A few months ago some friends were visiting from Switzerland. They have a boy a bit younger than Sam, and although everyone was happy about the idea of each boy having a buddy, there was some concern over how they’d get on. Both were in their twos at the time, not the most malleable of ages nor known for great efforts at cooperation.

Sam can be generous with his toys, but it doesn’t take much to get him grabbing and clutching, hanging on with all he’s got and completely unwilling to share. Laurin, being a bit younger, had all the same tendencies.

So, the day arrives when the boys are introduced. We’re at their place, so the toys are Laurin’s, and only those packed for the... more

We have guests this week, really amazing people we’re thrilled to have with us. Thanks to the Internet and friends finding friends, Liz and I found each other again after fifteen years or so and realized that we have been living the Indian Ocean equivalent of in the same neighborhood for the last three years. She’s just a stone’s throw away …that’s what less than three hours of flight feels like when you live on a tiny island in the middle of a great big sea …in Nairobi, Kenya. Along with two adults full of insightful perspectives, life experiences that make most novels sound weak and unimaginative and wonderful humor, there is an eight year old boy, Calum.

For this week, Sam has a... more

Cj is ten months old now and still gumming. Her mastication skills are amazing and we’re constantly impressed by her ability to chomp just about anything without one single chomper. Sam’s first tooth popped through the day he turned seven months old, so Mark assumes Cj is somehow behind the curve. Charts on average teething times mean nothing to him and he worries that being ten months old and toothless could be an indication of … well, I don’t know what it could indicate, but he’s got something dire in mind even if he can’t come up with anything. Pointing out... more

When we picked Sam up at the orphanage in Cambodia in 2003, he’d not had any vaccinations. Once home, routine began with the BCG, usually given at birth. He was fourteen weeks old when we returned to Seychelles from Southeast Asia, so was later than local kids with DPT, Poliomyelitis and Hepatitis B vaccines. By his first birthday, however, he had well caught up.

The situation in Cambodia had improved by July of 2005 when we traveled for Cj. She was also fourteen weeks old at the time, but had her little BCG dimple already and an immunization card documenting the first two of each in the series of three DPT and three Polio.

Countries follow various inoculation routines, many... more

The topic of fevers has come up in one of my groups lately. Forever a product of my time, like many Boomers my gut reaction to an elevated temp is to take whatever steps available to get it down as soon as possible. In the early 1970s when my first kids were little, the drill was to reach for the bottle of little orange pills, the baby aspirin, and start dosing with those.

Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen are today’s drugs of choice. I have these sent over from the States and keep a good supply. Along with the new drugs comes a new perspective: fevers are good.

I understand the concept; it makes total sense, is completely logical and comes from qualified sources I greatly respect.... more