Super Jack!

Another wonderful week, come and gone. Although this one was loaded with extra fun, memories, laughs, and tears. It has been an emotional one for me, but good in so many ways. We took loads of pictures, but I will try to be brief so your reading of this week's blog won't carry right into next week's.

Of course, our big events of the week started on Tuesday with Jack's first day at school. He has been anticipating this for so long, he could hardly believe it was actually happening.

Me and my BIG boy on his first day. He is all about silly pictures lately, so here we are! (Our camera was having some sporadic "fuzz" problems so some of the pics aren't the best).

Jack and Janie on the way out the door. I say it all the time, but they are SO cute together!

And a silly one of course...

Growing up, it seemed like we took a lot of pictures on our front steps on significant days. So, this is as much "front porch" as we have right now. This is in our outside lobby area, with the front office behind them. We spend a lot of time in this area coming, going, and visiting with the incredible staff.

The bus picks him up and drops him off right at the lobby (super convenient!), so we now spend even more time down here. Janie and I went with him on the bus the first day, which I loved. Jack, on the other hand, felt like we were crampin' his style, making it so he couldn't sit by the other children. I thought, "here we go...". It was fun to see him jump right in on his first day. He ran off the bus so fast, threw his backpack down in the classroom and went straight for the playground. Thanks to his "trial day" in February, he knew exactly what to do.

This is Janie as we were waiting for Jack to return home the first day. We waited for 40 min. (I arrived early, and was trying to not be a over-bearing mother, so yes, I waited all that time!), before I got a call from the school administrator. She was extremely apologetic and assured me this has never happened before, but somehow, Jack unknowingly sneaked into the afternoon class. So, his first day, instead of being SO anxious to come home, what does he do? He stays an extra 2 hours! This would only happen to Jack.... The bus brought him home around 2:45 instead of 12:45, and he thought it was great that he got to eat lunch and have extra classes! Everyone was extremely apologetic the next day. I was just glad he had such a positive day, but I am really glad he won't be gone for that long every day! So, to wrap this picture up, we played downstairs all that time and the girls at the desk even provided treats and a drink for her. She was in heaven.

Some of these pictures are a little mixed because I took some the first day, and some the 2nd, which was his birthday. This was taken on his birthday as he got on the bus for the first time all by himself! As you can see, the bus isn't really a bus, it's a big van. It takes him about 15 minutes to get to/school. I ask him what he does on the bus and he tells me, "I am just the boy that looks out the window". He loves being so independent.

This is Jack's birthday morning, on the way out the door. He's all about Superman lately, can you tell?

Jeff, Janie, and I brought cupcakes to Jack's class for snack time. It was fun to see him "in action" and get to know his new friends a bit. LOTS of different personalities in this class. His school has about 60 children and more than 20 different nationalities. I think there is 1-2 other full Americans in this class. (Notice Janie eating in the background, cute!)

Jack chose to swim after school, which was a treat because Daddy was home! He LOVES his water wings and goggles lately. He's a little more cautious in the water than he used to be, but is definitely warming up. Janie, on the other hand, has jumped in twice, once fully clothed, and doesn't want to get out. She has no fear. She will jump in, rise to the top by herself and start kicking to the side (with help) to do it all again. She and I are looking into a swim class. If she's going to be that fearless, we figure she'd better start learning how to swim!


Jack chose a Superman cake for his birthday and I told him he could choose anything he wanted for dinner, as long as we could have it delivered. I know, I know. I'm an awesome mom. Here, you can get anything delivered, so McDonald's it was! FYI, cake mixes here cost around $4-5/box, so I now make cakes from scratch. Kind of a pain, but it was yummy and I am way too cheap to pay that much! Jeff did most of the decorating this time, isn't he awesome?

We spent Jack's birthday evening at home, swimming, eating, visiting, and going on his gift-finding scavenger hunt. He LOVED figuring out each clue and finding his small gifts in the microwave, toy box, shoe cabinet, etc. It was hilarious to watch him have more fun with the clues than with the actual presents. Don't worry, I'm taking notes for next year.

One of his favorite things about school this week was his Taekwondo class. I knew he would love this, and wish I could be there doing it with him! He came home with his cool suit and said, "I got to KICK a BAG!". Of course, for any little boy, this would be the best part of the day. You think his suit looks a little large?

So, if you are wondering, YES, our whole week focused on JACK. It was a crazy week, and I was a whole day off all week long (because he started school on Tuesday, not Monday). I completely missed my play date for Thursday (thinking it was Wednesday) and didn't even realize it until I saw my friend's husband on the train at 11am! I thought my life would be simplified by having Jack in school, but I think it is just proportioned differently. We have entered an entirely new part of parenthood, and I have a feeling we are just getting started. Remembering what day to take his art bag, library books, swimsuit, taekwondo suit, show and tell... wow! So much MORE to think about, but I am excited.

The weekend was mostly spent in recovery, and amidst all of this, we also celebrated my birthday. I am the wonderful age of 27, and loving it. I have no problem with getting older (although 27 does sound old), I just plan on being wiser, stronger, and a better wife and mother with each year.

We actually spent my birthday morning with Anutra and her family celebrating her niece's birthday (an event she invited us to 2 months ago, how could we say no?). It was fun to be with Anutra and her family, who are all very nice, but it ended up being a very LONG morning. So, when we got home, instead of heading out to get a massage, like Jeff had planned for me, I opted to take a nap with Jack instead. (I'm hoping that massage will happen sometime next week, we'll see.)

This is Om with Jane. She is a sweet girl, just turning 18. She has come over to play with Jack and Janie before and adores them. It was fun to see her again, and she even got Jack a play bowling set, which he loves. (People spoil our children here more than we do! Of course, they're not complaining!).


We spent the evening doing what we do for 2007 birthdays in this family... bowling! Yes, we have turned into a bowling family. It is something we can do all together, it's convenient, air-conditioned, and Jack and Janie love it! Plus, since it was my birthday, I decided to let myself beat Jeff. I more than doubled my score from when we went for Jeff's birthday, and instead of beating Jack by 17 (like I did the first time), I beat Jeff by 18! Don't worry, I'm not rubbing it in or anything. We concluded with dinner at Sizzler, which has the only good salad bar in all of Bangkok. It was awesome.

Besides a small breakdown the night of Jack's birthday, I have been an enthusiastic, solid mother through this big week of change. I love doing new things, being in new places, changing up the routine, meeting new people, all that good stuff. But, when it comes to my baby growing up and moving onto big things, I realize I am not as flexible as I probably should be. In a way, I feel like I'm growing up right along side my own children. Luckily, we can work on it, everyday, together.

Boats, bowling and mermaids

It's been just a nice, slower, week for us and we've loved it. I knew going into it that this is my last week with both my kids at home full-time, so I really wanted to enjoy it. Jeff had Monday off for Songkran, so we spend some time at our favorite park, Suan Lumpini, and finally did the paddle boats we've talked about doing for months now. It was a beautiful day, but oh, so HOT! Jeff and Jack went out first, and I stayed with Jane to feed the fish and visit with all of her admirers.
I don't know how hot it was that day, but today, on the way home from church, the thermometer read 39 Celsius (102 F). Yes, HOT! Consider that, with all the humidity. The best example of how life is right now is that Jeff went out for his run at 5am yesterday. He was sitting on a park bench before his run and was already dripping. After his run, he looks like he just got out of the pool, fully clothed.

So, next week is a big week for all of us. Jack starts school on Tuesday (aaahhh!) and turns four on Wednesday (yaaaayyy!). Since I knew this coming week would be crazy, we did a few things to celebrate his birthday this last week too. Our favorite thing was taking our usual playgroup, plus Jake, Meg, and Cyan (all homeschooled, so it worked out perfectly) and going bowling for Jack's birthday. He loved going for Jeff's birthday, so we thought it would be fun to go with all our little friends too. 8 kids and 4 adults was a little nuts, but luckily, we went as soon as the bowling alley opened, so we had it all to ourselves for the first bit. Plus, in Thailand, where there are children, there are also many helpers. We had 2-3 employees watching us and playing with the kids at all times. I don't know if they are doing it to make sure we don't break anything, or if they just love to watch the children, but it was this way last time we went bowling at a completely different place! I think it's because Thais just love children.

This picture definitely didn't capture all the fun, but it was the only one I could get them all in! They didn't want to stop playing, so it was a little bit of a challenge just to sit them down.

Jane and Jake playing together like always. We figure that by the time Jane is old enough to get married, Jake could already have his doctorate and be well on his way. Isn't that a great plan?


This picture is more accurate of how the kids were acting while we were bowling. They were bouncing off the walls. It was so much fun and we didn't even have any balls dropped on toes (something I've done twice. I know, I'm a genius).


Friday afternoon was just me and Jack. My heart hurts when I think of not having all that time together like we've always had, so I made sure that we got a special afternoon out, just the two of us. He chose to go to MBK (a shopping mall) and get ice cream and pick out a special birthday toy. He was so excited to be on HIS schedule, so we looked at every toy stand, ate dried mangoes, and bought him some Lightening McQueen pajamas. He was in heaven.

Saturday, we went to Ocean World, like we do almost every week, but Daddy got to come this time! There is a Cartoon Festival exhibit going on for another couple of weeks where they do a live Mermaid dive and show, have all kinds of fun displays and we surprised him and actually said "yes" when he asked us (like he does every time) if we could go on the glass bottom boat.

Janie and Jack were so excited to put on these cool life jackets and see all the fish and sharks from the boat. The guide was fluent in English, so he said everything twice, for our sake. We never thought it looked that cool before, we just wanted to give Jack a birthday treat. But, we were impressed with how fun it really was. Not that we would pay to do it again, but for once, it was fun!

Janie thought the mermaids were pretty cool. I thought this was cute that she even wanted a picture with them. She stood and waited her turn and everything.

I thought Jack would be completely mesmerized by the mermaid dive, but it was Jane that loved it. She kept saying "more, more!". Jack kept pointing out that he could see her legs. I'd try to tell him that they were fins and he'd say, "but she has knees!". Not much can get by him anymore.

Janie is our color queen right now. She always is saying "color, color!". Jack wouldn't sit and do anything at this age without a load of snacks, so it surprises me every time. She has a problem with eating the crayons, so I bought her some little colored pencils and she loves them. In this picture, she is wearing my running socks. She loves to put things on her feet, but usually it's someone's shoes. I don't know if you can see her curls in this photo very well, but they are darling! I've been wanting to cut her hair for months, but just haven't brought myself to do it because she just keeps getting more and more curls as her hair gets longer and it gets more humid. I learned the word for "doll" about a month ago and have since heard people say it about Jane many times. I think she looks like a doll too. A big, soft one.

A few things about Jane: 1) She started saying "thank you" for the first time this week. When we first got here, she immediately started saying it in Thai at the appropriate times, but has never said it in English. We are a little sad about this, but she probably should know how to say it in English, right? 2) She copies everything Jack says, but more than anything, his sound effects. He will come in and give a huge sigh, or a "woo-hoo" on the tuk-tuk, or she'll even hear the taxi meter beeping and will copy it exactly. We all get a big kick out of this because half the time, we don't think she even realizes she's doing it. 3) Janie is still just as loving and cuddly as ever. She loves to kiss and hug us, especially Jack, and even went to give Brother Andersen, a good friend from church, a huge hug when he dropped us off tonight. She always goes for Jack first thing when our family prayers are over, and of course, he thinks this is hilarious to get away. They both love the game. 4) Janie loves her nursery class at church. I love being in there and watching her participate and play with the other children. We had our funnest time yet in there today and I loved that I got to share it with her. The best part is, she has no idea she is the youngest, so she just keeps up with all the 3 year olds. Just like at home.

Wish me luck this week as I send Jack off to school for the first time. I hate the thought of it, but know he is so ready to be with kids his own age everyday, and learn SO much. He has such an inquiring mind. The questions never stop. Really. Sometimes, I have to just ask him to say "oh, okay", for my own sanity! Hopefully, school will satisfy part of that curiosity, and I can take over the rest. I think most moms would be worried about their child's first day for the child's sake. Not me, I'm worried about me. Jack can't wait!

"I can do this, I can do this...."

Happy New Year!

Yes, I know, it's April. But, this is the weekend that we get to celebrate Songkran, the Thai new year and it is GREAT! Jeff got Friday off work as well as Monday, and the best part is that almost everyone leaves the city for this holiday. I hardly recognized parts of the streets because our usual vendors were all gone, there is very little traffic, and the few people we walked past were only there to throw water on people that passed by. The New Year is celebrated with a LOT of water fights, so whenever you go out you need to be prepared to get buckets of water thrown on you. We were surprised at how nice the people with hoses were as we passed by. We actually got more wet driving home in a tuk-tuk than we did walking by on foot! Jack thinks this is all awesome!

Earlier in the week, we celebrated our Easter on Monday, which was a lot of fun. The kids are at such great ages right now, where everything is hilarious.


This is just one picture of our Easter fun. We colored eggs, but don't you think they look a little... brown? Yes, the only eggs that I could find here, beside duck eggs which I didn't want to risk, were brown. The kids loved it, nonetheless! Jane is such a cheeser lately.

The other day, I caught the kids randomly hugging and swaying together while doing our "Circle of Love" song (a silly song that my Mom made up that we did after family prayer every single day growing up. We have carried on the tradition, so thanks Mom!) I thought this was too cute, but only caught the end of it (during the "yaaaayyyy!"). I have said it before, but I'll say it again, I love watching my kids together.

Janie was my little "cookie jar" today while I was making dinner. This is where my mom used to put me while she was baking. I was younger and lots chubbier, if you can believe it. As cute of a kid as I was, I don't know how I could top this sweet smile. I thought my mom and family would appreciate this picture.

Janie loves to pretend she plays computer games like her brother. She loves to watch the Sesame Street characters, but of course, doesn't quite get how to control the mouse. Jeff thought this was hilarious.

We spent last night at the park not far from our home. I love this park, although it is SO hot, we haven't been for a while. But, once the sun went down it was quite pleasant! It was fun to see all the families there together with a lot of water guns! I loved Janie's grin. Jeff and I are constantly saying, "Oh my, she is the cutest thing ever!" And she just keeps topping herself! Her first sentence, "I love you", absolutely melts my heart. She says so many words now, I don't think I could count (of course, not everyone could understand them yet!). I love this stage!

Jack found a friend at the park, Nop. He was a sweet Thai boy who had just got a new bike from the store with his dad. Jack, of course, wanted to try it out, and I was amazed at how generous Nop was. They kept taking turns with who was driving and who was riding. Then they would switch who was riding and who was running along side. Nop was so sweet and spoke English really well, just like his Father. They frequent the park, so we hope to run into them again.

This picture was taken by Dom during our trip to Ban Krut last week. This is one of the most natural picture of Jack we have had in a long time. We both just love it and can't stop looking at our handsome boy who is all grown up! I can't believe he starts school in just one more week!

A few things about Jack this week: 1) He discovered how to snap his fingers. He practiced and practiced until he can get a snap out of 3 fingers on his right hand. His eyes light up when he gets a really good one, it's magical! 2) For the first time since December, Jack didn't request "Far, Far Away in a Manger" as one of his bedtime songs. Instead he asked for "Angels on High". 3) Jack and I finished reading The BFG by Roald Dahl yesterday. I think this has been one of our favorite chapter books together, despite the child-eating giants. We started our 3rd Roald Dahl book tonight, Matilda, and we are already hooked! This is our favorite time of the day together.

Happy New Year!