tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88521983682076376362011-08-01T09:39:50.691-07:00This blog is about my journey to become a mom which led me to a little boy named Nguyen Xuan Hai (aka "Hai"). I am writing this so you can all join me on that journey and share in all the ups and downs of bringing him home, but probably not the sleepless nights...Melissanoreply@blogger.comBlogger1191100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-47726512349002603352009-06-24T12:00:00.001-07:002009-06-24T12:02:42.131-07:00

Hai got to meet "Lou Seal" the Giants' mascot. That was clearly the highlight. I'm not sure he actually knew there were players on the diamond. I enjoyed my beer and hotdog, of course :-)Love all - Melissa

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-83377536839646416142009-05-26T08:05:00.001-07:002009-05-26T08:05:33.003-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-31697213423232853882009-04-14T07:56:00.000-07:002009-04-14T07:58:28.004-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-22458417611589317102009-03-16T10:44:00.000-07:002009-03-16T10:44:33.465-07:00

Hi all -Yesterday we went to the Mountain View Farmer's market and Hai got an Elmo balloon - after trying to take the money from the balloon guy while we waited, the balloon man produced a complete Elmo for Hai without making him wait in the line of 4 little girls all wanting princess balloons. Mom ended up carrying the balloon later in the day... of course.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-89952846776930286262009-03-09T09:41:00.000-07:002009-03-09T09:41:57.971-07:00

Lila came to visit last Friday night. We had a great time eating pizza and hanging out. Hai has been saying "Lila, Lila, Lila!" ever since. When we come home to our parking lot he says "hi, Lila", "bye, Lila" (that's where he saw her first and said his last goodbyes). When he looks at the shells in the bathroom or sees the flowers Lila clipped in our house he points at them and says "Lila,

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-28127677169719751342009-02-27T07:47:00.000-08:002009-02-27T07:52:38.109-08:00

Last night we had a major milestone. Hai went pee pee in the toilet for the first time! He had just had his bath and he asked to put the kid's seat on the toilet. He got up, held mom's hands and then.... there it was! My little boy isn't a baby any more.I think we probably have Christina to thank for Hai being such an early learner - he seems to follow her into the bathroom several times a

Melissanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-42975009981139070722009-02-04T11:33:00.000-08:002009-02-04T18:49:08.133-08:00

Saturday we went to "Lemos Farm" with Maria and Christina - this is our family photo as we rode the train. Hai had a great time playing with all the toys and running around feeding the goats. Christina particularly liked the pony rides!

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-9009755756772396602009-01-14T10:57:00.000-08:002009-01-14T10:57:39.710-08:00

Last night we got to see Auntie Lila, and Nabeel and Asha. Hai was being quite the ham with Lila and showing his funny faces!Love all,Melissa

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-28886832148042447292009-01-09T09:18:00.000-08:002009-01-09T09:18:35.603-08:00

Yes, we went to Chuck E. Cheese's last Sunday for Hai's birthday - #2!! We had a ball. There were about 12 or 13 kids there and parents. It was great to catch up with some folks in a place where the kids can basically run free. Oh, and Hai really got into his cake this year - but he was a little afraid of Chuck E. Can't imagine why a 2 year old would be scared by a giant rat in a baseball

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-71824197727360323562009-01-01T09:45:00.000-08:002009-01-01T09:45:29.421-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-82272312778089600482009-01-01T09:37:00.000-08:002009-01-01T09:37:12.105-08:00

Christina and Hai after our Christmas slumber party.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-34046027790567591642009-01-01T09:13:00.000-08:002009-01-01T09:21:17.776-08:00

Hi all,Happy 2009 to you! We "rang out" 2008 with a bang and a whimper... Hai and I flew back from New Mexico yesterday afternoon. Everything was going great... he fell asleep as we took off from Albuquerque and I thought "I'm home free". Next thing I knew he was awake... gagging... Yes, Hai barfed on the plane. 15min into the flight. Fun. The worst part was - NOT ONE SINGLE flight

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-12727043101963714142008-12-15T16:21:00.000-08:002008-12-15T16:25:25.856-08:00

Someone shared this quote with me today, and I thought it was so true to my personal journey that I wanted to share it with you all. Hai has certainly set me on a "mythic quest" and has also reminded me of how connected we all are. "Adoption is a metaphor for the human condition, setting us forth on a mythic quest that will prove that we are connected to each other and to all the creatures of

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-79798782976484430302008-12-12T08:32:00.000-08:002008-12-12T08:32:41.055-08:00

I love this shot. It's seldom that I am able to capture my happy kid. Cute, huh?

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-4195330257950000362008-11-26T18:05:00.000-08:002008-11-26T18:26:58.359-08:00

In the past 2 weeks Hai's gotten a clean bill of health for his ears, and his teeth. On the ears - the audiologist was finally able to actually make the equipment work and get a reading that says he can hear! And the teeth, well, Hai braved his first trip to the dentist yesterday. I don't think it was a great first impression, but at least she said his teeth look fine.But Hai continues to earn

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-19973449356038095502008-11-13T08:02:00.000-08:002008-11-13T08:15:23.874-08:00

Last night Hai tried the patience of his Tia ... I had a work dinner so I asked Hai's "tia/auntie" if she would watch Hai until about 10pm. Of course she said ok. She asked me, "so, how do you put him to sleep". My answer: "oh, he's pretty good about it, I just give him some milk (or not, even), brush his teeth and put him in the bed, read a book and then let him roll around awhile until he

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-257852871562857832008-11-03T07:57:00.000-08:002008-11-03T07:58:03.093-08:00

Happy Halloween!I believe Hai was on his 2nd or 3rd Kit Kat at this point. The Elmo hood quickly came off, but the suit stayed on all night. (Note he still has his painted toes leftover from Cabo).

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-61855671715530327822008-10-31T12:18:00.000-07:002008-10-31T12:18:49.718-07:00

Here is one of my favorite shots from Cabo. Hai went to sleep on the sunset booze cruise... mommy didn't get very much booze... :-)

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-7419344494544315852008-10-18T09:21:00.001-07:002008-10-18T09:21:18.843-07:00

_DSC0103Originally uploaded by michelebertoloneA photo from last weekend's reunion. Hai loves cake, but he loves frosting and the chocolate candy ON the cake more. :-)

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-48346788666241644382008-10-15T17:10:00.000-07:002008-10-15T17:12:51.047-07:00

This spider has been building and re-building her web right outside our sliding glass door to our deck for a couple of weeks. She's about the size of a silver dollar, and I'm sure she's harmless. But boy, is she interesting looking.I guess Hai and I have a pet after all!Melissa

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-61782028244127178862008-10-14T06:35:00.000-07:002008-10-14T06:42:38.200-07:00

The joys of your best friend being a 5 year old girl that is very into princesses. He's going to kill me for having these pictures some day... :-)

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-22212639468930121222008-10-13T10:08:00.000-07:002008-10-13T10:08:22.485-07:00

A shot from a couple of weekends ago when we were at Grandma and GrandDad's house. They got Hai this great ride-on fire truck that he loved. It will be interesting to see how much more he loves it at Christmas time when he's a bit bigger and can push it better. He's fascinated by anything he can ride on right now - anytime he sees a bicycle he wants to examine it very carefully. I suspect

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-20301434823518212382008-10-13T10:05:00.000-07:002008-10-13T10:05:53.418-07:00

On Saturday we got together with several families that have adopted from Tuyen Quang in Vietnam. This is a shot of all our kids! Yes, Christina is on the right, and of course I count her and Maria as part of our family (besides, the only way we could really get a good picture with Hai was to have Christina hold him). It was great to get together with everyone and see how much the kids have all

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-17093910886033893342008-10-08T08:11:00.001-07:002008-10-08T08:39:21.580-07:00

One year ago today Maria and I nervously walked out to the lobby of the Somerset Grand Hotel in Hanoi, boarded an incredibly crowded van full of other nervous parents, rode 4 hours through the mountains of Vietnam, avoiding water buffalo and water hazards (3 ft of water covering the road), walked up the road to the "Tuyen Quang Social Sponsorship Center", drank a huge bottle of water, and then

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-23461316977579526322008-10-07T10:42:00.000-07:002008-10-07T10:42:38.929-07:00

Just a little political statement from Hai...

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-35137397606246881052008-09-15T15:45:00.000-07:002008-09-15T15:54:29.482-07:00

A little video of Hai at Christina's birthday party. He thinks all parties are for him! Pay no attention to the bad singing in the background (it's better with the volume turned down and your iPod on).

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-39460446583113589572008-09-02T11:31:00.000-07:002008-09-02T11:32:13.015-07:00

santa cruz labor day 2008

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-80542684576594027892008-09-02T08:13:00.000-07:002008-09-02T08:33:49.857-07:00

I love how Hai just takes it easy and lets Christina do all the work... :-)

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-47711603281735891832008-08-29T08:34:00.000-07:002008-08-29T08:44:49.523-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Tina, Hai and I had a slumber party. I took this picture in the morning when I woke up. Aren't they cute? Tina was mad because I had to go to work early that morning and she was still sleeping when the nanny came and I left. She says next slumber party "no working!". I agree... :-)Love all,Melissa

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-16836907817588913912008-08-18T12:16:00.001-07:002008-08-18T12:16:53.898-07:00

Hi all,It's been a long time since my last post. I have photos and videos I need to get uploaded, but for now you'll have to settle for text-only!We got back last Tuesday from a week at the beach in San Diego. We stayed right on Mission Beach at 3773 Ocean Front Walk. It was a small, older condo with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a small kitchen and living area. The good news is that it was

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-88859716197078439112008-07-30T12:16:00.001-07:002008-07-30T12:16:24.525-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-11418045561618089662008-07-29T17:22:00.000-07:002008-07-29T17:23:27.742-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-61852474895038545372008-07-29T13:43:00.001-07:002008-07-29T13:43:28.501-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-13315561871276789352008-07-29T13:38:00.001-07:002008-07-29T13:39:23.471-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-45609570195461272842008-07-29T12:55:00.000-07:002008-07-29T12:58:18.851-07:00

We went to Monterey with Jaap this weekend. He has a friend with a beach house that we were able to use Saturday night. We had a great time and Hai truly enjoyed himself.We only had one major fall off the high chair and one hive outbreak all weekend. I hope that's not a harbinger of what our San Diego vacation will be like - otherwise I better familiarize myself with the locations of urgent

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-46439622931726814322008-07-29T12:50:00.000-07:002008-07-29T12:52:42.573-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-70178099919031553852008-07-24T10:43:00.000-07:002008-07-24T10:48:03.650-07:00

It's a medical mystery...For the last week or so, Hai has had a virus. It started with a "normal", yucky, stomach thing... and now it's gone to a break out of hives on his hands and feet every morning. it's only in the morning, and only on his hands and feet. Yes, I washed all the bedding (and in fact, I'm moving out the mattress we put in a week or so ago to see if that helps). And yes, it's

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-8488173457215642312008-07-14T08:24:00.000-07:002008-07-14T08:25:51.030-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-53067870189220538732008-07-14T08:22:00.000-07:002008-07-14T08:24:23.877-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-30259173547588264932008-07-14T08:10:00.000-07:002008-07-14T08:21:59.654-07:00

Last week we returned from 9 days with Grandma, Granddad and Uncle Keith. We had a great time and Hai enjoyed all the attention. He was great on the airplane, though he only slept 30min on the flight over. By the time we flew home, he slept half the flight - I assume because it was all old news by that point.We went to the zoo in Albuquerque and Hai got to see his first elephants, giraffes,

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-73190507600671950122008-06-22T09:00:00.000-07:002008-06-22T09:07:33.695-07:00

It's Sunday morning and it's only 75 degrees in our house at 9am. That's a far cry better than it was yesterday - 85 by the same time and over 100 in the afternoon! Hai and I hung out with Maria and Christina (we love them for lots of things, but lately it's been their a/c).I haven't posted in awhile (see the picture below for one of the reasons) :-). But right now, Teletubbies is on, so I

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-86069047075615476372008-06-21T21:41:00.000-07:002008-06-21T21:43:59.617-07:00

This is why I don't blog as often as I'd like. If I'm at the computer and Hai is around, he's fascinated and wants to type... my little computer scientist...Melissa

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-8166468618765735982008-05-29T15:04:00.001-07:002008-05-29T15:04:54.702-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-40911660928217287712008-05-29T14:40:00.000-07:002008-05-29T14:40:09.161-07:00

I took this photo this weekend and it just cracks me up... :-)

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-12113106445718085802008-05-12T13:58:00.000-07:002008-05-12T14:02:54.565-07:00

Hai and I celebrated our first Mother's Day together this weekend. It was great, we spent Saturday just hanging out in the house and playing and then went to downtown Mountain View and had Chinese food at the "Hong Kong Bistro" - a great new place that has food not to different from what we could get in HK. Hai got 2 new books for mother's day, including one that is called "sounds around the

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-80794930288715406342008-05-01T10:42:00.000-07:002008-05-01T11:05:48.446-07:00

I have been debating about posting anything on the current situation with adoptions in Vietnam. I am not involved in the process now, and so my knowledge of the situation is only what I read and what I hear from other parents or groups. I have lots of feelings, but no real data. What I have decided is that I'm disappointed and heartbroken for the children that will still be in orphanages,

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-62109489061703194412008-04-24T09:41:00.000-07:002008-04-24T09:46:19.552-07:00

Finally, we've got another tooth coming in (Hai's been stuck with 4 teeth for months now). Last night I saw another one coming in on the lower left side, and I suspect there is a matching one on the right not far behind. That probably explains why he's had some trouble sleeping and napping the past few days!I haven't posted for a while because Grandma was here last week and we were very busy.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-48161617331631439572008-04-08T08:14:00.001-07:002008-04-24T16:42:44.743-07:00

"Hi Hai"... Hai has figured out that "Hi" and "Hai" both mean "hello" and his name. So for the past 3 days he's been running around saying "hi" and "Hai". I'm not sure he knows the difference yet, but when he looks in the mirror he definitely says "Hai" -- and knows it's his name -- and when I answer the phone he says "Hi".He's also figured out some body parts - he knows his "toes", "ears", "eyes

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-70133645046147418052008-03-24T09:12:00.000-07:002008-03-24T09:18:22.034-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-54011160278995755002008-03-19T08:19:00.000-07:002008-03-20T19:46:16.791-07:00

This is what happens when Uncle Jaap babysits... :-)Hai on St. Patrick's day - his shirt says "Luck of the Irish"... since he's a McVicker now... :)

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-37205287557142179032008-03-14T16:36:00.000-07:002008-03-20T17:05:42.526-07:00

What seems like ages ago, in the Somerset Grand Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, after Hai and I had been together about 48 hours he was awake and crying from his ear infection and I was singing every song I could think of to calm him down. It was about 2am, and my brain was running on adrenaline and jet lag. There was one song that finally worked, and I've sung it to him just about every night since

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-66895652920068193922008-03-13T11:20:00.000-07:002008-03-13T13:32:10.219-07:00

OK, if you are eating, or thinking about eating, read this later, but it's too funny not to blog about...the last couple of nights with Hai have been interesting to say the least. If you're keeping up, you know I have a cold thanks to the little germ monster. thus, i've been going to sleep around the same time he does the past couple of nights - between 8 and 9pm. Well, for the past two nights

Melissanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-80879660725268056652008-03-10T08:03:00.000-07:002008-03-24T13:48:49.877-07:00

Well, last week Hai became 14 months old on March 5 (give or take a couple of weeks). We celebrated by applying for his passport and a new certificate of citizenship with his legal name on both. I figure the passport is more important than the social security number at this point... seeing as I'll probably file an extension for my taxes this year :-)And as of March 8, Hai and I have been together

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-4865023697199306892008-02-25T21:10:00.000-08:002008-02-25T21:23:50.181-08:00

When my mom was here a month or so ago I remember her saying that she was much more excited when my brother and I started to talk versus when we started to walk because she could communicate with us. (I suspect there were many times in our teenage years that she thought differently...) I can completely understand how she felt after the past few days.Hai has definitely started to understand more

Melissanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-10849084948358729302008-02-25T15:13:00.001-08:002008-02-25T15:15:12.206-08:00

This pretty much sums up Christina and Hai's relationship :-)

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-55992256661026638682008-02-05T10:34:00.000-08:002008-02-05T10:42:29.634-08:00

Here is a photo of Hai's re-adoption day. It is a true "California" family! From left to right - Beatriz, Hai's nanny, comes from California by way of El Salvador; Maria, Hai's Auntie/Tia, is a true California native (from San Diego/LA); our judge; Hai; me; and Hai's uncle Jaap, a Californian by way of Holland and a short stop in Texas. We had a great day and it was exciting for all of us - Hai

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-40976135504906382182008-01-30T08:47:00.001-08:002008-01-30T08:54:48.575-08:00

It's official - Hai is now a member of the "McVicker family with all the rights and responsibilities attached thereto". Grandma and I are trying to figure out if that means he's got to take out the trash and clean up after the cat when he's at her house. I'm just glad that now I can get him a social security number and put him to work!Seriously, yesterday we had our formal re-adoption ceremony

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-44628983944573250412008-01-23T17:11:00.001-08:002008-01-23T17:21:33.609-08:00

Hai LOVES Cheerios. He's got to have the lowest cholesterol count of any 1 year old out there. He won't eat anything unless there are Cheerios on his high chair tray. I mean it. You could put a Hershey bar in front of him and he would eat around it for the Cheerios. However, as you can see from this photo, sometimes he misses his mouth by a bit, still.I tried to work from home a couple of

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-60316459595793785882008-01-21T08:53:00.001-08:002008-01-21T09:02:06.988-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-21273343465595059502008-01-21T08:30:00.000-08:002008-01-21T08:52:47.680-08:00

Hai aspires to eat like Drew... :-)

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-2166697473861399812008-01-21T08:20:00.000-08:002008-01-21T08:29:46.396-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-18362595852759524422008-01-21T08:10:00.000-08:002008-01-21T08:23:47.587-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-14667612638348910242008-01-10T13:51:00.000-08:002008-01-11T09:10:34.915-08:00

Well, it's day 2 at work for me... Thankfully, my parents are still in town, so leaving Hai in the morning with Grandma, Granddad and the nanny makes it much easier to go to work. Though by about noon I'm ready to go home to get a smile from my boy. But he seems to be doing fine, though I miss waking up with him in the morning vs. getting up while he's still asleep...Hai had his "official"

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-24059146840757793732008-01-02T10:09:00.000-08:002008-01-02T11:54:41.382-08:00

Hai and I had a great New Year's. We went to see Mark and Lisa and Cristian for New Year's eve with Jaap. Hai and Cristian are great friends and Hai loves chasing Cristian around the house (I think Cristian likes it too...not to mention Jaap)Jaap got to witness the carseat trauma first hand when we drove home, however. I broke the cardinal rule: "Never wake a sleeping baby". Hai fell asleep

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-66953572731001913642007-12-27T12:38:00.001-08:002007-12-27T12:39:58.165-08:00

Look, Ma, I LOVE teething biscuits. And they are sooooo messy too! It's fun to put them in my hair and all over my face.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-42716841813389145262007-12-27T12:26:00.001-08:002007-12-27T12:41:28.485-08:00

Well, we survived Hai's first Christmas with minimal consumerism and only one or two ornament casualties. I took the tree down this morning just to be safe.I'm not sure Hai got the whole Christmas thing, but he has seemed to notice that several of his toys have been replaced with new toys. He's ok with some of that, but we had to bring back a few favorites.On Christmas Eve Hai went to his first

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-57396806897828560172007-12-18T08:23:00.001-08:002007-12-18T08:24:08.876-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-18379040519096333222007-12-18T08:18:00.001-08:002007-12-18T08:23:11.856-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-61941091434854534602007-12-18T08:08:00.000-08:002007-12-18T08:18:44.172-08:00

Lately we've been trying to get through the night without a bottle (Hai, not me, I still need one every once in awhile). So far, he can make it from about 11pm to 7 or sometimes even 8am without a bottle, but he's definitely not sleeping that full time.when he wakes up, he wants to go back to sleep laying ON me. It was cute the first couple of nights, now it's just getting uncomfortable... But

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-40554712121475304512007-12-11T20:55:00.001-08:002007-12-11T20:56:59.012-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-25517122225978304582007-12-10T09:36:00.001-08:002007-12-10T09:36:47.653-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-29644775592520414792007-12-10T09:32:00.001-08:002007-12-10T09:39:36.768-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-51177740950098130982007-12-10T09:22:00.001-08:002007-12-10T09:31:18.519-08:00

Hi everyone,I know I haven't written in a while, we were busy with Grandma and Grandpa. What a great time Hai had with them - it took me a couple of days to get him to realize that I couldn't be nearly as entertaining on my own as they were! Seriously, who knew how my relationship with my parents would change with a kid - all the focus is on Hai and on helping me - I was really sad to see them

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-8506056466426705352007-12-02T14:21:00.001-08:002007-12-02T14:22:59.862-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-4477739507655329242007-12-02T14:19:00.001-08:002007-12-02T14:21:32.360-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-87135630875091446322007-12-02T14:16:00.001-08:002007-12-02T14:19:53.051-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-82994276881775834682007-11-23T08:46:00.000-08:002007-11-23T09:33:20.751-08:00

The family leave actFriends that cook, very well, and share their giftFriends that order take out, very well, and share their giftFriends that don't mind a lot of banging on the high chair during thanksgiving dinnerThe distance between my house and Maria's is only a 10 minute drive (makes a big difference after dark when Hai is howling in the back seat....)The bouncy chair and the friends that

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-11637646029300883662007-11-20T08:31:00.001-08:002007-11-20T08:36:52.765-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-59195255906668345112007-11-19T09:00:00.000-08:002007-11-19T09:13:25.677-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-6259282201709345272007-11-19T08:59:00.001-08:002007-11-19T09:00:07.085-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-19318356195777291052007-11-19T08:56:00.001-08:002007-11-19T08:59:07.543-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-2249420868273788672007-11-16T09:17:00.001-08:002007-11-16T09:31:01.544-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-62735480327340035432007-11-11T21:28:00.000-08:002007-11-11T21:45:51.145-08:00

We had a big weekend. Yesterday we went out in the morning and ran some errands (Hai kept falling asleep in the car 2 minutes before we got somewhere, so he got woken up a lot) and then my friend Bob and his daughter Katie came over and also Lila and Karl. Lila and Karl got the crash course in children as Hai was just waking up from a nap and also decided to have a big poo for them. I'm sure

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-86598922309298829462007-11-09T19:46:00.001-08:002007-11-09T19:49:46.903-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-949481251320535162007-11-09T19:34:00.000-08:002007-11-09T19:46:08.405-08:00

It's Friday night, almost 8pm, and I'm in front of the computer in my pajamas...Hai is asleep in the next room. He's had a bath and been fed. I never thought feeding and bathing a child would feel like such an accomplishment.It's been quite a week, or at least it's felt that way. Come to think of it, we really didn't do that much. I mean, Hai got his first trip to Safeway in this week, and we

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-81582681832992249022007-11-09T19:27:00.001-08:002007-11-09T19:33:33.785-08:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-63976606626654573822007-11-05T11:31:00.000-08:002007-11-05T11:37:23.453-08:00

Hai and I had a good weekend, but I must say I was glad when the nanny showed up this morning. I asked her to come in for a few hours a week for the next couple of months so that Hai could get used to her. It's working. Today when she came he reached for her and clearly was ready to "go to the park". The nice thing is the park is right across the street from my condo complex, so they are not

Melissanoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-14629264164081052892007-11-01T12:41:00.000-07:002007-11-01T12:50:08.909-07:00

We've had a lot of excitement in the past 24 hours. First there was the earthquake on Tuesday night. Luckily, Hai was in his bouncy chair with the vibrate on because I was eating dinner with Uncle Jaap. We just picked up the boy, chair and all, and stood under the door jam. At one point, Jaap, who was holding the chair said "I think it's still shaking"... I laughed and said "I think that's

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-20957920806699858372007-10-29T09:58:00.000-07:002007-10-29T10:57:05.028-07:00

I thought many of you would be interested in the actual Vietnamese giving and receiving ceremony. This is the official ceremony that happened on October 8, 2007. It's funny, Hai looks so LITTLE to me in this video, and it seems like a million years ago... I love Maria's comment about not having hands for the rest of my life... so true! :-)Love all,Melissa

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-71633106595121377032007-10-28T09:58:00.000-07:002007-10-28T10:03:29.991-07:00

I have always struggled with jetlag. It used to really piss me off when I would travel with Sean and he'd say "I don't get jetlag" as I would be bleary-eyed and trying to run a demo on 3 hours of sleep... (looking back, I think it might have been the copious amounts of caffeine, Sean... :-)But jetlag for a 9 month old is worse. Poor little guy has no idea where he is, and I think he's a bit

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-77765066280108798982007-10-27T13:50:00.000-07:002007-10-27T14:04:23.517-07:00

We made it home yesterday (Friday) at about 3:30pm. The flights were not bad at all, Hai seems to like to sleep in airplanes (hurrah!).Immigration only took about 5minutes - we were expecting 45 - so it was all over in a hurry and Hai is officially in the US on an "IR-3 immigrant visa". A bit more paperwork and we'll be able to get his US passport and a social security number so we can put him

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-19499231223730867232007-10-27T13:47:00.000-07:002007-10-27T13:50:32.106-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-38091523821074217942007-10-25T04:07:00.000-07:002007-10-25T04:23:22.736-07:00

Well, we had a bit of an adventure this morning. We should be 1/2 way across the Pacific right now, but actually we are in the Horison hotel in Hanoi... It seems the US Embassy had a "printer problem" last night and could not print the visas. They printed them this morning and our agency rep rushed them to the airport, but unfortunately she arrived about 5 minutes after they closed the flight.

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-86589943956791062712007-10-23T09:27:00.000-07:002007-10-23T09:43:12.809-07:00

We had our 2nd interview at the embassy today... very uneventful, honestly. The first thing we did was go up to the window and pay the fee for the Visa for Hai. They ask you to do this before you're even told if there is any problem with the visa. I assume if there is a problem they skip this step, but who knows....In any case, I paid the fee, surrendered my passport and then waited for my name

Melissanoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-69654193785516190552007-10-22T06:55:00.000-07:002007-10-22T07:05:36.510-07:00

I'm going a bit stir crazy these days. I think it is knowing that we're going home soon, but having long days of nothing to do is making me crazy... a couple of the families have taken trips over the weekend, etc, but the idea of packing up my kid, changing places on him again, and expecting him to be OK with it just seems unfair. (yes, Maria, this is why we won't be going to Cabo... )Today we

Melissanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-26331898775600531272007-10-20T07:05:00.000-07:002007-10-20T07:19:34.582-07:00

Since we are here in Hanoi and about to change time zones by about 14 hours, I haven't done anything to get Hai on a "schedule" so far. It's been interesting to watch him establish his own routine...He has a pretty good circadian rhythm. He's asleep between 7 and 7:30pm (at the latest 8pm) and then wakes up around 2 or 3 am wanting a bottle. When he wakes up in the morning it's typically

Melissanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-87518083332534562722007-10-18T20:35:00.000-07:002007-10-18T20:39:09.750-07:00

Hi all,Just heard from my agency contact this morning and it turns out our whole group of families was approved by the US Embassy and we will have our 2nd interview on Tuesday, 10/23 at 2pm. We should get Hai's visa on Wed and be able to fly out of here on Thursday, 10/25.So we'll be home in time to celebrate next weekend!More later, but everyone breathe a big sigh of relief and we'll see you

Melissanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-39022634151517683682007-10-18T17:41:00.000-07:002007-10-18T17:44:24.937-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-14798400456658119002007-10-18T17:37:00.000-07:002007-10-18T17:41:30.796-07:00

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852198368207637636.post-84386397133778924712007-10-18T17:28:00.000-07:002007-10-18T17:35:38.734-07:00

After all the excitement of meeting his fan club on Tuesday night at the restaurant and saying good bye to Uncle Jaap, we spent the day Wednesday just hanging out at our apartment. We even made dinner that night at home which was a nice change.Yesterday we ventured out for lunch at Bobby Chinn's - a great east meets west kind of place (ie, I had Mac and Cheese in a clay pot). I think the

Melissanoreply@blogger.com0