Well we've been home for 3 weeks. I hadn't written any entries since the last because I was suffering with a migraine our last days in Vietnam and I just couldn't bring myself to staring at a computer screen and trying to put my thoughts in writing. So here I am finishing off the blog. This is my last entry and my goal is to create a blogbook out of our adventures.
Our last days were filled with shopping, stocking up on diapers and formula and finishing off our souvenir shopping. Mom was actually sad that we were leaving...she really enjoyed Hanoi. Jon and I did as well but we were looking forward to getting home. I was, however, not looking forward to the plane rideS.
Hanoi to Hong Kong. No problem. Short and sweet. Mom was so excited she fnally got a large cup of decaf coffee. Jon, Nathaniel and myself enjoyed some good ole' McDonalds. Ahhhhh coke with ice, french fries and real chicken! The layover went really fast and before we knew it we were boarding the plane to Toronto. We had 1 front row seat and 3 others in the back. I was really counting on laying one of the boys on the floor but unfortunately they wouldn't allow us. So Nathaniel slept in Jon's lap and then moved to the 3 seater row and slept across us pretty much the WHOLE plane ride. Once breakfast was served we figured we better wake Nathaniel up. Fredrick slept on and off. More off than on but we did it. Landing in T.O. was the greatest feeling in the world. Walking from one end of the airport to the next took up all the waiting time...oh and we had TIM HORTONS! YIPPEE! Our last flight to Montreal was short and sweet and we had already gone through customs, so off the plane into the arms of our waiting family! Jon's mom, Cindy, Jennifer and my dad were all waiting for us. Nathaniel went running into Pappy's arms. Of course everyone wanted their turn holding Fredrick and they couldn't believe how heavy he was! We hung around for a little while and then headed to our cars. We wanted to get home. It was about 2:30am by the time we arrived home. We were all hungry so Jon went out and got us McDonalds. I think we finally went to bed around 4ish and the next day started quite early. I know I was up by 5am because I was watching the royal wedding (Prince William & Princess Kate)...I hadn't planned on watching it, but since I was already up... It took a few days before we were all back on track. Certainly by Sunday night we were good since Jon started work Monday morning. That first week was the hardest week of my life! Juggling Fredrick and getting Nathaniel back into his routine was tough. I was in bed by 7pm every night. Fredrick's sleeping habits are not great and he has only started sleeping several hours in row since this past week. We still have to work on naps though. I've reminded myself that it took Nathaniel 18 months before he'd fall asleep on his own, so I'm prepared this will take a while before Fredrick is settled. He'll be sleeping, wake and sit up, look at me and fall down to sleep again. I guess he's just making sure I'm still there. He must be going through so much emotional stuff that I can't begin to think I know what it's like.
Fredrick is totally a mama's boy :-)! He wants to be in my arms at all times which makes doing things somewhat difficult but I'll enjoy it while I can. There is no question that we have an attachment, a bond. He reaches for me when he's in someone else's arms, and tonight Jon was putting him to bed but he wouldn't settle down...once I went in and took over, he settled down right away. That was a definite sign to me that he is attached to me. Fredrick is so sweet and just loves to cuddle with me. I love to just sit and rock with him as he plays with my fingers or reaches up to touch my face. I love to stare into his beautiful eyes, wishing we could have these moments forever. Yesterday as I lay him down to change his bum, Jon said to me, "When Fredrick looks at you, you can see how in love he is." Oh my, I wanted to burst out crying. That was the greatest thing Jon could have said to me. My nickname for him (Fredrick not Jon - hee hee) is "chubby bum" (if you saw his bum you'd understand LOL!) and he just lights up when I say it...he knows just how to melt my heart.
Nathaniel is doing super at his new role as big brother. He gets mommy anything she needs and plays with Fredrick all the time. He has also discovered he is strong enough to carry his baby brother around so this is his new favorite thing to do (yes my almost-5-year-old can carry around a 23lbs baby - he is a strong one). I know Nathaniel misses his "alone time" with mommy and daddy, but we certainly try to have those special moments with him. We'll each take our turn doing things with him. Lolli and Pappy of course take him here and there without Fredrick so I know he appreciates that.
Since arriving in Canada, Fredrick has fought a cold which caused an ear infection, he has visited the dr, he has had blood work done (routine for international adoptions) and now I think he is dealing with another bought of scabies. Sigh. The dr didn't think the lesions on his hands were scabies but he woke up this morning with a hand full of blisters which are itchy. This is a sure sign it's scabies. We will treat him again tonight and mom and I are taking him to a dermatologist on Tuesday. Poor baby really needs some serious skin treatments. (Not scabies...Fredrick is being treated form eczema) Oh I almost forgot, he's also dealing with teeth coming in. He has some on top pushing their way through so he has now discovered grinding of the teeth. Ahhhhh...Nathaniel does that and it is possibly 1 of the worst noises in the world. We get so mad at him to stop, even though of course we know it's not his fault. So YAY for us, we potentially have 2 teeth grinding kids - could be worst, right?!?!
My home is a disaster 99.9% of the time, but I've come to realize I just need to accept it. I just can't keep up and cleaning is a struggle with Nathaniel wanting to do stuff all the time and with Fredrick hanging off my leg. Jon is "lucky" to get a decent meal these days. I've always tried to avoid using packaged foods (pasta, veggies, etc..) but these days that's all I can get done unless I'm really on top of things. All I do all day is wipe bums, wash poopy clothes, wash bed sheets, fold laundry, do dishes, pick up toys and everything else Fredrick got his hands on throughout the day and feed children! But guess what?? I wouldn't change it for the world. This, right here, right now, is what I've dreamed about for so many years. This is the life I have always wanted. We are by no means materialistically rich, but I feel like the richest person in the world right now. The Lord has blessed me (us) so greatly that I just don't feel deserving yet I am so eternally thankful.
Our journey to Vietnam is one we will never forget. When Jon, mom and I are together we laugh at some of the funny things that happened (me pushing someone out of my way because I was tired of being pushed around, mom and I withdrawing money and to this day we have no idea how much we took out because we couldn't do the conversion, the experiences we had crossing the streets etc...). We also remember how we felt visiting the orphange, feelings we will never forget and children who have a very special place in our hearts. Vietnam is a completely different culture than what us Canadians are use to, but I have an appreciation for their simplicity and their primitive way of doing things. I also appreciate their committment to their families and the closeness to their friends. We have been so blessed to travel to the birth countries of our boys. Not many people ever travel to the Philippines or Vietnam but I can proudly say I have. We hope to visit both countries again when the boys are older and go back to where they spent the beginning of their lives...where they came from and maybe feel a little of what it was like when they lived in their respective orphanage. Maybe my boys will have a desire to give back to where they come from...make some kind of difference. I pray that they will both appreciate their birth countries, and where they come from but I also pray they are thankful that the Lord loved them so much He gave them the opportunity to grow up in a great country like Canada.
I wish I had some great, profound statement about all I learned from our experience in Vietnam but I don't. It was something I will never forget, an experience I will carry in my heart for the rest of my life. Vietnam is the place I travelled to to meet my sweet, sweet baby boy Hoang Lam Tran (Fredrick Phoenix deSouza). Vietnam gave me one of the great gifts of my life and for that I am truly and forever greatful.
Our last days were filled with shopping, stocking up on diapers and formula and finishing off our souvenir shopping. Mom was actually sad that we were leaving...she really enjoyed Hanoi. Jon and I did as well but we were looking forward to getting home. I was, however, not looking forward to the plane rideS.
Hanoi to Hong Kong. No problem. Short and sweet. Mom was so excited she fnally got a large cup of decaf coffee. Jon, Nathaniel and myself enjoyed some good ole' McDonalds. Ahhhhh coke with ice, french fries and real chicken! The layover went really fast and before we knew it we were boarding the plane to Toronto. We had 1 front row seat and 3 others in the back. I was really counting on laying one of the boys on the floor but unfortunately they wouldn't allow us. So Nathaniel slept in Jon's lap and then moved to the 3 seater row and slept across us pretty much the WHOLE plane ride. Once breakfast was served we figured we better wake Nathaniel up. Fredrick slept on and off. More off than on but we did it. Landing in T.O. was the greatest feeling in the world. Walking from one end of the airport to the next took up all the waiting time...oh and we had TIM HORTONS! YIPPEE! Our last flight to Montreal was short and sweet and we had already gone through customs, so off the plane into the arms of our waiting family! Jon's mom, Cindy, Jennifer and my dad were all waiting for us. Nathaniel went running into Pappy's arms. Of course everyone wanted their turn holding Fredrick and they couldn't believe how heavy he was! We hung around for a little while and then headed to our cars. We wanted to get home. It was about 2:30am by the time we arrived home. We were all hungry so Jon went out and got us McDonalds. I think we finally went to bed around 4ish and the next day started quite early. I know I was up by 5am because I was watching the royal wedding (Prince William & Princess Kate)...I hadn't planned on watching it, but since I was already up... It took a few days before we were all back on track. Certainly by Sunday night we were good since Jon started work Monday morning. That first week was the hardest week of my life! Juggling Fredrick and getting Nathaniel back into his routine was tough. I was in bed by 7pm every night. Fredrick's sleeping habits are not great and he has only started sleeping several hours in row since this past week. We still have to work on naps though. I've reminded myself that it took Nathaniel 18 months before he'd fall asleep on his own, so I'm prepared this will take a while before Fredrick is settled. He'll be sleeping, wake and sit up, look at me and fall down to sleep again. I guess he's just making sure I'm still there. He must be going through so much emotional stuff that I can't begin to think I know what it's like.
Fredrick is totally a mama's boy :-)! He wants to be in my arms at all times which makes doing things somewhat difficult but I'll enjoy it while I can. There is no question that we have an attachment, a bond. He reaches for me when he's in someone else's arms, and tonight Jon was putting him to bed but he wouldn't settle down...once I went in and took over, he settled down right away. That was a definite sign to me that he is attached to me. Fredrick is so sweet and just loves to cuddle with me. I love to just sit and rock with him as he plays with my fingers or reaches up to touch my face. I love to stare into his beautiful eyes, wishing we could have these moments forever. Yesterday as I lay him down to change his bum, Jon said to me, "When Fredrick looks at you, you can see how in love he is." Oh my, I wanted to burst out crying. That was the greatest thing Jon could have said to me. My nickname for him (Fredrick not Jon - hee hee) is "chubby bum" (if you saw his bum you'd understand LOL!) and he just lights up when I say it...he knows just how to melt my heart.
Nathaniel is doing super at his new role as big brother. He gets mommy anything she needs and plays with Fredrick all the time. He has also discovered he is strong enough to carry his baby brother around so this is his new favorite thing to do (yes my almost-5-year-old can carry around a 23lbs baby - he is a strong one). I know Nathaniel misses his "alone time" with mommy and daddy, but we certainly try to have those special moments with him. We'll each take our turn doing things with him. Lolli and Pappy of course take him here and there without Fredrick so I know he appreciates that.
Since arriving in Canada, Fredrick has fought a cold which caused an ear infection, he has visited the dr, he has had blood work done (routine for international adoptions) and now I think he is dealing with another bought of scabies. Sigh. The dr didn't think the lesions on his hands were scabies but he woke up this morning with a hand full of blisters which are itchy. This is a sure sign it's scabies. We will treat him again tonight and mom and I are taking him to a dermatologist on Tuesday. Poor baby really needs some serious skin treatments. (Not scabies...Fredrick is being treated form eczema) Oh I almost forgot, he's also dealing with teeth coming in. He has some on top pushing their way through so he has now discovered grinding of the teeth. Ahhhhh...Nathaniel does that and it is possibly 1 of the worst noises in the world. We get so mad at him to stop, even though of course we know it's not his fault. So YAY for us, we potentially have 2 teeth grinding kids - could be worst, right?!?!
My home is a disaster 99.9% of the time, but I've come to realize I just need to accept it. I just can't keep up and cleaning is a struggle with Nathaniel wanting to do stuff all the time and with Fredrick hanging off my leg. Jon is "lucky" to get a decent meal these days. I've always tried to avoid using packaged foods (pasta, veggies, etc..) but these days that's all I can get done unless I'm really on top of things. All I do all day is wipe bums, wash poopy clothes, wash bed sheets, fold laundry, do dishes, pick up toys and everything else Fredrick got his hands on throughout the day and feed children! But guess what?? I wouldn't change it for the world. This, right here, right now, is what I've dreamed about for so many years. This is the life I have always wanted. We are by no means materialistically rich, but I feel like the richest person in the world right now. The Lord has blessed me (us) so greatly that I just don't feel deserving yet I am so eternally thankful.
Our journey to Vietnam is one we will never forget. When Jon, mom and I are together we laugh at some of the funny things that happened (me pushing someone out of my way because I was tired of being pushed around, mom and I withdrawing money and to this day we have no idea how much we took out because we couldn't do the conversion, the experiences we had crossing the streets etc...). We also remember how we felt visiting the orphange, feelings we will never forget and children who have a very special place in our hearts. Vietnam is a completely different culture than what us Canadians are use to, but I have an appreciation for their simplicity and their primitive way of doing things. I also appreciate their committment to their families and the closeness to their friends. We have been so blessed to travel to the birth countries of our boys. Not many people ever travel to the Philippines or Vietnam but I can proudly say I have. We hope to visit both countries again when the boys are older and go back to where they spent the beginning of their lives...where they came from and maybe feel a little of what it was like when they lived in their respective orphanage. Maybe my boys will have a desire to give back to where they come from...make some kind of difference. I pray that they will both appreciate their birth countries, and where they come from but I also pray they are thankful that the Lord loved them so much He gave them the opportunity to grow up in a great country like Canada.
I wish I had some great, profound statement about all I learned from our experience in Vietnam but I don't. It was something I will never forget, an experience I will carry in my heart for the rest of my life. Vietnam is the place I travelled to to meet my sweet, sweet baby boy Hoang Lam Tran (Fredrick Phoenix deSouza). Vietnam gave me one of the great gifts of my life and for that I am truly and forever greatful.