On February 10, 2017 at 2:44 a.m. Graeme welcomed his little brother to the world. Seth Warren Hawken came in at 9 lbs 2.4 ounces and was ushered in all naturally by his Superwoman Mom, Erin. Birth stories can be kind of long and technical and occasionally gross so I will attempt to shorten the story a bit. Seth's due date was just after the Tet Holiday here in Vietnam. That brought about a scenario that if he came early we would be lacking some needed support in regards to logistics with Graeme. During Tet most people leave town. We were staying (obviously) and hoping he came on time at the least. The plan for him arriving on time was having Nan and Poppy here. They jetted in straight from Delhi, India (Hi Paul and Sepi!) just in time. It was great to be able to spend some time with them before the big day and Graeme kept them busy - having them help out at the 100th Day of School celebration, swimming and playing. They also proved to be invaluable as Erin was in the hospital for 4 days prior to the birth, with me staying with her. Nothing was wrong but they had her being monitored and once they get their grips on you most hospitals won't let you go home. This was hard on Graeme. He loved getting to hang with Nan and Poppy all by himself but he didn't understand why his Mom was in the hospital and couldn't come home, especially since it is only down the street. So Erin and I enjoyed the pink VIP room at FV Hospital while Graeme kept Nan and Poppy busy and they'd visit every day. When it was "go" time, the entire birth took about 1 hour 45 minutes. The plan was to sneak Maria into the delivery room under the guise of being our Doula (only 1 person was allowed to be in there with Erin unless it was a Doula). We tried our best to convince the nurse of this but she knew it was Erin's Mom. When the doctor finally showed up she overrode the nurse and allowed Maria to come in for the birth and support Erin. So, with the Dream Team complete, Erin was free to bring Seth into the world! Erin performed with superhuman strength, pain tolerance, as well as determination and, in what seemed to be the blink of an eye, with some incredible hand skills and instructions from Dr. Hieu, out came Seth! Erin and Seth were immediately united and the 4 of us spent the next 2 hours in the delivery room together. Just like his big brother, Seth came out hungry and pretty much ate the entire time before falling asleep. With the power of today's technology, almost instantly his birth was announced around the world. Phones started dinging, ringing and beeping. We get asked a lot about how our experience was giving birth in Vietnam versus in the US. For us, it was a fantastic experience. Our doctor was incredible and, in many ways, it was a more natural delivery then what we experienced with Graeme in San Francisco. It was also, literally down the street from our house, we could have walked him home upon discharge! We kept Graeme home from school that day and as soon as he could, he had Poppy bring him over to meet his little brother in person. He was so happy and excited! Even more so when we got to go home a few days later...
Bro's
Hi Poppy!
Feed me Mommy!
9 pounder!
Delivery Dream Team!
Mom and her Boys
Seth was born with instant friends. Some of his first visitors were the Sylvester's. They came fully prepared and offered Seth his first Birthday cake and song! Graeme couldn't wait to show off his brother to his besties....
The community around us was so happy to hear of his arrival and plans were made to make sure we had home cooked meals each night as well as an incredible welcoming home banner!
It was quite an eventfully packed few week, that is for sure. So what has Graeme been up to since he turned 6 years old and before his brother arrived?
BIRTHDAY PARTY
For starters, he had his Birthday Party with his friends. Erin outdid herself, as usual, with the decorations for a Pirate themed extravaganza! Some out-of-season rains threatened our fun but we persevered and a great time was had by all!
All hands on deck!
TET 2017
Shortly thereafter the Tet Holiday began. We were staying put as Seth's due date was coming up. Tet is a great time to stay at home in Saigon. The whole city is decorated with flowers and markets and celebrations. Our district takes things to the next level with the markets and the area by the mall goes nuts with themed decoration. This year is the year of the Rooster. We could easily get around town with no traffic and enjoy the festivities!
Monkey bridge
Carved Watermelons
Yes, we live here. No, this is not filtered.
Graeme also had his Tet musical concert at school along with a traditional Dragon Dance. This year the Dragon dance was next level, with tall poles and stands for the Dragon's to dance across. It was amazing.
Best Buds
100TH DAY OF SCHOOL
A few cool things went down at school for Graeme during this time. First was the celebration of the 100th Day of School. Back in my day this would have been called "Only 80 More Days Left". Choosing the glass half full route, SSIS turns this day into many fun teaching moments all having to do with the number 100. Graeme recrouted Nan and Poppy to help out at a work station that the Elementary classes took turns visiting and doing various activities based around 100. The day culminated with the donning and eating of a necklace made out of Fruit Loops with (you guessed it) 100 Fruit Loops on it!
Mr. Chris and G 100 days deep....
LEARNING JOURNEY
The other really cool event is what they call Learning Journey's. Basically, instead of a Parent/Teacher conference, they have the kids lead you on a journey of all that they have been working on and showing you the progress they have made in areas like Reading, Writing, Math, Vietnamese, Art, Music, PE, Library, etc. It is probably one of the proudest days for Erin and I. Getting to see his world through his eyes, witnessing the progress he has made so far this year and how hard he has been working and how proud he is of himself. It is a touching and emotional moment that you get to share with your child. You send them off to KG everyday and see them 8 hours later not really 100% sure what is going on or how they are doing. Getting to walk through his day to day life with him is really an eye opener at just how hard these kids are working and just how hard his Teachers all work in helping him achieve his goals, all the while having fun along the way. Our hats go off to Mr. Chris, Ms. Hue, Ms. Jennifer, Mr. Bouhet, Ms. Mandy, Ms. Barton, and everyone else I am forgetting here. My favorite moment of that morning? Graeme read me a book.....in Vietnamese! He has Vietnamese class 4 times a week and he doesn't really expand too much on it when we ask him about it. Well, I guess some of it is sinking in! Opening his brain to the possiblities and expandedness of learning a second language is something we have always hoped for and it looks like he is headed in the right direction.
Proud Family
EASTER
The Easter Bunny arrived right on time this year delivering baskets for both Graeme and Seth. After a vigilant hunt throughout our apartment, Graeme found all the eggs! Then we were off to the playground at school for a larger hunt with some of the other SSIS families. A great time was had by all and we all survived the heat. (side note: we have entered our 3rd season here in HCMC, it is called "hottest"). Seth chose to sleep through the entire event and most of the day but I am sure he will give Graeme a run for his money in next years hunt!
It has been a busy time in the world of Graeme these past few months! We are all adjusting well to the addition. Seth has proven himself to be possibly the easiest baby to care for in the world (really hope I am not jinxing us here). He rarely cries or fusses. He sleeps well and goes down without a problem. He wakes only twice a night and without a cry, just a little "huh huh huh" sound, then goes right back down. He has an appetite like his brother and eats well. Graeme enjoys snuggling with Seth, picking out his PJ's and reading to him. He really is a big help and genuinely loves him and enjoys his time with him. I cannot say we are surprised as we always thought he would be a great Big Brother but he has proven himself, once again, to exceed our wildest expectations!
Reading time...
3 dudes...
Where does The Tao of Graeme go from here? Honestly, I do not know. I am not sure I have 2 of these in me. Maybe we will see Seth through the eyes of Graeme, or maybe I will find the energy and words for some other avenue for Seth. For now, we are looking forward to Aunt Donna's visit in early May and then we head to the USA in June for a summer of fun! Until then - Hoa Bin, The Hawken's in HCMC
