We're Home!

We weren't able to access the blog from our last hotel for some reason, but we got home last night! Jordan is doing really well, but he is still sick and we found out this morning he has an ear infection. We were up most of the night last night with him screaming. That was the first timne he hadn't slept through the night. Skylar is enjoying her new brother, but is quite jealous. We are having fun!

Halong Bay

We just got back from Halong Bay. It’s about 9pm here. We are really exhausted, but I had to post pictures because it was just so beautiful. The tour guide was….interesting. On the way there he got on the microphone and sang us a song. I thought I was on candid camera or something. He actually made me pretty mad because he would not stop taking Jordan away from me. Anytime he even let out a little whimper, this guy literally grabbed him out of my arms like I could not take care of him myself. We went around the bay on a boat for about 5 hours. After an hour we stopped at a floating market. The floating markets are like little wooden decks in the middle of the water where you get out and can buy fish. One person bought a bunch of squid and the staff on the boat boiled it. Then they sat there and ate the whole thing with eyeballs, legs, and everything. It was really gross! Next was lunch. They served squid and a whole fish. There was one fish for each table. It had the whole head, eyeballs, and tail. Needless to say I am starving! After lunch we went to a famous cave in the middle of the bay. It was huge. We walked all through the cave and then went to another floating market where some of the Romanian men who were with us got dressed into their Speedos and went kayaking. One of their wives just started changing into her bikini right behind us without anything covering her. She sure screamed when my dad turned around and saw her with her top fully off. One more thing, once today when someone tried to take Jordan from me, he cried and clung to me. That was the first time he has done that with anyone. I was so excited!
Dawn—You wanted to know about the hotels. We are now at the Hanoi Hotel, but we will have to move tomorrow because they are full tomorrow night. The one we did not like was the Lucky Star.

Thanks for Jordan's new shirt Great-Grandma Scott. It came in handy when he peed all over himself and Paul on the boat today!

Hello Again

We changed hotels and it made a world of difference. We are now in a place we feel comfortable and secure. It is like being in a U.S. hotel. There is even a casino downstairs for foreigners only! As I write this Paul and my dad are getting massages at the hotel spa. I got baby duty. That’s okay. He’s much more fun than a massage! This little boy is so adorable! He has a really good personality and is usually very happy. He is bonding well with us. I can’t wait to be home with him and have our whole family together.
After changing hotels this morning, we decided to go out and do some shopping. We walked and walked and walked, but could not find any real shopping. Just small dirty street vendor type places. Hanoi is a very poor city. There is a lake outside our hotel and some pretty sights though. Oh, I forgot to mention we were walking about 3 hours because we got lost and couldn’t find our way back. We would ask people where our hotel was and they would just look at us and shake their heads because they had no clue what we were saying. It’s not like being in Mexico where words sound similar. We eventually had to take a taxi. After we got back a staff member from the agency called and said she was stopping by. When she arrived she had a birthday cake for Jordan. It was so thoughtful! Thank-you all who sent cards and gifts with my dad to give to Jordan. We were so surprised and touched. Tomorrow we are going to get up early and go with the other family in a van to Halong Bay. There is a driver who the hotel hires to take you there. It’s about 3 hours away. Then when we get there we will go on a 6 hour tour. We will probably get back to the hotel late, but everyone says you have to see this bay if you come to Vietnam. It is supposed to be really beautiful.
This is the view from our hotel window This is a missle from the war. There are several war planes and missles displayed

Happy First Birthday Jordan!

We are so happy we have our little guy for his first birthday.Yesterday was another whirlwind. We went to the Passport center to get the Passport we had applied for the day before. They had it done at 10:30. Then we went to the airlines to book our 5:30 flight to Hanoi. Then back to the hotel to run up to the room, grab all our stuff, and check out. We had about a 30 minute drive to the medical appointment. We got there at 2pm. They took us in a room where there was a large table that looked like it belonged in a dining room. When the nurse walked in, she kicked out all the men and said only the mothers could stay. She then took his weight and length which was in kg and kl so I'm not exactly sure what it was, but I think it was around 18 pounds. When the doctor came in, he took out one of those pen lights and shined it on the back of Jordan's neck, then in his right ear. Then he told me to take off all of his clothes and diaper. When he was undressed, the doctor listed to his lungs and then told me to put his clothes back on. All that just to listen to his lungs! They then brought in a second nurse to hold him because they had to take his blood for the HIV test. That's when they kicked me out of the room! I guess they don't allow mothers to be in the room when the baby has blood drawn. After the exams, we waited until about 4:10 for the results. We were supposed to be at the airport by 4:30 and it was about a 40 minute drive. We raced (and I do mean raced) there as fast as possible, but still missed our flight so we had to wait in the airport for the 8:10 flight. We got to Hanoi at about 10 and were in our hotel close to midnight. We are hoping to change hotels today because this one is pretty filthy. We are going to have our embassy interview Tuesday. That's the last thing we have to do before we can come home. It's also the only thing we have to do. That means the next 4 days will be filled with sightseeing and hopefully some rest. We are getting to know Jordan a lot better. We are learning the way he likes to sleep, what his cries mean, and what his schedule is like. He has adjusted really well to us. He clings onto me and cries whenever I put him down. He is experiencing everything for the first time and is a little overwhelmed.

Good Morning From Vietnam

Jordan slept through the night again last night. He has been very fussy this morning, but I think it is because he just doesn't feel well. He has a bad cough, stuffy nose, and fever. At least we can be with him to take care of him instead of him lying all alone sick in that crib. We are getting ready for another busy day today. By the end of the day we should be in Hanoi. We haven't spent more than one night in the same hotel since we got here. Maybe I shouldn't have brought so many shoes! We have so much luggage :) We will see how Jordan does on the 1 hour 40 minute flight to Hanoi and maybe we will get an idea how it will go on the way home. Oh, good news, they said we will probably be home around Wednesday instead of next Saturday! We won't know for sure until Monday or Tuesday. It depends on how fast his visa and our embassy appointment happen.

Skylar, we miss you so much!!!!

We found fake snow last night

This is the view from our balcony this morning

Jan 7th

It's 5pm on Jan. 7th. Last night, Jordan woke up many times because he has a cold and was coughing, but each time he fell right back asleep. This morning we went to the Justice Department for our Giving and Receiving ceremony. It's not really much of a ceremony. We just sat at a desk and signed papers. This is when Jordan became officially and legally ours. Now there is no way anyone can change their mind or take him away. He is our son forever! After the ceremony it was about 11am and we had to rush back to HCMC because we were supposed to apply for Jordan's passport by 2pm. He will have a Vietnamese passport and is now both a Vietnamese and American citizen for the rest of his life. We drove VERY FAST, but did not arrive in HCMC until after 3pm. We had to then go to a government office for certification of the G/R papers. Then we rushed to the passport office where Henry was able to work his magic and get us an appointment. They are expiditing the passport. The plan is to pick it up around 11am tomorrow and then go to his medical appointment at 2pm. Then, we will fly to Hanoi tomorrow night. It is non-stop action here and we always have no idea what will happen next. We just sort of do what we are told and go with the flow. Jordan is asleep on our hotel bed right now. He had a busy day and he is worn out.

Giving and Receiving Ceremony

Applying for Passport

IT'S A BOY!!

Today was amazing! We got up early and ate breakfast at the hotel. I ate Pho (pronounced fuh). It is a soup that is served with most meals here and has become my favorite. My dad tried everything, frog, duck eggs, and a bunch of stuff that wasn't even labeled. Ew. Then we went for a short walk, where we finally got up the nerve to cross the street. Traffic is insane here. There are litterally thousands of motor scooters on the roads and virtually no traffic laws. It's non-stop honking and people narrowly escaping collisions. It's unimaginable until you see it. At 11am we met Henry and began the ever so scary trip to Can Tho. We drove 2 hours and then stopped to eat. Henry had them make us huge fried rice balls. We then continued another 1 1/2 hours to a ferry which took us to Can Tho. We quickly checked into a very nice hotel and then went to the orphanage. You could tell the caretakers have a special bond with him. They all surrounded him and talked to him. They are sad to see him go. We haven't slept hardly at all today we are exhausted so I'm going to post some pictures below and give more information about Jordan later. But the important part is WE GOT HIM!!!!

WE'RE HERE

After about 30 hours of travel, we are finally in our hotel in HCMC, Vietnam! The flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong was brutal, but we made it...And guess what?? Instead of picking up Jordan on the 7th we get to go get him on the 6th. It's 12:30 am on the 6th here now so that means we are leaving for Can Tho today!! This is the last time we will ever go to sleep without our son in our family!!!!! We will meet Henry and the other family at 11 am, eat breakfast and then leave for the 3-4 hour drive to Can Tho where we will pick up Jordan and take him to a hotel there. We will spend one night in Can Tho before returning to HCMC. I don't know if there will be e-mail access there, but hopefully I will be able to post something after we get him. I'm so excited!!!
This is us happy to be on the ground in China

San Francisco

We made it to San Francisco about 4 hours ago. The flight from Fresno was scary on that little plane. I hate flying! At 11:55 we will be boarding our 19 hour flight to Hong Kong, China. We just had our last American meal at Burger King. We are tired but oh so excited!! Here's a couple pics! We found key chains with the kids' names for the scrapbook