Our Vietnam Angel

2009-09-01T04:47:00.000-07:00

As promised pictures of the AC/DC concert. By far and away the best concert I've ever been to. We had a great time. The boys think mom and dad are "the coolest".

It's been such a busy summer. We've gone to Great Wolf Lodge a few times and Camelbeach water park. I tried to keep the kids busy. There were lots of places I would have liked to take the kids (Bronx Zoo, Claws and Paws, Mountain Creek just to name a few)but summer was in fast forward. I can't believe how quick it went. I enjoyed having the kids home. We were up late, slept in til almost noon and just out having fun. I'm going to miss having them around all day and so will Saige. Julie has made it her duty to go in and get Saige out of her crib in the morning. Saige gets the biggest kick out of "J". I know Saige will be like a fish out of water when the kids go back to school. She's loves tagging around with them all day. I'm definately NOT looking forward to the kids sports schedule...BUSY BUSY BUSY. It's going to be a crazy busy Fall.

Saige has learned SO many new words and even speaks sentences. "I got it" is one of her fav's. She can also count to five. Before she jumps on something she will stand a few steps back and count...1...2...3...GO!! It's hysterical.

Below are some pictures of the beautiful flowers and cake my mom got me for my birthday. I truly have the best mom, kids, hubby and friends ever. I'm a lucky gal!

Oh geez and I almost forgot. The sights you see at concerts! lol. Below there is also a picture of a woman who was crazy enough to wear a bikini with only a fishnet cover up. *note all of the people around her laughing* I don't know WHAT made this woman think she should strut around in a bikini, for crying out loud her ta ta's were down to her knees. lol. My poor kids had to see this!

Bad bad blogger

2009-08-10T20:12:00.001-07:00

It's been a LONG time since I've blogged. I have so much to catch up on. This summer seems to be flying by. I've been trying so hard to spend quality time with all of the kids this summer because I know once school starts it's back to the same ole boring daily routine.
So far we have been to Space Farms (local zoo), Turtlebeach Water Park and Great Wolf Lodge not once but TWICE. We are planning on going back a third time August
25th. I figure it'll be an early birthday present for me. This time will be extra special because I'll get to spend quality time with my hubby. The last time we went it was just the three older kids and I. It was fun but I missed Carl. I'm not used to not having him around so while I had fun with the kids it was always stuck in our minds that he wasn't there. It took some getting used to. Something none of us ever WANT to get used to.
Any who, Saige is talking up a storm! Her latest word is yellow. She knows the color and points to it and screams out the word every chance she gets. She also knows when it's bedtime and when she is told it's time for night night the older kids tell her to "Run Saigie RUN!". Of course she takes off running and when I finally catch her she's laughing like crazy. She also lives for when daddy comes home. She loves when he gets home and takes her for walks. Well, it's not a "walk" for her because she's up on daddy's shoulders. This is her favorite spot. We call it the cat bird seat. She LOOOOVES it up there. They go check on the cows and Saige cries "COWIE" the whole way. TOO cute!
The other kids are just enjoying summer. Julie fell out of bed a couple weeks back and has an indentation in her cheek that we had checked out by both the pediatrician AND the dentist. Both assured me that it will go away in due time. We sure hope so. Stephen and Michael should be going to soccer practice but I just can't bring myself to go. It's SUMMER!! Geez, we need a break!
Busy days are ahead and I dread the end of summer. I'll post some pictures soon! Carl and I took the boys to an AC/DC concert last week and I'm dying to post the pictures but haven't had a chance yet. SOON I promise!

Graduation

2009-06-25T05:34:00.000-07:00

Julie had her Kindergarten Graduation last week. (slow at blogging I know) I still can't believe my baby will start first grade in September. That was a FAST six years. The graduation was SO cute. The kids sang songs, wore handmade graduation hats complete with tassel and posed for countless pictures. The video below is definately one of my favs. The kids had such a good time singing it...too cute!

Goofing around

2009-06-18T13:03:00.000-07:00

Saige has become quite the goofball lately! She looooves horsing around with her brothers and sister. If they are on the couch she has to be goofing with them. Her latest thing is showing off her pretty teeth. It's cute, she cracks a big smile and points to her teeth as you can see from the pics. We are so very blessed.

We're going to Sesame Place tomorrow

2009-06-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

to meet Mer, Tim and Lulu, Carol and Samantha, Shannon, Jason and Halle-Grace, Kris and Matthew. I've got the camera all charged up and ready to take tons of pics! Can't wait!!

2009-06-09T05:27:00.000-07:00

Saige had her ENT appt yesterday and it went really well. Her ear infection had cleared up. He did note that she has alot of wax but was still hopeful that the weather change will keep the infections at a minimum. Hopefully this was her last one.
We are really looking forward to the end of school. We all get tired of the same routine every morning and night. I also look forward to the end of sports for the summer. It'll be nice to be able to RELAX at night without worrying about hauling the kids back and forth to soccer practice. Weekends will be nice too. No more Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon games. Woo Hoo. They still have karate but it's only twice a week so I can handle that easy. I would like to sign them back up for swim lessons at the Y this summer but we'll see how ambitious I am. lol.
Here's some random pics of the kids.

Untitled

2009-05-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've had a feeling that Saige had an ear infection and yesterday the undeniable truth hit me like a ton of bricks. Julie is my shopping buddy. Julie loves to shop and can shop til she drops much like me. Saige on the other hand is so NOT a shopper. My husband LOVES it because it keeps my spending in check..lol. I on the other hand could cry a river over it. Anyway, yesterday Saige and I were shopping and she was GOOD. Actually, not just good but for lack of a better word she was dang near ANGELIC. So NOT Saige behavior on a shopping trip. I managed to get all of my shopping done and then some. I was so giddy over how good she was that I broke the cardinal rule of shopping and let feet the floor. Yes, I took her out of the stroller and let her have at it. Even then she was GOOD. I KNEW something was up. I took her to the pediatrician today and low and behold she had an ear infection AGAIN. Same ear as usual and this makes an ear infection every single month since we've had her. The antibiotics keep getting stronger and stronger. We know that the antibiotic works but she gets the infection right back for whatever the reason. In the back of my mind I KNEW she had one. The signs were all there. I guess I was just hoping and praying that it would just go away on it's own. The words from the ENT still echo in my mind..."hopefully the weather change will keep those ear infections away but we can't allow her to continue getting infections throughout the spring/summer. If she gets any more we will have to seriously start talking about tubes". UGHHHHHHHHHHHH. Tomorrow I have to make that call to the ENT informing him that she's had another one. I know what he's going to say. I just dread it.

Memorial Day, smores and sparklers

2009-05-26T06:35:00.000-07:00

We woke up early on Memorial Day so that we could head down the road to Unionville to see the parade. A great time was had by all. The kids enjoyed the parade and Saige had a blast waving at everyone walking by. We just lounged around all day then had a BBQ that night. I bought some graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows earlier in the week so we built a fire and had smores. Boy did those marshmallows go QUICK. We made Saige smores but she had more of an interest in the chocolate (smart girl!). Could have cared less about the marshmallows and graham crackers..lol. She went right for the chocolate as soon as she saw where it was. Once we all had our fill of smores it was time to spark up the sparklers! Saige wasn't too interested in the sparklers because she was still looking for more chocolate. The other kids had a blast with them though. It was so nice to have a day to just relax and enjoy life.

Good times!

2009-05-23T17:29:00.001-07:00

Had a GREAT time today at the Stormville Flea Market with Mer, Tim, Lulu, Carol and Samantha. It was so nice to see everyone again and words can't begin to describe how good it feels that the girls were able to see each other again. I love we are able to stay in touch with several of the TQ group. I think one day it will be very important to them to have had this bond.

I'll have more of an update tomorrow but for now I'll post some pics of Saige, Samantha and Lulu. I also have a few pics of Julie playing soccer. She scored TWO goals!!

Never a dull moment in this house!

2009-05-12T17:35:00.001-07:00

lol. Tonight our darling Saige decided to bite off the end of an eraser and stick it up her nose. Now she's ever put things up her nose before but has always been able to blow it right back out. Not tonight. It was STUCK and she was not happy about it. I had to take my otoscope to look in her nose so that I could see it then take tweezers and pull it out. This took several tries and I was starting to think this would be a trip to the ER since she was VERY uncomfortable. After having 3 other children I really thought I had seen it all....NOT!!! Below is the offending eraser and tools used to retrieve said eraser. This kid sure does keep us on our toes!

16 months old!

2009-05-04T09:23:00.001-07:00

Today our little girl is 16 months old. We are so blessed to have Saige in our lives.

An update

2009-05-03T18:04:00.000-07:00

Things have been crazy busy lately but I finally have a minute to update.

The boys have been doing awesome in school. They just got their state report grades back and they got a 93 and 94. They are due to test again in karate this week but a doubt they will be allowed to since we haven't been able to go twice a week all month. Plus, I don't think they know all of the kata. The boys had a home soccer game this afternoon but lost 3-6. Oh well, they'll win the next one!! Go Bobcats!

Saige is keeping us on our toes. She has learned to say J (for Julie). We're still working on getting her to say Stephen but that's a tough one. She always calls out to Mike. She is picking up so many new words. She says nite nite, bye, I love, da da, ma ma, mom mom (this is what she calls my mom), what, why, cup, more, kitty, woof, please, ouch, cow, bath, fish, no, eye and so many more. We did a double take yesterday when she changed the TV to video so she could watch the Wiggles. There's a button on the front of the TV that you have to press to get it to come on and I guess she's seen us do it enough that she had it all figured out. lol. She understands alot also. I think she even understands more than we catch on to. I still can't believe we've been a family of 6 for 6 months already. Where has the time gone?

As for Julie, we finally found a new pediatrician and we absolutely love him. He went over Julie with a fine tooth comb. The last "specialist" (insert eye roll) we went to didn't even give Julie an exam, just said what she thought she didn't have and sent us on our way. Even had the nerve to tell us to take her off the antibiotics. I couldn't believe my ears. Anyway, the new pediatrician ordered a ton of bloodwork and not only said she should stay on the antibiotic but even upped her dosage. She is feeling a little better but has some complaints that worry me. Her "tired" legs and her inability to straigten her knees without pain are just a couple. The fact that my once very athletic child has NO interest in the sports (karate, swimming and soccer) that she once loved is another biggie. Julie has an appt with the orthopedic doctor this week and we hope that will either shine some light on whatever is going on or atleast rule some things out. I feel like I belong on the show Mystery Diagnosis these days. I just want to know what to do to get my little girl feeling better again. There's nothing worse than watching your child suffering and not be able to do a thing about it.

Ugh

2009-04-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

It's been an incredibly aweful week. Today was the worst by far. Julie hasn't been herself ever since having mono in Dec/Jan. The past couple months she's been complaining of aches and pains which for the first month I attributed to her recovering from mono and having her tonsils removed. The past couple/few weeks she's been complaining more and more about SO many different things. Belly aches, knee pain, dizziness, tiredness just to name a few. This past week has been the worst for her. We took her Tuesday to get bloodwork done that would tell us if she has Lyme or not. We are STILL waiting for the results. I had to pick her up from school today because her legs were bothering her so much and I could just tell she didn't feel well just by looking at her. The pediatrician was hoping the results would be in today but no such luck. I think he wanted to help preserve what very little sanity I have left so he went ahead and started her on a 28 day course of antibiotics. Nothing gained nothing lost if she turns out to not have lyme. I don't know what to think. On one hand if it were a positive result atleast we would have an answer to what is wrong with our little girl. If not it's back to square one and more tests. Can't win for losing...

Happy 11th Birthday Stephen and Michael!!

2009-04-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my boys are ELEVEN already. WHERE did the time go? We had a great day today. We got up bright and early and hit the 10:40 showing of Monsters vs. Aliens. GOOOOOOD movie! The kids liked the movie and I got to listen to Hugh Laurie's voice...good deal! Then it was off to get the boys a much needed haircut. They were going through that "I want my hair long" phase. Stephen wasn't happy with me at first for making him cut it but when he looked in the mirror he decided he liked it. Michael didn't care either way. He's my easy going boy. After haircuts it was off to Laser One for some laser tag and arcade games. When it was dinner time we went as a family unit out to Log Cabin then came home and had ice cream cake. WHAT a day! I'm exhausted. The boys are still going strong though. They are in their rooms putting together all the Star Wars lego's that they got. I figure it'll keep them busy for the rest of the week. lol.

Julie keeps getting better every day from her surgery. Mornings are the worst but once she gets her pain medication it is bearable.

Saige was back to the ENT yesterday with another ear infection. This makes 4 in almost as many months. Not good. The ENT is hoping that once the weather breaks that she will stop getting them but if not she's looking at tubes. She's on another strong antibiotic and seems to be better today. Julie is going back to the ENT on Friday for her post OP appointment and he said he wanted to see Saige also, just to make sure that the antibiotic is working. Fingers crossed!

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

We had a great time last night coloring eggs and getting ready for the Easter bunny. The kids had a blast coloring their eggs.
This morning we discovered Saige LOOOOOVES to collect eggs and she figured out very quickly how to pop them open and get the yummy candy inside. The boys and Julie had fun helping Saige find eggs. The bunny brought the boys a Lego set, Julie a Hannah Montanna doll and Saige got a ride on turtle.
Julie is still feeling sore from having her tonsils out on Thursday. I think the second day was the worst for her. Right now she's still on lots of pain medication and it makes her very sleepy. She's been getting lots of rest and eating lots of pudding and ice pops. Hopefully she will be back to her old self in no time.
I hope everyone has a great Easter!!

Nooooo!!!

Julie

Eggs!!

Hey this is fun!

What does this button do?

Our egg creations

Hey this is a REAL egg!

Michael

Julie

Stephen

Julie and Saige about to give kisses

Saige in her adorable Naartjie outfit (thanks M, now I'm hooked!)

Late post

2009-04-11T07:32:00.000-07:00

This post should have been done yesterday but here it is. It's been one year since we saw who our daughter was for the very first time. Talk about love at first sight! I had to do the picture of Saige holding her referral picture like so many before me have done. It's a cute reminder of where we were then and where we are now. One year ago all we had was a picture to memorize and today we have this beautiful little girl to love.

Spaghetti head!

If I had a dime

2009-04-04T16:37:00.000-07:00

for everytime I've heard Saige say "MIIIIIINE" I would be so rich. lol. This is definately the word of the week. She says it so crystal clear and with such meaning that you don't DARE take away what she is calling mine unless you want to feel the wrath of Saige. Fortunately for me MIIIINE has been nothing but harmless toys. lol.

As for everything else, Saige is a whole new kid. She's done a total 360 ever since I switched her to a hypoallergenic formula. Amazing that I (along with a few members of the TQ group) had to figure out what was wrong with my kid. My pediatrician practically laughed at my milk allergy theory which turns out to be EXACTLY what the problem was.

All I have to say about that is if you have a feeling that something just isn't right with your child and your pediatrician won't take you seriously then seek a second opinion. Shoot, seek opinions until you get someone to listen. Afterall YOU are the one who knows your child best. Listen to your instincts.

5 months together as a family of 6!

2009-03-31T08:05:00.000-07:00

I shot this video this morning. Julie was making Saige laugh hysterically. I swear it's the best sound in the world!

Another must have

2009-03-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

These things hold a TON of pee. Saige sleeps 12+ hours a night so regular diapers just don't cut it. Very high on my list of must have's for baby.

The snack trap

2009-03-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

Everyone needs one of these. Saige walks around eating her little snacks from this cup and loves it.

We are noticing a difference in Saige already. Fingers crossed that this formula switch will do the trick.

More change

2009-03-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

Another formula switch for Saige. I just switched her to a hypoallergenic formula and a very expensive one at that...ugh. Michael used to have milk allergies so he used to be on Nutramigen and even back then the price was staggering now it knocks you right off your feet. You would think it was gold. It was suggested that perhaps she had a milk allergy a long time ago (by M) and I just kind of shrugged it off. The more I think about it the more sense it makes. Good grief if it was a milk allergy this whole time and I've been giving her formula with milk I would feel aweful. Time will tell.
I'm overdue to post pics and I will post soon. I try to be a good blogger really I do!

Good times

2009-03-16T18:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the kids went to their cousin Liah's skating party yesterday and good times were had by all. It was SO nice to see Julie out having FUN for a change. I was amazed at how well each of the kids did at skating. They all had the hang of it before we left.
The downfall was this morning. J woke up tired and sore. Her cheeks were red and she was crying so I took her temp. Yep, a fever. UGH. Monday Monday...can't stand them Monday's. It was a slight fever and this week was IOWA testing at school so I gave her some Motrin and sent her on her way to school...bad mommy. In my defense I told her to just go as long as she can and go to the nurse if she got worse. J made it thru the whole day but I decided to take her to the Dr. after school because she just looked bad and the nurse looked in her ears and thought she had and ear infection. The Dr. tested her for strep and she was negative and she had no ear infection so it is assumed that she has yet ANOTHER virus. Good grief, how many viruses can this poor kid GET? *sigh*
Anywho, the boys got their mid term grades and they did AWESOME! Woo Hoo!

I'll post some blurry pics of the skating party tomorrow.

Saige, master of the pencil

2009-03-12T06:33:00.000-07:00

We could not believe our eyes the first time we saw Saige do this. She holds a pencil perfectly and she did it on her own as if she's done it hundreds of times before. Who needs crayons anyway?!!

Catch up

2009-03-08T10:57:00.001-07:00

I've been a bad blogger and I have no real excuses. The kids are all healthy and things have been finally getting back to normal. Well, as normal as normal can be for this family!

Michael got his braces on last week and he was less than thrilled. Already we've noticed a difference in his teeth and he was pretty happy about that so all is well again.
Stephen lost yet another tooth. He's probably lost about 4 in the past 30 days. I'm getting to be quite the pro at tooth pulling!
Julie is doing great. We're still trying to put some weight back on her but other than that she's A OK.
Saige is hysterical these days. She LOVES The Chipmunks Movie and Free Willy. Everytime she saw Willy she would say "awe". The Chipmunks are a huge hit and Saige had me in stitches last night because when Dave says "Alvin....ALVIN....ALLLLLVIN!!!" Alvin then says "WHAAAAT!" Saige says "WHAAAT!" too!
Another big hit is the Spongebob Squarepants song. Every time it comes on she hollers BOB BOB!!!
I can't get over how quickly she's picking up new words and learning things. Daddy told her to go put a wrapper in the garbage and she did it! She also knows when we are about to eat so she pushes her high chair over to us. She's a HUGE help when it comes to laundry. I'll pile the clothes on the floor and she puts them in the washer...too cute!
She has become very attached to her angel dear giraffe lovie so I did the wise thing and bought a spare. THese lovies are her favorites. She has a cat, a dog, a lamb and now TWO giraffe's. Believe me when I tell you I've ever seen her dragging around every one of them!
I guess that should pretty much do it for now. I'll get to work on loading some pics next!

Back to school they go

2009-03-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

FINALLY. Stephen, Michael and Julie as of tonight will all head to school tomorrow. It was a rough weekend. Saige had to go back to the Dr. Saturday because of a lingering cough. Turned out her lungs were clear but as we were leaving the Dr. office Michael almost passed out. The Dr. said it was either due to low blood sugar or the phlem conversation we were having about Saige. Either way he had me quite worried. Michael also came down with a nice case of pink eye. Fortunately we were able to keep it from spreading to anyone else. I guess my OCD is good for something! Michael had a fever Sunday and Monday so because of that and the pink eye he got a get out of school free card today. He needs to be fever free for 24 hrs before returning to school and I believe pink eye is contagious for 36-48 hours after starting medication. I'm probably the only parent left on the planet that follows that rule but I refuse to send my kid to school to make others sick. Another OCD thing I guess! Julie continues to get better each day. All she has left of mono is the weight loss (10lbs) and a nasty cough. She actually fits in pants again that I was about to get rid of pre mono. Stephen stayed home today honestly, just because. He's actually been quite healthy but I was too lazy to bring him to school today.
Lets hope my kids will all be back to their normal happy healthy selves to stay!!
Ohhh...this weekend is snow tubing...YAAAAY!!!

Better

2009-02-24T06:54:00.000-08:00

Julie's fever broke last night and she's feeling a little better today. All she did yesterday was lay in bed but today she's up and about. I'm keeping her home the rest of the week from school. It seems that virus is still going around and I'm not sending Julie right back into it again. I figure I'll give her the rest of the week to relax, eat and get back to her old self. She ate a whole jelly dounut this morning and polished off her orange juice so hopefully she's getting her appetite back too.
Saige did something really cute last night. I had to take the boys to karate and Carl stayed home with Julie and Saige. I'm on my way to karate and the cell phone rings. It's Carl telling me that Saige was walking around with her coat trying to put it on. lol!! She thought she was going too and knew to go get her coat! This kid is one smart little cookie!

Here we go again

2009-02-23T09:22:00.000-08:00

We went from this: (Julie on left in pink swim cap)

To this in less than 48 hours.

Julie had her "splash" pool party Saturday night. She had a wonderful time with her friends. She was a little tired and still looked pretty pale but we thought we could finally put the mono, the virus and the ear infection behind us. When I went in to get her up this morning for school and saw how red her cheeks were, I knew. I got the ole thermometer out and she was 102.4. Off to the doctor we went and she was tested for strep and the flu, both were negative. I guess it's either the mono acting up again or she picked up a new virus at the party. I hope she is feeling better once and for all SOON.

Party pics

2009-02-18T03:58:00.000-08:00

MiMa got Julie a Wow Wee Tiger Cub for her birthday...tooo cute! Julie loved it and so did Saige. As you can see from the pictures Saige didn't know what to think of it at first. It wasn't long before the tears were flowing because she didn't want to give it back to Julie. Fortunately, Julie was very nice and shared with Saige. Saige held it and said "here kitty kitty" then gave it a hug and it started purring. It purrs when you hug it or pet it and it opens and closes it's mouth and eyes. Once again MiMa picked out the perfect gift.

Happy 6th Birthday Julie!

2009-02-17T06:37:00.000-08:00

Six years ago today our beautiful princess was born. She was born during the blizzard of 2003. Leave it to me to go into labor during a blizzard. I can't believe it's been 6 years.
I remember when I went for my ultrasound that Carl and I decided we wanted to be surprised this time and not find out the sex. Well, I got antsy towards the end and wanted to know but by then they couldn't tell. Why you ask? Because Julie decided she wanted to come into the world butt first...lol. We had to wait until delivery day to find out. I had to have a C-section because she was breach. It was the longest 5 minutes of my life waiting to hear those words. Finally, I heard the Dr. say the words I had prayed to hear. "It's a girl!"
Mommy and daddy love you so very much Julianne!

A new record

2009-02-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

goes to my poor Julie for her 104 temp this afternoon. Stephen had come close to the 104 mark when he was a baby and had all the ear infections but never hit it. Julie went in for all kinds of STAT bloodwork first thing this morning and everything came back within limits. They think she has a virus. I sent Julie back to school on Monday not knowing there was this virus circulating around her school. Had I known she would have never gone back this week. Having been on antibiotics for almost a month and fighting mono has just left her a target for a virus. So needless to say I am not happy about being left out of that loop.

On a happier note I applied for Saige's SS card on Wednesday and should have it in a couple weeks. Woo Hoo!

Also, Stephen got his braces off yesterday and is THRILLED. Now it's Michaels turn to get braces and he is NOT happy to say the very least.

Still sick

2009-02-12T14:29:00.000-08:00

Julie started running a fever again today. She's still complaining of a headache but now she says a pain in her side felt like an explosion. Pretty descriptive for a 5 year old and I'm worried about what that explosion feeling was exactly. She said she felt it yesterday and now today she's sick again. She's been back to school only two times since she got mono weeks ago and today I find out that there is a virus going around the school. Well guess who's NOT going to school tomorrow and who wouldn't have gone this week had I known this. Julie has been on antibiotics for almost a month now and because of that probably has a nonexistant immune system. Overprotective? Perhaps, but my baby isn't getting better and I'm getting more and more paranoid by the day.
Even Saige is still running a low grade fever. She has a few days left on the antibiotic they gave her for the ear infection so I'm hoping it kicks in completely by then.
Sigh.....

Tet Celebration at Carol and Steve's

2009-02-08T13:08:00.000-08:00

What a great time we had! The food was amazing and we all had such a great time. I'm sure Carol and Steve were exhausted by the time everyone left because they really outdid themselves. It was so nice to see Saige with her TQ "sisters" again. We got to meet The Raglands and their daughter Juliet. It was so nice to meet them because I fell in love with Juliet when we were at the orphanage on the day of our G@R. We also got to see Elise and her sweet little girl Mikah again. It's always a blast to hang out with Mer and Tim but this was the first time I met their daughter Lulu. What a sweetie! Everyone was so nice and a great time was had by all.

Thanks again Carol and Steve!

This is what happens

2009-02-05T09:33:00.000-08:00

when Saige finds a balloon that Julie drew a face on with marker?

We just thought she was playing with it until a closer inspection revealed the truth. I showed her in the mirror what she looked like and for the longest time she just stared then she said...ut oh. lol.

Fortunately this all happened after our post placement visit! lol

Oooba dooba dua

2009-01-30T15:13:00.000-08:00

this is Saige talk for open that door and amazingly enough it sounds just like it. It's hysterical and I must make a note to self to get it on video.

Climbing up on chairs

2009-01-29T08:59:00.000-08:00

this is Saige's latest accomplishment. One minute she's playing on the floor in the dining room, I turn my back for a minute and she's sitting on the chair with the cat that swallowed the canary look on her face. Amazing that she can even climb up there but to do it so QUICK.

Chillin

2009-01-28T10:33:00.001-08:00

This is the life

Out they go

2009-01-27T13:14:00.000-08:00

Julie's tonsils that is. The ENT agreed with me that Julie would be better off having her tonsils removed due to their size and the problems she's been having with them. Stephen had his out when he was about 4 and it was the best thing I could have had done for him. Stephen used to be the poster child for strep throat until we had his removed. He's never had any throat problems since. Hoping the same holds true for Julie. We have to wait 6 weeks for her spleen to get back to it's original size so I guess it'll be scheduled sometime in March.

As for our Saige, her bloodwork came back negative for both Giardia and H pylori...woo hooo!!! Her calcium level was slightly elevated but down considerable from the first test two months ago so I'm pretty sure it was a formula issue.

Results

2009-01-26T15:12:00.000-08:00

The results of Julie's bloodwork were positive for Mono. She is feeling a little better but still only eating soup and yogurt. She will be out of school for the rest of the week and no gym, sports or exercise for a month. I guess her spleen is enlarged and any contact with it could cause it to rupture. Atleast we know what's been making her so sick.
Saige went for more bloodwork today. She had to be retested for giardia to make sure the medicine took care of it all. She also had to have her calcium levels retested as they were elevated last time. The last test was for h pylori.

You might be a Redneck if..........

2009-01-24T14:16:00.000-08:00

You have to resort to this

to keep your fearless toddler from climbing up the ladder to the top bunk then sitting there smiling like the cat that swallowed the canary.

No better

2009-01-23T09:47:00.000-08:00

Julie woke up in tears this morning because it hurt so bad to swallow. I looked in her throat and she was more swollen than yesterday. I gave her some medicine and tucked her back in bed and she was asleep again by the time I had to take the boys to school. When I woke her up to take the boys to school she was crying which in turn got me crying. I was all set to take her to the emergency room but the pediatrician told me to bring her back in to them. She ordered some more bloodwork and prescribed her some steroids to bring the swelling down in her throat. They don't know what's wrong but seem to think it may be mono. There I am sitting with Julie in the room and the Dr. is telling me yet again that they don't know what's wrong. I was in tears. It's not bad enough that my baby is in pain and there's nothing I can do about it but to hear they still don't know what is causing it was the worst.
Her bloodwork may be back tomorrow but if not we won't know until Monday. UGH.

Sick again

2009-01-22T12:39:00.000-08:00

Julie is sick again. She got off the antibiotic last week and whatever she had is back again. The pediatrician still has no idea what it is since both the mono and strep tests were negative. He put her on a stronger antibiotic today and wants her blood work redone if she's not better by Saturday. I also made an appt with the ENT because her tonsils are large on a good day but lately they are just enormous. Her lymph nodes are so swollen that her neck is starting to look like Frankenstein. I'm hoping the ENT advises us to have her tonsils removed as I think think she keeps getting tonsillitis.

In other news Saige had her one year well checkup today and all is well. She gained a few ounces and has finally reached 18lbs. She is getting rechecked for giardia to make sure it's gone for good. The pediatrician also wanted to test her for h pylori and recheck her calcium levels as they were high the first time. Of course I forgot to give her Tylenol before we left for her appt but they were kind enough to give me a sample bottle. I always make sure to give Tylenol prior to any of the appts where shots are given because it cuts down dramatically on fevers and aches from the shots. The poor baby got 3 shots today and boy did she scream. Saige has this scream that is just off the charts LOUD. She shrieks and it just makes me want to jump out of my skin. Perhaps she needed a loud voice in the orphanage to be heard over all the other babies.

It was a bad day all around today. I didn't realized I had parked the car over a patch of ice at the pediatrician. I had Saige in my arms, stepped foot on the ground, my feet went out from under me and on my arse I went. Thank God I had a good hold of Saige and managed to hold on to her. It was one of those falls that just leaves you sitting there like WTF just happened? I guess having a squishy butt (as Stephen calls it) comes in handy in times like that because I fell hard. Julie asked me if I was OK and said "yep mommy, that's gonna leave a mark". lol.

More firsts

2009-01-21T18:22:00.001-08:00

Saige can now say stop and guys. The boys were being a little loud tonight so I told Saige to go tell them to stop. It was so cute to see her walk down the hall, point, and tell them to stop. lol.
When I want the boys to do their homework I tell Saige to go get the guys and she walks down the hall and hollers out "GUYS!". It's hysterical.

Also, today Saige experienced her first car wash and didn't like it at all. She hated everything about it. No matter how hard we tried to make it seem cool, she hated it. I can't blame her. I did take some pics and will post tomorrow.

We are looking forward to our TET celebration with our dear friends Carol and Steve & Mer and Tim on the 31st.

Mine, poop, Nerds and The Wiggles

2009-01-20T17:28:00.000-08:00

The latest word is mine. Saige was goofing around with MiMa last night and learned this incredible word that is now applied to everything in her hands. She found the remote tonight and when I told her to "gimmie that", she took off running and saying MINE!!! This kid is hysterical.

The formula switch seems to be working really well. I could not believe the sheer volume of poop that came out of this tiny little 18lb child. Forget poop up the back syndrome this was poop up the back of the NECK syndrome. I've changed MANY diapers in my day as Saige is my 4th child but I have NEVER changed a diaper like THIS. An award winner for sure.

I snapped some pictures of Saige tonight holding her new Wiggles microphone while eating Nerds. I was enjoying snapping up pictures of Saige when I hear Stephen, Michael and Julie laughing hysterically. Apparently Julie decided it would be jolly good fun to stick a couple of Nerds up her nose. Funny right? Well it's all fun and games until the Nerds won't come back OUT. Once reality hit, Julie was crying and blowing her nose trying to get them out. After several failed attempts she finally blew hard enough and out they came. The picture below is a very happy Julie holding the expelled Nerds in her hand. I'm relatively certain that she won't be doing that again anytime in the near future. There's never a dull moment in this house that's for sure.

Julie's nose Nerds

MINE!!!

The Wiggles and Nerds...what more could a little girl want?

Mmmmmm.....these things are sooo good

Happy Day!

2009-01-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

Below is my tribute to the blundering idiot that USED to be our President. Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya Dubya.
1. Dubya
Slang term for the most inept president the United States has ever had.
George "Dubya" Bush

10) "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream." —LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000 (Listen to audio clip)

9) "I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family." —Greater Nashua, N.H., Jan. 27, 2000(Listen to audio clip)

8) "I hear there's rumors on the Internets that we're going to have a draft." —second presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004 (Listen to audio clip)

7) "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." —Saginaw, Mich., Sept. 29, 2000 (Listen to audio clip)

6) "You work three jobs? … Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." —to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 4, 2005 (Listen to audio clip)

5) "Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." —Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 2004 (Watch video clip; listen to audio clip)

4) "They misunderestimated me." —Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000

3) "Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?" —Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000

2) "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." —Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004 (Watch video clip; listen to audio clip)

1) "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." —Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002 (Watch video clip; listen to audio clip)

New word

2009-01-17T15:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, so Saige was taught a new word today by her brother and sister. Any guesses? Come on all you bloggers with older brothers and sisters take a guess.

Poop. That's what they taught her to say. Seriously, why oh why do babies always say words like that crystal clear so that there's NO mistaking what they are saying? Most other words are a total guessing game but words like poop are enunciated perfectly...ugh. If it wasn't so dang funny (I know, bad mommy) I would have, well, not laughed as hard.

More change

2009-01-14T06:14:00.000-08:00

I'm on a bit of a health kick and I've been buying organic. So far it's been a big hit with the family. The favorite so far has been bananas. The kids and Carl LOVE the organic ones. The least favorite so far has been the milk. The kids don't mind it but Carl doesn't like it. Oh well, can't win them all. Another big hit is the organic carrots, they are very good. So far I've bought pizza, tomato sauce, bananas, milk, peanut butter, jelly, animal crackers, cheese, burritos, gold fish and graham crackers, chicken nuggets and corn dogs. I'm surprised that the prices on many of them are not much higher than for non organic groceries. Milk has been the only real price shocker thus far.
I think Kate from Jon & Kate plus 8 is starting to rub off on me with all her organizing and healthy foods. I only have half the amount of kids she does and she is way more organized with toys and meals than I. How bad is that? Snaps for trying though right?

A switch

2009-01-11T13:50:00.000-08:00

We had to make a switch with Saige's formula today. As I've said before Saige is a really good eater. She eats tons of fruits and veggies every day. I make sure that she gets atleast one 4oz bottle of apple prune juice daily, yet this poor baby struggles with #2 and is irregular to say the least. After doing some online research today we switched her from Good Start 2 to Good Start with Natural Cultures. It has a little less iron and the natural cultures are supposed to be easier on her belly and good for her immune system. Time will tell. If all else fails she will have to go on Nutramigen. Two of my three other children had to be on it due to allergies so I don't know what made me think Saige would be any different. I really hope Good Start does the trick because the Nutramigen is UBER expensive and the stuff smells aweful.
Saige has also managed to get another cold. I'm telling you I've never seen a child with a runnier nose than Saige. Her nose runs like a sieve.
Julie is finally feeling better. Her bloodwork came back negative for mono and her 24 hour culture for strep also came back negative. She was put on an antibiotic at my insistance and she was feeling better by the next day. I think she had an infection in her tonsils but we'll never know because the dopey Dr. that saw her the first time never ordered a CBC along with the other tests.
The boys and Julie went sleigh riding yesterday and that was not without incident. Stephen came in the house with a bloody nose and scratched cheek. That pesky tree jumped right out in front of him.
Anyway, I've been busy organizing. I've made numerous trips to Walmart to get plastic bins to put lego's, littlest pet shops, ds games, barbie's and other toys in. I am most proud of how much room I made by simply taking the PS2, WII and Xbox CD's and putting them in an album. I bought a HUGE plastic bin to put the empty cases in and put it in the basement. The kids have so much more room in the closet now. Yep, it's the little things that make me the happiest.

I want to wish Xavier (Ali & JJ's son) a speedy recovery from his surgery on Friday.
xavierspage.blogspot.com/

Birthday pics

2009-01-04T18:23:00.000-08:00

more to come tomorrow.

Happy 1st Birthday Saige!

2009-01-04T08:32:00.000-08:00

Woo Hoo! I'll post some pics later.

Unfortunately 2 of my 4 kiddos are sick and it's been a crazy morning. I spent half the day yesterday in the doctors office and Lab Corp getting bloodwork done on Julie. She's been complaining of a sore throat and headaches. She's also been sleeping ALOT. This morning Stephen woke me up to tell me he had been sick. (total understatement) I gave him some tylenol for fever and even that isn't staying down. Hopefully both of them will be feeling better really soon.

More later.

Chuck E Cheese pics

2009-01-03T05:01:00.000-08:00

It's official

2009-01-02T18:12:00.000-08:00

Saige is a US citizen! Her Certificate of Citizenship came in the mail today...FINALLY. Since it took so long I was actually hoping we would get it in a couple more weeks and have a letter from Obama instead of Bush so I'm a little bummed about that.

Yesterday Carl watched Saige and I took Stephen, Michael and Julie to see Marley & Me. Good movie but it's a good thing I had kleenex!

Today was a fun filled day at Chuck E Cheese. We met my friend Kim and her kids and my friend Kay and her grandchildren. The kids had a blast, especially Saige. I was worried about what she would think of the fat mouse with big ears but to my surprise she liked him. We discovered Saige loves slides today too. She loves to go down them belly first.
When the food came out she gobbled up the french fries and ketchup.
She must have wore herself out because she took a three hour nap when we got home.

A good time was had by all!
I'll post some pics tomorrow.

Congratulations to Saige's orphanage buddy Samantha as she is also officially a US citizen as of today!

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T10:46:00.001-08:00

Wishing everyone a happy & healthy New Year!

Julie singing at her Christmas program

The boys at their Christmas band concert (Michael w/clarinet Stephen w/drumsticks)

Halloween pics of my Star Wars trio!

I have a sword and I'm NOT afraid to use it!!

YAAA!!!

So tired

Pretty Christmas dress

Yay toys!

Blowing kisses to Mommy

2 months

2008-12-28T05:21:00.000-08:00

Two months ago yesterday we held Saige for the first time. It's hard to believe it's been that long already. In two short months she has brought us all so much happiness. When I go into Saige's nursery and pick her up in the morning she gives me the biggest hug, lays her head on my shoulder and pats my back. Heaven.

Saige is by far the best eater of all my kids. Saige LOVES fruit especialy peaches. A common sight in our house is daddy and Saige sitting on the couch watching TV and sharing an apple. So far she also likes corn, peas, broccoli and brussel sprouts.

Saige has several blankets that she drags around with her. One of the hens (Melissa) gave her an angel dear lamb lovie that is a must have. I bought her a bigger pink and white giraffe that she has to have at night. One of my friends (thank you so much Dawn) recently gave Saige a beautiful blanket she made for her. This blanket is a must have for watching TV.

Below is a pic my mom took of her watching her new Wiggles CD. She barely blinked the whole time the video was on. lol.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T19:13:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays everyone!

Pics I found on my phone

2008-12-18T14:58:00.001-08:00

I'm outta here!

My mommy loves me!

So tired!

Busted!!

Saige has been doing really well. She picks up on EVERYthing and doesn't miss a trick. She's been saying ma ma, da , here kitty kitty, cow. She knows/recognizes ba ba, blanket, Julie, Stephen, Michael and MiMa even tho she can't say the words yet. She hates the cold and I can't say as I blame her. The kids adore her and are a big help with her. We are all very excited to see her open her gifts on Christmas morning. I'm sure Santa will be very good to our beautiful little girl.

Two posts in one day

2008-11-29T14:20:00.000-08:00

Surprise!

It hits you the first day you hold your child how grateful you are to have this precious new little person to love. I still can't believe this beautiful little girl is ours. I cried so hard the first time I held her. I still remember kissing her and telling Carl how beautiful and perfect she is. I wish I could give her biological parents peace of mind and tell them how grateful we are to them for this perfect little angel they gave us. I wish we could tell them how very much we all love her. I know they must wonder about her. For us we wonder about them also. We hope and pray that they know how very loved she is and how grateful we are to have her. She has made our lives complete.

We can't wait to take Saige on her first annual Olinger family tree hunt this year. We can't wait to see her beautiful face as she opens up her gifts.
As I type this Stephen is holding Saige and she is saying ma ma ma for the first time.
I feel like the luckiest person alive.

Aweful blogger

2008-11-29T11:49:00.000-08:00

I'm moved up to aweful blogger status. I didn't even have time to do a Thanksgiving post. I used to be such a good little multitasker!

Ok, so Saige has been doing awesome. She sleeps thru the night from 8-8 and sometimes longer and naps from 1-3 or so. She has moved down from a Stage 3 clinger to a Stage 2 clinger..YAY!!! She LOVES our cat Buddy. Her first English words have been "here kitty kitty". No boring ole ma ma or da da for our little girl's first words ut uh!! lol. My mommy brag is that this little girl is brilliant. She picks up on things SO fast. We are amazed at how quick she learns new things.
She absolutely adores her daddy. Carl had daddy duty on Black Friday and he took her and the kids for a long walk to see the cows. She LOVES to go for walks outside. She loved it in VN but it was so much warmer there that I wasn't sure she would like it in the NJ cold but she does.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I'm sure all the other AP's (I LOVE that I don't have to say PAP's anymore!) did too. So much to be thankful for this year. We have a wonderful, happy, healthy family. Life is good!
I WILL post pics soon I promise!

Bad Blogger!

2008-11-20T17:19:00.001-08:00

I know I've been a bad blogger. I have so many pics and video's to upload but no time to do it. Our latest video is one of Saige in her Horse Jumparoo bouncing up and down, smiling while watching Curious Buddies. Saige LOVES Curious Buddies. I'm all for anything that is void of a certain irritating purple dinasaur who will remain nameless. I promise to make time to post it soon.

Saige has been doing VERY well. We love her very much and so do the kids. She goes thru her clingy phases but that is to be expected. Fortunately, she loves her car seat and falls asleep during long car rides. This works out well for me because I practically live in my car with all the running around I have to do. Best of all our little princess can burp like no other. Coming from a mom who can burp the alphabet I am SO very proud of my girl! God blessed us with the most perfect little girl. I can't imagine a better fit for our family! She already knows so many words. She knows ma ma, da da, ba ba, bye bye, light, no ( of course) and many more. We are amazed at how fast she picks things up.

Today we got a call from her pediatrician that her tests came back positive for giardia. I wasn't surprised in the least. Giardia is an intestinal parasite that many of the children have. No big deal just a round of antibiotics for five days. She also had high calcium levels. It could have something to do with the VN formula she was on so we are going to retest her next month. Other than that she is perfectly healthy.

I just have to say how blessed we are to have such wonderful friends and family. The night we arrived home the kids gave us books that every kid in their class helped to make for Saige. Stephen and Michael's class made a counting book for Saige and Julie's class made a picture book. I thought this was the sweetest thing ever! Saige LOVES to look thru the books and point to the pictures. Thank you so much Mrs. VanderGroef and Mrs. Ward!

I have to give a shout out to my fellow AP's. Shannon and Jason Devine's little girl Halle Grace turned one recently as did Mer and Tim's little girl Lulu Belle. Happy 1st Birthday!
Fellow hen Melissa is in VN right now adopting Abby. Congratulations Melissa!!!!
So much good news finally!

I have one more friend that is due for some good news soon on her China adoption. She has been waiting longer than we have for her little baby girl . I think about her all the time and just know that her day will come SOON.

Again, thanks to all for following along.

Last post from VN

2008-11-11T03:51:00.000-08:00

We had a great time in our little girl's birth country but it's time to go home! We miss our three toads at home like crazy!

Carl went to Ha Long Bay on Monday while Saige and I stayed here. He had a great time and took lots of beautiful pictures.

Today we ate lunch with Carol at the Green Tangerine and did one last shopping spree around the Old Quarter. Did I mention we loved it here? lol. To give you an example of how sweet the people are..
We met a waitress at Jaspas and she always held Saige for us while we ate and made her laugh by giving her balloons. We got back from shopping today and she was in the lobby waiting for us. She gave us two cd's of children's vietnamese lullaby's. I was touched. I will truly miss it here. Tomorrow will definately be bittersweet.

See you soon!!!! Stephen, Michael and Julie....mommy, daddy and your little sister are coming home!!! Woo Hoo!! We love you. xxxooo

Lime

2008-11-09T04:27:00.000-08:00

Saige loves lime. Go figure. The third pic down is of her putting the lime in her mouth and the next one is her reaction to it. She is also a VERY messy eater as you can see from the pics . Stephen is still my one and only neat eater. Carl, Michael and Julie now have stiff competition for the Olinger family messiest eater award.

We are still on schedule to come home Wednesday. I've decided to let the kids stay home from school Thursday and Friday so that we can veg out and bond as a family for a few days. I know...bad mommy! But to the kids I'm cool mommy so it's all good!
VN has the cutest hats ever. I've bought tons of them. Saige gets the biggest kick out of me trying them on her.

This n that

2008-11-08T03:40:00.000-08:00

Ok so Saige has new game she plays. She hides behind the curtains and waits for us to call "Saige, where's Saige?". Then she opens up the curtains and smiles and laughs. I tell you it's priceless and I have to get a video of it!

Today we got a call from Carol and Steve that we were invited to lunch with Allie (our adoption coodinator) and some other families at the Green Tangerine. We had a great time and the food was the best we've had so far. We both had a New Zealand steak, potatoes and a delicious chocolate mousse dessert. After lunch we did some more shopping. I picked the boys up something really awesome but can't say what because they read this blog. Julie and Saige have some wonderful gifts also.

Tonight we are going to meet Carol and Steve for some take out from an Indian restaurant.

Looks like we will be flying home on Wednesday. We will leave here Wednesday morning (VN time) and catch a 12:35 flight to Taipei. From Taipei we fly straight to Newark (I think) and arrive in Newark Wednesday night 8:35 NJ time. I can't wait to see the kids. We have been having an awesome time in VN but miss the kids very much. Michael and Julie have colds so I hope they are feeling better soon. I am very impressed that my mom has everything under control at home. Poor woman raised ONE kid and here she is with our THREE for THREE weeks.

Thank you again to all our friends and family who have helped while we have been gone. We appreciate it very much. Thank you to everyone following along on our journey.

More pics

2008-11-07T01:48:00.000-08:00

Ok here's some closeups of our little peanut. Little peanut she is too. She is a mere 17lbs and her 9 mo Carter's clothes are too big. We had a Gap size 6-12 dress on her yesterday and it was definately too big. All this time I worried that the clothes I was bringing were too small..lol.

Today we shopped around some more but not much. The sun actually made an appearance today and it was wicked hot.

We have her visa!!

2008-11-06T01:16:00.000-08:00

Woo Hoo! I can't tell you how good it feels to have that over and done with. This means that we can bring our little girl to the US and as soon as her little feet hit the ground when we get off the plane she is a officially a US citizen.

As of early this morning we were still waitlisted for a flight out on Saturday. We were told we could get out Satuday if we fly economy but we are cheap and we paid for Deluxe so that's what we want. Besides that we saw the economy seats and they are very cramped and unformfortable looking. Not the way I want to fly with a baby in tow for 20 some hours.

Yesterday our friends Carol and Steve were kind enough to take us shopping with them around the Old Quarter. We had a great time as always! Steve is quite the negotiator. He would get a price for something, tell them no, rip out his calculator, show them the price he wanted to pay and let them either take it or leave it. Too funny!

I still have more shopping to do but I don't know if I'll get Carl out again. He was tired. Normally when we go shopping at home he is the mall benchwarmer but there was NO where to sit and wait here. Poor guy had to just buck up. In his defense it was hot. The sun doesn't come out in VN very often but when it does...oh boy is it toasty.

Tonight we are supposed to have another storm. We were told by the very nice woman who interviewed us for Saige's visa that we should stock up on some food. *yikes* I look out the window now and I can see for miles so I'm hoping that it'll pass us. I'll post some close ups of Saige later.

Another step closer

2008-11-03T19:23:00.001-08:00

This morning we went and got Saige's passport and medical clearance. We will hear back from Tau later today as to when our visa interview is. If it's tomorrow we will try for a Saturday flight home. Fingers crossed! I love Vietnam but I miss my kiddo's and my mom like crazy. I KNOW my mom misses me...lol!
Saige is amazing. With each day that goes by we see more and more of her personality. She's a very smart baby...too smart sometimes! She LOVES to walk around with daddy. She also loves to see Stephen, Michael and Julie on the computer. She waves to them and smiles when she sees them. We love our girl and can't wait until we are back home and together as a family.

Passport

2008-11-03T02:19:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow morning we go pick up Saige's passport and then it's off to the SOS clinic for her medical clearance. We will find out tomorrow when our appointment will be for her visa interview. Once we have the interview, we go back later that afternoon for her visa and then we are free to leave. We are scheduled to fly out on the 12th. If we can get a flight out earlier we will take it so long as Steve and Carol get a flight out also and we don't have to give up our bulkhead seating. We have really enjoyed hanging out with Steve and Carol. Carl and Steve are like two peas in a pod. The two of them are hysterical! A couple of the families have not been feeling too well. I had some issues today myself, nothing major but I did start taking the Cipro I was prescribed.

Puppet Show

2008-11-02T05:35:00.000-08:00

We had a great day today. As soon as we saw sunlight (after days of rain) we decided to quick get dressed and roam around. We walked thru the Hanoi Hilton. We saw some amazing things there. This is where John McCain (hopefully NOT the next president) was held.

Later, we met up with Steve and Carol in the lobby and Carol was kind enough to go with us to get tickets to the water puppet show. We had a great time. Saige LOVED the show and so did we. After the show we went with Carol and Steve to get ice cream then we took the kids to the hotel playroom. Saige and Samantha were adorable together. These two were talking and playing so nicely. We wished we knew what they were saying. We also went out to eat with Carol and Steve at a Vietnamese restaurant within walking distance of the hotel. The food was great. We learned that Saige is one spoiled little girl. Just like Julie she has her daddy wrapped right around her pinky finger. Siage has learned in a matter of days that if she acts up in the restaurant she can get daddy to take her outside for a walk around. lol. Smart kid!

I know I've said it before but we love it here. Ok, so it's not the cleanest place on earth but that's the beauty of it. (did that make ANY sense?)
It's going to be sad to leave. We know how much our daughter loves it here so it's going to be sad to take her away. Time seems to be flying. We can't believe we have been here over a week already.
I have LOTS of pics from today and I'll try to post them tomorrow. Thank you everyone for following along! We are missing our friends and family. Can't wait for everyone to meet our little girl!

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T15:28:00.000-07:00

Stephen, Michael and Julie---have fun trick r treating tonight! I miss you guys so much. Tell MiMa to take lots of pictures for us.

Tonight we went to the hotel Halloween gathering in the lobby. It was so cute! Carol and Steve brought their little girl Samantha dressed as a lady bug and Marsha and Tom brought their daughter's Karley and Zoey as cheerleaders. Our pretty little peanut was a flower. Cutest dang flower I've ever seen! We just love her so much. I still can't believe she's finally ours.

Rain

2008-10-30T21:58:00.001-07:00

rain go away. When we woke up this morning it was raining. Well, I say raining but that's an understatement. Pouring is more like it. It's been a constant downpour and the roads are flooded. We've been worried about losing electricity. That would really stink.

Last night we went out to dinner with Carol & Steve and Elise and her mother Ruth. Guess who's kid decided to come out of her shell? Oh yeah. We got a taste of Saige's personality last night. This kid wants what she wants when she wants it. Julie and Saige will gang up on us I just know it!

Today since it was raining and we are stuck inside I decided to take Saige to the playroom downstairs. I took her there yesterday but we didn't stay long because she wouldn't leave my arms. Today she was walking around playing. It was nice to see her interact with the other babies. I truly think she misses having all the other babies around like at the orphanage. She's starting to let us put her down. She walks around a little bit on her own and loves the blanket one of the Hens got for her.

Tonight the families are going to meet downstairs for a little Trick R Treating in the hotel. It should be cute!
We were supposed to see the puppet show but with the rain I think we'll try for another night.

Upate: Ok, so after I posted we decided to get a taxi & go to Metro (equivelant of Sam's Club in US) for more bottles, formula & diapers. HUGE mistake. Half the roads are flooded and we had to turn back. It was insane. Note to self....do not venture out when it's raining no matter how bored.

Hanging out

2008-10-29T23:20:00.000-07:00

Today Saige was feeling better so we went out and walked around by the lake. Saige LOVES her Baby Bjorn carrier. She kicks her feet whenever I stop walking and waves to people as they go by.

Today we found Saige a couple of beautiful silk dresses. Saige loves colorful things and Carl spotted a little wooden pull along dragon. lol. Consumer safety would have a field day in Vietnam! The walker we bought would be a safety hazard on SO many levels back home but the thing took all of minutes to snap together. For 11 dollars I'm not complaining!

After walking around the lake we went for lunch at Jaspas. Saige has the bathroom timing of all my other children. The poor kid hadn't had a bowel movement since we got her but the second we sit down to eat wouldn't you know it she blew! After I changed her we sat back down and she actually ate table food! She had NO interest in anything other than formula prior to that. Now she's like a whole new kid. She loves carrots and potatoes. She's a messy eater like Michael and Julie but she eats food that's good for her like Stephen.

The pictures below are of me and Saige at Jaspas and by the lake. The other picture was taken on the way to Tuyen Quang. I swear I'll never see mountains as huge or beautiful as that as long as I live. Vietnam is absolutely beautiful.

Stephanie Master of the Chopsticks!

Some more pics

2008-10-29T01:38:00.000-07:00

Saige and Daddy

Saige and her nanny

Saige and Lieu's sister

Saige and her nanny

As you can tell from the pictures Saige was very loved by her nanny. We will always be grateful to her for taking such wonderful care of our little girl.

Daddy & Saige

2008-10-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

Totally in love

2008-10-28T05:46:00.000-07:00

Mommy and daddy are completely in love with this baby. She likes both of us but LOVES her daddy. She loves to snuggle up with daddy on the couch and watch TV. We had to take her to the SOS clinic today as she was sleeping alot and running a fever. Turns out she has an upper respiratory infection and ear infection. The antibiotic we gave her made her sick. We are hoping she is able to eat some tomorrow so that the antibiotics will stay down. If not then I'm sure we will be right back at the SOS clinic.

Yesterday was a LONG day. We woke up at 5 .am. to be in the lobby by 7 a.m. We then made the 3 1/2 hour butt numbing ride to her orphanage. When we arrived the nannies were right out front waiting for us holding the babies. I recognized Saige immediately and after only a couple minutes and MANY tears the nanny let me hold her. Then it was time to quickly change her and go to the G&R ceremony. After the G&R we went to lunch. My weak stomach wouldn't allow me to eat but Carl did. After lunch we went back to the orphanage and played with all the children while our paperwork was being prepared. We were back on the bumpy ride to Hanoi by late afternoon and back at the hotel around 8:30 p.m.

. It was an amazing day. Daddy and Saige really bonded. She also loves when daddy holds her so she can rest her head on his shoulder.

It's been really nice getting to know the other families. We usually go in groups to many places and even made our SOS appointments together. I look forward to meeting the next group. To all of you at home who have been so kind to my mom....THANK YOU so much! I can't tell you how much it means to have such good friends.

Tomorrow

2008-10-26T04:19:00.000-07:00

is the day we meet Saige. We meet in the hotel lobby at 7 a.m. to make the 3-4 hour ride to Tuyen Quang. YAY!
We have met so many families since we've been here. All very nice and very helpful. It's so nice that we are going in groups week after week because we can share information and pass things to the groups after us. Today we went to a local store a couple blocks from the hotel and stocked up on formula. We have PLENTY for the next group so don't worry about rushing out to get some when you get here. We also went to Metro (thanks Mer) and bought a walker. Boy was that an experience. We had to get a card to get in just like Sam's Club. Then they tell us no kids are allowed in so Tom and Carl stayed with Karley....boy were Tom and Carl sad that they couldn't walk around with us...NOT! They got to sit and chat the whole time which was fine by them! Then, we get up to the register and they don't take US dollar. Just my luck the ONE place I didn't bring dong is the ONE place they don't accept US dollar. So then I had to use the bank they had at the store and FINALLY I was able to check out. What a day!

Last night we ate at Bobby Chinn's with Carol and Steve. The food was really good and we had a great time. Believe it or not I have mastered using chopsticks. I was joking that I could do like karate kid and catch a fly with one!

We're here!

2008-10-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

The last flight into Hanoi was a doozy. When we arrived we were met by Allie and Ninh. We found out that we JUST missed most of the Oct 13th group but we did meet Pat T, & the Freeman's once we got to the hotel. On the way to the hotel our van brokedown. There we were along with Allie, Ninh, Carol & Steve, Marsha, Tom, and her adorable little girl Karley standing on the side of the road watching the ugh..traffic (lol).

The traffic flow is everything you've heard about and then some. It's amazing how much stuff they get packed on the back of these mopeds. Or not. We saw one poor guy who lost his stuff all over. There's NO WAY he was going to get all that back on there by himself. We alternated between laughing hysterically at all the mopeds cutting in and out of traffic and gasping when it looked as if we may hit one of them. No rules of the road here just do what you want and blow your horn.

We had good intentions of going out to eat tonight with the other families but when we got to the hotel Carl crashed.

Taipei

2008-10-23T16:37:00.000-07:00

We are in Taipei. We have another two hours to go before our flight to Hanoi. We looked at our tickets and noticed that we aren't in Deluxe for this flight for whatever the reason. Fortunately it's only a two hour flight.
We flew out of Newark and landed in Anchorage then to Taipei. Considering how long we've been flying we both are feeling pretty good. We both got lots of sleep on the plane and watched movies. The food was AWEFUL. I didn't eat it but Carl sure did!
I miss the kids already.
I'll try to post when we arrive in Hanoi.
Love you, miss you, mommy, Stephen, Michael and Julie!!

We met Carol and Steven at Newark airport. Very nice people! We are so happy to have finally met them. We look forward to meeting Marsha, Tom and their little girl.

Away we go!

2008-10-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

Our flight leaves Newark tonight at 11 p.m. We should arrive in Hanoi at 10:50 a.m. Friday (Vietnam time).
We are scheduled for our G&R Monday 27th. I can't believe that in just 5 days we will be holding our little girl!