Owen and Daddy

While Owen loves his time with Avery and mommy, he is thrilled to be able to help daddy. He loves to be outdoors and "working".

announcing...

Photos

Australia By Boat

A friend of mine sent this to me while we waited for the referral of Owen. For those of you who continue to wait for referrals, travel clearance or are just getting started, you may find comfort in your choice of seeing "Australia by Boat".

Deciding to have a baby is like planning a trip to Australia. You've heard it's a wonderful place, you've read many guidebooks and feel certain you're ready to go. Everyone you know has traveled there by plane. They say it can be a turbulent flight with occasional rough landings, but you can look forward to being pampered on the trip.

So you go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for a ticket to Australia. All around you, excited people are boarding planes for Australia. It seems there is no seat for you; you'll have to wait for the next flight. Impatient, but anticipating a wonderful trip, you wait - and wait - and wait

After a long time the ticket agent tells you, "I'm sorry, we're not going to be able to get you on a plane to Australia. Perhaps you should think about going by boat!"

"BY BOAT!" you say. "Going by boat will take a very long time and it costs a great deal of money." So you go home and think about not going to Australia at all. But you have long dreamed of this wonderful place, and finally you decide to go by boat.

It is a long trip, many months over many rough seas. Meanwhile, your friends have flown back and forth to Australia two or three more times, marveling about each trip.

Then one glorious day, the boat docks in Australia. It is more exquisite than you ever imagined, and the beauty is magnified by your long days at sea. You have made many wonderful friends during your voyage, and you find yourself comparing stories with others who have also traveled by sea rather than by air.

You will always wonder what it would have been like to fly to Australia. Still, you know God has blessed you with a special appreciation of Australia, and the beauty of Australia is not in the way you get there, but in the place itself.

Author unknown

Visitors!

The past few days our house has been full of visitors! Grandma, Grandpa (papa John), Lauren and Madison came up from Texas to meet Avery and play with Owen. They packed up and left for home this morning. It was so sad! I thought Owen was going to cry. He wanted to go home with Papa John so badly. We hope that we will soon be able to return to Texas for a visit!

we're working hard!

Last night Owen, daddy and papa worked on the floor joices near Avery's room.

Today, Avery got herself up on all fours! Before crashing, she managed to rock herself back and forth and then move one leg forward. After crashing, she decided that she wasn't done. She got her feet underneath herself and sat herself up. She is still very wobbly and cannot hold herself up but she is working really hard on it!

no wonder!

No wonder Owen has been such a crab! Not only has his sister come along and altered his life style but so has the hand, foot, mouth disease! He has had blisters for 1 week now and they are finally starting to clear up (he has to be feeling better because he ate 3 helpings of spaghetti for dinner).

Last night he wanted to play with a flash light so I looked down his throat and WOW! It looked similar to bubble filled larva on both sides of his throat! Tons of blisters! That has to be why he has been crying out in his sleep - his throat dries and then starts to hurt! I gave him some Motrin (and I have been the last few nights) to try to ease the pain during resting. I hope this clears up and soon! Poor baby!

Guess who has blisters on her tiny hands now?

the worst night yet!

Last night was the worst night yet! We thought that we would be able to rest well considering we had many things to do yesterday (playgroup, lunch with friends, naps and swimming) and we were tired. However, that was not the case!!!!!!!


Avery wimpered throughout the night. She had a tummy ache and this morning is running a low grade temp of 99. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she is not getting hand, foot and mouth disease since Owen is just getting over it!
Owen, on the other-hand, screamed EVERY time that I got up with Avery and then a time or two when I was laying with him! I am not really sure what is going on with him other than the fact that we have totally rocked his world! Please pray that we can get some rest soon and that Owen will soon learn to love his sister (and be able to share mommy).

Home 1 week!

We have now been home 1 week tonight. Avery is adjusting quite well. We went to see the doctor this morning to weigh in. She has gained a 1/2 pound since last Saturday and her current weight is 13 pounds.

Owen is really struggling with having a new sister. He has become very jealous of the attention that she is getting. He cries and screams whenever I hold her. He thinks he should have mommy all to himself. I am hoping with more time he will feel more at ease with sharing!

Also, I am in the process of trying to find an announcement that I like to send out for Avery. If you have suggestions on companies, please post in the comment section.

adjusting to a new family

Avery has spent the last week trying to adjust to her new family members, home and the time change. She recognizes mommy and daddy and primarily wants us to hold her. She has really become fond of the closeness with being held (I am not complaining:)). Although, Owen isn't too fond of her being held all of the time. He thinks that he needs to be held as well (and he does and is). Sleeping has been more of an issue. Avery cannot seem to get her days and nights straight. We are EXHAUSTED! Last night she was up 4 times and Owen was up 2 times (he isn't feeling well). Hopefully, we will get our days and nights back in order and we will all be able to rest peacefully!

Home Sweet Home!!!!

Home Sweet Home! Finally, after HOURS of travel, we are home! We were so worried that we would not make it home on time. It was pouring down rain in Hanoi and were delayed slightly but caught up with tail winds.

The Hanoi aiport experience was not all that pleasant. By the time that we checked out of the hotel, took a 40 minute cab ride, waited to check in, get through security and immigration, Avery was melting down. She had herself so worked up that she threw up all over herself and daddy just before boarding the plane. So, they both had to quick clean up and jump on a plane bound for Hong Kong.

We arrived in Hong Kong, had some tummy time, looked for a fresh shirt to buy for Scott. However, the largest size they make is an XL. Needless to say, Scott wore his puked up shirt! We waited in line to be checked in and yet again (for the 2nd time in Hong Kong) we had to go through a security check point. By that time, we were all really getting tired and irritated! We boarded the plane and low and behold, Erin and Loston had seats right next to us! It was really nice to once again be together! Avery and Loston did VERY WELL on that long, turbulance infested flight! They might of cried a total of 30 minutes periodically throughout the trip. I think they just had a hard time getting comfortable and staying cooped up for 12 hours isn't the best thing for 2 babies!

We arrived in Los Angeles, went through immigration, grabbed our bags and headed to our hotel. My cousin and his fiance were going to meet us at the hotel since they were in LA for a wedding. It was so nice! They met us in the lobby of the hotel and went up to our room. It was decorated with streamers, balloons, signs, snacks, soda and ICE! It was so nice! Kevin spoke with the hotel staff about our landing on US soil and they allowed him to come into our room and decorate! The sweetest thing every! By 12 midnight, room service was closed and all pizza joints within miles were closed for the night - bummer! We were starving! So, we drove to Burger King and picked up some food - tasty! The next morning, we had breakfast together, took a nap, said our good-byes and loaded up for the airport once again!

We left for STL at 2:00 and arrived home at 7:30pm (STL time). Avery was such a trooper on that flight! The flight was loaded with children and she was the ONLY one who did not make a peep on the way home! The best flight EVER!! As we decended, the flight attendant thanked us for flying AA and welcomed Avery to her new home. It was so nice! We landed, quickly went to the bathroom to change Avery's clothes and went to meet friends and family! Avery had a very nice homecoming! Owen brought me a red rose, a pink for Avery and about 30-40 friends and family greeted us home!

The ride home was not as pleasant, she screamed the entire way! She had never been in a car seat to that point! She hates it! But, like Owen, it will grow on her with time!

We would like to thank our friends and family for supporting us through this entire process, for those who checked on Owen while we were gone, to those who joined us at the airport and for my parents - who cared for Owen while we were gone. We are blessed to have all of you in our lives!

We're Coming Home!!!

WE WILL BE ARRIVING IN STL ON AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 768 ON FRIDAY, JULY 6TH AT 7:55PM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 4th of July from Hanoi, Vietnam

Today, we went to the mall to do some shopping with Mary, Erin and Loston. The mall was nothing magnificant and all we bought was a pacifier and some diapers for Avery. Mary and Erin purchased just what they were looking for - a new piece of luggage to jam all of their gifts into. When we returned back to the hotel, we all went to our room for some room service except for Scott and Erin. They wanted to see the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Unfortunately, this attraction is only open until 10am daily. They took a few snap shots and returned to the hotel. It is really HOT today! So, Scott, Avery and I decided to go to the pool! She LOVED the water! She tried to kick her feet and splash the water. She was too cute! The only thing that we needed was OWEN! We miss you baby boy and are coming home soon! Happy Independence Day!!!

VISA!!!!!!!!!

While we enjoyed our stay in Vietnam, we are ready to return home and now we CAN!!!! Minh delivered Avery's passport, VISA and immigration documents this afternoon. We will be returning Friday, July 6th (what a birthday present for Scott)!!!!!

Misc. Pictures of Vietnam

Hanoi - July 2

Today, we went downstairs at 2:00pm to meet Minh and the other families to go to the United States Embassy for our exit interviews. The whole process took all 4 families about 15 minutes to complete. I think that we had to go in to just look over a few papers, give them a signature and that was it. All formality! We spent most of our time buying items in the U.S. Immigration gift shop (imagine that, another form of revenue).
When we got back to the hotel, we fed Avery a bottle, changed her diaper and headed down to the 4th floor to meet Jessica, Ken, Beckett, Mary and Loston for dinner. It was really good! We had a variety of dishes: grilled chicken breast, mashed potatoes, pho, prawn and Mid Eastern roasted lamb.


The most exciting part about eating at Jaspas is that they serve all of their sodas in glass bottles! I was so shocked to see a glass bottle of coke! Dad - you can appreciate a glass bottle. It just tastes better!


Tomorrow we plan to relax, play in the pool and wish our friends the Myers safe travels. They are heading back to the states tomorrow evening.

*FLIGHT ARRANGEMENTS: WE WILL BE HOME FRIDAY NIGHT, JULY 6TH! WE WELCOME YOU IN JOINING US TO WELCOME AVERY HOME!!! MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW**

Hanoi - July 1

Yesterday, July 1st, was pretty much a day of rest for us here in Hanoi. We slept most of the day. When we were up and about we stayed close. The weather here is like spring time weather at home. It has rained pretty much everyday since we arrived. Up until yesterday, the rains had been short down pours. Yesterdays was almost all day, throughout the night and some this morning.

Avery gets cuter by the day! She is an easy going baby for the most part. The only time that she really gets upset is when she is hungry, tired or has to have a yucky diaper (we're struggling in that area). I can't wait for you all to meet her!

We miss Owen like crazy and have talked to him several times while in Vietnam. He is upset with us and we basically have to bribe him to speak to us. Every time mom asks him if he want to talk his response is always the same, "no". As I have always said growing up, "the second one (sibling) comes along and ruins everything for the first one (child)". Apparently, he is already feeling the effects of having a sister and she isn't even home. I hope that they quickly grow to love one another! So, if you see Owen, please tell him that we miss him, love him and are coming home soon! The photo below is of Owen having rice at Red Robin with grandma, grandpa, uncle jim, aunt lindsay and cousin dylan!


*FLIGHT ARRANGEMENTS: WE WILL BE HOME FRIDAY NIGHT, JULY 6TH! WE WELCOME YOU IN JOINING US TO WELCOME AVERY HOME!!! MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW**