Our Journey to Molly Thai: June 2007

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!!