Little Acorn

Home!

Sorry about the long wait to hear from us. All is well, but both Adeline and I are sick, sick, sick and we're all suffering the effects of jet lag and poor David is back to work already. We arrived tired and sickly but very happy around 11 pm on Friday. Adeline was truly awesome on all her flights, but especially on the big 11 hour flight from Taipei to Vancouver.

 

Adeline fell asleep 3 hours before the flight took off, woke up for about half an hour during boarding and then slept for 9 of the 11 hours we were in the air. Having no bassinet was a challenge, but we managed to contort ourselves into a fairly comfortable position and even David and I managed to sleep a bit. Adeline woke up once and had a bottle, but then went right back to sleep - she didn't even wake up during the meal services when they turned on the lights and clattered up and down the aisles.

The poor girl is really sick with her cold and has shared it with me and I'm really sick too, but she has been so happy to be home! We are both mouth-breathing, coughing, wheezing, not-sleeping messes, but the baby is handling it with a lot less whining than her Mom is! Adeline is really enjoying exploring her new home. Her high chair is her new very favourite place and she is eating us out of house and home. Also a huge hit is the Jolly Jumper. She was a natural - she can get serious air in that thing and it just cracks her up. Adeline slept so well in Vietnam, so we hope that once this cold and jet lag passes and she starts to feel more secure that we will back to that, as right now at night she is waking up every hour or two to have a 5 minute snuggle and cry and is wanting to catnap all day long. Maybe we just need to recreate the sensation of flying in a 747... Adeline has loved meeting her Nana and she is fascinated by the cats, who seem equally as interested in her. I can't describe how good it feels to finally be home where we belong. I can't believe that David headed back to work today. I know Adeline and I will be fine, but her and I have really gotten used to having Daddy around all the time and we already miss him a lot! I want us all to get healthy and a little caught up on sleep so that I can start introducing Adeline to all her new friends!

 

Happily playing in her playroom after breakfast on her first morning home....just the picture I had been waiting to see.

We're Coming Home!

Adeline has all her documents together and her Vietnamese and Canadian passports are packed and ready to go, so tomorrow morning we'll be leaving Hanoi and heading home! I just can't think about the 3 flights, the 30 hours of travel, the long layovers, the lack of sleep or the teething and sick baby (yep, both). All I can focus on is that at the end of the journey is HOME!

Waiting to Come Home

Happy times here in Hanoi as we wait for Adeline's Canadian passport to be issued! She continues to be a joyful, easy-going, busy and fun baby and we couldn't be more in love! Our days are getting short here and we will be leaving for home on Friday. Each day we try and get out to see some of the city and are so thankful that Adeline is a happy little traveller who loves to be out and about. In some ways I can't wait to get back to our house, where things like food and laundry will all be so much easier, but I will be sad to leave Vietnam as well. We love it here and can't wait to return for a family holiday at some point. Our flights home total about 30 hours of travel time, so hopefully Adeline will be happy and will sleep for a good portion of our longest flight. Once home I'm sure jet lag and all the big changes will make for some trying times, and both Adeline and I will be very sad to see David head off to work on Monday morning, but I'm sure we'll all adjust to our new life and will be in a happy family rut routine soon enough. After all the drama that bringing our daughter home entailed, the idea of quiet domesticity sounds better than ever!

 

Happy Happy Happy

All continues to be wonderful in Hanoi! Adeline is a sunny, contented baby who sleeps well and is a champion eater! Despite the fact that her hands are still bandaged, she loves to play with her toys and she is happy most of the time (except when we want to change her clothes and then we can see her temper!) All our paperwork is now COMPLETE and we are just waiting for her Canadian Passport to be sent from the High Commission in Singapore. We are on schedule to leave for home on Friday, March 26th! Yayyyyyyy!!!

 

JUST SO HAPPY

All is Well

Just a quick post to let you all know that we arrived in Vietnam safely and that our adoption process is proceeding just as we expected. Adeline is officially and forever our daughter as of yesterday and now we just wait for the Canadian immigration process to be completed.  Adeline is an absolute joy and we just can't get her to stop smiling and laughing!

You will probably notice the bandages in the photos. Adeline was in an accident a couple of weeks ago and received some burns to her hands. We were quite concerned as they look bad, but after taking her to the international clinic last night we have been assured that with proper care over the next little while that her hands will heal completely.

Everything is GOOD.

Finally.

Waiting

This morning while I was waiting for the paint to dry in the playroom so that I could start moving in the furniture, I spotted Musette rolling around in the warm spring sunshine. I wonder if this will still be her favourite spot once Adeline is here?

Musette and Zephyr are so lucky that they have good friends who are willing to visit them while we're gone. My Mom will be here the first week as she's off for spring break and then she'll come down on the weekends so they won't be alone for too long. What spoiled kitties! It's so comforting to know that they'll be well cared for while we're gone.

And then when we finally get home? Oh my...their quiet little world will be turned upside down!

4 more sleeps!

How did I not notice that all around me the whole world is in bloom? All of a sudden everything just seems brighter and clearer and there is beauty everywhere I look!

One thing that makes my life better? YOU! Thanks for all the wonderful comments. You guys are AWESOME!

We leave SUNDAY. Yikes. So much to do. Flights are booked. A hotel is reserved. Packing is underway. Cat wranglers have been recruited. Lists are on every surface and are slowly getting checked off.

Thursday March 11th will be our Forever Family Day!

For those of you with the password for the travel blog it will stay the same. There will be updates here too, just not as many or as in depth. How could I resist posting some photos of the happy family and what may very well be the world's cutest baby? If you would like the location and password of the travel blog, just send me an email to the address on this blog and introduce yourself and we'd be happy to have you follow along.

Coming home March 26th to really begin our lives as a family of 3!!!!

Can you tell I'm pretty frantic and spinny? It's all good, but I'm a fast talking, whirling dervish the last 2 days. 

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Adeline had a little lamb...

...with fleece as white as snow.

 

And everywhere that Adeline went...

 

...that lamb was sure to go

 

Which means that this little lamb had better pack his bags for his big trip across the ocean and around the world, because he will be getting some cuddling from Adeline NEXT WEEK when we make our long journey to bring her home!

Yes, FINALLY!!!