Week 2

This week started out pretty crappy but today things are turning around.

On Sunday we found out that Jon accidentally drilled through the vent exiting the furnace as he was putting up a towel rack in the bathroom. A guy at Lowes said this could lead carbon monoxide to leak into the house as well as gas. So Jon cut a whole in the bathroom wall and patched it up with something that seals that kind of thing. He replaced the drywall and then started puttying. Eli was cooking with me in the kitchen and helping Jon too. On Monday Jon found bubbling in the ceiling of the downstairs bathroom. The shower was leaking through to the floor downstairs... We will be remodeling the bathroom much sooner than expected. Then today things started to look up, our dishwasher finally arrived! And the installation guy was available! I was also able to schedule Eli's pediatrician appointment, and Lowes really helped us out with a bathroom storage unit mix-up. A delivery truck came took the incorrect one and delivered the correct one. It was a good day.
Eli has learned a few new things too. He can climb in and out of the tub. When I say "oh man" he now says "man" in a tiny mimicking voice. He said "uh-oh" after I  said "uh-oh" because I dropped something. He is learning to do dishes. He stands on a stool next to me and wipes dishes with a sponge. When the phone rings he goes and grabs it and brings it to us (a nice perk). He holds the phone to his ear and nods his head yes. Nodding his head yes and shaking his head no are his primary means of communication. For someone who only started hearing English 3 and a half weeks ago its amazing how much he understands.
Two days ago when I was putting Eli's shoes on our cat Angel was trying to sneak out the door. I was telling her "no, get your butt in here" Eli went over to her and pushed her back into the house. I said "good job Eli" and he proceeded to hold his hand up, initiating a high-five.  It was pretty funny. I was impressed he understood that much and also that he knew that warranted a high-five.

Jon adding concrete to the crack to meet the home owner insurance needs. Eli was content as long as he is near Jon. He likes his new truck from Neal and Melissa.

We went to the mall to cool off one night. The house was so hot. Eli got new sandals and had fun running around.

At the mall they had a Tornado machine. Eli enjoyed it.

Week 1 of Real Life

Its easy to forget the state of your home when you have been away from it for 3 weeks. But let me back-up a little for those of you who don't already know. On June 1st we became first time home owners. That gave us a month and 6 days to get the new house ready before our 3 week trip to Thailand and return with a baby. During that time I was working a full time job, and Jon was off from work for the summer. We had ambitious goals on how to modify the house before we moved in. Jon was working on the house himself with a hired handyman, Jeremy and some help from his buddy Nick. Jon was able to replace the sliding glass doors with french doors, he was able to replace rotting floors all the way to the foundation in the dinning room, he was able to install stained glass lights, recessed lights, ceiling fans, and a bathroom light/fan combo and have it vent to the outside of the house (that meant cutting a hole in the roof), he even laid hard wood floors in the living room and dinning room and widened a doorway. A week before we were to leave for Thailand  Jon began working on the lower level of our house. He ripped out all of the ceilings. They looked like the top of a lemon meringue  pie, they were pretty gross. He and Jeremy hung the dry wall and began the puttying process. It was at this time that my parents came up to help us move. With the lower level of the house still under construction we had to stuff everything into the garage and in the main living areas of the house. Two days before we left (4th of July night) our dishwasher failed and flooded the kitchen. Fortunately Jon was home and the water mostly went into a vent that spouted into the basement (which was a mess anyway). The dishwasher was covered under the home warranty (sort of). The the following day as Jon began to pack his clothes for our 3 week adventure; he started laundry. As if on command both the washer and dryer broke. We had an extra set that was ours before the move. Jon had to physically move them without a dolly all by himself and re-hook up the other set before he could do his laundry so he could pack... Then he found that the hose leading from the dryer to the outside of the house was leaking water into the ceiling and walls. Needless to say the lower level is still a dusty dirty construction zone, and there is a lot of work needed to be done.
We returned from Thailand to the house in this state... Its been a long week. Eli has been a trooper. He just goes with the flow as long as he is with Jon. When we returned to a huge stack of mail we got a couple surprises. 1st our home owners insurance inspected our house while we were gone and said if we didnt make some changes soon our coverage was going to be dropped. We were still working on the house so of course it looked like a construction zone, now we have to speed it up to meet their deadline. The other was a court date set for Monday morning to appeal our home assessment/tax increase based on the too high assessment. As if that wasn't enough on Monday night I was paying bills and decided to check our lease for the rental house we still had. We still had un-moved furniture, kitchen ware, and stuff in storage over there. I thought we had the house until August 19th. Turns out our lease ended on July 31st! That gave us 2 days to completely move out and clean it and take care of the yard work (which was growing for 3 weeks). We didnt want to have to pay August's rent if we didnt have to. We hustled and got it done.

Aunt Barb got Eli this fun water toy, but I dont think this is the way it was meant to be played with.

In between all the chaos we tried to do some fun little things with Eli. We were happy to find that while we were gone a Menchie's Fro Yo place moved into Erie. At first Eli wasnt too sure about it, but then he couldnt get enough. We also took him to a playground. He wasnt too sure what to do there, he seemed to have more fun pushing his own stroller around.

Our cat Angel always feels she needs to be right with the family, she squished herself right in while I was pitting cherries for Eli.

Eli's first time eating nachos. He loves guacamole!

Fro Yo at Menchies

When I put Eli into his car seat I always say "bump" as his butt touches the seat. Now he says "bump" too, but it sounds like "dump".

Trip back to America

The day following the zoo, Jon and Eli went to a place called the Funarium. It was the Thai version of Discovery Zone. They both had a really great time. I was still sick... Jon also went to pick up Eli's visa from the US Embassy while I was back with a napping Eli. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures this day or the next. I was out of commission and Jon had his hands full. We did however get Eli's paperwork and were set for travel!

Finally, I was so ready to get home. Our travel home began at 2:30 am on Tuesday Thai time. We got up, got dressed and checked out of Pantip Suites. The ride to the airport was 30-40 minutes. We made it just in time to board our 5:40 am departing plane for Tokyo. We had 3 bags checked in, 1 carry-on and 2 backpacks. I made the mistake of taking a duffel bag as the carry-on instead of the bag with wheels. We had really far walks in the airports to get to our gates and my stomach cramps were still a big problem, the duffel bag was heavy and it hurt my stomach to walk. Jon had his hands full with Eli. The first flight was 6 hours long. Eli did very well, he slept on Jon most of the flight. He refused to sit with me the entire trip, but as long as he had Jon he was quiet and well behaved. We just made it to our next flight in Tokyo, it was a good thing we had Eli because we got through the priority line with a small child. The flight from Tokyo to JFK in NY was 13 hours long. I think I complained more than Eli did. I was bummed I couldn't eat my vegetarian airplane food. It looked pretty good, but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to  keep it down. Jon was not able to sleep the whole trip. He has trouble sleeping on planes and he had to hold Eli the whole time. By the time we got to NY we were both in a sorry state but Eli was in a pretty good mood. My parents and brother Jacob met us at the airport. We went to a restaurant at JFK, it was the first meal I ate in 3 days. Eli was still a happy camper at that point. We were in NY for 5-6 hours for our layover. The next and final flight was late. By that point Eli was getting a little cranky, and we had no sense of time or clue what day it was. We eventually made it to Buffalo, and to our hotel for the night. The following day we put Eli in his brand new car seat and drove home. We were not sure how he would react to the car seat since in Thailand kids are just held in cars or on motorcycles. He was fine and fell asleep. He is such a layed back kid. Here in Jon and Eli entering our new house for the first time. 

We took Eli to his room. He is usually very shy and hestitant in new environments, but he immediatly started rolling around on his floor and smilling. Then he noticed the ceiling fan. He couldnt believe the ceiling fan. He kept pointing to it and making his surprise face.

He then began playing with some toys. He seemed really comfortable very quickly.

Zoo Day in Bangkok

Today Jon and Eli went to the zoo in Bangkok along with one of the other adopting families. I was stuck at the hotel suffering from food poisoning... I am really bummed I missed the zoo, Jon doesn't even like zoos and he got to take Eli. I'm not sure what did me in, we all ate the same food last night from a seedy looking restaurant that was close to the hotel. One of the other American families recommended it, they have eaten there multiple times. Jon and Eli seem fine so I'm really not sure what got me. Here are some pics Jon took while they were out at the zoo today.

This is Eli with one of the other boys that was just adopted (Joshua).

It looks like they had a good time.

Weekend Market day and Fun in the Pool

This morning we went to the Weekend market with one of the other adopting families. We took the subway. It was clean and smooth and had TVs in the subway cars. The TVs played very amusing Thai commercials. I think the ride was easier and smoother than taking a cab. It was tricky walking around the tight crowded stalls of the market. I was carrying a backpack and our purchases and Jon carrying a 30lb baby. We only spent half a day there but we were exhausted and ready to head back. Jon found a rock store at the market and was a happy camper after that. I really was not impressed with the price of beads and pearls. I don't know if it was because I was a white farang or if those really were the real asking prices. I could get beading supplies cheaper at bead shows in the US. Again I didn't feel too comfortable taking my camera out at the market, so I didn't get any pictures. All over Bangkok there are signs that say "Beware of Snatch Theft".

I don't know why this picture is sideways...

On our way back from the market we stopped at the "Life Center" a local mall to pick up some bubble tea from our favorite vendor. We have been getting at least one bubble tea per day each.

Eli likes tea too but we are trying not to let him drink it too often. We got him a smoothie from a different vendor. The Thai tea here is ok, its a bit too sweet. In general everything here is too sweet. Sugar is a condiment along with your dinner. People sprinkle sugar over their food. I don't know how Thais are so small considering the amount of sugar in everything. We walked all morning at the market and back to our hotel from the subway, we were hot and sweaty and ready for the pool.

During our first few days here in Bangkok Eli was not too sure about getting into the pool. Now he is a little too comfortable. He will jump in whether we are right there or not, so we have to keep a good eye on him at the pool. I think swimming classes are in order soon after we get back to PA.

Chinatown and the Big C

We went to Chinatown in Bangkok yesterday morning. It was like home in Flushing and also unlike home. It was very crowded on the streets and I didn't feel comfortable taking my camera out. There were stands roasting chestnuts and lots of vendors. I did take pictures at lunch. We ate at a Chinese restaurant that was one of our favorite meals so far. We ordered duck, roasted salted cashews, fried oysters and egg, and some dim sum buns. We went with our friends Scott and Ickyu (I don't know how to spell his name). Ickyu is from the same southern province Eli is from, and they are about a week apart in age. Our new friends Scott and Lucy have been our traveling buddies though out the adoption process. This is their second time around. They adopted a daughter from Thailand 3 years ago and came back to adopt a son.

This was our menu. Every 30 baht is about equal to one dollar.

Roast duck and dim sum buns.

While we were in China town I picked up some new jelly shoes. I saw a lot of Thai women wearing them and just loved them. The flat ones are apple scented!

After a little rest back at our hotel we went out again and took a cab to the Big C to pick up some more diapers. The Big C is another version of Walmart. We like it better than the Tesco Lotus. There is a mall on the lower level and Big C on the second floor. Here is a picture of McDonald's on the lower level.

The shopping cart technology was amazing. They have escalator ramps that you can drive your shopping cart onto and then it locks into place so it wont roll down.

After we got diapers and Eli was getting cranky we ate at a nice restaurant on the lower level. Jon ordered a spiced crab, which was amazing!

 I ordered a seafood noodle dish and a salmon dish for Eli. He ended up focusing his attention primarily on the fresh watermelon smoothie and the waitresses that were playing with him. We got to take some leftovers back to the hotel. I'm surprised Eli warmed up to the waitresses. He tends to dislike women (including me) and accept men easily. Eli let all of the men in our adoption group hold him, but still screams when I hold him. He is getting better though. Just a minute ago he ran out of the bathroom naked and baby powdered to me running away from Jon, who was trying to diaper him. He had a huge grin on his face and was laughing. He also let me hold him for a short walk today, as long as Jon was still in view.

Food Pics

I'm sure everyone is interested in what we have been eating here in Thailand, well I know my mom probably is...

 I ordered the Indian Vegetarian food option for the long flights. The travel agent suggested I do the same for Jon, since the vegetarian food was usually a higher quality. Jon was not too happy when he saw the teriyaki chicken everyone else was getting. It felt like we kept being fed over and over again on the plane.

 Some plane food was better than others. This tofu dish was pretty good, but I wasn't hungry when it was served. For our time it was about 3am.

This was our first room service meal in Bangkok. Some things just got lost in translation. Jon ordered a ginger ale and got beer instead. The food was shrimp Phad Thai. I ordered grapefruit juice and got some strange fruit punch.  

I know, I know, what kind of farang goes to KFC in Thailand! But actually they serve a Thai seasoned fried chicken that was recommended by a Thai native we met that currently lives in Cleveland. Jon said the dish that he got was really good and he went back to KFC a second time for it. I don't remember what it was called.

 This was part of the large buffet breakfast in Nakhon Si Thammarat, at our hotel The Twin Lotus.

 I loved these rice noodles with the coconut curry. Multiple Thai people kept telling Jon and I that it was hot when we were serving ourselves. I think they were concerned for us farang, but it really wasnt that spicy.

 I loved off of the fresh herbs you put on your curry and noodles or rice. This was with almost all dishes in the south. I liked the basil and one that had a lemon/lime flavor (it wasnt lemon grass or kefir leaves, Im not sure what it was called). And the eggs taste so different here, they are so much better.

These are some of the various spices and toppings you are to add to your food at the breakfast buffet.

Check out this blue rice that was at the breakfast buffet!

This was a room service meal we ordered at the Twin Lotus when we were first getting to know Eli/

Ang-Pao

Fast Food is popular here in Bangkok, there were Dunkin Donuts both here and in Nakhon Si Thammarat. The chocolate covered donut is a mochi donut. It was really good. We have been buying quite a few donuts while we are here. They are much better than at the Dunkin Donuts in the states. The other donut pictured here has shredded pork on it, it was sweet and salty. I didnt like it, Jon ate the whole thing. While we have been here I have not been as strict with my pescatarian diet. I have been willing to eat meat to taste new things.

This is a fruit vendor in the southern part of Thailand.

T

This is a street vendor that makes a coconut dessert. You can eat them with sugar on top or an orange colored salty topping. We preferred them with sugar.

More yummy street food...

 This was a pretty gross tomato smoothie. It was sweet and salty. Even Eli didn't like it...

This is fresh sugar cane juice. It was very good.

This was at a local place near our hotel in Bangkok. I ordered fish balls with udon, a Chinese vegetable and fried turnip things. It was all pretty good, except I didn't like the cilantro in the undon.

I will try to keep adding food pics as the trip goes on.