Oh Yeah!

Yes, Jonah's first official English words were spoken yesterday and they were "Oh Yeah!" Olivia was dancing around the room excitedly chanting, "Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah". I am not really sure why, you know Livi, it does not take a lot to get her excited. Anyway, Jonah decided to join the fun and proceeded to repeatedly (with some prodding) shout "Oh Yeah". It was pretty cute. We think that he is already starting to understand a lot more of what we are saying to him. He has certainly not wasted any time familiarizing himself with the word "no". It is amazing how many things a 19 month old can find to get into in a hotel room.



Yesterday we went shopping at the Ben Thanh market, a very famous market in Saigon, selling anything from embroidered table cloths to designer luggage on the cheap. After a while, Olivia announced that she needed to pee. I was in the middle of an INTENSE negotiation for some merchandise (un-named for Christmas surprise purposes) so Betsy took Jonah and Olivia in search of a bathroom. There were nice blue signs that said WC that Betsy followed around a couple of corners. Some nice old ladies pointed her through a door. Upon entering the bathroom, she discovered she was basically in a shower stall. There was a drain on the floor and a little faucet with a handshower. Hmmmmm. She put Jonah down (he started crying) she told Livi to pee on the floor (she cried and peed) and then washed it down the drain with the shower head. Pee break Ho Chi Minh style.



It is 94 degrees today here in Saigon...that might sound nice to those of you experiencing the ice and snow storm this weekend, but it is HOT. We went to the Zoo and Botanical gardens today. They were started in the late 1800's by a French Botanist. During WWII the Japanese used the grounds as an Field Barracks, so the grounds fell into disrepair. Over the past 20 years or so they have been trying to restore it to its original glory. They had quite a few animals and it is much more interactive than American Zoos in that you can still feed the big animals. Olivia was able to feed a stick of sugar cane to an elephant which was fun. Some of the cages do not look as clean as you would see in the states but it was still fun to see all the animals. Jonah was pretty enthralled with all the sights.



Speaking of Jonah, he had his best night yet...we did not have to get up to comfort him at all during the night which was great. He slept from 8:30 straight through to 6:45. We'll take that. He is eating a little better now that he is getting over his cold. He is very partial to fruit..especially Watermelon and Oranges. Getting him to eat anything starchy has been more of a challenge. He also really likes Yogurt.



While at the Zoo today, we met some Canadians that had just adopted from another province in Vietnam. They said they will be able to get in and out of the country within 2 weeks. :( I think we are starting to come to terms with the fact that we are going to have to travel seperately, but it is going to be really hard to leave Betsy, Jonah and Bea here and return with Livi.



There will be 6 families from our agency up in Hanoi for Christmas, so we are talking about renting a hotel conference room and having a little Christmas party together. Something to make it feel like Christmas. While there are Christmas lights and trees all over Saigon and even some Vietnamese Santas wandering around, it just has not felt like Christas with all that we have had to accomplish over here. As a side note, they also use a lot of styrofoam cut-outs to try and make it look like there is snow. It is pretty funny.



I am not sure what the computer situation will be up in Hanoi, but I am sure that I will be able to at least find an internet cafe to sign in. Since we are flying tomorrow I do not know if I will get the opportunity to post. So, Merry Christmas to all of you. May the blessings of the season shower you with joy.