DAY FOUR
I wish I had another camera with me to share how amazing this photograph of my wife, Kanittha, really is. I'm well aware that she is very pretty, but what actually makes it so amazing is that Little Nio is the photographer. Sure enough my wife is holding his hands as he points the camera, and I am guiding his finger over the shutter release button, but he has his eye on the viewfinder.
Bored with the local television programs, Little Nio settles down in front of Daddy's portable DVD player to watch a movie.
After a substantial portion of the movie, Little Nio decides it's time for an Oreo break. The combination of chocolate cookies and a cup of water inevitably leads to a messy shirt, which becomes a prelude to a quick change of wardrobe.
Here's Little Nio getting carried away feeding a small turtle. By the time he is done shredding some tasty blossoms and fruit leaves for the turtle, you could hardly see the water in the bucket. We were supposed to take the turtle out to the nearby stream and release it, but we ran out of time so they had to release it for us.
A new favorite of Little Nio — an orange flavored jelly beverage that barely has enough nutrients in it to make it fit for human consumption. Not a very good idea, all things considered. But it was given to him by his grandmother so it would not have been very polite to refuse. He enjoyed it immensely, so a little bit of spoiling is not such a bad thing.
For the next hour or so, Little Nio engages in his first session with a football.
His shooting skills are far from perfect and even dribbling and ball control could use a lot more practice, but he plays with gusto. There is no denying that the little man has a passion for the game even at this early age.
Despite his obvious thrill for the sport, seeing him red faced, covered in perspiration and caked with red earth, his Mommy decided to send him off the field. Much to the dismay of his cheering fans.
Here's Little Nio visiting with his old nanny. From right-to-left: Little Nio's Mommy, Pa Ohm carrying Little Nio and then Pa Ohm's daughter, Pi Bam. At first he didn't recognize his old nanny, but after a few minutes he seemed to remember and it was almost as if they had never been separated.
DAY FIVE
We woke up early morning on August 15, but already the car and driver were waiting to take us to the airport at Udon Thani. We were booked on flight TG-1003 scheduled to leave at 11:10 AM. This meant that we needed to be there at around 10:00 AM, so to be on the safe side we decided to leave the village at around 7:30 AM.
Here's Little Nio sitting in his grandfather's lap with his grandmother looking on. She's trying not to cry, but we all know she will. One last chance for a snuggle and a hug. We know they will really miss him.
Waving goodbye for the camera, Little Nio waves both hands to everyone. From left-to-right: his grandmother holding on to Little Nio, then his younger cousin, Nong Win being held by his mother, Pi Nook.
In the car speeding towards Udon Thani, Little Nio puts away another bottle of milk to make sure he doesn't go hungry during the flight back.
We arrive at the airport with enough time for breakfast. Here's Little Nio having breakfast with his Mommy, tasting some black jelly for the very first time. The tasting transforms into a big serving with one taste quickly followed by another, and another.
Before the flight Little Nio was running all around the waiting area in front of the gates. This was actually a really good thing because he tired himself out and he ended up sleeping through most of the flight back to Bangkok.
We had an incredible time up country visiting with our family up in Sakon Nakhon. If our finances allow, we are planning to make this a regular visit every year.
No comments:
Post a Comment