Bringing Home Baby E

Happy Birthday Teri!!!

2008-12-30T23:12:00.000-08:00

2008-12-06T22:33:00.000-08:00

2008-12-05T23:31:00.000-08:00

The Garden

2008-07-08T22:42:00.000-07:00

Em got to pull her first carrot from the garden. They make for great teethers. Dig that bed head.

Party in Glacier

2008-07-08T20:12:00.000-07:00

Em has a new boyfriend. His name is Todd. He is 10. And he lives in Mostar, Bosnia. Too bad she probably won't see him again until she's 10.

As you can see they got on very well.

She hasn't quite mastered the drinking from a cup thing yet.

They told me the cup had juice in it. I suspect something else. She looks stoned. And I have never seen her so filthy, but I think she had a good time.

Water

2008-07-01T23:40:00.001-07:00

Well, Em is finally over her fear of water. I wouldn't say she enjoyed her last bath, but she didn't cry either. She did however, love her trip to the Greenlake wade pool.

Today's High Point

2008-06-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

According to Em anyway.

Comparison Pic

2008-06-21T22:17:00.000-07:00

This is the day we came home. They are so tiny.

Long time no post.

2008-06-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid all my energy seems to be wrapped up in looking for a job. But here is a little catch up.

These are her sleeping buddies, both gifts from Auntie Tina.

We went to the zoo with Lynne and Dylan recently. Em and Dyl got in a little drumming together.

Em has given up on the crawling and is now a full time walker.

She still only has two bottom teeth but she will try and eat anything. She loves pasta; organic and whole grain of course. She has learned the sign for food which I taught her to connect to the word eat. Funny thing is, today I asked her if she was hungry, and before I could correct myself and ask if she wanted something to eat, she made the sign for food. She made the connection between the words hungry and food on her own. No dummy my girl.

She often takes the brush from me after we put up her "spout do" and tries to brush her hair, this time she tried to comb it and ended up getting the comb stuck in her hair. Ok, so she's no genius either.

Let's See...

2008-05-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

Got a phone for my back pocket,
Got my own remote,
Just need a digital camera and I'm set.

Some More Random B-Day Pics

2008-05-12T20:48:00.002-07:00

I'M ONE TODAY

2008-05-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

This is as close to an official portrait as we're going to get on her actual birthday. We'll try for some pro photos soon.

Random Pictures

2008-05-07T23:04:00.000-07:00

Get Nekked
Hug your blankie
Eat a cookie as big as your head. (Cookie was purchased purely for photo op. Mommy ate cookie)
Try sushi
Nap with friends
PLAY BALL!

These are things that will make you happy. Most of the time.

(Yes, she can not only stand, she can walk!)

Tip Toe thru the Tulips

2008-04-17T00:25:00.000-07:00

A little update. Em is now 11 months old, she has her two lower teeth, she is 27 inches tall and weighs 16 lbs. 10 oz. She is crawling all over the place, can pull herself up and is on the verge of taking her first steps.

Always bring a snack

So go check out Lynn's sight for some more pics of the 4 of us and Em and Dylan together.

Ocean Shores

2008-03-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

We went to Ocean Shores this weekend and I (Em) got to spend some time with a couple of Aunties

I got to see my Auntie Teri,

I got to see my Auntie Pam,

I got to pet a horse,

And Mommy let me drive the van aaaallllll over the beach!!!!

On a side note, I can crawl now, I have a tooth poking out, and I get really upset when Mommy leaves me for even a second, so I think that means I don't have any attachment issues. Mommy is a little stressed about the job thing, but she is getting a lot of food growing in the kitchen. Those little baby plants are everywhere.

The Oscars

2008-02-28T20:55:00.001-08:00

All dressed up and ready to go. Sorry, no actual party pictures. No press allowed

No press allowed at the after Oscar parties either. But I think it's safe to say that's how this drunken stupor happened. She hit the bottle kind of hard.

Mommy got layed off.

2008-02-20T23:52:00.001-08:00

And this is how I feel about it.

Oh well,that means more time for me and mommy to play and post pictures.

A Few New Pics

2008-02-04T21:59:00.001-08:00

Hey Dylan!

2008-01-08T20:35:00.000-08:00

I have that same outfit. You have great taste in clothes ;)

The Last Week

2008-01-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

This little girl is changing in leaps and bounds since she got better. She is back to babbling and blowing raspberries, she has gained the weight back that she lost when she was sick (welcome to the club), she can now sit on her own (although every once in a while she raises her head to fast and fall over backwards), and she has earned the new name Miss Wigglebottom because she cann't stay still. She still hasn't any interest in crawling although she can flip over and over to get somewhere and she can scoot backwards petty well too. She has also learned to use a starter sippy cup, the kind with the handles on the sides, and the solid food thing is gaining momentum. She likes big people sweet potatoes and will down any kind of baby food as well as some lovely little whole grain biscuits I found.

And believe it or not yesterday's mail contained her Certificate of Citizenship so she can now prove she is a citizen to the Social Security Administration and get a number so Mommy can file her taxes. Good girl. Mommy needs all the financial help she can get right now.

Em's first professional photo shoot

2007-12-27T19:50:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2007

2007-12-25T21:52:00.000-08:00

Here are all three of the little trouble makers. Other than Emlyn, these two musical instruments that I brought back form Vietnam were their main presents.

Em has proven that she can open her own presents be it plain paper or tissue.

Not all that tasty though.

Toes are always tasty.

Hey! What's that?

I guess boxes don't taste any better that tissue and wrapping paper

Oh! Package tasting from the inside.

Nope. Still pretty bland.

4 Hats and a Bunny Suit

2007-12-20T20:10:00.000-08:00

Poor Thing

2007-12-20T14:48:00.000-08:00

It seems she is getting better but the illness has made her lactose intolerant, that is why she keeps tossing the formula. So she is on soy products and probiotics and hopefully that will fix things. I hope so. I don't think any of us can take much more of this. And she is going to meet her cousins for the first time on Sunday so It would be nice if she were here normal happy self. I miss her little smile.

103.1

2007-12-20T10:21:00.000-08:00

That was Em's temp last time I took it. She has been sick since Friday. Vomiting, diarrhea, fever. Mom has her at the doctors now. I am so tired from attending to her at night that I am pretty much a walking zombie. I was supposed to take her in for pictures last Saturday but she was just not up to it. I have tried to take some pictures to post but she just doesn't have any smiles to share (that and the fact that I am having problems with finding the correct pathway to the picture library in my Mac). She just wants me to walk around with her. My back is killing me because of it, but it's the only thing that keeps her from crying.

I will post some pics as soon as I get some help from my Mac tutor and I will let you know what the doctor says later.

Blog Trolls

2007-12-07T16:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, general consensus seems to be to just obliterate the ignorant blog trolls remarks. Done. I could moderate or not allow non-blogspot folks to post comments but since the majority of people are nice and supportive I'm not going to do that. I don't see why one troll should spoil it for everyone.

Do you ever wonder what they look like? The trolls. I picture small groups of typical squat,filthy,smelly trolls gathered under a bridge, poaching WiFi from local business, on stolen laptops that they clumsily peck away on with their big hairy fingers whilst swatting clouds of flies from their fat ugly faces. At night they sneak out to worship at the troll temple in Freemont where their credo is "If can't say something nasty, don't say nothing at all". How pathetic.

Freemont Troll. Yes, that is a real Volkswagen Beetle in his hand.

So tell me...

2007-12-06T16:29:00.000-08:00

When cowardly anonymous people leaves nasty comments on here, do you want to me to leave them so y'all can respond, or am I free to delete their clearly ignorant negative vibes from the premises.

The Doctor

2007-12-06T15:48:00.001-08:00

Ok, just let me start by saying that I am totally crushin on Em's new doc. Married with children of course.

As for the visit itself, I think we did better than Lynne and Dylan. Em loved being on the table. "What!, no clothes AND I get to play with a great long crinkly piece of paper, FABULOUS!"

That was the easy part. Then came all the poking and prodding. She did great though. Despite her enormous appetite she has only gained about 9 oz. She is little behind developmentally in that she can not sit yet but that's it. She is otherwise perfectly healthy.

Of course she then had to have 4 shots and she cried when they were happening, but as soon as Angela was done she stopped crying as though it never happened and fell asleep.

Too bad I had to wake her up at the lab for a blood draw. We got lucky in that the first stick was good and hit a gusher but it still takes a while to get 5 vials from a baby. She screamed the whole time, turned beet red and was sweating like crazy, but as soon as they took out the needle we walked out into the waiting room and she smiled at everyone.

She can be very forgiving.

Sometimes.

Bad Blogger

2007-12-03T15:27:00.000-08:00

Sorry, but I just needed a break. And just so you know, I am not a writer. Lynne is the writer. I wish I was writer but I'm not. Blogging, post cards, thank you notes, Christmas cards. If I were Samantha this is one of the main things I would wiggle my nose at. Well, that and just about everything else.

So, a very brief and quick update since my last post.

Nov. 18th Last minute shopping, pick up snacks, start packing those bags. 2 of them. I arrived with only one. What can I say, kids need presents, Em needs clothes and at the last minute I decided I needed an Ao Dia.

Nov. 19th Visa for Em in hand!

Nov. 20th Headed home!!! On the plane at noon, layover in Taipei, back home later the same day. One seriously long day. Em cried a lot on the plane but I had her in a bassinet and EVA provided some heady duty blankets which, when laid over a bassinet, do a pretty good job of covering up the sounds of screaming babies.

Nov. 21st Up and out of the house. Got to stay awake as long as possible so we can sleep tonight and try and get our schedules turned around. We visited work, Mom at the college, Kim and then Holly. It didn't work. I got no sleep that night.

Nov. 22nd Two Thanksgiving dinners today, first to Kim's for the traditional turkey,mashed taters, stuffing and gravy. Then on to Candace's for roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding. Yum. And pie of course. Always pie.

Nov. 23rd Shopping. Of course. Tried to stay far away from the malls. Went to a second hand store and picked up some sleep buntings. Then on to Babies R Us for a couple of things. Ended up at Target and bought the cutest little snow suit thingy. I have a couple but they are too big.

Nov. 24rd Off to Mom's for the family Thanksgiving. Went thru LaConner to stop at Bunnies by the Bay. Very cute shop, but most of the things are currently to big for Em so I will have to stop by next Spring. We also stopped at my friend Lynda's Alpaca Farm and she had a hat for Em. Very cute. Then up to Mom's for another yummy helping of Turkey with all the trimmings.

Nov. 25th Visiting with Teri and Pam. Pam claims babies don't like her. Em won her over. She could win anyone over.

Nov. 26th First day back at work and Em's first day at daycare. She doesn't seem to be having a problem with it. Me either. I think we needed a break from one another. I was so tired when I got home all I could do was prep for the next day and go to bed. After all this was the first day I couldn't take any naps and I am feeling it big time. Unfortunately Em woke up about every hour. She still thinks it's daytime.

Nov. 27th Work, pick up Em, in bed by 8:00. I can't get anything done at home cuz all I want to do is sleep when I get home. I so miss my naps. At least she only woke up twice.

Nov. 28th Work again. I hate work. What's with the no napping at work thing. At least I managed to stay up till 10:00 tonight.

Nov. 29th Blah,blah,blah

Nov. 30th Yadda,yadda,yadda

Dec. 1st. Snow!!! and butt loads of it. I tried to get out to go visit Lynne but turned around, went straight back home and stayed there for the rest of the weekend. Just me and Em hanging in the living room. I'm still unpacking for crying out loud. I love to pack. Hate to unpack. But I needed to uncover the Christmas presents.

Dec 2nd. Still hanging in the house with Em. She has spent the whole day on a regular schedule of up for 1&1/2 hours, bottle, nap for an hour, repeat. At least the day has been some what predictable.

Murphy

2007-11-17T04:13:00.000-08:00

You never let me down.

We got a call on Friday morning to go for the second interview on Friday afternoon. That means they will issue the visa for Em to come home after 4 on Monday. We are scheduled to come home on Tuesday at noon ish. Talk about cutting it close. J and I went down to the EVA Air office this morning and confirmed all the flights, seat and bassinets for the babies. We are all set.

I love Hanoi and I really look forward to coming back soon but right now I miss the cooler weather, and the rain, beleive it or not, and my kitties. Cats here aren't so freindly and not very cuddly so they have been a poor substitution.

Let's back it up.

2007-11-15T21:11:00.000-08:00

Let's start with Friday, that would be last Friday, we went to Bat Trang. This is where the pottery is made. I bought a couple of things for my Nephew's but wasn't really taken by anything for myself. I refuse to leave Vietnam without the perfect teapot. But everything looks mass produced and similar. I want something unique. I also just want a teapot, not a tea set. The search continues.

The funnest part of the trip was when I was walking down the street looking for Lynne and J when I suddenly found myself flanked by schoolboys wanting to try out their English. "How are you?", What is your name?", Where are you from?" This went on for a couple of blocks until I found Lynne. She has a great picture of the lot of us. Must remember to get that from her.

After that we took what I swear is the worst ride ever. Long, long, long, hideously bumpy ride to what was supposed to be a "Silk Village", only to be delivered to a single business that did block printing. Interesting, but not what I was expecting. I did buy a little something for Em though for when she gets older. After we got out of there we just said "Hanoi", "Hotel". We were happy to get back "Home".

Saturday. Nothing exciting here. Had coffee at Highlands and then I had to go by a duffel bag to tote home the things I have purchased for the kids. And a few other people ;)

Then I had to set about packing up to move rooms. In order to afford the trip to Ha Long Bay I officially checked out for a couple of nights, and then checked back in to a much small, cheaper room. The space was nice but...

Warning! Bitch Session

2007-11-15T01:27:00.000-08:00

Why?

Why is it that we come over here and get treated better by the Vietnamese Government than by our own? The Vietnamese have been putting the Americans to shame.

Being dicked around by ones own government is embarrassing to say the least. Why do they treat us with such disdain, contempt and ambivalence as though we are wasting their time. What is it? Laziness? Power tripping? Where is that "We take care of our own" mentality? There are families who have come and gone in the time that we have been here so they are certainly capable. Maybe they found out I'm a liberal. Maybe they don't get to go home for Thanksgiving so they are punishing us by not getting us home for Thanksgiving either so they don't have to suffer alone. All I know is that if we don't get a call tomorrow for our second interview on Monday then we are not going to make our flight on Tuesday and we will be stuck here forever because we will not get a flight out until after the holidays.

This is not right. This is not necessary.

It is certainly disheartening.

OK Murphy, take your best shot.

Videos

2007-11-08T17:16:00.000-08:00

Em and Henry at the Orphanage

Another Perspective

2007-11-08T08:26:00.001-08:00

Here is the link to J's Travel Blog. Since I'm not the best blogger in the world right now, hopefully having all three of our blogs will keep you updated.

The Quilt

2007-11-08T07:37:00.001-08:00

This quilt was one of my main shopping objectives. The new shipment came in today and here it is. Here is the link to Vietnam Quilts.

The First Interview

2007-11-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

Well as is often the case we got up late and headed off to Highlands for coffee. We were actually on the way to Vietnam Quilts to check out a new shipment which comes up from the south. We were hoping there would be some more baby quilts with little girls on them. Unfortunately the shipment had not yet arrived and we will have to go back tomorrow.

This afternoon the group of us went to the Embassy for our first interview. The interview was a cinch. Very few questions. At least for me. The interviews kept getting shorter and shorter and since I was last I was in and out of there in a couple of minutes. All he asked was when I got my referral, when I arrived, when I got Em, what other families were with me at the orphanage and when the G&R was, and finally how did I feel about our agency. Then he told me what he told everybody else. "If you don't hear from us by next Friday give us a call. The end. That was it. This is done in a very small room through what I'm sure is bullet proof glass. There were a couple of people there to do there second interviews. All they did was walk up to a window and talk to someone for about 1minute and that was it for the second interviews. Now is the time to book some out of town tours.

Random Pics

2007-11-07T06:34:00.000-08:00

J rocks Em to sleep at the Green Mango

She was in need of some more stimulation so we had to find a new toy.

Em snoozes on my knee as we hang at Highlands

Anyone can have a bad hair day.

An actual Caramel Macchiato at Highlands Coffee. As near to a Starbucks as you are likely to find in Hanoi

The view of Hoa Kiem Lake from Highlands Coffee

Passports and SOS

2007-11-06T23:44:00.000-08:00

Wow, yesterday sure was special.

We were told to be ready to go get the babies passports at 8:00 am. So we were ready. Unfortunately there was a funeral still going on across the street and we didn't get out until 9:45

When we got there Em decided to puke all over us. All down the front of my shirt and hers, and I was so totally surprised because she had stopped doing that. I was torn between being disgusted and laughing at her timing. We had had no official appointments for days, why did she wait until we got to the passport office?

Turns out she was getting sick. Later that day we set off as a group for the SOS clinic. By the time we got to the clinic Em had a fever of 102.9. So she actually had perfect timing. The doctor gave me some Tylenol suppositories. He showed me how to put it in and she immediately pooped it back out. She of course thought that was hilarious. He tried to retrieve it but gave up . Then she peed all over so we decided to wait until later. Other than that she passed her medical

Click Here and You Might See Video

2007-11-04T06:50:00.000-08:00

Let's try some more

2007-11-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

Lynne and Em at the orphanage

Our first meeting at the orphanage

Happy belated Halloween

Finally

2007-11-02T01:06:00.000-07:00

I feel human.

J and I went out this morning for coffee. We took a wrong turn somewhere and found a great shopping street. I bought a lantern for Em's room and a few other things.

We went to a place called Highland Coffee on the NW end of Hoa Kiem lake.

It has a lift, a western style bathroom, and get this, a freaking caramel macchiato. And all this on a terrace overlooking the lake. We were both in heaven and have decided to make it a morning ritual if at all possible.

We hurried back to make an appointment to go get Em's passport only to be called at the last minute to be told they had an unscheduled meeting and we can't get the passports till Monday. No passport, no Dr appointment, no Dr. appointment, no 1st embassy interview, so this is our first official in country delay.

by the way we are currently scheduled to come back on the 20th. If we can come back early we will but today's delay is pretty typical and can happen with every appointment so that is why the process is scheduled to take as long as it is.

It is Friday here and we have been told the local market has social night tonight so we are going back out later for some more shopping

Right now Em is taking a nap in the cradle they put in the room. Good place to keep her when I shower.

Lynne is feeling out of sorts from lack of sleep because Dylan was having a puke fest last night. It's been a while since the 5 of us have been out together. Em was puking when I was putting the vitamins plus iron in her formula, so I stopped the vitamins and she stopped puking.I am mixing in a little of the US formula that I brought with that has iron in it and she seems to be tolerating that well so I think we will just keep that going for now. Tonight I am going to attempt to feed her some rice cereal and see if that helps her stay full longer during the night. Right now she is eating every couple of hours or so and I need more sleep.

I have to go so they can clean the room I will try to catch upfor the days that I have missed. I can't get You Tube to co-operate here so I can't post video. We are still having problems with pictures but are finding ways around them so we will keep trying to post as many as we can. The connections are really slow but I'm trying.

I will try and post more later when we get back from the market social event after Em goes to sleep.

more pics i think

2007-11-01T16:54:00.000-07:00

More Pics

2007-10-31T22:14:00.001-07:00

Having trouble getting pics up and keeping them up. This sucks.

Sick

2007-10-31T22:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks I have been really sick the last couple of days and have barley gotten out the last two days

I am reading everybody's e-mails I just don't have the energy to answer.

So for now I will post some photos and when I am better I will try to catch up.

Things about Em

2007-10-30T05:26:00.001-07:00

She talks a lot. To her feet, her bink, the baby on the huggies package, the turtles on my nightshirt, and right now the bison on the National Geographic channel...

She loves to blow raspberries.

She likes being naked and having her diaper changed.

She hates having her face washed.

She is fascinated by her left thumb.

She poops something like green clay. I'm pretty sure mom could throw a pot out of this stuff.

She growls when her bink is in her mouth.

She doesn't mind being held by complete strangers so I think everyone will get a turn when we come home.

PICS

2007-10-29T02:25:00.002-07:00

We are slowly finding ways around technical problems. I am still working on the video. These are pics J took and then I got them off his computer. Everything here is very very slow so uploading and downloading is a chore. So these will have to do for now and we will keep working it. Enjoy.

The Big Day

2007-10-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

We were supposed to just visit today. The Nam Dinh orphanage. It was a long and very bumpy trip. They put the back seat bench up in the and got me a pillow. I missed a lot of the scenery but my back made it through the day.

When we finally arrived at the orphanage all Lynne and I wanted was the bathroom . An experience I will spare you the details of.

Lynne went in first while I held her stuff and when she came out I handed her all the gear and went in. When I came out Lynne was nowhere in sight. So I went looking for her. I found her in the big eating room standing there will Dylan in her arms. It very quickly occurred to me than Em was about to enter the room. The door was behind me and I knew the nanny was standing there with her. As I was turning around I was saying to myself "Please don't let her see me and cry". She didn't. In fact she gave me a great big smile. And she just kept on smiling. Me too. I didn't turn into the big sobbing mess I was expecting. Neither did Lynne. Were both calm and collected and both feeling as though these babies weren't ours and we were going to have to give them back.

And then came the next surprise. They said we could take them with us. Today. Neither one of us saw this coming, though we should have given the amount of surprises lately. We hadn't brought diapers or formula or anything. But of course we said yes. We had both brought some clothes for the babies as we wanted them to put them on the babies when we came back on Tuesday. So we gave the nannies the clothes and then we left for lunch. When we came back we got a lot of footage of all the children there. They handed us a bottle and a couple of disposable diapers and sent us on our way.

For the most part they were good on the way back. Although it was kind of weird traveling in a car with babies and no car seats. When we were almost all the way back Em started crying. Very tired and over stimulated she was at times inconsolable, but as soon as we got back to the room and I took her clothes she stopped crying. She has been playing with the colorful pillows and is now asleep swaddles in my long sleeve t-shirt in the cradle they put in our room .

We have a lot of pictures and video between the three of us. I am still having some technical difficulties but we should have them figured out tomorrow. Oh, the internet is back up in the room. Right now I'm charging the batteries in the camcorder. They are both used up as is my phone and the digital, although for that I brought a large heavy supply of AA's. I'm gong to post the blog and then work on loading some video. It's 10:00 here already and I an tired so it may not happen until tomorrow but I promise by bedtime tomorrow I will have pictures of some sort up.

We're Here

2007-10-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

We got in last night afer the longest flight of my life. My back is killing me,
enought about that.

It was cool to fly into both HCMC and Hanoi. If I had to choose I think Hanoi would win. It has a definate charm that Saigon lacks. Looks like Europe from above. Green all over with hamlets everywhere.

The internet does not work in the room so all blogging is currently being done in the hotel lobby. We will do our best to get out pitures but it make take a couple of days to get it all worked out.

It is currently Sunday morning here and we are on out way to the orphange to meet the babies. We will not be able to leave with them today. Tomorrow we are going to vist the other 2 orphanages in the area Bavi and Bac Ninh. Then on Tuesday we will go back to Nam Dinh for the G&R and then we can bring the babies back with us.

I have to go as we have a three hour drive to Nam Dinh, lucky for me the van has bench seats and I can lie down if need be. We will do everything we can to get pictures posted tonight.

Ring Ring

2007-10-25T19:51:00.000-07:00

"Hello".

"Hi, this is M at Faith. We've decided that you should leave for Hanoi tonight to avoid any problems with the I-600 changes".

"Oh really. Didn't J just say yesterday that there is nothing to worry about".

"Yes well, better safe than sorry".

"Yeah that's easy for you to say, you're not the one who has to switch gears again, take the money out of the bank again, undo your plans again, pay an additional 500.00 to travel on a much less comfortable flight you raving lunatic she devil".

This conversation has been brought to you mostly from the real world (and a little bit from the imagined)

At any rate. We are finally going come hell or high water.

NEXT POSTING SHOULD BE FROM HA NOI!!!!!

Sorry

2007-10-24T16:12:00.000-07:00

I know I am not blogging about the delays and other stuff, re: the changes with the processing of the I-600's, but it hurts my back to sit and type so all I can suggest is to keep up with Lynne's blog since what happens to her happens to me. Her blog address is in one of the below posts titled "Dylan".

The one bit of good news is that someone from our agency is headed over there tonight and says she will take more pictures to hold us over till we get there.

Here We Don't Go Again

2007-10-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

My bags are packed. I'm ready to go.

In the mean time, a French official invited the official from Nam Dinh reponsible for signing papers at the G&R to vacation in France for a week, and of course he said yes.

To hell with those PAP's on their way here, they can just wait. Some more. Again.

So it looks like we are delayed at least a week. No Halloween in Hanoi. Although there is the possibility of Halloween on the plane. How do you think airpot securty would feel about letting Tigger on a plane.

Catch Up

2007-10-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

Didn't mean to leave everyone hanging for so long but this week has been a bit hectic. Both at work and with the adoption. And then yesterday the first major power outages for the season. Both my work and home were dark. So I found an area with power and went and got a pedicure.
And some new clothes for the trip. Well, a shirt anyway.

I got my passport and visa back. We have our flights books. Still working on the hotel.

I got all the meds prescribed by the adoption medical clinic for Em.

Other than that, just been running around and taking care of all the details needed to take a baby on a three week vacation in a foreign land. Blow up neck pillow for the plane, money belt, things like that.

Baby shower is tomorrow. This will be the first time that all my friends from all the different groups I hang out with will be together and meet for the first time. No-one has met Lynne yet, not even my mom. I'm looking forward to everyone meeting more than anything!!!

Dylan

2007-10-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

Lynne got more pics of Dylan.
WaaaaaaaaaaWaaaaaaaaaWaaaaaaa.
That's me crying because I didn't get any.

http://www.journeytotheson.blogspot.com/

The Final Countdown

2007-10-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

Got word this morning that the G&R has been moved up to October 27th and the flight is leaving on the 24th. Exact intinerary to come. So leaving in 8 days, Mommy in 12. I think I'm still in state of disbelief. I keep wondering when that really bad scary ass anxiety will kick in. Should be any second now.

The back thing is sucking up all my energy though. I think maybe that's what is keeping me from going off the deep end. I don't have the energy to go off the deep end. Everytime I start to worry about something I just fall asleep. I guess one just has to learn to make their problems work for them.

The Weekend

2007-10-15T09:49:00.001-07:00

This weekend was full of chores and meeting and parties.

I got the muscle relaxers for my back. Turns out the only thing they relaxed were my eyelids. I won't take narcotic pain killers so I guess I will just use the relaxers as sleeping pills on the plane and keep going with the ibuprofen.

I have resigned myself to the fact that everything is not going to be done before I go so I might as well not worry about it. It's not like the chores are going anywhere. They will all be here when I get back.

So I guess from now on I will just concentrate on the trip. First order of business. Remove the cat from the suitcase.

Don't do this

2007-10-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

I went to meet a friend for dinner last night, when I got out of the car I took my travel portfolio with me, you know, the one with all my important papers in it. Like my I-171H and original home-study. Well we decided to go somewhere else first, so we went in my car, and of course I had to unload everything in the front seat first and apparently I put the portfolio on top of the car AND FORGOT IT WAS THERE!!!

I was calling my mom this morning to ask her to look around the house for it, and just when I was about to hit panic mode my other line rang. It was the agency telling me that someone at Pitney Bowes had found my portfolio in the street.

I think the stress is getting to me.

I really have to remember never to put the baby on top of the car.

And to the woman who returned my portfolio...

G & R

2007-10-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

It's set.

G&R October 29th. In 18 days I will legally be a mommy.

Not sure about travel dates yet.

Soon. (Don't ya just hate that word?)

Halloween in Hanoi

2007-10-10T21:51:00.000-07:00

OMG!! I'm going to be a mom THIS MONTH!!!

Went to the travel meeting today, no definate G&R date but they said most likely October 29th or 30th. Of course I had to fork over a huge amount of money. I now feel destitute without being able to see all that adoption money in my account and I am riddled with anxiety.

Probably not a good thing for my back which is still messed up. Working on that.

Anyway, we sent in the applications for our visas. So we're getting there. Slowly but surely.

Travel

2007-10-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

Only thing new on the agenda is that we have a travel meeting at the agency next Wednesday.

Hopefully we will have a G&R date by then. G&R being the Giving and Receiving ceremony, the actuall adoption where she becomes legally mine. Mine. My full, complete, total, sole responsibility. Yikes!

Other than that just working on the house and cursing the fact that I have pulled a muscle in my back that won't get better and I'm thinking maybe I better go to the doc, cuz the last thing I need is a messed up back toting a baby around Vietnam. Talk about bad timing.

The Weekend

2007-10-01T10:53:00.000-07:00

Well no new baby news of course, just a lot of chores to get done.

Still working on the kitchen. Mom kind of moved in so she is being a big help with all the things to get done before the baby gets here. In a month. Possibly this month. You know how freaky that sounds to me.

"I might be getting me baby this month"

Anyway, on Saturday morning bright and early I made it to a big "multiples" sale. Got 2 car seats the same so mom and I can switch back and forth amongst our cars. Also got a blow up bath tub, some clothes and a whole bunch of onesies to take to the orphanage.

And then I drove north to drop off my car for it's 60,000 mile overhaul, and then went to Canada to visit Grandma for the last time before the baby. I made it home at 3 in the morning.

Of course I couldn't drag my ass out of bed before noon on Sunday so all I got done was a three hour trip to Babies R Us to register, and I finished cleaning out all the kitchen drawers and prepped them for painting. I think it is actually possible to have both the Kitchen and the babies room done by the end of next weekend. That will leave just enough time to get the bathroom redone. Finally. Only been working on that one for the whole Summer.

On Saturday I got a full page of prescriptions from the Adoption Medicine Clinic. Looks like a small fortune could be spent there.

Thankfully Lynne and I are traveling together so there are a lot of things that just one of us can bring and avoid duplications. That should save us a bit of money and suitcase weight. That way we can carry a lot more donations to Hanoi.

I also did all of the research to choose a new digital camera and camcorder. Can't really afford to buy either right now but when the time comes at least I'll be ready. I think I am going to go with the Canon 870 IS on the digital and the Sony DCR-HC38 on the camcorder. Anyone have either of these? I understand the Sony works real well with a Mac. Let's hope so.

Friday

2007-09-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

Today seems rather uneventful compared to the last two.

I know there is a ton to do but I think I'm still having a hard time believing it is actually going to happen. The suitcase is still sitting on the floor with a cat sleeping on it and I haven't felt compelled to pick it up and start packing. Not sure why. I guess it kind of feels like a jinx and I don't think I can handle anything else going wrong at this point.

Thursday

2007-09-27T19:25:00.001-07:00

Today was talk to the doctor and make up your mind day.

So I talked to the doctor and I made up my mind.

She is healthy, despite a little anemia, and I have mailed the referral acceptance papers. Although honestly I think I made up my mind the minute I saw her picture.

We should be leaving in a month or so and it looks like this is where we will be hanging out.

http://www.luckystarhotel.com/

Wednesday

2007-09-26T11:39:00.000-07:00

IT WORKED!!!!!!

11:32:45 Got the call from the agency, just sitting here waiting for the e-mail so I can see her.

11:35.35 It's here and she is cute as cute can be.

Little Miss Le Thi Hai Yen 4 1/2 months

HANOI HERE WE COME!!!!

I needed a change

2007-09-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

Perhaps this will spur other changes.

Tuesday

2007-09-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

I guess this week doesn't include Tuesday either. I wish I knew where my Ouija board was. It's probably every bit as accurate as the agency.

Maybe I should buy a new one, then we can find out when everyone is going to get their referrals. And then of course we'll get to work on finding out those G&R dates ;)

Monday

2007-09-24T16:44:00.001-07:00

3 referrals are supposed to be coming this week. Clearly this week does not include Monday as I have heard nothing today.

It is currently 6:45 am Tuesday in Vietnam. Somebody needs to get their butt out of bed and go get my referral.

So...

2007-09-20T16:27:00.000-07:00

L talked to A who said H talked to H who said 3 referrals coming next week.

In adopteeze I think that means maybe next month. I hope I'm wrong about the translation.
Ya never know.

Hi Jonah. Welcome to America. Have mom drop me a line when she gets settled in. :)

Officials

2007-09-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

They are annoying. They spend way to much time talking about getting things done and very little time actually doing anything.

Apparently the adoption related justice officials in Vietnam spent the week convening to address the problems with the differences in wait times between referrals and travel. Fine. But while they are doing that it means that the officials who are able to sign off on paperwork are not at their desks signing off on anything. Lord knows we would not want to train anyone as a back up.

One piece of paper. That is all we are waiting for. An official to sign a single piece of paper so the referrals can go out. How long will that take. Maybe a day. Maybe a month. Depends on how conscientious,professional and caring that particular official is.

I know. I'm laughing too.

Official Word As Of Today...

2007-09-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

"We hope to get something this week".

Hope?

Gee, I hope I still have that $6,000 you wanted at the end of the week after all the retail therapy due to the stress of waiting!

Delayed Again

2007-09-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

Well the new referral was supposed to come today. It did not. And is not likely to until at least Wednesday. Why we are yet again delayed doesn't really matter anymore. I mean after 451 days of waiting what's a couple more.

I should have known when I was woken up by the cat at 4:30 this morning, scratched my eyeball somehow, got bitten by the mouse I was trying to take away from the cat, the car engine light came on and then proceeded to deal with some particularly heavy traffic that the day was not going to be a good one.

At least I can look forward having dinner with other adopting friends in the same boat as me tonight. I need a drink. I should make myself a daily rating system. Today was about a 2 martini day.

I'll try and leave on a positive note so as not to be a complete downer. I do believe I have found a Vietnamese nanny for Em. More about that when things are a little more concrete.

Nam Dinh

2007-09-04T15:08:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, go check out this site www.adoptionbuzz.org todays post has several pictures of the orphange my new referral is to come from. So she may be in one of the pics!

Mad Dash

2007-08-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

Well I still don't know anything more than I did 6 days ago but at least I have finished doing everything I need to get the new I-171H. Stupid thing is, I just know that we are going to end up going much earlier than we thought and I will have waisted time and money renewing an I-171h that in the end I won't need. Typical.

Better safe than sorry.

We have been lookin at all the fun stuff. Flights, hotels, sightseeing. All the while knowing that all of the unfun stuff needs to be finished and we are down to a few weekends. My car still needs an overhaul, the baby room still doesn't have all its curtains, the garage still needs to make room for stuff from the house that is being displaced by baby gear. The bathroom still needs to be finished as well as the painting in the kitchen and the basbyproofing of the iving room. There. I just blogged myself a to do list. Oh yeah, yard work. Which as usual this time of year begins with the de-spidering. They are everywhere. Building their little webs across every path I must walk. YUCK! I wish I could trade all the spiders for a bunch more bats to rid the yard of bugs. It just occured to me they must have some great big spiders in Vietam. Like the ones I saw in Bali. Great. Let the nightmares begin.

Switching Gears

2007-08-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

Well the last three months have all been focused on going to South Vietnam at the end of November to pick up a 13 month old. As of today it looks like I am heading to North Vietnam at the beginning of October to pick up a much younger baby. I will not know for sure until around September 7.

This info all comes from talking at length to various people including my social worker, the agency director and the agency facilitator. Yes, I finally met the infamous Henry. I also met the director of Tam Binh 2 which apparently is where Ngan was.I also got to meet the nanny who was taking care of Ngan. I really was not expecting that. What really blew me away was that they all knew who I was and there was also a good deal of heartfelt apologies that this happened.

So the story is that the US Embassy is truly being diligent about due diligence. To the point where local officials are not being told to search for relatives once, or twice, but three times. So Ngans mother was found immediately, the father was not found on the second try, but on the third try they found an old address for the father which led them to the Grandparents who do not know where their son is and they knew nothing about Ngan. Can you imagine the shock of having someone show up at your door and tell you that you have a 10 month old grandchild and if you don't take her, she will likely be adopted overseas and you might never see her again? I can't. So Ngan is no longer at Tam Binh and is with her Grandparents, who, I have been told,are older but are fully capable of raising her is every way.

At this point at least I feel I can stop worrying about Ngan. She is good.

A lot more transpirered today but I will have to continue when I am not so tired and can actually remember it.

Hi

2007-08-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind words and encouragement both in person, and here in comments. It helps immensely to have such support when things go so wrong.

I am doing ok and getting used to the idea that Ngan is no longer mine. I keep wondering about her Grandparents. How old they are, do they have enough money to feed and educate her properly. I imagine I will always wonder about her, and will probably never know, and that is the hardest part. I will always want to know.

So I try and think of the positives that may come of this and I hope that my agency will take this opportunity to redeem themselves. Perhaps I will be going to the Northern Province of Nam Dinh where they do all the paperwork and due diligence before they give you the referral. DUH!!! Perhaps my friend who had to turn down her referral from Tam Binh for medical reasons will also get her new referral from Nam Dinh as well and we will be able to travel together. I was ok with traveling alone, but having a friend there going thru the same thing would be great. And yes, I have stated so to the agency. Perhaps I will get a real young baby, and have plenty of time to do an overnight boat trip on Halong Bay. Who knows.

In the mean time, the agency's annual picnic is tomorrow morning. I hadn't intended to go, but given that the officials from both the provinces of the offending orphanage and the Nam Dinh orphanage are going to be there, I have decided to go. I am not just a number and and fee. I'm a real person who doesn't appreciate being trifled with and I think that they, and the agency, can just deal with me in person.

Life Goes On

2007-08-22T11:37:00.000-07:00

We all know this happens.

We all hope it never happens to us.

We can't all be that lucky

I was told today that during the due diligence phase of Ngan's paperwork they located her Mother who verified that she willingly signed over her parental rights. However when looking for the babies father, who they did not locate, they did locate her paternal Grandparents. And they want to keep her.

So the baby we have come to believe is Em, is not. She is Ngan, and she will be able to grow up with her family, and know her history. This is a good thing for her.

So I don't know how this is going to end, I am back to the unknown waiting.

Em is still out there some where.

2006 & 1963

2007-08-18T00:00:00.001-07:00

Ngan at roughly six months

Me at roughly six months

Here We Go Again

2007-08-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

Well my I-171H is going to expire soon, so I have to renew it. For you newbies that is the piece of paper issued by the US Immigration Department when you file your I600A that gives you advanced permission to bring a foreign child into the US as an immediate relative. Once you are in Vietnam then you apply for actual approval with the I-600. Unfortunately it is only valid for 18 months and that is around the time I will be in Vietnam. So off we go again with the paperwork. As I currently understand it that involves updating the home study and sending in the I-600A yet again.

The home study update involves a new letter from a doctor stating that you are healthy enough to parent a child. This one does not have to be notarized, hallelujah, because trying to get a doctor to a notary is a major pain in the ass. I also need to fill out the financial papers again, have a new criminal background check done and my references will have to contacted again to make sure I haven't gone looney tunes recently. And of course there goes another couple hundred bucks out the window.

The good news is that despite the fact that the USCIS recently raised rates on just about every immigration application out there, including the I-600A to 750.00, they have allowed for 1 free extension if you already filed an I-600A but haven't yet filed the I-600. Here's the link to the new fees.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/FinalUSCISFeeSchedule052907.pdf

Of course the agency knew nothing about this free extension. This is why PAP's must be self advocating. Say what you want about the crap that seems so pervasive on yahoo groups these days, but occasionally a truly useful, and true, nugget of information shows up. This was one of them.

10 months

2007-08-10T20:48:00.001-07:00

Em is 10 months old today. So sad. At least another 2 months to go get her. In the meantime her wardrobe is already threatening to expand into the next state because when mommy needs a baby fix she has to go buy a little something to feel better.

In the meantime I have been researching diapers and ran across the following alternative if cloth and disposables don't suit your needs.

http://www.gdiapers.com/gdiapers101

Tina, found a stroller but the link won't e-mail

http://www.burlingtoncoatfactory.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Section_Id=25623&pcount=&amp;pn=1&Product_Id=436022&SearchedProduct=t

Fully adjustable handlebars. Mom can take the baby for a walk while we shop and then Gerry can take the baby for a walk while we shop and both will be comfortable.

Cute

2007-08-10T08:56:00.001-07:00

Nothing

2007-08-09T08:23:00.000-07:00

That's what I have to report on the adoption. Nothing. Just waiting and waiting and waiting. You PAP's know what I mean. I could start working on the renewal of the I-171H if I knew what to do but the brand new Vietnam director is on vacation.

I did get a copy of Em's birth certificate. The most exciting thing there is that I now know her birth mother's name. But that's all. Although I imagine somewhere down the road that one piece of info is going to be hugely important to my daughter.

It also got me thinking about names again and what to do with hers. I am going to keep her entire name in between her English first name and my last name but I feel guilty about changing her last name given the importance of family names in Vietnam. So I have been toying with the idea of hyphenating her last name to Pham-Miller. Then I got to thinking she shouldn't have to give up her last name, I'm not going to give up mine, but I want them to be the same. So now I'm tossing around the idea of changeing both our names to Pham-Miller. Any single adoptive moms out there done this?

Ken (And Greg)

2007-07-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

Meet...The Drag Queen Ken Barbie Doll Cake. I just needed to practice a few things for an upcoming wedding shower cake and well....it kind of took on a life of its own.

And since a co-worker was having a birthday, it became his birthday cake.

I could be doing worse things with my wait time.

And next weekend my friend John is having a birthday.

He likes Barbies too!!!!!

Jo

2007-07-14T01:43:00.000-07:00

Here Here

Well....

2007-07-12T15:26:00.000-07:00

At least something good finally happend to somebody this week.

Congratulations to my freind C. on the referral of her daughter C. from C.

Who of course will be back will her child a couple of months before me because everyone is.

In fact, I'd be willing to bet that if you start the paperwork right now to adopt a baby from Vietnam (with another agency of course) that you will be home with your baby before me.

Go ahead.

Try it.

F@%*&#$K

2007-07-11T16:40:00.000-07:00

Well, as of today it looks like having Em home by her birthday was overly optomistic. Now we're looking at sometime in November probably. Gee, wonder what tomorrow will bring. No baby by Christmas?

I think we need to send Larry the cable guy over there and have him explain how to "GIT ER DONE"

Good news, Bad news

2007-07-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

Adoption

Good News: I should absolutely have my daughter by the end of OCTOBER!!

Bad News: Em's birthday is October 14. So I may miss it, all because of an agency that can't get it's shit together. October is also the rainiest month of the year in Saigon. Must buy an umbrella, cuz it ain't all that sunny in Seattle sometimes either.

Good News: I spoke to the local authority on adoptive medicine, Dr. Julia Bledsoe. She says my daughter is fabulous and healthy and completely present and accounted for and I should not hesitate to adopt her. Good thing, cuz I already signed the papers. They have a wonderful website by the way at http://www.adoptmed.org/ that has all kinds of useful information and links.

Bad News: She was abandoned by a mother who was most likely an IV drug user and prostitute. I was really hoping that she had been voluntarily relinquished and that we could go back and visit family one day.

Friends and Family

Good News: The barbie cake I made for a friends daughter came out better than expected. Now I get to make another one. For a bridal shower. I already started practicing.

Bad News: Damn cakes have calories.

A OK

2007-06-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

I just got a call from the agency. Much better communication from the new girl in charge of the Vietnam program. She had just sent me the new medical and according to the full on hospital visit it has been determined that she does not have Hep C. She is only in the 10th percentile for weight though and suffering from malnutrition. so much for being my healthy little chunk muffin. I need to get that girl home and feed her some proper food.

Signed, sealed, delivered

2007-06-19T00:06:00.000-07:00

The paperwork is in.

1 copy of the Acceptance of Referral
1 copy of the Letter of Acceptance
1 copy of a Power of Attorney
4 copies of Post Placement Committment

Guess what we do now?

Yep. We wait.

What's Done Is Done

2007-06-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

So I called the agency today and all I got was that they wanted to do another blood test but they had to wait a couple of weeks from the last test in order to see if her Hep C anti-body numbers had changed.

So I basically told her that I don't really care what the numbers are, that I will take her no matter what the outcome and could we please just get the ball rolling on the paperwork. I also brought up the fact that if she was in fact Hep C positive that I expected to get the special needs fee reduction that I know has been offered to others for Hep C positive children.

They have a chance to make this better, so let's see how they handle it. Everyone knows that mistakes are made and we all expect screw ups because no-one is perfect. I think most would agree that one's reputation is not based on being perfect from the get go, but on how one handles their mistakes and makes things right again. I'm not the most forgiving person in the world, just ask my mother, but I'm really trying here . If they would just make an equal effort on their part....

Pink

2007-06-08T21:51:00.000-07:00

Hey Mom. Could ya dial down the girlie.

Huh?

2007-06-05T16:17:00.000-07:00

Huh? Wadda ya mean the agency doesn't know anything? Isn't that their job?

Crib Test

2007-06-04T21:45:00.000-07:00

It didn't take long.

Got some new pics

Also got some bad news. When I finally get the new medical report it's not a full medical, just a re-do of the previous one. And the news is that her Hep C numbers did not go down. She has Hep C. Any one out there with it?Any one out there adopt a child with it? I will not turn her away because of it. I just want to know it will be ok.

Welcome to my Crib

2007-05-24T23:38:00.000-07:00

I know it's not much, but compared to those cold metal cribs with no mattresses in the orphanage, it's a palace. And I'm absolutely positive that the cats won't sleep under it, in it, or play with the tulle.

And this is where my little princess will rest her head. Well, at least for the next year or so

Small house, small crib. It's all about saving space around here. And the fact that it only cost 35.00 on Craigslist didn't hurt.

And in other adotion related news, I spoke to M, the Vietnam program director at our agency Tuesday in the hopes of speeding up getting Em's medicals.
Wesnesday we get an email saying she quit. Just like that. "Not returning to her duties". When hiring these people they should first make sure they are made of the same stuff we PAP's are.

So who knows what will happen now. Delays no doubt while the new person figures out what the hell is going on.

At least I got the new set of fingerprinting out of the way.

Travel Pack

2007-05-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

Well I still don't have Emlyn's medical report yet, so I still haven't signed a letter of commitment. I guess as of right now she still doesn't feel like mine. Maybe that's why I havn't really allowed myself to FEEL like she's mine. I'm afraid at this point they could still come back and say, sorry, made a mistake, she belongs to someone else.

I did come home to a DHL pack though. Contains my checklists, paperwork, costs for travel, visa applications and stuff like that.
Of course half the papers it says are supposed to be there are not. Typical. But I least I know they haven't forgotton me. At least not as of Friday.

Rain Rain Go Away

2007-05-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

All day, nothing but rain. So it looks like the crib will have to wait. At least it's light until late so maybe during the week I can get it done. In the mean time I guess I will start working on the curtains. And if those bruises on her forhead are any indication then I think I will make a crib bumper as well ;)

Projects

2007-05-20T00:47:00.000-07:00

I think you've seen at least one pic from each set so the rest are all going to be similar to the ones already posted. Yeah I know, you can really see the bruises on her head in this one.

Finally got the second coat of paint on the third of the kitchen I'm working on. All that's left is the trim, window, the door that is made up of lots of little panes of glass and the ceiling. Oy Vey!

But I got the skirt for the crib finished. If tomorrow is rain free, a rare but possible happening in Seattle on a weekend, then I will attempt to paint the crib and by nightfall I should be able to put the whole thing together and take a picture for y'all.

Contacting Me

2007-05-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry about not posting yesterday but blogger seemed to be having some problems.
If anyone wants to contact me I have added my e-mail to the "view my complete profile' link on the right.

I know I know

2007-05-16T22:13:00.000-07:00

I'm being a tease. I got about a dozen pictures. But what's the fun in releasing them all at once.

I got the letter from homeland security today with an appointment date to have my fingerprints redone. At least in doesn't look like I will have to re-do my I-171H,that doesn't expire until November.

Now all I need to do is fire my boss and find a decent job much closer to home, find a couple more thousand dollars, track down a Vietnamese daycare and we're good.

Hi

2007-05-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

It's nice to have something to blog about finally.

Ryan and Heather, I don't have an e-mail address for you, but yes, you may.

Well...

2007-05-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

I didn't post a whole lot yesterday because I think I was in shock. 7 years to mommyhood, over two years in adoption world, and 14 months to date on this adoption. I still don't believe it. As a result I am oddly un-emotional and detached. I know this is normal and that at some time it will click but I am really dissapointed that I didn't get that bounce off the walls, can't sleep, can't breath thing some people get. Know what I mean Jo? Anyway, she's at Tam Binh Nourishing Center in Ho Chi Minh City, other wise known as the orphanage Angelina adopted from. That is truly all I know at the moment. I don't have a full medical or anything yet so as soon as that arrives I will pass along anything I can actually read. Bad copies in Vietnamese ya know. In the meantime here's a couple more pics.

My Daughter!

2007-05-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

Miss Emlyn Ngan Thuy Miller

Born October 14, 2006