Hi everyone, it's Melissa. It's 5 in the morning and just got the little guy back to sleep so thought I better take this time while I could to tell you a little bit about Zachary and our trip yesterday to the Mekong Delta. I know Teri already posted some on that and some pics and am posting more pics from our trip yesterday. First of all, I want to thank Teri so very much for keeping everyone up to date with this blog. When I first started this blog, it was my intention to document every little detail for everyone while we were on this journey however little did I know that Mr. Zach would have other plans for me during the day. When Zach falls asleep at night, I am pretty much right behind him. I am so exhausted by the end of the day but I can't wait for the next day to do it all again. So if it wasn't for Teri, this blog would not have many postings so thank you Teri. Zachary is such an amazing little guy. I am in awe of how I love him so much. He loves to be held and cuddled and has such an amazing little personality already. When he goes to sleep, he has the thumb in his mouth and grabs on to a little piece of my shirt . It is so cute. Teri and I have had Zach out in the bustling streets of Ho Chi Minh and the busy marketplace and yesterday the jungle. He just soaks everything in and is so good. Yesterday was great. We were up early and out the hotel by 8 a.m. as had quite a little road trip to our destination. Zach is very good in the van and just stares at everything going on around him. I have to remember that all this time, his world consisted of the walls of the orphanage and his crib so everything is so new to him. There are no seat belts in Vietnam so Zach just sits on my lap. Dont worry mom and Steph, I hold on to him for dear life as the traffic is crazy and there have been couple instances where we had to brace. When we arrived at the Mekong, our guide was a Vietnamese woman name Kim(speaks 5 languages). Very sweet and was a wonderful guide. We first went to the island where they showed us how they make coconut candy and other candy as well and we also got to sample the various candy. Needless to say as long as Teri and I can get it through customs, we brought some back with us. We then got back on the boat and traveled to another island. As soon as we got off the boat, there were some monkeys in cages. We were warned not to get too close as they would grab for us. That was all I needed to hear but for some reason, Teri must have missed that particular warning. We had seen the monkey trying to grab the backpacks from the family ahead of us so I walked pretty far around since I had the baby. Teri was filming and all of a sudden I hear a mixture of screaming and laughing at the same time. Yes people, Teri was attacked by the "killer monkey of the Mekong Delta" as she likes to tell little Zach. It is so hilarious, whenever she tells him that he just busts out laughing. She actually has 4 scratches but it did not break the skin. Of course she documented it with pictures and video to show whoever will watch of her encounter. It was pretty funny. Afterwards we all sat at a table and they brought us out delicious fruit to eat that is representative from that area. Very good. There was a bride and groom there who just got married and one of the customs is for them to cross what they call a monkey bridge which if successfully crossed will bring luck and happiness. We were watching to see if they actually crossed it but they were just getting their picture taken by it. Our guide told us they were actually pretty tricky to cross . Our next encounter was with the islands resident python. I wish those of you who who are reading this who know Teri could have been there to personally experience the sounds and screams that emitted from Teri as they placed this python around her. I am hoping I captured it on video but believe I was only able to take pics. Of course I had the baby in the carrier so was not able to hold the python(Teri says I am using Zach as an excuse haha) but Zach and I were able to stand next to Teri as I will post in one of the pics. Afterwards it was on to sample the local teas/wines. The rice wine was very interesting(translation-pretty yuk) but some of the teas were nice. After that , a nice ride down the canals of the Mekong which was pretty interesting getting in and out of with a baby, but we are ok and no one fell into the river which was my main objective. I will post more later as Zach is up and we are getting ready to go to a couple of the museums and zoo. One more thing, on the way back from the trip, Thuy was telling us some things we could get from their birthcountry for our children and one of the things was earrings to get for Zach to give to his wife on his wedding day when he marries 30-35 years from now. Teri and I looked at each other and literally burst into tears. Note to self: earrings for Zach's future wife. Love you all and we miss you all tremendously. Gotta go. Zach crying. So long, will do another post with pics.