A New Party

Our FAMILY blog is now up. I'll now be blogging at http://connerpartyoffour.blogspot.com

First Doctors Appointment

Drew's one year check up was today (well yesterday technically). Dr. Sood said he is "perfect"...but we already knew that :) He weighs 21 lbs 10 oz. and is 29 1/4 inches tall. He's in the 20th percentile in both weight and height. He seems big, but I guess he's not. I think he's big for a Vietnamese baby...but not so much on the American charts. We go tomorrow for a battery of lab work. It'll probably take at least 2 visits to the lab to get it all done. I know it has to be done, but I just hate the thought of him being stuck. We'll go back to see Dr. Sood in about 3 weeks for results. We just love Dr. Sood. He makes us feel like we have the only baby in the world. Drew did great. He did get 3 shots today and the first one, he didn't even cry...but when she got him with number 2...wow...the crying began. He's been a little fussy this evening...but overall doing fine.

He's been extremely vocal today. He's watching and listening to Ian all the time. Scary.

Off to bed...lots to do in the next couple of days.

A Week Of Firsts

This week was full of firsts. Drew got his first haircut from our good friend Natasha. He did really well. She was so patient with him.

Friday afternoon we had Drew's one year pictures taken. When I get them electronically, I'll post them. He did well...but no big smiles. Only a sweet little, dimply grin.

Friday night we decided to enjoy some watermelon outside. So of course...his clothes had to come off. HE LOVED IT.

We've been home for two weeks and things are starting to feel somewhat normal. I head back to work after this week. While it's going to be hard to leave my new little munchkin, it'll be nice to have some adult interaction.

Drew has his first real appointment with Dr. Sood this Wednesday. That should be fun. He's really a pretty calm little guy, but he can get mad quickly and he's STRONG.

Ian is adjusting to being a big brother...somewhat. Thursday night Drew was running around the house and Ian was on my lap. Ian looked at me and said "you can take him back mommy.....take him back to Bietnam, OK?" I told him that we couldn't because he was our baby and he said "OK". I guess he had to try. On Wednesday morning, Ian woke up before Drew did. He wanted to go "wake baby Drew up" and I told him no. He said "but Mommy, I need to love on him". I didn't want to wake Drew up, but how could I resist that? I did though. In a few minutes he asked again...this time he asked if daddy could lift him into the crib so he could give him a kiss. Charlie did (at my prodding). Drew didn't wake up. BUT...about 10 minutes later I hear "wake up baby....wake up baby....WAKE UP BABY DREW". Baby Drew woke up. He giggled at Ian and then when I walked in the room he started to cry. He has figured his mommy out already.

Loving being a mom to these two boys. Oh, by the way....still debating the name of the new blog...but I'm hoping to get the new one up and running by the end of this week. So, stay tuned.

Getting Ready To Merge

Now that Drew's home, I'm finding it more and more difficult to keep up with 2 blogs. So...I'm going to start a new one for the family. I'll still keep both Ian and Drew's blogs live so families can look back at our journey. Now the difficult part...coming up with a name. I'm using all of my creative juices with a 13 month old and a 3 year old at present. So, please make a comment and give me some ideas for a new name for our blog.

Sunday In The Park

From an afternoon of fun at LaFortune Park. Ian is still trying to get the hang of holding on to Drew. He keep wanting to hold him by his neck....hmmmm....wonder if that will continue?



Brothers....hand in hand.....I've waited a long time for this!!!

New Name

Poor little guy....He's bound to think is name is "Drew...NO". That's what we say a thousand times a day. He's mobile and curious. This morning, I went to the bathroom. When I came back in the kitchen he had dumped all of the cat food in the floor and was proceeding to put a little at a time in the water dish. Cat food stew perhaps? He was awfully proud of himself.

My Boys

This is it so far. Ian is home with us today, so I'm sure we'll get lots more. These were taken on Sunday afternoon.

Each day is better. Jet lag has been horrible. Drew is gradually becoming accustomed to Oklahoma time. He has, however, had a virus. He's fine now. But...Ian has it. He's feeling fine now though. Hopefully mommy and daddy can avoid it this time.

Ian can make Drew laugh when no one else can. They look so sweet together. If Drew's awake, Ian thinks he should be playing with him.

More as I get a chance. Drew's napping, Charlie and Ian have gone out to run errands and I am should be doing dishes....but what am I doing....BLOGGING. Ooops. :)

What Happens When Jet Lagged Parents Aren't Looking

We're Home

We arrived home on Sunday morning, as scheduled. There were a few hiccups along the way, but too tired to go into them now. I'll save that for a later post.

Drew did GREAT on the flights. He slept for 9 of the 13 hours from Hong Kong to LAX.

It was great to see so many folks at the airport on an early Sunday morning. We sure loved seeing your smiling faces.

BUT...nothing compared to Sunday afternoon when Marcia and Bill brought Ian home. I LOVED seeing that face. He was so excited to see us. He and Drew are doing well, so far.

I'll blog more when I'm less jet lagged and have had a chance to sleep. Little Drew is still on Vietnam time....so Charlie and I aren't sleeping much. He'll adjust eventually.

More later....with pictures :)

Last Post From Vietnam

Today is the day....the day we leave the country of Drew's birth. It's kind of bittersweet. But, we're ready to come home and begin our lives as a family of four. Wow...that sounds kind of odd when I say it out loud. I'm going to be the mom of "boys"....plural. Wow.

We've had a great journey. At times, I thought we'd never get here. But, I knew that we were working with one of the best agencies...if not THE best...in Vietnam. Jynger, Katie and Mary Anne all held my hand, listened to me cry, try to calm me when I was angry and celebrated the victories with us. I'll never, ever forget that 11:15pm phone call from Jynger when we finally received our pre-approval. The Dillon staff on the US side is great....and so are the staff in Vietnam. They have made everything so easy for us.

It's amazing the people God puts in your lives through an adoption journey. We have met so many friends through both of our adoptions....life long friends. We were blessed to travel with the Borski's to India and this time we traveled with the Perkins. Both of these families will ALWAYS have special places in our hearts and families.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention our great friends Marcia and Bill. They have taken amazing care of our sweet Ian while we have been gone. We can never repay them for the love and comfort they have given him during this time. We are so very thankful for them.

So....here we go. Little Drew is taking a nap and we're almost packed. We a few little things to do. Loc is picking us up at 3:30pm, so the time will get away from us.

Thanks for following our time in Vietnam. Next post.....from HOME!