Fall Fun

Alex is living through another change in his life. On Monday, Dad got to go back to work. Mom is staying home and taking care of Alex by herself. So far it has gone well the last two days, but it's hard to keep up with a toddler!
We broke out the Nebraska gear again on Saturday and what do you know... another win for NU. I have a feeling it will not help this weekend versus Oklahoma, but we'll give it a shot.
On Saturday, we went to eat the best sausage in KC at Werner's. Alex ate an entire Bratwurst by himself! He knows good food when he sees it. Afterwards we went ahead and did advance voting for the election. We tried Friday night, but the line was too long. Saturday noon was a much better time. We also went to get groceries and you can see that Alex likes cars, whether real or disguised as a shopping cart.
Sunday, Dad and Alex went to church. Alex got to play with some of the kids in the nursery. In the afternoon we went to playground down the street and Alex went down the slide. He likes to go head first!
On Monday, Mom and Alex braved the cold weather for another visit to the Deanna Rose Farm. They were the sole audience members to see the milking of the cow. Alex liked that. They also went inside the school and Alex looks like he is a natural student. Dad went back work and all in all the first day wasn't too bad for either Dad or Alex.

Hanging out

We've had a good week with Alex. He is still eating and sleeping well which makes everyone happy. He likes to try all foods and this week he had his first liverwurst sandwich! He ate half of it anyway, which is pretty good. He also had his first chocolate chip cookie... a big one. He ate the whole thing!
On Wednesday, we went to the Johnson County courthouse to fill out the paperwork to re-finalize our adoption in the state of Kansas and also to legally change his name. It took about 45 minutes and we have sent the paperwork in to Topeka. Hopefully, we will hear back in less than month and receive his US birth certificate.
Alex likes anything that turns: lids, wheels, tires, and even washing machines. He thought it was pretty neat to sit on the laundry basket and watch the washing machine do its magic. Last night, my brother Glen and sister-in-law Linda stopped by on the way home from vacation. We went out for a quick bite to eat before they headed on down the road.
On Monday, Eric gets to go back to work, so it will just be Joëlle and Alex at home.

Go Huskers!

Saturday, Alex decided to wear his Husker gear and what do you know, Nebraska beat Iowa State. Maybe we need to have him wear the outfit every Saturday! We got to play outside a bit, as we had another beautiful fall day in KC. The weather has been great the past two weeks. We also went to another pumpkin patch Saturday evening with Alex's friend Lucas and his family. We had a fun time on the hayride and playing in the corn.
As you can see, Alex is into anything related to food. It doesn't matter if he is preparing it or eating it. He loves everything about food. I guess that's a good thing for us, because he eats everything we give him, so far. He also loves to the play with the phone. Actually he likes sounds and light, so pushing the buttons on the phone is more fun than actually talking.
This afternoon we went to the swimming pool in the community center. Alex loves to take a bath, so we thought a pool would be good. He did pretty well. He did not move much on his own, so he got a bit cold in the pool. We headed over to the hot tub to warm up and he definitely liked the warmer water. He did have a good time, so I'm sure we'll try again in the future.

Pumpkin Patch

Here are some pictures of Alex. Week two has gone pretty well. Alex pretty much sleeps through the night. He is usually asleep by 8 pm and gets up between 6:30 and 7 am. We are glad that he is sleeping well. He takes an about a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. We are happy we he is rested!
Thursday morning we went to the pumpkin patch at the Deanna Rose Farm with our friend Sandrine and her children Paul and Marc. We had a good time on the hayrack ride and in the pumpkin patch. Alex was not happy when we took him out of the corn. He wanted to fill up that bucket!
Otherwise we enjoy playing inside and out and a bit more of Alex's personality emerges each day.

Fun in KC

We took advantage of some great late season warmth and sun this past weekend. Alex is pretty much over his cold. He coughs a bit now and then, but it does not affect his sleep anymore. As a result, he is sleeping much better. He pretty much slept through the night, the past two nights. Yeah for us!
On Saturday we went to the park to play with Lucas. He is two and it was the first time for Alex to meet him. Alex did pretty well. It takes him awhile to warm up to people, but then he does pretty well. In the afternoon, Justin came over to saw hello. He is also two. On Sunday, we went to the park and went down the slide. He likes to go down the slide. He hasn't quite figured out how to get back up to the top to come back down, but he likes going down. Yesterday, we went to the Deanna Rose Farmstead. It is a place for kids to go and experience a bit of the farm. They have all kinds of animals and some petting pens. We went in with the goats, but Alex did not want to get too close. He liked to watch from a safe distance.

One week in KC

Today marks almost a full week in KC. Alex has made pretty good progress and just about finished with his cold. The poor guy is having some problems sleeping, but with the cold and changes, I guess that is to be expected. Alex still is a good eater and has eaten everything we've offered.
Alex likes to be outside and has started to ride his little car. Our driveway slopes downhill, so he can get pretty good speed going down and Daddy gets to push him back up so he can do it again. Today Alex learned how the dishwasher door works and loves to open and close it. If he pushes too hard and it latches, he will grab Daddy's hand and pull him to the door to unlatch it. He may not be speaking, but he knows what he wants and he's not afraid to tell us!

I hate colds!

Alex has had some rough nights the last two nights. It appears he has successfully got the same cold Joelle and I brought with us to Vietnam. The poor guy is so congested, he has trouble sleeping. We did go to the doctor this morning and he confirmed it is just a cold and nothing worse, so that is a comfort.
Alex continues to gain confidence hour by hour. Of course he has figured out what to do with the TV remote. Pretty amazing, considering we haven't watched much TV with him. Despite the funny face, he really does love bathtime. He also loves to be in the middle of the action and for lunch today, he got to help Mommy stir his soup. Mmmm, it was good.
This afternoon, we had great weather and instead of just watch out the window, Alex wanted to come outside and help Daddy mow the lawn. He figured out how to push the lawnmower back and forth, but I think he's a bit young to take over. It took him a while to trust walking on the rocks, but he walked once with Daddy, he was off. He likes being outside and by the end of the afternoon, he was even walking on the grass.
It just amazing to see someone discover new things for the first time. Alex sure keeps us on our toes and is a great source of entertainment for Mom and Dad.

We are settling in

Well it's Monday afternoon and the three of us are slowly getting our internal clocks set to KC time. Alex is slowly learning where things are in the house and is gradually getting more confident in his sur- roundings. He started to show his real personality again late this morning and that is good to see. He loves to open and close things. He loves to open and close the door into the sunroom and he is starting to figure out how to manage the step down into the sunroom, so we won't need to ask us for help much longer! Also, the windows in the sunroom are low enough for him to look through and he loves to stare out the window into the yard. We took him outside yesterday to see the yard and he was promptly bitten by a mosquito! Poor guy.
He is learning to sit in his chair for eating, which makes it a lot easier for Mom and Dad to feed him and themselves. He also is sleeping in the crib. He does just fine as long as he is asleep when he goes into the crib. Right now one of us is sleeping with him in the room, until he can sleep through the night.
It sure is good to be home and we enjoy watching Alex explore his new home and discover new things.

It was a long day!

Well we arrived safely in KC Saturday afternoon, but it was a long day. Our flight left Hanoi at 12:40 am and we arrived in KC at 2 pm the same day.
Alex did pretty well the first flight. He was not too sure about the takeoff and cried a bit, but then slept most of the flight. He played a bit in Seoul during our layover and even let Mom take a nap! He slept 3 hours of the next flight, but then was Mr. Fussbucket for the next 6 hours. Finally he slept the last 2 hours. We are thinking a 12 hour flight was just a bit too long! He did fine on our last flight to KC.
He fell asleep on the way home from the airport in the car seat! We had a good time exploring the house, but turned in early because we were all tired!

Last day in Vietnam

Last night we ate our a favorite restaurant, Quan an Ngan. It's a cool place with lots of choices and fast service. Alex loves their noodles and rice! This morning we headed out to do some last minute shopping before heading home.
After lunch, Alex was helping us pack our suitcases. Well, at least he was trying. He even got in the suitcase, so I guess he is ready to go home too!
This afternoon, we took a stroll to Fanny's for some ice cream. It was great!
Tonight we say goodbye to our hotel, the Phuc Loi. The staff has been great and we have enjoyed the stay. We plan to head to the airport between 9:30 and 10pm to catch our 12:40 am flight! I hope Alex stays asleep for awhile.

Thanks to everyone who has posted comments and sent emails. It has been greatly appreciated and we have felt your support. We hope to continue the blog for a bit once we return.







Pour les francophones : Un grand merci pour tous vos messages. Ca nous fait vraiment chaud au coeur de savoir que nous avons tant d'amis et famille qui suivent notre parcours et pensent à nous chaque jour. A bientot pour la suite des aventures aux Etats-Unis ! Alex, Eric et Joëlle vous embrassent !!!

I-600 Visa

This morning we decided to change our return plans. We knew we would have our I-600 interview today, and heard we could get the Alex's visa later that afternoon. So we decided to bump up our return flight to Saturday. So we now will be back in KC Saturday afternoon! We have had a good time here in Vietnam, but it is time for us to get home. This morning we changed our tickets and this afternoon we went to the US Embassy for the I-600.
It was not much of interview. We basically just signed some paperwork and were told to return in a couple hours. We went to the Westlake hotel, where the other families were staying because it was closer to the embassy. Alex got to play in the playroom again and had fun in the ball pit. Today he was brave and rode on the little teeter-totters in the room. He had a great time and so did his parents! Shortly after 4 pm we headed back to the embassy and picked up his paperwork. We're done! Now we just have to make sure we catch our flight early Saturday morning. Tomorrow will be shopping and packing day.