A fantastic afternoon...

.. Is when both kids are sleeping...

Bus ride to town

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Ian has been pretty excited about the bus since we came back, since it's a rare sight in pitts. We took a bus to orchard, and I couldn't decide where to get off (where would be the most kid friendly place for us!). We finally ended up at the new orchard central, which was suitably uncrowded, and great for exploring. There was a dance studio called Revolution on one of the floors, and we watched a group of cool young people practice for awhile. Ian loved the elevators, which were even more fascinating than usual as they were made of some sort of clear plexi-material all round, so you could look up into the elevator shaft. There seemed to be quite a couple of eating spots spread out over the 10 (I think) floors.. Including a ya kun for some kopi!

Waiting for helicopters

Putting our booster seat to good use

Waiting for the fireworks...

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...that are going off right over the playground. Thanks aunty E. for bringing the blankets to lie on!

Play hard. Sleep hard.

He wants to play!

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The pittsburgh zoo is extremely hilly and is a great place to get a workout! Most of the exhibits and environments are small and do not look too stimulating, and many of the animals, especially the primates looked pretty sad and bored with their tiny enclosures. I felt sad for them. I heard a couple of kids commenting excitedly when they FINALLY saw an animal awake and not looking too miserable.
We did however meet one pretty lively mammal, a sea lion!
I'm curious to return to the Singapore zoo and see how that has changed since I was last there- maybe 15 years ago?!

Pittsburgh aviary

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It's clean and compact. We will be back!

It's cold water but who cares!

At the Aviary

Month 3

The days seem so short when caring for a little one... and yet it feels like so long ago when I was still carrying Ian on the inside. One of the challenges of being a mum is the time and energy you devote to the wellbeing of another tiny person, the other is the understanding of your role and purpose as a caregiver-- to find that balance between being responsible, but also yielding control and trust to the Creator. It's easy to fall into the mindset of fretting about every small detail- from feeding to sleeping to cutting them micronails.. robbing yourself of the joy of each day. Also I've found that with recommended routines, schedules, methods, techniques of child-rearing at the back of your head, it's hard to remember that each child is different, and to be thankful for general health and the opportunity to be a parent. So the point of this post and the point I'm trying to make to myself is...well, I'm still figuring it out :)