Playdate for Juliana!

As I wrote in my last post, Jennifer's son took a bad fall from the couch Thursday night and injured his elbow. Unfortunately, they had to take him back to Mt. Elizabeth today to see the orthopedic surgeon to review the x-rays. For Juliana though, it was a good thing, because she got to have Levi over for a play date! I just feel bad for Caleb...poor guy had to have a full cast put on today, because it was indeed a fracture. You're in our prayers Caleb, for your arm to heal quickly.

So, Juliana had a friend to keep her company for the first half of the day. I was so proud of her for sharing all of her toys with Levi (this is very good right now, during her "mine" stage)! She showed him around and they played so well together...

The rain this morning didn't last, so we took the kiddos downstairs to play. I had to share the next picture, because this guard at Summerdale adores Juliana! It took her a few days to get comfortable saying hello to him, then eventually giving him a high-five and today, she held his hand! At the play ground, they had a blast! Jacob got a good workout too, running around in circles over and over again...

After they were pooped out, we came back upstairs for lunch and more play time. They really enjoying making these long sticks out of the toy pegs. In the end, Levi's was the longest!

Not the best circumstances that Levi got to come over, but I'm glad he did. Juliana and him giggled, played and laughed :-) Anytime Jennifer!

Happy Turkey Day!

Last night, we were fortunate to have a great group of friends to celebrate Thanksgiving with. Jacob met me by Orchard from work, so we got there early enough to spend some time with Kaelan before his bed time. He loved bouncing up and down and wouldn't let Jacob stop! He is all Travis in the face, except for Jessica's eyes...
Jessica and Travis have a gorgeous place, right downtown. I had to take pictures of some of their beautiful art and furniture they've collected while living out here. I especially loved her decadent table spread, very festive!

Sitting down to eat...had to make it a quick picture as all of our stomachs were growling!

Dinner was delicious! Jessica and Travis went all out with all the fixings...a great turkey, cranberry sauce (with lots of other goodies in it), stuffing, mashed potatoes, a green bean and cheese casserole, rolls, gravy, good wine, and plenty of dessert too (never mind the appetizers)! I was so thankful to be sitting at a table, surrounding by the wonderful friends we have made here in Singapore, eating an actual thanksgiving meal!

Sadly, right after dinner, Jennifer got a call that her oldest son, Caleb took a bad fall while jumping on the couch. They had to head home and ended up at the hospital, poor guy! So, he's in our prayers.

Here's the rest of us couples, completely stuffed!

The group (minus Jennifer and Justin, but at least they made it into the first picture!)
After lots of talking, we headed into the living room to play a game called, "Pass the Pigs," which none of us (except Gillian and Jamey) have ever heard of! At the bottom right is the two pigs that you toss and depending on the positions they land in, you get a certain amount of points. It was interesting with some rather hilarious language too! Note the girls all smiling and the boys, "posing" for their picture! Top left is Jamey and Travis, the judges for the game.

It was a wonderful evening...thank you to our host and hostess for an amazing meal and everyone else for the company. We have a great Turkey Day!

More holiday fun

Yesterday morning was more Christmas fun at IMM for Juliana. She checked out all the decorations right in the front of the mall when you walk in. Looks like a happy girl ready for the season...
Got in some play time at the water park since the sun was nice and bright...

Then she made a window art piece for a Christmas gift for someone back home! They are such a great craft and she has a blast doing them! So, a lucky someone (or someones) back home will be getting the final product pretty soon :-)

My morning entertainment

Yesterday morning, after having a wonderful chat with my mom and grandmother, Juliana sang for me...my little entertainer! On skype, she has been drawing pictures with Nanny and showing them to one another and it was adorable! Nanny would draw a pumpkin, then Juliana would draw one (or I would and she would help) and then she'd hold it up to the screen for them to see. Then again with a person and a Christmas tree. She really enjoys her skype chats, thank God for modern technology!

This is all very muffled as she puts her entire mouth around the microphone, but she's been getting a lot better at singing Twinkle Twinkle, Ring Around The Rose, You Are My Sunshine, Row Your Boat and many others, most recently some Christmas songs too like Jingle Bells, Silent Night and Here Here Comes Santa Claus. We've been enjoying trying to talk to her about the holiday season, Jesus, the role of Santa and everything that comes with it, like gifts if she's a good girl!

I just wanna sleep, is that too much to ask?

It's remarkable how tired I can feel right before "bedtime," then I lie down and nothing happens! Sleep does not come. I've been an insomniac for so many years now, it's never a big shock when I don't get a good night's sleep, but those like last night are absolutely horrible. I believe I got 45 minutes or so all together when I may have been better off doing an all-nighter to skip the grogginess. It's remarkable what you think about at midnight, 1am, 2am, 3am, etc. as the clocks slowly ticks by. I think I finally passed out about an hour before Jacob got up for work, so I'm surviving on caffeine and adrenaline right now. Got a lot of reading done though and lots of time to reflect with God. Hopefully I will rest tonight!

Also wanted to send out a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Tati...miss you sooooooooo much cutie! XOXOXO from all three of us.

MOPS meeting and venting

Yes, this is my precious little angel, nice and happy. She is adorable, sweet and loading Jacob and I with affection lately. So, you ask...what's the problem here? Separation anxiety has really set in and it's getting harder and harder to leave her at home to work, do errands, date night, etc. or to go to MOPS, like today (keep reading). She slept good and then asked me to cuddle this morning...I was so happy!! We headed off to meet Jenn and Elyse to go to the MOPS meeting. At this point, Juliana was in a very good mood on the way to the bus stop...

Excited to get on the bus...

Then, we got to IBC and as soon as we got out of the taxi, the anxiety began. Juliana was already starting to cry and cling to me, knowing that I was about to drop her off in the MOPPETS room while I went to the meeting...it was not pretty. I tried to remember all of the points from the session at the last MOPS gathering, about not hovering or trying to engage her while dropping her off. Well, she still cried, reached for me and it broke my heart of course. Made it through the DGL meeting and about ten minutes into the party time (for two members leaving Singapore and one due with her baby in January) before Camille came in with my teary-eyed girl. Once she was with me, she settled in just fine, but I'm at a loss. Patience is very important and lots of prayer! But any moms care to help me out here? If so, PLEASE do!!! What worked, what didn't?

Once the rest of the kids came into the room, Juliana had fun running around with Elyse and hiding under the piano...

Then they decided to help Soraya with her stroller...

She was all smiles, knowing that I was in the same room. After getting home and taking a good nap, she woke up in a great mood. How quickly she changes! Here she is enjoying her slippers like her Nana and Nanny (she even tried them on Pooh!)...

The MOPS meeting was good and so was the small party afterwards for some farewells and support to members of the steering team. I'll be a DGL starting in January for the Planet Pals table, so I'll be praying that all goes well. Now I just need to work on how to manage going to MOPS while dropping off a very unhappy little girl with the other kids, among other things. Insert deep sigh here.

Ladies night and Thomas

General consensus: only the ladies want to see New moon, which is just fine by me!! Once it comes out December 3, we'll have to get together for a night out to see it and maybe grab a drink. YAY! Keep your eyes open for an e-mail from me ladies with some options of what days/times to go.

On another note, Camille confirmed that we will be going to see Thomas and Friends with the kids on November 4th, woo hoo! Juliana has yet to sit through a play or movie beyond 45 minutes, but there is an intercession, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it goes well! At least she'll be surrounded by her other friends, seeing them in awe of the performance, so that should help! Tickets available through SISTIC (<--click on it for link). It's a 90 minute show with a 15 minutes intercession at the Singapore Indoor Stadium!

New Moon Envy

My cousin got to see the New Moon premiere the other day in the U.S. and I am very jealous. I believe it comes out here in December (but I may be wrong, haven't checked recently), so anyone wanting to go, I'm in!! Jacob isn't all that excited, so I have to see it anyway, even if I am alone! I know a lot of people (ahem, men mainly) don't get the whole Twilight series craze, but the books are THAT good. I know they were intended for teens, but they seem to have roped in a lot of adults too. I may not be a huge Robert Patterson fan, but the books and movies, YES!

And now in theaters, A Christmas Carol, so maybe that can be a date night! Definitely not a suitable movie for the little ones, but from what I hear, a good holiday movie! Looking forward to it. I can never pass up a good Jim Carrey movies :-)

Quiet happiness...

Christmas shopping

This morning, I woke up feeling like I had hit by a truck after a rough night of the sniffles, coughing and a fever. Thought I was over that little bug, but it crept back up on me. Sadly, it was a rather uneventful day. I got a little work done and Jacob had to work too, so Juliana went out for a couple hours this morning with Jean to pick up some diapers and look at Christmas presents! She loves all the decorations...
Ooooohh, an angel!

Are books on her list for Santa? Check! Don't mind the educational stuff...

Checking out the Tinker Bell display for the newest movie. Not on our list, but she will be getting some other new DVDs from Santa!

Uh oh, another stuffed animal. When I was looking at these pictures with Juliana, she kept saying, "Teddy, teddy!" I guess it was a hint too, but I feel like we already have enough stuffed animals in this house. We'll see...

Finally, Jean took this video...hmmmm, must be a BIG hint! They are actually pretty neat!

Delicious meal at Ikoi

Last night, Sue Lynn and Mun Cheong picked us up for a late dinner at Ikoi Japanese Restaurant, a buffet of sushi, sashimi, noodles, appetizers, rice and lots of other goodies. Here we are before heading in to stuff our tummies...
I got to finally try Sake for the first time too and it was good. I didn't know if I would like it, but it was delicious and you can barely taste the alcohol...dangerous!

Well, the meal was amazing! The sashimi was so fresh, lots of salmon, tuna and swordfish. We also had some udon noodles, lots of edamame, some chicken skewers and sushi, among other soups and snacks they bring along in between orders. It's definitely worth the price, because you can keep ordering until you're completely stuffed and yes, we did! Thanks Sue Lynn and Mun Cheong, great choice and good company, as always!
After dinner, they took us to the Marina Barrage and it was beautiful at night time. I've only been during the day, but the city line is all lit up and there was a nice breeze. Felt good to walk around too after all that food.

Finally, they even drove us down part of Orchard Road before heading home to see the Christmas lights. We can't wait to take Juliana, because this year's decorations are even better than last year's.

I got these pictures online, but will take more when we go with Juliana. Just a preview!

This is what dinner is like...

Ah, dinner time! It's always interesting and lately, Juliana has been entertaining us while we eat more and more. Her newest fascination: her hair! She loves shaking her head and playing with her hair...

We have starting using the timer (thank you MOPS speaker for this!) at the dinner table, so Juliana gets used to sitting down for at least 15-20 minutes at meal time. Even if she's done eating, we tell her she can't get down until "the red is gone" and the timer goes "bing!" She doesn't always enjoy this... As soon as the time is up, she'll say, "red is all gone" and very nicely ask, "Daddy/Mommy, down please." The timer seems to help her visualize the time and then she has something to look forward to! Here's that face of satisfaction...Such a doll, but definitely testing us a lot more. We've been working with the 1-2-3 magic again and she knows when she's done something wrong. With that and the timer (fingers crossed), things seem to be looking a little brighter in the discipline department! I'll keep you updated.

More fun at IMM

I woke up this morning feeling horrible...headache, cough, sniffles and exhaustion. I also had a ton of work to do, so Juliana spent a few hours with Jean at IMM this morning, after our chat with my mom and Nana, while I (slowly) did most of my work.

They have decorated for Christmas at IMM, just like the rest of the malls. This one had a bright red tree...Before the downpour early this afternoon, Juliana got some play time in at the water park. It never gets old!

I had told Jean about the small art place just inside the door at the mall and they did another piece of window art together. She chose an elephant this time that is now on the door next to her Hello Kitty one we did with Jacob...

The final product was nice and colorful!
After a day of staying in and (sort of) resting, I'm still not feeling so good, but Juliana made up for that when she woke up from her nap calling for me and saying "I love you mommy." We had a good time during her bath too...always a sign of that when I'm soaked at the end of it also!

Oh Christmas tree

Yesterday afternoon, I picked up a (fake) Christmas tree, just the right size for Juliana. When she woke up from her nap, she got all excited to see it and kept saying "Christmas tree" over and over again. She would also touch the bell ornaments and say, "Ring, ring!" It's adorable how much she loves it, just have to keep reminding her not to pull!
After talking to my mom and grandmother online this morning, Juliana decided to bring the keyboard over next to me to sing some songs...

Of course, most of the words don't make any sense since she puts her mouth over the microphone, but that's okay. She tries!!

2 year pictures...a little belated

I finally got around to loading Juliana's pictures that we had done while in the U.S. for her second birthday. They are so precious! When we first got to the studio, she was cranky, so it took about ten minutes of running around and looking at toys to get her in the right mood. At that point, she was very happy and giggly...there were a lot of pictures taken, but here are some of the best ones.