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December 22, 2008 The saga of the Great Cold of 2008 continues! Anytime you're sick for over a month, it's serious. When Madeleine's condition worsened late in the week -- she was up from 3:00 AM coughing and coughing to the point of gagging again -- I realized that we had to do SOMETHING. So, we went back to the doctor's -- and when I say doctor's, I mean the good folks at the Family Medical Practice -- and this time we saw Dr. Agnes Viay. She was a lot more forthcoming and then again I was a lot more insistent about the wherefores and whatnots about the cold. Here's what she did for us: (i) She gave us an antibiotic -- not that they help a lot with colds because colds are usually viral, but they always make us parents feel we're doing everything we can -- just in case it might help. (ii) She gave us a babyhaler for use with inhalers. If she has multiple episodes of this, then it will get called asthma, but a single episode isn't. Let's knock on something resembling wood that Madeleine doesn't develop asthma. In case you're wondering what it is...
Madeleine loves the babyhaler! She runs to get. Takes the inhalers out of the boxes. Tries to install them. Shakes them. Holds the facemask to her face. And her eyes gleam like she's experiencing the secret to the universe while we do it! Thank goodness! Otherwise, Madeleine has loved coming over to Trio Annex to visit with her grand-parents. And, we're all looking forward to a nice Christmas. Hope you are too, wherever you are.
December 16, 2008 Madeleine continues to recover from her cold. Her sniffles and cough improve. Last Saturday, the doc recommended returning to the evil NASAL SPRAY! and god help us, we did. Madeleine hates it. Although once in a while, she'll exclaim, chatouille! (tickle!), when she sees the applicators come rolling out. They really do help her, though, so I'm more than happy to go through the rig-a-ma-role of doing it. We were over at the Trio Annex, aka the Lair of the Beaux-Parents, aka Chez Grand-Parents doing some last minute checking out of things and distributing of other things. Madeleine loves going to the Annex now, wait til it's occupied by real live grand parents! Right now she's fascinated by the sapin de Noel, Christmas tree, with real blinking lights! Man, how her face lit up when she saw it for the first time. She couldn't wait to get her shoes off and run over to it. She immediately fell into amusement with the trumpet ornaments holding them to her mouth and making tooting sounds. Then she went on to finger all of the little red hearts that are on a string and wrapped around it. She knocked a few of the Christmas balls off of it -- luckily they are made of plastic nowadays. And generally had a grand time exploring the Christmas tree. I can't wait until next year when she can help decorate it! Make a note of that relatives far and near! If we're scheduled to visit for Christmas, don't put up your tree until we get there! I hate it when I have a pictureless post, but it's been a long day -- a full slate of classes, lots of essays to grade, a trip to the airport, the flight, customs, strange food, etc. It is off to bed with this Third of the Trio. Watch this space, though, for grand-parent sitings!
December 12, 2008 Madeleine had another first today -- she vomited somewhere other than on Papa Trio! That's right! She vomited at school! We're going to see the doctor tomorrow. But, until then, we've got another round of messages!
Madeleine has a special message just for Maman Trio!
And here's a special "Get Well" message for Grand-maman Trio!
Madeleine loves her Grand-papa Trio and leaves him with this message! She's such a trooper, but the show must go on! She delivered her lines so well despite being ill. She is such a trooper. This two-thirds of a Trio thing has been hard us both, but probably more so on her. I've got certain things I have to do in the evening and she, well, just entertains herself. It breaks my heart, but that's the case. Like right now, she is watching a Toupie et Binou video. It was her choice. Before that, she was on my lap, but I can't do this very well with her here. We made videos instead.
Here she is playing with her legos and looking just a little sad about it. She is sick though. Very low key. We'll have a low key weekend as we await our glorious re-union. December 8, 2008 It's two-thirds of the Trio for the week and then we expand to five! It will be a merry Christmas at the Trio house this year! Madeleine recorded a special message for those who are far far away today:
To grand-maman
To Maman Trio
To grand-papa Cute note of the day: "Je cherche le mouchoir." or "I'm looking for some tissue." On Mondays Madeleine swims and that seems to have worsened her cold. She's been sniffling all evening. December 7, 2008 Maman & Papa Trio are in Singapore where Papa Trio ran in a marathon. Look for pix later this week and an interestingly scary post on Papa Trio's marathon page. Papa Trio stayed at a lovely hotel found by Maman Trio called Perak Lodge in Little India. It is a great area of Singapore with wafting scents of curry, cardamom, and cumin. Stores that sell statues of Ganesh and Sri Mariammam -- the patron Hindu deity of Singapore. Maman Trio stayed with me for one night -- Friday. Then she moved over to an apartment on Bencoolen with her parents. The Grand-parents Trio are there seeking treatment for grand-maman's cancer. She goes to surgery on Monday. Let's keep her in our prayers. Maman Trio worked hard to set up the surgery and apartment within a week. Now, they're there for a week to 10 days while grand-maman recovers. Then, they return here for further recovery and a nice Christmas. December 3, 2008 Madeleine's language skills continue to improve and grow. Earlier today she was singing in Vietnamese complete with vocal flourishes. I'll see if I can catch it on video sometime next week. Her other accomplishment was saying the alphabet in English. Her accent is so CUTE! She even has the usual French difficulty with H! For the past four months Papa Trio has been training for a marathon and that day is almost here. Enjoy this video of Papa Trio in actual training at the Terry Fox Run last Sunday November 31.
A few other pictures from the Terry Fox extravaganza!
We don't get many of the Marshall Trio together -- so here they are FRESH, and the operative term here is FRESH, off the road... And Babé Trio is smiling anyway!
Babé Trio makes friends wherever she goes: Here she is with a gaggle of girls that mobbed her and practically begged for the photo!
Babé Trio ran through the field outside of SSIS after the race. She loved the wide open space and took full advantage of it.
November 27, 2008 Happy Thanksgiving! There has been so much happening this past week that I don't know where to start! I had the rare privelege of being home when Babé Trio left for school. She stood before me in her school uniform -- now why didn't I get a picture? -- and said, "Papa, je va allee a la école!" (Papa, I'm going to school!). She was so excited to be going. When I got up this morning, I found artwork that Babé Trio had brought home from school the previous day. Here's a picture:
Functional and artistic! Just like maman! Marnelle video was promised. So here is Babé Trio's new favorite game!
Madeleine playing marnelle! Here is a montage of that sweet suite that we stayed in at the Majestic Hotel. There is very little in the captions, because, well, y'know, we've all stayed in hotels before... I'll add this, though, it was so much like a vacation that it was hard to leave, and Madeleine enjoyed it so much, she cried when we left.
Living Room
Flat screen TV -- there's another in the bedroom!
Desk
Living room ceiling -- a little dizzying, I know.
The bathroom sink and hamper. Somehow I missed a photo of the huge Rub-A-Dub-Dub Three Men in a Tub bathtub. Yes, it was put to good use.
Nightly turn-down service and daily chocolate!
Our good friends Karl and Bev came for a visit.
Madeleine enjoying her dinner!
Dinner cruise boat from the restaurant window. It was on the roof and had a great view of Saigon River -- part of the port facilities of HCMC.
After dinner walk photo op in front of the Cinderella carriage.
Madeleine doing her duck imitation in front of the ever-popular moving light deer part of the incredible Christmas decorations going up all over downtown. Babé Trio continues to impress. She had a terrible sinus infection for the past week. Lots of hard dry hacking retching coughing, especially at night. It was so bad that on the second day we went to see the doctor. He gave us two types of NASAL SPRAY! I pointed out to him, just in case he hadn't noticed, y'know? that Madeleine is 3 ½ years old and that NASAL SPRAY! would be about as popular as a bee sting. He didn't seem fazed by the idea. Well, as expected Madeleine took one look at the NASAL SPRAY! and started to cry, kick, and fuss. Papa Trio had to use his pro-wrestling moves learned from a childhood spent watching WWF and perfected during all of those vaccinations to keep her steady while Maman Trio knocked her nose with spray. Madeleine, bless her heart, by the second round of doses, cried and fussed, but quit fighting any more that a token amount -- just enough to maintain her reputation. And then quieted down almost immediately afterward. She didn't like it, but she knew it was inevitable, so she made the best of it -- true Marshall Trio form. She does the same thing with the vaccines. She doesn't even get too shook up when we approach the CHAIR where they all happen. But, then she is content to play and let me tickle her until the very last moment. She knows it is time when I hold her in that special way. She'll cry and fuss, but not too much any more and then recovers quick as a wink. November 22, 2008 The Marshall Trio spent the weekend at the Majestic Hotel in downtown Saigon (http://majesticsaigon.com.vn/). I'll post pictures as soon as we can transfer them. But, just to save you a couple of links, the Colonial Suite is $415.00 (US) per night, but it didn't cost us a dime. Papa Trio had won a two night certificate at a charity raffle earlier in the fall. Other than just having a rooms big enough for Madeleine to sprint at top speed from one wall to the other and a coffee table big enough for her to enjoy crawling under and beautiful wooden floors and carpeting and a wonderfully colorful history (built in 1925 and surviving three wars), it has a pool. Madeleine is continuing to improve her swimming. She can now slowly propel herself across the pool, daintily climb in from the side, and jump into Papa Trio's arms. The funnest thing we did though was swim side-by-side across the pool. Madeleine would grab my arm and let me pull her along. I will wean her off the water wings. Since the pool is in the hotel's courtyard it didn't get much direct sun and was quite cool. After an hour of swimming, I told her that we had five minutes more to swim and then would get out for a rest. This is our usual pattern. We get out, rest, eat a little, re-apply sun screen, and then get back in. Madeleine fussed, but after about five minutes got out and started back towards the room. I had to retrieve her, wrap her in a towel, and sit her on poolside chaise lounge to look at tawdry Korean magazines until we were dry and warm. She looked tired, so we went back inside where Maman Trio joined us after her visit to the spa. Madeleine had lunch and went for her nap. The other day Madeleine displayed the most amazing ability... she can recall strings of three digits. She borrowed a "phat" Barbie computer from our downstairs' neighbor. One of the games is "Dolphin Dive" in which a dolphin jumps across the screen with a digit from 1 to 9 written on it. Then two more follow. And then Barbie herself implores the player to enter the numbers. Madeleine didn't always get them right, but she did enough of them to show it wasn't random. When she could focus throughout the ordeal (which depends on your point-of-view, right? Now I know why they were so eager to lend it us... they practically gift wrapped it!), she could enter the string correctly. Our nightly ritual is to read a book or two before bed with Madeleine... okay three. Madeleine now says, "Chose trois livre..." and picks out three books to read. One of her favorites is "Gros Grognon" ("Big Grumpus") by Jeremy Tankard. She knows the book by heart and recites the words almost as if she were actually reading it. Truth be told, it is one of my favorites, too! And, at Trio Central "Don't be gros grognon," has become an oft repeated phrase, but one that is sure to snap whoever out of their grognon-ness. Thanks Jeremy! November 18, 2008 Today is Tropical Storm Noul Bust Day -- AIS cancelled classes today, I gave Giang the day off, and Madeleine is home from school with a lingering cold. Yesterday, we were told that TS Noul was headed STRAIGHT at HCMC! So, we did the only logical thing: we battened down the school for a big blow. Like all tropical storms and typhoons, TS Noul took one look at HCMC and headed north. Instead of flooding, storm surge, high winds, tons of rain, we have high humidity and clear skies! And, no school! For three days there had been minor flooding in the streets. No one could explain to me why, but it was the storm surge ahead of the TS Noul. If a typhoon actually hit, it would be a disaster. The drainage and majority of buildings, especially the huts people in the country live in, would be blown away. Since the Mekong Delta is at sea level the storm surge and rain would have just inundated the area. It would've been a disaster. Luckily, we have the best of all worlds -- no TS Noul and no school for moi! Maman Trio has to go to school, but not Papa and Babe Trio! Yesterday, I took a motorcycle taxi called a xe om (pronounced almost exactly like "say um") to school. After about 20 minutes on the bike and about two blocks from the school, I felt a gentle nudging under by right knee. It seemed too big to be a bug, so I reached down to see what it was. Once I touched it, I knew immediately what I had found. I could feel the life and terror coursing through it. It was furry, warm, and very much alive! I immediately felt fear of a very troubling feral animal bite, so I instinctively grabbed it and tossed it away from me. Looking at it as it landed, I realized it was a baby rat! Now I wish I had given it a moments more thought and just left it until we had gotten to school so I could have released it somewhere where it might have had a real chance. Instead, I watched as it dodged through traffic seeking the safety of the curb... Last night Babe Trio had a restless night. Her cold is keeping her up. She wakes up with coughing fits and the cough syrup we have for her doesn't seem to do much. I woke up with a start as she was pinching my noise! I lay there for a moment as she gently squeezed my nostrils shut. Then she released me and did it again. I lay there and she continued pinching my nose over and over again for several minutes. Another time, I woke up and she was saying "Caillou porte le pantalon." She was talking in her sleep! And making pretty good sentences, too!
November 14, 2008 Here are some miscellaneous pics just because I haven't put any up in a while.
Here's a blast from the past... a photo from Madeleine's first birthday party in a very traditional Korean restaurant with our old friend, Emiko and her family.
Ordering Sunday brunch at our favorite neighborhood restaurant
Breakfast with Giang as Maman & Papa Trio leave for work
At the doctor's after vaccinations -- We finally got ALL of her vaccinations taken care of until she's five!
The forlorn orphan sitting in front of the HCMC Post Office
A close up of the forlorn orphan stranded in front of the post office -- actually we were walking back to the bus stop after the vaccinations
Waiting for the bus -- I had taken these to put onto a doctor's visit page, but have never remembered to take enough pictures of her at the doctor's office to make it worthwhile. The photos from the street scenes page were taken on this day just down the street from here. November 13, 2008
This morning whilest I was preparing for
work, Madeleine was upstairs in front of the bathroom kind of hopping
around and counting. At first I didn't see anything odd about what she
was doing, but she persisted and into my awareness stole two interesting
facets of behavior: (2) She was counting backwards to zero -- in French! My curiosity piqued, I watched further and more closely. And I realized with a sudden start, she was playing marelle or hop-scotch in English! MARELLE! Without the benefit of a chalked in diagram or anything. There she was hoping from big square tile to big square tile counting away and even including the doubles -- quatre et cinqu and six et sept! Where did she learn that? Her PE class? Another cute thing: The other night as we were getting ready to go to bed, she began to sing "If You're Happy and You Know It..." in English! She sang "clap your hands," "stomp your feet," "say wowee!" and "do all four!" And last night, we were watching a movie... I think it was the gawd awful Sex in the City rag -- Mama Trio was sick so who could complain, but enough of that -- and they had a birthday scene complete with cake and candles. Madeleine began singing "Happy Birthday" in English! Watch what you say, do, and sing around her... she'll be doing it too! November 9, 2008 Today Madeleine had a play date with a sweet little two-year old boy. She was lucky enough to have the date in her classroom at school -- ah, the perks of going to school where your mom works! While we were there, Madeleine started to play with the "Days of the Week" magnetic board. It has a magnet for each day of the week with the day written on it. Then at the top it has a space with, "Yesterday was..." "Today is..." and "Tomorrow will be..." written on it. She stood there and named each day of the week in English, said each of the sentences and filled-in a day although the day was wrong. Then I started pulling days of the week off of the board and showing her and she would correctly identify the day of the week! Wow! Super! Incredible! I would also say the days of the week in French and she would repeat them after me. November 8, 2008 Here at Trio Central we're more active and busy than we have been since the day she was born! In the last few weeks she's been to sunny Mui Ne (a resort town on the coast), Halloween, the SSIS Arts & Craft Bazaar, gotten several major vaccines, and been to the pool a half dozen times. It has just been go go go for our Toddler Trio and there are no signs of it letting up anytime soon since the Grand-Parent Trio will be here in two weeks! Yikes! Madeleine and Maman Trio went to Mui Ne for Fall Break. Sadly, Papa Trio's school doesn't believe in Fall Break so he stayed in HCMC and worked! Luckily Housekeeper Trio stayed behind this time and I didn't have to do my own ironing and dishes! They took the train and stayed at a lovely beach-side resort with two other families we know here in HCMC. Everyone had a wonderfully relaxing time. Follow this link for my favorite picture of Madeleine -- it's large just in case you want to print a copy of your own -- it's also on this page in smaller format.
Is it raining? Is it sunny? It looks windy and cool and fun to this city-bound reporter!
They took the train and had a great time doing so. Here's Maman Trio and Madeleine visiting friends across the aisle. Maman Trio felt so bad that Papa Trio couldn't go that she insisted on involving me somehow, so she let me buy their train tickets! Sweet!
One of the boys on the trip took a shine to Madeleine and apparently she to him, too. Here they are having a GREAT time on the train! Just look at that smile!
Here they are cuddling on the train. She just looks so happy!
Look at that smile! Is she happy or what? October 17, 2008 It has been far too long with an update here. Let these highlights suffice and in reverse order according to my memory (like a sieve). This weekend: Madeleine continues to impress with her language gains. Today while I was at the counter of Family Medical Clinic trying to see a doc as a walk-in with her, she touched her left ear and said, "L'oreille fait mal" or "The ear hurts." They weren't going to see us until 1:00 PM (we were there at 10:00 AM), so I decided to wait it out just because of that. The situation was a little confusing. She's cutting some molars which can cause infection-like symptom -- facial pain, fever, irritability. Yes, she has a mild outer-ear infection. Last week: On Friday October 10, I came home sick. I was nauseous, feverish, and weak. By Sunday night Madeleine was throwing up. Thankfully amongst all of the sheet changing -- she vomitted three times in bed that night -- and cleaning and general bandy-legged running about, we didn't have time to take any pictures. Needless to say, she stayed home from school on Monday. The peerless and illustrious Giang went to the pharmacy and got her an anti-vomitory medication. So, she was And, thankfully she hasn't vomitted since. And yes, her record is holding -- she's vomitted on me eery time she's vomitted in her life, but never Jo. By Thursday, she had diarrhea and stayed home again that day. She seems to be better now. See the firsts page for an update on her art and a major developmental milestone being met. Last Saturday October 11 we went to a water puppets show. Water puppets, you say, what's that? Well let a picture speak a thousand words for us (thank goodness):
Those marionettes are in real water! There's guys behind that screen with long handles that reach out the puppets that allow them to manipulate them. You can see the rapture even from the back's of the girls' heads! That's Madeleine's new friend, Natasha, there on the left!
She kept turning around to check with her mom and point out all of the things she saw. You know, didn't want mom to miss it.
The two chums!
That's Bev on the left, Jo's illustrious co-worker who gave Jo the Water Puppet Show tickets for her birthday; Jo in the center; and Julie, Natasha's mom on the right.
And that is Bev sitting with Papa Trio just before the big shoe starts! On Sunday October 4, had a play date with Natasha at the Phu My Hung Pool! You know how much we love that pool. This pool date even had a tankini sighting -- yeowza! It also featured the emergence of the water wings! Unfortunately, it didn't feature a camera, so we'll just have to keep those memories warm and active... well, we'll leave it there since this is a family website and all. Madeleine has so much confidence in the water now. She loved to float with the waterwings. She's starting to propel herself through the water, too. The girls loved to hold hands and let me tow them around. We also played Plonge! (Dive!) Where the girls jumped off of the side of the pool and more-or-less into my arms. And, Piscine Monstre! (Pool Monster!) with Natasha's small inflatable boat. I would dive under the boat and poke, prod, and grab. Every now and again, I would stand up and carry the boat on my back exclaiming, "Where are those girls?" Much gleeful fun was had by one and all. That's enough for now or I'll (a) never get this posted and (b) not be ready for next week. August 8, 2008 Madeleine is a different child since her stay in Canada! She is more assertive, more independent, and much more talkative! In the pool she is very confident and full of play. She has a strong kick and jumps in with reckless abandon or what passes for reckless abandon for her! She announces her desire to use the bathroom with a very assertive Fait pee-pee! (Needs no translation, but maybe some spell checking!) Or simply, Frouch! (Grand-maman's invented word for number 2). Here is a list of some of the things that she has been saying recently:
Jet lag has been hard on her. Lately, she has not been napping, but going to bed promptly at 8:00 PM without any fuss! She sleeps until 7:00 AM! She had been getting up sometime between 1:00 and 3:00 AM EVERY day for an hour or two and then going back to sleep. She slept until 7:00 or 8:00 AM while Papa Trio had to get up at 6:00 AM and drag himself off to school! Luckily, that has stopped. She's spent more than one day being cranky and fighting bedtime, but one night last week all of that stopped. She was tired and fighting bedtime. She was downstairs demanding to stay up when she calmed down. And then, she went upstairs saying Au lit! En haut! ("To bed! Up stairs!) It's not been a problem since! Bless her, when she acts like that it melts our hearts!
July 23, 2008 Since Mama, Toddler, and Nanny Trio are due home so soon, I thought I just do a round up of some of the last remaining unpublished photos from the summer. I'll keep you posted of the traveling Trio's movements as they wend their way back to Trio Central.
My beaux-parents (in-laws) just bought a new vehicle! This is Madeleine and grandpapa checking out the new tunes! I guess they'll be pimping that whip before long!
I knew I'd missed a pic of Madeleine at the cold windy lake. Here she is doing her best to catch pneumonia and poke out her eye I'm sure. But, Aunt Nat and the girls kept her safe and brought her back sound.
July 19, 2008 Madeleine and the rest of the clan went boating in her aunt and uncle's boat... and these pics are all we got -- enjoy!
Madeleine and her cousine in the boat. Madeleine looks particularly happy here staring out at the water and her little pink rosy cheeks!
Madeleine pursuing one of her favorite pastimes: splashing!
Madeleine, cousins, and friend on the lake on a float! Look at the pure joy on her face! Madeleine's Aunt Nathalie took Madeleine and her girls to the lake another weekend, too. Let's enjoy the pictorial fun!
Madeleine, Marieve, and Nathalie on a very windy lake beach.
The girls test the water. I'm shivering just looking at the picture! Ooh! That's cold!
Madeleine and her cousins hit the waves! Ooh that's c-c-c-cold! (Notice M's new swimsuit!)
Doesn't she look all cozy, snuggly, and warm after her swim? Now, that's a satisfying day at the beach! July 8, 2008 Madeleine sure loves her grandparents. Check these out!
Madeleine is at rest on her grandmaman's lap on the couch. She sure looks safe, warm, and relaxed. It's much easier to be apart from her knowing that she's that well looked after.
This is one of my absolute favorite photos of Madeleine. She's riding in the truck like a big girl. I love how aware she looks and how sure of herself she seems. She obviously feels at home in her grandparent's house and in the truck.
Madeleine and her grandmaman run back from putting out the trash. What fun! I'll add a few more since I'll be out of pocket for so long.
Ever since the first one, she's been a balloon and bubble girl. Here she is in downtown Hearst enjoying the sights and sounds and hustle and bustle.
Madeleine and her cousine, Stephanie! They have so much fun together! What a great summer Madeleine is having with her family in Canada!
July 5, 2008 Here are a bunch more photos from Hearst courtesy of Mama Trio!
Tchad is the dog! He's a great dog -- intelligent, gentle, calm. And here Madeleine is SITTING on him and look at that face he's making! He's just letting her sit on him... well, because she is.
I love this picture! Look at the expression on Madeleine's face -- she's so happy to be laying there with Tchad. She's holding a Toupie doll in her hands. For those of you who don't know about Toupie et Binou, well, it's one of Madeleine's favorites. Toupie is so nice and so imaginative and Binou, well, is Binou a cheerful side kick. For those of you who don't want to follow the links, here's a pick:
Toupie is the rat in the striped shirt and Binou is a stuffed cat. Toupie imagines that Binou is animated and they go on all sorts of adventures together. They are just a happy happy pair spreading their own peculiar brand of joy wherever Toupie imagines they are.
July 4, 2008 These just in all the way from Hearst, Ontario!
Here are the young cousins eating a snack on their grandparent's porch. They are sitting in matching Dora the Explorer chairs that their grandmother bought them just for this purpose. I can't believe how big and mature Madeleine looks in this picture -- or that they're dressed so warmly in July! To paraphrase Dorothy, Toto, I've a feeling we're not in the tropics any more.
Madeleine pursuing her favorite pursuit, swimming, with one of her favorite cousins, Stephanie. She loves to go down the slide! Even though it isn't the Phu My Hung Pool (I still don't have that page working), it still looks like lots of fun was had by one and all.
And here is our nanny extraordinaire, Giang, doing what she does best -- cooking. Looks like she's whipped up a HUGE chicken pot pie! Hmmm... Looks like I've got something to look forward to when the Trio reunites later this summer, too. June 8, 2008 Où est le lézard ? Un safari de photo Today we had an extra special adventure in marshalltrio land! Today we were on the hunt for the wild and elusive gecko! As you may know, geckos are the ubiquitous lizard in Viet Nam and they inhabit every household in the land. Unlike other uninvited visitors to our abodes, geckos are as helpful as they are entertaining -- they eat bugs (!), the making a curious knocking sound, and they pop out and run across the walls at odd moments. It was just such a moment that inspired this safari! Out came the gecko! Out came the camera! And we were off!
June 1, 2008 Not to worry Madeleine fans! She awoke this morning rarin' to go and feeling her oats. We went to the pool like we usually do on Sunday mornings and she was independent as ever in the water. She'll be swimming before you know it! We met our friends Julie and her daughter Natasha there. Look for their pics soon on the soon-to-be-created Friends of Madeleine page. If you look closely, you can see pictures of Natasha on the Phu My Hung Pool page. I'm pretty excited about all of the ch-ch-ch-changes I've been able to make to the page today. Look for more this week because after that it's BANGKOK BABY and I'll keep posting irregularly but hopefully often, but can't promise much. May 31, 2008 Another week has gone by and every exciting moment and excruciatingly cute event has been overshadowed and pushed out of the first paragraph. Today, we went to brunch with some of the faculty at Mama Trio's school at a nice restaurant downtown, Au Parc -- one of our favorites. Our housekeeper/nanny extraordinaire, Giang, allowed us to drop Madeleine off at her house on our way to the restaurant and pick her up again in the mid-afternoon. Alas and alack, the description of Giang's abode will have to wait. Foil and fume, the discussion of Madeleine's musical ways is on hold. Drat and double drat, Madeleine's newest favorite TV show will be put off for another day. Because today saw the return of the dreaded... Oh it's too terrible to name! Mama Trio decided to stay in town to study Vietnamese before her class this eve, so I picked up Baby Trio from Nanny Trio's house. Madeleine was very happy to see me and joyously got into the taxi for the ride home. It was mid-afternoon and she hadn't napped yet, so I anticipated a little fussiness as we got closer to home, but never did I once dream... Mama Trio had bought Yo, Ye, and Madeleine a helium balloon each and I tied them around their wrists. Madeleine played with hers sang her latest favorite song, Low Rider, as we went. As we approached home, she would lay her little head on my lap. As we got very near home, she began to cry and fuss. I calmed and cooed her thinking that she was tired and wanted her nap. It wasn't until we pulled up in front of the apartment complex that the awful truth struck me. Just as I dared acknowledge what shouldn't ever have forgotten. Just as I began to articulate the thought, Is she car sick? Madeleine threw up! With a deft turn of my shoulders, I selflessly directed the vomitus onto my shirt. At a pause in the action and with slick flick of my wrist, I opened the door and leaned her adroitly out over the ground. There I held her while she shuttered, quaked, and heaved up the lunch our nanny extraordinaire, Giang, so lovingly made and fed her. It looked to be mostly rice and eggs, for those who were wondering, and I know you're out there. However, there are no pictures for those who were wondering and I know you're out there, too. Finally, Madeleine's stomach calmed, but of course she did not. The taxi driver for his part remained glued to his seat and did not try and help me with the bags that we always carry -- diaper bag, my bag, and a shopping bag. So, I had to lean in and carefully, less I spill any of her ex-lunch on his seats, slide them across the seat. The other door was locked and he wasn't making a move to open it. Then balancing baby, vomit, and bags, I carefully less I foul the money slid my money from my pocket and gave it to him. The rest is just banal detail. All in a day in a three year-olds life. P.S. I hate a post without a photo, don't you? So, here are a couple of random shots:
Madeleine and Mama Trio both looking particularly beautiful
Madeleine and one of her favorite rabbits -- of course every rabbit is Coco Lapin to her! May 25, 2008 Here are some of the latest events in marshalltrio land:
This is the puzzle in its completed form. You can see that the goal is to get the right colored pieces in numeric order. There are three possible puzzles -- red, blue, and purple.
This is Madeleine working the puzzle. She's got it down to the last piece. Off to the right you see one of the pieces from the other puzzles turned upside down. She's gotten good at picking out the right colored pieces and of course putting them in order.
And here she is counting the pieces after she's finished. There is an example of the blue piece on the left -- it is now turned right-side up and just behind her left ankle is an example of the red pieces. And in case you haven't guessed it, she loves her Legos.
May 17, 2008 So much happens everyday here at marshalltrio central that it is nearly impossible to keep up with. Yesterday (May 16, 2008) Josée and I were downtown in district 3 looking for apartments while our housekeeper/nanny extraordinaire, Giang, and her son, Ye, were looking after Madeleine.
Madeleine and Ye are great friends and play well together. When Josée and I returned Madeleine treated us all to a rendition of Jingle Bells in Vietnamese! Unfortunately, we couldn't get it on tape. Today, Josée brought an apple sorting game home from her school, Saigon South International School. Here, a picture is worth a thousand words:
I was shocked when she appeared to be adding! She had one apple in each little container. She put four more yellow apples into the central one. Then, she picked up four more and put them in the red one and four more in the green! Let's see if this video clarifies anything. Count the number of green apples and watch carefully as she picks up the yellow ones. Unfortunately, she gets distracted before she can do the red ones.
Counting Pommes
May 1, 2008 The first official blog entry from Viet Nam! The long wait is over! Unfortunately, this one will be short -- we've got lots to do here at Marshalltrio central including archiving the old blog entries and starting a new blog page. Until then, enjoy these pics and notes:
Is it Papa? Is it Madeleine -- I can't tell! Oh wait, where's the beard? It must be Madeleine!
Madeleine loves to help with the housework -- here she's helping mom mop the floors (pre-caustic cleaning solutions!)
M makes friends wherever she goes -- here she's enticed into a badminton game with a couple of local girls!
Want to check out the first
three
years?
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