Petronas Twin Towers Completed

Yes, the actual Petronas Twin Towers was completed back in 1998, but John finished putting together his Petronas towers as of today. He received this 3D glow-in-the-dark puzzle from his brother for Christmas and I'm amazed that he managed to put it together so quickly. 1st picture is the actual twin towers and the 2nd pic is the puzzle completed. It sits in his office right now and it's been hard for the kids to keep their hands off of it!

News from Sydney

Sydney woke up on last Sunday and spotted this beautiful rainbox from our window. The first thing she said is "Look Mommy! God made this rainbow." Her friend Reese (who spent the night) and Syd were SO excited about the rainbow.

Sydney also made a bird feeder in class one day, as part of their art project. We hung it outside our window on a branch and waited. We waited for a few days, but no bird in sight. She was a little discouraged that the birds were not eating the seed stuck to her little pinecone. Then, one day last week as we were sitting down for lunch, we saw a few sparrows come by for lunch too. She was thrilled to bits!

February Cheeky Monkeys

Caleb says "ta ta ta brrrrrrrr". You didn't understand that?! Okay, let me translate. He wishes everyone a HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! Oh wait,...Sydney wishes you all HAPPY V-Day too! Here's Caleb's 13th month update:

- loves to open drawers and cabinets in the kitchen, and try to investigate every nook and corner of the house!

- searches the trash can daily for food :-)

- enjoys throwing his toys away in the trash can
- acts all cute and innocent when he's caught doing something he shouldn't (like touching an outlet)
- follows Sydney everywhere she goes, only to try and destroy anything she tries to build

- loves to snuggle and slobber our faces with drooly kisses

- has two teeth in the bottom and his 2 front teeth are starting to peek a little
- He's so busy during the day that he still takes 2 good naps

- He still is a good eater, and currently eats about the same portion size as Vivien. When he's done with his food, he tries to look over at Sydney's bowl to see if she's finished - hoping to steal some of her food as well. He usually finishes his lunch and dinner before she does!


Update on Sydney:
- loves to check out about an average of 20 books from the library every week! And makes us read at least 10 books a day!
- made a cute, Valentine Dog card at pre-school for Mommy, Daddy and Caleb
- still fits into some of her clothing that says "24 months" - she is pretty petite

- currently learning the days of the week, and how to write her name

- is quick to tell on Caleb and makes sure that justice is served fairly in the home

- favorite food still remains to be PB&J sandwiches for lunch and sweets of any kind

Wedding Pictures

Ramona sent me some new pictures from her wedding taken in Malaysia - Jan 12th, 2008. I was so honored to be part of her wedding. I (Vivien) have known her since we were 13 (Form 1 - Assunta). We've been best pals since then and I absolutely miss her. :-(

Chinese New Year

So they say this is the year of the Rat. The Rat?!?! I don't like Rats. Period. Or "full-stop" (as we say it the British way). Well, anyway....my experience with Chinese New Year is visiting my Chinese friends' homes (back in Malaysia) and eating good food. If I walked away with a red packet ("ang pow") in my hand, I was pretty fired up. Watching dragon dances, seeing fire crackers go off and tasting Chinese cuisine is all part and parcel of enjoying the CNY - in my experience.
It just dawned on me, that I should introduce my children to some Malaysian festive seasons. So, I decided to teach Sydney how to make little chinese lanterns using red construction paper. On Thursday, the 1st day of the Lunar new year, we gave Sydney and Caleb red packets with a $2 bill in it. And, yes, we had chinese food that night. Nothing too elaborate because Sydney is a picky eater and I didn't have much time to prepare. I made fried rice and chinese egg soup. On Saturday, we took the kids to go see a dragon/lion dance at a mall that was promoting the CNY celebration. Sydney thought that the best part was feeding the dragon some money and having her bestfriend Reese with her.

December quickly turned to February!

Okay, so i'm a little slow on updating our blog. December and January are such a blur for our family. We celebrated Christmas and New Year in Malaysia with Vivien's family and we returned to the States on Jan.15th. Ever since, we have all been playing catch-up with our schedule. In between, John's been to California for a week for work and last week, he was in Iowa for a week. We sadly found out that his dad has 2 tumors - in the brain and lung. Today, he's going in for surgery to remove the tumor in the brain and for them to run tests on it. Keeping Jim in our prayers!

Back to our vacation, it was wonderful. Some of the highlights from our trip:

• Caleb celebrated his 1st birthday with about 80 or so guests at my parents house
• Vivien, her best friend Ramona and Ramona's sister went for a Thai body massage and had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe in KL to celebrate her bridal shower
• We took a trip to Langkawi (an island up north, close to the Thailand border) with the whole family
• Caleb started walking at 12 months and Vivien's family got to witness it!
• Vivien was matron of honor at her bestfriend's (Ramona) wedding at that was an incredible day!!!