Hi everyone,
Gosh time has flown, and our little one is growing up. He turned 2 on Dec. 6th, then we put him into a coma at Christmas. Way, way too much fun he has had this month, as it should be. He is amazing and full of life. Quite the character, with his personality being way bigger than he is.We are making the permanant move to Santa Cruz the week after Christmas. Scott is happily employed at Specialized Bikes, which allows us to stay in the US and make a permanant home for all of us. Something we have needed for some time now. His job will include travel again, so Australia should be seeing us at least once a year, so that is nice. We traveled there for three months over the summer and Zee got to meet his Australian family and get on a surfboard. He's a natural and loves the outdoors, just as we do.....with the move, we will much better at keeping this updated! WE hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, and an even better New Year!

Sorry it has been so long. It's summer now, he has finally grown a bit, 2 pounds and 2 inches. There is a lot of chatter, and he loves water, and bikes. Most of his chatter is on his pretend phones, to pretend people. He sleeps 11 hours a night, a couple of short naps in the day. He eats most things we put in front of him. Today he dipped a corn chip into the HOT salsa, and he ate it. He has a lot of teeth, and he knows how to brush them, sort of. He knows how to stear a bike, no balance yet, he loves being pushed around on it. Missed sleep windows create havoc. He runs like a fairy.

He has been practicing his modelling moves, don't know where he got them from.

Kids these days!? Pull your pants up sonny boy.

I really need to teach him how to tumble fall.

He hasn't had his 15 minutes of cuddles yet, so I guess a smile was too much to expect. But our back yard looked so picturesque.

Organising a play date.

He finally accepted Charly, with a whack on the head. and then a cuddle, and then what looked like a dry humping.

More Family Pics!

Auntie Beth and Cousin Sheyla and of course, Charly Dog, Sheyla's favourite toy.

Zee's first wheelbarrel

Uncle Nader and Zee

Here are more random pictures of family..

Easter Bunny, Easter Bunny!

Zee's first Easter was too fun. He had his whole entire (USA) family to celebrate and hunt Easter Eggs with. Aunties and Uncles to throw him in the air. Beautiful spring weather to romp around in the yard and discover the slide cousin Kevin gave him. Grandma and Grandpa Easter Bunny gave him a wheel-barrel and rake to add to his cleaning habit (he runs around the house all day sweeping with my little broom), and some pretty cool monster trucks. Every day he expresses more verbally, but still no verifiable words. Just lots of sounds put together. Tonight he fell asleep saying "Uh-Oh", over and over again. He screams louder with delight than he did before, and sits on anything he can put his little behind on. He is into going backwards into things, so we bought him some little plastic chairs which he loves to back into and sit down, where he looks very proud of himself. He misses the chair about 30 percent of the time, but just gets up and tries again. Great attitude. Today we traveled about an hour to the mall and he was absolutely awesome. Loved the carseat, his new stroller, and waved at everyone all day as he got pushed around. He got to play in the play park too, and met 2 other beautiful Vietnamese kids that he really loved and followed around. The little girl planted a big kiss on him at the end, and Zee laughed and squeeled, then ran away, only to return for another one. That a boy.....

Way To Long........

Well, it looks as if our adjustment period of jet lag is close to over. Sorry it has taken this long to update. We have been working all week on a constant sleep routine, and have found our way to falling asleep the same time two nights in a row! I know all you mommies out there appreciate that scenario. Both days very different with broken up naps, etc, but sleep time the same, and in 15 minutes each night like clock work. I have fantasized about writing this. We all get 8-10 hours sleep so far, and we all needed it, fighting colds and feeling pretty crappy with the time change. In the six days we have been home, all has been truly tackled. Charly Dog is accepted as a family member, instead of a large, scary thing bigger than Zee. Tonight he conked her on the head, along with myself, with his drum stick and walked up and scolded her, in toddler/caveman language. "You, large beast...get out of my way", I believe was the statement. We have accomplished the carseat, and now, he seems to zone out, except of course at nap time, in which vehicle must be moving at all costs or you hand over your eardrums. The highchair has been a phenomenal success, in which we spend up to an hour each feed stuffing our face*(see photo). Stroller equals sleep no matter what time of day, so we time it perfectly with a sleep that's needed. Meeting family members has been a slow trickle in of Aunts and Uncles and nieces and nephews, Grandma's and Grandpa's to which he seems to accept and adore, only if you play peek-a-boo, trade hats to wear, play chasie, and of course, high five him. He high fives his little niece Shelya on her face with both hands, but lovingly of course. Sheyla takes it with a grain of salt and takes his favourite toy of the moment, so I guess that is family in a nutshell. They are both on my lap in the photo. Big cousin Kevin is dying to teach him to ride a bike so they can race together. So far, Zee likes the bike horn and the wheels and the water bottle, but wonders how it all works together. All in all, today, felt the most normal and natural out of all of our days so far. We hit up the doctor and got checked out....awesome physical exam. He had blood drawn, and only screamed because he was held down and could not run around! He forgot the experience five seconds later when they came out with the free toys and books. His culinary palette is extraordinary. Today and tonight he devoured indian rice, spiced roasted vegetable soup, a mango smoothie and anything else we dared get near his lips. He barely fits into the clothes that fell off him three weeks ago. Truly a budda belly. He loves bath time with daddy. He wasn't into it with mommy, until da-da took over. Then it was suddenly, splashing and sitting down on his own and up to 20 minutes play times. He only wants mommy at bedtime, and only to scream his dislike of the process! We all need somebody to complain too I guess, and I am happy to be that person for him. And even happier with 8 hours sleep, which he graciously gives me in return. There is so much more, but I'll save it for the next blog, in which we will do more frequently again, now that sleep in in our lives again.......

Happy Zzzzzzzsssssss.

We made it. Zien Zavier is a citizen and he is asleep in his crib at his new home.
The drive home had it's challenges, the car seat got a bit of a reaction out of him once he realized he was being confined. 2 scream sessions which sound like a tom cat fighting a chimpanzee. He hit some high notes which I didn't know he had in him, it could have been an indication of how tight his car seat belt was.?.
We taught him some new essential American [California] words - quesadilla, guacamole and burrito.
Thank you to all of those that have sent us their messages and wishes.

Curbside hair dresser.

Friendly folk.



He likes it.

Are we putting too much pressure on him?

He eats just like his Dad [double click on the photo].










A Local.

quick comments...

Terri and Jeff. So sorry we could not find your son! Scott said there was another room in the orphanage with more children and we just did not make it in there, as we were engrossed with trying desperately to bond with Zee, for the two hours before we left with him. We showed up at 4 oclock and met him for the first time, interacted with the carers to get instructions, tried to take as many pics as we could of all of the children and carers, then left with him at 6, officially in charge of his care! Pretty scary! He just kind of cuddled into me with little whimpers, knowing what was happening. He was pretty scared of the van ride back to the hotel too, as it is all new to them....hard to believe he is the same little boy of eight days ago! Truly remarkable watching these beautiful babies grow into your love and learn to trust you so quickly, considering their past. I am looking forward to hearing all about your journey to your son, fingers crossed very quickly!

To everyone......Huge thanks for your comments! We love doing this blog and bringing this experience right to your living rooms! Your love and support mean more to us than I could ever express......we are entering into little Zee sfirst cold..he woke with a deep chest cough, but no green stuff. He was sneezing quite a bit yesterday and coughing towards evening. He takes his natural immune system syrup, and lots of home made chicken soup broth via a medicine dropper. Hopefully he'll kick it before Fridays flight home!! Fingers crossed.....

If you click on the photos, it comes up as a full screen image.

Livin the good life......

Can anybody else see the determined look in his eyes??


This is SO OK!

Our breakfast just got delivered to the room. Hot Vietnamese coffee, fried eggs, crusty french baguette. Zee slept 10 hours and so did his mom and dad. He is stuffing his face with rice cereal, baguette and fresh mango. There is a knock at the door, and.....oh....our laundry is delivered nicely folded....ahhhhhhh.....the good life. Doesn't get any better than this. Then it hits me, that we think this is hard, being new parents with the ups and downs( 2 hour screaming fits because he does not want to go to sleep, combined with the sweetness of opening your arms and asking for your little boy to come to mama and dada, and he runs to you). I have to go home and learn to do my own laundry again and cook our meals and not have anyone make my bed anymore. REALITY CHECK. HOW DOES ANYONE DO THIS??? We have come to realize how amazing all of you mommies and daddies are, and Scott and I have truly realized how lucky we are to have had great parents.

Hanoi is a beautiful city. There is a lake we walk to every day and have lunch. The Old Quarter surrounds the lake with alley ways and markets that feel just like Europe. The buildings are French colonial, as the French were here for 100 years. The quiche lorraine is excellent, along with the baguette. A few French staples left behind. We have met many adoptive couples with their babies walking the city too, which is so nice to here their stories. The Vietnamese men and women stop us on the street and want to touch and play with Zee. We must look pretty odd and it entertains them to no end. Even the school children stop us and want to see the sleeping baby and say hello. Today we will follow Ziens lead and let him sleep on us for hours , we will ride in the bike cart around the lake and introduce him to more moving things. We will play soccer in the park with the big kids, as he really likes the older kids that play ball with him. Last night after dinner he said his first word, other than mama and dada. He said "ights", for lights. There are twinkle lights in the trees outside the restaurant we like and we point to them and say the word lights. The way I say it to him has a raised up tone at the end of the word, almost like asking a question, and he repeated the same tone and said it, as he pointed at the lights...........smart little kiddo. As I am writing this, he is putting Scotts phone into the laundry basket. Scotty just told me we have a new concern. Lost items..........

The video clip is a demo of how to cross the road. They do not stop for you, even if there are red traffic lights, or a cross walk. So, you hide in the 'shadow' of another vehicle/person, preferably a local that knows what they are doing. I am carrying precious cargo, in the 'shadow' of Shauna, and the bike. The traffic was not busy on this occasion, so we got a bit of a break, plus we didnt want to 'create concern'. Night time is fun, staring into the headlights, hoping the riders are facing forwards and watching us. You have to be careful to not act too hastily and step into the back wheel of a scooter, don't hesitate, dont move eraticly. And no, the footpath is no safer.

Hitting the Wall

Well, we have discovered that our little guy does not mind airplanes and digs flying business class and the food. What he DOES NOT LIKE is waking at 4 in the morning and getting his sleep (naps) interupted. He had the biggest meltdown in the van driving from the Hanoi airport to the embassy. He just cannot handle not getting his regular sleep (2.5 hours a day) . The meltdown continued from 10 in the morning to bedtime with him being extremely clingy with mama. We truly felt helpless. The more he connects to us, the more he needs us....and puttin him to bed last night was impossible, with him being so overtired. He only sleeps in moving things, like packs, cars, etc, so that means I hold him and sing to him for hours and hours, and once I lay him down, he wakes instantly and won't put up with not being picked up. Then I pick him up and he scratches and thrashes at me with such anger, that last night he almost broke my nose with a head whip!! He is a Dog in Chinese/Vietnamese astrology, just like his mama and if there is one thing we hate, it's the feeling of being vulnerable. I think I get it, but we were so distraught last night with me and Zien crying helplessly and Scott being the strong one for all of us, that we took him to the Western medical clinic today to make sure he wasn't cutting more teeth, have a temp, etc. What we got was good old fashioned parenting advice, with a Vietnamese twist. When the doctor met him in the clinic, she immediately recognized his strong personality and his age of 15 months can make for a real challenge. Nothing really to do with his former life in the orphanage. He is healthy as a horse, and put on 2 pounds in less than a week with us, so he is relaxed! He had no temp, but is cutting more teeth. All in all, a perfect bill of health. She just assured us to follow his lead, as he recognizes us as his family now. We sort of were figuring this out, as he will only eat now if we are eating, and he will only go to bed (barely) if we are in bed. WE have finally decided to enjoy our son and follow his lead. WE will eat as family, hang as family, and make sure he has major naps during the day. Today we woke up and he is a different boy. He slept like a monster in his pack as we walked the city and had lunch out in a restaurant . He was an angel. We got back to the room and he let me lay him down on the bed from the pack and DID NOT freak out as per normal. A true miracle. He played peek a boo, kicked balls, and is now on my lap stuffing his face with cherrios, quiche, and bananas. Bye bye clean house.....

Half way home

Today we got the little mans passport, and now just have to fly to Hanoi to get it stamped with his Visa, and have the Visa interview. We should fly home from there on March 14th. Everything has gone to plan, which is beautiful. Just have to get through the first plane ride tomorrow and waking him up at 4:30 in the morning to go to the airport. It's a 3 hour flight, so it's nice practice for us. We've got the plan in place to keep him happy, and we'll see how long it takes to fall apart. Place you bets........

And Lynn, I hope Charly Dog isn't being too bad a girl hogging the bed....

Unbelievable stuff.....

Pretty amazing little kid. 48 hours ago he wasn't even walking (protesting his new parents) Now, he says ma-ma and da-da, hands the TV remote to either Scott or I, and gets who is who. He shakes his head for no, and nods for yes. He points the remote at the TV. He is currently trying to stand on his head with his bum up in the air. He lifts his leg in the the air from this position into what looks like a break dance move, just like cousin Kevin. He points to pictures in the family album and magazines and his books. He is trying to sip from his sippy cup and water bottles. He pretty much only wants real food and only fed himself one bottle today. He has been eating constantly since he woke. Cherrios, fried rice in chicken broth (Vietnamese flavoured) fried bananas, whole bananas, cheesecake, smoothie. He'll open his mouth for anything to try, and knows what he likes and doesn't, clearly saying yes or no with his head. He loves drinking out of straws from our big people cups. Loves his baby carrier (the ergo from Aunty Beth, and Beth, you were totally right. He LOVES THAT THING. ) He loved being on Scotts back and instantly fell asleep. Later, he loved being on the front with me, and fell asleep again. And let me tell you, walking in the city is very loud and distracting. He lets me soothe him when he conks his head and needs me to hold him and sing him to sleep. He needs daddy to play and stimulate him and saves his really big laughs for him. All in all, we feel he is totally attaching in a normal manner. He holds eye contact with us for much longer every day that passes. He lets us cover him in kisses. He stacks cups properly and puts things inside other things and puts the lid on. He balances things on his head and waits for them to fall off, sometimes flipping his head so they come off. He likes his head and conks himself on his head with his stacking cups and laughs. He loves walking 80 percent and crawling about 20. When he crawls, it looks as if he has crawled for quite some time, moving quickly and directly. He is trying to spin himself in circles, like a dance move. He crawls under things to get what he has lost and remembers where he put stuff. And the best thing. He doesn't throw things you give him, he places them back.......or hands them back to you. He is very interested in handing you things and you handing you things and you handing them back to him. He laughs hysterically when you throw the ball in the air above his head. The list goes on, but I am sure everyone gets that we are in love with this little guy that is so quickly coming out and showing us who he really is.

What else?? Back to his name. The way we say it that mimicks the Vietnamese sound, is....sound out the letter "Z", then say the letter "N", but put emphasis on the "Z". His middle (or other) name will be Zavier too, so he should know both, but for know we are trying to keep the phoenics going, and he looks at us every time we say it. We found that the more Vietnamese we asked about how to pronounce his name, we got lots of different ways to say it. We asked the other/older children at the orphanage what they called him, and they all said "Yen" with the Y sound. They called him "Ba-Yen", which means baby Hien. Very sweet. The older kids helped look after the babies and attached themselves to them. The day after we left with him, we were told the older child that really loved Ba-Hien, cried. Thank God we took lots of pictures for him to have of the children that are his family from this orphanage. Then we got back to Saigon, and the locals said "He-on". So, we don't feel bad adding the Z in the beginning. We have taken to calling him "Zee-Zee"

a short blip of laughter

Does anybody want to see a screaming fit? We havent actually filmed any of these, trying not to focus on those moments.

Another day as happy parents

Shoe Shopping for him.
Cafe-A new [&OK] experience for all.

Ergo carrier, thanks Beth, awesome.

We have him playing with monster trucks and now kicking a ball, left and right foot??? [So yes cousin kevin, he is ready to play with you.] He wacks the ball with his left and right hand too?? Better get him to choose, who earns more money, left handers or right handers??

We just had 2 hours of therapy [playing with a ball and cups] in the Saigon Gloria Jeans [Australias [and Vietnams] version of Starbucks], he laughed and played, and had his own coconut slushy. Shauna and I both felt 'fairly' happy with the situation. We could not have drempt of a better occasion in our lives, this is way beyond what we could have hoped for.

We also took him shoe shopping, and thankfully [to all the males out there, especially Justin] he found this event very uninteresting. As per the photo, he slept through the entire event.

We're In......

Okay, FINALLY, he thinks we are cool. We are big play things. Again, today huge improvements in his happiness levels. They come out of nowhere, just when you think it will never happen, you put some green thing in your mouth and move just the right way, and they burst out with laughter. We had another early, scheduled morning full of appointments, and another fabulous opportunity to ride in a car, so no time to just let Zee be himself and get relaxed. It's a lot of chopping and changing, but he only protested the car for 4 minutes inside this time, then relaxed into it. By the end of the appointments, he passed out on my lap in the taxi coming home. Task number one.......tackled..Moving vehicles equal sleep. Next task, airplane. So we get back to hotel, and he decides to scream his brains out again because I CANNOT read what he needs yet. I think he needs more sleep, but actually he wants to eat the buffet in bed........ Scott comes into the room with lunch and I am trying desperately to console him, and mister daddy takes him from me, puts him on the bed and starts to feed him fried rice off the fork. Instant happiness. For the next hour, we play in all kinds of foods...banana's, papayas, fried rice, fresh lemonade out of a straw ( so he will poo). He then decides to laugh at mama with strange green thing in her face and whack at it with his spoon. He decides this in the funniest thing he has ever seen and his laugh in infectious. I cry, Scott is relieved, and we finally feel well on our way to "normal". What a relief to see your child laugh a real laugh. We show him all sorts of things, like put straw into mouth and suck, put straw through green hoop, push dump truck with monster truck in back. He instantly does all we show him. He decides to look at the family album and we swear he pointed to da-da. He then attaches himself to the photo of his niece Kayla and won't let it go (Not surprised Holly??) He points to all in the album repeatedly, then points to Arnold Schwazeneger on the television.?? Anyone care to interpret?? He is still on his learning rampage as I write this. He suddenly decided to stand on his own and start walking on bed. We knew all along he could, he just needed to do it in his time. I think this will be the story of his life. He is an awesome communicator, we just have to learn to read him.
The doctor visit today was what I expected. He weighs 19 pounds, and for 15 months that makes the clinical decision that he is malnourished. I hate hearing those words, but the doctor assures me this is very normal, and to feel him lots of mashed potatoes, papaya, banana and a lot of food. So far, he digs fried rice with egg and chicken and bananas. Loves his wheat free teething biscuits. It's going to be a long road. He did NOT like the papaya, but I will try again tomorrow like it never happened, just like him. And one more important thing. We have kept the name Zavier for him middle name, and have evolved into calling him Zien. Sounds like the Irish name Eon, with a Z in front. It's a long story, but his Vietnamese name he was called frequently and it just felt so natural to keep the sound of it, but we played with the Z in front, and he likes it. Today, he knows it's his name.

Officially Christened

Well, today was grueling....after our official ceremony, we got into the van for our 7 hour car ride back to Saigon. Poor baby has never been in car........EVER, and now he gets to drink a bottle in moving vehicle. Second rule of parenting....no food/drink on first car ride, or food/drink end up on you. I was so proud/honoured to spend my day in his vommit. I've waited six years for that moment, and would do it again, and again, and again.......very proud mama to say the least. This child is totally amazing. Within 24 hours, he's lost all he's ever known, adopted two weird looking parents, done the gruelling car trip, taken bath in tub(probably the worst screaming ever) fallen on head...the list goes on, and by the end of tonight, he has smiled three times, laughed three times, and decided very calmly to play in the tub, then cling to all bath toys and bring them to bed, feed himself, play with da-da, and gently fall asleep. It's like the last 24 hours never happened. You people really meant it when you said kids are resiliant. We never thought any human being could come back from what he's just been through..

The gooey stuff

Shauna here now...Scott and I are trading nap duty. First rule of parenting.....don't leave child on bed and turn around, or child end up on floor..Yes, my first mistake, but I wish I had a camera because he has not been walking or doing anything for us yet, just wants to be held and loved lots. So, within like a second and half of me changing him and him just playing trucks on his back, I turned around and instantly heard a thump....he had maneuvered himself up and over the front of the bed (quite a distance) so quickly it blows my mind. He is just hiding all of his abilities and playing coy with us, but now we are paranoid to leave his side for a second, even when he sleeps. Okay, on the the gooey stuff that Scott tried to write. He is just beautiful....he totally looks like Angelina Jolie with the longest eyelashes I have ever seen on a child. You'll understand when we post the pics. He has two perfect front teeth,and two bottom teeth, but I haven't felt around in there fully yet. He has this wonderful temperment when he is not crying.He is such a brave kid...he only screamed at the top of his lungs for two straight hours when we left the orphanage, but still managed to let us feed him dinner (Scott at least) and hang out on daddies lap and watch boy stuff on tele. Serious male bonding going on. He would cry any time I came near the two of them. Needless to say, I slept, Scott did not. He was a champion new daddy. This morning he took to me, or let me take care of him, and feed him at breakfast. At the ceremony, he waved at another little boy, and said da-da-da. He is doing so good with all of this new, scary stuff. Scott said to me before we fell asleep, "He is amazing."
Enough said...

more to come,
S and S

We are a famly.

Hi everybody, Scott here. It is official and it is real. We have our boy [Hien for now], he cries, he poos, he sleeps, he eats, he drinks, he wees, he bangs his head and he plays with toy monster trucks. We will post photos later tonight. Shauna is convinced he is the child of Angelina and Brad!
We are still in Soc Trang, everybody over here has been so helpful and friendly. We feel lucky, but the people of Soc Trang say the [ex]orphans are the lucky ones. We spent some time at the orphanage yesterday, lot of kids, happy, but parentless. I played soccer for a while with some of the older ones. I would have bought them home too. We met the carers and the director. All doing a great job, not stopping for a second,.. feeding, cleaning, rocking,.. real saints [or what ever the word is for a female saint??]

It feels so ... 'right and good'.
The ceremony was this morning, Shauna cried on que. The town officials were very pleasant, the town is nice too, full of young happy people and young families on scooters. It must be in Hiens blood to ride on 2 wheels.
Hien and I watched motor bike and mountain bike crashes on 'Man versus Machine'. Getting on with life. Tomorrow is passport day and medical.

Family Day. Calling in the troops.....

Okay everyone, I AM NERVOUS....or I am wired on this Vietnamese coffee I am becoming addicted to. This is the morning we leave and I am frantically searching online mags for feeding toddler advice......so, all of my friends and family who have fed 15 month old babies with lots of teeth, please give me your best advice. How about the no-no's first. Scott's no help at all. He just told me not to feed him lego. I get the no grape thing, and allergy risks up until one year old, but what about inbetween 1 and 2? I do have access to some beautiful fruits and avocados, and our breakfast buffet is awesome with broths, and rice dishes, and soft cooked meats. Give it to me good girls...........go to town with your comments PLEASE!! Wish us luck today...and fingers crossed he figures out pretty quick we are not the enemy, and have some pretty cool toys to play with.

Filling in the days.

We are more than ready, waiting... and taking advantage of the free time we have. Shauna had a 90 minute pedicure, I had a 90 minute Shiatsu massage. My back always needs 'clicking', but some times it is a little stuborn, this was no problem once the masseuses stood on my back and bounced on me like a trampoline. One more sleep.