Finally in the USA

Well, after a harrowing 31 hour flight we're finally in Durham. Isabella did very well on the first two flights, but had a rough go on the second two flights. She got a little sick and was very unhappy. She has remained so during these first few days home as well. We've all got bronchitis and are feeling badly, but she is somewhat inconsolable and is freaked out by all of the strangers staring at her and wanting to hold/touch/play.

We will be having her first birthday party tomorrow at Mom's house. I hope she's up to it! She's in for a lot of new faces and hugs/kisses, so she'd better buck up.

We'll go home to Wilmington on Sunday.

Kim

Halong Bay

We've been at Halong Bay in northern Vietnam for the past 2 days. It is truly one of the most amazing places on earth! The rocks and water are just beautiful. We desperately needed the change of scenery, and it did us a world of good. Isabella took her first steps on a beach and her first swim in the ocean! It was so much fun. She really enjoyed the water (thank goodness!).

We leave tonight to come home (finally!). We'll be traveling for 30 hours with a 1 year old. Hooray! A TEETHING 1 year old.

We'll be having a birthday party for Isabella on Saturday Nov 1 if anyone wants to come - just let me know! I'll send the address.

Blech

We're all sick, which is a total bummer. We've all got the crud and are feeling poorly, but we manage to make it to the pool every day and usually do some shopping as well. We finally bought a stroller today to make traversing the airport a bit easier. Trying to use it here, however, is a waste of time.

Had a STEAK at Bobby Chin's last night, which was great. I needed it.

Oh, and Jim STILL hasn't changed a poopy diaper.

Evil spirits

Found something interesting out today - apparently the old ladies' obsession with us covering our children from head to toe with clothes has nothing to do with the weather. Rather, it has to do with evil spirits. Seems if you cover the children and/or keep them indoors for the first year of their life then the evil spirits won't get them. Hmmm. They say it's because of the weather so that we won't think they're crazy. But they also think it's very honorable that we're adopting the children, and they're very happy about it. We've only had one person reprimand us for keeping Isabella's legs uncovered, thankfully. It was just too hot that day.

The "new" quarter is way better than the "old" quarter

Last night we went to dinner with friends in the New Quarter at Forest Restaurant. It was fabulous, and that section of town is so much nicer than the Old Quarter where we are in our hotel. Unfortunately it's about a 15 minute cab ride, which is why we decided not to stay there. But here are photos from our dinner and the restaurant.

One week in Hanoi

I have to say that I hate this city. It's disgusting. Jim is suffering from pollution sickness today, as have many of the babies. The air quality is just awful. It rained day before yesterday and yesterday morning we awoke to see buildings out our hotel window that we didn't know existed. Sewage runs in the streets, folks walk outside their stores to throw their trash in the streets. It's astounding. And the way the power lines look, it's a miracle any of the people here have power. Here's a photo of that.

Settling in

Well, it's been a few days now, and we've gotten our feet wet. Literally. Here is a pic from the pool where we had a BLAST - thank goodness she likes the water.

Teething ROCKS! Fussy baby.