Bangkok Week 776 — Mika's Photos

Look out, world! This is Lucy's new favorite standing spot!

And modeling the hand-knit dress from Bronwyn in Toronto.

Enjoying all these wardrobe changes...

... while making sure her belly button is still there.

Learning how to drink from a big girl cup.

Special Friday afternoon activity today: football class!

It's the same organization with whom Arlo trialed a lesson in December.

It's as much about coordination and general physical development as it is football skills.

Practicing his jumps. (Practicing knocking over the hurdles.)

Learning to dribble the ball...

And practicing "airplane".

Oh! Lucy and Mum are matching now, thanks to wardrobe changes.

Something special is brewing this Saturday morning!

We're at the zoo!

Hopping onto the tram -- our ride for the day.

Lucy was quick to find a giant, coconut-like thing on the ground. But many time heavier!

Our first encounter: the deer.

Arlo was very keen to feed them.

He's used the skills honed at the farm, and knows exactly how to find food to feed them that's been dropped on the ground, so that we don't have to buy more food.

Lucy was also very interested in these giant dogs.

These deer are serious business.

Entertaining enough!

The boys are craning their necks to see...

... the big, hairy capybara family.

And continuing on to the hippos...

... who were as happy to see us, as we were to see them.

And on to Africa...

... I imagine all these African animals feel quite at home in this climate.

The clever giraffes and ostriches are clever, hanging out in the tiny circle of shade.

Arlo got to see Zebras for the first time, too.

Yes, those are Zebras.

And some larger-than-life rhinos.

The flamingoes have lost some of their pink hues.

An inquisitive giraffe, wondering what we're up to up here.

What tall, graceful animals!

Ostriches are ~2.5m tall, 100+ kg birds. And here, they look like chickens!

Why hello Arlo, won't you feed me?

Here's Arlo, with his found animal food again, stepping up to the task.

And now, another tram ride.

The highlight of the zoo, I should think.

We met a few elephants, but Arlo and Lucy were even less happy to see them than they were to see us.

Stopping for an ice cream while waiting for the bus.

The bucket hat ladies.

The moment we've all been waiting for!

It's Arlo's extended family: the Koalas of Chonburi.

These 3 are lucky, they get to stay in the A/C year round.

Koalas sleep over 18 hours/day... and we were definitely there for part of those 18!

Well, mission accomplished for Arlo!

And then there's Lucy: boldly going where no visitor is meant to go.

A quick stop to see some of the giant cats, before heading home.

Two sticky kiddos, drenched in sweat (and maybe with an extra layer of ice cream, or something.)

Lucy's still got enough energy and humor to make faces for the camera.

On that smiley note, let's head back to Bangkok!

Back at home, it's as if they've been away for half a lifetime and haven't seen their toys in as long.

And if the day wasn't hot and sticky enough, Arlo would still like to bike around the block, please and thank you.

Lucy was still a bit tired and stunned.

The next morning, it's Swimming Sunday again for Arlo!

Meanwhile, the yoghurt cups are patiently awaiting either Arlo's return, or Lucy's waking up -- whichever comes first.

Lunch on the go again: in a house, while reading picturepedia.

And then we wonder why Lucy prefers to dine on the go, too?

Dad's gone to work for the afternoon... so it's only Mum and the Monkeys. Uh oh!

Attempting a novel diversion: fort!

Lucy is really into it, and happy to hang out in there all afternoon.

Looks like our swimmer is getting tired, though.

Arlo's unsure if he'll nap inside the fort or outside.

Testing the outdoor dining area of the fort for comfort...

... but finally ending up here, in the classic nap spot.

Meanwhile, Lucy monkey is quite happy to keep playing...

... and so play she will! Rawr!

Trying on this box for size.

And checking out the beautiful quit that Great-Granny made for Mum all those years ago. (26 years ago?)

Taking our exploration upstairs to the bedroom, so we don't wake up Big Brother.

Now playing in Arlo's shower.

And finally, a trip to Donki once everyone is awake and alert.

Hey, look who's back and here to show off his professional driving skills!?

Driving these cars is not to be taken lightly; especially when driving a police vehicle.

Lucy figures she'll work out what the allure is someday!

Back at home, the fort has been tidied up and fortified.

Helping Mum prep the burgers and carrot sticks.

Look at that baby koala, hanging onto his Dad's back.

Lucy's practicing on her bicycle -- inspired by the cyclemaster himself.

She's got the forward motion now, but hasn't quite figured out steering.

Today is "Stay and Play" at school for Arlo's class.

Arlo gets to show us what things are like inside his classroom. Here are the beansprouts (bean stalks!) that Arlo's been caring for.

And Arlo's earth.

The class had set up a cafe for the Mums and Dads to get a coffee.

And preparing a coffee...

... all by himself! They had been practicing all last week!

Coffee's served, sir!

Time for coffee #2, now that Mum's arrived.

Back inside the classroom, showing Mum his beanstalks.

It'll soon be time to harvest them.

Looking through Arlo's really big, really heavy Learning Journey.

A beautiful self-portrait inside.

Multi-tasking: playing with blocks while Mum looks through kilograms of Learning Journey.

And playing with giant ants.

Family snack time back at the cafe, before it's time to go our separate ways.

Everyone's still happy, even after the parents have gone home!

And at the end of the day, our very own koala, Chompy, was waiting for us.

Meanwhile at home, Lucy is entertaining herself with the bear blanket...

... and getting very adept at picking things up directly with her mouth.

Sporting a pony tail is becoming increasingly important, since her hair otherwise is down into her eyes now.

Uh oh! Helpful big brother Arlo spots a clump of food stuck in Lucy's hair nest.

Helpfully trying to remove it.

Another morning, and Dad's already exhausted with his fair share of children for the day.

Practicing driving on the line.

Oh my! Out of nowhere, the cactus on the balcony has yet another two paddles growing.

The younger monkey no longer needs to sit on her bottle chair.

But she sure does love a good box.

Whee!

Pointing with conviction.

Enjoying a nice cold bowl of ice cream while sitting on the bus.

Lucy is happy to have ice cream anywhere, any time.

Arlo's finishing off an ice cream cone that was in the freezer, too. What an ice cream potpurri!

Oh my! A heavy fruit delivery from Trat - lucky us!

And taking the last photo with Marlies and Botho for a while (perfectly capturing the mood of the afternoon, I should add.)

See you in Korea!

Another day in the books, and we're pooped!

Playing together with the eggs -- a current favorite!

Woah! Who's that cute girl in the phone?

This pretty much sums things up!

His hair is long enough to tie up now!

Lucy is starting to appreciate books for their pictures and stories now (not just the page-flipping factor).

Here's Chompy the Koala, resting on his favorite tree fork again.

Lucy is always *so* excited when Arlo returns home from school! 😍

Marlies passed on this beautiful sequined skirt to Lucy...

Arlo's a very serious cyclist now.

A coordinated attack on Dad! The feet were especially unexpected!

Sorry to say, Dad, there's no escape now.

Innocently hanging out on her favorite chair.

Lining up all the zoo animals in obedient formation.

That's right, Lucy! That's how the skirt is meant to be worn!

Time for another COVID shot -- this time the bivalent! (It's finally come to Thailand, just as world health authorities are advising that it's no longer effective!)

Little Miss Curious...

... making herself comfortable on the shell chair. Sabai sabai!

And giving a big, sweet goodnight kiss to the cute girl in the mirror.