it's pretty much official at this point...

Well, the day started with very little fan-fare, just like any other day you would expect to be picking up a child for the first time - writhing around on the bathroom floor waiting for my keeper to take me away. That was my morning anyways. Started at about 5:30 and I havent had a bite to eat in over 12 hours.

But enough about me. We got the call about picking up Nate and got the gears in action...Nicole did at least. I stayed in bed until the last possible moment. Sure enough they arrived at 12-ish like they promised and we were off. 2 hours later we are at the orphanage and in a whirlwind, we are changing Nate into his special ceremonial outfit. Good lookin kid, picked his outfit out to match mine. Check out this short vid to check it out:

Then we were back into the van, dodging traffic through the mountains on our way to the Ministry office in Hoa Binh. This is where the official Giving and Receiving ceremony takes place, in a room that looks like this:

There are some official people sitting around, us and another couple waiting their turn as well. They said some words, we signed some papers, they took some pictures, we took some pictures, they coo'd at the babies and we gave them gifts. Then we left, hitting Hanoi rush hour traffic for 5:30. I know what commuters put up with on the QEW, but this is ridiculous. We are back at the apartment, so all that is left is to look at each other with confusion as to what we do next. I know I am tired and still queasy, but we gotta look after this guy now. Help...

Until next time, we are off to figure out how to feed him.

Cheers

Brian