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MBA Graduation: Reflection, Gratitude, and Adventure
What to do when you graduate from your MBA in the middle of winter and want to celebrate? Take an adventure trip to Lapland!
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Welcome
Thanks for visiting Expat Heather! I’m an international educator, writer, and expat mom currently living in South Korea. On this site you’ll find things about living abroad, teaching in international schools, travel, hiking, and expat life.
So far Arianne is true to size, wearing 3-month clothes at 3 months. Gabriel was always at least 3 months “ahead” compared to the clothing labels.
She has started teething more; it’s been strange to see her fussy since she has been such a relaxed and happy baby. She loves to babble and blow bubbles.
I’ve been enjoying a period of sleeping through the night; she has been sleeping from 8pm to 7am. Gabriel didn’t do that until about 18 months old! Or maybe it was 2 years…she definitely sleeps for longer periods than he does, although with the onset of teething I’m not expecting that to last. She still doesn’t like to tap naps during the day; the longest nap will be about 45 minutes. She’s very active in the day time.
Now she definitely recognizes when Mama is home, and she’ll track me around the room. She has also started to cry when I leave or when she wants me to hold her instead of someone else.
Solid food hasn’t been introduced yet, so she’s still at 100% breastmilk. It’s getting more difficult to pump when I’m away from home, but thankfully I’ve had some excess breastmilk in the freezer for the days when I’m not able to pump enough.
Arianne is starting to get really wiggly. She’s holding her head up well, and she can sit in the Bumbo for a few minutes. At the end of 3 months, she’s not a newborn anymore!
I am planning a family trip to Dalat next year, and here are some of the hotels that have made my favorite list. We would be traveling with a baby and a 3-year old, so generally I look for: a quiet location, a larger room with two beds, an on-site restaurant, and a garden to run around in.
Before adding any hotel to my list, I read all the reviews from travelers with young children. I am a very light sleeper, so if anyone mentions construction nearby or noisy streets, that hotel is not a contender! Also, my husband likes things very clean and organized, so the hotel must get a high rating for cleanliness.
1. Dalat Terrasse des Roses Villa
This hotel looked interesting because it’s small with only 9 rooms, and it has a great location at only 0.2km from Dalat city center. The deluxe twin, family room, and quadruple luxury room would give plenty of space with young kids. The garden and lake looked like a nice place for kids to walk around.
My sister is coming to visit us in Vietnam in June, and we decided to spend 1 week traveling with the kids: a 4-month-old baby and my 3-year-old “Ninja Turtle” / very active son.
I agonized over the itinerary for a few months, as there is so much we could do in Vietnam and in the region. With kids, the easiest thing might be to plop down at a full-service beach resort in Mui Ne, Nha Trang, or Phu Quoc, but in June the weather is very hot, and I’m not much of a beach person anyway.
The itinerary I finally decided on mixes islands, city, and mountains.
Total pre-booking price: $1225 total for 2 adults and 2 kids (under age 4)
Includes – Flights (origin SGN), 7 nights’ lodging, 2-day cruise with full-board, all breakfasts.
Does not include: lunches & dinners, transfers, activities (other than on cruise), travel insurance
You can easily cut down on this price by booking less expensive hotels and choosing less popular flight times.
After 3 visits to the Ministry of Justice in Ho Chi Minh City and 2 visits to the US Consulate, we have finally received Arianne’s first passport. We also received her official Consular Report of Birth Abroad.
It was a relief to get it, as we struggled to get the Vietnamese birth certificate and I was worried we may not have her passport in time for summer travel. Now, our little girl is ready to travel!
The other day I was showing Gabriel his baby photos from he was 2 and 3 weeks old. When he looked at the photos, he said, “No. That not Gabriel. That Arianne baby!” He insisted those photos were not of him. Then I showed him his 5 month baby photos, and he recognized those ones so he agreed they were Gabriel and not Arianne. Then we just went backward, all the way to the 2-week photos, and he realized those ones actually were him as a baby.
From some angles, they look alike at the 2/3 week stage. The photos in this post are Arianne on the left and Gabriel on the right. Today I noticed Arianne’s eyes are already turning blue like Gabriel’s.
How do they look alike as babies? How do they look different?
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