Lee Family Blog

Waiting some more

2010-06-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

Again...it's been way too long since updating this blog!

Our home study agency is taking so long doing our update! They started in December and still are not done. I am so angry. So far two of our social workers have quit or been fired and we are on social worker number three (same agency). There are several boys on the waiting list right now we could have if our home study was done. Ick...I'm so mad!

Unfortunately, because of my new job, we are going to end up waiting some more! I will not have maternity leave until I've worked there a year. Sigh.

Oh well, I think little Eddie will really enjoy having us to himself for another year.

Now we'll have to get ANOTHER homestudy update since we're moving and have new jobs, etc. Such fun!

A long time.....

2010-01-02T22:53:00.000-08:00

Wow...it's been a long time since I've posted anything here! Brief update:

Little Eddie is doing great...here's a recent picture. Also, we've decided to go ahead with our China SN adoption. We should have a toddler boy home within the year, if all goes well. Yea!

Eddie and Adri in their footie pajamas!

One year ago today.....

2009-09-23T14:45:00.000-07:00

One year ago today....we met Eddie for the first time! Here he is then and now. Hasn't he grown?

And here we are "swimming" in his pool!

Memorial Day Party

2009-09-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

Chloie

Kysten, Donnell, & Eddie

AllieJo

Chloie

Jackie's Wedding

2009-09-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from Jackie's wedding. Not sure how I managed it, but I didn't actually get any of Jackie and Larry! If anyone has any they want to send me, please do!

Eddie & Hanna playing at the reception

Allie giving a toast

4th of July

2009-09-13T16:25:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from our 4th of July party. We had so much fun--we watched fireworks and swam at Uncle Jim's lake house and stayed out at the farm with lots of family.

Eddie, Jenny, Emily, & Gaurav (all the way from Singapore!)

Playing with cousins in the lake!

Candy Gaurav brought from India

Dad, Aunt Candace, Eddie, & Jane

Hunter and girlfriend

Grandmother, Uncle Jim, & Jenny

Aunt Candace & Jenny

Eddie & Gaurav

Eddie & Mommy at the farm

Eddie at 18 months

2009-09-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Eddie is already 18 months old! He is growing and changing so much. Here are some cute pictures of him from the last few months. Some of his favorite activities are playing ball (he's obsessed with his new basketball goal), swimming, playing with his cousins, looking at books, defeating baby safety locks, watching Shaun the Sheep & Sesame Street, going to the library, playing with the cats, and removing all the items from mommy's nightstand and dresser. He still doesn't like to talk much, but can say quite a few words when he feels like it: cat, dog, mama, daddy, ball (favorite word, I think), drink, cracker (he thinks all food is called a cracker), banana, book, mine (isn't that nice?). I'm sure there are more that I just can't think of right now.

Playing with daddy

He looks so old in this picture!

Taking a bath with Chloie

Kissing Chloie

Naked baby in a hat!

Swimming in his pool

Played himself to sleep

Daddy eats the ball

2009-06-10T22:34:00.000-07:00

Playing Peekaboo with Daddy

2009-06-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

Eddie gargling (his favorite trick at the moment)

2009-06-10T21:57:00.000-07:00

Eddie at 15 months

2009-06-10T21:53:00.001-07:00

Joey & Mandy's Wedding

2009-06-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

Eddie is dancing with Uncle Mike

Man Fishing Weekend

2009-06-10T21:37:00.001-07:00

These guys aren't as cute as my baby Eddie, but I know I have to put them up so Ed's buddies can see them!

Eddie's birthday party

2009-06-10T21:30:00.001-07:00

And a few from February

2009-06-10T21:24:00.001-07:00

He loves macaroni and cheese!

Oh, no! He's stuck!

Harry loves Eddies xylophone

And Eddie loves Ellie (she loves him, too0

A few more of Eddie taken in January

2009-06-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

A few Christmas pics

2009-06-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

A few pictures from our first month home with Eddie...

2009-06-10T17:33:00.000-07:00

Starting cereal

New highchair

Concentrating really hard!

He loves to bounce!

Baby Shower #2

2009-06-10T17:24:00.001-07:00

This was a family joint baby-wedding shower. My cousin Emily was about to get married!

Going Away Party

2009-06-10T17:19:00.001-07:00

My office

I'm enjoying my new (part-time) job but really miss everybody from my old job!

Thanksgiving 2008

2009-06-10T17:13:00.001-07:00

Annual Thanksgiving Football Game

Five new babies in the family!

Eddie playing with Allie Jo

Eddie plays football like Daddy

First haircut

2009-06-10T16:49:00.000-07:00

Baby Shower

2009-06-10T16:27:00.000-07:00

Hostesses

Kortney, Eddie, and me, the guests of honor!

Mom and Sister

Jacob & Anja

Other guests

Cici and Eddie hugging

Here are some pictures from my baby shower at work! I can't believe I'm just now posting these. This was in October of last year.

Finally, some updates!

2009-06-10T16:07:00.000-07:00

So much has happened since I last posted!

Little Eddie has started wearing glasses (for fun), we went to see "King Tut" at the Dallas Museum of Art, and Eddie went on his Man-Fishing-Weekend!

I've been looking through my pictures, and I realize I haven't really posted much of anything in a while! So stay tuned for more pictures of things like holidays, Eddie's birthday, etc!

Pictures from Lisa's Shower

2009-04-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Lisa's lovely shower! We were so sad that Lisa and Chloie couldn't attend, but we're going to have a 'Welcome, Chloie' party in a few months when she is well enough to travel and be around lots of people.

Here's Chloie!

2009-04-10T08:03:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Chloie, my new grandbaby! She's teeny-tiny! And adorable? Now I'm trying to decide what I want to be called. Should I be Nana? That's what I'm leaning toward right now! Any other suggestions would be welcome =) I have more pics that I'll try to post later.

New pics of baby Eddie

2009-04-02T10:53:00.001-07:00

Grandma Jackie & Uncle Chris

Spaghetti Night

2009-03-03T21:17:00.000-08:00

New dumptruck

2009-02-27T20:55:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Eddie!

2009-02-27T20:15:00.000-08:00

Wednesday was Eddie's 1st birthday! He's growing and changing every day....so fast we can't believe it.

Fun facts about Eddie at age one:

1. He LOVES the cats and dogs. Ellie, our black and white cat, loves him too. He lays down on her and she purrs.
2. He's obsessed with plug-ins (strange, I know).
3. He babbles almost constantly and can definitely say "mama." Other words we think he says but are not definite: ke ke (kitty cat), dada, ba (ball), ba ba (bottle).
4. He claps and waves bye-bye and plays "give me five."
5. He loves playing ball! Every morning the first thing he does is get his ball and go to the entryway (where it's tile and the ball rolls more easily).
6. He shakes his head "no" all the time! Sometimes before every bite of food (which he then accepts). He also shook his head "no" through his entire haircut, and it's pretty uneven!. He also shook his head "no" at the wall after he bumped his head on it. Too funny.
7. He can walk holding onto the furniture and also when pushing his big dumptruck or the laundry basket (upside down).
8. He eats like a horse! Loves almost everything.....especially if it comes off of Mommy or Daddy's plate.
9. He plays peekaboo. He'll sit next to the long living room curtains and pull them over his face.....then move it away and we say "pee-pie." He LOVES this game.
10. He has 5 teeth.
11. He loves the TV Show The Wiggles.
12. He loves playing outside....and loves to ride in the backpack on Daddy's back on walks.
13. He loves books--his current favorite is One Oogly Eye.
14. He's finally sleeping well--sometimes all the way through the night....but usually waking up once.
15. He's growing like a weed--he's up to 25 pounds!

Final Pictures from our Vietnam Trip

2009-02-01T21:53:00.001-08:00

Guess what? I'm finally posting the last pictures from our Vietnam trip. It only took me four months. Whew. Here they are!

In the Hanoi Airport

Hello Kitty Playground in Taiwan Airport

Eddie's first American "friend"

First picture of our new citizen (I tried to take one in the citizenship area right after it was official but they made me erase it!)

We're home! Hooray.

Are you shocked?

2009-02-01T21:40:00.000-08:00

I'm finally posting something on my blog! It's so hard to find time with a baby, but I'm vowing to do better from now on (have I said this before?). Here are a few updated pictures of Eddie. More to come soon (I promise).

By the way, Eddie is doing really well! He's making so much progress. He crawls really well now, and pulls up to stand, and can slowly cruise around the living room (walk holding on to furniture or holding our hands). He (sometimes) says "Mama" and "ke ke," which we think means "kitty cat." He is eating like a horse and gaining lots of weight...he weighs 23 pounds now! He can also wave, clap (sortof), and play "gimme five." He is just the cutest baby ever!

On the way home!

2008-12-14T21:30:00.001-08:00

Here's one last picture with our friends and hotel-mates, Nick, Becky, and Lya. Then we have pictures of the Hanoi traffic on the way to the airport! It's quite amazing.

Yes, we are just about to get in a wreck with that green car!

A woman walking her bicycle (with pineapples) right down the middle of the street

Note that in this picture we have buses, cars, motorbikes, bicycles, and cyclos!

This is a street we crossed on foot every day! Scary!

Bottle on the way to the airport.

Finally, our Visa!

2008-12-14T21:26:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the US Embassy in Hanoi, getting the baby's Visa! Yea! We were expecting a scary "exit interview," but were only asked one question. It was something like "Is everything in these documents true to the best of your knowledge"? Relief. Now we can go home!

More hotel room pictures

2008-12-14T21:12:00.001-08:00

Here are some more pictures we took in our hotel room, later in the trip. You can see that the baby is getting happier and smiling more!

Ready for an outing

With his doggie

In his new sandals

Hope daddy doesn't get mad when he sees this one!

Standing! Now he can do this all by himself (if he holds on to something)

Sitting (now he can do this all by himself!)

Bald spot....it's almost all gone now!

Here's me packing! I was so ready to go home that I started packing about 3 days before we left!

Another outing--Vietnamese Museum of Ethnology

2008-12-13T14:14:00.000-08:00

Vietnam has over 70 different ethnic groups! We visited a museum that told us all about them. It was very interesting.....the best part was the outside display that had life-sized houses that different groups lived in. Here's their website: http://www.vme.org.vn/aboutus_history.asp

Vietnamese tourists who wanted to take a picture of us!

One of those houses I mentioned above....

Bag made of some sort of animal (reminds me of Ayla's medicine bag)

This is a bicycle with fish traps all over it. Someone actually rode it when it was full of fish!

Some official appointments

2008-12-13T14:05:00.000-08:00

Here we are at Eddie's medical exam. He had to pass the physical in order to get a Visa for the US. On the same day we were able to pick up Eddie's Vietnamese passport. Yea! We were so excited to be making progress!

On the scale (it looks a little strange because I had to "crop" his you-know-what out of the picture!

His weight!

Being measured

Listening to his heart

Eddie with his new passport! Yea!

Tam Coc Photos

2008-12-13T13:49:00.000-08:00

This was the best part of the day trip! It was absolutely beautiful. We took a boat ride through the countryside and into 3 caves. Unfortunately, it got really cold and rainy and we weren't prepared! All we had was one tiny blanket for the baby. He was stressed out from the trip and didn't eat all day. Finally, in the middle of the boat ride he decided he had to eat RIGHT THEN! It was so stressful then (I felt like an awful parent), but now it's funny thinking back about how we were trying to make a bottle in the middle of a river....the formula powder was blowing everywhere in the wind.

Our stressful feeding-in-the-river incident

Woman rowing with her feet

Inside the cave, looking at the entrance

Boat going in to a cave

Nick and Lya

Getting read for the ride! It was cold, but at least it had stopped raining!

PS. I figured out how to add more than 5 pictures!

Our first big outing!

2008-12-13T13:41:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from our first big outing. It was long (2 hour drive) but beautiful day trip to Hoa Lu, the ancient capital of Vietnam, and the Tam Coc Grottoes. Here's a bit of information about our trip: http://www.footprintsvietnam.com/destination_tamcoc_hoalu.htm. Apparently I can only add 5 photos per blog entry, so here are pictures from the Buddhist temple at Hoa Lu. I'll post pictures of Tam Coc on the next entry.

Around Hanoi

2008-12-13T13:31:00.000-08:00

We spent lots of time around Hoan Kiem Lake in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. It was just a few blocks from our hotel, and a lovely break from the crowding of the city. If you went early in the morning, you'd see people doing yoga, taking exercise classes, playing badminton, walking for exercise, etc. It was so interesting! You can read about the lake legend and see a few more pictures here: http://asiaforvisitors.com/vietnam/north/hanoi/hoankiem/.

The lake at night

A restaurant on the lake

One more hotel pic--he's reading about Vietnam!

First few days with baby

2008-12-13T13:24:00.000-08:00

The baby's still asleep, so I'll keep posting! Here are some pictures of our first few days with the baby. We stayed in the hotel a lot for bonding and so we wouldn't overstimulate him.

Here Eddie's visiting with the two kids who cleaned our room every day. They were so sweet and loved talking to Eddie!

Playing the upside down game

Reading

In the carrier with daddy

Our first night with the baby

2008-12-13T13:15:00.000-08:00

Hi all--

I'm still going through our trip photos and slowly getting them posted! Here are some from the first night with the baby. I can tell how much he's grown when I look at these pictures--he looks so small!

Here we are at a restaurant in Da Nang. Our agency facilitator ordered for us--real Vietnamese food. It was good! We were all pretty tired as this was the end of a really long day and our flight was delayed. Finally it left around 9:00 PM.

When we got back to the hotel it was almost midnight but he was wired....he wanted to play! We got out the toys and he played and played and rolled over and over them. Then his head hit the mattress and he was out! Probably a really stressful day for the poor guy, though you couldn't tell much by looking!

Here he is sleeping. We just looked at him for a long time....so cute!

Thanksgiving Video

2008-12-07T10:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a video we took at Thanksgiving! We have five new babies in the family, and this is three of them. We have pictures of all five that I'll post later. It's really wobbly, but I know that family will want to see it anyway. The babies are Lexi (14 months), Eddie (9 months), and Allie Jo (5 months).

Pics from Giving and Receiving Ceremony

2008-12-06T17:59:00.000-08:00

Nanny giving Eddie one last bottle....she really loved him lots! We are so grateful to her.

People's committee building where ceremony took place

Right after we "got" the baby--w/ orphanage director

Official adoption decree

Eddie with his nanny

Getting his pants changed--he got his other ones wet--note the OU pattern!

All three babies with their nannies

Some random pics

2008-12-06T17:47:00.001-08:00

Baby Lucille--brand new daughter of friend at work =)

Eddie and Daddy sleeping--Eddie naps here almost every afternoon

Eddie and his friend Lya who was also adopted in Vietnam--this picture was taken in September

Little froggie

2008-12-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

Since I'm up, I might as well put one cute picture up! More to come soon.

Marble Mountains

2008-12-04T20:33:00.001-08:00

Quick post and then I must get to bed! Here are a couple of pictures of us at the Marble Mountains. Here's what wikipedia says about it:

Marble Mountains (Vietnamese: Ngũ Hành Sơn; "Five elements mountains") is a cluster of five marble and limestone hills located in Ngu Hanh Son ward, south of Da Nang city in Vietnam. The five 'mountains' are named after the five elements; Kim (metal), Thuy (water), Moc (wood), Hoa (fire) and Tho (earth).

All of the mountains have cave entrances and numerous tunnels, and it is possible to climb to the summit of one of the peaks. Several buddhist sanctuaries can also be found within the mountains, making this a famous tourist destination.

Me in a Buddhist Temple

Eddie and Buddha

More Trip Photos--Orphanage Visit Part 2

2008-12-03T17:12:00.001-08:00

Here are the last of the orphanage photos.

Orphanage Director and Eddie's main nanny

Daddy making Eddie smile =)

Three new mommies!

Older boys loved playing with our cameras! Here they are taking pictures of each other.

Cute little boy

First time I held Eddie

Hello again!

2008-12-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

It's been soooo long since I posted! Life has been crazy with a new baby and the holidays and starting a new job. But I'm vowing to do better about posting from now on! I was going to post some new pictures, but I can't find the camera to upload them. So....here are a few new-ish pictures, and some more from our trip. I'm still not done uploading those!

Before I post the pictures, here's a little update! We are all doing well. Baby Eddie is eating all kinds of new things and doing really well. He's "creeping"--crawling with his tummy on the ground and going all over the place. He's also started pulling up on things to stand up! He still falls down a lot, though, unless we help him balance. It's so cute! He is getting two teeth on the bottom....mostly they don't seem to bother him, but for about two days he was totally grumpy and slobbery and clingy, and I think that was the problem. It seems to be over for now.

I started my new job today--I think I'm going to like it a lot! Everyone was nice and they gave me a sock puppet--they have a tradition of giving one to every new librarian. Funny. Plus....it's only 14 hours a week! Woo hoo!

Now for the pictures--

This is Eddie with his friend Cici. As you can tell, he loves other babies! I think he might be trying to kiss her in this one. So cute!

A few more skills.....

2008-10-29T20:07:00.001-07:00

More new skills: The fake cough-gagging sound (video) and reading with daddy! Daddy is also learning a new skill....teething. Too cute....

Eddie's new skills

2008-10-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

Eddie has suddenly discovered all the wonderful things his mouth can do. He's been making raspberries, other strange noises, silly faces, grunts, babbles, squeals, and lots of random mouth-opening-and closing! Here's a video of his new "raspberry" skill (the loud raspberries in the background are Daddy).

Lisa's birthday

2008-10-25T18:28:00.001-07:00

Here are some cute pictures from Lisa's birthday party! We went to the cheesecake factory....yum!

Friend Tara, Lisa, Baby Eddie, Cousin Sammy,
Aunt Suzie

Sammy modeling his Mom's new purse from Vietnam

Orphanage Pictures

2008-10-24T18:26:00.001-07:00

Rachel and Adam meeting Quinn for the first time.

A little boy showing off his origami.

Becky meeting Lya for the first time

Kids in orphanage playroom

Little boy who jumped into Eddie's arms as soon as we arrived.

Driving to the orphanage

2008-10-24T18:17:00.001-07:00

Here are some neat pictures Eddie took on the drive from Da Nang to the orphanage in Tam Ky.

Arboretum

2008-10-24T18:07:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from our visit to the Dallas Arboretum today. I've never been before and it was beautiful! We stayed several hours and didn't even see it all. We had lunch at an outdoor cafe there with a view of the lake and listened to live piano music. Nice! They also had a fun pumpkin house and hay bale maze.

Hoi An

2008-10-23T19:25:00.000-07:00

As promised, I am finally starting to post more pictures. Here are some from our day trip to
Hoi An, which is a 30-minute drive from Da Nang and one of the best places to experience Vietnamese culture and shopping.

"Gas Station"

Old man in his boat

Lantern Shop

Jenny and Eddie, extremely hot and sweaty next to the Japanese covered bridge

Our food at a "real" Vietnamese restaurant

Rachel and Adam, another adopting couple

Temple

Market

Taking a bath

2008-10-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

Here's a cute picture of the baby taking a bath in the sink. As you can tell, he loves his baths!

We are doing pretty well. Tuesday we went to the doctor and the baby has another ear infection (or maybe the first one never went away). The doctor couldn't believe he isn't fussier. Next week we have to go back for a lot of labwork and vaccinations. No fun! We really like the doctor, though. We called with a question today and they called back in 20 minutes.

We had a bit of a scare when we changed his diaper and his stool was a coppery red color (hope this doesn't fall in to the "too much information" category). We were afraid it was blood, but the doctor thought it was because we just started switching him from Vietnamese to American formula, or maybe even from his antibiotic.

I also think he is getting scabies....he is getting small pimple-looking dots all over his body....but just a few here and there. I can't tell if they're just baby pimples or if they're turning in to scabies. The other two babies from is orphanage had them, and the incubation period is about a month, so I'm afraid!

I am actually getting tired of being at home. Tomorrow I think I will do something exciting like go to Walmart! And Sunday is our baby shower at the library! We're so excited for that.

Video for a friend

2008-10-22T19:03:00.001-07:00

Here is a video I'm posting for a friend. We visited her son while in Vietnam. We hope he will get to come home soon!

Eddie Laughing

2008-10-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

Check out this adorable video of Eddie laughing.We almost cried because this is the first time he's laughed so much! Usually he'll just giggle a little. I think this means he's getting happier and happier with us. =)

We're back!

2008-10-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

We got home a week ago Tuesday around midnight! Now I finally have the energy to post (and the time to....the baby is napping...yea!). I'm uploading my pictures from my camera right now and hope to start posting them soon (especially if the baby stays asleep).

Things are going really well. Baby Eddie seems to really be bonding with us--he smiles when he sees us walk in to the room and looks to us in unfamiliar situations or for comfort. He really is the sweetest baby ever. Sleeping is our biggest challenge.....we're not quite adjusted to the new time zone yet and the baby likes to get up REALLY early. It's been difficult to get him to nap, too. I had a technique that worked for about 2 days but now he cries if I even sit down in that rocking chair. Poor guy! He will go to sleep in the carrier or stroller and sometimes with a bottle. Hopefully as he gets more used to things here he'll relax and be easier to put to sleep. He's basically only waking once a night for a bottle, plus little fusses here and there. If we pat his bottom, he goes back to sleep. Actually, that is what he did in Vietnam, and finally got back to doing last night. Hopefully he will continue this--unfortunately he likes to get up at 4:00AM! That time change thing....

We can tell he's making lots of developmental progress, too! When we got him he could barely pick up a small toy that was just the right size for his hands. Now he picks up lots of big, little, heavy, squishy things, and it looks like he's about to crawl, too! He gets up on all fours but doesn't quite know what to do yet. His tummy muscles are much stronger, and he can sit up almost by himself (I can hold one of his hands and that's usually enough support). He is so much more active and busy and verbal than he was at first.

Yesterday we went to Target and registered for lots of stuff. We're so excited about our baby showers. I can't wait to get that exersaucer so he'll have something else to do! He likes the swing 'okay' so far....but is not crazy about it. I hope it'll grow on him. You can see our selections at www.target.com. I just realized we didn't register for any safety-proofing stuff so I better go back and do that.

Saturday

2008-10-04T04:51:00.001-07:00

We are counting down the days until we can leave! Hanoi is really crazy.....I'm getting to where I don't even want to go outside anymore because I always feel like I'm going to get run over by a motorbike. There are so many of them and they are insane!

I feel like things will be easier for us and the baby when we get home, too. Poor little guy has been having night terrors (at least that's what I think they are). One of the adoption books I read said that adopted babies often have them.....it may be their way of grieving their losses (favorite nanny, familiar surroundings, etc). In one of them he just screamed and screamed in the middle of the night and we couldn't comfort him because he's asleep! Some of the others he cries the saddes, most mournful sobs you've ever heard. It's heart-wrenching. During the day he's a happy, laid-back little guy. I hope his night terrors will fade soon.

Today was a pretty boring day! We were going to go swimming at the hotel of another adopting family, but we found out it would cost $12 a person so we said "never mind." Eddie and the baby did a little bit of shopping--we are trying to buy all our christmas presents here....we've gotten some neat stuff. Now I guess we'll have a bath and go to bed. Tomorrow we're going to see the "water puppet" show. It's puppet show on water with Vietnamese music....they apprently used to do these on the rice paddies hundreds of years ago. It's supposed to be a really neat experience. Then Monday we should pick up his Visa and Tuesday leave! Yea!

I can't post any pictures right now because the CD drive on ths computer doesn't work and the other one is occupied.....maybe if I hang around a while the other person will get up...

Hotel in Hanoi

2008-10-03T05:18:00.000-07:00

Here's one from the balcony (tiny) of our hotel room. Somehow you just can't tell how crazy it is here! There are lots of tall, skinny buildings like this everywhere and over 3 million motorbikes in the city. Crossing the street is an adventure.

Pictures

2008-10-03T05:08:00.000-07:00

Now that I have time, I'm (finally) going to start posting some pictures! Here are some from the day we left.

Emily and Guarav picking us up

We're ready to go!

Mom and Betsy waving good-bye

And to answer cousin Whitney's question: Eddie weights 16.76 pounds and is wearing 6-9 month clothes!

Baby Eddie's passport

2008-10-03T04:58:00.000-07:00

Hi all--

The last two days have been very busy! Yesterday we picked up baby Eddie's Vietnamese passport. He looks very cute in his passport picture. Then we went to the SOS international clinic to have his medical exam (all immigrants have to have this). Making progress! Monday we will have an interview at the embassy and (hopefully) get his visa so we can leave on Tuesday.

Today we visited the Museum of Ethnology....it was pretty interesting. We learned all about the different ethnic groups of Vietnam (I think they have over 50 different ones). The best part was the exhibit outside--there were life-sized replicas of the houses that the different groups built.....very cool. Here's the website: http://www.vme.org.vn/.

Here's a cute picture of Eddie in his favorite position....upside down!

And another picture of him "reading."

Baby Eddie

2008-10-01T19:16:00.001-07:00

Here's a cute picture of the baby....he's reading about his homeland.

More fun facts about baby Eddie:

1. He's a very good pooper (in case anyone wanted to know). This is very important.....several babies are constipated and feeling bad!
2. He likes to be sniffed. Apparently the nannies did that as a gesture of affection and to "get his smell." He likes it when we do it, too. They did it a whole bunch right before they gave us the baby....I guess so they could remember his smell longer!
3. He seems to be teething in the back first! Does anyone know if this is possible? He's always chewing on his bottle and his fingers and our fingers back there.
4. He is a night owl! His favorite time is evening after his bath. He is so silly then.....he rolls and squeals and plays and laughs. It's so cute. I have some good video.
5. He loves to "read"! He studies each picture for a long time very intently. It's so cute!

Yesterday's trip

2008-10-01T04:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's trip was quite an experience! It's taking forever to post these photos, so I'm going to wait until later to post the ones from our trip. Our bus picked us up at 8:00AM and we had a two hour trip. It was interesting because there were people from the US, Vietnam, and Australia. The Australians were funny--they kept saying things like "that crazy nutter." They also explained to Eddie what vegemite is.....he's apparently always wondered. We tourted the ancient capital of Vietnam, Hoa Lua....about all this is left is two temples dedicated to two monarchs who ruled about 1,000 years ago. Then we went to lunch and on a boat trip....it was absolutely beautiful scenery.....but it was freezing cold and raining and windy! Poor baby Eddie didn't like it at all. We only had a think blanket and rain poncho to cover him with. He wouldn't eat when he was supposed to, so we ended up making a bottle in the middle of the ride--not easy pouring formula powder in the wind. He was REALLY upset. Poor guy. I felt like the worst mom in the world.....we just didn't know the weather would be so horrible!

He was so happy to get "home" to the hotel....he had a great time playing and squealing and looking cute.....he was so riled up that he didn't go to sleep until 9:30.

Today we are mostly just hanging out in the hotel....we're so worn out from yesterday. Tomorrow we have our first embassy appointment and doctor visit. Progress!

Our hotel in Da Nang

2008-10-01T04:01:00.001-07:00

Here are pictures from our hotel in Da Nang (where we stayed for a few days when we were adopting the baby). This hotel is close to his orphanage. It is gorgeous! It was like a mini-vacation.

Finally some pictures!

2008-10-01T03:50:00.000-07:00

Finally some pictures! These are from our Giving and Receiving ceremony, where we officially adopted the baby. Thanks to Nick and Becky for letting me borrow their laptop!

All three babies with their nannies (Eddie is in the orange)

People's Committee Building where G&R took place

Eddie has to change pants because he got his orange ones wet! Note the detail on the new pants.

Getting the baby!

Official Adoption Decree

By the way, I still my email is still messing up. I'm getting emails from some people (but not everyone), and I'm getting a lot of error messages when I sent things out. I don't know who is getting what. For instance, Malia, I haven't gotten anything from you! Krystale--I sent you a list of names for the baby shower.....if you don't get it, email me again and I'll try again! Mom, I answered you, too. Actually, I've answered everybody whose written. So if you haven't heard from me, things are just apparently not going through!

What's going on with the adoption?

2008-09-29T01:50:00.000-07:00

I just realized I haven't posted any updates about what's going on with the adoption.

Last Thursday Eddie went to apply for baby Eddie's Vietnamese passport. Next Thursday we will get to pick it up and then take him to the international clinic for his Visa physical. Friday we will pick up the results from the physical and take them to the US embassy here to apply for his Visa. Monday (Oct 6) we should be able to pick it up and then leave for home that night! Yea!

A not-so-busy day!

2008-09-29T01:40:00.001-07:00

Today we were all feeling yucky and so did not go on the overnight trip. 8 hours on a bus and sleeping in a strange bed on the boat just didn't sound appealing. I hate to throw the baby's schedule off....he's sleeping so well. Today we're just hanging around the hotel and napping and playing. Eddie and little Eddie went shopping in the carrier for a few minutes and got some presents for friends and family....and that's about it! Tonight we are going to walk to a restaurant on the lake and eat with some of the other parents in our group. Tomorrow we're going to go on a day trip to Tam Coc (beautiful caves and trip on the river in a boat) and Hoa Lu (ancient capital of Vietnam during 900-1000AD). I think we can handle that and we'll be happy to be in our "own" beds.

Here are some fun facts about baby Eddie:

1. He is the most easy-going baby I've ever seen! Want to give him medicine? He opens up like a little bird. Clip his nails? No problem. Change his diaper? Great....he loves to be naked!
2. He is shy! When we are alone in our room he is smily and giggly and plays and rolls all over the place. When we go out in public he will not smile for anyone! He just rides in the carrier and observes everything.
3. His favorite position is upside-down. We discoverd this by accident, and now he wants to do it all the time (lunge his body backwards and then be pulled up by mommy or daddy). You have to watch out because we might just be calmly eating dinner and he'll just lunge backwards!
4. His favorite toy is the sack of diapers wipes....it's very crinkly.
5. He isn't crawling or sitting up yet, but he's a champion roller! He can cover the entire bed by rolling and rolling and rolling. This also makes a giant mess when toys and other stuff are on the beds.
6. He's a great sleeper! Last night he slept 12 hours with only one wake-up.....and 10 hours the night before. I hope he keeps this up!

Guess that's all for today =)

A busy day.....

2008-09-28T04:42:00.000-07:00

Baby Eddie is doing well! He's so good-natured. And cute! Everywhere we go people talk to him and try to hold him. One old lady even came over and told me to put his hat back on. He seems to be feeling somewhat better, but I don't think he's totally himself yet. He has slept almost all the way through the night for the past two nights.....only waking up once each night. He's had several baths, which he really likes! He also really likes looking at the board books I brought him....especially the one with the mirror and the one with the pictures of babies. He will study each page for a long time. It's so cute. He also enjoys walking around town in his carrier. He seems to get bored if we stay in the hotel room too much.

Today we went to the "Temple of Literature." It was really interesting....it was Vietnam's first national institution of learning and a good example of classic Vietnamese architecture. Then we ate dinner at KFC! It was so good....I've been dying for some real American food! Usually even if you order something Western on the menu, it still has odd flavors, but this was the real thing. Yum. Amazing how much something "normal" makes you feel better. We also watched a CNN show about the presidential election and I actually enjoyed it because it was just so familiar-feeling.

Tomorrow we leave for an overnight trip to Halong Bay....It is supposed to be just beautiful....the highlight of a trip to Vietnam.
http://www.e-travelvietnam.com/tourdetail.asp?iData=2098&nChannel=News#2-days
Here's the website for the boat we're taking.

We've got him!

2008-09-26T18:37:00.000-07:00

He's so precious and adorable and cute!

I just want to let everyone know that a lot of my emails have been bouncing back....I have written everyone =) So just check the blog if you're not getting anything.

Our estimated return date is now Tues Oct 5! I can't wait to get home and show this baby off.

Here's what happened!

Wednesday at 3:00 we got a call at our hotel from Ninh (our agency representative). He said "the driver is at the hotel now....check out and leave immediately.") We didn't think we had to be packed, so we ran around like crazy throwing things in our suitcase and getting ready. I didn't even get to fix my hair the way I wanted to. We were told that people's committee office would close at 4:30 so we really had to hurry (it's a 1 hr 15 min drive). We were running so late that the Ninh got the nannies and the babies in his car and met us at the people's committee office. We didn't even have time to change him into his famcy outfit! He had on an orange shirt, and then pee-peed in his yellow pants so he put on his OU pants. It was such a funny outfit for the special occasion. I have pictures, of course. Hope I'll get to upload them soon.

When we got to the office, the nannies were there and they were all so sad! One was even sobbing. We can tell the babies were really loved and well taken care of. The ceremony was brief....each family was called up and given a certificate of adoption and handed their baby. Then the head official gave us a little talk about taking care of the babies and bringing them back to visit someday. It was very nice. Then we were asked if we'd like to say a few words! After a brief moment of panic, one of the other dads got up and said some really nice things (we appreciate getting to adopt babies, we'll love them and bring them back for a visit, etc). Then we went back to the orphanage to visit with the nannies and ask questions. We asked about his feeding and sleeping schedules, etc. We gave the orphanage a gift of some clothes and towels and blankets.

Then we were out of there! We had a 1.5 hour drive back to the airport at Da Nang. The flight was delayed an hour and a half so we ate a big communal "authentic" Vietnamese dinner....it was interesting and fun but we were all so exhausted! Then we took the hour flight back to Hanoi. After the ride to the hotel it was midnight. Baby Eddie slept for about two hours and was then up every twenty mintues after that. I can definitely understand why....he's out of his orphanage for the first time with strange people....away from his nanny and familiar surroundings.

Next morning we were up at 5:30....we went to breakfast and baby went on a long walk with daddy in the carrier. Then we played on the bed and he giggled and cooed and it was sooooo cute! He loves to look in the mirror....we "read" a board book with mirrors in it and he was fascinated.

We were starting to realize that he didn't feel very well. He was a little more subdued and fussy than the other babies and kept pulling at his ears and coughing.

Daddy picked us lunch up from a restaurant next door (pretty good...a cheese/cucumber sandwich) and then we were too tired to go out for dinner.

On Friday we took him to the doctor....he has an ear infection, slight bronchitis, and is teething! He is taking an antibiotic, some tylenol, and teething gel. Hopefull he will be feeling better soon! We went out to a fancy dinner at "Bobby Chin's." He is apparently a famous chef with a show on the Discovery channel. Our food was so good....it was so nice because almost everything I've been eating here hasn't been sitting right with me and it's just not what I'm used to.

Last night he slept all night from 8:00PM to 6:00 AM with only one brief crying spell....Eddie just patted him and he went back to sleep! Let's hope this is a pattern. We felt so much better with a full-night's sleep. Of course I kept waking up and looking at him because I was worried about him NOT waking up!

Today we're about to go out for a walk....baby Eddie loves being out and about and gets bored after being in the room for a while.

I have to go....they're waiting on me but next time I will tell the funny "Happy Buddha"-Eddie story!

J

Finally, pictures!

2008-09-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

Finally, some pictures! One of the other moms here took these pictures and emailed them to me so I could post them on the blog. They're so cute! The first one is just after we arrived and he's sleepy and grumpy. The second one is closer to the end of our visit and he's much more smiley!

We met the baby!

2008-09-23T01:31:00.000-07:00

Hi! We are in Da Nang at the Sandy Beach Hotel. I just came down to the lobby to update the blog and add pictures. When I plugged my camera in to the computer I got a giant shock! I guess they are not compatable, so no pictures today. My next thought is to take them to a photo shop I saw and have them put on to a CD (or maybe borrow someone's laptop!). Then maye I can upload them from there. Hopefully I'll have time to do that late this week.

Let me get everyone caught up on what's been going on! So much has happened since my last post. On Saturday, as I mentioned, we went shopping and managed not to get run over by any motorbikes. We went to a small grocery store and had real difficulty finding stuff to buy....our plan is to eat at least one meal a day in our room. We finally got a strange combination of things like ritz crackers and oreos (we're supposed to only eat prepackaged things....and there was hardly anything we recognized!). They also had formula, so we'll know where to go when we need it. After shopping, we went back to the hotel. We decided just to take a little nap around 4:00 PM and then go out to dinner for some real Vietnamese food. But then we woke up at 9:00 PM....so we just decided to go back to sleep and skip dinner! So tired....

But since we went to bed so early, we woke up really early! Like 1:30 AM! We had to get up at 3:00 AM anyway to meet our group for the flight, so we just stayed up. We took a taxi to the hotel where we were meeting the group at 4:00 AM. Then we went to the airport and took the 6:05 flight to Da Nang. We were so happy to have CAS's representitive with us to take care of everything....so much less stessful than doing it ourselves. We were then driven to the beautiful hotel....the Sandy Beach Resort! It is so lovely here.....like something you'd see in a movie. There are flowers and gardens everywhere....two swimming pools and beautiful ocean and mountain views. I can't wait to show pictures! It's so relaxing.

On Monday afternoon we decided to take a trip to the town of Hoi An (about 20 minutes away)....it's sortof the cultural "epicenter" of Vietnam and has lots of shopping. We saw a beautiful Japanese covered bridge and some old restored Chinese merchant houses.....we really needed another day to tour some of them! We also shopped a bunch...the market was so interesting! I bought some beautiful silk which Mom is going to sew up in to different things for us. We also got a really cute bamboo hat for the baby, some very interesting fruit, and a few gifts for friends & family. Then we came back to the hotel (extremely hot and sweaty). We swam and looked out over the ocean and ate dinner in the little open air cafe at our hotel. So much fun.

We managed to stay up until 8:30 PM on Monday night....yea! Then we woke up at 5:00 AM on Tuesday morning, which is really good because early morning is the only time it's (sortof) cool in Vietnam. At 8:00 we left for the orphanage. It is about an hour drive....an amazing drive. We went through countryside and saw people harvesting rice in the paddies with water buffalo and ducks everywhere. We went through small villages with thatched huts and bicycles everywhere.

When we got to the orphanage, the babies were brought out one by one. They all looked really healthy and sweet. Ours was last! They had to wake him up from his nap and he was so sleepy that he went right back to sleep on my chest! So sweet. He slept for about half an hour and I just snuggled him. Then he woke up and looked around.....he was a little grumpy and wondering who were these strange people holding him! At first he was very somber and quiet....he'd looke me in the eye and then look away.....After a while he got more comfortable with us and became more animated. Eddie "flew" him up in the air and he started giving us the most adorable open mouth smiles! By the time we left, he was looking me in the eye more and smiling a little. He's very interested in his hands and feet! He'll hold them up and look at them all the time. I think he'll really enjoy having some toys to hold and look at....I don't think he's ever had any! I sooooo wish I could post pictures for you all. We got some really good video, too.

We're hoping to have the Giving and Receiving Ceremony tomorrow and then fly back to Hanoi to get started on the paperwork....but we're not sure wha'ts going to happen. Our agency representative is going to visit the people's committee members and find out if we can do it Wednesday, or if we have to wait until Thursday. This last minute stuff seems weird to me, but I guess it will all work out! I really hope it's tomorrow.....otherwise we'll have to wait until Thursday to see the babies again!

I'll probably post again when we get back to Hanoi.....Thursday or Friday.

We're in Hanoi!

2008-09-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

Hi! I have no pictures now but I will try to come down later and post them. Not sure if this computer will be able to do it or not. =) I can't believe we're here. This is just not the sort of thing we usually do. Usually we're watching movies at home, eating at On the Border

Wow is the main thing I've been saying since we got here! Everything is so amazing and different and chaotic and interesting. We just discovered our hotel has free computers to use so I can post on the blog and check email a lot (though maybe not for the next few days when we're getting the baby). Let me see if I can start at the beginning....

I guess I'll start with my last post from Taiwan! I don't know what happened....everything was fine and then it started typing in Chinese characters....then back to English and not sure how those boxes got there....but basically what I was saying is that the "People's Committee" (of the Communist Party of the district where the baby lives) has important meetings and is moving back our adoption day to Wednesday or Thursday. We will still leave tomorrow for Da Nang (at 4:15 AM). We should be able to visit with the baby every day at the orphanage until we get to adopt him. I hate that it's been pushed back, but it will allow us to stay on the beach for a few days longer so that will be really fun!

I think I am so overwhlemed and so much is happening that this entry will probably be really rambling.

On Thursday at about 5:20, my cousin Emily and her fiance Guarav picked us up and took us to the hotel. As we were checking in, Eddie realized he had forgotten his wallet! We were freaking out.....thank goodness for Mom who raced to the airport and brought it to us. We made it in plenty of time. The American flight from DFW to LAX was the worst one! We were squished in those seats next to other people. The LAX airport was really amazing to me! The American Airlines terminal was really pretty and had lots of restaurants and lovely air conditioning. Then we walked over to the international terminal and it was totally different. The line for EVA airlines (the Taiwan based airline we flew to Taiwan and Hanoi) was hundreds of people long....stretched through a giant maze and then outside for about a block. I think we heard at lesat 5 or 6 different langauges spoken. My carryon weighed more than 7 kilos, so we had to check it! We put lots of stuff in my giant purse (thanks mom). I know it weighed more than 7 kilos but they didn't weigh it....strange! Finally we got through to our gate.....with minimal AC, restaurants, etc. Strangely different. The flight from LAX to Tawain was actually pretty nice. The seats were bigger, and there was no one sitting beside us so we could stretch out. There was a big entertainment system in front of every chair--you could watch movies, several different TV shows, play games (I played sudoku and a strange version of pong), listen to music, etc. The flight was about 13 hours and had two interesting meals (there were usually two choices....one western and one asian--fish with rice or chicken and pasta, for example)....I really couldn't sleep much but it was pretty comfortable. Then we got to Taiwan....had a four hour layover there. We found the airport interesting....it had about 15 shops and 1 restaurant. I figured in the US we'd have about 15 restaurants and 15 shops....maybe that's why they're so skinny and we're not.....

When we were waiting in Taiwan, we had to eat Chinese food, of course, at the one restaurant. We ate "Chinese noodle in spicy beef stew" with chopsticks and a spoon. Apparently the thing to do is eat the noodles with chopsticks and then follow with a spoonful of broth. It was really pretty good....very spicy! Eddie also had a "Taiwan Beer" that was only 80 cents!

Then we flew to Hanoi....the flight was about 2 hours and 45 minutes. Flying into the city was amazing.....we flew over the delta (I think) where there was really as much or more water than land. Everything is crisscrossed with dozens of rivers and ponds and rice patties....it was so green and beautiful.

When we got to the Hanoi airport, (as in Taiwan), everything seemed very controlled---I guess you can really tell it is a communist country. People don't just walk everywhere like they do in our airports--we all had to get in an orderly line and go through security and then go through imigration--lots of uniformed military everywhere. I got nervous as we went through immigration.....I suddenly realized they could deny us entry if they wanted to. They looked very stern and took my picture (but not Eddie's....why?) But obviously they didn't. Someone from our hotel came and got us in a very nice car....I was so glad to see them! We were so tired and overwhelmed and they just whisked us away to our hotel....about a 40 minute drive.

The traffic in Hanoi is insane! I read about it in a travel book, so I knew it would be, but it was really much worse than I could have imagined! I think we almost got in about 10 wrecks on the way to the hotel. Lanes are optional--people just honk and then go! They drive within inches of motorcycles and people walking and on bikes. I let out one little scream and the driver laughed so I tried to be quiet after that!

Our hotel is interesting. Most people in our group are staying at expensive westernized hotels. We didn't want to pay over $150 a night for 20 nights so we chose to stay in a more inexpensive but "real Vietnamese" hotel right in the middle of everything. It's neat because everything is so close by....restaurants, sight-seeing, etc. But it's also really loud! The honking outside our window is constant! But the hotel gave us a fan and it really helps block out the noise. The room is really small, the beds are hard, and there are no drawers for all our stuff! But is really pretty....lots of hardwood floors, crown mouldings, a tiny balcony....At first I was a little freaked out and thought about moving to the other hotel with our group but then figured it would cost about $200o more so....no go! I felt better this morning....the entire restaurant at our hotel (interesting free breakfast--eggs, noodles, strange lemon chicken, something green, toast, watermelon juice) was filled with adopted babies and families.....they were soooo cute.

This morning we woke up early (mostly because we went to bed so early) at about 5:00 AM. We came down to the hotel lobby and the clerk was sleeping all covered up on a cot. I thought it was a dead body in a bodybag on a guerney! It scared me to death. I thought someone had died in our hotel overnight or something! We looked at the map in our hotel book and walked down to a lake that is just a couple of blocks away. There are hundreds of tiny shops selling everything you can imagine. I will try to post pictures soon. At this lake were hundreds of people doing their morning exercise. Some walking, some running, some doing tai chi alone or with a class, some playing badminton, some stretching....everything you can imagine! After that we came back to the hotel for breakfast. It was nice to meet the other families.. ...they filled us in on where to go shopping for baby formula and good restaurants, etc. We even found a few places that deliver (including KFC= Gai Ron Kentucky).

On our walk we met another couple from the US.....Ed and Karen. They were from NY and had visited Cambodia and Thailand already.....very interesting. They were having coffee so Eddie had some, too. It was really good.....hot with condensed milk. They brought it to us on a motorbike (not sure why!).

Now we're off to go shopping....and then in the morning leaving for DaNang at 4:15! It really hit me this morning when we saw all the babies that we're actually going to get ours, too!

I may have to come back and edit this rambling thing later! We miss you all....

delay!

2008-09-19T17:28:00.000-07:00

Oh, darn....I　ｊｕｓｔ　ｃｈｅｃｋｅｄ　ｍｙ　ｅｍａｉｌ．　　Ｏｕｒ　ｇｉｖｉｎｇ　ａｎｄ　ｒｅｃｅｉｖｉｎｇ　ｃｅｒｅｍｏｎｙ　ｈａｓ　ｂｅｅｎ　ｄｅｌａｙｅｄ　２　ｄａｙｓ　ｂｅｃａｕｓｅ　ｔｈｅ　ｐｅｏｐｌｅ’ｓ　ｃｏｍｍｉｔｔｅｅ　ｈａｓ　ｉｍｐｏｒｔａｎｔ　ｂｕｓｉｎｅｓｓ and moved us back a few days．　I guess we'll be getting the baby on Thursday. Ｗｅ　ｗｉｌｌ　ｓｔｉｌｌ　ｂｅ　ｇｏｉｎｇ　ｔｏ　Ｄａｎａｎｇ　ｏｎMonday and we'll get to visit with the baby but not take him away from the orphanage with us. At least we'll get to stay at the beach longer! I'm guessing now we won't be home until the 11th...maybe even longer.

J

We're in Taiwan!

2008-09-19T17:13:00.000-07:00

During our four hour layover, we started walking around the airport and found this nifty free internet computer! I'm not able to upload any pictures, but just wanted to say "hi" and let everyone know we're almost there! At 10:00, we leave for Hanoi (a 3-hour flight) and arrive around noon. Our hotel is picking us up. We haven't slept much, but if we can, we're going to try to stay up until bedtime in Hanoi.

We've only had one mishap so far---when we got to the airport in DFW to check in, Eddie realized he had left his wallet sitting at home on the kitchen table! Thank goodness for Mom--she raced to the airport with it and we were able to make it in time.

I'll try to post again soon! With pictures!

3 days 'til we get the baby!

And we're off!

2008-09-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

We're almost done packing. Final document check is done. Eddie is mowing. I'm giving the dogs lots of hugs and kisses. Emily (cousin and friend) will be here in a few hours to take us to the airport! I guess it's really happening! Yea!

We're packing!

2008-09-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

We leave day after tomorrow! Yea! We started packing on Sunday. Thursday we'll do a last-minute Walmart trip and finish up.

Here's what our schedule should be like:

Thursday
8:20 PM Leave DFW for LAX (4 hour flight)
4 hour layover
1:50 AM Leave for Taipei (13 hour flight)
4 hour layover
11:50 AM Saturday Arrive in Hanoi
Our hotel is picking us up at the airport (free service for adopting couples).

Sunday: Rest, try to get acclimated to the new time zone, shop a little, sightsee if we feel like it

Monday: Fly to Da Nang (1 hour flight, I think). Go to beach?

Tuesday: 1 hour drive to Tam Ky where the orphanage is--get the baby! Our Giving and Receiving Ceremony should be in the morning, and in the afternoon we will be able to spend time at the orphanage and visit with the nannies and other children

Wednesday: Fly back to Hanoi. Start paperwork for baby's passport, medical exam, and Visa.

Depending on how long everything takes, we should get to come home sometime between Oct 4 and Oct 11.

Here we've got baby Eddie's suitcase that's full-to-bursting! He's also filled up a back-pack carry-on (temporary diaper-bag).

Baby's Room is Finished!

2008-09-16T12:20:00.000-07:00

Yea! We finished the baby's room. There are a few bare-looking spots, but I'm sure we'll fill them up really quickly.

More baby presents!

2008-09-16T12:16:00.001-07:00

Cute sporty outfits from Dad and Jane...and cute bulldog outfit & rattle from sister Allie who is in veterinary school and of course, has a bulldog!

Visas

2008-09-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

Our visas have arrived! That was our last bit of paperwork (until we get to Vietnam, of course). We're also pretty much done with shopping....now all we have to do is pack. 5 days 'til we leave!

Visa (in passport)

Baby gift! This adorable quilt was made by two friends at the library.

More pictures!

2008-09-10T08:49:00.001-07:00

Here are more pictures of the baby's orphanage I found online. There's also a video of the streets leading up to the orphanage! I'm ready to go now!

http://www.teresaandkids.com/weblog/2007/07/lunch-at-tam-ky-baby-orphanage.html

http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/1638952.html

http://childviet.blogspot.com/2007/03/tam-ky-newborn-orphanage.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2HY0nRaVwA

http://www.travelblogger.net/members/cherry-izzle/index.html?action=ViewTravelBlogs&tbid=1024
Here's a description of a volunteer who visited there. Heart-wrenching. It sounds like they're doing the best they can, but they need mommies and daddies!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessica12/sets/72157601965372263/

http://childviet.blogspot.com/2007/03/traveling-to-tam-ky.html

More pictures

2008-09-09T17:35:00.000-07:00

These are from our agency's travel guide....I thought friends and family would enjoy seeing them.

This is the adoption book we will sign. Then the baby will be 'officially' ours.

Street vendor

House boats

Traffic!

Pictures of the baby's orphanage

2008-09-08T16:21:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures of the baby's orphanage that I got from a "cyberfriend."

I think you can see more if you go to this website. You don't have to sign up--just click "View album."
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QcsW7Rm4asWHF&emid=sharview&linkid=link5

A few pictures with my new camera

2008-09-08T16:12:00.000-07:00

I've been testing out my new camera! Here are a few pictures....

The first two are of our plane tickets! Check out the name on the first one!!! The next ones are sneak-peeks of the baby's room. It's not quite finished yet. The curtains and diaper stacker were made by my mom!

Sandy Beach Hotel

2008-09-08T16:10:00.001-07:00

Oh my goodness! I just looked at the website of the hotel we'll be staying at for two nights when we pick up the baby. It's gorgeous--right on the ocean!

Check it out: http://www.sandybeachdanang.com/.

Travel Dates

2008-09-04T09:01:00.003-07:00

Our travel dates have been set! We're leaving DFW at about 9:00 PM on Thursday, September 18. We will arrive in Hanoi at about noon on Saturday (but it will feel like midnight to us)!

We're probably staying at the Lucky Star Hotel: http://www.luckystarhotel.com/.

We will leave Hanoi on Monday and fly to Quang Nam, the province where the baby is now living. We will have the Giving and Receiving Ceremony that day (I hope) and then return to Hanoi on Wednesday. Then we'll wait on the rest of his paperwork (more details on that later).

Approval!

2008-08-29T09:12:00.003-07:00

We got our final approval for the baby! We're going to Vietnam!

We are tentatively planning to leave September 19th.

Now I am nervous and scared! I have so much to do at work and at home! I have no baby stuff! We haven't had a baby shower yet! OH MY GOSH!

More details soon...

2008-08-29T09:12:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday!

2008-07-26T07:42:00.000-07:00

Today is baby's 5-month birthday! Time is flying by.....

We hope to have updated pictures soon! Those below are about 2 and a half months old. Next time our agency's representative goes to his orphanage (probably in the next few weeks sometime) he is going to take pictures and measurements. Yea!

I-600 acknowledgment

2008-07-24T07:57:00.000-07:00

Guess what we got today????

>>>>>>>>>>

Dear Mr/Ms. Lee,

This office is in receipt of your Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative. Your petition and supporting evidence will be reviewed by USCIS to determine whether the child named qualifies as an orphan. In certain cases it may be concluded that an administrative field inquiry or a request for evidence is necessary to make that determination. Most determinations will be completed in 60 working days.

You will be notified by mail as soon as this determination has been completed.

>>>>>>>>>>

Yea! Now we begin our final wait. USCIS has stated that the average wait from this point is 45 days. We'll hope for that! But most people from our agency have had to wait 60 calendar days or more....Also, the letter states "60 working days," which is really more like 90 calendar days. Hope they work fast! We should travel 2-3 weeks after we receive this approval. Yea!

PS. Don't you love the grumpy picture??

Official Referral!

2008-07-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

We are so happy to (finally) announce the official referral of our baby boy! His name is Nguyen Hoi, but will probably become Edward Allen Hoi Lee. He is 4 months old, and if all goes well, we will travel to pick him up in October!

NEXT WEEK!?!?!?

2008-05-08T07:33:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! Our agency called us back. They have a little boy who is getting his medical evaluation done today. They don't know his age or health status yet. If everything goes well, we should be getting a call early next week. EEEEK!!!

China Referral Calculator

2008-05-08T07:32:00.002-07:00

On a depressing note, I discovered this China Referral calculator yesterday.
http://chinaadoptionforecast.com

You enter your log-in date, and based on the adoption rates of the last year or so, it estimates when you will receive your referral. It predicts we will get our China referral in September of 2014! Good grief...On a happier note, we're waiting on our Vietnam adoption agency to call back. Our coordinator told us to call her today and said she'd tell us what she's been hearing. Still hoping for a referral next week!

Adoption Rules Tighten Abroad

2008-05-08T07:32:00.001-07:00

http://washingtonindependent.com/view/international

Here's an interesting article that discusses Vietnam adoption and other international adoption as well. In it, Vietnam says that "it will shut down rather than deal with what it described as disrespectful U.S. officials. The two countries remain at an impasse." Sad.

Cute baby boy

2008-05-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

Check this out! It's the blog of a family who's in Vietnam right now adopting their baby boy. He's so cute.

http://www.travel2morgan.blogspot.com/

Strawberry Blond Baby from China

2008-05-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

I just had to post this! Here's a blog for a family who just got their referral from China. It's a baby girl who has strawberry blond hair! I do not understand! She's very cute, though!

http://www.babyjellybeans.com/web/do/site/photo;jsessionid=6102A885A90B4A04FCA32905A619D348?ID=348758

10th Wedding Anniversary!

2008-05-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

Next weekend is our 10th wedding anniversary (May 9th). I'm so excited that we're going away on a nice little weekend trip to the mountains / lake in southeastern Oklahoma. Here's where we're staying! http://www.cabinsinbrokenbow.com/cabins_broken_bow_lake.html

Scroll down to "Steph's Secret." That one's ours!

We're #1!

2008-05-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

Eddie talked to the agency today. They got a few referrals. We didn't get ours, but we are now #1 on the list! The next boy referral that arrives will be ours! She said referrals usually come every other week so hopefully we'll have a referral in two weeks or less....