Big Boy!!

Zach is officially sleeping in a big boy bed. We changed his room around on Friday night and he has done such a great job with the transition. I was hesitant because he is a boy who loved his crib. He would happily go in each evening and during each nap. Zach would stay in his crib for as long as I wanted him to each morning. He would play, sing, talk and snug with his stuffed animals. I didn't want this to end. But, it was time. The first two mornings in his bed, he woke up crying for someone to come get him in the morning. We told him over and over again that he cannot get out until we come in to get him. He has listened so far. This morning was the first time he woke up and stayed in his bed happily until I went in to get him, 4o minutes later. He would have stayed longer. When I went in, he was happily hanging out with his stuffed animals. He enjoyed having myself, Sophie and Reba all come into his bed to snug this morning. He is excited about his new accomplishment and announces that he has a big boy bed whenever he goes into his room. He eagerly climbs into bed each night. What a big boy. Next big boy step...PRESCHOOL!!

Happy ZACH Day!

Two years ago today, on August 19 2007, we met our son for the first time. What a perfect day. We drove to BaVi in a van with four other wonderful families. We all chatted, laughed and observed the scenery wondering how we were all going to react when meeting our babies for the first time. We stepped out of the van at the orphanage, cameras in hand. We took off our shoes, walked in and were told to find our babies. Zachary was alone in a crib. He smiled the second I looked him in the eyes. I like to think that he knew I was there for him :) I scooped him up and have not put him down since. We spent almost two hours at the orphanage holding our babies, hanging out with the nannies and checking out the place where our children spent the first six months of their lives. Saying goodbye was so very hard. We are forever grateful to the women who cared for Zachary until we could. It was hard for the nannies to say goodbye to these babies that they loved so much. Chad and I cried. The van ride back to the hotel was much different. We were all getting to know our babies and trying to figure out what they each needed. Zachary was content sitting on our laps and looking out the window. Chad had to wake Zachary up to get his photo taken for his passport. That was the first time we heard our little boy cry. We thought it was the cutest. Back at the hotel, we took some pictures in the lobby then headed up to our rooms. We spent the rest of that day bonding with Zachary in our room. He was perfect. He still is.

I don't think we will ever forget any part of this magical day. I remember it like it was yesterday. It changed our lives forever and we could not be happier.

THEN...NOW...

Two years ago today...

We were excitedly waiting in Vietnam for the next day to meet our son for the first time. It was Saturday. We thought we would have to wait until Monday but were happy to receive an email that said it would be Sunday morning. How did we ever sleep that night when this little man was waiting for us and in the same country?

Vacation Fun

We had a great vacation. Zachary enjoyed every minute of it, after the first couple of nights. He had a hard time sleeping for the first two nights and asked to go home. The boy loves his cribbie at home, that's for sure! Once he was used to sleeping at the "vacation house" (as he called it), he was fine. We went to the beach a lot, hung out with the Barans, played with Adam and Sarah, spent the day and evening with some other friends and walked around P-Town. We did not have one day of rain. The weather was perfect!
Zachary and Quan got along well. Quan is a much more aggressive kid than Zach, so Zach was able to learn to stand up for himself which is so important. If Quan tried to take a toy away from Zach, he would say: "No Quan, I'm using that." We had to teach him to hold on to that toy tight b/c he would say it but still let Quan take the toy. He learned fast and after a few days was a pro. They played together well, hugged often, ate together, shared toys and watched some quality Backyardigans :) I think they really enjoyed seeing each other every morning when they woke up. It was quite cute.
Zach loved going to the beach everyday. He would get wet while playing in the water then literally roll around in the sand. He was covered head to toe every time we went to the beach.

I think Zach was happy to come home after a long week away. We all were. We had a blast but it was time to come home and we all knew it. Mimi and Grumpa took care of Zach on Sunday and Zach got to ride on Grumpa's boat. Lucky boy! What a perfect way to end our great vacation.