Hello World!!! We are back! After 3 months of blog-silence, daddy is finally around to putting up some pictures. So what have we been doing these last 3 months I hear you ask!? Relaxing!
Since leaving Singapore (and subsequently Australia) we've been living in Semarang. A lot has happened there, and we'll explain some of it in the pictures and stories below, but we enjoyed a 3 month break with daddy at home, no work and more time for family.
Alas, all good things come to an end, and daddy is (as he writes this) sitting in a noisy, dusty house in Sydney as the last phases of the renovations are completed, ready for the girls return in early May. Somehow over the next two weeks, daddy must paint, clean and unpack over 200 boxes for the girls... Good luck!
Well let's get onto the pictures!
Here's our first picture from the trip... taken in a Satay restaurant...As you can see, daddy got into the relaxation mode very quickly, and the daddy's-girl syndrome really kicked in for the girls.
Chinese New Year with the whole family.
Claire and Keira as little china dolls.
Oma and her grandkids...
Dancing girls. Claire & Keira loved to dance to Dylan's music (with glasses and all). Later I will post the video showing their moves.
We took at trip to the local temple Watugong.
Daddy and Claire at Gule Kambing (a kind of goat stew)...
The girls have got to spend a lot of time with Oma..here they are resting in Petemesan.
Another family shot, this time celebrating Oma's birthday.
Mummy Siannie and Papa yen added a gazebo to the house, which the girls considered as their stage, constantly seeking attention from its platform.
Claire and Keira got an opportunity to be flower girls at a wedding... Whilst they were both excited, by the time they entered the main room, Keira freaked out a little (there were at least 500 people in the room looking at her, so its understandable).
All the ladies... Not sure what Keira's doing here, but she was enjoying the posing.
Claire's been growing up so quickly, and seeing her everyday its amazing what a little girl she's become. Always glowing, smiling and caring.
Keira's growing fast too, and very quickly learning the ways of her big sister! She's amazing cheeky and always a comedian.
And just loves the camera.
The girls have been role-playing a lot these days. Claire often pretends to be the mummy to 'baby Keira', but at times, Claire is the grandma, Keira the mum, and one of their toys in the baby...
As we were in town for 3 months, we thought we'd get the girls into a school, to keep them busy, meet some friends (and give mum and dad some time to hit the gym and cafe!).
Here's Claire and Keira ready for school.
This is the house we were staying in for most of the time. It's in Graha Candi Golf, up in the hills of Semarang. The house is in quite an exclusive estate (that is, we drove past many very nice houses on the top of the hill, before descending steeply into the valley into the less-exclusive area that we lived).
This is the girls' school, Semarang International School, which was just around the corner from our house. Keira didn't quite take to the school, and much preferred her old school in Singapore. Claire, while hesitant before the first day, declared at the end of the day that she loved her school and new friends, and wanted to go everyday!
The teacher's and staff at the school have been wonderful, and have made the time for the girls so much more exciting. During Claire's first week, she got to enjoy 3 birthday parties...
The school encourages a lot of time outside, exploring and playing. Claire has really taken to this, and seems to love coming home covered in dirt or sand.
Even Keira is getting into the action (albeit in Claire's class instead of her own!)
During the first couple of weeks, Claire was given an award during assembly, for Most Adaptable Student (unfortunately daddy and mummy were out at the cafe at the time - slackers they are) but Claire got a photo with Ms Marea at the end of the day. Claire received the award after a vote by all the teachers in the school, for adapting so well to the new school in mid-term.
Just a picture to see our angels growing and smiling.
In week 3, Claire's class was scheduled to perform at the local mall... Claire was so excited to participate and convinced her teacher that she should join, even though she'd had a lot less practice than the other kids.
Here they are at the beginning of the show. Ms Marea put Claire at the front owing to her confidence. I won't upload the video as its very (very) long, but in the end, Claire was one of the very few kids that danced at all. She made us very proud. (And we have no idea why they are dressed as Christmas elves, particularly as they danced to Hi-Ho-Hi-Ho from Snow White!?!?!)
This is Istana Buah, a fruit / supermarket, which is only cool in that it has 3 sizes of shopping trolleys. Here are the middle-sized ones which were perfect for Claire & Keira.
Claire telling me 'No'.
Keira's attempt at the same.
On Valentine's day, we were presented with a butterfly of love handmade by Claire (and it's head eaten by Claire).
Little dolls.
Although we planned to do a lot of travelling in Indonesia, we ended up staying mostly in Semarang and enjoying the time with the family. Our first trip away was to Jogyakarta, for a couple of days.
Here the girls are in the hotel playing with the becak.
As usual, Claire was the mummy to baby Keira.
The highlight for the trip it seems was the horse and carriage rides (which we took 3 times) through the town centre.
Both girls loved the idea of slowly travelling around the town.
Well, we must admit, its a nice way to see the place. But it must be frustrating for the locals, as the carriage really slows down the traffic.
The other highlight was the pool. Although Semarang is in the tropics, access to swimming pools hasn't been as easy, so the girls have been missing out on their regular swims (though, that said, I am not sure how often we will be getting into the pool here in Sydney owing to the fact that its freezing in the water!).
The girls were so happy to be back in the water.
And ended up being in there for over an hour.
Followed by a warm shower and warm towels.
After about a month (and a bit of a health scare with Keira) we decided that Keira wouldn't continue with the school for now. Here she is taking Claire to school.
And immediately afterwards, going for a stroll looking for a cafe.
All the girls in the family.
Keira's really been getting into her music thanks to Dylan.
Not yet time to go back home, but the girls are getting prepared it seems.
At Claire's school, each week a different class took turns to present something at the school assembly. Claire presented a chart showing the changes she's undergone. She very proudly told the school that she loved her little sister, and pointed her out for everyone to see.
This is the sum of the school. Whilst its good for the little kids, it seems the higher grades have composite classes which include quite a large range of ages.
Claire just looking cute.
After 2 months, we realised it was about time for a haircut. Claire loved the full salon treatment.
And asked for her hair to be cut short...
Since the cut she's been happy with the new look, but at times does miss her long hair. We think its made her look much older, and we realise our little toddler is well and truly growing into a little girl already.
Keira also had a haircut, and has been refereed to as a little Dora since.
Post haircut girls.
It seems though, that both girls would prefer something a little more outgoing... Especially Keira who wanted to keep the hair like this for dinner!
We went fishing...
And took a short-trip to Jakarta to see Hugo and Sophia.
Claire loved having two little sisters to entertain and look after.
During the time we also bought some (well a 20ft container full) furniture. Here's Keira trying out one of the stools..
After taking some photos out the front of the house, the girls loved it (almost every day).
Especially Keira, who each morning would walk outside and demand a photo.
The kids have been spoilt with food in Semarang...Here's Claire enjoying her favourite ayam goreng from Cianjur...
More furniture shots..
Keira's been getting into the playgrounds, and has become quite adventurous, willing to go on the biggest ladders and steepest slides (often meaning daddy must climb up and down too!)
Here's our Keira.
Our little monsters.
Laughing with mummy in the garden.
Posing girls.
Silhouette's in Oma's gudang
On daddy's final night in Semarang, we had a family photo shoot. While they were setting up, Claire thought the entire session was for her... And loved the idea.
Once again, it was the perfect opportunity to put on a show!
And sadly, that's it... We didn't take as many photos as usual during the time... And the three months has gone by so quickly. Now daddy is back in Sydney. The girls are enjoying their last 2 weeks staying in Candi. There was so much more that we did during the time, but the best thing has to have been being able to spend so much time with the girls.
Now we're just waiting till the girls are back, ready to start the next part of their lives living in Sydney!
