Life as a family of 3......perfect!!!

Well, we're back in our own house, and it feels great! We had the most amazing homecoming with all of Max's closest family meeting us at the airport. We had given them all blue t-shirts with their "titles" on the back and it was awesome to see them all there waiting for us!!! After the homecoming, we had a welcome home/ belated birthday party for Max. It was a blast!

Max was a little shy at first, but warmed up quickly!!! He's especially enjoying his time with his cousin Noah!!!

We're settling into our routine at home nicely. There just doesn't seem to ever be enough time to sit down and type out a really good blog! I promise I'll keep sharing lots of stories and pictures!!!! Love you all!!

Yay!!! We're finally in Chicago!

Whew.......we're finally here!!! What a LONG flight! Max did much better on the second flight. He actually slept for 5 or six hours total, so is wasn't too bad. He's just REALLY not a fan of take offs and landings. The change in altitude is what gets him, really scares him. Not that I can blame him at all, I don't like it either!!! As long as one of us was holding him, he really was pretty consolable. Once we got to Chicago, Max was kinda in for a surprise. It in the 50's, which is significantly lower than what it is in Thailand, but worse than that, the wind!!! We had to get the poor kid a hat and gloves because he'd just shiver, and his poor eyes would water any time we would go out side! Wasn't too sure about the hat at first, but he loves it now!

We all just got up from a two hour nap......though I think we could have slept till morning. Max is just a little bit......well, cranky I think best describes it!!! Love you all, and we're soooooo glad to be back in the states!!!

Hanging in Seoul!

Hey guys! We've made it to Seoul! The first flight was a little rough (as far as Max goes!) but, we're hoping for a better second leg! Max LOVES being at the airport! He points out every plane he can find! And, he's super pumped to roll around his little backpack that we had bought for him!

We've got a couple hours before the plane boards, so we're hoping maybe Max will take a little nap! Then, its on to Chicago! Can't wait to be back in the states! Love you all!

Souvenir shopping and packing!!

Today we managed to buy all the souvenirs we wanted to head home with!!! It took several hours, but we were determined, and Max was a trooper!!! Afterwards we headed back to the room, and after what felt like FOREVER, we now finally have everything packed and ready to go for tomorrow! We have to leave the hotel by about 1:30 and head to the Embassy. Then we'll wait for Max's Visa (should be done at 3:00) head back to our hotel to pick up our bags, and take a van to an airport hotel. We figure we'll try to have Max take a little nap, we'll shower, then head to the airport about 9:00 pm.

Sooooo excited to be back home!!! I'm just looking forward to finally showing Max all his cool stuff, and introducing him to his super cool family!!!

Sorry no pictures again. Its really hard to take pictures with a three year old and crazy crowded streets! I'm planning on taking some pictures of Max on the plane and posting them during our lay over in Seoul. Night!!

Lumphini Park

We had an awesome day at Lumphini Park today! Too bad though that it was soooo stinkin' hot!!! But, we had a blast in spite of it!!! The park was beautiful! We took a fun paddle boat ride. We weren't too sure if Max would enjoy it or be scared, but he did just fine!!! After our ride, we just had fun walking around taking in all the sights! Its pretty cool because this super beautiful, super green park is set smack in the middle of all these super tall buildings. Kinda surreal actually!!!

We took the sky train again today all over Bangkok it felt like. Just about the time we're really getting the feel for things and feeling comfortable roaming around, and now we're leaving!!!

One more day to relax tomorrow. Not sure yet what we might do. Might venture to a new part of Bangkok that we've heard lots of good things about! And maybe we'll start the day out again with a couple hours at the pool. This boy is addicted! He's getting so stinkin' brave! And the pool is about the most perfect thing you can do here! Walk just about anywhere for more than 30 seconds and you're drenched in sweat!!! But, I better not complain. I'm sure I'll be missing it come December in Illinois!! Night all!!!

Busy, busy, busy!!!

So, I totally ran out of time today yesterday and didn't even have a chance to blog!!! We spent a large part of the day at a souvenir mall, which we actually ended up buying very little at!!! But, it was fun to look!!! The traffic here is crazy, so it takes super long to get where you want to go! Most of your day is spent traveling to your destination!!! We ate at Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, and it was delicious!!! Just like home! I've got some pictures, but I think I'll just include them in tonight's post! It's 7:30 am here now, and I'm excited to start our day! We're heading to a famous park here, Lumphini Park, kinda like Forest Park in St. Louis. They've got these monitor lizards we keep hearing about that are a couple feet long! They just roam the park!!! I want to see what Max thinks about them! Then, next to the park they have a Night Bazaar I think we'll check out! It's fun to be out in Bangkok at night! Its still so busy, with so much to do!

Sorry again about the late post, and no pictures. We'll take lots today! Love you all!!!

U.S.A......we're on our way!!!

Hooray!!!! Today we had our Visa appt. Everything went great! Originally we had been told last week that we would not receive Max's Visa until Wednesday, the 27th. Well, that posed a problem because our plane tickets have us leaving on the night of the 26th!!! We explained to them the problem, and that we had been told when we made our travel arrangements that we would be good to go. The staff at the Embassy told us they would try their best, but not to expect to leave the country until Thursday the 28th!!! Well, we've been praying like crazy that everything would come together, and sure enough....God provided!!!! We were told Max's Visa would for sure be ready at 3pm on Tuesday, giving us plenty of time to get the airport for our flight! Stephen and I could not wipe the smiles off our faces! We've had a blast here in Thailand, but we're so pumped to get our little man back home to his very own house!!!

After the Embassy, we did a little shopping for some Thai souvenirs and boy did we find all kinds of good stuff! Also, we went to this HUGE gem store. Thailand is famous for their rubies and sapphires. Holy cow, they had some crazy expensive jewelry!!! But, for the most part, things were super reasonably priced. Max and Daddy bought Mommy a beautiful necklace with Max's birthstone!!!

After our exciting day out, we hit the pool. It was HOT today! Max is really becoming a fish! Not sure what the plan is for tomorrow. But, we're looking forward to our three day weekend here in Bangkok before heading home next week!!!!

Siriraj Hospital

Today we visited Siriraj Hospital here in Bangkok. This is the hospital that Max was born at! It was neat to be there. Kay, a Thai woman we know, works there and showed us around. She had helped us through the adoption process by visiting Max at Pakkred and relaying messages between us and the staff there. She was very kind and we had lunch at a restaurant just outside the campus.

Sirirat Hospital is also where the Thai king currently is. He has been sick for quite a while and has been being cared for there. There is a whole, large section set up for people to come and pay their respect for the king and sign a registry showing him that they are wishing him the best. There were a TON of people there, and to think, he's been there over a year, and still there are this many people coming! He's one popular king!!!

Tomorrow we have our Visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy, and then a free three day weekend since Monday is a Thai Holiday. We're already planning all the fun stuff we can do!!! I think for now, we're off to the pool again! Sorry for the lack of pictures! Promise I'll take more tomorrow!!!

It's Official!!!! We're approved!!

We're approved! The board meeting went great!!! No need to be nervous at all. Max acted like a perfect gentleman, and the board members were super nice! They said Max seemed quite happy with us, and they asked if we were "happy with him" Are you kidding me?!?!?! We are in love with this boy!!!! We're beyond happy!!! And, minus the "are you kidding me" part, we told them just that!

After the board meeting, we went back to the hospital where poor Max got three shots in his backside! We wasn't too happy during the process, but afterward was all smiles again.

We dropped all our papers off at the embassy after that, and got our Visa appt for 1:00 on Friday!

So, we've got a free day tomorrow and we're really looking forward to it!

Max is really into taking pictures. He loves to point anything he can pretend is a camera at Stephen and I and say "say cheese!" So, today I let him snap a few pictures of himself with our camera and he thought that was just the coolest thing ever! I'm including one of the really cute ones he took in today's pictures.

We ended the afternoon with popsicles at the shop outside our hotel, and now we're relaxing in the room! What a great day!!!

No vaccines....for today anyways!!

Max had his dr. visit today. He's had a cough that Stephen and I have been a little worried about. No fever though. Thankfully the dr. gave us a couple prescriptions. Max needs three injections and one oral vaccine before we leave, but because he's sick the dr. (with mommy and daddy's full agreement!) decided to push the shots off until Thursday. Max was such a champ. He did everything the dr. asked of him and held very still as she listened to his lungs. After the appt, it rained big time to we stayed around the hotel room and made our own fun! We have our board meeting first thing in morning, so we'll be calling it a night early. Please be praying for a super smooth board meeting. Both Stephen and I are a little nervous! We just want to board to see us for the awesome family that we are!

Good night all! Enjoy the video! Sorry no fun pictures today :(

Super awesome day at the aquarium!!!

So, today was supposed to be Max's dr appt, but his passport was a few hours late being prepared, so we had to push the appt back until tomorrow. Well, that was fine by us because it gave us an entire free day to visit the aquarium! Max absolutely loved it. We were a little worried that he would be scared because it is mostly in the dark, but he was awesome! So darn well behaved! We watched the penguins and sharks being fed and he just loved pointing to everything he saw and making sure daddy and I saw it too! Poor Stephen's arm got super tired. Max is pretty much attached to his daddy's hip (which of course Daddy absolutely loves!), but skinny as Max is, he still gets pretty darn heavy after a while. We've looked everywhere for a cheap little umbrella stroller, but we haven't found one yet. So, looks like daddy's arms are going to keep getting a work out!

After the aquarium, we went strolling around the mall attached to it. It had a HUGE food court with tons of things to choose from. After lunch we went to DQ for some ice cream, Max's (and mommy's) favorite! He super enjoyed his ice cream cone, as you can see from what's all over his face!!!

Max also picked out a puzzle which helps us work on our numbers, and out of all the DVD's he had to choose from, he picked Stuart Little, so looks like that's what we'll be watching tonight. He even took a ride on a little train which he was pretty excited about.

It amazes me how he doesn't cry or fuss about things most kids do. A couple of times in the toy section he would point to or pick up things that caught his eye, and when told that we couldn't buy it and when asked to put it back on the shelf, he did so without any complaint. Such a little trooper!!! We would have loved to buy him everything he wanted, but our suitcases (and wallets!) just won't let us. But we know he's got PLENTY of stuff waiting for him at home.

Just on a more serious, sentimental mom note....today was awesome!!!! At one point, I looked at Stephen and turns out we were thinking the same thing. This is what we've been waiting for! We were out, a family of three, doing exactly what families are supposed to be doing....being together, doing fun stuff! And, I know that at some point, the honeymoon very well may end...but I just have to say, Max is so darn well behaved (I noticed when proof reading the blog, that the font we chose makes d-a-r-n look like something else! Just wanted to clarify)! Thank you so, so, so much to the nannies at Pakkred, you have taught out son well!!! Enjoy the pictures everyone!


Before we left for the aquarium, we had a little dance party in our hotel room. Max was using the remote as a microphone! Like mother like son!

Check out my sweet fo-hawk mom gave me. I'm just the cutest kid ever!!!


Max likes to help mommy and daddy take pictures. They don't always turn out though!!