May 31st

Dear Jones-

We finally got moved into our house yesterday and were able to feel at ease. It’s not the house we had decided on yesterday. It’s a house in the city on the river. You slept much better last night than you have in about a week. Ten hours of sleep total. Woke up only once. Hooray. The landlords of this giant house complex live right next to us and we see them often. Meh Ow is the grandma and first lady around here. Her husband, daughter and possibly her maid also live here. Her daughter’s name is Anne. She is 41, but looks 30. They LOVE to play with you and talk to you. They call you “Joan-SEE” and “little doll”.

We went to church yesterday and I hardly had to tend to you at all because everyone in the ward wanted to hold you and play with you. Of course. You get more attention than I’ve ever seen given to one baby. You handle it really well and seem to enjoy all the new faces.

After you went to sleep last night dad and I ate Meh Ow’s leftovers for dinner: papaya salad, fried chicken, a pork dish and one of Meh Ow’s treats. She sells baked goods (pastries, breads, cakes) and makes them right downstairs from our rooms. Mom and dad might get fat while we’re here.

Life moves slowly here and you can’t expect much out of a schedule. I’m a planner and want things to be efficient. Needless to say, there have been some frustrating moments for me and your dad has to endure my rants. For example, I thought that going to the mall to buy a simple baby crib, a white sheet or two and maybe some towels and bins for your toys would be an easy task. Little did I know the following: crib sheets don’t exist in Thailand, everything has a cartoon/floral/granny print on it and the mall is like one giant TV commercial on speed…and crack. And yet we have to go again today to get more supplies for the house. Great.

I’ll steal a few moments now to do nothing but lie on my king size bed in our air conditioned room.

inside the church building

back of the house

Jones hates grass

backyard

view across the river from our backyard

Ting. The maid.

Meh Ow

Meh Ow's older sister, Loong.

Meh Ow's husband.