Belated 4 Month and 26 Month Shots

The Tough Life

One of the things we love the most about Penang is that it is always pool time; no matter the month or the time of the day, it is always hot enough for pool.
Here are the few shots of us enjoying the pool even when we were not planning on it.

Cute, Chubby, Happy, Baby Brother

Singapore

I have been too busy to write anything the last 3 months but here is a quick summary, mostly pictures.

My mom joined us in early January and while Arves was on a business trip we decided to go on an adventure of our own with the kids of course. We had a wonderful weekend in Singapore and managed to visit all the sights on our list! Kids did great and despite a few inevitable meltdowns we all had a great time.

Day one we visited the zoo. Emily got to ride on an elephant, feed goats and horse, see the penguins, and enjoy a ride on a choo choo train through the zoo. This zoo is amazing in activities, variety, grounds, etc. just perfect.

After nap time we went to Orchard Road thinking we could easily find a place to eat and walk around a bit. This place is crazy; super busy and just mall after mall. I didn't know what to expect but was definitely overwhelmed by the amount of stores. 

Day two we went to Sentosa Island and met our friend Winnie for a walk around the new aquarium. Emily enjoyed the cable car ride and all the angry bird decorations. Arvesito was a bit too hot and didn't like the ride as much. The aquarium on the other hand was a fail for both kids. My mom and I enjoyed it but we had to leave sooner than planned since the kids had enough.

 

Hanging out with the M&Ms on Sentosa Island

 The second outing of the day was the Marina Bay Sands for some amazing views of the city. We had a great time running around and taking lots of pictures. Singapore is a beautiful city and I was so glad to have my mom to enjoy it with.

Clarke Quay for dinner

Day three we visited the Gardens by the Bay before our trip back home. Traveling with two kids was easy having my mom along; loved every minute of it!

Happy Year of the Snake!

In the spirit of Chinese New Year we decided to get some traditional outfits for the kids and here is the end result.

Arvesito is just over 5 months and weighs a whopping 17 lbs! He still has his ocassional melt downs but has gotten so much better; as long as you keep changing his environment and he is entertained he's happy. He is very strong and very alert but gets bored quickly. Arvesito is on the move army style and is almost doing the official crawl. He can sit up all by himself for long periods of time with the occasional falls. He adores his big sister and watches her every move. He is a momma's boy and whenever I'm around he makes noises to call my attention until I pick him up.

Emily is as sweet as ever. She is very smart and has an amazing memory, she can remember things we've told her only once whether it is a new word or something we were supposed to do. She is very loving to her baby brother and whenever he cries she says "I'm coming baby brother!" and hurries to sing to him. Emily is just a fun little girl who loves to run and bounce everywhere. She still adores her daddy beyond words and tolerates the rest of us. Emily doesn't really like strangers especially if she is in a bad mood; once you're in her circle though you are in to stay!  

Phuket, Thailand

 

Before Arvesito turned 3 months we decided to go on our first adventure as a family of four. Thanks Grandma Stolpe for making this possible.

One big happy Buddha

We survived, and actually had a great time. The ratio of adults to kids was still greater than one which is a good place to be. Spending a few relaxing days at the beach was just what we needed, it was wonderful.

Mom's view while crocheting and watching Arvesito nap

Beautiful sandy beach

 Besides our relaxation days we went for one adventure day where we visited the Big Buddha or Big Gouda, like Emily calls him, and we got to ride and feed elephants. Emily still talks about her ride on the elephant and asks to go again at least 3 times a week!

Mom, Tica, and Arvesito enjoying the ride

Feeding baby elephant!

We stayed at the Katathani Beach Resort which we highly recommend. 4 days of pure bliss!

View from our room

The rest of the pictures are on Picasa.

Family Day at Work

Recent picture of the 4 of us, a rare sight since usually one of us holds the camera.
We had a family day at work in our new building where Emily got to take a picture with the NI Penguin. She's been obsessed with Happy Feet so Nigel was actually pretty close :)

We're all doing great and loving our hectic traveling life. Emily is as sweet as ever and Arvesito as big as ever.