Kieran's first trip to the dentist

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

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

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

Partners in Crime

Reflections on Vietnam - Part 2 - Packing

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!)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.)