Time to go pro...

Callie has been in desperate need of a haircut for a while now but I've been hesitant to take her, considering she's still VERY shy around Thai people (and as a general rule, doesn't like to be touched).  But, it was time for her to get more than just a "trim" from Mommy, so, she and I ventured out to the salon this evening.

On the car ride there, I explained to her that a Thai person would be cutting her hair and that when they touched her hair, she didn't need to be afraid and that she needed to speak nicely.  I walked her through exactly what would happen and explained that she would be like a beautiful princess after her haircut (is that bad of me? :) ) and that it would be LOTS of fun.  She seemed to buy it, thankfully, but I was still unsure about what would happen when we got to the salon.

But, much to my surprise (and delight!), she was absolutely AMAZING!  She didn't flinch, whine or cry... not once!!  I couldn't believe what a big girl she was about the whole thing.  The lady that cut her hair kept commenting on how good she was and that usually, foreigner kids cry the whole time.  I was one proud Mama!  Plus, it was great Thai-speaking practice for me... so I guess you could say we 'killed 2 birds with 1 stone' today! :)

She doesn't even like it when I wash her hair so I was extra surprised when she agreed to have her hair washed.  You can see by her hand in the above picture (and the look on her face) that she was a bit tense about it, but as I said, she didn't say a peep the whole time.

I honestly couldn't believe how perfectly still she sat, through the entire haircut.

I think watching herself in the giant mirror helped keep her distracted...

And, the iPod helped for those last few minutes that just seemed a bit too boring for her :)

Almost done...

When she got down from the chair, she pointed to the ground and said,

"Oh wow, Mom!  Look at all my hair!"

She even "wai-ed" the hairdresser and said, "Khop khun kha" 

(which means "thank-you") as we left.  

We both agreed that this experience was worth a thumbs-up! :)

Well done, my sweet Callie-bear!  You're growing up!

สองเดือน ...

Considering I'm in the thick of reading and writing Thai script in school, I thought I'd title this post in Thai.  For those that don't read Thai, it says "song duan" which means "two months"... which is how old this little goose is now...

I haven't kept up with our other blog but have found this a great place to keep track of the kids' growth (I'm absolutely terrible about keeping up with their baby books) so if you find this boring, feel free to skip this post.  Its more for me than for you :)

We took Marek in for his 2 month check-up and immunizations last night.  He is now 11 lbs. 4 oz. and 23" long.  No idea what percentile that makes him (they don't give that kind of info. at the clinics here) but considering he started at 6 lbs. 7 oz. and 19.5", I'd say he's good and healthy.

I wish I could say he's been the amazing sleeper his sister was at this age, but alas, that would be a lie.  Though, I have had 3 great nights in a row from him this week (only waking once in the night).  But then he had his shots yesterday and that threw everything off and I was up about 4 times with him last night.  Ah well... I just keep telling myself that I will actually get to sleep again... someday.  One thing we have discovered in the last month though, is that he loves to sleep on his tummy and this has helped immensely.  He's also a bit of a "suck" and will sleep for HOURS on end if he's in someone's arms.  I have a feeling he's going to be our "cuddler," which is great because his sister definitely isn't. :)

He is a very happy baby other than that.  He's smiling and cooing a lot now and will grin for anyone who's willing to try to get a smile out of him.  This is when things start to get really fun.

He seems intrigued and delighted by his overly-smothering doting big sister and I look forward to the day they can play together... as does she.  You can definitely tell they're siblings, looks-wise, but Marek is still quite distinctly different in a lot of ways.  It'll be interesting to see if he and Callie look more alike, the older he gets.

I had to get back to language school last week, which meant Marek had to come with me.  

Let's just say, the teachers didn't mind one bit...

As his Auntie Corina stated, 

"he's learning by osmosis..."

Thankfully, I've been able to time his feeds this week so that I can leave him with either Auntie Carmen or P Boh while I head off to school.  As cute as he looks in the above picture, its not actually as easy as it looks.  Keeping a baby happy while trying to study Thai is tricky and I've had WAY more productive classes this week when he hasn't been with me at school.  As much as I miss him during those couple of hours, I must admit it makes life a lot easier.  And, if he's at home with P Boh, he'll still be getting his 'Thai language practice' in anyway :)

Canada Day in Thailand...

Although we didn't spend July 1st in Canada, it seemed only fitting to celebrate it here.  So, seeing as it was just after Callie's elephant-themed party, we decided to visit one of the elephant camps just outside of Chiang Mai.

It ended up being a pretty long drive (almost 2 hours away) but it was SO worth it.  We parked the car and got on one of the little shuttle "trains" which took us to where the elephant show was about to begin.  Callie was already in her glory just with the transportation!  Little did she know that it was about to get so much better...

We got there just in time to watch the elephants make their way up the hill towards the show grounds.

They held onto each other's tails as they passed by. 

All lined up and ready to perform...

They showed how the trainers get on and off the elephants...

... and how they sleep at night.

Apparently they only sleep about 4 hours per night... 

something I can totally relate to these days ;)

This elephant took the trainer's hat off and then gently placed it back on his head...

Showing how strong their trunks are...

Mom, Callie and Jon enjoying the show...

And, probably one of the most impressive things...
watching the elephants paint pictures.

They were actually REALLY good.  You could even buy the paintings in the store after the show.

Some of the artwork that was produced during the show...

Mom meeting the elephants...

Callie enjoying feeding some of the smaller elephants...

Best Canada Day ever! :)

Callie even got to ride an elephant with Nammy...

Off they go for a very bumpy ride...

Did I mention this kid loves elephants?

Marek was there too, of course.  He was such a trooper and slept most of the time.  

Here he is enjoying some cool-off time out of the Baby Bjorn carrier...

And, to complete the day, we watched the elephants take their afternoon bath...

Callie purchased this hand-woven hat from the store with some of her birthday money.

Can you believe it only cost just over a dollar?  

Heading back to the train shuttle after a long day...

So, as you can see, our Canada Day looked very different this year,

 but one thing it certainly didn't lack was "fun!" :)

She's 3!

Its hard to believe it was 3 years ago today (June 30th) that we welcomed our precious Callie Lauryn to the world! So much has happened in 3 years and we're so proud of the little girl she's become.  She brings us so much joy and is always making us laugh with the things she says.  We loves singing, dancing (she loves to pretend she's a ballerina), doing puzzles, reading books, swinging at the park, swimming, playing soccer with Daddy and, her new found hobby-- smothering her little brother :)

To celebrate her big day, we had an elephant themed party with a few of her little friends and I have to say, it went really well!  Callie has grown to LOVE elephants ever since she discovered that we can feed them at the Night Safari here in Chiang Mai, and since we live in Thailand, it seemed like the perfect theme for her 3rd birthday party.

When I saw this invitation on Pinterest, I knew this was the theme I wanted to go with-- such a sweet little elephant :)

The decor...

All ready to craft with the kids...

Painting away...

Some serious elephant-making going on here...

Totally enthralled with popcorn and "Dumbo"...

Our teammates, Corina & Jason, helping Jon speed up the drying process...

Callie and her absolutely amazing elephant cake, 

made by the VERY talented Uncle Jason...

Thanks again Jason!  You totally made this little girl's day!

Time to blow out the candles 

(which were actually tea lights because we couldn't find the birthday candles ANYWHERE!)...

The cake didn't just look good... it was delicious too!

Callie's friends:

Jesse...

Chase...

JJ...

Eva...

Time for presents...

... and treat bags!

After several attempts, we finally got a picture of our little elephants...

Thanks to our teammates, Carmen, Jason & Corina, and our house-help, Boh, (and your wonderful children) for making this such a special day for Callie!  We're so thankful to have you in our lives!