Our Son Rises in the East

2009-02-27T21:20:00.002-05:00

You can bring a horse some water, but. . .

2008-11-21T20:43:00.007-05:00

Kieran's love for horses continues. He hasn't stopped saying "neigh"since the moment he heard it. We bought him this rocking horse prior to the adoption. One day we decided to check out a well known antique market nearby. We've never looked at antiques before or since that day but when we saw this horse, we just knew it was something we wanted to have. It came from India and the carvings in the wood are really nicely done. I despise plastic toys so it was a great way to have a large toy for Kieran that we loved to look at. We are so grateful that Kieran appreciates it too - even if it isn't for the same reasons.

Kieran finally acknowledges that not all animals say neigh. Trust me - that took a while. However, he remains on a vigilant watch for any sign of a horse no matter where we are.

Here he is giving his horse some water. Too bad, his thirsty puppy was also waiting for that bowl of water.

And that will be enough water for the horse. . . I guess Kieran will drink the rest.

Oh yes we did

2008-11-05T13:11:00.004-05:00

What an emotional but wonderful day it has been. Though I lost my voice making 150 or so calls yesterday to get people to the polls, I can't think of any cause more worth it. I volunteered for several days and did some canvassing but I always end up thinking that I should have started earlier. Obama didn't carry Georgia but I guess we knew that was unlikely.

How refreshing it will be to have someone who is intellectually curious and who is concerned with facts. I know that the most important quality that George W lacked is one thing I think Obama excels at - LISTENING! George W always said he didn't get caught up in the facts (a sentiment echoed by McCain with his selection of Palin.)

What I admire about Obama is that he is decisive but open minded. Bill Clinton said that when dealing with the recent economic crisis, Obama consulted several financial experts. He asked them to tell him what was the right thing to do. Selling the idea to others would come later. I'll bet that George W never said anything like that. Bye Bye Bush.

YES WE CAN

2008-11-03T23:44:00.004-05:00

I've been a little preoccupied with the election lately. While politics may seem to be off topic, it has been such a significant part of our lives for the past 8 years that we couldn't exclude it from any journal of our lives. Kieran will grow up knowing that his parents wanted the best for him and that must include creating an environment where he is safe, educated and open minded.

When we adopted Kieran, it was with the hope and intention that we'd be able to provide a great life for him. George W has tied our hands in many ways and we feel compelled to do what we can to make things better. What George W has done to this country is beyond heartbreaking.

Our unwavering support for Barack Obama stems from our desire for Kieran to see that consistently working hard and taking the high road really can pay off. George W inspired those who didn't work hard, didn't try to do what was right and didn't accept responsibility for their mistakes. Barack Obama provides the hope that we can get through the mess George W left us. Better days are ahead. . . IF we all start making better decisions. In my opinion, voting for Barack is a step in the right direction.

2008-10-20T13:07:00.001-04:00

Pumpkins and Ponies

2008-10-13T22:43:00.003-04:00

We just returned from a trip to Long Island to visit my parents. Santosh is working in Boston during the week and made it down to LI to visit us for the weekend. My mom planned a visit to White Post Farms for us all. Kieran had a great time. He enjoyed the moon bounces, the pumpkin patch, the slides and the petting zoo. However, the real reason we went was so that Kieran could see and ride a pony. Kieran is really fascinated by horses. A few months ago we taught him that horses say neigh. He hasn't stopped saying it since. He loves to wear horses on his clothes and one day when he had a plain shirt on and I had a little Ralph Lauren horse, he pointed at it and said, "neigh" and then looked at his shirt. I told him he didn't have a "neigh" on his shirt today and he started to cry! A few days later, Ralph Lauren had a huge sale and we are stocked up on "neighs" for the winter.

For a while Kieran also insisted every animal said neigh. Now he has admitted that cows, ducks, pigs and lions do not all say neigh and is back to reserving this just for horses (and anything that looks like a horse - so for now a zebra or pony have to be "neighs" too.) Strangely, Kieran has no interest in saying the word dog. He loves Durban but has no interest in calling him by his name. Durban doesn't bark much either so I think telling him that dogs say "woof woof" seems like a lie since his dog certainly does not. I really expected Kieran to fall in love with dogs since he has such a wonderful best friend in Durban. How many dogs will lie still so you can climb on them to reach what you need? So for now, Kieran's favorite "pet" is his rocking horse.

2008-09-25T22:18:00.006-04:00

The words are coming. . and are accompanied by a touch of attitude!

2008-08-31T23:14:00.004-04:00

Kieran's never been much of a talker. His sign language has always been fabulous, however. He easily signs things such as milk, more, eat, grapes, eggs, rice, cookie, book, shoes, dog, love, swing, diaper, bath, and several other words I'm not thinking of right now. He's always been very excited to learn new signs and loves that it often gets him what he wants.

"Mamma" came quickly, "dadda" did too but has been replaced with Ba for some reason. If I say, "Daddy's home" Kieran runs to the stairs, peers over and yells, "BA!!!" So it seems he really does know who daddy or dadda is but simply prefers to call him Ba.

Kieran said "uh oh" a long time ago but it never reappeared until a week ago. Now he says it every time something falls - even when he throws it. It's as if he gets it that we don't scold him for accidents (or 'uh ohs'.)

Sometime in July, Kieran developed a fascination with bubbles. We bought several bubble making toys and one day he just said it without prompting and hasn't stopped. He followed that up with "dirty" from a Dr. Seuss book on opposites. No interest in the word "clean" unfortunately. This is strange since he is very picky about the cleanliness of his home and often points out where I need to vacuum or where he or Durban have left a mess.

The video attached is from early August.

I was trying to get Kieran to speak on camera but was having no luck. I expected so much enthusiasm from him at the sound of the word bubbles and the reaction couldn't have been further from that. This is the first time he's said "NO" and it was in such a sarcastic and dismissive way that I couldn't help but laugh at him. It's as if you can tell he's rolling his eyes at me too.

2008-08-07T23:38:00.001-04:00

Natural History Museum

2008-07-10T14:44:00.003-04:00

Here are some photos taken at the Natural History Museum here in Atlanta. They had a great exhibit on Antarctica and there were lots of fun activities for kids. We couldn't resist dressing Kieran in the Penguin costume.

2008-06-17T10:20:00.001-04:00

Memorial Day Weekend at Jekyll Island Resort

2008-05-27T20:27:00.007-04:00

We had a wonderful weekend at Jekyll Island. Our friends Stacey and Matt were married at the Jekyll Island Club and it was really gorgeous. We hadn't seen Santosh's friends from Business School in a long time so we really had a great weekend. Though highly unusual for us - there were really no glitches along the way for this trip. Kieran even slept most on the way there and there was no traffic. We haven't seen a lot of the rural areas of Georgia either and our route was primarily on local roads. I'm shocked by the number of people who park in the middle of their front lawns. I've never seen that before. By the way, Pinetucky, Georgia is exactly what you'd expect it to be just hearing the name.

This was the first time we left Kieran with a babysitter and went out. It was a bit tough on him since he seems to be a little clingy these days. I think he was probably ok a few minutes after we were gone. Luckily our room was at the hotel where the reception was held so we were able to take him to the cocktail hour. Of course Kieran used this opportunity to beg for food so it probably looked like we've never fed him. I'm sure the caterers didn't account for a 17 month old eating 3 pieces of quiche by himself.

Since Kieran is an old pro at the beach, he was excited to play in the sand and get in the water. Never one to reinvent the wheel, he opted to "remodel" another child's sandcastle rather than constructing his own. Luckily that child had left already. It was his own Extreme Sandcastle Makeover but this version only focused on demolition.

We bought Kieran a little inflatable boat for the pool that was a lot more difficult to inflate than we had anticipated. He definitely enjoyed it though because it made him feel very independent

If only he did windows too

2008-05-19T22:31:00.004-04:00

Woo Hoo - the neat freak tendencies are showing up more and more often these days. I found a way to modify the Swiffer so it is the perfect size for Kieran. Of course he stops playing with it as soon as I attach the cloth. So last time I posted, I think I was still frustrated that Kieran seemed to think that his toothbrush should be stored brush side down into the diaper genie. Well, he's continued to work on his sense of humor.

A few weeks ago, Kieran was trying to be helpful and he put a bag of small potatoes in my enormous purse when i put it down to pay for the groceries. He loves to rearrange whatever I put in the shopping cart. I was busy that day and the purse was already full so I didn't see them until I had finished running errands. So imagine me holding Kieran (by the end of any shopping trip - he's jumping out of the cart), I'm pushing the full shopping cart (oh and since I don't have time to work out - I park at the last spot and grocery store and push the cart uphill) and I'm carrying the purse of potatoes. He couldn't have put the cilantro in there? Not this kid.

Kieran at play

2008-05-05T21:47:00.006-04:00

Here are some photos of Kieran at a local playground. They have lots of toys there so the kids love to go try out new stuff. Of course when we go out to buy the toy he was in love with at the playground - he wants nothing to do with it. Of course as a germaphobe, it's tough to watch him touching all these toys that have never been cleaned.

Kieran really loves the swing - the higher the better.

It's amazing that I was able to photograph Kieran in the car. As soon as I placed him inside, he tried to escape by crawling out on the other side (and since the door is not on that side - he tried to get squeeze through the window!)

Our little worker bee

2008-05-05T21:14:00.012-04:00

So Santosh is away and didn't get a chance to hand over the photos from our trip! Someday I will post photos of our trip. Long after anyone is interested in them (including me.)
He was actually busy baby proofing this weekend. We had to put locks on the kitchen and bathroom cabinets. In the kitchen, Kieran was constantly grabbing empty baby bottles and trying to drink them. It was so sad to see him trying to find milk in all those empty bottles. But of course we didn't want him getting into toxic chemicals in other cabinets.

It wasn't entirely driven by my own need to avoid feeling guilty that Kieran can't have milk all day. The bathroom locks were primarily necessary to prevent Kieran from stealing things from our drawers and putting them inside shoes. We have a lot of shoes and figuring out which lucky pair of loafers was hiding my much needed under eye concealer that day was getting tiring.

Here is Kieran trying to UNbabyproof.

While Kieran continues to refine his trouble making skills, he does seem interested in tidying up every once in a while. From what I've read, parents are supposed to encourage their kids to explore their interests and when they find something they like, practice makes perfect.

Hmm. . . bad outfit choice I think - it kind of looks like a mini janitor's uniform in this photo.

He's a Frat Boy already

2008-05-02T23:07:00.008-04:00

"He is such a boy." We hear this all the time. Whether Kieran is burping at a restaurant while flirting with the waitress or giggling while he's passing gas as the babysitter holds him, this kid already has a lock on frat boy behavior.

Perhaps I'm just delusional about little girls, but they seem so much more refined even at such a young age. The other day, we caught Kieran sharing his toothbrush with Durban. Both of them just love to brush so it's tough to keep them from stealing the other's toothbrush. That was the end of that toothbrush. Then the next toothbrush went missing. Hmm. . . I looked in his usual hiding spot - inside Santosh's left Timberland shoe. I found a lipstick of mine but no toothbrush. I moved on to Kieran's second favorite hiding spot - the trash. Nothing. Later in the day, I noticed the diaper genie lid was open. When I went to close it, I saw the toothbrush planted firmly inside. It's as if he had the forethought to leave a little of the handle showing so he'd get full credit.

Back in February, we found Kieran walking around as he tried to drink from an empty lemonade carton. I swear males are born this way. I'm beginning to see the nature vs nurture debate a little differently. I know I didn't teach him these things! (As for Santosh, however, I still suspect he's egging Kieran on when I'm not looking.)

I work so hard to raise a compulsive neat freak;)

I get very excited when I see even the slightest hint that Kieran might be showing signs of neat freak behavior. He has to know I'm not impressed by this behavior in the photos.

What's going on at home these days

2008-05-01T22:48:00.010-04:00

Well I still don't have access to all my photos from our trip. Once Santosh hands them over, I can post those. I also have to update the videos on here.

Kieran's been sick the past 2 weeks. He's had severe allergic reactions and we've been to the ER and the allergist with no luck. I'm obsessed with switching all cleaning products and keeping a food diary so hopefully we'll figure it out soon.

Poor little guy really loved his milk but it had to go for a while until we figure out what is causing him to get hundreds of hives and for his face to swell. Unfortunately, I taught him some sign language and he will not stop requesting the milk. He pumps his hand at me all day and even at strangers. I guess he thinks maybe they'll figure it out and help him.

Eventually, I think he's going to get carpal tunnel syndrome from doing this sign over and over. He's also really into the sign for bath. It should look like you were washing the sides of your stomach. Kieran's version is more like a modified chicken dance (and as with all of his dances, his feet never move - it's all about the upper body.) It's too cute to correct - especially since he giggles every time he does it or even when he sees the bathtub and wants to get in.

No new dance moves in his repertoire yet but his initial choreography was so impressive that we still enjoy watching him. I have to post some video. He's got some moves that resemble driving a car, the twist, the Wiggles Emu dance and of course everyone's favorite - the 2 second nap he takes in the middle of the song (he just lays down very fast and then jumps up again.)

He takes no requests and while he loves us to imitate him, he is smart enough to know that Santosh and I are not the ones he should be getting dance tips from. So he continues to choreograph his own routines. In South Africa, he enjoyed watching the video of him dancing and even did exactly the same routine 'live' while we watched the video.

His other areas of interest these days include imitating Durban when he digs through the dirt, picking up spiders and bugs, grabbing Durban's puffy tail and his favorite - exploring everyone's nostrils. Today we went into a shop and the owner's dog was under the counter. Kieran bent down and immediately stuck his finger as far into the dog's nose as he could. We've stopped asking, "Kieran, where is your nose?" in public because he'd just stick his finger as far up his own nose as he could and wait for everyone's reaction.

Kieran at the Beach in Durban

2008-04-06T23:04:00.004-04:00

Hysterical Bumper Stickers

2008-04-04T21:41:00.007-04:00

Some of my favorites. I have to laugh about the mess we are in sometimes or I'll go crazy.

1. They Call Him "W" So He Can Spell It
2. We Need a President Who's Fluent In At Least One Language
3. Bush, Like a Rock - Only Dumber
4. That's OK, I Wasn't Using My Civil Liberties Anyway
5. Let's Fix Democracy in this Country First
6. If You Can Read This, You're Not Our President
7. Hey, Bush Supporters: Embarrassed Yet?
8. George Bush: Creating the Terrorists Our Kids Will Have to Fight
9. America: One Nation, Under Surveillance
10. Bush: the End of an Error
11. Jail to the Chief
12. Bush: God's Way of Proving Intelligent Design is Full of Crap
13. Bush Doesn't Care About White People, Either
14. When Bush Took Office, Gas Was $1.46
15. Pray For Impeachment
16. What Part of "Bush Lied" Don't You Understand?
17. One Nation Under Clod
18. 2004: Embarrassed. 2005: Horrified. 2006: Terrified
19. Bush Never Exhaled
20. At Least Nixon Resigned
21. My child is an honor student. My President is a Moron
22. George Bush: Not a Crackhead anymore

Back from the ER and it wasn't for Kieran

2008-04-03T23:28:00.005-04:00

Well, Kieran and I are supposed to be back in Atlanta but yesterday was a tough day to say the least.

I ended up tripping on one of the large suitcases while carrying it down the stairs. I knew something was wrong when I absolutely could not get up. My mom finished packing the car in a hurry and I planned to try to get to the airport and ice the ankle on the way. I was debating whether I should go to the hospital in NY or wait until I got to Atlanta since my ticket was non refundable.

Fifteen minutes into the trip, we realized we had a flat tire so there was my answer. We then found out that we were on a State Parkway and AAA doesn't service breakdowns or flat tires on a State road - who knew? It just wasn't my day.

So we finally made it to the emergency room. Of course I had no proof of insurance since Santosh started a new job the day prior and I didn't have a card with me. Luckily everyone at the hospital was very nice and luckily it was only a bad sprain.

So now I'm resting back on Long Island waiting for the ankle to heal before I head back to Atlanta and our home with 6 staircases. Right now it's blue. I guess when it turns a lovely shade of purple, I'll know I'm closer to being healed. Right now it's too swollen to wear shoes or do too much.

Kieran has been strangely cooperative. It's been very odd. He's still running around but the worst thing he did was steal chocolate. Usually, he's trying to chew on electrical wires or something that really scares me.

We'll attempt another flight on Saturday.

Since I have to elevate my foot, I'll hopefully have more time to write about our trip tomorrow.

Can you spot what's wrong with this picture?

2008-04-01T22:00:00.004-04:00

At first glance, it may seem like a photo of Kieran and I that was taken 11 hours into a 13 hour flight home from Dubai. You may wonder why I didn't spruce myself up at all? Well, Santosh just couldn't take it anymore. He was so disturbed by the covered BODIES behind us that he had to have a photo of it.

At one point in the flight, we got out of our seats and most of the people behind us had the airline blankets completely wrapped around their heads and bodies. It looked like we were transporting dead bodies back home.

We asked the flight attendant about this and she assured us they were alive - or at least they were alive when they boarded the plane.

These two people who are covered were like that most of the flight.

He'll grow out of . . . .being Asian?

2008-03-28T21:19:00.006-04:00

While it is pretty uncommon for us to get any unkind comments, we obviously get a lot of strange looks from people who see the three of us together. Sometimes people look at Santosh, look at me, peer into the stroller and their eyes bug out when they see that it's a Vietnamese baby in the stroller. In the US, everyone seems to look away immediately or say something such as, "I assume he is adopted."

However, in Dubai and South Africa, we noticed that people often assume Kieran is our biological child and therefore assume he is some freak of nature.

One person has stepped out ahead as the front runner in terms of ridiculous comments. Yes - even better than those who have asked us if we will tell Kieran he is adopted. Even better than those who really seem to believe us when we say, "Yeah so who knew that when an Irish Italian girl from Long Island and an Indian guy from South Africa would have a baby, he turns out Vietnamese." Too many people seem to be trying to think that through and it isn't as enjoyable when they don't get the joke.

While flying from Johannesburg to Dubai, an Indian man came up to Santosh and Kieran while they were walking around the plane. The Indian man took Santosh aside and said (in a reassuring tone,) "Listen, don't worry about this. Our son also looked Asian when he was born and they grow out of it!!" 'They' refers to some Indian babies who are born with some subtle Asian features I assume. I know that's possible but Kieran is so clearly Vietnamese that it's hysterical that someone thinks it might just be something he might only be temporarily.

If there are any parents out there of Vietnamese kids who somehow "outgrew" their Asian-ness - please let me know!

We're Back. . .

2008-03-28T17:15:00.008-04:00

Well it's been a while since I've posted. I've had a long list of excuses but my computer died and we kept thinking we'd be able to rescue it. We've now given up. We went from four computers to one in a matter of 2 weeks. Also, my connection speed while in Dubai and South Africa didn't even permit emailing photos so uploading was a lesson in frustration. I've also struggled with where to pick up since so much has happened and I feel like I need to recap. I think I might be better doing that periodically. It's too overwhelming a task.

So, that said - we are now back from our trip to Dubai and South Africa. It was a busy month but we all had a wonderful time.

We start every trip from JFK so that required Kieran and I to fly from Atlanta to JFK and for Santosh to drive Durban from Atlanta to my parent's home in NY. Durban just loves the car but Kieran hates it. Seventeen hours of Kieran howling would not make for a pleasant drive so Santosh happily drops us off at the airport and has a peaceful journey with Durban as he looks out the window the entire trip.

Well, South Africa was fun and all went well. I will post more on that later. We had a professional photographer meet us all in the park in Durban one day (Santosh hometown and obviously the inspiration for naming our Wheaten Terrier.) We are just combing through those photos and I will post soon.

Dubai was definitely not what we expected. First of all, we were excited to see Dubai since Santosh had the option of going there for work for a few months and we had wondered if that was the right decision not to go. Though Santosh and I are pretty adventurous and would live almost anywhere - Dubai was not the place for us. It is not nearly as exciting as the travel brochures claim.

We did have a lot of fun and because there was so little to see in Dubai, we were able to laugh at how ridiculous it all was. We were lost most of the time. Somehow I always seem to figure out street signs and menus when abroad. Well, I guess I was more accustomed to romance languages. Arabic squiggles are neither intuitive nor easy to decipher while driving 120 km an hour. I'm posting some photos now and will come back tonight to post the details of our trip. Kieran is calling. . . .

The only 7 star hotel in the world. In case you are wondering, we didn't stay here. We were at the Sheraton in Downtown Dubai.

The gold souks were on the other side of the creek calling me to come visit. So close but we never made it.

This last photo was from the Mall of Emerites that houses not just the Gap and Saks Fifth Avenue but both a Dunkin donuts and Kripsy Kreme (nothing like going halfway around the world only to find the places that are right around the corner) but it happens to have an indoor ski slope. It was rather impressive. Then again, there's nothing much to see in Dubai so I was easily impressed.

New Blog Posts are coming

2008-02-04T13:54:00.000-05:00

I know it may appear we've forgotten about the blog. I've actually drafted several posts but have been a bit overwhelmed lately and have not published them yet. Weve been taking a lot of video and pictures and will post them soon.

I'm posting some photos and will publish posts later this week I hope.

In the meantime, please honor my request that nobody post comments asking me if I am interested in selling products to enhance parts of the male anatomy. For the record, I'm not interested and the chances of me changing my mind in the near future are fairly slim.

Comments from anyone else are always welcome.

Christmas

2008-01-07T23:16:00.001-05:00

So I'm posting this way after Christmas but felt it was worth documenting. I truly love Christmas and was very excited for Kieran's first Christmas. I did a lot of research and found the best Santa in town. This isn't your typical mall Santa - this dud is the real deal. The beard is real, the laugh is real and something tells me this guy gets a real kick out of that red felt getup he wears.

I made the apointment months in advance. Santosh took the day off from work. the sailor suit I dreamed he'd wear fit perfectly. We were on time and Santa was running on time. Santa's helper came over to greet us and Kieran flashed a killer smile. He was ready to go. We handed Kieran over to Santa's helper and he cuddled until it was his turn. I was so giddy. . . and then. . it all fell apart.

Santa was greeting Kieran with open arms but Kieran was having no part of this. He screamed from the time he got to Santa until the minute he was back in our arms. I bought the photo - even though I wasn't allowed to see it. As you can see - Santa looks great, doesn't he?

My mom asked why we didn't just take a picture with Santa's helper. You'd think that a setup like this with the perfect tree and the perfect Santa would have a picture perfect helper, right? Well, sort of. She was picture perfect alright. . if it was Playboy magazine. Somehow the only part of this scene that wasn't authentic was the bleach blond in a tank top who was pretending to be an elf. Kieran loved her of course (he always loves a blond) but somehow the moment was ruined and a photo in front of the tree with a girl who probably works at Hooters as her main career just didn't seem to be something that would salvage this mess.

Strangely Kieran was in a great mood and we had a lovely lunch after all of this.

Kieran's first trip to the dentist

2007-11-08T20:43:00.001-05:00

Well, Kieran survived his first trip to the dentist. He was really cooperative and everyone in the office was so impressed with how happy he was to show off his teeth (they got lucky - the pediatrician can't even get within 3 feet of Kieran before he freaks out.) Kieran has 8 teeth now so we thought we'd get him checked out. Those of you who know me are probably wondering why I waited so long since I truly love going to the dentist myself.

Since Kieran's favorite things to play with are his toothbrushes, it's been really easy to get him to brush. Once he sees the brush coming - he opens his mouth as wide as he can. Oddly enough, Durban also loves brushing his teeth. I think he'd eat all of his turkey flavored toothpaste if he ever got hold of it.

It's just so rewarding when you can see your child (and your dog) starting to develop the same obsessive compulsive habits that you have yourself. As everyone knows, I'm really particular about teeth so it's been my hope that Kieran would be as dedicated to this as I am.

Kieran is now standing up by himself without holding on. This only started about a week ago and he doesn't even seem to realize what he's doing. He'll be holding on and then start playing with something or staring at his hands and then he's just standing without holding on. We get so excited but he doesn't understand why so he sits down right away and claps.

Don't forget to check out his fleece lined boots. They are so cute and they make his feet look tiny (that's a first for this little guy in his 2-3 year old sized shoes.)

Four legs good - two legs bad

2007-11-04T12:31:00.002-05:00

Kieran's been concentrating on talking a bit more these days. He's often saying 'momma' and he's working out lots of other sounds. Unfortunately, he's still absorbing more of Durban's verbal skills than ours. I'm assuming this is the case since Kieran really enjoys making growling noises and Santosh and I rarely insert growls into our every day conversations.

Walking is not high on Kieran's list of priorities but he does love to climb the stairs - good thing we have several. I was hoping it would take him a bit longer to learn to climb them but it wasn't long at all. Kieran will go up a few steps and then turn around to clap his hands or to make sure you are watching. It's adorable but of course it means we have to hold on pretty tight. He has no fear.

As soon as Durban sees that we are trying to help Kieran go up and down the stairs, he runs up and down and circles around him as if to show off that climbing stairs is something he has already mastered a long time ago. Durban is definitely not the most patient teacher and I suppose he doesn't recognize the advantage of his four 'legs' in all of this.

Otherwise, I see very little sibling rivalry at this point. Kieran also loves 'peekaboo' as I'm sure most babies his age do. Santosh will sometimes hide behind a pillar or a cabinet. Once Durban hears him yell "PEEKABOO" he runs over with his tail wagging and "finds" Santosh (not that it's all that tough since 90% of his body was in full view.) I think Durban is confusing this with the 'find it' game we used to play with him. Either way - it's very cute and Kieran loves all the commotion.

No luck with shoes for Kieran. I've bought a few but I think most shoe manufacturers assume that anyone with feet this big are really in the market for a pair of wing tips rather than baby shoes. Even the softer baby shoes won't accommodate feet that are as wide as they are long. (Once again, Durban probably finds this all incomprehensible since he has his own hiking boots.)

Kieran celebrates South Africa winning the Rugby World Cup

2007-10-25T20:00:00.001-04:00

Kieran got a package today from South Africa from his Aunt Aruna and Uncle Amit. He was excited to get the box and the card. I'm not sure if he quite understood that the gift was actually inside. Either way, he thoroughly enjoyed the packaging and chewing on the card. In celebration of South Africa winning the Rugby World Cup, here is Kieran in his new onesie.

Kieran is getting ready for his first Halloween

2007-10-10T21:07:00.001-04:00

Partners in Crime

2007-10-08T17:51:00.002-04:00

Reflections on Vietnam - Part 2 - Packing

2007-09-25T23:12:00.004-04:00

I know there are lots of people headed over to Vietnam soon - I hope this helps. I'm not going to post a packing list. I'd prefer to post what I didn't always see on most circulated lists that was helpful to me.

What I'm glad I brought with me:

* a husband who doesn't mind carrying heavy things, going shopping or carrying his baby in the Bjorn - even when the Vietnamese questioned his masculinity for holding a baby (he was told it was women's work)

Ok so you can't buy a husband like that so here's what you can BUY for your trip:

*** American made diapers for airplane travel and outings (pack at least 40)
* Diaper doublers - they function as diaper liners. It allows you to pull them out when they get wet and you still have a clean diaper underneath. Since there are absolutely NO changing tables in Vietnam, this makes it super easy to "change" a diaper in public (or you can always just use the sofa at the reception area of the mall management office to change a diaper while you are asking a random questions to distract them from what you are really doing- that's what Santosh did!)
* Pain relievers - we had prescription pain pills (didn't need them but others did)
* Immodium (didn't need it but others in the group needed it)
* Powdered Gatorade for dehydration (bought at REI)
* Powdered Pedialyte for Kieran
*** Infant Motrin with syringe (Tylenol is not very effective but I think you can only give babies older than 6 months Motrin so you may have to use Tylenol anyway)
*** Orajel teething gel (lifesaver for us since Kieran got FOUR teeth in the first week we were in Vietnam)
*** Teething tablets (Humphreys makes some - bought at Walgreens)
*** Cool Max clothes that we could wash ourselves (Cotton does not dry in the humidity there)
*** Bug repellent (also pack some of the bug repellent wipes - they are so easy to carry and you will need them at some point)
* Power bars (not always possible for us to eat when Kieran was sick or we were at the Sandy beach and food options were very limited.)
* Comfortable but dressier shoes such as ballet flats for the giving and receiving and going to dinner. It's hard to pack dressy shoes for a very casual trip like this. These were so light and easy to walk in.
* Dish rag and bottle brush (I was ALWAYS cleaning bottles and nipples.) We had 3 Playtex bottles and 140 liners plus 2 Dr. Brown's bottles and the mini bottle the orphanage gave us
* Purell and germ spray (I believe obsessive handwashing is the reason we never got sick. I rarely needed the Purell but if a sink wasn't nearby - I would have)
* Light rain jacket that folded into a small bag. It can rain frequently and when it does, the downpours are very heavy. These were easy to pack and, as you can see in one of our earlier posts, Santosh was able to wear the Bjorn and put his rain anorak over that so Kieran's face stuck out and his body stayed dry
* Immersion heater - All rooms have a kettle but if you need a rolling boil to sterilize - the kettle is not going to do that. Bottled water is not sterile water. Oops! We didn't realize that until we were home. Glad I didn't know this when I was in Vietnam - I avoided all the guilt since Kieran ended up surviving on bottled water.
* Backpack that Santosh and I alternated wearing the day
* Baby carrier - We had the new Baby Bjorn Air Carrier - it's much cooler than the regular Bjorn. However, Kieran was almost 18 pounds and we both felt this Bjorn was tough on our backs. I've seen the Ergo carrier and it seems like it would be better because of the strap around the hip to more evenly distribute the babies weight. For younger babies - the summer Bjorn might work out well.
*Sleep sack for Kieran (can get light cotton sleep saks at Baby's R Us. Don't take heavy fleece version even in cold weather since it might not dry if you need to wash it)
*Light baby blankets for the plane
*Baby sweater in a neutral color (you'll only need one if you go in the warmer months)
*Baby nail clippers and nail file
*Small teething toys (though Kieran much preferred electrical wires such as the computer cable!)
* 3 Cloth diapers and small cloths for spit up and small messes
* Bubble wrap for packing delicate items and a small scissor with Scotch tape

What I wish I had packed:

*** Dosage chart for baby meds like Benadryl and Tylenol - it's not on the package
*** More baby food - especially vegetables (Gerber has plastic containers that travel well.) I never saw veggie baby food - only fruit. Veggies are best as a first food so I was glad I had a few. Take some prunes too just in case (don't bother with banana baby food - you can always mash one there.)
* Eucerin calming cream (for eczema) Kieran didn't have eczema until we came home but other babies did
* Oatmeal - Rice cereal didn't fill Kieran up. Oatmeal would have cut down on how often we had to feed him and how many times he woke up at night
* one 4 oz baby bottle - especially if you have a younger baby. Kieran ate very little at one time and always needed a little bit of formula in order to go to sleep
* Larger sized deodorant and hair products (you can get shampoo there but not many other styling products like hair spray. I didn't realize we'd be showering several times a day so my sample size items didn't last very long)
* more ziploc bags. I packed a lot but it wasn't enough

What I didn't need:

* Feety pajamas - who knew Kieran would have Hobbit feet (Santosh thinks they are Hobbit feet. Personally, I think they are more like Flinstone feet - completely square and HUGE) There's not a pair of feety pjs anywhere that would fit him (or shoes for that matter.)
* Baby Banz - yeah - I bought expensive sunglasses for Kieran. As if he'd actually wear them. . .
* Video camera - its nice to have but you can use a digital camera for most of what you need. Unless you are really into video - just get a digital camera that takes video - it works well enough and is easier to carry than a video camera.
* Baby Shoes - we didn't pack any but you can easily buy them there if you need them
* Baby washcloths - I heard they didn't have face cloths but we did have them at every hotel
* Lots of toys - we brought small teething toys and a small mirror (Kieran loved that!) Don't pack too many though
* Sneakers - way too bulky and it was too hot (and then I wouldn't have needed socks either) * lots of the meds I packed were not used but I guess we were just lucky * baby shampoo, baby powder- easy/cheap to get there * scabies creams (I'd still recommend taking this though) * lice treatments * antibiotics (you probably should see a dr over there if you are sick enough to need them.)
* Books, magazines (never had a spare moment and when I did, I was too tired to read.)

Supplies we bought when we settled back in HCMC (after trip to Danang)

* pot to boil water (use with immersion heater)
* big plastic basin at Saigon Tax market for giving Kieran a bath and for washing clothes
* extra suitcase (Business Class tickets gave us extra baggage allowance so we packed the basin and pot to take with us from HCMC to Hanoi) We ditched the stuff in Hanoi before we left
* walker for Kieran. It was the only way to occupy him without carrying him. For a child who insists on constant motion - we had already worn out the carpet walking him back and forth. We bought it at the totally shady market behind the Horison hotel. These walkers are relatively unsafe and this didn't even attempt to meet any safety standards but we got it anyway. Since we had a bedroom and living room at the Horison Hotel, Kieran could use the walker in the living room and we didn't really have too many safety issues to worry about. Unless, of course, you count the electrical outlet holes that are round and the same size as the finger tip of a 7 month old. Maybe putting some tape over those outlets would help if you have a child who becomes fascinated with them.

Hope this helps some of you who are headed over to Vietnam soon. Have a wonderful trip and remember - you can get most things over in Vietnam if you happen to forget something.

Been there, Done that (and he's only 9 months old!)

2007-09-21T23:14:00.001-04:00

Well it's been a pretty rough week for us. Kieran has had an ear infection and was pretty unhappy. Luckily we already had our checkup scheduled with the pediatrician. I suspected something was wrong because he was unusually fussy but he had no other symptoms so I'm glad the dr caught the infection. Otherwise he seems to be doing well. The pediatrician was nice enough I suppose and I was very happy to hear that Kieran is growing very well.

When he saw the dr for his checkup while we were in Vietnam in early August, we were able to get his height and weight so we can at least see how much he's grown since then. Prior to Kieran's official physical in Vietnam, the only weight info we had was what Santosh got when the spa manager and bartender at the Sandy Beach Hotel helped him weigh Kieran on the chef's vegetable scale so I knew how to figure out the dogase for his medicine.

I was a little disappointed with our new pediatrician's opinions on vaccines ("Load him up with all of them and let's redo everything he already had just to be safe.") Yeah - that was not exactly comforting to me since vaccines are not risk free. For now, we will have to evaluate which vaccines he needs and take it from there. I understand where he's coming from but the risks of Kieran contracting many of these diseases can be one in a million. The chances of a side effect or (dare we say) autism are better than one in 100. Easy decision for us - hold off on vaccines for now - especially since Kieran is not in day care.

Sadly, Kieran's ability and motivation to wave has come and gone. It's a serious case of Been There, Done That (BTDT.) I guess he didn't enjoy it as much as we had hoped. Of course waving is Durban's signature trick. He knows how much we love it so he does it constantly to get a treat from us. (A few times he has actually waved to us while we were encouraging Kieran.) So when we encourage Kieran to wave good bye, Durban steals the show by waving his paw up and down.

Kieran has now moved on to clapping and he never really stops. He will crawl a bit, stop, sit, turn around and clap for himself and then keep crawling. It's as if he is encouraging and applauding himself. Maybe it's a suggestion that we are not excited enough. The other day he was crying AND clapping at the same time. No smile of course - just clapping. Kieran takes no requests. He smiles when he wants and very few things beyond my mother's silly songs and my fake sneezes can cause a smile.

We're finally getting into a routine and Durban is getting daily walks again. Kieran is liking his new stroller but sits forward and has such a tight grip on the handles that he isn't really relaxed at all. So much for him falling asleep in there.

We're loving our music classes and Kieran is doing extremely well. . . I think he's literally licked more instruments than any other child in class. So I guess there have been no signs of a musical prodigy. . . . . . .yet.

Reflections on Vietnam Part 1 - Weather and Food

2007-09-18T21:04:00.000-04:00

Well we've been home just over 5 weeks. I wanted to post some info for our trip for anyone who is headed to Vietnam soon. I can't seem to find the time to do it all at once so I'll break it into segments. This post might not be of much interest to anyone not planning a trip to Vietnam.

Part 1 - Weather and Food

WEATHER
It really is really important to keep in mind how brutally hot and humid it is in Vietnam during the summer months. In the U.S. people always say,

"It's hot in here. I mean really hot . . . Africa hot actually."

This is meant to imply it couldn't possibly get any hotter. This was clearly spoken by people who have never been to Hanoi. The weather in Africa isn't that bad so the phrase should be:

"It's hot, really hot . . Hanoi hot. "

To acclimate yourself, I'd suggest holding a pan of boiling water under your chin so you really experience the steam. Then stick your head in the oven when it's on Broil. That's almost as hot as Hanoi will be in the summer. . . almost.

We had spent a few days in Bangkok before arriving in Vietnam. Bangkok was about as hot and humid as Hanoi. Ho Chi Minh was a little cooler. I think you really have to have Cool max clothes in order to keep any sanity. This is not just for people who are heat intolerant by the way. 100% cotton will not only hold onto the sweat - it will never dry. I spent hours trying to dry a t-shirt with the hair dryer at the Sandy Beach hotel. It was impossible to really dry anything in such a humid climate.

I hear a lot of adoptive parents say they will put their baby in long pants and long sleeves to avoid comments from the Vietnamese about how you should bundle your child. These babies get heat rash very easily. We kept Kieran in very light weight clothes - mostly onesies and shorts. Very few people commented (and I really was more concerned with his comfort than comments from the Vietnamese.) We picked Kieran up from the orphanage with heat rash and it was a struggle to get rid of it.

Air conditioning was much easier to find in Ho Chi Minh City than Hanoi. Luxury hotels have A/C throughout the hotel. Taxis almost always have A/C but don't really put it on very high. If you get in the taxi with a baby - they will sometimes refuse to put the A/C on for you. I'd suggest having one person sit in the front so you can control the A/C. Once we did this - it was much more pleasant.

** If you have a room where the A/C goes off as soon as you take the key out of the slot and leave the hotel room - get a second key card and leave it in there so the A/C stay on. (Or just use any other hotel key - they all work to keep the electricity on.)

** If there is a remote for the A/C (like there was at the Sandy Beach hotel) LOCK IT IN THE SAFE when you leave so the housekeeping staff won't turn it off when you are gone. (The units are too high for anyone to access without the remote.)

Most restaurants (outside of those in the hotels) say they have A/C but it could be just a fan or a small unit that would probably be best suited to cool off a linen closet rather than a restaurant that has a hot kitchen making it worse. Sandy Beach did not have A/C except in the rooms. Even their small gym didn't have any A/C. The Duxton was fine and so was the Horison. The Vietnamese don't seem all that bothered by the heat so I think it just doesn't occur to them that we are really struggling with the heat.

FOOD
Like any city, there is good and bad food. The language barrier and the difference in food preferences that you have as an American mean you really have to plan where you will eat. There are great places to eat so ask the concierge for help or take notes from blogs when people mention a restaurant. Call ahead to make sure they can seat you inside. Ask for non smoking if you want that but they rarely accommodate that. I'll list my favorite places and scan in their cards if I can in a few days. We had some really good meals and all of them were based on recommendations. We had very little luck when we chose restaurants on our own.

If you are a vegetarian - you're pretty much going to have to realize that it's unlikely you will avoid meat altogether. Everything has pork. I was waiting to see pork juice at the breakfast buffet - that's how much they love it! Even if an item on the menu says "rice with vegetables" don't assume it doesn't have pork. If it says vanilla ice cream on the desert menu - ask if it has pork. Ok, I'm kidding about that but seriously - if it's important to you - be careful.

Vietnamese menus often stress the starch in the meal and leave out info on the protein (unlike U.S. menus.) Might I also suggest you don't phrase it like "Is there pork in here?" The answer will be yes. If you asked if there was cow dung in there, they'd answer yes too. It's not that they want to be rude at all - they just don't really know what you are asking or why you are asking. They want you to be happy and saying yes to everything seems to be in their customer service manual somewhere under "Is there one response that I can use for every question so I don't have to read the rest of this manual?" Ask the concierge to write out that you are vegetarian so the waiters understand what you require.

When we were in Danang, staying away from meat was really easy - that's of course because we stayed away from almost all food at the Sandy Beach Resort. Fish and meat are put outside for the buffet at 4pm in the heat and left there until the buffet closes at night. If you have to eat their food at the buffet - go early when they first put it outside! Santosh ate some shrimp and his face swelled up (and he has no allergies to shellfish or seafood either.)

I have heard some people say the food there was good. All I can think of was that they were there for the semi annual delivery of fresh food and that they were still serving those leftovers months later when we were there! We saw the same slice of cake in the display window every morning. That one lonely slice was not going anywhere until they found someone to eat it. Eat as much as you can at the breakfast buffet and that will keep you going during the day. We supplemented this 'Sandy Beach diet' with a yogurt we'd bring back to the room and a Toblerone chocolate bar every day. (But beware that there is not chocolate in Danang so get it before you go.) We lost a lot of weight while in Danang.

Hotel food at the Horison and the Duxton was pretty good. We didn't eat anything off of the street. There are restaurants that have Western style food. Some of them, such as The Green Tangerine in Hanoi, are probably as good as the fine restaurants you'd find in major cities in the US. Be prepared to pay a lot (relatively) for this kind of food though. It was $55 for both of us to eat there (no alcohol) compared to under $10 for local places. (We thought it was well worth it though.)

I'll post next about packing for the trip and shopping in Vietnam.

Always on the go

2007-09-15T20:10:00.000-04:00

Kieran is adjusting well to life in Atlanta. Luckily it hasn't been too hot. Durban is still very good with Kieran other than occasional barking that wakes Kieran up. Just about everything wakes him up though. I can say with some certainty that this kid has pretty good hearing. Every tiny noise keeps him from sleeping or wakes him up. I'm trying to desensitize him to it but it's tough.

Naps are still an issue - it takes about an hour for him to fall asleep and then he naps for an hour or until there is any slight noise - whichever comes first!

Well, off to give the little guy a hair cut. I love how spikey it is on top but it can start to look like a mullet when the back gets too long. For some reason - the sides don't seem to grow as fast!

Back in Atlanta

2007-09-11T22:22:00.000-04:00

Well, we're home! (Well, kind of. Santosh is already back in Detroit but we did overlap for a day.) Santosh had the 15 hour drive with Durban on Saturday and I had the 2 and1/2 hour flight with Kieran on Monday. Santosh thinks he had the better deal and I think he was right. Kieran is fine in crowds but 3 hours of staring at the back of people's heads is not quite enough stimulation for him.

We knew he was capable of crying for the entire flight since he had built up quite a bit of stamina crying for 18 hours on the way home from Bangkok. It's been a month but the kid's still got it!

At the end of the flight as we were waiting to exit the plane, Kieran was all smiles and jumping on his seat. Several people said, "NOW you're quiet? Figures!" I didn't blame them at all - I was thinking the same thing. He had bouts of good behavior but they never lasted too long. Everyone was so nice to us. I could see them staring and shaking their heads but they looked sympathetic when I caught their eye.

One guy moved his seat as soon the moment the seat belt light went off. I didn't mind - he had on too much cologne. So I now Kieran's special talents include hair removal (he specializes in pullling out the hair on your head but he's also adept at removing chest hair too according to Santosh and my dad.) His other talent include getting mom and dad lots of space on airplanes (he doesn't realize that 5 minutes of screaming is all it would take to get people to move to the back of the plane. The other 2 hours were not getting us anything.)

Kieran seems to like his new crib but is not liking the exersaucer we have here. He loved the one my mom had. Ours is like a Jeep with a plastic cell phone, keys, a compass, etc. Seems pretty cool to me but he is not thrilled about getting into it. He also doesn't like the pack n play. I'm not sure I get it either. This one has a vibrate function where the whole thing shakes. How is that soothing? It also has playtime music, white noise buttons and nature noises. Today it was stuck on crickets chirping for 15 minutes. Kieran doesn't seem to care about them anyway so we'll probably skip the bonus features for now.

Kieran has stopped grunting between bites of oatmeal. He's a little less demanding but only when it comes to food. He still prefers to be carried all day long and that's a tough thing to do with three staircases in the house.

Not too much else going on.

Finally going home

2007-09-09T21:42:00.000-04:00

I finally head back to Atlanta tomorrow with Kieran. Santosh and Durban are already home. They drove 15 hours yesterday and arrived in the middle of the night. Durban slept all day because, of course, he looks out the window for the entire trip. You'd think that once it was dark and all he could see was the highway, he'd take a rest. He's just so obsessed with being in the car that he wants to enjoy every moment!

I wanted to post some photos of Durban because he's just the best dog ever. We've been so impressed with how he's handled Kieran joining our family.

I have been typing a post about our trip to Vietnam and would like to scan in the business cards from the restaurants and shops that we liked. I thought I'd be done but it will probably take another week to complete that.

Flipping us the bird/He really does bite

2007-09-05T13:07:00.001-04:00

We originally thought this was a sweet picture (top photo). Then Santosh zoomed in (bottom photo) and realized that Kieran appears to be giving him the finger.

While I'm half bald (from Kieran's obsession with ripping out my hair,) frequently bitten and bruised, I have little photographic evidence. However, most of Santosh's injuries are captured on film.

A friend of the family came over 2 weeks ago to take some photos of all of us. The photos leading up to it are amusing too. They show Santosh allowing Kieran to play with his finger and then . . . CHOMP!!! (For those of you who think he's gumming Santosh's finger - think again. Kieran has SIX teeth and they are very sharp.

Remember my previous post entitled, "Careful, he bites?" At the time, it was something we said to keep the Vietnamese from kissing Kieran and sometimes poking at him too much. Sometimes, he'd fall asleep while in the Baby Bjorn and people would still grab his legs or kiss him. We were desperate to make them stop so we warned everyone that he bites. Well, it turns out he does. Who knew?

Kieran's first bottle of wine

2007-09-05T11:43:00.000-04:00

We're headed back to Atlanta this weekend. We will really miss NY and being with my parents. However, I am excited to get back home and get into a routine. I also need to wear new clothes. I packed very few things for the trip to Vietnam (very unlike me) but now I've been stuck with those things for 2 months rather than 3 weeks as planned.

Durban will miss having a big yard to play in but he needs to get back to regular walks and seeing his friends too! He usually has play dates with another Wheaten and a cute golden doodle down the street - I bet he misses them. Kieran starts Music Together classes as soon as we get back. He's trying to get a leg up on the competition so he's practicing clapping his hands.

Kieran is sleeping better but we aren't in the clear yet. I'm sure there will be some further adjustments once we get back to Atlanta and he has to get used to a new crib. We bought another baby blanket just like the one my mom has here for Kieran. It's a super soft blanket from Pottery Barn kids. I highly recommend it - Kieran snuggles with it all the time.

Jeff, one of the parents from our travel group, is very sick - possible something he caught while in Vietnam. We are all wishing him well and a speedy recovery. Also hope Brenda is doing OK - life must be a bit chaotic to say the least.

So onto the wine story . . . Well obviously he didn't drink it. (Though I'm sure he'd like to. Kieran's already made a few moves on my dad's gin sitting on the coffee table at night.) On Monday, Santosh and I found a wine refrigerator for my parents that they needed. While Santosh was installing it, my mom was watching him and holding Kieran.

Never one to miss a chance to be noticed, Kieran reached behind her and swung his arm at the counter in the butlers pantry where all the wine was temporarily lined up. At least he has cheap taste - he passed up all the very expensive wine bottles and knocked over a bottle that my mom said she bought at Costco. Of course it was red wine though. Of course! So instead of having a nice early dinner, we spent over an hour cleaning it up.

Kieran of course was put in the exersaucer until we could get the glass picked up. He can usually stay out of trouble in there. . . BUT - I swear they should call those exersaucer's Poop generators. Not once has he gone in that thing and completely filled up his diaper. Oh and of course all he does in there is jump. Are you grasping now why it often becomes a problem?

I'm hoping he will be a fairly easy baby to potty train. It's not because he's so agreeable or tries to make my life easy. You've read enough of this blog to see that wasn't where I was going. It's because he fires off a few loud and aromatic 'warning shots' before he poops so I think we'll be able to tell what he has planned for the next few minutes and help him figure out a better place to go than his diaper. I guess we've got time. Something tells me that crawling and walking early has no correlation to potty training but who knows.

I'm working on a post about our trip to Vietnam. Lots of families who are headed over there soon to adopt are asking questions about what to pack and what the trip is like. I spent a lot of time researching all of that so I hope I can help. Also - if any of you headed to Vietnam are not looking forward to a steady diet of pineapple and Toblerone chocolate bars that I was on most of the time, I'll mention some of the better places to eat as well. Still, make sure you don't head out to one of the more remote areas without chocolate - you cannot get it everywhere. This was a serious concern but luckily we had the necessary rations to get us through.

Table Manners are next on the agenda!

2007-09-01T01:11:00.000-04:00

Ok, so while I think the orphanage did a wonderful job with Kieran, perhaps a lesson on table manners should be added to their curriculum (or perhaps to ours!)

All of a sudden, Kieran started grunting while he eats. Even when we rush to get the food in as fast as possible, he grunts and pounds his fists.

At the end of the video, he really looks like he's going to let Santosh have it if he doesn't hurry up with the oatmeal. I think we were guilty of laughing when he first did it and now he is just going to keep it up if he get a reaction.

We're not posting on You tube because I don't think it can be deleted. I'd hate for this to resurface when he's running for political office or applying to an eating club at Princeton University.

YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE SOUND ON TO WATCH THIS

New Photos

2007-08-31T15:19:00.000-04:00

We are obviously still in NY. I really need to book a flight back to Atlanta. We're waiting for Santosh to have some time to drive down to Atlanta with Durban. I really wish Durban was small enough to take on the plane with us. (He's such a good dog - we just won't subject him to the cargo area of the plane though.) I thought we'd all drive down together but Kieran is clearly not going to enjoy sitting in his car sear for 18 hours and I will probably jump out of the moving car if we have to listen to Kieran's baby CD with "Ain't gonna rain no more, no more" the entire trip.

Kieran obviously thinks it's a toe tapper but Santosh cannot be expected to drive under those conditions. Oh and Durban can't stand music so our poor puppy would go nuts too. I can't always protect him from music but we try. Durban has a habit of sitting right next to us as we cook. If you move him, he comes right back. The only way to keep him away is to sing. If he knows you have an "earworm" (annoying song) stuck in your head and plan to keep singing - Durban will find a quiet spot and give you some space for a while!

I'm trying to organize our photos from Vietnam. It's taking a while. Some would be great if only Photoshop had a "sweat remover" function. I fell in love in Photoshop after a trip to Disney World when we had some annoying people nudging in on every shot. It took forever to find Minnie and Mickey for a photo op and then someone person holding a greasy smoked turkey leg would sneak in (those of you who go to Disney World often know who I'm talking about - those people who wear a free T shirt that says "Dirt devil" or something like that and who eat those smoked turkey legs continuously even though it's 90 degrees. It's just not normal. It was great to have Photoshop to just remove them and still have a great photo left.

Some of the photos of me from Vietnam are just so bad. I never, ever wear my hair up because I have a square head and it is not a good look for me (yes - I do have two corners on the top of my head making it a real square. The only think it would be useful for would be to carry things on my head. It's my only chance of getting on David Letterman's Stupid Human tricks so someday I will learn. Ok, I'm off on a tangent here.)

Anyway, the photos in Vietnam of Kieran are great but the photos of me are not so great so some will stay hidden away with the photos of me and my big "angry bangs" from high school. I'm only sharing them with people if I have an equally bad photo of them in case they threaten blackmail at a later date. So if any of you want to see my scary photos from Vietnam - just forward one of yourself - and I'll be happy to respond in kind.

Ear worms

2007-08-27T13:14:00.000-04:00

So Kieran's been with us for over a month now. We can already see how much he's changing. Sometimes he seems like he's so mature. He has such intense focus and seems to catch on pretty quickly. The other day we were playing a game online - a pretty annoying one actually. Every time you press the space bar, a different animal pops ups and says "Peek a boo." I stopped for a moment to prevent my mom from going insane (her eyes were rolling back in her head and I thought she needed a break.) Kieran was having none of that - he reached over and pressed the space bar to get the game going again. I've created a monster. He'll probably expect the game to activate every time he hits the space bar.

Yesterday Santosh and my mom had Kieran in the exersaucer in the kitchen. When they turned their backs, he reach for a drawer in the desk. When they'd turn around, he'd quickly go back to playing with his toys. When they'd turn around, he'd grab the drawer again. When caught he just giggles like crazy.

We were given a few CDs with children's music and I really hope Kieran is enjoying it because I was up at 1am last night with these songs playing over and over again. My mom told me it's called an ear worm - something that plays over and over in your head. She tried to pass it off to me but I already had the same one stuck in my head.

Of course it's so annoying that you feel you have to give it to someone else in order to rid yourself of it.

So here goes. . . .

"It ain't gonna rain no more, no more
It ain't gonna rain no more
How the heck can I wash my neck if it ain't gonna rain no more . . "

Repeat 30 times getting faster and faster each time with a hilbilly twang and you've got it.

Endless Hunger

2007-08-25T13:28:00.000-04:00

Kieran wants food all the time. He grunts in between spoonfuls because apparently he cannot wait 2 seconds between bites. We introduced some chicken the other day - we were hoping that some added protein might help Kieran feel full. Durban kicked it into high gear. He was always willing to take a baby biscuit or other baby food if it fell on the floor. However, when he smells the chicken, he really has no pride. He'll stoop to anything to get some. He licks the bib, Kieran's hands and is just waiting for the moment when we leave the baby food unattended.

Our Little "Angel"

2007-08-24T12:33:00.000-04:00

So by now you've seen lots of angelic photos where we are all smiles. I thought it might be time to come clean. Kieran has always been oddly drawn to the camera. No matter where we move it - he's keenly aware of where to look.

This photo of us at the Giving and Receiving was our first family photo. You'll notice, of course, that Kieran has a very strong grip AND he is looking right at the camera (he always wants FULL credit for whatever he does.) However, what shocked me was that Santosh wasn't helping me at all. At the time, I distinctly remember Santosh saying he was doing all he could to free me! Photos don't lie. Santosh's hands never left his side!

This second photo was taken at the party Saturday just as all the guests left. He was so well behaved when everyone was around. Nobody believed us that he was hell on wheels as soon as he was bored.

I am amazed that Kieran can really aim that well at Santosh's nose and still be camera ready. That look on his face is so telling though. He's definitely a lot quicker than we are and catches us off guard fairly often.

I can only predict at this point that he will be a very productive member of society or a destructive member of society.
Stay tuned. . . . .

Finally - some sleep

2007-08-22T11:58:00.001-04:00

Well Kieran has slept through most of the night twice in a row. I'm still waking up if he shuffles around but he's getting back to sleep quickly once he's comfortable again. Getting some sleep is making it so much easier for me during the day. He's napping right now so I'm rushing to eat, shower and get as much done as possible. Santosh was supposed to be in Detroit for a few days but his flight was cancelled so he's with us for a while working from home.

The weather on Long Island was gorgeous on Saturday for the party but has been freezing ever since. I don't ever remember a time in August when the weather was in the upper 50's during the day. In addition to the cold weather, it's been raining a lot so Durban has not been getting the walks he needs and seems a little depressed.

I'm still trying to figure out how much to feed Kieran. He's old enough to eat more advanced foods but because he didn't get these on a normal schedule at the orphanage, I've been starting from scratch. I really need to accelerate the introduction of new foods. He's eating oatmeal now and that seems to be filling him up more than rice cereal. It just didn't seem right that he needed a bottle every 3 hours on the dot. He seems to old for that but of course we didn't want him to be hungry. He really will eat anything. At Costco the other day, my mom and I stopped to sample some food and Kieran leaned over with his mouth wide open as the woman handed me a chicken burrito. He also wants to eat very fast. He grunts between spoonfuls and trust me - I'm going as fast as I can.

When he's done eating, he now blows bubbles into the bottle to let us know it's time to play. With the baby food, he knows how to spit is back at us. He does this for fun though - we're not sure if it means he's full or not. Santosh and I have both been hit in eye by unwanted prunes though. Of course I'm the only one who has actually been bitten though. Kieran leaned over while sitting on my lap and took a nice bite out of my arm. I think it sounds like it would be a cute baby bite - maybe even somewhat uncomfortable. This felt like a snake bite - those little teeth are sharp!

So this brings me to the topic of what a mischievous guy he is. On Saturday, he really was a little angel. When he's being carried around and sees lots of people, he is so content. The only exception was when we were online at the Hanoi airport and a woman in front of us had a large bag of items wrapped in red tissue paper. Santosh and I were figuring out our tickets and Kieran was with me in the Bjorn. I felt Kieran bouncing up and down and when I turned around - he was holding one of the items from this woman's bag. There was no mistaking where it came from - she was clearly the only one with these items. I just looked shocked and motioned to Santosh to do something. Always quick on his feet, Santosh took the item, tapped the woman on her shoulder and said, "Excuse me, you dropped this." She totally fell for it - I guess she didn't notice the look on my face.

I'm going to post some of the mischievous photos later. He's rarely caught in the act, and when he is - he seems to rather enjoy it actually.

Welcome Party for Kieran

2007-08-20T23:47:00.000-04:00

My parents hosted a party on Saturday to officially welcome Kieran into the family and to introduce him to some of our family and friends.

The party went very well. The weather was perfect and most of our family and friends were able to join us. Santosh's friends from his MBA program drove out to Long Island and we were excited to see them. Even though we want everyone to meet him, it's just not that easy to travel with him yet.

Kieran seemed to have a great time at the party (he loves being surrounded by a crowd - especially if he is the center of attention.) He is charming everyone he meets and his giggles are so contagious. They'll come at the oddest times and he is still not taking any requests. You get them when he's good and ready and trying to tickle him or do silly things may get you only a confused stare from Kieran.

You can tell from the photos (and perhaps the quantity alone clues you in) that Santosh and I are very excited to be his parents. We were prepared for Kieran to have some development issues but so far he's exceeded all of our expectations. He appears to be ahead of the developmental milestones for his age so WE have a lot of catching up to do as far as childproofing our house. Who knew he'd be so close to walking at this age? He's a very intense little guy and keeps us on our toes every minute. This means when he's happy - the giggles are so loud that you cannot help but giggle as well. It also means that when he's not happy, he really makes sure we are aware that we'd better fix that . . and fast. We are so grateful to Kieran's nannies who clearly gave him a lot of love and attention.

Durban also had a great time and had never behaved better. It's the first time we haven't worried about him jumping on guests. We all really wanted him to be a part of the celebration so we were thrilled that he really has stopped tackling all of our guests at the door (my mom practiced with the air conditioning repair guy this week and then we tested Durban's reaction to the plumber just to make sure he understood that he wasn't allowed to jump on anyone. Durban's signature greeting had previously included a 'two paws to the crotch' move that appeared to be rather unpopular with some guests. Wheaten Terriers really struggle to restrain themselves. The Wheaten Greetin' as it is called is pretty common and even the toughest trainers have told us to give up. Leave it to my mom to find a way to solve it whilewe were away in Vietnam. Of course he still licks everyone - but we'll let it go since it's fairly harmless. We do need a sign around his neck (similar to those at water rides at amusement parks) that says, "If you touch this dog, you WILL get wet."

More to post but since Kieran is sleeping, I must sleep too.

Way too much energy

2007-08-20T23:07:00.000-04:00

Well we've been home for 11 days now. Jet lag is still an issue for Kieran. He is really such a fun kid and has such a great giggle. He is in no way easy going, but overall he's a very happy baby. He's very determined and it's tough to see him want to do so much but not be ready to do it yet.

Gradually, we are getting to a point where he sleeps a bit longer each night. It's a battle to keep him from nodding off at 8pm. Normally that would be a decent bedtime but if he goes down at 8pm - he's up at midnight so we are trying to get him to bed later.

He's changing so much each day. When we first met Kieran, he was crawling but not all that consistently. Within days, he had developed a lot of confidence and was trying to stand up. Now he holds on to his crib, a table or a pant leg to try and stand up. His grip is very strong and he can usually stand by himself pretty well. As you can see in the video, Kieran can walk fairly well with support. He often wants to jump and bounce more than walk but at times, he can walk pretty smoothly (it just isn't as much fun as jumping!)
I'm sure his Fred Flinstone feet are helping him balance quite a bit.

This dog can't hold his licker

2007-08-17T18:04:00.000-04:00

I know a lot of you have asked why I haven't posted in a while. Well, here's our schedule -
Kieran sleeps from 8pm until 12am and then 7am until 9am. It leaves me with about 2 hours of sleep since I have a lot of catching up to do once he falls asleep and then I cannot fall back asleep in the morning despite being exhausted. I guess I'm now a morning person (minus the smile that accompanies most of those perky morning people.)

Kieran does fall asleep at some point during the afternoon and then it is nearly impossible to wake him. Poor guy is having a really tough time adjusting. He has a bottle every 3 hours (and if we get to 3 hours and 1 minute, Kieran makes it very clear he thinks I'm slacking off.)

So we've had a lot of waking hours to bond. He's a lot of fun and usually pretty giggly from midnight to 7am or so. Since I'm still at my parent's house in NY, I go through my closets and take some trips down memory lane late at night after we've played for a fwe hours. At 33, I think this is the first time I've been sent to my room and of course there's no TV in there so I'm always searching for things to occupy me after Kieran and I have played with the toys and he's moved on to something on his own. Lately, he likes to stand outside his crib and hold the railings. He'll stay like that for 15-20 minutes. It's just about the only time he stays still all day so I just sit behind him and read since he really wants his alone time during this activity.

The other night, Kieran and I went through my high school yearbook. Boy, those angry bangs will haunt me forever. My mom told me that. It's hard not having one photo from my teenage years where I don't look like I'm caught in a windstorm. We also sorted through mix tapes and my 80's cassette tapes (Yes - I will now fess up to owning the soundtrack to Flashdance.)

So Kieran giggles rather often but not always at times I would predict. Funny faces or noises don't necessarily put him in a good mood. My mom's singing elicits quite a giggle from Kieran but since Durban really cannot stand music, he has to leave the room. It's not as though I thought Kieran was going to be laughing with me while watching an episode of The Office but I thought it would be easier to predict what would make him laugh. I guess that will come in time.

Kieran and Durban are getting along really well. We had to rush Durban to the vet last night after he ate the tip of his tail. Just another manifestation of his severe allergies. Last month it was ear infections and the month prior - it was him eating his paws. Luckily Kieran isn't grabbing Durban too much. Kieran is definitely the instigator though. We thought Durban would be a good dog with babies but worried he might get too excited. He has really been great. He can't pass up the opportunity to give a walk by lick - especially if Kieran is in his exersaucer. I guess that's what makes Durban so cute. There's a sign to put on your car that says, "This dog cannot hold his licker." Santosh and I really think it's perfect for Durban.

Kieran also encourages Durban though and he doesn't seem to mind being wet all the time from doggy kisses. Durban is on steroids now for his allergies so that makes him a bit sluggish. He's supposed to wear the Elisabethan collar to keep him from biting to his tail but of course we feel too guilty so we just keep him with us so we can prevent him from doing that. When he was neutered, I tethered him to my belt loops with his leash so he didn't have to have that huge collar on. I wonder if he knows how hard it was to go 14 days after he was neutered without letting him out of my sight for a minute. In the end, he did pull out his stitches but it was already healed. I did this out of love but also out of guilt.

The only issue with Durban is of course the toy stealing. He's used to all the toys being his and as Kieran tosses a toy to the floor, Durban scoops it up. He is very aware of what Kieran leaves behind. When we all leave the room, he sneaks back in to get whatever was left behind.
Too bad for him that everyone knows the sound of the prance he does when he has some contraband. It makes it tough for him to get away with much. Yesterday, we caught Durban with Kieran's little stuffed puppy. Durban had moved aside the little cape on the stuffed dog and was trying to get as much "quality time" with the puppy as he could. For a long time after we took it away, Durban stayed close by the stuffed puppy to see if there would be another opportunity to, well, have his way with him. My mom has been great in helping with Durban so we can focus on Kieran and trying to get into a routine.

I have to go print some photos for the party we're having tomorrow (to welcome Kieran home.) I think we have a few hundreed photos of him and about 4 of Vietnam. Oh well, he was too cute not to photograph all the time.

I'll post some photos from the party tomorrow night or Sunday.

More photos

2007-08-12T04:50:00.001-04:00

1) Durban meeting Kieran for the first time
2) Signing official adoption documents

Kieran's first dip in the pool (a few hours after Giving and Receiving ceremony)

Precipitation vs Perspiration

2007-08-12T04:22:00.001-04:00

NOTE: Kieran carrying huge golf umbrella by himself. He had held it with Santosh for several blocks and later once it was closed up and he could really grab the handle, he carried it by himself.

He has a very strong grip when he's really interested in holding something. I'm amazed that he can hold onto his teething toys for an hour or so. It's those sticky fingers. Are they coated with fly paper? Kieran also insists on holding absolutely every item we pick up. At immigration at JFK airport, Kieran grabbed all the passports when the agent gave them back. He's pretty good about giving it all back to us but I get the feeling that isn't going to last very long. So far he doesn't throw tantrums but I guess he's too young for that.

Though perhaps not award winning photos, these two are very much favorites of mine. We took these in Ho Chi Minh city when we were on our way to Brenda's daughter's birthday party. The rain was really coming down and we didn't have a baby rain coat for Kieran.

Santosh already had Kieran in the Baby Bjorn so slipping the anorak over his head to include Kieran just made sense (to us anyway.)

Well, I walked a bit behind them on the way to the party and was fascinated by the looks Santosh got from the locals. I think they are pretty upset whenever they see a baby in the rain. Additionally, they are completely confused that a man would carry a baby and then the confusion over who Santosh is and why he has a baby face sticking out of his chest just makes them think we are all some kind of freaky side show. I laughed the entire way (mostly because I thought it was cute but also because the Vietnamese people were so horrified. Kieran was actually quite content in there.)

I'm not quite sure why the Vietnamese are OK leaving babies out in extreme heat but don't allow them in the rain.

My mom said she is also puzzled why Vietnamese fear precipitation so much but welcome perspiration. (It's quite the opposite for me.)

We're back in the US

2007-08-11T02:20:00.000-04:00

Not quite home but close enough.
We landed at JFK this morning and will stay with my parents in NY for a few weeks.
Very tired but will post more tomorrow if time permits.

Links to videos of Kieran

2007-08-06T22:10:00.000-04:00

Well, we leave on Thursday. We will miss Vietnam - though perhaps not the Uncle Fester style bed of nails we've slept on at most hotels. Seriously - these beds are really odd - no padding whatsoever. The heat and humidity have also been very tough. It is really indescribable. The humidity ranges from 80-100% each day so it is just a sauna all the time. I think it would be much easier to tolerate if there were more AC here to give us a break. Usually there is no AC in stores or cafes. Once you leave the hotel, you know you will not stp sweating until you return. Sometimes there is a little bit of AC in a restaurant but this really just removes a little of the humidity and lowers the temperature a few degrees. It's semi-air conditioned and not what we are used to. (Taking it from 95 degrees to a rather cool 92 degrees.)

For the most part, if we see a store that has AC, we go in and just keep buying things until we dry off a bit. I'll buy anything from a store that has AC and lets me hang out for a few minutes. Kieran is so good with the weather. He is just dripping with sweat and in the Bjorn - I sometimes feel like he's cooking but he seems content. As long as there is a lot to see - he's fine. If I'm holding something he can grab and chew - even better. Tomorrow we have to pick up the sketch we had done of him (and the other of Durban.) Kieran ate the part of the receipt that showed our $50 deposit so let's hope they remember us.

Kieran is really cruising around in his walker. He went from almost crawling to racing around in a few days. He really would prefer to walk though so he always tries this while crawling - often resulting in a face plant (that he finds very funny.) He is not phased by knocking into things - he just howls if he is bored (and it is not easy to keep him entertained all the time.) Of course pulling my hair is always entertaining. I've heard of women losing their hair after having a baby but never after adopting. I think I'm quite a bit balder these days - Kieran often has several strands in his hands that he's yanked out and seems very proud of his accomplishment.

We are winding down our trip. I don't think we will make it to Halong Bay - Kieran really cannot do a 4 hour drive twice in a day. (I'm not sure I can either.)

It's taking a while to see Hanoi. By the time we are out of the room after Kieran's morning nap and get downtown, it's already well into the afternoon. Two hours into it - we are just too hot to keep going so we head home. The suite we have at the hotel has been worth every penny since Kieran has room to use his walker and we have lots of room to stretch out. Overall the hotel has been ok. The food has been pretty good but since it's the same thing every day - we are really looking forward to something else to eat.

We had a fabulous dinner last night at the Green Tangerine. The food was really great - very similar to what we'd get at home at a top notch restaurant. It was our last dinner as a group since Molly leaves today for a quick trip and she returns after we leave, the Popps leave today for the US and Brenda may go too if she can get on a flight.

We have to go to the Thai Airways office to have Kieran inspected for the flight to see if they will give us a bassinet. I guess he's over 6 months and they don't think he'll fit. Well, except for the huge feet - he's pretty small so I don't think it will be a problem. At 17.5 pounds, he's still fairly small by US standards (though a virtual giant here in Vietnam I think. Guess he's a good match for Santosh who is really easy to spot since he's at least a foot taller than most of the Vietnamese.) This might be our last post until we get home.

Here are some of the videos we've posted to You Tube

Once you click on the links - you can also click on "More from this user" in the middle of the page to see updated videos.

This is the one where Kieran crawls, does a face plant and then giggles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEhvRU7rkvY

Here he is in his walker (yes - we know it's not a sturdy toy - trust me - it's not coming home with us but it kept him pretty happy here in the hotel room)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyfiLwl4aLs

Sorry - Blogger is timing out when I try to post photos. I have to run but if you go to Flickr.com and go to Search and type under the "PEOPLE" tab "jlm3131" some of our photos will come up

Visa Appointment complete

2007-08-04T01:10:00.000-04:00

We had our visa appointment yesterday and Kieran's visa should be ready late on Monday afternoon. Once we have that, we are ready to come home. We will likely stay until the 9th as planned just because we haven't seen much of Hanoi 'm not sure if we'd be able to get a flight anyway.

Kieran isn't sleeping much so we are dragging a bit during the day. Additionally, he still needs a bottle every 3 hours like clockwork plus baby food a few times during the day so by the time we get everything ready to go out and sterilize the bottles and change him, it's time for another feeding. Part of the problem is that he will only take in small portions of food and formula. If we can get him to drink a bit more, I'm sure we could extend the feeding times.

Yesterday, Brenda, Molly and I went to a jewelry store. I only bought 2 things but I was able to find one of the portraitists as they call themselves who was right next door. Laurie, who traveled last month, told me about them and we'd really like to have a sketch done of Kieran and another of Durban. I can just see the look on their faces when I bring in a photo of our dog and want to pay some obscene sum of money to have a sketch done. Oh well, I'm sure they'll do it if we are willing to pay for it. I hope we have enough time to get it done before we leave. They are really amazing.

We bought some sketches from an old man on the street in Saigon. When we asked what he charged for the sketches, he said he only wanted enough money to buy some food - maybe $1-$2. Of course I started crying and Santosh knew I was about to buy them so he just started picking out some stuff and then we handed over most of the money in our pockets. We are never sure they are telling us the truth - it's a much better tactic to say you need money for food than to try and give us the hard sell. We always pay three times what we would have if we think they really need the money. In a lot of cases, we know we are being completely ripped off. At the Ben Than market, one person wanted to sell me a baby t-shirt for $12. In the end, we walked away and she chased after me saying she'd take 30,000 dong which is about $1.90. Of course we didn't buy it out of principle at that point. If she starts with $12 - her original intent was to really take advantage if she could.

Santosh bought Kieran an exersaucer at a local store here in Hanoi for $15 yesterday. Of course it would never pass any US inspection tests but since he's only in it while we are with him, we thought we'd give it a try. It plays My Darling Clementine over and over and over and cannot be turned off - even when Kieran is out of it so I think Santosh will take out his portable tool kit and put an end to that this afternoon.

So that's about it for now. We hope to go shopping a little later and maybe do some sightseeing tomorrow. Not sure about Halong Bay - I'd really like to go but I'm worried Kieran will have trouble with the trip since it is 4 hours each way and a long boat ride too. I think someone said the boat was very hot too (so that will make me unhappy too.) I really don't want to miss that though so we'll see if we can do it.

That's all for now

More massage mishaps and the elf pants

2007-08-02T12:26:00.000-04:00

Well, I typed a rather long post earlier today but I don't see it so I'll see if I remember what I wrote. The internet connection at the Horison Hotel is much better at night.

We arrived in Hanoi yesterday. It was only a 2 hour flight from Ho Chi Minh. So far Kieran has been fine on the flights (though they have been short.) Well, the flight was fairly busy in that Kieran need two very serious diaper changes. He is thoughtful enough to fire some warning shots out of his diaper before he plans to really fill it up. At least we have some notice!

So at this point, we are getting to know our little guy's favorite activities. They include chewing on electrical wires, playing with plastic bags and pulling out the hair on my head and the hair on Santosh's chest. Those little fingers are amazingly strong (and sticky.) We really never see it coming. Kieran will gaze into our eyes and take one hand and gently place it on our face. Just as our hearts are melting, Kieran's other hand comes from out of nowhere to stick a finger in our eye or pull out some hair. This baby has such a mischievous streak in him. We secretly love it.

Oh so I forgot to mention that the night before we left Ho Chi Minh, I decided to get a massage at the spa at the Duxton Hotel. The hotel was nice enough and I had heard the massages were interesting so I thought I'd try it out. I already had a massage at the Novotel Hotel the first night we arrived. That was an experience in itself. They hand you a uniform to put on when you arrive and then make you change in a tiny room that has a clear glass door. Always up for a challenge, I decided to try to hide in the corner only to see the massage therapist staring at me through the door which was now slightly ajar. She waited until I had this silly little outfit on (the shorts bubble out and have elastic that gathers below your knees. Can't picture this? Well, just believe me that it's impossible not to laugh at yourself as you wear these silly little elf pants and I'm positive nobody has ever allowed a photo to be taken of them wearing it.)

So I finally finish putting on the Vietnamese massage costume and then she bursts in and tells me to get on the table and yells, "OFF OFF. NO GOOD." Ok, I guess they make you put this on for amusement only since they rip it right off of you immediately. Her shaking her head at me out of frustration was just too funny (why watch me put it on then?)

The massage was OK - I've had a lot of massages and it was Ok but not necessarily worth subjecting myself to the humiliation of the elf pants again. At the Sandy Beach Hotel, I stuck to a foot massage - I was not falling for their bubble pant costume party tactic.

Well, since I had heard the spa at the Duxton was so great, I made sure I squeezed it in the night before we left. Well, sure enough, the receptionist gave me the same silly getup with what looks like the same the inflatable pants. This time, they didn't peek through the door though - they just walked in and while I was putting it on and ripped it off and told me it was silly. Ok, well at least we agree on that but I am still not sure why they make you put it on in the first place.

So as I was getting on the table, I noticed that there were strange bars on the ceiling. Must be for the A/C I figured. As I got on the table, the massage therapist was right there with me and she literally sits on your back as she does the massage. A little odd for me (I mean I know they get rather personal during a massage but mounting the client seems a bit over the top to me.)

I barely adjusted to that and she jumps up onto the rafters and starts walking on my back! Well why not at this point? I have to say - it was the best massage I've ever had. If I hadn't laughed though most of it - I think I would have enjoyed it more. It made me look back at every massage I've ever had in the past and wonder what kind of training those people must have had because this was what a massage was really supposed to be like (ok - except for the bubble pant humiliation and mounting the clients.)

Well, so we'll see how it goes here in Hanoi. There will be time for a massage since we aren't near much. The hotel is pretty out of the way but I'm still not sure where we are supposed to be. I'm still not sure where you want to be if you are in Hanoi.

I know we aren't anywhere near it though.

Tonight we had a group dinner with the group. It was at a great place (Brother's Cafe) but since it was outside and dreadfully hot, it was a bit tough to get through. Also having Kieran in the carrier means that whoever is wearing the carrier just sweats.

After dinner we went to the water puppet show. Before we went in, Santosh was holding Kieran who was just dripping with sweat. We unzipped Kieran's outfit a bit to let his neck get some air and a woman on the street freaked out. Some other families have told us that they have been scolded for having their baby out in the rain (not sure where the Vietnamese put their babies in the rain but maybe they use those secret tunnels they dug during the war to hide the babies in when they sense the danger of precipitation.)

One other family has also been scolded for not dressing their babies warmly enough to brave the 98 degree temperatures out here. So while we waited to go into the show, this woman ran up to Santosh and put her finger about an inch from Kieran (who was falling off to sleep) and started yelling that his neck was exposed and he should be bundled up. Apparently she doesn't see the sweat dripping off of him? She was really relentless though and just kept yelling at us.

Of course we were about to go into a building with AC and I wanted to zip it up but it was too much fun to let this woman have a fit outside. I think the ironic thing was that as she was screaming about Kieran's neck being exposed, Santosh pointed out that her own young child wandered into traffic and was almost run over. Now that's good parenting - make sure your kid's neck is warm but pay no mind to it being broken!

Ok, so we are off to sleep. Hope to get Kieran's visa appointment tomorrow and then the visa should come Monday.

Some video of Kieran

2007-07-31T23:59:00.000-04:00

Well, he's been crawling quite a bit but he seems to have been a little camera shy here.
Today, we are on our way to Hanoi. We went to the Reunification Hall in HCMC yesterday. The English tour consisted of a welcome greeting in English and an informational tour in Vietnamese. Oh well, they tried. Kieran did really well - he enjoys being in the Baby Born but of course when he faces out, we cannot see him and he gets into all kinds of trouble. At the airport today, he ate a good portion of Santosh's airline ticket as I was loading some of the bags.

Hopefully we will have better internet access in Hanoi at the Horison Hotel.
Here's some video and I'll try to get photos posted but Kieran doesn't give us much time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67c0BEZvk8A

"Careful - he bites"

2007-07-30T02:59:00.000-04:00

We only have two more days left in Ho Chi Minh City before we head to Hanoi. We are just waiting for Kieran's Vietnamese passport to be ready. Everyone told me to do my shopping here rather than in Hanoi. So far, I haven't bought much as far as gifts or items for Kieran. I really have to focus on that tonight. I do wish I realized how easy it was to buy necessities here though. I might not have packed less but I would not have stressed about making sure I had everything. They may not have an extensive selection of everything - but they have enough that we would certainly get by just fine. Almost all the pajamas I brought with me were too small but I've been able to find pajamas here for under $2 (really plan cotton pajamas that are probably equivalent to Carters brand.) Paying $2 a night for new pjs is cheaper than having the hotel wash them too.

I do want to get some things for Kieran's room and they have very nice embroidered wall art at many shops but I cannot find exactly what I want. Today we headed to a market that is not as touristy as where we usually go- I knew I wouldn't get decorative items but I wanted to see if I could get some small toys or other authentic Vietnamese items for Kieran or for gifts. It is very hot in these markets and extremely crowded. I think it would be OK by myself but with a huge backpack and Santosh carrying Kieran, it is tough. I'm definitely getting used to the heat.

Most people think (as I did) that the Vietnamese babies can tolerate the heat. This isn't the case at all actually. They all seem to sweat quite a bit and develop heat rash regularly. We have to continually bathe Kieran as soon as we get home or wipe him down when outside.
For the most part, he likes being in the carrier. He should like it - we cannot see him and he gets into all kinds of trouble. He grabs things in the market or right off the shelf. He's doing really well and is extremely active and a pretty tough little guy.

So today we went to the market and some women stopped Santosh (as usual) to yell "Baby, Baby, Baby" and run right over to kiss Kieran and rub his face or feet. Santosh had about enough of that and today he said, "CAREFUL - he bites!" as he made a chomping motion with his teeth and hands but pointed to Kieran. As you know, Santosh keeps a straight face through this kind of stuff and people backed off a bit. The people mean well but it becomes overwhelming and when Kieran is sleeping, it can be frustrating to have people come up and kiss him or touch him so much. Kieran really doesn't like it either so we are mostly trying to protect him. It's OK most of the time but in the crowded markets - it is tough.

After leaving the market, some old man wearing a mask (as many people here wear) ran up to me and stared at me - putting his face as close to me as possible (tough to do since he was about a foot shorter than I am.) I just kind of looked confused and walked around him. A second or two later, I feel something hit my backpack and he had thrown the peel from his fruit at me. When I turned around and looked rather angry, he ran off. People around me tried to motion that he was crazy. I guess he was - but it was still kind of funny.

We had to come home after only an hour of shopping because the rain was really coming down. Not that I'd recommend a trip to Vietnam in the July/August heat but because it is monsoon season, it rains extremely heavily each afternoon too. If you have a choice, come at another time of year. We have our anoraks which are really great. Santosh can wear Kieran in the Bjorn on his chest and then have Kieran poking his head out of the opening by his chest/neck. I'll see if I can post the photo o that. When Santosh tried this for the first time - I just couldn't stop laughing. I knew we'd get a lot of strange looks on the street with just this baby head sticking out of the raincoat while his body is entirely hidden.

When we walk around - we often walk one behind the other because of the crowds. If there is a little distance between Santosh and Kieran and myself, I can really notice the comments and stares that they get. If we stop near a crowd, they all point and yell "Baby, Baby" and then I think they make a comment about Santosh carrying Kieran. I guess they don't see 6'2" Indian guys carrying Vietnamese babies too often. And they don't know what to make of me as part of this either. I guess they don't think we are all together - that would just be too strange.

Yesterday on our tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels, a Veitnamese man asked our tour guide to tell Santosh that men should not carry babies - this is a woman's job. (I was inside watching the documentary and Santosh was feeding and walking Kieran around.) This guy never saw me at all so Santosh's response was, "What woman is supposed to take care of him? What if I was raising him by myself?" The tour guide was not about to translate any response from Santosh though - despite being in her 20's, she seemed to also think it should be me who carried Kieran around. Kieran was with me most of the tour so Santosh could explore the tunnels and shooting ranges (clearly something Kieran had to sit out and I didn't mind skipping it either.)

At one point, they showed us some of the torture devices and traps the Vietnamese used during the Vietnam War. The tour guide said sometimes people in the group ask to try them out. Well, of course Santosh told her that he'd like to volunteer that nosy old man who made the comments about him earlier in the tour.

The videos they show about the American War (as they call it here rather than the Vietnam War) are all clearly biased. They talk about the ruthless Americans who dropped bombs indiscriminately. Santosh said they peg it as a war between the mean Americans and innocent Vietnamese children eating rice.

We are enjoying our time here and it's great to have the change to really focus on Kieran. We don't have to worry about cooking, cleaning or other every day issues. It's still so much work though so I'm kind of wondering how I will do it when we get back. Kieran (or Durban) will have to pitch in a bit.

I hear Durban (our dog) has been very good for my mom. This is of course except for him rolling around in fox droppings. That just cannot be helped though - way too tempting.

Well, the rain has stopped so we will set out once again to go shopping. Our hotel is so centrally located and cabs to most places are $1 if it is too far or too rainy to walk so we go in an out a lot in a day.

Jennifer

Kieran's settling in

2007-07-29T12:34:00.000-04:00

Three of the four babies in our group are pretty easy going. Guess which of the four babies we have? Was it Sesame Street that had the four photos on the screen that read, "Which one of these is not like the others?" Well for us, that would have three babies laughing and calmly sitting on their parent's lap and Kieran would be the fourth child banging on whatever is in front of him.

Well, each day is so different from the one before. Kieran is learning so much (and I guess we are learning a lot about him too.) We are so in love with this little guy and are amazed at how perfect he is for us (he is a head strong kid just like his mom and dad.)

His teething issues and heat rash are subsiding so we are seeing so many more smiles now. He is obsessed with pulling himself up and if we grab his hands - he pulls himself up to sit and then stands - with very little help. He is a handful to say the least - we are shocked by how strong he is. We feel so lucky that he is doing so well developmentally. We never thought he'd be crawling and standing up already. The orphanage definitely gave him a lot of attention. That said, he's a very in your face kind of kid. He will NOT be ignored and he will NOT be still if he is awake. If the waitresses here didn't offer to carry him when we eat, it would be nearly impossible to eat anything at all. He is getting slightly better about us sitting down once in a while.

He still doesn't sleep through the night so we are very sleep deprived. We also don't have internet access regularly so posting to the blog is tough at times.

Tonight all the families (except for Molly who is very sick) went to Brenda's daughter's birthday party. Raven was five years old today and we had ice cream and cake after dinner which was really nice. During the day, Santosh, Kieran and I went to see the Cu Chi tunnels today with Brenda's husband Jeff and son Ryker. Her kids are doing really well on the trip and so are Molly's. I'm amazed at how patient and mature they all are - there is a lot of waiting around and they handle it so well.

After the party, we went to the store buy yet another 5 liter bottle of water for Kieran - yes he went through 5 liters in just under 3 days - you can figure out how many diapers we have gone through if he's drinking so much. It was pouring as usual so we had the very large gold umbrella that the hotel lent us on our way out. Santosh was holding Kieran in the Baby Bjorn and Kieran was holding the umbrella with both hands as they walked - he always has to do what we do.

When we got to the store, Santosh closed up the umbrella and Kieran grabbed it. Santosh must have lost track of what had happened and a few minutes later, we realized that Kieran had been carrying this huge umbrella for quite a long time in the store. This little guy is very strong for a 7 month old - that umbrella was very big and bulky - about 36 inches long and it was no problem for him. Of course when we saw this and thought it was so cute - we tried to get him to do it again. He refused to do it again and I'm sure everyone around us thought we were nuts for trying to get this infant to carry a family size umbrella for us.

Well, I'm far behind on the blog - lots of stories to catch up on but when Kieran falls asleep - we hit the deck. We fall asleep immediately knowing it will be a very short time until he's up again and running around.

More info to follow tomorrow.

Jen

Quick post

2007-07-28T09:08:00.000-04:00

Hey,
Well, we found a cafe with wi-fi. Kind of in a rush (story of our lives now.) Just wanted to say all is well. Kieran is a wonderful little guy. Very inquisitive and energetic. He is reaching for everything - almost took out the lamp at the concierge desk and picked up loose candy at the market. When he's in the carrier, we can't see him well but we'll find odd things in his hand that he's picked up along the way.

He's eating every 2-3 hours. Someone who traveled a month ago said her daughter was always hungry and Kieran is definitely the same. He cannot get enough food!!! Actually he only likes to eat a little at a time. So that's a lot of bottles and a lot of diaper changes since everything is a little at a time. Still sleeps only a few hours at a time. We hope when we can get him on a schedule, it will get a bit easier.

So we will have to share our amusing stories with our next post.

All is well here in Ho Chi Minh City and we had our Immigration Interview with the woman who is notorious for being tough. She actually wasn't too tough on us and we are happy it is behind us. The medical exam is also over and the dr was great - he spent time in Atlanta at the CDC so we had a lot to talk about.

Keiran's teething issue is still a problem but the high fever is gone. He has suffered from heat rash but we are trying to work on that as well. It is just unbelievably hot and these babies sweat so much. I'm handling the heat a lot better than I thought I would but it is tough on us - very tiring and a bit frustrating that we always look and feel sweaty.

Kieran is really an incredible kid. So much bigger and smarter than we expected. I cannot say enough about the Red Cross Orphanage. Obviously they took very good care of him (I think they held him TOO much - he refuses to be let down unless two of his favorite toys are around. Those "toys" are electrical cords or plastic bags. Obviously we don't keep them around but if he sees them, he just freaks and starts grabbing. I'm amazed at what trouble he can already get into. He tore the official paperwork from the gov't officials at the ceremony, tore up the receipts from the hotel as soon as they were handed to us and eats any paper product he sees.

We changed from a regular room to a suite - Kieran needed more space - what a good move. There is a swivel chair in the room and this was worth the cost of the suite on its own. Santosh and I are both struggling with sore backs since we can never sit down while Kieran is awake (so that would be about 18 -20 hours a day). So we are taking turns pushing each other around the room with him or swinging it around. This seems to satisfy the urge to keep moving AND has the added bonus of preventing him from getting into mischief at the same time.
Ok, off to hotel since my mom is online and said she can call us soon.

More later

He's Finally Ours!

2007-07-25T02:28:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a wonderful 24 hours (and of course - very exhausting too.) What a great way to spend our 3rd wedding anniversary.

Yesterday, we left around 1pm for the Giving and Receiving ceremony. It was held at a government office in a pretty small room. There were 4 families (16 people total with the babies), plus two gov't officials, a judge, the orphanage director and Quoc from VORF. It was a very tight squeeze.

It was essentially just lots of paperwork we needed to sign to complete the process and make everything official. The nannies from the orphanage brought the babies in and we could see it was tough for them. They've been caring for the babies for 6-7 months so they have really bonded with these babies.

I'm so glad we were able to meet Kieran the day before - it would have been nearly impossible to concentrate if this had been the first time we met him. Luckily all the babies were really easy going. Kieran loved the toys we brought and Santosh secured the teething toy to Kieran with the strap from the camera (so we didn't have to keep washing everything he threw or dropped.)

The ceremony ended with us all sitting around for a long time staring at each other and eating fruit. Not really what I expected but the language barrier makes it a bit tough to do much more than that. It's hard not being able to ask the nannies what they fed Kieran or what his routine is. We just didn't have anyone to translate for us. Lots of pointing and smiling. Quoc is way too busy handling the paperwork and he was serving as the official translator. We do have one person on our trip who is Vietnamese and she is a great help to us since very few of the people we encouner at the hotel or orphanage speak English.

Santosh and Kieran both snoozed on the way back. Kieran fell asleep again as soon as we got to the hotel. We went for a swim after Kieran's nap yesterday and Kieran really loved the pool. It is heated (to the point of being too warm) and is very relaxing. So far, Kieran seemed fine and all was going well. He was even excited for his bath. Soon after, it became obvious that his teething problems were more serious than we thought. (I'm still wondering what the heck the nannies gave Kieran to keep him so calm during the G&R. He was clearly suffering.) He had a high fever and was in a lot of pain last night. We gave him teething gel and Motrin and it helped a bit but he was just so miserable. He had these sad little cries and just wouldn't settle down unless we were carrying him around the room.
He refused to take a bottle but was very excited for some baby food that I had so I guess that's his introduction to baby food. So far - it's a hit.

Today was also pretty tough - Kieran napped a bit but has been pretty sick. Motrin, Tylenol and teething gel just wasn't enough and his fever was very high.

When we decided to add the Tylenol, we realized that we didn't know how much to give without his weight. Santosh ran out to weigh him and I stayed here to find a dosage chart online. Thank God for Google.

Santosh came back 20 minutes later. Apparently 7 people from the hotel were running around with him trying to help. People from the spa found people from the bar who brought people from the gift shop to translate and then someone had a vegetable scale!

So he's 16.5 pounds - a bit bigger than we thought. As far as length - he seems to be OK but he definitely needs to gain some weight. I think he lost some weight in the hospital last month and probably more during these teething episodes.

In the end, the fever just wouldn't break and he was screaming way too much. A doctor came to the hotel to examine him and it appears it probably is just teething and he'll have to tough it out with what we've been giving him. Strangely, his fever didn't go down until we went in the pool today for a little while (even though the pool is very heated!) He of course wouldn't sleep in the room but was out like a light once he hit the pool. Trust me - we are ready to go back at 3am to the pool if necessary to get him to sleep tonight too.

Well, we are leaving the Sandy Beach Hotel tomorrow. I will miss the pool and the beach but not the hotel (more on that later and why I think the South Beach diet is dead. The Sandy Beach diet is where it's at. Four days here and our clothes are falling off of us. Luckily, Kieran distracts us from the hunger. The hotel is the ONLY game in town it seems so we can eat their stale food or go without. We've mostly gone without.)

I'm trying to post photos but since my view of all of this is only in Vietnamese - I don't know if I can figure it out. Last time we guessed, we deleted our posts.

Tomorrow we head to the Duxton in Ho Chi Minh. We hear it's pretty average BUT is the best location. I'll do anything right now just to be able to eat something. We hear Vietnamese food is great but the Sandy Beach hotel is desperately trying to keep that a secret.

We met Kieran yesterday

2007-07-24T00:46:00.000-04:00

What a cutie he is! When we walked into the room, he was sitting by himself with his nanny. Of course I was trying to play it cool and not hold him right away. I wanted him to get used to us first. Well, that lasted all of 15 seconds. As soon as Santosh came in, he scooped him right up. He was very easy going and happy to play with the few toys we brought or just to gab my hair (Santosh encouraged that since hair pulling is clearly not something Kieran can do to Santosh!)

Kieran was bigger than I thought he'd be but it seems he's probably going to fit into most 6 month clothes. Now as far as shoes are concerned, we are going to have a problem. I've never seen baby feet like his before. We always noticed that he had long toes in photos but in person we noticed that his feet in general are just huge. He should definitely be able to balance on those things fairly soon.

At one point, the nanny handed Santosh a bottle for Kieran. He grabbed the bottle from Santosh and started gulping down that bottle as fast as he could. We'll definitely have to work on that. He shouldn't be so self sufficient at that age. It was kind of sad seeing the really young babies feed themselves or have bottle propped up for them rather than having someone feed them. Overall, the nannies seem to do their best and seem to really care about the babies. I think the G&R ceremony today will be very sad for them when they have to hand over the 4 babies.

We left while the babies napped so we could buy more donations for the orphanage and some food for the nannies. Now I know why they are so desperate for chocolate. I searched every corner of the store for chocolate. Lots of other candy but not one single chocolate bar. I guess when I saw all the same candy I lugged over from the US in the stores in Ho Chi Minh City, I thought it was easy to get. Definitely not the case in Danang so I'm glad I have some to give them. I wish I had more for them and I'm definitely in withdrawal myself.

We snuck back into the orphanage for a few minutes after we returned from the store. We dropped off some diapers for him and an outfit for the ceremony. I also wanted to get some Benadryl cream on his bug bites. His skin looks pretty good overall but he seems to have some heat rash and bug bites that hopefully will get better soon. We just switched hotel rooms to one that has working air conditioning. The hotel is not air conditioned except for the bedrooms. Our first room was very hot and I didn't realize the unit was broken. I thought all the rooms were like that - equipped with an AC unit that made it slightly cooler but still uncomfortably hot.

All I can say is that the AC unit we had compares to a real AC unit like an EZ bake oven compares to a real oven. It makes an effort and lots of lights went on but not much happened. Kieran will hopefully be a lot more comfortable in the new room. He has a crib that the hotel just delivered for us too.

Well, we are off to the G&R. We will finally be able to post his photo later today.

On our way to Danang

2007-07-22T04:00:00.000-04:00

Well, the Novatel wasn't exactly luxurious, but since it was only one night, it was tolerable. It's supposed to be a 4 star hotel but any hotel that has those hangers where the hook stays on the rod (so you won't steal them) gets one star taken away in my book. Add to that, the hair dryer that is attached to the drawer under the TV and I'm taking another star away for that too.

Santosh had to remove the drawer so I could get to a mirror but then the drawer was dangling from the hairdryer. In the end, I blew out all the fuses with my American hairdryer so none of it mattered anyway.

So we are on our way to the Sandy Beach hotel near the orphanage and hopefully we will get to see Kieran in the morning. Lots of gifts and donations to sort out but then we will be one suitcase lighter (but one baby heavier of course!)

So, hopefully we have internet access there but we may also be a bit busy so we'll see how our communication goes.

We are in Ho Chi Minh City

2007-07-21T11:50:00.000-04:00

We are in Vietnam !!

Landed in Ho Chi Minh City tonight. We are staying at a hotel close to the airport in anticipation of our trip to Da Nang tomorrow afternoon. Unfortunately we will only arrive in Da Nang tomorrow evening. This will prevent us from seeing Kieran until Monday. Being that close to him but not being able to see him will be extremely difficult.

The hotel is ok but a huge adjustment from the Sheraton in Bangkok. Anyway we had no problems getting through customs and passport control. What was surprising for us was the number of people waiting at international arrivals. There must have been about 250 people in a huge semi-circle outside of the arrivals door. The semi-circle of people was four to five people deep at times and walking out to a mob of that scale was pretty intimidating.

More soon.

We're in Bangkok!!!

2007-07-19T13:22:00.000-04:00

Well, after a scary trip to the airport through serious flooding, we are finally here. Four hours on the runway waiting to take off didn't seem that bad because we felt we were on our way. (Of course add that to the almost 18 hour flight and it becomes frustrating but Thai Airways was pretty good and I was so grateful we upgraded and had a bit more space)

We're really exhausted but hopefully will have a productive day tomorrow and see as much of Bangkok as we can.

We see Kieran in 3 days!

On our way to somewhere in Vietnam

2007-07-17T15:08:00.000-04:00

We head out tomorrow morning. Still handling lots of last minute things. It never seems to end. We always need one more thing. The suitcases are not full so at least we have space for any purchases made during our three day layover in Bangkok.

We gave Durban a bath on Sunday hoping he'd be all set and of course he's rolled around in deer or fox droppings every time I've let him out. So that's three baths in three days for a dog who really despises them. . . I guess I am no longer worried that he's going to miss me all that much while we're away. He definitely senses that we are up to something and has been on his best behavior (other than his rolling around in a variety of droppings but that's just too hard to resist I guess.)

No word from our agency on where we will be staying, so for anyone who needs to reach us -
our contact info for the next month is:

Jennifer, Santosh (and Kieran too)
Vietnam

Hopefully we'll get some info soon but it's likely we'll just have to try to find someone from our agency at the airport and figure it out (that seems to be what most people have had to do.)

Almost on our way

2007-07-16T07:45:00.000-04:00

Well, we will be on our way to the airport in 48 hours. I'm enjoying reading the blogs of others who are over in Vietnam and we are getting really excited to finally go and meet our little guy.

I'm also planning some fun things to do during our brief layover in Bangkok. We'll have only a few days to check it out so we will have to be efficient. Anyone who has every been to Disney World with me (where I really kick it into high gear) knows my motto that vacations are for the mind, not the body. Santosh may mock my drill sergeant act, but he's very good at going along with it. (Kieran, on the other hand, may not appreciate it so we'll have to tone it down once we get to Vietnam. We won't get to see as much as we'd like but that's not the point of the trip anyway.)

Santosh and Durban spent the weekend getting the toys ready for Kieran - particularly the inflatable toys like the bathtub duck and the baby pool. We needed to use the pool to give Durban a bath outside after he jumped in the bay on Sunday. This morning, Durban had some choice words (non dog owners call these barks) for the pool. Though Durban seems to love water, bath time is definitely not his favorite activity. I'm glad to see that he's only holding a grudge against the pool and not me.

Santosh also installed the car seat Saturday. Durban, of course, was of no help. He occasionally jumped up to see what was going on since he considers the car (and especially the back seat) to be his. He stretched out across the entire back seat on the drive up to New York so I think he's going to be a little frustrated that he has to share on the way back.

Durban is not yet grasping that the baby toys aren't for him. I showed him a toy last week that had a large mirror on it. Once he positioned himself in front of the mirror, his tail started to wag like crazy. I guess he considers himself to be rather handsome. Durban also watched where we put the toys and goes back to get them later when we are distracted. He almost destroyed Kieran's boo boo bunny ice pack just moments after it was put away.

I spent the weekend trying to figure out what to pack for Kieran. Luckily I can only select from the clothes that I brought to New York so my options are limited. It's so hard to tell what size he will be. Kieran was 7 months old yesterday but many of the babies from his orphanage are his age or older and still wearing 3-6 month size clothing. We hear he is fairly chubby but it doesn't really seem that way in his photos. (By the way, we will be posting lots of photos of Kieran after the Giving and Receiving (G&R) ceremony on July 23rd or 24th.)

As far as packing for us, Santosh and I have acquired new wardrobes for the trip - none of it coming close to stylish. (Much of it ironically with "Made in Vietnam" tags.) We needed clothes that were light weight and washable in the hotel sinks. Footwear is limited to what is comfortable to wear when we go out and walk all day. Therefore, I'm formally requesting that photos of me only start from the ankles up. All other shots are at risk of being confiscated (pay attention Molly and Brenda.) Everyone should pretend I'm wearing something cute on my feet until maybe I can Photoshop a nice sandal onto the photo later on and erase all visual evidence that there were ever Tevas on my feet.

Well, back to packing. Santosh is making one last minute trip to Detroit before we leave - he arrives back in NY about 14 hours before we head back to the airport and start our adventure!

The journey begins

2007-07-14T13:43:00.000-04:00

(Updated post to add photo of Kieran from May. Taken by another adoptive parent during her visit to Danang to pick up her daughter.)

Santosh thinks Kieran is making a fist here and punching it into the palm of the other hand. I saw it as something somewhat angelic. . . . turns out I think Santosh was right.

After 16 hours of driving, we are finally in New York. We are one step closer to bringing Kieran home.

We did not want to leave Durban, our Wheaten Terrier, in a pet resort. So we drove through the night so that he can stay with his unsuspecting grandparents while we are in Vietnam. I expect that Durban is also very excited about Kieran's arrival, but he is acting rather nonchalant for now. He has shown a keen interest in the steady stream of new toys arriving at the house. However, this is very much in keeping with his "I own all toys and can chew them whenever I want" attitude, which only until recently has gone pretty much unchecked.

The days cannot go by fast enough. We leave on Wednesday and have much to do before then. We have the tickets, visas, adoption documents and 90% of everything we own packed and ready to go. Not sure that Jen believes that she has packed enough.

-Santosh-