Pictures -
Brandon at our playdate
Brandon playing in one of our cabinets
Last night was the best night of sleep Brandon has ever had! He slept from 7:30 pm to 6:45 am without waking up once!!! Wow! I wish that I could have gone to bed a little earlier and slept well too. Maybe Brandon will do it again tonight???
This morning, Brandon and I went to a playdate with the same group from last Friday. It is so nice for people to invite us into their homes. It's a great, safe place for Brandon to play, there are new toys, and there are other kids! Brandon plays so well when there are other children. I'm able to enjoy myself and talk to other adults too! We are both happy! It is so much harder when our playdates are at coffee shops or restaurants. Still fun, but harder on both of us.
This afternoon, we were invited to play at Royce's gym. It's basically a big play area with lots of toys and things to climb on. There were three other women there from the AWA. I also ran into a woman that I met last week at the Forum. She introduced me to a couple of her friends. I hope to meet up with her soon.
It is really difficult not having a car. While it is a luxury and not necessary, it would be really helpful. I can walk to most things, but today I had to take a cab to the morning playdate and the afternoon playdate. I walked part of the way, first, this morning before jumping in a cab. That was nice. And, this afternoon, I could have probably taken the train, but I wasn't quite sure how far of a walk the gym was from the train. It was looking like rain, and I didn't want to get stuck in a downpour. At home, it is so easy to throw everything in the car and put Brandon in his car seat. Here, I have to carry everything. Also, it's not easy having Brandon on my lap in the cabs. He is squirmy, and he doesn't love being strapped down to me. I do my best to entertain him with snacks, toys, and anything else. Even though the cab rides are cheap, I hate spending money on them.
I was talking to more people about helpers today. While it would be nice to have someone cook, clean, do our laundry, and look after Brandon some, I just don't think that I want to get use to something like that. It's not something that I'm going to have when we return to Chicago, and I don't want to come to expect that someone cook Brandon's food for him. Yes, it would be nice. But, I like being self-sufficient. Plus, even though helpers are cheap, they still aren't free. It would be really nice to get Steven's law school loans completely paid off very soon instead!
Brandon was rather fussy today when we were at home. He has another cold... Big sigh... So, I think that his nose is bothering him. When we're at home and he is a little bored, he has time to think about the fact that he's not feeling 100%. Plus, I'm in the process of weening Brandon right now. It's really not been that bad... We are down to nursing only one time a day, which is right before bed. I thought it would be hard to cut out the feeding before the nap, but it wasn't. I just take Brandon out in the mornings and wear him out so he is exhausted and crashes for his nap. :)
The bedroom that Brandon is sleeping in has his crib and two single beds. This afternoon, I had the managment send a couple of people to remove one of the beds. I wanted to give Brandon more space in his room for play. Taking out the bed really opened up the room! I moved Brandon's new ABC playmat into his bedroom, and now it feels even more like it could be Brandon's room.
We are really enjoying our time here in Singapore. However, I do miss the comforts of home - my car, the rest of our stuff, our bed, our family and friends. It takes time for new places to feel like home. People keep telling me that in six months I will love it here and want to stay. Yes, Singapore is great, and I do expect that I will love it even more with time. But, it is just so far away from family and friends, and we are so close to those people. I'm sure that when expats stay in foreign countries for so long, their friends do become their family. But, the distance is hard.
Not sure that we will move to another apartment, but we might look at a few more this weekend. I love our current location. So, if the other apartments are much like the one we're in, then I think we'll stay where we are. If one of them is much nicer and/or larger than where we are, then we might consider moving for the rest of our stay.
While Brandon napped today, I watched the last episode of Survivor on our Slingbox. It was awesome! The quality wasn't bad at all today. Loved watching one of our shows!!!
Hopefully this weekend we can stock up on some more food for the apartment. It's been really hard to cook, and I feel bad about that - especially for Brandon. I have been trying to feed him a healthy, well-balanced diet, but it is soooo hard. We haven't completely settled in yet, and I feel out of place in my own kitchen. So many things to buy before I can think about my cooking options. Been a little bummed about that...
So, one new think with Brandon - We have been giving him iron drops since we found out he was anemic at his 12 month appointment. He hated the drops! For over a month, twice a day, I have had to sit on Brandon, literally, to hold him down. Then, I have had to squeeze him mouth open, jam the drops in, and then hold his mouth closed so he doesn't spit out the vitamins. All of a sudden, Brandon decided yesterday that he wasn't going to fight me anymore!!!??? Why now? Just weird... I still lay him down, but I don't have to hold him down. I say, "Aaahhh" and down he takes them. Strange...
Looking forward to the weekend!
