Accessing the new blog

Just a note that the "permissions" that I sent out via blogger might be diverted into your junk folder. The test that I sent to myself was. So if you think you should have gotten a permission you might look in your junk folder, or email me.

New Blog!

I will be posting my new blog entries at a new address-- www.henryduc.blogspot.com.

This blog will be password protected. I have sent out emails to the people I could identify who follow the blog. If you did not receive one email me at scottlan903@gmail.com if you are interested in continuing to follow our exploits.

I have been wanting to get a protected blog for some time. I am reluctant to put all the photos up that I want because it has other children or other people and I didn't want to put people out in an uncontolled environment without their approval.

Also I've thought of postings lately like stories about potty training, but I wondered how Henry would feel in a few years to discover his early bowel movement on the toilet were chronicled for all the world to see. When I started this blog it was just me and my quest to complete an adoption. And I've always been a pretty open person, saying whatever I thought. But now it's not just my story, it is Henry's story, and by extension everyone we come in contact with.

I looked into Wordpress, but I was overwhelmed with the idea of having to learn a new blog format (though I'm sure it's not that complcated). Then a couple of weeks ago I discovered Blogger now has a protected blog format, and I could easily transfer everything from one blog to another.

I'll leave this original blog open to the public because I think the information I posted about the process I went through and the interviews in Vietnam will continue to be of benefit when Vietnam opens again. I might delete a few of the later entries, but they will be available in the new blog.

Country Life

It's another Tuesday--I'm working in the library, which is quite busy now with people getting their papers written before spring break next week and the athletes who are coaxed into keeping their grades up to stay on the team. Henry is staying with Sunchai and Su and their daughter Pammy, the Thai couple who are here studying. Henry ate chicken and okra with me in the new student center. This photo was taken last Tuesday in my office--he had a kid's meal of macaroni and cheese and fish.

I sort of got burned out on Imagination Movers, but over the weekend we saw one. Henry enjoys the music. He has started laying on a wooden box to watch tv. This was an old quilt box that my grandmother had--I refinished it and put wheels on it and use it as a coffee table. But I cover it with a towel because Henry kept running into it with his scooter.

Henry has a play saxophone. I was a little surprised when he tried blowing on it, because it makes music by pushing the buttons, you can't blow into it. But he recognizes it as a musical instrument that should be blown into.

I bought some pinwheels for the yard because it's so windy outside. I guess it is a lazy way of watching him play in the wind--it takes less energy than a kite and there is no string to untangle.

Henry seems to get better at communicating every day. He understand everything I say and he can make himself known with one word and pointing. He is more energetic about making vocalizations now. He usually starts jabbering in the morning as soon as he sees me.

Henry is interacting more with his environment. We went to a store a few days ago and as I was walking out (pushing him in a cart) I wasn't really thinking and was just moving through the parking lot. He started jabbering and waving his hands and pointing--I had passed the car and he was trying to get me to see it. Another time he started pointing back in an aisle we had just passed through in another store. I thought he wanted something off the shelf, but later I notice one of his shoes was missing--it had fallen off in that aisle.

As part of our country living we encounter such things as this racoon. I have actually seen five or six raccoons in the yard--all three times bigger than the cats. I chased two out of the laundry room in the guest house a couple of months ago--they were locked up in there two days and made a big mess. Somehow last week one got in the garage. It was difficult chasing it out, at one point it actually got in the house because I left the door open.

But a couple of days later I realized there was a racoon in the attic--maybe the same one I chased out of the garage. Friday night I opened the garage door and the racoon lunged at me like it was trying to get in the house. I was barefooted so I didn't want to kick it--I just screamed and slammed the door shut. Then the next morning I bought the trap. Monday morning I had caught the racoon.

I put the trap back in the box it came in and released the racoon in a small roadside park 15 miles from home on the way to work. This is as close as Henry got to it--he didn't seem that interested in getting its attention.

As soon as I opened the cage the racoon scurried off to the small nearby woods.

I have reached a milestone I set for myself with Henry. When I picked him up at the orphanage in Binh Duong he was a week over 16 months old. Now he has been with me the same amount of time. Before this point I thought about the fact that Henry had spent more of his life before he came to me than he had spent with me. Now we have passed that hump and I am really glad to have him be a part of my life.

Mama Rene

Last weekend Henry and I visited with my grandmother. I tried to get him to call her "Grandmother Lorene", which was what I was taught to call her. What came out was "Mama Rene", which she found even better.

Becky, a friend of my aunt Barbara Sue, saw Henry for the second time. She seems to have an easy time winning him over.

We also drove over to a park to meet Julia, a librarian who used to work with me. She had entered her dog BiBi in a contest/parade. Henry enjoyed running around the park, and he seemed to especially be interested in the fountain.

Julia and Henry meet each other for the first time. Julia worked with me all during the time after the referral but before my trip to Vietnam, so she saw the monthly updates and went through the excitement and anticipation with me. Then she moved jobs while I was gone and this is the first chance she has had to meet him.

This last Tuesday I picked up a "Happy Meal" at McDonald's for Henry, and we ate in the outdoor area by the library.

Henry continues to like to dip his fries into ketchup. I never taught him to do this, I'm not sure where he picked it up.

Yesterday Henry went in for a haircut. First I got my hair cut, then I picked him up and he goes his cut. This is the third haircut he has had, and the first time he has sat in the chair by himself. The other two times he had to sit in my lap.

Here is Henry before the haircut. I like the length in front but felt like it needed to be trimmed a little. He also has a lot of hair in the back, and when he eats yogurt or some other sticky food he tends to put his hands in the food and then run his hands through his hair. It makes for a mess.

Here is Henry after his haircut, when we got home. I got him a battery operated scooter. He is still learning how to operate it, and doesn't feel comfortable holding down the "gas" button. So he ends up stopping and starting. The thing also doesn't seem to have very good traction so it's hard for it to go on the slick grass.

Campus New Year Celebration

Last Tuesday we went to a campus celebration of the Chinese New Year. Henry wore his Vietnamese ao dai and made quite a hit. He enjoyed watching the dragon, and chased it around when it made the rounds of the room. He got really excited about it and finally managed to touch its tail.

Dragon Dance!

After picking up Henry on Saturday we dropped by Blake's house for his third birthday party. It was a lot of fun. Henry really enjoyed the cake (and he ate most of the icing off my piece too) and he had a good time playing with his friend.

We also ate out at La Madeleine--Henry's first introduction to faux-French food. He threw the croissant on the floor but liked the chips.

On Sunday afternoon we drove into Dallas to meet up with friends to attend the Tet celebration at the Vietnamese market in Carrollton. It was a beautiful day. I tried to get Henry to sit on my shoulders--he didn't quite make it yet, but did get halfway and helped carry his weight by putting his arm around my neck.

The dragon dance--a young man and woman did the ceremonial chasing away of bad spirits.

They had stools and a bench as part of the dance--jumping up and then the woman got on the man's shoulders. Henry watched, though he was frequently distracted when somebody let one of their balloons go and it flew into the sky.

Then we all went out to a Chinese restaurant and enjoyed dim sum and other food. It was really a fun day and a continuation of our Tet celebration.

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.