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.