She's gotten so big!

I'll try to add more soon, but a few people that have looked at the blog recently asked me to add a newer picture of Juliana...well, here she is with her younger sister, Jeanine...

Juliana is 4 and a half years old now, about to finish up preschool. She'll  begin kindergarten in the fall. She has her first dance recital this coming Sunday!

Jeanine is about to turn 9 months and has been crawling all over the place.

We really miss Singapore and think about it often, the food, the experiences, and especially the wonderful people we met. 

Welcome home Jeanine

Our second beautiful daughter was born on September 8, 2011 at 9:52pm. She weighed 5lbs 6oz and measured 18.5 inches. Jeanine Jolin is doing wonderful and Juliana is a happy and proud big sister!!

Missing SG

People keep asking me what I miss most about SG, so I thought long and hard about it and here goes...

1. The food –I know, right? And all I did while I was there was complain about missing American food! But I miss the variety and the prices of the local foods. Miss the trips to the Hawker stands and the ridiculously low priced satay, chicken rice, mee goreng, naan, etc.
2. The pool
3. The consistency in the weather…it was always hot and either rain or sun, no snow!
4. MOPS –The meetings and all the wonderful women
5. Our landlords
6. Jean
7. Supper Club
8. The variety of classes for Juliana to take part in
9. The adventure of living abroad
10. Being so close to other parts of Asia

2011 Update

I realize it's been a long time since I posted and I think it's about time to update the blog! Juliana started preschool in May and has loved it ever since. She gets to dance once a week, take a Spanish class, learn music and during the summer, she had swimming lessons and tennis. These pictures were taken at the end of the year show...

We have been enjoying our time back home, with family and friends, but we're both willing to admit that we miss living abroad. The idea is always at the back of my mind, so who knows what the future holds!

Jacob had been working long hours, long days and I've been home with Juliana on her days off from school. I am now 36 weeks pregnant and due to be induced on September 8th due to some complications. It has been a really difficult pregnancy filled with concerns, but it's coming to an end soon and even though our little baby girl looks healthy, she's very small still. Updates to come on that!

Some pictures from the summer...

Canobie Lake...

Hampton Beach....

Storyland...

Casco, ME at my aunt's family camp...

Prancing around in daddy's shoes...

With her cousin at the Franklin Park Zoo...

I've really missed blogging, but I guess I figured our life here in the U.S. isn't as exciting as it was abroad, but it's still our life, so I am planning to keep up with the blog from here on out. The next time will probably be filled with pictures of our newborn!

Big girl bed!!

Well, it took a while with the move back to the US and then hopping around from a hotel to temporary housing to our final resting point, but Juliana is finally in a big girl bed! My mom had kept my old brass bed frame, so we went shopping for a mattress and box spring. It finally came last week and Juliana seems to be enjoying all the extra room. We let her bounce on the bed briefly when it first got here and she had so much fun...

I like the bed too because when we read to her at night, we can lie down with her instead of sitting on the floor. Plus, now that she's potty trained, she can get up and go to the bathroom whenever she needs to!

Oh, how fast our little girl is growing! Next up is getting her to stop sucking her fingers!!

Christmas Morning

There's no better word for Christmas this year for Juliana than SPOILED! She was showered with presents from everyone and we are grateful for such wonderful family and friends in our life. Christmas morning was a lot of fun now that Juliana is interested in Santa. She came downstairs and was excited to see all the presents Santa had brought.
The family at the tree

My mom had stayed over Christmas eve, so she also got to give Juliana all her gifts Christmas morning...

Such a happy girl!

One of her many gifts, a Rapunzel wig that makes me realize I could never be a blond!

It was a wonderful holiday, went by way too fast though. God bless everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Juliana meets Santa!

On Saturday, we went to a Christmas party and this was no ordinary party, Santa visited! He was a good looking Santa and played the role so well. Juliana was very interested in everything he had to say and say along with all his songs! The whole group with Santa... Part of Santa's duties was to give out presents to all the children, so Juliana waited patiently until the second to last gift came out of Santa's sack and she got to sit on his lap. When he asked what she wanted for Christmas, she said, "My mommy told me to ask for a castle!" This was news to me, because I had no idea she wanted a castle, so I guess I'll be working on that!
Big hug for Santa...
Opening her gifts with daddy, some new books!

This year has been so much fun teaching Juliana about Jesus' birthday, the Nativity, and all of the other additional parts like Santa, his elves and the North Pole. She's very excited for his visit and all those presents!

Juliana's First Haircut

I know I've been on hiatus the last few weeks, but I had lost our camera and to me, it seemed silly to post without pictures! But Alas we decided to buy ourselves a new camera for our Christmas gift and I have been loving it! Just in time too, for Juliana's first haircut. She was really scared the last few times we told her that this would be happening, but this morning Jacob had the perfect words to take away her fear. We went to Snip Its, which does haircuts for only kids and Juliana amazed us!

TO get her comfortable in the chair, the hairdresser blew bubbles for Juliana and then handed them off to Jacob to continue while she wet Juliana's hair.
She was so well behaved and didn't move at all so the hairdresser could get her job done!

Smiling at her daddy...

Once again, Juliana impressed us with her good behavior and patience. She did have a minor meltdown on the way out because she wanted to play with all the toys, but we had a party to go to!

Simply beautiful

New Title, New Path

Well, we're no longer "On The Move," (for now) but we're still "On The Case!" I feel like life is just as exciting as it was in Singapore, but for different reasons. We are rediscovering ourselves as Americans again and adjusting back to a vastly different society. Singapore is a much more relaxed society, less obsessed with material things (except for technology!) and American is centered around the saying, "The more you have, the more you're worth." It's always a matter of having the newest technology, the prettiest house, the best furniture, the shiniest car, etc. etc. Really, like is not about "stuff" and in many ways, it took our time as expats to learn the truth of this statement. We have been cleaning out all of the stuff from our storage unit and amazed at what we were able to donate, throw away or what was truly worth keeping. Simplicity is the way to live your life so that you can focus on what really matters - family, friends, faith.

On that note, I wanted to share this inspirational list written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio. After living so many years, she figure out what life was really all about.

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written. -Regina Brett

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come...
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."
    

My baby's three!

It's so hard to believe that my little girl turned three today! She's growing up so fast. She had her checkup and she's in the 95 percentile for her height! She's talking a lot which means Jacob and I have to be extremely careful what we say and how we say things because she copies everything we say and do. She's going to school three days a week and making new friends. I can't believe how fast it's all happening and I'm so grateful for a smart, beautiful, healthy little girl who adores us!

For her birthday, my mom had a small party at her house for family and a couple friends. Juliana opened up her clothes from Nana and Nanny first before everyone showed up... Tea party with all the stuffed animals...

Opening her presents... Today, Juliana got to celebrate her birthday twice. First, we had lunch with Nana and Nanny...

Scary smile!

Cuddling up with Nana...

After being shy when the staff sang her Happy Birthday, she blew out her candles and the three of us ate the cake!

Then tonight when Jacob got home, we had a frosted chocolate donut for her after dinner, which she thoroughly enjoyed!

God truly blessed us. We adore this precious little girl... Happy THIRD birthday my beautiful little girl!