Quick! The blog is working...

...and I'm going to try to sneak in another post while I have the chance. Here is a picture of the whole happy family -- well, Nea might not be too happy. Adam really likes her, but gets frustrated with her. He keeps trying to offer her toys and then gets frustrated when she doesn't accept them. LOL! She's pretty good at staying out of his way !

First, I want to offer some advice for the soon to travel, some advice that has been offered again and again and I didn't listen to it myself -- don't take so much stuff! You really really can get anything (except Dr Pepper) in Vietnam. I took way too much stuff and as a result had very little room for souvenirs. I didn't even use half the stuff I took. You can get by with a couple of pairs of shorts and capris and t-shirts, maybe one more dressy outfit. Having your laundry done at the Kim Do, should you stay there, is a treat not to be missed. My clothing looked better when it came back from the laundry than it did when I bought it!

After our rough first days, Adam started to warm up nicely and we could go out amongst civilized people again. Through the rough days, the bright spot was he consistently slept 12 hours a night. And he was willing to taste any baby food I offered and liked everything, with the exception of oreos! More for mama! He's been a little pickier since we got home, sticking mostly to fruits and yogurt with rice cereal mixed in. I noticed that the baby foods here have a stronger smell and taste than what I was able to buy in Vietnam. That might be part of it.

Note on formula: I tried to switch Adam from the Vietnamese formula to Similac when we got home and he reacted as if I'd switched him to liquid cocaine -- he was happy as can be, but zipping around the apartment like he was in a pinball machine! I experimented by taking him off and putting him back on and get the same response. Given his age, and the fact that the Vietnamese formula was basically powdered milk, I switched him to whole milk and he seems to be doing well.

I'm sorry that I didn't see as much of Ho Chi Minh City I wanted to, but it was harder than I'd thought it would be with a baby. Especially with a baby who viewed a stroller as an ancient Vietnamese torture device. The hip hammock is great for carrying him, but the heat, especially lugging an 18 pound load, was almost unbearable so all our jaunts were pretty short.

We did make it to the zoo in Ho Chi Minh City. The grounds, landscaping and the buildings were absolutely gorgeous and there was a nice variety of animals. Unfortunately, to conditions of the animals cages was poor and way behind anything we have here in the US. Still, worth the trip. Go in the morning before the heat is at its worst.

Adam I celebrated my birthday with another Vinh Long baby, Phung, who turned three the day day before my birthday. His parents graciously added my name to his yummy cake and we had a little party in the restaurant at the Kim Do.

The rest of our time in Ho Chi Minh city was spent bonding, hanging out with the other families and going off to various interviews -- all of which Adam screamed through The doctor at the medical exam told me he had good lungs! LOL! In his visa picture, he is, you guessed it, screaming. The doctor burst out laughing when he saw it and called over other staff to look at it and then point to the screaming Adam and they all laughed.

He's definitely a boy who likes to be on the go! As long as you have him in the hip hammock and are walking, he's fine and happy. Stop, and he screams. Whenever we were in a car or minvan, he was happy as a lark while the car was moving. Stop signs? Traffic lights? He protested mightily.

I can't praise the Kim Do highly enough. It is simply the most gracious hotel I have ever been in. The staff goes far above and beyond what you would expect to keep you happy and comfortable. The general manager even sent me a beautiful basket of flowers on my birthday! I can't say enough good things about them.

What everyone says about the Vietnamese is absolutely true, they LOVE babies and are very vocal and physical about it. I was scolded no less than six times in about an hour one day because Adam didn't have a hat on. Since I didn't know how to say "The only way he will keep a hat on would be if I super glued it to his head" in Vietnamese, I simply humbly accepted my scolding and moved on.