Saturday, December 18, 2010
First Plane Ride
Today Amelia and family will fly to Australia for a few weeks. Our destination is Sydney and we have lots to explore and do. We are going to divide our time between camping and various forms of lodging. Hopefully Amelia will be able to handle the great outdoors with ease. Packing is obviously a bit different with our new addition. We also celebrated our first round of Christmas yesterday. Hopefully Santa will find Amelia down under. Happy Holidays to you all and we will be in touch.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Merry Moments
Thankfully, Santa was able to find us here in Indonesia. He made a special trip to meet all of the girls and boys in our neighborhood last Saturday. He arrived in a horse drawn carriage - I guess it was just too hot for the reindeer. Santa was so thoughtful; he passed gifts to the babies first. Which was great because I know that many of us new parents would have stressed and wondered whether our happy little ones were going to make it until their turn. Amelia happily sat on Santa's lap, got her gift and then fell asleep in my arms...couldn't have asked for anything more perfect! Because we will be in Australia on Christmas day, we will have an early celebration this coming Saturday. We will then do something on the day and enjoy a present from grandma - thanks, Mary Ann!
Amelia meets Santa
Mom and Amelia
New Dads - Brian/Anthony, Jim/Amelia, Eric/Zia, Hugo/Zack
We love our festive little baby!
Amelia is such a great little girl...she didn't even mind her antlers!
Daddy and Amelia
Daddy and Amelia
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Who Doesn't Love a Wedding?
Blushing brides in elaborate gowns, halls filled with flowers, music and dancing...these are things we typically associate with a wedding. But, weddings in Indonesia are a whole different experience. We were fortunate enough to have a window into Javanese culture during a reception for our nanny's daughter last Sunday in her kampong (or village) here in Jakarta.
Maybe it was the loud music, the hot spicy air or just my general confusion as to what to do, but our arrival was quite interesting. An eager lady paced up to me with both hands out and a huge smile. I quickly put up my hand and motioned no; I was not ready to hand my daughter over to a stranger. Instead we made our way to a reception line of parents. As we moved along I noticed that everyone was shaking with both hands. It was then that I realized the woman had not been asking to hold Ameila, but instead wanted to welcome us! Luckily this was our only cultural mismatch!
After we met Sulasmi, our nanny, she ushered us to the food line. We wanted to wait, but then realized it would be rude so we both dished up bits of rice, chicken, and some spicy beans before taking a seat. I took a few bites and decided that the spices might be too much for Amelia and passed my bowl to Jim, who out of respect finished them both...what a good man! We sat and enjoyed the event. The music was quite nice and we liked watching people. It was funny to us that everyone arrived, shook hands, got food, sat in rows and then left. It was so different from what we know as a reception. But it was a nice time all the same.
The best part for me was seeing the wedding costumes. The bride had an elaborate head piece on and the mother of the bride wore flowers on her head scarf. Everyone really looked lovely. Even the fathers had batik sarongs with swords tucked in back. Apparently the wedding couple wears white for the ceremony, red for the day time reception, and gold for the night party. Below are some photos so you can enjoy the sights for yourself.
Afterwards, Sulasmi took us to see her house, which was very spacious for Indonesian standards. She showed us that her sister lived next door. We got to meet many of her relatives. She told me yesterday that everyone commented on how they thought we looked like movie stars - which is just too funny! Jim's height also made for a lot of conversations about the "bouleys."
Unfortunately, we tried to get a photo with the wedding party, but the man who took the photo didn't hold down the button. We did not want him to loose face, so instead we are hoping to get a copy from the photographer. He snapped lots of photos of us because we were the only non-Indonesians in attendance.
walkway in the kampong (or village)
Maybe it was the loud music, the hot spicy air or just my general confusion as to what to do, but our arrival was quite interesting. An eager lady paced up to me with both hands out and a huge smile. I quickly put up my hand and motioned no; I was not ready to hand my daughter over to a stranger. Instead we made our way to a reception line of parents. As we moved along I noticed that everyone was shaking with both hands. It was then that I realized the woman had not been asking to hold Ameila, but instead wanted to welcome us! Luckily this was our only cultural mismatch!
After we met Sulasmi, our nanny, she ushered us to the food line. We wanted to wait, but then realized it would be rude so we both dished up bits of rice, chicken, and some spicy beans before taking a seat. I took a few bites and decided that the spices might be too much for Amelia and passed my bowl to Jim, who out of respect finished them both...what a good man! We sat and enjoyed the event. The music was quite nice and we liked watching people. It was funny to us that everyone arrived, shook hands, got food, sat in rows and then left. It was so different from what we know as a reception. But it was a nice time all the same.
The best part for me was seeing the wedding costumes. The bride had an elaborate head piece on and the mother of the bride wore flowers on her head scarf. Everyone really looked lovely. Even the fathers had batik sarongs with swords tucked in back. Apparently the wedding couple wears white for the ceremony, red for the day time reception, and gold for the night party. Below are some photos so you can enjoy the sights for yourself.
Afterwards, Sulasmi took us to see her house, which was very spacious for Indonesian standards. She showed us that her sister lived next door. We got to meet many of her relatives. She told me yesterday that everyone commented on how they thought we looked like movie stars - which is just too funny! Jim's height also made for a lot of conversations about the "bouleys."
Unfortunately, we tried to get a photo with the wedding party, but the man who took the photo didn't hold down the button. We did not want him to loose face, so instead we are hoping to get a copy from the photographer. He snapped lots of photos of us because we were the only non-Indonesians in attendance.
The Wedding Party: parents of the bride, happy couple, parents of the groom
Sulasmi, or Mimi, our nanny and her husband
rows of well wishers
walkway in the kampong (or village)Tuesday, December 7, 2010
And the Fun Continues...
Time is passing at such a fast rate; each week feels like a blur. It is crazy to think that in about ten days we will start our Christmas holiday. We are so excited for our adventure down under! During the past week, Amelia has started to "talk" more. She likes to exercise her vocal cords and will often respond to your questions with noise. It has really made for a lot of laughs!
I have mentioned before that there was a baby boom this year - four in total and one more on the way! We got all of the Bintaro (the neighborhood we live in) babies together this past week for lunch and some play time. The MamaPaparazzi was in full force!
The Bintaro BabiesAmelia, Zack, Anthony and Zia
Daddy joined the fun once he got home from school.
Daddy joined the fun once he got home from school.Isn't this crazy? How's this for a cultural difference!
This play mat belongs to Amelia's friend Zia.
It was purchased at a local store here in Indonesia.
Tessa has gotten very good at "multi-tasking" since Zia's birth!
Tessa has gotten very good at "multi-tasking" since Zia's birth!
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