Bathing Beauties

It's summertime here in Thailand! It's the hottest time of year (although April is the hottest month, so we're not quite there yet). I just checked weather.com, and it says that right now in Bangkok (1:00 pm), it's 97 degrees and feels like 109. Good swimming conditions, don't you think? Our friend Crystal called yesterday with a swimming and lunch plan, and we readily agreed. Emmy and PJ had a rollicking time together. They are only a few weeks apart in age, and are great buddies. Asa and one-year old Calvin had a big time sitting with their mommies and splashing vigorously. A good time was had by all.

Ahoy, there, Asa! Look at this handsome nautical lad all ready for his big swim, wearing his bug trunks from cousin Trevor. It was his first time wearing sunscreen, and we still hid in the shady corner of the pool. His skin is so fair, and Thais always comment on it when they see him, "very white!".

Mangoes and Other Thoughts

I admit, I am longing for Spring. I know that in a land far away daffodils are blooming, breezes are blowing, trees are budding and those inhabiting that land are tempted to think that all just may be right with the world. There is certainly no lack of blooming beauty here, but it is heating up, and it's just not Spring.

Although it's not the season of rebirth and beauty here in Thailand, it is the season of mangoes. They're not a cure-all, but fresh, ripe mangoes go a long way toward easing the pain of longing. My industrious and creative husband even took it upon himself recently to attempt that loveliest of Thai delicacies, mango and sticky rice. He found a recipe online for making sticky rice in the microwave, which is a far cry from the rinsing, soaking and steaming that is traditionally done. True to character, I had my doubts about his experiment, but it turned out beautifully, as you can see above. If you can get your hands on some ripe mangoes and a bag of sticky rice , I would urge you to try it; perhaps it will inspire you to begin planning your trip to The Land of Smiles...

In other culinary news, Asa is eating cereal, sweet potatoes, pears and bananas. He's not sure what to think about the bananas; I don't know if it's the sweetness that's throwing him off, but he makes funny faces when he eats them. As you can see above, he can sit in his booster seat now, and is sitting up like a big boy in general.

And here's the big news: Saturday we found his first tooth coming in! My finger found it, and we all crowded around him, exclaiming for joy. We made him cry with our exuberance. This discovery has been bittersweet for me, for several reasons, I think. One is simply that he's growing so quickly, and that is joyful but sad. Another is that I know the end of those sweet gummy smiles and him chewing on my chin is at hand. I also just realized today that a big part of my sadness is seeing him develop and knowing that so many of those we love are not witnessing it...this is so hard, and I'm giving my hurt about it to God. Tim reminded me that we would not wish upon him the fate of being forever toothless, and that does help to put things in perspective.

Besides being a great sister and sweet daughter and Imaginer-In-Chief, Emmy is growing and developing in so many ways. The Thai schools are out for summer right now, so she's been enjoying the company of the children across the street some during the days, and that's been really good for her. They've invited her to lunch several times, and I hear reports that she downs rice and noodles with relish (not pickle relish, of course). She does, however, draw the line at Fish Ball Soup, and one can hardly blame her.

She's also busy with her vocabulary, both real and imagined. Her favorite new word is "Smackadome", which, from what we gather, is close in meaning to "share". As in, "She smackadomed the milkshake with her friend." She's been laughing gleefully over the adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh, and especially loves the escapades of he and Piglet when they attempt to capture a Heffalump. She made us laugh last night when she asked for a snack, and Tim offered her apple. She paused, then said, "Are there any other options?"

One final story from tonight. Tim and I were finishing dinner preparations, and we saw that she had climbed on the stool, up on to the counter, and was getting the glasses down for dinner. We just had to stop and hug her. What a big girl.

Just Fun Pictures

Just some pictures I meant to put on but never did...our boy is a couple of months younger here, little roly-poly fellow that he is.

Beautiful Feet

You would think I would learn...

Earlier this week, we went out for our morning walk. Because we don't wear shoes in the house here, all of our shoes sit in a big messy arrangement outside the door. I grabbed my running shoe, stuck my foot in and encountered some resistance. Thinking it was a sock stuck down in there, I reached in, simultaneously peering inside. I was greeted by two big eyes, and I screamed and threw the shoe across the carport. Poor frog. He cautiously peeked out, then hopped away. Emmy found the whole thing hilarious. So a couple of days later, we were headed out, and I told Emmy, jokingly "I'd better check my shoes for frogs!" So I picked up my shoe, peered inside, screamed, and threw it across the carport. Poor, poor frog. I don't know why he keeps coming back, and why he likes my running shoes. Perhaps he knows Romans 10:15? We really need to be more careful, because there have been cases of snakes hiding in shoes to the mortal peril of the unsuspecting owner. We'll take the frog!

You want Wais with that?

I've passed this Wai-ing Michelin Man (wai - traditional Thai greeting, demonstrates respect and honor) quite a few times but have not been able to stop for a picture. I just had one sent to me today (thanks Dana) and wanted to share. I first spotted Ronald a few years back...and now the Michelin Man. Who's next? -Tim

Have You Eaten Rice Today?

In Thai, to speak of eating a meal, you literally say, "eat rice". As in, "Have you eaten rice?...Do you want to go eat rice together?" So, how appropriate that Asa began his eating career with rice! Cereal, that is. Look at that happy boy, anticipating his first bite of real food. Notice the super-cool CFA bib. Emmy ate her first solids in a Berry bib, and we decided Asa would go the CFA route, in a tribute to the people who made our college education possible and so much crazy fun, not to mention making some really great sandwiches. If any of you Chicken People are reading this, you may be, right now, wiping a sentimental tear from your eye and preparing for a rousing 'Bobo'. Thanks, Bethy and Ryan, for sending this great bib...now, Ryan, we know you have friends in high places and want to see what you might be able to do about getting a CFA up and running on this side of the world...

We went for his 6 month appointment last week and got the go-ahead. For those who are interested in the stats (ie, grandparents and other people with babies), he weighed 17.75 pounds and was 29.25 inches tall. He was fascinated by the entire eating process, and, as anticipated, slurped down his tiny first serving and requested more.

And here's faithful Big Sister, always ready to help the "swee-eet ba-abe", as she refers to him. Poor little thing- I tried to french braid her hair, and ended up giving her sort of a pompadour with a rat tail, that is now captured forever in Asa's pictures. But I think she can carry it off!

Adventures of Em

Emmy had her first trip to the dentist last week...we went to the dental clinic at the local hospital. I was nervous about how it might go, so I scheduled my own appointment first so she could watch everything before her turn came. As it turned out, I needn't have worried about how she would do, because the pediatric dentist had a secret weapon, a TV screen on the chair. As you might imagine, Emmy sat, transfixed by the escapades of Tom and Jerry, while the dentist rooted in her mouth at will. The good news is, everything looked great, and Emmy looks forward with anticipation to her next cartoon session in the dental chair. I just love this picture, because, as you can see, she dutifully smiled for the camera, but her mind and her eyes stayed behind with Tom and Jerry.

And here's the happy girl afterward, playing on the playground in the hospital. One of the fun things about going to the doctor here; they provide an indoor playground to amuse the children while they wait!

Last night, we went to Emmy's first birthday party in our neighborhood. We had been told that it began at 5:00, so we did the American thing and went on time. Actually, we were 20 minutes late, but we were the first to arrive. Thankfully, a couple of other children came not too long after we did, but most of the families came almost 2 hours later. Cultural differences in action! Tim took Asa home about 6:30 for bed, so I was left for two more hours to my own devices in a large group of people speaking Thai...not extremely comfortable, but good for me. Much of the conversation went over my head, but I did get some of it and was able to participate, though minimally. Hopefully they didn't all think I was a complete ninny. I smiled and nodded a lot, ninny-like.

The only unfortunate thing about the evening was that they turned on cartoons. Many of you may know that we're not big TV watchers at home, so, as might be expected, Emmy becomes mesmerized when the TV is on. Other children have the ability to dance and play in the presence of a television, but not our girl. If it's on, she's watching. This is why the dentist was such a pleasant experience for her! So she watched Cartoon Network for a good portion of the evening, but thankfully was persuaded to play some, too. One of the other mothers commented that she was "riaprooy". I knew I had encountered that word in my studies, but couldn't remember what it meant. I hoped it didn't mean "zombie TV-watcher". When I looked it up at home, I was relieved to find that it means, "tidy, in order, nicely finished off".

Half Birthday

Today, our little newborn Asa Bear has astounded us by reaching six months of age, seemingly in half the time. I'm torn between mourning and great anticipation. I think I'll choose anticipation. In honor of this special day, Asa decided to show off some of his best tricks. So, I now present:

Six Really Neat Things Asa Can Do:

1) Roll over and over with alarming speed, target a toy and take it in hand.

Exhibit A

2) Eat Mommy's face, especially her chin. Sometimes Emmy's, too. We like to think of these as big, wet, sometimes painful kisses.

3) Chew on everything he can get his hands on.

Exhibit B

4) Sit up for brief, wobbly, assisted periods of time.

Exhibit C- notice the bluriness as he tips forward

5) Babble, " bababa, mamama-aaah," etc.

6) Chew his toes.

Exhibit D

Well done, Asa. We are so proud of you!