The Boy: Damian

When I started this site as merely a "Travelblog," I always had it in the back of my head that it would be cool if, someday, my hypothetical children could read about the silly adventures of their parents. Then it occurred to me; what greater adventure is there other than parenthood? Is that not a "trip" I'd want to document as well? Of course it is and of course I will. So, although it doesn't appear to "fit" on the face of it, I've decided to add the birth and growth of our son, Damian, to the mix. But wait... Does this mean I have to start our highpoint count all over again with him? (Yes, it does, but don't tell Hoang.)

It's funny, I used to say that we took certain long and expensive vacations because, "Once we have a kid, we won't be able to do that anymore." While true to a large degree, I've reassessed my thinking; Now with child, I'm eager to show him the world and give him a greater appreciation of it and all that there is in it. Culturally, he will be fortunate in that he will be bilingual, will be exposed to Vietnamese foods and customs, and will be made aware of his Asian heritage.

I went for a walk the other day up a nearby mountain. On this walk I began day-dreaming about doing the same sort of hike with my son for the first time - rather than thinking, "Aww, man, no more random hikes like this due to the boy." A whole world awaits him, and I'm here to show it to him.

For a week by week photo montage of Damian's life, click here.

The Birth Story
The First Week; On Our Own
The 2nd Week
Weeks 3 and 4
One Month Old
Two Months Old
Three Months Old
Four Months Old
Five Months Old
Six Months Old
Seven Months Old
Eight Months Old
Nine Months Old
Ten Months Old
Eleven Months Old
12 and 13 months Old
14 and 15 months old
15 and 16 months old