Chuck & Dave

Lucas has been home for over two months and we’re finally getting around to updating our blog! 

Lucas is doing very well!  He sleeps through the night (12 hours), crawls fast, and is beginning to pull himself up.  He has four teeth - two top and two bottom.  He loves Cheerios, Gerber puffs, and sweet potatoes.  He likes talking to Baxter.  They seem to understand each other, though we have no idea what they’re talking about.

Check out the new “More Lucas Pictures” photo album in the picture gallery: http://www.chuckdave.net/gallery

Lucas is now officially my son in Vietnam.  I picked him up yesterday at 9am.  He is every bit as cute and adorable as I imagined.  The minute Lucas and I laid eyes on each other I knew he would like me.  He hugged me and snuggled right up in my arms.  He has been like that ever since.  He is also much smaller than I expected.  But that is a good thing in my book, at least for now.  I have attached a picture of the official Giving and Receiving ceremony that took place about an hour and a half after I received him yesterday.My dad is a picture-taking machine.  I have more to share and will try to do so as soon as I catch up on sleep and get some time.

Thanks!!

Chuck

Sorry we haven’t updated everyone in awhile.  It’s been like a roller coaster the past 6 weeks.  We hoped we would make it to Vietnam to pick up Lucas in late November.  There have been delays with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) processing one last piece of paperwork.  In November, a few days before we were supposed to pick up Lucas, the USCIS changed a procedure which has delayed many US families’ adoptions from Vietnam.  The USCIS office in Ho Chi Minh City is understaffed and made no allowance for families well into the adoption process when they implemented this new procedure. We know of no other families adopting from Vietnam that have received approval under this new procedure.  USCIS stated that it may take up to 60 days from the date they acknowledge receiving our forms before our paperwork is processed.  They acknowledged receiving our paperwork on November 19, 2007.  So they have until January 19, 2008 to get back to us or we will lose our patience and begin harassing our congressman and senators to help.

Today we received word that as of December 27, 2007, Lucas had the following vitals:

• Height: 24.4 inches
• Weight: 12.3 pounds
• Head Circumference: 42 cm

When we receive word that our paperwork has been processed by USCIS and Chuck can go to Vietnam to pick up Lucas, we will write again.  In the meantime, we will just have to remain patient.

We received more photos today! These were taken on Monday, November 12th. Click on them to see them bigger. We received some measurements that were taken yesterday as well:

Height: 23.62 inches

Weight: 11.68 pounds

Head Circumference: 15.94 inches

We can’t say much for the pink outfit, but it is nice to see that he has grown so much. I wonder if he can speak Vietnamese now? :-)We received word from the adoption agency that Chuck will most likely be traveling to Vietnam to pick up Lucas on either November 24th or 26th. Whoo Whoo!

It has been 4 months since we learned about Lucas.  The latest update is that Chuck may be traveling to Vietnam the week after Thanksgiving.  We will know for sure two weeks before the trip and will update you again. 

We are very fortunate to have had two great baby showers, one with Dave’s coworkers at RTI and one with our families and friends here in Raleigh.  We are very thankful to have such wonderful and supportive family and friends. 

Take care and have a great Halloween!

Our friends made us a beautiful invitation to announce the upcoming baby shower. Click the image to see a larger image. If you did not receive one in the mail and would like to attend, simply RSVP at the email/phone number on the invitation.

Today we received a video of Lucas from Vietnam!

If you are having problems seeing the above video, try viewing the flash version here. Or download the Windows Media version to your computer by right clicking here, and selecting “Save Target as.”

Today we received 12 more photos of Lucas from Vietnam!  Our adoption agency director was there last week with another couple picking up their baby and took these pictures of Lucas. 

 Check out the Gallery:  http://www.chuckdave.net/gallery

We received updated photos last night! I have posted them in the Picture Gallery. You can click on the Picture Gallery link under the blog roll, or use this URL to access the Picture Gallery directly: http://www.chuckdave.net/gallery