Princess Natalie

Really...can you ever get enough of this face????

An Evening of Firsts

What a big night! Alex lost his first tooth...well, at least the first one that come out naturally. He knocked one out at two years old when he fell on the kitchen floor. But this one came out the old-fashioned way...

a little loose at first

about a week of him messing with it until it was barely hanging on

then him freaking out about it hanging there

and finally, me saying "let me just look at it for a second" and "pop" out it came!

How many thousands of parents over the years have uttered that same little white lie? :) So tonight it goes under his pillow and while he sleeps the tooth fairy will fly all the way to Malaysia to light up his morning!




And not to be outdone, Natalie decided that 5 minutes after Alex's tooth fell out was the perfect time to roll over all by herself for the first time! She is not going to let her big brother be the only one getting attention.

Why are these moments so bittersweet?

Kyle's Spring Recital

Another beautiful performance by our talented young man. We are so proud of you!

Alex's First Stitches

Today Alex fell on the playground at school and cracked his chin on a stone bench. He split it wide open and there was no choice but to take him to the hospital for stitches. He was SO BRAVE! They got us in right away and he was stitched up by a surgeon in the hospital and not just a regular ER doc. Alex was determined not to cry and when the doctor stuck the needle in his chin Alex remained motionless... didn't flinch... didn't cry. I was amazed and relieved. The surgeon stitched him up nice and neat and there will only be a faint line for a scar when the stitches are removed. As you can tell by his big grins, this was a lot more traumatizing for me than it was for him! I am proud of my brave little boy.

Easter Morning

We had a really amazing Easter morning this year. It started with a sunrise baptism service on the beach. We all gathered at the school and our spiritual life director, Rich, gave an excellent sermon. Afterwards, he brought up about 8 students who had expressed the desire to be baptized. Each one took their turn at the microphone explaining why they wanted to be baptized that morning. They gathered for prayer. Then Rich walked into the Indian Ocean and one by one the students and one of their parents walked into the ocean and were baptized. It was really amazing to watch these teenage boys and girls march resolutely into the water to express their choice to be Christians in front of everyone. I was very proud of them. And what a perfect day to be baptized! And to make the day complete, our beautiful princess Natalie looked adorable!

The Beach in Batu Ferringhi

We got another week off for spring break and we decided to go check out the beaches in Batu Ferringhi. Batu us located further down the coastline in a more secluded and touristy area than where we live. The beaches are beautiful and the water is cleaner. The boys spent their time splashing in the water, having squirt gun fights, playing in the sand and exploring all the rocks. It was blistering hot as usual so we went in the morning and by 1pm we had to leave. So we ended up at one of our favorite stalls eating curry mee and spring rolls for lunch. I walked away with a massive sunburn as a souvenir (darn that Irish skin!).

Our "American" Day Out

So today we decided to take our kids out for a day of fun "American-style". We took them to the movies (we saw Alice in Wonderland in 3D), then to the arcade to play plenty of videogames, and what day of fun would be complete without McDonalds? Interestingly enough, we did all of this at the mall just a few minutes from our house in Malaysia. Apparently, Malaysians like the same stuff we do! Who knew? :)

Kids Kids Kids

Time for a picture update of the kids!

Kyle has decided it is time to introduce Natalie to the world of computers.



This is Alex and his friend Sarah playing their own version of chess.



Not sure why Alex insists on eating with his entire face instead of just his mouth!



And of course our little princess, Natalie Sarah is getting bigger and prettier every day!

Batu Ferringhi Night Market

One of the great things about living in Malaysia are the night markets. They are these huge bazaars that are set up on the streets at night and you can buy pretty much anything... clothing, food, home decor, pirated DVDs, fake designer purses, trishaw rides... it is all very festive, crowded and dirt cheap. And there are tons of restaurants including our favorite lebanese restaurant. So we stopped in and Alex proceeded to eat all of his food plus half of mine, some of John's, and some of Kyle's. That kid can EAT! We have a great time hanging out there.

Alex's First Birthday in Malaysia!

Our son Alex turned 6yo last weekend. Since it is his first birthday here we wanted to make it special. On Friday, I brought in cupcakes for his class...



They made him a birthday crown and cards...



And they all sang Happy Birthday to him...



The next day we took him to the Taiping Zoo...



Walking into the zoo...



Since our three children are of three different ethnicities, we get a lot of stares. I think more people were looking at us than the zoo exhibits!



Later we invited some friends over for a pool party...



And ice cream cake from Baskin-Robbins (why did they put yellow frosting on it? Who knows? You have to learn not to ask too many questions when living here)...



Then of course there was shopping at ToysRUs (Alex's favorite part of his birthday!). He had a great birthday weekend. The only thing that could have made it better would be if our families would have been there to celebrate with us!

No Trespassing???

We were driving somewhere the other day and passed by a building with this sign on it:



Seeing as it is in bahasa and we don't speak bahasa, we took turns guessing at what it means and we decided on "No Trespassing...Seriously...We Will Shoot You in the Back". Do you think we are close?

Baby Face

Natalie just turned two months old and has started smiling a lot. She has the most infectious smile!

Chinese New Year

We are right in the middle of the Chinese New Year and the island has been very festive. There have been fireworks, parades, theatrical shows, etc. It has been very cool. Today was the traditional Lion dance. In Chinese lore, the lion dance is used to ward off evil spirits and usher in good fortune for the new year. The lion dance came to our condo complex this morning complete with banging drums and LOTS of firecrackers. It was so much fun!

Time for the Olympics!!

We are cheering for our home country all the way from Malaysia! Our friends, Larry and Debbie, invited us over for breakfast and to watch the opening ceremony. Breakfast? Yes, the opening ceremony was at 10am on Saturday morning here! we had a wonderful breakfast (we made a cinnamon roll casserole that was to die for!) and settled in to watch the show.

Here are the kids yelling USA! USA!




Natalie thought the whole event was very exciting...




Alex and their daughter Sarah are good friends...



This is John trying to figure out what in the heck these people are saying in French?



We were all full and happy and we had a great time! GO TEAM USA!!!!! Matching Ralph Lauren team outfits??? Yeah, that's how we roll....

My Little Dolphin

Right down the road from us is the Chinese Swim Club. They run competitive swimming programs and their teams are phenomenal. We approached a few of their coaches and asked if they would be interested in coming to our school and giving swim lessons to beginners. The idea is that maybe some of our students can progress to a level where they can join the swim team at the swim club. The lessons have been great and we put Alex in them as well. It is so awesome to see how quickly he took to it. He is learning so fast and having a ball!

The Thunder Rolls....

Living in a tropical climate also means random, sudden storms. It never just "rains". It is either sunny or it is a torrential downpour complete with thunder, lightening and scary clouds. And since we live right on the Indian Ocean, we have court-side seats to every storm that comes in. Here are some pics taken from our balcony of a recent storm as it moves towards us over the ocean from the mainland.

Sunday Best

I can't believe how much fun it is to have a daughter FINALLY. I love my boys but little girls are so much fun to buy for...the clothes are so pretty. I have been waiting so long for a girl so you can bet she will be dressed in pink, frilly, lacey, floral type clothing daily! This is Natalie all dressed up for church last Sunday.