Our big Little Girl

All dressed up and ready to go...

It has been wonderfully cooler this last week, hence the cardigan, socks and shoes. We would have gone visiting, but Srei Mom's baby got malaria this week and is in the hospital (which means Srei Mom is too) - where they won't let anyone but parents in because there is a dengue epidemic! Thankfully, today I learned that her baby has been released. We hope to visit tomorrow.

Father's get the first dance....

All the more fun you can have with a nearly walking daughter...! She enjoyed all the attention from Daddy, and we had fun taking photos!

Mommy, I'm bored.....

A thankfully not too common look! She is fantastic at finding things to play with and exploring her world. She especially likes sitting outside the gate watching what goes on down the street. there is lots of activity because we have a warehouse that is constantly loading and unloading trucks, and lots of guys hanging around to do so in the inbetween times.

Friday Praises

Hu2 is doing fine despite my continual struggles to eat and drink properly due to strong morning (all-day) sickness.

Grace has discoverd how to get around with an almost crawl and creeping on the edges of furniture.

I have work to do that I'm quite pleased about and I have the strength to do it - most of the time, anyhow.

Our first language assessments have come and gone this week with mixed results of encouragement and correction. Knowing we are moving forward is good!

We're off to Chiang Mai for two weeks at the beginning of February. Looking forward to the break from this city, and to staying with friends. Grace will get to play with Jeremiah, whom she met last time we were in Chiang Mai (he's a month younger than her).

Today is cooler. It hasn't yet reached the usual 33+ C and it is midday.

A Night at the Fair

There is a permenant fair not too far from us on the riverfront. Some Khmer friends took us there last night. Grace mostly enjoyed the rides we took her on! She was a bit bewildered by so much noise and light, I think. There are a number of bouncy castles there that I can hardly wait to take her on when she's older :O)

Peacock ride
Flying elephants merri-go-round
Airplane ride with Srei Mom and her two children

Srei Mom's boy, Mineith, age 3 1/2
We left Michael and Heng, Srei Mom's husband, playing snooker while we girls took the kids on bumper cars ( which were battery run and had such low batteries that if you did bump into anything you needed a running push to get going again!)

Here comes trouble...

Grace has begun standing for short snatches completely on her own (the most three seconds or so, so we don't have to worry about walking just yet)!

Grace likes books. All books. Especially the ones she can rip pages out of... (fortunately nothing serious had occurred in discovering this!)

Grace can pull herself up on the furniture so we're quickly learning just how far those arms of hers can reach onto a chair or our low table!

She can drink from a straw so no restaurant drink is safe with her - she drank half of daddy's coconut shake the last time we were out!

She likes the keybord...

Grace's message to you all:
xzA GY IFG OI KLKL JKL./ <>fgB

Random pictures from A Day in the Life of Grace


getting laundry off the line with mom


Dancing to my toy's music


Jumping exercise

Playing with babysitter Rachel while mommy is at a prayer meeting

Moving backwards to catch up...

December Sometime....
I have more fun when daddy feeds me... I get so much more mess time!

Mondolkiri:How I didn't travel to Mondolkiri - I was inside the truck! But see how loaded it was!

We had to check the ropes periodically to make sure they held up to the bouncy roads.

Christmas Eve:PrekPneau girls preforming the traditional welcome dance during the Christmas ceremonies Christmas Eve.Michael gave his testimony - in Khmer! - that same afternoon.

2007 Beginnings:

Can you see my teeth?
Maybe this picture's better...

2007 Beginnings

Computer Techie in training: Grace loves to play with a keyboard! Makes programming and writing emails rather interesting when she's on your lap :o)

Cooking with mommy: Or rather, chewing on all the measuring spoons and anything else left near!

Just a beautiful picture of an inquisitive girl!

Watching a puppet play put on by Saphorn, our wonderful helper. She comes three days a week and does... just about everything! Awesome help right now when I'm not feeling that great.
More on that topic:
I finally got to an English Dr the other day. I had kinda been putting it off, not feeling like I had enough energy to track one down. Then Mon morning I biked to the market (less than 5 min) and was trembling and sick feeling weak from it. Scared me enough to find a Dr! That afternoon we went. It was such a strange amount of relief for things to be more familiar
routines! I was much relieved to hear baby's heartbeat and to be told he was doing fine despite the beating my body's taking. She did some bloodwork to confirm anemia (that she saw in my eyes) and gave me some better anti-nausea pills, which are working much better than the others. she is alot more expensive than other places, and has some pretty unprofessional practices, but she seems to be a decent Dr. So now I have license to rest and snack as much as I want :o) At the end of the week I am feeling more alert and ready for each day - just from being able to eat a little! Thakyou God!


Sleeping experiment #3: Sleeping with mommy's t-shirt. Will she sleep without my actual presence this time? Results: Longer than without...

And a picture with teeth showing - that will have to wait for next time cuz the internet won't upload it this time....

Other news:

Michael is busy with very full days now. He is working 1-5 now( so far all they have done is go shopping for networking and computer parts! He says he's tired of shopping...), and doing language study in the mornings, and other meetings in the evenings some days!

Amazingly, we were able to get our cell phone fixed! For $15!! Even after a full wash cycle while turned on and being plugged in wet, it was still fixable?!?! We had to by a new battery, but all the information was still intact. So saying, I'll put up the Christmas Eve pictures off the phone next time too.