Singapore

Reader beware: LONG post - feel free to skim

Singapore, here we come!

We had to plan a trip to Singapore for Shelley to get an eye exam. Shelley's doctor in California said that she could stay the entire three months in Malaysia if she saw a doctor half way through. One of his colleagues practices in Singapore, a blessing indeed because the flight to Singapore is only 50 minutes and it was easy for us to get away for a few days. It was perfect timing because it was Jorgen's birthday so we were able to celebrate his third birthday in another country.

Here we are waiting at the doctor's office.

The birthday boy. He is crazy! Crazy funny!

It was a hard appointment. Shelley was restless and would not sit still. She had had a long day without a good nap so she was not very cooperative when the doctor's were trying to exam her eyes. If you have ever had a 14 month old sit through an eye exam then you know it is not an easy task to entertain them enough to sit still while doctors shine lights and hold different instruments up in front of them. So, the doctors could not get a good reading and said that we would have to come back the next morning and possibly sedate Shell to get a good reading. We did not want to sedate her but knew that the doctors needed an accurate reading to help her sight. We left the doctor's office a little disappointed but knew after a good night's rest, Shelley would do better in the morning.

We left the doctor's and walk around Singapore and took the MRT to Orchard Street. This street is like the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, times 500! It was incredible. I have never seen so many malls and stores, and all very high end stores. It was fun walking around and exploring but the birthday boy was so exhausted, he fell asleep while Justin was holding him. Singapore is probably the cleanest country I have ever visited. There are $500 fines for eating in the subway and so there is therefore NO TRASH anywhere. The streets are totally spotless. The population is made up of about 4.5 million Singaporeans (70ish% Chinese) and 1.5 million expats. I was shocked at how different this country is from Malaysia. Malaysia is around 70% Muslim and a very modest country while Singapore is maybe 5% Muslim and not modest at all. In Malaysia I often feel like the inmodest one where in Sinapore I felt very modest and underdressed. There are a lot of wealthy Asians there.All Jorgen wanted to eat on his birthday was fries. So we found a fish and chips restaurant and the boy could not have been more excited to eat!

He's definitely our son, food just excites him!

Shelley was equally excited to eat something yummy! Look at that cheesey grin! We told her to smile for the camera and she looked right into the camera and showed us her biggest smile ever!

Justin and I ordered the seafood platter for two. Oh, it was delicious!!!!
Seafood here is so tasty!

Jorgen really wanted a Thomas cake for his birthday but unfortunately we could not deliver! He did get a very tasty scoop of ice cream though.
We sure love our Thomas Jorgen and are so blessed to have him in our family! He is so funny and expressive and loves being around people.

Hotel Re! in all it's glory!! Really, don't you just love the decor!?! We chose this hotel because of the cost, not so much the space or the extra fabulous wall hangings, an added benefit though. The entire hotel has a retro theme.

Jorgen opening up his birthday pajamas.

Trying them out, Kung Fu style.

The bathroom was so sparkly! Dancing in the shower was a must. Party, party!Needless to say, we had fun staying in this hotel. The entire space could fit four times in just our master bedroom at the hotel in KL so we were feeling a little more than close but it was fun!

Sentosa Island
Friday morning we woke up and made our way to Shelley's second eye appointment. Thankfully, and in answer to our prayers, Shelley was a little angel. She was so cooperative and let the doctors exam her eyes fully. This age is so hard with exams because toddlers like to move and explore, not to be explored, especially in the eye department. We were so grateful for the patience of the doctors and how wonderful and willing they were to do everything they needed to help our sweet Shelley. They did find out that her left eye is weaker than her right eye and that she needs to start patching three hours a day to prevent it from going lazy. Other than that, Shelley is doing well and the doctor was impressed she is doing so well with her contacts. We love you, Shelley, and are so proud of you!

After the doctor's appointment, we headed to Sentosa Island for the rest of the day. It was a blast! It is a small island that is full of fun things to do. They have a butterfly/insect park, an underwater world, luge, beaches galore, restaurants, animal shows, nature walks, a nature discovery, 3-D cinemas, Merlion, Tiger tower, and a lot more. We did not do everything, but we did what we thought our chilibeans would enjoy and it turned out to be a great day!

To get to the island, you can go by taxi, bus, tram or cable car. Which one would you have chosen? We, without a moments hesitation, chose the cable car.
The Luge and Sky Ride was a blast!!! Jorgen got to go four times, twice with each parent. We split it up so that we went twice when we first got to the island and then we went twice again before we left at the end of the day. Justin and I asked Jorgen at the end who went faster, Mommy or Daddy? He let each of us think we were the cool parent by saying I won one time and Justin won the other time. Justin and I can be quite competitive, even when it involves our children! The sky ride back to the top was breathtaking! It went high above the trees and we could see most of the island as well as the ships out anchored at sea.

The Singapore Merlion is definitely a site to see. The Merlion has the head of a lion and the tail of a fish. This trademark of Singapore was created because the ancient name of Singapore was translated into 'sea town' and the cities orignal name translated into 'lion city' so I guess it is the best of both names.

The Merlion was said to have made it's way to shore by other sea animals bringing up water to pave the way for the half-fish. They made a neat looking fountain strip to tell the story.

The island has so many different modes of transportation: tram, bus, cable car, taxi, walking...It was very easy to get around.

We went to Palawan Beach to let the kids swim and play. We love beaches!!! I tell ya, this island has it all!

After getting cleaned up from the beach, we headed to the Southernmost Point of the Asia Continent. Jorgen promptly fell asleep once he sat in the stroller.

At the top of one of the lookouts we could see many of the ships that were anchored outside of the port.

We went to a free animal show and had a great time.

The first animal they brought out was a pig-tailed macaque...take a look at it's behind. Poor, poor monkey!

They had a number of birds of prey and they would have the birds swoop over the crowds so low, it was neat to see. At one point, I was up on the last row walking around while Shelley slept on my back, and one of the workers had to come up to me and tell me to sit down so I would not be a target for the birds.

We were all very engaged.I volunteered to be the helper for a 'surprise'. The spokeman said he needed someone very strong and brave and female. No one raised their hand, so I quickly shot mine up. I am all of those things, aren't I?! The guy took me down there and talked and talked and talked some more, but never mentioned what animal I was going to get to hold. He only kept saying I could not move once I held it.

Then they brought him out...
can you see my nervous fingers?

A very large and very heavy Python!

It was fun holding it! I kind of wish they could wrap it around me, but I do not think I am THAT strong. The pythons head kept creeping around and I swear it almost licked me....I know I said I am brave but that might have made me run...he must have wanted a taste of my lotion!

The whole family taking a picture with the Python.
Shells was pretty interested in touching Mr. Python at first...

...And then she definitely had enough and wanted nothing to do with him shortly after.

The Singapore Port

Jorgen got a free lanyard at the luge ride (being nice to people pays off:D), so we hooked up his Thomas key chain that he got for his birthday to it and Jorgen thought that was pretty nifty. I love how he is so easily pleased and entertained.

Another view from the cable car.

Instead of getting off at our stop, we went to the other point and looked around the "Jewel Box". This neat looking tree was so pretty!

We watched the koi fish swimming about and wishing we were giving them something to eat. If we put our fingers close to the water they would come up sucking and hoping to get a bite.And the view was spectacular!

On the way back, we played a very loud game! We all just screamed as long as we could. Jorgen started it and we all just chimmed in because this is probably the only appropriate place to do it, no one could hear us. The kids thought it was pretty funny we were letting them scream and scream and scream.

We woke up in the morning and packed up and Shelley started her first day of patching again...She had to patch a lot when she was younger, but it has been awhile. Luckily, the doctor's office sold these cute pink/green ones. And of course she had the perfect outfit to match. She adjusted quickly to the patch and only scratched at it a couple of times before leaving it alone.We had a fun morning before we had to head to the airport. We went to the East Coast Parkway and walked around. They have bike, skate, and surf shops that rent out their gear. We rented a bike for 2 hours and took turns taking Jorgen on rides along the parkway. It was such a blast. Along the parkway we saw, an awesome skate park (at the time, bikers were doing their thing on it - pretty impressive stuff!), a huge protected sand castle, a long pier with a lot of fishermen, a cable water sports lake, where people were wake boarding, skiing, and knee boarding while being pulled by a cable all around this small lake, and many people roller blading, walking, biking and just hanging out on the beach.

Whoever was not biking with the Jorgster got to spend some grassy time with Shells.

There is that cute tongue of hers again!

Once we got to the airport, sweet Shell fell asleep.

Jorgen playing hard one last time before we said good bye to Sinapore.Though we had a fabulous trip to Singapore, we were more than thrilled to be back at good ol' Darby Park. Shelley and Jorgen walked and ran around the spacious apartment and played with every last toy until it was time for bed. They missed all the roaming space. Once the kids were asleep, Justin and I enjoyed a nice date night. Can't beat the cheep takeout here, $3 Indian meal for two that tasted divine!

A wonderful weekend, indeed!