25 days plus 37 days equals Singapore

As of this morning, we have 25 days left here in our Allen home. It is hard to believe that the time has gone as quickly as it has. We are all excited about our adventure to Singapore for the next 3 years. However, the excitement does not come without hesitation as well. Most days the kids are thrilled about the move but on occasion they will question about seeing their friends and missing their house. I try to reassure them that they will make new friends and ALWAYS tell them that they will be able to swim almost everyday as long as it is not raining. That usually makes them happy. Our calendar is jam packed with getting ready for the movers on May 1st as well as daily life so the next 25 days will be a whirlwind.


We will then stay at an extended stay hotel until move day to Singapore on June 6th. So that is 37 days in a hotel. I sure hope I can survive the small quarters with 3 kids. I hope to pack the calendar in May with lots of playdates for the girls since Graham will be in school.


Lots of people have been asking what our place will look like in Singapore so I thought I would post a few pictures. It is a brand new place which made it alot more appealing to me. The bathrooms are what sealed the deal for me. Just look at some of them...

This is the shower for the kids! Look at how big it is...it is heavenly. Of course they could care less but still...it is heavenly.
This is the master bathroom. I think I could stay in there all day long!


This is the view of the front of the townhouse. It has 4 bedrooms so there will be plenty of space for visitors. Since Singapore is a small island everything is built up instead of out. The unfortunate part of our new place is that there are ALOT of stairs, 3 sets to be exact. I figured that just means more exercise for everyone.



Here is our teeny tiny kitchen but all the kitchens we saw were all small. There isn't even a dishwasher. But I am sure I will manage without one.

This is our front entry. There is no traditional door. All the glass doors open so if we wanted a breeze through the house we could just open it up.

The kids' rooms are on the top floor. They also have a wall of sliding glass doors that lead out to a balcony. This is the view from their balcony.

I have pictures of the rest of the rooms in the house but it is pretty boring, since the rooms are all empty. As soon as I get there and get furniture in the new place I will post more pictures.

Easter

The Easter weekend was full of activities for the kids as well as the adults. We colored eggs, went on a few egg hunts, hung out with awesome neighbors and friends and of course celebrated Jesus!

This time of year is often hard on the kids religiously speaking...Explaining the death of Jesus is very hard for young ones to grasp. As we were driving home from dinner on Good Friday we were discussing the death of Jesus...Bryce went into major meltdown because she did not want Jesus to die and she did not want to die either. There was just no consoling her about it so we quickly tried to change the subject.

Graham, Bryce and Layne loved coloring eggs this year. We just did a dozen eggs since none of the kids eat hard boiled eggs. After coloring the kids started playing with the eggs and 2 of Bryce's did not make it through the fall so the Easter bunny had to only hide 10 eggs.

Graham received his annual buzz haircut on Friday. He looks so different when it is cut this way. I like it long and shaggy but now that it gets hot it is just much easier to take care of. Graham had his 6 yr check up and all checked out well. He weighed 48 lbs (60 %) and 46 inches (75%).


We also had our annual Easter Egg hunt for our cul de sac. The weather was absolutely perfect. We stayed out from 10 am until 6:00 pm. We are definitely going to miss all our neighbors when we move to Singapore.

Bryce also had her check up with her Endocrinologist this week. She is doing great. She weighed 27 lbs 14 ounces and is FINALLY on the charts at the 3rd percentile. Her height was in the 25th percentile at 38.3 inches tall. SO it looks like everything we are doing medically is showing positive results and could not be happier.

Lately, Layne has had an aversion to the camera. Everytime I want to take a picture she looks away or makes a terrible face. So the pictures I do get of her are often candid. I happen to LOVE this one. She looks so peaceful.

Easter morning the kids congregated in my room before discovering their Easter bastes. The bunny often leaves small presents as all the Easter egg hunts they go on leave them with way too much candy.

Of course, I could not get a picture of Layne's face but thought this picture was precious. She is doing her HAPPY dance after she discovered all her goodies in her basket.

Hope everyone has had a peaceful Easter!

Spilled Milk

Graham read a children's book at school today called, Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk. The basic premise of the book is what can you see in the spilled milk. It is a creative thinking type of activity. Then they made a project with spilled white paint.

This is what Graham came home with today. Can you guess what he told me it was?
All I will say is he is definitely his father's son and is ALL boy that is for sure. I was just surprised it started so young!

SIX

My baby boy turned SIX today. You hear the saying, time flies, over and over again and it is so true. I love that kid more and more everyday and am so proud to be his mommy. Dear Graham,

I just wanted to acknowledge your very special day today. Every year since I started this blog, I have posted pictures and shared stories about your life. Today is no different. In your 6 years with me you have taught me so many things about being a mother. You taught me how to love unconditionally, be more patient, throw a football, build legos, and the list goes on and on... I hope in return I have been able to equip you with the skills you need to be a happy, healthy, considerate, loving little man.
In just this year as a Kindergartener I have seen so many changes. What a great year you have had and I look forward to so many more birthdays with you.

Things I love about you:
1. LOVE LOVE how you have become chivalrous! You let girls walk ahead of you through doors, open doors for people and have great manners! (most of the time without being reminded)
2. You are so inquisitive and have so many questions about life in general.
3. You take school seriously and try your very hardest. You were even the Anderson All Star for the month of January!
4. I am so proud of your dedication to football. This is the first sport that you have wanted to keep playing and enjoy. You even had 2 touchdowns and a catch! Your daddy is beyond thrilled!
5. Your special bond with each of your sisters is unique and so very special.
6. I especially love how you still let me hug and kiss you every day!!!

Happy Birthday to my silly SIX year old.

6th Birthday Party!

Today is the day Graham has been waiting for all Spring Break...the big birthday bash! However, this is what we woke up to on this fine spring day... S.N.O.W. at the end of March. It was in the 70's on Saturday and about 5 inches of snow on Sunday! This Texas weather is crazy this year. When I first noticed the snow, I instantly became worried that Graham's party may be cancelled because as everyone knows Texans don't do cold weather well. Luckily, for us by party time the snow began to melt and the temperature began to rise. So the party was still on!

Graham wanted to have his party at ASI gymnastics this year and since it is his last party in the States for sometime I let him do it his way.

Spring Break and Houston Rodeo

Spring Break was full of fun this year. We spent the whole week down in Houston since Brian was in Singapore and Australia for the last 2 weeks. We needed to get in some quality time with all the cousins before we make the move to Singapore in June. The kids really spent ALL their time playing and playing!

Trying to get a picture with all 6 Doffing cousins is about the hardest thing to do!

One day we took the kids to the Houston Rodeo and Uncle Map AKA Uncle Matt gave us the royal treatment. The kids thought the best part of the Rodeo was riding in the cart that Matt drove us around in!

Matt, Graham and Jacob on the way to the rodeo!

We waited in line for a LONG time to ride the ponies and seeing Layne on the pony made it so worth it. She LOVED it so much. You can see it in her eyes!

Bryce, on the other hand, fell ASLEEP waiting for the pony ride and opted out of the ride. She said she was just too tired.

Graham, Jordyn and Jacob getting ready to ride the Super Slide! I barely saw Graham at the rodeo. He was off with his Aunt Aimee and the big kids.

Open House

March has a been a busy month for the Doffing's. All the kids had Open House and performances at school this month. Graham was especially excited about his Open House and VIP performance. If I ever figure out how to down load videos off the video camera I'll post it. The girls did a great job on their performance. I was pleasantly surprised that they did everything that their music teacher taught them.

Graham dressed up in his "western" wear for school. He was so happy to wear his boots and cowboy hat to school. He even tried the chilli and tasted a jalepeno at school. He showed us around his school and introduced us to all his teachers. He especially loved showing us all his work and reading stories that he created.

This is all his Texas stuff that he had out on Open House.

Check me out....I'm almost 6!