First time for everything...

We had a wonderful week, and as the title suggests, we had several firsts. Me, in particular. I always like to try new things, but occasionally I find that some things are better to just do that one time! All in all, it was quite an adventure!

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and FHE with some new friends, the Selways, on Monday night. We now have friends in the city that we can swap babysitting with and Som (the Mom) and I got to talk about doing a little preschool for Jack, Cyrus (her youngest), and Jack's other little friend, Narissa. The three Moms are all very excited to have something organized together, and the kids are excited to play twice a week! Everyone's happy!

Tuesday, Som and I took the kids to the Dusit Zoo here in Bangkok for our first time. It was not extremely far by Taxi and in the 2 hours we were there, we didn't even begin to see what was available! We spent a lot of time in the reptile cave. I normally get pretty bored with things behind glass, but these snakes and such were actually moving around! They were so fascinating! We will definitely do this one again.

This is Jack and Cyrus at Dusit Zoo in front of some of the Crocodiles.

So, one of MY firsts, was attending a Step class in Thai. I discovered that they offer classes here in our complex in the evenings, so I was excited to try one out. I attended step and multi-step classes for the last few months before leaving the states, so I wouldn't say I am completely inexperienced. So, I thought I'd be fine, maybe a little behind, but oh well. About 5 minutes into the class, I realized I was in WAY over my head! The guy came in and started things up and all of a sudden, I felt like I had walked into the LAST 5 minutes of a class where everyone had learned the sequences already and was going through them at double the tempo. It seemed like a mix of the step I am used to, with ballroom, hip-hop, and skateboarding tricks mixed in. It was hilarious. Luckily, there was a Canadian lady in there who was just as lost as me! We laughed our way through the entire hour and had a great chat afterward. The whole point is just to get a work out anyway, right? Well, mission accomplished. But, I think I'll wait a while before trying another class in Thai.

My other firsts were going shopping on my own in the city, which I loved, and getting a pedicure! Jeff was nice enough to take the kids Friday night and let me get some things done, so after I bought was I set out to buy, I decided to stop at one of the hundreds of massage parlors here and get my first pedicure. Whoever comes to visit, we will try one of these together! It felt great to sit and read a magazine and still be getting something done. Well, kind of.

Friday night before my night out, we ate at a great Japanese restaurant in Jeff's office building. The kids loved it because they have room under the table to put your feet, even though you are supposed to be sitting "on the floor". I don't know if that makes sense. Anyway, Jack loves to use chopsticks for screwdrivers, but this particular night, he refused to use anything else to eat as well. I think he went home a little hungry. We will definitely eat at this place again, the service was fantastic. I don't think we ever needed anything, and the waitresses pretty much watched the kids while Jeff and I finished eating!

Jack and Janie have always loved each other, but since Janie is now getting to be older, they have even more fun together! They are the best of friends. THIS is why I love having two kids! The pool is one of our favorite things to do together.

They are both getting to be quite comfortable with the water. Jane dove in the other day, all by herself! Even after I grabbed her, it didn't really phase her. She doesn't quite get that it can be scary sometimes too.

They also love to play on the stroller. This particular day, they wanted to switch seats. This isn't the best picture, but Janie was laughing SO hard. She thought she was HILARIOUS, and she is. She's like her mom in that when she smiles really big, her big cheeks cover up her eyes!

Jane is getting to be quite the talker now. She learned "down, go, all done, stop" this week. She is really starting to sign more now too. This week she did "go, stop, help, cereal, and cold" for the first time. She is walking more and more each day. I'm excited for the day when she crosses the line from majority crawling, to majority walking. She is just a little angel. She continues to amaze us with how well she does when we go out. She is happy and content and charms everyone she meets!

Our biggest adventure of the week was our first trip to the Crocodile Farm. It was where we got to do a lot of things we heard about before we came here that we thought "we HAVE to do that". It was QUITE a day. So, if you are interested, read on!