A daddy's take on his new family.

Since Kim has posted regularly during this lengthy trip in Vietnam, I thought I would give her a break for a day. For those of you who don't know me, My name is Mark and I have been married to Kim for 10 wonderful years. I have been eagerly anticipating Dylan's arrival in to our lives since before he was born. To start this post off, I will give you an update of what we did today.

Dylan and daddy did not sleep well at all last night. Him, just being fussy for some unkown reason and me because the sunburn I received during our day at the beach has begun to itch like crazy on my back! We all woke up for good at the usual time of 5am and we gave him a bottle. He then slept for another hour and a half. After getting ready for the day, we had breakfast at the Highlands Coffee shop just down the street. This was a nice change from the hotel breakfast buffet that we have been eating the last week. I can only eat so many eggs!

After breakfast, the daddies met with Minh for another briefing about what is upcoming in the process. He told us that later that day we would go to a hospital for Dylan's mandatory check up. So at 1:30 pm, all 12 of us piled in the bus to head to the hospital. Shortly after our arrival, the check ups started and we went last. The doctor took height, weight, and head circumference measurements. She then asked us about what he was able to do and what we might be a little delayed in doing. Things like sitting up 100% of the time, crawling, and pulling himself to a standing position are the major things he can't do just yet. After asking her questions, she told us things that we already knew. He is underweight and developemently delayed. However she assured us that with the proper care (which we will give him) he should have no major issues and will eventually catch up to other kids.

After the exams, the families came back to the hotel for a late lunch, early dinner. Minh met us there and said that he would be in contact in the morning about when our US consulate interviews would be. He also said that if all goes well, we will be flying to Hanoi on Saturday. This still keeps us with the potential to leave for the US as early as Wednesday but we will not know when we can leave until we actually get to Hanoi so don't hold your breath quite yet. For those of you who would like to meet us at the airport in OKC, we will let you know for sure just as soon as we know.

So for you adoption blog addicts...that's your update. Now then, let me just state a few things right here. I knew that I have loved Dylan from the first second I saw his picture way back in November but my dreams were underestimates. Not a minute goes by that I don't think about him. His past, the time that we are spending with him now, and his future. He has brought something to my life that I have wanted for a long time. I know that I will become a good husband...a good father... a better man...because of the love that Kim and I have for him.

When we celebrated our 10th anniversary last week, we both remarked about how the next 10 will be dramatically different than the first 10. There is one thing that will not change. My love for Kim. This whole experience has brought the 2 of us closer. We even chage diapers as a team! :) Sappy sentiments aside, I also send out a big thank you to all of our family and friends for their love and support. We cannot wait for you to meet this great little guy!