Attention

I get quite a lot of it from people here, but today was a first...An older man saw me chase the monkeys and seemed to take great delight in me. He tried touching my cheeks, which I don't really like, but then he pulled out a rupee coin and handed it to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek!

Some Things I Like & Some I Don't

I like saying new words. It gets a good reaction from all the adults!

I really like momos. They taste really good, but I don't like the spicy sauce on them.

I like Muna Didi a lot. She is very nice to me, and she cooks yummy food.

Most of the time I like dal baat, even if we do have it every day for lunch.

I really, really like Muna Didi's banana bread, and she's making some right now! :)

I like Higher Ground cafe and the bakery. They have yummy treats, and the cafe has toys to play with.

I do NOT like the milk here. They tell me it's from a water buffalo. I wish they would milk a cow.

I do NOT like the crowded streets. They scare me. Lots of random cars and motorcycles and bikes and people swerving all around and lots of noise.

I do not, as I mentioned before, like all the random people touching me.

I do not like that I'm not allowed to pet any of the dogs & cats here. They're everywhere! How do they expect a guy not to touch them?! Mom says I can't pet them if they don't have owners. I DID get to pet one dog the other day. His name is Jerry, and he lives at the Vineyard. Couldn't contain myself and had to shriek with delight a bit. I've been bottling up all this desire to pet something! There is a cat that seems to live at our house...not in it, but at it. I desparately want to pet him. Mom says I can only say hi. Look at him. He looks so nice, doesn't he?

Personal Space

Everyone here wants to touch me.
Everyone.
And they like to get up very close in my space.
Not sure I like that yet. I like my space.

First Day in Kathmandu

I (Rachel) will try to capture the highlights of Isaiah's first day in Kathmandu...
He woke up at 7:00 and was eager to see Tom and Alana. He has been magnetically attached to Alana today and kept very close tabs on her all day!
Explored the apartment and checked out the various rooms. He's sleeping on his blow-up bed in our room for the first stretch of days here, but he seems to like his room and was eager to play with some of his stuff. We put up his helicopter wall sticker right away, which made him pleased.
He met Moona Tamang, our house didi, when she came, and he frequently shadowed her throughout the day to see what she was doing.
The pressure cooker was completely fascinating and on the edge of being a little terrifying with its frequent forceful spewing of steam.
He wasn't too sure about dal baat at lunch, which is the standard Nepali lunch of dal (lentils), rice, and some sort of vegetable curry type of dish. Penguin and Big Bear had to try it, and once they each "ate" a couple of bites, he seemed more convinced and enjoyed his lunch.
He took a super long nap, despite the crazy loud construction happening right outside our window! We actually had to wake him so that he wouldn't get his nighttime sleep all afternoon and be awake at night. He didn't wake up easily but was happy to see Tom & Alana out on the porch and thoroughly enjoyed one of the cinnamon rolls Moona Didi made.
We put on his rain boots and rain jacket and headed to the main road to check out a bit of what is there. It's monsoon season, so there is a lot of rain--not that hard at any time but much of the day. Since there are few stretches of actual sidewalk, it makes for a combination of a frustrating and delightful walk for a toddler. His rainboots are a bit too big, and the muddy uneven ground can be really difficult for him to actually make his way through, but it also is quite fun for a little LA boy who almost never sees rain to stomp in a big puddle and make a big splash! He also really enjoyed holding the umbrella.
We ate at an Indian restaurant, and the lack of sleep hit him, and it was a rough dinner. None of the food was that spicy, but for him, it seemed upsetting. He was excited about the momos, which he has had before, but the sauce was spicy, so he cried. Then, even without the sauce, every time he would take a bite, he would fake cry and flop into me to get a big hug. It's a lot for a little guy, and it was a bit past his threshhold. We opted for a taxi to bring us back home!
He was very overdue for a bath when we got back to the house. I wasn't too sure how he would react to his first bucket bath. We will likely get a big plastic wash bin for him to use to sit in for baths, but we don't have one yet, so it was just the usual scoop and pour situation. He thought it was hilarious and wanted to keep scooping up cups full of water to dump on himself. He usually didn't get it all the way to the top of his head, so he'd end up with a face full and sputter some and then grin and say, "Funny" and go for more!
He's not too fond of the milk so far.
He woke up just a bit ago (it's 3:20 in the morning here! :( ) and said, "Done." Thankfully, he very patiently laid back down in his bed and waited and tried to go back to sleep. It took a bit, but he's back asleep soundly now. His bed is tucked between the edge of our bed and the wall, so he seems to be doing well with it.
It was a big day for Isaiah! It was a big day for us! A lot to adjust to and sleep to catch up on!

So Many Changes

I turned two this weekend.
We are leaving in three days to fly far away. Not sure all of what that means yet, but my home seems different, and people are all acting different.
Lots of changes for a little guy to digest.