Esplanade

Pictures -

Mommy and Brandon by the Singapore River

The Esplanade, Singapore's performing arts venue

Brandon before bed ("Mommy, I don't want to go to bed. I want to go bye bye.")

Eighth picture down - building in the middle of the picture, just to the right of the tree, is where Steven works

This morning after Brandon and I walked Daddy to the train, we headed to The Coffee Club to meet a friend for breakfast. I met my friend and her daughter through the AWA a couple of weeks ago. It turned out that she also had met my neighbor who lives one floor below us. The three of us were planning to get together, but my neighbor had to cancel. We had such a nice time talking about all kinds of topics, such as babies, Singapore, and home (America). It felt good to talk to someone in my shoes. While it is my friend's second trip to Singapore, she has only been here a few more days than us. We are all still adjusting!

It felt really nice to have breakfast outdoors, and we decided to share a couple of items so that we could try something new. It's hard for me to be adventurous with food when I am by myself. I usually need to order something that I know I and/or Brandon will like. I don't want to buy a meal and then still be hungry.

Today, we ordered something called "chicken congee". It was kind of like a soupy grits with chicken. Although I'm not a huge fan of grits, this was pretty good. It had a nice flavor, and we at it with large soup spoons.

After breakfast, we walked to Cold Storage to do some grocery shopping. I broke down and bought a couple of bottles of wine. Alcohol is expensive here, so I bought two of the cheaper bottles I could find. (I'm actually enjoying a nice glass of wine now. Just what I needed!)

During Brandon's nap today, I was thinking about how glad I am that we will be moving. There is a new high rise building being built right next door to us. When I put Brandon down for his nap, it is usually pretty quiet, but about half way into his nap it gets quite loud. I think that the workers are on lunch break when Brandon goes to sleep. I'm pretty sure that the noise has woken Brandon up from his nap early several times. Then, he can't go back to sleep and is cranky. Don't know for sure, but I don't think there are any new buildings being built next to the apartment building we plan to be in soon.

By 3:30 this afternoon, Brandon was standing at the door wanting to go "bye bye". He can play on his own at home for a while, but then he gets bored. We either have to go down to the pool or go out to do something.

We decided to go down and meet Daddy for a very early dinner today. We ate at a restaurant on the river again. The weather was so nice. There was a short rain this afternoon, and it was a little overcast. I actually like when it's overcast here.

After dinner, Brandon and I took a walk to Esplanade Park. The Esplanade is a performing arts venue here that is located on Marina Bay. I hope that Steven and I are able to attend an event there while we are here. Chicago, the musical, is currently showing there. Nice timing!

I saw the Singapore Flyer from a distance. I am really looking forward to going up in it. Basically, it is like an extremely large Ferris Wheel of observation pods. I've heard that the Flyer gives amazing views of the city. Maybe we'll have to try this a couple of times, once during the day, and once at night.

I'm still getting a sense for distance and direction here. As we were eating dinner, I noticed a bridge that looked familiar. I realized that it was the bridge I could see from Clarke Quay yesterday. Then, I walked from Esplanade Park to the City Hall MRT stop. I've been to Clarke Quay, City Hall, and Raffles on the MRT, and I thought that they were all far apart. However, they're each about 5 min. walking distance apart. Very cool for me to put together all of the pieces and know more about where things are. Sometimes maps just can't give me enough perspective.

Brandon and I got home at 6 pm. I could tell that Brandon was tired, but he wasn't quite ready for bed. I wanted to let him play for a bit and run the last of his energy out before bed.

About a minute after we got home, there was a knock on our door. It was one of our neighbors and her two kids. We've played with them down at the pool a couple of times, and they are super friendly. They are from Australia, and the two kids are 4 and 9. They just love Brandon! They came up to our unit to find out if we wanted to play on the tennis courts for a while. Perfect timing!

Brandon had so much fun playing with the children. I wish that I had taken a video of the three kids playing. It was great. Brandon had one of their balls, and he was running away from them. They were pretending to chase him, and he was squeeling and laughing. They ran around for about an hour.

After playing, the family stopped back by our apartment to bring me some ice cream. How nice is that? They also brought Brandon one of their little stuffed toys and three pictures - two of them and one of their dog back home. I gave them a picture of Brandon.

Sigh... Now it makes me feel a little bad that we're moving. However, the other apartment is just a nicer two-bedroom, and it will be a more comfortable place for us. I told my new friends that I am happy to come over to this place still for swim and play once we've moved. It won't be that far. Maybe we can plan to get together once or twice a week. Are we doing the right thing by moving???

Steven and I were talking tonight about how we feel that we are having to learn and adjust to a new toddler. Every day Brandon is doing something new. He is like a little sponge right now. He understands so much. A month ago I felt like I had a little baby. Now, he is definitely his own person. Little big man. Brandon is saying "bye bye" to me now when he leaves the room I am in. He gives hugs and kisses when asked. He knows many of the body parts. He knows basic "commands", like "sit" and "stand". He knows so many of the words we say to him. I can't keep up with all of the new things that are happening.

We feel like Brandon is starting to go through a little "Mommy" stage. It could be because I am weening him. Maybe he is trying to be sure that there is still an connection/attachment between the two of us. However, little man still loves his Daddy. When we met Steven for dinner tonight, Brandon reached for him right away and then laid his head on Steven's shoulder for about a minute. What a hug!

Hoping that some family members will be booking flights to Singapore soon. It will be nice to have company to look forward to in the next couple of months!!!

Oh, and happy, happy birthday to my brother today! Love you, Ryan!!!