31 August 2010

A New Movie - Asher Speaks

I am still learning how to use iMovie, but here is my latest attempt at a little bit of video editing. Asher is talking more and more everyday and we have fun getting him to say stuff. Here are some of our favorite things he is doing and saying right now.

WARNING: Long video of Asher produced for the sake of his grandmothers and other family members.

30 August 2010

23 Weeks

I had another check up this week and the doctor tells me that everything is going well. It's always so fun to me to go and actually get to talk to my doctor at these appointments, it's so much different than the check ups I had when I was pregnant with Asher.

This is one of my new skirts. I kept all of my maternity clothes from last time, but I really didn't have any dressy clothes. We never wore nice clothes in Indonesia, so I really had no need for them. Bangkok is like a fashion show all the time, so I figured I should try to fit in. I looked at what kind of clothes they were selling at The Gap and then went to China Town (with Asher on a hot day, not a good idea) and bought some fabric that looked the same. Three meters for $3 and that was enough for two skirts! I dropped off the material at the tailors, told her I was pregnant and she worked her magic to make me two lovely skirts. Of course now my problem is that I hate riding motorcycles in skirts. When I wear a skirt I have to ride side saddle and I really don't like doing that.



And just for fun here's a picture from about the same point of my pregnancy with Asher.


Anyway, our second son is doing great. I heard his little heart beating at the doctor's office and I feel him kicking around all day and night. He still doesn't have a name, but we are working on it.

27 August 2010

Asher's New Stuff

Well after finally deciding that I would just get Asher a twin bed I ended up getting him an IKEA bed that is bigger than toddler size, but smaller than a twin. I really was all for the twin, but I found this one used here in Bangkok and it matches his crib.


I think now my plan is to keep Asher in this bed until our first Stateside (he will be 4) and keep the little baby in the crib (or the crib converted to a toddler bed) until then. When we get back from Stateside I am hoping we can get them some fun bunk beds. Since Asher's new bed is bigger than a toddler bed I'm not worried about him out-growing it before then.

The downside: it's a funny size. I sort of realized this when I bought it. But I wrongly assumed that if IKEA made a funny sized bed they would make funny sized bedding. I was wrong. While they do make a fitted sheet, they don't make anything else that will fit this bed. I was frustrated until I got online, realized how cheap toddler bedding was at Target and got our my measuring tape. Turns out a toddler size comforter will fit Asher's bed nicely and my wonderful neighbor, Aunt Marsha, will just make some fitted sheets for me.

I found some bedding that is perfect for Asher and sort of coordinates with the crib bedding we already have. The Hampton boys are going to have a pretty cute little bedroom!


He loves cars and I can't wait to see how excited he gets when he sees this stuff. I don't think we will be able to use the sheets since they will be too small, but we will get to use the comforter, pillow case and the little car pillow.

And Mimi of course found the perfect accessory when she was at Target last week.


A car bean bag! She is going to take all of the beans out and bring it with her and we will refill it once it gets here.

The plan for now is for Mimi to ship the bedding (unless somebody happens to know somebody coming to Bangkok????), so hopefully we will have it in the next few weeks. Asher has absolutely no interest in sleeping in his big boy bed right now, but I hope the cars will entice him.

24 August 2010

My Baby Wish List

Since we are having another precious little boy and I brought a lot of our baby stuff with us there's really not much I need to get before our new little guy joins us. I put together a little wish list of the things I would love to have. I would love to hear what you think. Have you used any of these things? Do you love them? Hate them? Think they are a waste of money? Let me know!

A Baby Carrier
I'm wanting to get either a
Action Baby Carrier or Ergo Baby Carrier with Infant Insert. Originally I was sold on the Ergo (thanks Beth Puckett!), but now I am leaning towards the Action Baby Carrier (ABC). The ABC is cheaper ($90 vs. $105 for Ergo and $25 for Infant Insert), comes in pretty colors and from what I have read online it is the best structured carrier when it's hot outside. The Ergo comes highly recommended and I know it works well, so I'm still having a little trouble deciding. I thought I had hit the jackpot a few days ago on the Bangkok Craig's List when I found a used Ergo for sale. Then I saw the price. The lady wanted nearly $200 for it because she bought it new in Bangkok for around $275.
Any suggestions or personal experiences?

Boppy Travel Swing
Asher loved swinging when he was little and thanks to my cousin Kelly we were able to borrow a swing while we were living with Mimi. Maddie Jackson slept sweetly in her Boppy swing the first time I met her and I love that it's super small. The bad thing is that I can't find it for sale anywhere except Ebay. The good thing is that I can buy a used one on Ebay at a reasonable price. I did actually come across a Fisher Price travel swing here in Bangkok for only $222.15 (actual retail price at Babies R Us in the States $69.99). I think I will be sticking to Ebay.

Cloth Diapers
I have a few and I applied for a cloth diaper grant from Cotton Babies. I'm still waiting to see if I got the grant, but if that doesn't take care of it this little one will probably just join Asher in the disposable diaper club.

3-6 month clothes
Asher was in the States during this time so all we have are winter clothes. I have Mimi shopping the consignment shops for me and I am keeping an eye out for sales now that it is time for Fall clothes in the States.

Personalized Boppy Cover
Asher had one, so it's only fair. If only the baby had a name...


Mobile
This was another thing that we borrowed for Asher while we were living with Mimi. I'm really not particular, so I'm just hoping to pick up one around here somewhere.

Baby Monitor
We had an old intercom thing that we used when Asher was little and we lived with Mimi, but it broke. I would really like to get one of those video monitors just so I could see what really goes on when Asher (and in the future his little brother) are going to sleep and waking up. Probably I will take what I can find, but I hope I don't have to buy it new. Like everything else they are way overpriced here.

Changing Table
This is like my ultimate dream. I've never had one before and really I figure that if I never had one with Asher I really don't need one (pretty much like everything else on this list). But it would be fun to have a nice organized place to put all of the diaper stuff. I found one here that matches the baby bed and seems pretty nice. Items like this leave me wishing that IKEA would just go ahead and come to Bangkok!

22 August 2010

Potty Face

The other day I let Asher try on his Cars underwear and I got out the potty seat just to see what would happen.

Mostly what happened was Asher looked cute.


And silly.


And a lot like a big boy.


What it didn't look like was Asher using the potty. But he also made it an hour in the underwear without an accident. At that point he was refusing to go near the toilet and doing a little dance. You know, the kind of dance you do when you really have to go. He went and got a diaper and he said please, so I put the diaper on him. He looked so relieved. And he proceeded to fill up two diapers rather quickly.


I think I'll go ahead and say he's not quite ready for the whole potty thing, but hey, at least he looked good trying.

19 August 2010

While Mama Was Gone

A few weeks ago (actually this was while Roger and I were at the doctor checking out our newest son) Asher spent the morning with our neighbors, Aunt Marsha and Uncle Tony. I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but all of the kids in our company call the adults aunt and uncle. This way even though we are far from home we are always surrounded by family. I think by the last count Asher has around 5000 aunts and uncles living all over the world.


Anyway, Aunt Marsha and Uncle Tony usually watch Asher when I go to the doctor. In fact Aunt Marsha usually volunteers to come over extra early so I can go to Starbucks and get some coffee before I go to the doctor. I love having awesome neighbors. On this particular morning they had a lot planned for Asher. From what I was told as soon as Asher finished his oatmeal they headed outside to do some yard work. Asher helped Uncle Tony pull up some weeds and pick up some big sticks. After that they got to wash the car. Asher was having a blast. Much more fun than being at home with Mama and cleaning the house.


Evidently Marsha and Tony had been looking for a good reason to go check out Lumpini Park. Lumpini is a huge park right in the middle of the city. There is a real playground (with safe playground equipment!), a lake and lots of grass to run around in.



I love these last three pictures. Marsha called me while we were at the doctor and said they were going home to eat lunch and that they were a bit wet. I didn't quite catch all of what she said, but when I got home and saw the soaking wet pair of shorts hanging up to dry I started to figure it all out.

First, Aunt Marsha decided to be brave and go down the slide with Asher.


Evidently she didn't check for puddles before going down the slide and didn't take into account that it's rainy season and there are always puddles.


The Aftermath. I'm surprised Asher stayed so calm about being wet.

12 August 2010

Church Time

We love our church here in Bangkok and finally after being there for a few months I think the other people are starting to love us. Or at least they love Asher. I promise you that every single person there knows his name, but for the life of them can't remember who I am. They just call me Asher's mom. Hey, at least I can understand that much Thai. They also get really confused as to exactly who I am married to. Any time they see a white guy at church they assume he is my husband. Occasionally that's awkward, but I think they are slowly learning.


Anyway, this week I decided to take a few pictures of Asher and the other nursery kids as they went about their busy Sunday morning routine of eating and playing (and fighting).


This is the main group of kids that are at church every week. The boy at the bottom of the slide is named Blessing. After he strikes the nursery we are usually left dazed, confused, crying and think that yes, we were just Blessed. The two little girls are very calm, I don't know how they survive in there. The baby's name is Mini, she's sweet and she lets me hold her. Asher loves her, too.



Sunday mornings have become one of my favorite times during the week. Although I rarely have any idea what is really going on, I love to sit back in the nursery with the other moms and watch the kids play, laugh when they do something funny and sympathize when they get upset.

This week we started a new cell group at church for mom's with little kids. We had five moms in our group this week and are praying that as we continue that we can grow and encourage all of the moms at church.

09 August 2010

Old Friends in a New Place

During college Roger and I had some great friends named En and Nung. They are from Bangkok, but at the time they were both studying at the University of Louisville. We would spend almost every Friday night with them eating Thai food, singing Thai karaoke and hanging out. They even spent Thanksgiving at our house after we got married.

En and Nung finished their studies at U of L and moved back to Bangkok. They are now married and working here in the city. They were super excited to find out that we were now living and studying in their city. Unfortunately we are all much too busy to hang out every Friday night, but we have been able to see them a few times recently.

Last weekend we went with them to eat with En's parents. We had some wonderful seafood and enjoyed getting to know their family and getting to practice speaking Thai. Asher was, of course, the center of attention. He started the evening off right by wai-ing En's parents. They thought he was so polite and so Thai. He did great sitting through a long Thai dinner and eating practically anything they offered him. Everyone was very impressed (we were too).

The restaurant was on the river so after dinner we went outside so Asher could see the boats and so that we could take a few pictures.


Asher and Mama watching the boats go by. Asher thought the Chao Phraya River was his own personal swimming pool and he kept asking to jump in.


Asher and En. They are big buddies, Asher insisted on sitting in her lap in the car while he told her all about the different vehicles he saw on the road.


En took a nice family picture for us while we watched the sun set.

Snail Love

We finished another busy week. We are now without a househelper (those of you without househelpers go ahead and roll your eyes, those of you that live in this part of the world will sympathize with me) and I am studying Thai every afternoon for two hours. Those two things have combined for some busy mornings and one tired momma. I really miss having Asher's nap time to sit down or get stuff done, but it's totally worth it for me to really get to study Thai and be able to talk to more people.

It's been an adjustment, but for the most part Asher and I can get the house clean (and a few days a week get the floors mopped) and sort of keep up with the laundry. Rainy season makes it a bit hard to get the clothes dry, but we are absolutely loving the cooler weather. Asher has become quite the sweeper/mopper/duster and I think he actually enjoys the time we spend cleaning the house every morning.

Roger and I discovered that rainy season brings a lot of snails to our yard. Roger and Asher have taken to snail hunting most nights after dinner. It's gross, but I figure with a house full of boys I better get used to creepy crawly things. In fact we recently ate dinner with a snail in a tupperware bowl sitting on the counter.

Asher loves looking for snails and I went out the other night to capture a few pictures of the nasty little things he loves to look for.


Snails are nasty. The more you see them the nastier they become.


Snail meet Stick. It's not a gentle stick because it's being held by a non-gentle 22 month old that likes to hit things with sticks.


Here's the stick and Asher. I would be afraid if I was a snail. Actually I am afraid and Asher knows not to hit me with the stick.


Uh oh! Where did the snail go? It's under Asher's shoe. Oh well, I'm sure there will be more snails tomorrow.

07 August 2010

20 Weeks

We are maybe halfway to meeting our new baby. I'm just going to go ahead and assume this one will be late like Asher, so really I think next week will be the halfway point. Either way I am now 20 weeks which I guess is 5 months.

Baby Boy is kicking around in my belly and thankfully not making me too nauseous these days. I eat a lot of spicy food, so I get a lot of heartburn. Oh well, the food's good and I guess I could always start eating bland stuff.

Here's the picture I finally had Roger take for me.


The belly is growing, but not too fast. I can still wear some of my regular pants, but most of my shirts are too short. Unfortunately most of my maternity shirts are too big, so I just rotate through the same shirts over and over. Really I'm looking forward to the baby bump growing so that I can have more clothes to wear. And when the bump gets bigger the Thai people on the train will get up and give me their seat. Sweet pregnancy perks!

And here's the sweet big brother looking a bit frightened and confused.


My neighbor made this carrier for her daughter-in-law and Asher and I were testing it out. He wasn't a big fan of it (and no he never wears clothes around the house, it's too hot).

03 August 2010

Red Shirts

I am planning to have two little boys dressed in matching outfits starting sometime after the first of the year. Until then I have to make do with what I have.


(Asher is holding up one finger because I counted to three before I took the picture. He still can get no further than holding up one finger and saying two.)

01 August 2010

Prayer for our Friends

This past week some of our friends came into Bangkok and two of their kids came to our house to play.

Here's Asher, he's super excited to have another little guy at his house to play.


Meet Nolan, he's a year older than Asher and full of energy. He also thinks I'm a bit of a super hero because I took him on a skytrain ride.


This is Grace, she is a wonderful big sister and was probably bored out of her mind in our house full of cars.


Asher and Nolan had a blast chasing each other around in circles and playing cars.

And since they are little boys they seemed to always want to play with one car. We solved that problem (sort of) by switching the car between them every ten minutes.

I think this was during Asher's turn to play with the car. Nolan was just watching and waiting. Asher decided he better hold on tight and sit next to Daddy.


Unfortunately the reason for all of this play time was that their little brother Micah was visiting a doctor and having some tests done. We found out last night that Micah has a large tumor on his spine. His family will be leaving Bangkok quickly and heading to the States for him to go to the doctor. Please pray for Micah and his family during this time. They have a lot of traveling and a lot of uncertainty in their future.