We have been busy bees settling into our new life as a family here in Thailand.  As Dorian makes 5 months today, I thought it would be great to reflect on the past month of activity.  I have found it difficult, if not impossible at times, to write a blogpost about all the things that happen, as they happen.  So here we go, with some of my memories of month 4!

It was a month of ‘firsts’:

*First birthday party in our new apartment.  We had some new friends over to celebrate my birthday.  It was great to have Dorian there to share in the experience.  Angie also ordered a custom guitar cake!

*First time we all went into the pool as a family.  The wound on my leg finally healed, and I was able to join my family in the pool.  Dorian seems to be more comfortable each time we take him in the water.  Being rainy season, we haven’t been able to make it out there as much over the past couple of weeks.

*Dorian attended his first music festivals.  First a Strings Festival, followed by a Choir Festival.  Both times, he did a great job of being a good listener (which is more than I can say for some other attendees!).  He appeared to enjoy the sounds of music, though the applauding became uncomfortable for him at times.

Dorian’s First Concert!

*First time we all ventured into the heart of Bangkok.  We took taxis there and back, and Dorian did quite well with the whole experience.

*Dorian started rolling over and sleeping on his tummy.

*Dorian started scooting/pulling himself around…he’s mobile!

Faces of Dorian

I knew it was getting close to Dorian’s nap time, but I really wanted to get a nice photo of him on his playmat.  He looked so cute and was in a great mood.  I managed to get my camera out just in time, as I was able to get a nice shot of him smiling.  Soon after, he started falling apart, and I figured I should continue taking photos to document the moment.  Perhaps some of these will show up at his graduation party or wedding slideshow, ha!

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“Ma-ma-ma” and the Tortilla Chip Bag

Dorian has been sounding out “ma-ma-ma’s” for several weeks.  I captured some of those moments on video:

One night, Dorian discovered the joy of playing with an empty Tortilla chip bag.  His concentration and excitement were fun to watch:

The Mystery Poo

We bathe Dorian in an infant tub, which is designed to fit in a sink.  It is shaped like a taco shell, where Dorian can relax comfortably in the middle while we wash him.  One evening, I had taken him out of the tub, wrapped and laid him down in his towel (one of those baby towels with a hood sewn into one corner).  I dried him off, put a fresh diaper on, and applied some baby lotion.  Then I went to clean up the baby tub, which I usually just turn over to let it dry overnight.  Except this time, when I lifted the tub out of the sink, there was a single strip of poo hiding beneath the tub!  It was in perfect condition, untouched.

I was shocked for a couple of reasons.  First, it was almost like a clay crayon, which was unlike the normal consistency of Dorian’s poo at the time.  Second, how the heck did that poo get under the baby tub without me noticing it?  The tub itself lies diagonally across the top of the sink, so there’s not much room for even a little piece of poo to fall through.  Even if by some miracle, there was a poo that fell with the perfect trajectory, how it could be left sitting clean at the bottom of the sink, with no trail from sliding down the sink wall was simply incredible.

I performed a quick video rewind in my mind, replaying the part where I washed Dorian’s butt.  It wasn’t dirty, I remembered.  I concluded that he must have pooped after the bath, in transit from baby tub to towel.  I opened Dorian’s diaper to check if he needed to be wiped up.  Perfectly clear in the rear.  My mind was blown, and to this day, it remains a mystery.  It might bother me forever, not knowing how that poo ended up in the sink.  Dorian was not helpful in answering my questions, but he did smile a lot when I kept asking myself out loud, “What?…But how?…Where would that?…How did that?…Wait…What?!”  Dorian cared less about the mystery poo and was more interested in getting on with our routine to sleepy-time.