Dear Fellow American...

Well, the girls are officially US citizens. They have both received their Certificate of Citizenship from the US govt. This is a big step for us because living overseas has made this a little trickier, but we are done! Yay!

The girls had their second round of immunizations last Friday. They handle the shots really well, so let's hope that continues. Audrey, as I had expected lost about half a pound and hadn't grown, but Quynh had gained about a pound and had grown an inch.

Audrey -- 17.5 lbs, 27.25 inches
Quynh -- 15.2 lbs, 26.2 inches

Overall, they are doing really well. Quynh's cold has finally gone away and Audrey is gaining a lot more coordination. Both are jabbering the days away too. Nothing really understandable, but a lot to be said.

The news of the day is that both girls are now drinking juice and water out of a bottle w/handles all on their own. They love it and I have to say it is a huge help while I am in the car driving! Next stop is sippy cups I guess. As for eating, they chow down on food. And they love the biter biscuits (as do the dogs when the biscuit drops to the ground). We have been making a lot more homemade baby food lately, which has been interesting and fun. They seem to really like it.


More soon!

We have arrived!

We are here...after a LONG trip home, we have made it. It was rough for the girls, they were fine on the long flight, but the last leg from LA to Houston was too much. They had had enough. Quynh slept ALL day today and Audrey for most of the day. I am sure they will be ready to go about 10p tonight, but I am just as jet-lagged so not a big deal.

Everything else is good. Grandparents are spoiling them. Audrey LOVES my oldest brother (and he seems to like her too)! Quynh hasn't really opened up to all the new people yet. She is following me around the room though, which is a plus on the attachment front. Audrey is fine with just about anyone holding her. She loves to be held. Overall, they seem to be doing ok, but a little uncertain about meeting all the new people and my parent's pooch, who thinks they are about the scariest things ever.

More soon!

Good Night Vietnam

Well, we have visas in hand and we are D-O-N-E, done. Wit got into Hanoi this morning and I spent the most part of the day packing up. We had to run by the Cathay office to get tickets and then we met with our agency rep one last time to go over all the paperwork and double-check the visas. Everything looks good.

We leave the hotel around 8:30a Hanoi time and will be arriving in Houston around 6a on Sunday. My mom is meeting me in Hong Kong to fly the long legs of the trip, so that is a great thing! The girls have no idea what is coming, but doing well otherwise. They were both really happy to see Wit and just smiled and smiled at him. He is such a good dad already -- he even lets them play with his Blackberry. :-) I secretly hope they destroy the damn thing, maybe a little more drool would do the trick.

Next update will be from Texas. Good night!

Getting closer!

We have been approved by USCIS and have our visa interview Thursday at 2p. We have known we were approved since Monday, but because we live overseas, we have been trying to sort out which visa to enter the US with. We have chosen a path and we will see where that takes us. The most important thing is the ability to get US passports while in the States to re-enter Hong Kong. So, that is the goal.

If all goes well with visa issuance, we should be out of here Friday night (Hanoi time) and in Houston by 6am Saturday. 3.5 weeks in Hanoi!! It's going to be a long haul, but we will get there some way or another. For those of you wondering, Wit is going to see me to LA and then turnaround on the next flight back to HK. What a great dad!!

I will be in Texas for a week or maybe two visiting family and getting passports and then we are off again to see Wit's parents before heading back to Hong Kong.
~~~~~~~
As for the girls...they are doing well. We had a great day today. Audrey is finally playing a bit on her own and didn't need me to hold her every second of the day. We'll see how that goes tomorrow. Quynh actually took a 1-hour nap instead of her 30-minute regulars and boy, did she wake up a happy girl!

As for night sleep, I guess bad habits are hard to break. I am going to ride out whatever sleep patterns they have right now until I get back to HK and then we will start the intervention!

Audrey did go swimming the other day too...it was about the same as Quynh's experience. Pretty flat -- no thrills, no cries, just neutral. Baths are getting a bit better though. I will post a few new pics tonight.

Life with Two

It's almost 8pm and (gasp!) I am about to watch a movie. Today was pretty uneventful. I had to run some errands and get some food for the girls who are chowing down on baby food. Also had to get some more diapers -- you have no idea how many diapers we go through in a day (well, Jenn knows!). No news from the Embassy yet, so we wait into next week it seems. The girls are doing good, we are up to 3 meals a day and loving every last bite. Audrey wasn't too keen on apples and bananas, but loved the pears. Quynh only takes 30 minute naps, so she can get pretty crabby around bedtime. Bedtime is still around 6:30ish and they are still waking at 1a and 5a. It seems to be a pattern that I can live with for a while. Other than that, everything is going well. They are handling the baths a lot better now, not so petrified of being in water, but not quite sure they like it either.

Wit is feeling better, so that is good news.

Medicals & Passports

Today I picked up their VN passport, which was quick and easy.

This afternoon, we had our medical evaluations. Everything went really well. Quynh is 13 lbs and Audrey is 16 lbs. Audrey is 2 cm longer than Quynh, but Quynh's head is slightly bigger than Audrey's. Both had clear lungs, regular heartbeats and no temps. All in all, it was quick and painless and they were great.

We are now officially done with all other stuff and just waiting on our call from the Embassy.

As for tonight, they don't do well after long days. Plus I woke both of them up from a nap for their medical visits. We did introduce baby food instead of cereal tonight and it was a HUGE hit. It might have stained everything all of us had on, but oh well - more went in than not. It was Hipp Vegetables with Rice, didn't smell too bad either. They drained an entire jar between the two of them and it was a bigger jar than normal baby food jars!

Tongues!

Quynh has full on figured out that she has a tongue. She sticks it out constantly. I finally got a good pic of it and have added it. Audrey laughs at us when we stick out our tongues, but hasn't quite gotten the hang of sticking hers all the way out.

Not much new, we are picking up passports and going for the medicals tomorrow. Will let you know exact weights tomorrow evening.

Tips on Travel

Since I have been getting this question a lot, here's what I either brought with me and was thankful, or forgot and had to find.

hope it helps some of you on your way...

1. Bottle nipples -- glad I brought a selection. It took about 4 different nipples for Quynh to settle in on one she liked. Bottles -- Q likes the ventaire and A likes nuk, so who knows.

2. Infant Tylenol Cold/Cough -- Quynh had a cough that this cleared right up. I brought some, so haven't looked to see if you can find it hear. (In Hong Kong, the brand is Panadol, so maybe look for that.)

3. There is plenty of baby bath stuff here, don't waste space to bring it.

4. Spoons -- I didn't bring these and had to find them, so might be worth it to throw a couple in, especially if your child is around that age.

5. Formula -- the formula our girls was on was very grainy and smelly. We switched to Enfamil with Iron and have had no problems. There are plenty of selections to choose from, just may not be what you can get in the States.

6. Our girls became extremely constipated when we brought them home. So much so that we had to find infant suppositories, which was interesting. We did find them and they helped tremendously, but you may want to bring a couple just in case.

7. Diapers are just ok. The brand that is the best I have found and not so plastic-y are the Bobby Soft (teal green package). You can bring your own and they will be better, but you can get by on what's available here.

8. Big C is a wal-mart type store that we bought a lot of supplies from. Most taxi drivers no it by name, just make sure you ask them to wait for you. Ours waited for about 45 minutes and it was about $3 extra.

9. I brought way too many clothes for the girls. I found that with the heat, you might as well keep them in cool, cotton stuff. Save the cutesy outfits for home. You need to have them covered when you go out too, and most of my outfits don't cover appropriately. :-)

10. I have had sitters come and stay with my girls while I run errands. If any of you need one, please email me. We have a couple that are WONDERFUL! Would love to give you their numbers.

11. Hanoi is HOT in these months. I am accustomed to hot from living in Hong Kong, but be prepared for HOT and HUMIDITY! I can't stress this enough. Bring comfortable shoes, and clothes that can be washed and dried easily. Meaning, if it is thrown in the dryer, you don't mind. I brought all bermuda shorts and tees. I wore capris and ballet flats to the G&R.

12. Might be good to bring hand fans or those little battery operated ones. They will come in handy when you are sitting outside at restaurants and stuff.

13. A friend recommended that we do a bleach water dip after washing the bottles to help with diarrhea. We haven't had a diarrhea problem yet.

14. Shopping -- clothes are really cute here, so save room and buy some outfits.

15. Bjorns -- it is the only way we get around, but they are hot, so be prepared.

16. We are staying at Somerset Grand, which has been spectacular. There is a grocery store on the ground floor that has been very helpful and easy.

17. ATMs seem to only dispense VND 1,750,000 at a time, but you can use your card a few times. I seem to be using more Dong than Dollars, but always good to have cash.

18. If any of you are bag ladies, make sure to go to Ipanima or Tina Sparkle (sister of Ipanima) for some funky totes.

19. Lan Ong street is baby street, where you can find everything you need for supplies. Just walk around the area and you will find a ton of stuff. it's in the Old Quarter.

20. Toys -- throw some in, as well as teethers. They have been a big hit.

21. Teething gel has been a good thing too.

Update

Just posted a few new pics. Things are going considerably better now that we have started cereal. They are eating chicken/soya, vegetables, red rice, and rice cereal so far. Last night was the first "successful" night where we slept longer than 2-3 hour periods. They actually slept for about 8 hours last night and only woke up once for a diaper change.

Wit leaves today (Sunday) to head back to Hong Kong, again. He started feeling terrible last night and seems to have a bad cold, so probably better that he is leaving. I just hope he doesn't leave all of us ill!

We had our 1st visa interview on Friday and all went well. We were asked basic questions about job, home, Hong Kong, etc. We were told nothing about timing, so don't know when we start the "around the world" tour.

We've been venturing out to restaurants more and more. With two babies, we welcome any waitress who wants to hold our babies. However, they always give Audrey back because she is HEAVY! Our guesstimates were acurate. We sort of weighed them and decided Audrey was about 17 lbs and Quynh is about 13 lbs.

We pick up passports and have our medical evaluations on Wednesday and then we wait for the final interview. Hoping it is Thursday, but not banking on it.

We have 2 babies!!

That's right, Monday afternoon, we had our ceremony. Three long hours in a hot room with 2 babes to manage was definitely an interesting experience, to say the least! I'll post more about it when I have time.

We had one minor setback, but doesn't seem to be severe. Wit had to fly back to Hanoi today to go sign the books. They didn't like the Power of Attorney we had done and it was just easier to have Wit fly back. I am definitely thankful!

We had a good first night, despite getting back at 10:30pm. I think I slept less than everyone. Audrey is a dreamer and she flails. She kept whacking Quynh and waking her up, so I had to separate them from the same crib. So, Audrey slept in my bed. Not sure what we are going to do tonight since Wit will be here.

Quynh is the mover and shaker. She is scooting across the room. She so wants to crawl, but can't quite figure it out. Audrey likes to sleep. She throws her arms back and spreads her legs and is out cold. Neither one are eating very much at all, but that is expected. I will post some pics soon.

New Pics

We visited the orphanage again yesterday. This time the girls were brought out to us, which was much cooler and gave us a little more room. We got to hang out for about 1.5 hours which was fun. They seem to be doing well. We managed to get a few smiles, but mostly stares and curious looks. I have posted the pics, so take a look.

Wit leaves today to head back to Hong Kong, so I will be flying solo until Friday. Neither one of us are thrilled about it, but because we have to fly back to the States before entering HK, we think it will be better if he is with me during that portion of the trip. Plus, he hasn't been back to the States in a year, so it is time!

Good & Not so Good

Not so good is no news on the ceremony. Now, we wait for Monday.

Good is that we are going back out to the orphanage tomorrow to spend some more time with the girls. We are up early to hopefully avoid some of the heat, so I will post more pics when we return.

No one said this was going to be easy.

Still Waiting

We are still waiting for our ceremony. We found out yesterday that their are 6 families with another agency (same province) who have been waiting for 10 days for their day. We are trying to get grouped with them, but who knows if that will happen or if it is even possible. Will keep trying.

Bittersweet

We woke up this morning thinking today was the day and today became the day...sort of. We saw our baby girls for the first time and got to hold and cuddle and snuggle and coo and kiss and everything else, but it seems that the suspense hasn't ended. Our ceremony wasn't today. We are hopeful for tomorrow. While being a very disappointing day from not reaching a conclusion, we did get to finally meet our two girls. And, they were everything we wanted and MORE!

The orphanage is situated about 2.5 hours outside of Hanoi in an agricultural community. When we arrived, the front of the orphanage was a "smoke salon" where people can come and get their hair washed/cut, smoke cigs, and get coffee. The orphanage is for disabled people as well. The front was ran by deaf girls. It was great fun for me to sign mine and Wit's name to them and meet them through signing. They very much enjoyed feeling a part of "our" world. In the rear is a dorm room sized building that contained 20-25 babies all <6 months old. It was both a wonderful sight and a sad sight, which left us fixed with many different emotions. The caretakers truly loved each child. They were wonderfully loving and provided the best care they can for all the babies. It was HOT. Let me say that again. It was HOT in the room. Luckily, the babies weren't bundled up, but in tees and pants, no socks and no hats. They were sweating. The caretakers were fanning away to keep them cool, flies away and beetles the size of my fist fell from the ceiling!!

Being at the orphanage brought a HUGE mix of emotions. We were terribly thrilled, but also saddened given that these babies were in need. It was way too quiet to be among 25 babies, there were no cries for 1.5 hours. The caretakers were 4 of the most caring, loving women I could have ever hoped for. At one point, she asked for Quynh back because she was hating to see her taken away from her. This made me happy. I totally respect her feelings and am very thankful for them. Our babies were well cared for.

We are hopeful for tomorrow. Not worried about it happening, just wondering when it will finally happen!

I am posting some pics in the Photo Album soon. Click on the link on the right hand side. It is password protected. If I haven't given you the password, give me a shout and I will send it, just don't want to share with the "entire" world.

More soon. B&W

Hello Hanoi!

We've both arrived and just had a short meeting with our agency's facilitator. We don't know for certain what time our ceremony will be, but we do know for certain that we get to see our girls tomorrow!! We are making a trip to the orphanage tomorrow around noon and hopefully will have our ceremony that afternoon, otherwise on Thursday.

I will post pictures when we return.

We had a great Vietnamese dinner tonight. Mai, if you are reading, we went to the same outdoor place you and I went to, and surprisingly I remembered all the yummy things you ordered. Tomorrow is definitely pho.

Have a good night/day.

Packing Frenzy!

Well, I have entered the packing frenzy! I leave tomorrow morning at 9am and will be in Hanoi at 10am (Hanoi time), Wit arrives at 4pm. I have all day Tuesday to get a stroller, formula, and whatever else I need before our ceremony on Wednesday.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT IS FINALLY HERE!!! (well, I can, but I can't believe it is for real this time)

As the plan stands now, Wit will be doing a back and forth exercise from HK to Hanoi and then we are off to the States to get US passports to enter HK and see both families, who are very excited as well.

Next post will be from VN.

No More Delays!!

Our ceremony has been confirmed for the 23rd!!! Finally, I feel comfortable saying that we don't expect any more delays. Now, we have to get ready...again!

Can't wait to update you from Vietnam!

Certainties

Apparently there are 3 certainties in life right now: death, taxes, and DELAYS!

Yes, we are delayed.
Yes, it sucks.

No, we aren't going to kill each other and make death, taxes, and delays happen all in the same week.
No, we aren't that surprised. Our agency has been very good at explaining the circumstances.
No, we aren't giving up.

It looks like the ceremony will now be in May, perhaps towards the end of May.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Q&A - Welcome to Hong Kong & the HK Sevens!

After giving my husband the third degree for wanting money that I assumed was going to some shitty piece of sports paraphernalia, he went and surprised me with a great keepsake for the girls. These photos were taken at the 2007 Hong Kong Sevens Rugby Tourney. What a great guy!!!

Back on the Books

New ceremony date of April 2, so we will travel there on April 1 and see where we go from there. It seems to be pretty set this time around. More soon!