halloweeeeeen

happy deepavali

this week it felt like we got two saturdays thanks to deepavali.
last year, i happened to visit nate during his two month stint in singapore over the deepavali holiday. i was barely preggo and remember just gagging at all of the smells and sweating profusely as i wandered through the market stalls with hundreds of people.

this year was a different story. i took sage on a date to go check out the festivities. it was still hot, stinky, and sweaty, but i loved it. one of my favorite things about singapore is that no matter your religion or ethnicity, everyone celebrates the religious holidays together and openly. i left smiling, henna-ed, and with an awesome new indian skirt in hand. i walked out the door without my camera, so i give you deepavali via phone pictures:

pool

we had a low-key weekend.

floors were cleaned, books were read, byu football was watched, oreo truffles were made.

oh, and we got in some pool time.




this girl was not loving the sun in her eyes.

A year ago...

On Jessica's birthday earlier this week, I was thinking about this time last year and what was going on in our lives. I was actually here in Singapore for two months without her. It was about now that I got a call at 6am from Jessica, she was very excited. She informed me that she was pregnant. I tried my best to not sound like I just woke up. I really was excited but I am not known to be the most energetic sounding person in the morning.

Anyway, it dawned on me that last year is what set the opportunity for us to be here in Singapore. I was asked two weeks before actually getting to Singapore if I would be willing and/or interested in a short-term assignment. I was first told it would be six months, then two months, and then two months with the possibility of going back. Needless to say, it was a difficult decision. We were obviously in the process of trying to get pregnant and that would become quite difficult to do 10,000 miles away from each other. In the end, it has all worked out and we are very grateful for the opportunity.

The thing I remember most about that time last year was a great weekend in Chicago with Jessica's parents and our great friends Matt and Belize. It was right before I left so it was great to spend time with family. Matt made a pretty cool video to remember how awesome it was. It makes me miss Chicago but I probably will not miss it that much in January when it is 90 degrees here and 30 there. We love Singapore, but we do miss our family and friends back home.

Chicago 2010 from Matt on Vimeo.

birds of a feather

baby s and i ventured to the jurong bird park, home to hundreds of different species of birds. i'm not an avid bird fan (especially after being scarred by hitchcock's the birds in my childhood), but it's one of the top attractions in singapore and turned out to be pretty cool.

sage had her picture taken four times by strangers, but i thought this one was especially good: one man with camera in hand asked if i could kindly move to my right because i was blocking his shot of my baby. ah, the novelty of white babies.

we saw all kinds of things...like man-made waterfalls...

iguanas roaming the walkways...

it was me and all the five year-olds getting excited about this guy. i've never seen one so close! all the singaporeans were like "been there, done that"

creepy wooden africans in the bushes...

and all kinds of birds...

these little lorries were not shy. they landed on the stroller to get up close and personal

so obviously singapore has done wonders for my tan -- hah!
in my defense, i try to keep my child with ultra sensitive skin out of the sun most of the time, plus it's so hot. plus i like air conditioning. plus the metering was off in my camera.

and that was the jurong bird park.

Who is the coolest Mormon?

Mitt Romney is definitely the most well known Mormon but Brandon Flowers, from The Killers, is probably one of the coolest Mormons. Many of you who follow our blog have probably already seen this video as it already has over 100,000 views, but if you haven't seen it, here you go.

birthday time

for me, october means fall, pumpkin everything, crunchy leaves, hot chocolate season officially (but really, that's all year long), and turning a year older. this birthday was different, but filled with good things like boxes of annie's macaroni and cheese from america, CPK barbeque chicken chop salad, chocolate soufflé, and the general feeling that i have truly awesome friends and family.

not the most flattering picture of either of us, but these things have to be documented...

halfway through dinner, sage started screaming just for fun. little shrieks here and there, followed by long screeching. i think our days of going out to dinner with a sleeping baby are sadly over. i am destined to have a baby that screams for fun because i was that baby.

i love birthdays!

four months

nate got home around midnight last night, and the minute he stepped in the door, sage started crying. we peeked into her bed and she was wide awake with a huge grin on her face. i swear this girl knows when we are both home -- she wants to be up for it! she is happiest when both her parents are near.

she is now interested in what we're eating, toys, touching our faces, water, eating her toes, and drooling like it's her job. she's fair like her mama and has dark eyes that hint at being blue. i feel like an official mom when i look down at my shirt that's streaked with drool and/or spit up and i don't even blink. it means i got to play with my baby girl.

sage, you're our favorite.

right before nap time

i don't mean for this to be the sage show over here,
but really, i hang out with her 24/7 and when she's sleeping, i sometimes just want to wake her up to play.
she is so mellow right before nap time when she's half tired...

that's my cue. time to lay her down to sleep.

things of note over here in sg

1. we saw a kid actually doing parkour

nate: "are you doing...?"
kid: "parkour. yeah." jumps over the railing and does a trick for us.

i couldn't help but laugh because all i think about is this:


2. we get our chicken from the chicken man. i called and asked if he could deliver 16 breasts one morning. his reply: "hah! no, i slaughter in morning. i bring in afternoon." talk about fresh.

3. we received a letter from the management of our building regarding "high rise killer litters." apparently someone has been throwing glass bottles (killer litter) onto the tennis courts below. don't you be throwing killer litter in singapore -- you might get caned.

4. you can dress your baby in anything you want or any accessories you want, and people will still ask, "boy or girl?" because i would dress my boy in pink flowers too.

stay little

i tell sage every day to stay little. i pulled out the next size up in clothing and while it was exciting to see new outfits, it's sad to put away the things she's outgrown. she rolls over, plays with her feet, and coos like a pigeon.

i put sage in bed with me when nate is gone because i'm ridiculous and hate sleeping alone {i used to make my sister sleep with me back in the day}. we woke up to a pool of mustard color all over every piece of bedding the other morning. loads of laundry later, i almost uninvited her to the sleepover (almost).

i'm missing crisp fall weather and everything that goes with it, and i would love a reason to buy striped baby tights. but on the flip side, sage and i made our inaugural trip to the pool last week. i think we'll make this part of our routine...
stay little, sage.

terracotta warriors

just in case we never make it xi'an, china to see the real thing, i went with a friend and saw a sampling of the terracotta warriors at the asian civilizations museum.

our friend jane

check out the ghetto booty on this headless warrior.
i can say that because i have a ghetto booty too.