Airplane Park

A couple days ago we headed to a park that I used to go to as a kid. We called it airplane park because you could climb around in airplanes. They didn't have the big airplanes like they used to, but it will still be airplane park to me.

Next to the playground there was a petting zoo. Elyse had a good time petting goats, cows, pigs, and watching all sort of birds.

At the park Elyse had fun climbing on the equipment with Daddy and Grandma.

There was a man-made stream running through the park that I thought Elyse would love; I was wrong. It was a bit cold and the bottom of the stream was sand. She did have fun throwing rocks in the water and sticking her toes in a bit.

It was fun to go back to a place I used to play and watch my daughter have fun there as well.

Father's Day

On Father's Day we spent the morning with the Schmidt side of the family going to church and watching the US Open and then headed to the Harkless Household in the afternoon. At the Harkless House we got to see Toby's brothers and sister along with his parents. This is the first time in a long time we were able to spend Father's Day with both of our fathers.

Elyse is helping Daddy open his present.

Elyse loved her Uncle Noah's dog Pedro. She followed him everywhere.
Elyse is hanging out with her Uncle Ethan and Aunt Lisel.

We're Not In Singapore Anymore

After 26 hours of traveling we arrived in Colorado. The trip wasn't as bad as the trip going out to Singapore. I think the biggest difference was that we were traveling with Toby's parents. They helped carry things and entertain Elyse. On one of the legs they took Elyse for 3+ hours and helped her fall asleep. It helped us so much.


We arrived a little after 2pm so the plan was to stay awake as long as we could and try and sleep through the night. Elyse did so well. She looked like she had just a normal day. When we got to my parent's house she had so many things to play with and explore I think she just forgot she was sleep deprived. We put her down at her normal bedtime and she slept 14 straight hours. It was amazing. I kept waking up every couple of hours but was able to fall back asleep. Toby wasn't so lucky. He woke up around 1 am and couldn't go back to sleep.


Our first full day was beautiful. I sat outside and wasn't covered in sweat. It was wonderful. Today we just hung out, got to see my Aunt and ran a few errands. I drove for the first time in almost nine months. I did pretty well (overall). We got to eat good cheese, good steak, good corn, tons of raspberries, and went to Sonic.


This evening was capped off by an elk sighting in my parent's front yard. We were about 10 feet away from the beast (it was huge!) which was eating our neighbor's tree and broke my parent's decorative bridge. It was pretty crazy. I guess they came to say we weren't in Singapore anymore.

Today Elyse and I went to the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden with our friends Kristyna, Salma, and Zahra. They will be headed back to the UK at the end of the month which is so sad. There is a small chance that they will stay in Singapore a little longer, but we had to say goodbye today just incase we won't see them again since we are leaving for the US.

A picture from one of our first outings together. Elyse is about 15 months and Salma is about 14 months.

We have known Kristyna, Salma and Zahra since moving to our condos. We have a routine of Starbucks and grocery shopping on Mondays. I will miss that. Elyse loves Salma and calls out her name and runs to give her hugs. I would consider Salma Elyse's first friend. I know that being an expat and making friends with expats leads to a lot of goodbyes, but this is my first one- it sucks. But enough about that, we had a great time at the Garden and here are some pictures from our day.

Check this out:

Elyse followed Salma onto the sand and continued to walk across without any prompting from me. I am so proud.

Game 7

Today was Game 7 of the Staley Cup Finals. Toby found a way to watch it on our TV. We have a "mosaic" function on our TV that shows all the channels, even the ones we don't prescribe to, on tiny screens. So, Toby found the channel that was showing the game and was able to watch it. Elyse joined him.

They started out on the couch...

and then wound up a bit closer (the game is the highlighted screen in the lower left corner.)

A Bit of Culture

Yesterday I was over at a friend's house for some fellowship time (a.k.a. hanging out with my bible study group because we are on a break from our study). As Elyse was playing in one of the kid's bedrooms I noticed a Fruit and Vegetable poster. Pretty typical for a kids room, but then I started looking at the pictures. They had what an American might expect: banana, apple, etc., but then came the Singapore fruit such as logons, mangosteen, soursop, durian, jack fruit, and many others. (I think I misspelled most of them.) I just thought it was neat to see how a simple learning cart could give insight in the an area.

Then on the ride home I was in the car with 2 other adults and 3 kids including Elyse. One of the kids asked what year Elyse was born in and then corrected himself and asked what animal she was born in. The other adults laughed a bit and said that we (meaning me and Elyse) don't keep track of birthdays like that. (I had looked up Elyse's animal according to the Chinese calender, but I had forgotten at that moment.) It turns out she was born in the year of the pig. The boy who asked me said he was a rooster and that he could lay eggs. The adults got a bit of a chuckle out of that one as well.

Fun at IMM

We went to IMM with some friends today. Elyse had a great time running around in the water and then on the playground. We ended the morning with lunch at subway. We took up a lot of room: 3 adults and 4 kids with 3 strollers. You can read Melanie's description of the day and see some pictures of Elyse and her friends on her blog.

Not Much

Today when Toby got home he asked what we did today and I answered, "Not much," but when I stopped to think about it I did a lot today. Here are just some of the things I did today:

• Got Elyse fed and ready for the day


• Took a walk with Elyse around the condo


• Played with farm animals (toys)


• Sang children's songs and tried to teach Elyse actions that go with them


• Painted with Elyse while teaching her her colors


• Talked to Elyse about numbers while she played with her babies ("How many babies are in the basket? Let's count...)


• Walked to the clinic and got some more cream for Elyse's rash


• Talked to Lisel while feeding Elyse and trying to teach her to listen to her mother


• Played on the computer, did the dishes and read while Elyse napped


• Did 4 loads of laundry (our machine is tiny)


• Watched a show that had an egg in it and tried to explain that things hatch from eggs


• Read books to Elyse and helped increase her vocabulary


• Played airplane with Elyse


• Cooked Dinner


• Put Elyse to bed (It was my turn)

Friends

Today Elyse and I went over to a friend's house to play. There were four girls between 19 and 22 months and one that was 10 months. They had a lot of fun playing. Elyse is interacting more with the kids around here which makes her seem like such a little girl- no trace of baby. Here is a picture of 3 of the girls bouncing on the couch.

On another note, Elyse and I went out to blow bubbles today and Elyse blew here firsts bubbles all on her own. She makes a spitting/phh sound which is so cute. No pictures, but hopefully next time I can capture it on film.

Botanic Gardens with MOPS

Today Elyse and I met up with fellow moms at Singapore's Botanic Gardens. We laid down blankets in the shade of a huge tree and hung out. It was great weather to be outside and play.