c in october

October was a long and difficult month.  My Apo, C's Atai (his last remaining great-grandparent) passed away.  It was really hard for the whole family even though we knew it was coming.  The funeral lasted almost a week, with lots of long days at the temple.  She got a great send off with lots of people coming by to pay their respects.

To make matters worse, my dad became really ill and was in the hospital for a couple of weeks.  Again, we have some wonderful family and friends who looked in on us all and supported us during this trying time.  Thankfully he has gotten better and is totally healthy again.

The bright moment was the end of the month when C got to experience trick-or-treating.  There is a neighborhood that opens up and allows trick-or-treaters to come in.  It was so much fun and C totally got into it.  We had the stroller, which C sat in during the longer walks.  But once we got to a house that had candy, the boy was out of his stroller and ready! He definitely caught on quickly and has now had his fair share of sweets.  

October

C's Atai's casket, family represented, and her afterlife materials.

Our little fireman!

C & Papa

 C & Mama


Happy family!


C with Apo & Kong Kong

C's first trick-or-treating experience with a cool scarecrow!

A mama's gotta do what a mama's gotta do!

PS....it was NOT so comfortable.  :) 

...All About C...

C has been such a trooper this month.  We've had lots of temple and hospital visits and have totally been preoccupied with life.  Thankfully he's rolled with it all and has stayed pretty positive.  He's handled the crowds and all of the people wanting to hold him fairly well.  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 78th week

We have so enjoyed our first week in LA.  My brother has been an awesome host welcoming us into his space.  We started off our time by taking a day to just relax and decompress.  Then I took the plunge and drove my brother's truck all over the place.  It was quite nerve wracking to drive again (on the wrong side of the road), but I have to say that I got the hang of it pretty quick! HA! I drove us around a bunch of times during our time in LA.  Some highlights this week include heading over to Venice Beach, going to Santa Monica, heading over to Redondo Beach, and hanging around downtown LA.

Since being in LA, we have enjoyed hanging out with my brother.  It's been so nice to see what his life is like and to be introduced to all that is important to him.  He's been a trooper and has taken us out to different places and has let us me shop while he runs around after C.  We have been to Target, been to grocery stores including a Trader Joe's, and have been to a couple of malls so that I can get my shopping on.  I'd just like to tell you that shopping with a kid around is not nearly as fun as doing it on my own.  :)

We have also had some amazing food while out here in LA.  We've had a lot of Mexican food and we are loving it! I've also had some Panda Express and a handful of Krispy Kreme donuts.  Yum! It is crazy what sorts of things you miss when you live overseas.

A personal highlight for me was being able to catch up with a bunch of friends from University.  Since our time was tight, we weren't able to do a lot with my friends, so I am thankful to have been able to catch up with a few of them over some fabulous meals.  I have to be honest in saying that I wish I could have met up with more friends, but it is really hard to put yourself out there to try to get people to get together when it's been so long since I last saw them.  My time at University was brilliant and I made many wonderful friends, but it's been basically a decade since I've seen many of them and to push to see them in person instead of just on facebook was not something I felt comfortable doing.  Hopefully next time I'll put aside my fear and make more of an effort.

June 24 - June 30

First time at the beach.  It was cool and windy.  C loved chasing the birds!


Hanging in his awesome new shark stroller from TARGET!
We didn't bring our big one as we were hoping to get an umbrella stroller.


Uncle Bert swinging C in downtown LA.

LOVE my boy.

C so enjoyed hanging with his Uncle!

We saw a neat tattoo exhibit at a museum.

(Matt and I found it difficult taking C to the museum as he was loud and wanted to touch everything.)

C's second trip to the beach.  He wasn't such a fan to begin with, but eventually warmed up to it.  

He didn't like the water, but did run around in the sand.

...All About C...

C has had a great week.  He's really enjoyed hanging with Uncle Bert and warmed up to him very quickly.  It's been fun watching the two of them interact with one another and I'm so thankful to have a brother that will humor his nephew the way he does.

C's had to become fairly flexible this week with his schedule.  We've been out and about a lot, so C has learned to nap on the go.  Also because of my brother's work, our dinners have been far later than we are used to.  Thankfully C hasn't seemed to mind too much and has remained a happy camper.  I think it has been hard for Matt and I though as we do like the structure of our routines, so being without it can be quite difficult.

This week, C was able to experience the beach for the first time ever.  He didn't love it initially, but he did grow to like it and be comfortable on it.  He was fine on the sand, but even though he loves the water, the waves were just too much for him to handle.  I think we'll have to take him to a Thai beach someday soon as I'm absolutely sure he'll love it.

(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 77th week

We have had a slow second week in Canada as Matt has been really sick due to getting too much sun and not enough water on our day to Niagara Falls.  Oops.  So it's been lots of days at home playing in the back yard, going for walks around the neighborhood, and visiting the park nearby.  C's also had lots of fun playing with his Grandma this week.

June 17 - June 23

Wanting to go outside.

A boy and a dog.

Playing catch!

Grandma's in town!

Slide fun with Grandma!

Saying goodbye to Grandma.

...All About C...

C's had a good week and is learning to enjoy being outdoors more.  He's not been a huge fan of grass, but has gotten better at running around on it since he's been in Canada.  He loves running every where now and has fallen a few times causing him to have some nasty scrapes on his face.  It's gotta happen, right?

Since being here, C's been able to play on slides and swings a lot more.  He LOVES both of these and can play with them for long periods of time.  It is cute watching him swing as he just chills out completely on it.

One thing we are really happy with is how comfortable C has become with the dog.  At first, C was a bit scared of her and very hesitant around her.  After being here for a week though, he is totally enjoying her.  He will give her hugs, play catch with her, and chase her all over.  It definitely makes us want to get him a dog someday.

(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 76th week

We have enjoyed our first full week in Canada.  We've gone on walks and have enjoyed the cool weather and clean air.  We've had lots of yummy food to eat including my favorite, cheerios! We've had bbqs outside, played at the park, shopped at target, and gone grocery shopping! What can I say...we are adventurous folk!

The best part of course is seeing family and watching C get to know his Canadian family.  The boys are getting along and have been playing well with one another.  C is fitting in as the youngest and slowly learning to share and take turns.  WOHOO! 

June 10 - June 16

Park fun!

Pretending to be in high school again.  :) 

Saying 'Sawasdee krap', swinging, and driving!

Going for some ice-cream in the wagon.

C's first time eating ice-cream.  He loved it!

Curls!

Hanging at the park with C's Grandpa and Uncle.

C has grown really comfortable with this beautiful dog.

Yay for extended family visits!

Saying goodbye to Grandpa.

Visiting Niagara Falls for Father's Day.

Happy Father's Day Matt!

Hanging with the boys.

Grandma!

Papa!

...All About C...

C's had a great week, but has been missing his Asian food.  This week, we gave him a cup of noodles and he devoured it.  He seriously shook in delight and was so excited to eat something he was familiar with.  It never occurred to me to consider how much he'd miss Asian food and how he'd feel about it.  I felt so bad for him.  Knowing this, we have since tried to give C something Asian to eat every few days!

C is loving the different snacks out here.  He's had a lot of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.  He's also enjoyed a lot of goldfish crackers and applesauce packets.  He's also really enjoyed the cheese and yogurt as well.  There are so many snack options for kids, it's insane.  I wish I could bring all of these options back home to CNX with me as it sure would make life a lot easier.  No worries though...we are definitely getting our fill and enjoying it all right now.

(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 75th week

School is over and we are officially on summer holidays! YAY! The school year ended well and I will really miss the group of kiddos I had this year.  But boy am I glad for this year to be over as it has been a tough year with work demands, leaving C home with a nanny, and building our house.  Everything isn't completely perfect yet, but for the moment, it's all good as we are putting everything on hold while we traipse off to North America for a much needed break.

This week has been a busy week with a couple of family get togethers before everyone headed off in different directions over the summer.  Also my 32nd birthday came and went pretty uneventfully as we were busy packing for our trip.  Which leads to the biggest news of the week, which is that we made it to Canada! 

So flying with a walker is definitely different than flying with an infant.  C did really well, but it definitely wasn't a walk in the park.  He did sleep a fair bit, which was helpful.  He slept in the bassinet for most of it, but also did sleep in our arms at different points during the flight.  C ate really well and enjoyed walking around the plane a lot.  HA! We also prepared a special bag for him filled with TONS of snacks, new toys, and a bunch of books, which did keep him pretty occupied.  C loved playing with the playdoh, which this was the first time he ever got to play with it.  He also really enjoyed all of the stickers we brought a long.  The only difficult thing was that C basically wanted to sit with me the whole time.  It wasn't the end of the world for me, but it was hard for Matt who did want to do more.  But really, if this was the worse thing to have happened, I think we did alright.  

June 3 - June 9

C and 3 of his favorite people!

From left to right, Jia Jia (nanny), Ayi (helper), and Little Jia Jia (friend).

Hanging in the sun before a LONG day of travel.  

Then, all ready in his travel PJs.

See...he did sleep! 

Also the obligatory transit photo...

Enjoying a stroll to Tim Hortens for C's first (and only) tim bit!

A boy chillin' in a swing!

Learning to play t-ball.  He's a natural!

Cousins!

...All About C...

C has had a whirlwind week and has handled everything well.  He handled the many flights and hours traveling really well with only a short meltdown at one point.  While traveling, I did bring out the camera to show C photos of the people at home that he cares about as he did ask for everyone a lot.  I'm so glad I thought to take photos before leaving as we did look at them periodically while we were traveling around.

Since arriving to Canada, we've had a bit of jet lag in that C has woken up in the middle of the night for a couple of days now.  After a couple of hours, we've all been able to go back to bed for a bit longer before being up for the day.  Everyday has been better and I'm hoping that we'll be back on a normal routine soon.

C has really enjoyed meeting his cousins and playing with them.  He definitely isn't used to the new surroundings, but he's also not scared of it.  He was a little nervous around their dog at first, but thankfully is slowly warming up to her.  C's having fun playing outside and loves their awesome playhouse.  He is running around and just soaking it all in. 

(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 74th week

When it rains, it pours.  This has been a really difficult month for us and it's only gotten worse as my grandfather (technically my great uncle once removed...or something like that) just passed away rather abruptly too this week.  He has lived a marvelous life, but it was still hard to hear about his passing.

Things are winding down at work and we are making plans for our summer holiday.  We've changed our plans because the house is still not finished.  We are bummed that our trip home will be shortened, but are so thankful to still be able to go.  Now if we can just get through the massive to do list before our flight....wish us luck!

May 27 - June 2

Visiting C's Atai, who is back at home.  Yay!

Love my sweet, beautiful little boy...

Not the best photos...but it shows how C LOVES to take showers now.  He has no fear and loves putting his head right into the stream of water coming out.  Now if we could only get him to enjoy swimming as much as he does his bath/shower time...

...All About C...

C has learned a super cute Thai poem that he enjoys doing all the time now.  He can't say the poem too well, but he loves doing the motions over and over again.  C is now also saying "uhoh" a lot and it is seriously so adorable.  The way he says it and the tone he uses is just too cute.  I will say it in hopes of getting him to repeat it just because I love hearing him say "uhoh."  HA!

C is a mini me and is just mimicking us even more now.  Everyday he tries something new and will repeat all that he hears.  He doesn't remember everything thankfully, but he is sure picking up on things quickly.  We've got a clever little boy, that's for sure!

(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.)