Basic Skills, July 2008

Every child needs to grow up and acquire some essential skills for survival. It's never been very clear which skills need to come before others, so we tend to allow our son, Antonio, to develop whichever skills seem to take precedence.



Here he is sitting in front of one of my computers.





Checking out the monitor and typing up a storm on the keyboards.







Here he is reaching over to grab the mouse. Everything within reach of his little hands is fair game.



The other skill he's acquired is feeding himself with proper utensils.







Like all new skills, it takes a while to get things all mastered, but he's working on it.

Great Fun, June 2008

Almost four months in our new house and it's settled into a real home for us.





Here's our son, Antonio, checking out some of the reference books I have on my library shelves. He's fascinated with books. Let's hope that this fascination develops into a full blown thirst for knowledge and learning.



Here we are sitting together — Little Nio, his Daddy and our cat, Samuel. His first word isn't "Mommy" or "Daddy", nor is it "Meh" or "Pohr" (which it Thai for "Mom" and "Dad"). His first word is "Sam" — the name of our cat. He doesn't always get the "m" in at the end, but it's a start.





Not exactly the safest spot to sit, but Little Nio thinks that the steps are the perfect height for sitting on.



Here he is with his Mommy, sitting on the staircase.





We're happy here. The ends still meet, but it's a lot work keeping it all together. At the end of the day, when you get a smile like this, it makes it all worthwhile.









Another thing that Little Nio likes looking at are DVD's. He's very interested in watching stuff on television, but we try to direct this and get him to watch more intelligent things like documentaries. Here he is checking out some DVD's from the Discovery Channel.







Raisins are another favorite that Little Nio has and here he is spreading it all out and getting ready to share it with Mommy.



Big lopsided smile with his Daddy. It really, really does make it all worthwhile.

Even More Little Nio Comics, July 2008

Just had to share even more "Little Nio" comics.

These are too fun to put together because Antonio is really a funny little boy. I don't meant that he is awkward or ridiculous, but that he already has a sense of humor and is very naturally playful. His personality shows through even at this young age.



The one above, "Little Nio and the Spare Rib" was taken at this upscale food court in the Mahboonkrong shopping mall, called "The Fifth". We ordered a plate of baby back spare ribs and just let Little Nio feed himself. And as you can see, he has no problems polishing off the bone.



One of the things Little Nio enjoys doing is spending time with me in the study, where all my computer equipment is installed. Here he is drinking out of his froggy mug and making an absolute mess of himself. This one is entitled, "Little Nio's Drinking Problem".



This is an older series of images where we've got Little Nio set up with some of his stuffed toys. It's just too adorable that our son is so cute, he blends in perfectly. This one is called, "Little Nio Explains Camo".



The one above was also created more recently, but the photographs were taken when Little Nio turned one year old. Here he is enjoying his birthday cake, so this one is entitled "Little Nio and the Birthday Cake".

More Little Nio Comics, June 2008

A few more recent comic strips featuring Little Nio.



This first comic strip is entitled "Little Nio Saves the Chicken". I know that it sounds a lot like something a superhero might do, but all he's doing here is saving it for later.



This second comic strip Little Nio Picks a Book, has our son perusing the titles of my reference library. Unfortunately all of the books on the shelves he can reach are all technical manuals, so they are bound to put him to sleep.



This third strip is named "Little Nio Defines Finger Foods" and was taken at a lovely restaurant at Central Chidlom.



This fourth comic strip is the most recent in the series, entitled "Little Nio and the Mummies". We're hoping that Little Nio's natural curiosity develops into a genuine thirst for knowledge and a deep love of learning. Here he is examining some DVD documentaries.

By the way, before I forget, today is my mother's birthday (Little Nio's Lola Nene), so here's a wish of love to her - for good health, much happiness, tons more blessings and lots and lots more birthdays!

Back to KiDO, June 2008

Over the weekend, we all had the opportunity to go out and spend time together as a family.





Here's Little Nio and his Mommy, busy stuffing his face with veggies.



As if to prove the point that all the veggies are indeed going down, Little Nio gives us a view of the inside of his mouth. He really isn't picky with foods, although lately his appetite hasn't been as much as it was a few weeks back. Nothing to be concerned about, just something to keep in mind.



Hanging out with Daddy at the Kanom Chine restaurant.



The next day we were able to enjoy some fantastic Italian cooking at a restaurant outlet named "Mediterraneo" located on the fifth floor of Central Chidlom department store.



Here's Little Nio trying to explain to his Daddy that Spaghetti Carbonnara is indeed a finger food.



Little Nio goes back to KiDO!



It's been nearly a year since he last visited KiDO, but all his play-teachers still remember him very well. Here he is trying to read a Thai children's book, upside down.



Trying out the slide with Daddy.



Not too bad.



Next an attempt on the slide with Mommy.



Much better results.



After a long and very enjoyable day together, Little Nio cuddles up in the big bed with his Mommy, safe and sound back at home.

Cats & Dogs, May 2008

One of these days I'm going to catch a better photograph of Little Nio together with his favorite pet, Samuel. "Favorite" is relative, since he's our only pet. Samuel is our Siamese cat who has been with me ever since he was a tiny little kitten.



This is one of the earliest photographs I have of Sam, back when I was still a bachelor living alone in Flat Phibun, behind the Ministry of Commerce.



This other photograph of Sam was taken several years ago, while I was still living alone down in Pattaya.

We're not at all afraid of Samuel's reaction to Little Nio. He's very domesticated and we try to keep him clean. Despite being a house cat, who has never ventured outdoors, we give him an invigorating shower every so often. We're actually more worried what Little Nio might do to the poor kitty. Our son is a bit heavy handed and his coordination still needs a bit of work. Without knowing it, Little Nio just might hurt Samuel, who in turn might accidentally scratch the boy.

We just have to keep watchful eyes on both of them.



Here's Little Nio getting a big sloppy smooch on the cheek from his Mommy. For those of you who think we should shower our child with as much love and affection as we possibly can, don't worry... he's pretty soggy already with all the smooches he gets.

This was taken when we went to visit our friends, Trevor and Khun Nok (whom Little Nio met a year ago). We were invited over to their wonderful new home for a fantastic barbecue, where we all got sufficiently overstuffed on very delicious food.



Little Nio also got a chance to meet their dogs, Sammy (the Golden Retriever) and Bobby (the little Black Pug). Both dogs are wonderful pets with awesome personalities. Little Nio was delighted with them both.



From left-to-right: Sammy the Golden Retriever, Mikhail (a friend of Trevor), Bobby the Black Pug, Khun Nok, Little Nio, Uncle Trevor in the back, and myself. We had a really great time that afternoon and are looking forward to another opportunity to catch up with Nok and Trevor again.



A few nights later, Little Nio had a chance to attend an indoor football match. It was a friendly competition between the designers and architects, versus the CAD operators of my design firm. After both teams had scored more than ten points against the other, no one bothered to keep score. It was just a sporting opportunity to have a good time. Here's Little Nio with his Mommy hanging out at the sidelines.