We just might have took a vacation back to the states too early in our overseas tour. Spending the week in Hawaii has made it very hard to get comfortable being back in the Philippines. We were warned over and over that there will be a period in our tour that is considered the honeymoon phase when everything is new and exciting and you want to explore you're new home. The little annoyances of a foreign third world country won't really get to you and everything is hunky-dory. Well the bad news is that after the honeymoon phase is over you sink into a low point of your tour. Our honeymoon phase is officially over starting a week or so ago. The annoyances are maddening now, the whole city stinks like diesel, fried Filipino food, and dog poop. We can't go anywhere without being pointed at, talked to, or bothered for money. Traffic is so terrible on days it takes 30 minutes to get to the next neighborhood for a play date. Justin and I officially knew that the honeymoon was over when our plane landed in Manila from Guam. The pilot turned the fasten seat belt sign off, the passengers all stood up and readied themselves to get off the plane. The pilot then got back on the intercom to announce that the ground crew had directed them incorrectly to the gate and that we needed to return to our seats to reposition the plane for off loading! Only in the Philippines. When we finally got off the plane, we waited for our stroller beside locals who wouldn't leave Addie alone. "Hi baby!" they exclaimed as they grabbed her hands and feet. Then they gave us what used to be our stroller which was mangled and broken. If we weren't sure that the honeymoon was over then, the walk out into the hot, humid, polluted, Manila night did it for us.
Justin and I always say it's a good thing we are each other's best friends. Having each other and our beautiful daughter makes this adventure manageable. The only thing that has been saving us lately is that the rainy season tends to blow a lot of smog out of the air. The last few days have been sunny with blue skies and a breeze. My family and that little bit of relief has helped me keep my sanity.
The good news is that it's normal to have strong negative feelings about our post for awhile and over time we'll bounce out of it and find a good happy medium in our new home. We won't ever look at Manila with honeymooners eyes again but we'll find our place here, that much I'm sure about.
After a busy day we relaxed at home this evening before Addie's bath time. Justin put on her Star Wars t-shirt and just left her in her diaper. It brought back memories from last October when I went back to work and Justin stayed home with Addie for his paternity leave. I'd come home from work and Addie would just be hanging out in her diaper and a t-shirt. Most often this one. Funny that at 4 months she could wear this and at 16 months 
she can still wear it. I think it fits her properly now though. 
Addie had no reservations about the beach this time. She immediately covered every inch of her skin in sand and pulled our hands towards the water. She walked a bit with her Daddy picking up coral and shells. For two little girls who didn't have a nap that day they did fantastically well at the beach. Towards the end of our beach day we were visited by wild monkeys! They came out of the jungle behind us looking for food. You can see Justin, Addie, and I peaking out of the cabana to get a look at the monkeys up in the trees. Addie (the animal lover) loved the monkeys. 
The girls crashed on the ride home. Our fun-day-at-the-beach officially ended when we hit Manila traffic which added an additional hour and a half on the trip home. The only other downer was when we stopped at a rest-stop for food. All of us were excited to see the Wendy's Hamburgers sign, only to have our hopes stomped on when we found out the store had closed. This left us with a bunch of other gross choices, KFC being the least nasty of them all. It's strange ordering at familiar fast food chains in the Philippines. First of all they had no biscuits (what the?), so we ordered two "fun shot" meals (basically chicken nuggets, fries, and a soda pop) for about $4 total. Needless to say it wasn't so "fun". There is a reason we don't eat KFC in the States and now we will never eat at KFC in the P.I. again. 
For Rachel's birthday she requested the zoo...just kidding. We went for the kiddies, Addie mostly. Riley hung out in the Baby Bijorn the entire zoo trip and just watched the world go by like the angel she truly is. Addie got to experience the zoo hands on with her Mommy and Kiki! We saw monkeys, reptiles, elephants, and fish. They had a little children's zoo which was just the right speed for Addie. She got to see animals up close and personal. Even petting a few. The zoo experienced completely zonked Addie out for the rest of the day but it was worth it. I love seeing the excitement in her eyes when she sees an animal in person that we've pointed out in books or talked about. We had a little run-in with the peacocks during lunch time. One almost snatched a piece of sandwich out of my hands. Rachel and I were both a little concerned about our girls fingers and the beak of the peacock. I strutted my Mommy feathers and shooed it away. I guess that's a hazard you gotta watch out for. Going to the zoo just girls was one of my favorite memories from our vacation. 
This picture you can see how excited Addie was to be sitting on the cow. What you can't see is that there is a sign on the cow that says "no sitting". Leave it to Kiki to break the rules for her granddaughter's happiness!
One gorgeous afternoon the girls all took a walk to the playground. Kiki and Addie had fun on the equipment. Addie had her first ride on a swing all by herself. She was so excited that her eyes were watering and her nose was running. She couldn't stop giggling. 
