Baby Loves His Bath

Is he precious or what? The spot on his cheek is our most stubborn eczema foe; that and behind his knees. But if you could see the contrast with 3 months ago...I thank God daily for His care for this little one, and we'll take what we have now, for sure!

Wildlife

These are a few scenes Tim captured in our greenspace (I don't think you can really call it a yard) the other day. That's the backside of a rather large cockroach protruding from the lizard's mouth. Makes me sad to think of what lizards have to go through, but he seemed to enjoy it enough. I'm glad somebody likes those nasty creatures!

exquisite moth

Doesn't this look like candy?

And because what entry is complete without a glimpse of our favorite species, here's our sweet boy. He and I are learning a new rhythm to our days now that sister is in school and brother is napping well. This child is a joy to be with. He melted my heart one morning in the kitchen this week by saying, "You're the bestest mommy." But another time he said, "I don't always love you, because I not like the construction man with dirt all over him." Who knows what kind of connections are going on in that little mind, but he is so CUTE and conversations with him are so much fun.

His speech is becoming more sophisticated every day, so I'm trying to enjoy all the funny things he says and the sweet mispronunciations (like when he talks about "A-mek-a-wa"- America). He loves to play pwince, pi-wate, work-ew, knight, sold-iew, or whatever Emmy tells him to play:). He has a fascination with all things destructive and is rarely without a stick; in fact, a memorable recent quote, heard out of the blue, was "All kinds of weapons...". He has a big, silly personality, and he loves to makes us laugh with his antics and crazy expressions. He'll come marching into a room with his chest puffed out, head held high with a proud silly look on his face, and march around until he can't keep a straight face any longer. I love this little gift!

Sittin' in the mornin' sun, I'll be sittin' when the evenin' comes...

I finally documented our newest milestone. He's still a bit wobbly, but is enjoying a new vantage point. I felt the need to get every angle for the enjoyment of his grandparents, so bear with us...


He has the sweetest crinkly-nose smile. This is not its full glory, but a mere hint. Tim calls him a 'smile dispenser', as you've only to look at him and you find yourself basking in his sweet grin. On the flip side, he also has a shriek that is a force to be reckoned with, and is known to wake directly from a silent slumber into a piercing scream. He's not big on alone time, and is by far the happiest when he's in our arms or in a sling. So we do a lot of both, but are also working on his ability to sit or lie somewhere and let us do important things like get dressed and make meals.

oops!

Update on big sister: The first week of school was splendid. She has pronounced it "bunches of fun", and spent a good part of this afternoon trying to convince me that school on Saturdays was a good idea. She was aglow on Friday because she made two new friends. One is from India and the other from Australia. I wonder if she'll pick up any new accent quirks?

Wednesday was Thai Mother's Day (the queen's birthday), and we went to our friends' home for a cookout (thank you Dave and Jan; it was great fun!). We encountered this scene on the way, and, happily, had our camera with us...

I love this picture because it's such a jumble of Bangkok- cars (everywhere, always!), motorcycles (everywhere, always!) and the occasional elephant. In fact, the kids and I were walking home from visiting a friend in the neighborhood next to ours tonight, and we stood in awe of an elephant walking right by our neighborhood. Its master was selling sugar cane to feed to it, but we didn't have any money, so we just watched. Like Samwise Gamgee, I love a sighting of one of these magnificent animals. However, it always does make me sad to see their big feet trodding cement when they should be traipsing through the jungle. It's not the ideal life for them, in any number of ways.

But, on a happy note, I just love this picture 'cause I love these guys...

Schoolgirl

Her first day was brimming with excitement. Up at 6:10, a bowl of oatmeal, the whole family loaded up for the big event. We had a rough night with Julian the night before, so we were a bit bleary, but excited...such is family life! Emmy was giddy with anticipation, and oh so adorable in her uniform!






Lining up outside the classroom. She's one of two native English speakers in her class. And she still has a height advantage. I pray that some of these children will be kindred spirits for her.

Heading in with a backward smile...no hesitation, no fear on her face, no tears. Thank goodness, for both of us. That would have been hard!

The day was very quiet here at home. True story: I was sitting at the table with Asa after we got home, and I said, "So, what do you want to do this morning?" He answered, in that deliberate and deep little voice, "Play ponies". I think he's realizing his new, unfettered access to sister's things- the first morning he plundered the ponies, a tea set, and all the play food!

With her teacher, Miss Kim, today at open house. We've entered the land of uniforms, homework folders and packed lunches. Big adventures ahead!

Contemplating Tomorrow

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She starts school tomorrow morning, bright and early. It's bittersweet; the end of an era, the beginning of an era. I'm so excited for her, because it's clearly time. But we will miss her. I'm praying that she makes lots of friends and will bubble over with all the things she'll learn. I'm praying that we'll quickly find a good rhythm to our days here at home, and her time away will only enhance her time here with us. The days will be different without her constant storyline narration, her prancing and hopping, everything that makes her Emmy. She's such a bright spot, and has been an ever-present sparkle in my life for the last 6 years...

Whew, she's growing up quickly.
Lord, please give me the grace to embrace it.

This guy is going to miss his constant playmate. I don't know how he'll react. I know we'll have a lot more princes, knights and sol-diews, more dragons to slay and bad men to defeat. Less polly pockets and princesses. I think Mommy will be on call a lot more when he says, "I need a fwiend!"

This guy will just have to work on filling those shoes. He's sitting pretty well (pictures to come) and I know it won't be long until he's toddling around and we'll have two stick wielding, digger driving dragon slayers running around. Hard to imagine being home with two boys...

I love these children and I love the life God has given us, right now.