Twitter: January 2011

January 3: Finally... here I am waiting for my very late flight on Dec. 17th charming people around me with my antics. 

January 3: I was hungry and tired during the flight and was not a very happy camper until I finally fell asleep. 

January 3: We were upgraded to business class though which was rather nice. I did not get to have any champagne unfortunately.

January 3: Day 1 (December 18th): Lunch at Darta's. Mmmmmmm riz riz riz (my favorite word and food these days). 

January 3: That afternoon, we went to see a trance ceremony with our friend Darta in an East Bali town called Paksebali.

January 3: The trance ceremony was quite impressive. People pushed and pulled a ladder-like structure around the square. 

January 3: Every night at our hotel near Ubud, frogs came out of hiding to bask in the warm glow of the lights. I loved finding them there and watching them.

January 4:  I loved watching the dances in the Ubud streets but got a bit scared when the dancers with toothy masks came right up to me.

January 4: Day 2 (Dec. 19):  Off to the market to check out the scarves and purchase some saris, the mandatory clothing for visiting temples.

January 4: Taking a milk break at Mas temple (isn't my Dada cute in his Indonesian sari, belt and hat?). 

January 4: Dada and I in front of the offering at Mas temple. I wanted to eat the fruit but Dada and Mama would not let me. 

January 4: The most exciting thing at Mas temple: the iron door (though the gamelon orchestra was fun to dance to too). 

January 4: Day 3 (Dec. 20): After visiting the Pura Gunung Kawi temple and seeing beautiful butterflies, we went to the Terta Empul temple where I discovered a new toy: umbrellas.

January 4: I also fed fish with Maman, Mamie and Papy (I learned to say Mamie and Papy during the trip). 

January 4: And made some friends. 

January 4: That evening, we went to my friend Wyan's house (Wyan is the name of most 1st born sons in Bali). 

January 4: With Mamie at Wyan's house. 

January 4: We then went to hear/see the Kecak dances in Wyan's village of Junjungan.

January 10: Day 4 (Dec. 21): Playing in my bathtub overlooking the rice fields. 

January 10: After a relaxing day, I went to the Ramayana ballet near Ubud palace and to my surprise, I loved it. I almost cried when the monkey king seemed hurt. At the end, I said more more.

January 10: Day 5 (Dec. 22): We went to the Elephant park near Taro. I got to ride an elephant... 

January 10: And take a bath with an elephant,

January 10: And pose for a pic with two elephants (and my parents and grandparents). 

January 10: And even feed an elephant. It was a bit scary but I enjoyed it very much. 

January 10: After the elephant park, we went to the monkey forest where I tried to pet the monkeys. 

January 10: Day 6 (Dec. 23): Bye bye Waka di Ume and your beautiful rice fields, flowers and frogs. 

January 10: On the way up to the northern part of the island, we went strawberry picking (my favorite fruit). There were very few strawberries left in the field unfortunately but the ones I tried were quite yummy.

January 10: We then stopped off at the mountain lake temple at Bratan Lake for some temple viewing and... swinging. 

January 10: Day 7 (Dec. 24): In front of the "Xmas tree".

January 11: Day 8 (Dec. 25): After a wonderful day playing with my Mamie (while my parents and Papy went diving), here I am laughing wildly at maman saying "all done" in a silly voice.

January 11: Day 10 (Dec. 27): My last day in Bali started with a photo shoot in our beautiful hotel. 

January 11: Ah the sweet life in Bali (as you can see, I picked up the local custom of putting flowers behind the ears). Tomorrow, it's back to the grind.

January 11: With Mamie and Papy by the pool on our way to breakfast.

January 11: Walking (and posing) by the entrance of the hotel.

January 11: Playing in the pavilion. 

January 11: By the museum. 

January 11: See uncle Charles, I already like chess (especially the knight/horse). 

January 11: Hanging out by the black coral beach.

January 11: With maman on the beach. 

January 11: And finally, playing hide-and-seek in the hotel spa.

January 11: On the way back to the airport, we stopped by Papy and Mamie's friend Nyoman the musician/dancer's place, where I got to play various instruments.

January 11: Maman and I taught my friends a few of my signs. Here we are doing turtle. 

January 11: And then we played together. Bye bye Bali.

January 12:  Back in Singapore, my grandparents and I posed on the couch for the traditional Portrait of a Visitor. 

January 12: I love the slide in our building complex.

January 12: A big cuddle for Lhasa. 

January 12: Studying the map of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve with Papy. It was a fun hike and I even got to do some rock scrambling.

January 12: Dinner at a Dinner at a fancy Indian restaurant for Maman's birthday. I behaved very well (thank you for the stickers).

January 12: Dinner at Long Beach for Dada's birthday.

January 12: Acting silly in the Singapore Flyer with Mamie (the Marina Bay Sands Hotel looks pretty cool in the background). 

January 12: In the Flyer... 

January 12: My first time riding the subway alone (standing on my own that is). 

January 12: Selecting a book out of my boardbooks bookshelf. I like books, no I love books. Especially taking them all off the shelf (ok and reading them too).

January 12: One last swim with Papy under the rain.

January 12: Happy new year everyone (a bit belatedly). On Jan. 4, Mamie and Papy took a big plane home. I miss you.

January 13: Portrait of a visitor: My friend Doro from Zurich came to visit last week (Jan. 5-10). 

January 13: Simon says stick out your tongue! 

January 13: Maman always wants me to wear a hat, so when I saw the tiger hat at the zoo... 

January 13: Zebrahorse, zebrahorse, zebrahorse! Hanging out with the zebras at the Night Safari Z'bar. 

January 13: On the top of the world, well at the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel. What a nice pool. 

January 13: Coucou from the botanical gardens. 

January 13: Woooosh. Hiding behind the waterfall with Doro at the botanical garden. 

January 13: Spiderpigs fans at the botanical gardens. Go spiderpigs!!!!

January 13: Portrait of a visitor: Noah and Noah (Jan. 9).

January 13: Yesterday Daniel and I went for a test drive.

January 14: A few days ago, I turned 18 mos. My official 18 mos stats: 84cm and 12.5 kg. I am growing!!!

January 16: I have been a bit cranky the last two days. Pushing out four teeth and fighting a cold will do that to you I hear.

January 29: Since my last post, I officially have three new teeth for a grand total of 11 teeth. 9 more to go!

January 29: A little late, here is my 18 months portrait (actually taken on 10.01.11) covered in mango and still in my pjs. That's me.

January 29: 18 months and happy. 

January 29: At 18 months, I still like food (though I am a bit less ravenous these days), books, music, flowers, animals and water of all sorts.

January 29: Hmm favorite foods, that is a hard one:

• I love all fruit (watermelon, orange, peach, strawberry, mango, dragon...);
• I also like veggies especially corn, broccoli, carrots, edamame, okra, chick peas and of course rice;
• I love spicy food, pickled ginger, wasabi (yes I eat it by the spoonful), spicy peppers and generally everything with a kick to it; and 
• Finally, I am still a big fan of shrimp and tomatoes (not necessarily together).

January 29: My books of the month are Subway (the train book), Le doudou des camions poubelle (badaboum la bascule), and 1 fish 2 fish (the fish book).

January 29: In the morning, I ask for the train book even before I get out of bed. In the evening before going to bed, I must have my fish book.

January 29: Throughout the day, I regularly drop by my bookshelves to pick out some good reads.

January 29: Every night, after my goodnight books, I listen to my music and drift right to sleep (well sometimes I cry a bit too).

January 29: I still love picking flowers, smelling them, looking for bees and now having them behind my ears (not the bees of course, the flowers!).

January 29: I love the zoo. Since we moved to SG, I have been going regularly to the zoo but my experience and excitement have changed/grown.

January 29: Now, if you mention the zoo, I excitedly sign/say mouse (for the deer mouse), big cat, tiger, monkey, gorilla and elephant.

January 29: Once there, I remember the order in which we see the animals and excited sign the next one and run along from each exhibit to the next.

January 29: I also love the bird park. It even has penguins and owls and... ibises. I now am comfortable feeding the birds and handling the food.

January 29: But I also like the the bees, snails & geckos by my apartment (especially my friend Gaston the gecko), and turtles at the nearby playground.

January 29: Talking about playgrounds, I now love playing in the sand and swinging on the big-boy swing and sliding.

January 29: I also love playing in the water, splashing around, & exploring my winged independence in the big pool. But most of all I love the hot tub.

January 29: I sign hot hot hot and point towards the hot tub. It is clearly not warm enough in Singapore, I need that hot tub to keep warm.

January 29: I like chasing my parents and being chased by them (especially when my parents morph into frogs and elephants).

January 29: I like monsters: the tickle monster, the kiss monster, and the hungry monster.

January 29: I love playing with my blocks, my fridge letters, Paul the penguin, Balto and Dila the dogs, and Carlos the cat.

January 29: I love to draw especially with pens that can make a big mess. And I love sticking stickers on myself and sometimes even on paper.

January 29: At 18 months, I can: 

• stack 11 blocks and I can knock down a 20 block tower and put away all the blocks when I am done playing with them;
• run very fast up and down hills. I can go up and down stairs on two feet on my own;
• make the jumping motions but don't leave the ground yet; 
• climb up the ladder and go down the big slide on my own (and sitting up); 
• paddle about with my wings on in the big pool and go underwater for a few seconds holding my breath;
• go on outings without my stroller and keep up with the big guys;
• recognize my many books by the cover and tell the reader what comes inside or what is on the next page; 
• put my shoes on (the crocodiles go on the outside) and my shirt on alone (though I still sometimes need help with the latter); and
• understand most of what is said to me and can say 16 words and sign 80-100 (I have stopped counting).

January 29: I know the 26 capital letters of the alphabet (since about 16.5 months) and am learning the "baby letters" though I only know a few.

January 29: My spoken words are: mama, dada, tigre, turtle, tortue, taxi, quatre, carte, cat, down, block, key, riz, canard, pattes and tigre.

January 29: I can draw with two hands and even was able to copy my maman's "D". 

January 29: I forgot to tell you my dislikes.There aren't many but they make me very unhappy. I don't like when Maman isn't with me and not getting my way.

January 29: Overall, at 18m, I am a happy little guy (if a bit stubborn at times). My parents say I am a pleasure to be with and lots of fun.

January 29: Portrait of a visitor: Ludmila and Dan (Jan. 12 to 20 2011). Thank you for Dila the dog! 

January 29: Each time I go to the zoo, there is a new surprise. The time with Ludmila, I got to pet a kangaroo. 

January 29: We also went to the Botanical Gardens where I was a big hit...

January 29: Feeding the lories at the bird park. 

January 29: At the end of a fun day with the animals...

January 29: I would like you all to meet Charmie, who is my new playmate (she started on Jan. 17). 

January 29: Last weekend, I went to the zoo again, this time I discovered an abandoned jeep. Driving is fun. 

January 29: Oh oh, is that a kangaroo back there. I better not run it over (notice the stamp on my arm - I LOVE stamps). 

January 29: Peekaboo... 

January 29: Look an Orangutan or is that Daddy up there?

January 29: My first time on a carousel. Hello everyone!

January 29: Oops... a few additions to my 18m summary: 2 additional words (mais & train (tata) for a total of 18 and an extra like: stamps on my body.

January 30: Oops.. another few words I forgot: ciao ciao, caca, eat, yes/oui, no for a total of 22!

January 30: Since 18m there have been a few more like printemps, Gasto (the gecko), box/boite and I am sure I am forgetting some more.