What we've been up to lately.

During the month of May we went on an amazing adventure to Southeast Asia.  This time we went to Vietnam, and then to Indonesia (including Bali!).  John's assignment with WHO was over so he had this great idea to travel around the region before coming back home.

Vietnam was... hot.  So stinkin hot.  Hotter than I remember.  But this time we did get to stay with our very good friends (last time we went they were still in Atlanta for school) who are actually Vietnamese.  Oanh, the wife/mother, is one of the best cooks I know.  Seriously, Alton Brown could learn something from her.  She cooks the best tofu.  And I love tofu so very much. 

Hoang, Oanh (parents), Ngan Ha, and Ngan Thai ("Mi" and "G" for short).

And as a side note: I figured out why the food there tastes so good.  Because it is fresh.  The meat, veggies, fruit, even the tofu--as in, you go to the (street) market and watch the guy in his shop making it right in front of you, then you buy it and take it home.  Ahhhh.

The neighborhood market

Fresh tofu (you haven't had tofu until you've tasted it fresh like this.)

Also, fresh dogs

Anyway, we didn't do much in Vietnam other than eat food and visit friends.  And adjust to the time change.

John and Anna posing infront of a garden of our favorite vegetable, morning glory.

Anna loved the dogs in the neighborhood and John would carry her around chasing them. I think most of those doggie friends will end up like the ones in the picture above from the market.

Walking around the neighborhood

Anna not riding in her car seat. They are more relaxed about car seat laws, as in there are none.

Now the trip wasn't all 100% fun the entire time.  There was one part that was not fun, and almost made the whole thing not worth it.  I had to fly there with Anna alone.  And back home with her alone.  Worst idea ever.  If you have a baby, and you feel like going to the other side of the world with her, DON'T DO IT!  If your husband or other helper comes with, then maybe.  I would say that three adults per child is a good ratio.

Bali pictures will be in the next post, when I get around to it.

Time is Flyin

Oh no!  I can't keep up with my updates!  Anna is almost 8 months old.

She and I are staying with our family in Wyoming and Utah while John is working on polio eradication in Cambodia.  We miss him.  Sad face.  :(  But we are enjoying being around family.

Life is different out here in Wyoming.  It's quiet and spacious.  I like it.  Utah is fun too.  We can go places like Costco and bring our groceries home in a car instead of figuring out how to carry them home on the Subway. 

Anna is growing way too fast for me.  She is eating solid foods now.  She hates peas the most.  When she has something in her mouth that she doesn't like, instead of spitting it out, she buzzes her lips so that it sprays out.  It's cute but so messy.  Sigh.

She sits up by herself now.  This makes her so happy.  She will actually sit and play by herself sometimes.  And she is also rolling around on the floor.  The first time she rolled was mid January, but in the last few weeks she has perfected the art of rolling and turning on her tummy so she can get anywhere in the room she wants to go.  AND she is also learning how to scoot forward on her tummy.  I think she will be crawling soon.  This thought makes me excited and sad.

She is talking more and more.  She can say b, d, m, w, g, r, and y sounds mixed with lots of vowels.  So cute.  She says "ma ma ma ma" repeatedly but I don't think she knows she's saying my name.  Or does she?

When somebody says "hi" to her she says "hi" back by smiling and reaching out and touching their mouth.  I don't know why she does that but it is funny.

About five days ago she suddenly started pointing with her right index finger.  We were at Cabella's with John's parents and she got SO EXCITED when she saw the fish and just started pointing it was so funny!  Now she points to things and people all the time.

And the MOST IMPORTANT THING is that she is sleep trained!!!!  Hooray.  She was not sleeping well and she was kind of always in a bad mood so I read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and it turned our world upside down--well, right-side up.  Now she goes to bed around 6:30pm and sleeps till about 6:30am, waking up once in the night to eat.  And she takes two naps, at the same time every day.  And because of this she has transformed into a happy, cheerful, well-rested baby.  I am in heaven.  In a few months I will try getting her to sleep through the night.  If that works I will really be in heaven.

Ok well, that's all I can think of for now.  I might make another post with all of the outings we've been on lately.

Anna May Update

I haven't posted anything for a while because we have been dealing with a bed bug infestation that started just after Thanksgiving. On top of that I've been helping John send in applications for PhD programs and we've all been getting ready for our upcoming travels! John is going to Cambodia for a few months to work with the World Health Organization on polio surveillance and vaccines, and the baby and I are going to stay with family out in Wyoming and Utah. We're trying to sublet our apt. while we're gone so we have been cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. Oh and did I mention bed bugs? I can't even begin to describe how much it stinks to have bed bugs.

So anyway I just need to document a couple things here real quick.

A few weeks ago she figured out how to grab things and move them to her mouth. Now it's second nature and a good thing too because she's got some teeth coming soon (SHE IS A DROOL FACTORY) and it will be nice to have the ability to gnaw on stuff.

She's been chewing on her hands and fingers for a long time. She hasn't quite figured out that when she gags it's because she shoved that finger ALL the way in. At this moment she is sucking on her finger and the pacifier at the same time and doing a pretty darn good job of it.

She has just barely started noticing her feet! Today I turned around and caught her with one foot in each hand and she was like, "ok now how'my gonna get these in my mouth?" I tried to get a video but of course as soon as she heard the camera beep it was all over.

I think her favorite thing to do now is watch other kids play. We try to hang out in our apartment and even if I'm giving her my full attention she loses it after 30 minutes or so and wants OUT OF HERE!!!! So we'll go to a play group and she'll sit there for hours watching the kids run around.

Today I also heard her laugh for the first time!!!! Too bad it was the neighbor's babysitter who got her to laugh, not me. I just sat there like, "oh yeah, she does that all the time" and then I took her home and  tried and tried and tried but she wouldn't laugh for me. She was like, "why are you acting so weird mom just feed me ok?!"

One last thing. She has started talking (babbling) and it is sooooooo cute and funny. I've only been able to get a little of it on camera but I think she thinks she's having a conversation with me sometimes. She basically is. We talk about cool stuff like what we did that day, funny things daddy says, and poop. Poop has become a major topic of conversation around here.

Ok thats all for now. Enjoy the pic. This is the first time I've gotten her full smile on camera but she was nakey so I had to crop.

Funny Things John Says

Husbands say the darndest things.

(Yesterday)

Me: Octopuses are so disgusting.

John: What do you mean?  They look kind of like silk.

(This morning)

John: The best way to endure a difficult situation is to enjoy it.

Me: Ok thanks dear I'll try to remember that. :P

Happy Halloween

A couple of weeks ago in her already too-small footies.

And today, my tired little pumpkin.

Back when it was still just the two of us...

I am slowly going through pictures.  Even though these are from a while back, I just have to post a few because I love them!

Our home teacher is Joseph Brickey, who is known for his LDS art.  Check him out here.  Anyway, one Sunday afternoon back in August we (along with his awesome wife) decided to do an impromptu photo shoot before having a home teaching lesson.  John wanted to have some pictures of me and my big belly.  And they turned out so nice!  

We love the Brickey family.  They were so nice to do this for us.

By the way, these are totally raw and unedited.  I thought about trying to edit them but life is too short and I am already sleep deprived.

Two Months

I can't believe it has already been two months!