Life With Molly

We've been home for just over 2 weeks now, and MANY of our dear friends and relatives have been asking for more posts and most importantly PICTURES!!!! It's been a pretty hectic couple of weeks, the time seems to have been flying by.

The first few days were kind of surreal... Between the exhausting travel, the time change, jetlag, the adrenaline rush of being back home and being so excited seeing our friends and family, the sleep deprivation of having a 5-month old who was also completely thrown off schedule, a 6-year old who was so excited to play with friends after having to deal with US for 2 weeks straight and deal with the travel and jetlag herself,... well, it was anything but easy. Then of course, our health suffered a little, as Kate basically lost hearing in one ear with an ear infection made worse by the flying, and we were both under the weather for a few days. But we were home, trying to get back into SOME kind of routine eventually.

Emma tried to jump back in to the routine IMMEDIATELY. We got back home at around 9am on Thursday, May 24th and Emma was back at Dance Class by 4pm!!!! She insisted on going as she had a recital coming up on June 2nd, had missed several classes, and most importantly, wanted to show Molly off to her favorite teacher, Miss Sandy!! So Molly came with us in her first venture in a car seat, and did remarkably well. We got home and crashed soon thereafter, as much as a 5-month old will let you crash, that is!!

The next week, we took Molly to her pediatrician for her initial visit. He was very happy with her overall condition. She is petite by American standards, but proportional, and is catching up quite nicely developmentally. Her neck strength is improving, thanks to her "baby calisthenics", tummy time, and the better nutrition she is now getting. She was rudely welcomed to America with 4 vaccinations on her first visit to the pediatrician, and was then scheduled for bloodwork for the next week (a few days ago, now). She predictably was not a fan of the vaccinations, but did well, no adverse reactions. We were told she was now ready to be introduced to solid food, starting with oatmeal cereal, then gradually progressing to fruits, then vegetables, and ultimately to PIZZA!!!... well, they didn't actually say that, but that's my ultimate goal for her!!

Molly's FIRST time doing the "Food" thing!!

She's been doing GREAT with the food thing.... today she started on Prunes!!! YUM!!!!!!!!!

Molly has been very good natured about the whole transition... adjusting to her new home, her new crib...We think she likes this even more than the Bamboo Mat!!

she of course has had her moments, but overall, she's seemed happy and enjoys all of the attention and LOVES being held! She adores her big sister who has been great, sharing her room and even some nights staggering into our room, letting us know that "Molly's up again!!!". She then staggers back into bed and goes right back to sleep! I wish we could say the same. Molly also likes the pool, which took several days, but I finally got it from a lovely algea green to crystal clear blue! OK, the first moments in the pool ... well, it just took some getting used to..

but soon, she got the hang of it... soon she'll be doing LAPS!!!

But the TRUE test of her character was on Tuesday when we brought her in to Saint Peters for her blood work. Now Kate especially was dreading this, and even moreso when we saw that 6 months of catching up with bloodwork meant they needed to get TEN... yes 10... adult size tubes of blood drawn from her tiny little arm!!!!! Well, it fortunately took them just one stick, and AMAZINGLY.... AND I MEAN ASTONISHINGLY.... Molly did NOT CRY AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was in a good mood at the time, and we were with her to comfort her, but she didn't flinch, she didn't cry.... we still can't believe it!!! Emma was so proud to find out later!!

So, it's been a crazy, but smooth enough transition for us. We even caught a couple of movies!!! We took Molly and Emma to a matinee of Shrek 3, and she did so well that the next day, Kate and I took Molly to see Knocked Up!!!! How's THAT for getting adjusted?!!? We also took Molly, and Casey to watch Emma's Tap Dance Recital on Saturday, June 2nd. Emma did SO WELL that Kate's postpartum hormones caused a few tears to be shed!

Emma went from being a movie star in Viet Nam to a Dancing star in New Jersey!!

Proudly posing with Casey after the recital

So that's about it getting you all caught up on our adjustment to Life with Molly. I'm just getting back at work now, and "normal life"- if there really is any longer such a term, is resuming. A big month is still at hand, as we have THREE graduating this month.... Casey from High School, Ryan from Middle school, and Emma from Kindergarten, all within a matter of days of each other. And then of course, Molly graduated from Vietnam's Thai Nguyen Orphanage just one month ago!! By the way, the boys have also been wonderful with Molly. They act like cool teenagers and all, but we have, out of the rear view mirror, or the corner of our eyes, caught them doting over Molly, trying to make her smile, stop her from crying... it's very sweet actually! So, SO FAR, SO GREAT!!!! Enjoy the pics!!Write in your own caption for THIS expression!!

Happy hangin' out on the sofa.... HEY... THAT'S MY JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOME SWEET HOME!!!

Well, the travel part of our long journey is finally over!! Of course the journey of raising Molly within our family is just beginning. Vietnam was an amazing once in a lifetime type of experience, filled with memories that keeping this blog will hopefully help to keep fresh forever. Of course, some of the moments were so special, that they will need no logging on to keep vivid and crystal clear in our memories! But, I will say, it was WONDERFUL to reach our home (which was so thoughtfully decorated with Balloons, "It's a Girl" signs, and a "Welcome Home Molly" sign that covered the entire front door!!!! (Thank you Chedids and Leonis!!!).

But first, let me backtrack a bit. Once we found out on Monday evening, the 21st that we were to have our final visa interview on Tuesday afternoon, we kicked into gear, contacting our travel agent in Colorado (who seems to work 24/7) to move up our return flight (which was originally scheduled to return to JFK on June 1st!!!! We started packing, trying to assess what we had room for, etc... On Tuesday, we spent the morning with the Mausts, taking one of the twins to our suite (which Emma had a GREAT time doing), while the other twin slept and they had a chance to pack their suitcases. When they were done packing, they joined us and we hung out, both families talking about dreading the long voyage home WITH babies!!!!

Cindy with her hands literally full!!

Not that our trip was to be a piece of cake (one 90 minute flight to Bangkok, a 2-hour layover and then a 17-hour flight to JFK), but the Mausts had us SO BEAT!!!!: Flight#1.. Hanoi to Hong Kong, Layover, then Flight#2.. Hong Kong to LA, Layover, then Flight #3.. LA to Dallas, Layover, Then Flight #4.. Dallas to Pittsburgh... THEN a 2&1/2 hour drive home to Accident, Maryland!!!! All of this with 2 8-month old spunky Twins!!!!!! No, Jerry was NOT looking forward to that!

So the time came for us to go for our second visa "interview" which lasted just a matter of SECONDS, then PAY, and go!! That was it! We took a taxi back to the hotel and hung out in the room as I called the SOS clinic back to get a prescription for an antihistamine-decongestant for Molly. The poor thing had a runny nose and congestion, possibly from her first exposure to the concept of Air Conditioning!!! Most meds seem to be prescription only,(the markets did NOT have cold medicines, or even diaper rash meds in the aisles... you need to go to the "chemist" for that. The drugs were VERY inexpensive, though.

In honor of the Mausts, we went out for our final Hanoi dinner at Al Fresco's (at least that was Kate's excuse for not eating Vietnamese food AGAIN!!!!).
Howie and the girls at our most frequented restaurant, Al Fresco's

Wednesday morning was a bit hectic as we were doing our last minute packing, of course... We headed down for our last breakfast buffet, looking for our favorite waitress, Phuong (that is Molly's given Vietnamese name, by the way... given to her at the orphanage). Well, Phuong, from day 1 really took to Molly and would come scoop her up whenever we were at breakfast, and hold her, and feed her if she needed, with the excuse that she was letting us eat. We knew better, as she just adored holding Molly!! Everyone there was sweet, and others would also hold Molly sometimes, but Phuong was special!!!

Phuong and mini-Phuong (aka Miss Molly) on their last day together

So we told her that this was going to be our last day, and we were SO DISAPPOINTED that we did not see her as we ate breakfast. Almost near the end of breakfast, though, Phuong appeared and I saw her eyes light up as she saw us (well Molly, anyway!) She soon RAN over, and to our surprise, presented us with a gift for Molly!!!!! She gave us a baby size traditional silk Vietnamese gown and pants (something we were looking for but had difficulty finding that size)... It was gorgeous, and of course tears poured from Kate's eyes as she couldn't believe the thoughtfullness and kindness in this gesture! Here, WE had planned to give Phuong a nice gratuity for all of the kindness and effort that she had showed us during our stay, and she presents US with a gift. Then, when Kate tried to give Phuong a gratuity, she almost RAN from it, and would not even CONSIDER taking it!!!! What a difference in cultures in that respect.... and these people have so little in terms of money, too! We ran into that kind of surprise whenever we tipped, even just giving people a dollar or two for various things, or leaving a tip at a restaurant.... they would chase us down and say "you pay too much, you have change!!" A tip of a couple of dollars for room service would get a reaction like "Thank you so kindly Sir..." Well, we got Phuong's address and we are going to at least send her some pictures that we took of her with Molly. After some hugs, we left and went to the Thai Airways office which is attached to the Hotel, and after a long wait and some confusion we were able to confirm the new flights with hopes of getting a bassinet for Molly. We finally were able to now get out the hotel and took a walk to the Hoa Lo Prison (aka "Hanoi Hilton") which is just around the corner from our hotel!! Unfortunately, we got there while they were closed for lunch, so we ventured for a walk (in oppressive 98 degree heat and humidity, in the sunniest day we had in Hanoi). Well, I got taken to task for forgetting Molly's hat at the hotel, first by Kate, and then by EVERY SINGLE WOMAN (AND QUITE A FEW MEN TOO)... they are VERY protective of their Vietnamese babies and the people there are wonderful, outgoing and friendly when they see us with a Vietnamese baby, but let me tell you... they are NOT shy about criticizing you if they think she's wearing too hot an outfit, if her little feet are exposed, if she DOESN'T HAVE A HAT, if she seems hungry, has a runny nose, etc, etc, etc.... well we ducked into a market down an alleyway and they rallied to find us a stall that sold a hat for Molly and for Miss Emma!! Both hats for the whopping rip-off premium price of $3.00!!!!

So now we got clearance from the women of Vietnam to return to the streets and do a little last minute shopping in Hanoi. It was too hot to last very long, and we got a taxi (had to bargain with a couple of drivers before getting a reasonable rate... I wasn't gonna spend $6.00 the first guy wanted... we ended up paying $1.25)... it's ridiculous, I know, but it's the sporting way!

So now we were down to our last hours in Hanoi, our luggage packed and sent down to storage as we checked out. We ventured out to the "Hanoi Hilton" which was a very interesting place to see, just imagining what kind of things went on there. Interestingly, the presentation was not-surprisingly skewed. Most of the "museum" reviewed the goings-on of the prison when it was ruled by the French and used to imprison the Vietnamese "freedom fighters" and political prisoners.... they were tortured, they were subjected to the guillotine, and pretty brutal conditions. Of course, when they talked about the use of the prison during the "American War (as they call it)" they described the humane and honorable way that the American POW's were treated and showed many pictures and headlines of the American people protesting the American presence in Vietnam. They showed John McCain's pilot's uniform and parachute.... it was an interesting experience.

Then we walked back to the hotel and had lunch there before meeting Martin and Kenny in the hotel lobby. We gave them their gifts and they loved going through the picture book of New Jersey, asking lots of questions about all of the different places. They also LOVED the thank you cards which I wrote out in Vietnamese (a Vietnamese coworker translated what we wanted to say and I transcribed it in each thank you card, putting in the individual's names... it was a lot harder than it sounds like because of all of the tonal marks and different squigglies they use in their writing).


While in the lobby, we had Emma pose with the Manager of the Melia Hotel. Kind of an inside joke ..... in the Executive Lounge on the 20th floor, there are countless pictures of the Manager of the Melia Hotel with dignitaries from all over the world who have stayed here... prime ministers, presidents, royalty, celebrities,(Even Jackie Chan!!) etc.... while we were there, there were prime ministers from Kuwait and Oman, and the President of Germany at our hotel. Well, with Emma's new-found celebrity status in Vietnam, we thought it would be appropriate to have her picture taken with him as well. He was very nice and enjoyed it!!


We then left for the airport in a van and got in line at Thai Airways check-in, waiting for the counters to open. We were about 40th or so in line when the counters opened and an agent came straight for us and had us go to the counter first!!! They did the same with 4 other families who were adopting babies. So thoughtful!!!!

First leg of our trip home (see how fresh we looked then?!!! Sitting next to us was another adopting family, from Italy!!

Our flights were incredible and both Emma and Molly were SUPER travelers!!!! Once again, Thai Airways bent over backwards, moving people around to insure that we had bulkhead seats with a baby bassinet they set up. Three gourmet meals with wine, several movies, and 17 hours later we arrived at JFK!!!! Neither of the girls had ANY issues with their ears on take-off or landing!!

Still lookin' pretty fresh... Big Sister taking care of Little Sister at about hour number 10!!

JFK went just as smoothly as the flights as we went through immigration, including Molly's paperwork, baggage, and customs in LESS THAN 30 MINUTES!!!!! The ride home was a little more eventful as first, the car service brought the wrong baby carseat (we had left our baby seat and Emma's booster seat with them on our departure). Honestly, we would have been outraged and appalled at this, but after being in Vietnam, where seatbelts, baby carseats, and even motorcycle helmets are virtually non-existent, we dealt with it as a continuation of our trip and just held Molly. We were reintroduced to good old USA style traffic on route 287 in NJ and that's when both Molly and Emma started getting RESTLESS!!! But soon enough we were back home as I said at the beginning of this post and what a sweet feeling that is!!!! THANKS SO MUCH TO COLLEEN for house-sitting and doing so many extras in making our home feel so welcoming and clean when we returned. It meant so much to us that we knew our home and pets were being taken care of so well while we were so far away, by someone who has a special place in our hearts. Not to mention leaving us some Rita's Italian Ices in the freezer which we attacked at 4am on our first night home!!!!

This is what it was ALL ABOUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As I said, this is not the end of the journey, but a new beginning. It has been quite the roller coaster ride with the HAPPIEST of endings, to this chapter, at least. I must say that it's been very heartwarming to hear how so many friends and relatives have shared this journey with us by following this blog. It has added a dimension to this whole experience and will always be remembered. We have been asked whether the blog will continue now that we are home. I'd say not on a daily basis, however, when occasions arise, we will be adding posts to the blog so check back every so often to follow where the journey leads next!

Interview? NOT...more like a "Sign & Pay"

To catch you up on the events of the past 24 hours here in Vietnam..on Monday the 21st,Howie & Cindy went w/ Kenny to the US Embassy to pick up our baby's passports. Then the Mausts headed to the SOS clinic to have their baby's Medical exams which are necessary for the completion of the VISA. Apparently while they were there Kenny got a phone call from the US Embassy telling them they had their "Exit Interview" scheduled for 2pm! So as they rushed to the Embassy w/ Martin, Howie, Emma & I took Molly to the SOS clinic for her evaluation for her VISA. Of course, of ALL days, Molly isn't quite acting like the Molly we've come to know and love (for the past 10 days), her nose is running like a faucet and is red as Rudolph's. She's constantly got her hands in her mouth and I think earlier I saw she was able to get up to her elbow into her mouth. Ok, slight exageration...I go into Mommy/Nurse mode...is she reacting to the a/c we've been trying to keep her in in attempts to control her skin issues...is she getting a cold (great timing Lakritz! Just in time to board a plane for >19 hours!)...or is she teething...or a bit of all 3? Who the heck knows....so I'm thinking that "A" either the evaluating MD will give us a script that may help her feel better (in our makeshift medical kit we have "Little Colds" but it has acetominophen in it and didn't really want to give that to a wee little 5 1/2 month old every 4 hours) or "B" would mark her file w/ a big RED "X" and tell us that she wouldn't pass the Medical Exam for the VISA..no ticket for you...well....neither one happened!!! She "passed" her examine (which was more like: "do you have any concerns or questions for me?" kind of exchange, a brief overview of her body, and a letter written up saying that she has what is expected as a child from an orphanage. She has "minimal" lag behind what is considered "normal" for her age. I have to say, as proud parents, (and movie star sister, Emma) we were quick to have Molly demonstrate her new Molly tricks. (Kinda like stupid pet tricks on David Letterman). She CAN hold her head up now about 99% of the time without us holding our breath like it's going to roll off her little shoulders and hit the ground rolling. She can also lay on her tummy and do her baby push-ups (she puts me to shame). Her skin is remarkably better, which again, is a tribute to our prompt rescue treatment (antifungal ointments, sprays, and a/c)...but hey...doc..what about her "cold"? A quick shoulder shrug, & a "she'll be fine...these babies are used to being hot and not in a/c..she'll adjust well" and we're on our way.

We exit the "exam" room and peer at Kenny to see if he received a phone call from the Embassy while we were in the exam room chit chatting away w/ the Dutch GP. Kenny nods his head yes to our barrage of questions, and we have learned to ask him again in a different way to see if he really means to nod yes...but this time his answer is a verbal NO while he's still nodding his head YES. (Are you following me? If YOU are confused, imagine how we feel!!) Then I try my best to elicit information from Kenny about up to what time we need to remain in our hotel room (since he finally told us to wait in the hotel room until he called us). Again, what's that phrase about getting water from a stone? Anyway, we figured out that if we didn't hear from Kenny by 4:30pm we were free to leave our hotel room and hope that we would hear about our 2nd INS appointment the next day.

SO, I wait w/ baited breath (aka: stinky breath) in our hotel room w/ runny nose Rudolph waiting for our phone to ring..pathetic, huh? Howie & Emma head to the pool here at the hotel. Cindy called me when she & Jerry & the girls returned. She told me she needed to send an email to Todd, our travel agent. Since they have been using the hotel business center computer & paying an arm & a leg I'm sure, I asked her to come to our room and use ours to send an email. By the time she got to our room the swimming champions returned in time to hear Cindy tell us that Martin told her that we weren't called for an interview today because the 3 public announcements that are suppposed to be made in attempt to locate the child's parent(s) wasn't done. We were fairly certain that we read that had been done in the report that we had & Howie phoned Martin to clarify that situation.

As it turned out, Martin was referring to another couple who had showed up that day for their 2nd interview and were delayed because of this. That couple was not with our Adoption agency. WHEW! It's hot enough around here, do we REALLY need anymore heat from those kind of stressors?! About 1/2 hour after Howie spoke w/ Martin the phone rang and it was Martin calling to tell us that our "interview" was set up for 2:30pm Tuesday!~

Tuesday quickly became a very melancholly day...we saw Cindy at breakfast..as we usually see one of the Mausts eating solo, enjoying a peaceful meal (while all you know what is breaking out in their hotel room...just kidding!) Seeing Cindy made me realize that this was her last Breakfast here in VN and today they would be experiencing a lot of "lasts"...which is good and bad...as we've gone through this journey with them and now we knew it was soon to be our time to hug them and say goodbye! We surprise attacked them after we finished our breakfast and once being witness to everything they had to pack in relatively a short period of time, we scooped up Lindsay and brought her back to our room for a playdate w/ Emma & Molly. (Lydia was sound asleep in her crib....and you KNOW what "they" say about sleeping babies). We spent the rest of our morning w/ Lindsay until Jerry, Cindy, and Lydia came to collect her. We gave each other tight hugs and kisses and hope to see each other back home in the States. We told them w/ their wacky flight itinerary we just might beat them back home in the long run! (Hanoi-HongKong-LAX-Dallas-Pittsburgh)ugh!

It was then our turn to meet Martin in our hotel lobby for our trip to the US Embassy for our 2nd and last INS "interview"...here's where I finally get to the jest of this posting's title....not sure WHY this is called an interview, exactly. We went back to the same DMV style room our first interview took place, w/ the rows of black plastic chairs, and waited for our names to be called. "LAKRITZ" was soon heard & Martin directed us to a man standing behind a plate glass (bullet proof glass?) window with a little slit underneath...the kind one would find at a drive up bank teller, or an old fashioned movie ticket theatre (am I dating myself again?). Anyway, the man asked to see our passports, we showed them. Since Howie is considered the "petitioner" he had to swear that the documents set before him (behind the glass partition) were "true to the best of his knowledge)...out of the corner of my eye I see Howie's right hand go up as he answers "I do"...I'm trying NOT to crack up (even now as I write this!!!) It's not like his hand was on a bible or anything...just up in mid-air..I swear...he's too darn cute sometimes!! Anyway...ok, swear...then, the "agent" asks me if it was my signature on another piece of paper indicating our intention to have our baby immunized once in the US..I answer "yes"...(no hand up in the air), and that was it!!! LESS than 5 minutes! The longest part came when we had to wait for the cashier to return from her lunch so we could pay our CRISP UNUSED UNCIRCULATED AMERICAN $$$$ to pay for Molly's VISA. Half an hour, tops!!

We headed back to the van, said farewell to Martin as he was waiting the arrival of the Mausts to pick up their VISAS/PASSPORTS and take them for their mad dash to the airport to make a 7pm flight! Howie phoned the SOS clinic and requested one of the docs to call us back as the more we thought about Molly (aka: Rudolph)we knew the experience of flying would only make her (and ultimately the rest of the passengers onboard) more uneasy! One of the docs called us back & told us a prescription decongestant/antihistamine would be waiting at the SOS clinic for us whenever we could get there to pick it up! (they have been exceptional..open 24/7!!). We swung by on our way to dinner at where else? Al Fresco's this time using the excuse that we were eating there in honor of Cindy & Jerry...and so the restaurant wouldn't go out of business since their best customers were heading out of town. I promised Howie that we would go to a traditional VN restaurant for lunch tomorrow! It's about time. right???

Martin will pick up our VISA/PASSPORT tomorrow at 4pm and come to our hotel to pick us up to escort us to the airport for our trip home. We're still waiting to hear back from our travel agent to confirm our itinerary, but he did tell us there was availability on the flight that departs Hanoi at 8:40pm to Bangkok and then on to JFK arriving at 6:30am on the 24th!~ (Flying OVER Iceland!!!!...and Santa, per Emma!)

We hope to shop a bit more in the morning as well as to visit the Hanoi Hilton (which is literally right around the corner from our hotel). Taking all last minute requests for VN goodies....get your orders in...the clock is ticking now! Apparently there is some BIG WIG arriving at the Melia hotel today or tomorrow...they have installed a security xray machine (like the tabletop do-hickeys that are at the airports). This seems to be THE place to stay...the hotel owner/manager has his pictures proudly displayed greeting all kinds of heads of state and various actors and actresses. He has yet, however, failed to pose w/ THE Emma! Maybe we can make that happen tomorrow too!!

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we fly far above the clouds and back home safely to our friends and family~ Thank you ALL for your support and encouragement these past several years, it hasn't been easy on you either! We're bringing our girls home and we can't wait to be surrounded by your hugs and kisses!
With our love from VN~ one last time....
~kate

HA LONG BAY!!!!!!!!

Kenny helped us arrange a highly anticipated trip to Ha Long Bay, THE sightseeing place I've wanted to see ever since picking up my first book about Vietnam months ago. How badly? Well, if we couldn't go today and we got the "free to leave" clearance in the next couple of days, I would want to stay an extra day just to go there. Couldn't rationalize coming this far around the world and missing this place. So the tour bus arrived this morning a little late and we and theMausts load into a van which seemed pretty well loaded to begin with, mostly with Japanese tourists, with NO kids.... I bet they were thrilled to see US pile in!!!!

It was a long ride in a crowded van to Ha Long. Cindy met new friends and charmed them with her stories!!!


Well another driving adventure ensued, first through the busy old quarter and streets of Hanoi, and then for the 100+ km drive to Ha Long. Very interesting scenery to be taken in, lots of rice fields, water buffalo, lots of farming going on, and some just beautiful countryside.

It took some 3 hours, and the sun finally poke through (it looked like it was gonna rain all day when we woke up, as it looks almost every morning here), which just made it hotter and hotter. The sweat was pouring down by the time we got on the boat, the "Hai Long", for a "three-hour tour"...

Our boat for our excursion into Ha Long Bay

We had a group of about 15 people on a "junk" boat, gas powered, and a cabin inside with tables for "dining". There was also a deck upstairs to hang out and really enjoy the scenery. I won't say much, I'll just post a bunch of pics and maybe a video clip to try to capture the grandeur of this little excursion. It was truly a magnificent place to see!!!



They first took us to a "floating village" where people actually live full time, more than 100 kids live there and go to school there as well! They sell fish, shellfish, and fruit from their boats.... what a completely different kind of life!! One woman selling fruit from her boat asked about Molly when she saw her. We told her she is from Vietnam and we are bringing her to the U.S. She asked if we would bring her little daughter there too!!!!!!!!!! She was the cutest little girl... you can see her pics... we would if we could, and I'm NOT sure she wasn't serious!!!!





We were served a huge luncheon on the boat, although many people would not touch some of the food! Lots of funky looking seafood, tofu, noodles, rice and, I'm not sure how it fit in, but FRENCH FRIES!!! The food was actually good, if you got past some of its appearance. Anyway, we then boarded a motorboat to explore some of the caves in the area. Some more spectacular scenery there!!





And then we went for a hike on one of the islands to a most beautiful, huge cave, with amazing stalagmites and stalagtites, guided by Tien (aka "Tony") who told us stories about the caves. Emma was accosted once again by a group of Asian women who wanted to have their pictures taken with her. It's really hysterical, because this has happened on an almost DAILY basis.

I took this picture of Emma who was posing for pictures with a group of Asian women. THEY LOVE HER!!!

She is really treated like a movie star here! To the point where Kate told our guide, Tien, that "you know, she IS a big movie star in the US. You never heard of EMMA?" I think he bought it. She never fessed up! Emma LOVES that attention, anyway. She handles it really well. We then hiked to another huge cave (we were drenched in sweat at this point), and Emma and I ventured down a beautiful long pathway through the cave to explore all of its beauty.... the other SLACKERS waited for us in a huge puddle of their sweat! We finally boarded the boat again and returned to Ha Long, and then got back on the van for the ride home. The girls, Emma and Molly did wonderfully, sleeping a great part of the ride back. Molly slept on my chest most of the way, when I wasn't tickling her with my big NOSE!!! She loves that... that's the only way I can really tickle her, not sure why??? She's doing really well. Her skin is SO improved, and her neck strength seems to be improving every day. She sees the pediatrician tomorrow for her visa medical. Hopefully we'll see the same pediatrician, so she can contrast the before/after. Well, enjoy the pics.... hopefully tomorrow we'll have a better idea of our return timing. We get Molly's passport in the AM, get her physical in the afternoon, and will HOPEFULLY hear from the USEmbassy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Some pics from today:

Pic of the wildlife I was able to get from the motorboat ride through the caves and around the bay

I've been looking to get a picture of one of these signs..... This is a restaurant that serves Thit Cho ... aka... dog meat!!!!! No, we haven't tried it, but this sign is seen frequently, mostly outside of the city

Did I mention how they carry virtually ANYTHING on the backs of their motorcycles?????

A farmer and his water buffalo.... something we just don't see everyday!

Trip to the Museum

Well, the weather dictated that instead of traveling to Ha Long Bay today, we stayed out of the rain in the morning, and planned on going with Martin and Kenny, and the Mausts to the Museum of Ethnology. We have been very interested in seeing this Museum which shows the demographics Vietnam and the history of its ethnic groups.

Martin on the left in the background, Kate with Molly, Cindy with Lydia or Lindsey outside the Museum

There are more than 50 ethnic minorities comprising 13% of the population, the remainder being the 87%, the Viet (or Kinh) majority. We don't know whether any of the babies being adopted belong to the ethnic minorities who have a significant presence in the northern provinces. Some of the ethnic minorities in the highlands, the mountanous regions extending up towards the Chinese border live very isolated and different lifestyles, with fascinating cultures. This was an opportunity to become somewhat familiar with these peoples. Also interesting were the exhibits describing what life was like in Vietnam around and after the time of reunification in 1975 when the entire country became Communist and how goods were distributed during those years up until around 1990 when the economic system underwent change. Surprisingly, it wasn't sugar-coated, and you saw how the people did not thrive under that system.

Emma, Howie with Molly, Kenny, Jerry with Lydia or Lyndsey

Kate with Molly, Jerry with Lindsey or Lydia, Cindy with Lydia or Lyndsey

Anyway, enough of the educational segment of our blog. More importantly, getting back to this morning.... Thanks to the magic of the internet AND the 11 hour time difference, I was able to, JUST BEFORE breakfast, listen to the Mets BEAT the Yankees on the WFAN webcast. How cool is that to start your day with a pre-breakfast Met WIN??!!!! I remember as a teenager traveling to Europe with my family in the summer, checking up on the Mets through the sports section of the Herald Tribune, where I could see line scores from 2 days before. Now, on the other side of the world, you can listen as if you're still at home, not missing a beat. Thank you, Mr. Gore for inventing this internet for me!!!!! You ROCK!! And to think I didn't vote for you?

So it rained heavily late last night (thunder/lightning too)... so we hung out as the rain lightened up this morning, I dropped the laundry off at the corner, and even with the rain, the motorbikes continued as usual, with people just donning ponchos and some even using umbrellas as they rode. We ventured out as the rain stopped, back to the SOS clinic to pick up some more anti-fungal cream for Molly, and to the Trang-Tien Plaza Mall up to the 4th floor to the "Walmart" as Jerry calls it, to restock on snacks, diapers, wipes, etc. Then back to the hotel to meet Martin and Kenny to take us to the Museum. Once again the rides there and back are great sport.... I'm attaching some photos and a clip to try to get an inkling of what it's like maneuvering through that traffic. Kind of like a ride at Great Adventure.... lots of thrills, near misses and just plain disbelief at what you're seeing.

view from the "death seat" in a taxi. Notice bicycle, motorbike and cars all going in different directions right in front of us. By the way, we were NOT standing still at this point. Moving and honking, Moving and honking....

The TRULY amazing part, that completely differentiates the traffic here from home is not the quantity of vehicles, not the number of motorbikes, not the total disregard for red lights (we decided the lights are more like suggestion, not absolutes), or lane markers (even the line in a two-lane road). The TRULY amazing thing to us is that with all of the CONSTANT horn-honking, the merging, swerving, passing, tailgating, or just flat out going through the light at an intersection and weaving through the chaos, we have seen NO anger, NO road-rage, NO bullying that you would see in the States.... you know, "no way I'm letting HIM in!!!!".... that kind of attitude. It's just "go with the flow... BE the traffic..." It'd be interesting to see how these drivers would fair coming to the US.



So we truly enjoyed the museum... they even had a water puppet show going on outside, along with some primitive houses set up showing how some of the ethnics lived and some still live today. We returned to the hotel and ventured out to Al Fresco's for another non-Vietnamese food meal. Amazingly, it was the Maust's first time TO the restaurant after ordering food delivery from there almost nightly!! Then back to the hotel with big plans for tomorrow and Monday. Tomorrow early morning we are being picked up in a van to go to Ha Long Bay. It's about a 3 hour ride there, then some time on a boat on the bay,then back to the hotel by about 8-9pm. Hopefully the weather will be ok, and we'll have some great pictures to share with you.
Then Monday, we pick up Molly's passport in the early morning, get her Visa physical exam in the afternoon, and hopefully hear from the US Embassy regarding a second visa interview. If that could be Monday afternoon, we COULD have our visa by Tuesday afternoon!!!!!!!!!!!!! That could mean flying out Tuedsay night if we can get a flight!!!! We'll keep you all posted. Emma's still predicting Wednesday night, if that means anything. Tuesday is pushing it, but you never know. It's just a matter of waiting for the call. We're getting pretty good at that by now!

By the way, tomorrow is election day in Vietnam. Everyone HAS to vote. Even if you leave the ballot blank, you HAVE TO VOTE. Once every 4 years.... electing representative for congress. One party system.

Our vote is for Jordin Sparks!!! Enjoy the pics.

SOME MORE IMAGES:

Kate took this picture of the gang in front of a ship at the Museum of Ethnology



Common roadside or streetside sight... haircut al fresco

Only 3 on this motorcycle.... we have seen cycles with 4 people riding !!!!

Howie, Emma, and Molly having fun in the hotel lobby:





Cindy in the Taxi with Lindsey:

A couple of Family Days in Hanoi

While waiting for the paperwork to be processed and the upcoming appointments next week, we have had Thursday and Friday to hang out in Hanoi. Then this weekend we have some more exploring to do, hopefully making a trip to Ha Long Bay, one of the most scenic places in the world. We also plan to visit the Museum of Ethnicity, to hopefully learn more about the regions and ethnicities in Northern Vietnam, as they are quite varied and Molly Thai's roots reside here. This is our chance to learn as much as we can about where she is from, so we'll be TAKIN' NOTES!!!!!!!

Let's see... last we left off was Wednesday afternoon here and we ventured to the famous Water Puppet Theatre to see a show which Emma describes as the "BEST WATER PUPPET SHOW SHE HAS EVER SEEN!!!!!".
Here's a little clip just to give you an idea:

We went with the Mausts and all three of the babies were able to behave long enough for the 60 minute show (Emma was closer to melting down than the infants, actually.... Jerry too---just kidding). It was definitely worth seeing, and the effect was pretty cool and unique. We left and walked back to the hotel, first stopping at an art gallery where we picked up a couple of beautiful pieces painted by graduates of the Hanoi School of Fine Arts.
We crashed that evening, not even having enough energy to have dinner!!

Thursday was a pretty lazy day here. Molly was in the mood to nap.... then eat.... then nap... and so on.. So we stayed pretty low key.

Lazy Thursday hanging out together in the hotel

We picked up our laundry which we brought to a nearby laundry service (very professionally cleaned and for 1/4 the price the hotel charges), and hung out at the hotel most of the day. Emma and I ventured out to a nearby market down an alleyway which extended the length of one block.

Our venture to the alleyway market near the hotel

It was quite the cultural experience... lots of bizarre meats, (did I hear some barking??) fish, vegetables and foods.... all of the women enamored with Emma, touching her hair, smiling.... Emma didn't mind the attention at all... she's getting used to being treated like a movie star here! Got back to the hotel, I used the gym which is quite nice here... plenty of aerobic and weight machines... I seem to be one of the few people to use it, as many of the weight machines are still on the same miniscule weight settings that I left them on the day before... unless they let schoolkids come in and use them in between.... you're supposed to laugh now! We ventured up to "tea time" and then out for a walk to the famous or infamous "Hanoi Hilton" which was a prison back during what the Vietnamese refer to as the "American War"... kind of a different perspective eh? Anyway, most of the prison was torn down to make way for a modern office building, but part of it remains as a museum of the Hoa Lo Prison. The infamous Hanoi Hilton, the Hoa Lo Prison with the office tower behind whose construction meant tearing MOST of it down

It is just a short walk from our hotel and we will return to visit there as it was closing at the time we got there.

Afterwards we returned to the hotel to the "snack/open bar hour" which is included on the "Royal Floor" here at the Melia. I had a fun time up there with Emma. She can be so funny sometimes! We then went to the "El Oriental" Restaurant here at the Melia. The Vietnamese food was really good (don't listen to what Kate says!!). Emma enjoyed it too. (she liked the white rice.. had a few pieces of Brocolli and cucumber, and that's about it). Really a beautiful restaurant, though.

Today, Kate, Emma, Molly and I took a tour of Hanoi which was arranged through the hotel. A private van with a driver and english speaking guide (named Thuin) took us to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum and state house, which were very beautiful and interesting, and we were able to talk with him about the history of Vietnam and learn a lot about Ho Chi Minh.

Emma and I by the pond at Ho Chi Minh's state house where he lived as president from 1954-1958

We then saw some beautiful pagodas, and he then took us to a shop where disabled children embroidered some amazing pieces of art. Our last stop was the Van Mieu, (The Temple of Literature, which was considered the first university of Vietnam . It was

Emma befriended by musicians after a performance of traditional Vietnamese music at the Temple of Literature

Molly gets her own personal attendant to fan her and keep her cool!

founded in 1070 which was a beautiful place to see and enjoy the architecture and history while getting a chance to talk to Thuin about the Vietnamese people, their attitude towards Americans (which has been amazingly and overwhelmingly friendly considering the "tensions" of the recent past), and the attitude they have towards Americans adopting Vietnamese babies, which has also been so overwhelmingly positive. It seems they feel these orphans will have a better life in their new homes and it is doing the Vietnamese people an "honor" to bring them to the US and take care of them. And WE feel like the ones being given the honor of allowing us to receive such a blessing!!!
So we're back in the hotel now, and enjoying the AIR CONDITIONING!!!! It is SOOOOOOO Hot and aside from us Northeasterners, Molly does so much better inside as her poor skin suffers when exposed to prolonged heat and humidity!! So enjoy some pics from our adventures and we'll check back in after our long awaited trip to Ha Long Bay! Then Monday brings us Molly's Passport, her pre-visa medical exam, and hopefully news about our second visa interview. Emma predicts we'll get out of here on Wednesday. That would be pretty much the best case scenario, so.............. We'll see.....

By the way, thanks for the comments and emails....... definitely helps when we're so far away!

BATTER UP!!!!

Thought I'd reference the whole baseball theme that tends to run throughout our family's names as the title for this posting....In an attempt to try my best at making it clear what our next steps are in this process....
May 11th: Giving & Receiving Ceremony (G&R)=Official adoption!!
May 14th: Apply for Molly's Passport
May 16th: Initial INS Interview & Molly's Passport picture taken
(INS file sent to HCMC...turnaround time dependent on review by one SINGLE person in the HCMC office reviewing our file and giving us her stamp of approval...usually takes several days)
May 21st: Pick up Molly's Passport & go to SOS clinic for Molly's official health exam for VISA
(Hopeful) May 22nd: 2nd INS interview and 24hrs later Molly's VISA is issued then....
a la casa baby! We could technically start our way home on May 23rd!!! Breaking the all time record of 10 days!! (VN only counts M-F, in case you were confused)...

We've run out of clean clothes & had to drop off some laundry at the local laundro-mat so that we didn't offend anyone! It's amazing that the Vietnamese wear long sleeve shirts and long pants in this heat & humidity! The phrase "it's not the heat it's the humidity" was invented in Hanoi!

This evening the Mausts and Lakritz family enjoyed the famous Water Puppet Theatre and made the short stroll home with 2 out of the 3 babies sleeping. I won't rat out which one was awake, but I'll give you a clue, she takes turns with her sister keeping her parents awake every 2 hours through the night! Guess that rules out our princess Molly, huh? We've been blessed with a daughter who takes after her big sister in the sleeping department. Our girls usually go to bed around 7:30-8pm and sleep through the night until about 5:30-6:30am! (I'm glancing upward with a grateful gesture!)

We're pretty much on our own, as far as the WC staff is concerned, until Monday the 21st. However Martin is trying to make arrangements for us to visit HaLong Bay sometime this coming weekend. It'll be good to keep our minds occupied as we'll miss our Casey's Senior Prom on the 19th. It's difficult to be away from our family & friends, but as you can see, we're setting records and hope to be home sometime next week!!!
Keep writing your comments! We LOVE hearing from you~ we'll be home soon! Love you! ~kate

by the way, we added a bunch of new pics to the previous blog, "A Ballet called Chaos"... and here's a couple of videos to enjoy:

First, Molly working out with her hand-made mobile:


And especially for the Maust family, Cindy and I think it's Lindsey???? playing with Emma:

A Ballet called Chaos

The title refers to the street scene in Hanoi, not the process we're going through (at this point, at least... so far, things are going as smoothly as can be expected... "at record speed" according to the interviewer at the US Embassy today!!). We are actually getting used to the street traffic and the street activity ... I know it's a populated city (I think 5,000,000, but there are ALWAYS people sitting, eating, smoking, playing board games, selling things, just standing, going every which way, coming from alleyways, on foot, on bicycle, on motorbike... like I said... "CHAOS". But oddly enough, there is definitely some rhythm to it... lots of horn honking all of the time, motorbikes and cars literally criss-crossing at or between intersections... and NO road rage... NO accidents... people just narrowly miss each other (and us) but under seemingly total control. Now I know why we can't rent cars or motorbikes here. It would NOT work. The entire ballet would be brought to a crash within minutes, guaranteed!



So yesterday (Tuesday) we didn't accomplish much, as our embassy appointment, originally thought to be possible yesterday afternoon, was moved to today. Martin therefore offered to take us to a town just outside of Hanoi where silk factories and shops dominated. Twist the girls' arms!!! So we and the Mausts piled into a taxi-van with Martin and Kenny and rode to the village.

A very cool tour through a silk factory and then onto the silk shops where beautiful silk dresses, shirts, ties, pocketbooks, etc were bought for ... let's just say quite reasonable prices. This included beautiful traditional vietnamese dresses for Emma and Molly. We returned to the hotel by evening, ordered in food from our favorite "American restaurant", Al Frescos.... the Hanoi equivalent of Applebees for Emma?

Today, Kate, Emma, Molly and I took a quick taxi ride to the park Em & I had ventured to on Monday (remember the downpour?). After a ride on the Carousel that wasn't running on Monday, Em took us RIGHT to the playground with the ride she LOVES .... she calls it the Toilet Spinner :-) There were lots of other schoolkids there playing and eyeing us... they were quite fun to watch!

We got back to the hotel and got ready for our first Embassy Interview. We waited in a DMV-type room to be called into a small interview room. Just Kate and I were called in, Emma waited outside with Martin and the Mausts. The room was small and hot, with the interviewer on the other side of a glass partition (that seemed air-conditioned, naturally). The interviewer was amazed that we just got here on Thursday and were already at this point! That was good to hear. Lots of simple questions, and an explanation of the process.... His info is sent to Ho Chi Minh City for review by the one woman who approves all of these adoptions. They will hear back from her at that point and set up a second interview here. Once that is done, we should, barring any delays get Molly's visa the next day, and we're free to go HOME!!!! Only catch right now is that the one woman I referred to is off for a "couple of days" and he's not sure if that means things just wait for her to get back. "go with the flow, remember?" After our interview and the Maust's interview were done, we went to get the girls' passport photos taken and then back here for some "blog-time". This evening we'll be heading to the Water Puppet Theater, which Emma has been looking forward to big-time. We'll fill you in on that later.

some random shots from the past 2 days:

Vietnamese school kids playing in the playground

Making friends in Hanoi.... who needs language, anyway?

It's amazing how the women here constantly approach us, in a very friendly way, and are so happy to see us with a Vietnamese baby. This kind of scene is repeated many times per day. And the waves and happy looks we get from virtually everyone we pass is heartwarming.

A Carousel is a Carousel in any language!! Molly is not impressed, though :-)

Typical scene ... this one in the village outside of Hanoi

Another typical street sight ... amazing what people of any age and gender will fit on their bike or motorbike

Emma Modeling her traditional Vietnamese gown at the shop where it was made

SISTERS FALLING IN LOVE:





At the silk shops:

Howie, Emma, Kate with Molly, Kenny (from World Child), Cindy with Lydia, Super Guide Anh Martin from World Child: