DB and the Eliptical

DB Sleeping

DB Waking

DB Playing

DB About to Fall

DB Crying

DB Recovering

DB Playing

DB Not Learning His Lesson

My Adventurous DB

What We Did Today

We got to spend the morning with some elephants! It was totally awesome!

We rode a little.
We saw some sights during our ride.

We fed a very hungry momma some bananas and sugar cane.

Best of all, we were able to do the whole thing with these guys!

Our Little Cinnamon Roll

Did I ever mention that DB can do this? Starting December 23rd he began standing on his own. However, he refuses to stand long since there is really no point to it, as far has he is concerned. What does standing accomplish for him? He can only take a step at a time and crawling is much more efficient at this point, so usually he quickly resumes his crawling position.

Also, notice his chubby cheeks? Maybe my little guy is finally packing on the lbs. I wonder what he is eating...

...raw cinnamon rolls.

A couple weeks ago Zhou Mei made a pan of cinnamon rolls. To help them rise she sat them by our radiator, a perfectly rational place to put them. However, every adult in our house forgot that DB is mobile and curious. While meeting with my language tutor KB called me out of the office to see what DB had gotten himself into - the raw cinnamon rolls. Don't get me wrong, these things are so good that I have been tempted to eat them before baking them but my rationality sets in and I hold off. However, the poweress of cinnamon, butter and sugar were too great and DB did not care a bit that he was eating essentially raw bread dough.

KB: Dash hand over the dough.

Dash: Daddy it is so good and you guys never let me have anything sweet.

KB: Son, hand it over.
Dash: Ok daddy.

Dash: Little does daddy know, I dipped my Nuk in those rolls...almost just as good.

Going on aTrip

I am not sure what is wrong but for some reason I cannot post pictures on our blog! What's going on? This is not the first time I have had trouble with this recently, and I am not sure why since my VPN is working but whatever.

At this moment it is not a very big deal because I can just make up for lost time when we are in Thailand this time next week! Can I tell you how blissfully excited I am about this? First, Thailad is warm and moist. Our feet will thaw out and our kid's eczema problems will fade away. It will be awesome. Second, it is AB's birth country. She was born in Bangkok and if she one day chooses, she can have a dual citizenship there. I think that is kind of neat and I look forward to her visiting it when she might actually remember it. Third, we are going to see and ride on Elephants! Fourth, Thailand has a superior internet connection and we will not have to use our VPN. Fifth, we need a vacation, and I canno think of a better place to relax. Sixth, and most awesome of all, we are going to see our longtime friends in Thailand. We have known them since we were married, but have been in different countries for the past 4 1/2 years, and so much has happened in that time (primarilly babies). However or Friday we will reunite with them, and this makes me the happiest of all.

This is going to be a one of our "planes, trains, and automobile" trips which would have been quite odd for me before moving here, but now it is quite the norm. Hopefully I will be able to post a flurry of pictures while we are there.

Present for a Day

I ordered this cute thing from what most people call the Asian version of Ebay, but I think it is more like Amazon.com. Anyways a lot of what we find online are things that were manufactured here but did not make it on the boat to the US or imported food from the US. This is one of the "did not make it on the boat" items. We were thrilled to get it for Dash and he was excited to play with it...AB was excited to take it from him. The day after Christmas I looked it up online because I wanted to see how much it would cost to buy in the US, and that is when I saw it. This item was recalled. In fact it is one of like 50 toys that were recalled in the US by Fisher-Price that were made in 2006 from this country for having toxic levels of lead paint. On the website it said if you have such and such numbers on the bottom of your toy, you are to discontinue use and return immediately. Yes, those numbers were on the bottom of DB's Elmo Jack-in-the-Box. Returning it was not an option, and since I know our trash is sorted through, and I feared someone wiping it off and giving it to another kid, I did the only thing I thought to do, I tried to smash it into pieces. Turns out it, other than the lead paint it was really well made. I hurt my hand before I eventually gave up and dropped it perfectly unmanned into our trash. Bye bye Elmo.

He will never even know Elmo was here...did I take him out again without wiping the food off of his face? Bad mommy.

Matching PJs

Before DB was born, I bought AB and DB some matching PJs at a after Christmas sale in the US - my favorite shopping time of the year. I love sales. Anyways, like any self respecting mom, I wanted a picture of them in their matching PJs. This is how it started out.

Below I am brusing AB's teeth. Usually this is done in the bathroom, but for some reason that evening she had her teeth brushed in bed. Already DB is seeing this as awesome playtime and is on his way to get us.

Once I handed over the pink Dora toothbrush, I decided to put DB in my lap for the pic as I did not think he would sit still on his own...

...or with me either, apparently.

If this is any indication of his energy level in the future, I am in trouble.

Eventually I put him back in my lap and this happened - cutest cry face ever.

It continued and AB added her two bits in.

Eventually he calmed down and although still slightly redfaced, he ended up looking more confused than anything. I decided this was the best we were going to get and gave up.

Clearly AB was happy about the forced photo opportunity ending. See DB coming? He was happy too.

It is playtime like this that reminds me why I wanted to have them closer in age.

Good kids.

Pacifier

I do not like pacifiers. They just seem like one other thing we will have to break the babies of at some point. Fortunately AB never cared for one and was able to self soothe quite easily. However DB loves it and cannot seem to get enough of it. When we are at home his pacifier is reserved for crib time only, but recently he has learned he can fish it out of his crib while playing in his room. To keep it from falling out of the crib I chained it to his elephant, so he cannot take it when him. If I do not take it from him, he will sit by his bed in order to keep it in his mouth for the enture duration of playtime. He is usually quite upset with me when I move it out of his reach, but in the long run I think it is best.

Mac and Cheese

Last week DB was introduced to Mac and Cheese and it is safe to say he is a fan. I think he ate more than his almost 3 year old sister. I cannot seem to leave things alone, and I could not give my baby purely processed cheese Mac and Cheese, so I of course added real cheese and cauliflower puree. No one in my family seems to notice the healthy addition and KB says it is his favorite Mac and Cheese ever. I wonder if he knew it was 2 months expired? Anyhoo. DB absolutely got a sink bath after this meal. It was everywhere...even in his ears.

See that one noodle, trying to make it in his mouth?

There it is!

I am not sure what that glare is about, but it is really cute.

You can almost see the cheesy cauliflower goodness dripping off of his dimply little hands.

We Paid for This?

Since our new apartment is without a bathtub and we have kids, it is necessary to for us to get one. I am sure DB is anxious to get into a tub and out of the kitche sink. Also, AB has a fear of falling down and of the hot water in the shower and it frequently results in a meltdown during shower time.

Two weeks before we moved into our new apartment we ordered a bathtub. It is simple but big enough for us to sit in without having to bend our legs. Like I have metioned earlier, doing rennovations here is slightly more complicated. WE are the contractors and finding someone to do the individual jobs is both challening and risky. So far we have been pretty lucky, but our luck apparently ran out with the bathtub guy. While I was in the capital with DB, KB and AB were at home while the "bathroom" guy "installed" our bathtub. His only job was to prop the tub up on some bricks, cement the bricks in place and build a tile wall around it. Really, we could do this except I figured an expert would be better at it. We were wrong...I absolutely in all serriousness think I could have done a better job than this guy. On the positive side, KB said he was a really nice guy.

Anyhoo. Now we have to pay another guy to come and smash up this wall and build another one. Our bathroom has been this way for about 2 weeks, but it will be worth the wait once we get it done right. Fortunately we have another bathroom to take showers in. It is not exactly a kid friendly bathroom, but right now we are happy to have 2 bathrooms or we would be in trouble.

We have heard a new bathroom guy is coming tomorrow and I have heard good things about him. I am hopeful that this time next week we will be able to take nice warm baths in our lovely new tub.

I really think these pictures give a good dipiction of what I saw when I first walked in our bathroom after returning from the capital. Most homes in this country have exposed water pipes in the bathroom. They are quite ugly, but very practical. It allows for cheap and relatively easy rennovations.

It is like the hill-billies of bathtubs. It is missing one of its front teeth.

Recovered

These pics where taken the evening DB and I returned from his hospital visit in the capital. Sometime while AB was 1 year old she learned that we think it is cute when she gets inside of this bucket and sometimes take pictures of it. She often now climbs into it and says, "take a picture?"

AB was happy to have us home.

DB was happy to see his daddy...

...and other than being a little bit thinner, none of us could tell DB was ill enough for a trip to the capital two days earlier.

Busy Busy

I think it is that time of year when everyone is busy. Almost my entire life spent in the US was as a student, and Fall always seemed a little more overwhelming than the springtime. Somehow as a parent it still seems to be the busiest time of the year. Anyways, we have been busy.

We have spent the last month and a half getting ready to move. Finally on Monday last week we loaded all of our earthly belongings, in this country at least, into a truck for the 1 mile drive to our new apartment. Actually KB had more of a hand in this than me because I was a bit useless. It seems my body has a knack for knowing when I need it to preform the most and instead decides to get sick. A little over a year ago when we began packing up to move and pack to return to the US for 5 months, I caught a beastly cold. Six months later when we actually moved to our new city, I got Mastitis. The day before our move this time, I got Mastitis again. This was my 5th time to get it, and let me tell you it was the worst. It probably did not help that I had already packed all my Advil and I could only find some that had already been expired for 2 years. I just did not seem to have the punch it usually does. The day before our move KB was at the new apartment supervising the installation of our kitchen cabinets, light fixtures and other things, so I was supposed to be at home packing and watching the kids. Fortunately our helper came over and helped me, otherwise I am certain I would have called crying and begging for him to come home and take care of the kids so I could get busy laying and bed being miserable with my aches, chills and fever. Fortunately two days later I felt much better. Thank you Augmentin.

Anyways, we are in our new apartment and I love it! It is so spacious. However, there is still a lot to be done. Our bathtub is not yet installed. None of our closets have doors. Our bathroom sink is has yet to arrive in this city. Air conditioners have not been ordered, nor does our kitchen hot water heater. Several windows do not have curtains. Two bedrooms still do not have wardrobes, and on top of it all, this place is filthy. When Dash stands up from crawling, the knees on his pants are always grey. Apartments are impossible to keep clean here, but they are extra impossible to keep clean when workers are coming and going while doing renovations. I told myself I can only sweep and mop once a day.

On top of all this moving stuff, Dash seemed to be sleeping quite a bit. At first this was welcomed since it gave me the opportunity to get more done. However soon I became concerned something was wrong with him, especially when it seemed all he did was sleep. I even had to wake him to eat, which he did not want to do. After throwing up once I emailed his doctor who recommended we get him to the capital immediately, so at 11pm on Wednesday night I began the frantic search for clothes and toiletries for Dash and I because it seemed the next morning we were going to the capital. Basically it was a long morning, but thanks to the ingenuity of Zhou Mei, Dash and I were safely in the capital by 1pm on Thursday and were seeing a doctor by 2pm.

While examining Dash the doctor asked me several questions about how Dash was doing. When the doctor took off Dash's diaper to check his tummy I noticed his diaper was dry and I had not changed his diaper since 8 that morning. The doctor said he was not sure why Dash was sick but was very dehydrated. For the next 6 hours Dash and I hung out in a hospital room while he received an I.V. At one point he threw up all over himself and me. The hospital gave him a blue gown with purple daises to wear. I had no choice but to keep wearing my vomit clothes (I wore those vomit jeans for 3 days). Dash's poor little hand with the IV was so sad, but he was so weak he did not even have have the strength to mess with it. Ultimately the doctor said it seems the combination of my low milk production from my Mastitis and Dash having some sort of virus combined to make him feel like not eating, caused him to vomit and become very dehydrated which led to him further not want to eat, which led him to become even more dehydrated and so on.

Two days later Dash is almost 100% better. I could not find Pedialite, but he was introduced to apple juice, and oh how he loves it. I alway thought he did not like drinking non-milk drinks, it turns out he just did not like water. He want sweetness. Well my little sweetie is playful and eating again. He gave us a good scare, but we are happy to have him back to normal.

Let me see if I can say this without saying it. We could not make trips to see wonderful doctors like we did with Dash if it was not for the support people give - especially the support given in the month of December. Thanks and please keep it up!

Packing Up

I have been a little absent recently - just giving friend Andy a chance to catch up right? My actual my reason is a lot less altruistic than that. We are moving again. Fortunately this time we are just moving a few blocks. Our cute but extremely tiny apartment is very new, and the city will not turn on our heat this winter because it is less than 40% occupied. Our first winter in this country was essentially without heat and it was record-holding cold winter. I remember exercising just so my feet would get warm. KB and I spent the majority of our time at home wearing 3 layers, laying in bed, and watching movies. Not extremely productive. Anyways, even though our tiny apartment makes us feel claustrophobic and is hilarious when people came over and have to take turn walking around, the ultimate reason we are moving is because we cannot ask our kids to endure a winter here without heat.

Our new apartment is approximately twice the size of our current apartment. I am so excited. In the past I thought size was not a big deal to me, but apparently it is. Also our new apartment is in a better location for getting taxis. Currently we wait up to 1 hour during peek traffic - we have never waited longer than that since we have always quit and returned home after 1 hour. Our new apartment has a view of a mountain, which is really cool. Our new apartment has wonderful natural lighting. Our new apartment has 4 bedrooms! KB will have a place to study in which the can close the door and have less interruptions. Most importantly, it will have heat this winter.

When I was in college I thought I liked moving, but that was not really moving. I was able to move all my belongings in trash bags and laundry baskets - it just not the same. I thought liked moving because it gave me a chance to purge myself of unnecessary things. Unfortunately the things I would like to purge myself of now, i.e. furniture, are too expensive to replace. Therefore it is going to get packed up again and will hopefully survive another move. Moving last time also helped me realize I do not need nice things. I need durable things. Nothing survived our last move undamaged, and I expect the same outcome this time.

Anyways, we are in the process of moving. We are boxing our stuff up and buying stuff like curtains, blinds, wardrobes and lighting fixtures for the new place. The apartments tend to come pretty empty so we are even having to install kitchen cabinets, buy and install air conditioners and hot water heaters, put doors on closets, install a bathtub and finish the floor where the floor is just cement.

Organizing all the renovations to the apartment has been a bit complicated. In the US - I think since I have never actually renovated anything in the US, a contractor is often hired. Here it seems we are the contractor and we are entering into very unfamiliar territory. Without our local friends we would be in over our heads.

Our move date is set for November 14th. I will post pictures of our new place after we get settled in. I am excited and think all of this work will be worth it!