I can’t believe it’s been almost 2 months since the last update, loads of fun photos. Since end of April when things were “a bit crazy” it’s just gotten nuttier and busier. Family events, job events, and some borderline silly injuries on the sporting fields for me have rounded out the last two months. Even when the curveballs are flying the Olivers pack in some fun times as well. May and June have had plenty going on with Mother’s Day, Fathers Day, trips to Malaysia for Grandma and Grandpa’s new grass, Jacob going from crawling to walking, trips to the zoo and beach, and backyard parties at the Mullanes. Jacob’s new favorite activities are being chased around the table, playing in water anywhere and anytime, making random noises, and throwing the ball like a pro. Ok, like Chuck Knoblock but it’s improving. Far from important but super annoying is the recent demise of our carry everywhere Casio Exilim. Likely impact is that June photos might be a bit on the thin side.
The summer is really looking promising. To start the boys are off for a week of sailing next week off the Thai Island of Phuket for a week. The wives and kids, should be about 10 of us in total, take over a Villa Thursday in Phuket. The sailors arrive Friday to tell highly improbable stories and on Sunday we celebrate Jacob’s first birthday. Difficult to describe how much I am looking forward to this. Expect some good picts. Side note: Yes his first birthday is in Thailand. Mine was probably in Temperance, Michigan. He is spoiled beyond repair already.
Paul and Cass Ashton are out to visit us in Singapore for a couple weeks with their kids at the end of July which will be great fun. We’re also trying to plan a trip back to Minneapolis, God’s Country, before the end of summer. It’s nearly 2 years since the last visit so that will be excellent. Of course work will have to make a place in all this somehow. Christina is now part time which is great for Jacob and I am close to getting newly immersed in something or other which should be sorted in July. Ahh yes and I went a bit mental in the IT purchasing department recently and got two new Macs (iMac and Air). It’s really just meeting basic requirements and is actually for Jacob, he loves the iMac so I had to get him one. That’s my story and I am sticking to it.

For lots of reasons April has been a bit of a crazy month. The good part is that Christina started part-time in April so is spending more weekday time with Jacob. They’ve even enrolled in a music class which comes with songs as homework. I have had a few chances during the month to take a few cool photos to share. The album linked on the left is of the kids when Ian and I took them to the Singapore Zoo. There is an area called the fragile forest where small animals roam around freely in a large enclosed park you can walk through. Jacob is a massive fan since he can get up close with the butterflies, mouse deer, and ducks. There are bats, tree sloths, and lemurs as seen in the photos but he doesn’t really see things in trees yet. That is until they come to meet you. I only wish I had the camera out when the Ring tailed lemur decided to use Conor Mullane as the first step and myself, holding jacob, as the second step in a running leap into a nearby tree. Nothing like an interactive Zoo.
My favorite photo of the month is below and comes from the Jacob Ballas gardens and a big wet hug.

Christina went on a long weekend away with the Girls to Sydney at the end of March so Jacob and I got some guy time to hang out. I took the day off on Friday and we set out for the beach. Jacob isn’t overly impressed yet with the feel of sand but is starting to come around. The waves, even small Singapore ones, make a noise he really doesn’t like. He really clings to the shoulder as you get close to shore and wade in them. Each trip to the beach he gets a little more comfortable with the whole scene and I expect in 6 months he’ll be running into the waves having a blast. Later we were out on the town and picked up some cool new shoes and car to ride in. Jacob is way too cool behind the wheel and he loves driving. We drove straight out of the store and all over Singapore. We hit the pool a few times and an afternoon at the Zoo to see the mouse deer and ducks. We hit pretty much all of Jacobs Singapore favorites. All in all a pretty fun boys weekend together. Next time football, cigars, and poker!!

Some picts Christina took on the girls weekend away!!

Kent was in town on the beginning and end of another SE Asian tour to Laos and Vietnam. Along the way he stopped to help Jacob and I build a chair and table set. As you can see from the picts we have no clue how to put the thing together. Luckily it came without instructions and with extra parts, I hope they’re extra at least.
While Kent was here we also got a new digital SLR camera, Nikon D40. I am just re-learning how to use a SLR so some of the new pictures are good and lots are being deleted. Expect some hopefully quality photos mixed in with my standard point and shoot in the future.

A month has passed since I got my act together and posted the latest and greatest photos up. Things have been very busy and the Hillsidelounge has been consumed by Jacob’s arrival. We’ll see what he thinks of that when he’s old enough to search the archives. This post is basically a catch up of the last month plus for photos. I did get a new piece of kit in the Nikon D40 Digital SLR which will hopefully lead to some new photos. Expect the next batch after these to include smiles with teeth.
The Oliver household has had a few sleepless weeks lately as Jacob is in teeth making overdrive. From Zero to 6 in 2 weeks. Jacob has been cruising around the house and loves walking while being held upright. He’s been sighted standing on his own a couple times but only for a few seconds so walking isn’t too far off.
On to the photos in reverse chronology.
The March Photos are out and it’s not even May yet. I am typically a couple months behind which is very pathetic so here are the latest early. They include some shots from the new camera which has more dials and switches that I know how to use. Time to do a little remedial reading from my Blake Photo Class.
It was our Anniversary on Feb 24th so Christina and I went out for a posh dinner. A few picts posted here before we went out. This also serves as a reminder that the actual wedding photos aren’t up. I have a valid excuse. There are THOUSANDS of them!!! I need a weekend to pick the top 100 and get them up. Coming soon.
Sandy Mullane opened Fidgets.com.sg at Turf city in March and the place is amazing. It’s an unstructured play area where kids can go play and parents can get a coffee. Absolutely necessary on a rainy day in Singapore. Jacob loves it and gets to hang out with other kids so it’s great.

In February we took a trip up to KL and stayed at Bills house for the CNY weekend. It was a good trip with the Grandparents stopping in to say hello, a little Golf, a bunch of friends from Singapore, and the KLCC towers. My God daughter Zara turned 2 in Feb also. Jacob adores her and grins from ear to ear when he sees her. It was a little rainy up at the Mullane ranch that day but it didn’t spoil the fun or festivities.
January was a pretty slow month after all the Holiday events so we mostly tried to recover. Sentosa became a favorite in January introducing Jacob Man to the Sand.
Lots more to come as we start thinking of a summer trip back to the states. It’s been near 2 years since a Minneapolis trip so it should be a great time. I can even being to imagine the plane ride so I am going to put it out of the mind for now.