Fish!

Today we ventured out into the noisy, smelly, sweaty, crazy, wonderful streets of our city. Why? To buy FISH! But also for the fun of it :-) We dodged scrawny dogs, kittens in a cage outside a streetside restaurant (and were asked if we were needing some breakfast when they spotted us looking!), fresh meat in baskets sitting on the ground (getting less fresh by the moment), animal droppings, motorbikes (moving and parked) and many men and women thoroughly disapproving of me having a baby less than three months out of doors (good thing we didn't tell them she's not even ONE month yet!). We eventually found our fish and brought them home to their new abode in our fish tank. Yay!

Mrs Thom

A lovely lady has joined our 'household' (!). Mrs Thom, Mrs Hien's aunt, is now helping us out also. (Mrs Hien is here mostly in the mornings, Mrs Thom in the afternoons, and they cross over in the middle of the day.) Its soooo nice having them both around... I love hearing them chatting happily in their own language, and including Emily in their conversations. Its an enormous help having someone around all time time to hold Jemima (who needs a lot of holding upright) while I spend special time with Emily (or special time with my bed!!), or to watch/play with Emily while I'm feeding Jemima. There are certainly some challenges and drawbacks to living in this country, but I happily embrace them all for the opportunity to have this kind of assistance -- and from such incredibly ENJOYABLE ladies.

Home At Last!!

JOY! We are back in the place we call home. Finally! We are so glad. We absolutely could not have made the journey without Mrs Hien -- not with our peace intact anyway. The three adults each pushed (with one hand!) a large luggage trolley piled high with STUFF, a backpack or handbag and either a child or a carseat in the free hand. Absolutely crazy. We were up at 4am yesterday. From when we arrived at Suvanabhumi airport (late!), we had drama after drama.... Jon had a glass door close on his shoulder (!) and thereafter had a terrible time trying to lift or carry anything with that arm (you should see the bruise today!).... Jemima's birth certificate was nearly loaded on the plane in our checked baggage but had to be shown at immigration along with her passport... Emily exhausted both Jon and Mrs Hien on the plane (she's not fond of being strapped in to anything at any time) and I could hear her screams from 30 rows away - in another section of the plane!... and then when we arrived, Jemima's 'free of charge' visa strangely required a fee of $25 and we had to wait nearly an hour for it. Finally, we made it through immigration and to the baggage carousel where our luggage was waiting all on its lonesome in the otherwise deserted luggage hall. Mrs Hien was brilliant and smoothly organized our taxis, and called the deli to order our lunch on the ride home. What a lady!

We are still pretty tired, but all settling in well. Mrs Hien spent this morning unpacking ALL the boxes and suitcases while Emily and I had a lovely morning playing together (in between Jemima's feeds) with all the toys Emily recognizes but has been away from for over three months. Jon comes home from work for lunch in a few minutes...

Jon's impressive bruise (not as 'developed' as it was a few days later!)

Mastitis!

I developed a rotten case of mastitis yesterday afternoon and ended up going to the hospital with Mrs Hien and Jemima. We got home at midnight by which time I felt a lot better after my first lot of antibiotics via a drip. It would have been pretty horrible going on a plane in that much pain! Glad I have another day to recover some more before we fly... (Mid-mastitis... but I always have energy for cuddling our two precious girls!)

A Slight Delay

We've just discovered a problem with Jemima's visa authorisation letter (one hour before we were due to leave!) so we now need to wait until early Tuesday morning before we can fly. Such a shame, as we were all geared up for returning home this afternoon :-( We're going to try to leave our bags as packed as possible and survive on the few things we have out. We'll eat out and do some fun things to pass the time. 4am Tuesday will come soon enough...

Packing....

Its quite a job packing up! We've 'lived' in Bangkok long enough to have ACCUMULATED waaaaay too much stuff. Our packing effectiveness is somewhat hampered by my exhaustion (in addition to night feeds and colic, I'm suffering from INSOMNIA of all things) and also Emily's super-excitable presence in the apartment. So many fun things strewn about the aparment for her to pick up, inspect and then discard somwhere obscure. But Jon is a star packer and we'll be done by tomorrow, and then our FAMILY OF FOUR will fly back home. Yay!

Jemima Can Fly!

QUITE unexpectedly, after initially thinking that Jemima's paperwork would take up to six weeks to process (post-birth), we've just received word that she can collect her visa when we arrive. WE CAN GO HOME NOW! She has a Thai birth certificate (usually 1 week), Australian Citizenship Papers (usually 2 weeks), an [emergency] Australian passport (a full one would take 2 weeks), a visa authorisation letter (usually 1 week), and a visa waiting for us when we arrive (usually 1-4 days to process if we pick it up here in Bangkok).

YAY!!!!!!! Jon's on the phone now trying to book us on the Sunday night flight back home. We were desperately hoping we'd be able to fly next Wednesday, so this is even better. WE ARE GOING HOME!!!

A Lovely Time with Grandma & Grandpa

We had a lovely time not just with the extended Passmore clan, but also with Grandma and Grandpa Passmore on their own. Jemima got some wonderful cuddles, Emily had loads of fun, and Jon and I loved having his parents around and greatly appreciated their help. They left two days ago and Mrs Hien arrived in their place. Emily was quite fragile when she realised they were gone, but elated to see her 'Co-Co' back with us.

Passmore Family Reunion - Bangkok 2011

30 years after living in Thailand, Jon, his parents and both his sisters - along with their own families - have all gathered in Bangkok. We've had a wonderful time! (If you would like to see more pics we'd love to send a link)

Jemima Elizabeth is Here!

Jemima Elizabeth Passmore was born 2 August at 8.15am, weighing 3650 grams and measuring 50cm long. She is BEAUTIFUL! Mother and baby have settled back at our 'Bangkok home' after a delivery at Bumrungrad hospital. For more pics, send us an email and we'll be happy to oblige :-)

Waiting for the birth!

Last night I checked into the hospital and pre-surgery prep started t 5.30am this morning. Jon should arrive shortly so he can get in his hospital scrubs and we'll head up to theater. We are going to meet this precious baby very soon!