Saturday at work

I have to work a Saturday every six weeks or so, and today is my day. Henry is staying on campus with a new doctoral student Sunchai and his wife Su. They have a daughter Pammy who is Henry's age. They come from Thailand--Sunchai is a doctoral student in the English department (along with me) and Su is preparing for the MBA program. After I got to the library they sent these photos to show me how well Henry is getting along with them.

Snow Day!

Yesterday the university campus (including the library and the children's center) was closed due to bad weather. I was scheduled to work Tuesday night but thankfully the entire campus closed at 4:30. I had a babysitter lined up but I wasn't looking forward to driving the 24 miles home on a very rural highway at 10 PM during the beginning of an ice storm.

So Henry and I had a relaxing day at home. I had just bought him a dancing Pablo of the Backyardigans and he enjoyed watching the show while playing with his own character.

With a little coaxing from me he got up and followed the motions of dancing, as the doll danced and turned around. It is an amazing toy, it pretty much follows the same movements that the cartoon version does, which is computerized from an actual dancer so it is realistic.

Henry also mumbles with the words--I suppose he is actually saying the words but I just don't understand them. He has taken the next step toward language development--he puts more than one word together. He says "Baby's nose", "Daddy's nose", "Baby's ear", "Daddy's ear", etc. as he points from his face to mine. When we are in the store he will point to every baby we see and say "Baby", the point to himself and say "Baby too".

Overall it was a fun and productive day. I didn't have anything planned like I usually do on our days off, so I was able to just stay in and get tasks done in the house that have accumulated.

The photographer wouldn't let Henry stand at the studio the other day, because he was on a platform and I guess they are afraid he might fall off. So I put his ao dai on him and got a full length shot of him. I plan on having him wear it next Tuesday to the campus celebration of the Lunar New Year. We are also going to a celebration in Dallas on Sunday and another on the following Saturday. He might wear it to those, or I might have him wear his red and yellow Vietnam flag shirt.

I was standing in the front door to take these shots, to see what amounts to a snow day here in Texas. This would probably be considered a spring thaw to Henry's brother in Wisconsin.

The weather wasn't that bad, but there was a thin coat of ice on everything and that makes driving dangerous. I guess it isn't worth it economically to do all the plowing and salting and other things that are done up north. It's just easier to close things down for the two or three days a year when the weather gets this bad.

This morning it was still cold, and it was scheduled to get warmer around 9 or 10 AM, but I didn't get the call that things were closed down so we packed into the car and made our way to campus. I stopped along the way and took a photo of the cemetery where my grandparents and brother and other relatives are resting, just to give an idea of the extreme fog that made the drive very slow--but fortunately there were no mishaps and now the sun is shining.

Tết Nguyên Đán -- Vietnamese New Year

Henry and I welcome the Year of the Ox and wish everyone happiness and health!

To read more about Tet, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%E1%BA%BFt

Library Books and Lead Testing

People are probably well aware of the new regulations that are scheduled to go into effect next month regarding children's clothing. It will require children's clothing that is being resold in second hand places like Good Will and Salvation Army and presumably garage sales to be tested for lead. I have been reading for some time about the alarm some have shown over the very stringent guidelines. A couple of weeks ago I started hearing how it would impact libraries. I ddin't give much credence to it until the American Library Association sent out mass emails to its members last week.

The new regulations will also cover children's books. The way the Consumer Product Safety Commission's regulation is written now not only books that are sold second hand will have to be tested for lead, but also all books in public, school, and academic libraries. Books that are not tested will not be allowed to be used by children under 12. Understandably school districts are in a growing panic--this doesn't include just new books. It includes all books on the shelves in all libraries where children have access to the collection.

Here is the text of the letter sent out:

January 22, 2009

Dear Librarian,

A public meeting was held January 22, and Cheryl Falvey, General Counsel for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), stated that a decision should be made by the first week of February regarding libraries. She advised libraries not to take any action at this time, and we are hopeful that the Commission’s decision will exempt libraries.
Even with her assurances, we must let the CPSC know how important an issue this is to libraries. Please call the Acting Commissioner, Nancy Nord, at (301) 504-7901. When you call this number, wait for the automated directory to give you directions to reach Nancy Nord’s office. Explain to the Commission that it is simply impossible for libraries to remove all children’s books from the shelves and/or ban children under 12 from the library and still provide the level of service that is needed.
As always, thank you for all that you do. The only way we will be successful in ensuring that children will have access to safe books is with a strong grassroots effort. Your comments to the CPSC need to be submitted as soon as possible, so please tell all your friends and family – we need as many people as possible to communicate that this oversight could have lasting ramifications on our children and our communities.
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 has been interpreted to include books as a product that must be tested for lead. While it is understandable that the CPSC must protect children from toxic materials, publishers have already tested the book components and found that the lead levels are lower than the regulations require three years from now. Additionally, all book recalls in the last two decades have been because of toys attached to the books that posed a choking hazard, not the books themselves.

Making these testing regulations retroactive would require both school and public libraries to take drastic steps to come into compliance. They either would have to ban children from their libraries or pull every book intended for children under the age of 12 from their bookshelves at the time children are fostering a lifelong love of learning and reading.

In order to allow children and families to continue accessing critical library materials, please either exempt books from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, accept the component tests that have already been done, or exempt all books currently in school and public libraries. This will ensure that our children continue to have access to safe and educational library materials.
Thank you for your continued support of libraries!

Sincerely,

Kristin Murphy
Government Relations Specialist
American Library Association - Washington Office
1615 New Hampshire Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20009-2520
Phone Number: 202.628.8410
Fax: 202.628.8419
kmurphy@alawash.org

Visit to the Dentist

I picked Henry up for his first visit to the dentist today. He was excited to see me unexpectedly in the middle of the day. I wanted to leave immeidately--I had it planned to the minute. But he hadn't eaten lunch yet. I helped him eat the sandwich and orange and we put the fries in a bag and he ate them on the way--while he watched a Wiggles DVD. A new video store opened in town and their children's movies are free, so I have been rotating a new set of movies for Henry to watch in the car.
The dentist is Dr. Jennifer Chou (http://www.972sparkle.com/OurStaff/OurStaff.htm).

Henry wouldn't let me take a photo of him in the dentist chair. He sat in my lap while the dentist looked at his teeth. She and I sat with our knees together with him facing me, then I laid him down into her lap. I had to hold his hands while she probed his mouth with the mirror stick. She said his teeth looked great, and the second molars are coming in. But she didn't do any x-rays, that will be in July when we go back. Hopefully he will get a good report then.

She cautioned me not to give him the bottle anymore. I still give him a bottle on the 25 minute drive to work and most nights, either when he goes to bed or right before he goes to bed. I need to switch all to the sippy cup and not give him anything but water in the bed. He will probably rail against that but I think it can be handled okay.

Also she said letting him brush his teeth is not good enough. I have to brush his teeth for him because he is not yet dextrous enough to do a good job.

I witnessed a funny thing in the waiting room. A man and woman were there with their son and daughter. Only one parent can go in the exam room so the father was in with the daughter and the mother and son sat in the lobby. The boy crossed his legs and she poked him and said "Don't do that, I told you boys don't cross their legs!" And they were crossed in the way I was taught was the "masculine" way--with one ankle resting on the knee of the opposite leg, not crossed at the knees. A few minutes later the girl came out and the boy went in the exam room with the father. The girl, who was a little younger than her brother, sat stradling the chair with one leg on one side and one leg on the other side. I thought it was a really weird contradiction to what the mother just told the son. I wanted to tell her if she is going to tell her son to sit like a gentleman she also ought to tell her daughter to sit like a lady--because I found the way she was sitting a lot more annoying than the boy crossing his legs.

But I was a little self conscious myself. I crossed my legs like the boy did, then quickly uncrossed them for fear tht the woman would reprimand me.

Down on the Farm

Henry dressed up on Monday to visit Grandmother Lorene and Aunt Betty Ann. We had a wonderful MLK day.
The weather was great this weekend. I was sick on Friday and Saturday night--Henry was very distressed to see me hunched over the toilet, he screamed and kept patting me on the back. I laid on the sofa all morning covered up. Henry would pull the covers off of me and I would say "Daddy's cold" and pull them back. He replied "Baby too!" He also has started a routine of pointing to my face and saying "Daddy's nose" then he points to his own and says "Baby's nose", and goes through each ear, each eye, and mouth. I have additionally taught him eyebrow, chin, teeth, and tongue. And he also knows hands and feet but that's not part of the routine unless I ask him. He seems to want to be referred to as "Baby". If I say he is a good boy, he points to himself and says "baby". If I call him Henry in a sentence he does the same.

I think he's ready to be potty trained--I just have to chart out a course of action for that to happen. I've started by asking him to tell me when his diaper needs changing. He hasn't done that yet, but we're working on it.

Bao and Chris came over on Saturday (in the afternoon, when I was thankfully feeling better), so Henry got to play with Kevin for a couple of hours. As usual he was very shy at first but after about 30 minutes he was comfortable with his old friend from Vietnam.
Here are some screen captures of the farm where we live. In the one above I have outlined the property in red. My grandparents bought this place in 1947, but my grandfather and his mother were both born in this small community where my great great grandfather moved in 1842. All of the land on the right side of the road has always had cows on it for as long as I can remember. There used to be two other houses on it. One fell down a long time ago and my grandmother had the other one moved next to the main house in the 1960s. The dark circles are ponds for the cows to get drinking water, and sometimes there are fish in them. The land in the upper right corner is somewhat hilly and has a scattering of trees and an outcropping of white rock. The square of property on the left side of the road was always cultivated by my grandfather. Now it is used to harvest hay to feed the cows. It also had a house at some point. I don't ever remember seeing the house but there is a well so there must have been one there.

Below is a closeup of the lower part of the property, where the houses are. Henry and I live in the house underneath the curved driveway. It's actually two houses very close together. Below the houses and to the right is the barn. South of those buildings is a house, barn, and garage where my grandfather's sister used to live. She died in 1992 at age 99. Since then the property has been bought by another family.

This is a fun place to grow up, but it is isolated. I remember planning out infrequent trips to the mall--the closest was forty or more miles away. Even a trip to the grocery store has to be planned out. But there is lots to run around and see, lots of room to have a garden or raise animals or ride a bicycle.

Beautiful Weather and a walk on the farm

Henry has been enjoying the added space we have in the main house. Friends from church came over and helped me move a few of the bigger pieces I couldn't do by myself--now he can relax in his recliner while watching our big screen television. He continues to be mesmerized by the Wiggles.

Yesterday the weather was nice--it must have been around 68 degrees outside. There were things I needed to do outside but haven't had the chance because it was cold and windy. But yesterday we had the chance to go out and walk around. Henry warily watches the side of the barn--I had to use the air compressor to air up the tire on the wheel barrow and that always freaks him out.

Besides working around the yard (I had to pick up several shingles that blew off the roof of the house a few weeks ago) we walked way out into the pasture to retrieve this large feeding bucket. I'm not sure where it came from, it isn't one of ours. But the wind has been extremely high and it could have blown from anywhere. It has been out in the pasture for a couple of weeks

My white cat Sugarbabe followed us. She is friendlier around Henry now. She scratched Henry after we first came home. I think they both have learned each other's boundaries.

The red Gap shirt is a Christmas gift from Henry's brother Ben. It was just right for our Texas winter.

Changeable Weather

The weather has gone up and down lately. Friday I took off work because the children's center was close--and the temperature went up to 87. We sat outside on the porch and watched the birds fly around. Then Saturday night it started to get cold, and Sunday by noon it was around freezing.
These are photos of Henry that I took in church--in the small meeting room that I take refuge in with him when he gets too noisy to sit in the chapel.

Sometimes there are more people in the room, there is a speaker piping in sound from the chapel. But this last weekend we had it all to ourselves.

Henry has been eating a lot lately, and I think he weighs close to thirty pounds now. I have also weaned him off of having to go to bed with a bottle of milk. I got to thinking it is not good for his teeth to go to sleep with a mouth full of milk. Luckily he doesn't seem to mind it, and he is usually very eaget to go to bed. He still sleeps in a crib, though I have a bed ready to move him into.

Last night I weighed and measured Henry. He is 34 inches tall and weighs 27 pounds. On the Vietnamese growth chart that puts him at around the 60th percentile. When i got Henry at 16 months and just under 17 pounds back in October 2007 he was below the zero percentile.