The Rest of the Weekend

We held the Christmas party for the Fab Five on the first day Lesia and Mylan arrived.  It's always a special occasion when they come over to visit, so there was much more to come!

In the morning we met with Nathan and Nhan for breakfast at a restaurant near the ocean.  It was a beautiful sunny morning, so we took the kids to the beach for a little while to enjoy the weather.  Here are a few pictures of our adorable children:

After naptime, we got all dressed up again, and went to another Christmas party!  This time a bigger party for families who have adopted Vietnamese children.  This party drew together families from far and wide, families who adopted in past years, and families who adopted more recently.  It was quite wonderful to see all the kiddies enjoying themselves.  There was some great entertainment, and of course, Santa!  Santa had a gift for each of the children, but we also brought a gift that we gave to Santa - a package that will be taken to Vietnam and given to children living in an orphanage.  The evening was lots of fun, and I appreciate all the planning that the organizers did.

The next morning, the same group of us went back to the same restaurant, but this time Merel was able to join us as well.

We took the kids to a playgroup at a community centre on Granville Island, and had a blast!  There were so many great toys to play with, and the kids had free reign in the room.  It was so fun to watch them play:

Finally, a quick trip to Ikea on the way to the ferry, and we had to say goodbye to our dear friends again.  We hope to see them again soon!

The Fab Five Christmas Party

Lesia and Mylan came over from Victoria for the weekend, so we all got together to celebrate Christmas.  Lesia and I hosted the gathering at my place, so I got the tree up and the house decorated on December 1st!  Rita and Ninh and Uncle Ron all came over to help decorate.  Rita brought greens and poinsettias, and Ron ended up decorating the tree when I was putting Molly down to sleep later in the evening.  What a beautiful job he did!  My 'Charlie Brown' tree is trimmed, garlanded and dusted with pipe-cleaner snow.

Molly was amazed at what she saw the next morning - I snuck out of bed early to plug in the lights before she could see it.  I taught her to only touch the tree and the decorations, not to pull anything off.  So now she stands in front of it saying 'touch, touch', and touching the bulbs and lights with one finger.  It's so sweet to watch her.

Then a few days later, our guests arrived, and the party began!  We had a potluck dinner, eggnog, and lots of different desserts to fill up on.  Suddenly, there was a 'Ho ho ho!' and Santa had arrived! 

He scared the kids, but had presents to give them from his sack.  Molly broke the ice by sitting on his lap for pictures, but we cheated a little bit.  We peeked behind Santa's beard to find that it was Uncle Ron who was dressed up, so she was happy to sit with him.  I don't think Ninh ever got over it though - he wasn't happy until Santa left.

Christmas cheer and chaos reigned for the rest of the evening, but I think everyone had a really good time.  A huge thanks to everyone for bringing food, dressing up, and decorating, but most of all, thanks for being there and creating lovely Christmas memories to treasure.

Merry Christmas!

Another Special Offer from Robeez

Robeez has just launched a great new sale, offering Eric Carle Boys' and Girls' gift sets (shoes + a miniature The Very Hungry Caterpillar book) for only $19.99 and shipping is free.  You can have them gift wrap and ship the gift sets directly to your recipients, and your Christmas shopping is done!  Click on the text links on my sidebar to get started.

Be sure to change the currency to Canadian dollars before purchasing.  Click on the link in the top right hand corner of the website page when you enter the site.

Thank you for supporting the "Get Molly a Baby Brother Fund".

Christmas Shopping at Robeez

Robeez has just offered a 20% off promotion for purchases over $50, plus free shipping!  It's available only on December 3rd, 4th and 5th.  Use the coupon code ROBEEZGIFT when purchasing from the link in my sidebar to get the discounts.

Keep in mind, too, that for a small charge, Robeez will gift wrap and deliver your gifts on your behalf, which makes Christmas shopping so much easier.  Is anyone else doing a lot more shopping online since they adopted a child?  I have done lots this year, as I don't have as much time to run around the city to shop anymore.

There are lots of new shoes, winter boots, socks, and always a selection of sale items.  Have fun shopping, and thanks for supporting the "Get Molly a baby brother fund!"

Snow, snow, snow!

We woke up to the first snowfall of the season today!  I took Molly straight to the windows today to show her the snow on the ground - she looked and talked and pointed for quite a while.  It was the first time she has ever seen snow!  Then we rushed through breakfast, because Nhan and Uncle Nathan were coming over to play outside with us.

Nathan and I walked the kids to our local park, and played in the snow for a while.  But the kids just weren't as excited about a field of snow as we thought they might be.  So we took them over to the playground instead.  They swung on the swings, went down the BIG tunnel slide, and had a much better time than in the field.  When they turned into popsicles, we took them back home.

After eating lunch on Nathan's lap, we put them both down for naps.  Nhan actually fell asleep in Molly's room!  So they ended up staying all day. 

We visited while Molly and Nhan played together, then took the kids out for dinner at a local restaurant before they said goodbye.  It was a great day!

Welcome to Usborne Books

I have recently been introduced to the wonderful world of Usborne Books.  It is a book publisher from the UK that exclusively publishes books for children of all ages.  I am very impressed with the books for kids as young as Molly.  There are counting books that go from one to five, instead of 10, a book of a baby's first toys, showing pictures of toys that Molly can relate to.  The books are really well illustrated, and very well thought out.  They have a formal reading program that is widely used in schools.  Some of their books have interactive features, and some have sound.  There are sticker books, art books, puzzle books, classics and seasonal books!  Something for everyone.

The books are sold by home party, so I held one in my home, and signed up as a consultant.  I can now sell the books myself for a commission.  I cannot do home parties as a single mother, but I will attempt to sell books through my blog in lieu of home parties.  The commissions I earn will go towards the "Get Molly a Baby Brother Fund".

So, for my first try, I will hold a blog party.  If any of you out there are interested in purchasing books for your children or for Christmas gifts, please look at the catalog online:

http://www.usbornebooksathome.ca/usborne_books/browse.asp?cat=1&css=1

The French version of the catalog is:

http://www.usbornebooksathome.ca/usborne_books/browse.asp?cat=2&css=1

Send me an email or comment with your choices or any questions you may have, and I'll have your books delivered in about 3 weeks (or less!)

Please be aware that the online catalog is frequently updated, but the occasional book may have run out of stock or had a recent price adjustment.  Also, shipping will be charged on your order and appropriate taxes.

Molly and I thank you in advance for supporting our next adoption!

Follow-up to the Hair Clip Incident

The evil hair clip is mocking me.  I flushed it after identifying it in Molly's poop, but it is hovering at the bottom of my toilet bowl!  I saw it again after we got back from our weekend on Quadra Island.  And I've seen it a couple of times since.  I think I'll have to get some rubber gloves and chopsticks in order to get rid of it for good...

When I told my parents about the 'incident', my Mom wrote back this email:  "You may not remember but you had an accident with a hair clip too . You were about two or so and was standing on the front steps taking out the clips and rollers from my hair. I couldn't see you but you had put a clip in your mouth when you slipped off the step and fell head first down. The clip jammed up into the roof of your mouth.You began to cry and I immediatly pulled it out. Well of course it bled like crazy and I rush to the Doc. with you ...only a few blocks away. By then it stopped bleeding and you were OK. Do you remember this?"

No, Mom, thankfully I was too young to remember!

I bought the package of hair clips at a store in our neighborhood, and have beaten myself up for not realizing they were small enough for Molly to choke on.  However, at Molly's music class this week, I noticed TWO other little girls with the same clips in their hair.  So I told them our story.

Family Camp Weekend

Molly and I travelled up to Quadra Island this past weekend to take part in a family camp weekend for adoptive families.  We had a wonderful time!  There were 14 families and 50 kids there.  What I was most amazed about is the first few people I got to know had 14 kids, or 20 kids, "but we only brought 11 here".  So there were some very large families, and some very small families.  Molly was the youngest at the camp, but we were not the only single-mom family there.  I met some wonderful people, whom I'm sure will become good friends.

Molly received a lot of attention.  She got MOBBED by a group of 6 year olds, all who wanted to hold her at the same time.  It was really cute, but too overwhelming for Molly most of the time.  I had to wade in and save her quite often, and try to set some boundaries for Molly with the girls.  However, whenever I picked Molly up and the girls wandered away, Molly wanted to follow them.  She loved her posse!

We stayed at a beautiful resort which provided great accomodations and lots of activities for the kids.  Molly rode a horse!  I think I was more thrilled with that than she was.

She also got her face painted, and did some coloring with markers.  Two of her friends drew pictures for Molly, of her favorite things - flowers, hearts and bees.   They slid a couple of pieces of art under our door, so we displayed them in the room, and have brought them home as a keepsake.

The weekend was over too quickly.   We exchanged emails with other families, and hope to keep in touch until next year. 

Poop Report

Success!  Molly passed the hair clip in her poop this evening, with no apparent distress or discomfort.  I, of course, sat down and had a little cry after I got her to bed.  I feel so much better now!

Molly's First Trip to the Emergency Room

We were out and driving home this afternoon when Molly coughed and choked in her car seat behind me.  I looked back to see what was going on - she didn't have any food.  She really choked - gasped for breath, then it cleared.  It was very brief, but intense.  It took me just a few seconds to figure it out - her hair clip wasn't in her hair anymore!

I pulled over to make sure she was all right, then jumped back into my seat and sped off to the hospital.  Thankfully, we were just a few blocks from Children's Hospital, and I had been there with a friend's child a year or so ago, so I knew where to go.

The Emergency Nurse first made sure that Molly's air sounds were OK, to rule out the clip being in her lungs.  Then we waited about an hour to see a doctor.  An x-ray showed the clip in her stomach, which was a relief.  Any place else might have needed surgery to remove.  I have to watch for vomiting and stomach cramps, but they sent us home to wait for Molly to poop it out.

I guess I'll cut her bangs now.

My Little Honey Bee

Molly was unbelievably cute in her Halloween costume tonight!  I think she was a little freaked out in the beginning, but soon realized that people were giving her treats at the houses we went to.  She saw lots of other kiddies dressed up in costumes and too many ghoulish skeletons with red glowing eyes.

Look what Mama did to the pumpkin while Molly was napping this afternoon:

Molly's checking out her first Jack O Lantern:

Trick or Treat!

Inspecting the loot back home:

Sharing chips with Uncle Ron:

Eating candy!



Molly + Ninh

We have had many playdates with Ninh lately, and Molly has really enjoyed playing with him.  She learned how to say his name - quite clearly - and for the last few days, all she talks about is Ninh.  After our last visit with him on Sunday, she talked about him as she fell asleep that evening.  'Ninh' was the first word she said when she woke up Monday morning, and she repeated it 6 times.  She carried on to talk about him incessantly all day.  She would pick up a toy, hold it to her ear like a telephone, and talk to Ninh.  She would be drinking her bottle, would take it out of her mouth and say 'Ninh', then continue drinking.  She sees a picture of a boy in a book, points to it and says 'Ninh'.  'Ninh' was the last word she said as she fell asleep at night.  She has continued talking about him for the last few days.  Just this afternoon, as I was putting her to sleep for her nap, the telephone rang.  I ignored it, but she said with a smile, 'Mama, Ninh.  Ninh.  Ninh'.  I think this is her first crush on a boy!  How cute is that?  How obsessive is that?

Molly's Vietnamese Family

I wrote an article about part of my adoption trip, and it was published today in my agency's newsletter!  Take a look at: 
http://tdhontario.tdh.ca/downloads/october2010final.pdf   
to read about Molly's Vietnamese Family at Vung Tau 3.  It starts on page 9, but please read the other articles to learn what other good works Terre des Hommes (TDH) Ontario performs.  I have been really grateful to be working with them throughout my adoption process.

A big THANKS! to Hilary and Sharon for all the help and input they contributed to the article.  I couldn't have done it alone.

And She's Off!

Molly walked from the kitchen sink across the living room to the couch this evening!  And she's been walking around the house ever since.  I guess she just decided to do it.  I'm so proud I cried (of course)!  I don't have good pictures because she keeps moving, but here is one of her in action:

What I'm Thankful For...

Molly!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Starting...

Molly and I have been under the weather this past week.  Molly discovered how to pick her nose a couple of weeks ago, and subsequently started sneezing and sniffling.  She must have sneezed in my face a few times because I ended up with a case of pink-eye!  So we had to cancel her music and Mother Goose classes last week.  I guess this is just the beginning of catching every bug and virius that Molly gets.  Yay.

The Fab Four Celebrate Moon Festival

The Fab Four were together again!  We gathered with many other families to celebrate the Moon Festival at Van Dusen Gardens.  We started the evening walking through the gardens with the lanterns, then back to the hall to eat the potluck dinner.  There was a story about what the Moon Festival is and why it is celebrated in Vietnam.  Then there was a skit about the Moon Goddess, and finally, a puppet show for the kids' entertainment.  A wonderful evening, and our first Vietnamese celebration since Molly and I came home.

Susan and I wore the ao dais we had made in Vung Tau when we were there together, and Molly and Quan were wearing the ao dais that Susan brought back from her first trip to central Vietnam 2 years ago.  Mylan and Ninh were also wearing ao dais that their Moms got for them in Vietnam.  We all felt very special in our traditional clothes, and I thought it was a lovely way to honor the heritage of our children.

Back to Our Beginning

I have been following a couple of families this week, who are in Vietnam adopting children from 'our' orphanage.  Wow, it's been very emotional for me, following a blog, getting emails and pictures.  I am so happy that more of the kids are meeting and going home with their forever families, and I am also a bit homesick that they are there now, and I am here.  I would love to go back to visit. 

So I started reminiscing about my first visit with Molly, and realized that I can now post the pictures that David took of our first moments.  They still make me cry!

The moment I first spotted her

Saying hello

I touched her arm

Picking her up...

And holding her for the first time!

Ðây là, con gái cua tôi!

(This is my daughter!)