We're moving abroad

I know rumors have been swirling, but now it's official so I can finally post it on the blog.
We're moving abroad to Malaysia.

W H E R E ?
We are heading to Kuala Lumpur (referred to as "KL"), the capital of Malaysia. Malaysia borders Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. It is known for its beaches, the Petronas Towers (aka the final scenes of Entrapment), and its cultural diversity (Chinese, Indians, Malaysians, etc.).



W H Y ?
Mike just signed the offer to be the finance manager for Asia ("Mr. manager" for those Arrested Development fans) which requires us to move to the Asia HQ in KL. "Manager" in this case doesn't necessarily mean managing people but something more like "work your butt off for the CFO." But Mike really likes the CFO so that is good.

W H E N ?
We are leaving to KL in mid October with the boys for a month long house hunting trip. Mike will be working over there while we find a flat and explore the city. Then we come back for the holidays, and head out in January permanently.


Luckily for me just about everyone speaks English--all the street signs are in English as well as Bahasa. It is also religiously diverse. Lining the streets of KL there are mosques next to cathedrals next to Buddhist temples.

I have always known that we would move abroad sooner or later. I figured we'd probably move to China or Hong Kong since Mike speaks Chinese. I never thought our first international move would be to Malaysia.


I have been talking to a bunch of Americans that live over there ("expats"). Everyone is so nice and they all love living in KL. But let's be honest, I really am most excited about the beaches. After growing up in CA, I think the beach is in my blood.


We know most of you are way cooler than us and have already seen southeast Asia so send us all your travel recommendations.

We hope you come visit us. And we will keep you updated with all the details. Especially exciting will be our report of an 18 hour plane flight with two kids under the age of two.

Love
E

Selamat Datang!

Running in circles

Andrew all of a sudden started running in circles after he found two bunnies. He is saying "diddy" for bunny.

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A-N-D-R-E-W

So when I set Andrew in his crib for his nap this morning he turned around and read the letters of his name in order. It was fun for me because I have never seen him read his name before.

He is now in his crib jabbering away before he falls asleep. It is so cute how he has turned into such a jabber-box. He is also parroting everything we say. He has learned so much this year. I am excited to see what else he learns when he turns two next month.

Going to church

I know you're probably not supposed to take pictures at church but Andrew was so cute this week in his suit. Here we are going up the elevator. Andrew loves to read the numbers of all the floors, and always says "stah!" when he sees the star for the ground floor.

We got there a little late so here we are waiting for the prayer to be over so we can go in.



And here is little Joseph. He is not very happy eating in new places so breastfeeding at church is always an adventure. We tried bringing a bottle this week, which he succeeded in spitting all over his clean shirt. This was taken before he soiled his cute shirt. Thanks Robyn for this outfit! It is a 6 month outfit we tried on him and it fits! The legs were a bit long but it worked.

Update on the boys

Sorry I have been so absent from the blogging world. I have been so busy. I even downloaded blogpress so I could post more blog updates by using my phone. Hopefully I will be much more present soon once things calm down.

Mike is back from his trip and I am learning how to deal with two kids. Andrew has been so sweet and really been good at independent play. He sits in his crib for 40 mins after his nap reading books so I can get things done. He loves to play with his train table (a gift from baby Joseph), his dinosaurs, and his alphabet magnets.

He can draw a v and a z (aka scribbles) on his little chalkboard. I have learned that chalk is safe because if he writes on things I can wipe it off.

He loves his "diddy!" (aka bunny). He always says "diddy!" with a big smile and very enthusiastic, excited high voice. If I draw his diddy on the chalkboard, he gets so excited he runs off to get his diddy from his crib, and lays him right on the picture on the chalkboard.




He now loves numbers even more than letters if that is even possible. He will go around the house finding the same number (he will get a "2" from the fridge magnets, a "2" from the blocks, and a "2" from the Melissa and doug set) and carry them around saying "doo! doo! doo!" ("doo" = "two"). It is very cute to watch because he gets so excited. He has known his numbers for a month or so but now is putting them together in sequential order. Just starting this week he has been walking around counting in order.

Joseph is growing growing growing.

We just visited the pediatrician (who is awesome because he has helped us so much with Andrews medical condition navigating the johns Hopkins system) and here are the latest stats. I don't know how we make such big babies.





- Joseph G at 7.5 wks
15 lb 12 oz
25 in long

Andrew M at 22 mos
33 lb





Sending love to you all,
E

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Sleep

Well the good news this morning is that little 7 week old Joseph slept really well last night. Usually he wakes at 2, 4, 6, and 7. Last night he slept the night until 5am and then went back again until almost 8am. For once I feel like I got a decent night's sleep.

I have been struggling with feedings for the last two weeks because J wants to eat every two hours. I am working on moving him back to three hours slowly and yesterday I got him to 2.5, so maybe that is why he had a better night. Hey, I'll take it!


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Joseph at one month old

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