Mia is walking very steadily now and she does funny and cute things all day long. Matthew is generally a happy go lucky boy who is showing a love for golf, music and puzzles, in that order. He is a good and kind big brother to Mia and delights in sitting next to her in the double stroller. He will often say that she's pretty or cute and enjoys stroking her hair or tickling her gently. Of course, there are many occasions when he would feel pangs of jealousy or selfishness when Mia is needing attention or is wanting a toy that he has or want.

The only struggle we really have with Matthew is at meal times, which I'm still trying to figure out what will work best with him. His baby sister on the other hand often eats more than him, though I can't figure out where she puts it, she's so tiny. I am so thankful to God for such a good eater!

That night, we all had dinner at Bobby Chinn's. We had a good time catching up and I was so full I almost had to have Wei-Han roll me out of the restaurant. The next day, Wei-Han and I were mostly rushing to pick up our paintings that we had ordered, did some last minute shopping, and we had to buy an extra bag to pack out recent purchases as we had ran out of space in our luggages. Wei-Han and I were in disbelief at how much we, or rather, I had bought.

I made my way back to Singapore while Wei-Han continued on to Saigon for work. It was real nice to see my kids again, I had spent the first day thinking and being anxious for them as it was the first time I had left them both behind. (I got over it pretty quickly after I got busy with other things...) However, I was bummed that I missed my mum who had left for the airport to fly back to Sydney just an hour before I arrived home.

I was down with a stomach virus for a week during which I was so grateful for Tina's presence. She helped mind the kids while I got some much needed rest.

Now of course the next problem is how I can fit all those Christmas presents into my luggage to bring back to Sydney....

It's unbelievable, my little Matthew is now 3 yrs old and little Miss Mia is going to be 1. I want to have time slow down a little just so I can cherish the fun and joyful things that have happened this year!

In October, Wei-Han had to make a trip to Hanoi for work and we decided that it would be great if I could go along with him. Our
first thoughts were to bring Mia with us, but as she grew to be more independent, we decided to leave her at home. My mum flew up from Sydney for almost a week just to oversee things. Tina, our fantastic helper, and my mum did a fabulous job looking after the kids and keeping them happy. Mia who pretty much refused to drink from the bottle or sleep through consistently since she was 6 months old, did so when we were away. Typical....

Wei-Han and I had a really nice time in Hanoi. Of course being a work trip, there were some perks like, staying at the Hilton, which was flash. It was certainly a nice haven for resting after walking around shopping and breathing in the city pollution. I liked Hanoi, it was charming, full of character, the food was great whether Western or Vietnamese, and the people were lovely. Always polite, pleasant and gentle. I never felt worried about pick pockets or unsavoury characters either, it seemed no one did, at least it the areas we were at.

Wei-Han spent a day and a half working while I toured around in their version of a trishaw and shopping. The time with Wei-Han was really nice, much like a second honeymoon as we haven't really had a trip on our own for a number of years. After that, our friends Krisi, Amy and Carmen from church arrived and I spent a whole day shopping with them while Wei-Han wisely decided to go on a day tour to Tam Coc. I did most of our Christmas shopping then. I have never until then, shopped like that before. Now I know what they mean by a 'shopping trip'! The things in Hanoi were not dirt cheap like in Bangkok, however, the quality was much better in general and they were cheaper than in Singapore. I was exhausted by 5pm and decided to leave the other girls to continue. I was amazed that even Carmen who had sprained her ankle the day before was still going strong.

Wei-Han had a good time on the boats and going through caves and seeing rice fields. His boat was rowed by a strong 80 year old woman, which even Wei-Han struggled to row. Some of these people would also use their feet to row, which was just amazing.