Just More Photos

 
 
 

Just some more photos of Vietnam. Van was pretty wild this weekend. He didn't want to take his nap yesterday, he had taken off his socks, his pants and then pulled off the crib sheet and then ripped the crib mattress (which already had a small rip). He is much calmer today, I don't know what got over him yesterday. We are going to go and see Noah soon, the 8 year old adopted from Van's orphanage.

Ben Thanh Market

 

 

 

Here are a few items that you could purchase at the Ben Thanh Market. They sell almost anything that you can imagine. The meat market would get really rank in the afternoon. It was neat to look at the buckets and bowls of fish, crabs, and other miscellaneous seafood items.

Van is having a problem with yelling and being very loud. We have tried several things, but he continues to be really loud when he doesn't get his way.

We are headed to Grandma's House next week and Van will get to meet some family that he hasn't met yet. I wonder how he'll do on the car ride. I think he'll be o.k. as long as we have plenty of snacks to keep his mouth busy.

You name it and he's exploring it

This child is one busy little guy. If he's not trying to play with the telephone cord, he's in the toilet, the book shelf and the silverware drawer just to name a few. He is exploring his surroundings. He fell on the hardwood floor yesterday and busted his lip, but not too bad, he only wanted consoling for a few minutes and then he was ready to go about his way.

Van continues to adjust well, seems like he is a little stubborn though. He will still try to grab things he has been told not to bother. It has been a nice few days and the boys have been playing outside a lot and running off some energy.

We had a great Christmas on Chrimtmas Eve since Keith had to work on Christmas day. We tried to camp out in the living room the night before, but the floor was too hard for Keith and the couch was just not my bed. We all ended up getting into bed and sleeping before the night was up. Race got a football uniform for Christmas and I think he has worn it everyday since.

Soon I will put a password on the blog, because I received a comment from someone that seems to be a salesperson or the like. I will pass along the password to those of you who keep up with the blog.

Julie

HCMC Scenery

 
 

Race and Van got haircuts today, they both look very handsome. We finished up our Christmas shopping. We actually saw three guys running out of the Target entrance with what it looked like to be merchandise under one guy's shirt. We had just entered the store as they were running out, but nobody was chasing after them, so I assume they got off this time. Van is learning some words and he can also point to his nose, tummy, etc. I was telling him no about something this morning and he kept pointing to his nose, so we still have work to do. He has also learned how to get off of the couch by himself. Keith is now teaching him how to climb off of the bed. Keith bought himself some Andy Griffith episodes for his birthday, so that has become our nightly ritual to watch one before going to bed. Tonight, I think we'll try to find the Christmas episode and watch it.

War Remnant Museum, Ho Chi Minh City

 

 

 

Baby Shower

Some friends from my previous work place threw a baby shower for Van. We had a very nice time and Van received some really great gifts. Race enjoyed playing with the tub toys. Race was excited to look through everything and see what Van got. The cake had a photo of Van wearing his Vietnamese outfit, that was real neat. We brought home the remainder of the cake, which is of Van's face. Van liked the cats, but the cats didn't seem real fond of a 2 year old yelling at them. Van enjoyed sampling the food off other people's plates. Van played with his new toys for a while and then went off to bed in his new pajamas. Thanks everyone for a great time!

The meeting with the social worker on Monday went great. The meeting was only for about an hour, a previous one lasted 4 hours. Van seems to be behind on some of his motor skills, so we now know what areas we should focus on, besides his language skills. Van learned to climb up the stairs this week, but is still afraid to go down them.

Van went out to get the mail with me today and did not want to come back inside. He just wanted to walk around on the sidewalk, but I had to eventually take him inside, but he didn't like it much.

The previous photos were taken in Hanoi. This lake was a nice getaway from the hustle and bustle of all the people and the noise. There was a sidewalk all the way around the lake, we only went around the whole lake once. The water was pretty green, so I wouldn't have wanted to fallen into it, but the view was great. There were a few pushy book vendors that haggled us a few times though. The weather was so much nicer in Hanoi than HCMC.

Things I do not miss about Vietnam:

1. doing laundry in the tub and wearing super wrinkled clothes or clothes that I had previously worn a few times already

2. wearing a backpack everywhere that was very heavy and hot

3. rice and phu soup

4. people nagging for me to purchase something

5. the crowds and noise from the street

6. speaking for Race, people patting his head and saying "handsome boy"

7. trying to find somewhere to eat

8. trying to cross the street and make it across alive


Things I do miss about Vietnam:

1. no cooking for a month

2. no cleaning, thanks to the great hotel staff

3. walking to the grocery store

4. friendly smiles

5. cheap prices

6. one on one time with my family (no work, no busy schedules)

7. no telephone calls with telemarketers on the other end

Hoan Kiem Lake

 
 
 

Christmas Shopping

We are going Christmas shopping once Van and Keith wake up from their naps. Van did not want to take his nap today, he fought it for about an hr. I usually let him nap downstairs on a blanket, but he wouldn't lay still, so I had to put him upstairs in the crib. I went and checked on him a few minutes ago and his sweat pants are halfway down his legs, he must of tried to pull them off like he does his socks. Van is getting more squirmy, he doesn't like to sit still as much as he did.

We are going out to eat before we go shopping, we have only been out a few times since Van has been home. We'll see how he likes tacos, I don't think we've had any since he's been home. Van is starting to leave food on his plate, I think he is realizing that the food will be there.

We will meet with our social worker Monday afternoon for our 3 month post placement report. Our next meeting will be at the 6 month home mark. I feel the meeting will go well, our social worker is very nice and Van is doing great, unless Van and Race decide to show out or something like that (my kids wouldn't do that), let 's hope not.

Julie

Christmas Shopping

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEITH

Today is my husband's 41st birthday, I hope I look as young as him when I'm 41 (which is many, many years away). I couldn't have asked for a better husband and I am sure the kids would say they couldn't have asked for a better Father.

We love you,
Julie, Race and Van

Two of my favorite boys

Race is so proud of his little brother, they get along great. We went to the playground today and Van seemed to be a little more interested than last time we went. His favorite is still the see saw. I baked Keith's birthday cake while Keith and Race were at basketball practice and hid it in the cabinet under the microwave, now if I will just remember to get it out tomorrow. Race is not very good at keeping secrets yet.

Julie

Here is a photo of Van in his Vietnamese Outfit. The outfit comes with a hat, but he kept pulling it off.

Finally...

Keith and Race toasting with some coke at Mama Rosa's pizza place in Hanoi. The ladies in this restaurant had a good time with Van. They talked with him a lot and walked him around the room several times. I believe we are on our way to getting back to normal. It is such a relief to know that most of our paperwork has been completed. Race is playing basketball for Upward and I believe he's enjoying it, his first game will be the first week of January. Keith will be 41 on Wednesday, looks young doesn't he? Race is asking for lunch and Van just woke up.

Did anyone say Ketchup?

We went to the ear doctor today and Van's hearing is fine. We stopped off at McDonald's for lunch and had burgers and fries. Van loved sucking the ketchup off of the fries and then wouldn't eat the soggy fries. To get him to eat his bread and burger I put a wad of ketchup on the napkin and he began dunking it in the ketchup and loved it. I think Van is going to take after his uncle Jamey who also loves Ketchup on about anything. I hope this is the end of our running around for a while. Race is having to do school work at odd hours while we try to get a lot of Van's issues taken care of. We also took care of applying for Van's social security card, which went very quickly and smoothly.
Julie

It's official

Van is now a Parker. We celebrated with some cake after supper. We had an interesting time at the grocery store. We were in the baby department looking for a gift and I noticed that Van had something in his hand that looked like a golf ball. I was thinking that he must have picked up something off the shelf that was out of place. I went to reach for this object and he dropped it and it was a raw egg of all things. The little joker had gotten an egg out of the carton and was playing with it. Luckily I was purchasing paper towels, so I opened up our pack of paper towels and picked up this busted raw egg off of the floor at Wal-Mart. After this episode he decided he wanted to yell for no reason and kept yelling, he wasn't mad, he just wanted to be heard. The shoppers must not of been in the mood to hear it today, because I received several strange looks. Know I remember why I wanted us to grocery shop as a family, so that Keith could keep an eye on the kids while I shopped.

WHAT?

Do you mean to tell me that all of the M&Ms are gone? Van had his first experience with M&Ms last weekend and of course enjoyed them. We will go to Probate court tomorrow to change Van's name and once that is complete we can apply for his SSN. We will go have a hearing test done on Friday. I don't think there are any problems, he has selective hearing, but don't we all at times? Van's cough is better, but I have still been trying to keep him indoors since the weather is so nasty around here.

Van and Poppy

Van was able to meet his other set of grandparents for the first time this weekend. We had a nice weekend, despite the cold weather. Keith and Race picked out a Christmas tree tonight and did a fine job. Van and I had to help do a little hosting at a get together tonight.

We went to the Probate office today and filled out some forms to change Van's name from Thanh Van Nguyen to Van Thanh Parker. Our Probate Court appointment is for Thursday at 1 p.m. and that should officially change Van's name. Our next step is applying for a social security number and applying for a record of foreign birth, etc.

Julie