Pooltime

One of the real perks of our current apartment is the pool & pool-side landing. The kids enjoy the water and it's always an option in the 80degree F climate. After a proper slip-slop-slap with sunscreen the family is ready for merman & mermaid action. Savanna is the self-proclaimed Princess Ariel (Disney) of the waters and Colten and Sienna are simply pawns in her adventures.






























Not surprisingly the Colt revels in the splash factor, but is stressing the limits of float toys deemed appropriate for his age. Sienna is a tad more delicate when it comes to plunging in and is still not accustomed to being dragged down to sea level by Princess Ariel. Luckily Mommy is donning Posh Spice sun glasses to ensure that both kids receive suitable attention in this, their first public social scene. Unfortunately though this prestige comes with a cost. I've recently filed two restraining orders against local paparazzi to prevent overexposure at this young age.

Sienna

This was such a great picture I just wanted to post it.

Back in the Hood

After a chilly and somewhat exhausting slog across America it was refreshing to return to our home in Singapore. It's a fantastic place for us at this moment in time and we feel rather fortunate to be here. Some shots of life back to normal...

On The Move

Eager anticipation with a twist of apprehension. This would succinctly describe the feelings here as the twins throw themselves forward with their first movements, building momentum...with likely mayhem waiting just around the next corner.



Owing to his 13 minute head start in life, Colten has mastered non-stop rolls and now lurches ahead. To be fair I'm not sure we can identify the consecutive forward belly flops as true crawling, but like most things for ole Bubba he attacks it with a passion and curious ummph, rather than a second thought.

Sienna has been proficient with her downward dog yoga stretch for quite some time, but now seems to recognize that there IS a next possible step to consider. She clearly thinks through each move, expressing great frustration when her tired limbs lead to collapse in a rapid meeting with the floor.


But it is incredibly entertaining to watch, much like a favorite mini-series where you look forward to each new episode, while acknowledging the sad reality that this part of the story will soon come to an end.

There and Back

It takes a village...and a hell of a lot of patience to get back and forth to US, but you make it happen. Luckily it's only 18h...

The only saving grace we have is flying Singapore Airlines, truly the best airline in the world with staff that help you out the whole way and don't mind the occasional baby vomit on their freshly pressed jacket.




Luckily Savanna's ok with wearing headsets so she can zombie out into hours worth of Dora the Explorer and High School Musical 2. For intercontinental flights all rules are off...it's all about survival.

Homecoming

It was the best of times and the worst of times. Our trip home to the US represented a significant logistical exercise tainted with illness and a sprinkle of good family fun. Note to self, 18h flights with 3 kids under 3 are to be avoided at all costs.

Actually the clan was very good on the flight and yet again I avoided the moniker of being THAT GUY with the screaming kids. Our day will come soon...I'm sure.


After landing in the US we were kindly introduced to the latest rage sweeping the country, the norovirus. This viral beast knocked out the whole family turning my "Escape to NYC" weekend into an internship in the family sick ward. I was fortunate enough to avoid getting sick, which meant that I was lucky enough to look after the rest of my mates.

Our trip to Indiana saw replication of the contagion across more relatives and friends. Jury is still out on whether we introduced this to the community or not...but let's just say it felt like a Plague Ship crossing the US. We were very blessed however to have many family in town to attend the twins baptism, a wonderful affair followed by dinner hosted at Mom's place along the river.

Trick or Treat

Halloween is certainly not a local Singaporean holiday, however, there are certainly celebrations of the ritual amongst the large number of American expats living here.
As lack of luck would have it, I was on a top secret mission to Tokyo during the fateful week and was sorely disappointed to miss the Party of Five first annual Halloween special. Luckily though, the Wicked Witch of Weight Loss was good enough to capture some defining moments for all of us to share.

For the Blaus this year we had the following cast of characters...

Savanna, starring as Ariel, the Mermaid Princess who enraptures sailors with her voice and can stuff a whole pumpkin cupcake into her mouth while fighting off peers seeking to touch her mysterious Ariel backpack.

Sienna, featured this year as a Disney Hula Girl preparing for her video trials of Mickey Mouse Club 2010.

For 2007, the year of the new homerun king in baseball, Colten chose to honor his San Franciso hero with a dedication to Giants Baseball.
(Please note that there is still a pending investigation as to how Colt was able to exceed 8 kilos in his last five months. Local press reports have suggested performance enhancing drugs may have been supplied by his father, something the family vehemently denies)

Brandon and Jen were not to be outdone and managed a respectable showing as Fashionable Witch and Rather Dubious Pirate. Seven years ago we started our courtship on Halloween and thus it's also been a special holiday for us. This year we managed to show up at another family's Halloween Party, without our kids, and as the only adults in costume. To top it off, all the other families were French so we spent the rest of the night drinking Bourdeax, chomping on baguettes with extraordinarily smelly cheese and casually chiming in Je ne parle pas français bien mais ce vin est délicieux as appropriate.

You've got to love Halloween!