Warm Clothes

When we landed on the sun at the beginning of September I was SURE we would never wear the warm clothes we packed. But, here we are, decked out in warm:

Lukas' wardrobe: hat and sweater knit by Grandma Jeanne; jeans from Micah (and perhaps other Hoilien boys?); fashionable sockossins, H&M.

Clean, a Thing of the Past

This one is the least blurry photo we'll get of those teeth (there are now two on top as well):

Overalls

I just love a baby in overalls. And the season here for them is short. We go from just diaper to winter hats in less than a month.

Going to Language Class

Rubel is my faithful taxi driver. But even Rubel can't do anything about this:

Sunday, the first day of the workweek, is the worst. I often walk the last few blocks due to the parking lot scene above. It's a nice walk, and 10-15 minutes of stares are much more tolerable than 35. 

From this overbridge I walk up on the right side of the street (against the foot-flow) to about where the street curves and turn off into Honda Gully, and right again to the little lane leading to Apa Snigdha's house. 

Only 5 more lessons before we're done in Dhaka!

We thought it was noisy before...

Last week the building next door was some sort of coaching center, and this week it is being knocked down to make way for yet another 10-story apartment building.  

The only tools on this demolition job site are sledgehammers and crowbars. 

The sledgehammer crew wear flip-flops and no ear protection, and earn Tk 500 per day ($6.50).  Windows, doors, and everything that could be removed was pulled out first to sell.  The bricks from the walls are also cleaned up, chipping off the mortar, to be sold for Tk. 5 apiece.  Once the concrete is broken up, the re-bar can be sold as well.

The video above was taken from our living room window.  Needless to say, the sledgehammer demolition has made for a noisy week.  After they finished breaking up the roof of this stairwell, they started on the walls, swinging the sledgehammers at the wall directly under their feet.

The Nuk Dance

We fear he's gotten his inability to make small decisions from us...

More About Hair

Lukas' bangs have continued to progress. When his farmor saw that they were in his eyes she very kindly inquired, "when will the first haircut happen?" I thought I would never cut his hair, he would be like Samson. But then realized I, too, was tired of moving his bangs out of his eyes, and decided it would be ok to trim just them, but never the curl you may notice below:

right before the big haircut

and after. Sorry no side view, grouchy baby.

As you can see, my baby hair is not yet ready for a cut. What is one to do for the sister-in-law's wedding when the hair does this?

Thanksgiving

 We're a little behind, as we are just starting to come up for air after nearly dying. Lukas is having his first normal nap in 2 weeks, and I have time to blog.

Thanksgiving was very nice here. We joined a few others who have a tradition of the men doing all the work for the day. The ladies were found walking in circles, not knowing what to do with ourselves.

The night before Daniel prepared this coconut for the rich milk that's called for in pumpkin pie. He also cooked the pumpkin, and found some very nice whipping cream and treated it with lactase enzyme for me. I have it pretty good. He also prepared a salad and some spiced cider. I didn't get a photo of the full table, but it was full and delicious.

Daniel's coconut labor

Hangin' out

Who wouldn't want this little girl's full attention?!

They even did all the clean-up. 

Busy.

Do you wonder what we eat?

Our future mechanical engineer slows down when he wants to figure out how something fascinating, like the door stop, works. His toes and fingers are not blurry in this photo.

The Current Favorite Thing

This one displays that he is still nice and round, despite all the moving around that is wearing out his mama and papa:

King Kong

Sleep (the second installment)

He often wants to fall asleep like this:

And we don't mind. 

Chocolate

 I was delighted to discover this week that Lukas can now eat chocolate. I was even more delighted to have this report come to me through DANIEL. Some all-knowing baby blog declared it so, and 24 after our discovery I received one generous-sized can of Cadbury cocoa.

Johanna W. gave me my favorite and most frequently used chocolate recipe: 1 part frozen banana, chopped; one part milk (whatever your variety); 2 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Blend it, and you won't be disappointed.

Lukas was not disappointed.

Chillin'

Besides our beautiful roof, we have an open-air ground level garage. The back is an open space with plants, rooms for building workers, and this very fine baby chair with a view.

Movin' Right Along

Afternoon Visit

We had a very nice visit with some friends. Marin taught me how to make baby kitchuri, and how to pour it into my baby's mouth while he lays down on a soft pillow to receive it like a king, while entertained by cartoons on the smart phone. Here you'll see no entertainment needed, that spoon in my right hand holds his attention fast. 

(Try not to stare at my disastrous hair situation. Any advice?
You'll notice the problem goes all the way down to my ears...)

And here's something we never thought would happen when he was 2 weeks old and requiring "Oceans" and lots of jiggling to fall asleep - he now falls asleep on rickshaws amid the crazy traffic and steady horn-beeping of this busy city.

The sleepy king

A Delicious Disaster

Brothers and Babies

We were delighted to finally meet baby Obed! And delighted to hold this content, sleepy baby.

Jacob & Lukas, Daniel & Obed (6 wks)

Hashi Khushi

One of the first phrases I learned here was "hashi khushi" হাসি খুশি, smily-happy. Here's why:

(Sorry, no view from the front. Laughing stops, and grabbing and fussing starts.)

The (Unsuccessful) Photo Shoot

This small person has been very busy the last 10 days. First he sat up on his own. Then he sat up on his own in his sleep. Then he pulled himself up to a stand on the coffee table. Then he scooted around on the floor mat. (He continues to try crawling, but it's hard getting that nice belly off the ground.) Then he got his first tooth. 

These photos were my attempt to capture the long awaited tooth:

I guess you'll have to put a finger in his mouth to see if we tell the truth.