Happy 4 month birthday Matteo! (Photos added...)

Wish I was there with you holding you in my arms!!....but since I can't be there, I hope Lea will be there soon to give you a hug from me to you, across the miles!...thinking of you of course on this special day.

I picked up these mousse treats at the T&T Supermarket...!!! and made a wish!

Bonjour Vietnam, Hello Vietnam!

A beautiful video, grazie for sharing Chantal. Click here for the French version and here for the English...Enjoy...

Sending and Receiving Gifts for Matteo....

Thanks to the generosity of another parent who will be travelling soon to pick up her little boy waiting for her at Vung Tau 1, she will be bringing a few gifts from me to Matteo....I have photographed them here...



....I have not heard any more info. regarding my being able to travel early so will continue to wait and continue to prepare....have been getting many gifts of clothes and baby items.....thanks Samantha, Meg, Marsha, Judy, Suzanne, Rosalba, and Isa....and other than diapers and of course Matteo, I think my home is as ready as it can be at this stage ....though I'm sure I'm forgetting something!!

.....so decided that starting in the next couple of weeks I will start to pack using all the advice from the various packing lists etc...I have done a bit of travelling so have some practice with packing light....but of course have never packed for a baby etc. or travelled with one...so the advice is really appreciated.......figure if my suitcase will be ready, then all I'll need to deal with is the final vacinations, and work details etc...Also heard from another parent, not from my agency, but the other one who operates in Ontario ....that she had two weeks notice on travel. She is travelling to an orphanage in the north......so definitely don't want to be scrambling at the end, though I'm sure I will be scrambling anyhow in those final days....

For now, it is another beautiful day here, and for the most part, since receiving the medical, I am feeling very calm. (for now!!)....

Istinto materno....Maternal instinct.......

Thought this video was too cute not to share...hope the link works here grazie Chantal....

Thinking of traveling earlier???

Ever since I connected with the other parent who is travelling at the end of the month, I have been rethinking the possibility of going much sooner than later??? especially if it means being able to bond with Matteo sooner too! So today I finally put this question to my agency to see what they think, as I'd like to do it with their blessing!!.....and of course I would then have to rethink a few things here and then really see if I can swing it!!...anyhow at this point it is still part of a dream, and will know in the next few days what advice I get from the agency and then try to make a decision, if there is a decision to make.....so will keep you all posted!!

I love Fridays.....and listservs...

It seems that whatever happens in life, Fridays for me are days to breathe that sigh of relief, that day to tell myself that it can all wait until tomorrow and a time to relax and regroup and I always feel that time sort of stands still for a while...

and now in addition to Fridays, I have once again decided that listservs are great and of course email too......while I have no new news on Matteo's dossier, and was told that maybe some news will come next week, something positive has happened... in the last 24 hours I have been able to connect with another parent who will be travelling to Vung Tau 1 at the end of this month and who also has received a referral of a little boy from the same orphanage as Matteo..

...she has graciously offered to take something for me to Matteo, so will decide this weekend and send, and of course she graciously will take photos of Matteo. The only ones I have are from when he was 3 weeks old and he is now 3 months old and a bit, so photos will be so precious to have.....so listservs are great ways to connect and in this case across the miles in Canada and across the miles to Vietnam.....so while I can't be with Matteo just yet, in an indirect way my life will touch his through this other parent and the gifts I will send for him!! So looking forward to Matteo making yet another friend, or I should say, he is probably already friends with this other little boy as they are there together and only weeks apart in age...so this has made for an extra special end of the week Friday!!.......

Matteo is not tiny....

Seems that he is actually quite average for his size and height etc..and therefore is not malnourished but healthy.....Thanks B. and S......feeling calmer now that I have checked out his measurements on this site kindly shared with me.....so decided to celebrate by enjoying my most favourite song from another adoption blog.....here it is! Thanks B.!!!

Thank you!!

Still feeling a bit overwhelmed from yesterday but feeling much better today....Thank you for all the good wishes and postive thoughts!!.. Matteo's medical report suggests that at 2.5 months his weight is in the 15 percentile....so he is small but all the other results seem to be in the normal ranges....should have the corrected medical tomorrow and have a doctor's appt. lined up for Tuesday morning....so feeling very good and yes looking forward to bringing him home.....

Matteo's medical arrives.....

Well this morning I finally got Matteo's medical....there was not a lot of information but enough.......I was told it was pretty normal even before I scoured the internet to understand it. Only after I understood all the bloodwork results did I too accept that all test results are in the normal range. Of course my doctor will have to confirm that too.... Matteo is very small though, his birth weight has been doubled but he is small.....also normal for children in orphanages ????......anyhow there is a small error on the medical that will have to be corrected before I meet with my doctor, hopefully early next week!.... I am still waiting on Matteo's dossier with all his other details etc..so the social worker home visit cannot be arranged just yet.

I felt exhausted, peaceful and also sad. I did get a bit of info. on Matteo's birth mother and found myself thinking about her all day. Don't know any more of her situation but am happy that I may have some information to be able to share with Matteo at some point when he is ready....and glad we will have a concrete link back to his birth family, though again don't know a lot yet or if there will be anything else shared. Anyhow felt sad for her decision and also immensely grateful for it too!! So right now am just feeling relieved that his medical was done (though I want him home now!!) and glad he is doing as well as he can be. My favourite line from his medical is

"Makes good eye contact, follows objects to all directions, responds to sounds, smiles, coo’s."
I really love that he "coos".....