June 28

Happy one month anniversary, Thailand.

Scott is going on a 5 day trip up north today, leaving me without a computer. What ever will I do? Read BOOKS?! Pssh.

All is well, no one is sick, the heat is hot (duh), and our shower drain is clogged. That is the update for the whole week. :)

Enjoy the last week of June.



Geez, kid, you don't know anything about using a camera. Get with it.

June 25

SWIM DAY.


Sue-Malee and a terrified Jones.




But if you're thinkin about my baby it don't matter if you're black or white...





Jones and I swim here several evenings a week.




Nice face, kid.








Me-eh Ow doing her laps.








Post swim shower with dad.



















Riding home with Sue-Malee.

June 24

Photo Diary: Jones Makes Friends

Jones was either having a great time...or wishing he was at home with his toys.



Typical sidewalk.



I started to speak to this lady in Thai because she was selling stickers and I wanted some, but then she spoke back to me in English (without taking any breaks from the bag of chips she was eating). Apparently she lives in North Carolina most of the year and she's in the army. ??



This woman works at the shop with her. Perhaps her daughter? She didn't speak English so I practiced my Thai skills on her. She is admiring Jones.




Oh, you don't want a straw with your beverage? Too bad, you're getting one every time so deal with it.




The inside of a tuk-tuk. I have seen a tuk-tuk with a beverage bar and radio speakers in the back...but I have yet to enjoy one.




We met this shop owner about 3 doors down from our house and he asked if he could hold Jones. Why not?


Jones seemed pretty happy with him. Three cheers for me because I had a conversation in Thai with this guy.



Please note the following:
1. Yes, I have safety pinned Jones' ring to his shirt. It's a must.
2. That cute little girl behind the sliding glass door is quite the troll. I met her inside her parents' internet cafe and she gave me a look that could have melted my face.


Speaking of the "face melter"...




And all the troll wanted was a friend...




Dear adorable Thai children, why must you give me the look of death before warming up to me?



This girl is named Pi Mua or something. I can't remember. She was shy, but curious about Jones.




Love at first sight.



Pointing to Jones' pale skin while she said, "caow" (white).




I let Pi Mua use my camera and this is a photo she took of her parents.

June 23

Dear Jones-

Today was a busy day. We took you to the Chow Pom Market (by the way, I spell these Thai words phonetically, I have no idea how they should actually be spelled) to buy some fruit. It took us twice as long to get through the market as it should have because Thai women were literally jogging over to see you and squeeze your irresistible, white appendages. It was super hot and I was getting a bit tired of the look-at-the-white-baby-he–looks-like-a-doll routine, but I just smiled and repeated over and over that you are “poo-chai” (boy) and “gow dewun” (9 months old). Taking you in public is like facing the paparazzi in LA. At least I’m not the center of all the hand-squeezing attention. While we’re discussing Thai people and babies, why do Thai people loooove to clap loudly in your face? They think it’s hilarious.

After your second nap we picked up a tuk-tuk in the rain and took it to a big van (looked like a Volkswagen EuroVan) that drove us and 11 other people to Bang Bua Tong 40 minutes away. We spent time there with two of Scott’s old friends, Sister “Oh” and Sister “Ang”. Do I even have to describe their enthusiasm for you? Before we returned home you were given a bath in a pink, plastic bin in front of the house. This brought out several neighbors and their kids/babies who thoroughly enjoyed the show.

The ride home in the van was half terrible, half awesome. We got stuck sitting in the back row where the seats are elevated and dad couldn’t sit upright. It was also as bumpy as a handcart, which added to dad’s discomfort. We were laughing out loud at our misfortune. The best part of the ride, and in fact my entire day, was when you fell asleep quietly in my arms. Holding your snuggly body while I watched the sunset beyond the passing rice patties was wonderfully serene…and I basked in it.

My Thai is getting better and I was able to have a brief conversation with our tuk-tuk driver about his children. It felt pretty good. Dad is watching the US v Algeria World Cup game (in Thai) and I am not the least bit interested, so I’ll be going to sleep soon. Thank you for cuddling with me today after your van nap. I think I’ll take you out tomorrow to enjoy the city and snap some photos of you in locations that will prove you were actually here. I’m getting bored with the around-the-house shots and I think most of our blog readers (A.K.A. Grandmas and Grandpas) are as well.

Love,

Mom

---no photos, I didn't bring the still camera with us anywhere--

June 22

For all you Jones lovers out there...



Raspberries.







Jones' vacant-eyes-double-chin stare.







Enjoy? Why yes, yes I do.




Around the house. Shirtless.

Must. Destroy. Everything.

I had to post this photo so that I can tell the disturbing Aesop's Fable contained in this little Thai book. The English translation reads (copied verbatim including punctuation)...

The Bullfrog and the Ox: A strong young ox was walking and nibbing grass close to the swamp. The baby bullfrog saw him and were alarmed.
The bullfrog kids looked at the young ox admiring
When the mother bullfrog saw him she was stunned because before in this swamp it was only she who had seemed to be the biggest.
Mother look at that ox he's so huge her kids told her.
That's not very big. Looking! Mom can do that also
Saying this, she puffed herself up.
Look kids! Am I as big as the ox yet. her asked?
Not yet, Mom You are not even half of him the baby bullfrogs cried out together.
Look again. The mother bullfrog said while feeling uncomfortable from swelling herself.
The mother bullfrog tried again but never once succeeded.
She held her last breath and then swelled again with all her strength until her stomach exploded and she died.
The moral of this story: The ambitious without being humble will always encounter loss.

June 21st

Dear Jones-

I have become a lazy record keeper. We went to Pattaya last week for my birthday vacation and I got out of the habit of writing and into the habit of watching the few English channels on Taa’s TV. Terrible. In a nutshell, we had a splendid time in Pattaya. You had Taa as an almost daily babysitter while dad and I were livin’ it up. There was a carpeted, octagon-shaped room void of any furniture that we transformed into your playroom. It even had air conditioning in it. Pure heaven.

We all went swimming in the warm-watered beaches in Pattaya and you actually smiled while we swam. Normally you just look really intense. Dad and I forgot our swimsuits in Ayuthaya so we had to settle for some poorly constructed replacements at a beach side store in sizes XXL and XXXL. Awesome. We also ate Mexican food in Pattaya (sweet avocados!) as well as many a pizza pie. Taa’s husband, Colin, owns an Irish pub (even though he's English) in Pattaya that we visited a couple of times. The street on which his pub (Rosie O’Grady’s) is located was teeming with “women of the night” (or day, in fact) and they were clamoring to grab your chubby cheeks and sausage fingers as we walked by. I smiled and was friendly, but washed your hands as soon as possible.

Now we are home and melting like sticks of butter in the Ayuthaya heat. I haven’t even taken you on an outing since we’ve back. Perhaps we’ll take a stroll this evening if the temperature drops below 130 degrees. Dad is gone filming out of the city, so its just you, me and the ants. Speaking of dad…yesterday was Father’s Day so we treated ol’ pops as nice as we could and made him feel very special. However, most of my plans to spoil him went awry. On Saturday night we made a long and sweaty trek to the movie theater, and without going into the details, things DID NOT work out with that plan. I also got sick for several hours last night so dad had to take care of you. After about 90 minutes he was begging for your bedtime to come sooner. Ha. You are quite the handful and now dad understands my job as a Baby Wrangler a little better. However, I still owe him a Father’s Day do-over. And I still love being your mom. Now please keep napping so I can put some pictures on the blog.

Love,

Mom

PHOTO DIARY: A Typical Day


Back to life, back to reality. Wash, rinse, sterilize, sweat, repeat.



Where all (if any) cooking happens. Also, daily pot of boiled water for Jones.



View from the kitchen. I'm very into plastic baggies here. They're the only things that keep out our personal colony of ants. When the weather is cool I like to watch the barges pass by on the river.








Checking out Me-eh's food for the day while trying to ignore the heat.



I sit outside and watch Anne and Me-eh play with Jones until I have to retreat upstairs to the air conditioned rooms.




One of Jones' favorite toys that I'm constantly digging out from under the furniture. Weasely little ball.






Play time turns into nap time and so on and so forth.

The End.