And We're Off!

Hello everyone! I'm sorry for the long silence on our end . . . I actually had a blog post written to post on the day that we left our home in Asia, but I was thwarted. Our landlord (unhelpfully) cut off our internet access a few days early, so we had to wait until we were on the road to get access. And then we just a little bit busy relaxing, so I have neglected my blog. But here are a few pictures to show you from the past weeks! The one above is the last morning in our house--everything was completely ready and packed away, we were just waiting for our ride to the airport. The girls were enjoying sitting on the kitchen table!

Our home looked a little desolate--all packed up with plastic over everything.

Then...on to another Asian country, where we got some great pool time, even Chloe!
Here we are doing some snorkeling near a remote tropical island. Just gorgeous!

And here we were on the beach! It was lovely!

I have more stories to tell...but my internet access is about to run out. Stay tuned until next time!

And She's Off!

Chloe decided yesterday that she was tired of being immobile and longed to be off on her own adventures. After a large lunch, she was feeling happy and active, and when I put her down on the floor to play she began to do a variety of gymnastics--traditional style pushups with her arms and toes, and then her own variation with her forehead on the floor, then lying on her belly and pushing with her toes. Finally after I helped her by removing her pants, which were sliding on our wood floors and frustrating her efforts, she put her knees under her and actually started crawling!

So it's happened--she is now mobile. Watch out, Clara Anne! I think Chloe is going to give you a run for your money! Chloe has since then demonstrated several times that when she sees something that she wants, she is going to go after it and get it. We are going to have to keep a close eye on her!

As if that wasn't enough, and as if we didn't have enough things happening in family life this week, Chloe had an inconsolable afternoon today. I honestly did not know what to do for her. She had a good morning nap, a large lunch, and played well for awhile, but then would not go down for her afternoon nap. She cried and cried, so I let her get up again, but then she was fussy. She didn't want to play. She didn't want to nurse. When I put her in her highchair to try and eat some pureed food, she cried so hard she choked on her green beans. Finally I tried nursing her again, and while she was crying big tears with her mouth wide open, I saw the source of the agony . . . a little tiny pearly tooth, just barely poking through the gum. Aha. Well, that explains it (maybe). I could see it, but could only feel a very slight ridge on her gumline. So I suspect we may have a day or two more of this before it breaks all the way through.

In the meantime, I had my last meeting with my tutor yesterday. I am very thankful that I feel like I have made some progress in language learning recently! We have a big language test to take in the next few weeks so I will be glad to have that behind me, if I pass, that is! Now we are trying to do lots of packing and preparing our apartment to be vacant for 7 months, as well as saying goodbye to more friends. Lots to do this weekend!

In fact, I'd better get going! The girls are sleeping soundly so it's my chance to get some more things done. Since this was Chloe's big day, I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of her (toothless). Since these were taken in the last few days, they'll be the last toothless pictures we have of her!

Playing her toy piano on the couch!
Mama, let's have lunch!