Thank you all for your continued thoughts, prayers and well-wishes delivered
via comments and emails. It really really helps!!

Today is definitely a better day. I feel very very good. My energy level is
very good and I am pain-free!!! I still have no hearing in my right ear but
assume, at this point, that that won't resolve for a long time to come.

This morning Teegan wasn't feeling well after he was bit from head to toe
and was all itchy. We dosed him with Benadryl and decided to not do anything
too far away or long lasting. We took the hotel shuttle to this place called
the Big C. It is a huge store on the top level and a mini mall on the lower
level. There was nothing of interest on the lower level but just being there
lifted my spirits. We had a few things on our list we needed to buy like
diapers, bug spray and batteries. We found all but the bug spray,
unfortunately. We did find some kids Off lotion but it is in Vietnamese so
I'm not sure exactly what it is. Haha. We bought it anyway. For those
traveling soon, the mosquitoes here in Hanoi are still bad and we have not
even been out in the early morning or late evening. In fact we have not been
out longer than a few hours but all of us have multiple bites despite using
Cutter repellant wipes. Those things just don't work. You need the aerosol
with DEET. The big guns. The poison! Haha. So we are still on a mission for
some better bug spray.

I forgot a funny story yesterday after all. Everyone here is very curious
about Noah and when Tony took the kids out yesterday a few ladies stopped
them to ask emphatic questions (in Vietnamese) about Noah. Tony had no idea
what they were asking so finally they just pulled Noah up onto their laps
and peeked inside his shorts! Bwa hahah - they wanted to know his gender!
Turns out this is a popular question wherever we go. I am going to try to
look up the word for "boy" in Vietnamese and cut to the chase. No one seems
to care about the older boys or Addison (who is always in the sling a.k.a
the People Deterrent) but Noah is prime target here!! Luckily he could care
less and takes it all in stride.

So the boys may go swimming today but otherwise we are keeping a low
profile. Today we are trying a new Deli for lunch and I think we will have
Indian for dinner. Hanoi has amazing restaurants and is even more eclectic
than the US as far as I'm concerned. Plus the French influence means all the
best stuff is even better - breads, desserts, pastries! Yum! I am tempted to
break out in some French because I feel so useless speaking only English. Of
course I can't speak much French either. Haha.

Addison is doing well, still fighting a cold but she is mostly unaffected.
She is staying up longer and longer spans of time thanks to a full belly
consistently. She is gaining lots of strength to match. Today she sat for a
bit, tripod-style, which is right at age-appropriate so we are very happy
about that. She just fits into our family so perfectly. I have always been
blessed to have no sibling rivalry or jealousy issues with my kids and it
looks like this is no exception. The boys are still just as thrilled about
Addison as a week ago and they are still just as doting ad loving and
helpful. Eventually that will wear off and it will just be life as usual, I
know. Today Dalton said he can't imagine life without Addison. Pretty
special coming from a 12 year old boy :-) And last night after I kissed Noah
to bed he said to me "Every day, forever, I am going to pick out Addison's
clothes in the morning.". he also gets every bottle and brings us diapers
and clothes and plays with Addison endlessly. It is a beautiful thing.
Teegan, the baby magnet, of course just adores her and tells her he loves
her many times a day. Also for those who have asked, yes she is still
nursing. She is teething and can I just say I am SO glad she does not have
teeth yet. I need to offer to nurse her more often to help bring in more
milk. She's always willing although sometimes only nurses briefly and other
times a long time. It depends on how she is feeling (tired, hungry, etc)
Tony is such a great and helpful Daddy. He has been taking her on outings,
carrying her in the sling whenever she needs it and getting up with her in
the night if she wakes (less and less often as her ears feel better).
Consequently she just adores him. It really was love at first sight for all
6 of us and I feel really blessed. Tony has commented to me about how when
we first met her and she first met us, it all just clicked for all of us and
he's right. Not a lot has gone easily or right or without a lot of pain and
heartache in this adoption process but this - THIS - we got right. The most
important part.