Family Vacation to Huahin!
We left last Saturday afternoon to head to Huahin, Thailand for a little family vacation. We were able to stay at a hotel that was nice but very reasonably priced (cheaper by far than anywhere in America!!) and we had such a great time. Sterling enjoyed everything and as you can tell from the top picture, he was ready to hit the beach!

At the beach. The beach was nice at Huahin. It was really soft and Sterling liked to feel it with his toes and hands. We went on a walk one evening and there was a really pretty sunset on the beach.

At the pool- As we all already know, Sterling loves the pool. He had lots of fun swimming and playing and even getting dunked under water by his dad!

Sterling riding on the "Tuk Tuk"; a motorcycle with three wheels and a passenger area. He thought it was a lot of fun to have the wind in face.

Luke and Sterling enjoying a morning at Starbucks. Actually Sterling was really ready for his coffee. Just kidding.

Anyone a U2 fan??

Yes, it's true, we have our very own little Bono crawling around the house! We think Sterling looks just like him in his very cool shades. He got these as a present from our friends Jina and Travis.

Sterling in motion

Sterling has been trying so hard to crawl and his latest thing is to get in a push up position and just rock back and forth. It looks pretty funny with his little rear end up in the air :)

Fun at the Youth Center

I took these pictures last week when Sterling stayed and played all day at the youth center. As you can tell, by the late afternoon, he was totally out! The kids love to play with him though and we're hoping he might even pick up a little Thai :)

Stopping to smell the roses...or whatever kind of flower these are

Yesterday we went on a walk in our neighborhood. It started to rain, so we had to go inside, but I captured these moments before it poured.

Being Sterling

Sterling has been so cute lately. He's really starting to move around and get places. This top picture was taken in his room. He was playing in his bed and just being sweet. He chews on anything he can get his mouth on because he's cutting teeth. The second picture shows what he's been doing all the time since he got his first tooth- sucking on his bottom lip. I think he likes how it feels on his tooth. The bottom picture is him doing his army crawl- although he can only go backwards and in a circle (which can get really frustrating for a little guy who wants to go forward to get a toy!) Our floors are all concrete, so it's kind of slippery and he can't get much traction (not to mention that if he falls, it will definitely leave a mark!)

Water Park at the Mall Bangkae

We took the youth group to the water park yesterday. It is on top of the mall that is close to our neighborhood. It was a lot of fun and as you can tell, we all had to wear swimming caps! It was pretty hilarious, but I guess it's a rule. Sterling looked esp. funny in his bright pink one that he borrowed from one of the missionary's daughters. The top picture is a kid that has started to come to church named Dun. They all seem to really like Sterling.

Church

These are pictures that we took at church this morning. The youth led worship again this morning and did a great job. They continue to improve all the time because they are practicing so much. Sterling has started to go to class during church now, so these are pictures of him with his friends in Sunday school. He loved feeling like a big kid in the little chair. Even after the rest of the kids got down to play Sterling stayed in his chair playing!

The New and Improved Youth Center

These pictures were taken Sunday afternoon at the youth center. On Sundays we study through Proverbs with the kids and then they have the rest of the afternoon to hang out, do homework, play soccer, whatever they feel like. A team from Arizona came and helped us re-do the youth center and it looks great now! We have a soccer corner with a foosball table, a loft, cool couches, and soccer ball beanbags. The kids love it!

The Little Farmer

Luke is forever trying to get Sterling to look like a little farmer, so the other day he had him try on the Birt Farms hat. Luke thinks that before too long it will fit him...we'll see :) I think the bottom half of his face looks like his cousin Zion, does anyone else agree?

Siam Ocean World

These pictures were taken at Siam Ocean World, the largest aquarium in the Southern hemisphere. We had a lot of fun looking at all the different sea life. Sterling liked it a lot more than we thought he would- he just stared at all the different fish and seemed to enjoy it. Kacie was the least thrilled out of the three of us! We went with Nick and Rachel, so the top picture is all three of the kids looking at the fish together...well, Colette is looking at the fish, the boys are more interested in one another!

3 Months Apart...

These pictures are almost 3 months apart from each other. Hopefully you can see how much Sterling has grown from these pictures. He is really filling out clothes that are supposed to be fitting him right now, and some that are supposed to be too big. This is one of our favorite outfits. We think he looks like a little basketball player.

Trip to America

Well, we made it back to Thailand safely, thanks to the prayers of many of you! Sterling did so well with all of the traveling-- he was a little angel. Everyone on the different flights we had thought he was so cute and so great for traveling so well. We really enjoyed our time at home visiting with family and being in the wedding. We created some memories that will stay with us forever (but we do wish that Luke had been able to come!) All the pictures that follow are in the order that we did them, from first (California) to last (the 4-H fair). Enjoy!

California!

The first stop we made on our trip to America was a stop in San Francisco to see our friend Carolyn and her boyfriend Ben. Even though Sterling was seriously jetlagged, he had so much fun playing with them and seeing the sights of the city. Ben was a great babysitter while Kacie and Carolyn went to get pedicures :)

Visitors

Nathan, Jayme and Cameryn Rector came to visit us while we were home and we had a great time catching up with them. Then Sterling's grandparents Steve and Linda drove to see him too. He showed off all his cute tricks for them and we had a fun afternoon together.

Family Time

Sterling had a great time catching up with his family that he misses very much. These are just a few of the many pictures we took with family members. The top are his great grandparents, the next is his grandad Jerry and uncle Kyle, the next is Kacie's cousin Shane, then another with his grandad Jerry (in his very cute John Deere hat) and the last is with his aunt Kara.

The Wedding

The reason we went home was to go to Ashley Stout's wedding. We had a great time! Sterling loved getting all dressed up for the rehearsal and wedding. He looked very cute.

Sterling's first 4-H fair

Sterling spent most of his time at the fair once we got to Indiana. Kacie had to be at many different events for the wedding, so Sterling went with his grandparents and aunts and uncle to spend time with the cows and pigs! He really liked it all and never really got too scared at all the new, loud noises. The top picture is him and his grandad Jerry checking out the cows, then him and his grandma Karen watching his aunts show their cows. He had started to get a little bored so he was experimenting with new ways to stand! The middle picture is his aunt Kara holding him, and his uncle Kyle showing him the cows. The bottom picture is his aunt Kayla feeding him his bottle at the fair. All in all he had a fantastic time with his family!