Bat boy

Christmas 2008 in Dhaka

Twas the night before Christmas

Lily the elf

Enjoying some Christmas toys

Lily's first ride on her new tricycle

Jump, jump, jump, jump!!

Making our way down Road 5 for a Christmas visit with the Luby's

Two peas in a pod

Halloween

Spidey and the Butterfly Fairy

After the Halloween 5K, my first race in years...

Trick or treating at the US Embassy

Rickshaw trick-or-treat: Odin was quite unimpressed by the unauthentic Spiderman 'mask' that came with his costume. However, putting the nylon swim cap over his face was an acceptable fix.

Buddies

Odin and Lily are the best of friends... usually. Here are a few photos of them at their best.

Documentary interview

A few months ago I was interviewed as part of a Discovery Channel documentary on emerging viruses. This is one of the many 'takes' in various locations around Bangladesh. I hear the documentary was well done- still have to make time to watch it myself.

Go, Daddy! Go!

In November we enjoyed a fabulous beach vacation in Lombok, Indonesia. For the first time in a long time our 'holiday' actually felt like a vacation (see my post from last year's beach trip). But there was more to the trip than just sun and fun- Eric was there for a triathlon. An 1800 km swim, followed by a 25 mile bike and a 7 mile run in 95 degree heat. The Lombok triathlon is touted as one of the most beautiful and the most difficult triathlons in the world and delivers on both counts. But Eric had plenty or moral support to help get him through! Our dear friends Tara, Phil, Solene and Amelie joined us which made the trip even sweeter. Here are a few pictures from this family adventure:

Puri Mas Resort- a fabulous place to stay

Odin, getting into the holiday mood

Lombok island was formed by a volcano leaving black sand and steep mountains behind

Solene and Odin in the waves

Go, Daddy! Go!

Half way through the run

Lily and Amelie supporting Daddy and Baba

Sweet relief

Post-tri family portrait

Exploring the garden

My tired little travellers

Odin's birthday

Ok, his birthday was back in June, but I never posted any photos. Here's my happy boy on his happy 3rd birthday! I can't take credit for the lovely cake- it's the handiwork of our cook, Mina. What could be more fun for a 3 year old than cake, singing, and fire combined in one event?

Stranded in paradise

We recently went to Phuket, Thailand for a weekend beach get away. Local political demonstrations closed the airport and we were stranded in paradise for an extra day and a half. Doesn't get much better than that.

Claude the Yard Knome

Claude the Yard Knome visited us from a 2nd grade class in LaGrange, GA. We tried our best to show him a good time in Dhaka and then we sent him back to the class with photos and stories to share with the kids

Our children and house staff are familiar enough with the concept of Santa Claus to know that he wears a pointed hat and has a long white beard. They are not familiar enough with the concept, however, to distinguish Santa Claus from Claude the Yard Knome. The name similarities didn't help, either. So, they called him Santa Claus. Here are a few photos from Santa's visit.

When the cold is too hot

Sometimes, during the hot season, even the cold water it too hot for a bath. The water sits in a very long system of outdoor pipes and arrives in our house too hot for wahsing kids. No worries, though, we have ice. This is Lily and Odin preparing their bath by adding ice cubes.

Measuring up

We measure the passing of time by marking the height of our children on the wall. Odin decided that he wanted to get in on the action. He took responsibility for measuring Lily. Figuring out how to measure Dad was a little more challenging...

Odin and Solene

We so enjoyed a visit from some friends in May. Odin and Solene, who knew each other in infancy, became friendly again. Odin even agreed to show her his camera.

The double stroller

Since I became a mother, I've asked myself more than once, "Who am I?" I had another one of these moments when we purchased our first double stroller. I didn't recognize the woman pushing this contraption around the neighborhood. One part of me mourned my former identity, who used to travel light. The other part of me was simply thrilled with the notion of being able to stroll with both of my children at the same time.

Yoga-ing

I love to watch my kids strike yoga poses. They enjoy rolling out the mat to do "yoga-ing". They're both pros at downward dog, shown here.