A Quiet Weekend

In anticipation of Tet we spent a quiet weekend at home. Henry slept Saturday morning while I watched President Hinckley's funeral on television. In the afternoon it was warm enough to take him outside. He doesn't have much interaction with Sugar, my indoor cat. She is not very friendly and does not like to be touched. On the other hand there are several cats outside that are very friendly. Henry managed to get close enough to pet this cat.
He is ambidextrous when it comes to taking toys out of these two boxes I bought at IKEA. My idea was that the living room would be nice and tidy with the toys all put away in these boxes, but Henry seems to dislike having them out of sight. He prefers to see the toys scattered all over the floor and will use two hands to accomplish this task.
Henry also likes to walk around the house pushing this small shopping cart, picking up stray toys along the way. So far it has not been an effort to help tidy the house--he just enjoys wandering around with the cart.
Sunday after church I took Henry to the city park. The nicer park with all the new equipment was too crowded, so we went to this smaller and older one where we were the only people there. He tolerated the swing but I don't think he really liked it.
We ended the evening by watching the Celitic Woman concert on PBS. I thought maybe the slow tempo music would mesmerize him into a state of sleepiness.

Rocking Chair Aggie

I like rocking chairs, and have several in my house that belonged to my grandparents and my great grandparents. I've even thought of bringing one to the library. I remember being rocked by my mother when I was little, and now I rock Henry in them.
I dressed Henry this morning in his Aggie shirt that my friend Robbin sent him.
Then I sat him in a big rocking chair. He enjoys the three toddler size rocking chairs, but this was the first time I put him in a big one.
He seemed a little confused at first, but he quickly realized that he could brace himself on the arms and shift his weight back and forth.
It was a little bit more effort than the smaller chairs.
But he eventually got it and started rocking back and forth. Here he is in the midst of moving rapidly back and forth.

What a Difference a Year Makes

Just a year ago I turned in my paperwork and soon received a referral for a child in Vietnam. The referral photo above was taken on 11 January, 2007. The photo below was taken 12 January, 2008. A year has really made a difference for both of us. I feel very blessed and happy to have Henry in my life.

I do want to point out that Henry wouldn't smile in this photo because the photographer had lowered the white screen behind him and it made an awful racket. He was scared and nothing we did could make him smile (whereas before the racket he was laughing and playing with the top). So my advice is to keep your child out of the studio until it is set up, especially if that set up is accompanied by loud noise!

DNA Results

I thought I would post the results of the twin zygosity test. I found it pretty interesting and others who contmplate such a test will no doubt find it informative.
These are the photo updates that really convinced me that in spite of the different birthdates, denials, and obfuscation--the boys had to be twins. These photos came to us in May, by which time we had already each signed our Letters of Affirmation and our adoptions were well underway.

I had noted similarities before. None of the other children whose photos were posted looked this much alike--I thought maybe Henry and Ben were of a different ethnic group than the rest, accounting for their similarity. Or maybe they were cousins--I just couldn't let go of the fact that they had different birthdates (although they did have the same last name).

But these photos were what really convinced me that there was more to the story.

Second round of shots

Friday we went to Henry's second appointment at the pediatrician in Plano. He got five shots, including a flu shot. The best news was that he weighs 19.1 pounds now. That is up two whole pounds from when we visited Dr. An, the gasto-enterologist, which was less than a month ago. So he is really bouncing back from the pneumonia and whatever other virus he had.

After the visit to the doctor we stopped at a Burger King where Henry played in the children's area.
He was able to walk up the stairs by himself.
He stayed most of the time at a sort of captain's wheel, turning it and turning it and seemingly not getting bored.
Henry looked upward at the rest of the play area, which went way up in the air at least two stories. One day he will be big enough to climb up there.
Things are going much better since he is feeling better and we are back in a routine. He really lik es for the children's center. He does not cry anymore when I drop him off. On some days he doesn't even look back at me as I leave. It's kind of sad for me but I am glad he seems to be enjoying playing with the older children and with the many toys that are in the larger area.

For this weekend he slept most of the time--I was told he would be sleepy from all the shots he has taken. Tomorrow the university is closed for MLK day, so we will continue to rest up.

DNA Test Results

The results are in--Ben and Henry are identical twins.
It is the news we expected. Joe and Katie and I are happy to have found each other and glad that we have identified the boys' relationship and have embarked on our lifetime journey together.

Now the questioning can begin, and hopefully someone (the agency? the facilitator? the orphanage? the provincial authorities? the DIA? the USCIS? Mary Ann Russell?)

I continue to be astonished. I got Henry's citizenship paperwork and didn't notice for a few days that it lists yet another birthdate. Is the correct birthdate 18 July that accompanied his referral? Or is it 20 September that accompanied the packet I received at the orphanage? Or perhaps it is 18 September, the date on his birth certificate that was submitted to USCIS and therefore shows up on the citizenship paperwork. Maybe it's 28 June, the date that I was told by orphanage workers was the correct date. Or could it be 19 June--Ben's reported birthdate?

And of course we have to sort out other discrepancies--which of us, if either, has the correct birth parents listed on our documentation?

There are so many surprises that come with adoption. There is the overwhelming surprise of taking another human being into your family, that accompanies any adoption. But this adoption has unique surprises all its own. There are pleasant surprises--finding Joe and Katie and Ben and having them become a part of my life.

But there is also the surprise that comes with the nagging feeling that something isn't quite right--somewhere along the line the system failed or was thwarted. Thank the heavens we have found a road to peace in this situation. But there is still more. These boys deserve to have the truth, or as much of it as can be ferreted out. Now it's just a matter of contacting the proper people to get the most accurate information we can get for these boys.

Another visit with Kevin

On Saturday Henry and I went to Plano.to visit one of Henry's companions from the HCMC orphanage. Kevin is a month younger than Henry but he is much bigger. I am glad that he lives near enough for frequent visits.
Kevin and Henry met their new parents on the same day at the Catholic orphanage in Binh Duong where they had lived together for some time. Now almost three months later they continue their friendship by playing happily and watching the dog through the window.
Bau gave us a "Jumperoo" that Kevin had either outgrown or grown tired of. Henry was very amused by the music and the ability to jump up and down incessantly without falling over.
Henry enjoyed playing outside this weekend. I bundled him up and we spent fifteen or twenty minutes with the slide. Later I took him down by the pond. I am anxious to go to the pond when there are big flocks of birds in the sky. Henry seems to enjoy the outdoors--I suppose he didn't have much opportunity to be outside in Vietnam.
Oh, and we're still waiting for the DNA results to come back. Can't make a move in regards to fixing the birth certificate until there is some proof beyond word of mouth.