Baby Oudam's Crib

Watching Sesame Street

Oudam Vichea is now a US Citizen

I just received an email from the US Embassy in Phnom Penh informing me that Oudam Vichea’s US Passport is ready to be picked up.  He is now officially a US citizen, in addition to being a Cambodian citizen.

One or both US citizen parents can transmit their US citizenship to a child born abroad by filing Consular Report of Birth Abroad at the US Embassy.  Of course, there are some requirements to meet.

Surprisingly, it took just 7 days for the embassy to approve our application and issue our baby a US passport.  When we travel to the US, Oudam Vichea will enter as a full-fledged US citizen, not as an immigrant who must undergo a lengthy naturalization process to become one.

A very sad loss

I’m saddened to report the loss of our beloved cat Mean.  After a 4-year battle with cancer, including a series of tumor-removal surgeries, he finally succumbed to the disease on August 12, 2011.

Actually, Mean was much more than a pet to me. He’d make the trip halfway around the world with us when we decided to move to Cambodia from Houston, Texas. As a full-fledged member of the family, he played a major role in our travel plans and other life decisions.

Before the birth of my son Oudam Vichea, Mean had taught me more about innocence and unconditional love than any human being ever had. That’s quite a feat for a four-legged creature.  At the time of his death, Mean was 22 years old, or 110 in cat years, so he had a thing or two to teach about longevity as well.

I think pets and babies, by virtue of their sheer innocence and guilelessness, have a lot to teach us grownups.  They can’t talk– we just have to listen.

Welcome to Baby Oudam’s Crib!

This is the website of our lovely baby boy, Oudam Vichea Em. Baby Oudam was born on June 25, 2011 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Bringing a baby into the world is a truly magical experience.  There are some challenges, too. I’ve created this site to share photos and videos of our little boy with our friends, relatives, and anyone who happens to stop by.  It’s also a place for me to jot down personal thoughts, notes, and tidbits related to baby care and child development.

When Oudam Vichea grows up, he’ll be able to look at this site and track his own growth and development.  Hopefully, someday he’ll take over this blog and provide all the content…after all, it’s his site.  Maybe he’ll even take after his dad and make the Internet a full-time occupation.

For Namesake

Why Oudam Vichea? After some consultation with family and friends, we finally settled on this name for our son. Besides wanting to name him after me, I wanted to pick a name that had some meaning. In Khmer, oudam means “top” or “supreme”, and vichea means “knowledge”.

Obviously, I have high regard for education and wish for my son to pursue a life of learning, not just to a earn a college degree or land a good job. These are important, but it’s also very important to learn for the sake of knowing.

Having a child is no trivial matter. To bring a human life into the world is to subject him to many of the same struggles and challenges that we ourselves have had to endure. I think knowledge, understanding, and awareness will go a long way to help cope with these challenges.

Reflecting on my own life, I think I’ve done okay overall. Although I hope my son will surpass me in every way, I didn’t name him after me to put pressure on him to live up to my accomplishments or anything like that; if anything, it’s to pressure myself to be a better father to him.