father's day 2014

It has become tradition to go to the Night Safari on December 5th for Father's Day.  It is fun celebrating Matt as a family and doing something special together.  This year C had a lot of fun and really got into the animals.  He enjoyed petting and feeding the animals.  

C & his Papa

Feeding some animals....

Love my boys!

C enjoying the ride...

Some of the animals we saw up close and personal!

Happy Father's Day!

Proof that I was there! :) 

Having fun on the trampoline.

Happy Father's Day to the BEST PAPA EVER!

We love you Matt!

xoxo

(Linking up with Our World Tuesday, P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Wednesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, 

Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Practicing Simplicity, Simple Things Sunday, and Sunday Snapshot.)

c's 43rd week

This has been a really HUGE week for us as C is officially no longer eating "baby" foods as he is now eating "adult" foods.  YEAH! I don't know why I'd worked it out to be so difficult in my mind, but the transition was really seamless and not hard at all.  Chris is super happy about the change as his appetite seems to have increased and he is way more interested in food again.  It has made our job so much easier as now C gets what we are eating ourselves or else toned down versions of things.  The only special food we make is his applesauce, which is also blended to be a bit chunkier.  Going out to eat has also been so much easier as we can just order C something from the menu rather than prepare things from home.  We still bring along some snacks (cheerios, bread, and bananas) of course, but now eating out doesn't have to be a planned event.  YAY!

With this new diet, C has tried so many new things this week.  He seems to love bread and has enjoyed toast, rolls, and pancakes.  He's also had pizza and spaghetti.  C's gotten to try potatoes and liked hash browns.  C is still getting lots of asian foods and has had fried rice, asparagus stir fry, and some herbs mixed into his meals.  He usually eats at least one meal a day that consists of rice mixed with vegetables which now also contains some meat and has enjoyed both chicken and pork.

Something else fun that we did this week was taking C to see elephants at one of the local Elephant Camps.  This time around, we simply watched the show and spent time just hanging out with the elephants.  C really enjoyed the show, especially when the elephants were playing soccer.  He didn't so much enjoy it when the elephants came around too close, but he also didn't cry.  Phew! Matt and I love elephants, so we will for sure be taking C back to see the elephants again.

Day 295 (10/22)

Always on the move!

Day 296

So cute in his camo!

Day 297

C loves pulling these plants and tries to eat them occasionally.

Furrowed brow....so sweet.

Day 298

Look at those eyes...they are blue/green in color I think.

We got some gifts from friends in Hong Kong! The Cheerios are a big deal as they are hard to come by here in town, so we are set for a while.  Now to just remind myself that these are for C and not for me... Thank you so much Angie and Morten for the yummy snacks and adorable Halloween costume! :) 

Day 299 (10/26)

C saw an elephant in person for the first time! What a fun day!
Click HERE for more on our trip to the elephant camp.

Day 300

C loves getting into his Apo's cabinets, so Matt thought putting a rubber band 

around the knobs would keep him out.  What do you think?? 

Day 301

C eating papaya....and this is why we bathe after meals! :) 

My sweet boy is getting so big!

...Things to Remember...

- C fed himself with a fork a couple of times this week.  I had the fork ready with some watermelon and C guided it into his mouth as I was going too slowly.  It was too cute and totally took me by surprise.

- C seems to be getting closer and closer to standing up on his own.  When he sits, he sits with one leg tucked under him and the other standing in front of him.  It basically looks as though he is getting ready to push himself up.  I'm excited for the next step, but also a bit nervous as there is no going back.  :) 

- On a personal note, my hair is still shedding.  As if shedding isn't bad enough, I now have TONS of baby hairs poking out all over my head.  They will not stay down and are so terrible to look at.  Hopefully they will grow out fast and be easier to control soon as my hair is driving me crazy!

(Linking up with Our World Tuesday, P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Tuesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, 

Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Che and Fidel, Simple Things Sunday, and Sunday Snapshot.)

elephants, tigers, and fish...oh my

We had a week off work recently and spent most of it hanging around the house and running the occasional errand.  Before heading back to work with nothing exciting to share, we decided to take C out to one of the local Elephant Camps.  It was a super fun morning as we were able to share our love of elephants with C.  C definitely seemed to enjoy the elephants from afar, but wasn't so keen on them when they got too close.  Hopefully that will change as he gets older!

After our morning with the elephants, we headed over to the Tiger Kingdom for lunch.  Don't worry, we didn't go in to play with the tigers this time.  We just watched them from our table.  Matt did get C to start making an adorable roaring sound though.  Even though we didn't get to hang with the tigers this time, we did spend some time feeding the hundreds of fish in the fish pond.  C thoroughly enjoyed this as the fish were huge and came straight to the surface to try to get a snack.

It was a fabulous day and I can't wait to take C out again!

Enamored by the show!

I heart elephants!

C with his daddy!

The super cool paintings done BY the elephants! 

You can get your own print for $100 - $200.

These elephants are amazing.  They can play soccer, paint, dance, and even play darts!

C with his Apo!

He was so interested in the show and his favorite part was when the elephants were playing soccer.

 

Love my boys!

C with his mama!

An adorable one month old baby with his mama!

Having fun with the fish!

(Linking up with Our World Tuesday, P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Tuesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, 

Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Che and Fidel, Simple Things Sunday, and Sunday Snapshot.)

bird street

I went to the Bird Street a couple weeks ago to get photos for my P52 post, "the eyes of march" and have a few more pictures to share from my outing.  Bird Street is actually a street full of birds, bird enthusiasts, and the random observers.  Creative name, right? :)

People come to visit this street for a ton of different reasons.   There are those who come to Bird Street to simply buy things.  People can buy birds, bird food, bird cages, and just about anything you'd need to help your bird feel more comfortable.  Others bring their birds on walks to Bird Street and make it a social event.  Yes, you read that right.  People seriously take their birds on walks.  Yes, walks.  Then of course there are the tourists that stop by Bird Street to gawk and take photos of everything (not me at all!).

I sincerely hope you are not scared of birds because  there are a lot of pictures here.  If birds give you the heebie jeebies, which I can understand as I always have to sanitize my hands a few times after I leave Bird Street, then this post is definitely not for you! :) So on that note, please enjoy the pictures!

Pretty bird...

Loving their birds.  A lot.

Making a bird cage.

Birds for sale.

 

So many different types of birds for sale.

 

Lots of old men around.

Beautiful mini jars for holding the food and water.

Taking their birds for a walk in their cages.

Perching.

Chillin'!

So proud of his birds!

Close up

Happy couple.

(Linking up with Sweet Shot Tuesday, Tuesday Around the World, and Our World Tuesday.)

the "eyes" of march

This week's P52 theme is on the "eyes" of march.  A play on words that I wasn't sure about how to creatively capture.  I'm sure I've said this before, but these themes are getting more difficult.  That, or I'm just getting busier and not finding the time to get creative with my photos and thoughts.  I've sadly been scrabbling with my posts recently and haven't been able to give them the time they deserve (or need!).  Let's just say this girl is ready for Easter Break (8 teaching days left)!

Things have been so hectic with my photo course, work, being sick, and terrible weather, that I almost had to rely solely on pictures I'd taken ages ago for this post.  Thankfully it stopped raining this afternoon and I was able to run over to the Bird Street (I'll blog more about this place soon) and take some photos to use for this theme.  

So welcome to the "EYES" of march, ANIMAL style!

The parrot is from the Bird Street in Kowloon.  

I have to say that these were all taken on Aperture Mode, which is HUGE for me! 

I actually learned (remembered) something from my photo course.  YES!

I even used the flash reduction on this picture.  

This elephant is from the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai.

These were taken in 2009.

I LOVE elephants.  LOVE THEM.  ALOT.

The baby was 30 days old...stinkin' adorable I tell you!

I didn't take this one of myself, but just love it, so I had to share it.  

I loved coming to this park and hanging out with the elephants...definitely something to do again.

This tiger is from the Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai.

I love this place and have been there almost every year since 2008.  

I think these were taken in 2009 or 2011.

Chillin' with the tigers.

I know, I know...you can't see either of our eyes here.  Ha! :)

(Linking up with Fabulous Friday Challenge and Life as This Mommy Knows It.)