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Learning Thai
Feb 5, 2012
Daddy Steve making specialized Thai alphabet learning tools for Jamie. How strange is that?!
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Dream World
Jan 23, 11
Dream World, a local amusement park we never checked out. It looked very cheesy at the beginning.
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And Jamie was afraid to get on rides on his own.
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But when we let him drive the Antique Car, his confidence boosted up and he started wanting to get on rides on his own.
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Out of all the rides he said his favorite was this helicopter.
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But mommy's favorite was the sled. So fun!!
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Daddy had fun beating up Arnold in arm wrestling.
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The best picture! Swallowed by Bruce ~
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Yogi Bear
Jan 22, 2011
Went to see it for Jamie but we ended up enjoying it more. ^^ This was Jamie's 3rd time watching movie in a theatre.
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Waffle House
August 26, 10
Mommy highly recommended this Southern franchise for some American taste but this specific branch by Grandma Tonna's house wasn't as good as the one in mommy's school area. It was still acceptable though.
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Bowling (again!)
August 26, 10
This time with grandparents and Auntie Keiko too in North Carolina!
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Bowling
July 3, 10
Special weapon for kid lane!
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Hard Rock Pattaya
May 3, 10
We just had a long weekend. We didn't plan anything in advance. But on Friday we figured we should use this long weekend to be away from the messy Bangkok. So we headed to Hard Rock Pattaya.
Right when we got there, we ran into Bob Saap! He may not be very famous in the States but in Japan he's very well known. He usually appears as a bully on Japan TV but in person, he was very friendly. We kept running into him in Pattaya and every time he gave us a big friendly smile.
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First we had lunch on the beach. When Jamie saw daddy took off his shirt to cool down, Jamie also took off his own shirt, leaving himself with just an underwear. :)
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Back at Hard Rock Hotel, there were plenty to do in the pool. Basketball, banana boat, water aerobics...
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After a good swim in the pool, we went to the famous Walking Street for some burgers. We were all exhausted already though.
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Jamie was the first one to pass out on the way back. Too bad he had to miss the big Hard Rock desert he longed for.
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We had a very good deep sleep that nite.
The next morning of course the first thing we did was to jump into the pool. Literally. |
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Another very fun thing about this pool was one side was pool and the other side was a beach like landscape with a built in slide. This slide was Jamie's favorite.
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We only stayed one night but we had a very good time. The whole hotel really carried out the Hard Rock brand. Even on payment bill, the guests are called rock stars and our signatures are called autographs haha, and not to mention we could sleep with rock stars.
Bye bye Sting!
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After check out, we headed for some mini golf.
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Visit from China
April 23, 2010
Our friends Stephen's family used to live in Bangkok but now resides in China. They love Bangkok so they are often back. This time we invited them to our house.
As always, Pizza was a very good host to our guests. He got all cuddling up with anyone. |
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Jamie hung out with Blake which in very short time Jamie already picked up a new pharse "I'm gonna k*ll you"...it's amazing/scary how fast kids pick up things from surrounding...
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And after Blake fell asleep, Jamie played with Kimmy.
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Spending time with Miki family
April 9, 10
The Nongnooch Garden in Pattaya has always been a popular attraction among our friends from overseas. So it was a must go place for Miki family too especially since she requested for elephant ride. |
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Before the elephant show, we had to see a cultural show first. It was very crowded and we had no place to sit. Jamie just found himself a seat next to this unknown tourist. He even had his hand on the guy hahaha. Well the tourist also accepted him and took photos with him and let him wear his hat etc. It was so Jamie. :>
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The elephant show was really exciting. We sat in the first row. Elephants could easily took the bananas from our hands.
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Miki went out to let the elephant pick her up!!
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Hey, the one with mommy would be cute too if Mana would have looked at the camera too... |
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We were about 200 kilometers away from our home but you know what, we ran into our neighbors in the park!!!!! What's the odd?!?! We happened to sit next to each other too during lunch. Really, what's the odd?!?!
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After lunch, we took it slow by feeding bananas to the elephants. How could such big animals survive on just bananas?!?!
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We still had time before the elephant ride starts, so we walked around the park.
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We could feed veggies to big turtles.
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Finally it was the elephant ride they were waiting for. But Mana ended up falling asleep during the ride haha. Afterall, she had been super active for hours already. |
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This was the parking lot. So cute with all the elephant bush in the back. |
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Even cuter with Jamie. :>
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At night we went to eat Korean BBQ on our street. Don't know why but suddenly Mana was exploring her own belly button. Jamie copied.
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Then Mana was adventurous enough to go explore Daddy Steve's belly button. :O
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Afterwards, Miki and her husband Urashima san came to our home for Thai massage. As usual, Pizza joined the massage activity.
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Aisa's wedding
April 9, 10
Our friend Aisa, a Japanese lady who works in Hong Kong, met her Australian boyfriend Sam who also works in Hong Kong. They were getting married and decided to have their wedding in Bangkok last month.
Unfortunately this was the same period when tension was high with continuous political demonstrations. Some overseas guests cancelled their trip but most still managed to come. Among them was Miki and her family.
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The wedding took place in a villa by the river. We had to take a boat to get there.
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The boat ride was kind of like an attraction in itself with the spectacular river view.
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On the wedding, we spotted the CNN lady, Anna Coren! It's funny we met her there because we see her on the news all the time. She's stationed in Hong Kong. Her boyfriend is a coworker of Aisa. They are very down to earth friendly people. Her boyfriend turned out to be a very funny guy which we found out later... |
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While we were mingling with people, Jamie was into his own world playing by the fountain.
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We waited for a while. Then the bride and groom came out for the ceremony. Aisa looked soooooo beautiful in the traditional Japanese wedding dress!!! They had the western ceremony followed by the Japanese one. It was very special.
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After the ceremony, the couple and their family did some photo shooting. Jamie was busy flirting with women...as usual.
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Mana grew up so much from last time we saw her!!!
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Jamie and Mana got along very well. They love each other. :)
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Aisa changed into the asbolutely beautiful wedding dress for the evening. It was tailor made in Hong Kong. Classy! |
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Daddy and Jamie were having a great time dancing together. |
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The crowd got wild when the DJ put on some funky dance music. This was when we found out Anna's boyfriend was a funny guy. He suddenly took off his shirt and did some goofy dance moves. It was hilarious!!! Very nice body though. :P
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Carnival
March 29, 10
There's a carnival in town. Mommy Joey passes by there often cuz it's located right next to her client's office. There are a few rides for kids but not sure if Jamie would enjoy or not. The day before we went to the real carnival, we let Jamie had a little practice first.
Before, he used to be afraid of this but now he wants to turn himself upside down. Ok, he was ready for the real carnival.
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At the carnival, we started with the least scary one first. The tea cup. Mommy Joey would throw up so Daddy Steve would be a better cupmate.
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We were a bit worried that Jamie would throw up after the ride. But he didn't. Ended it with big smile of satisfaction.
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This was next. Out of the many types of cars available, Jamie chose the same that Daddy Steve said he would choose, the Safari Jeep! |
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For this ride, Jamie wanted to get on the Ferrari but the ones in the middle were the only ones that went up and down so mommy thought it'd be more fun and had Jamie got on that one. But the whole time Jamie was not enjoying it and kept looking at the Ferrari. Once again daddy was right cuz he said if he was a kid, he'd choose the Ferrari too. Really?? Maybe boys and girls have different preferences. |
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We let him go for 2nd round in the Ferrari he wanted. This time he was happy.
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After all the easy rides, we moved onto the hard core ones. But Jamie beat this roller coaster too with ease! He even said "go faster!"
After this we headed to the water splashing ride. No photo because all 3 of us were in the ride together. It was high, even mommy was a bit nervous. But Jamie was ok. Maybe because he was securely positioned between daddy and mommy.
Jamie enjoyed this carnival so much we'll take him again before it finishes in May.
Daddy said Jamie is ready for Disneyland!
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Brave swimmer
February 17, 10
With swimming lessons every Saturday, Jamie overcame the fear of ocean and did so well at the beach last week! Although he can't swim in the ocean yet, he's brave enough to walk on his own with water high up to his face, even with waves hitting him one after another.
After some vigorous exercise in the water, he was so hungry.
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He ate the whole plate of seafood fried rice. Yummy!!
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At the beach, we spotted a new type of banana boat. It's not banana shape, it's sofa shape! It's difficult to see in this photo but it's there. It looks so much fun. Gotta try sometime.
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Catsitting
February 10, 2010
Our neighbors got a kitten called Miki. He is so tiny and so white you may not even notice in this photo.
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Last month, when he was about 2 to 3 months olds, they tried to wean him from milk to solid food but he wouldn't eat. So they asked us to take care of Miki for a day so that he could inmitate Pizza eating. It worked! Not because he was inmitating Pizza, but simply because we mixed wet and solid food for him. That was how we made him eat. We returned him home within the same day with success. He reminded us a lot of Oatmeal.
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Welcome 2010 in Hong Kong
January 3, 2010
Happy New Year!!! Wow, it's 2010 already! This time we all went to Hong Kong to celebrate this holiday but Jamie and Mommy were there before Daddy. One of the happiest moment was to be able to experience Grandpa Ben's new Japanese restaurant.
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Japanese melon for desert...yummy!
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We also visited Grandpa Ben's new spa.
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One day Grandma Eva said she wanted to bring us to eat some special food. We went and actually the restaurant is located in the exact same location Grandma Eva was born! She was born in her house way before this building was built. The story behind it is fascinating. They used to live on the ground floor but when Japaneses invaded Hong Kong, it was dangerous to live on the ground floor because it could easily be invaded. So they moved across the street to the third floor which now has become a huge McDonald's. The place where she was born now became a famous Islam restaurant. Very delicious!! |
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Another highlight was Jamie singing Chinese opera. He impressed everyone by singing old Chinese opera songs with articulate lyrics and pronounciation. He even knows songs that nobody knows. Grandpa Ben was having much fun singing along with Jamie in karaoke.
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When we dropped by a BBQ party to say hi to a friend, all his friends started a photo taking frenzy of or with Jamie. It was really wild.
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He followed up by checking every photo. Daddy and Mommy felt a bit weird for creating such a disturbance to the party.
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Christmas already passed but Christmas decoration was everywhere. |
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Daddy made it on time to celebrate New Year's Eve with us.
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But Jamie's favorite was Koey. As soon as we landed in Hong Kong, he asked to see her. |
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Our home party finished early at 9pm because sadly many had to go to work that night. Mommy was ready to do another quiet countdown at home but Daddy was up for full partying outside. Daddy wanted to experience a noisy crowded countdown. So the best place would be Lan Kwai Fong, the place for partying in Hong Kong. But it was also the place with sad stampede accident years ago. Polices learned their lesson and set up blocks around the area. By the time we got there, the area was already blocked. We couldn't join our friends at the club. We could only see and try to feel the countdown atmosphere from a block away. But it turned out that a block makes a big difference. The crowd at Lan Kwai Fong must have been making a lot of noise but 12 o'clock came and we couldn't hear any countdown. There it was, 2010 came kind of quitely for us. Meanwhile, Jamie was doing countdown with Uncle Sam at home.
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Luckily, we ran into another group of friends near Lan Kwai Fong. Big coincidence in a way because we just met these same people in Bangkok a week ago!
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We had a blast at the home party of Mommy Joey's elementary school friend Kei, with so many kids for Jamie to play with.
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A dog friendly resort - August 29, 09
Two weeks ago, we woke up on a Saturday morning, thought "after many busy weekends, we finally have the whole weekend free to ourselves", we suddenly wanted to get out of town. So, we decided to go to a dog friendly sea side resort in Pattaya where mommy's coworker highly recommends. |
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This resort turned out to be so much more than we expected. Should have listened to mommy's coworker a long time ago. All the bungalows are in close proximity to the private and quiet beach. The whole resort is secluded but we had plenty of fun just staying in the resort. And what's best is dogs are allowed! Yo was running around like a puppy.
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When daddy and Jamie got into the beach, Yo got worried. He suddenly forgot he is afraid of water and wanted to get it to save them.
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But of course there was nothing to worry about. The water was calm. Daddy and Jamie were just relaxing in the water.
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But after they got out of the water, Jamie got scared and didn't want to walk in the water. It's strange that he's more afraid to walk in the shallow water than being in the deep water.
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Daddy had never been in a pool by the beach before but this time it was obviously more fun for Jamie to be in the pool so he gave in.
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Mommy also got in. Jamie started singing and dancing his favorite Thai country song.
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Even though we would be content just staying in the resort, we took a drive and ended up having dinner in Hard Rock Cafe. The desert was huge! Other tables saw our order and everyone followed.
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The next day on Sunday, we continued spending most of the time in the water. Yo was thrown into the beach and swam about 3 long trips. He was so tired that he basically spent the next 2 days having deep sleep. Yo looked completely different after a bath!
With our late check out, we had lot of time relaxing in the patio which was one of the most enjoyable moment.
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It's funny that even at a time like this, Jamie liked to practice his Thai writing.
This was a spontaneous trip but everything was so much more than we could expect. We definitely would like to be back again!
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Happy family - June 19, 09
Everyone was relaxed. Funny how Pizza took over Yo's cage.
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Jamie looking so happy walking up to mommy to check out how the previous photo turned out. Good shot!
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Boat ride - June 19, 09
Jamie loves all types of transportation vehicles. Airplane, bus, tax, motorcycle, boat...So we took him for a boat ride at the park. |
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He sat in the middle while daddy pedalled.
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Mommy just sat and enjoyed.
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Our dream trip - May 26, 09
Finally, we carried out our dream trip. Meeting up with family in heaven on earth Hawaii. What could top that?
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First time for Jamie and Mommy to meet Grandpa Steve who flew in from Reno.
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Grandma Tonna and Grandpa Herbie flew in from North Carolina. By the way, on this day, we had no plan to meet up. Mommy and Jamie went shopping in Waikiki while Daddy went surfing. Suddenly Mommy heard her name Joey, looked back, and there they were!!! We ended up having Mai Tai by the beach. And then...
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...we spotted Daddy surfing!!! What a small world. Or, we were really meant to run into each others.
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Grandma Tonna explained "yes we needed our Jamie fix but no we did not follow you guys". Ok, we believe you. :)
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Auntie Keiko flew in from LA. On our first day there, we all suffered from jet lag and lack of proper sleep. While the three of us turned to a good long afternoon nap for relief, Auntie Keiko relied on nothing but coffee. Well, she works in Starbucks.
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Uncle Toshi flew in from Colorado. He bonded with Jamie immediately.
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It's kinda funny but we brought Jamie's kindergarten project all the way to Hawaii to show the grandparents.
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Arm wrestling with Grandpa Steve was fun too.
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Of course, spending time on the beach was a must.
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Ate delicious food like Ahi Poke from Cheesecake Factory which was worth the average wait of 45 mins. Other restaurants nearby were also packed with 45 mins waiting time. Who says the economy is bad?!
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Even on departure day, we were meant to meet up. Only 1 hour apart in flight departure time. We flew international and they flew domestic, yet in Honolulu Airport, we could walk up to any boarding gate. Grandma Tonna and Grandpa Herbie came to say goodbye. Thank you all for coming to Hawaii to meet up!!! It was a precious wonderful trip because of all of you. Already looking forward to the next reunion. Please go to this link to see rest of the photos.
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Earth Hour - April 1, 09
March 28th 8:30-9:30pm was Earth Hour. We joined the movement to turn off the light to show our concern for earth. Mommy was just going to chill, to reflect on less damaging but still fulfilling alternative ways of life. Daddy figured it was the time to light up candles for some old school style reading, like Lincoln, he said.
When we insisted on not turning on the light, and the candles were lit up, Jamie was a bit concerned. "Jamie's scared" he said. But then suddenly he smiled and sang "happy birthday to you...happy birthday to you..." Hahaha, he thought we were having a birthday party. :)
Please go to Poll to tell us if you participated in Earth Hour 2009 or not.
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Nice photos from Yoko - March 28, 09
This photo is nice.
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But this one is the best! You guys look like a very happy family!
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Kimmy's house - March 28, 09
This is Jamie's friend, Kimmy. She's 1 year older than Jamie.
When we were in her house, even though it was right before her sleeping time, she insisted on showing us her ballet outfit and some dance moves. How adorable! Jamie watched in amazement too.
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Kimmy's room has so many cool toys! Jamie was very occupied.
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Kimmy's dad Stephen is British and her mom Mardina is Kazakhstani. And they think Borat is funny, haha. What a lovely family! Older brother Blake was asleep already.
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Dim Sum lunch - March 15, 09
We love dim sum lunch. Today we had dim sum lunch with Yoko and her husband. We haven't met for over a year already. First is a serious photo.
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And then Jamie with a funny face.
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Go Dutch! - March 15, 2009
Last night we had dinner with a very nice Dutch family from our neighborhood. Their youngest son Alex and a son of another family we happen to know too, Dennis, took good care of Jamie. Dennis is also half HKnese with an English father. We have seen how well they take care of Jamie so we trusted them to sit at a separate table. It all worked out fine. Kids had their own freedom to order whatever they wanted and we adults also enjoyed our own time with wine.
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This is Ruud and Betty. Betty offered to babysit Jamie for us. We look forward to such occasion since she's always so nice to Jamie and it's a precious opportunity for Jamie to spend time with different people especially nice people! He may even pick up a few Dutch phrases.
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Jamie putting on Betty's reading glasses.
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Daddy doesn't look bad with glasses either.
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Jamie fits into Betty's bag!
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And assuming that Dutch people would know and prefer "going Dutch", when it was time to pay the bill we suggested going Dutch but they had no clue what it means. :) |
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Tai Kwan Do party - February 1, 09
There's a Tai Kwan Do gym in our neighborhood. Jamie asks us to take him there almost everyday. He has to be at least 4 to enroll in the class but he can stand outside to watch. He picked up some fists and kicks.
Yesterday they had a party at this gym. Jamie got in to join the kids but he was the only one who was not under control. While other kids would sit still by each other waiting for the instructor's instructions, he would do his own things. Maybe he is too young for such discipline now. He kind of got thrown out so he was wondering outside. Jamie and Yo were looking for food together.
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Everyone looked familiar at the party. We ran into Christy who's always very nice to Jamie. We used to live in the same serviced apartment but now we both moved out to have our own places on the same street.
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They are Christy's kids, Jasmine and Arthur. We just had dinner together the week before. They are very well behaved kids.
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And thanks to Christy for taking this wonderful family photo for us. We hardly have any family photo like this that has Yo in it too. Nice!
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@ dog park again - January 20, 09
Well, we love the dog park. We go there almost every weekend. One day last month we were there with our friend Tommy and his daughter Lyla, who's Jamie's close friend. She's usually very afraid of dogs but she was not afraid when she was there.
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Belated Merry Christmas - January 20, 09
Well, it's been almost a month ago but we finally found the chance to report what we did that day. Not much. Just walked around in the very crowded Siam, had dinner in Outbacks and were lucky to find a seat right by the playground where we could eat and watch Jamie at the same time. Then we took a photo in front of this CD rom Christmas tree and headed home. See more photos from this link. http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=heta005.6wrrjgm1&x=0&y=-7pe8ar&localeid=en_US |
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Auntie Hiromi & Auntie Junko - November 29, 2008
Auntie Hiromi came to Bangkok again so we met up having Jamie's favorite meal now - dim sum. He especially likes BBQ pork bun. As usual, Auntie Hiromi and Auntie Junko flashed their cameras to capture every angle of Jamie. They are Jamie's No.1 fans! Auntie Junko has several photo albums of Jamie documenting his different stages from his birth noted with her personal remarks.
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Vanya's birthday party - October 18, 2008
A gift for Vanya, the son of a Serbian family in our neighborhood, had been sitting in our house for a long time already. Although we do run into them sometimes, we never got the chance to give it to them. The gift was bought after Jamie attended Vanya's 1 year-old birthday party with Nanny Pong while daddy and mommy were at work. Then over a week ago, we ran into Vanya's family and thought we couldn't wait longer to give them the gift. Guess what Vanya's mom said? "Actually tomorrow is Vanya's birthday..." Oh my gosh, it's been a year already! It was all a big coincidence that we brought it up at that specific time. And we were invited to his 2 year-old birthday party @ Gymboree. The gift is still good for a 2 year-old. Jamie was kind of like a loner, not really participating in group games and often wandering off to play alone or eat. But days after the party, he suddenly sang "happy birthday to you..." So actually he was paying attention to the surroundings in the party. The boy in the middle in this photo is Vanya. See more photos from the party http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=heta005.8jyy7u1h&x=0&y=-209yyf&localeid=en_US |
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The real Safari World - October 6, 08
Remember the time we went to a zoo where we were the only customers? We thought we were heading to Safari World that day but actually it was a completely different place. But the other day we took the time to find the real Safari World and we found it. It was surprisingly close to our house. Everything happened very suddenly. We arrived at the ticket booth without having to get out of the car. We paid and were instructed to drive forward and there we were in this Safari World with lions, bears, deers, zebras etc running around while we were still in our own car! There were signs warning us not to open our windows or get out of the car but it was all up to individual's decision. Thailand is truly amazing.
In this special environment, guess what Jamie was doing? He got the rare chance to sit with daddy in the front and all he was doing was touching different parts of the car, rather than enjoying this close proximity with wild animals.
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"Dog park" - September 10, 08
A friend told daddy there's a dog park nearby our house so last weekend we went to look for it. We stopped at this park, not knowing if this is the place or not. Well, it wasn't exactly a dog park. It was just a small park under a big bridge filled with many local kids. The kids were led by a coach who seemed to be training them for running. But when we arrived, most of the kids immediately spotted Jamie and shouted "farang (white western)" and dropped what they were doing to hang out with Jamie. As you can see in these photos, Jamie was always occupied by some kids, usually elder girls who played the role of an elder sister, doing different things.
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When daddy was playing soccer with the boys, the girls sat Jamie down and tried to "take care" of Jamie.
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And then they took him elsewhere for whatever reason. They treated him like a doll.
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Finally, daddy took Jamie away from the girls and put him on his shoulders to play soccer with the boys. The boy kicking the ball in this photo was same size with Jamie but much more active than him. He liked to roll around on the grass, he kicked the ball really hard...We thought, "what a tough kid" but turned out that he is 2 years older than Jamie.
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Part of this park did look like a dog park, a stray dog park. This stray puppy was playing happily by himself. Look behind him and you'll see how many other dogs were there taking a nap.
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This puppy was just so mellow and isn't he lucky that he has all this open space to enjoy and have different kids to play with him? After he played with the kids, he saw Yo and slowly approached Yo who was tighted to the bench. Suddenly Yo attacked. Within a few seconds, all the big dogs that were sleeping from quite far away were already by our side forming a circle to see if they could help the puppy. Even the puppy who was so mellow just a moment ago now became an alert ready-to-defend himself kinda dog. That was such a cool scene! But with a few shouting and the help of the security guard, they soon went back to their spot.
Well, what a disappointment that Yo attacked. Yo is ok with dogs when he is not on leash but when he's on leash he becomes much more aggressive. Mommy, being a fan of the Dog Whisper Cesar Millan, learned that dogs can pick up energy from us, so mommy theorized that Yo would be agressive on leash because he could feel nervousness from mommy thru the leash but this time, he was attached to the bench. Still it happened. After this incident, mommy happened to get the Dog Whisper Cesar Millan's book and now she understands that it's not only about the leash but the complete presence of a calm-assertive leader. It's a never ending job to be a dog owner. Mommy will try his approach and go back to the same park to see if things will improve. Sorry puppy! You really didn't deserve that.
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Si Racha Tiger Zoo - September 1, 08
Last weekend we went to an interesting zoo. Besides the usual animal shows, one really unique thing about this zoo is how they get the tigers to live peacefully with other animals. Look at this photo! Tiger living with 2 dogs and a pig in one space and they call it "happy family". Interestingly enough, the tiger seems to be the most timid. When it's time for feeding, one little growl from the dog was enough to scare the tiger away from his food.
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It was not easy but we managed to get Jamie in the same shot with "happy family". The tiger couldn't keep his eyes off Jamie who must look like a pretty perfect meal for him.
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Another selling point of this zoo is they have tigers feeding little pigs. They make the little pigs wear tiger outfits!! Is that enough to make the tiger mom thinks those are her kids?!
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And right next to that place was where a pig mother was feeding little pigs and little tigers. Jamie's charm got his privilage as always even in this zoo. The staff brought him into this "no entry" zone letting him touching the little tigers.
This zoo was definitely worth going!
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An afternoon on Koh Lan - August 19, 08
We woke up to a very sunny day on last Sunday. Of course the best place to spend it was the beach. We drove to Pattaya thru smooth traffic. Then we took a speed boat to the nearby island Koh Lan. As we approached the beach, Jamie started to cry. No matter how much he always ends up liking beaches, he gets scared in the beginning every time. He got even crazier when we got on the boat. He was screaming "bye bye beach" hoping that would become true. But soon after the ride started he calmed down and learned to enjoy the sea breeze.
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After we arrived in Koh Lan, we ordered some fresh seafood from the restaurant on the beach. We used to criticize all these chairs with big umbrellas ruin the beach scenery but now we find it very useful as cover for Jamie.
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We then played in the water. We were surprised how brave Jamie was. Daddy and mommy were standing a few feet apart at the depth that reached Jamie's chin. Yet he wanted to walk between us alone even with wave coming and sometimes the water got up to his mouth. After a few hours on the beach, we took off his clothes to rinse him. So nice to have the freedom to walk on the beach naked.
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Looking at the previous photo reminded mommy that the last time she wore this old swimming suit (bought in Hawaii in 2004) was probably when she was 5 months pregnant. Jamie was inside then but now he's right here with us. What a wonderful feeling.
By the way, on the way back to Pattaya on the boat, Jamie was much more relaxed even though the ride was very bumpy. Suddenly Jamie said "oh my gosh", only then when mommy realized that's exactly what she just said in reaction to the bumpiness. And he even said it in the same tone. Very funny. |
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Phuket trip - July 5, 08
We went to Phuket last weekend. It takes about an hour flight from Bangkok. It was our first time to Phuket. Everyone who's been to Phuket before told us the beach is not nice but we went to Kata Beach which is supposed to be the best surf spot in Thailand and we didn't get disappointed. So it really depends on which beach you choose to go.
Jamie usually hates wearing hat but when he was there he cooperated very well by wearing daddy's hat to protect his face from the sun. This was the first time he willingly wears a hat.
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No matter where we go, Jamie's always able to make friends. Here is the beach boy gang he was hanging out with. Daddy Steve rented a long surfboard from them and surfed for 2 days. Kata Beach was really ideal for surfing. There was plenty of wave, no reef or rock and not overcrowded. At first, Jamie was afraid of the ocean especially at the wave that came one after another. But later on he liked it so much he pulled our hands to go deeper with him. There was even time when the wave went over his head but he was still ok. He even fell asleep when we were sitting by the shore both days! We placed him under the big umbrella for his afternoon nap. The sea breeze and calming sound was perfect for his sleep and we also got some free time on our own. Worked out perfectly. We were glad he enjoyed the beach as much as we did. Go to this link to see more photos from this trip. http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=heta005.4r5edbnx&x=0&y=-v98xb0&localeid=en_US |
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Safari Park - June 21, 08
We went to the Safari Park last month. A few people have mentioned about this park before. The main attraction is to ride the bus through the park where the wild animals live in "nature". We saw lions, deers, tigers, bears etc but the best part was giraffe. Giraffes sticked their long necks into the bus. It was unreal how close their heads were. At one point Jamie was sitting on the seat and didn't realize a giraffe's head was right next to him. When he looked, he was shocked and fell on the floor. Falling on the floor alone didn't really hurt him but his forehead was cut by a metal sticking out from the seat. Now the tiny scar looks like it'll stay.
Besides the bus ride, there were other attractions such as elephant show and dog show but could you believe that we were the only customers to the whole zoo! We can't imagine how they run their business but really, we were the only ones there. But the dog show was still on. We sat in this empty hall with extremely loud music. 2 little dogs showed up with their trainers. They were walking with only their front legs and were making high jumps etc. The show was over in a few minutes. The show dogs slowly walked out of the hall and rested casually outside, looking like family dogs.
Days later we saw a guide book recommendating "Safari World". Only then we realized we probably have gone to the wrong Safari.
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Pattaya - June 9, 08
We were at Pattaya beach yesterday. Yo who is usually afraid of water started crying when daddy Steve disappeared into the water and when mommy took his leash off, Yo ran frantically into the water. Looked like he wanted to save daddy. But when he reached the point where his feet didn't touch the ground, he suddenly decided he wasn't up for it and he made a u-turn. Next, he ran toward the opposite direction of where our mat was and was quickly out of sight. Mommy ran a few hundred meters to look for him and finally found him under a family's beach chair. He was eating the biscuit that was dropped by a baby girl. No wonder he had no reaction to mommy's calling.
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Later on we didn't trust Yo off his leash anymore.
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Bike park - June 09, 08
We took Jamie to the bike park last month but too bad it was raining. But since the rent for the bike was super cheap like less than a dollar for the whole day, we rented it anyway and mom held the big umbrella covering Jamie while daddy drove. Jamie was interested in small bike for himself but he is still too young to figure out how to make it work. We have to find a sunny day to go again but Bangkok's rainy season continues all the way to November.
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Bhutan trip - May 8, 08
Yes, we made it to Bhutan! The mysterious last heaven on earth. We smelled a lot of fresh air, ate a lot of delicious exotic good food, seen a lot of nature and most importantly of all, met a lot of special people! Starting with Mr. Kesang, he is a friend of Her Royal Highness and was asked to meet us. He took very good care of us while we were there as you'll see in this entry. Once again thank you Kesang!
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Well, the trip didn't exactly have a good start. As we were departing for the airport, mommy found out the special door lock that's supposed to protect the house while we're gone actually doesn't work. We had moved into this house for over a month already yet we had never used or even checked if this lock works. And it was the worst timing to find out. With multiple experience of being robbed before, this discovery added a big burden to mommy's thoughts through out the trip. But daddy who never had that experience, just said we should be opticmistic.
Next, we survived the 5:50 morning flight but it was tough. Mommy didn't sleep at all the previous night. Jamie was up from the moment we picked him up to go to the airport and through most of the flight but luckily he behaved very well and didn't become cranky. We found out it was a stop over flight during the flight. We stopped at Bangladesh and were not allowed to leave the plane during transit but again luckily Jamie fell asleep by then making it easier to take care of him. It was a short stop in Bangladesh and then in about an hour we landed in Bhutan. At first all we saw was mountain after mountain but suddenly the Bhutan-like landscape appeared and the plane took a dramatic u turn and landed on the only international airport in Bhutan. We were told that Bhutan and another airport in Brazil are the most difficult to land airports in the world. When the plane landed everyone including us was applauding, probably for safe landing and the relief of finally reaching such exclusive location. All the other travelers were rather old in age and there definitely was no baby other than Jamie.
When we got out of the airplane, man, it was cold! But the cold air felt very fresh. We immediately had to put on a coat for Jamie. The airport was very small and we already felt a sense of Bhutan there with the traditional architecture and costumes.
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Kesang came to pick us up at the airport even though he lives in another province. We took a short ride to a nearby fancy hotel where of course was too expensive for us to stay in but we had tea there. Then we took over an hour ride through the curvy roads on the hills to reach the capital where our hotel was located. For the 1st day of the trip we needed time to rest and recharge for the rest of the week. We walked around our hotel, talked to some locals and took an adventure to a local resturant and ordered whatever was available. The food turned out to be really good. Daddy Steve kept saying that he was expecting nature but was surprised to find the food was good too in Bhutan. We met this girl who is 3 years old already but same size with Jamie. |
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Afterwards we went back to the hotel and mommy just couldn't stand it anymore. Mommy fell asleep at about 3pm that day. Daddy and Jamie also took it slow and hung out in the neighborhood and went to bed early.
The next day with Kesang's recommendation, we went to a place called Cheri something. The name made mommy imagine a place similar to Japanese parks with cherry blossom. It turned out that Cheri is just a name in Bhutan and it has nothing to do with cherry blossom. The car ride took about 45 minutes again through lots of curvy roads on hills but along the way we saw many children walking in groups toward the same direction. We learned that Bhutaneses are used to walking miles after miles and it's very safe for children to walk on their own. The children there seemed to be very independent from early age.
This is the entrance to the park. We really like what it says on the sign "leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories".
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We were happy to see the river and was looking forward to see Jamie running around but he just wanted to be held. We had to find tricks to make him walk on his own. Then we realized he loves throwing rocks. He didn't want to stop.
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Then we picnicked on the grass as Kesang suggested. It was a good suggestion because we saw many other locals doing the same and they were offering food. Again we met beautiful people such as this girl. Due to the cold weather all kids have very pink cheeks there. There are many good looking people in both men and women.
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There were a lot of stray dogs. They got extremely close to humans for food. Daddy was feeling uneasy but the dogs didn't mean any harm.
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Afterwards we longed for authentic Bhutanese food and our driver Thinley gave us just that. There is no menu in this resturant but we were very satifised with the surprise. We loved all the different choices and the taste.
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Next day we wanted to visit the old capital but found out even for domestic travel, travellers need visa and we couldn't get it done on time so we asked the driver to take us somewhere in nature. He took us to this place on top of the hill where the Queen built 18 temples for the King for his long life. Mommy's new tripod came into work!
When we arrived at the peak, Jamie threw up a bit. We thought it was a combination of carsickness and drinking too much water on the way but after we came back to Bangkok, grandpa Ben said it was probably high altitude sickness as he just suffered similar symptoms in his recent China trip. No wonder Jamie was always so quiet in the car! And we thought he was just behaving well. But other than that little throw up he was fine the rest of the time so we still don't know if he had that sickness or not.
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Suddeny daddy acted crazy and was dancing like he was high on drug. Maybe he had that sickness too :). But somehow it went along with the scenery.
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On the way back we spotted a river and asked to let us hang out there for a while. Again Jamie loved throwing rocks and this time he was throwing really big ones.
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That night, Kesang invited us to stay in the empty unit in the apartment building he owns.
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And then came the very funny episode. We asked our driver to take us to bird viewing. Again, mommy imagined a place similar to the sqaure in London where pigeons are not afraid of humans and we can touch and feed them. It'd have been fun for Jamie. But the car headed uphill and no matter how many curvy turns we never saw the top of the hill. Soon one hour passed and we were still heading uphill until we finally reached the top spot and we were shocked to find that we were at 3,988 meters high as it says on this sign! Guess how many birds we saw there? Mommy saw 1 and daddy saw 3! And they were not in touchable distance either. They just happened to be resting on a tree. That's what they call bird viewing?! When we clarified with Thinley he said maybe we were too late that day. But we still doubted how many more birds we would have seen if we have gone earlier.
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Oh my gosh! This place was extremely cold, probably close to 0 celcius. Look, there is Mount Everest behind us! And you can see the flags to see how windy it was but Jamie didn't find it a problem. If he really had high altitude sickness, it could do some serious damage to his brain.
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Jamie sat in the car and was playing with the horn with Thinley. This is our handsome driver who also helped out a lot in watching Jamie. In Bhutan, foreigners are not allowed to travel independently. All travel arrangements must be made prior to the trip by a travel agency and must be accompanied by a tour guide during the travel. But since we went as guests of Her Royal Highness, we were exempted from that and had the freedom to travel alone but of course with the help of our driver. Thinley was very good in that he was very quiet so we had our privacy but when we needed help he would be there. Thank you Thinley.
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Our departure flight was early in the morning again. To avoid the same super fatigue, Kesang suggested us to stay one night in Paro where the airport is, which again was a good suggestion. Plus he arranged this nice cottage for us which the balcony faces a vast forest and the front is as you can see grassland.
That morning mommy woke up to take a shower first. At first the shower was steamy hot and it felt very nice but then in less than a few minutes the water was getting cold. Mommy was thinking "oh no, please tell me it's not happening again! I just took a cold shower in Kesang's house the night before..." But then the water was just getting colder and colder. With no hot water, daddy couldn't take a shower. We later found out that in Bhutan, hot water is usually available for a very short time. And it takes an hour for another round of hot water. No wonder the water was so cold the day before when mommy took a shower after daddy! Oh we wished we knew earlier.
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Kesang's help extended all the way to our departure. He spent a night with us in Paro to see us off. In the airport, he had people helping us with our check in, luggages even immigration. We didn't have to do a thing. He even introduced us to the pilot so that we could visit the cockpit during the flight. That was so cool! But the funny thing was these pilots use panda shields to block the sun light! Go to this link to see more photos from this trip. And please go to Poll to vote for cutest hat on Jamie. http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=heta005.9qkvnh7h&x=0&y=-u7ycsg&localeid=en_USWe definitely recommend going to Bhutan...if you can find the way to go! :) Last but not least, we have to thank Her Royal Highness and Wangchuk for making this trip possible. Her Royal Highness is too kind to have given us the wonderful Bhutanese gifts on top of all the other hospitality provided. Thank you very much! The trip ended well with precious memory and an intact house. |
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Back in mommy's old apartment - April 13, 2008
We were back at where Jamie was made! |
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Shangor's family in "our" room. :)
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Then Jamie started to jump on the bed and Rafee followed.
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Everything Jamie did Rafee was following. They were jumping and rolling around.
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But in a second Jamie fell on the floor on his head. Mommy barely saved him from breaking his neck.
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1st visitors to our new home - April 7, 2008
Shangor and Charlotte who were our birth class buddies visited from Vietnam with their son Rafee (see how much he's grown from Precious Babies). They once again are staying in the same serviced apartment but out of all the rooms available, they happened to be staying in the room Mommy Joey used to live in before we had Jamie. We gotta take Jamie there to let him see where he was made. :) But before that, they became the 1st visitors to visit our new home. Yup, we moved about a month ago to this new home. We are finally just settling down.
At first Rafee was scared of Yo. He burst into tears and Jamie followed. But after they calmed down, we took them for a tour of the house. When we were in the master bedroom, the two kids started playing with the cabinet and opening and closing drawers. Next thing you know Rafee already had Mommy Joey's bracelets one in each wrist. Funny enough, there used to be 3 of those bracelets and 1 was broken by Jamie because he was over stretching it. There must be something special about these bracelets that attract little kids.
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Here's a sneak preview of the living room of our new home.
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Carnival - March 2, 2008
We went to a carnival and it turned out to be very fun as Jamie just got big enough to get on some of the rides.
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Look at that big smile on his face!
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Now quickly move on before those crazy kids behind us come crashing down on us. Afterall, Jamie, you're still way younger than those kids.
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Next stop is merry-go-round.
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Again, look how happy he was!
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Last stop was the chess game. The chess was as big as he was.
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Pizza party - February 10, 08
We were invited to make pizza at Tommy and Note's house. Note put different types of food in a big bowl and had Jamie sit on a big seater. It's probably what they usually do with their daughter Lila but for us it's new idea. We always feed Jamie on our own and we wouldn't put him on a seater on his own worrying about him falling and worrying him throwing food all over but it worked out very well. Not only that he learned to eat on his own but it also gave us some free time. Thank you for the great idea! It's really beneficial to get together with other parents with kids in similar age to exchange valuable upbringing ideas.
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A home with baby - February 9, 2008
The photo says it all.
When this situation repeats itself everyday, do you clean up or not?
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Oshin's birthday party - February 3, 2008
It was our neighbor's daughter Oshin's 5th birthday's party. |
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The cake cutting moment was nerve wrecking. A real long knife was placed on the cutting table with bunch of kids around it. Some of us yelled "watch out for the knife" but the excitement covered our noise and the parents were too caught up in something else. The next nerve wrecking moment was when they were cutting the cake, some kids sticked their fingers out to point to certain parts of the cake. No parents tried to stop their kids from sticking their fingers out and the birthday family continued to cut their cake. Luckily no one got hurt from this incident but it had many chances to have turned into a little accident. |
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New year's party - January 19, 2008
Tonight we joined Daddy Steve's company's new year's party for managers. Family members were also invited. There were hundreds of people there. We met daddy's company president who seemed to be a very nice guy and love kids.
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In the party we played Bingo. As the game was approaching to the end, few numbers on our Bingo card matched with the many numbers that were already announced. Meanwhile, Jamie was getting sleepy and cranky. Mommy Joey wanted to stay a bit longer to see the result of the game but Daddy Steve didn't want to wait any longer. He gave the card to Beng's mother who was sitting in our table. As we prepared to leave, the final number was announced and guess what, our card was Bingo! Beng's mother looked at us to see if we wanted to get on the stage to receive the gift but Daddy Steve didn't want to. Beng's mother then ran to the stage with Beng in her arms. There were 2 winners for the final gift but they decided to give the gift to Beng's mother probably because she had a baby with her. Later on we found out the gift was a hot pot boiler which was exactly what Mommy Joey's been wanting. How could Daddy Steve give away luck like this?! |
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HK trip for Gay's wedding - December 12, 2007
Up to yesterday we spent about a week in Hong Kong. One of the main purposes was to attend Mommy Joey's Cousin Gay's wedding. The wedding day started with the traditional Chinese ceremony at the groom's house. After the groom picked up the bride from the bride's house, they arrived together at the groom's house to serve tea to the elders in exchange for blessing and gifts. |
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In the afternoon, they had another ceremony at a church.
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After they walked down the aisle, Daddy Steve and Mommy Joey took this opportunity to exchange vows with Grandpa Ben's jade ring :).
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And then at night they had the wedding banquet in a hotel. Zelda looked absolutely stunning with many different beautiful dresses.
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Besides Gay's wedding, in this relatively long stay in HK, we got to do other special things as well. One was to attend Grandpa Ben's 40-year high school reunion. 40 years!!! It was a very special moment to be able to see Grandpa Ben reunited with many of his long lost schoolmates at his old campus. |
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Thanks to the great help of grandparents' maid Ling, Daddy and Mommy had some free time to spend some time alone doing things that couldn't be done if having to take care of Jamie.
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One was ice skating. Daddy hadn't ice skated since high school.
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Another one was clubbing with friends. They are Mommy's old friends from Hawaii.
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And we even took a trip to Macau. We stayed in Venetian and it was gorgeous.
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But of course we also spent time with Jamie. Grandpa Ben had been mentioning about a playground for kids he wanted to bring Jamie to. This playground was so beyound our expectation. It has a huge area with ball pool, maze and other fun structures kids love. It also has a specific area for toddler and then another one for baby etc. When we got there the place just opened and we were the only one. We thought Jamie would be scared of the ball pool because he was before but this time he wasn't. He was having so much fun he didn't want to come out! But the staff eventually came and told us Jamie is too young for it. The ball pool was for 3+. But since no other kid was around, she let Jamie play there for a bit longer. This playground is a heaven for parents.
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When Jamie was at home, he had Twin as his company. We put Twin in the basket and let Jamie push him around. They were having lots of fun together.
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We also took Jamie to the beach. People don't really associate HK with beaches but the fact is HK has many beautiful beaches comparing to its near by countries including Thailand.
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In the locally famous Repulse Beach, not only that it has a big sand and ocean area, it also has a sightseeing area with traditional Chinese statues. |
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Jashan's birthday party - December 2, 07
Jashan's Jamie's friend at the apartment. We were invited to his 3 year old birthday party. But before the party, Jashan told us he was turning 4 so we got him a lego that was for 4+ :). Now he may have to wait for a year until he can play with it. See, don't lie! |
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Jamie joined others in drawing. Once again he was using his left hand to write.
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Next they watched a magic show. Through out the show it was pretty predictable with bunnys and flowers coming out but the last scene was pretty impressive even for adults when a poodle came out from nowhere and the kids actually got to play with it after the show. Cool!
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The party was from 12:30-2:30pm and it was the usual nap time for most kids. Many kids ended up sleeping in their strollers which made a funny scene of many strollers parked in one area in the resturant with kids sleeping in.
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Jamie was getting sleepy too but we didn't have his stroller so we had to leave the party.
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Kim's birthday party - November 17, 2007
Kim is one of our neighbors. She turned 2 today. She's one of Jamie's many friends at the apartment. When Mommy Joey got the birthday party invitation letter addressed to Jamie, she cried. Wow! Jamie is having his own circle of friends and got invited to a party...what a feeling. Plus, she cried because she was happy she and Daddy Steve could join the party this time. Jamie joined his first friend's birthday party while daddy was at work and mommy was at a business trip once.
The party took place in the game room in our apartment. Usually Jamie is passionate in giving people hugs and kisses but today even when the birthday girl was trying to give him kisses, he wasn't really into it. How rude!
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And he was scared of the crown that was supposed to make the kids laugh. He used to love this type of characters...obviously he's at a different development stage now.
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But when it came to eating, he was very into it. Mommy had to go a few rounds to fill him up. He was eating only watermelon but all the other kids were having a lot of fried food. Hopefully Jamie will stay liking veggies and fruits.
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The dads were having a good time too. Steve in the middle is the birthday girl's father. There are many many Steves in this apartment as in everywhere else. This party alone had at least 3 Steves. American Steve, English Steve, Australian Steve... |
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Daddy's staff's wedding - November 11, 2007
Tonight was Daddy Steve's staff's wedding.
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Bang Saen - November 4, 2007
We headed for the nearest beach, Bang Saen on this beautiful Sunday. We found this airplane floatie for Jamie which looks very stable. He loved it and the ocean. But we didn't have any suntan lotion to protect him so we put a hat and shirt on him. He put up a fight for the hat but soon he forgot about it. We wish he likes hats cuz babies look so cute with hats!
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After about 20-30 minutes in the ocean, we let him play with sand on the beach.
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But some sand got into his throat and he started coughing.
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We tried to sooth him with lot of clean water.
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A nice beach shot with mommy.
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Naked shot with Daddy Steve.
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He looked like an old Japanese tourist. |
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Delicious poop - August 11, 2007
We had to give Jamie a sink bath to clean his super poopy butt. Lucky that Jamie loves sink bath and he makes it very easy, even pleasurable. After we gave him a bath and put clean clothes on him, Mommy Joey returned to the bathroom to pick up his poopy diaper. But what she saw was shocking...
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Yo was sniffing the diaper. Take a look at the diaper and you can see some part of the poop was gone. Look at Yo's face and the hair around its mouth was yellowish. What else could it be?! Yo was eating Jamie's poop! Actually, it is not uncommon for dogs to eat its own poop under malnutrition but eating a baby's poop?! Yo just made diaper change even harder. From now on we not only have to worry about the squirmy Jamie during diaper change but also have to worry about Yo stealing food.
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Pet Expo - August 6, 2007
Yesterday we went to a pet expo. Contrary to what it looks like in this photo, the expo was packed with people and dogs everywhere. It was difficult just to get through.
All of the most popular dog breeds were small breeds such as Shih Tzu, Toy Poodle and Chihuahua. But Yo's breed Maltese wasn't one of them. There was only one other Maltese in the expo and it was a show dog. Although stray dogs can be found everywhere in Thailand, most condos here actually don't allow dogs. If you want to have a dog, you either live in a house or hide in a condo. This is probably the reason why small breeds are more popular than big ones.
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Even though it's supposed to be a pet expo, most vendors and visitors were there for dogs. Many vendors were there to sell dog accessories. Mommy Joey expected to see more vendors that promote dog friendly housing or traveling facilities but there was only one such vendor.
Rarely there were vendors that had entertainment like this for dogs. Here Yo sat by the ball pool watching the Golden Retriever enjoying it but didn't have the gut to get in himself.
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But if it was just sitting in a stable car, Yo was ok. Yo looked so good in it. If Jamie was driving the car, it would make an even better picture.
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Chow family in Thailand - August 6, 2007
Grandpa Ben, Grandma Eva, Uncle Bobby and his girlfriend Wency spent 6 days in Thailand at end of July. They arrived on Daddy Steve's birthday and brought along some Chinese birthday cakes for celebration. Jamie was very interested in the cakes and couldn't keep his mouth off it, or its plastic lid. Yo just came back from the groomer that day and he couldn't open his right eye probably because some shampoo had gotten into his eye. That night we took Daddy Steve to his favorite resturant of all time, Benihana, where Grandpa Herbie used to work at.
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Reading or having someone else read to him is one of Jamie's recent favorite activities. Here Grandma Eva "read" Jamie's photo album to Jamie. Speaking of this photo album, it has an interesting story behind it. One day Daddy Steve got back from work and saw some people including some staff taking pictures of Jamie in our lobby. While he asked them why they were taking pictures of Jamie, they said it was because we would be leaving this apartment soon and they'd miss him. These people assumed we were leaving because our annual rental contract was about to expire. But they didn't know we already made a deal with our salesman to stay longer as we like without the need of a contract. Days later they sent this album to our apartment. This photo album consists of many cute photos of Jamie solo taken in quite professional way. Jamie loves seeing himself in these photos. And of course we as parents are very proud to have received such a surprising gift.
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After hearing about the strange and unique Pata Zoo, Chow family wanted to give it a visit too. Mommy Joey took them on her day off while Jamie took it easy at home to get enough rest for the coming 3 days trip to Hua Hin. Chow family really enjoyed this zoo. Uncle Bobby fitted right in the guerilla body.
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Without traffic, the drive from Bangkok to Hua Hin would take less than 3 hours, a popular resort located in south of Bangkok, but in the middle of a long weekend, the drive took more than 4 hours. But the sun was still bright and shiny in Hua Hin's evening. After we arrived, we immediately changed to our bathing suits and headed to the beach that was connected to our hotel. On beaches in Thailand, it's not uncommon to have horses available for riding as one of tourist attractions. Daddy Steve and Mommy Joey got on one each and took a ride along the ocean. Jamie was of course too young for the ride but not for a photo shot. |
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Unfortunately there was a sign on the beach warning people of jellyfish and Daddy Steve actually saw one while we were in the ocean with Jamie. We also saw a kid getting stung and came out from the ocean with wound on his ankle. We couldn't spent much time in the ocean but fortunately we had our own outdoor jaccuzi in our room patio looking over the ocean. We gave Jamie a hot bath in the jacuzzi. It felt like being in hot spring in Japan. This patio also came with 2 sunbathing chairs and an outdoor shower. It was ideal for sunbathing.
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During this period Hua Hin was so busy that we couldn't even get more than 1 room in the same hotel. Look at this from the positive side and it means we were able to enjoy 2 very different environments in 1 single trip. One of them was packed with people and more family friendly. And the other one was more secluded with more serenity. Everything about this latter one was artistically designed. Its staff left a towel by the pool side while we were swimming and what do you know, when we unfolded it for Jamie, we realized it was this cool bathrobe designed specifically for babies. It kind of looks like Yoda's outfit.
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On the way back to Bangkok, we stopped by an allterrain vehicle park. Grandparents helped to watch Jamie while the rest of us went on an adventure.
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During their waiting, Jamie played another one of his recent favorite activities, peekaboo.
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Shell - July 22, 2007
Grandma Tonna sent us a photo of Auntie Keiko doing the same thing as Jamie! But the shell is much smaller and the pearl is much larger :). By the way, Auntie Keiko is looking more and more like Grandma Tonna.
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Pata Zoo - July 1, 2007
Today we visited a zoo. This zoo is no normal zoo. It's located on the top 2 floors above the small-scaled Pata shopping mall, where you'd never expect to see tigers and bears. This place is very local and is probably not listed in travel guide book. There are not too many animals living there but for most who do, each of them has only a very small place to move around. Strangely enough, the only animal that is free to run around is flamingos. Mommy Joey was always torn between wanting to take Jamie to see such an interesting place and not wanting him to see those pathetic animals but finally gave in to Daddy Steve's decision to go.
There is an area in the zoo where all the timid animals like goats and rabbits stay. They are packed into a very small area surrounded by low gates for interaction with visitors. It's amazing that they don't even attempt to escape.
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Their bears look a lot like humans. They live in a confined space and always stand up and stretch their arms to ask for bread pieces from visitors. It's sad.
They have one whole floor specifically for snakes and reptiles. In one dark corner, there is a board filled with news clips about humans being swallowed by pythons. Well, guess what's right next to it. The residency of several huge pythons with an open door. Making a zoo on top of a small shopping center is amazing enough but it's still not as surprising as this happening. The staff showed no concern and didn't think the pythons would sneak out. Oh well, if everything could be predicted, there is no such thing as accident.
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Jamie as always, was more interested in practicing his walking skill than the surrounding. Recently he just started walking with only one side holding of someone's hand instead of needing both sides. He loves to have every opportunity to practice it. After we left the zoo, another strange thing happened. We were trying to get into an elevator but the people who were already inside had no intention of keeping the door open for us. What ended up happening was Jamie's stroller already got inside but we three were kept outside. The elevator door closed and left with Mommy Joey's handbag on the bottom of stroller. Did these people purposely close the door so that they could steal the stuff?! The elevator wall is transparent and we could see what's going on inside. Mommy Joey quickly ran down the escalator with eyes fixed at the elevator. But the elevator was way faster than escalator. People in the elevator quickly got to the ground floor and left. Mommy Joey saw the elevator going back up to where Daddy Steve and Jamie still were. She could only hope her handbag is there untouched. And luckily it was. This lesson taught us, never let stroller walk into elevator first. Click this link to see more photos. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EauWbNm4bsXRw |
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Aquarium - June 16, 2007
Today we visited Siam Ocean World, an aquarium located in the biggest shopping center in Southeast Asia, Siam Paragon. We got greeted by different creatures at the entrance. First was a penguin.
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Then by this unknown creature.
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In general, the whole aquarium was very dark, probably to mimic the dark side of ocean. In the dark alley, two ladies were standing with a snake in one of their arms. They said we could touch it but just don't touch its head. We let Jamie see it closely and he wasn't afraid.
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There was this spot where you can stick your head into a hole and see the fish tank from inside. When Jamie sticked his head in there, it looked so funny and everyone around was laughing how cute it looked. He was amuzed by the tank, not realizing how many people were amuzed by his innocent reaction to the tank.
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But most of the time he was interested more in practicing his walking than looking at animals. When he got the chance to walk, he got so excited and expressed by screaming loudly.
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At the exit of the aquarium was this shell. Jamie looked like a pearl from this shell.
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There were many Hong Kongnese tourists in the aquarium. When we were about to leave, suddenly a Hong Kongnese tourist asked if he could take a picture with Jamie. He said Jamie is very cute and he wanted to pretend he has a half baby (Chinese + Caucasian). We let him take Jamie. Jamie looked at him thinking who the hell is this?
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Grandparents' friends - June 3, 2007
Grandpa Ben's friends Uncle Shun and Godfather (his nickname) were in Bangkok for a visit. Especially Uncle Shun cares a lot about Jamie and always wants to spend time with Jamie.
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Jamie and Godfather had very similar outfits.
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Planet Bollywood - May 31, 2007
Tonight we had dinner with Uncle Dave and his friend from England in an Indian resturant called "Planet Bollywood". Apparently this is supposed to be the best Indian resturant in Bangkok recommended by our Indian neighbor. At first we thought he was kidding when he said "Planet Bollywood". This resturant has a big screen featuring Bollywood films and has friendly waiters and waitresses who hold Jamie for us while we enjoy our meal.
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Theme resturant for kids - May 13, 2007
Our friend Hiromi is visiting from Japan. When we were planning where to meet, we remembered there is this new theme resturant for kids that we visited before while Jamie was still too young to play. Now that he is big enough to enjoy the facility, this resturant should be interesting for both us and our friends.
On the way there, United Colors of Benetton which Mommy Joey used to work for, was having an event in the mall. They had this wonderful photo board. See if you can find Jamie, Daddy Steve and the bypasser we asked to participate.
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As an icon of this resturant, this rabbit is always standing in front of it. While some kids may be fearful of this type of huge strange objects, Jamie went right to it and gave it a hug. |
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This is the best part of the resturant. There are tons of toys kids can play for free. Also these toys are for sale but from our observation, no parents have ever bought it. Of course, why would anyone want to buy over priced toys while you can play for free there?
The ball pool is great fun too but Jamie was scared of the unstable ground and enjoyed playing alone more on a stable flat ground with toys all to himself. Plus, the ball pool is too dangerous for him because older kids like to dive into the pool without thinking they may hurt other people. Well, a glimpse to what Jamie will probably be doing when he becomes an older kid.
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See even when Auntie Hiromi and Auntie Junko were up for a picture, Jamie was still into his toys.
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Auntie Yoko - April 15, 2007
Today we had lunch with Auntie Yoko.
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Jamie couldn't take his eyes off the moles on Auntie Yoko's chest.
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And we also visited her new home located in the very chic Thong Lor area. Her place looks very modern. Auntie Yoko bought her condominium at a very affordable price during pre sale. When we told her we live in a serviced apartment and the relatively high rent we have paying, she suggested we should seriously look for a cheaper place or even buy a place for good. Well, maybe she's right. Maybe it's time for us to think seriously about it...
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Mini reunion of birth class - March 25, 2007
Charlotte and Shagor, whom we met in birth class are back in Bangkok from Bangladesh for a short visit! Along with them is the cute Rafee, who is also featured in "Precious Babies" on this site. This is the first time for them to meet Jamie. It's strange (in a nice way) too see Rafee and Jamie play together because not too long ago, they were still in their mothers' wombs attending birth class together. Time flies. Rafee is already a big 10 months old boy and can wave bye-bye. He looks quite different from last time we saw him (see the photo in "Precious Babies"). He is less dark but still gets lots of hair, and beautiful blue eyes which Mommy Joey is openly jealous of and blames Daddy Steve's for his genes being recessive :). Jamie was born with blue eyes too (at least according to Mommy Joey's perception) but eventually evolved to brown eyes which are also very beautiful. It'll be really nice if we can get together with the rest of birth class classmates as well. Of course in this case, classmates include all those baby attendees. Click this link to see more photos. http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2089592263&code=29044730&mode=invite&DCMP=isc-email-AlbumInvite |
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Thai wedding - February 17, 2007
Tonight we attended Daddy Steve’s coworkers’ wedding. Both of the couple works in his company and the bride works directly under Steve. We heard it was going to be a party in her house which is located a bit outside of Bangkok.
Party was scheduled to start at 6pm but since tardiness is part of life here in Thailand, we took it slow and planned to arrive there late. On top of leaving the house late, having to drive a long way and getting lost, we arrived at the party 2 hours behind schedule.
When we arrived we were absolutely stunned. A house party turned out to be big scale outdoor concert event. Over 50 cars were parked at the entrance. There were unknown singer and dancers on stage entertaining guests. The dancers' clothes were revealing and their dance move was provocative. It wasn't something we expected to see in a wedding. There were over 15 tables filled with guests who all dressed very casual and were probably neighbors who live close by. The guests seemed to be enjoying the show a lot. Some people got up and danced along. Some people presented flowers or tip to performers.
The couple was going around to greet each table. Some guests used this chance to pass their gifts to the groom. Money is the common form of gift on Thai wedding. Guests put money in the wedding invitation envelope they received from the couple. The amount of money should start with an even number indicating pairs. Tonight the groom returned the favor with a key holder that has the Thai King photo on it.
Our table was right in front of the stage. The bride must have prepared this best seat for Steve. Ironically the music was too loud for Jamie and Steve had to keep getting up to bring Jamie away from the stage. Jamie was amazed with the performance.
Take a good look again and yes it was really a house party. The bride’s house was right next to the dinning tables. The place where this concert was taking place, all these tables located and all these cars parked was actually her front yard! It was enormous! This must be one of the merits not living in the city.
It was a very interesting experience for us. We were able to see a side of Thai culture that we hardly get to see. Next weekend there will be another wedding. This time is a wedding of Mommy Joey's coworker. The wedding will be held in the middle of Bangkok. Let's see how different they will be. |
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Casting - February 11, 2007
Daddy Steve is registered with a few casting agents and once in a while he gets invited to auditions. He's been in a few commercials and movies. One of the movies he's in is a Thai movie that recently got released after being banned by the government last year. The reason why it got banned was because in part of the story, the Laos team lost to the Thai team in a soccer match. It's difficult to understand why this would become such a problem for anybody especially when many other countries also lost to the Thai team in this movie. Later on, the content was adjusted to get permission for release. The Thai team's identity has been changed to something else.
We only found out about the release when Steve's coworker told him last week he saw a guy in a movie that looks a lot like him. We bought the DVD and checked. This time Steve appeared clearly for a couple of times. He got much more exposure than the previous Thai movie when you could only see his sideburn and legs.
Yesterday Steve attended another casting. He had no idea what role he was going for but Mommy Joey and Baby Jamie tagged along. It turned out he was going for a role for a Japanese food brand commercial that will be on-aired in Japan. They made him changed into some nerdy outfit as shown in the photo.
While we were waiting, Jamie was scouted for a water brand billboard ad. If Jamie was scouted by the same casting agency that was casting Steve, the source would be reliable. But the person who scouted Jamie was also there to be casted. He said there is no need for Jamie to go in for casting but we need to send him Jamie's photos. There was no way to verify if this guy was for real but we figured what is there to lose if we just send over Jamie's photos? So after we got home, we picked a few of his best shots and sent them to him. Let's hope Jamie's photos are in good hands. |
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HKnese are super spontaneous - February 5, 2007
Grandma Eva suddenly called on Saturday and said she and her friends were coming over to Bangkok to see Jamie that day! Mommy Joey quickly arranged a rental van and hotel rooms. We were able to spend 2 nights together.
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M&M; - January 9, 2007
We just attended M&M's (Maggie & Ming) wedding in December in Hong Kong. Their honeymoon destination was Kenya and Bangkok. We were glad to be able to meet them again so soon and have talks about the wedding and everything else. They were very kind to Jamie.
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New shopping mall - January 7, 2007
Today we visited a new shopping mall. Not too long ago one bomb went off across the street of this mall on New Year's Eve. There weren't too many people in the mall which was kind of sad. It didn't stop us from having family fun though.
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Precious time together - November 3, 2006
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Grandma Eva & Grandpa Ben - November 1, 2006
Grandma Eva and Grandpa Ben paid their 2nd visit to see Jamie in Bangkok. It's convenient that Bangkok is so close to Hong Kong that the flight takes less than 3 hours but this short distance also increases the tendency for short stays. Last time when they came a few days after Jamie's birth they stayed for 2.5 days. This time they stayed for only 2 days and they left this morning. Are their future trips going to be shorter and shorter?!
Last time all Jamie wanted was eat eat eat but this time he spent much time talking and playing with grandma and grandpa. He is absolutely adorable. He loves communicating with people by making eye contact, smiling, squealing etc. Grandma and grandpa could never get bored with him.
It's always nice to see people who truly care come spend time with Jamie. Thank you!
Mommy and daddy
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Grandma Tonna & Grandpa Herbie - Sept 29, 2006
Despite of the coup situation in Thailand, Grandma Tonna and Grandpa Herbie made their way out all the way from North Carolina, USA to see Jamie. They arrived with tons of lovely and practical gifts. Among them were a blanket which was passed on by Steve's grandma and also a doll called Boy which was Steve's favorite doll that he carried everywhere with him when he was a little boy.
Fortunately the coup had no significant effect on daily life. Grandma and grandpa were able to sightsee and enjoy the city. They visited temples, shopping centers, and even the government house to check out the military coup. But Jamie remained the main attraction. Jamie likes to be held all the time. Grandma and grandpa did just that. They had no complaints holding heavy Jamie in the apartment and everywhere we went. Sometimes people even mistook Jamie as their child. They also helped out with diaper changes. It was certainly nice to know that Jamie was in good and loving hands.
Yo also benefited from their visit. He received treats, scraps from human meals and most importantly much attention. He followed grandpa everywhere. He definitely enjoyed the company.
After a week of spending quality time together, they returned to the States yesterday which was also the opening day of the new Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. All of us including Jamie went to see them off. The airport was obviously not prepared for opening yet. In fact, we ran into a friend who works in the airport and told us that the airport opening is at least 3 months early. But he assured us that the runways are ok! Seeing them off wasn't easy emotionally especially when we thought about the long journey that lied ahead of them but it was also exciting to look forward to the next reunion. Let's hope that day will come soon. Thank you, grandma & grandpa!
Now that grandpa and grandma are gone, we already see a change in Yo's mood. Along with us, he already misses Herbie and Tonna.
Daddy and mommy
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A day in the park - September 3, 2006
The weather has been really nice in the past few days. It reminds me of Hawaii. And today was definitely the perfect day to hang out in the park. We took Jamie to Lumphini Park. This park is kind of like Central Park in New York. It's located in the middle of the city.
We chose a spot right by the lake and we positioned the mat in a way so that Steve and Jamie could lie under the shade while I could get the sun. After hiding in the house for so many days, I really needed to get out there and put some tan on my skin. I hate being pale.
It was really peaceful to be by the lake. Ironically, Jamie didn't get to see the park at all since he was sleeping the whole time. But oh well, at least he got some fresh air, Steve got his walking and I got my exposure to the sun.
Mommy Joey
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A visit to US Embassy - August 28, 2006
Dual nationalities
Jamie is entitled to both American and HK nationalities. This morning we paid a visit to the US Embassy to apply for his US passport. We had an appointment with the US Embassy at 8:30 this morning. This appointment was made weeks before. We couldn't afford to be late and we weren't sure how long it would take.
Reasons why I don't like embassies
I don't like going to embassies. When I think of embassies, I think of rigid places with long lines of people waiting to get in, unfriendly staff, long hours of waiting, complicated procedures etc. Nothing fun about it. And now I have to take a 16-days old baby with me! It's nerve-wrecking.
A warm welcome
Even though it's only a 30 to 45 minutes ride from our apt to the embassy, to ensure we could get there on time, I woke up before 6 am to take a shower and to feed Jamie. Luckily, Jamie was satisfied from the feeding and was very calm on the way to the embassy. Hooray! We were there half an hour early.
Thanks to Steve's preparation in making the appointment ahead of time, we didn't have to do any waiting outside. We went right in and immediately we were greeted with a friendly security who showed interest in Jamie. After we were admitted, we were asked to wait in a little room with a slide door. Soon another friendly staff showed up at the other side of the window and she too seemed interested in Jamie and was amazed at the fact that Jamie was born on the Queen's birthday. She went through the documents with us. Our application forms were not completed yet because for some items we weren't sure about the answers but she was very cooperative in helping us to complete them. And because Steve and I are not married, the staff asked us some questions about when and how we met, when did we move in together etc. I felt funny that a stranger was interested in our love story.
Turning point
Everything seemed fine until little Jamie decided it's time for another feeding again. "No, Jamie, this is not the hospital. There's no breastfeeding room. Please hold your hunger." These thoughts went through my mind. And then miracle happened. The staff said "You can nurse in this room. I'll close the window for you." I looked around and realized that small room was indeed a perfect place for nursing. Without further delay, we started the feeding and right about when it came to an end, another staff showed up at the other side of the window and told us that everything's done and Jamie's passport will be ready in 3 weeks.
Lesson learned
Wow! I can't believe how well things have turned out. This morning experience reinforced my belief that there is no point in worrying about things that haven't happened yet. Who would have thought that US Embassy would provide a neat little room for nursing! We did so great that we even had time to head over to the Chinese Embassy for the HK passport too. And in the Chinese Embassy we witnessed another miracle. This HKnese lady happened to be inquiring about her lost passport right when an unknown Thai man was turning in her lost passport to the counter. Amazing coincidence! By the way, while we were on the way to the Chinese Embassy, a cop stopped our car because he was trying to accuse me of running a red light even though I didn't. But after he saw Jamie in the car, he let us go! Yeah!
Mommy Joey
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