I to look back at the early pictures of Ben because it was not the ideal start for any baby. One morning our lives were normal, I was in my second trimester of pregnancy and loving it, and we were slowly making preparations for an addition to our family. By the time we went to bed that night, we were parents, I was in the hospital in the Woodlands recovering from an emergency c-section, and our new baby was struggling for every breath in downtown Houston. Suddenly we were learning a whole new language of conditions that can affect premature babies and educating ourselves on all the hurdles Ben would face. It was a complete surprise and not at all what we expected or dreamed about for the birth of our first child.

Now, over a year later and nearly a year since we brought Ben home, we have the advantage of perspective when we look back at our experience. We can appreciate the miracle of life, a healthy baby, normal development, and every unassisted breath so much more than we ever could have before. We learned that our families will walk step by step with us through a crisis, our friends will help in any way possible when we are in need, and strangers that work in the hospitals will become life-savers. Most importantly, we learned that God will give us almost unknown strength to meet our challenges each day.

I'd been meaning to do this since Ben's birthday in May but I just now got the time to put this together. Enjoy the first chapter of his life...there will hopefully be many, many more to come.

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National Day

August 9th is National Day here in Singapore and this year they celebrated their 42nd birthday as a nation. It was a national holiday so we spent a little time relaxing at the botanic garden and let Ben run around and try to eat every loose piece of grass. Lots of families had picnics and parties but we thought it was a little too hot for that kind of activity in the sun. Instead, Ben and I shared some mango sherbet and headed back to cool off in the pool.


Exploring and getting dirty...just like a little boy should...


After Ben went to bed, Matt and I wanted to take part in the holiday and what was most unusual to us was that there is only one big parade and celebration in the evening. Coming from such a huge country, we're used to all kinds of events to choose from for Independence Day, but in a country that will fit inside Houston's loop 610 there is only one big celebration for everyone to attend. It was a huge parade on a floating stage on the bay along with parachuters, helicopters, and a fireworks display. We enjoyed the evening and felt a little more at home here in Sinagpore. Here's a picture from my camera phone...


Ben's getting so big! All of the sudden his legs have grown an inch and none of his footed pajamas fit anymore. It's been 2 months since he's been weighed and measured so I may take him one day just out of curiosity. It seems like he's lost the baby look overnight as well and he's starting to turn into a toddler.


He's standing on his own a lot more but as soon as he notices he'll usually squat down or grab onto something, even though he was fine until then! And I promise he still smiles, but they've been hard to catch on camera lately. Ben is really not as serious as these pictures make him out to be!


This one's for Grumpy...Ben reminded me of a little Popeye. It must be from hearing you sing the song about 1,000 times! :)


Ben and his favorite book. I've put it on several different shelves in the study and he finds it every time. I guess a neon orange book is just screaming to be picked up.

Fountains at Clarke Quay

The office is Ben's new favorite place because of all the books and pictures that he can pull off the shelves. He also like the afternoon sunshine and the long shadows.


I took Ben to Clarke Quay today, a nice area full of international restaurants, to enjoy the fountain in the center. At first he didn't quite know what to do with all the water.


After a few minutes he got into it and started to get wet, then he was really having fun!


Time out to go inspect the drain...


Then he was going face first into the spray and loving it!


Here's Ben in action:


Afterward, I lost my hold on him while I was drying him and putting clean clothes on him and he took off for the water again. He's such a funny guy...

Hooters

I think we corrupted Ben a little bit yesterday...we hit the local Hooters looking for some fried pickle chips which, by the way, are not on the menu here! But neither is ranch dressing so they wouldn't have been as good anyway. Thank goodness I stocked up on ranch before we moved so I need to remember to bring some with me whenever there's a possibility of eating something fried that requires dipping.


We settled for some chips and salsa and let Ben have a little lemon. Suprisingly, he really liked it and kept coming back for more!


Then he was just happy to hang out at the table with us and enjoy his Sunday afternoon. Well, at least after he'd beaten and thrown everything within arms reach off the table. He was very entertained by the neon lights, loud music, and all the ceiling fans. Thank goodness they recently passed a law in Singapore that all indoor places are now smoke-free so we don't have to worry about taking Ben anywhere smoky.

First Shoes

Can you tell where Ben's hand was when he took a nap yesterday?


I finally bought Ben a pair of shoes that will (hopefully) stay on. He can't be a barefoot boy forever now that he's getting mobile, so I want him to get used to having things on his feet that have to stay on. Luckily, these have laces that are really fun to chew while he's sitting in the stroller.


This morning he was babbling up a storm, so I was trying to get a video of him talking but instead I happened to catch him standing up on his own for the first time! It's hard to tell in the video, but he stood himself up, stayed for a couple of seconds, then plopped back down. I was so proud!

Big Smile

Happy guy! He's got 7 teeth now and I'm pretty sure #8 is on its way soon.


Ben has learned how to spit food out...how charming. It takes so long to finish a meal sometimes because I have to put every bite in 3 or 4 times. I'm hoping it's just passing phase! (by the way, those legs behind Ben belong to a worker servicing our air-conditioner)