Sunday Sam Snaps

Week 6!

Week 6 - becoming much more aware

He's trying to get his head up now...

He also has one sign which he gives clearly. When he wants some milk, he will look at Hesty and touch the back of hand to his mouth. He hardly ever cries.

Easter Morning with Claudia Chameleon AKA Java the Tree Dragon

We've had a nice Sunday morning at home, with a guest in the back yard. A while back, this chameleon green tree dragon found her(?)self trapped in our back area. Without any real competition she seems pretty happy and can be seen munching on big bugs. Already an alliterator, Anya named her Claudia Chameleon. Eventually Daddy worked out that it was a Tree Dragon, or Green Forest Dragon. So really it is Java the Tree Dragon.

Anya continues to be the caring big sister, and had fun this weekend making Chocolate Birdies' Nests (her name) using the Mini-Eggs Mum sent in the post:

Through all this, Sam was content to sun himself in the background:

For more pictures of this morning, here is the album.

Big Sister's Big Swim

We got to the Sultan hotel on Sunday to stay overnight before Disney on Ice. Anya and Daddy went swimming and it was a chance for her to prove that she is 'the big one'. She launched herself into the big pool ("I don't need floaties") and swam all the way across. Whoo!

She did this at least ten times over the weekend and was understandably knackered on the way home. She loved the show, especially the Tinkerbell segment, and was such a good girl throughout.

Sunday Sam Snap

A few days late, but here is a photo of Samudra in the bouncer on Sunday morning.

Week 5 - Loving the Bouncer!

Here are some more, including the Snappy Dresser outfit from Nana:

Snappy Dresser! Click for more...

From Samudra James Taylor

Finally, Anya has been very helpful with Sam so far. This week, though, he seems to have started to try to engage with her and look for her. This morning he had a blocked nose and was a bit cranky. We lifted him to our bed and he looked at me, then Hesty and looked confused. When Anya came in, he seemed much happier!

I love my big sister! From Anya and Sam

Another Family Portrait

The large print from the family photos we had taken a couple of weeks ago has arrived, along with the CD. Mum and Dad - here is the image (8MB).

We're off to see Disney on Ice, so this week's Sunday Sam Snap will have to wait a couple of days.

Sunday Sam Snaps - he's one month old!

We stole this idea from a new colleague's blog, but it was a good one, so why not. We're going to post up weekly photo of Samudra taken each Sunday.

Here he is on his one-monthiversary:

From Sunday Sam Snaps

And here is the slideshow:

Charlie and Lola - Anya's new favourites

It's Earth Day coming soon, and I wanted to test the RSS Graffiti app for facebook, so here is Anya's current favourite cartoon, Charlie and Lola, and their "Look after your planet" episode.



We started watching Charlie and Lola recently after she was given a magazine of them. It's very English (much like Peppa Pig), but Charlie is a lovely big brother to Lola. Let's hope Anya remains as caring towards Sam!

EDIT - the RSS Graffiti app works really well. I've already added to my class facebook page to syndicate my blog and Not Exactly Rocket Science. Cool.

Some interesting facts about Samudra

I was at the consulate in Jakarta today to process Sam's UK birth certificate and passport. That's a 6-hour round trip in the middle of a mentally busy week. Anyway, the time in the shuttle bus was a good chance for a nap and to listen to some less-frequented albums on the iPod. I downloaded some episodes of Freaks and Geeks to watch, too.

I realised on the way back, about GBP300 lighter, that we'd not given our friends and family any foundation to his name, so here are some quick Sam-facts:

• Samudra is Indonesian for 'Ocean'. We didn't realise until after the fact that it is actually rooted in Sanskrit (समुद्र), which is a cool testament to the diversity of the Indonesian language. It is not me projecting my briny tendencies onto the boy - but if he were to be a world-tour surfer, I would happily spend my retirement waxing his boards.
• We chose it because it shortens to Sam (not Sammy), but is not an obviously religious name. It was important that his name, like Anya's, be easy to spell and pronounce for both families. Anya's name is actually Russian/Hebrew in root ('gracious'), but sounds plausibly Irish and - another after-the-fact moment of serendipity - is Sundanese for 'New'. Sundanese is the local dialect spoken in West Java.
• Sam was born on the 10th March and so shares a birthday with Chuck Norris, Osama bin Laden, Robert Llewellyn and many more. Because of the Chuck Norris connection, it is also International Day of Awesomeness.
• He will hopefully grow up trilingual, with English, Indonesian and Japanese. Since Anya was a baby, we spoke both English and Indonesian with her. The rules are that we don't mix languages in the same sentence, and we use both languages as often as possible. As a result, she is fluent in both.

Hesty and I often talk about how we want to raise these two beautiful kids. We know we're fortunate and live a very privileged life. We want the best for them, but we don't want them to be spoiled. We'll be happy as long as they grow up to be decent, compassionate human beings who end up doing something useful in the world. 

Up there's his passport photo - or the raw image of it.  By the time the photographers were ready, he'd decided he needed more sleep.

Taylor Family Portraits

We had these done last week, and they've turned out great. Click on the photos to go an album. Mum and Dad - they're the full-size files, so you can print them.

From Family Photos

From Family Photos

We're planning to print loads of photos and bring spare frames with us to Japan!

Interestingly, we found out this week that our new school, Canadian Academy, is one of the top ten international boarding schools in the world - according to the Asian Correspondent.

Lovely photo on the bed

From Anya and Sam

Happy Mothers' Day!

From Anya and Sam

Anya made the bow from a tissue, hairpin and elastic band.

Loads more photos from the iPod in the album.

Anya's Talking Tom Experiment!

Burung Kakatua - Indonesian nursery rhyme. Literal translation:
Cockatoo
On the windowsill
Grandad's old
He's only got two teeth