Daddy is almost home!

Hurrah... T returns tomorow. K got a cold last Monday and still has it eleven days later... We have had some sniffly days! Daddy definitely has to come home though... K is getting more girly with each passing day..

She had a manicure earlier this week and was very careful with her wet nails... holding her hands out like little fans asking me to turn on lights and grab toys.

Last night she told me all her pjs in her drawer were baby pajamas and we needed to go to the store for new big girl pajamas.

We went shopping for a fall wardrobe over the weekend and she picked out sweaters and pants... especially loved the ones with stickers marking the size of the item.

And of course not to worry we have ridden merry go rounds, had coffees and gone to the park.

The minor bummer ... for MoCa is that K told her this is not your house... you must go to your other house. MoCa hopped off the bed and K ran after her saying no... come back you must sit in your spot. They are still working on figuring each other out.

We are looking forward to our party weekend with Daddy Pizza. Welcome almost home!

Cambodia part one

bali photos

sing photos part one

diaper free... (fingers crossed)

We transitioned out of daytime diapers three months ago... but were very nervous about the night time diapers... but we did it! We dropped them the first day of our trip (and brought every single one of the emergency stash home)... The night we left I let K pick night time underwear at the store... She picked horse and dora ones... I know ... shocking! The next step I guess is a big girl bed... Not sure how to do that one.

We made it...

We are home.. the laundry is done... the shopping is put away... at least the first load... (T is bringing the rest when he returns)... It is great to be home. Pmogi picked us up from the airport bearing treats. Gma C was waiting for us with milk and dinner. K has already had her read 200 books.

I don't think I will be doing a 20 hour flight journey solo again... We did well for most of it... there were a couple rough hours in the middle due to one tired little girl who only slept three of the twenty travel hours. She did fantastic even though she caught a stomach bug for the plane flight. The guy coming home at the end of our row traveling on business loved us... I am sure! She kept asking me if she could go sleep upstairs as she couldn't get comfy in her seat. We are getting back on track and had two mini check ins last night.. Hopefully those end by the end of the week...

MoCa is thrilled... look out neighborhood birds. She has been attached to me since we returned. She disappeared for two days when we were gone (longest ever).. Either she went on her own trip or went to look for us... I have gotten my scolding.

T is in Singapore for two more weeks. He dropped us to the airport and when we left him K ran to the glass put her hands on his and kissed him through the glass while shrieking see you soon daddy. Very sweet... I cried in the customs line. She has told everyone daddy is working... she keeps saying that he is stuck. She thinks he is going to work at the airport.

I start school tonight. Very excited!!!

Back in Singapore

We spent our last day in Bali enjoying the pool, breakfast with my last cappucino and the beach. It was a bittersweet day. We traveled back to Singapore so that K and I could catch our flight home tomorrow. Wish us luck! 20 solo parenting plane hours.

One bad monkey

Today we went to Uliwatu to see a temple on the western most point of Bali. The temple overlooked the ocean and was stunning. We were also warned of the monkeys and not having anything shiny out. We took off our rings, put away our glasses and did our part to be inconspicuous. Unfortunately we were the only ones there when we got there and I was attacked by a daddy monkey trying to steal the water bottle out of my hand. He jumped on my back... ahhhhhhh! T sprung into protector husband and showed the monkeys who was in charge. They didn't follow us around after that but I was frightened and we ran into a pack of twenty more of them halfway into our ocean walk. Yuck! We explained to K that daddy was being the alpha male and so she went around saying daddy is being the alphabet... Very funny! On the way out we escaped without notice as a number of tourists had stopped to see the temple.

The day continued with our driver taking us around to shops before heading in for a heavenly massage. The spa at the hotel is beautiful and so I booked a great massage and enjoyed the ponds and views. Fantastic! We all met up again after K's nap and headed down to the ocean (200 more stairs) for more hole digging, wall building and wave hopping. I also played volleyball and Frisbee with K, which she really enjoyed as she is still talking about the volleyball. We finished with an ultra swanky dinner at one of the hotel restaurants with great food and fantastic views of the beach and candle lights and little fires everywhere. Tomorrow is our last full day in Bali before heading to Singapore for one night. I fly home on Sunday... wish me luck! We are looking forward to be home, however Bali will do into history as one of our best vacations ever!

Another great day

Two of the cutest things K said today...

We were pretending to eat ice creams with our balloon sticks and K gave T a chocolate ice cream as it matched his eyes.

I hurt myself opening something and K looked at Daddy and said I want an owwie too... like Mommy.

Today we went into Kuta where we did a bit of shopping, but mainly looked at the horses. The bummer was that when we went to ride one there were none available. You can imagine who was disappointed with that. We spent more time at the pools, but T and K were banned from the water slides as K needs to be over 5. We found another great pool at the far end of the pool and T took K down to explore low tide. A very nice day... sad though as we are almost at the end of our adventure.

Bali rocks!

Our girl is back... Day one in Bali was spectacular... The hotel is one of the best resorts we have stayed in as it has a great combination of fun things for K and for the adults... The swimming pools are endless, the restaurants are fantastic... I won't eat again after coming home), the weather, the beach and our room is spectacular. Yesterday we just spent the day wandering the resort.. going out on the pier, finding restaurants, counting pools, enjoying a scrumptious breakfast and reconnecting as a (happy) family. We hung out in a little pool we found that no one was using in a little grotto, under gazebos watching the ocean and just relaxed. Our patio is really nice and the stars are so beautiful that at night T and I have been heading out to enjoy the view, the sounds, music and the stars before turning in for the night. Today we continued our exploration around after another fabulous breakfast and made it to the beach. To get to the beach the hotel provides a shuttle to a private beach adjacent to the resort. The resort is directly over the Indian Ocean without any real beach so we went to the usable beach (after climbing down 184 steps) for hole digging in the sand, seashell searching, walking on the beach and laying out. This afternoon we headed to four different pools... one looks directly over the ocean and then has stairs leading to another pool with waterfalls and fish tanks before T and K checked out the water slides... K loved the slides and raved about the experience... We finished tonight with another yummy Thai dinner at the resort, getting K off to bed and more time as a couple. I told T that he will have to drag me out kicking and screaming... I won't leave this place!

A bad day!

K is an excellent traveler... we started our day to Bali very normally... whipped cream and latte at Starbucks and a good bye to Daddy so K and I could get a head start on our Bali adventure.... We wandered the airport - put on a ton of creams at the duty free shops and checked out gucci glasses... and then we got to our gate and everything exploded. K took the spoon I was borrowing and wiped it on the floor because I couldn't use it. She screamed and yelled and cried and continued to do this for six hours with little peeks or her normal personality... To say I was shocked would be an understatement...I cried three times... She was inconsolable and even worse so sad... At the hotel her meal was pushed on the floor, she demanded a shower and got out on to the marble floor because she didn't want to wash her shampoo out... The longest tantrum of my life ended twelve hours after it began... I was sooo bummed.... and so shocked to not be able to help her or do anything to make it better. The five hour travel day (due to connections and late bookings) turned into twelve hours of heck... I only remember one other day like this when she was six weeks old and I contemplated driving to get her to nap after a day of crying... Nothing to say about what I could have done better (maybe more food but all I can say is at the end of the day we had:

- a SAD mommy
- a SAD and angry K
- a broken bed due to a tantrum about not sleeping
- a hungry mommy so glad for a new day
- many horrified fellow passengers who tried to help!
- a happy mommy to have daddy back to tag team in case this happens again

Cambodia

We are back from Cambodia... The temples were incredible (pmogi thanks for convincing us to go). We had a great time exploring them... photos to follow. I always leave my cord at home. However leave it to K to find horses around the temples and convinvcing us for a ride on one and then insisting we had to find the mommy and daddy horse for the little baby because he was lost. The shopping was really good and I found some great things, but the hard part is the disparity of wealth and the requests for money as you shop... It is really sad and difficult to watch. As a result we limited our shopping time. We had some great pool time as the hotel had a multi layered pool with tunnels and little fountains for K to explore... She loved it and practiced her humpty dumpty jumping in the pool many times. We had more great meals... one of our best meals ever at an Italian rest. in the hotel with a yummy bottle of french Merlot and more noodles for K... The meal took about 3 hours, but K hung for the long haul and continues her quest in trying noodles, orange juice and ice cream at every rest. in Asia. Last night we went to the Raffles for a really nice dinner... unfortunately the other diners didn't seem too impressed to have a two year old at the rest... I finished the Cambodia adventure with a ninety minute massage... heaven! We are now back in Singapore.

Today we went out to Sentosa (decided it was way too commercialized) and came back for more time on the waterfront before going to the night safari... The safari was incredible and allowed us to be ten feet from elephants, giraffes, lions, zebras, flamingos and the list goes on. We finished with a really neat show where the animals did a variety of tricks... It was one of the best zoo experiences I have ever had... We let K pick one stuffed animal and so she is now sound asleep with her new giraffe... We leave for Bali in the morning.

More ahead

Today we spent our last day in Singapore at the most beautiful botanical gardens I have ever been to... 130 acres of beautiful bliss and I tried to walk all of them... We went to an orchid garden, fed turtles, hid from the rain under a gazebo, walked through the rain forest, visited a simulated misty mountainside (very refreshing) and checked out water fountains... K loved loved feeding the turtles and looking at the fish. We found a Parisian cafe on the way to the gardens and I treated K to six mini madelines... she loved it (way too many sweets when Mommy is around). We had a cab driver take us to a factory with beautiful jade and our own personal shopper, however they seemed a bit less interested when they discovered by husband wasn't there. We finished the day with one last look at Orchard road and a successful purse purchase. We went back to Chimes for a sushi dinner tonight ( a little village of rests. because K really wanted to eat where the kitties were) before heading in for a mad rush of packing... We are off to Cambodia in the morning.

The K and Mommy time has been spectacular... my favorite moments of the trip have been the I love you mommys and listening to K recite her favorite part of her day to Daddy when he comes home, trying new foods with her and just walking with her.

loving it

Last night the concierge directed us to this incredible Asian fusion restaurant... IndoChine... The food was really really good and had a great view of the skyline and the water... K especially liked it as the owner offered her an ice cream if she ate her dinner.... As we left the restaurant I asked K what she thought of the place... she said it was good because the woman was nice... We ordered her a Asian noodle dish and so it was a bit hard to get her to eat, but the ice cream treat was a huge motivation and so when she got her requisite bites in she requested the woman to show her all she ate.

Today we went back to the same area and I treated K to another ice cream at the Fullerton hotel... The hotel had beautiful views and a great water fountain. The only way we are getting milk in on this trip is ice cream. As you can imagine K loves it. We wandered the water and went to the Asian civilization museum which was really really great. K enjoyed practiced to write Arabic, play an Indian board game and most of all comparing her horse underwear to the horses on the Chinese snuff bottles. We are off to another good restaurant tonight (way too much good food in this city) and an afternoon at the pool...

mommy and k hanging

We had a really incredible day today... We hit the pool first so that the rain wouldn't get in the way of our swimming... It was a lot of fun, but the best part was after we swam...K laid out and we just hung together on the chairs... we spent about thirty minutes just chatting... it was really nice... however the why game has begun and so we had a bit of a circular conversation with numerous whys.... After the pool we headed to shopping area that was supposed to have a great outdoor play area... so after a few shops we went to this outside area that had a slide, all sorts of climbing structures and water fountans... K had a great time. We got an ice cream and looked over the coast as K saw all the other kids running around with ice cream. The quality time has been great.

We made it

We are here.... Eek! K did incredible on the flights... although she didn't sleep much (about 5 of the 20 hours) ... she had a great time and was really cheery the whole way. As we booked separately from T we were able to do shifts and get a bit of rest and yet keep her very entertained. When we landed in Hong Kong K asked for another airplane ride. Quite the traveler.... We are at a great hotel in Singapore (beautiful city views, food and attached to a shopping mall) and had a mellow first day bumming around the hotel and enjoying cappuccinos and a nice Italian dinner.

On Sun we woke up and headed to little India. great smells and colorful sites... lots of fun! We even went into a beautiful Hindu temple. In the afternoon we headed to the east coast, saw an incredible rainstorm and went to a fun rest with a colleague of Ts. T and I took turns hitting the hotel gym and K and T went into the kiddie pool.

T had to work today so after a yummy breakfast K and I headed to Orchard Road for shopping... Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and we had to run from toy store to toy store checking out water tables, train tables, merry go rounds and indoor slides. Reminded me of our Belgium rainstorm last Dec. Luckily it wasn't 7 degrees outside... We met T for dinner and went to an awesome Medit. rest that even had kitties running about. Very authentic. We sat in the courtyard which had all these pretty Christmas lights... K turned to us as soon as we sat down and announced... it was Christmas and we needed to give her presents... we explained it wasn't Christmas and we didn't have anything so she suggested Santa bring her something.. too funny!

The trip has been really great so far... It has been great to hang with K all day every day although I was wiped after trying to entertain with 7 hours of rain today. She loves Dr Seuss so we have been reading all the dr seuss we brought 5-7 times a day.

The biggest thing we are trying is no nighttime diapers... three successful nights... let's hope we make it and can transition away from diapers... our little girl is no longer little.