Name: Arianne Elisabeth Weight: 7.04 lbs Length: 18 inches Born via c-section at Hanh Phuc Hospital. Her first name, Arianne, is French and means “most holy.” D and I wanted a name that sounded nice in both English & Portuguese. The Portuguese version is Ariana. The middle name, Elisabeth, we picked because we like, Read More

Eight days before Gabriel’s sister was born, my husband and I managed to pull off a backyard birthday party for him at our rented house in Saigon. Our house has a great yard next to the river, and I’d been wanting to have a BBQ or party back there since we moved in last, Read More

It’s hard to believe he’s almost 3 years old! Baby C is due about 2 weeks after his third birthday. It will be an exciting time for him, as my mom is coming to visit and he’ll be learning how to be a big brother. He has about two more months of being an, Read More

The last time I updated this blog, Gabriel was just over 2 years old. Now he’s a few months shy of turning 3, and we’re expecting our second child two weeks after his 3rd birthday. He’s as energetic as ever, however he has a much longer attention span now than he did when he, Read More

It’s still rainy season in Saigon, and Duarte and I are a full month into our second year of teaching at ISHCMC American Academy. Duarte was the Math Department Head last year and had a full load of math classes, but now he’s been swapped over to the Science Department where he’s teaching AP, Read More

This list is directed toward expats moving to Vietnam with toddlers, however you may find it a useful starting point for other destinations. In July 2012, my husband and I moved from the US to Vietnam with our 18-month-old son. Here are some of the things we’re glad we packed OR we wish that, Read More

As an international teacher, it’s interesting to see how parental involvement in education plays out in different cultural contexts. I came across this graphic about “Helicopter Parents” from OnlineCollege.org which is written about an American cultural context. In my experience, it seems Asian parents tend to be more involved with their children’s career choices, Read More

While looking for plane tickets for our move from Massachusetts to Vietnam, I really wanted to find an airline that would make traveling with a 17-month old a bit easier. Thankfully our employer booked us tickets with Japan Airlines, which has a lot of amenities for traveling with babies and young children. We flew, Read More

As my husband and I are expecting our first baby in January, we’ve already started thinking about how living and traveling abroad will be different when we suddenly become a family of three. When we were still just talking about getting pregnant, I started reading obsessively about traveling with kids and checking in on, Read More