Mealtime Pictures

We just had to take pictures of Jasmin eating "mii" - she had so much fun and it is an okay food for her - but then Grace insisted on pictures of everyone....

Its all about hats right now for Grace - but never to go out in, of course!



Mommy wasn't given time to do anything but smile, but Daddy got to pose...

can you see all Grace's artwork on the wall behind him? She's quite prolific! And the bottom sticker art is a work in progress :o)

Jasmin trying out new food...


She did actually enjoy it - really! She always screws up her face the first taste. But we paid for it las night: between 2 and 4 she cried and screamed and arched her back continually. I walked her around our courtyard until she cried herself out. I felt vaguely sorry for the neighbours, but more for Jasmin who is proving to be rather sensitive to various foods. In fact, rice and banana seem to be the only failsafe foods currently! We are working on changing our lax style of weaning - Grace had no problems with anything!

Yesterday on our way home we stopped in the new toy store...

Boing! Boing! Boing! says Grace, with her whole herd of "horsies"

Jasmin ound something to enjoy too!

It has been an out and about week of getting errands done. Grace and Jasmin have enjoyed the extra trips out, but mommy's feet haven't! We spent a morning at the market trying to find the right place to get our flashlights fixed (unsuccessfully), buying some gifts and clothes, and some other errands. Another day we hunted down the correct place for dying some stained clothes - a great cheap way of getting more out of clothes!

Here are a few pictures from he time we did spend at home:

Free play with a box of watercolors. Grace loved it! She had fantastic concentration painting each toe, the bottoms of her feet, etc.
Game of badminton anyone? Grace is learning to bat a bouncy ball around with a badminton racquet; Jasmin had to have a go as well - though being confined to a horizontal position made things rather difficult. Not that it stopped her having fun!

Tuesday evening we got to visit one of the villages where literacy classes are being held. All programs begin in the mother tongue (here Krung) and transition into Khmer so the children can attend government schools successfully. It was exciting to finally be where "the rubber meets the road" and see our training in action!

A Krung house

The village is on a hillside, a ragged circle of houses around a longhouse in a large clearing. The Krung are slash-and-burn farmers, harvesting fruit, cashews, root vegetables, etc.

Evening bath time

Watching the evening's activities before the classes started revealed a very communal society. So far removed from Phnom Penh's high fences and gated yards with barbed wire and iron grills!

The classes for Krung literacy were packed, with kids and adults lining the walls as well as the rough benches. They had a late start as one class had trouble getting the light to stay on (a bulb connected to a car battery), another waiting for a late teacher, and the last for enough students (the Khmer literacy class is harder and only is attended by the truly eager students). We left well before the end, as the classes often go to 10 pm!