All of the passport photos of the babies were fabulous. How did they get baby Bao to smile like that? And his hair looks coiffed, as if he had just returned from a visit to the hairdresser. I accidentally asked if i could have a copy of the passport photo at the official, formal, very strict G and R ceremony, which was not met with accommodation or smiles. When Bao sleeps, he crosses his legs and hooks his left big toe over his right pinkie toe. And he sucks his thumb with one hand over the other, fingers extended except for the thumb in his mouth. It is just about identical to the secret wave that the grandpa does in "Peggy Sue Got Married" when greeting the other moose lodge members. Today the boy from Vinh ... read more

Elios Hotel has been fabulous. The staff always wants to hold Bao, and the owner gave us a little present! They also let us stay when they were already full (it has been difficult telling hotels exact dates, as we never know when our paperwork is ready). Allen got baby Bao's passport today, and he is almost ready to be a world traveler. He also got a sealed envelope that we are to give to customs upon arrival. It has information about how Bao was left at the orphanage. Of course we would like to know immediately, but I think we have to do a freedom of information request when we get back. Bao is starting to smile a little, and really likes peek a boo. Like over and over and over again. He is a ... read more

Yesterday was a big day for the boy from Vinh Long. He heard his first music (unfortunately Abba). He rode on his first escalator. He saw fish in an aquarium. He took his sixth car ride. And he went to the doctor. We took him to the doctor the day before, the official one required to get his visa. But yesterday we took him to Ho Chi Minh Family Medical Practice. I always went to the one in Hanoi, when I got, yet again, another case of food poisoning since i can turn nothing down in this land of fresh fruit and spring rolls. HCM Family Medical Practice provides fabulous medical care with a team of international doctors, including Vietnamese. Yesterday we saw Jonathan, the pediatrician from Israel. He gave us such an excellent report on ... read more

Only have a few minutes to type, but wanted to let you all know that we got him! Had to be ready to go at 6 a.m.; went with three other families. It was a three hour drive to Vinh Long, we stopped for lunch, picked up the babies, went to a Giving and Receiving Ceremony, drove back, and then came back to Saigon and went to a photo shop to have photos taken. Arrived back at around 7 p.m. Was such an incredible day. let's see: on the drive to Vinh Long, we passed many rice fields and beautiful forest areas. We didn't go into the orphanage, but we were taken into another room. All of a sudden one of the parents yelled: "The babies are coming, the babies are coming!" Baby Bao was the ... read more

Patience is a virtue; virtue is overrated. We booked our flight to leave at 5:45 a.m. from Tally airport so that we could be certain to make our connecting flight in Atlanta (and so our luggage would make it as well). Of course our first flight was cancelled because it wasn't full enough, and we barely made it onto an 8 a.m. flight. When we arrived in Atlanta, we asked the Delta rep in a panic if she could call our next flight to tell them we were on our way and her response was "You'd better run", we thought, wow, they really are the only game in town. We boarded the plane, panicked and sweaty, realizing with dread that there was no way that our luggage made it on. And we were the last two ... read more