Beautiful baby after her bath

Waiting for that elusive Visa

Unfortunately the US embassy here has slowed to almost a dead stop. I had hoped to have the baby's visa and be on the way home this weekend. The embassy has major delays and backlog. The best we can hope for now is Tuesday at the earliest. I have been keeping busy with the other families. We rented a van on Wed and went to the pottery village. Today we saw the Water Puppet Show. Tomorrow we will travel back to the silk village with the March 25 PLAN adoption group- I don't need any more silk, but we want to socialize with the newer families. We plan to rent a van on Sunday and go out to a National park approx 60km from the city. Hopefully Monday we will get called for our Visa appointment. It is taking approx 15 minutes everytime I post a picture. So I am going to post these messages and post the pictures when I have some free time this weekend.

Streets of Hanoi

Here are some pictures of the daily street life in Hanoi-flower market, outdoor restaurant, meat market, etc. Hanoi is a mix of the old and new.

My crazed shopping spree-Don't tell Ed!

Monday Liana and I walked arond the lake in the morning, went to lunch with Emma and her Mommy Maureen, and went for her Visa physical in the morning. She is 20lbs! 50% for head circumference, 70% for weight, and only 20% for height. Needless to say her weight to height ratio is off the charts- with her little Buddah belly!
Tuesday I went on a crazy shopping spree- a bunch of silk clothes for me. The shop keepers laugh when I ask them if they have something in a big size. If they don't have your size, they will custom make it for you in 24 hours. I am unfortunately a XXL here where I am a medium in the US. We will cut those tags out when we get home!! I also bought some great little wooden toys for John, silk lanterns for the kids' rooms, teeshirts, and hand embroidered tablecloths. Liana and I went out to dinner with another family from Oregon whom I love. The food was great, but the weather is in the 90's and this place had no AC. It was hot.

Liana's first "Girl's Night"

Ed flew out last night and Liana and Mommy had their first girl's night together. We played, gave her a bath, and both fell asleep at 8:30. She woke at 1 and 4 to eat but went right back to sleep in 10 minutes. It took me a lot longer to get back to sleep. We both got up at 7 had breakfast and went for a walk with the stroller. It isn't too bad using the stroller if you go out early enough. I got a little lost coming back, but we found some new cool shops to check out. The hotel staff offer to babysit all the time. I may take them up on it for a few hours tomorrow because I would like to clothes shop for myself. We had a little playtime with 8 month old Emma down the hall and then Liana took a nap. We will go to lunch when she wakes up and then to the clinic for the phsical for her visa.

Family matters

Liana has finally begun to bond with Ed. Of course he is leaving tonight so he may need to start over again when we return home. Liana is laughing, doing lots of crusing- she is just about ready for her first steps. She is imitating giving kisses and clapping her hands. She slept great last night- waking at 1:30 to eat, then back to sleep until 6:30AM. She did bang her head on the floor, but seems to have a very hard head- no bruise and only a few minutes of crying.
Things are not as good at home. My parents are watching John and my Dad got sick and had to go to the hospital. The cable appears to be out and my 3 year old wants to watch TV! Daddy will be home in less than 40 hours and can give my mom a well deserved break after she took such good care of our little monster.
I am a little apprehensive that I will be here with Liana on my own. She is fine to take care of, but very heavy and there is no place to put her down once you leave the hotel room. My arms and back get very sore. I am becoming an expert at eating with 1 hand and juggling squrmy baby with the other.

Saturday trip to the Silk Village

The families took a trip to the Silk Village today to shop. Afterwards we hac a very nice dinner with Cherie (PLAN family liason), her son Brian, and Cong (PLAN driver). It was a multiple course meal. Everything was absolutely delicious. We got back and I finished up our shopping so that Ed can bring all our purchases back with him when he leaves. We got a few pieces of artwork, several pretty cotton hand embroidered dresses in different sizes for Liana, a dragon puppet for John, a laquered platter, silk scarves, an embroidered handbag, and a stone painted statue of a Vietnamese girl in traditional pose for Liana's room. We need to pick up some tee shirts today and we will be done. Believe it or not, I am a lightweight shopper compared to the other families here who seem to have bought alot more than me.
We had great homemade pasta for dinner.

Embassy appointment

WE walked around the lake on Friday morning, then the families had their first embassy appointment on Friday afternoon. It went very well. We were given the indication that it would take 3-5 business days to process our case for the next appointment. We were also warned that they would be doing a full investigation and "things can take much longer if any issues are found". I don't expect there to be any problems. The PLAN staff here does their job well. That evening 4 of the 5 families went out to dinner to a Spanish restauarnt (not as good as Tapeo, but I still had some great paella). It was pure chaos with one baby always needing to be walked, soothed, or changed.

Hanoi pictures

Wednesday and Thursday

Things have been a little crazy. We are a little sleep deprived. Liana has totally bonded to Mommy but wakes up scared and confused a few times during the night and wants to be held and soothed. On Wed she wanted nothing to do with Ed and would cry when he held her, but that is getting better. She scratches herself until she bleeds if she is upset, so we are giving into her demands for now until she feels more at home with us.
We have only had half days to walk around Hanoi as Wed afternoon we had to do our immigration paperwork and Thursday afternoon we had to get her passport. We went out to dinner with another family on Wed night and Thursday we went to a vegetarian indian restaurant. You go into what looks like an abandoned building, down this long alley, and up 3 flights of stairs. All the while thinking- "where are we going?" and you end up in a really nice restaurant with great food! We walked around the lake on Wed and did some shopping on Thursday- I bought the most adorable cotton, hand embroidered dresses for Liana- 3 different dresses in 3 different sizes for her to grow into.
One of the mothers from another family had to go to the hospital for IV today and 2 of the babies are sick. We had a "playdate" with 2 other babies in the hotel this morning while it was raining. Liana is 2 months older than they are- she was quick to crawl over to see what kind of toy they each had that they might want to "share".
We have our first of 2 embassty appointments tomorrow and Ed leaves on Sunday. what I wouldn't give for a high chair, bouncy seat, or ANYTHING to hold the baby after he is gone! I need to catch up on sleep before he goes or I am in big trouble.

Mommy getting Liana at orphanage

A few people have asked me to post a picture of me with the baby. Here is me after we just received her at the orphanage.

Pictures of Hanoi to come later this week!

YEAH! We just heard as I was loading this- first embassy appointment is on Friday at 1:30!!

Liana is legally ours!!

Tuesday was a crazy day! I wasn't able to get on line as the internet was down most of the day after a 5 minute power failure. Even worse, the streetlights have been out all day while 80% of the people don't seem to obey them, it is harder than usual to cross a street here!
Ed had to apply for her passport this morning. All the fathers went. After all the paperwork was submitted, they were told they will be ready on Tuesday. ED mentioned to the PLAN rep that he would not be here on Tuesday and I would have to pick it up. She got a look of panic on her face. There was another family in the same situation. We then had to fill out a lot more paperwork to expedite the passport so that Ed could get it before he leaves. After that, we had a quick lunch, Liana and I took a nap, and then we had to get ready for the Giving and Receiving ceremony. 4 of the 5 families went. 1 family had their G&R postponed until Thursday. We all sat around a large conference table. The judge came in and spoke about making sure the children did not forget their Vietnamese heritage and stressing our yearly progress reports on the children were sent in. She left. We signed a bunch of docs and a huge log book and were given the babies' birth certificates. We all had a chance to pose for a family picture and then we presented gifts. We gave out bottles of wine that we bought here. And that was it. The orphange director was there. She held each of the babaies at one time during the ceremony and was crying when she said goodbye to them.
We were getting the babies back into their jackets and hats. Liana decided to struggle, banged her head very loudly on the big wood table, and started to howl. I was so embarrased after I had just told the orphanage director that I would take such good care of her! At least it was too late for them to take her back!
We got back, went out to dinner with another family and went to bed by 9. She was up at 12 and 5 for quick bottles and slept until 7. We are now waiting to find out when our first embassy appointment will be.

The first night

Liana has been great. She fell asleep at 5pm and we ordered in pizza for dinner. We thought we were in big trouble for the night. She woke at 11 for a bottle and 3 for a bowel movement but went right back to sleep each time. The babies all drink formula and eat this porrige called Congee or Chow. It tastes like it is chicken broth based and the rice is cooked in it until it is mush. They sometimes add pork or chicken but Liana had problems chewing and swallowing the tiny hunks of meat. She wanted nothing to do with regular rice cereal like we would use at home and spit it all out! She is babbling, crawling, pulling herself up to standing, and cruising (walking while holding onto furniture. She has tried several times to take that first step, but falls down each time. She wants mommy to hold her all the time and my arms are getting sore! She is a heavy baby. The hostesses at all the restaurants grab her from me and hold her while I eat. She seems to be getting preferential treatment- whenever we are with another family, they always take Liana over the other baby- maybe I just look tired! Two of the other families have nurses or PLAN staff watching their babies at night- 1 has been very fussy and the other family adopted 2 little ones.

Gotcha day part 2

The nannies handed us our babies. We spent some time cuddling and getting to know them. Our little one had an immediate fascination for Ed until she got to play with her toy fish that we brought (daddy isn't nearly as fun as a fish). She was very serious, but not at all afraid or upset about being handed to us- all the babies had no problems going to their new parents. One of the nannies changed her picking a dress over the option of overalls. They were fascinated by the stockings that i had brought and loved her little booty shoes. While I fed her a bottle, Ed took pictures. She played for awhile then fell asleep in my arms. After more time with the nannies- communication is with signs and signals as they know very little english- we got in the van to head back. We got back to Hanoi. We were starving and went for a quick lunch where the hostess held and played with the baby while we ate. We gave her a bath later. She is the only chubby Vietnamese person I have ever seen- she looks like a little buddah with a big belly and fat little legs. Not what I would have expected from a child who has been in an orphange for 10 months (though we did find out that she was in foster care for 3 months when she was younger). She has a bad skin rash. After discussions with the PLAN staff, we decided to treat her with scabies meds just to be on the safe side. We also bathed her with a special soap they gave us here that helps rashes. After bath she decided that only mommy could hold her (daddy is on the outs already) She passed out at 5pm and is so exhausted we cannot wake her up. We are in big trouble tonight!

Also, the name debate is back on. We both kept calling her Anna Banana so we may make her name Anna instead of Liana. We will decide tomorrow. Tomorrow morning Ed will apply for her passport and the Giving and Receiving Ceremony where the Vietnamese Government officially signs off on the adoption is tomorrow.

The staff from PLAN that are here in Vietnam are amazing and working their buts off. Also, the nannies who care for the children at the orphanage love them very much and while happy to see the children get good homes, are very sad to0 see them go.

Gotcha Day part 1

This morning Dr Hong brought 2 of the babies to the hotel. One had been in an orphanage and one in foster care. The baby from foster care was younger than the others today and was not happy about her change of scenery. It took Dr Hong awhile to help the parents get her settled. The families that arrived last night had not gotten their luggage yet, so we lent them what they needed for immediate use. We ended up leaving for the orphanage an hour late (approx 10:15AM) with the other 2 families. It takes around 90 minutes to get to Bavi. Lots of rice paddies, oxen, etc on the way there. When we got to the orphanage there were approx 12 caretakers there. The older children were not there as they were at school. The babies are in 4 small rooms, approx 10 babies to a room, 2 or 3 to a crib.

Instructions for tomorrow to get Liana

We got our info for tomorrow. There are 5 families (3 of us are here already). We will be going with the Speros and the Humphreys tomorrow at 9AM to get our babies. It is approx a 4 hour outing. The Aime's baby is at a different orphanage. Their baby will be brought to the hotel tomorrow morning and they will visit the orphanage later. The Merchant's baby is in foster care and will also be brought to the hotel. Cherie was here earlier (PLAN family liason). She said that while the BaVi babies are well fed, they all have rashes. I'll let the rest of the PLAN folks with babies at Bavi know what Cherie diagnoses so you can make sure you bring the meds.
We had a great lunch at the Kiti- spring rolls, fried rice, ginger chicken. We had italian at Pane e vino for dinner- just pasta as we needed a change in diet- stomach is a little gurgly after the change in diet and lack of sleep.
We got a Sim card for the cell phone and are waiting for it to ring so we can talk to John. I found an embroidered bag and a present for my parents (can't tell-it's a surprise)that I want to go back and buy later this week. We have also started looking for a piece of artwork-we always buy a piece of art from each country we visit- not sure what we want to get yet.

The G&R ceremonies for all 5 families are not until Tuesday (where we do the official paperwork to adopt). I am not sure whether to bring the fancy dress I brought to the orphanage to make the nannies happy or to wait until the G&R. I actually have 2 nice dresses, but I'm not sure that I want to dress her all up just for a 2 hour bumpy van ride back to Hanoi.

Hotel in Hanoi

We are both still exhausted this morning it is raining like crazy, so not a great picture day. The shops look great- I wish I wasn't too tired to spend money. We bought a bunch of groceries for $8 and then I bought a cut up pineapple for approx $0.65 without negotiating- the woman was psyched as she probably normally gets $0.10 for it. After I started eating it (it is delicious) Ed told me I prbably shouldn't have bought it from a street vendor as her knife was probably not too clean! Of course he started to brush his teeth with tap water this morning since he was still tired. Let's see if we are both sick in 2 days!

Speaking of sick, our little boy is home with nana and pop-pop with a fever. Take good care of him for us, Nana! I have attached pictures of our hotel room, the outside of the hotel, and me traveling. We expect to get Liana tomorrow and will get good pictures of the city when the weather gets better.

We Have Arrived!

Just a quick message to let everyone know that we are here. We got lucky getting out of Boston Friday morning- the 2 flights to JFK before ours were cancelled and the 5 after ours were also cancelled. We lucked out that ours was the only one to make it out. Once we reached JFK, we had to slog through ice puddles to switch terminals and get the baggage check for our bags redone- the woman in Boston only checked them to Bangkok and they needed to go all the way to Hanoi.
Thai Air is great. We had great bulk head seats with 4-5 feet of leg room (thanks Todd- our travel agent). We had 3 dinners served- all great, but very spicy! For other PLAN families flying Thai Air, if you don't eat spicy, bring food.
We were 28 hours door to door-immigration in Hanoi took longer than I thought it would. And we will talk about the drving in Hanoi another time- I was pretty entertained and it definitely woke us up.
We are off the sleep- Ed slept 5 hours on the plane and I slept 2!

Packed and ready to go!

This morning I looked at the huge pile of stuff I had generated to pack and decided that I needed to reconsider every item. I cut it way down. We have 1 large suitcase for Liana and I, 1 medium size for Ed and the umbrella stroller and 1 duffle bag for all the gifts/disposables that we hope not to return with (we will use this for any purchases we plan to bring home). We do have a huge pile of electronics-laptop, videocamera, 2 cameras, cell phones, chargers for everything, converters and adapters. This stuff will be in the carry on along with the zillion books I packed to read!

The great name debate

For those of you who have not been in on the saga, there has been a great name debate here at home on what to name the baby. I chose Liana and Ed chose Anna (or Anna Banana as he liked to call her). Our son then decided since his best buddy Abby had a baby sister named Isabella, that baby sisters needed to be named Isabella. We have decided to call her Liana Isabella, but have come to think of her as LIA (note the caps for all 3 names). Yes, I know you will all chuckle when you see that she is getting the name I chose, but Ed named our son and he said I should get to name our daughter. Our son has said he will still call her Isabella no matter what her name is. As long as they get along I can live with that!

Setting up a blog???

Where is my husband the computer expert when I'm trying to set up a blog? Testing 1, 2 ,3. I just want to make sure that I can post pictures and stories before I give out this site address. Let's see if this works!