Finally... a trip to the Zoo!

After months (or maybe even years!) of convincing Bobby, we finally had a chance to visit the Tulsa Zoo yesterday! Graham couldn't wait to get out and see the animals!
Well, he needed his little catnap first before the trip. After a quick diaper change in the car, we were off! By the way, I love the trunk of my new stationwagon - it's the perfect height for feedings and diaper changes!
The first few exhibits were quite disappointing. It was actually quite sad to see the animals in such small enclosures. But it got better once we got out to see the larger animals in their outdoor enclosures. I think we all loved the rhinos the best!
And in between exhibits, Graham just had a ball chewing on his sock!
His sock got so wet that we couldn't even put it back on! Needless to say, we had a good time at the zoo!

Trip to Malaysia - Part III

Now that the tournament is over, we are all able to relax a little bit more. My dad flew into Kuala Lumpur to watch me play (for the first time ever!) and my sister and her family flew in as well from Minnesota. Dad saw little Graham for the first time and spent some valuable time with him during the short trip.
We decided to see the Petronas Twin Towers and unfortunately, the Skybridge is closed every Monday! So we only admired it from afar...
and directly outside the structure.
It's amazing how quickly time flies and we're back on the plane again. The first leg from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai was 7+ hours. It was nice to have all 4 seats in the center isle of the plane. Graham loved every minute of it!
Just kidding... Graham had his usual bassinet seat. Good thing he wasn't strong enough to open the latch!
When we arrived in Dubai at 1pm, we planned on taking a nap and then heading out to see the city. By the time we woke up, it was already dark outside! So we decided to continue on sleeping and by the time we woke up again, it was now 2am. We had a little snack and decided to visit the tallest building in the world - the Burj Khalifa. And talk about TALL!!!
Unfortunately, the lighting at 3am was not very good. But let me assure you, 160 stories is a long way up!
By 6:30am, we were back at Dubai International Airport. Did I mention how big this airport is??? And it is constantly busy no matter what day or time!
On our 16 hours and 1 minute flight back to Houston from Dubai, we had 3 seats to ourselves on the left side of the plane, right behind the Business Class. Graham enjoyed watching Disney classics with Mommy...
and spilling water and orange juice all over Mommy (and looking all innocent) with only 3 hours left into the flight!
Thankfully, Mommy was prepared for the worst and packed extra clothing in our extra-heavy carry-on luggage, which Daddy took care of most of the time. Thanks Daddy! :-)

We are glad to be home now after the long trip home. Thursday was a blur as all of us slept throughout the entire day! Last night, Graham has been up almost every 2 hours and so he is obviously still getting through his jetlag. If he continues to be up tonight, perhaps I'll have to get together all the hand-puppets that we collected on Emirates Airlines!

Trip to Malaysia - Part II

The Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia was held at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club - Oct 22-24. We had arrived earlier the week before, knowing that it would be a few days before Graham would overcome his jetlag. But it was hectic to begin with right off the bat - with practice and press conferences.
And we can't forget those feeding times and diaper changes!
By the way, check out all the credentials to get into the press room!And Graham didn't miss a single beat!
By the way, we were driven all week in BMW courtesy cars. Mommy could sure get used to this!
And as usual, Graham was being the life of the party.
How could he not be, when he's surrounded by durian (a.k.a. the stinky fruit). YUM!!!
Just kidding... we didn't have any. Daddy would have made me sleep in the tub with the door closed if I did :-)

The golf tournament started off a little bit shaky... with bogeys on the first 2 holes. I admit, I was definitely nervous teeing off on the first tee. But once the nerves settled, it was going pretty smoothly until a weather delay took us off the golf course! After a 3-hour delay, my golf game went downhill from there. And things took a big tumble when I put two balls in the water on #17 and ended up posting an 8 there... finishing the day with a score of 83. I guess being put on the clock didn't help either.
Day 2 was a little bit better but those handful of double-bogeys did not help my score of 81. Oh, and did I mention that we were put on the clock again?! And there was another weather delay (for over 2 hours) and thankfully we only had 2 1/2 more holes to go. I guess my stamina is not as great as it was after childbirth!
I had better hopes for Day 3, but in the end, I ended up posting a 86 - with a 9 on a par 4 and triple-bogey on the last hole. I guess I was really running out of steam by then. And oh yeah, another official warning on time! I couldn't believe it! And funny enough, by the time we got to our last hole, we had to wait! And we even had a chance to take a group photo on the tee. Ha ha!
My golf game was quite embarrassing to say the least. Someday,... somehow, I will need to redeem myself.
But nonetheless, this tournament provided a great opportunity for me to mingle with the other LPGA professionals. It was nice to meet up again with friends on the LPGA and also to introduce myself and chat with other moms on tour such as Juli Inkster and Maria Hjorth. I've come to realize that a lot of pro-moms quit breastfeeding really early after childbirth. Perhaps my golf game will improve once Graham takes on the bottle fulltime!
By the way, Juli Inskter saw Bobby in the lobby of the golf course with Graham and she stopped to say hello to Graham! Too funny! Everyone knew Graham by the end of the tournament!

Trip to Malaysia - Part I

It's been a while since I've updated my blog. That's because we were busy making our way to Malaysia! Mommy got a sponsor's exemption to play in the inaugural Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. This is Graham's first long-haul flight... Tulsa to Houston, Houston to Dubai - 14 hours plus overnight in Dubai for a 3am flight! And then, the final 7-hour leg from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The flight on Emirates Airline was great. We were paired with another couple traveling with their 2-month old baby! Baby Cora and Graham were great bassinet partners :-)
Graham managed to charm Cora into giving him her email address! They are SO going to be Facebook friends!
Since we had to give up our stroller in Houston, we had to use one of the strollers provided by Emirates at the Dubai International Airport. I don't think Graham even noticed the difference!
And I think Graham actually enjoyed having a little pillow and fancy white linen in his baby crib!
When we finally arrive in Dubai, Graham spent a few moments sitting in our seats while we got ready to leave the plane.
All was well when we arrived at the hotel.
But it wasn't long when he was down in his own crib.
Unfortunately, Graham was up every 2 hours on the first night! Thankfully by the 3rd or 4th night, he started sleeping through the night a little bit better. By then, it was Mommy's turn to focus on her golf!

Medical Extension approved!

Earlier last month, I had submitted a medical extension (due to my pregnancy) to the Duramed Futures Tour - to extend my playing status from this year to the next 2011 season. And the approval came today in my e-mail! Yay! I guess that was the easy part. Now I just have to convince Bob in taking a few weeks off during the season to travel with me and Graham! Or let me know if anyone out there is up for babysitting duties :-)

By the way, Graham turned 20-weeks last Saturday. He is growing up so quickly! He is cutting both of his bottom front teeth!
He's also able to somewhat sit up on his own, but only for a few seconds! Basically just enough time for me to snap this picture :-)
Graham has been rather fussy and cranky lately. He wouldn't take his naps on his own now. He wants Mommy to rock him to sleep first before I can finally put him down in his playpen for his nap. I haven't had to do that since he was probably 2 months old! I am starting to sense this "naughty" streak in him and he's only 5 months old!

Graham's first tooth!

At just less than 19 weeks, Graham cut his first tooth! Bobby said that he went to bed "angry" Thursday night and that's probably why! I noticed the pearly white Friday morning and when I stuck my pinky in his mouth to feel his gums, just to double check... yup, there's definitely a tooth on the bottom left side! It almost feels like there might be one on the bottom right side too!
It's tough to see it in the pic... but it's there! :-) I've been giving him some teething tablets (everyone raves of these Hyland's teething tablets!). Although it's tough to figure out if he's crying because of pain or because of something else, since for the most part he still seems the same to me! Just being mommy's little monster!