Smiles, smiles, smiles

Well, just over 3 weeks since we first met Maiya in person, and it's hard to believe how much she's changed in such a short time! The improvements in her muscle development and coordination have been incredible and she seems to be catching up to her 6 month milestones very quickly. We have a pediatrician's appointment tomorrow here in Toronto - thanks to Auntie Shannon's great connections we got one who's affiliated with Sick Kids so she will be great and should be able to help us get immunizations on schedule, skin issues looked at, etc.

I have been sick this week with ear & sinus infection (but fortunately it seems I've missed the pneumonia!) so it's been great to have my mom staying with us as Brett was back to work. In our little condo it means she's the first one up when Maiya decides it's play time in Vietnam (usually around 2:30 a.m.) so it's been great for Brett & I!

Grandma and Maiya modeled their rice hats for the blog today, as well as a shot of her obviously enjoying the change from the stainless steel & bamboo mat crib to the nice, comfy one she has now!

The final picture is a big thank you from Maiya to everyone at TLS for their support to Daddy while he's been off taking it easy in Vietnam, and for the Bumbo and other gifts she received at her welcome party at Daddy's work today. She discovered the chair is great for easy access to her toes & enjoys it immensely!

We'll keep the postings coming for a while, as our family & friends are spread out & it seems to be a good way to keep everyone posted on Maiya's progress. So if you're interested, keep checking in!

A few more pics to tide you over...

Presenting....Maiya Thanhlyn Clarkson

Here you go Poppa! Show her off!

Home Sweet Home

We're baaaack! And unfortunately I can't get pictures to upload today - so I'll post this so you know we're home, and will try pics a bit later!

All went well with our tickets, and Maiya had her first plane ride from Ho Chi Minh to Hong Kong on Saturday. We had exit row seating with an extra seat, so couldn't have had it better. On the Hong Kong-Anchorage-Toronto flights, we ended up being able to get Brett's seat moved so we could sit together, and had a bassinet, which was great - she slept almost the whole time!

Immigration & customs were unbelievably smooth & quick and we entered the waiting area around 11:00 p.m. It's hard to describe the emotions of walking down that hallway knowing grandparents and other family are finally about to meet your baby girl!

Maiya was full of huge smiles & laughs as we came out to meet everyone, which is amazing after travelling for over 24 hours straight & an 11 hour time difference! Although I think everyone had already fallen in love with her over the process of the adoption, I'm pretty sure the impact of actually seeing her in person was pretty strong, judging by the even bigger smiles on everyone else's faces! I thought Poppa Heise and Grandma C. were going to hurt their cheeks from the huge grins on their faces! Both sets of grandparents, plus Breydon & Chantler were there to meet us.

Breydon (my brother) had brought our car to the airport with the carseat, so we headed home. We were anticipating some screaming with the car seat, seeing as she'd never been in one before, but she actually loved it & smiled all the way home.

Grandma Heise is staying with us for about a week, so she helped out lots Night #1 - I think she maybe got an hour or two sleep! Sunday was busy with meeting more family - Uncle Craig & Aunt Heather, Cassidy & Carson, Aunt Shannon & Willow, Johnnie & Leanne, and another visit with Grandma & Grandpa C. The second night has been better (although since I'm writing this at 5:00 a.m., she's not quite sleeping through the night yet with the time difference!).

So, we're back & thrilled to be home. As Maiya gets adjusted to the time difference, new home & continues to attach to Brett & I, we will start to make the rounds and introduce to her everyone!



Thanks again to everyone who followed this part of Maiya's life with us. It was great to know so many people were reading & commenting - it kept us feeling very connected while we survived the first few weeks of parenthood!

Coming home tomorrow....hopefully...

Well, another eventful day, on what we're hoping is our last full day for this trip to Vietnam. We'll definitely be back some day!

After some last minute touring around & shopping in the pouring rain, we headed back to the hotel, only to find out that the single mother, whom we were rooming with for tonight, had to pack her bags & take her son back to the clinic, where he is being admitted to the hospital for asthma treatments. This means he's not allowed to fly for a few days. She has been amazingly strong taking care of him on her own this whole time, with all of the various health issues he's had, and we wish her the best over the next few days.

The problem - she called Cathay Pacific to cancel her flight for tomorrow - and they cancelled ALL our flights!! Fortunately we called to check and found out this afternoon rather than tomorrow morning at the check-in counter! Supposedly they re-booked Brett, Maiya & myself, after a stressful discussion on the phone with the Cathay people. So, we're hoping everything is okay and we will be able to fly. If they did re-book us, it does mean we should get a bassinet for Maiya, even though we're sitting separately.

Other than that, it was a typical day, with lots of people admiring Maiya. Our only concern is that, despite constantly being dressed in pink, everyone keeps asking us if she's a boy! We picked up a few little souvenirs for her and had fun dashing from doorway to doorway in the downpour! She enjoyed it too - she likes being out and about. Apparently she gets bored just seeing Brett & I all the time!

Attached a picture of her trying to escape from her crib last night. This is how we found her about an hour after she went to sleep! Also added a picture of the motorcyclists lined up at the light, with their questionably effective rain ponchos on!

Sorry it's not too exciting tonight, but have to get back to the room to pack. Next post will hopefully be with pics of Maiya's first meeting of the grandparents!

No shrimps here...

Passport & immigration visa arrived this morning!! Great news for us. We went to Cathay to try to change our flights to Friday, but no luck, so we are arriving Saturday night. Still haven't been able to get a bassinet or exit row seating, but at least we have flights!

Spent the morning at the Ben Thanh market while Brett went to Cathay Pacific. It's a huge indoor market with everything from flowers to food to Vietnamese souvenirs to designer "Gucci" bags & watches (for cheap of course!). Thought dad would like the size of the shrimp in this picture! Maiya is modeling her new cone hat and seems to like it - we'll see if it makes it back in one piece though! We got a beautiful instrument with mother-of-pearl inlay - it's too big for our suitcase though, so may have to juggle it as a carry-on! It will be a nice addition to my instrument collection from my travels (and now Brett's & Maiya's travels too of course!). Still have a few things to pick up tomorrow as well as a bit of sightseeing perhaps, then the joy of trying to pack everything up!

Maiya continues to do well. Gave us a full night's sleep last night which was great! Brett was in a much better mood after sleeping without any late night interruptions! She's taking longer naps in the day too, which is also good. Hopefully she'll sleep for a good part of the flight, especially if we're in a tight space, as she usually likes to move around & be entertained a lot! She's been enjoying the music on American Idol, as we get a couple of English channels on the TV. She seems to like music (or maybe it's the flashing lights....)!

Not much else today - hung out by the pool and cooled off as it was especially hot & humid here today. Hope the weather's good back home too!

More sightseeing...

Things continue to progress here, with the passports on their way back from Singapore. We're hoping they arrive tomorrow (Wednesday). We're currently booked on flights for Saturday, but no bassinet or exit row seating, so could be a tough flight. We may try to see if we can get a flight Thursday or Friday, but the single mother traveling with us spent the day at the clinic with her little guy in an oxygen tent for his newly diagnosed asthma, and they don't want her to fly before Saturday. So, we'll play it by ear the next couple days - seems like flights are booked solid anyway. A little frustrated with the fact they didn't tell us this would be a problem before we left home, but it's one of those "unknowns" in this process that you just have to go with! And hey, at least we don't have to swim!

Maiya's been doing well. Slept from about 8 pm until 4:30, had a bottle, then back to sleep until 7:30 am, so not too bad. It appears that my usual late night schedule has come to a screeching halt, as we are both having a hard time keeping our eyes open past 8:30 pm! As you can see from the picture, she has quite the sense of humour and loves kicking up a mess in the bathtub. She has now upped the ante with Brett, and has gone from peeing on him while he changes her diaper (3 times so far) to pooping in the tub for him! I'm sure she will love us for sharing that once she's older!

Went to the Reunification Palace today for a tour. Maiya was again a big attraction, but no big school groups to swarm us this time thankfully. The picture is of the front gates where the tanks crashed through when the North took over at the end of the Vietnam War. There are some absolutely beautiful grounds in various places around Ho Chi Minh, and it makes it an interesting city to tour. We haven't been able to see as much as we'd have liked, given the heavy, sweating baby we have to carry! But we've seen enough to know we'll definitely be back when Maiya's older to enjoy it more thoroughly.

Tonight we went out to a German restaurant in the silk area. My stomach has been pretty rough for about 3 days, so thought maybe some potatoes would at least sit okay. Made it through the meal, although didn't eat much. Brett loved his though. After, we wandered around the little shops. It's so lively at night and not quite as sweltering, so made for a nice evening. We stopped in this little alley filled with art work, and bought 3 little pictures with silhouettes of a girl in a white ao dai. They were just over a dollar each, and I was too tired to try "bargaining". When I went to pay, the lady and an older woman whom I assume was her mother, had made quite a fuss over Maiya and were so happy we had adopted her. So when I gave her the 60 000 dong, she got out her money and said - "I want to give you 5000 dong back because you get the baby and it is good." Now the 5000 really only translates to a few cents, but for her, and for the gesture, it was a big deal. So now we have a great memory to attach to the pictures as well.

That's about it for tonight. Brett's upstairs likely getting a bottle ready for Maiya so I'd better head up and do my part!

confirmed return date...sort of

Well, some good news. We finally have a confirmed return date of the 26th. We are still waiting for the paperwork to come back from Singapore, so if it arrives by the 23rd, I may see if we can move the date up to the 24th or 25th, but if the paperwork does not come until the 24th we will likely leave it as is.

Not much new, Janice bought herself a traditional Vietnamese outfit today. I would name it, but since everybody likes to critique my spelling and grammar, you can look up the name yourself.

Nervous about the flight home. Maiya gets fussy if she is sitting for too long, so it may be a long flight. The only good news is, the long flight will be when she has normally been going to bed. We will keep you posted.

Brett

War Ruminants....???

Well, contrary to Brett's last blog, we weren't visiting a farm museum about the history of 4-stomached Vietnamese animals....the War Remnants Museum was, however, very interesting! What stood out the most was regardless of whose side was being depicted, the horrors suffered by both soldiers and civilians were beyond words. It was especially difficult looking at the pictures of young children as we stood there holding Maiya, and being so thankful she was born in 2006 in relative peace. The infamous picture of Kim Phuc, running down the road with napalm burns, stood out, not only because of its fame, but because Mom & Dad had the privilege of hearing her story just a couple weeks ago when she came to speak in Listowel. While it was difficult to look at the exhibits, we felt it was an important part of Vietnamese history to familiarize ourselves with.

Today we ventured out on a more pleasant task - visiting a quilt shop. We had looked at their website before leaving, and finally made it there today. It's a not-for-profit organization that trains women in poor, rural areas to quilt, thus allowing them to develop skills in a trade that allows them to support their families. The detail in the quilts is amazing, and we bought a gorgeous wall hanging, that is almost the size of a twin bed. It will be a great keepsake for Maiya down the road.

Other than that, not a lot of news today. I've been feeling kind of rough for the last 24 hours, so Brett has been on Daddy duty a lot today. He seems to have the effect of a calm, soothing stream on Maiya, since she peed on him again today! We had her to the clinic again yesterday, and saw a different doctor since all the pediatricians are out in rural areas doing community work. We also had a great Canadian nurse helping which was nice. Maiya has already gained weight and is over 6 kg now! She discovered her toes finally today, and has been playing with them a lot. She loves having her feet rubbed, so my Dad will be quite happy to hear that, since anyone who knows him knows the first thing he does is get those socks off the babies' feet! She also loves getting kissed, and is now blessing us with lovely, slobbery, tongue-hanging-out kisses. She is generally quite happy, but once in a while gives us a lovely little screaming fit which we think may be due to teething. It seems to happen more when she looks at Brett though, so who knows....

Well, that's it for tonight. Keep the emails & comments coming (we added a place for you to post comments at the bottom of the blog if you're interested)! Our connection is a bit slow so we can't always reply to everyone, but we love hearing from you!

j

Taking in the Sites

Sorry for the lack of blogging this past week. seems like the days go so quickly, yet our departure isn't getting any closer. we are trying to set things up to leave on the 25th, which would have us arriving...on the 25th. but still have to get Maiya's visa back from Singapore in a timely manner first.

In the last couple days we visited a couple museums. the military museum. mostly in Vietnamese so we couldn't really understand anything, and there were a couple of schools visiting. Maiya seemed to be the main attraction. It's cute at first but its so freaking hot, it gets tiring very quickly.

Next we saw the War Ruminants Museum. No air conditioning here either, and it was extremely busy, but mostly with westerners, who I have realized are not as into babies as the locals. Which was fine with us. For anybody who comes to Ho Chi Minh this is a must see. There are a couple different sections, the first is about the truths. So told really from both sides and how they saw it. Then it goes on to tell it more from the North's side but told as if it was on behalf of all Vietnamese. Anyway something to experience. Very graphic.

Will post some pictures later tonight (mid-morning). Providing everybody is up to it, we are going to try and get to the silk and quilt stores today. We also want to check out Reunification Palace in the next couple of days.

C ya.
Brett

Message from Brett

thanks to all those who have posted supporting comments. now I will let you laugh at my expense.

1st. yes, we were having coffee in downtown Ho Chi Minh City when I had rumblings in my tummy. Diarrhea, but when I got to the washroom, no toilet paper, to paper towels to dry hands and no toilet seat. Anyway, had to go so you can use your imagination.

2nd. Changing Maiya, and she decided to go pee after I got the diaper off. Now it was bound to happen to sooner than later because I do most of the hard stuff, Janice seems to have gag reflexes when it comes to changing diapers, how convenient.

3rd, Janice was down at the pool so I was trying to look after a fussy Maiya, so as I started to hold her with one arm and prepare the bottle with the other, I thought I was a hot shot and doing great. But just as I was putting the lid on the bottle, Maiya squirmed and leaned back, so my reflex took over and my other hand with the bottle made a quick jerk there was more milk on the floor and the cupboards than in the bottle.

Enough for now. Just touring the town and enjoying the sites. Might risk a haircut on the street and a ride by a cyclo taxi next.

Wanted to do a video, it won't let me. more pics tomorrow.

Brett

100% for sure...almost definitely...maybe tomorrow

A few things to catch up on so this one may be long!

The next step in the paperwork trail is applying for the passport. Brett went Tuesday to apply for Maiya's passport. With the expediting fee we paid, we were supposed to have the passport in hand today (Wednesday), and have it on the way to Singapore to the Canadian Consulate via Fed Ex. However, our representative called this morning and said - "Oh, there's new rules....now you will have to wait a bit longer." Apparently "new rules" appear with no warning!! Unfortunately our hands are tied, but hopefully they will be ready Thursday, maybe Friday at the latest. This means things will have to move extremely smooth in Singapore if we are to have any chance of leaving on the 25th.

Next little glitch - the other families tried to get their tickets changed to their new departure date - and apparently Cathay Pacific is completely booked until September...so we may have to swim home at this rate! A little frustration setting in among all the families right now, but we keep getting told - "Don't worry!" So, we're taking it one day at a time!

Maiya is doing okay. We were going to take her back to the clinic again for Round 3 with the doctor, but all of the international pediatricians have left for remote areas to do medical visits this week and the clinic is not taking any appointments. We have been pouring Benadryl and now some Motrin into her, and have stopped the oral antibiotics, so hope this passes soon. Most of the concerns are with her skin, which makes her somewhat miserable at times. She's developed a cough too which seems to hurt - but it's funny because every once in a while she gives us these little fake coughs to garner sympathy I guess!

Unfortunately, most of the babies from this orphanage seem to have had many more medical concerns than those from other places (although I'm sure there are others worse off). Compared to the other Vung Tau orphanage our agency works with, Maiya's was much smaller and in a much poorer condition, so the babies' health has not been as good. They will all be fine eventually, but all the parents have had several trips to the clinic with their babies too.

Anyway, there's the negatives! But on to more interesting things. We went out to dinner with a family from Toronto last night. It was their last night in Vietnam, as they have been here almost 4 weeks already. We headed to the Mandarin, as recommended in the Lonely Planet travel guide. With address & babies in hand, we piled into a taxi and managed to avoid hitting or being hit by any scooters/mopeds/taxis/cyclists or any combination thereof.

The taxi pulls into this little alley about a car's width across. After squeezing by several mopeds and pedestrians, the driver stops at a door and points. Although we expected some differences from the Canadian experience at the Mandarin, we were a little worried at the fact that we appeared to be at the entrance to a funeral parlour, rather than a restaurant! Although the address matched, we were pretty sure the menu inside would be limited, so we asked the driver to pull up a bit. A few doors down, we did indeed find the real Mandarin. The entrance was beautiful, with huge trees dripping in white lights, just inside the entrance. The interior was all dark, carved wood and had beautiful silk cushions and seat covers.

We had about 6 people hovering around our table waiting to take our order. After quite a few questions about the menu, we finally placed our order. We got the distinct impression we were coming across as very uncivilized Westerners by the time the food came, as it seemed we were not ordering meals that made sense, judging by their reactions!

The food was exquisite though - and yes, even I, being the adventurous eater that I am, loved the food. After clarifying "no mushrooms" on every dish I tried, I have to say the fresh Vietnamese spring rolls, with aromatic herbs, were absolutely amazing.

What was even more impressive, however, were the carrot creations. Each dish that was served came out with enormous carrot sculptures on them! I'm not sure where they got carrots that big, but the designs are really beyond words (and since I was juggling chopsticks and Maiya, didn't get a picture!). Our favourite was the 7-tiered pagoda(about 8" tall, and 3" across), followed by the carved falcon, and the cart with moving carrot wheels. I think they must have had someone carving them full time, they had so much detail! Our friend's 6 year old son decided he wanted to eat his carrot flower - and the poor waiter almost cried out in horror at the sight!

Today we made a visit to the Tax Centre, which is an indoor market/mall type of place. They had many beautiful Vietnamese items, and we picked up Maiya's first Ao Dai, which is the traditional Vietnamese outfit of a long silk top over silk pants. We stopped to have a cold drink and give Maiya her bottle, but unfortunately Brett was having some stomach issues. Needless to say, after an unpleasant visit to the washroom (realizing too late it was one of the typical, toilet-paper free kind), he made an early return to the hotel with Maiya while I did a little more shopping & picked up some groceries. I'll leave out the details, but I'm sure you can imagine...

Then it was back to enjoy some pool time. We've had 2 days of sunshine, which has been a nice break from the steamy, sauna-like rainy days we've had otherwise. Hopefully it holds! Enjoy the pics - I think Maiya's grown already in the one week we've had her!

She's OURS!!

It is finally official and legal - Maiya Thanhlyn Clarkson officially joined the family today. It was a looooong day though! Torrential downpouring of rain meant that we couldn't take the hydrofoil across to Vung Tau for the G & R ceremony, so we had to do the 2 1/2 hour drive there again. Maiya hasn't been feeling the greatest, so I was a bit worried, but she slept most of the way there fortunately. There were 3 babies in the van and at some points all 3 were crying in harmony!

The traffic was interesting as usual - watching the various & creative ways in which people attempted to stay dry as they rode their scooters down the highway in the pouring rain! Note in the picture I attached there are actually 3 people on the bike, underneath the rain poncho! Which is nothing! What really amazes me most are the families of 3 or 4 on a motorbike, with a little baby sandwiched in the middle peeking over someone's shoulder as they fly down the highway!

The ceremony itself was quite, well, unceremonious! We got out of the van and walked through what looked to be a scooter/motorbike rental place and headed up to the second floor. Inside a small, unairconditioned room there were about 4 desks and one table in the centre. Each of the 3 families took turns sitting down and signing our names as fast as we could on what seemed like about 20 documents - they just put one after the other in front of us and said, "Keep going!" Then it was time for the official picture in front of the red velvet curtain with what apparently said "Giving and Receiving Ceremony" or something like that on it! And....that was it. Took all of 5 minutes or less to make Maiya legally ours! It seemed somewhat anticlimactic after the months of preparation and the excitement of seeing her for the first time, but nonetheless, it is amazing to know that finally she is ours forever.

We are still waiting on one document to be delivered, and have to go for her passport tomorrow (Tuesday). It will arrive Wednesday hopefully, then be sent to Singapore for her Canadian immigration visa. It sounds like we will be delayed a bit - looking at maybe the 25th now for coming home instead of the 23rd. But nothing is ever guaranteed when it comes to things being processed in the expected time frame!

After the ceremony we stopped for lunch. Vung Tau is a beach resort area, so there's lots of fresh seafood. Our translator ordered several plates of huge steamed shrimp and before they brought them out they said - "They are very very fresh. Do you want us to cut the heads off first or do you care if they are attached?" She then proceeded to order a variety of other dishes - carmelized fish, vegetable dishes, soup, more fish....it was all delicious...so everyone says.

Then it was back into the van for another 2 1/2 hour ride back to Ho Chi Minh City, with a brief stop to get the babies' pictures taken for their visa applications. All 3 babies managed to not cry for the photos, but by the time we arrived back at the hotel were making it very clear they had had enough!

But all in all, it was an monumental day in our lives and despite being sweaty and tired, we're elated about having the papers finally signed.

Reality Checks In

Today we thought we would venture out of the safe walls of our hotel and see Ho Chi Minh City. It was awesome. We went down to one of the closer markets called Ben Thanh. I would say it would be the same as any market, the only difference was, the people just absolutely loved Maiya. Everyone stopped us, and make comments and had questions it was even a little overwhelming at times, and you kind of felt bad brushing them off.

After the market we just walked around on the steets for awhile to try and get the feel of the culture a little. Nothing like I have ever seen before, you really see the gap between rich and poverty. They drive their mopads right up on the sidewalks to park in front of the stores they want to visit. The people are friendly, we had a couple of them try and sell us stuff, but like I mentioned most of them love to look at babies or they left us alone. There are enough westerners here that even as white as I am I don't really stick out. (Janice may not agree)

Anyway we ventured out for about 4 hours, took a couple cabs and walked about 15 minutes home. So by the time it was all said and done, the 3 of us were covered in sweat.

I am attaching a couple pictures that we took, thought they were neat. One is the equivilant to a "green p" parking in Toronto, but Ho Chi Minh City style. The other is a typical set of hydro wires.

Anyway, the reality I was referring to in the title was tonight when we tried to get Maiya down for the night. Up until this point she has been a dream, in terms of sleep and eat. Tonight though she was extremley fussy. We think she may have got heat rash from being out all day, and sweating so much. Lesson learned.

The prices on things are cheaper, however not as cheap as you might think. Taxis are really cheap (if they no where they are going). But depending on the grocery, it can be more expensive.

Anyway enough for today, its 8:30 here, so passed our bed time...

c ya

Brett

Changes, changes, changes...of more than one variety!

Woke up this morning with a very sweet Mother's Day card from Maiya, and a lovely gift of a slimy green diaper! Welcome to parenthood!

It's been a great few days. We are in Ho Chi Minh City, but have to head back to Vung Tau for the day tomorrow for the Giving and Receiving Ceremony (the legal adoption ceremony). We will take the hydrofoil there, so it should only take about an hour and a half each way. We haven't been able to get out and explore Vietnam at all, so hopefully in the next few days we'll at least be able to get out and see more of Ho Chi Minh.

It's hard to believe we've only had Maiya for just over 3 days/4 nights now. She has been amazing considering all the changes. She's still very happy, although we've had to take her to the international pediatrician for a very unpleasant visit (the doctor was fantastic though) on Friday, and back again Saturday for a check up. She's doing much better but we still have some skin issues to sort out. Despite all that, she's full of smiles all the time!

It is amazing the changes we've seen in her since taking her out of the orphanage. Yesterday was a big day as she started actually reaching out for & engaging with her toys for the first time. Until then she would simply look at them and smile but not reach out. This morning she rolled over from her back to her tummy by herself and is becoming more and more mobile. We're now working on sitting up - she still does a face-plant if you don't hold her, but I think she'll be able to do it before we leave Vietnam. She is eating better, and although she doesn't like it, is generally getting the antibiotics & Benadryl in that we have to give her.

Her body is beginning to relax as well. Her hands have been tight fists and she tended to hold her body very tensely. Now, although she has a super strength grip, is beginning to keep her hands more open and is kicking and moving her arms more too.

She loves her bath time and is starting to understand cause and effect with the splashing! She also loves being carried face-out in the Baby Bjorn carrier - she smiles at everyone & just takes in all the sights.

Eye contact, which is an important sign in the bonding process, has been amazing. She doesn't immediately look when you call her name, but when playing, drinking her bottle or just watching you walk around the room, she has been very engaged. I think she's beginning to recognize us and it helps that we are the only 2 people who hold her, so she's really beginning to see that we're here for keeps.

Maiya is a lot like Brett - easily distracted by lights and moving things, sleeps with her mouth open and her eyes half closed, burps, is stinky sometimes, and laughs a lot! Several people have commented on how her eyes resemble mine when she has them wide open - likely just because they're big and brown!

Anyway, thanks to everyone for reading the blog, sending us emails keeping us updated on life back home & sending us good thoughts & encouragement. We love hearing from you!

I'll try to post after the G & R (Giving & Receiving Ceremony) tomorrow.

Janice

Maiya's Orphanage in Vung Tau

Just thought we would talk a bit about Maiya's orphanage.

I would say in Maiya's room there were about 12 cradles, 2 hammocks and 3 play areas. All the babies in Maiya's room were roughly the same age.

Each baby has their own"crib", although it looks more like a jail cell. They are actually a stainless steel cradle, so they don't have much character. They aren't as bad as I made them sound. Inside the cradle is a bamboo mat, with a blanket. The blankets are piled up and used to prop up the bottles.

The hammocks were kind of cool. They had a couple babies swinging in them, and apparently the babies get the hang of it, and start to swing themselves.

The play areas were...sad. They were basically a stainless steel bed frame, covered with a very thin bamboo mat. They would set 3 or 4 babies on the mat in the mornings for a "play time" of course most of the babies couldn't real get very far. What we found odd was that alot of the babies could almost touch their behind with the back of their heads. They would follow you around the room, and arch their backs to the point you wouldn't think possible.

There were a few toys, but I am not sure how much they are utilized. Since their are only a few caregivers we think their time is spent caring for the immediate needs of the babies rather than focusing on playing.

In Maiya's orphanage, the caregivers were extremely committed and loving. Although there was a communication barrier with us, the babies responses when the caregivers were around was really apparent and clearly showed their attachment.

Although it was hard to see Maiya living in conditions that to us seem basic and poor, we are just so thankful that, more importantly, we know she was so well loved. The "nounous" and the director of the orphanage love these babies dearly and are so happy when they find loving homes to go to. And we know this was true for Maiya as well.

Most of this was written by Brett. So it is edited and critiqued. There will be a Brett only blog coming when I can sneak out.

see ya.

p.s. adoption ceremony has been finally scheduled for Monday. Go with the flow!!!

Puffy feet, puffy eyes....puffy hearts

It's 9:30 Thursday night and I'm not even sure where to start! 24 hours after taking off from Toronto, we landed in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday. There were 5 singles/couples on our flight all adopting from Vung Tau through TDH, our adoption agency. We met up with 2 more couples in Ho Chi Minh - 4 baby boys & 3 baby girls being adopted.

We were expecting to take a van to Vung Tau, rest at the hotel, then go to the orphanage Thurday. However, we got off the plane and our representative here said - "Okay! Now we will go get your babies!" So after 24 hours of flying, we took a 2 hour van ride right to the orphanage! Needless to say we were not looking so pretty after all that travelling, but were not going to complain!

So Wednesday afternoon, around 3:00 p.m. we officially met Maiya! When she came into the room she was all eyes and smiles. She came right to me & just smiled & laughed. Since Brett apparently didn't charge the backup battery for the camcorder, we have only the first 30 seconds of the meeting on tape! But at least it's something.

The bad news - our paperwork is still held up which means officially, she's not ours yet. We were told by Friday, but now it looks more like Monday of next week. We'll take a van/hydrofoil back to Vung Tau for the ceremony, then return to Ho Chi Minh to process her passport paperwork.

As for Maiya herself - what can I say! She is beautiful and happy and laid back. She has hardly cried, except for a few seconds when she's tired or hungry. She has big eyes and LONG eyelashes. She has a cute little mouth, and a huge wide-open smile (no teeth yet - but I think it will happen soon!). She's able to hold her head up while she's on her tummy, but her muscle tone over all is weak.

Even in the last 24 hours, we've already seen improvements. This afternoon she actually started engaging with the toys we brought. She'll now reach out for them sometimes, and is reacting to them more and more. It's clear that she hasn't been taught to play with toys/items as she just isn't sure what to do! She is fascinated by the television - The Little Mermaid was on when I flipped through the channels and she just stared and stared!

Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is we think she's pretty amazing! I'll post more about the orphanage later, as it is really quite something and needs more than a few words to describe.

One more day...

Everything is looking good - finalizing the packing & we will hopefully be in the air by Monday, May 7th at 11:35!