Settled

We have been living in Holland for two months now. Our house is still exactly what we wanted, and our family is enjoying life to the fullest. Work is going well for both Douglas and me, and Cedric and Ezra are having a great time in school. The weather is starting to turn and we are realizing that not experiencing cold weather for six years has lowered our tolerance for the cold. We turned on the heat last night.

We have been riding bikes to work every day, and taking long rides on the weekends. On last Sunday we rode 27.5km! I have to say that last 5km face to face with the wind was a miserable challenge. Europe has really opened our eyes to how accessible things can be. We can hop on a bus, bike, or train to so many places. Travel and transportation are simple and exciting. We made a quick day trip to Brussels a couple weeks back for some waffles, fries and chocolates; additionally we have been out to the beach a few times since we arrived. The beaches here blew my mind as I was not expecting the Netherlands to have great beaches. The water is far too cold now, but this summer we are going to be beach bums!

We have a few trips coming up for work and pleasure. Next week Douglas will be in London for work. Then in late October we all will be visiting Ireland for the first time.  We expect to spend two days in Dublin and then explore around a bit; Sadly I don't think we will have time to make it to the other side to see the cliffs. Maybe that just means Ireland will require more than one trip. In November I will be in Rome for work. We were in Rome six years ago and the only thing I can remember is how much we ate. On multiple occasions we have said we want to repeat that exact trip just for the food and wine.

Then finally we are heading back to the States for winter break. Our kids have not been to their grandparents for the holidays since we surprised our families when they were just five weeks old. We usually gift ourselves a trip to a nice warm beach, but since we are not going to America this summer we thought this would be a fair trade off for the families.

We are getting used to the darker mornings... which will continue to get darker. A local put a positive spin on it: "You have to look at it as if you are heading to a point (the darkest point), and and once you reach the finish line it stops and it starts to get light again." The long and short is that the days are getting much shorter. The darkness will soon last through our first hour of work and then darkness will greet us as we are going home from work. We will get used to it... that is life... here in Holland.

Chad

A Long Time Gone

Wow it has been a long time! So much has happened since our last post I don't even know where to start. The long and short is that we are officially residents of the Netherlands now. 

It was definitely a crazy end to our six years in India. Without going into detail in regards to the India-United States drama that transpired, we really couldn't bring ourselves to blog in the final months in India. We loved our time in India, but we are very happy we made the decision to leave when we did.

We moved two adults, twin two and a half year olds, a labrador, seven suitcases, and one hundred and two boxes from New Delhi to Amsterdam. The actual moving was painless thanks to wonderful relocation packages from our employers. 

Our new house is fantastic. We rented with only seeing photos and are very happy with our selection. We are about a fifteen minute walk and a five minute bike ride to work. Also we are only a five minute bike ride away from a giant shopping center, and a massive forest to explore in.

In our first few weeks in the Netherlands we have met several new people and are having a great time. We were greeted with fantastic weather the first week. Lately though we have been experiencing the normal rain that is typical for the region.

Amsterdam is refreshing and clean, and just all around easy to navigate. Cedric and Ezra are loving all of the public transportation... trains, trams, busses, and bikes they love it all! 

Our family is in love with our new home. We look forward to getting to know this place as we get settled in. 

Oh and we also plan to get back into regular blogging now that life is a bit more calm.

Here are a few pictures since we last posted.

Chad & Cedric in Mauritius

Mary, Douglas, Cedric @ brunch

102 boxes enroute to The Netherlands

This is our life

Ezra - "Jet lag stinks"

Grandpa's story time

Quick trip through DC 

Douglas & Ezra giant slip and slide fun

Chad & Cedric giant slip and slide fun

Fried everything at Columbus Pride 2014

Ezra surfs up in Outer Banks NC

Douglas & Cedric go to Ivanhoes!

Cousin play time

Fresh haircuts

Cedric - "Take my picture!"

Baltimore MD

Our first family bike ride

Playing in our new back garden

Kitchen singing time

Cheese!

Chad

Prague: Day 6

We've been enjoying roaming around the various playgrounds and the markets right near our apartment. On day six, we got a little more adventurous and took a walk to the Prague Castle. The walk there was brisk as it was early in the morning. There weren't many pedestrians out on the street. Nyssa helped us find our way through the windy corridors once we crossed over the Vltava. The map, however, was not our friend, as it turned out that our chosen path included about 22 sets of stairs. We formed a team with Chad and Nyssa taking both strollers at the back and me picking both up at the front and we climbed the stairs one by one, much to the amusement of the people strolling leisurely down in the opposite direction. Once we reached the summit, we enjoyed some breathtaking views of the city covered in the mists of the morning air. It was truly refreshing to see actual fog that isn't laced in pollution... Ah, Delhi! I will not miss your sketchy air quality!

After seeing a quick guard changing ceremony at the government buildings, our tour commenced. We visited the Old Palace, a 12th century Romanesque church that had been beautifully restored, and a quaint row of houses where smithies and bars from days gone by were preserved to give us a taste of what Prague must have been like long ago. Finally, we went to the Cathedral and marveled at the beautiful stained glass. The boys took it all in from the comfort of their strollers. We stopped a few times to let them stretch their legs and push their own strollers around. All in all, they were perfectly behaved little tourist-gentlemen. 

Until all hell broke loose. During the last few minutes of the last stop on our tour, Cedric decided he had had enough stroller time and wanted to be carried. Since we'd pushed our luck and had kept the boys out past their nap time, I carried him for as long as I could. But , at the end of the first mile on our two-mile walk back to our apartment, my arms had had enough, and--much to his dismay--I put him back in his stroller. Yikes! He screamed all the way back to our hotel while we quickly rushed down streets and through squares. I've never pushed a stroller so quickly in my life. 

Finally back at the apartment, we quickly got them changed and put down for a nap. They slept for three and a half hours. Poor little guys were tuckered out from a morning of strolling and sight seeing. 

The evening was spent playing around the apartment, eating dinner, and then going for a stroll on the square to see the evening Christmas events. There was a very interesting Czech folk band that played on the main stage as we walked. We ate a few more helpings of trdlo, the sweet bread that is gently rolled over the fire and coated with sweet cinnamon and sugar. A few more glasses of mulled wine and some cold beers were also enjoyed by the adults. 

Back at our apartment, we Skyped with my family who was having their Christmas celebrations on the 26th instead of the 25th. It was nice to see everyone opening the presents we bought and sent. Internet shopping finally made manifest. And, sadly, we said goodbye to Nyssa. She was flying early the next morning to Berlin to see family. We've so enjoyed having her on the trip and the twins LOVE their Aunt Nyssa time. 

One more full day is all we have left in Prague. This vacation is flying by. Hopefully the pounds of food we've eaten will fly off of our waistlines just as quickly once we return to Delhi. 

Love and Peace, 

Douglas 

Prague: Day 4

Christmas Eve!

Like most of Europe, Christmas Eve is when the celebration happens. We spent the day with the boys shopping for presents and feasting on the local cuisine. We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Eve meal right on the Old Town Square. 

The apartment we've rented for this week is ideally located just a minute from the festivities and when we walk outside we often hear the bells tolling from the astronomical clock. Here's a video of our walk from our apartment to the main square where the Christmas Market is located. 

In other news, the boys have mostly recovered from the jet lag, but were still quite tired. They took two long naps during the day. Their appetites are also returning. We are looking forward to hearing from friends and family over the next few days as celebrations and gatherings of those near and dear to us take place in various locations throughout the world.

Love and Peace,
Douglas, Chad, Cedric and Ezra

When The Stars Align

All of the stars have aligned. When we started our job search we never dreamed that we would be presented with such an amazing opportunity. All of our wants and a few bonus features for our next home have been met. The city is clean, they had jobs for both of us, and our marriage will be legally recognized!

We are happy to announce that in August 2014 we are moving to Amsterdam in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Here is a flash back photo from when we first went to Amsterdam in 2008!

Smiles ear to ear!

Chad & Douglas

Heading into the Unknown

Searching for a job internationally is complicated. Especially when dependents, housing, and visas are factors to be considered by your prospective employer. There are not many places in the world that offer both Douglas and myself a position in the same location where it is not illegal for us to live.

It has been sixteen years since I came out of the closet and since then I have never faced any sort of discrimination because of that (that I know of). I suppose I have just been lucky; however in our job searching we have found that the world is much smaller that we originally thought. We only have two requirements of a country; clean air, and not illegal to be gay.

The unknown is really scary. The fact that we don't know where we will live starting in June is frightening. Even if we move back to the United States we still don't know exactly where we will live.

Whatever happens happens... Everything will work out in the end.

Chad

Two

Cedric and Ezra are officially two. Actually they turned two several days ago, but we have just been too busy to talk about it. In the last month I have been to Las Vegas and Douglas has been Denver and back. Our house has been a revolving door of activity.

Language development has reached a new level. The boys are becoming easier to communicate with which means life with twins is starting to calm down. Of course it is still wild, but once your children understand what you are asking of them it feels more like a partnership.

In other news we are heading to Prague for Christmas this year. We are super excited about this trip. Cedric and Ezra will get their first taste of genuine cold weather.

Another blog post is coming with updates about leaving Delhi and the search for new jobs.

Chad

Leaving India

This year will be our sixth and final year living in New Delhi. We decided last May that it is time for a change, and we are sticking to our plan. I say that jokingly, but we call India the golden handcuffs. We have great jobs, great salaries and live in a great community and therefore it is hard to give it all up for the unknown. Our number one choice would be to remain abroad, but we are also looking at moving back to the United States if that plan doesn't work out.

India has changed tremendously in the past six years, but India is a still tough place to live. I look back to the first time I arrived at the old worn down Delhi airport. It was the first time I had left the United States and my emotions were high. I remember coming down the stairs into passport control and bursting into tears. "What in the hell am I doing?"

India is a crazy place. Most people come for short stays and click pictures of the chaos because it is so wild it is funny. When we first arrived we felt the same way. It is interesting to look back at those first time experiences and compare how I felt then and how I feel now. I think we progress in waves. Our feelings have progressed from this is wild and it is funny, to this is wild and it is normal, and now to this is wild and it annoys me.

Our time in India has been wonderful. Our lives have truly changed because of this place. It is an experience we will never regret. India is full of firsts for us and it is a place we will never forget.


Chad

Overdue Update

The boys are keeping us really busy these days. Their day runs from 8a-8p with a one or two hour nap after lunch. Most days with the boys are a lot of fun, but it isn't always gum drops and lollipops, as you can imagine.

Every day Cedric and Ezra are learning something new. Sometimes good things... sometimes bad things. We have made momentous progress on manners recently. Their skills of reason have also started to develop. They now understand what we want, however it is still a toss up if they decide to comply or not.

They are learning new words daily and will repeat anything you say. Anything. It has been a lot of fun watching them grow. They have such different personalities it is hard to believe they are twins.

Ezra is a runner. I can already anticipate phone calls from his teachers saying he ran away. He gets this look on his face and you can see he is testing how you will respond.

We have had a few problems with our ayah. I came home the other day and she was letting the kids dance on the coffee table. We have been working hard on keeping them from climbing on it... now we know why they were not listening. It is also culturally difficult for our ayah tell the twins "no". It is a different way of looking at it but it's as if the she works for the kids. So we are working on boundary issues where she has to tell the boys no and enforce the rules while we are gone.

We have also had our fair share of illness. Everyone has had coughs, running noses, and fevers. Cedric has had a few terrible reactions to bug bites. Some that have led to skin infections with very disgusting looking boils on his legs. I could never be a doctor. I had to stop trying to diagnose the issue using Dr. Google after seeing the search results for skin rashes. People are nasty!

We are still trying to get Ezra to pack on the pounds. Cedric is gaining weight like normal, but Ezra just can't seem to gain a pound. He is a good eater, but must burn calories at a much higher rate. He never stops moving so maybe he will always be a skinny mini.

Eating out with twins is going quite well. Once in awhile we have to end dinner a bit quickly, but most of the time they are perfect gentleman. We have noticed they seem to eat better when we all eat together as opposed to having a kids meal time and then an adult meal time.

The weather is still quite hot in Delhi. We have been swimming most weekends and sometimes swim during the week. Ezra is a little fish and will jump from the side of the pool and blow bubbles and all sorts of fun stuff in the water. Cedric also loves the water, but he has always been a little more reserved and leaves the show boating the his brother.

We have also joined a very diverse play group. There are kids from Norway, Germany, Brazil, Spain, India, and Czech Republic. Our ayah has been coordinating with several other ayahs to have regular play groups at a different house three times a week. Once a week we host at our house and there are nine children and nine ayahs all in our house. I stuck my head in the door once. It was toddler overload.

Cedric and Ezra are really good at sharing with other children. However sharing between themselves is another story. I find it very interesting how they interact with each other. Ezra will take things from Cedric just for fun and then run through the house as if it is a game. Cedric subsequently is chasing him through the house screaming for his toy back. We have a lot of work to do in this area. Maybe a life long task.

I am heading to Las Vegas for a work conference in two weeks. I am looking forward to learning something new and excited for the networking possibilities. It has been a few years since I have been in Las Vegas. I can't wait to see if I can still win at black jack. My mom and dad are also going to meet me there for a couple of days.

Sorry this post turned into a novel. I guess that's what happens when you are terrible bloggers and forget to post anything for two months!

Chad

Dear Mom, . . .

Dear Mom, 

Whew!

We're back in Delhi. And what a trip it was! It's good to get back in the swing of things and to be in our own place.

The plane ride was about what I expected it to be. The boys did awesome on the first leg of the trip, and then we used the family room in the United Club for our long layover (it pays to be Premier Access Gold Members). It was great! We had a private room, two couches and a TV. Cedric napped and Ezra played. 

Cedric was definitely not himself at all yesterday. Of course, I took the thermometer out of our diaper bag (we've never used it during a flight before, so no need to keep it in the diaper bag, right? WRONG!). So, I'm not sure how high his fever got during the flight, but I'm pretty sure it was up there. He slept or laid down for the entire Delhi flight. Ezra, however, made up for his brother's lack of energy especially during the last four hours of the flight. Wowsa! He got so frustrated towards the end that he cried for about 20 minutes (seemed like 2 hours) because he couldn't get down and run around the aisles. Then he finally fell asleep again as we landed. Chad assures me that it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. Still, it stunk pretty bad. I hope that this was the worst of it and that when they're 2 1/2 they'll be able to understand a bit better why they can't be free range on the plane. Maybe I'm fooling myself.

We got in at 8 and were out of the airport by 9 with three trolleys of luggage plus two strollers and diaper bags. Arjun, one of the school drivers, was waiting for us outside with the van near by. So, we loaded up and headed for home.

The boys were shell shocked by then, but Ezra was really happy to see Jyoti and kept running around trying to give her a hug. What a happy labrador. It looks like she did a lot of comfort eating while we were gone as she's a bit thick around the middle. Cedric, meanwhile, wasn't having any of it, happy lab or no!

We sorted a few things out and then had the boys in bed by 10:30. At that time Cedric's temperature was about 101. I'm pretty sure it had been higher than that during the flight. The boys went down without any fuss at all. World-weary travelers.

After they went to bed, we sat down for a few minutes, but then got up and hauled all the luggage (8 bags, 2 strollers and a carry-on) up two flights of stairs. I opened a few pieces of luggage, but only the essentials in order for us to go to bed and get started again the next morning. Sleep came fast, but was not long-lasting. The boys woke up in a fit at about 1:00 AM. Fortunately, they only needed bottles and went right back to bed until 3:30 when they woke up again. I fed them breakfast and they played. They were in great moods and Cedric's fever had vanished. At about 6:00, their wheels started to fall off and so they had another bottle and went back to bed for what I thought would be a two- or three-hour nap. No sir. They slept from 6:30 AM until I woke them up at 1:00 PM. Jet lag is a nasty beast. While they were sleeping I unpacked our luggage. It's good to have that done and out of the way.

Chad went to work at 8:00 and Sheela had came in at 8:30, so I took the opportunity to take a nap myself. I slept until about 10. Then I got back to work organizing what I had unpacked. Chad and I had lunch with some of the returning faculty. It was nice to see our friends. We'll be doing a lot of "Remind me what your plans were this summer..." over the next week. Familiar, and mostly jet-lagged, faces are slowly starting to reappear. New faculty has been here for about three days. I don't officially start back until Tuesday.

They boys and Sheela (our housekeeper and nanny) have been getting reacquainted today. Vineet (the dog walker) came in this morning while they were asleep and was visibly devastated when I told him that the boys were asleep. He missed them so much over the summer. He came back this afternoon and he's now playing with them. I think Cedric is getting tired again. I'm not sure what the rest of the day will bring for him. I think that he might need a nap. This is going to be an interesting evening. Pretty sure they'll be wide awake when Chad and I are dragging to a halt and begging to go to bed.

The boys have been asking about Grandma and Grandpa and Meme and Papaw. We'll need to skype soon.

Love you!
Douglas 

Summer Is Over

It is the saddest happiest time of the year. It is sad that we have to go back to work, but we are happy to settle back into our own home. This summer has been more relaxing than usual. We have taken it a lot easier this time around and done much less running from one place to the other.

We have spent the majority of our time in Indiana and Ohio visiting family. It has been wonderful for the boys to have huge yards and pools to play in. The weather has been perfect for outside time during our entire visit.

We took a couple side trips also. Our first trip was to visit our long lost friends in Atlanta. We learned that in the south just about anything will fit into a bikini, and that too much fast food can put me in the hospital.

Douglas and I headed out to San Francisco for a few days. Cedric and Ezra got to hang out with my parents while we were gone. The twins love their Mimi and Papaw! SF was so much fun. We did some touristy things and then some relaxing things. It sure was nice to have a few adult meals where we could enjoy a bottle of wine with dinner instead of asking for the check after appetizers.

We had a little visa scare that anyone heading to India should be aware of. We needed to get "fresh" visas this year since we have been in India for more than five years. This can only be done in your home country so this summer we had to send our passports out for new visas. I don't know the background behind the switch, but the Indian Consulate has changed the company that processes Indian visas. My advice is to apply early since it took us four weeks to receive our passports back. Also I recommend using Travisa to walk your passport through the process. It costs a bit more but if there is a problem they handle it.

We head back to Delhi on Tuesday night. If anyone is passing through Newark keep an eye out for the circus!

Chad

MIA

Yes, it's true, I've been MIA from blogworld. Beginning in the middle of April, I came down with a mysterious, India-induced illness. I am still recovering from symptoms that included persistent and recurring fever, stomach aches, body aches and a cough. Mostly, though, I was suffering from an extreme lack of energy and needed to focus all efforts on parenting and finishing the end of the school year. The silver lining of the whole experience is that I lost between 10 and 15 pounds.

The other thing that being sick has made me think about is whether or not it's finally time to leave India.  Chad and I have been in New Delhi for five years, and we will definitely be going back for a sixth year of work. Beyond that, we have no commitments. Is it time to leave?  Who knows?

Meanwhile, the boys are growing up right before our eyes. On June 4, we came back to the US for vacation, and during the first week that we were here Cedric and Ezra increased their vocabularies exponentially. They say so many words now. And, yes, they repeat everything. We've been enjoying time with our families.

I promise, now that I have some down time and am feeling better, to be a better blogger!  Here's a picture of my family on our farm in southern Ohio.

Cheers,
Douglas 

Bounce Time

Doug and I made our last circle around Delhi today picking up some last minute items. We also stopped by the spa to treat ourselves to a massage, mani, and pedi! It is way too hot this time of year to be running around... but it was worth it.

We apologize in advance to anyone who forgets their headphones on the United flight to Newark tonight. Keep an eye out for a traveling circus... it will be us!

Both boys are having troubles with their teeth right now. Ezra and Cedric are sprouting teeth (6 and 4) respectively simultaneously. So it should be an interesting flight.

Looking forward to family time and cool temps!

Here we come America!

Chad

Countdown Season

We are in the home stretch. It is odd to say that since technically India is our home, but nevertheless we are about to bounce out of the hot box for the summer holiday. Our ayah asked this morning who was going to take care of the twins over the summer. I suppose she is concerned that we are not capable, but I think we will manage.

The temps are hitting 115 F or 46 C daily. It is so hot that when you go outside you can feel your skin retreating and your eyes start watering. Our daily routine includes air conditioned playtime and swimming.


It is 10am...

I noticed a few days ago that Jyoti (our labrador) was getting a little thick around the middle. The vet has been forever telling me that she was getting too heavy, but I was in denial considering some of the dogs I have seen. She always tacks on a few extra pounds when we leave for the summer, but she might drop a few pounds since she won't be cleaning up after the boys.

Time to starting making to-do lists...

12 days until we are in the states for 9 weeks!

Chad

Too Hot for Shoes

It is officially too hot for me. I am being a wimp this year (5 years in Delhi), and starting to complain earlier than usual. Thirty-five more days until we are up and out. The temps are reaching 105 daily now and will continue to increase until about 115 through the end of June. Yesterday I declared a moratorium on shoes and socks. It is sandal season in Delhi.

Twins twins twins!

Both boys are walking (Ezra running). They are growing very fast. Cedric is tall enough to grab things off the kitchen counters. The boys are tons of fun and full of energy. Play time has become much more fun as their skills are developing.

Our lives have changed so much. Our house is also changing. We have dismantled our guest room and created an entire room dedicated to play time. We painted all the walls blue and put down a padded floor of letters and numbers. We love it right now, but are quite aware it might turn into more work down the road when they figure out it comes apart in a million pieces. Our dvds and books have been removed from twin level. No matter what we tried they couldn't resist the temptation.

The boys also like dancing on the coffee table. We are working on getting them to stop table dancing, but this is going to be an ongoing battle. I won't say if either father has danced on a box before...

Everyone in our house has been sick. The twins and I recovered within two days, but Douglas has been out of commission for the last two weeks. We all hope he is better soon since single parenting is no fun. It is easy to forget how much you depend on your spouse when everything is normal, but when one of you is missing you quickly realize how much help you need.

Chad

Spring Break

The temperature is rising in India, but it is still in the manageable nineties. That can only mean one thing. It is time for our last trip out of Delhi for the school year. Doug's mother is enroute to Delhi. She was due in last night, but as usual Newark was a cluster $%#@ and she had to reschedule for one day later. Thankfully United also let her change her return date by one day so she didn't cut any time off her trip.

Climbing is the newest event in our house. The higher the boys get the happier they are... chuckle chuckle. I am considering removing the couch from the nursery as I am afraid one of them will either jump or get pushed off which will lead to another trip to the hospital.

Dinner time continues to stress us out. It seems we can't make the boys happy. They refuse to eat things they loved five minutes before, they throw all the food off their trays in protest, and scream for more. We have tried so many things, but it seems nothing will suffice. This phase needs to pass.

Cedric is very clingy, and he wants to be held most of the time. I think this problem was created by having two ayahs at his beck and call. We are working on strategies to calm him down, but he gets so worked up we have to let him cry it out. This phase needs to pass.

Ezra is basically running around now. He is a busy boy and usually has on a big smile. Cedric has started taking a few steps here and there, but only when he wants to. He is a very effective crawler so he is content with his mobility. Plus every time he stands Ezra makes it his mission to push him over.

We are all looking forward to Goa. Our family does beach vacations well.

Chad

What Time Is Grandma Coming?

One of the books I remember most from my childhood is "What Time is Grandma Coming?" by Peter Seymour and Kathy Allert. Who knows why this book sticks out in my mind? Maybe it's because I always really looked forward to when Grandma was coming!

Well, I wish I had a copy here in Delhi to read to the boys because their grandma is coming to Delhi! (Actually, this will be the second grandma visit of the year, as Chad's mom has already made an appearance. Our boys are so lucky to have two loving grandmas!)  I never thought this would happen, but the allure of grandchildren must have overcome any fears of long flights, overcrowded markets or traffic congestion that defies reason.

In any case, only a few short weeks until she arrives!

Love and Peace, 

Douglas 

Research: 12-18 Month Behavior

I often joke with others that we're running our own little twin experiment, and usually leave it to them to figure out which twin is serving as the control group. What would happen if we only let one listen music performed exclusively by Dolly Parton?

Ever feel like things are getting away from you?

In all seriousness, here are some things I've been reading about development and behavior from 12-18 months.

Here is a brief summary of what play looks like at various ages, including 12-18 months.

Here are some behavior management strategies for pre-toddlers.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has a quick two-pager about eating habits, behavior management, growth development and vocabulary development for this age.

And, a bit about non-violent communication just for good measure.

The Problem Solver & The Freaker Outer

You can tell at a glance when Ezra is planning something. His wheels are always turning and he is looking for something to get into. When something stands in his way it only takes a few seconds for him to manipulate the situation and overcome.

Last night we were all playing in the nursery. The couch sits against the wall and part of the window is behind the couch. Until last night neither of them could get on the couch unassisted. Ezra decided that he wanted to look out the window and quickly realized that he needed a boost. So, he used our makeshift drum (a.k.a. an empty Trader Joe's coffee container) as a stepping stone. He was elated with accomplishment and smiled ear to ear from the top of the couch. King of the mountain!

Ezra has always been a bit more independent, whereas Cedric has always been more aware of the people around him. He's not scared by large crowds or loud noises and will sit through an hour-long concert. He loves being with people.

And Cedric is definitely our freaker outer.

When something stands in between him and what he wants, he spirals into a tantrum, going from zero to sixty in two point five seconds. He has never been very independent, and he will often cry when he is not getting enough attention.

We have observed Cedric playing both with Ezra and alone, and he takes things very personally. A few nights ago he was pushing a toy car around the nursery. Keeping in mind that a car only does a few things--i.e.,  forward, backward, turns on side, and turns upside down--Cedric was getting visibly frustrated at the toy car, but we don't know why. It would appear the car was doing something "wrong" since his reaction was to scream and bite the car in retaliation. We have witnessed said biting on several occasions and nothing is immune. He'll bite coffee table for bumping his head, the door stop for keeping the door pinned open, and the blanket for getting twisted around this legs... all things that need to be told to behave, I assume.

We do our best not to react to these outbursts as to not encourage the behavior, but we are not sure how the nannies are responding when this occurs. When we stopped reacting to Ezra's head banging it went away on its own, but my fear is this will take longer to disappear and will advance to biting people.

Chad

ER: Indian Style

Chad and I have been living in India for close to five years now. It can be expected that over that amount of time we've had our fair share of trips to the hospital for this and that. Personally, I think I've had more than my fair share of doctor visits in India, but that's a different story for a different day.

In this version of our continued saga living in Mother India, Ezra made his first trip to the hospital for anything other than a routine check-up. Let me just say, it was as positive an experience as we could have hoped for, and I'd like to thank the doctors who took care of us yesterday evening.

Here is the play-by-play:

After our family walk, Ezra and Cedric were playing in the nursery while Chad and I started to get dinner ready. After about a minute or two of play, we heard Ezra crying. When we went in and checked on him, we found him with a bloody lower lip. He was sitting right next to the door, which both he and Cedric love to play with. I can only assume that he got a little to close to the corner of the door. The cut doesn't look too bad in the picture, but it was pretty deep.

We called our resident PA who lives a few doors down from us, and she recommended taking him to the hospital. Our employer has a contract with Max Super Specialty Hospital, and our school doctor arranged for a physician to meet us there. We also called our dear friend Mary, who was in the middle of a massage, but stopped everything when she heard her phone ring twice and hurried over to the apartment. Mary agreed to come along with Ez and me while Chad stayed home with brother Cedric.

Driving to the hospital, which is about 8 miles away, takes forever in Delhi traffic. On the way there, the doctor from Max called to check on us and see how Ez was doing. We told him we'd be there in 30 minutes. In reality, it took more like an hour. At the hospital, the emergency room was crowded, but impressively organized and clean. The doctor looked at Ezra (who was in his usually cheery mood), and determined that the plastic surgeon needed to be called.

We waited for about 45 minutes for the plastics doctor, and when he arrived he gave us two options: general anesthetic or local anesthetic. We opted for local. In the end, though, it was determined that due to the location of the cut and the size of Ezra, that no aesthetic would be used at all. Oh my!  This daddy's blood pressure went up a few notches. We held Ez down while the doctor quickly worked at putting in four stitches. Ez screamed louder than I ever cared to hear any child--let alone my own--scream. But, the pain was quickly over, and Ezra recovered his usual mood after a few minutes. By this time, it was about two hours past Ezra's bedtime. We got the bill taken care of, stopped off in the chemist to get some medicine, and headed for home and Ezra nodded off for dreamland.

A few takeaways from our experience for any traveler to New Delhi, or any IPs coming for surrogacy.
1. Max hospital is definitely a number you need to have on hand. They're a good western-style facility.
2. Indian hospitals, including Max, are quite crowded and the idea of personal space is not the same as it is in the West.  (Our only experience in a non-crowded Indian hospital was at BLK hospital, where the boys were born, which seemed to have plenty of room for everyone... does the exception prove the rule?)
3. You have to pay at the time of the procedure. Have your credit card or cash on hand. FYI: four stitches cost about $175.
4. (apologies ahead of time for the generalization) Indian doctors typically have really poor bedside manner.

That's all for now.

Peace,
Douglas