Yesterday we went to the King's park for some time outdoors and a picnic. Of course, we ended with ice cream, which makes our girl very happy. She has, completely on her own, started making this very Thai gesture with her fingers for some photos, which just makes us laugh! Here are a few more pictures...
The park is a beautiful haven from the exhaust fumes and heat that are so much a part of Bangkok. Look at the size of those lily pads!
Future potter?
We went tonight to meet some friends for dinner...this is a woman who cooks incredible pork satay in a roadside stand at the Sky Train station. Tim got to know her when he was in language school; first as a customer, then a friend, and finally a little brother (which basically meant she loaded him up with delicious food whenever she saw him and rarely allowed him to pay). It was her son's birthday, and it was fun, fun to get to meet their family!
This is a bonglang, a traditional Thai instrument, the latest obscure musical instrument in Tim's repertoire. It's been a big hit with the whole family.
Daddy likes to make Thai character practice on the white board, complete with cute pictures.
And this just made our girl's day. We went to Tesco Lotus, and they had a child-sized shopping cart. She put in her bear, Naam Plaaw (which means plain water in Thai), who was a gift from friends earlier in the day, and she was giddy with the fun of it all.
The giraffes were the highlight for me. Imagine getting to feed a giraffe, its long gray tongue coming out and curling around the bean you're offering it, and getting in a pat when it's close...amazing!
This grassy area was full of deer. They seemed to be overfed, because several of them declined our offer of food...
Have you ever been really close to a hippopotamus? These animals are so interesting. They are used to being fed, so they would come right up to the fence and open their mouths wide, awaiting the deposit of vegetables. Hungry, hungry hippos! They have these huge fat deposits on either side of their mouths that swish when they chew, and their jaws are quite powerful.
Tim caught us both smiling in this picture.
Emmy sharing beans with the mommy elephant...
And this was perhaps the most amazing moment of the day for me...this baby elephant is nursing! I felt an immediate affinity for the sweet mommy!
It gives me such joy to see our children together. It is one of my fervent and frequent prayers that they will always be just like this, will always hold on to each other, facing the joys and trials of life together. God is so good to put us in families!
Life's been full as of late. Big news today is that our boy is exactly 11 months old. How about that? He's crawling and pulling up, showing off his big smile and his 6 beautiful teeth, eating everything in sight (including, of course, all manner of finds on the floor), and is generally adorable save the occasional crankiness. Okay, he's adorable even then. He does the "more" sign at meals, and if that isn't heeded he commences less polite verbal cues. He also says a mean "mama" and "da" for his beloved dog. Daddy sometimes gets a "dada" when he comes home from work. But then again he says "baba" quite a bit, too, so maybe we're reading too much into it all...except dog, there's no doubt about that one. This picture is fun because it shows off his taa suay (beautiful eyes), a frequent comment from folks he meets. Blue eyes are much admired in these parts.
Our team hosted a cookout in a park down the street from our office on Sunday, and a fun time was had by all. Asa's getting some help in the dinner department from his friend, Katy, our team leader's daughter and she who is generally beloved by all children.
He opens his mouth this wide when we feed him. All the time. It's really funny.
And the most bittersweet part of our week was saying goodbye to our friends and teammates, the Cunninghams, who are heading back to the States to begin life there. We will miss them so much, but are excited about what lies ahead for them.
Homework
Lunchtime! She's eating quite well overall, two plates some days!
