A trip to the pasar

This morning mum, dad, ibu Tati and I went to the pasar (market). The market was full of people all trying to buy and sell different things. There were all kinds of different fruits and vegies – mangoes, rambutans, pineapple, coconuts, carrots, cauliflower, and so many other ones that I had never seen before. There were people selling chicken and meat and fish and tofu and eggs, and pretty much everything else that you could want to buy. There were all sorts of different smells in the air and some of the fish smelled quite strong! Ibu Tati carried me around in the slendung the whole time and many people were looking at me. She did most of the bargaining as mum and dad can’t seem to be able to speak very much yet! We caught an angkot home which was full of people who had brought lots and lots of things from the market and was loaded with many boxes. It was great fun, we even saw some horses on the way home which mum was very excited about!

My First Christmas

In the morning I woke up and had some breakfast as usual (cornflakes with milk), but then mummy and daddy gave me all these presents from them and other people. I was so excited and loved playing with the wrapping paper as well as my new toys and books.

Dad then read the Christmas story before I had a quick nap. We then went to some friends house who live on the other side of the city and the traffic was crazy as everyone was doing their shopping on Christmas day. We had a big Christmas lunch – complete with baked vegies and roast beef and gravy! It was very yummy and there was no rice in sight! We played all afternoon with the other kids and just kept on eating. I was dead tired and mum put me down to sleep and after a while she got me up again for the long car ride home. It was a lovely day!

Sleep is for the weak!

I have decided that sleeping during the day is not as fun as it used to be! I would much rather play than sleep, and there is so much to do – why would anyone want to sleep! Mum and dad keep trying to put me to sleep, but I resist at every opportunity – even when I am really tired!

New Home!!

Well, after months of travelling we have finally arrived in our new home! I am very excited as I have my own room and am now sleeping in a real cot – no more travel cot for me (for a while at least). Our house is in a Kampung which is like a village on the edge of the city. We are up in the mountains so it is much cooler than Jakarta and it is nice to sleep at night – there also aren’t as many mosquitoes up here! Our house has two stories, three bedrooms, lots of white tiles and a bathroom with two types of toilets and a shower in a bucket. The roads in our whole kampung are so narrow that no cars can fit down them so mum and dad are getting lots of exercise carrying me around in a slendang – I love it and often fall asleep! We have a helper called Ibu Tati who is very nice to me and carries me around while she is sweeping and washing – she is very kind!

When we go travelling we ride in an angkot (like a small mini van with a bench seat on either side) and they try an fit in as many people as possible – it gets very squashy sometimes! But I don’t mind because I smile at everyone and they all want to talk to me and give me cuddles! I get lots of cuddles here the people are very friendly and really like chubby babies like me!

I have decided that crawling is the best way of getting around and I love getting up on my feet as often as I can! I greet mum and dad by standing up in the cot every morning and giving them a big smile.

A day in Jakarta

This morning I woke mum and dad up by standing up in my cot and calling to them. They were very pleased to see me even though mum said it was still very early.

After breakfast and a quick nap we set off in a taxi on an adventure through central Jakarta. The traffic was crazy – with bikes, taxis, buses, cars and people going in every direction.

The first place we stopped was the old harbour which has apparently been in use since the 12^th trade for many years. There were many traditional Indonesia ships which carried cargo around the islands. We saw many friendly people who were working very hard carrying things up and down slim planks onto the boats. It was very hot and the people who were working there were very brown from being in the sun. We also jumped onto a small canoe type thing and paddled back down the river toward the Kampung (village) on the edge of the water. The water was very dirty and full of rubbish, there were some children swimming in the water but mum wouldn’t let me get in!

We went up a big tower which was the viewing tower over the harbour and had been there for over 300 years. After that we caught a taxi through amazing traffic, dad said he had never seen anything like it never seen before in his life, it was a three lane road and the cars would have been at least 6 wide across the road and were nearly touching each other! We then went to the biggest mosque in Asia. The lady at the reception gave me lots of cuddles and was very nice. We had a tour around and it was massive – even bigger than the mega church we visited in Singapore. The guide told us that it could fit over 100,000 people in it. There were many people praying on the floor. We weren’t allowed onto the main floor but were standing on a viewing platform. The dome on the top was enormous, and our guide was very happy to show us around and tell us all about it – he was very nice.

We then walked through some crazy traffic – we had to cross some very busy roads and dad did very well manoeuvring the pram! Many people kept on saying panas because it was very hot!! For lunch mum gave me some of her soto padang which was wonderful!!

I was very tired (latih) after that so we got home in the afternoon and mum gave me a bath and put me to bed. It was so nice to be back home!

Jakarta

we flew into Jakarta yesterday in a really small aeroplane. A man from Indonesia kept smiling at me and asked mum and dad if he could take a photo of them and me together. He kept saying that I was 'lucu' which I think means cute.
While we were waiting some other ladies also starting talking to me and playing with me, and they also took some photos of me. I didn't realise people like to take so many photos!

We got into the airport and got picked up by a nice man called Alex. He drove us through crazy traffic to the place that we are staying in. I was REALLY tired, so mum tried to put me down for a sleep but I just couldn't sleep, so mum and dad put me down on the floor to have some play time. I decided that it was probably time for me to crawl, so I did!

I crawled about 5 crawls and then I fell onto my belly. Now that I know that I can do it I keep trying and mum and dad say that I am getting better and better at it. I also really like to walk when someone holds my hands to help me balance.

I am also able to stand up by myself as long as I am leaning on something, like a table or a chair. Mum says that I am a big boy, but she says that I am still her baby.

I also had my first bath in the sink yesterday. I think it is really fun and make a game of splashing mum or dad as much as I can. We don't have any hot water so it is a bit cold at first, but I get used to it, and it is sooo hot that it doesn't really matter anyway.

Bye

Bird Park

Today we went to Jurong Birdpark in Singapore with Nanna and Poppa. We had a wonderful time. I slept through the first show and missed the birds of prey - dad and poppa got some photos of eagles and hawks catching their food.

I sat with dad right down the front of the next show which had all sorts of birds and these really big birds, as big as people dancing around on stage! I thought they were very impressive and would clap my hands and yell at them everytime they came out. Many people were looking at me - they must have thought I looked like a bird. We saw many other birds like tucans and hornbills and we even saw penguins and pelicans being fed. Did you know there are 7 types of pelican in the world?

We had a wonderful day, poppa was always behind us as he was taking lots of photos - eventually his battery ran out so he couldn't take any more! It was a full day, but I loved it!

Monsoon!

The wet season has officially arrived!! Every afternoon at about 4pm the heavens have opened with torrential rain. It is so much fun to go out and play in the rain particularly after the really hot days. Today it didn't rain and it was actually worse than ever because the heat and humidity was so intense that your body was just covered in sweat as soon as you move.

Mum thinks that I have some new teeth coming as I have been pulling some very funny faces and have not been sleeping as well as I usually do. I saw the doctor and she said that I was fine!

The OC has nearly finished and everyone is heading off to their field. We have a few more days in Singapore with Nanna and Poppa which I am looking forward to. We are going to visit some of the tourist sights which should be very fun.

Mum is very quite as she has lost her voice!! I am making up for it for her :)

ahh! what's happening to me??

I woke up in the middle of the night in a lot of pain!
I just couldn't sleep when I went to church!
Mum had no idea of what was going on until dad stuck his finger in my mouth and discovered that my FIRST TOOTH had cut through!
No wonder I was in so much pain!
Perhaps this will help me eat my bananas, watermelon and paw paw -I love my fruit!!

This is me enjoying my first ice cream!

Mega Church!!

This Sunday mum and dad dragged me half way across Singapore on buses and trains to go to a MEGA CHURCH!!

We arrived to loud music blaring out of a large auditorium filled with about 8000 people - it was nuts!! Mum took me into the little kids room which had mattresses all over the floor with heaps of little babies on them. I couldn't sleep at all and mum missed the whole service.

Dad said it was like a Hillsong church service on steroids with a bit more of an Asian feel. They claimed that across all their services there were about 22,000 people!! There was lots of clapping and 'amens' and 'hallelujahs', with the typical loud music and great light show. They even gave out free hotdogs to first timers - dad didn't share his with me!

At night mum ran an 'insight night' back at the home base - she did a great job. Dad played a game called settlers and didn't get to bed until sometime around 1am.

Sentosa Beach

After mum and dad finished their lectures in the morning, we all jumped into taxi's to go to Sentosa - an island just of Singapore. We had a wonderful time. I played in the sand and went swimming for the first time - I loved it!! The water was extremely warm and I swam for about an hour and managed to avoid getting sunburnt! Mum and dad played soccer on the beach and we a lovely dinner at the local food hall.

At night we went to see a musical fountain which I just loved!! There was water spouting in the air and fire billowing out as well as a laser show in the fountain. It was the first time I had seen anything like this and I just couldn't sit still!! We eventually got home and I slept like a log!!

sunday in singapore

In the morning I went with mum and dad to a local Anglican Church which was packed and very hot and was very much like a church back in Australia except that there were no walls and there were many people from different nations present. I had a good view of a brick wall, but dad said the minister was a fellow from Australia and that the sermon was on John 10 and it was very good.

In the afternoon we went into downtown Singapore and visited the river are and saw all the sights. It was very humid and lots of people kept on looking at me and touching my feet. We ate dinner in a food hall - I ate lentils (yuk) while mum and dad feasted on satay. We had a wonderful time and at the end of the day I was so tired that dad had to wake me up the next morning at well after 8 and I just didn't want to get out of bed!