Vancouver

In Vancouver, we had so much fun playing in the parks and exploring the city. We were in an awesome location right next to Kits Beach and Uncle Matty. LBC wasn't too keen on the long sleeves and pants at first, but he got over it. He did great on the flights over and has been sleeping really well at night. The highlight for him seems to be the baby swing at any playground. 

 We saw lots of family- even great-grandma Mary! 

 At Kits Beach, playing with dad on Father's Day. 

We watched Uncle Matty play some ball on the beach. 

We walked over to Granville Island and tried out the brewery and farmer's market. 

LBC had a ton of fun with Uncle Matty. 

Such a big boy! Soooo close to walking, but we've been saying that for months now.... 

10 months

10 Month update: He's been very active lately. Likes to walk along the furniture and reach out for the next piece of furniture. He's got the strength to walk on his own, but not quite the balance or confidence. Some of his latest tricks include holding his own bottle, clapping, pointing, standing on one foot- while holding on to something with one hand. He dances to certain beats. He loves to empty anything- cabinets, boxes, bags, etc. Still struggles to wave, just doesn't really understand what we are doing. He continues to shake his head no at things, but not as much. No sign of any baby sign language. We can read what he wants, but he doesn't actually use any of the signs we've tried to teach him. He continues to steal other babies' toys and even hit a girl's hand the other day! Something tells me that, unfortunately, we will have more of that.

Waving! 

We tried on some jeans just in case it's colder in Canada and he hated them. He also really did not like the sleeves on his shirt, he kept trying to grab them and eat them. 

We've been trying to prepare ourselves and him for a 20 hour trip to North America. I've found a few good apps that he likes on the Ipad- Peek a boo Zoo- loves this one. And The Giggle Gang which is just as frightening as it sounds. We've been watching some Postman Pat- he loves the little cat. Not sure what traveling will be like with an active little man, but very excited for the summer! 

why are you eating that?

We all know how much he likes to eat. But I catch myself asking the same question every day. Why are you eating THAT?!

Tissue box. 

Squash racket. 

Daddy's wallet. 

Cd case. 

baby proof.

So we have a little guy on the move now. It's shocking how quickly it happens. He went from not crawling, just dragging himself to full on tearing the condo up! Just when you think you have everything baby-proofed, you find very quickly that it's impossible to baby-proof everything. You just have to constantly watch him. He's now walking along the walls, opening cabinets, emptying baskets, etc. He actually can stand on his own, but he hasn't quite realized that yet. Don't think it's too long before he starts walking on his own. Yikes!

quick update.

I realized I haven't posted anything in almost a month, so here's why. Things have been pretty busy lately. We've made quite a few life-changing choices.

1. We've signed another 2 year contract after weighing many possibilities. I say contract, singular, because I'm going to be subbing next year and not full-time.

2. We've both decided to start our Master's degrees in International Education in the Fall from 2 different universities.

3.We have booked all of our tickets/apartments/cars for the grand adventure across North America this summer. What does this look like?
Singapore- Japan- Vancouver- Austin- Va Beach- Calgary, Invermere- Vancouver- Japan- Singapore
(Might even have a few spontaneous trips.)

4. We are moving apartments to the other side of the island- yes, a whole 15 minutes away. (Which actually seems very far.) Very excited about it though. We will be a block from the beach where there's lots of bike paths which should be fun. Can't wait to explore another part of the city.

Here is LBC checking out the new apt while the agents negotiate price.

5. And we are in the process of hiring a Helper or Foreign Domestic Worker. For everyone outside of Asia, this is a very foreign idea. She will help out with the cooking, cleaning and babysit Caiden when I'm at work. Think of it like a nanny who also cleans. Or a maid who also babysits. So the weird part is that she will live with us. We are still getting used to the idea and I think it will take some time to figure out what this relationship will look like. BUT very excited to have someone do ALL of the housework for us.

6. Oh, and we've decided to get a car. This might not seem like a big deal, but here's a little example of what cars cost here. This is a lady in one of my facebook groups who is selling her used car. Yes, that is the price in dollars- for a 2009 CHEVY. And yes, there is a yearly road tax on top of that! AND you can't own a car that's older than 10 years. Lots of rules to prevent people from having too many cars on the road.

We've gone 6 years without a car, but it's time to get one. It's a huge expense so it wasn't an easy decision.

Right in the middle of all of this, Caiden has learned to wave bye-bye. While doing this for the first time, he scratched my eye. It was so painful, I had to go to the eye doctor and sure enough, there was a huge corneal abrasion. I had to get a bandage lens put in for a few days. I was pretty disappointed that I didn't need a pirate patch, but it's 2014. Technology, people. It's all good now, but quite painful for awhile. 

The yellow part is the scratch. 

One of the best parts about moving every 2 years is that you are always cleaning out your closets and getting rid of stuff you don't really need. You can't keep a lot of junk around which I really like. So this week, I've begun the process of cleaning out the closets and even getting rid of some bigger baby stuff that we aren't using. Busy time of year and can't wait to relax in North America for June/July! 

Back to Thailand

We just got back from our second trip to Thailand with baby a few days early. He wasn't feeling well and it's a good thing we got back here since he's fighting a virus with his first fever. He's doing better, but you can tell he's glad to be home and in his real bed. We had a great time with good friends. Rented a HUGE condo with 2 other families and just enjoyed 5 days of beer, sun, beach, playing with babies. Just another typical Thai holiday. 

Someone's excited for the beach....

Choosing an ice cream. 

Liked the ocean a bit more this time. 

And ate some sand. 

 One pad thai, please. 

Dinner on the beach at sunset. 

The search for a real coffee ended here. 

Oh my, we've come a long way, Wolf Pack. 

Cute little Thai high chair. 

Got caught playing with a doll. 

 Loved the trees on the walk to the beach. 

The pool at the resort. 

 Surin Beach. 

How to live cheaply in the most expensive city in the world.

A few weeks ago, there was THIS ARTICLE that came out that named Singapore to be the most expensive city in the world. I found these quotes to be true: "The city's strong currency combined with the high cost of running a car and soaring utility bills contributed to Singapore topping the list.

It is also the most expensive place in the world to buy clothes." 

Yes, it can be expensive if you let it. There are many ways to avoid extra expenses. First of all, it's cheaper for me to buy clothes in the US and then have them shipped here. Actually, it's cheaper to buy almost ANYTHING from the US and have it shipped here. For example, I bought a digital thermometer from Amazon for US$40 and guess what, at the store here it was S$150!! O bought a bike and the shipping was over $200 to send it here and still we saved hundreds of dollars rather than buy a bike here.

We use public transport a lot. It's simple, it's easy, it's cheap. There's this awesome app where you put in your location and it compares public transport so you can choose the best way to get there. For example, on Friday I went to the water park (which is free) at gardens by the bay and these were the options. You just click on either choice and it gives a detailed map. 

(The prices are in Singaporean dollars. S$1= USD$1.25)

I do take the MRT and bus quite often. LBC likes the bus and MRT probably because he gets so much attention. 

Waiting to board the MRT.

But sometimes I take a taxi. What's awesome is there's an app when you book a taxi and it shows you exactly where the taxi is. This is so great with a baby so I know how much time I have before I go downstairs. 

There are actually a few free activities that I do each week. For example, there's the Botanic Gardens which I walk through every morning. And a few play gyms are free for babies under 1. There are dozens of other free things to do with kids in SG. 

At the food court. (You can't tell, but there are some fried ducks hanging behind us)

Here is one at Marina Bay Sands( you know that building that looks like a boat on top). We took the bus there and back which cost S$2.46 total. We even ate at the food court. Which had awesome food. Eating out can be a cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. We've spent $37 for a GLASS of HOUSE white wine and could easily spend over $100 for just a couple beers at a local pub. BUT we spend a lot of time drinking some of the cheapest and coldest beers in town at Newton Food Centre. I'm sure you've seen lots of pics of this on Instagram. We also have an amazing credit card that has dozens of restaurants for 50% off! We also shop at the local wet market where fruits and veggies are much cheaper. Baby food is expensive, so I make my own. We get lots of things 2nd hand and all of our furniture is from Ikea. 

Shopping at Ikea.

So really, life is what you make it. 

Cheers! Beers at newton.