The Joshua Blog

New Blog Address

2009-06-03T08:29:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a major update of our website and as a result the location of this blog has changed.

New blog address for The Joshua Blog:
http://dahlfred.com/blogs/the-joshua-blog

New feed address for The Joshua Blog:
http://dahlfred.com/blogs/the-joshua-blog?format=feed&type=atom

My apologies for the inconvenience of updating your settings but I have not been able to figure out how to redirect the old address to the new ones.

Playing in Daddy Car

2009-05-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

One of Joshua's favorite activities is to get into our car (known as "Daddy car") and pretend to drive. I roll down the windows and let him play to his heart's content as the car sits parked in our carport. Sometimes he is going to the supermarket, sometimes to church, or sometimes he is just wearing Daddy's driving sunglasses and making "vroom" sounds. I think the following picture captures a bit of Joshua's joy in playing in Daddy car.

Motorcycle Boy Drives Through Shopping Center

2009-04-18T00:47:00.000-07:00

Joshua loves vehicles of any kind and whenever he sees the bicycle section of the shopping center, he makes a bee-line for it, running as if a rabid dog were in close pursuit. When we were trying to leave the Big C shopping center the other day, Joshua saw these electric motorcycles for sale and couldn't resist. He couldn't actually drive it anyplace but in his imagination, I think he went quite far.

Tying the Apron Strings

2009-04-13T02:53:00.000-07:00

I had finished drying off Joshua after his bath and sent him on his way to find Mommy for his nightly post-bath naked hug. While he went and did that, I went into his room to arrange a few things. Joshua burst into the room, wanting to find his apron. This past year when we were in the States, he had gotten an orange apron from the Home Depot (see previous post). Joshua said, "I want to wear apron like Mommy". I helped him get the apron over his head and barely restrained Joshua long enough to tie the apron strings before he ran off to the kitchen to find Mommy who was washing dishes in Mommy's apron. Mommy was wearing an apron so Joshua thought he should wear his apron too. It didn't occur to him as anything odd that he wasn't wearing anything except an apron.

Look Daddy! We're both wearing aprons!

The naked apron boy cheerfully grants a photo

Making Music

2009-03-05T19:39:00.001-08:00

Joshua is developing into a little musician. Here are some photos and audio from his latest jam session. Click here to listen to Joshua sing the "Mommy Daddy" song. The lyrics go like this:

Mommy Daddy song,
Mommy Daddy,
Moses Dog,
Naa James,
Papa John

(N.B. "Naa" is a Thai word for "Uncle")

Joshua enthusiastically belts out the words to "Mommy Daddy Song" as he plays

This is how Joshua smiles for the camera when requested

Joshua Plays with Cars

2009-01-29T02:52:00.001-08:00

Joshua is a big fan of his toy cars so Mommy captured some nice shots of Joshua hard at play at home.

Joshua looking very proud of his cars and trucks neatly lined up

Uncle James (black pick-up) and blue car follow monster truck and taxi

Joshua blesses his cars with a sacred anointing of power to ensure that they don't break when he hurls them to the ground.

The Little Prince

2009-01-28T23:21:00.001-08:00

When we were up in Chiang Mai recently we took some family photos at a shop that dresses you up in traditional Thai clothes with all the fixings. Joshua was quite a character and the photographer got some real nice shots.

I think the dragon was just for studio decoration and not really intended to be ridden like a rocking horse

The photographer's assistant was playing peek-a-boo with Joshua to try to get him to look at the camera. Monkey see, Monkey do.

Joshua and Mommy

Riding the Chinese dragon again

He's got some playful scheme up his sleeve. I know it.

Confusing the Biblical Narrative

2008-12-24T20:03:00.000-08:00

We're doing the best that we can to teach Joshua about God and what God tell us in the Bible but Joshua sometimes gets the details a bit turned around. He is only two and a half so we don't expect him to get it all right but sometimes his understanding of things are a bit comical. Last year we were given a Christmas tree ornament of Noah's Ark (Thank you Lord's Grace Christian Church!). It is a really fun ornament, three-dimensional with animals and Noah and company sticking out of it. We've read the story of Noah to Joshua from some children's story books and talked about it with him verbally. Unlike many kids books, we try to be faithful to the Biblical narrative and tell Joshua that God flooded the world in order to kill all the bad people who hated God and didn't want God's forgiveness. One morning recently, I came into the living room and saw Joshua playing with the Noah's Ark ornament on the tree, making it bob up and down and back and forth as if it is sailing in the ocean. I wanted to know what was going on that little head of his, so I ask him, "Joshua, where is Noah's ark going?" Without missing a beat or turning around to look at me, Joshua replies confidently, "kill the bad people." Oh really? Noah and the animals are on a mission to kill the bad people, are they? A bit of confusion about who is doing what and why in the story of Noah but we'll keep working on it.

In another episode of Biblical confusion, Joshua decided to add Puff the Magic Dragon to our nativity scene. There were already some sheep and camels on the scene so I suppose a dragon seemed appropriate. In due time, we will address not adding to or deleting from the Biblical account but for now, we're just glad that he is participating with us as we try to remember Christ's birth. And we are enjoying the fact that Joshua is an active little boy with an active imagination.

Interview with Joshua

2008-12-12T03:51:00.000-08:00

This past month I was testing out a voice recorder program on the computer to use for Thai language study when Joshua came running into the office. Seeing the computer open, he immediately demanded to see pictures. Previously, I had gathered pictures of cars, dogs, airplanes and other fun things off of the Internet for Joshua to look at on the computer so that is the only reference point that Joshua has for what a computer is used for. Seeing an opportunity, I picked him up, put him on my lap, and put the newly downloaded voice recorder program to the test. Here is an MP3 of the results: Joshua requests pictures

Joshua had so much fun listening to his own voice, that he keeps requesting to listen to himself on the computer. He especially gets a kick out of the "poo-poo pictures" question. He has requested to hear himself so much, that I decided to make another recording of his voice with some more formal interview questions, including his name, his parents' names, and the first two questions from the Catechism for Young Children (a simplified version of the the Westminister Shorter Catechism). Joshua beat me to the punch on the second question, though and answer before I asked. You can listen to it for yourself though: Joshua interviewed about his name, parents' names, and life & the world

Joshua En Route

2008-10-06T00:21:00.001-07:00

Flying with Joshua is always an interesting experience. Sometimes challenging. Sometimes frustrating. Sometimes fun. Always tiring. By the time we got to our second layover in Tokyo, we were feeling pretty drained as we waited for our flight to Bangkok. Joshua was still a bundle of energy however, seeing as he had gotten more sleep on the plane than either Mom or Dad.

Joshua checks out the airplanes as we wait for our flight to Bangkok

Joshua tries to phone home from the Tokyo Airport. When asked who he was calling, Joshua replied, "Uncle James, Papa, Auntie Nancy, Uncle Bruce"

Joshua Loves Trains

2008-10-05T22:55:00.000-07:00

Joshua loves trains. In early September, we took a drive with Karl's Dad to Conway, NH for a ride on the Conway Scenic Railroad. Joshua thought that the big trains were great and before the end of the ride we had him pulling his hand down pretending to blow the train horn and saying "Choo-Choo". In the weeks following our train ride, Karl ordered a bunch of wooden trains for Joshua to play with. They are rather difficult to find in Thailand, so we made sure we stocked up before flying out. Pictures of Joshua playing with the wooden Thomas trains are down below, after the Conway Scenic Railway pictures.

Joshua and Mommy pose in front of the train before our ride

Waving at Mommy

Joshua with Grandpa (or "Papa John" as Joshua calls him)

Waiting onboard for the train to pull out

Daddy & Joshua spot something exciting at a railroad crossing

Joshua carefully links up the trains. Getting the magnetic poles going in the right direction occassionally poses a problem for him.

Joshua pleased as punch

Joshua enjoys making his trains as long as humanly possible, despite encouragement from Dad to make more manageable shorter trains

Daddy and Joshua look intently in Farmer McColl's Pig Shed to see if the pig is at home (the observant viewer will notice the pig on the train in the foreground)

Home Depot Kids Workshop

2008-09-06T09:22:00.001-07:00

Joshua had great fun building a wooden planter at Home Depot's Kids Workshop, which they apparently offer for free on the first Saturday of every month. He got a little apron and a certificate of achievement, besides the fun of building the planter (with a little help from Mommy, of course)

Joshua and Mommy show off for Daddy their handiwork at Home Depot

Joshua demonstrates how he hammered in the nails to make his planter. "Bang! Bang! Bang!" yells Joshua.

Joshua the Motorboat

2008-08-28T05:54:00.000-07:00

Last week we went up to a lake in Laconia, NH to see family and Joshua had a good time playing in the water. The water was cool so we were really happy that he warmed up to it. Here are a few pictures and a video of Daddy helping Joshua pretend that he was a motorboat.

Joshua uncertainly tests the cool lake water

Joshua plays trucks with Auntie Elizabeth

Daddy helps Joshua to be a little motorboat

Joshua Flies with Joey the Eagle

2008-08-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

Joshua had a good time flying on eagle's wings in Grandpa's backyard in New Hampshire. Karl's dad named the antique stone eagle "Joey" for Joshua's enjoyment. As you can see, Joshua and Joey get along splendidly.

The Random Thoughts of a Toddler

2008-07-09T12:19:00.000-07:00

What's going on in there? Before they can talk, it is often a mystery as to what babies and little kids are really thinking about. As Joshua has become much more verbal in the past month or so, we've gotten some really unique insight into what is going on in that little brain. Every so often, he will blurt out something completely unrelated to what's going on or where he is. Here's some examples:

I was changing his diaper on the floor of his room and Joshua blurts out "chipmunk". Apparently he was thinking about the chipmunks that run around in my Dad's backyard.

We were driving down the street and Joshua announces "airplane, airplane". We looked out the windows and up into the sky to see if Joshua had seen an airplane but we couldn't see anything. Maybe the mere sight of the sky reminded Joshua of airplanes. It's hard to know.

More than once during bathtime, Joshua has laid down on his stomach, extended his arms in front and his legs behind, and said, "Elmo swim". Taking a bath must have reminded him of Elmo swimming in the video that we borrowed from the library. Why Elmo swimming is so memorable (as compared to all the other things that he has seem Elmo do on the small screen) is a mystery to us.

As Joshua becomes more verbal and able to articulate, he is becoming much more fun and communication is less of a chore. Of course, he is able to be more demanding in specific ways as well. More than once, both Sun and I have had Joshua come up to us while we are reading a book and, putting his hand on the book to shut the cover, says, "Close it. All done." This, of course, means that he wants us to do something else and that reading time is over.

The Bubble Chaser

2008-06-23T14:56:00.001-07:00

Sun took Joshua out into the front yard of my Dad's house in New Hampshire to see if he would enjoy a bubble wand that someone had given to us. Joshua had a great time trying to chase down the bubbles but he wasn't quite grasping the technique of how to wave the wand to produce bubbles.

Joshua chasing bubbles as they are carried away by the wind

Sun instructs Joshua in the fine art of waving the bubble wand to produce big fun bubbles

Video: Joshua pursues bubbles across the yard

Joshua Learns to Pedal

2008-05-13T06:39:00.000-07:00

A month ago, Joshua was unwilling and unable to pedal his little tricycle and now he has blown us away by cruise around on a regular bike with training wheels. We never even thought he could do this so we hadn't even considered buying him a bike. However, this past week we were down at the OMF Bangkok mission home for a Church Planting workshop and Joshua floored us by scrambling onto one of the children's bikes in the play area and... Woosh! Off he went!

Here's some pictures (and a video!) of the momentous occasion:

Joshua goes to the Beach

2008-04-07T06:41:00.000-07:00

Joshua had lots of fun playing on the beach during our most recent trip to OMF's holiday home in Southern Thailand. He is still a bit shy of the waves and doesn't like getting his hands dirty with wet sand but he had a good time walk and running around with Mommy and Daddy, not to mention Pepsi the dog.

Joshua doesn't like the waves much. Look at the expression on his face as we hold him in place for this picture.

Joshua had a great time running with Mommy (and sometimes running after Mommy or being chased by Mommy)

We often have no idea what he is pointing at.

Joshua is really fond of dogs and makes a bee line for dogs of any kind (including pictures of dogs). In this picture, Joshua has managed to catch up with Pepsi, one of the friendly dogs who live at the OMF holiday home.

Joshua has spied Daddy making a funny face behind the camera.

During our holiday, we went for a walk on the beach each evening after dinner until it was time to go back to give Joshua his bath and put him down to sleep for the night.

Joshua in Action

2008-02-13T05:47:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from our trip to the playground at the nearby Lopburi Zoo. It is a very small zoo but the playground was big enough for Joshua to have a grand time.

Here are some pictures from our time at the OMF home in Southern Thailand this past January. Joshua found plenty of things to keep himself occupied.

There is a decent aquarium near the OMF holiday home. Joshua was awed by this fact.

Joshua and Mr. Elephant go for a drive in our hallway at home in PraBaht

Joshua Unwraps Gifts

2007-12-29T01:36:00.000-08:00

Mommy and Daddy each had a few gifts but Joshua was the big winner as far as Christmas gifts this year. Actually, we hardly bought him anything all, but other people, especially Grandma, showered gifts upon our little man. Last year, Joshua didn't know what to do with gifts except stare at them and tap the box but this year his ripping and tearing skills were much better developed.

Joshua tears into his first gift from Grandma

"This box is much harder to remove than that wrapping paper. I just want my train."

With some unboxing help from Mommy & Daddy, Joshua finally gets his train out of the box and goes to town

Joshua talks on his new cell phone while tearing into another gift

Joshua got "Mr.Bear" from a little girl at church. With three AA batteries in the bottom of his plastic raft, Mr. Bear paddles in circles on the floor, complete with flashing orange headlights and an indecipherable song than plays in a loud endless loop. This Winnie the Pooh rip off is a big hit with Joshua.

Joshua checks out the genuine article Winnie the Pooh that Daddy got for him. It appears that Joshua is examining something unusual on Pooh's backside.

"Uh, what's in the bag, Dad?"

Looking into an empty plastic bag, Joshua feigns disinterest in the exciting wooden car that Daddy got for him as Daddy removes the tag.

Tricycle Boy Exhausts Father

2007-12-13T05:20:00.000-08:00

Joshua boldly prepares to ride his tricycle all over the house and back again, riding laps around exhausted parents

Joshua checks his trunk to make sure he has jumper cables in case of an emergency

Joshua cries out with a warrior yelp before slamming an orange plastic ring into the trunk.

An exhausted Dad is unable to keep up with Joshua's non-stop energy

Dad: "So tell me, Joshua - why have you flipped over the tricycle again after I've uprighted it about four times already?"

First Words & Ketchup

2007-10-15T07:13:00.000-07:00

Do you know what a TCK is? TCK means third culture kid and is coming to replace the term MK (missionary kid). Joshua is a TCK. A TCK is a kid who grows up somewhere between one culture and another, not really feeling fully at home in any culture. Along these lines, Joshua is making an interesting beginning in life as he interacts with us and the world around him here in Thailand.

We are still waiting for his first English words but he has a few Thai words that are very clear and very frequent. Although we think he has said "Dad", "ball", "amen" and "book", all of these have been one time occurrences. His favorite word is "nam" which is the Thai word for water. However, he uses it not only when he wants water, but when he wants milk, or grilled pork sticks, or sticky rice, or that tasty cherry children's Tylenol, or the toy we stuck on the top shelf, or just about anything. And sometimes he just wants water. We'd love for some English words to come out too, and eventually they will. In the meantime, Dad is just about pulling out his hair trying to figure out what kind of "nam" he wants - Is it water? or a toy? or that other toy? or just to get down from his feeding table? or is he just saying it to practice? Nam, nam, nam, nam, nam....

As part of my campaign to help prepare Joshua for the United States, I decided to introduce some typical American foods to his diet. Although grilled pork sticks and sticky rice seem to be his favorite food, I have sucessfully introduced hot dogs, ketchup, and Oreos. One morning I made pancakes for our family but with Joshua, they were a complete flop. He batted them away, saying "mai ow" (Thai for "I don't want any"). "Mai ow" is another favorite phrase and I am sure that with time he will also become adept at using "mai ow" 's English counterpart, "No". Our hope is that he will grow up and be able to speak both Thai and English fluently, but we'll have to wait and see how that goes. Some kids take to their parents language and reject the language of the host culture, some embrace both, and some fall somewhere in between. In the meantime, I still need to figure out what kind of "nam" he wants now.

The Fanmaster

2007-08-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

One of Joshua's latest games is to turn the fan on and off. We have a few tall floor standing fans and Joshua loves to squat down and press the buttons on the fan, usually number "0" or "3" always leaving the fan off when he is finished playing. I am sure he is enjoying exploring his world but it is frustrating when I turn on the fan and then go and sit down across the room only to have Joshua pitter patter over and turn off the fan. I'll tell him, "Joshua, please turn on the fan" but usually to no avail. He'll hit "3" and the fan will whir for 5 seconds and then he'll hit off. They on again, then off again. Then he leaves it off and goes to play with something else so I get up and turn it on. But, ah, since Daddy has taken an interest in the fan Joshua returns to the fan again - 0....3...0...3....0.....3....0 until he is bored. I love our little boy and I am glad he is learning about the world around him and he sure is cute but Thailand sure is hot and I would really enjoy having that fan on. Lord, give me patience.

Rub-A-Dub-Dub...

2007-08-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

...that's baby in the tub! Joshua has a great time climbing in and out of these plastic tubs that we bought. We were going to use them for something else but now they are just his toys. Even better than just sitting in the tub is filling the tub with all his toys at the same time he is sitting in it.

We also recently got him a toy dump truck because he enjoys putting his wooden blocks into containers so much that I thought a dump truck would be the perfect toy for hours upon hours of loading and unloading.

Joshua the Builder

2007-07-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

Joshua is having a great time in our new home, running around and getting his hands into everything. It is taking me forever to put those child latches on cabinets in the kitchen because the latches just aren't designed for the type of cabinets available here in Thailand. However, we've got at least *some* latches in place so he no longer plays with the cooking oil and soy sauce bottles. When he is not opening doors that he shouldn't, Joshua especially loves carrying tubs, buckets, coolers, and other large objects around the house. The bigger the better. Then he stacks them up or tries to get inside of them. Here's some recent pics.

I know that I left some blocks down here someplace.

Ahh, there's those blocks that I've been looking for. I knew I put them in the cooler.

Rub a dub dub, baby's in the tub.

Let's see how high I can stack these up before they fall on me.

Daddy's photo shoot comes to an end as Joshua spots the camera.