Happy Halloween!

The afternoon snack at the children's center was turned into a Halloween party today. Henry sat quietly and ate while I stood a few feet away from him. He never got up or tried to get me to come over to him. But when I had to leave to come back to the library I told him goodbye--then he started to cry. I guess I should have just slipped out without saying anything to him, since he didn't seem to be paying that much attention to me in the first place.

Last night when we got home Henry noticed a grasshopper on his slide.

He was scared of the grasshopper at first. When I touched it he felt a little more confident and touched it himself.

We didn't try to pick it up--I was afraid Henry might accidentally crush it. So we just watched it and nudged it with one finger.

One Year Ago Today----Gotcha Day!

In the parlance of the adoption community this is the one year anniversary since Gotcha Day--the day that I traveled with my mother to a northern suburb of HCMC to pick up Henry at the orphanage in Binh Duong.
I remember the nervous anticipation--the moment was finally here. As I've said in the past, it was like meeting a movie star--somebody I had looked at in photos and wondered about but never actually seen face to face.

Here is the room where we all waited to be ushered upstairs where the babies were located.

Loc captured the exact moment when the caregiver put Henry in my arms.

Henry was not happy at first. He did not know me, he wanted the caregivers. The first few days were a huge adjustment for both of us.

But here he is this morning. When I open the car door he leans out to me and holds his arms out for me to pick him up. He is usually still dancing from the music that I play during the drive.

A year ago today everything changed in my life. It has been a wonderful time getting to bond with Henry.

Dewali!

Friday night I took Henry to the Diwali celebration sponsored by the students from India. He enjoyed watching the dancing and listening to the music. The campus has a thriving international student body, including students from Vietnam. I am glad to have a place in this rural area of Texas to expose Henry to international culture.

On Sunday I gave a talk in church. The meeting is a three hour block of three meetings--the first meeting is for everyone and Henry sits with me. We usually start out in the chapel and then move into a large classroom with a speaker running from the chapel. For the last two meetings there is a nursery for children 18 months to 3 years of age and Henry happily attends that. But I was worried about him Sunday because I had to ask a lady he didn't know to hold him during my talk. He was okay for the first ten or fifteen minutes--she sat toward the back and he couldn't see me. Then during a prayer over the sacrament (or communion) I heard a baby wailing. I thought it was Henry, but I was reluctant to open my eyes and look out into the congregation, fearing that they would all be looking back at me disapprovingly. Finally I did open my eyes just in time to see my Good Samaritan (which was also the subject of my talk) running out the back door with a screaming Henry. My talk proceeded and I sat through the next speaker's talk, but I dashed out into the lobby during the rest hymn and when Henry saw me he ran toward me like he hadn't seen me in days.

Haircut

Here is Henry's new haircut--as he intently watched The Wiggles this morning. He was fairly good for the procedure. We had to wait forty minutes, and then he had to sit in my lap while he got his haircut. I took a school book in that I bought in Vietnam and told her I wanted his hair cut like the boy on the cover--but not too short in the front because I didn't want him to look like Spock.

Just to show that he is not always in a good mood (though usually he is) he got bored with me trying to take pictures of his new haircut this morning. He wanted to finish getting ready and get in the car--because he knows he gets a big cup full of milk to drink on the way to campus. He threw himself on the floor and kicked for five or ten seconds, stayed still for another twenty seconds, and then he was back up again like nothing had happened.

Getting the car fixed

A year ago today I was in Hue, waiting to go to Danang for Loc and Hoi's wedding. And anxiously awaiting the day when I would finally pick up little Henry. I can remember being so worried--I knew things were not going smoothly between the two governments. Information about my personal case was very hard to come by. And my fingerprints were expiring. I had to Fedex hard copies of my fingerprints to Washington DC and wait for the results to be sent back to HCMC. It was such a trying and emotional time. It was hard to imagine the wait would be over at some point. Hard to imagine that I would have a son to love and raise. Hard to imagine that a child would change my life. But here we are today--happy and still moving forward.
This is Henry in the children's waiting room at the car dealership. I had to get my windows fixed. The front one wouldn't roll up and I yanked it--which was a bad move. I guess it could have been easily fixed but I pulled something loose from the bottom of the glass and the whole thing had to be replaced. Also a motor on one of the back windows was replaced. Luckily the extended warranty paid for it.
Tomorrow Henry is having a haircut. I like his hair the way it is now--but it's hard to keep clean when he smears yogurt in it. So stay tuned for his new look.

New photos with Ben

This last Saturday Henry and I went over to my Grandmother Lorene's house. We visited with my two aunts Betty Ann and Barbara Sue--and I let Henry sit in my old high chair and make a mess with mashed potatoes, yogurt, and cheetos. It is disturbing to me to sit and let him make such a mess of the food, but he doesn't want me to feed it to him and I guess it's a good thing if at least half of it gets into his mouth. And it's fairly easy to wash off with a cloth--unless he manages to get some into his hair.
I sat in this high chair when I was a baby--so you can be sure it does not meet current safety standards. It's amazing kids my age made it through childhood with all the unsafe cribs and chairs and toys we had to contend with.
I got the photos we took of Ben and Henry while we were up in Wisconsin last month. I am happy with the Wal Mart photos. They seem as good as the Sears and the Olan Mills photos and they are much cheaper. The boys were also pretty well behaved and we didn't have to wait long.
Waiting past our appointment time is the main issue I have. I took Henry this last week to the doctor. He really wasn't sick--his nose was running and I wanted to find out about what I should be giving him for allergies. I am afraid he will get sick like he was last winter. We had an appointment for 9:30. At 10:15 we still hadn't gotten to see the doctor and I told them I was leaving. I had to get Henry back for lunch at 10:30 and then his nap is at 11. If I got him back too late it would mess up his entire day. I never thought when I made a 9:30 appintment that I wouldn't actually get in at 9:30 and be out by 10:30.
I was sick today--this is my day to work late at the library. But I have to get Henry to the children's center by 9 so I come and then do my own work until 1 which is when my work begins at the library. I'm muddling my way through a dissertation and there is always something for me to do on my own time--not to mention Tuesday is usually my day to run over at the rec center. But I was really tired and sick so I just drove home and slept all day and drove back in time to pick Henry up at 5, pass him off to Tammy to keep tonight, then I pick him up at 10.

I still felt sick when I started work, but I have to get a report written up for a new doctorate one of the departments is hoping to implement. I took a couple of sinus pills and an hour or so later I feel pretty good. I am not used to being sick and I don't usually take medicine, not even tylenol. But I was pretty surprised at how quickly my ears stopped hurting, so I guess I need to hone up on my medical skills and keep myself as healthy as possible so I can take care of Henry.

Just the two of us again

Yesterday my mother went back, so it's just Henry and me. We had a wonderful visit, and my mother didn't get sick as she suspected she might. Hopefully she will be able to move back soon.

Henry had a good evening last night with Tammy, who works with me at the library. She said he was very lovable and friendly.

Today the fire engine was supposed to come to the children's center. Tomorrow is the parent/child breakfast--so I have to get up a little early and get there by 7:30 so I can eat with Henry.

I have been looking over Henry's adoption paperwork--racking my brain for what I remember of Vietnamese and asking friends. Does anybody know if there is a special meaning in Vietnamese for these two phrases:
mẹ đẻ
mẹ ruột

I know that the first means birth mother and the second means something like blood mother. I wonder if there is a colloquial difference that does not exactly translate into English.

Another Birthday

We celebrated my mother's birthday by having portraits taken. I wanted just a group photo of the three of us, but of course the photographer has to take a lot of different shots to try and sell a big package. These are the proofs--they took a long time to get Henry to pose for them, after we had waited almost an hour past our appointment time.

Visit from GrandMama

My mother came up for a visit yesterday, and kept Henry last night while I worked. These photos are taken outside the children's learning center when we picked him up.
She hasn't seen him in a while--she's been gone since last March and we went down there in May. Henry seemed animated and happy to see her.

Another Birthday Party

Henry helps me pick up the mail when we get home. We live in a very rural community--the mailing route is one town, the phone number is another, the school district is another, and the community itself has its own name.

My ancestor Henry McKenzie moved to this small community in 1842 when Texas was a republic. As late as the turn of the last century there was a post office, school, dentist, doctor's office, grocery store, drugstore, a blacksmith's shop, several churches, and the all important cotton gin. It also had a Woodmen of the World hall. The last business was a gas station that shut down in the fifties There is now just one Methodist church in the community and less than 25 people.

Henry on the city park slide in the town where I work, in anticipation of the birthday party.
This past Saturday there was a birthday party for Evan from the Children's Center. The party was held at the city park. Henry really enjoyed the chocolate cupcakes.
He watched from afar as Evan opened his presents. This park is in store for a major overhaul, and the new plan does not include this pavilion. Perhaps we are one of the last parties to be held here.
Henry was reluctant to get on the old fashioned merry-go-round.
Eventually he did feel comfortable enough to get on and he seemed to have a good time with a few of the other children.
Monday while we were driving to the library I noticed Henry--it's obvious he likes the Jeff doll much more than the Anthony doll.