Back in the USA

Kyle is very flexible and likes to hang upside down... over and over again. Also, can hold his bottle with his feet and suck on is toes... maybe he will be a gymnast?!

We are back! It was a long flight but we survived it with 2 kids. We were fortunate to get 2 bulk head seats with a bassinet for Kyle to sleep in... but no thanks to the travel agency HwaHwa that our adoption agency had us use. They did not do a good job for us getting seats. On the way over, Devin & I sat separate from Jack. I tried to get this mean old bitty lady next to me to change seats with him but she said she had to use the bathroom a lot and wouldn't switch. Scrooge. On the way back, the travel agent didn't even book Kyle's seat nor booked us seats together. They had separate seats in different sections for all of us.. say what?! I have 4 year old daughter - no way she's sitting by herself on a 13 hour flight. So, we did some major whining at EVA and they got 2 seats together... and then we did some major begging to other passengers.. and one man was willing to switch.. hope good karma comes his way. So, Jack sat right behind us.

Kyle checks out his new Dad... he can really stare us down!

We flew into LAX and stayed overnight in a motel. Went to a fast food restaurant for dinner.. never tasted so good. Lots of ice cubes!! :) No heads or feet on my food- yea! Loved the fact we could put Kyle in a high chair while we ate (none in Vietnam, nor do they have any kids "menus" or cups for kids- just glass... scary with a 4 year old!) I lost both my sippy cups, my sunglasses and my watch on our trip. I would like to say we had a good night's rest.. but it wasn't so. We were all up from 12-4am... I wrote emails, Jack &Kyle played on the floor and Devin played on her Leapfrog game. We drove back to Phoenix on Friday. Kyle did pretty good in his carseat....only whined a little when we first put him in. It did help that Devin was sitting right next to him so he could see her. On Friday night, I was up till 3am with Kyle. He has been clingy, more tempermental and more cranky since we have been back to the USA (3 days). I am tossing it up to switching time zones and completely flipping our schedule upside down... he is having harder time adjusting than we are. Its a 14 hour time difference....so basically flipping night and day completely. He has had diarrhea since we got him too. Diaper changes, cleaning his face, and changing clothes are still a challenge. I don't think these things were done much before. He gets REALLY mad... shows his temper to me. Screams, turns red and clenches his fists and flails around. On the flip side, he is happier today than last 2 days... a little less clingy and starting to explore a little and laugh/ play again.

Devin hanging out with her little brother in the hotel.

We tentatively have a doctor's appt tomorrow at Phoenix Children's Hospital with Dr. Sara Bode. I got her name from another adoptive parent who uses her. She is supposed to be more experienced with international children and their health issues. However, we have not added on Kyle yet to our insurance... can't do it till adoption is complete. Since we were out of country... I couldn't do till we got back. Faxed over everything tonight... but won't receive till tomorrow morning. Our insurance company says he will be covered retroactively from his adoption date (just like you would when you give birth). So, I will call in morning to see if we are still on. Some issues I will bring up... diarrhea, Mongolian spot (Asian children birthmark that looks yellow/green), blood tests, fecal analysis, and vaccinations. He does have a large Mongolian spot on his buttocks... looks like a large bruise. At first I thought his poop stained his behind... but other adoptive parents say it is a birthmark. They also said for me to be sure to get it documented by my pediatrician b/c it looks like a large bruise and wouldn't want to be accused of child abuse. One of the other adoptive parents used to be a cop and said he has seen them on Asian children and was called to check out possible abuse... ended up being a birthmark.

Devin is all smiles on our way to HaLong Bay.

We are all doing a little better today... slowly feeling normal... they say it will take at least a week to get through the time changes and jet lag. Love my Diet Coke with ice cubes and had some popcorn for dinner (for me- not the kids)... my favorite American snack. Yum. Jack lost about 8-10 lbs while in Vietnam... partly b/c he didn't like a lot of the food (very conservative meat & potatoes kind of guy) and partly b/c we missed lunch many times b/c of traveling and appointments. Snacks can only get you so far. I probably lost a few but gained them back with my pigging out these last couple days!!! Speaking of weight, there is not one overweight person in Vietnam. Seriously...I am considered a large person compared to them. I had to buy XL shirts and they just barely fit. Jack bought XXL shirts and they just barely fit. Now that we've been there we know why... no junk food, no fast food, no refrigerators and everyone is very active. We had small refrigerators in our rooms, but the majority of Vietnamese don't and buy food daily. Even the milk is not cold. Everything there tastes different than here...even the basics... coffee,milk, eggs, juice, Coke Light (not Diet Coke), cheese, etc.. it all tastes different. They eat a lot of soup, noodles, rice, seafood. They usually eat pho for breakfast... pronounced "fa" and it is a noodle and meat soup.It is very tasty...but I did not want it for breakfast. I'm not a soup for breakfast kind of girl.

Well, we put Kyle down 2 hours ago and he has waken up about 10 times already... I just gave him another bottle... he drank part of it and likes to suck on the bottle to soothe himself. Won't take a binky.. darn! He is half awake/ half asleep...don't know if he is having nightmares or what... he's kinda out of it...but can get quite hysterical. This has been happening more last 3 days... so I'm hoping part of it is the time change thing... I HOPE!