Heading home!

Great news: my paperwork is in Boston and has been approved. I leave first thing tomorrow and, weather permitting, I will be arriving in Boston tomorrow afternoon. I'm so eager to leave. 

Oh, and my first class upgrades came through too. (Thank you, Joel: you taught me well.)

I'm off now to say goodbye to Emily. I'm sure this will be hard.

A light at the end of the tunnel???

My paperwork is supposed to be leaving Austin today. If received in Boston tomorrow, I should be able to fly home on the 1st...

Happy New Year! Reprieve for prisoner 24602.

This morning Kofi saw his first movie: Slumdog Millionaire.  I thought it was a bit overrated and, well, Kofi slept through it. (A one-very-long-nap movie using the A. Ralston rating system.) And, of course, some of the suspense is ruined if you've read too much Dumas...

Kofi and I spent the day sightseeing. Trying to make the best of our Texan imprisonment. I feel a little like an outlaw, holed up in a hotel, watching too much TV and eating too much junk food. 

[If anyone in Boston wants to do something for me when I get back it is this: watch Kofi for an hour or two so I can go work out.]

Kofi is stirring now, hiccuping a bit (he does that a lot), and, well, looking  like the perfect champ that he is. Given how frustrating it is to be here this long, it is a testament to the power of this strange thing called paternity that I find myself wildly happy to be here with my dear little boy.

That being said, does anyone have any connections to the Governor of Texas?

OK, I'm sorry to all of you with children, but my son is just the CUTEST thing ever. There's just no competition (as you can see on the right).  Thank you, Londa, for the outfit.

Today was a day of sightseeing in Houston. Two art galleries, a bookstore (that had once been a movie theater) and the best supermarket in the world (so Josh says).

Kofi and I were exhausted after that outing. We downed some formula (we're up to 3oz per meal, in case you're interested... and how couldn't you be?) when we got home and took a long nap.

First Pediatrician Visit

Well, socialized medicine is great. We went for our state mandated 1 week check-up today, paid for by the taxpayers (my son is on Medicaid!), and we had a great visit.  Clean bill of health. No respiratory infection (normal newborn congestion), left with 2 boxes of formula and a spare diaper. 

Of course, it's easy to be critical when you're on the other side of the stethoscope. We waited 45 minutes to see the doctor (we got there 10 minutes early). And not a single person in the office introduced themselves to me: not the secretary, not the nurse, and not the doctor. [I'll give the doctor some credit: she was thorough, kind, and reassuring; she asked questions about Kofi and the adoption and was totally supportive.]

We then went to Babies 'R' Us for a lesson in cribs and their accessories. Frankly, it's all overwhelming. I think I need to go back with an experienced parent.

Don't Hold Your Breath...

My paperwork is stuck in Fedex limbo... it hasn't even been delivered to the Texas State Adoption Agency (or whatever they are called) and the office is closed today, so at best it will get there Monday. If I'm lucky, Boston will get it Tuesday or Wednesday and then I'll be home Thursday or Friday next week.

It's a little frustrating, because they could have gotten the paperwork to Austin on Tuesday, but they were waiting on some lawyer to write some letter that didn't get written until Tuesday morning... it's also a little odd to have your movements restricted like this. It makes one feel like a fugitive, or some underprivileged citizen.

But, the glass is totally half-full. Who am I kidding? My glass runneth over. So there is nothing to be done but enjoy my time here in Houston with Kofi (and Josh for the next few days).

Happy Boxing Day to all.

My talented son...

Last night my little Kofi, my darling son made his first attempt at art on my favorite green t-shirt (see pic at left). It's a bit Jackson Pollacky for my tastes, but I thought it deserved digital preservation.

Josh arrived today bearing many gifts: dreydls, candles, a menorah, and an assortment of cute socks for the Kofster. 

Tomorrow we're off to the pediatrician for a well-baby check up. 

[For those of you with keen eyes, you may have noticed that we lit the wrong number of candles on the menorah in today's slideshow. We eventually corrected that. This is much better than the virtual menorah that Marsha and I were using: www.jewishcolorado.org/page.aspx?id=52216]