c in november

This has been a much calmer month and we are back to our routines again, which is really nice.  I am a routine person and feel better when we have consistency in our life.  I think that it is good for C too as then he knows what is going on.  Don't worry though...when fun things happen, we are totally flexible and happy to adjust our routine. HA!

So the weather is getting cooler and we are enjoying the change.  This month C was able to experience only a small part of Loy Krathong by letting off some Khom Loys at home.  However Matt and I were able to go out and enjoy one of the parades in town with friends.  It was fun to be out with people! We are so thankful for my mom who helped watch over C.  Yay for fun without the kid! Haha!

After Thanksgiving (how do I have no pictures of that?!?), we put up our tree.  I gave C the small one from our previous home and he was able to go to town on it.  C totally enjoyed putting up his ornaments and rearranged them a lot of times.  I definitely think this is going to be a tradition we maintain so that he has control over his tree and will hopefully leave the family tree alone! Is that wishful thinking?!

November

Sleeping so peacefully....


Letting off a Khom Loy (lantern) at home...


Happy Loy Krathong!
This is from a parade in town one night...


Sticker fun!


Getting his coloring on!


Enjoying his first Christmas cookie....it was a hit!


Decorating his own special tree...


WOW!

...All About C...

C has had a terrific month with lots of new firsts.  He is growing and changing so much! He is doing more on his own and definitely has an opinion on things.  Ha!

(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 46th week

We just might have the smartest little boy ever and I totally am not biased.  C has said his first word! The little stinker didn't choose to say mama (which should really be every babies first word, right?!?) or dada, but instead said BALL! That's right, his first love are his many TOY balls.  He points to them and says "ba" all of the time.  We finally decided to recognize this as his first word because while at the new mall in town C was constantly pointing to all of the ball shaped ornaments decorating the place and said 'ba, ba, ba'.  So there you have it folks, we've got a "talker."

It is just amazing how much babies are able to process their first year.  C understands a lot of words and has been mimicking sounds for a while now.  He for sure understands his name, although he does choose not to acknowledge it at times.  He also knows lots of English words including: bye-bye, no, kick, ball, book, and car, to name a few.  However, he probably actually knows way more Chinese words including the words for: water, eat, bath, clap, smile, and want.  We need to work on his Thai language skills, but he does at least recognize sawasdee khup (the Thai greeting for hello).  I'm assuming that C actually knows more words, but these are some of the words we use daily at home.

Going back to the balls though, C enjoys playing with these toys a lot.  For a while now, C has been throwing the ball at us and will sit and wait for someone to roll it back to him.  He does a great bounce pass and will put his whole body into it.  C has also learned from his Grandma how to kick the ball.  His dominant foot to kick with is his right foot in case you were wondering.  He likes to hold onto our hands and chase after the balls in order to kick them, especially the big yoga ball.  So will we have a basketball player or a soccer player in the future?!? I'll take either! HA!

With all of this playing, C is getting better and better at walking with assistance.  He used to not seem to enjoy it very much and would often walk on his tiptoes and didn't last for too long.  Now though, he is gaining confidence, can do it for quite a long while, and is planting his feet down more.  Ohh...will we have a walker by before he turns one??

So this week was Loy Krathong, which is one of the most beautiful holidays ever with lots of lovely lanterns being let off into the sky, krathongs being sent down the river, and fireworks galore.  We almost didn't celebrate it this year as we had family photos, which turned out fabulously thanks to our photographer, done and a pretty busy schedule.  Luckily Loy Krathong lasts three days, so we were able to take C out for a wee bit one evening to give him a chance to experience this holiday.  He did really well considering it was around his bedtime when we were out.  He didn't seem to mind the loud fireworks that went off everywhere or the crowds of people thankfully.  He loved just looking around and watching all of the hustle and bustle.  The best part about the evening though was that we were able to set off a lantern as a family.  It almost didn't happen, but with the help of others around us, we were able to get one lit and up into the sky.

Day 316 (11/12)

What a cheese ball! 

Day 317

Getting into his Canadian roots! 

Also C loves to do the pointing thing when he wants something or wants to go somewhere.  

What a demanding little dude...

Day 318

In heaven surrounded by all the balls.  Guess I know what I need to buy him for Christmas!

Day 319

He is seriously just one happy baby.  We are so blessed.

Day 320

We had our family photo-shoot today and I can't wait to show you all those shots!

Day 321

Check out how long his hair is getting! It's beginning to curl a little bit and is quite unruly, but Matt still wants it to grow out, so we'll see what happens.  What an expressive kid, eh?

Day 322

Happy Loy Krathong!

Check out these posts with more stunning lantern photos.

...Things to Remember...

- C is cute, but it is really exhausting taking his photo daily.  I feel like it is the same thing everyday as we just take shots outside in the driveway, on the porch, in the living room, or in the bath as I don't have the energy to go someplace after I get home from work.  I still enjoy the pictures, but I feel as though they aren't particularly "artistic" of me.  So next year I'll definitely come up with a different plan as daily photos just may not be my thing.  

- C is eating all of the time and is a little porker like his mama! 

(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.

loy krathong 2013

Loy Krathong has come and gone this year, and we just barely managed to get a glimpse of some of the beauty displayed during this festival.  We almost didn't get to participate this year as things were super hectic during the three days of Loy Krathong.  We also hummed and hawed about whether or not to take C out as things don't start until evening, which is of course C's bedtime.  We were concerned about the crowds, the fireworks let off all over, and of course the traffic.  However, on the last night, we decided to just try to brave it and were able to take C out for about an hour.

It was lovely to get out of the house and be outside as it was a beautifully cool evening.  The moon was huge and lovely to look at.  We saw all of the different krathongs ready to be sold.  We saw some people play with fireworks, but didn't buy any to try out ourselves this year.  C saw lots and lots of motorbikes parked and wanted to ride them all!

My big thing was letting off a lantern as a family, so we bought one to light.  Oh man...it was hard to do this with just the two of us and with one of us carrying C.  It was really windy causing the lantern to fold into itself.  We tried and failed.  Thankfully the people we bought the lantern from came to our aid and helped us get it lit.  We then waited for a long while for it to get hot enough to fly up into the sky and I was a wee bit nervous it wasn't going to make it.  But once released, the wind caught it and lifted it up high into the sky.  C looked and looked at it and wasn't scared of the fire at all! It was beautiful.  

There were lots of people around letting off lanterns.

We totally posed in front of other peoples lanterns!

Pretty lantern and reflection in the river.

Bye bye lantern!

Lantern flying high.

The light on the bridge we were on kept changing causing on me!

So happy to be out with my baby! 

Thai food truck selling omelets!

Some young monks letting off a lantern together.

(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.)

loy, loy krathong

Loy Krathong, also known as the 'Festival of Lights,' is a beautiful festival that falls in November after the Yee Peng Festival.  This year it fell on the weekdays, making this pregnant lady not up for as much as usual as I would have to get up for work the next day.  Basically, Loy Krathong is a festival where people release krathongs into the water while making a wish.  Images that come to mind when I think of Loy Krathong include: khom loys, krathongs, fireworks, late nights, parties, parades, food, and people everywhere.  These nights are full of fun and light.

Matt humored me and even though he was exhausted, he took me to enjoy some of the sights on the 28th.  We took the motorbike out because of all of the traffic and went to the main bridge in town, which is usually the starting off point for the festivities in Chiang Mai.  I lasted a couple of hours and then had to call it quits as I now get tired far more quickly! We were able to let off a krathong together, which is one of the things I wanted to do on our evening out together.  I also was able to snap a couple of pictures (okay, so I actually took a lot of photos) to share with you all too!

A view of the bridge that was packed full of people.

Some brightly colored Krathongs made from ice-cream cones and bread!

They were all so pretty!

Some traditional and simple krathongs. 

Here, people were crowding around to the edge of the river to release their krathongs.  Check out the young boy and older man in the water.  These two were helping to put the krathongs into the water nicely and were receiving payment for their help as people are fairly superstitious about the krathongs.  Everyone wants their krathong to float out onto the water serenely and make it as far as possible.

Our traditional banana leaf krathong and many others on their journey down river.

The old lady who ended up helping us move our krathong out into the deeper water.

The temple down the street from our house that was all lit up with lanterns for Loy Krathong.

I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband who took me out on a night he'd rather be home, for letting me spend time getting the right shots, and for waiting patiently for me without complaining.

These pictures all SOOC (straight out of the camera).

(Linking up with P52, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Tuesdays Around the World, and Our World Tuesday.)

yee peng festival

On Saturday night, a bunch of friends and I decided to make the trek out to Mae Jo University in order to participate in the Yee Peng festival held there.  Being 33 weeks pregnant at the time, I almost bailed, but thankfully I didn't.  It was quite the adventure from start to finish and I had such a blast making new memories with new friends!

The Yee Peng (also sometimes known as the Yi Peng) Festival is one that occurs in November around Loy Krathong and this year, it was held on November 24th.  This is an event that people attend in order to make merit, meditate, and release khom loys (floating paper lanterns) which is symbolic of letting go of all worries and making wishes for the future.  In Chiang Mai, there is a big event at the Mae Jo University that celebrates Yee Peng and is known for the mass release of the khom loys.  It is a truly incredible sight and one that is often associated with this time of year and our city.

So the night began at about 5:30 when five of us headed out in my car to the University.  It took us probably over an hour to get there due to all the traffic headed to the same location.  When we got to the area, we were directed onto side streets, so I was totally confused as to where I was and where to find parking.  At one point I decided to squeeze the car in between some vans to get out and ask a police officer where to go.  He pointed up ahead to the entrance, so we left the car where it was...right at the front! It seriously was such a perfect spot.  Once we got out of the car, we walked for about ten minutes from the point where no cars were allowed in to the actual venue.  Then we had to try to find our friends who had come earlier in the day.  This took us awhile actually as there were just so many people present.  It was kind of awkward and we felt terrible walking around as people were sitting and trying to listen to the monks while the five of us were trying to figure out where to go.  After about 20 minutes we finally found our friends and parked ourselves down with them to enjoy the evening.

When we arrived, the head monk was speaking to those in attendance and he talked for quite some time sharing a message.  Then there was a procession that circled the stage three times led by many of the monks present.  Next it was time to light all the candles around the premises in order to prepare for the khom loy release.  After some more waiting, we were finally all given the okay to start prepping our khom loys and when they said the magic words, we let them go.  It was beautiful to see so many of them take off in unison.

Monks on the stage.

 

Ladies in the procession.

A beautiful flame and the khom loys slowly being released.

Just a few to begin with...

Then there were more...

And more....

There were thousands and thousands let off...

Love!

Pregnant at 33 weeks made this all slightly uncomfortable, but I totally made it! 

Our last two khom loys of the evening.

Friends!

Our adventure ended with a mass exodus from the event location with thousands of people.  Due to our fabulous parking spot though, we were able to get out the area quickly (gotta love the u-turn I pulled) and back home in good time.  This was wonderful because as soon as we got back, a crazy massive storm hit.  There was intense wind, rain, hail, the power went out, telephone poles came down, trees fell, and debris was blown in all directions due to the storm.  But that really is another story, so I'll share about it more next time...stay tuned! :) 

These pictures all SOOC (straight out of the camera).

(Linking up with P52, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Tuesdays Around the World, and Our World Tuesday.)