We’ll be in Jakarta exactly for 2 weeks by tomorrow and I’m going to try to write what we’ve been up to so far.
Like I mentioned before Alex got a jetlag when we first got here but thankfully, he survived it! LOL! Now he’s back to his normal routine days again although there are days where he had to take his nap in the car. He’s also has been more relax about his Oma and uncles (Opa is still in Congo, his trip home has been postponed due to some paperwork’s problem! Bummer!). Before he was a bit timid about them I mean he’ll play and goof around with them but he won’t let them hold him. Uncle Danny is the first one that he attached himself to, maybe he remember how close they were when he was a baby. With my mom, there are times when he’ll ask her to pick him up and there are times where he just doesn’t want it. I guess it’s all normal toddler behavior.
The first week and so was a bit hard on me too, no I do enjoy all the good food (will definitely gain a few extra pounds! LOL!) and all but I’m talking about taking care of Alex solely. All of these time his Daddy and I work as a team in taking care of him but when we got here he became very clingy to me. I failed to anticipate the different approach it requires for toddler as he was a baby (a mere 10 months old) when we first came to Indonesia so I didn’t know things are different this time around. His world has changed, I can tell you that. From the quiet small town of Dothan, Alabama to the big, heavily polluted, crowded, noisy big city of Jakarta, it’s going to take sometimes for him to adjust to it all.
Going to Jakarta’s malls has been a struggle too as Alex will act out, throwing tantrums and doesn’t want to sit still in his stroller. I was a bit frustrated at first because in my selfish little mind I so want to just look around and do some shopping but after I calm down and think about it I realized how wrong I was and as I look the whole thing from his small point of view it must be kinda scary for him to be in this weird place packed with stranger, where stores belted out their music louder than one another (seriously, I got a headache now if we stay too long in a mall!) From a toddler point of view, a mall is a strange place worth exploring and being strap in his stroller is the last thing he wants! Yet, it’s scared me to death that he’ll get stamped by those many people at the mall if I let him running around like he wants to do. Also, I’m beat up from chasing him around or carrying him so shopping has kinda lost its sparkle for now.
In order to help him adjust I’ve trying to cut back on my plans to go here and there, meeting with friends has been postponed as well. The only friends we met were Esti & Loren along with their kids yesterday and it was a blast! There, Alex was actually didn’t act out like he did when we were at the mall, perhaps because he was having too much fun playing with Ariel’s toys and messing up Tante Esti’s home LOL! Hopefully soon we’ll be able to go to places like we planned to.
Before we got here my brother asked me if I want to hire a baby sitter or a nanny to help me out with Alex but I said no I don’t need one but after awhile (probably fueled by exhaustion too and after venting out to my mother that I will never be able to go out anywhere until he’s at least 5 years old!) I was so tempting to actually find one just to help us when we go places. Huh! Yeah right! The more I think of it the more crazy I feel myself gets LOL. I mean, yes of course it’ll be super nice to have someone to help me out taking care of a robust, energizer bunny like toddler LOL but since I’ve been taking care of him just with the help of his Daddy in the nearly 17 months of his life, I’m more paranoid of letting someone else take my place or even just to help out. When my own mother tries to help I’ll tell her exactly what’s needed to be done (listen to me telling a mother of 3 how to do things! LOL!). There were too many negative ‘what ifs’ in my head when I think about hiring a nanny. I trusted my family any day over a total stranger. So let’s just hope things will get easier with Alex as he’s settling in.
So, there’s really not much to write about. Oh btw, Shinta, thanks for the pepto bismol tip. It works! I have no stomach problem even after I eat those street foods. YAY! Another thing, my mom had booked for the masseuse to come to our house every Friday so I can have my massage. Yeeeeeeeeehawww!
Hope you’re all doing great out there!
my mom had booked for the masseuse to come to our house every Friday so I can have my massage. 
