Happy New Year!

A new year has started and it has been almost a year since the blog has been updated.  Sorry for not keeping it updated but here is a recap of the year. 

To recap 2013, in March,  Audrey participated in her first athletic event which was the OCBC Tricycle race.  It was a 150m race for 4 and 5 year old children.  Audrey's 4th birthday was celebrated at The City, a role-playing indoor playground,  where the children were able to play make believe as various vendors i.e. grocery, hospital, beauty salon, etc.   The family went to the U.S. for 6 weeks in May and June. Vilma, their helper, was able to come with them and it gave Aaron and Lara a real vacation.  Aaron and Lara celebrated their 7th anniversary at the restaurant, Sixteen, at the Trump Tower again and they saw the Broadway show "The Book of Mormon".  They stayed at the Hyatt Downtown Chicago where they had their wedding suite the night they got married.  Great memories came back from their experience.

Audrey and Alexandra (Allie) were able to experience spring/summer in the U.S.  This included BBQs, strawberry picking, visits to the beach and zoo in Chicago, and various parks, museums, and festivals.  Audrey learn to fly a kite, roller skate, and tend to a garden.  We celebrated Allie's first birthday with family and friends and Allie really got to know her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.   Aaron's sister, Sherolyn, came to visit us and spend time in Chicago for a few days.

When they returned to Singapore, Audrey continued her school at Chiltern House.  She also continued gymnastics and swimming.  She started dance school (ballet) in the last quarter of the year and her mandarin has come along very well with the help of her tutor, Yolanda.  Allie started gym class at the Little Gym and in the last quarter she and Lara attended a parent child program at Julia Gabriel School.  It brought back many memories for Lara who did the same with Audrey just a couple of years ago.  Allie and Lara still continue to attend the program twice a week. 

In August and September, the family did some travelling in Asia such as a road trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  They had a great time at Sunway Lagoon and Kidzania.  They went with some of the families from Audrey's Chiltern House school.  The family also went to BKK to spend time with family and friends.  Lara's grandmother (95 years old) is still living in Bangkok.  Audrey got to go to Kidzania again in Bangkok where she was able to try out various professions like Firewoman, Radio Newscaster, Paramedic, Veterinarian, Pilot, TV camerawoman, etc.   In November, Lara had a mommy weekend with her friend Stephanie in Hanoi, Vietnam.  They enjoyed a water puppet show, walking tour of the city, and great food and shopping at art galleries and souvenir shops.

In Singapore, the family have been busy with trips to the Zoo, River Safari, Universal Studios, and various theater shows.  They also celebrated various holidays like Halloween Trick or Treating in the Woodlands nei
ghborhood, Deepavali with their Hindu friends,  Thanksgiving Dinner at their home with friends, and several birthday parties.

In December, they went to Chicago for 10 days to spend Christmas with family and friends. It was the first time our whole family were together on Christmas.  Audrey and Allie loved playing with their cousin Ada and their new cousin, Gavin, who was 4 months old.  Allie and Audrey also had never seen snow before so it was really exciting for them.  They got to play in the snow, sled, and Audrey also saw a theater production of "A Christmas Carol" for the first time.  They went to downtown Chicago to also look at the famous Christmas window displays at Macy's.   They then flew to the Bay area to spend the New Year holiday with friends from Aaron's Mixed Company A Cappella group from Stanford.  The reunion was in Pescadero and they all stayed at the Venture Retreat Lodge and cabin not too far from the beach.  The trip also included a stay in San Francisco and San Jose where they met up with the Whitton Family, Kerst Family, Cheng Family, and the Kunz family.  Aaron's sister, Wendy, and her husband Steve along with her son Robert and his wife Nari came to visit them in San Francisco.  It was really great since Audrey and Allie had never met them before.  It was a very eventful trip. 

Aaron has continued to work for Catena Technologies and he now holds the COO position there.  His work has had less travelling with the occasional trip to Bangkok which has given us more time with him here in Singapore.   He has also continued to participate in various Triathlon and Duathlon events and he has spent a lot more time with Audrey and Allie.   Teaching them new things like riding a bicycle/tricycle. Teaching Audrey the elements of the periodic table and helping Allie in her swim lessons.

Lara has continued to support Aaron and her children with all their activities. With managing the household, driving the children everywhere, and helping Audrey and Allie in there development, she still finds time to consult for the relocation company and do Zumba a few times each week.

It has been a great year here are some pictures recapping the eventful year.

 

Catch up on Whats Happening with Us

Hi Everyone,
I knew that once Alexandra was born that I would be totally lagging on the blogging. I have been posting on Facebook some pics as they happen. Hope you all have been able to enjoy them.  So I think it would be best to recap our time the past few months.

After our trip to Thailand in November-December, we had a quiet holiday time at home in Singapore, mainly because we had been really busy right from when Alexandra was born. Lara had been breast feeding Allie just up until this past February.  Allie is quite the eater and Lara felt that she needed more food.  In December, Allie started her solid foods and that has gone well.  She is getting really long and big.  We are so happy with her development.  She now can stand for a few seconds on her own and she is cruising around the apartment.  She is the sweetest child with a very infectious laugh. We love her so much and can not believe that she is 9 months today.

Audrey really loved Christmas,  she had fun opening presents and getting cookies and milk ready for Santa.  She was a bit skeptical whether he was coming or not. She told me that she did not think he would come because there was no snow in Singapore.  Figuring that the sled would not be able to work here.  In January, Audrey started her second year of Nursery school. She is very bright and energetic.  She has surprised all her teachers with her ability to read.  Her teacher says she can read like children who are a few years older than her.  We are so proud of her.  She also has done well learning her Mandarin.  She still continues swim class and she is able to swim on her own for quite a long distance.  She also continues her gym class and she has been invited to start a special gymnastics class with some older girls.  We are very excited.

Aaron is doing well.  He celebrated his 40th birthday with some friends at a special restaurant called Salt.  The restaurant had a 55th floor view of Singapore.  It was a surprise dinner done a week before his real birthday.  The children also celebrated with him with a cake that Audrey help make for her father and a special piece of artwork she gave him.  He still continues to train for his Triathlons and events.  He is also now the COO at Catena Technologies and has been quite busy with work.  He has not travelled too much so that means he has been able to spend time with the girls like taking Audrey to Universal Studios when Lara went back to Bangkok with Allie to visit her father while he was in Thailand.  His goals this year is to keep working on his health and create more business for Catena.

Lara has been trying to keep the house going as usual.  She takes Audrey to school every day along with all of the girls activities i.e. gym, babygroups, swimming, special events.  After the New Year, she made a trip to Thailand with Allie to see her father who was visiting.  Her friend Christina joined her on the trip and they were able to do some shopping, relaxing at the massage spa and eating some great Thai food.  When she returned from Thailand, she was busy managing Chinese New Year celebrations and activities for the girls.  Lara has also been working on keeping healthy.  She started doing Zumba classes every week in addition to her swimming.  She also plans to do a 24K bike ride in April so she training for that event.  Lara has gone back to working with the relocation consulting work and she continues to find other business opportunities.