July 13, 2011 - Belyn Turns 2

Two years ago, Belyn arrived into the world with very little drama or shocking birth stories to tell.  Since then, that same entrance seems to be reflected in her everyday life... largely calm, cool, and collected (I'd be lying if I didn't admit that she has her occasional moments of drama, like any toddler).  She has blessed our life with song, and even though she might not say all of the words, we know what tune she is singing based on her surprisingly accurate pitch (music lessons, here we come!) :)  Belyn is truly my "cuddlle-bug", as there is no place she'd rather be than somehow touching me (she has just about mastered climbing into our bed at 3am to cuddle without waking anyone up to get sent back to her bed).  I love her so much and can't help but shout it out for her birthday.... :)
We had a Minnie Mouse birthday party with some of her friends from school and it was a great time.  I thought I'd put a couple of pictures and a video for you to see...

There's Been a Breakthrough in Balikpapan!!!!

It's been a pretty quiet month - I would say 85% of families are on home-leave right now.  As for the rest of us who have chosen to stay, it's been a relaxing month of "summer school" (arts and crafts and play) for the kids, swimming, and playing outside.  We've formed some relationships with some of the other families here, and find ourselves quite comfortable with our life.  Things have started to pick up a little this past week, as the Women's Association starts getting ready for the new year, and more planned events and get-togethers are starting to show up in my email inbox - we'll be busy again soon!

Through the swim club, Sofia has been lucky enough to have semi-private or private swim lessons three times a week for the past month (so many people are on home-leave that there's virtually no one at the free swim lesson times offered).... it's been great for her to have so much one-on-one time, and after 4 short weeks, she's like a whole new child in the water - we can hardly believe it!!!  Erif, her swim coach, has been amazingly patient and great working with her, and it really shows.  These types of opportunities have been one of the greatest upsides to moving here, for sure.  I've attached some video of her last swim lesson to show you her progress (to see where she WAS, look at my post from the swim meet in May) :)