Cambodia and beyond

Josh’s parents left today and we had a really fabulous time with them while they were here! We got to enjoy just some hanging out time in Bangkok. They took a cooking class, Fred got a suit made, we spent some time by the pool, enjoyed LOTS of good food and also spent a long weekend in Cambodia. Josh and I had both been to Cambodia, he by himself and I with his sister Molly, to see Angkor Wat so we did that again, but also took a trip out to Tonle Sap Lake and went out on a boat, had lunch with some local villagers and got to see a lot of the countryside which was our favorite part of the trip. It was funny to see the total lack of modernism in their living quarters (some with no electricity or plumbing) and then to see some with cable TV and a cell phone, living on the water. While we took great pleasure in taking pictures of their primitive lifestyle there was a moment where I saw a little boy taking a picture of us with his phone! Gretta was a fantastic traveler and we were so grateful for that! She fell asleep easily in the front pack carrier while we were out hiking around and even fell asleep on a tuk-tuk ride one night on our way back from dinner!

Angkor Wat

Lastly, Josh and I finally got a little time to ourselves and went out to see the new Bond film while Grandma and Grandpa watched Gretta. She didn’t even notice we were gone and really enjoyed her time with Grandma and Grandpa! Thank you so much for a wonderful visit! Can’t wait to see you again when we’re home for Christmas, we might have a full blown walker by then!

While Josh’s parents were here Gretta learned to do SO much, this is the most we’ve seen her learn to do in such a short time! She has learned to sit up by herself from lying down and from there has figured out how to pull herself up on things! It is quite entertaining, kind of like watching her play a private game of Twister! Walking has become so much more fun than crawling. She will walk along the edge of the coffee table or couch or around her crib! She does crawl a little bit, but much prefers to be standing and she will just stand at the coffee table looking around. She also likes to get under the glass table and try to grab for things on the table that are unattainable because of the glass (yes, we laugh at her!). She has started taking drinks of water from our glasses and does quite a good job, doesn’t spill or choke! She enjoys the sound of us clicking our tongues and snapping our fingers, usually brings a big smile to her face. She likes knocking over the stacking cups and will flinch before she even knocks them down. All these new skills we believe have made her sleeping habits a little random. She had a great 2 months of sleeping through the night and now she has been waking up more at night again. Her brain must just be going a mile a minute or she is going through a growth spurt or both. Still no teeth, so we’re tired of blaming it on that!

Following are what I call the "Gretta Series", illustrating (hopefully) to you almost a flipbook-type look into the daily activities of our little daredevil!

The stand.

The head-butt.

The walk-around.