Someone shared this quote with me today, and I thought it was so true to my personal journey that I wanted to share it with you all. Hai has certainly set me on a "mythic quest" and has also reminded me of how connected we all are.
"Adoption is a metaphor for the human condition, setting us forth on a mythic quest that will prove that we are connected to each other and to all the creatures of this world and in this process, reveal to us who we really are."
Betty Jean Lifton, author of Journey of the Adopted Self
Love all, Melissa + Hai
Monday, December 15, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Good ears, good teeth, not so good at sleeping...
In the past 2 weeks Hai's gotten a clean bill of health for his ears, and his teeth. On the ears - the audiologist was finally able to actually make the equipment work and get a reading that says he can hear! And the teeth, well, Hai braved his first trip to the dentist yesterday. I don't think it was a great first impression, but at least she said his teeth look fine.
But Hai continues to earn the name "little stinker" with his Tia. I went to a concert last night and when I got to Tia's house around midnight, Hai was asleep, but apparently whenever the word "sleep" was uttered he decided to wail and say no (reference "hearing exam" above!).
I must say, it was nice to get there and just take my time, get ready for bed and have Hai sleep straight through the night and wake up with a smile on his face. Hmmm... wonder if I could make this a habit? :-)
I made my first apple pie for thanksgiving today. Yes, I'm 40 something years old and had never made an apple pie. I learned that I am thankful that the nanny was watching Hai this afternoon, as I would never have been able to cut and peel all those apples with him around. It's an artery-hardening recipe - lots of butter - but it sure smells good!
I hope you all have a great thanksgiving. I'm so thankful for the past year with Hai and many more to come. And I'm thankful for my friends and family that make it possible for me to be the best Mom I can be. Happy Thanksgiving!
Love all - Melissa
But Hai continues to earn the name "little stinker" with his Tia. I went to a concert last night and when I got to Tia's house around midnight, Hai was asleep, but apparently whenever the word "sleep" was uttered he decided to wail and say no (reference "hearing exam" above!).
I must say, it was nice to get there and just take my time, get ready for bed and have Hai sleep straight through the night and wake up with a smile on his face. Hmmm... wonder if I could make this a habit? :-)
I made my first apple pie for thanksgiving today. Yes, I'm 40 something years old and had never made an apple pie. I learned that I am thankful that the nanny was watching Hai this afternoon, as I would never have been able to cut and peel all those apples with him around. It's an artery-hardening recipe - lots of butter - but it sure smells good!
I hope you all have a great thanksgiving. I'm so thankful for the past year with Hai and many more to come. And I'm thankful for my friends and family that make it possible for me to be the best Mom I can be. Happy Thanksgiving!
Love all - Melissa
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Little stinker...
Last night Hai tried the patience of his Tia ... I had a work dinner so I asked Hai's "tia/auntie" if she would watch Hai until about 10pm. Of course she said ok.
She asked me, "so, how do you put him to sleep".
My answer: "oh, he's pretty good about it, I just give him some milk (or not, even), brush his teeth and put him in the bed, read a book and then let him roll around awhile until he goes to sleep (yes, I stay with him until he's asleep). You should be able to put him in bed with your daughter and they should both be asleep by 9."
Yeah, right...
I got to her house at 10:15 and there was Hai, smiling and running to me saying "mommy!! mommy!" His Tia did not look so happy... she was ready to throttle him. I guess he kept the whole house awake for awhile.
Of course, when we got home he was asleep in his bed in 5min.
I've created a monster...I wonder if I'm ever going to be able to leave this kid with someone else at night. Hopefully before he's a teenager...
love all,
Melissa & Hai
She asked me, "so, how do you put him to sleep".
My answer: "oh, he's pretty good about it, I just give him some milk (or not, even), brush his teeth and put him in the bed, read a book and then let him roll around awhile until he goes to sleep (yes, I stay with him until he's asleep). You should be able to put him in bed with your daughter and they should both be asleep by 9."
Yeah, right...
I got to her house at 10:15 and there was Hai, smiling and running to me saying "mommy!! mommy!" His Tia did not look so happy... she was ready to throttle him. I guess he kept the whole house awake for awhile.
Of course, when we got home he was asleep in his bed in 5min.
I've created a monster...I wonder if I'm ever going to be able to leave this kid with someone else at night. Hopefully before he's a teenager...
love all,
Melissa & Hai
Monday, November 3, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Let him eat cake!
A photo from last weekend's reunion. Hai loves cake, but he loves frosting and the chocolate candy ON the cake more. :-)
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The spider at the door
This spider has been building and re-building her web right outside our sliding glass door to our deck for a couple of weeks. She's about the size of a silver dollar, and I'm sure she's harmless. But boy, is she interesting looking.
I guess Hai and I have a pet after all!
Melissa
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
You let her do WHAT to me?
The joys of your best friend being a 5 year old girl that is very into princesses. He's going to kill me for having these pictures some day... :-)
Monday, October 13, 2008
Love all,
Melissa & Hai
Tuyen Quang Reunion!
On Saturday we got together with several families that have adopted from Tuyen Quang in Vietnam. This is a shot of all our kids! Yes, Christina is on the right, and of course I count her and Maria as part of our family (besides, the only way we could really get a good picture with Hai was to have Christina hold him).
It was great to get together with everyone and see how much the kids have all grown. It's interesting to me that all our kids seem to be good eaters! Hai pretty much ate his way through the reunion, particularly the dark chocolate pieces on the cake (he takes after Grandma on that one).
And Saturday night we had our own reunion with Jaap, Josie, Maria and Christina. We went to Fiesta Del Mar (as usual) - our home away from home. Josie flew down for a 24hr trip from Seattle - it was great to see her and Hai was very happy.
All together a great weekend!
Love all,
Melissa & Hai
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Happy Anniversary!!
One year ago today Maria and I nervously walked out to the lobby of the Somerset Grand Hotel in Hanoi, boarded an incredibly crowded van full of other nervous parents, rode 4 hours through the mountains of Vietnam, avoiding water buffalo and water hazards (3 ft of water covering the road), walked up the road to the "Tuyen Quang Social Sponsorship Center", drank a huge bottle of water, and then entered a room full of children and was handed my son. I remember the feeling of driving up the orphanage and how quiet everyone got in the van. I think we were all completely unaware of how our lives were going to change in the next 15min.
If Hai remembers anything of that day it will probably be that his new mom put him in a sweater that his Grandma had sent us. It was adorable, and had his name embroidered in a star on the front. Only problem was it was 95 degrees and 95 percent humidity in Tuyen Quang that day... I've been over dressing Hai ever since.
The past year has gone by so quickly and yet so much has changed in my life. I honestly don't remember much of what my life was like before Hai. He's become so much of my world, and I suppose I've become most of his.
So, happy anniversary of the day I officially "got Hai". You are the best decision I ever made, and likely will ever make. I love you!!
Mommy
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Hai thinks it's his birthday...
A little video of Hai at Christina's birthday party. He thinks all parties are for him! Pay no attention to the bad singing in the background (it's better with the volume turned down and your iPod on).
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Hai and Christina in Santa Cruz
I love how Hai just takes it easy and lets Christina do all the work... :-)
Friday, August 29, 2008
Slumber party
A couple of weeks ago Tina, Hai and I had a slumber party. I took this picture in the morning when I woke up. Aren't they cute? Tina was mad because I had to go to work early that morning and she was still sleeping when the nanny came and I left. She says next slumber party "no working!". I agree... :-)Love all,
Melissa
Monday, August 18, 2008
Catching up! San Diego vacation, haircuts and more
Hi all,
It's been a long time since my last post. I have photos and videos I need to get uploaded, but for now you'll have to settle for text-only!
We got back last Tuesday from a week at the beach in San Diego. We stayed right on Mission Beach at 3773 Ocean Front Walk. It was a small, older condo with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a small kitchen and living area. The good news is that it was perfectly located, steps off the beach in the middle of Mission Beach. We found ourselves walking most places and spending a lot of time just hanging out listening to the waves!
Hai had a great time playing in the sand and we went to Sea World ($60 to see the Shamu show before Hai got tired!! :-) We also went to the Wild Animal park - HOT - but very, very fun. We even saw a 2 week old rhino and Hai got to play in the water play area with a bunch of older kids.
Before we left for San Diego, Hai had his 18-month check up with the Doctor. The good news is we haven't seen a hive in the past 3 weeks. He was pronounced a healthy little boy by the doc! He's tall for his age/ethnicity - he's at 50% on the American growth charts (taller than 50% of the kids his age on average), but he's still low on the weight charts. I'm going to write a book on "how to eat like a horse, get taller and not gain weight - the Vietnamese toddler diet". I'm certain it would be a best seller.
And finally, last weekend Hai had his first "professional" haircut. Everyone seems to think my hairdresser did a better job than I did, and he did it for the price of a triple vente latte from Starbucks.
Hope you all are doing well and enjoying your summer!
Love all,
Melissa
It's been a long time since my last post. I have photos and videos I need to get uploaded, but for now you'll have to settle for text-only!
We got back last Tuesday from a week at the beach in San Diego. We stayed right on Mission Beach at 3773 Ocean Front Walk. It was a small, older condo with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a small kitchen and living area. The good news is that it was perfectly located, steps off the beach in the middle of Mission Beach. We found ourselves walking most places and spending a lot of time just hanging out listening to the waves!
Hai had a great time playing in the sand and we went to Sea World ($60 to see the Shamu show before Hai got tired!! :-) We also went to the Wild Animal park - HOT - but very, very fun. We even saw a 2 week old rhino and Hai got to play in the water play area with a bunch of older kids.
Before we left for San Diego, Hai had his 18-month check up with the Doctor. The good news is we haven't seen a hive in the past 3 weeks. He was pronounced a healthy little boy by the doc! He's tall for his age/ethnicity - he's at 50% on the American growth charts (taller than 50% of the kids his age on average), but he's still low on the weight charts. I'm going to write a book on "how to eat like a horse, get taller and not gain weight - the Vietnamese toddler diet". I'm certain it would be a best seller.
And finally, last weekend Hai had his first "professional" haircut. Everyone seems to think my hairdresser did a better job than I did, and he did it for the price of a triple vente latte from Starbucks.
Hope you all are doing well and enjoying your summer!
Love all,
Melissa
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Beach weekend
We went to Monterey with Jaap this weekend. He has a friend with a beach house that we were able to use Saturday night. We had a great time and Hai truly enjoyed himself.
We only had one major fall off the high chair and one hive outbreak all weekend. I hope that's not a harbinger of what our San Diego vacation will be like - otherwise I better familiarize myself with the locations of urgent cares in the San Diego area. (no, we didn't need any urgent care this weekend, just some Benadryl...)
Hai played on the beach and in the sand, and found every toy in the beach house (and there were a few). I've included some video links.
Hope you all had a beachy weekend too!
Love all,
Melissa & Hai
We only had one major fall off the high chair and one hive outbreak all weekend. I hope that's not a harbinger of what our San Diego vacation will be like - otherwise I better familiarize myself with the locations of urgent cares in the San Diego area. (no, we didn't need any urgent care this weekend, just some Benadryl...)
Hai played on the beach and in the sand, and found every toy in the beach house (and there were a few). I've included some video links.
Hope you all had a beachy weekend too!
Love all,
Melissa & Hai
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Hai has hives (say that 5 times fast!!)
It's a medical mystery...
For the last week or so, Hai has had a virus. It started with a "normal", yucky, stomach thing... and now it's gone to a break out of hives on his hands and feet every morning. it's only in the morning, and only on his hands and feet. Yes, I washed all the bedding (and in fact, I'm moving out the mattress we put in a week or so ago to see if that helps). And yes, it's getting better day by day... but it is certainly weird.
My theory is it's something in the bed, carpet, or something. The cleaning lady is coming today and will use my HEPA filtered vacuum on the whole place... Hopefully Hai's hives will go away soon and that tongue-twister will be a thing of the past!
Love all,
Melissa & Hai
For the last week or so, Hai has had a virus. It started with a "normal", yucky, stomach thing... and now it's gone to a break out of hives on his hands and feet every morning. it's only in the morning, and only on his hands and feet. Yes, I washed all the bedding (and in fact, I'm moving out the mattress we put in a week or so ago to see if that helps). And yes, it's getting better day by day... but it is certainly weird.
My theory is it's something in the bed, carpet, or something. The cleaning lady is coming today and will use my HEPA filtered vacuum on the whole place... Hopefully Hai's hives will go away soon and that tongue-twister will be a thing of the past!
Love all,
Melissa & Hai
Monday, July 14, 2008
Over the river and through the air to Grandma's house!
Last week we returned from 9 days with Grandma, Granddad and Uncle Keith. We had a great time and Hai enjoyed all the attention. He was great on the airplane, though he only slept 30min on the flight over. By the time we flew home, he slept half the flight - I assume because it was all old news by that point.
We went to the zoo in Albuquerque and Hai got to see his first elephants, giraffes, flamingos, zebras and more. He loved it. And we also went to the aquarium where we ate lunch next to the big tank and watched the turtle (one of Hai's favorite animals). And of course, we spent a lot of time in Granddad and Grandma's pool! Hai's getting more and more comfortable in the water (particularly if Mom's not in it with him so it seems)!
We had lots of great food in typical McVicker tradition on our vacation. Keith made us great green chile cheeseburgers one night and we got to see his new house (enough to make me really think about the cost of living in the Bay Area, let me tell you!). And Keith also smoked prime rib for the whole family for July 4th and set off fireworks for us. Finally, the day before we left Grandma had a little party for Hai where we got to see a lot of old friends, it was great.
We came back from vacation and I launched right back into work full tilt. It doesn't appear that the summer "slow down" is really happening this year. But we're already planning our next vacation to San Diego in August. We'll be even better prepared for that one, though we don't have the luxury of having Grandma set everything up for us before we arrive that time!
Here's some photos of our trip to Albuquerque.
Love all - Melissa & Hai
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Hot, hot, hot... and bird killer...
It's Sunday morning and it's only 75 degrees in our house at 9am. That's a far cry better than it was yesterday - 85 by the same time and over 100 in the afternoon! Hai and I hung out with Maria and Christina (we love them for lots of things, but lately it's been their a/c).
I haven't posted in awhile (see the picture below for one of the reasons) :-). But right now, Teletubbies is on, so I think I have 5 or 10min... Hai thinks the little baby sun on that show is hilarious.
We're getting ready for our vacation at Grandma and Granddad's house next weekend. I'm starting to make lists of what we need to travel... basically only clothes and some food and toys for the plane. Grandma has taken care of everything else. I'm convinced Hai is going to think he got on the plane and went to "toddler heaven"!
The most exciting thing that happened last week was on Friday when Hai decided that it was time to scramble up some eggs. Unfortunately, they were little eggs in a bird's nest in Maria's backyard that Christina was watching to see when they hatched. Needless to say, Hai didn't realize that those things turn into birds (to him they turn into breakfast) and caused quite a commotion when he decided to break them... we now refer to Hai as "the destrucTOR"...
I hope everyone is having a great weekend and staying out of the heat!
Love all,
Melissa & The DestrucTOR
I haven't posted in awhile (see the picture below for one of the reasons) :-). But right now, Teletubbies is on, so I think I have 5 or 10min... Hai thinks the little baby sun on that show is hilarious.
We're getting ready for our vacation at Grandma and Granddad's house next weekend. I'm starting to make lists of what we need to travel... basically only clothes and some food and toys for the plane. Grandma has taken care of everything else. I'm convinced Hai is going to think he got on the plane and went to "toddler heaven"!
The most exciting thing that happened last week was on Friday when Hai decided that it was time to scramble up some eggs. Unfortunately, they were little eggs in a bird's nest in Maria's backyard that Christina was watching to see when they hatched. Needless to say, Hai didn't realize that those things turn into birds (to him they turn into breakfast) and caused quite a commotion when he decided to break them... we now refer to Hai as "the destrucTOR"...
I hope everyone is having a great weekend and staying out of the heat!
Love all,
Melissa & The DestrucTOR
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Blog bog...
This is why I don't blog as often as I'd like. If I'm at the computer and Hai is around, he's fascinated and wants to type... my little computer scientist...
Melissa
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Mom's the Bomb
Hai and I celebrated our first Mother's Day together this weekend. It was great, we spent Saturday just hanging out in the house and playing and then went to downtown Mountain View and had Chinese food at the "Hong Kong Bistro" - a great new place that has food not to different from what we could get in HK. Hai got 2 new books for mother's day, including one that is called "sounds around the house" and actually includes a burp and a fart (blamed on the dog). It's hilarious and he thinks it's really funny. I'll probably regret getting it for him someday...
Yesterday we went for fancy brunch at the Four Seasons hotel in Palo Alto. They did a great job and it was lovely. Even Hai had fun as they had good food and he got to run around saying "hello" to everyone (one of his new words).
Hai's other new word is "Bom", which is actually "mom". So, hey, it's my first mother's day and "mom's the bomb"!!
Love all,
Melissa
Yesterday we went for fancy brunch at the Four Seasons hotel in Palo Alto. They did a great job and it was lovely. Even Hai had fun as they had good food and he got to run around saying "hello" to everyone (one of his new words).
Hai's other new word is "Bom", which is actually "mom". So, hey, it's my first mother's day and "mom's the bomb"!!
Love all,
Melissa
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Thankful...
I have been debating about posting anything on the current situation with adoptions in Vietnam. I am not involved in the process now, and so my knowledge of the situation is only what I read and what I hear from other parents or groups. I have lots of feelings, but no real data. What I have decided is that I'm disappointed and heartbroken for the children that will still be in orphanages, regardless of what happens between the US and Vietnam.
Someday when Hai reads this blog I want him to know how lucky I feel that we were able to make our family together. He's the best thing that's ever happened in my life, so I thank God, the Universe and timing that we were able to complete our adoption and become a family.
Here's a couple of pictures of Hai from a party we went to this weekend. He had his first pony ride! He completely missed his nap and it was about 85 degrees, so he's barely holding his head up, but he sure thought the ponies and the petting zoo were cool. Too bad Mom can't keep her mouth shut for the photo...
Someday when Hai reads this blog I want him to know how lucky I feel that we were able to make our family together. He's the best thing that's ever happened in my life, so I thank God, the Universe and timing that we were able to complete our adoption and become a family.
Here's a couple of pictures of Hai from a party we went to this weekend. He had his first pony ride! He completely missed his nap and it was about 85 degrees, so he's barely holding his head up, but he sure thought the ponies and the petting zoo were cool. Too bad Mom can't keep her mouth shut for the photo...
For those of you interested, his shirt says "AB/CD" :-)
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Another tooth!
Finally, we've got another tooth coming in (Hai's been stuck with 4 teeth for months now). Last night I saw another one coming in on the lower left side, and I suspect there is a matching one on the right not far behind. That probably explains why he's had some trouble sleeping and napping the past few days!
I haven't posted for a while because Grandma was here last week and we were very busy. I had some long meetings for work and Hai and Grandma got a lot of time to visit together. He's really walking now and starting to say lots of words like "bye bye" and "duck" and "hai" and "mom" and "done". "Done" is his favorite right now because he thinks that's always how he'll get out of the high chair. He tried it on mom and I on Sunday morning before we'd even ordered our lunch at the restaurant... it didn't work quite as well that time, but he did discover he really likes melon - cantalope and water melon (good for him as both my mom and I don't really like it). Last night he ate a whole piece of meatloaf and some of my steak... we still haven't really found a food Hai doesn't like.
It's a good thing he's getting those teeth!!
I haven't posted for a while because Grandma was here last week and we were very busy. I had some long meetings for work and Hai and Grandma got a lot of time to visit together. He's really walking now and starting to say lots of words like "bye bye" and "duck" and "hai" and "mom" and "done". "Done" is his favorite right now because he thinks that's always how he'll get out of the high chair. He tried it on mom and I on Sunday morning before we'd even ordered our lunch at the restaurant... it didn't work quite as well that time, but he did discover he really likes melon - cantalope and water melon (good for him as both my mom and I don't really like it). Last night he ate a whole piece of meatloaf and some of my steak... we still haven't really found a food Hai doesn't like.
It's a good thing he's getting those teeth!!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Hi, Hai...
"Hi Hai"... Hai has figured out that "Hi" and "Hai" both mean "hello" and his name. So for the past 3 days he's been running around saying "hi" and "Hai". I'm not sure he knows the difference yet, but when he looks in the mirror he definitely says "Hai" -- and knows it's his name -- and when I answer the phone he says "Hi".
He's also figured out some body parts - he knows his "toes", "ears", "eyes", "hands", and of course, his "tummy" (his favorite body part).
And according to his doctor, he's a healthy 15 month old!
Love all,
Melissa
He's also figured out some body parts - he knows his "toes", "ears", "eyes", "hands", and of course, his "tummy" (his favorite body part).
And according to his doctor, he's a healthy 15 month old!
Love all,
Melissa
Monday, March 24, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
some new pics
This is what happens when Uncle Jaap babysits... :-)
Hai on St. Patrick's day - his shirt says "Luck of the Irish"... since he's a McVicker now... :)Friday, March 14, 2008
Our bedtime song...
What seems like ages ago, in the Somerset Grand Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, after Hai and I had been together about 48 hours he was awake and crying from his ear infection and I was singing every song I could think of to calm him down. It was about 2am, and my brain was running on adrenaline and jet lag. There was one song that finally worked, and I've sung it to him just about every night since then. I'm not sure if it's our "adoption song", but it's definitely one that he will know when he gets older. I hope he appreciates the irony that it comes from deep in my 80's heavy metal memory banks...
Title:Scorpions - Holiday
This is lyrics from www.lyrics007.com
Music :rudolf schenker
Lyrics:klaus meine
Let me take you far away
You’d like a holiday
Let me take you far away
You’d like a holiday
Exchange the cold days for the sun
A good time and fun
Let me take you far away
You’d like a holiday
Let me take you far away
You’d like a holiday
Let me take you far away
You’d like a holiday
Exchange your troubles for some love
Wherever you are
Let me take you far away
You’d like a holiday
Longing for the sun you will come
To the island without name
Longing for the sun be welcome
On the island many miles away from home
Be welcome on the island without name
Longing for the sun you will come
To the island many miles away from home
Title:Scorpions - Holiday
This is lyrics from www.lyrics007.com
Music :rudolf schenker
Lyrics:klaus meine
Let me take you far away
You’d like a holiday
Let me take you far away
You’d like a holiday
Exchange the cold days for the sun
A good time and fun
Let me take you far away
You’d like a holiday
Let me take you far away
You’d like a holiday
Let me take you far away
You’d like a holiday
Exchange your troubles for some love
Wherever you are
Let me take you far away
You’d like a holiday
Longing for the sun you will come
To the island without name
Longing for the sun be welcome
On the island many miles away from home
Be welcome on the island without name
Longing for the sun you will come
To the island many miles away from home
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Tao of Poo...
OK, if you are eating, or thinking about eating, read this later, but it's too funny not to blog about...
the last couple of nights with Hai have been interesting to say the least. If you're keeping up, you know I have a cold thanks to the little germ monster. thus, i've been going to sleep around the same time he does the past couple of nights - between 8 and 9pm. Well, for the past two nights he's been awake between 2am and 4am... last night for 2 hours. At first I didn't get it, but now I see the pattern.
the past 2 nights he's woken up, not unhappy, but clearly not able to sleep. He wants to be held, and he'll take a bottle with milk if I get it for him, but he's not really hungry, just seems to be awake and not able to go back to sleep. At first I thought, "it's because he doesn't have a good nap schedule". Which is true... sometimes he skips the morning nap and sometimes that's his longest nap of the day, so yes, this probably has something to do with it. But last night I realized that something else is happening.
Last night as he was laying in bed, at around 4:30am he finally made those noises that I know are only associated with one thing...
so, it goes something like this... grunt, grunt... GRUNT, GGGGRRRRUUUNNNNTTTTT, and then complete silence. Then the smell...
I look over and realize that he's completely asleep. I pick him up, put him on the changing table, change the diaper (wipe him down and all), still completely asleep. I put him back in the bed and he sleeps until 7:45am.
Is my kid a total BOY or what????
Love all, Melissa & the "pooper"
the last couple of nights with Hai have been interesting to say the least. If you're keeping up, you know I have a cold thanks to the little germ monster. thus, i've been going to sleep around the same time he does the past couple of nights - between 8 and 9pm. Well, for the past two nights he's been awake between 2am and 4am... last night for 2 hours. At first I didn't get it, but now I see the pattern.
the past 2 nights he's woken up, not unhappy, but clearly not able to sleep. He wants to be held, and he'll take a bottle with milk if I get it for him, but he's not really hungry, just seems to be awake and not able to go back to sleep. At first I thought, "it's because he doesn't have a good nap schedule". Which is true... sometimes he skips the morning nap and sometimes that's his longest nap of the day, so yes, this probably has something to do with it. But last night I realized that something else is happening.
Last night as he was laying in bed, at around 4:30am he finally made those noises that I know are only associated with one thing...
so, it goes something like this... grunt, grunt... GRUNT, GGGGRRRRUUUNNNNTTTTT, and then complete silence. Then the smell...
I look over and realize that he's completely asleep. I pick him up, put him on the changing table, change the diaper (wipe him down and all), still completely asleep. I put him back in the bed and he sleeps until 7:45am.
Is my kid a total BOY or what????
Love all, Melissa & the "pooper"
Monday, March 10, 2008
14 months old, 5 months together
Well, last week Hai became 14 months old on March 5 (give or take a couple of weeks). We celebrated by applying for his passport and a new certificate of citizenship with his legal name on both. I figure the passport is more important than the social security number at this point... seeing as I'll probably file an extension for my taxes this year :-)
And as of March 8, Hai and I have been together for 5 months. It feels like forever to me - like we've always been a family. We celebrated that landmark by Hai giving Mom his cold. He gets the sniffles and I end up feeling icky - I guess we have many more years of this!!
Jaap is feeling better, thank goodness. He was very sick and Hai and I selfishly missed him coming over and entertaining us. We got to see him on Saturday and Sunday this weekend and spent a couple of gorgeous days outside.
Finally, I'm so glad for this time change. I think from now on I'm going to celebrate the time change every year, I think it's my favorite day of the year. I love it when the days get longer and there's more light in the evening. It reminds me of playing outside until the last shafts of light faded when I was a kid in the summers.
Hope everyone is enjoying their longer evenings!
Love all,
Melissa & Hai
And as of March 8, Hai and I have been together for 5 months. It feels like forever to me - like we've always been a family. We celebrated that landmark by Hai giving Mom his cold. He gets the sniffles and I end up feeling icky - I guess we have many more years of this!!
Jaap is feeling better, thank goodness. He was very sick and Hai and I selfishly missed him coming over and entertaining us. We got to see him on Saturday and Sunday this weekend and spent a couple of gorgeous days outside.
Finally, I'm so glad for this time change. I think from now on I'm going to celebrate the time change every year, I think it's my favorite day of the year. I love it when the days get longer and there's more light in the evening. It reminds me of playing outside until the last shafts of light faded when I was a kid in the summers.
Hope everyone is enjoying their longer evenings!
Love all,
Melissa & Hai
Monday, February 25, 2008
Communication breakthrough
When my mom was here a month or so ago I remember her saying that she was much more excited when my brother and I started to talk versus when we started to walk because she could communicate with us. (I suspect there were many times in our teenage years that she thought differently...) I can completely understand how she felt after the past few days.
Hai has definitely started to understand more in the past week or so, and he's got to be close to coming out with full sentences. He's certainly got the head nods for "yes" and "no" down. And yes, he does know the difference. Take tonight for example. He was in his high chair having dinner (turkey meatloaf, macaroni and cheese and "organic summer vegetables", same dinner as his mom except I had a glass of wine instead of summer vegetables... oh well.) Anyway, he was looking a little tired, so I said "are you finished" - he shook his head yes. Do you want any more - no. Do you want to take a bath - enthusiastic yes!! So, OK, I'm sure some of this is just a reaction to my tone of voice or my inflections, but he definitely is getting more and more language comprehension.
Tonight in the bathtub he had his back turned to me standing up pounding on the wall (we do this to annoy the neighbor downstairs that thinks my 14 month old makes too much noise at noon on a Saturday he, he...) Anyway, I thought I would ask him the question I've been avoiding... "who's your Mae?" You religious readers out there will remember that "mae" is "mother" in Vietnamese and the only word Hai said when I first got him. He's stopped saying it recently so I wasn't sure if he'd thought he'd lost his mae or if he'd just forgotten the word. Well, when I asked before he even thought he whipped his arm out and turned around and pointed at me at smiled. Ok, yeah, it got to me... then I said "who's your Mommy?" He had to think a little longer, but sure enough, same thing, he turned around and pointed and touched my arm.
I realize that those of you that spend any amount of time around the two of us are going "well, no SH%^, Melissa", as it is really pretty obvious that Hai knows his mommy. But it was pretty cool for me nonetheless.
Anyway, long story short, I can't wait for Hai to talk. I know I may regret that someday when he's a teenager, but for now I can't wait to hear him say "Mommy" versus just shake his head yes and point at me when someone else does!
Love all,
Melissa
Hai has definitely started to understand more in the past week or so, and he's got to be close to coming out with full sentences. He's certainly got the head nods for "yes" and "no" down. And yes, he does know the difference. Take tonight for example. He was in his high chair having dinner (turkey meatloaf, macaroni and cheese and "organic summer vegetables", same dinner as his mom except I had a glass of wine instead of summer vegetables... oh well.) Anyway, he was looking a little tired, so I said "are you finished" - he shook his head yes. Do you want any more - no. Do you want to take a bath - enthusiastic yes!! So, OK, I'm sure some of this is just a reaction to my tone of voice or my inflections, but he definitely is getting more and more language comprehension.
Tonight in the bathtub he had his back turned to me standing up pounding on the wall (we do this to annoy the neighbor downstairs that thinks my 14 month old makes too much noise at noon on a Saturday he, he...) Anyway, I thought I would ask him the question I've been avoiding... "who's your Mae?" You religious readers out there will remember that "mae" is "mother" in Vietnamese and the only word Hai said when I first got him. He's stopped saying it recently so I wasn't sure if he'd thought he'd lost his mae or if he'd just forgotten the word. Well, when I asked before he even thought he whipped his arm out and turned around and pointed at me at smiled. Ok, yeah, it got to me... then I said "who's your Mommy?" He had to think a little longer, but sure enough, same thing, he turned around and pointed and touched my arm.
I realize that those of you that spend any amount of time around the two of us are going "well, no SH%^, Melissa", as it is really pretty obvious that Hai knows his mommy. But it was pretty cool for me nonetheless.
Anyway, long story short, I can't wait for Hai to talk. I know I may regret that someday when he's a teenager, but for now I can't wait to hear him say "Mommy" versus just shake his head yes and point at me when someone else does!
Love all,
Melissa
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Hai's California Family
Here is a photo of Hai's re-adoption day. It is a true "California" family! From left to right - Beatriz, Hai's nanny, comes from California by way of El Salvador; Maria, Hai's Auntie/Tia, is a true California native (from San Diego/LA); our judge; Hai; me; and Hai's uncle Jaap, a Californian by way of Holland and a short stop in Texas.
We had a great day and it was exciting for all of us - Hai had a 2 hour nap after our lunch, so I think it was a big day for him too!
I've got all the paperwork for his passport, social security number and an updated US Certificate of Citizenship (with his new, legal name). Now I just have to find time to fill them out and figure out how you get a 13-month-old to sit still for passport photos! :-)
Love all,
Melissa
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
It's official!!
It's official - Hai is now a member of the "McVicker family with all the rights and responsibilities attached thereto". Grandma and I are trying to figure out if that means he's got to take out the trash and clean up after the cat when he's at her house. I'm just glad that now I can get him a social security number and put him to work!Seriously, yesterday we had our formal re-adoption ceremony at the Santa Clara Superior Court. It was definitely ceremonial, as I didn't even have to show my ID... :-) Maria, Jaap and Beatriz (Hai's nanny) were all there with me and Hai as I signed the adoption order and swore to be his parent forever. It was pretty cool and we had a good cry, a great lunch, and some champagne, afterward at E&O Trading Company in San Jose. We figured SE Asian food made sense, and their Vietnamese shaking beef is excellent.
I think now all the formalities are done and Hai and I can get down to the business of just being a family. All I need to do is apply for his passport so we can go down to Cabo and he can see his timeshare soon!
Oh, and Jaap has all the pictures from yesterday, as well as still having the pictures from Hai's birthday. Jaap - i'm calling you out - you owe me a CD or a download site for those pics!! :-)
Love all,
Melissa
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Cheerios & "working from home"...
Hai LOVES Cheerios. He's got to have the lowest cholesterol count of any 1 year old out there. He won't eat anything unless there are Cheerios on his high chair tray. I mean it. You could put a Hershey bar in front of him and he would eat around it for the Cheerios. However, as you can see from this photo, sometimes he misses his mouth by a bit, still.
I tried to work from home a couple of days this week. It's impossible. The only time it works is when Hai is napping. Even with the nanny here there is still too much distraction to get anything but the most mundane emails done. I'm sure glad they are upgrading our offices and we can move in next month, I need some peace and quiet!
But I didn't miss going to our annual sales conference at all. I thought I might feel a tinge of "I wish I was there", but not really. The only thing I miss is seeing my boss' speech in person. It's the first time I've missed his sales conference speech since I was his speechwriter... I guess it's really time for a change this year, huh?
Anyway, time to go to the store and get some more Cheerios. If I run out of those we might starve in a house full of food!
Love all,
Melissa
Monday, January 21, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Birthdays and back to work...
Well, it's day 2 at work for me... Thankfully, my parents are still in town, so leaving Hai in the morning with Grandma, Granddad and the nanny makes it much easier to go to work. Though by about noon I'm ready to go home to get a smile from my boy. But he seems to be doing fine, though I miss waking up with him in the morning vs. getting up while he's still asleep...
Hai had his "official" first birthday on Saturday. (Jan. 5 was actually the day that Hai was left at the orphanage, they didn't really know his actually birthday, but estimated he was 15 days old, so he's really about 12months and 15 days.) I need to get the pictures from Jaap and off my video camera to upload, but suffice to say that cake was consumed and readily applied to his clothes. We went to Chuckie Cheese, which seemed a wise choice on a very, very, rainy day. Hai was quite taken with the whole Chuckie Cheese experience. He just took everything in. Not even the animatronic mouse scared him (though I was a bit unnerved by it). And the adults all agreed that their pizza is actually pretty good!
My mom also had her birthday on Wed. We went up to Stanford Shopping Center and walked around to get a little fresh air and then had an early dinner at the Fish Market restaurant. Hai really seemed to like the Fish Market. He even had his first taste of tilapia - he seemed to really like it, so I've got to get some of that for him.
My mom has also sorted things out so she can stay another week with me. This is a huge help to me as I've got 2 7am meetings next week and a dinner and all day staff meeting. Hopefully, my Dad will be able to survive on hamburgers and pizza while she's here with me and Hai. :-)
Anyway, coming back to work has been interesting and in many ways, comforting. In the past 3 months my entire life has been turned upside down, I became a mom, took 3 months off, and spent my days waiting for the sun to come out so I could go to the park or take a walk with Hai. Now I come back to work and find that not much has changed in 13 weeks away... maybe that's not what everyone at work would want to hear, but in a way it is comforting to me... and maybe a little bit of job security :-)
Love all,
Melissa
Hai had his "official" first birthday on Saturday. (Jan. 5 was actually the day that Hai was left at the orphanage, they didn't really know his actually birthday, but estimated he was 15 days old, so he's really about 12months and 15 days.) I need to get the pictures from Jaap and off my video camera to upload, but suffice to say that cake was consumed and readily applied to his clothes. We went to Chuckie Cheese, which seemed a wise choice on a very, very, rainy day. Hai was quite taken with the whole Chuckie Cheese experience. He just took everything in. Not even the animatronic mouse scared him (though I was a bit unnerved by it). And the adults all agreed that their pizza is actually pretty good!
My mom also had her birthday on Wed. We went up to Stanford Shopping Center and walked around to get a little fresh air and then had an early dinner at the Fish Market restaurant. Hai really seemed to like the Fish Market. He even had his first taste of tilapia - he seemed to really like it, so I've got to get some of that for him.
My mom has also sorted things out so she can stay another week with me. This is a huge help to me as I've got 2 7am meetings next week and a dinner and all day staff meeting. Hopefully, my Dad will be able to survive on hamburgers and pizza while she's here with me and Hai. :-)
Anyway, coming back to work has been interesting and in many ways, comforting. In the past 3 months my entire life has been turned upside down, I became a mom, took 3 months off, and spent my days waiting for the sun to come out so I could go to the park or take a walk with Hai. Now I come back to work and find that not much has changed in 13 weeks away... maybe that's not what everyone at work would want to hear, but in a way it is comforting to me... and maybe a little bit of job security :-)
Love all,
Melissa
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Resolutions
Hai and I had a great New Year's. We went to see Mark and Lisa and Cristian for New Year's eve with Jaap. Hai and Cristian are great friends and Hai loves chasing Cristian around the house (I think Cristian likes it too...not to mention Jaap)
Jaap got to witness the carseat trauma first hand when we drove home, however. I broke the cardinal rule: "Never wake a sleeping baby". Hai fell asleep on my lap around 9pm and at about 9:30 we decided it was time to get him home to bed. Well, waking him up to put him the carseat he already hates so Mommy can drive home was not a pleasant experience for any of us... But we all survived fine and he seems no worse for the wear.
To make up for it, New Year's Day was "all Hai, all the time". We went to shoreline and took a stroller walk, and then to the park. It was a beautiful day and a great way for he and I to start our 2008 together.
So, on to resolutions... usually I have some good new year's resolutions, this year I've got a few:
1. By next Thursday when I go back to work, figure out how to get up and get ready (ie out of my pajamas) before 10am (I did not master this today).
2. Sleep in my own bed, alone before the end of 2008 (or not alone, but with an adult... or not just an adult, but an adult "male"... wait... this is becoming a different resolution...).
3. Get Hai sleeping in the crib all night before the end of 2008 (see #2 above).
4. Keep the 10lbs I've lost off when I go back to work so I can keep wearing my favorite Lucky jeans.
5. Give Hai his best year yet!
Happy New Year, everyone.
Melissa
Jaap got to witness the carseat trauma first hand when we drove home, however. I broke the cardinal rule: "Never wake a sleeping baby". Hai fell asleep on my lap around 9pm and at about 9:30 we decided it was time to get him home to bed. Well, waking him up to put him the carseat he already hates so Mommy can drive home was not a pleasant experience for any of us... But we all survived fine and he seems no worse for the wear.
To make up for it, New Year's Day was "all Hai, all the time". We went to shoreline and took a stroller walk, and then to the park. It was a beautiful day and a great way for he and I to start our 2008 together.
So, on to resolutions... usually I have some good new year's resolutions, this year I've got a few:
1. By next Thursday when I go back to work, figure out how to get up and get ready (ie out of my pajamas) before 10am (I did not master this today).
2. Sleep in my own bed, alone before the end of 2008 (or not alone, but with an adult... or not just an adult, but an adult "male"... wait... this is becoming a different resolution...).
3. Get Hai sleeping in the crib all night before the end of 2008 (see #2 above).
4. Keep the 10lbs I've lost off when I go back to work so I can keep wearing my favorite Lucky jeans.
5. Give Hai his best year yet!
Happy New Year, everyone.
Melissa
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