Christmas 2009

We were excited about Christmas this year. It was the first year that Owen was really big enough to understand and have some fun on Christmas. It was also the first year that we had a Christmas tree in Thailand for Christmas. Owen really enjoyed his last gift (although he has one more from grandma and grandpa Rosendal that he will open later in the day). He immediately forgot about all the other gifts and wanted to ride his Hara Davision tricycle.

Below is a video of him test driving the bike. He's already head banging!

Conversations with a Child

Owen is almost 2 already, man times flies. He is turning into a little talker. Here's how our conversation went as I was changing his diaper tonight:

Daddy: Owen, lift your bum

Owen: Daddy, lift your bum

Daddy: No, daddy doesn't need to wear a diaper, I'm already potty trained.

Owen: Choo choo train please?

I guess, he's still a little too young to reason with...

Sister or brother?

Over the past couple weeks, Owen has been in copycat mode. He mimics our words (English, Thai, Northern Thai and even Karen - a hilltribe language here) and our actions as well.

Tonight I thought I figured I would tell him to say, sister please. However as soon as I said, Owen say "sister please", he replied "no sister".

After that, I said, Owen say "brother please", and to that Owen replied, "brother please". So if and when the time comes for Owen to have a younger sibling, we already know what Owen wants.

Owen at 20 months

Some of you haven't seen Owen in a while, so here is one pic to help you remember what he looks like.

Owen's First Big Trip

Last month, Tawm Owen and I, along with my parents and Tawm's parents were able to make a trip to Phuket, one of the most popular beaches in the world and also the place where the tsunami hit. We were able to travel to a few different places and got to spend time with some of Tawm's relatives that live there too. Here are a couple pictures of our time there along with a pic of Owen enjoying his grandma.

 

 

 

Grandpa and Grandma arrive from Canada!

Last Wednesday my parents arrived from Canada after many months of anticipation. They were able to meet Owen for the first time and have been enjoying there time with him, us and the rest of the clan here in Thailand.

I am so thankful that they were able to come and also very thankful for all the sacrifices they have made in allowing me and my family to minister here in Thailand. I know it isn't always easy.

You Know Who's Back

It's been awhile since I've posted anything of any kind and even longer since the last Owen post. He's getting bigger all the time and getting a mind of his own more and more. Next week, my parents from Canada will be visiting and they'll get to see Owen for the first time. All of us are getting pretty excited about that.

 

 

 

Owen's Back too!

 

 

With the long blogging hiatus, people that aren't on Facebook have been wanting to see some more pics of Owen. Owen is getting big. He says mummum which means eat, ba which means let's go and taa which means grandpa. He doesn't always use them at the right time, but he is forming the words.

It's been a long time...

Whooh, it has been a busy few weeks here. The team has come and gone. Our pastor from the states has also been here and now that the dust has settled, I thought it would be good to post some pics of Owen. 
 

A Trip to the Hospital

Thai people make me laugh... In some areas, they are so cautious, as they don't want to offend anyone. You can't be direct, instead, you have to beat around the bush. But in other areas, areas we as North Americans are not so direct, Thais are very direct. Thais love to ask you about your weight, your salary and how much you paid for that latest thing you bought (even if they don't even know you). Thais will come up to us and pick up Owen too.

Owen, along with the rest of us, hasn't been feeling too good. Last week when we went to the doctor. After Owen was finished with his check-up, Tawm and I went to get one too. The nurses in the children's clinic took Owen and said, we will return him when you guys are done. It is just so typical of Thai culture.

Yesterday we went to the doctor again as the doctor made an appointment to check Owen again. When he was finished, Tawm and the doctor started talking. Here was the gist of the conversation.
Doctor (talking about Owen): Oh, you have such a sweet face. Who do you look like more?
Tawm: Everyone says that Owen looks like his father.
Doctor: No! His father doesn't have a sweet face.
Tawm: Well I think he has a mixture of both of us.
Doctor: No.
I just smiled as the whole conversation happened... It is so typical of the things we hear here all the time.

Some Daddy Firsts

Over the past week, I've had some new experiences as a dad. Last week Owen got sick for the first time. He had an eye and ear infection but after we saw the doctor and got some medicine, Owen was better the next day. Owen sure didn't like the feeling of being sick, he was not the normal, happy Owen at all. After Owen got better, both mommy and daddy got sick. I've always heard of that happening, but this is my first experience.

The other first happened Sunday morning at church. During worship, I was holding Owen as Tawm was working the powerpoint. As I was holding him, there was a rumbling in Owen's diaper and I knew he had just done his deed. Mimi, one of the girls at church, just happened to be watching us at the time when her jaw dropped and she pointed at me. Owen's diaper didn't catch all the poop. It had started running down his leg, on to me and on to the floor. All this happened during the second to last song before I had to preach. Well, I got us both cleaned up just as they were praying before the sermon. Usually when that prayer is finished, I am standing at the front ready to preach. Last Sunday I wasn't and everyone started looking for me. That's when they discovered the poopy incident. Needless to say, we had a few minutes between prayer and preaching and when I started to preach, I was pretty flustered and as a result my introduction didn't go too smoothly. Oh well, it will be a Sunday that I never forget.

Some More Owen Pictures

A lot has happened since the last Owen post. Owen has turned 5 months and along with that, he has started eating bananas (which he likes) and eggs and rice (which he doesn't care for). He has started to push his whole body off the floor and he can sit if you prop him in the right position (although he still likes to tip). No matter where he goes, he is still a hit. The question we always get asked is if we want to give him away. Thais would love to raise their own "farang (foreign)" [even though he is mixed] baby for themselves! 
 
 

Busyness

We've been really busy over the past couple of weeks, hence no posts. I will be blogging about the things that have been happening over the past couple weeks over the next couple days but most importantly (and because my mother asked), here are some pics of Owen and us too!

Owen getting ready to try his first burger. (Not really, just a cute pic)

Us at a waterfall near Mae Sa

us at the Mae Sa Elephant camp - if you look closely, you can see Owen checking out the ivory

Owen's growing

More Owen

 

Here's a couple more pics of Owen. Owen just started using his Jolly Jumper that we got as a gift today. He seems to enjoy it although he still hasn't got the hang of it.

 

 

Our Little Reader

Over the past couple weeks, Owen's neck has progressively gotten stronger and stronger. At the beginning we had to coax him in order to get him to keep his head up. One day Tawm decided to put a book in front of him and see if it would help him keep his head up. As it turns out, it worked. Now he will keep his head up for long stretches of time looking at the colorful pictures.

Approaching 13

It has been a little while since the last post of Owen. He is growing really fast, and it is hard to believe that he is going to be 3 months old already this coming Friday.

 

 

Crazy Foreigners!

Owen turns 11 weeks old today. As he gets older, he is able to go more places. Thais don't think it is good for babies to go out much until they are 3 months old. As a result, the only place Owen really gets to go is the hospital, church and the occassional time he gets to go shopping. Traveling means sitting in a car seat and I never knew how much flak we would get for using a car seat. Thai people just don't think it is safe to use a car seat.
Hold the baby while sitting in the passenger seat (even if you don't wear a seatbelt) - SAFE
Hold the baby while riding behind someone on a motorbike (no one wearing helmets) - SAFE
Sit in the box of the truck holding a baby - SAFE
Put the baby in a car seat - WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY!!!
This is why I love living in a foreign country

 

Tale of the Tape

Today we took Owen to the doctor for his two month check-up. The doctor told us that we have a very healthy boy. Here is how Owen is measuring up after 2 months of life.

Weight - 6.5 kilos (14.3 pounds) - that makes him heavier than 94% of all other babies.

Height - 63.5 centimetres (25.4 inches) - that makes him taller than 95% of all other babies.

No one believes that Owen is only 2 months. He is already into clothes for kids aged 3-6 months.

2.0689 Months or 9 Weeks Old

 

 

Owen turned 2 months on Tuesday and today he turns 9 weeks, making him 2.0689 months old today too. Now I see why people count weeks more than months, much easier to count. The first pic is a pic of Owen and Mawn (great grandpa in Northern Thai). Another is him showing his neck strength. The last one is just plain cute.

Guy Smiley

Over the past few weeks, Owen has been perfecting the art of smiling. At the beginning, he smiled pretty much for no reason. As time progressed he began smiling after a good burp or fart (who wouldn't) and now he starting to smile more at Mommy and Daddy, especially Mom.