Gong Xi Fa Cai

Happy Chinese New Year!

Prior to moving to Singapore we had no idea what a big deal Chinese New Year was on this side of the globe. Not only is a public holiday spanning multiple days, but many people also extend the holiday and spend time with family and friends. This year is the year of the Ox, which is included in all the decor around town. This picture looks like something I did in photoshop, but it is a legit cardboard ox by our apartment. It looks so life-like.
To celebrate today we took the kids to Chinatown. It was actually dead and everything was closed, but we ate lunch at a hawker stand (one of the few open) and it felt festive to be there since the area is decorated for the season. I could have done without the strangers touching the twins non stop and the guy next to us blowing his nose the farmer way while I ate, but alas we enjoyed the adventure.

Saturday we went to a friends house and they had this cool pool float that Ainsley enjoyed because she got to push Kara around in it until Kara grew tired of the fun.

Jack & Kara turned seven months old today. Hard to believe! At a recent doctor appointment they checked out great. Just one more kilo and Kara and Ainsley will weigh the same.
Jack 17.3 pounds, 26.4"
Kara 18 pounds, 26.4"

Our jaws literally hit the floor today when Jack very unexpectedly got into the crawling position with his hands and knees, chest off the floor, and rocked back and forth for about five seconds. He doesn't even sit on his own yet but apparently he is ready to crawl! Watch out marble floors!!!!

Cute Pictures

Gearing up for Chinese New Year

Chinese new year is January 26, but the decorations are out and the countdown to the celebration has begun. We ventured to Chinatown to see the decor and we had a great time. We walked through the streets of vendors and had a great Chinese meal before heading back home.

This weekend we took a double-decker bus tour and enjoyed seeing things from a different view

And then Sunday we ended the weekend with a family cook-out..

We had some pretty cool highlights this week.
1) Chinatown was a lot of fun
2) Kara is sitting up well and she loves it
3) Ainsley no longer wears diapers (!!!!!)
4) Jack and Kara no longer require night feedings (2 weeks strong now!)
5) Jack rolls all over the living room...if you turn your head for a minute he is 2 yards from where he started


This is Kara playing with her fan. We got a huge kick out of watching it and had to get it on video:

Happy New Year!

What a great holiday season we have had. It is so much fun having CC & Pa here and we have truly had a great time celebrating the holiday season and enjoying family time.

Check out these cuties!

Ainsley's school had a holiday party and her class sang a song for their part of the program. Ainsley was in no mood to perform and cried the entire time...
However, after the show was finished she was happy as could be and enjoyed her cupcake...

We enjoyed an adults night out and went downtown to the Long Bar (at the Raffles hotel) to sample the Singapore Sling. The Long Bar is where the Singapore Sling was invented...
January 1st Matt and I celebrated our four year wedding anniversary. We enjoyed a great lunch in Little India and then did some sight seeing around town...

View of cable cars from Mt. Faber...
We ended the week at our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Patio, in Holland Village. Ainsley loves the fake queso, quesedillas, and the chips. Kara and Jack only got to eat apples and squash :-(

Look at big girl Kara sitting up on her own!

The five of us at the end of the weekend. (By the way, Ainsley made it 1 1/2 days with no diapers but Sunday afternoon we had to call it off for the day because we ran out of panties and shorts!)