I give up

on posting pictures…. it is so frustrating to get a bunch uploaded and then have the whole thing crap out while trying to publish. I feel like a complete blog failure and I know most of you want to see pictures and not just read about our journey, but the photos I have taken are going to have to wait until we get home.
The good news is… we are coming home early! We were scheduled to leave on Sept 23 (in honor of both Jackie and Bruce Springstein’s birthday) but we were able to change our flights to come home two days early! So now, we are leaving on Sunday morning, Vietnam time and will be in Pittsburgh on Monday eveining!! We land at 6pm-ish.
The Hanoi portion of our journey has gone very smoothly…. we had Max’s medical exam on Monday and then went to the embassy on Monday afternoon to deliver our paperwork. Max’s medical exam went well – he had a little fungal infection that is alreayd cleared up with the medication we got and also has some sort of rash on his face. We think it has to do with the change in soap, but the doctor gave us a prescription for that, as well and it appears to be drying up. He is a little on the small side, but that’s to be expected. And either his clothes are shrinking in the wash or his already gaining some serious weight!
We had our interview with the US embassy on Tuesday and had Max’s visa in hand on Tuesday evening! That completes the process here in Vietnam and means that Max will be a US citizen when we go through customs in LA on Sunday night!
Two of the four families have already left for home. Matt and I wanted to stick around for a few extra days to explore Hanoi and get to know Max a little better before we made the long trip home. The Harwell’s are still here and, in fact, have taken a two day trip to Ha Long Bay – which is about 3 hours away and supposed to be absoultely beautiful. They get the prize for most sightseeing and, of course, best blogging. Things are going very well with them, as Lihnly has come a long way since those early visits at the orphanage. She looks right at home in one of Michelle’s many “slings” and, though shy, has started to really show her personality.
We will miss the Lahr’s and their sweet little guy, Derek – but they live in central PA so we are hoping to get to seem them soon. They are planning a visit in the coming weeks and will stay with us! It will be great for Max to stay in close contact with both Derek and Lihnly and we certainly intend to maintain strong ties to both families. We had so much fun with all of them!

So Max is an amazing little boy… very active and happy and is already starting to understand some of our English words. He sleeps and eats like a champ and seems very comfortable and content with both of us. Most importantly, he makes us laugh. He loves to laugh and seems to get a kick out of entertaining us. He has full conversations with us, even if his side is just a lot of “huh’s” and “wa’s.” He will go to “mama” and to “dada” (both of which he has called us!) and seems to prefer us over others – which is a huge step forward in the bonding process. We seem to make huge stides everyday and we both have commented that it already feels like he’s been with us forever.

So we’re doing great and enjoying our new life with Max. We are both looking forward to getting home and getting Max adjusted to life in Pittsburgh. I can’t wait for you all to meet him!!

Thanks again for the prayers, good thoughts and comments. It is such a blessing to have so many wonderful people in our lives who have been rooting for us and for Max throughout this process. I kept saying that this adoption story has a happy ending and indeed it does…. Now we get to write the chapters of being Max’s mom and dad!

~ L