Hello World

"So, a duck walks into a bar......" 

Here we go again!  It's been 6 months since Seth was born.  I've been contemplating making a blog for him like I do for Graeme.  Throwing around ideas of continuing with Graeme's and folding Seth into it or just bailing on the whole project altogether.  Somehow I feel that the two shouldn't be the same.  The Tao of Graeme has grown into its own at this point and Seth should have a different viewpoint in my opinion.  I imagine it taking shape as time passes and posts are made.  I envision Seth with different experiences than Graeme.  Graeme has a grasp of what it is like to live in America, even if he did leave there at 2 years old.  Being a true TCK, Seth won't have that foundation.  His viewpoint will differ from Graeme's and from that standpoint I think he deserves his own blog.  I am thinking this one will involve more of Seth's adventures versus day-to-day life, but we will see where it takes us!

Early Days

On February 10, 2017 at 2:44 a.m. Seth Warren Hawken entered the world.  He kind of rushed in.  From "go time" to birth was about an hour and fifteen minutes.  For comparison, Graeme was close to 30 hours.  Weighing 9 lbs 2.4 oz he was no small fry!  The hospital experience was incredible.  The doctor worked some magic and Erin championed an all natural birth.  I have said it before and I will say it again here - if birth were up to men, humans as a race would be extinct!  Seth has huge blue eyes - really huge.  People think he is always surprised, but if you do surprise him they actually get bigger!  He has proven to be an easy baby.  Well, as easy as babies can be we suppose.  We all have our moments, but he is always smiling, always happy and working ferociously on getting his coordiation together to crawl.

And then there were four....

We were very lucky to have Erin's parents (Nan and Poppy) here for the birth.  Logistically it helped things immensely, especially with caring for Graeme.  Emotionally it meant a lot to Erin to have her mother there for her in person considering the rest of our families were so far away.  Getting to spend his first few weeks of life with his Grandparents isn't something Seth will remember, but I believe it will have a positive effect on him for sure.

Poppy

Bro's

Nan

So, bam!  Just like that Graeme was a big brother.  Graeme has taken to Seth very naturally.  Minimal jealousy and always willing to help out with whatever is needed.  We really didn't expect much less from him to be honest.  Seth has taken to Graeme like none other.  Whenever Graeme comes into viewpoint or enters the room Seth's whole look changes.  The eyes get just a bit wider, a bit more intent and he is focused solely on Graeme and whatever he is doing or saying at the time.  There is a noticeable change in his processing, almost like he is studying Graeme, taking notes of some sort.

Seth didn't realize it, put he had a posse.  Born in a country far away from Family and Friends, our crew here adopted him as their own.  We came home to a great reception and wherever we go there is no shortage of people who want to hold him!

Oh, The Places He Will Go

But first, you need papers.  Not really an adventure of Seth's but he sent (kinda) me on this one so........Being born in Vietnam to parents who are US Citizens does not grant Seth dual citizenship.  There is a way he could become a Vietnamese citizen, but that would be a lengthy process and he would have to give up his US Citizenship I believe.  There are only a few countries in the world that grant you citizenship of that country if you are born there (like in the USA).  Vietnam is not one of them.  So we had to get the paperwork going to get him his US Citizenship (Passport, Birth Cert, SS#, etc).  The first thing we needed was a Vietnamese Birth Certificate.  This was no easy task.  In a place mired in red tape (and red stamps), money grabs and constantly changing hoops to jump through, this process was one for the ages.  There simply was no way to understand or find out how to get this piece of paper.  I will sum it up here:  after 8 trips to several different government agencies downtown, 2 1/2 months and one super cool lady in our local government office who ended up walking me through the process, we finally got the paper.  Literally dealing with one office or copier or translator or another every day for 2 months.  It was like hitting your head against a wall over and over again.  From there we could apply for and get a US Consular Report of Birth Abroad (US birth cert), passport (citizenship) and SS# through our US Consulate office.  That part was easy, just a pure money grab.  "Do you have the receipt that you paid for the passport fee?"  "Okay, he is a citizen".  (so sorry, credit card machine is broken, do you have USD?)

He is now a taxable US Citizen....

So now he is legit.  His passport lasts 5 years...no chance he makes it that long before running out of pages!

Aunt Donna To The Rescue

After 3 months it was time for Erin to go back to work.  This also coincided with a 2 week stint of work I have at SSIS invigilation AP exams.  So what were we going to do with Seth?  Aunt Donna flew in!  We gave her 24 hours to get over jetlag and brush up on her baby skills then left him with her in a foreign country to figure it out!  The two had a real connection and lots of fun figuring out how to get around town together!

It wasn't all work though...at the end of her trip Seth took us all to a fancy beach resort for a few days.

At 6 months old he has touched down in 3 countries so far.  His first flight was to NJ on our summer visit.  He has proven to be a great traveler.  We are now able to book the bulkhead seats that come with a bassinet that attaches to the wall in front of you.  He sleeps in there or just hangs out in it.  This way he does not have to be on your lap the entire 14-hour flight.  Pretty cool...

Layover Bro's

Kinda better then 1st class?

Straight from the plane to Mimi and Pops' house!  Everyone was really excited to meet him.  Donna and everyone came up to meet him (although Aunt Donna had already spent 2 weeks with him in Vietnam).  Mimi became the magical sleep inducer....every time she held him he nuzzled up on her shoulder and fell asleep!  We had 3 full weeks in NJ and with so many cousins of mine that have little ones we had car seat and pack-n-play all lined up!

Seth made it to his first Hawken Family Fun Day at cousin Brett and Lisa's house....what an event this has turned into!  This year we were also celebrating my Grandmother's 90th birthday!  Here he met his extended Hawken Family - all 33 of them!  And since we have left one more arrived (Congratulations Sara and Blake!) and yet another was announced (Yeah Brett and Lisa!).

33

So many fun adventures this trip to NJ....Meeting Gram-Crackers his Great Grandmother (who has 13 Great Grandkids with 1 more on the way!), Camden Aquarium, a day at the beach in Seaside Hghts, BBQ's galore, a few days with Aunt Mim and Uncle Bob, some bonus cousin time at Casey and Uncle Ted's houses....I will just throw some pics and vids up to try and capture it all here:

Greats!

Hi Gram-Cracker!

Lawn nap

rare moment of calm in a car seat

telling stories

KID HATES CAR SEATS

At home in Vietnam we do not use car seats.  We don't have a car and when in a taxi we just hold on to Seth.  Most taxi's don't have working seat belts anyway.  Locals have newborns on motorbikes and we rarely go over 15-20mph.  Not the safest way to travel we know but it's what we have....flash forward to Seth's first experience in a car seat after we landed at JFK.  Up to this point his biggest fuss was a few "uh uh uh" grunts if he was hungry.  Once strapped in the kid went ballistic!  I mean, have to pull him out of the seat mid trip ballistic.  I mean Erin had to figure out how to feed him while strapped in the seat to calm him down.  He HATES car seats!  This pattern kept on throughout our entire trip in the USA.  There were a few moments of calm but those were few and far between.  Somehow I think he won't mind being on a motorbike...

Hates them...

NEXT STOP CALIFORNIA

Once on the left coast we headed straight to Jenner for the July 4th Extravaganza!  Here Seth got to meet his family and friends from California.  Not quite as large of a crew as in NJ but what they lack in numbers is made up for with fun!  Meeting his Aunt B and Uncle J and cousin Greyson, meeting Ms. Sienna Puppy, G-Pops....great times for sure!

It's cold here!

July 4th Posse

Lots of fun stuff going on in Jenner this summer.  Pool hopping and hanging with cousins....lots of family fun time!

Jenner is never short on views or moods

After Jenner a 3 hour car seat ride over to Lodi to close out our USA summer journey.  Here we caught up with Grandpa Dave and Wicki and continued the BBQ motif of the summer!  Also spent some time with Michele and Rich and Isla in our old stomping grounds of San Rafael and caught up with some great friends in Sausalito....

Beware of Baby

From here we closed out Seth's first international sojourn with an uneventful flight back home.  Back to reality.  Work for Erin, school for Graeme (1st Grade!) and Vietnam Daddy Day Care for Seth and I.

Upon arrival and some reflection, there are some noticeable differences when having a baby along for the ride with you between the USA and Vietnam.  Lots of people asked what it is like having a baby here......since we also had one in the USA I feel we are qualified to make an honest comparison when out and about in public in both places.

Here we don't have to open our own doors.  We don't have to wait in lines.  We have complete strangers escort us over stretches of the street where the sidewalk isn't usable.  We have strangers stop us with smiles so they can get a glimpse of Seth - if he smiles at them (almost always a given) they get so excited!  When it rains we have taxi drivers hold umbrella's over our heads and walk us into our destination while they are getting drenched.  Wait staff will ask to hold him so we can eat our meals while out at a restaurant.  Delivery men knock softly on our apartment door for fear that the doorbell will wake the baby they have come to know lives here.  Of course, it helps to have blue eyes and blonde hair here (a rarity) but we have seen these actions for most babies here.

Once we touched down at JFK we got the pleasure of standing at the back of the line.  Being scowled at by staff.  Opening our own doors and receiving "who would bring a baby to a restaurant" glares going out to eat.

We have said it before, Vietnamese culture adores children.  We experienced that when we moved here and Graeme was 2 years old but now with Seth as an infant it is even more evident.  Overall I would say having an infant here is, at the least, more welcoming.  WIth family being so far away this is a very comforting dynamic.






In the future, I hope this to be a shorter endeavor,  but there were some logistics and introductions to cover, as well as 6 months time flying by.  Seth's next sojourn is planned for a long weekend at the beach here in Vietnam then another long weekend in Bangkok, Thailand.

Until then!

Hoa Bin,
The Hawken's in HCMC
#sethssojourns