Happy Holidays from Bangkok!

"That boy's a runnin' fool." Kaya is always running and trying to race me. This photo was taken outside the Grand Palace the day before Kiran was born. We missed going in by five minutes. Fortunately, or unfortunately, this made us come back the next day and turned into quite a birth story! (Which I will tell sometime in the near future.)

Quality family time on the rooftop.

Kaya can swim!!!! (well sort of)

Being a father and husband are the two greatest things in my life. Needless to say, I immediately fell in love with Kiran.

I would probably have to say that this Christmas will be one of the most meaningful ones I have experienced in quite some time. Before my family objects, let me clarify.... We have just made an addition to our family. We only need the dog and a house and we are living the American dream, abroad. Not that *I* have ever strived to achieve the "dream," but for some reason it just feels right. We were very happy with just Kaya (and Bunte), but I think we always knew there was going to be another person in our lives at some point . Therefore, in some strange way, our family hasn't been complete. That sounds weird, so let's just say, a great thing got even better!

In addition to addition, the next reason this Christmas is so meaningful is because Kaya is at an age where he is so excited! Today, we made more cookies, since the first batch somehow disappeared. We also read, The Night Before Christmas, ate oyster stew, a Hesse tradition, (don't worry, I used oyster mushrooms instead of oysters!), put out the stockings, listened to Christmas music and watched Rudolph before bed. Kaya loved it all. He was bouncing all over the place. During the story, he ran out to check and see if we put milk out for Santa. It was so cute. The endless enthusiasm evokes memories and emotions I won't soon forget. I love you little Kaya. Thank you....

Sheela and I are gearing up for an early morning. If Kaya's instincts are honed, he will wake at around 3am to check things out. He may just wake anyhow, who knows!? In any event, we will keep you posted as to how Christmas on this side of the world works.

Siobhan, Sheela and Kiran. More to come on how Siobhan saved us!!

twins?!

Which one is Kaya and which one is Kiran?

Kaya, living la vida loca...

It's not all about Kiran these days. Big brother Kaya has been up to his usual tomfoolery. His days consist of legos, working out, reading and racing.

Kaya got a big brother gift when Kiran came home. He was very excited to receive his big brother tee-shirt and book.

Kaya works out every day. In fact, he motivates me to get up there and get moving. He now wants to be a muscle man when he grows up. According to Kaya, he is the strongest person in the family.

We "made" Christmas cookies. (We bought the cookies and made the frosting. As mentioned in an earlier post, Kaya picked the colors.)
Kaya was very helpful in giving his brother a quick bath.

Kaya loves his brother!

More Team Hesse pics:

Mamma with two Nurses and Kiran's Pediatrician. Finally, after four days we got to come home.

It doesn't get any better than this! Daddy and Kiran snoozin'.

Kiran wrapped up, probably dreaming about baseball or trees. Oh those redwoods...

Pictures, pictures, pictures!

Kiran, deep in thought.

This carving is from the weekend market. Pretty amazing huh!

Santa came to the library to say hello and hand out small gifts! (last week)

Here's how you calm him down Daddy...

with a kiss!

Mamma and Kiran

Kaya and I made frosting tonight. We don't have an oven so we couldn't bake sugar cookies. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find sugar cookies in the stores, so we bought some packaged cookies and will frost them tomorrow! Kaya's choices for colors were, pea green, sky blue, strawberry red and orange. Santa will be quite impressed I am sure.

Old blue eyes himself...

Kaya was very excited to be holding his brother. Especially since he wasn't crying!

Finally, a picture with open eyes. Yes, they are blue....for now.
Blue steel or is this Magnum? (Zoolander)

Day 2: Mamma and Kiran

Falling in love....
I had to check to see if this was Kiran or a picture from when Kaya was three days old!

Day 3: Nothing exciting to report, Kiran and the gang are all doing well in Bangkok. The Doctor wanted Sheela and Kiran to stay in the hospital for three nights. She couldn't turn down 24 hour care. It's amazing how much you forget about these little guys after being only four years removed from having the first. I couldn't for the life of me remember some pretty simple things.... For example: when changing a BOY'S diaper, make sure his thingy is pointed down!! Near miss today.

Kaya and I have been reading the Magic Tree House books that my Mom sent. He loves them and would sit down to read an entire book if I was willing to read that long. It would appear as if his major league baseball training will have to wait for another few weeks. Perhaps by spring training he will be motivated to commence batting practice. Maybe I will get him a book on how awesome it is to play baseball and that will inspire him.

The whole passport thing is going to be more of a process than we had originally anticipated. Apparently, you have to schedule appointments for this and the next available appointment is on January 6th, a week after we are supposed to have left Thailand! Fortunately, I have asked Santa for a time machine and I will make everything all better. Wish us luck on that front!!!!

Happy Holidays from snowy Bangkok!
Team Hesse
Cool Papa, Sheela, Kaya and Kiran

Just another day of sightseeing in Bangkok, oh wait...

Kiran Virgil Hesse (9:00 pm)

The nurses with Mamma and Daddy. About to move out of birthing unit to a more comfortable room! (4:00)

Mamma and Kiran soon after birth. Isn't it amazing how incredible she looks!! (1:35pm)Mamma at Grand Palace in Bangkok. (11:00 am) About an hour taxi ride away from the hospital!! She started to have contractions as we entered the palace, but chose to go on. Needless to say, it was a short visit....

Kiran Virgil Hesse was born at 1:24 pm on December 17th, 2009. He came quick, that's for sure. Sheela started having contractions at around 11:00 am and he was out and about sooner than we had ever anticipated (Kaya was 19 hours of labor).

Sheela showed tremendous strength and calm throughout the entire process. She really wanted to do this without any interventions and she did! (She did admit that for a brief moment she had reconsidered.) What an empowering experience, for all of us. I am so impressed with her attitude and courage. She had said time and time again that an epidural was the way to go, but then had a change of heart about a month ago. Sheela really wanted to do this completely natural and let me tell you.....She certainly did it. I teared up and fell in love with her all over again. What a woman!

Kiran is doing well thus far and is sleeping with his mother in the hospital. Kaya and I decided to come back to the apartment to catch some zzzz's. (I'm too excited and can't sleep though....)

When we named Kaya, we chose the name Kaya because it is a Turkish name and we wanted Kaya to have a connection with his Turkish roots and to also honor Sheela's mother. We chose Kiran for the exact same reasons, except this time to honor Sheela's father with an Indian name. Both boys have my last name and so they will be connected with my side as well!

The name Virgil is after my Father's Father. I have always been very fond of Grandpa and love him very much. He means an awful lot to me and we wanted to honor he and my family by giving Kiran his name for the middle name. (Sheela didn't want to go with any more baseball player middle names!)

Now the fun begins.....Oh, you thought I was talking about raising two boys?! Actually, we have to get his Thai birth certificate, then have it translated to English, get passport pictures, apply for a passport, apply for a Bangladeshi Visa and fly back to Dhaka. All by the 30th of December.

We are both very excited about everything and appreciate all the emails we have received so far. Please don't be offended if we don't get back to you right away. We promise more pictures though....

Happy Holidays....and much love.....
Chris, Sheela, Kaya and Kiran (or little foot, as Kaya has named him)

Kaya's first contact with Kiran.

Moments after being born

Are you serious?!

Thanksgiving Ramblings: Probably a waste of your time to read this… therapy for me!

People
The trouble with people is they need to get over themselves. Myself included.

Bangladeshis
Are you serious? Are you really walking down the middle of the road in Dhaka and you are actually surprised when I ring my bell at you when I am about to hit you with my bike?

Facebook
I think the trouble I have with facebook is, who the hell cares? I find it quite comical to see how people post everything. I find it disturbing that I read it! I should quit, but for some odd reason I feel compelled to stay onboard. What a waste of time. Yet, I am quite comfortable wasting it. (oh and I am posting this on the blog, what a hypocrite!)

Wanderlust
I am feeling inspired, but can’t really be bothered. I can’t really pinpoint why I am, or what inspires me? I am feeling like getting out of here, but can’t figure out where to go next? Why I ask you, and who are you? Why am I asking you? Life can’t really be that simple can it? Then why does it always seem so fricken hard? Man it’s a big world out there and you would think that, well, there I go again. I don’t really know what to think? It’s a big world out there and sometimes I seem so insignificant, even to myself. All I know is, that I always feel like I need to go.

Bangladeshis, Part 2
Stop staring at me!

The evolution of me
Thinking back ten years ago, man times have changed. I was so silly back then. What an idiot! The best thing I have done for myself was to leave the country and join PC. This of course led to some other pretty significant changes in my life, including finally starting to use my brain. Awareness, variety, marriage, family, independence….

My Family
Keeps me going. It is the most important thing in my life. They give me stability, support, hope, direction and a reason. I am so thankful for them. Can’t wait to see number two.

Hello, Bangkok :: by mama

We (meaning I and the baby, thankfully still in utero) have been here for a week now, and this is the only photo I've taken -- of Thai Airways planes at the airport.

I am normally a fairly adventurous and independent person. Except, that is, for when I have a full-term baby in my belly, at which point I apparently become fearful of straying more than a one-block radius from the hospital. I go to the grocery store every single day -- partly just to get outside, and partly because I can only carry a few items home at a time -- and that pretty much sums up the full extent of my excursions in Bangkok.

Oh, but what a grocery store it is. This is a real, American-style grocery store we are talking about, with products like provolone cheese and chocolate chips. They even have American health food brands like Amy's Organics and Earthbound Farms. It's fairly unbelievable. Of course, the prices are exorbitant, probably because every last item in the store is imported. Even the produce is imported, which makes no sense to me. Why would a tropical country be importing tomatoes from Holland in the middle of winter? Even Bangladesh can get itself organized enough to grow its own seasonal produce, so why would that not be happening here? Maybe I'll have to actually leave my little neighborhood and find a regular produce market to find some local vegetables.

And maybe then I'll take more photos.

Checklist for having a baby :: by mama

:: Spend several months in denial about the necessity for a checklist such as this one. Then,
:: Purchase plane tickets to travel to Bangkok.
:: Rent an apartment for two months in Bangkok.
:: Obtain medical visa for Thailand, good until February 2010. Think, "Holy moly. I had better not need to be there until February 2010."
:: Convince insurance company that it is medically necessary to travel to a different country to birth a baby following a normal and uncomplicated pregnancy.
:: Prepare paperwork for passport and visa applications for the new baby, including an original marriage certificate, work permit, and letter from employer.
:: Borrow a crib from a very generous friend.
:: Realize that the baby cannot sleep in the crib without being eaten alive by mosquitoes.
:: Call the tailor to order a custom-made mosquito net for the crib.
:: Ask the tailor to finish the flannel baby wipes that were apparently too much for the sewing machine to handle, necessitating three trips to the Singer repair shop and still being unfinished.
:: Pack the few maternity clothes that are big enough to still fit, the post-partum clothes that may or may not fit, and the baby clothes that seem too tiny to fit anyone.
:: Fill the refrigerator, freezer, and all cabinet shelves with all the food and supplies necessary to sustain a husband and 4-year-old boy for the next two weeks.
:: Fly to Bangkok by 36 weeks gestation, in order to comply with airline rules, and prepare to spend a month waiting for baby.
:: Hope that the baby actually takes that long to arrive, or at the very least waits until his father and big brother get to Bangkok to witness his debut.

All but the next-to-last item have been taken care of. We are off tomorrow...

Recipe Roundup :: by mama

I have been trying to expand our cooking repertoire around here, and focusing especially on ingredients that we don't use often. Here are some things we've tried recently. (As usual, I am only posting recipes that I've found online, so others can access them easily.)

Pineapple Rice:

Here is the thing about pineapples: I think you either like them in savory foods (e.g., as a topping on pizza, in stir fries, etc.) or you don't. Chris does; I don't. He also really likes cashews and tofu, both of which I am kind of indifferent to. This dish had all three. Not surprisingly, Chris loved it and asked for it again the next week, while I was not particularly impressed (and haven't made it since). I wish I liked it more, because pineapples are plentiful, sweet, and cheap here. However, it's quite labor-intensive, and it just wasn't worth the effort to me.

Note: I adapted the recipe to include tofu instead of seitan. I made the dressing a day or two in advance, pressed the tofu, and marinated it in the dressing overnight. Then I pan-fried the tofu before adding it to the dish at the last minute. Like I said, rather labor-intensive.

Gougères:
When I went to Rio de Janeiro way back in the winter of 1998/1999, I discovered that Brazilians really, really like meat. In everything. At seemingly every meal. I, on the other hand, do not, and instead I ended up eating a whole lot of pao de queijo, a cheesy bread concoction that I have been missing ever since. Gougères, I have recently discovered, are very similar. Mine end up flat and somewhat pathetic-looking, probably due to the fact that our oven has no temperature control. (It is either on or off, and that's it. This recipe calls for baking the gougères at 425F and then turning the oven down, mid-bake, to 375F. Hahahahaha. I just opened the oven door for a while in the hopes that it would cool down a bit.) So they are not very attractive, but they are super delicious, and that's all that matters to me.

Creamy Pumpkin and Cashew Curry:

Again with the cashews, for Chris. And again, this was a somewhat labor-intensive dish that I felt was not entirely worth the effort. I had high hopes, because all of the ingredients are readily available here. I was also excited to be using two of them -- curry leaves and coconut cream, as opposed to coconut milk -- for the first time. However, it just turned out kind of bland. One thing I noticed afterwards was that the recipe didn't call for any salt at all, so that may have been part of the problem. Or maybe the green Bangladeshi pumpkin that I used was just not meant to go in this dish. Maybe someone else should try cooking this and tell me if it tastes any better with a different type of pumpkin.

Pasta with Cauliflower:

Yum. Cauliflower is just coming into season here, so I am looking for new ways to use it... and this one is definitely a keeper. It's quick, easy, and delicious. The bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese on top make all the difference. Kaya gobbled it up without a word. Yay!

Bean and Barley Soup:

I was destined to make this soup. Most of the ingredients are hard to find here, but they all serendipitously came together at once, without any real effort on my part. I had picked up some dry pinto beans and barley in one market, and then I spotted celery at one of the local grocery stores, and then the fruit stand next to the American Club just happened to have parsley. (Celery and parsley are only available in the winter here, and this was my first sighting of either one.) Also, Chris's basil plants are just big enough for me to pluck a few leaves here and there. In the end, I realized that I had everything I needed for this recipe. The soup was delicious. This will definitely be a new favorite for us. I did make a few changes to the recipe: I used half the onions and then doubled the carrots and the salt. It was perfect. Behold the evidence:

Happy Halloween :: by mama

Most expats here in Bangladesh hire tailors to make their kids' Halloween costumes. The tailors are skilled at making nearly anything, even without a pattern, and they are cheap and quick. I, however, took it upon myself to make Kaya's costume at home. This was a project that started last summer, when I began purchasing supplies. Three JoAnn stores and two cities later, I had finally found the pattern I wanted (McCall's 2335). I also brought back some of the notions -- like the zipper, single fold bias tape, and velcro -- that I knew I wouldn't be able to find here in Bangladesh.

[Okay, I know it sounds strange to say that I wouldn't be able to find a zipper in a city of over 10 million people, but it is pretty much true. Keep in mind, friends, that most women here wear (a) saris, which essentially consist of one really long piece of fabric wound around their bodies, or (b) salwar kameez, which are long flowy tops over drawstring pants. At most, there may be a hook and eye closure somewhere on their clothing, but no zippers. Hence, no zippers in the shops. Really, why sell something that nobody would need??]

:: A few days beforehand, Kaya practiced trick-or-treating using a peeled pomelo as his treat bag ::

I did buy the fabric here, and even that turned out to be a challenge. You see, fabric in the States is normally 44-45" wide, and then you buy a certain number of yards, according to the pattern instructions. So I went to a local fabric store and bought 4 yards of solid cotton fabric, brought it home, and immediately realized that it was only 34" wide. Typical! I am guessing that it was meant for sari blouses, which would only require a narrow strip of fabric, but of course that didn't occur to me in the shop. Of course not. In any case, rather than going back and buying more fabric, I decided to take this incident as a sign that I was not actually meant to use all of the pattern pieces after all. So, out went pattern pieces for feet and mittens. Less work for me, and Kaya could not have cared less.

:: Note to self: Long, spiky tails are not conducive to climbing on playground equipment. ::

After two Halloween parties, the tail was nearly falling off, having been stepped on, pulled, used as a weapon, and manipulated every which way. I had reinforced it with several rows of stitching, but the thing is just heavy, perhaps too heavy for the light cotton fabric of the body. In any case, it has since been re-attached, perhaps for future use by another small dinosaur in a few years!

How to stop a baby from crying

Not sure how many people out there still read this blog…. I have to give full credit to my dear Sheela for keeping it up. I apologize for not contributing. In my ten years of teaching, this has been the most challenging year yet. Hopefully things will calm down sometime soon and I can actually have time to post and keep you informed as to what the heck is going on with us in Dhaka!

One thing I wanted to share was a conversation Kaya and I just had. Kaya and I were talking about the new baby and how he was going to help the baby out. Kaya was being very thoughtful and put the balloons on the top shelf so the baby wouldn’t get germs or put them in his mouth. Then he started to show me how the baby would act. His demonstration included: laying down and staring straight at the ceiling. I then moved in and started to do a little baby talk and tried to make Kaya laugh, similar to how you might interact with a baby. Now it was Kaya’s turn, so I got into the same motionless position Kaya had been in and started to cry like a baby. I asked Kaya what he would do if the baby started to cry. Without pausing, he took two hands and closed my mouth. Brilliant! I wish it were that simple. Kids never cease to amaze me in the way they can find solutions and simplicity in a complex world.

The birthday was awesome, thanks Robin for pointing out that I am now closer to 50 than 20. I had fully accepted closer to 40 than 30, but damn, closer to 50 than 20 caught me off-guard. Young at heart. My wonderful wife got me everything I wanted and made the day perfect! Thanks my love.

Hopefully I can find the time to write about my recent trip to Malaysia with the Grade 10 students. Land sharks, albino fire monkeys, and other creations of my mind....

not to mention one of the top ten venomous snakes in the world...

Closer to 50 than 20 :: by mama

Yesterday was Chris's birthday! No, he did not receive a Barbie. However, he did get a couple of other things that we hope he liked just as well. One thing that I thought I would share is a fun little craft to celebrate some of Chris's favorite things: the outdoors and recycling. Using some photos from my trip to Portland this summer along with a stack of scrap paper, I made him a photo journal. The instructions, which I originally found via this blog post, can be found here.

Lacking a paper cutter, I used good old scissors, which led to some uneven edges... and lacking craft glue or bookbinding glue, I used wood glue, which seemed to work just fine.

Also, we had our favorite go-to cake, the Moosewood Restaurant Six-Minute Chocolate Cake (also known as the Vegan Chocolate Cake on their website, here). I had wanted to try out these Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes as well, especially since they use Guinness and Baileys, two of Chris's favorite beverages. However, Bangladesh being a dry country, that seemed a little unrealistic. Instead, on the same website, I found Cheesecake-Marbled Brownies that sounded too good to pass up (and required no alcohol). End result: a very chocolatey birthday for a very wonderful man.

Happy birthday, Chris! We love you!!

A new obsession :: by mama

One day last week, Kaya came home with a party bag from a classmate's birthday party. Among the contents of the bag was a sheet of Barbie stickers. I should say here that one of the small benefits of living in Bangladesh has been the fact that Kaya is rarely exposed to branded characters, as there are no real toy stores or advertisements for him to see. So, I didn't think he would even know what a Barbie was, and I certainly did not expect him to show any particular interest in the Barbie stickers. Boy, was I wrong.

:: The stickers went up on the wall right away, before Mama even noticed. ::

[10 minutes later]

Kaya: Mama, I want a Barbie. She's beautiful.
Mama: Really? Why do you want one? Do you know somebody who has a Barbie?
Kaya: Yes. Denise. [Note: Denise is his second cousin, with whom he spent exactly one day this past summer. How he remembered her Barbie doll, I do not know.]
Mama: Oh, right. Well, maybe you can ask Santa for a Barbie, if that's what you really want.
Kaya: Okay. [Looking around] Santa, can I please have a Barbie? Mama, where does Santa live?

[The next day]

Mama: Kaya, Daddy's birthday is coming up soon. What would you like to get him?
Kaya: A Barbie.

[A day later, at breakfast]

Kaya: Mama, I want a Barbie that talks.
Mama: Hmm. I don't think there are Barbies that talk.
Kaya: Well, Santa can make one. He has his elves and his workshop, so they can make a new kind of Barbie that talks. That's what I want for Christmas.

:: A "Welcome Home" sign for Daddy on the front door, with three people and three corresponding Barbie stickers. Daddy is Ken. Kaya and Mama are Barbies. ::