Everything is going well and now I understand why people told me they don't have time. I now understand what busy really means.
Elizabeth is doing great and we are having fun.
We thank Carol, Steve, and Samantha for a wonderful time at their Tet party. We enjoy hanging out with the other families sharing stories.
We will write more soon. Thank you again for your support on the journey.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Some Pics of Vietnam and Elizabeth
Ok I could organize the pictures better and removed some but oh well. Here they are!
Link --> http://picasaweb.google.com/greg.dallari/Vietnam#
See right side of screen for slide show
Link --> http://picasaweb.google.com/greg.dallari/Vietnam#
See right side of screen for slide show
Monday, January 26, 2009
January 24, 25, 26
January 24, 25, and 26
Our Journey home started at 8:15 am Hanoi time. Houng got us to the airport and helped us cut the line to make our plane on time. We were all checked in but for some reason we could not get our boarding pass from Hong Kong to JFK. It was time to board the plane and they said we were delayed 20 minutes. After about 45 minutes they loaded us on to a bus and we drove out to a plane. We boarded and took off. The flight was very smooth.
We landed at Hong Kong at 2:30 pm their local and were set to depart at 5:30. We found 2 other families with adopted children from Vietnam heading to NY. We chatted about our experiences in Vietnam. Once we landed we picked up our boarding passes. Mary and I found a café and decided to have some Chinese food. The food was very good. At the gate Mary and I asked for a bassinet and they asked two passengers to move so we can sit at the bulkhead. We were the last passengers on board. We got set up and took off on time. The flight had some turbulence and they said during turbulence we could not keep Elizabeth in the bassinet. She was sleeping and it was more of a shaking motion no major drops so we ignored their rule. We landed at 7:30 pm est. a ½ hour ahead of schedule. However, there was no gate to pull into so we sat on the taxiway for the ½ hour. Passengers complimented us for how quite Elizabeth was. We kept her busy with food, toys or walking around the plane.
We caught up to the other families as we waited for boarder control. We were the last group of families in the line and I saw a boarder agent and asked if he could do anything for us (there were about 400 passengers ahead of us) since we had infants. He said give me a few minutes. He went off and then said come here – you are next. I asked about the other families and he pulled them off the line as well. The other families are like, “Who do you know.” I smiled and said we are lucky. Mary, Elizabeth and I made it up to the agent and he opened the packet – we were hoping all the papers were in order. The agent went through the packet a few times saying he is looking for a specific piece of paper – he then looked at me like why are you so nervous. I said if you knew the discussions we have had over papers and besides I am not getting on a plane to go pick it up. He said he found it and we should be all set. We passed through the control and picked up our luggage. We passed through customs without an issue.
As we made it through the gates the entire family was there – holding Vietnam and American Flags with Elizabeth’s picture. The whole event was so overwhelming and just a wonderful sight to see everyone. We carried the luggage to the car and we headed to Mom’s house with the family. Elizabeth was just great with the family – looking around smiling and playing. She really did so well and the family just loved her. To me the greatest moment was seeing Grandma holding Elizabeth and then her realizing that at 92 she is a Great Grandma.
Mary and I crawled up to bed and Elizabeth fell asleep right away. An hour later she woke up screaming and it was daddy’s turn to comfort her. After a while I realized that she was hungry since it was 12 noon her local time. I found animal crackers and her bottle and we ate and played for about 1 ½ then she tipped over in the bed and feel asleep. I was too tired to move her so she slept next to me in bed.
January 25, 2009 – we got up and had breakfast. Elizabeth looked exhausted around 10 so Mary and I worked to help her take a nap. Daddy napped with Elizabeth and then we got up and headed to mass. It was great seeing all the people and all of their support and prayers since they have known about our journey. During mass every time the folk group played Elizabeth would bob back and forth to the music.
We went back to Mom’s house and had lunch and Elizabeth spent some time with the cousins. We gave Elizabeth her lunch and packed the car. We headed home to Poughkeepsie. Elizabeth slept the entire way home.
We arrived in Poughkeepsie and as we pulled up to the house and it was all decorated with balloons and welcome home Elizabeth signs. It was like being at the airport again. It was really nice and touching. Elizabeth started to get acclimated to her house and room. She loved the cats. A little nervous at first as both the cats and Elizabeth were trying to understand each other. We crawled into bed and then Elizabeth woke up a few times in the night but overall a good night. We were just so happy to be in our own bed and home. We really missed the kitties and we could tell they missed us as well.
January 26, 2009 we woke up early. I worked on signing up for Medical, paying bills, signing up for a Dr. appointment and getting that side of the house in order. Mary and I switch and I watched Elizabeth play. Mary took off for food shopping and I played with Elizabeth. She crawled around chasing the cats. Timmy was playing with her as she played with her toys and she was able to pet him. Now when she sees the cats she has a great big grin and laughs. Elizabeth started to look tired so I picked her up and sat in the rocking chair and out she went. Buddy sat on my lap as well so the three of us rested. Mary came home from food shopping and we went to the pediatrician. Once Elizabeth is over her cold we will start the vaccinations. The Dr. said she looked really good. Next week we have another appointment.
We spent the afternoon playing and catching up on sleep. It is just great to be home and we are so grateful for everyone’s support. As I look back at the support of family and friends and the people we have met along the way it is truly amazing and we are grateful.
Our Journey home started at 8:15 am Hanoi time. Houng got us to the airport and helped us cut the line to make our plane on time. We were all checked in but for some reason we could not get our boarding pass from Hong Kong to JFK. It was time to board the plane and they said we were delayed 20 minutes. After about 45 minutes they loaded us on to a bus and we drove out to a plane. We boarded and took off. The flight was very smooth.
We landed at Hong Kong at 2:30 pm their local and were set to depart at 5:30. We found 2 other families with adopted children from Vietnam heading to NY. We chatted about our experiences in Vietnam. Once we landed we picked up our boarding passes. Mary and I found a café and decided to have some Chinese food. The food was very good. At the gate Mary and I asked for a bassinet and they asked two passengers to move so we can sit at the bulkhead. We were the last passengers on board. We got set up and took off on time. The flight had some turbulence and they said during turbulence we could not keep Elizabeth in the bassinet. She was sleeping and it was more of a shaking motion no major drops so we ignored their rule. We landed at 7:30 pm est. a ½ hour ahead of schedule. However, there was no gate to pull into so we sat on the taxiway for the ½ hour. Passengers complimented us for how quite Elizabeth was. We kept her busy with food, toys or walking around the plane.
We caught up to the other families as we waited for boarder control. We were the last group of families in the line and I saw a boarder agent and asked if he could do anything for us (there were about 400 passengers ahead of us) since we had infants. He said give me a few minutes. He went off and then said come here – you are next. I asked about the other families and he pulled them off the line as well. The other families are like, “Who do you know.” I smiled and said we are lucky. Mary, Elizabeth and I made it up to the agent and he opened the packet – we were hoping all the papers were in order. The agent went through the packet a few times saying he is looking for a specific piece of paper – he then looked at me like why are you so nervous. I said if you knew the discussions we have had over papers and besides I am not getting on a plane to go pick it up. He said he found it and we should be all set. We passed through the control and picked up our luggage. We passed through customs without an issue.
As we made it through the gates the entire family was there – holding Vietnam and American Flags with Elizabeth’s picture. The whole event was so overwhelming and just a wonderful sight to see everyone. We carried the luggage to the car and we headed to Mom’s house with the family. Elizabeth was just great with the family – looking around smiling and playing. She really did so well and the family just loved her. To me the greatest moment was seeing Grandma holding Elizabeth and then her realizing that at 92 she is a Great Grandma.
Mary and I crawled up to bed and Elizabeth fell asleep right away. An hour later she woke up screaming and it was daddy’s turn to comfort her. After a while I realized that she was hungry since it was 12 noon her local time. I found animal crackers and her bottle and we ate and played for about 1 ½ then she tipped over in the bed and feel asleep. I was too tired to move her so she slept next to me in bed.
January 25, 2009 – we got up and had breakfast. Elizabeth looked exhausted around 10 so Mary and I worked to help her take a nap. Daddy napped with Elizabeth and then we got up and headed to mass. It was great seeing all the people and all of their support and prayers since they have known about our journey. During mass every time the folk group played Elizabeth would bob back and forth to the music.
We went back to Mom’s house and had lunch and Elizabeth spent some time with the cousins. We gave Elizabeth her lunch and packed the car. We headed home to Poughkeepsie. Elizabeth slept the entire way home.
We arrived in Poughkeepsie and as we pulled up to the house and it was all decorated with balloons and welcome home Elizabeth signs. It was like being at the airport again. It was really nice and touching. Elizabeth started to get acclimated to her house and room. She loved the cats. A little nervous at first as both the cats and Elizabeth were trying to understand each other. We crawled into bed and then Elizabeth woke up a few times in the night but overall a good night. We were just so happy to be in our own bed and home. We really missed the kitties and we could tell they missed us as well.
January 26, 2009 we woke up early. I worked on signing up for Medical, paying bills, signing up for a Dr. appointment and getting that side of the house in order. Mary and I switch and I watched Elizabeth play. Mary took off for food shopping and I played with Elizabeth. She crawled around chasing the cats. Timmy was playing with her as she played with her toys and she was able to pet him. Now when she sees the cats she has a great big grin and laughs. Elizabeth started to look tired so I picked her up and sat in the rocking chair and out she went. Buddy sat on my lap as well so the three of us rested. Mary came home from food shopping and we went to the pediatrician. Once Elizabeth is over her cold we will start the vaccinations. The Dr. said she looked really good. Next week we have another appointment.
We spent the afternoon playing and catching up on sleep. It is just great to be home and we are so grateful for everyone’s support. As I look back at the support of family and friends and the people we have met along the way it is truly amazing and we are grateful.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
January 25th
We are on LI enjoying time with the family. Flights were good and more details to come once we get back to Pok this afternoon.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
January 22 -- Elizabeth's Birthday!!!
Today we celebrated Elizabeth’s birthday! The day started with her getting to have a waffle at breakfast. She absolutely loved it! We then went off to get tickets to the Water Puppet Theater show which we will see tomorrow. Came back for her nap, then lunch, than met our Canadian friends down in the lobby to hang out and chat. Mr. Haong came by with all of our final paperwork so we are good to go on Saturday. Elizabeth then had her afternoon nap and then we had dinner in the Vietnamese restaurant in the Hilton with the Canadians. We had ordered a cake at the bakery in the hotel and they presented it to Elizabeth complete with candle for our dessert. It was a beautiful cake, white chocolate with raspberry filling and Elizabeth even had a few bites! Oh boy did she love it!
Tomorrow we finish up our packing, go to the water show and then have our final dinner in Hanoi. Two of our Canadian friends leave tomorrow night and we wish them a safe trip. They were wonderful to be with and we will miss their company greatly. One thing that has been cool these past few days is noticing the amount of families that are here who are adopting. A whole bunch are staying at the Hilton with us, while others are staying at the Army Hotel or the Somerset Grand. We seem to keep bumping into each other. We always compare stories and have found that for the most part, all of the babies have been well taken care of here. A few did not receive as good treatment as Elizabeth which makes us count our blessings even more that we were so fortunate to get our little girl in good health.
We can’t wait to come home!!!!!
Tomorrow we finish up our packing, go to the water show and then have our final dinner in Hanoi. Two of our Canadian friends leave tomorrow night and we wish them a safe trip. They were wonderful to be with and we will miss their company greatly. One thing that has been cool these past few days is noticing the amount of families that are here who are adopting. A whole bunch are staying at the Hilton with us, while others are staying at the Army Hotel or the Somerset Grand. We seem to keep bumping into each other. We always compare stories and have found that for the most part, all of the babies have been well taken care of here. A few did not receive as good treatment as Elizabeth which makes us count our blessings even more that we were so fortunate to get our little girl in good health.
We can’t wait to come home!!!!!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday January 19
Today we had a rather quiet day. I went out early in the morning to do errands and Greg was in charge of getting Elizabeth ready for the day. When I returned an hour later, she was bathed, diaper changed, fed and clothed, happily playing on the floor with her Daddy. Go Daddy!! The only thing that he has yet to try is changing a poopy diaper. He has watched me do it, but he’s not quite ready to take the poopy plunge!
We went off to the Temple of Literature, very lovely with lots of bonsai trees. It was probably the quietest place we have been to and even then, you could still hear the car horns honking in the distance. We then found the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum and looked at some wonderful sculptures and paintings. We walked along the main street near the museum and found all kinds of wonderful art stores. One of the big things they sell here are embroidered pictures but we also found pictures that looked more like sand art. Found a gorgeous one for our master bathroom.
Came back to the hotel so Elizabeth could nap and have lunch and then we just spent the afternoon playing. Her latest thing is something we had only starting doing with her yesterday. I was giving her one of her toys and did the old “Psych” thing to her and she fell into a fit of giggles. Of course today, wouldn’t you know it, she would start to hand Greg or myself a toy and would do the same thing back to us, laughing her head off! I have to say though the best thing by far is that she has started to give me kisses. Yesterday, we were sitting on the floor and she came up to me for a cuddle and put her face right up to mine and let her lips go on my cheek. I didn’t quite know for a second what she had done, but then she did it again, and I realized, oh my God, she just gave me a kiss! What a little love she is!
Our hotel has a really nice restaurant that offers a buffet and we’ve eaten there for dinner now twice because I figured it was a good chance to let Elizabeth try a few things. Nothing major, just some cooked carrot, a little plain chicken, that was pretty much it. It was great to watch her face when she picked up the food because the only other thing she has eaten with her fingers has been Cheerios and some animal crackers.
So tomorrow is our interview with the American Embassy and then we just hang out until the end of the week. We plan to continue doing a little sightseeing everyday – naturally working around Elizabeth’s schedule. We were off a little yesterday – short morning nap, tried to feed her lunch too early and then not enough nap in the afternoon and by dinner, we had a very unhappy little girl – if I so much as put her down for one second, we have full meltdown! We learned quickly and today was back to schedule. Very much looking forward to coming home. It has been lovely here but we do miss everyone and it’s hard for Greg to make sure that he isn’t eating things that contain gluten. We think he has once or twice, possibly soy sauce or barbecue sauce that a restaurant didn’t realize contained it so we’re trying to be a little more vigilant. No point in him feeling unwell the rest of the week. We keep hearing about how cold it is in NY. Kind of weird considering we walk around in short sleeve shirts.
We’ll let you know how the interview goes!
We went off to the Temple of Literature, very lovely with lots of bonsai trees. It was probably the quietest place we have been to and even then, you could still hear the car horns honking in the distance. We then found the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum and looked at some wonderful sculptures and paintings. We walked along the main street near the museum and found all kinds of wonderful art stores. One of the big things they sell here are embroidered pictures but we also found pictures that looked more like sand art. Found a gorgeous one for our master bathroom.
Came back to the hotel so Elizabeth could nap and have lunch and then we just spent the afternoon playing. Her latest thing is something we had only starting doing with her yesterday. I was giving her one of her toys and did the old “Psych” thing to her and she fell into a fit of giggles. Of course today, wouldn’t you know it, she would start to hand Greg or myself a toy and would do the same thing back to us, laughing her head off! I have to say though the best thing by far is that she has started to give me kisses. Yesterday, we were sitting on the floor and she came up to me for a cuddle and put her face right up to mine and let her lips go on my cheek. I didn’t quite know for a second what she had done, but then she did it again, and I realized, oh my God, she just gave me a kiss! What a little love she is!
Our hotel has a really nice restaurant that offers a buffet and we’ve eaten there for dinner now twice because I figured it was a good chance to let Elizabeth try a few things. Nothing major, just some cooked carrot, a little plain chicken, that was pretty much it. It was great to watch her face when she picked up the food because the only other thing she has eaten with her fingers has been Cheerios and some animal crackers.
So tomorrow is our interview with the American Embassy and then we just hang out until the end of the week. We plan to continue doing a little sightseeing everyday – naturally working around Elizabeth’s schedule. We were off a little yesterday – short morning nap, tried to feed her lunch too early and then not enough nap in the afternoon and by dinner, we had a very unhappy little girl – if I so much as put her down for one second, we have full meltdown! We learned quickly and today was back to schedule. Very much looking forward to coming home. It has been lovely here but we do miss everyone and it’s hard for Greg to make sure that he isn’t eating things that contain gluten. We think he has once or twice, possibly soy sauce or barbecue sauce that a restaurant didn’t realize contained it so we’re trying to be a little more vigilant. No point in him feeling unwell the rest of the week. We keep hearing about how cold it is in NY. Kind of weird considering we walk around in short sleeve shirts.
We’ll let you know how the interview goes!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
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