Happy Chinese new year!  What?  So perhaps you didn't know it's Chinese new year this weekend.  Apparently it's a pretty big deal here in Indonesia!  On the calendar here it is a "Tanggal Merah" or red letter day, meaning that many people here get the day off of work/school.  That includes us!  So plenty of time to put something on the blog!

We've noticed Indonesia has some amazing insects.  Many of them are not so fun to encounter, like the giant scorpion I came upon in the middle of the street while I jogged Ian down the road in the jogging stroller the other day.  Or the giant colorful centipedes....or even (gulp) spiders that are quite larger than any spider I've seen back home.  If you really want to see how big those spiders are, check out my friend Ben's blog post about the one that used to live in their back yard (scroll down a little bit).  Thankfully those things for the most part are quite happy outside and don't try to "masuk" or come in and hang out with us.  That doesn't apply to the ants, who love to come in and hang out with us.  We have learned to live with them a little bit, and we've also learned to not leave food sitting around for them.

We saw this little guy a couple days ago.  What an amazing little beetle.

Amazing.

Shifting gears, the bulk of the excitement around our house lately has centered around Ian's new found mobility.  He is really enjoying no longer being stuck in one spot.

Caught red handed!  Ian loves to explore anywhere he can fit his little body!  Toys are now chopped liver (well maybe that's exaggerating) but he sure loves to explore!  Elise said it well the other day "He's everywhere!"

Checking out the shoes.

Even crawls under mommy's legs!

Ian turned nine months old today.  Where does the time go?  Before we know it he will be pigging out on his first birthday cake!