Eye Doctor Day

This morning I had Levi to the doctor to investigate whether or not he had a lazy eye. I am happy to say that he did really good at the doctor, even getting his eyes dilated, and that his eyes look great. There is no lazy eye for this little boy.

Since Wednesday of next week, Rachel has been seeing a flashing light in the corner of her right eye. Since she has had migraines before, we tried Excedrin Migraine first. When that didn't work, we tried dealing with the contacts and dry eyes. When that didn't work, I looked online to research it and found out that it could be retina detachment. So, this morning I got on the phone and found an eye doctor we could see (our doctor wasn't in today). We found out that she does not have retina detachment, that she does have a freckle on the inside of her eye (yeah, weird I know) and that her problem is not eye related. He suggested that we get a neuro. consult as he thinks it is related to migraines and that this is possibly a headache in the eye.

Shots, IR-3 Visa pckets, and First Driving Experience

For the second day in a row, Levi has had a temp related to the immunizations he received on Wednesday. At least today his temps were not as high as they got to last night. Please pray that he is over these by tomorrow. I'll have to remember this for the next time we have shots.

Today we received a notice in the mail from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service that they have received Levi's IR-3 visa packet. I have to submit evidence that I saw him prior to his final adoption within 30 days of the date of the letter.

Rachel got to drive solo for the first time today. She drove to the meat market to get something for me, the bank to deposit her checks, and shopping with a friend. The last one took place after work so I stayed up until she got home. This is definitely a new experience for me.

Video uploaded below

If you scroll down, you can finally see the video that we took of Levi walking with his "lawn mower". Enjoy!

Full Day

This morning I traveled to the doctor with Levi for his checkup. We found that he is at the 90th percentile for height but only the 5th percentile for weight. He did gain some weight since we had him there a week and a half ago due to a cold. The doctor thought that he was doing really well. She was amazed at how flexible he is and how happy he seems to be. She did give us a referral and an appointment to see the eye doctor as we think he has a lazy eye (his left one). She said the eye doctor would be able to better tell as he has the correct equipment. We also came away with two shots for needed 9 month immunizations. There were some tears shed for that but they were short-lived and then he was asleep.

This afternoon I took Rachel to get her driver's license. Yes, she did pass so now she is wondering when she will get to drive on her own without me in the car. She already asked if I needed the car tomorrow or could she take it to school. She would have driven to youth group tonight but she had 2 friends going with her and she is only allowed to have one non-family member in the car with her. That sure would have been nice if she could have driven herself as then I wouldn't have had to take Levi out. But then I would have missed out on one of the little boys in the nursery (about 18 months) giving Levi kisses. It was way too cute!! I wish I could have gotten a picture but I just wasn't fast enough with the camera.

Untitled from Tracy Senior on Vimeo.

Look Who's Walking...

with a little help from the walker. I knew it was just a matter of time before he figured this out. We just brought this toy downstairs a couple days ago. At first he would stand by it and then fall to his knees as it started to roll. This morning he started taking a few steps with it before it would get away from him. By the time Rachel got home, he could walk across the livingroom floor. I will try to post the video later today after I get it uploaded.

Play Time

Today as Levi was playing (because he wasn't interested in napping), I decided to get some pictures to send with our first post-placement report. I was playing around with my camera and found a way to make my pictures more focused. I wish I had found this out earlier. Just imagine how good my pictures could have been. As Rachel says, when he is not fighting sleep, he is happy, giggly boy.

I finally was able to get a high chair yesterday - as well as a big bag of clothes from one of my friends. What a blessing that was!! Now I won't have to do laundry as much (lol!) It is definitely much easier to feed Levi in the high chair than sitting on my lap.

Last night, when Rachel was still at work, Levi was the absolute gigglepus. He laughed at just about everything - and I mean laughed a good hearty laugh. I found out that he is ticklish not just under his ribs and on the bottom of his feet but also on his knees.

We finally brought home Millie, our springer spaniel, last night when Rachel was finished with work. I have to admit I was really nervous about this as Levi is very curious and Millie is old and not as patient with little ones. Today it went well. Millie pretty much ignored Levi and Levi pretty much ignored Millie - except for one time when I had to redirect him.

Today was a "no" day for Levi. I say that because all day long he kept shaking his head no. It was actually rather funny! He was standing by his activity table that plays music and shaking his head no to the music. Makes me wonder if this was part of his dancing as he loves to dance and bounce and jump. Then tonight we went to my friend's house for her daughter's birthday (actually Rachel was the one invited and Levi and I just tagged along for the cake), and he was shaking his head no at the most appropriate times as the kids were asking him questions or trying to take away his pacifier. We all got quite a laugh!! Needless to say, he sure keeps me on my toes. Now, if I could just get a little more sleep...

First Church Trip and First Post-Placement Visit

On Sunday I took Levi to church for the first time - by myself as Rachel was out of town for the weekend visiting her aunt and uncles and cousins. He did really well. Everyone was so sweet! The children just loved to come and look at him and remark how cute he was. I know!! He is!! During announcements our pastor welcomed Levi and had us come to the front so everyone could get a look at him. We are truly blessed to have such a great church family!!

Today we had our first post-placement visit. It went well. Levi was content and giggly for most of it, which is good seeing that he was in need of a nap. He didn't nap well in the morning or this afternoon. I hope that isn't a problem later in the day. He still seems to fight sleeping more than I would like to see but hopefully in another week that will be cleared up.

Getting Comfortable

Happy 9 month birthday Levi!! Tomorrow it will be a week since we arrived in our home as a family of 3. I can tell as the week has gone by, Levi has become more comfortable in our home and in our family. Thursday night he slept for 6-1/2 hours straight and last night for 7-1/2 hours. (Thank goodness were getting longer periods of time). The picture above shows how he has gone from having to be held by me almost constantly to being able to play on his own (with me right in the room) for longer and longer periods of time. We are just loving watching his personality unfold!

Yesterday we visited the doctor and he didn't even cry when I took off his clothes and his diaper! That's amazing seeing that when we had the visa physical a little over a week ago, he screamed when he had his clothes and diaper taken off. He has a little bit of a cold but his ears and chest are all clear. The doctor said we can give him some Benadryl to help with the stuffy nose and that it might also help with sleeping. That appears to be the case.

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, He leads forth the prisoners with singing...

Psalm 68:5-6a

Transitioning

Just wanted to post a few pictures from our time at home so far. We are working on getting our nights and days turned around. Some nights have been okay and some have been pretty sleepless. He did cut through 2 teeth on the bottom on Monday, which I knew he was working on even when we were still in Vietnam. That brings him up to 8 teeth already. We also tried hi in the bath on Monday night and he loves it! We have a little blow up ducky bath and the beak quacks. It is so cute! Today I picked up some tub toys that he really enjoyed playing with as well. You'll notice that I did not post any bath pictures. I don't want this site to be R rated! (ha,ha) I also don't want my son to come back later and be upset with me for posting them here.

We're Home!

It feels so good to say that we are home as a family of 3. Our plane arrived in Chicago at 11:25 p.m. on Saturday night. After collecting our luggage, we called my aunt and mom, who were waiting a short distance away, and they picked us up and brought us to my aunt's house where my cousin, her son, and my aunt's sister were waiting to welcome us home. We stayed overnight there, as it is a 2-1/2 hour drive home and I was too tired to drive home, especially with a child who was out of sorts from all the traveling.

On Sunday morning, my daughter Rachel, my friend Sue and her son came to my aunt's house so that we would have an extra person in the van for the drive home. I was anticipating a lot of screaming because of the car seat but he did really good. He was asleep shortly after we left. He slept 2 hours of the trip and then ate Cheerios with Rachel.

He gave us a surprise as I was talking to my parents on the phone. He crawled for the first time! All the other times he would just creep and that is what they said he was doing at the Center. I was so excited that he saved this for me to see. He also gave Rachel a surprise before bed: He peed on her! I told her she was officially christened.

It was a rough night of sleep. He really seems to fight going to sleep. This morning Rachel went in to get him up and he was out of his sleeper. We can't quite figure out how he got out because it was completely zipped up yet. I think we have an escape artist on our hands!

Have Visa, Will Travel

Today we had our visa appointment. It went very smoothly. Loc will pick it up at 4:00 and deliver to us by 5:00 so we are coming home tomorrow. We have changed our tickets. We will actually have the same itinerary we would have had leaving next Friday. We are set to arrive at 11:35 p.m. Saturday. I can't wait for everyone to meet Levi. I'm so excited to say WE'RE COMING HOME!

Sightseeing in Hanoi

We didn't have any appointments today so we had soome time to do some sightseeing. We slept in a little longer than we have been but that was more because a little boy didn't sleep real well last night. At breakfast, we ment at least 4 families from other agencies that are here with their adopted children. It was nice to be able to talk to them and hear about their experiences. After breakfast we headed next door to Hoa Lo Prison. This prison is most famous because it was the place that Senator John McCain was held as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam war after his plane was shot down. It was originally built towards the end of the 19th century by the French in an effort to contain the growth and development of popular anti-colonial movements amongst the Vietnamese community. Most of the prison was demolished in 1993 to make way for what is now the hotel we are currently staying in.

After visiting the prison, we came back to the hotel so that Levi could take a nap. That didn't happen. He only took a second short cat nap in the carrier while grandpa watched a movie. That gave time for the drizzle to stop so that we could go to Hoan Kiem Lake. It was a pretty good walk, especially seeing that we turned a street too early or the woman at the front desk told us wrong. We did get to meet an American family who was on vacation as we asked them how to get to the lake. They had two tour guides who are college students. They are with a group called Hanoi Kids. They give free tours in an effort to improve their English and to help tourists to have a positive outlook on Hanoians. Everywhere we went, people were so curious about Levi. They would mostly ask how old he was. The people here in Hanoi, just like in HCMC, are all so friendly. It truly amazes me!

After Hoan Kiem Lake, we found a store that sells bears that you can have embroidered on. The one we bought for Levi, that I will pick up on Saturday morning, has an outfit with the traditional conical hat and his name and Vietnam on one paw and a star on the other. One of the other moms who is here from another agency shared this shop with me. I thought this would be a meaningful gift for Levi to help him remember his birth country.

Before supper this evening, we went to the playroom on the fifth floor with Liz and her daughters. Levi is not real good about sitting and playing without being on my lap but he did sit and play for a short time, the second time today. Then, we went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Mark joined us shortly after we ordered. He has been so nice to hold Levi so that I can eat. What was really cute was when his newly adopted daughter, who doesn't go to him very often, wanted to go to her daddy when she saw him holding Levi. She was a little jealous! So, at one point, for a short time, Mark was holding both babies. Even though she is older than Levi (11 months), she is smaller.

Before going to bed, Levi was able to sit on the floor for a little while and play with his toys. We're making progree!! Now, if I could get him to go to sleep a little easier, we would be doing super!

Tomorrow is the visa interview at the Embassy and hopefully we will have our visas in hand by dinnertime. If that happens, we plan to try to get a flight out either Saturday or Sunday. We have really enjoyed our time here in Vietnam but we are ready to get home and see everyone and get on a good schedule. I don't know how people do it living in a suitcase all the time. I am ready to be done with living out of a suitcase and ready for some homecooked meals.

Good bye HCMC - Hello Hanoi

Today we picked up our paperwork from Minh and traveled to Hanoi. Levi did really well on the airplane ride. He actually fell asleep soon after take off and right before landing. Our hotel room here in Hanoi is more like an apartment with a kitchen, diningroom, livingroom, two bedrooms and two bathroom. It also has a washer/dryer combo. We just hung out at the hotel tonight as we were all tired. Tomorrow we will have a free day so we plan to do some sightseeing. Hopefully it will not rain. Scattered thundershowers are in the forecast.

A Day of Appointments

Today was a day of appointments for us. We were also blessed to be able to share this day with another family who is here that just adopted their daughter from Ninh Thuan province. They brought their other 3 daughters with them and are a truly wonderful family. It was nice to be able to talk with someone else from the States and share stories about our experiences thus far. I hope that we will be able to keep in contact with them once we return home.

We started the day getting passports for the two children and then went to visa physicals. This was the longer of the two appointments as there were many people waiting for the same thing. When it came time for Levi's physical, he continued his displeasure with having his diaper changed or his clothes removed. The other family could hear him in the waiting room with the door closed!

In the afternoon, Mark and my dad went to get airplane tickets to Hanoi and then Mark and I returned with Minh to pick up the passports. Mark, being obedient to his wife's request, took a picture at the immigration office. He was soon called over to see one of the officials. You are not allowed to take pictures in there. He had to delete it in their presence. Afterwards he told Minh that he told the officials Minh said it was okay. Minh looked so serious and then Mark told him he was just joking. We all had quite a laugh over it! This took longer than I think Minh thought it would, so I was getting a little worried as I had left Levi with my dad. I shouldn't have been worried because I came back to find Levi sound asleeep.

Tonight we had dinner with Mark and his family and the Dillon staff here in Vietnam. They truly are a wonderful group of people who goes out of their way to help the families while they are here. I cannot even begin to express my gratitude to them for making this process less confusing than it could be. I know others who have traveled would agree with me completely.

Levi was getting sleepy towards the end of dinner but was a real fighter when it came to sleeping. He is finally asleep and I am hoping that he will sleep better than last night. I think he is teething and needs to have a bowel movement. Poor little guy! I will soon be joining him in bed if I can find some room to sleep.

It's Official

Levi is sleeping so I now have some time to post. He is an absolute snuggle bug and does not like to be put down, especially away from me. Even if grandpa is holding him, he will look to see where I am.

This morning when we got to the Center, he was in his walker, all dressed up with his hair freshly washed and slicked back. He looked so handsome. As we were standing there with him, grandpa asked him if he like grandpa's shirt and Levi shook his head no. We all got a laugh out of that one! There were 2 different caretakers at the Center today. I could tell as the time came for us to leave that it was very difficult for one of them to see him go. I think the director was having a difficult time as well as both of them were near tears. They have done such an incredible job of taking care of him and I will always be eternally grateful to them for the terrific start they have given to Levi. At first when we got into the van, Levi was wide eyed checking out everything around him. But it wasn't long before he was asleep. He slept until just as it was our time to see the local justice. I was surprised how quickly things went once we got back there. Before long we were on our way back to the hotel to pack up and head to HCMC.

Tonight, after getting something to eat and visiting the Tax Center, we hung around the hotel room. Levi loves to bounce up and down on his feet. When I would say "dance,dance dance" he would shake his head back and forth and around. It was too funny! We are going to have to get it on video.