So much has happened, I don't know where to start! Well, we had our second interview and it was pretty uneventful. They gave us Anh's visa the following day and he is ours forever now! All in all, the whole experience in Vietnam has been great and everything has gone very smoothly. Couldn't have asked for a better adoption.
As soon as we were assured the visa, we started trying to book an earlier flight home. As much as we love Vietnam, the thought of going back to work on Monday with only a day of rest was not very appealing. In the end, we were able to fly back to San Francisco on Friday, stay the night with Grandma and Grandpa Quinn, and then fly home to Eugene in the afternoon on Saturday. We will have 3 full nights of sleep in our own time zone and be able to see our pets and home for at least a little while on Saturday!
We are now enjoying our time in California, and Anh is loving meeting his new family!
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
We Have our 2nd Interview!
Well, the wait was not nearly as long as we expected between interviews, and we are scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, at 3:00pm! We should have Anh's visa in hand sometime on Thursday and then we are free to come home. Yeay! The funny thing about it was that the Embassy didn't even call us, they called the other family at our hotel and asked them to let us know. How weird is that! In the end, it doesn't really matter how we found out, we are just glad that we get to come home with our sweet little boy!
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Why worry?
In life, there are only two states of being, you are either healthy or you are sick. If you are healthy, there are many things to worry about, but if you are sick, there are only two things to worry about: whether you will get healthy or whether you will die. If you die, there are only two things to worry about: if you will go to heaven or if you will go to hell. If you go to heaven, you have nothing to worry about anymore. If you go to hell you will have lots of time to meet new people coming to hell, so you won't have time to worry about anything. Therefore, you shouldn't worry at all!
Vietnamese cooking class
First off, I've added new pictures to the album and the link is on the right side of this page and right here http://ahnvietnam.shutterfly.com
As adoptive parents to a Vietnamese child, Patrick and I decided that we had better start learning the fine art of Vietnamese cooking soon! It is definitely one cuisine that we both enjoy greatly, but have never attempted to cook at home. Yesterday, we set off to try our hand at cooking up some seafood dishes, under the experienced guidance of Mrs. An at Hidden Hanoi
cooking school. Although this class is listed in some guide books, it is conspicuously absent from our trusty LP. Even quick searches on the internet failed to turn up reviews of this cooking school, although we did find some bad reviews of another class in town, so we had no idea what to expect. Mrs. An asked us to meet her at the Sheraton hotel on West Lake, a swanky place where they tried to shuffle us off as quick as possible - we must have been looking extra scruffy yesterday! This part of Hanoi seems very much like an old European city and very quite compared to the old city. We found out later that 80% of the people living in this area are ex-pats. After a bit of confusion, we finally met up with Mrs. An, a friendly woman who owns the cooking school and also offers unique walking tours around Hanoi. Her English was excellent and we later learned that she is married to an Australian, which explained her Aussy accent.
Our class started off with watching a quick scene from "The Scent of Green Papaya" where the young girl from the country is being taught how to cook for the masters. Mrs. An then discussed with us the importance of different types of food in Northern Vietnamese cooking and gave us a bit of a history lesson in the culture of food in Vietnam. We learned that "no rice, no zao (green vegetables), no meal" and that MSG is an important spice that most Vietnamese would never cook without. Luckily, Mrs. An has developed Vietnamese dishes that do not use MSG and as far as we could tell they were just as good as those with MSG! In Vietnam, the meal is based around the type of vegetable that is being cooked and each vegetable has a specific cooking method. Only green vegetables, and herbs, are considered "zao"; one would never serve potatoes or carrots as a vegetable. A meal typically consists of rice, at least one vegetable dish, and one kind of soup, and if the family is very fortunate, some kind of meat. The soup is eaten at the end of the meal, to sop up the remaining rice and as a liquid instead of a drink.
As we talked about food, Mrs. An's assistant set up the cooking area so that Patrick and I could make the 4 dishes plus dipping sauce that constituted our meal. After surveying the counter with all the ingredients and recipies, An said "Ok, now you cook"! Patrick and I jumped right in, with the assistant of An and her friend, to make sweet and sour shrimp, shrimp and pork spring rolls, snake fish soup, green papaya salad and the fishy dipping sauce. We made everything from scratch and An showed us step by step how to prepare each dish, but allowed us to do the actual cooking. I was surprised at how well our spring rolls turned out, even though I managed to turn the shrimps upside down in one :-) In the end, we cooked for more than an hour and turned out an amazingly good meal! All the while we kept up a lively conversation with Mrs. An, who we found to be interesting and very knowledgable. After dinner, we ate grapefruit dipped in salt and hot pepper and a type of sticky rice that is not cooked! It was all really fantastic. Our class was topped off with a gift basket containing cooking chopsticks, a mortar and pestal for peanuts, and the recipies that we made.
This class has got to be one of the best experiences of our current trip, although it would have been made better if Anh could have joined us.
As adoptive parents to a Vietnamese child, Patrick and I decided that we had better start learning the fine art of Vietnamese cooking soon! It is definitely one cuisine that we both enjoy greatly, but have never attempted to cook at home. Yesterday, we set off to try our hand at cooking up some seafood dishes, under the experienced guidance of Mrs. An at Hidden Hanoi
cooking school. Although this class is listed in some guide books, it is conspicuously absent from our trusty LP. Even quick searches on the internet failed to turn up reviews of this cooking school, although we did find some bad reviews of another class in town, so we had no idea what to expect. Mrs. An asked us to meet her at the Sheraton hotel on West Lake, a swanky place where they tried to shuffle us off as quick as possible - we must have been looking extra scruffy yesterday! This part of Hanoi seems very much like an old European city and very quite compared to the old city. We found out later that 80% of the people living in this area are ex-pats. After a bit of confusion, we finally met up with Mrs. An, a friendly woman who owns the cooking school and also offers unique walking tours around Hanoi. Her English was excellent and we later learned that she is married to an Australian, which explained her Aussy accent.
Our class started off with watching a quick scene from "The Scent of Green Papaya" where the young girl from the country is being taught how to cook for the masters. Mrs. An then discussed with us the importance of different types of food in Northern Vietnamese cooking and gave us a bit of a history lesson in the culture of food in Vietnam. We learned that "no rice, no zao (green vegetables), no meal" and that MSG is an important spice that most Vietnamese would never cook without. Luckily, Mrs. An has developed Vietnamese dishes that do not use MSG and as far as we could tell they were just as good as those with MSG! In Vietnam, the meal is based around the type of vegetable that is being cooked and each vegetable has a specific cooking method. Only green vegetables, and herbs, are considered "zao"; one would never serve potatoes or carrots as a vegetable. A meal typically consists of rice, at least one vegetable dish, and one kind of soup, and if the family is very fortunate, some kind of meat. The soup is eaten at the end of the meal, to sop up the remaining rice and as a liquid instead of a drink.
As we talked about food, Mrs. An's assistant set up the cooking area so that Patrick and I could make the 4 dishes plus dipping sauce that constituted our meal. After surveying the counter with all the ingredients and recipies, An said "Ok, now you cook"! Patrick and I jumped right in, with the assistant of An and her friend, to make sweet and sour shrimp, shrimp and pork spring rolls, snake fish soup, green papaya salad and the fishy dipping sauce. We made everything from scratch and An showed us step by step how to prepare each dish, but allowed us to do the actual cooking. I was surprised at how well our spring rolls turned out, even though I managed to turn the shrimps upside down in one :-) In the end, we cooked for more than an hour and turned out an amazingly good meal! All the while we kept up a lively conversation with Mrs. An, who we found to be interesting and very knowledgable. After dinner, we ate grapefruit dipped in salt and hot pepper and a type of sticky rice that is not cooked! It was all really fantastic. Our class was topped off with a gift basket containing cooking chopsticks, a mortar and pestal for peanuts, and the recipies that we made.
This class has got to be one of the best experiences of our current trip, although it would have been made better if Anh could have joined us.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
One down, one to go
Well, we had our first US Embassy interview today and it went fine. All of the questions they asked us were pretty standard: what are our jobs, do we live with anyone else, do we have other children, is this our first adoption, etc. No surprises, although the interviewer did ask us why Anh was kept in foster care and not at the orphanage. I would have thought that would be pretty obvious - babies get better physical and mental care in a family - but he just didn't see it that way. Oh well, perhaps he doesn't have any kids of his own. Now we just wait. If we are very lucky, we might get our second interview as early as Tuesday or Wednesday and then we would have Anh's visa the following day. We are not holding our breath, though, and we are getting out enjoying what time we have here in Hanoi! So far, we have a local tour booked to see the nearby villages, and we are trying to arrange a cooking class. Of course, there are still so many things to do and see around Hanoi, that I don't think we will ever get bored.
Attachment
When Patrick and I started the process to adopt from Vietnam, we were excited to find out how young many of the babies being referred were. In fact, we were hoping that our baby would be no more than a couple of months old. We didn't want to miss anything with our child and we were also concerned about attachment issues of an older baby. At referral, Anh was only 5 months old and without medical issues, so we accepted him immediately. I am ashamed to say it, but when I found out that other families were being referred 2 month old babies, I was jealous. I really started buying into the idea that at 8 or 9 months, Anh might be too old! And I thought this knowing that the child we adopt from China will likely be much older. Sad, sad, sad. However, now I have no regrets! Eight months is a perfect age - Anh is curious, independent, learning to crawl and stand, fun to play with, interactive! But what does this all have to do with attachment?
When we first picked Anh up, he didn't smile too much and would just allow anyone to pick him up. Our first dinner out with Anh, the wait staff whisked Anh away and played with him while we ate - to his delight. He was fine when Patrick or I would hold him and care for him, but mostly he was just indifferent. Over the past week and a half everything has changed! Anh loves to play and is mostly a very happy baby, only getting cranky when he is hungry or really tired. And he would rather be in my arms than anyone else's. Today, we went back to that original restaurant for lunch and again the women offered to hold Anh while we ate. Within 5 minutes of being away from us, Anh was inconsolable - of course until he was brought back to my arms! A week ago, Anh would have rather been in any Vietnamese woman's arms than mine, now he reaches out for me when someone else is holding him. I think he is very attached - and even actively so!
These are definitely the little joys of motherhood in adoption. Now, I just have to work on getting him to sleep without having to be rocked in my arms.......
When we first picked Anh up, he didn't smile too much and would just allow anyone to pick him up. Our first dinner out with Anh, the wait staff whisked Anh away and played with him while we ate - to his delight. He was fine when Patrick or I would hold him and care for him, but mostly he was just indifferent. Over the past week and a half everything has changed! Anh loves to play and is mostly a very happy baby, only getting cranky when he is hungry or really tired. And he would rather be in my arms than anyone else's. Today, we went back to that original restaurant for lunch and again the women offered to hold Anh while we ate. Within 5 minutes of being away from us, Anh was inconsolable - of course until he was brought back to my arms! A week ago, Anh would have rather been in any Vietnamese woman's arms than mine, now he reaches out for me when someone else is holding him. I think he is very attached - and even actively so!
These are definitely the little joys of motherhood in adoption. Now, I just have to work on getting him to sleep without having to be rocked in my arms.......
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Tam Coc
We decided today to brave a one day tour to Tam Coc with Anh. Tam Coc is suppose to be the Halong Bay on land because of it's tall limestone cliffs that grow straight up out of the plains. As usual, booking through the hotel meant being cramped into a 14 seat "van" with every seat occupied. It always amazes me that they can fill every tour we have been on no matter what day it runs. Also, as usual, we were the lucky recipients of the rear seats, squished in with no way to escape unless all the other passenger disembarked first. Figures for a person who is claustrophobic - luckily working around an MRI has greatly reduced my fear of tight spaces :-)
The ride was a very bumpy 2.5 hours, with a stop to see the ancient Vietnam capital. Anh's sweaty body in my arms made it difficult to fully enjoy the ruins. Not to mention that I was looking for a good place to change him the whole time we were there. I didn't suppose it was proper to change a screaming baby's diaper near one of the sacred rooms!
At Tam Coc itself, we all boarded small row boats, 2 passengers per boat, for the 2 hour trip on the river. It was very kind of the locals to provide us an umbrella and a hat in exchange for a few dong. Aside from the scenic nature of the boat trip along the cliffs, there were no car horns, no people yelling, no motorbikes trying to run you down. Peace and quite and a chance to relax. Well, at least until Anh blew his diaper! Yes, our first explosion experience, in a small row boat, with no spare clothing, but at least a spare diaper. It was fairly hilarious trying to hold Anh and his umbrella while cleaning the bottom of the boat, my pants, and his bottom. It was probably the highlight of the day for our "guide".
Other than that small mishap, the rest of the trip was leisurely. We saw everyday life on the river - people fishing, praying at shrines, and selling their wares to tourists. There were brahman cattle, mountain goats (!), and a strange bird with iridescent wings and a long beak for catching fish. The river itself has carved its way through 3 caves in the cliffs where stalagtites grow from the ceiling and you must crouch down in the boat to pass. It was a day of wonder away from the bussle of Hanoi.
Back on the bus, and after a short formula induced nap, Anh decided that play time had started. He has become more and more vocal, and was talking and singing to himself and anyone else who would listen. As soon as the woman in front of us took notice, he began squealing with delite and putting on his best flirt face. I had to pull him back for fear of him grabbing hold of her hair. He is quite strong and has a death grip. So, Patrick and I spent the 2.5 hour ride back distracting Anh so that he wouldn't pitch a fit. Unfortunately, a new bottle wouldn't do, so instead the bottle top became a play thing. Play time continued back at the hotel, through dinner, and right up until 9pm. One second he was bouncing his hands on the bed talking up a storm and the next second his hands came down, he became quite, and he started snoring. Ahhhh, a boy who takes after his mom and can fall asleep in seconds flat!
Another day down in the books!
The ride was a very bumpy 2.5 hours, with a stop to see the ancient Vietnam capital. Anh's sweaty body in my arms made it difficult to fully enjoy the ruins. Not to mention that I was looking for a good place to change him the whole time we were there. I didn't suppose it was proper to change a screaming baby's diaper near one of the sacred rooms!
At Tam Coc itself, we all boarded small row boats, 2 passengers per boat, for the 2 hour trip on the river. It was very kind of the locals to provide us an umbrella and a hat in exchange for a few dong. Aside from the scenic nature of the boat trip along the cliffs, there were no car horns, no people yelling, no motorbikes trying to run you down. Peace and quite and a chance to relax. Well, at least until Anh blew his diaper! Yes, our first explosion experience, in a small row boat, with no spare clothing, but at least a spare diaper. It was fairly hilarious trying to hold Anh and his umbrella while cleaning the bottom of the boat, my pants, and his bottom. It was probably the highlight of the day for our "guide".
Other than that small mishap, the rest of the trip was leisurely. We saw everyday life on the river - people fishing, praying at shrines, and selling their wares to tourists. There were brahman cattle, mountain goats (!), and a strange bird with iridescent wings and a long beak for catching fish. The river itself has carved its way through 3 caves in the cliffs where stalagtites grow from the ceiling and you must crouch down in the boat to pass. It was a day of wonder away from the bussle of Hanoi.
Back on the bus, and after a short formula induced nap, Anh decided that play time had started. He has become more and more vocal, and was talking and singing to himself and anyone else who would listen. As soon as the woman in front of us took notice, he began squealing with delite and putting on his best flirt face. I had to pull him back for fear of him grabbing hold of her hair. He is quite strong and has a death grip. So, Patrick and I spent the 2.5 hour ride back distracting Anh so that he wouldn't pitch a fit. Unfortunately, a new bottle wouldn't do, so instead the bottle top became a play thing. Play time continued back at the hotel, through dinner, and right up until 9pm. One second he was bouncing his hands on the bed talking up a storm and the next second his hands came down, he became quite, and he started snoring. Ahhhh, a boy who takes after his mom and can fall asleep in seconds flat!
Another day down in the books!
Saturday, September 16, 2006
oops
I finally saw the last picture I posted on this blog and realized that it is actually Trang, another family's little girl! Well, you can still follow the link to see all the pics of Anh, and some of Trang.
It is now the weekend and the family seems to be recovering from a little illness. Nothing terribly bad, but it kept us in bed for the last day. Tomorrow we are going on a tour to Tam Coc. It is a full day tour and hopefully Anh will manage OK. I think he will probably sleep much of the time anyhow.
One thought that keeps weighing on my mind is how we are going to keep Vietnam alive for Anh. I think about all the sights and smells that are so different back home. The crazy traffic in Hanoi, with no obvious rules of the road; the nuoc mam (fish sauce) smell that permeates everything; the little sidewalk cafes that only appear during meal times; the tiny plastic tables and chairs that everyone sits on to eat and drink bia hoi; the love that all people shower on the babies of Vietnam. He will miss all this and grow up in our organized, impersonal, sterile environment. I want him to know all that he has in both cultures and hopefully, he will still find a place in his heart for Vietnam, his homeland.
Today I ate pho at a small street stand. The woman making the soup decided to feed Anh small pieces of chicken skin, which he loved! He even loved the very slightly spiced broth, which he demanded by the small spoonful. He is a good eater and currently not picky. As long as he remains open to different foods, he will fit into our home easily!
It is now the weekend and the family seems to be recovering from a little illness. Nothing terribly bad, but it kept us in bed for the last day. Tomorrow we are going on a tour to Tam Coc. It is a full day tour and hopefully Anh will manage OK. I think he will probably sleep much of the time anyhow.
One thought that keeps weighing on my mind is how we are going to keep Vietnam alive for Anh. I think about all the sights and smells that are so different back home. The crazy traffic in Hanoi, with no obvious rules of the road; the nuoc mam (fish sauce) smell that permeates everything; the little sidewalk cafes that only appear during meal times; the tiny plastic tables and chairs that everyone sits on to eat and drink bia hoi; the love that all people shower on the babies of Vietnam. He will miss all this and grow up in our organized, impersonal, sterile environment. I want him to know all that he has in both cultures and hopefully, he will still find a place in his heart for Vietnam, his homeland.
Today I ate pho at a small street stand. The woman making the soup decided to feed Anh small pieces of chicken skin, which he loved! He even loved the very slightly spiced broth, which he demanded by the small spoonful. He is a good eater and currently not picky. As long as he remains open to different foods, he will fit into our home easily!
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Food, glorious food
Vietnam has some of our favorite food, so we thought we would share just a few dishes that we love in Hanoi. This post is also somewhat for our scapbook, so that we always remember.
Bun cha (pron. boon cha) - really yummy fried pork patties in a broth with noodles and fresh herbs. There is an excellent bun cha restaurant around the corner from the Lucky. Head out the front door and take a left, another left at the corner, and another left at the next corner and it is right there on your left. They have 3 floors of tables and you don't have to speak any Vietnamese because you walk in, they seat you, and then bring you their specialty. It is good and only as hot as you make it yourself. We ate there yesterday, and they wait staff whisked Anh away to babysit while we ate.
Cha ca - fried fish patties, also with some kind of broth and I think noodles. There is a place called Cha Ca La Vong which is a taxi ride from the Lucky. We ate there a few years ago and it was wonderful. Again, they only serve one dish, so no need to speak any Vietnamese (although learning "thank you" and "that was delicious" might not be a bad idea :-)
pho (pron. fa-a, with a slight uplilt in the tone)- the famous Vietnamese noodle soup, served in the morning mostly. You almost can't go wrong if you find a small Vietnamese cafe with lots of people eating. Just remember to pronounce it correctly, otherwise the Vietnamese have no idea what you are looking for!
Bun cha (pron. boon cha) - really yummy fried pork patties in a broth with noodles and fresh herbs. There is an excellent bun cha restaurant around the corner from the Lucky. Head out the front door and take a left, another left at the corner, and another left at the next corner and it is right there on your left. They have 3 floors of tables and you don't have to speak any Vietnamese because you walk in, they seat you, and then bring you their specialty. It is good and only as hot as you make it yourself. We ate there yesterday, and they wait staff whisked Anh away to babysit while we ate.
Cha ca - fried fish patties, also with some kind of broth and I think noodles. There is a place called Cha Ca La Vong which is a taxi ride from the Lucky. We ate there a few years ago and it was wonderful. Again, they only serve one dish, so no need to speak any Vietnamese (although learning "thank you" and "that was delicious" might not be a bad idea :-)
pho (pron. fa-a, with a slight uplilt in the tone)- the famous Vietnamese noodle soup, served in the morning mostly. You almost can't go wrong if you find a small Vietnamese cafe with lots of people eating. Just remember to pronounce it correctly, otherwise the Vietnamese have no idea what you are looking for!
Thursday
We finally had our Giving and Receiving (G&R) ceremony yesterday afternoon. This is the official Vietnamese adoption ceremony where we become the real and legal parents to Anh. Yes, it is finally legal. Now we just have to convince our government that it was also legit. Today Anh had his medical exam for his US visa and we applied for his Vietnamese passport. At the medical, the doctor checked him out from head to toe and then pronounced that he was "too healthy"! I guess he is accustomed to other babies who are ill from the orphanage. It is true that Anh seems to be the exeption, as most of the children have at least some kind of virus. Anh officially weighs 19 lbs, which is actually less than we were speculating. I guess he just feels heavier.
So to recap our in-country timeline thus far
Arrival on Sunday Sep 10
Received Anh on Monday Sep 11
G&R ceremony on Wednesday Sep 13
Medical and passport on Thursday Sep 14
We are still waiting to hear about the US Embassy appointment
It still amazes me how much the Vietnamese, women and men alike, love babies. Every time we go anywhere, Anh is always getting touched and cooed at and smiled at. Everyone is curious whether he is Vietnamese and where he is going to live. This morning, our driver was so thrilled when I handed him Anh and he planted a million kisses all over his head. And yesterday, the men working at our hotel wouldn't let Anh down and just kept playing with them. This is something I can't imagine happening in the States. Restaurants are always fun because the staff come and whisk away the babies so that parents can eat in peace. Last night our whole group went out for dinner and all the babies were taken by the wait staff while we ate. One by one, each baby returned to the table except Anh. After a while I felt strange that he was being passed around the staff (and even around the tables of Vietnamese) so I took him back. A few minutes passed and one waitress came over under the guise of determining whether I was finished. When I said "yes, go ahead and take my plate" she replied "can I take your baby" and she whisked him away again, leaving my dirty plate! Again, at lunch today, Anh went off with the servers and they just loved him! I think that he eats up all the attention.
Speaking of lunch, we discovered that one of the best bun cha restaurants is around the corner from our hotel! We were so pleased to have found it and had a wonderful lunch there. Bun cha is a traditional Hanoi dish of fried pork patties in a soup-like broth with noodles and fresh herbs. It was delicious - I think we might become regulars.
I am trying to add photos to our album daily. The link hasn't changed, but here it is again
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AYuGjJu0cuXQw
Cheers,
Shula
So to recap our in-country timeline thus far
Arrival on Sunday Sep 10
Received Anh on Monday Sep 11
G&R ceremony on Wednesday Sep 13
Medical and passport on Thursday Sep 14
We are still waiting to hear about the US Embassy appointment
It still amazes me how much the Vietnamese, women and men alike, love babies. Every time we go anywhere, Anh is always getting touched and cooed at and smiled at. Everyone is curious whether he is Vietnamese and where he is going to live. This morning, our driver was so thrilled when I handed him Anh and he planted a million kisses all over his head. And yesterday, the men working at our hotel wouldn't let Anh down and just kept playing with them. This is something I can't imagine happening in the States. Restaurants are always fun because the staff come and whisk away the babies so that parents can eat in peace. Last night our whole group went out for dinner and all the babies were taken by the wait staff while we ate. One by one, each baby returned to the table except Anh. After a while I felt strange that he was being passed around the staff (and even around the tables of Vietnamese) so I took him back. A few minutes passed and one waitress came over under the guise of determining whether I was finished. When I said "yes, go ahead and take my plate" she replied "can I take your baby" and she whisked him away again, leaving my dirty plate! Again, at lunch today, Anh went off with the servers and they just loved him! I think that he eats up all the attention.
Speaking of lunch, we discovered that one of the best bun cha restaurants is around the corner from our hotel! We were so pleased to have found it and had a wonderful lunch there. Bun cha is a traditional Hanoi dish of fried pork patties in a soup-like broth with noodles and fresh herbs. It was delicious - I think we might become regulars.
I am trying to add photos to our album daily. The link hasn't changed, but here it is again
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AYuGjJu0cuXQw
Cheers,
Shula
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Continued....
Since everyone keeps asking...
Anh is 8 months old exactly! We don't know how much he weighs, but we are guessing it is more than 20 lbs. He is mobile and vocal - loves to talk. And, he is pulling himself up to standing on his own and will take steps if I hold his hands. I think it is amazing that his little legs can bear all that weight :-) The other families here think he will be walking before we go home. This is somthing of a problem, because 1) we are stuck in a hotel room waiting for the phone to ring and 2) because we are NOT prepared for quite so mobile of a little boy back home! I guess we will just have to adjust.
He is sort of sleeping through the night. He woke up once last night and wanted a bottle, then wanted to play for a little while, but Patrick rocked him back to sleep. Then he was out until we woke him up in the morning.
We found out today that he was being fed some rice cerial, so we went out and bought cerial and baby food. Boy did his eyes light up when we started preparing "real" food! And he grinned the whole time he was eating it. One problem, he wants to feed himself, but mostly just gets it all over the place. He even ate some banana and was eyeing my pizza.
Unfortunately, we haven't had our G&R (the official Vietnamese adoption ceremony) yet. Without that we can't get Anh's passport, which we need to get our first US Embassy appointment for his visa to come home. Apparently, the Embassy is slowing down, so there are no appointments until next week and then it will take another week for our second appointment. Yeah, these babies might be terrorists! There is now the possibility it will take us longer than 3 weeks to complete this part of the adoption!
Wish us luck and good carma and all that, that things will go smoothly and quickly!
P.S. We have chosen the name Quinn but are still calling him Anh. Old habbits are hard to break!
Anh is 8 months old exactly! We don't know how much he weighs, but we are guessing it is more than 20 lbs. He is mobile and vocal - loves to talk. And, he is pulling himself up to standing on his own and will take steps if I hold his hands. I think it is amazing that his little legs can bear all that weight :-) The other families here think he will be walking before we go home. This is somthing of a problem, because 1) we are stuck in a hotel room waiting for the phone to ring and 2) because we are NOT prepared for quite so mobile of a little boy back home! I guess we will just have to adjust.
He is sort of sleeping through the night. He woke up once last night and wanted a bottle, then wanted to play for a little while, but Patrick rocked him back to sleep. Then he was out until we woke him up in the morning.
We found out today that he was being fed some rice cerial, so we went out and bought cerial and baby food. Boy did his eyes light up when we started preparing "real" food! And he grinned the whole time he was eating it. One problem, he wants to feed himself, but mostly just gets it all over the place. He even ate some banana and was eyeing my pizza.
Unfortunately, we haven't had our G&R (the official Vietnamese adoption ceremony) yet. Without that we can't get Anh's passport, which we need to get our first US Embassy appointment for his visa to come home. Apparently, the Embassy is slowing down, so there are no appointments until next week and then it will take another week for our second appointment. Yeah, these babies might be terrorists! There is now the possibility it will take us longer than 3 weeks to complete this part of the adoption!
Wish us luck and good carma and all that, that things will go smoothly and quickly!
P.S. We have chosen the name Quinn but are still calling him Anh. Old habbits are hard to break!
Monday, September 11, 2006
Anh is HUGE!
All of the 6-9 month old clothes that I bought for Anh will not fit! He is ginormous! He seems like a well loved, and well fed baby - definitely will not fit in the bassinet on the plane ride home.
This morning, we left Hanoi at 11am for the 1.5 hour drive out to the orphanage. As we left the city and drove along the rice paddies, I kept thinking about how I would be able describe to Anh what Vietnam was like. It is easy to see that, by the time he is old enough, there will be little left of the marsh like country side.
The orphanage was much better than I expected and the women caring for the babies seem to really love them. Anh was transfered to the orphanage about 10 days ago when the police decided that they didn't want any babies in foster care. Apparently, the foster mother was crying when she dropped off Anh. Luckily, he doesn't seem too worse for the wear. He has a few bug bites, but is big, strong, and curious! We feel very lucky.
This morning, we left Hanoi at 11am for the 1.5 hour drive out to the orphanage. As we left the city and drove along the rice paddies, I kept thinking about how I would be able describe to Anh what Vietnam was like. It is easy to see that, by the time he is old enough, there will be little left of the marsh like country side.
The orphanage was much better than I expected and the women caring for the babies seem to really love them. Anh was transfered to the orphanage about 10 days ago when the police decided that they didn't want any babies in foster care. Apparently, the foster mother was crying when she dropped off Anh. Luckily, he doesn't seem too worse for the wear. He has a few bug bites, but is big, strong, and curious! We feel very lucky.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Baby Day!!
Today is the day we get to finally meet Anh! We will leave our hotel at 11am our time for the drive to the orphanage. Not exactly sure why we are going to the orphanage unless Anh is being brought there for us or if he was already transferred there a while ago. I guess we will find out! Unfortunately, they couldn't schedule our G&R until tomorrow, so we will not be official until then.
Hello Hanoi!
We made it! After 24 hours in transit we are finally in Hanoi. China Airlines turns out to be a fine airline, although their seats are a bit small. Poor Patrick had to fold in half to fit.
On the last leg of our trip, we were on the plane with a big group of Vietnam Vets from the Marines. They were on a sort of pilgrimage to visit the sites where they had been stationed 40 years ago. Amazing that it was that long ago. I sat next to a man who had been retired when he stepped on a land mine and lost a leg. He was still quite the supporter of our nation's military and it was very interesting speaking with him about the war. Quite a different perspective from that of the Vietnamese we talked with the last time we were in Vietnam! He spoke of how proud he was of the soldiers he fought with and how the US really should have won, but we gave up instead. I have a feeling that our political beliefs are a bit different, but luckily we didn't get into politics at all.
Landing in Hanoi was quite a relief and it felt good to smell the smells and see the sights on the way to the hotel. It seems that very little has changed, although perhaps there are a few more cars on the road. Of course, we shared the road with many motorcycles piled high with people, luggage, shoes, boxes, and other things I couldn't determine. The highway wound through rice paddies where people were up to their knees working along side of enormous billboards advertising all of the current Western amenities you could buy if you could afford them. New tall buildings, clean and sparkeling, with beautiful gardens, sat next to shanty towns and their markets. Ahhhh Vietnam.
Our hotel, The Lucky 2, is much better than I expected! At first, we were put off at spending 4x as much for a guesthouse as we had the last time we were here. However, this hotel is centrally located, has big rooms with nice bathrooms, WINDOWS in the room, safes, and a great staff! And besides, there are other adoptive families here, which is nice for the support. So far I am pretty pleased.
On the last leg of our trip, we were on the plane with a big group of Vietnam Vets from the Marines. They were on a sort of pilgrimage to visit the sites where they had been stationed 40 years ago. Amazing that it was that long ago. I sat next to a man who had been retired when he stepped on a land mine and lost a leg. He was still quite the supporter of our nation's military and it was very interesting speaking with him about the war. Quite a different perspective from that of the Vietnamese we talked with the last time we were in Vietnam! He spoke of how proud he was of the soldiers he fought with and how the US really should have won, but we gave up instead. I have a feeling that our political beliefs are a bit different, but luckily we didn't get into politics at all.
Landing in Hanoi was quite a relief and it felt good to smell the smells and see the sights on the way to the hotel. It seems that very little has changed, although perhaps there are a few more cars on the road. Of course, we shared the road with many motorcycles piled high with people, luggage, shoes, boxes, and other things I couldn't determine. The highway wound through rice paddies where people were up to their knees working along side of enormous billboards advertising all of the current Western amenities you could buy if you could afford them. New tall buildings, clean and sparkeling, with beautiful gardens, sat next to shanty towns and their markets. Ahhhh Vietnam.
Our hotel, The Lucky 2, is much better than I expected! At first, we were put off at spending 4x as much for a guesthouse as we had the last time we were here. However, this hotel is centrally located, has big rooms with nice bathrooms, WINDOWS in the room, safes, and a great staff! And besides, there are other adoptive families here, which is nice for the support. So far I am pretty pleased.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
One day until liftoff....
Our bags are packed and we are ready to go.......
Sort of.
We finally head off tomorrow evening for Vietnam. It still does not feel real. I suppose that we won't believe it until we land in Hanoi. OK, at least when we get onto the plane we will know that all our preparative work is over. Maybe not completed, but finished for now. A bit scarey, if you think about it. In just 4 short days we will be "mom and dad". Wow!
Actually, I feel like we are pretty much ready to leave. Somehow, this thought scares me because I wonder if there must be something we are missing. We have hired a house sitter for the dog and cats, stopped our newspaper, paid our bills, gotten our passports in order, packed for the three of us, cleaned the house, prepared the baby's room... hmmmmmm, anything else?
I am so excited to be visiting Vietnam again! I know this trip will be nothing like the first, but it will still be nice to be in SE Asia again. Although I am looking forward to the visit, I am dreading the plane ride. Twenty-four hours in transit and a 14 hour single leg is nothing to look forward to. Keep your fingers crossed that there are good movies on the flight.
For now, and until we receive Anh, I'm signing off as:
Shula, future parent :-)
Sort of.
We finally head off tomorrow evening for Vietnam. It still does not feel real. I suppose that we won't believe it until we land in Hanoi. OK, at least when we get onto the plane we will know that all our preparative work is over. Maybe not completed, but finished for now. A bit scarey, if you think about it. In just 4 short days we will be "mom and dad". Wow!
Actually, I feel like we are pretty much ready to leave. Somehow, this thought scares me because I wonder if there must be something we are missing. We have hired a house sitter for the dog and cats, stopped our newspaper, paid our bills, gotten our passports in order, packed for the three of us, cleaned the house, prepared the baby's room... hmmmmmm, anything else?
I am so excited to be visiting Vietnam again! I know this trip will be nothing like the first, but it will still be nice to be in SE Asia again. Although I am looking forward to the visit, I am dreading the plane ride. Twenty-four hours in transit and a 14 hour single leg is nothing to look forward to. Keep your fingers crossed that there are good movies on the flight.
For now, and until we receive Anh, I'm signing off as:
Shula, future parent :-)
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