Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Three "P"s - Passports, Physicals and Pasta

An early start for the Holt clan here in Ha Noi. We met up with the Holt staff at the Ministry of Police to pick-up Sophie's Vietnamese passport which is step one in boarding the plane on Saturday night. We had to wait about an hour and a half. Our med check was to be at 10 so the Moms took the girls on over ahead. We were happy to meet Benjamin, Vanessa and little Kimberly who arrived yesterday from Saigon. Their daughter Kimberly was in the Binh Duong CWC, where we were united with Miss Sophie Lee. They were applying for their girl's passport today. Both Benjamin and Van are Vietnamese and live in New Jersey. They have family in the South and will head back there after they finalize their things in Ha Noi.
Doctor's visit went well. Of course Sophie was NOT thrilled to be undressed twice in 20 minutes. The doctor who examined Sophie was French and she was screaming bloody murder. Hey, I think that is a good thing for Pop as he moved up on the Sophie like-a-bility meter today! :-)
After the checks we walked to the Somerset Grand and had lunch at Highlands. Sophie had some spaghetti as a reward for being brave at the doctor. We tried to order just buttered noodles, but twice it came out with sauce, so we just said what the heck.
Tomorrow at 2pm we go to the US Embassy for Sophie's I-600 interview which should be a simple in and out procedure of a few questions and answers. Mommy and Sophie are both taking power naps right now. Two new foods in Sophie's arsenal are raisins and shrimp flavored rice poofy things. Sounds nasty but they are actually really good! Well that is all from the north of Viet Nam! Hope everyone back home has a great day!

Jackie, Tricia and Vanessa with their daughters.

Nurse examines Sophie before we visit with the doc.

Meltdown City!

This makes it all better! Momma Fratesi should be proud! A face full of pasta!

Our orange checked angel

The video evidence that yes, she LOVES spaghetti.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah Sophie, She eats spagetti like those other Smith's grandkids, have pictures of Nikki, and Megan to prove. Missing all three. Love Aunt Tam

Jessica Alvarez said...

Congratulations on getting the passport and surviving the medical exam! I love the photo with all three moms.

Libby said...

We're counting down the days until you guys make it home! Mason's so excited to meet Sophie. He loves looking at your pictures that "talk" on the blog! Hugs to all three of you!!! Monday morning can't get here soon enough!!!

Anonymous said...

I like that she's not afraid to get dirty! That spaghetti sure is fun to play with ;) It sure seems like you guys have been gone forever. Only a few more days! Not missing much here. The weather is cold and the Blues lost again last night! -Ann

Cathy said...

Sounds like your physical with the French doctor went about like ours did! :) You are two steps closer to getting on the plane! Enjoy the rest of your time in Hanoi! T, C, and E

Ann said...

loving watching Sophie become more and more comfortable-the book was precious.
Oh, and, because of one-way streets, it often DOES cost twice as much to get home from places at the Westlake. We kept thinking the same thing and wondering why it was always so much more to come home, then a taxi driver showed us the map and he was right! Esp. if going towards certain directions. Not saying some cabbies aren't taking advantage but that explains some of it :-)
Enjoy your time and give Sophie more spaghetti!
Ann

J and J said...

The countdown is on. You are so close to coming home! we have enjoyed following your journey. Can't wait to see her at home in a few days! You then get to begin a new adventure as she discovers her new environment. Get a camera ready with meeting the animals, we missed Sam's reaction to the cats since the camera was not out and it could have won America's Funniest Videos.