Sunday, August 31, 2008

Quick Pix




'Cause you know my son LOVES the camera. What do y'all think - doesn't he have a potential career in modeling??

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Lunch Date




Minh and I went for our first ever lunch date yesterday. It was very very nice - and with another A-mom - and Minh was wonderful. We spent 2 hours talking (me and the other A-mom - Minh also talked, but that was more of a one-sided conversation) and my little ankle biter was AWESOME. He was charming, and funny, and other than flipping my entire lunch on the table (totally my fault - I did leave it where he could grab it), he was just fantastic. I had some hesitation with going to lunch with this person (I'll call her B), since I don't know her very well, and there are some things about our "relationship" that makes it a little difficult to become actual friends with her, BUT she is a fantastic woman - and aside form being another adoptive parent, B is also a working mother (who went back to work 3 weeks after bringing their DD home). It was great to hear from someone who has been through what I am going through - and she reminded me that it's OK to be a smart, dynamic, attractive, and WORKING Mother.

Ok, digression coming ........................

Nearly ALL the Moms I know (who are around my age - My Mother doesn't count!) are SAHMs. Or the preggers ladies in my life WANT to be SAHMs. And as I have said before (and will no doubt say again), I have the ABSOLUTE UTMOST respect for stay-at-home-parents in a BIG BIG way, but it is SOOOO not for me. Seriously. I took yesterday morning and part of the afternoon off to spend with the Minute, and I've had him most of today (Saturday). And it's been great. Fun even (we had coffee with another wonderful lady!)!! BUT, I know there is an end in sight - so to speak. Monday, I get to go back to work. I love my son but I am indeed a better parent BECAUSE I work. I get to stimulate my brain, I get to talk to other adults - with words that make sense - and I LOVE IT. I LOVE MY JOB. I love being a Mom. and I LOVE my job. I get virtually NO support from anyone in my life for this path I have chosen - or the people around me doesn't really understand what I am dealing with. Which is ok, but I do begin to feel isolated. Hence the lunch date with B.

Digression over ..................

Anyway, it was really nice. Minute was great, (did I mention how ADORABLE he was??) and it was really nice to hear that you can be a good Mom AND a woman (in a man's world) working at an academic institution. The most important advice she gave me was this (and I bet this is the kind of advice that working Moms as WELL SAHMs need to hear - Are you ready? Here it is:
MAKE SURE YOU MAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF. Take time to get your nails and hair done if that makes you feel better, or get a gym membership and GO TO THE GYM if that's what you enjoy. Or get your butt back into that yoga class you love... find something that replenishes your soul and allow yourself to be selfish enough to DO IT every week (or whatever).

Advice to live by.

So, what makes y'all happy? What do you do FOR YOURSELF? I want to know.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?


Minh sez: I'm READY for football season. BRING IT ON.







Minh is supporting the home-town team* today (see him sporting his NC State onesie??) in their first game of the season against South Carolina. Go WOLF PACK.

*I'm TRYING to get him to back the SEC, but he insists ACC is the way to go this year. I'm not sure I believe him... he's young, what can you do?

Feeding time at the zoo



Wednesday, August 27, 2008

my "oh-so-unhappy" kid


He looks MISERABLE, doesn't he?? Wow. It's a real shame I go to work every day, isn't it? Clearly I should quite my job so we can be homeless, can't pay our car loan, and we lose our health insurance...


and if some of you don't "get" sarcasm, that, up there - that's SARCASM. I love my work, I love my kid. I get BOTH, and I get to do both GREAT!



(Although, I AM starting to "get" the letting the house-work thing go; I LIKE that advice!!)




Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Folks in my corner - and misc A-Mom stuff

I have such wonderful people around me. I am so lucky. Thanks to all of you who have emailed me recently (and called!!). I'm TRYING to get back to every one.

T and I are still working out the "best" way of managing our new family. And frankly, I don't have a lot of "free time", so email, phone calls, and blogging has gone to the way-side. And to all you detractors out there, THAT'S B/C I TAKE CARE OF MY BEAUTIFUL SON EVERY NIGHT AFTER MY 9 -10 HOUR WORK DAYS. And I do a damn good job. This little guy is THRIVING. He is one of those kids who likes to have CONSTANT attention, and frankly, I give it to him. I hate it when he cries. I don't even like it when he fusses and PRETENDS to cry. SO when we are together, I give him 100 percent of my attention, and if he wants to be held, I hold him. Even if that means I get NOTHING done. Because that's what he's telling me he needs. And hey, I am

new at this, right? He's still learning what we have to offer, and where he stands with us, so I figure he spent enough of his life WANTING to be held or entertained, and very likely NOT getting what he needed (or at least, not AS MUCH as he needed, clearly!! even though he was obviously well taken care of at his orphanage.) My wonderful Big Mama and I disagree on how to handle a needy kiddo. She ALWAYS gives me the best advice, and it is good advice she gives me with this issue too, but I am not yet ready to follow it. There may come a day where I let him sit and cry while I make dinner, but so far, I figure that what he wants is sort of trumping what I want (and let's face it, I can afford to skip a meal or two! LOL). And most of the nights I keep him (T teaches yoga in the evenings, so I always take over immediately after work, and keep the baby all the way through bed-time, which is what has been working out for us these days, b/c I am unwilling to give up my work schedule.) we spend our entire nights together playing and doing whatever HE wants - which is ME entertaining him (we read, or take walks, or mainly just hang out). What this does NOT give me much time for is the "extra stuff" I used to do when I got home, like, as I alluded to priorly, phone calls, email, eating, socializing, posting pictures (I really really haven't forgotten!), leg-shaving.... Thank goodness it's been cooler here these past few days!! I've been wearing pants and getting away with it just fine!.

Anyway, life is good, folks. It's different. It's still hard on me (esp. since I had a rockin rough day at work today and all I wanted when I got home was to crawl in bed and cry tonight), but I LOVE my little dude. He is so wonderful. He is, in fact, even better than I dared to hope. He's funny. He's smart. And he LOVES to talk. Who wouldn't love that?!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Weekend ends

I spent 3 whole days with my Minute Man. I gave T the weekend "off" (He had some social events, plus he teaches yoga, and he was also squeezing in some work this weekend as well) and took care of M for 3 days straight...pretty much by my self. The first day was actually the hardest (the day I blogged - Friday) as I hadn't done anything like that EVER! It really is a very difficult adjustment - as Kendra so eloquently put it! It's not like I get to start with a tiny baby and "work up" to a toddler... my little guy is fully mobile, needy, and doesn't watch TV, so I spend my entire time with him really BEING WITH him. Mostly we play together, or I just carry him around the house pointing out the animals, or "stuff" around the house to help him learn the names of things. I do love it, but it IS hard. And frankly, I get tired of reading about/hearing about how everything is always warm and fuzzy and perfect. I only read about 3 blogs these days, and what I LOVE LOVE LOVE about these blogs is that the ladies (all 3 SAHMs) are honest about how they feel. They love their children more than anything in their life. They also talk about days where they can't get out of their pjs 'cause their child is sick or just having a bad day and it takes ALL their energy to deal with the baby, which means there's nothing left over for them... We all KNOW it's going to be hard. Of course we are up for the challenge, but it doesn't make it EASIER just KNOWING it'll BE hard! And, it's GOOD to hear the truth, folks. It shows you you aren't alone. A-parents have enough mountains to climb that they don't need to be attacked or second-guessed by other people who don't know a damn thing about their situation or their family (can you believe there are actually people out there OPPOSED to adoption!!? Not only that, but they feel the need to SHARE that with you!! How many people do you think walk up to a pregnant lady and say "hey, I'm opposed to your being

pregnant. You shouldn't do it"? People ACTUALLY say these things to a-parents... oh well. It takes all kinds. Even stupid people are still people, I guess) but, I digress. After the first day, it actually got easier (which now that I think about it, makes sense. But at the time, I thought it would get harder). And by Sunday, which I thought would be the hardest day, I was figuring it all out...mostly. And I was feeling very good about how we were doing (I even went out and did some grocery shopping successfully!!) Furthermore, Sunday seemed to be Minute's hardest day. He was very clingy, and WOULD NOT nap. It kind of felt nice being needed, even if I didn't get much done on the house! ;-> I did manage a quick shower when friends next-door offered to walk the baby (in his stroller) around the neighborhood. Aside from Mom crying as Miss K walked my child away from me (conversely, Minh did great), I did as much as I could in the next 30 minutes - INCLUDING shaving my legs. You moms out there know what I mean when I say how excited I was to have time to shave my legs!!

Today I went back to work. I love work, and am (really really) glad to be back. However, I am already looking forward to tonight when I get to hang out with my little man!

Oh, and I'll post more pictures later today or tomorrow. I have been taking them, honest!!!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Hip Mamas and other misc.

Other than the annoying people who feel the need to attack me for my opinion on my own blog, I wanted to thank all of you out there who have thrown your support my way. In fact, I was lucky enough to have spent last night with one SUPER hip mama who spent time talking about the ins and outs of "mom-hood". She's a SAHM with an amazing attitude and I know she too faces difficulties with being in the position she is in. BUT no matter what, she always seems to have the greatest advice and is always a true joy to talk to. So, last night she brought her little one over, and Minute and Cutie Pie (that's K's baby boy), and we got to spend some good quality "Mom time" together. It was great to commiserate, but it was even better to see the two little ones together. They were just so cute and it was really really great to just hang out and talk about babies, and play-dates, and as we talked, I started to really feel like a "real" mom. Like, hey, I'm in a new club! Miss Kathryn, you are so wonderful. I value you and your friendship SO much. I very much look forward to our next play date!!

Then, today, I got another call from ANOTHER uber hip mama. She tells me that it took her a few months to adjust to Motherhood as well (and this hip mama popped her little one out herself!). She has a similar story to mine; she works full time, has 2 girls, and her husband is a SAHD. We talked about the way we both try to find "time for ourselves", but we also both acknowledged that while we find it hard, we really really enjoy being Moms. And we enjoy being working moms. Britta, THANK YOU THANK YOU for everything and ESPECIALLY for calling today. I really appreciate the conversation, the honesty, AND the continued friendship!

Now, onto another subject. The coolest thing happened to me today. Minute, for the whole of his time with us, has remained a "non-snuggler". In fact, at first (the first 2 weeks), he wouldn't hold onto to me or DH when we were holding him. M pretty much held his arms out straight away from our bodies. Then the same week we got home, M began to hold onto us.... now he holds on like a champ. To my hair, my lip, UP's chest hair,...other fleshy parts that get in his grasp. He's easier to hold now, b/c he helps hold on; it's great. I expected that was as good as it was going to get, but I had an extra treat coming!! Today we were playing in the driveway (don't ask), and I was sitting there, and Minute was playing with an empty box. Then, he just stopped, crawled over to me, and scrambled up into my lap and sort of hugged me. Then he just sat there. In my lap chatting. It was so AWESOME! He snuggled! And it was the best moment of my life to date.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Forced day-off


I'm protesting publicly. I've been forced to take a day off work. That's right. I was told to stay home. I have serious issues with this... It's 10 o'clock and I have gotten virtually nothing done. Well, that's not true. I have chased the baby around the house for like 30 minutes, fed and clothed the baby, chased the baby around the house AGAIN, and am now watching him as he sleeps. I'm supposed to be working on real work (which I will get to here in a second), but as soon as the baby wakes up, I'll be back to baby wrangling.

I don't know how SAHPs (that's Stay At Home Parents to be fair to Moms AND Dads) do it. Y'all are really wonderful and special people and deserve to be sainted. It would make me crazy. There's NO F-ing WAY I COULD DO IT. Plus, I miss being at work. It's SOOOO hard for me to focus on work here at my house. We are STILL working on getting the house back from the mess it became when we rolled home, and I HATE the mess. HATE HATE HATE. I have a hard time enjoying ANY of the rooms when I look up and see a pile of CRAP sitting there on a chair, table, or whatever. Now, it's not THAT bad, really. But the clutter is there, and it makes me nuts. Minh's play room is a wreck. I spent 10 minutes cleaning the toys up and he spent 10 seconds taking them back out. I put them back, he takes them out.... So, I finally got smart this morning, and left the toys out... but now, there are toys ALL OVER THE FLOOR. So, I'm trying to work in the living room. But, Minh LOVES the computer...or maybe he hates it. I can't tell. But when the laptop is out, and he's awake, he just wants to treat it like a drum. So, I can't exactly work while he's awake.


Ok, I know I sound like I'm bitching an AWFUL lot...and I am. And to be perfectly fair, I am both very happy and kind of depressed (I've read about this too. Post Adoption Depression). I hate that my life has been usurped by this little person. But, I love this little person. It's a weird feeling being both happy and sad at the same time, especially after wanting this for sooooo long.

However, no matter what, Minh is WONDERFUL. He is a true joy to get to know, to be around, and to spend time with. Out of the 3 weeks he's been with us, he's only woken up unhappy ONE SINGLE DAY in the entire 3 weeks (and that was today). Every other day he has gotten up with a HUGE smile of his face, and ready to face the world with a fantastic attitude. A real lesson for all of us. (Especially me, huh?).

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

My Little Picture Star


Minute with some of his VERY fav people... oh, and his uber cute striped jammies (bought for us by our wonderful neighbors!). Isn't
he a cutie??

Monday, August 18, 2008

I'm fianlly back - in my life

Hello bloggy people. wow. sorry about hte hiatus. It was unintentional, and frankly, unwanted. I hav eneeded the last week, however, to recooperate from being sick (I am finally feeling better!), from jet lag (I think it's still kicking my butt, but I'm starting to win), and I did indeed go back to work at 8:00 monday morning...last monday morning. I NEEDED to get back to work. I needed to get so sort of normal schedule established again. I am finally feeling human, and am so far backed up on email and phone calls it's not funny, but I am working at returning ALL the calls that have been placed to me, and then I will start in on my emails.

How is Minh doing? Everyone wants to know, right? In a word: perfect. This child is AMAZING. He really is wonderful, and easy, and a true joy. He's also a LOT of work, and keeps me so busy when I watch him I barely have time to eat or pee, but honestly, he is a true joy. I'll post some more pictures later this week. He's had a (dumb) haircut, and has put on a little weight, but other than that, he looks the same.

He took to our house like a duck to water. He came in and he now owns the place. He loves the dogs, and is just now starting to enjoy the cats (although in the case of the cats, the feeling is NOT mutual!). He has been feeding cookies to our red dog, who was very unsure of the baby at first, but now, Sheeba LOVES the baby! Minute eats half of his cookie and always feeds the other half to the dog. how can she NOT love that?!!

We were lucky enough to have my parents visit for 2 days recently. The Minute LOVED them (who wouldn't?!), and of course they loved him. I was just sorry the trip was so short. We are, however, planning a family vaca in Septemeber, so the fam will get to (re)meet Minh. I need to get this child used to water before we take him to the beach, however. As of right now, he just screams when he touches water... or when it touches him. Yes, that does make baths tricky... I think I just need to get into the water with him and maybe add some bubbles... We shall see how THAT goes over.

Ok, well, enough for now. I need to get back to work. I'll try to NOT take another full week off blogging again. And I'll keep the photos coming. 'Cause I know you love 'em!!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

New pictures - brief update






We are settling in. I got home Friday nite, around 9:30 and while I still don't know where my luggage is, I am SOOO happy to be home. I did go to work yesterday. Had about a 5 hour day. It was really good to go back. It was good to see everyone, and to start thinking about something other than baby food, poo, and bottles. Although I do have to admit, I missed that while I was at work, but no so much I want to skip work today. Just thought I'd post some more pictures for you. I have not much to add yet, but I will try to keep the photos coming.

As for how Minute is adjusting, well, you look at the pictures and you tell me.

He seems very happy here, and even enjoys the pets. This kid is amazingly laid back, and is obviously pleased to be home.

(ok, these photos were taken the last day in VN, but hey, he's just this happy here too!!)

Monday, August 11, 2008

We're all finally home safe and sound

After MUCH trouble and many hiccups, T and M and I all FINALLY made it home. Will blog more abou tthis when I have more time. T's trip took him through Japan, mine stranded me and M in Hong Kong... but after much stress, and a lot of hard work and phone calls on the part of my wonderful parents - oh and a LOT of money (Thank you Mom and Pop!!), we are all home safe and sound.

And it is GOOD TO BE HOME.

Now, anyone up for a coffee date?

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

more random pix II - this will have to hold you until we get home!









We leave tomorrow, and after a full 24 hours of travel, we will make it home (we hope!). I'll post more when we get settled in. So, for now, we say good bye, Vietnam. And thank you.

Last day in Hanoi/Vietnam - updated at 7:30 a.m.



It is our last day in Vietnam. We spent the morning out doing our last bit of sight seeing and shopping, and are back in our little apartment preparing to pack and GO! It has been a wonderful and difficult experience and I can not muster and remorse or sadness for leaving, although I can say with certainty I am glad we were able to come and have this experience.

I haven't posted many pictures of Vietnam, I'm afraid. There are 2 reasons for this. 1) Who comes to this blog to see Vietnam pictures? seriously folks!! You want to see the Minute!! I know that! And I have some great pictures of him for you, and my pictures of the city, not so good. 2) Photographs (taken by a plant physiologist) do NOT do this place justice. I can not capture the real sense of the city in my pictures so I feel that I'm doing a great disservice to the people and the city with my few measly pictures.

I did have my greatest accomplishment today on the street. I actually out haggled a professional haggler!! So, people approach you on the street trying to sell you crap ALL THE TIME. ALL THE TIME. You get good at saying "no, thank you". And usually, if you are firm the first time or two, people leave you alone and move to the next white-person to sell THEM the same junk. Well, today we had one lady that decided we WERE buying a silly little hat from her (see Minh in carrier with T to the left). She wanted the equivalent of 9$ in Vietnamese dong for this crappy little tacky "vietnamese" hat. NINE DOLLARS?!! I was like, NO WAY. She thrust it on Minh's head, and tried to say, oh there. Baby has it. You buy it now. The hat was silly it was so big, and T and I both didn't even WANT one of the hats, and certainly weren't paying more than a few bucks TOPS for the silly thing, but I said, NO we REALLY don't want it. No no no no no. She kept at us,

and we tried to get away, and she followed us harassing us for like 5 blocks. We finally lost her (I thought) and we continued our shopping, and poking around... Then when we stepped out of a shop, THERE SHE WAS!!! With a smaller hat, one that fit. Now, she said, it fit baby. You buy from me, my friend. How much. I told her 1 dollar. She tried five. Nope, I said. We don't want it (and we really didn't!!) And we kept walking. She was SOOOO persistent (as many of them are, really), and she kept following us, and at one point I turned around and she had put it back on Minh's head and was trying to make T pay her for it. Only 3$ (again, it was dong, but I'm doing the conversion for y'all). No way, I said. 1 dollar. (At this point, I just wanted her to bugger off!!) No, she said. And we kept walking. She kept following us.... Long story short, I wore HER DOWN.

She finally said, ok. ok. 1.50$. Nope, I said. One dollar, or NO dice, Lady. Finally, after a HUGE sigh, some serious pouting, and a big eye roll or two, she finally said. Fine. one dollar. So I handed her the equivalent in dong, and she handed over the hat, now cut smaller so it actually fit Minh. And then she stormed away, with a LOT of head shaking. (oh yeah! I got the best of a Vietnamese peasant and assed her out of 50 cents. That's right!). T was UBER impressed. See, since we've been here, neither one of us has had the energy to deal with the local buying/haggling tradition. That's how everything works here, and it takes a special kind of energy and pizazz. T isn't really any good at it (he has a good point - why haggle over what amounts to a few bucks?!), and I can usually do it, but my energy has been low, so until today, I haven't had the energy. But today, I was like butter (you know, on a roll. ok, ok. no more jokes.). We bought a bunch of gifts today, more expensive stuff, but I got us some damn good deals (that's right. I can roll over peasants left and right!!). So, we feel as though we have finally had the whole experience. We can now go home.

We have what we came for, on many levels, and we are excited to be traveling home. For those of you ready to meet this little dude in person, we need a little time to settle in, then I'll start making dates for folks to come over, and if you want to see me at any specific timeline, you can make a date with me - and if there is coffee involved, you can bet I'll be there. Just email or call me. Otherwise, I'll start working through the list. I have the first few people in mind already so I'll just start making calls when we get settled in. I think that Minh will take about 2 days to get used to the zoo at Chez Carley/Hatfield and then, we'll be off and running. He is shy at first, but really only takes a little time to warm up. I think y'all will like him. Seriously, just LOOK at those dimples.

I just hope we make it BACK tomorrow. T and M are traveling through Beijing....yes, THAT Beijing. The day before the Olympics start. I hope to god they make their flight, 'cause there won't be a place to stay for 300 miles. I fly though Hong Kong (remember, I'm traveling separately), and other than a hurricane making it's way to land fall in the next 24 hours... heading straight for - you guessed it - HONG KONG. So, I hope that I make MY flight. From there, I fly 15 hours to Toronto. Life won't be too bad, however, since I am flying first class. I did promise T I'd be on kid duty as soon as he stepped off the plane in NC. I figure I'll sleep on the flight just fine (I did on the way over. The pods we are in lay flat, so sleeping is really easy. Plus they give you noise reducing headphones, so I'll plug in and tune out. Oh, and I've got one sleeping pill left just for this trip home!!!). OMG - I can't WAIT to get home!!! And hey, after the weather here, Nc will feel cool!

Oh, I was going to post Minh pics, but I told Grams that she could have some "exclusive" photos, so I'm sending her the best of the last few days so if you want to see new ADORABLE pictures of the Minute, ask Gramma Linda. I will post a few "not as nice", however, just to keep your attention!!

(oh, and no, I don't have a bad skin condition on my face. That's just sweat. We'd been walking for about 1 hour and well, that's how I look in the heat. Pretty silly.)

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Almost-time-to-go-home shopping



So, today we were all up at a reasonable hour (6:00 a.m. isn't as unreasonable as I once thought it was. Or rather, I've resigned myself to seeing 6:00 a.m. now...) and after breakfast, we were up and out for the morning. I did some last-days shopping. Again, aside from two other purchases, I have nothing to show for being here - well, other than the sinus infection and the Minute!! - BUT today, I got the last of my shopping done (I bought something for everyone in my lab, plus my girlfriends, and even something small for me). The shops I went to were really nice - I think anyway) and were handicrafts from the Hmong in North Vietnam. Since some of them READ my blog I won't tell what I got, but the gifts are really nice. And hand-made (which is obvious). I can't wait to give them out!!

The video doesn't have Minh in it, but it does give a little sense of the streets here. Now mind you, this is a side street, NOT a major street, but it does allow you to hear some of what we are experiencing. Photographs just don't capture this city well. I have more video, but they are difficult to load, so I posted this quick one for you to enjoy!!

Will post more pictures later!! For now, enjoy the video!!

Monday, August 04, 2008

more random pix






DISSPATCHES FROM VIETNAM Part III


My little Tazminhian Devil

Get it? Taz-Minh-ian Devil?!

Ok, I can hear your groans from here.

So, today was slow. Melt-down Minh came early, which was actually good, 'cause we got up and out after the melt-down and he's been a champ since. (He REALLY didn't want to wear Carolina blue today, but since we agreed to put on the Wolf-Pack red shorts, it all worked out in the end - see?). We poked around a little more today. I am starting to recognize areas we've been to before which is good. But I am also starting to think much of it is looking the same. Which is bad. We did stop by a neat store today where I finally bought something. So far I haven't really seen anything I felt I wanted or needed... today I bought a blanket made by a Hill-Tribe from the Mountains in this area. It's a fairly big spread for a kids bed, and I think that it will be nice for him to have in a few years.

Now we are just back from our embassy appointment. I had concerns about the appointment; they had us bring all KINDS of financial documents, plus after the paper-work being blocked for so long and all the other BS that has gone into getting us to this point, I was worried what might occur at the appointment... but it took all of 6 minutes. and that includes the wait! They asked us one single question, to which we answered yes, and then said, ok, visa approved! Done and Done!

Minute is hanging out alone-ish (on the floor at my feet) entertaining himself. This is HUGE ;cause usually he wants an audience of 2 people at all times, which has made bathroom trips a little less enjoyable to say the least.... (TMI?? sorry!). But we are all settling in. As new parents, this has been an amazing and trying experience. we have been figuring out as we go, of course, and trying to do what we feel is best. Sometimes that doesn't work as well as we had originally planned. Let me use an example: Amama Mama (aka - Minh's Big Mama L) reminded me of something I had read over and over - feed him one new thing at a time, then wait a few days to make sure you don't have an allergic reaction to it before introducing something new. Excellent when you have WF right down the street, but not as practical here when we are running out of baby food!! We are raising Minute as a vegetarian (like us), so the baby food options are limited.

If he had a taste for veal, say, we'd be in high cotton (yes. All the baby food here seems to have veal in it. I shit you not. Veal and potatoes. Veal and pumpkin. Veal and blueberries - ok, yes, I made the last one up). BUT, as for vegetarian fair, that ISN'T berries or egg custard, then we are stuck with a jar here and a jar there. So, when we ate the whole jar of spinach in one sitting, we were scrambling to find something else he could eat. So, here's what he ate when he came to us:
  • Soy formula
  • Rice cereal
  • OJ
The doctor we took him to at the clinic (a medical exam is a requirement before we could apply for the visa) said he was too small (although he was still "normal" - clearly NOT related to my family then, eh?) and we needed to feed him. He IS small. In fact, he's wearing the 6-9 mo clothes I brought for him just fine. He swims in the 12 mo clothes. While someone posted that Minute had more outfits than they did - you have basically seen everything we own that fits this child. Anyway, HE doesn't seen to care if I put him in the same clothes over and over tho! (And actually, we still have some fantastic onsies from some GREAT gals - and a few great ones from UP - back home. Those at least will be CLEAN!! Anyway, here's what we have been feeding him now just so we have FOOD for him! :
  • Bananas
  • Spinach and potatoes
  • Butternut squash
  • Prunes
  • today we are adding carrots
  • and of course, formula and rice cereal all along
He (to date!) is NOT a picky eater, and in fact someone gave him a french fry (no not me, and no, don't ask) and he hated it (sorry, Uncle Phil!) - TG! Anyway, we also have a watermelon here and might try that if we don't have anything else to feed him. Actually, today we went to the "underground" market and bought some fruits and veggies (what an experience!!). But much of the veggies are not good for little people (red hot peppers, tomatoes, etc.). So, we got some carrots (I paid too much for them. 30 cents for two GIANT carrots), oranges (I have been drinking the HECK out of the fresh OJ here. They squeeze it on the spot), but the fruit is cheaper but 10,000 times, so we just got them, a pear, and a watermelon. We are going back later for rice, tofu, and some veggies to make for dinner. Which will be wonderful. I have had a difficult time eating here, as you may imagine, and am SOOOO ready for some REAL good food!!

Alright, that's that for now. Now I need to get back to my little Prince.