Marie's 3 Month Pics - A Farewell To Singapore

Hey All! 

We are loving being back in the USA and are very excited to get settled in Chicago. After a very long journey across the Pacific, we spent our first week back visiting family and friends and soaking up all this amazing weather. Marie has already gotten to meet so many wonderful and special people in her life and we can't wait for her to meet the rest of you. 

Okay, so truth be told, I don't have the time, or energy, to do a full write up on all the feelings post expat life, but I wanted to share Marie's 3 month pics / our farewell photo shoot we did the weekend before leaving Singapore. It was important to me to have some family photos taken in front of the iconic city skyline to show Marie one day and to commemorate our special time in the little red dot. 

Shout out to KC Wong of The Family Man for braving the humidity and a squirmy husband little girl and effortlessly capturing this special time in our lives. 

I actually didn't intend to match our clothes this closely, but we went with it ;)

Michael smirk >> 

So sunny

Our sweet girl was such a good sport. We were all SO hot and sweaty. This is her, 'okay I'm cooperating, but you're really pressing your luck here lady,' face.

And in true Singapore fashion the heat wave quickly gave way to a full-on monsoon. It was a classic Singapore morning - very fitting for our farewell tour. 

Some quick thoughts as we continue to repatriate: everything really is bigger in America! Grocery stores (x1000), kitchen counters, washing machines, cars, people. Fast.Food.Chains.Every.Where. Local commercials haven't grown old yet. ESPN! TARGET! CHIPOTLE! BEER & WINE UNDER $18 A GLASS! 

We miss Singapore, but we are loving being home and closer to our family. Marie slept like a champ after a day of soaking up all this good Midwestern fresh air. Ahh feels good to be home...

XO,

CD

[Editors note: I plan to keep up with the blog as we begin to make our life here in Chicago (I need an outlet for my excessive baby photos and photography practice). However, I don't think I'm going to share new posts via my Facebook page anymore. So, if you enjoy 'Keeping Up With The Duvall's', enter your email address in the 'Follow By Email' field on the right hand side of the homepage to receive updates, or check back every so often for new posts. This blog has been great fun for me and I'm so, so, so happy to have done it. Hopefully I will enjoy documenting and sharing our new life in Chicago just as much. Much love to you all.]  

Photo credit: The Family Man 2016

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Stamp Gals

Hey all! So last week we had the honor of hosting my mom and sister here in Singapore. They were so kind to come all the way out here to see us (well mostly our sweet Marie ;)), and we were ecstatic to see them. 

The week was full of baby snuggles, eating, shopping and overall loving our girl time together. Lots of photos and a recap below.

Good morning! Everyone loves waking up to a smiley baby - especially after traveling for 24+ hours. 

Our first fun outing was out to celebrate Mother's Day in style. We were pampered at a fun and filling brunch at the top of The Westin. 

Marie even got dressed up for the occasion. 

...This is the face you make when you're expecting to be going down for a nice long nap, but instead are forced to put on uncomfortable clothes and go out to eat (I'm talking about Marie here, not Niki, wink). What a good little sport. 

My first Mother's Day :)

My girls. 

Time to go home before the baby turns into a pumpkin! Cheeeeese! 

It was so fun celebrating with my favorite mamas on our special day. 

(Baby is in a much happier place now).

It's not a trip to Singapore without sweating shopping on Haji Lane. 

...and high tea! 

We had the best day feeling fancy at the Fullerton Bay afternoon tea (Marie slept through the entire thing). 

Auntie kisses. 

And if there's one thing the Stamp gals love more than shopping, it's CHINA TOWN shopping. 

So.Much.Stuff. 

In between our daily outings we spent a lot of time playing dress up and fawning over the little one. 

Nana kisses. 

A little BTS action. #mamarazzi 

And that's a wrap on our amazing, fun-filled, snuggly, busy week. 

I had the absolute best time having my mom and sister out here. It's always so special and fun having our families here in Singapore. We love showing off our city and spending time with the ones we love the most. Thank you for everything! Marie says thanks and she misses you. See you soon! 

XO,

CD

PS - Marie's 10 week portrait. I can't believe we're turning the corner towards three months already. Current interests include: eating, napping, going on adventures and gnawing on her little fists. 

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Langkawi, Malaysia

Greetings family and friends. I wanted to share with you some (okay, a lot) of photos from our first holiday as a little family of 3! 

The past couple weeks we had been going back and forth on weather or not we should attempt to take a little trip since this past Monday was a public holiday here in Singapore. With just a couple days left to plan we decided to pull the trigger and book a trip to the island of Langkawi, just off the West coast of neighboring Malaysia. I mean, how hard can it be to travel with a tiny 10lb human?! ;)

Now in Singapore if there's one thing they like more than on orderly queue, it's catering to those with extra needs. Let's just say we were a sight to see walking through the airport with multiple bags, a small baby, frazzled mom and dad in a massive arm sling still recovering from surgery. Michael and I joked we collectively qualified for like 4 out of the 5 reasons to receive special care. 

Long story short, we successfully got packed up, Marie was perfect on her first flight (only 1.25hrs to our destination) and in the end, even though a vacation with a baby is certainly not a vacation, we were so glad we did it. Not only did we have a wonderful time, but as first time parents we were so proud of ourselves for making it through and proving to ourselves we could do it. 

Now, onto the photos... 

The day before we left we tried on our swim costumes and had a little pep talk to get ready to hit the beach. 

(Confession: I mostly included this photo because it's my all-time favorite at the moment. I think Marie looks exactly like Michael here and it makes my heart swell)

Good morning Langkawi! We made it! 

Time to hit the breakfast buffet. Let's just say we're not liable to miss breakfast any time soon... 

The big kids pool (we never swam in). 

Marie's first time in the pool was a little hit and miss. She did okay in the water, but didn't like coming out and being cold much. Overall I would consider it a success. 

More relaxing by the pool with regular intervals to eat, sleep and take photos. We didn't do much else. "Vacationing" with babies is hard work - and not in the 'vacationing is hard, haha' kind of way, like it's actually hard. Good thing she's cute! ;)

We did however manage to make it out to dinner both nights (we WILL adult!). This is Marie checking out her first beach sunset in her pjs. Hehe - the struggle of living on the equator.  

The next morning we ventured out to dip our toes in the ocean.

As luck would have it, my real camera decided to stop working just as we got to the water. (If you've ever had a camera in a tropical location, you know that a camera sitting inside in the air con all night fogs up like crazy once outside and doesn't work until it adjusts) :( 

I still managed to get some cute pics and videos with my iPhone, but the mom guilt was in full force that morning. 

Back to our little pool - much better. 

Family selfie attempt. 

My favorite photo from the trip... bursting heart. 

And that's a wrap! 

It was certainly a MUCH different experience from our previous adventures, but we are getting used to and loving our new, crazy and exhausting normal.  

So long Langkawi! 

XO,

CD

P.S. Marie's official 2 month portrait :) We're celebrating by welcoming Nana and Aunt Niki to Singapore tonight! Woo! 

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