Strawberry Shortcake

Today was first day Sophie used a spoon on her own. Making that step of giving her control and knowing that you'll end up with not only a messy table, messy chair, messy floor (if you don't have dogs) but also a very messy child. But it had to be done.

We started with our afternoon snack of Greek yoghurt, strawberries and crushed graham crackers (delicious, I might say). So we got everything prepared - vinyl tablecloth (easy clean up) and de-clothed the child.

I was quite impressed with her ability to hold the spoon and get the food into her mouth. I would dip it in and give it to her since she hasn't quite gotten that figured out yet.... That is until she decided that using her hand was much, much faster.



It was a step in the right direction- letting go of the spoon and letting Sophie take control. I wish I could post her scent after snack because she smelled like a Strawberry Shortcake doll. (And looked like one too!)

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Chrismas in Malaysia.


Decorating the tree was so much easier this year than it was last year without the extra person inside of me!)

Playing with Molly

I've been teaching Sophie which toys are hers and which ones belong to the dogs. She's pretty good at giving them their toys and will even do so when we tell her to "give to Molly/Max."

Molly is a very interesting dog- quite protective and selfish- she wants her toys and she doesn't know how to share that well. So it was very surprising when I saw Sophie and Molly playing with the bone yesterday. S gave it to M, M dropped it, S picked up and gave to M, etc. then it was tug of war - Molly won, of course but it was sweet.

Floatie love

While we were in Melbourne, we bought Sophie two new floaties - an inner tube and some arm floaties. We keep the pool bag, packed and ready to go, by the front door- you never know when you'll get a chance to hit the pool in tropical weather.

She was playing up in the front room when she decided to use her floatation device as a seat. Since that day, she's been lounging in it as if she were floating down the river.

Makin' a break for it

We usually keep the front grill open during the day to let the dogs wonder in and out- we don't use the A/C. This is a perfect example of "I thought you were watching the baby..." I was in the kitchen cooking Turkey dinner and Thomas was making a Christmas playlist on itunes - clearly, his was way more important! Then all of a sudden he asked if Sophie was with me- "no- I'm cooking, you're watching her." Then we found her - here - sitting in front of the gate with Molly holding a leaf.




The grill is closed more often now!

Fantastic Friday

Since living abroad, there are 2 things that we never get to do on time. Eat Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving day and watch the annual UT-A&M game.

Every once in a while we're able to watch the game- well, actually 2 times in the past 6 years, 3 if you count the time we were in States for Turkey day.

This year, Thomas had Black Friday off - not because the Malaysian government wants us to go out shopping but because it was Hari Raya. We won't get into what they do on that day because the mere thought of it makes me very very sad. So anyway, back to the day at the Petersens.

Thomas and I woke up first and threw on our Texas gear then woke Sophie up and put her Texas gear on (thanks to the ever thoughtful Terry & Leslie Sims). She looked so cute. We decided they only way to celebrate being able to watch the game - LIVE- was to eat a proper Texan breakfast- big yummy breakfast burritos and a lush touch of mimosas. Then it was game time. Sophie had slept in a bit longer than normal (I think in preparation to watch the full game- she was excited about it), so there was no morning nap for her and we all watched as the Longhorns beat the Aggies. It was a great game with some close calls but we came through.



Next on the agenda- cooking Thanksgiving dinner. We did a few dishes the day before so it wasn't too much to do but still time consuming. Four hours later, James came over, Sophie woke up and we sat down to Turkey dinner. As you can see - baby's first thanksgiving was successful - she brought her appetite! That's my hand in the picture - the only part of me you'll see in Thanksgiving '09. Thomas was told the following day after I looked at the pictures. I thought he had taken one of me and Sophie. Not so much. Anyway, 2 plates of food later and apple crumble, ice cream and coffee... we rolled James out to his car and took our full bellies to bed.





Today officially kicks off the holiday season.. Woohoo!!!

Chill-axing with the dogs

If only there was a better view...

Jul Market

The Danes and Christmas. Not sure if there is a more festive group of people out there.

The Danish Embassy and Seamen's Church hold a Christmas Market every year. There are very particular things every Dane needs for Christmas and for 2 days in Singapore, they can get it all. However, once the market opens I'm pretty sure they are sold out in about 1 hour. Its CRAZY.

We went with baby. I sent Thomas to do the food since it was a small people packed room with way too much stuff for Sophie to grab so we, S and I went looking at decorations. After we said our goodbyes to Thomas (wasn't sure when we would see him again!) we were off in the crowd to hunt after a basket. That's when I took this shot. It was insanely crowded with twenty too many Danish men and women coveting their Advent candles, new ornaments and ingredients for Christmas lunch.

30 minutes later, Thomas emerged with from the food room with the necessary items and I gave him my basket of stuff and said 'See ya'. It was hot, crowded and baby was not happy. After paying, stopping for a nice cold Carlsberg and our token aebleskiver (small doughnut like things served with jam and powdered sugar), we were out of there.

We still have Thanksgiving to go but we're getting in the Christmas spirit already!!!

Melbourne, Australia

We took off for our first "not seeing family" family trip to Australia on the 13th. We already made the trek by flight to the States so we knew a 7 hour ride would be a piece of cake. And it was. Smooth. We spent a week in Melbourne, eating yummy food and playing in the grass. Sophie never gets a chance to play in the grass here in JB so every chance we got, we put her down. It took time but she loved it. We did a ton. We walked a lot which is really something Thomas and I miss from the days living in Holland.

We hit a great 'local' market, Queen Victoria's market on Sunday- apparently the busiest day. And it was. There's a little for everyone and a lot for tourists. Have to admit I did partake in the tourist shopping- I purchased a straw cowboy hat. (Been looking for one for years). Monday, we took one of the greatest day trips ever. we went to a sanctuary to see wallabies and other animals. Sophie met, for the first time, horses, sheep, cows, ducks and a goat. Not too sure if she saw the wallabies - they were hiding- but you couldn't tell that she was upset. She loved the sheep and horses. From there we went to see koalas but all Sophie cared about was walking on the boardwalk. After that we ventured to a small town for dinner and gelato and off to the penguins. We hit Phillips Island - the home of 66,000 penguins. They go out during the day (for work) and come home after dark. The most amazing thing I have ever seen. No pictures since the flash causes blindness in the penguin but we did get postcards. Tuesday was spent wandering the rest of Melbourne and Wednesday was spent taking a wine tour of 4 different wineries in the Yarra Valley. Thursday rounded off our trip and we were on a plane back home.

We had a fantastic time in Melbourne and definitely want to go back to Australia. I couldn't pick which pictures to share so here's the whole album. Lots of just playing around.

Annie LaRue

Yesterday, I blogged about how we had a great photo op. Here's the sneak peak from Annie's website. She is a genius. We can't wait until the pics are ready to view.

http://annielarue.com/blog/?p=373

Picture day

Today we had a our first professional shoot. Since JB doesn't have many or well any photographers that aren't like Olan Mills (sorry Corpus folks!) we ventured into the Singaporean market. We found the lovely Annie la Rue. I only wished I found her when Sophie was a baby for some newborn shots. Better late than ever, right?

In order to meet for our 7.30 shoot, Thomas and I woke up at 5am. Mind you we had to go to a different country and well, it takes a while to do hair. We would have been great on time if the causeway wasn't frightfully backed up causing us to take the long way around to Singapore. That made us 45 minutes late. Then to top it off, our GPS took us to the wrong museum. Thankfully, Annie was thoroughly laid back and understood.

We started our shoot at the Asian Civilization Museum then took it to the Fullerton Hotel and not moment too soon- we were dying from the humidity - so much for doing my hair! Then we ventured into the back alleys at Clarke Quay. Our 'screaming Asia' shots- Shophouses with air cons and wicker baskets for trash.

We ended there and not a moment too soon. Sophie pointed at Lily - her stuffed dog and curled into my chest making her 'ow ow ow' sound and drifted to sleep once she was in her stroller. We took this shot before we got to the car. Our tuckered out model and her Lily..

We can't wait to see our shots. Hopefully we got some good ones.

we push and push and push.....

Sophie's favorite new toy...

Under the table and dreaming...

I'd been wondering how long we'd have to wait before this happened. I though we'd get passed her first birthday but she had to have that blue block. (Have I been playing too much DMB?)

Sophie has Mexican food

We found a great, actually fantastic Mexican place in Singapore on Saturday. Thomas and I were thoroughly excited when the chips and salsa came around - it tasted like home! As we ordered our food and token margarita, we were wondering how Sophie was going to take eating a cheese quesadilla, obviously dipped in guac and sour cream, with a side of black beans.

The first bite was tester - let's see if she'll go back for more...

And she did - ate a whole wedge and few black beans.

Although not born there - she is a true Texan!! Bring on Chuy's!

chubs

Everyone says that once you have a baby, time flies by. Now that we're in the 11 month of our little girl's life... I totally agree. Its crazy how quickly time flies by now. There are many many times when I say, ' oh, I'll do that later this week.' However, 'later this week' turns out to be months later and I'll have no recollection of when I originally said that comment.

A good measure of how quickly our time flies is by watching how much 'older' Sophie gets day by day. She's not quite walking on her own - she doesn't have the confidence to let go of our hands and frankly, that's fine by me. I like feeling needed- but she's getting closer; she's 'talking' to everything and everyone. She has certain sounds for me, Thomas and even Max and Molly. She doesn't mind it when kids or dogs take her toys but her food - well, that's a different story (afterall, she is MY daughter!)

But my 'oh my, she's so big' moments come from her sitting around and just being Sophie. Images of her as a newborn in her bassinet come flooding into my mind and reminds me of how precious our time with her as a baby is....

wordless Wednesday

The best case of bed head I've seen in a looong time! (beats Nikki's fro anytime!)

We're having babies!

Now, before the excitement starts with the grandparents, the babies are fish. Yes, our koi have reproduced and we now have what seems like hundreds and hundreds of baby fish. I noticed them the other day- these little tadpole looking things. Its really quite neat.

The only thing that worries us is the amount of them. We know that in the wild many die at the mouths of other fish but what happens here? Do they all live or do some die and how? If they all live... we have a major problem. We already have 10 full size koi and 3 'kid' koi. It'll be fun to watch them 'grow'.

We'll keep you posted.

October 30, 1999

Today started it all.... he kissed me and said, "We should go out." I agreed.

10 years later, we've...

* been married for 6 years

* Lived in 4 different countries

* 3 different continents

* have 2 awesome Frenchies

* and a cute little baby girl

Who would have thought that kiss on the dance floor of the Pike house would lead to this!

I'm glad he finally kissed me that night.

Happy 10 years, Thomas! Its cliche but Time really does fly by when you're having fun.

The picture from our wedding invite.

terrible blogger...

Its been a while since my last blog. Not sure exactly what happened. Oh wait, yes I do. My cute little Sophie didn't really nap longer than an hour and a time for the past week and well couple that with trying to the regular house-wifey- things and blogging gets pushed way back on the burner.

But I'm back and here goes my retro-blogs.... Enjoy

Gate keepers

Everyday, my three 'children' stand at the door looking out. Molly walked away from the picture as it was in mid-click (I don't think she likes being photographed)... but you get the idea.

This one is Sophie talking to the dogs and trying to get them inside.

Service

We love, love cappuccinos so thinking a good way to save some money was to purchase our own cap. maker. Back in March in KL, we did just that. Used it every day, sometimes twice a day and then we went on home leave in June/July and when we came home- it just stopped working.

We went up to KL in August to drop it off for servicing. "It'll take 1 month," they said. "And no, can not send back to you in JB, lah." So we had to drive the 4 hours back up to KL and pick up the maker. Starting to be a little bit of a pain this maker.

September 1 came and I called- "not ready", mid-September I called again, " not ready". Called again the beginning of October - "not ready." Are you kidding me? Mid October- "yes, it just came in yesterday." (Yesterday was a Sunday- things don't happen on a Sunday!) Anyway, we planned an overnight up to KL this past weekend to buy some other stuff and pick this thing up.

Got to the store, picked it up- made sure it heated up (was the problem). Then I inspected it.... it was thoroughly cleaned out before I handed it to them in August. Coffee grounds everywhere, water residue all in it. grease where the coffee is actually made, absolutely disgusting. The frustration was starting to show on my face when Thomas stepped in to handle it. "Oh, they have to check to see if it works. That's why coffee and water." T-"And the residue and the fact they left it dirty at the the manufacturer's service center." CSrep- "Oh, so sorry sir, we send back to manufacturer for you - another month."

I spent an hour cleaning it yesterday... with a toothbrush. It better make one hell of a good cup cappuccino this evening.

And the service drama never ends in Asia...

Sore Knees

Our little munchkin is crawling up a storm. Its fun crawling around after her and hiding behind the couches or walls to 'scare' her when she come by. The squeal and laughter is ridiculously loud and only causes me to keep doing it. All day, every day, we crawl, we crawl from the kitchen to the front door and yes, out of the front door and to the gate. She crawls after the dogs, after the ball and after the remote or the phone. And we crawl... we're crawling after her... even under the table.

The other day, I went to bed with really sore knees and could not remember banging them on anything or well, there were no squats so what gives. Only until the next morning when I was, say it with me, crawling, I realized what it was from. Man, if my knees killed that bad, what would Sophie's feel like. She does have quite a bit of fat there but still it must not feel good.

So the search for knee pads/baby leg warmers began. The search in JB ended as quickly as it started and we then found ourselves in Singapore. Found and bought some knee pads (not the cutest) but it'll do. We came home and at first she wasn't sure what to do but then took off. I got this picture of her while she was standing. She looks like she's ready for the roller derby. Watch out, Drew! (the shoes have already been bought waiting for that day she takes her first steps alone.)

Wordless Wednesday

Check out my new kicks!

One thousand one hundred= eleven hundred???

Last Friday, I ran my usual monthly errand to the bank to pay on my car loan. My ridiculously high car loan. I drive a Nissan Latio Sport or in the States its a Nissan Versa Sport. Fantastic car but due to taxes, I had to buy it for maybe 3x the price in the States. Anyway, water under bridge.

Every month, I have to head to the bank to pay on my loan because

1. I can't pay online

2. My bank, citibank will "automatically" pay every month by writing the check and send it via snail mail to the lender bank. And they'll charge me a fee for it.

So anyway, I pay it every month. And every month, the teller has some sort of problem with my check.

1. The order of the payee (Thomas' name/ License plate no.) is switched - their instructions say to write one or the other or both in any order.

2. The check is slightly ripped (from tearing it out of the checkbook) and they say its unacceptable. Oddly enough after arguing with them - the check clears perfectly.

3. The written amount does not include the word "only" at the end of the value. A line does not suffice!

4. My favorite is the date. Payment is due on the 11th and in my checkbook I have the entire year's worth of checks written out. If I happen to go in the afternoon on the 10th with my check dating the 11th - "oh can not do, lah"

Friday came with a new concern from the teller... Check written for 1179. In the written amount, I wrote eleven hundred...

The teller immediately said I can not give her this check it does not say " one thousand one hundred." WHAT?!

Yep, I told her one thousand one hundred IS in fact eleven hundred. She then left to ask her manager who also agreed with his teller. "It is not their practice. The check will not clear." After stating that they are the same number and that I have not had any problems for the past 1 1/2 years, they decided to go ahead and enter the check "only if I will pay the return fee when it is rejected." I agree.

Funnily, I checked my checking account today and surprise: my check for eleven hundred seventy nine cleared!

Rain, Rain go away...

If you live or have lived close to the equator, you'd understand my obsession with the rain. Every morning, I look outside and hope that it'll be a pretty day for the pool. Sophie loves the water and well, so do Thomas and I. So, every morning, I look out. Some days its really cloudy and I think, "maybe it'll clear up this afternoon". Some days its beautiful and I think, "great, we'll hit the pool after lunch". Our mornings are usually taken up by any errands that need to get done before the the main artery of JB gets clogged with Malay drivers or by skyping the various familia that need their Sophie-fix.

Today, like all days, was a "I hope it's nice..." It was beautiful, then it was cloudy, then it was beautiful... then lunch happened and well, unfortunately I uttered those key words to Sophie... "Let's go to the pool". Big mistake, Big. Huge. Cue clouds, cue thunder, cue Monica's annoyance with the rain.

Maybe tomorrow...

Wordless Wednesday

Confused? Or should we get a 'dog' bed with Sophie's name on it?

Water and a Beer!

We spent this past weekend in Singapore which for all of you that don't know... we live in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Its like Newark and Singapore is like New York. Yes, we live in the Ghetto and traveling to civilization is having to enter a whole new country. Thomas and a friend from here were meeting up with some other guys visiting from the UK for "Boys' night". He wasn't coming back to JB after a night of drinking so he was getting a hotel room. Sophie and I tagged along for the night out in SG (well, a swim in the hotel pool, Subway for dinner and thrilling night playing in the tub and playing "chase the baby" around the room!)

Before Thomas went out drinking, I had my usual conversation with him... Quick recap of history... Thomas had pancreatitis back in 2001 and had a few episodes of pseudocysts stirring it up again. He basically killed his pancreas after Sprink Break Cancun '01. Woohoo! Drinking excessively is something in the past but every once in a while, Thomas lets hims self be "Fun Thomas". The Thomas from college. BUT... its not recommended so I had a my usual talk.. "Don't forget to drink water - a water for every beer."

Usually, my advice goes in one ear and out the other until the next morning when he's feeling it but somehow my advice stuck this time and as he reported back to me the next morning, all the other guys ordered water even though they gave him crap for it! Thanks to James for this picture.

Sometimes the nagging gets through!

Our first "child"

French bulldogs are a very interesting breed. I don't think I would really consider them full dog. Anyone who knows them, knows how stubborn, smart and human-like they can be. I don't think we knew what we were getting ourselves into back in March '04 when we got our first frenchie, Max. (All old photos of him are in print - before the days of digital cameras! Will post some when we buy a new scanner.)

The differences between other dogs and Frenchies was quite apparent early on. We had our first snowstorm in Holland when we got Max at 3 months. Training him was quite difficult because he didn't like his paws being in the snow and did not like getting wet. He would not move. Not typical dog behavior.

Then there is the sleeping under the covers... never taught to him but I guess he just saw me and Thomas do it enough that he started doing it himself as well. Yes, that's him below under the covers and yes, head on pillow. Not typical dog behavior.

The stubbornness continues with wetness. Living in India during monsoon was obnoxious for many reasons but this tops the list.... As we know from above, Max does NOT like to be wet or have his paws wet (he does however like baths - he likes to be clean... again weird). Taking him for a walk or as it turned out dragging him for a walk was a bitch. I ended up very wet, Molly would be thoroughly scared (the little Indian kids and all the honking scared her) and Max would just not move. So, we thought maybe if we got him a rainjacket that would help. It seemed to work well in Holland and Denmark. And while we're doing that might as well get booties since we can't see the ground - don't want them to step in something bad. That was fun. He walked a for a bit but his head and "tail" were uncovered so as soon as those got too wet- walk was over. Not typical dog behavior.

And my favorite Max behavior.... must sit/sleep not on ground. What?! Yeah, King Max refuses to just lay on the floor like a normal dog. No, no. he will find something, anything else that he will lay on/in. Case in point... Sophie's bassinett, a pillow on the floor, Sophie's exer-saucer. Is this normal dog behavior? I think not!

But we still love our Max. Even when he jumps up on a chair to sit at the dining table and hope for some Danish breakfast!