Ah...the waiting game

We received an email from the adoption agency saying that there are 12 families waiting for permission from USCIS to travel, and 7 of them are already over 60 days. So don't get excited yet. We are trying to remain optimistic, but it's not easy. I would like to know at least what month we will be going so I can give work a little heads up. I also want to have Aaron here right now. Being in an orphanage, even a good one, is not what is best for little boys and girls. Or their prospective parents. While I understand that USCIS wants to make sure there is no possibility that he was stolen from his birth mother, Vietnam has already done a full investigation, which should really be enough. Should ALL the babies be kept away from loving homes? Would it be better for him to grow up wearing Nike's or making them?

Arts & Crafts

I'd been holding off with the crafting until Aaron's arrival began to look real. However, when we learned that our application was at its final stop, I couldn't be stopped. I made this quilt, which was going to be a crib quilt, but is big enough for a twin bed.

The pictures don't really do it justice. It is bright and fun.

I also purchased yarn to make two sweaters:

Baby Boo by Alchemy in Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino

In these colors:

And Baby Hoodie by Blue Sky Alpacas in dyed cotton:

In these colors:

Baby yarns are sooooo soft!

Baby Industrial Complex

I thought the military industrial complex was bad, but it is nothing compared to the selection and prices of baby products! Thank god for the series of tubes we call the internets! We went to Buy Buy Baby yesterday and test drove a number of different strollers. Does Aaron need side vents? Will he use the cup holder or just throw the bottle on the ground? Why does one model come with a kickstand? In the end, we chose this one, made by Schwinn, the bicycle people.




Will it be perfect? Who knows! The handle-bar is height adjustable, which is helpful for us shorties. It has a cup holder for the grown-up, and it folds down with one hand. We bought it from the www.mystrollers.com website for about $70 less than it was in the store. We also purchased carseats and a diaper bag.




I'm pretty happy with the choices and I love that the covering on the carseat is called "Cowmooflage".

Waiting for Aaron

If you are reading this post, you probably know who Aaron is, but for those who may not, I'll elaborate. Aaron, born Nguyen Vu Hoa, is our prospective adoptive son in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. It has been a long journey to get him and it is not quite over. We have one more hurdle to jump- final approval from United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS). They acknowledged receiving our application on Aug 19, and, by their own rules, are supposed to complete the approval within 60 business days. However, they often go over. 60 business days from approval would be Nov. 11. Two and a half months! And we have so much to do before then! To pass the time faster, and to keep everyone informed, I'm gonna blog. Why not?