Our first hours together~

Just thought I'd post some pics from our first hours as a family of four last year. If you want to see the journal from our journey you can click on Coby's website on the right : )

We flew 36 hours, brushed our teeth, changed clothes and drove straight to the orphanage. We were ushered upstairs and I remember we removed our shoes before entering the room. I was removing Annslee's and she was already focusing on her brother : )



He was getting ready to be bathed and had the sweetest little smile when we walked in



Annslee literally screamed "My baby brofer!!!"



After his bath Daddy held him up for a big smile : )



We had a hard time getting a family pic b/c Annslee couldn't keep her hands and eyes off of him





He literally had a death grip on Daddy's tie ~ he had no idea who we were but we were holding him so he was NOT letting go !



Leaving the orphanage



We immediately headed to the Giving & Receiving ceremony



The customary picture with the orphanage director and he is legally OURS in the eyes of the Vietnamese government



Back at the hotel he quickly settled in



After a bath and a change of clothes Big Sister Annslee took over and never let go. Looking at this pic I notice he is reaching for the bottle. He was so used to holding his own and we had to literally force him to let us hold it for him.



We had waited a long time for this day and it was finally here. He was so ready for a family and we were so ready to complete ours. He is true joy and our we can't believe how blessed we are!

One Year Together!!

One year ago we took this picture of Annslee holding her brother for the first time. I had waited so long to see them together : )



Here they are one year later ready to go have breakfast with Santa : )



*I will do a longer post with more pictures from last year later I promise

Remembering and some random cuteness

One year ago today we were flying to the other side of the world to meet our sweet boy! We were so excited and also very stressed as we literally had 36 hrs notice before travel! Annslee did soooo great on the whole trip : )





I can't believe a year has passed but at other times it feels like it was ages ago. We are so blessed to have our boy HOME!

Yesterday I caught him in the act of messing with the tree LOL



Good thing he is so cute or he'd be in BIG trouble : )



He had put on this hat with and when I saw him I was reminded of one of my fav pictures of Annslee taken in 2006



Hey, as long as I have the hat on...let's go outside!! He cracks me up b/c he will go get Annslee saying "moan (come on) NaNa" and drag her to the door to help him escape.



*it wasn't planned but I noticed the pictures were taken of each of them 2 days before their first family day anniversary (Annslee is 2 months older than Coby in the pics) Also, I will point out that the hat is an adult one ~my kids have big heads : )

More fun with TWO!!

I haven't had a camera at bath time in a while and I forgot how hard it is to snap pics without getting soaked! They have so much fun in there together and the laughter is heard all over the house.

In case you are wondering, Annslee is bathing in a swimsuit b/c that is how Olivia (the pig on TV) does it. Honestly, it makes taking pics of her in the bath easier now that she is older. She did hop in the shower afterwards to really bathe : )




Coby prefers to bathe in a more "natural" state



He even drools in the tub



Annslee was trying to do her mermaid thing and Coby was trying to sit on her



This looks like she is getting back at him...really it is an optical illusion and she seconds later helped him up from falling...but I just thought this pic was funny LOL



See, I told you he was fine



Annslee is my big helper in the tub and enjoys rinsing Coby's hair



He is finally on the weight charts but you still see those ribs. Here he is being naughty and standing up in the tub!



Sometimes you see a really cute reflection and just have to give it some sugar!



I think the jets really helped clean up that ear from surgery and she certainly enjoyed it

Who needs a title with cute kids like mine LOL

Acutally I can never think of titles so there you go. After dinner they seemed in the mood and even with this S-L-O-W point and click I thought I would try! Oh, and what is up with the yellow and the shadows with this camera.... anyway~

Lisa this one is for you~ see, they don't always both look. Well, Annslee does b/c she has had 4 years of practice but Coby is still learning. *Annslee has ice cream on her face btw*




Standing over them seemed to be funny for some reason



Even with food still on their faces they are so stinking cute!!

Hey NaNa, what is on your head??

When Annslee got home yesterday I took her straight to her room to rest. We don't have TVs in our bedrooms but as a treat I let her take Daddy's laptop to her room to watch a movie. She watched for a while and then wanted to come downstairs because "I want to see Coby!" Well, he didn't know what to think about her bandage!

His face cracks me up~ what he must be thinking!



He went so far as to push her away~ which she thought was funny!



I guess he finally realized it was just his NaNa and I had a camera out so it was time to say cheese





Later he got the real treat of getting to go into her room (he is never allowed as she has "little fings" and he puts them in his mouth). He was on cloud 9 in there and pointed at everything~ especially her tree-so we will put his up tonight : )

Surgery Day

We were up bright and early this morning and heading to the surgery center. We got there at 6:30 am but of course she didn't go into surgery until almost 8:00~ oh well. We made good use of our time in the waiting room playing Old Maid and taking pictures : )

Here she is holding her lovey cat and the silk blanket her daddy had as a baby that she has cuddled with for the last 4 years (believe me, it shows too)



I am glad I brought the camera as it entertained her ~ here is a picture she took of me with her cat and blanket



Of course she needed to take one of just the cat



We were finally called back and once the movie started she relaxed while I talked to the nurse



The ENT doctor came in and he told her they were having a balloon blowing contest and he was going to win! She said "no way~ girls rule!" I just had to note that for my sensory girl this gown was horrible (so scratchy) and the bracelet kept scratching her too. She complained about it the whole time *well, until the drugs kicked in*



She did NOT enjoy the taste of the val*ium cocktail they gave her



It did do its job though and she was very relaxed! I wish I had it all on video as she was so funny.


She was still with it enough to be very upset when they wheeled her down the hall away from me. She kept crying "come with me Mommy" ~broke my heart! She was in surgery about an hour then they let me go back. When I got back there she was already hysterically screaming. They had me sit in a recliner and they put her in my lap. She was pulling at her IV and her head bandage, hitting and biting me as I tried to stop her and screaming "OFF NOW!!!" over and over. It was awful!

She calmed down a little when we got in the car and I put a movie on. I went to the pharmacy to get her medicine and this is what I saw in the back seat...that little tear on her cheek : (



By the time I got her to her bed, put on a movie, got her some food and drink and kissed her a few times she was acting and looking much better : )



Yep, my sweet girl is back!



She had a preauricular pit and now that has been taken care of and we go get the stitches out next week. He also cleaned out her ear wax while she was under and suggested putting warm vinegar in her ears. Just thought I'd share in case your child has that Asian wax that is impossible to get out!

Oh, her number one concern right now (other than her ear itching so she wants the bandage off) is that she can't put her earring on right now b/c the bandage covers her entire ear. Thank you all so much for your prayers as they were definitely felt!

So Thankful!

Thanksgiving is an extra special holiday in our family because four years ago we got home from China late on the Wednesday before the big day so it was our first holiday home with Annslee. We were tired but oh so thankful to have our daughter home.

Here is a pic of her on that first day home getting her first taste of mashed potatoes : )




In stark contrast last Thanksgiving we are waiting for our notice to travel. We were blessed to go to Tracy's house for dinner but were sad that our son wasn't with us. When we got home we had an email from our agency person in Vietnam with pictures actually taken that day. When I opened the email I remember being almost physically ill and so scared for our son. What I saw was him being fed and looking so sick and sad. I felt so guilty that we had just left a huge meal and so angry that he wasn't home. Later, when we got our approval I noticed it was actually signed a week before Thanksgiving and that made me so upset. I am still trying to work through all the emotions I have about Coby's first 11 months and I find it so hard to even look at pictures from Vietnam sometimes but I know it is all a part of who he is and we LOVE who he is : )

Here is the picture we saw and I assure you this is NOT what he will look like this Thanksgiving as he is loved on and nurtured with much more than food.



I do think this is the nanny who was bathing him when we met him and she had the sweetest smile. I take comfort in the way she is holding his little chin.


We are so blessed and thankful to have our two beautiful children. I hope you all have a lot to be thankful for this year as well!

Lunch with Annslee

Today we went to Annslee's school for Thanksgiving lunch : )

She looked so cute in her little pilgrim hat!



Coby only smiles if I am behind the camera so this is what we get LOL





She was so excited to have us all there. She kept saying "you NEVER eat at my school!"



For fun here we are at her school last year at Thanksgiving ...look how little she looks!!