Cute Baby

Made it home

What felt like 3 days of travelling almost was! The reality was almost 30 hours of air or airport time, cancelled flights, no ticket for Nate in Chicago, lost luggage and confusion at the imigration desk...but we got home. We had a small group of people waiting (thanks Lisa, Liz, Megan, Paula and Chris) while we searched for lost luggage (thanks Air Canada). they got to the house earlier and cleaned up, filled the fridge and got the house ready. That was amazing. They also stayed the night and got up with Nate early so Nic and I could sleep off the travel hang over.

A couple of tips to those when they come home - infants need a ticket for all flights. Make sure the travel agent has that covered. Also, we were pulled into immigration by the customs guy who did not have to but he did not understand the fact that he was not a landed immigrant...it may be a good idea to stress that to the customs guy, but you have to play that one by ear. Even the immigration guy was a little confused that there was citizenship granted already vs. our sponsoring him. And be prepared for frustrations at every airport as you have to go through security at every point - which means ripping apart your carry on bags, breaking down strollers and taking off shoes a number of times over the day.

Nate was great on the planes, he really seems to like travelling. Air pressure changes did not bother him, but we kept a bottle on him for every take off and landing to help him swallow and pop his ears. He slept solid for about 6 hours last night and seems to really like his new home.

Now the real adventure begins...

Hangin in Japan airport

our first flight is behind us. Nate only freaked out once just before take off...but after a bottle was quickly inserted into his mouth he mellowed out. after that he slept like the baby he is in the basinet. the next flight is the longest..over 11 hours. that should be interesting.
only another 18 hours before we are home. Nate seems genuinely excited and slightly home. Nate seems genuinely excited and slightly crazy. pray that he sleeps..otherwise it crazy. pray that he sleeps..otherwise it will be a long flight.
our love to all of you!
Nicole, Brian and Nate

We are coming home!!!!!

Just received an email that we can pick up Nate's Canadian Passport in the morning....we will fly out tomorrow night and be home Saturday afternoon. We cannot wait to bring our little Nate home and to introduce him to his new family and friends. It has only been just short of 3 weeks and although it's been an incredible experience and adventure, we are so ready to get on that plane and bring our baby home.
YAAAYYYY!!!!!!!!!

Return Flights Changed

We returned from our trip to find out that there is some problem with Nate's Canadian passport (but no-one is able to tell us what the problem is until tomorrow) so we are delaying our flight until Friday. We are disappointed of course, but we have Nate with us now and another wait is ok.

Our trip to Halong Bay was good...the place itself is amazing. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life. More than worth the trouble of getting there and the leaking toilet in our bathroom. Nate seemed to enjoy himself and the staff on the boat all took their turns holding him while we tried to eat our meals. It wasn't until we boarded the first boat that I realized I was getting on a boat without a life jacket for Nate. I tried to laugh it off, but was nervous throughout the whole trip. The first time we took our puppy Lola onto the pontoon boat at the cottage I wanted to put a life jacket on her...and she is a Labrador and could out swim most.
The bay itself is populated by a small floating village. I watched a young boy row his boat with his feet while he enjoyed whatever it was that he was eating. There were dogs barking, laundry hanging and various other everyday activities taking place. Several little row boats approached ours to offer the sale of shells, water, beer and other goods. We wondered if it's possible for someone to live and die on the bay and never see the world beyond it.

Happy Victoria Day

Hope you all are enjoying the day off, we saw there was a frost warning in Toronto. It will be 32 here tomorrow without humidex - they don't show the humidex here since it would just always be ridiculous.

Are you wondering if the Canadian Embassy here celebrates Vic Day? They don't, it was open. But the one in Singapore is closed and that is where they are finalizing the citizenship. Cool.

We are off to Halong Bay for a couple days, we need a vacation. We don't yet know when we can leave. Catch ya when we return.

B & N & N

Nate's Top 10

Here are Nate's top 10 favorite things...


10. Swimming in the pool. My one old school one piece bathing suit is nice and form fitting.

9. Taking a walk around Hoan Kiem lake in the afternoon. I enjoy all the attention and the clucking noise all the women make at me. My Mommy has yet to master that noise.

8. Bed earthquake...here is how it works..I lie down on the bed and Daddy leans over me with his hands on either side of me and shakes the bed. It's fun and you should try it sometime.

7. Watching the scene out my window. One of my parents is required to hold me so I can see, but it's fun to watch people play tennis...I still can't figure out why they are so mad at the ball and keep hitting it with their rackets.

6. Making a mess in my diaper. For some reason my parents make all kinds of phewing noises and act as though there is something toxic that needs to be disposed of.

5. Taking naps...not sure why everyone doesn't take more naps...they ROCK!

4. Lying on my belly and doing the cobra...what an awesome yoga move. Provides me with a good back stretch and sometimes makes me fart. I call that killing 2 birds with one stone.

3. Getting fussy while my parents are eating. They seem to want to do anything they can to make me happy...it's hilarious.

2. A good warm bottle. I'm working on moving into a middle weight category and formula really seems to help with keeping the scales up.

1. Cuddling with my Mommy and Daddy. No explanation needed other than it just feels good.

Future #1 - being in Canada

Another possible delay

The paperwork required for the Canadian Embassy here in Hanoi was not translated on time Friday, so we were not able to begin processing Nate's passport. We are supposed to leave here Wed night. We learned of another couple here where it just took them 9 days to get their Cdn passport...

Once again we are sitting here wondering and really wanting to get this boy home.

Stay tuned...

A message from Nate to you

Stylin' Nate

The kid has some photogenic capacity...check these out:

The heat

Not sure if you noticed, but I am sweating alot in the pics and vids. Because its very hot here. It rains most days, and unlike in Canada, it actually gets hotter after the rain.

If anyone from TDH is reading, can you hook us up with our next adoption? I am thinking Iceland would be great.

I hope the air conditioning is working in the new office...

Thanks
Brian

Took Nate to the clinic

He was horribly congested, snotty, coughing, chest rattling, sneezing and generally looking/sounding like most Canadians in the middle of January. That is what it must have been like for him in our apartment with the air con set to the highest temp of 25 degrees after growing up in the tropical heat and humidity at the orphanage.

A great international clinic just down the street, The SOS, with a great Irish doctor. Now we have some medicine to dole out 2x per day.


Oh, and he likes to scratch his face and head, so even though we have filed down his nails, we still have to put little gloves on his hands to protect his scalp.


Here are his new measurements - 36 / 24 / 36


I mean weight - 7.42 KG. Length - 64 cm. Head size - big. Everyone who stops to talk to us thinks he is about 7 months old. You can plot that size on this chart here if you like.


Thats it for now.


B & N & N


p.s. Chris - whats up with the Canucks?
p.p.s. Nicole does not endorse all of the links in this blog.

Now it's time for....more waiting!

That's right, passports and citizenship applications and paperwork is underway. But that is OK because it gives us time to spend with Nate, getting to know him and he gets to know us. How can we get him on our sleep schedule? That is the next task.

We received a few more pictures of the G&R ceremony thanks to M and L, so thought we would share.










Here we sign the register to make it official with Nate looking on rather bored, but damn cute...

The ride home was pretty restful for Nate, it was a big day afterall...

In other related news, Nate had his first poo this morning, it wasn't pretty. No picture, but if anyone wants it, leave a comment and I will capture the next one. More of that to come, we know...

Hope to get home soon.

B & N & N

it's pretty much official at this point...

Well, the day started with very little fan-fare, just like any other day you would expect to be picking up a child for the first time - writhing around on the bathroom floor waiting for my keeper to take me away. That was my morning anyways. Started at about 5:30 and I havent had a bite to eat in over 12 hours.

But enough about me. We got the call about picking up Nate and got the gears in action...Nicole did at least. I stayed in bed until the last possible moment. Sure enough they arrived at 12-ish like they promised and we were off. 2 hours later we are at the orphanage and in a whirlwind, we are changing Nate into his special ceremonial outfit. Good lookin kid, picked his outfit out to match mine. Check out this short vid to check it out:

Then we were back into the van, dodging traffic through the mountains on our way to the Ministry office in Hoa Binh. This is where the official Giving and Receiving ceremony takes place, in a room that looks like this:

There are some official people sitting around, us and another couple waiting their turn as well. They said some words, we signed some papers, they took some pictures, we took some pictures, they coo'd at the babies and we gave them gifts. Then we left, hitting Hanoi rush hour traffic for 5:30. I know what commuters put up with on the QEW, but this is ridiculous. We are back at the apartment, so all that is left is to look at each other with confusion as to what we do next. I know I am tired and still queasy, but we gotta look after this guy now. Help...

Until next time, we are off to figure out how to feed him.

Cheers

Brian

WE GOT THE CALL!!!!

Finally the call we have been waiting for. We leave at noon today to go get our baby! It's a 2 hour drive and a short visit at the orphanage to get the babies ready and then off to the ceremony. Not sure how long it will take, but will be sure to post again later today.
Brian is not feeling very well today, but nothing will stop him from going to get Nate.
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 is a very good day.

Quick Update

Well, we still don't have a time for our G&R, but our guide here tells us it should be tomorrow. I am so excited that I really have not been able to sleep much since we have arrived..at least not at normal hours. Brian of course can fall asleep at the drop of a hat.

We moved hotels and although this one is not quite as nice and quiet, we are feeling much more comfortable here in Hanoi. Although, I still want to close my eyes everytime we cross the street.

We did a little shopping today and I feel a little bit more like myself. Brian purchased a beautiful new wallet for me for Mother's Day and we found an adorable plaid bear for Nate... and of course we got suckered in to buying some pineapple from a couple of street vendors. Very crafty ladies.

Happy Mother's Day

Just wanted to wish all the seasoned and new Mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day!

Our love to you all!

Nicole & Brian

First Family Photos

Thanks to our new friends M & L we have a few first family photos to share. As you can see, Brian is a natural when it comes to holding and feeding Nate. Several of the Nou Nou's (Nanny's) made comments about how much Nate looked like Brian. They all thought it was quite funny.

There is still no confirmed date for our G&R, but we hope it will be Tuesday.

N&B&N

G & R Ceremony still on hold

Well, our G & R ceremony will not be this week. It's difficult to be here and not have Nate with us. I was so hopeful that it would be Saturday, but apparently it will not happen until early next week...we still dont know if we will be leaving Vietnam on our scheduled date either.

The weather here is, appropriately so, dark and stormy and getting out for a walk today does not seem to be an option. Streets are flooded, we dont have the rain gear, so it looks like it will be a lazy day hanging around the room and watching some movies (thanks for those Brad). We know of other people around the country right now in various states of adoption - those waiting, those who have had the G&R's, those about to travel with their new children...we wish them all well. And to those about to come soon, make sure all your paper work is correct and up to date, double check everything, review it all with the agency, then check it again.

Stay tuned...

B & N & N

Bin

You probably saw his face right at the beginning of our video when Nate was first brought to us, his name is Bin and he is about 5 or 6. Wrought with learning disabilities, this little guy has been at the orphanage since he was a baby. Previous adoptee Jacqueline remembers him from over a year ago. Today he is asking his care givers why only the babies are getting adopted and not him...he is just starting to understand what is going on around him. He is certainly adorable and you can tell that he is a very sensitive soul, curious and alert, but cautious at the same time. I got to show him his face in the camera and he really liked that. He also liked the candy we picked up at the Duty Free, I hope that he got more after we left. Don't worry Jacqueline, when we go back we will give him a hug for you.

This really is the face of orphanage hardship in Vietnam, and a continuing sad story of those who are forgotten and left behind. The same can be said about adoption in any country including Canada - I know there are tens of thousands of kids in the system in Ontario alone with stories like his and worse. If you get a chance, lend a hand to these kids, because no matter where you are reading this from, one is near you all the time.

B

Attacked at the orphanage!!!

Watch as I defend my boy against local wildlife!

Or maybe its just Cujo 2 looking to make me his b... never mind...

Clearly another looking for adoption, but there will be enough slobber coming from Nate.

Just walk across and don't stop...

...so they say, but this is standard traffic on a main street and i cant see stepping out here. But honestly it really does flow, there are very few accidents and there is no road rage...all the horn blasts are just to let you know we are going somewhere so you better pay attention...

Daddy and Nate

A couple of pics and vids from our first visit to the orphanage...

This is one special little guy..

I had a chance to wander and reflect with Nate while he dozed in my arms. I can't wait to get him home...

At last we meet Nate...

Not even sure what time it was or how long we spent with him, but it was a pretty incredible experience.

I don't think words can express how we feel. Both Brian and I are completely exhausted and will post again when we are awake.

What I will tell you is that we are in love with him and cannot wait to have the g&r ceremony so he can be with us forever. He is an awesome baby and we both feel like the luckiest people alive!

Some new pictures of Nate

We will be going to the orphanage for a visit in a few hours, but Thuy sent us these photos she took just a few days ago:

Some big eyes and an early adopter of technology

+15 pounds at 4 months! Looks like Nate is into beer like his pops...

The View from in here...

As Nicole sleeps off the jet-lag hang over, I thought I would show you what we see from our window:

We have a nice pool with a deck and a gym right beside it. This over looks West Lake, or Ho Tay Lake, which is the biggest in Hanoi. It seems there is lots to do around this lake. I havent done any exploring yet, but the traffic looks insane outside our lobby, so it should be fun. It really is just a side street, but there are no traffic laws . Coming in last night on a highway was a little nerve racking - lots of people on scooters, some on bikes, some just walking along the highway. Our cab just flashed his high beams, honked the horn a few times and passed where ever he could. I think I will rent a scooter to get the full experience. But first, let me try to cross the road on foot to get the feel of it first.

This is cool - go to Google maps, type in the address for this hotel: 254D Thuy Khue Road, Hanoi, Vietnam, switch the view to Satellite and zoom down on the location - you can see the where we are and the surrounding areas.

We have started taking some video

So keep an eye out for some fine Smylie Productions Films coming soon...

This one is not post worthy, just me filming Nicole at the airport Tim's @ 5am.

More to come. Cheers! Brian

Hanoi, we made it...

Well we made it. The flights and layovers themselves were pretty uneventful. We are both feeling sleep deprived but excited just the same. It's coming up on midnight and we have just checked into our hotel. Thuy met us at the airport and dropped us off. So here is the news...we will not be meeting Nate tomorrow and we don't get to bring him back with us until the Giving & Receiving ceremony. There are plans to meet Nate and see the orphanage where he lives on Wednesday, but no set date for the G&R. GRRR I want my baby!!! But, she did have some new pictures of Nate that were just taken a few days ago and let me just say we have a chunky little baby boy with a very sweet face. She thinks he is 15.4 lbs. We will post them as soon as we can. The hotel is looking for an adapter for us..so this post will be short. The computer does not have much juice. Brian thinks he looks like a "solid stay at home defenceman"..whatever that means.
Will keep you posted.
N & B

Nate's bag is packed...

and we have just 24 hours until we board our first plane that will take us to him. It is very early Saturday morning and for some reason our smoke alarm decided to test our ability to jump out of bed quickly. I assume it is only curious to see how we will respond to Nate's cries in the middle of the night. And, for some crazy reason I am really looking forward to being able to do that.
Other than a crazy smoke alarm, everything seems to be under control. We went out for dinner with some friends (who btw are expecting their first child..congrats P & C, you said the cat was out of the bag) last night and I even managed to get my toes painted before we went to bed. But falling asleep was no easy task. I am way too excited.
We still have some final packing and last minute things but otherwise we are as ready as we are ever going to be.

Nate, here we come!

Looks like we have a confirmed travel date....

Just received an email from the agency asking the travel agent to book us flights so that we can be in Vietnam for May 3rd. Things were up in the air for a couple of days so please say a little prayer that this is it...Nate, here we come!

Thank you!

The last week and a half has been a whirlwind of phone calls, family visits, small renovations and general preparations for Nate's arrival. We are so blessed to be surrounded by wonderful family, friends and even strangers who are willing to help in anyway, pray, send good vibes and simply provide a solid support system for us. It's been an intense, long journey and there has not been a single person in our lives that is not 100% behind us. The simple excitement expressed by everyone has kept us going through all the rough times. To everyone we say "THANK YOU!" We realize the journey is not over, but the support that we have received to date is just overwhelming. Plus we are afraid in a couple of weeks we may be too busy to express our full gratitude so we wanted to do it now.
For Brian and I, Nate himself, will be the greatest gift. Nate's greatest gift will be all of you.

Good News! We have a travel date!

Once a proposal is received the next big news that you wait for is a "travel date". The magical date that finally takes us to Vietnam to meet our baby and finalize the adoption. The average wait time from proposal is 3 months but can be as long as 5. The province where Nate lives currently is generally a 4 month waiting period. A week ago we were told by the adoption agency that we could expect to travel sometime in June...so we figured although the news could be better, we still have a couple of months to prepare...this morning we found out that we could be leaving in a couple of weeks. As you can imagine, we are completely over joyed and freaked out all at the same time. Are you ever really prepared to be a parent???? There is still so much to do..poor little guy doesn't even have a spring wardrobe. I guess I have some shopping to do. Because we expected to travel at a later date from the beginning we have been purchasing clothing in sizes 6-9 months. So at this point in time we have nothing to fit him. However, thanks to his Auntie Katrina he does have a full fall wardrobe to grow in to once he is home.

We cannot believe that he will just be 4 months old when we first meet him. He will still be a wee baby. According to the growth chart included in his medical, we expect that he will be around 12lbs by the end of April.

Our current arrival date in Vietnam is schedule for April 28th! Even with everything there is still to do, it cannot come soon enough! And although it will be a few days late..holding Nate for the first time will be the best birthday present ever!

Will keep you posted!

The Proposal of Bui Duc Tan (aka Nate)

For a year and four months we waited for "the proposal". In adoption terms "the proposal" means an actual baby is proposed to you for you to adopt. The agency receives a file with information and pictures of a baby and matches it up with an appropriate family. We knew that we were close, but could not have been more surprised when on Monday February, 16, 2009 at approximately 3:40 pm the phone rang and it was "the call". We had been out all morning at the park with the dog and were being a bit lazy in front of the tv..the phone rang..we both looked at each other and said "who would be calling on family day?"..I then said to Brian..."you better get it..it could be "the call"". I could hear Brian talking to someone that was definitely not a telemarketer and got up and went into the kitchen to see who it was. He was sitting at the table with glistening eyes and he gave me the "thumbs up" and mouthed this is "the call". If it wasn't for the tears in his eyes you would have thought he was speaking with someone about the weather. His manner was so calm. He wrote down 4 things during the conversation, date of birth (Dec 31) , location (north province, Hoa Binh), name (Duc Tan Bui) and a # where the Director could be contacted. I would ask him to recount the conversation that he had with the Director of the Adoption Agency, but only a couple of minutes after he hung up I asked what we needed to do next and he looked at me and said "I don't remember".

Within minutes we received an email with pictures and Duc Tan's medical information and that was it. We were in love and our life that had felt on hold for so long was beginning again.