Finishing Touches

The past few weeks we've been trying to get our fill of "play" time with Irini and her friends. Part of it is that early June brings with it another "end" when friends and colleagues will be departing, some for a couple months and some for good. May always brings with it an onslaught of social events, only this year it has a much more "child-friendly" twist to it. Time has been spent in play groups, in photo shoots, in parties and in breakfasts, lunches and dinners alike. Everything under the sun, it seems, to give children a chance to shine. In the process, Irini has learned to balance, run (albeit clumsily), dunk, pass, throw, etc., etc., etc. It has been great!

A Day at the Beach

It was a weekend away... an "Adios for Larios" to say goodbye to our good friends Mike and Shawna who, after four years working along side Laurence (Shawna is in the same department) will be returning to the US. The group comprised of about15 people, including the littlest member (Irini), and was situated in Port Dickson, a mere hour's drive from KL.

The weekend, which began late for us (we didn't get there until 5 pm on Saturday), was just enough to relax and rejuvenate Laurence and, hopefully, provide that oomph to make the final stretch to summer vacation. The water was murky (as it tends to be in this area) but the waves soft and gentle. It was an ideal setting for a little girl to go for her first full-fledged swim and play along the beach. Add to this already wonderful site, a stretch of six stalls (clean and with great food) along the beach-front and Laurence discovered what he has been looking for in Malaysia. A sea-side coffee!

Just 24 hours was enough return Laurence from stressful "I have too much to do" to a "I love life" frame of mind. Irini was all laughs, Natalia happy as can be, and with our friends we had a veeeeeeery relaxing weekend. Admittedly we spend most of the time with the usual suspects, Scott and Rebecca, but there was a good smattering of old and new faces to the social scene and Irini didn't seem to be bothered one bit that some people were well known to her and others not. A lap is a lap to her!

Now back at work, Laurence and Natalia are refueled for the final push to the end of the academic year. Three more weeks to go!!

Walks and Laughs

With the passing of the last month it has been hard to keep track of all the things that have taken place on a daily basis. Our time with little Irini has been appreciated and happy. She has developed her mind and her sense of humor wonderfully and, in this month, has increased her personal participation in daily routines. To name a couple examples:

• Irini is now able to recognize when we are about to leave the house for a trip, and giggles her way to the shoe rack to select her shoes. Regularly she will be excellent at matching the shoe color to her outfit color. Chance? Fashion sense? Regardless, she happily holds the pair up to us and then sits on our lap while we put them on her.
• She is able to take off Laurence's footwear, pulling off either shoes and socks or sandals (with some fatherly support, of course) as soon as he enters the apartment, and then, with his shoes free of footwear, she puts her hands in the air and requests that she is lifted to his arms. He does so happily!
• She walks around stores, pulling items off the shelves, as she has for a while now. Except now she is putting them back in the racks when she's done looking at them!
• She is developing an understanding of "peek-a-boo" or "hide and seek" and loves to hide behind daddy's back while he is looking for her. Then, after about five attempts to find her, she reveals her smiling face by moving herself to the side just enough to be "discovered". Amazing, really.
  

There are numerous things we could focus on to express just how much this little thing has grown cognitively. From wanting to flush the toilet as soon as daddy is done with his "needs" to wanting to eat a slice of pizza in its entirety (just like mom and dad) she is absolutely amazing. Here are a couple items below to give you a glimpse of our daily life...

Irini, Natalia and Laurence take a walk around the lake in front of our apartment building (the blue and white buildings that are shown at the beginning of the video).

Irini is now developing her ability to recognize funny things. Not that ripping paper was ever lacking in fun for her, but this more abrupt approach to ripping paper had her rolling!

'Twas the night before Formula 1

A while back (over a month now) we had the opportunity to take Irini to the Malaysian Grand Prix for Formula 1.... well, not quite the race itself (though we were offered tickets), but a paddock tour of the area and the Renault pits the night before the race. Natalia's university friend Cami was in town visiting us and hanging out with her hubby. She is married to Danny, who, as it turns out, was in town working with the Renault team as a logistical support person. We arrived during the middle of a massive thunderstorm, and it seemed the clouds just opened up the heavens and let it all out. We arrived with the rain and, to our good fortune, were able to drive all the way into the paddock without being stopped as the guards had headed out of the rain (keep that in mind for next time). The track was wet and wonderful. The area had that formula 1 feel to it, but it was relaxed and happy before the big day. We said hello to Fernando Alonso and walked right on in to the pit area to inspect the cars, take pictures, and roam the track side. Irini didn't realize it, but it was thrilling, exciting, fun-filled and all. Formula 1 rocks when you don't have to deal with race-day post-race parking lot gridlock!