One more sleep!!!

After one more sleep we will be on our way to South Africa!
Our first flight leaves Toronto at 9:20pm on July 1st to arrive in London on Wednesday morning.  We then enjoy a leisurely 10 hours in the Heathrow airport(We told D we may go see the Queen if there is time or maybe just tea).  We then take a second red eye from London to Johannesburg, South Africa.  From there we take a shorter flight to Durban the area in which we will be located for most of our trip.  We are to arrive in Durban at around 10am on Thursday morning.
We are packed and as ready as we can be for the adventure ahead.
Funny picture of the day!

What does a 3 year old think they need in their carry on?

It's another GIRL!!!!

We are excited to be posting again!!

On Wednesday, May 28, 2014 we got the call from our Social Worker that we have been matched with a beautiful little girl from South Africa.   She was born on December 11, 2012 so she will be a near 2 years younger then her big sister D.  Big sister is still a little confused about all this talk about going on an airplane for a LONG, LONG time and then living somewhere else for almost 6 weeks but reality will hit soon enough.
Our flights are booked!  We leave July 1(this Tuesday) and are to arrive in Durban, South Africa on Thursday morning.  South African adoptions run on a much different timeline then Ethiopia.   We will only need to travel to South Africa once.  We will meet our new daughter very soon after arrival and then enjoy time getting to know each other as we wait for court, court documents, then Canadian Citizenship, and finally a Canadian Passport before we can fly home as a new family of four.  Our return flights are set for August 12 provided all is in order by then.
We are excited to have long time family friends and seasoned travellers Gene and Corry Veening coming with us!  It will be so helpful to have the extra set of hand, eyes and planners when travelling with 2 little children.

For all who supported us with words of encouragement, listening ears and gifts through this second adoption we want to say a huge THANK YOU!!

We will meet our new daughter in 7 days!!

Where are we now

As you can see this really isn't my thing but I will try to update on occasion.  A couple of noteworthy accomplishments about our special little girl.
- She can crawl!(kind of).  As of Monday our little girl has mastered the "army crawl".  It is somewhat painful to watch as it looks like she is trying to climb a mountain.  She crawls with only her arms and she really isn't a big fan of it but will do it when it serves her purpose.
- She can now go from lying to sitting!  This one took some help from her mom but after much cheering and showing her how to do it she can now go from a floor position to a sit.  As soon as she is in the sitting position she looks to her audience for the appropriate cheer and clap for her accomplishment.
-She walks with her toy walker!  She pulled this one off last Monday when mom put her behind a walking toy.  She now has no problem cruising behind a push car and trying to get where she needs to go.
- She talks!  Her 2 favourite words would have to be "DADA"(which mom hears all day as she has a picture of him in her playbin) and "BABY" which she has a couple of as well.  She "MOO"s whenever she sees a cow picture(there are a number around our house) and "Woof"s whenever she hears the dogs bark outside.  When she is really grumpy and desperate she will say "MAMA" as well.
-On a rotten note she has had two major inner ear infections that have required antibiotics(and I think she may be working on a third though I am trying to ward it off with warm clothes on her ear, wish me luck).
-She continues to be up once or twice a night(more when she has a ear infection) but mom is okay with that as it is great for bonding.
-She has settled into a nap routine(I will probably regret writing this).  She naps for a good 2 hours in the morning and again for a good 2 hours in the afternoon.  
-At last measuring she was 28.5 inches.  On the home scale she weighed in at 22lbs.  To do the math for you that means that she has grown 2.5 inches and gained 6 lbs in the 4 months that she has been home.  Not bad for a 14 month old.
We continue to be thankful for the joy that this little girl brings to our everyday lives!

SNOW!

Yesterday afternoon while D was napping it began to snow.  I almost woke her up so she could experience the first snowfall but sanity prevailed so she remained sleeping.  Much to my delight we awoke this morning to a light dusting.  After playing with a pile of snow in her highchair given to her by her Uncle Phil we decided to see how she felt about sitting in it.  

Isn't that the cutest coat you have ever seen?! (Thanks great Aunt Maria!)

My apologies ...

I hadn't really realized that people were still following but due to requests I will try my best to post every now and then. Although I am still old fashioned and not comfortable pasting my child's picture all over the internet I have included small glimpses of what I am delighted by every day.

D's hair.  Oh my, how it has grown!  With a daily dose of Coconut Oil it is also very soft. 

D's kissy face.  This is a new trick she has recently learned.  When you ask her for a kiss she puckers up in a full  "fishy face".  Incredibly adorable!

Her two big teeth. These two decided to show their face right upon arrival home.  Since then  no more have appeared.

Almost Two Weeks

Tomorrow our little girl will be with us for almost two weeks.
Her initial transition went amazingly well.

But now. ..

I had talked at times about certain behaviours possibly regressing after the initial culture shock wears off.  In reality she is still doing incredible but we have hit a couple snags.  The biggest one being that our little one does NOT like going to bed at night.  She rubs her eyes, she scratches her ears but she fights with all she is worth to not fall asleep.  We have officially dubbed the hours from about 6-midnight "grumpy time".  She generally is asleep by 9pm but wakes up screaming about every hour following.  At times she even sobs in her sleep. Breaks our hearts.  She is easily consoled by her parents and has even at times just slept in our arms during these hours.  We are comforted to know that this too shall pass.
At this point D has enjoyed a couple visitors.  She loves little children.  We have appreciated people respecting D's space and keeping the visits short.  She does best with day company as her evenings are not her happy time.  She still gives the evil eye to most of my brothers and looks upon new people with extreme caution.  She will usually let us know when she needs to be safely in her mom or dad's arms.
I had thought that her gastrointestinal issues had settled but today we went through 3 pairs of pants in 2 hours.  How is so much coming out of one so little?

Who knows what the next 2 weeks will bring. . . 

3 Days Home

Wow!

We have been home with our incredibly beautiful daughter for 3 days now.

This is only her 4th night in her new bed.

We are so incredibly blessed to experience so much in those three days.
Here are a couple milestones that make me smile:

HER FIRST TOOTH!  Yes, our delightful daughter poked her first tooth through on the flights home from Ethiopia!!  Crazy that she did so well even though her poor mouth must have been bothering her.

Her first doctor's appointment.  She officially weighs 16lbs and 1 1/2 ounces.  She is at the bottom of the chart for height and weight but we aren't worried she'll catch up.  Her head size is right on track though.  The doctor had no concerns about her health what so ever.  YEH!

Her first Jolly Jumper experience!  She hasn't really figured out the jumping yet but she does like it and it is great for her core as her gross motor has some catching up to do.

Her first car seat experience!  This was on the way home from the airport and she HATED it.  She has since been in once more and it wasn't quite so traumatic.  Mom just knows to bring food and bottle for car rides until she is adjusted to be buckled in.

Her first stroller ride.  We have been blessed with great weather here and today D enjoyed a short walk in the stroller which she rather enjoyed.  It was with her very new cousin Levi who slept the entire time.

Her first swing ride!  Again with the warm weather D rather enjoys being outside.  She loved the swing in the play equipment at our house.

We are so blessed that D is adjusting to her new surroundings so well.  She has taken well to her new mom and "dada".  We will continue to encourage this by meeting her every need as soon as we can.  We continue to rock her to sleep, respond to her wimpers with cuddles and hugs, change her, feed her and in general terms "spoil" her so she knows that we will be there for her at all times.
We appreciate everyone's understanding that you can't hold her or dote on her like you would like to but are so thankful for you support!
She still has her nights a little mixed up and her poop can only be described as "explosive" but mom and dad are beyond grateful for the wonderful gift that God has granted them.