Bali!

We finally took a trip! Part of coming to Asia is seeing Asia - but with 2 small kids, high expenses, etc. - it took awhile to get in some travel. We spent 9 days in Bali. Thanks to a nice hook-up from my Uncle Howard, we stayed in a fabulous villa at the Karma Kandara, located in Ungasan on the Bukit Peninsula - on the southern tip of Bali.

The resort and villa were great - nice pool, beach, restaurants, kids club. We had a 3 bedroom villa, so we had a room, Leah had a room and Will shared with Nilda. It was really great to have Nilda with us - meant for a much more relaxing trip than we otherwise could have had with an 11 month old and 3 year old. The kids club at the resort was also incredibly useful as the kids spent most mornings there with Nilda playing with toys, doing arts and crafts, getting nails painted, etc.

We took Leah along to the Ulu Watu Temple one evening for the Kecak Dance. We ate at a few good restaurants. We went to Waterbom, a very nice little water park. Other than that we lounged, relaxed, swam, and just enjoyed being on vacation!

Bali is beautiful. The people are friendly. The fruits are delicious (our villa included a fruit plate that was restocked daily). We would definitely love to go back some day and see other parts of the island - we did not make it further north than Seminyak.

We had some good milestones on the trip too. On April 15, actually in the car on the way from the airport to the resort, Will started clapping. He is now an excellent clapper and will do it on request when he is in the mood to play along. And on April 20 at Waterbom, Will took his first steps. He took just a couple steps from me to Nilda while standing in just a couple inches of water. Then later that day I was able to coax him to take a few steps by forcibly letting go of his hand and encouraging him to walk to me. Since then he's done similar little bits a few times - but he does not seem to be all that confident in his abilities on his feet. He has been letting go and standing solo more and more but still only for a few seconds at a time.

He also seems to be adding some words. He seems to say "hi" appropriately. And since there were monkeys on the grounds of the resort (wild monkeys that inhabit the area - long tailed macaques) we worked on what a monkey says, "ahh ahh ahh ahh."

Leah had a great time on the trip too. She practiced her swimming and she can now swim solo - scooping and kicking - for about 10 feet. Both kids have gotten increasingly comfortable in the water - a good thing - but may make for a very tiring summer at the pool for me.

Ball, Haircut, Swimming Pool, Fieldtrip

Looking back at the two weeks or so since I last posted, I realize that we have been having fun! The weather is warming up. We've been getting together with friends. School and activities have been going well.

In my last post I was debating whether Will was saying more words. I've decided he definitely has "no" down. He doesn't say it all that regularly. But when I wash his face he tends to mutter "nananana" and other "na" and "no" utterances pop up here and there. And today he added a new one - "ball." Definitely his favorite toys - at home, at a friend's, at the Eagle's Nest, in the pool - he loves to play with balls - and now he can talk about it. He must be an athlete in the making!

In other exciting news, Will had a haircut today. I took him to Spur, which had been recommended by several people. The guy there was great. Started with the top, then did the sides/back, and ended with the front (which is the most disturbing for a young child). Will sat pretty well for it - a combination of watching cartoons and looking in the mirror helped - and of course he was sitting on my lap. He only cried at the very end, when the front was being cut and I had to hold his hands to keep him from grabbing at the scissors. It looks cute...although the front isn't quite even...hard to cut hair well when the head keeps moving.

Yesterday was the big day of the week though. Leah had a school fieldtrip in the morning. I chaperoned, along with 4 teachers and 7 other mothers. We took 2 classes of 2.5-3.5 year olds - about 25 kids - to Hong Kong Park. We stopped at the pond first to see the pond life. Then we walked through the aviary. And we ended at the playground, where the kids ate their snacks and then played for awhile. Overall it was fun - although maybe not all that educational.


And yesterday afternoon it was sunny and warm - and I finally took Will into the pool. He loved it! We spent the afternoon there again today. I'm definitely going to enjoy this perk of living in a tropical climate. We actually spent last weekend hanging at the pool too - Leah enjoyed it - I thought it was a bit cold and didn't go in - hence Will did not either.

More teeth and more words?

Will definitely got his 6th tooth - on the 21st - no question there. But we're not quite sure if he's got more words. When anyone says "no" - including me, Leah, a random stranger nearby talking to her own child - Will says "na." He sort of spits the word out - a rapid emphatic usually loud quick burst - NAH! When I tell him no - because he's doing something naughty or going somewhere he shouldn't, he does respond - so I know he understands - but I can't tell if he is just repeating or if he is saying the word.

Ma and Ba are also commonly heard from Will - sometimes in multiples - mama, mamamama... But we have yet to decide whether he's using them to call us - or just babbling. On a related note, he started clucking a couple days ago - that click click sound you can make by popping your tongue down from the roof of your mouth. And he has rediscovered blowing raspberries. And he loves to let out random shouts - often at a high pitch - but not always. So our lives are a bit loud these days...but we're enjoying watching Will find his voice (although not always enjoying the listening).

Luckily Will's little virus passed in a couple days and he's back to his normal self. Leah had a dentist appointment today. The dentist, hygienist, and office staff were all great. Her teeth look good - they said to "keep doing what you're doing." But one thing I was not too surprised to learn - she did chip some teeth in her fall. I had thought that what Leah was describing as sand in her mouth after the fall might be bits of teeth - but I was fairly confident it wasn't front teeth - and nothing seemed to be continuing to hurt her after the injury healed. Turns out that she actually chipped 6 of her back teeth - 1 top and the others bottom. Luckily while the dentist described them as fractures, they are just on the tops of the teeth - no cracks and nothing that looks deep enough to bother the nerves. The dentist said that on a slightly older child she might try to put something on top of them to help seal them a bit - but that at Leah's age it would be a bit traumatic and she'd rather just keep an eye on them. But given all that, unless she's having pain, we don't need to see the dentist again for a year - plus go back in 6 months for a cleaning with the hygienist. And Leah was excellently behaved for the appointment - and happy to get a sugar free blue lollipop at the end.

Will's first ride in the Little Tikes car - loving it:

Tiger tiger burning bright:
Leah at the UJC Purim Carnival:
Leah dancing to entertain Will:

Uh oh!

Today Will began to speak! He's been babbling away for months now...but today while we were at a playdate with friends he said "uh oh." He said it more than once actually. Someone asked me when he started doing that...and I said "now." I was a bit unsure whether he was actually intending it or if it just sounded like he was saying uh oh. But this afternoon he dropped (maybe threw) a book and said uh oh.

Unfortunately Will also came down with a high fever today. Poor guy just wilted mid-morning. Wanted to be held - fell asleep in my lap - hardly ate lunch. After his nap his temperature was 102.6. He's been pulling at his ears a bit all week, so I was a bit concerned about that. I've been assuming it was teething related - but now with a fever I decided he ought to see the doctor.

Motrin brought the fever down a bit but not all the way. He was pretty miserable all afternoon. The doctor said his ears and throat were a bit red and inflamed, but not infected - so some sort of virus. She did a flu test and luckily it was negative. So we'll probably just be riding out the virus and trying to keep him comfortable for the next couple days.

Leah enjoying the warming weather:

A duet at home:
Happily roaming the apartment - crawling, pulling up, cruising - and loving it:
Exploring the playground:
Drumming with Raghav:

Tooth #5

Will's 5th tooth has broken through - it is on top to the right of the middle 2 (which he already has). The left side is quite close...should be any day now.

Not a whole lot else to report. I got on the scale with him yesterday and he weighed in around 23.5 pounds...definitely a big boy. He's starting to eat more and more real solid food. He likes scrambled eggs. We've given him bits of whatever we're eating - hamburger, chicken, pork. Today he ate a small slice of Leah's pizza at lunch - which I tore into very small pieces for him.

He still drinks his formula like a champ - almost always finishing 3 6-ounce bottles a day. And he's started to be a bit better about drinking water from a sippy cup. In the next month or so we will move him gradually from formula to whole milk and from bottle to sippy cup.

Leah is fully potty trained now - but still has some accidents on occasion.

Both kids are sleeping pretty well - more or less through the night - although it's rare that one of them isn't up at some point.

More updates and pictures to come soon.

Will can wave!

Life in Hong Kong has become status quo by now. We know our way around fairly decently. We have met more people. Leah consistently goes to school. Shafi consistently goes to work. Will sleeps & naps well. I am doing dragon boat with the Globe Paddlers, the American Women's Association team, as well as getting to the gym a couple times a week. We fill in afternoons with some classes and play time at the American Club, occasional trips to Ocean Park, various playdates, and sometimes just playing at home or popping down to the beach at the end of our block.

Today at just about 9.5 months, Will waved! We've been working on it - but while he had flapped his arms a few times at the right moment - he flaps his arms often in excitement, so we really weren't sure it meant anything. Tonight after getting him ready for bed and giving him his bottle, I told Leah and Nilda to say good night to Will. And I say "bye bye" and waved at them - he also waved his right hand at them and then got a big smile and little giggle - obviously quite proud of himself. We practiced it a few more times, and he consistently joined right in.

He's also getting around faster and faster - doing a cute sort of crab crawl - using his 2 hands and one foot to propel himself forward, sort of dragging his other knee and then sitting back down onto his bum. But when he has a target in mind - he can scoot all the way across the room in seconds. I think crawling may be soon - he seems to be getting the idea. And I thought he might walk first - but while he is cruising the furniture and finger walking - he is too timid to let go and stand on his own.

Will not quite crawling:

Will finger walking with Baba:Will stealing a rice cake from his friend Isabella:Leah playing with her new Play-Doh ice cream set:
Will trying out a ride-on car:

4 Teeth and a Birthday Party

Will officially got his 4th tooth today. The top front right tooth has been pushing the gums out for a few days and has now broken through.

Will is also starting to move around more and more. He goes from sitting to a hands and knees position - but he doesn't quite put the left leg all the way back - the foots sort of stays trapped in front of his right knee. I'm pretty sure he does it on purpose so that he can more easily get back into a sitting position. When he does occasionally get over that leg he ends up sliding down onto his belly - where he whines until someone helps him up. But his bending and leaning and sitting and reaching does somehow enable him to move around a fair bit - not quite across a room but certainly around an area - so he is able to get to toys that were out of reach.

He's also starting to pull up a bit more. He's not quite good at it yet, but he manages to get up on to his knees and then up to standing on occasion.

Yesterday we had Leah's 3rd birthday party. We booked the Beach Club, a little restaurant on Stanley Main Beach. They were very nice and kept things nice and simple. It was raining, so the party was inside, but there was plenty of space to hang out and play. We had chips and cookies and pizza to eat and beer, soda, water, and juice to drink. We had some balloons to play with and some markers and drawing pages (Disney princesses and Toy Story) to color. There were a dozen 3 year-olds along with their siblings and parents - for about 40 people total. And the Cinderella cake (bought, not homemade) was both beautiful and delicious.

It's been a week of birthday fun for Leah. On Monday we went shopping and opened presents. Posing with one of the dresses she got from family in the US:

Showing off her Snow White outfit - which she picked out on our shopping trip:
Showing off 2 Barbies and a Ken - also purchased on our shopping trip:
Wednesday I brought cupcakes to Leah's class at school - chocolate on chocolate, as per Leah's request:
Riding her new bike - her birthday gift from Mommy and Baba:
Ready for her party to begin:
The adorable Cinderella cake:
Brushing Bride Barbie's hair - a birthday gift from the birthday party: