Bangkok Week 739

August 25, 2022

What a busy week! Little Miss Lucy turns 5 months old. Arlo starts is new school year. Mum leaves the country for the first time in over 30 months for a quick trip down to Singapore. Oh, and we went to Trat in between, too.

Hello and happy Friday!

Lucy's still enjoying her Jumperoo.

Sitting on the big person's chair. It's basically the right size.

Saturday morning, Little Lucy turns 5 months old today!

Does she look older to you? Fuller, certainly.

And then we all pile in and hit the road. Destination: Trat!

Some shut-eye for Lucy before the half-way mark.

And everyone's awake and alert after a short bathroom break.

Even Bella's gotten comfortable in the passenger's seat.

Finally! We made it!

Lucy hasn't seen Puu and Yaa since we were here over 2 months ago.

Arlo wastes no time finding the trucks that stay here.

And everyone else wastes no time doting on Arlo and Lucy.

Arlo is getting good at pedaling his tricycle now.

And he hasn't forgotten what the pebbles are good for.

Bella's enjoying the extra attention, too.

Arlo's training to be a fireman.

And he just picked a passion fruit...

... and is very intent on eating it, despite its being *VERY* sour!

Vroom vroom vroom! Drive that tuk-tuk!

Stopping at Makro for some last-minute merit-making supplies. Where lucky Arlo gets to see a forklift in action.

And once it's done working, he even gets to see it up close and personal.

Checking out. Don't forget to scan the Arlo!

Bella has settled right in at home, and Tong hasn't forgotten her. Giving her a cat bath.

Arlo brought this framed school photo for Puu and Yaa, and now he's helping to put it up.

Right here is a good spot for it!

Arlo also printed and brought a whole bunch of photos from school, for Puu and Yaa.

Looking through the photos together.

Oh! What's Arlo doing in that photo?

Arlo dons his Sunday best for the merit-making ceremony.

Arlo's first time participating.

Maybe we shouldn't have him copy Mum. Copy anyone else, really.

Then, there's a lull while waiting for the monks to arrive.

Inspecting the toy bar up close, and working her tummy muscles.

Woah! I have one just like this at home!

The monks are here, and the ceremony begins.

No more sitting on the floor. Thanks to COVID, or is everyone just aging?

Lucy's hanging out inside; let's not get too close to all the people.

But anyway, this is where all the action is!

And now it's time for the monks to eat.

And finally, it's Arlo's turn.

He wastes no time, and digs into the desserts.

These are pretty tasty! (Read: sweet!)

Even Bella gets to enjoy the feast: chicken on oily rice.

Arlo can't help himself. Driving the tuk-tuk again.

And posing with one of Aa Top's latest products.

Bonus! Arlo even gets to sit on the motorcycle!

But wait! The ceremony is not over! It's time for the coin-tossing.

It's Arlo's first time helping to toss the coins.

He's a bit shocked by how it plays out.

And finally, he gets in on the coin-grabbing action, too.

Hugs galore: for Bella, and for the cement mixer.

Oh no, are we getting ready to leave already?

Full family photo. This should win a photography prize: everyone is looking!

And once more, this time with the photographer.

A farewell hug and kiss for Bella. We'll see you soon, Bella! Enjoy your stay in the country.

Hitting the road, heading back to Bangkok.

As we approached Bangkok, we drove into a very deep, dark, ominous storm.

But we all made it home safely! And in decent time. Just in time for bed.

Because the next morning, Arlo is going back to school!

It's "Stay and Play" today, to help Arlo acclimate back into the school routine.

But whoops! We forgot to do Arlo's COVID test before leaving home. So we hang out in the tuk-tuk while waiting for the test to process.

Arlo's never spent so much time in the tuk-tuk.

Practicing for the photo we'll take again tomorrow.

Arlo wastes no time finding the sandbox upstairs.

And playing with the pizza dough in Teacher Irene's classroom.

Decorating the pizzas together.

Arlo's really into this. Too bad this isn't his teacher!

Reading a book with Dad.

And finally in his own classroom, Arlo's quick to find the scissors.

Snip snip snip, like a pro.

Reading a book to himself.

And practicing his sewing.

Arlo's really making the most of his stay-and-play!

Back at home, Lucy's enjoying the quiet.

And hey, this ring is pretty good for biting too, when it's at the right height.

Now that she's mastered rolling over, this is how you'll find her most of the time.

When she's not in her Jumperoo, that is.

Discovering all the toys on the Jumperoo now, too.

More nibbles for Sophie.

She's plotting something.

And this is the outfit Arlo picked for his first day at school!

He's down early, and enjoying a book with breakfast.

Lucy is too.

Tummy time's gotten too boring. To add some spice, we only do it at the edge of sharp drops now.

Arlo's changed his shirt, so the combo doesn't look quite as much like pajamas.

Lucy watches as everyone scrambles to get out the door.

Have a good first day of school, Arlo!

Off go the boys! Mum will follow shortly.

Mum and her big boy, on his first day of school.

This time, we can take the photo for real.

Smile, Arlo! Have fun!

The school shared some photos of his day, post-initial-tears.

He has all new TA's in his classroom this year.

But several classmates he knows already from last year.

Squirting the paint, while they let him.

Back at home, Lucy enjoys sitting at the head of the table for lunch.

Arlo ate all his snack, and all his lunch at school. So that earns him another big snack once home.

And enjoying some pre-bed grapes. Good first day back, Arlo!

Little Miss Sweet and Innocent.

Another day, another Jumperoo!

Uh oh! Mum's about to go on a short trip! Taking photos with her monkey, so she has something to remember him by.

The send-off party.

Closing the chapter on an era: more than 30 months inside the Kingdom of Thailand.

The airport (international departures, anyway) is comfortably empty.

And the aircraft is too, for now.

Meanwhile, back at home, life goes on.

Lucy is exceptionally tolerant while tagging along for Arlo's bedtime routine.

Back in Singapore for the first time since Feb 2020. Strangely, feels like only a few months...

And retrieved the package that's been sitting at the Westin for the past month. Mission complete.