School Days

Ida and Harper have started up going to school these past few weeks. Dad's been busy with traveling and Mom's been busy with her new teaching job, so we'll keep the narrative short.

Both girls get full-time Mandarin in their classes. According to Ida's teacher, Shang Laoshi, Ida Jane (Zhou Yi, as she is known in Chinese) has been doing very well following instructions in Chinese, and, when she does talk, she speaks with good tones and pronunciation. Hao Nu'er!








Harper (Zhou Hui) has also been following instructions well in Chinese and thriving with her peers. Both girls have been snacking well, also.

Lions and Tigers and Monkeys and Dragons.

Excitement has been the order of the day for Chinese New Years. First, with some news. Our girls will be starting up a twice-weekly preschool, Preschool By The Park, down the street from our place. Amy has her new job starting up the first week of March at Stamford American. Ben is still busy, off to Jakarta this week for a few days. And we have a new helper living here in our apartment, Lorena, who is working out really well.

And, today, we were really pleased to see a family of macaques walking by our place:






We took our two little monkeys out to a real Chinese New Year's family gathering last night, which they got all dressed up for.






They had a great time playing games and meeting friends.





And today, to top it all off, we got to see a lion and dragon dance, just down the block!

Harper was curious to see how these puppet heads were going to turn into lions.



And then, there they were!





By the time the dragon showed up, the girls were feeling brave.





Needless to say, it was an early bed time tonight. Happy New Year of the Tiger, everyone!

Orangutan Breakfast

After the first snowfall in DC, we were nostalgic for cold weather. After Snowpocalypse two, not so much.

This is what Ida Jane puts together as a winter outfit:



This is how Harper stays warm:



And fixing the scooter is the equivalent of putting on snow tires.



Yesterday, we got geared up for Chinese new year, checking out Chinatown and getting some new outfits for the girls.





Ida Jane got a good view of the craziness, and had her picture taken a ton. Everyone loved the red haired girl swinging her newly purchased stuffed tiger around (the coming year is the year of the tiger).






And today, we had a great trip to the zoo. The girls had fun riding a crocodile while dad got the tickets. Little did they know they would be interacting with much more active animals in a very short time.



Then we had the fabled Singapore Zoo Orangutan breakfast. Despite the name, you get more than Orangutans. You get to feed the elephants, which everyone enjoyed.











There was also a boa constrictor, which Harper loved (future herpetologist?). Of course, the show did belong to our primate friends, the Orangs. They climb down from the tree tops to grab some free fruit and get their pictures taken.





I guess the zoo has about 15 or so Orangs, and whoever feels like showing up for the breakfast just swings on by. It was pretty awesome. Hope these pictures bring a little warmth to family and friends in colder climes!

Hitting our groove

Our little water bugs have been getting quite the workout at the pool and beach lately.

East Coast Park is about 20 minutes by cab from our house.



Of course, Ida Jane and Harper made friends in less time than that.



The boat traffic on the Straits was impressive. You could believe that half the world's container ships go through or past Singapore.



Watermelon juice for lunch is always a hit.



We got some new suits



So we hit a new pool at the American Club. It was a blast!



The girls don't mind wearing summer dresses every day.



And trying out new games, like tennis:



We were really happy to finally welcome our cats, Molly and Herman, back home.



We're starting to really hit our groove in Singapore!

Singapore Christmas

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year to all of our family and friends.

Before the actual holiday, we took a family trip to Jurong Bird Park. It was a lot of fun. Check out the macaws hanging out behind the girls!



And the lovely pink "famingos."



Of course, the monorail was the best part.



Always a little safer when there's a mom involved.

Mom and Dad's Christmas wish - our furniture - was not filled until the 28th, but we made the best of it. There was more room to practice on Ida's new scooter:



And plenty of space for the new lego castle.



Or the dwarf tea house.



Of course, one of the best parts about Singapore - you can ride your new scooter outside, right away!



Leaving the boys in the dust already.



And the new spinning chairs provided a new fun place to sit. Thanks, Nana and Papa!



Then it was off for a new spin around the block. Mom finally saw the Merlion, so she feels like she's truly arrived in Singapore now:



Dad and Ida Jane had fun at the Asian Civilizations Museum:



A nice picture by an old truss bridge (second oldest in Singapore):



Then our furniture finally arrived, including our Christmas presents from Baba and Meme. Harper loves her new rocking chair:



And Ida Jane still uses hers all the time. Here we are having some Wii fun:



And here's the playroom, all cleaned up. We took a picture because it won't look like this again for a long time, I'm sure.