We're coming home!

As that Daughtry song keeps going through our head, we'll soon be coming back to Canada.

Our time here in Vietnam has gone by so fast and there are still many things we would like to see. I guess they'll have to wait till we come back. I'm thinking maybe in spring or fall next time. A few more sunny days would've helped to get us out on a few more tours.

All in all though, we did come here to get Owen and mission accomplished! We received his Visa today so the only thing stopping us now is a 15hr flight and customs. (Let's hope the customs people are having a good day?!)

A few members of our family and friends are meeting us at the airport when we arrive on Saturday. If anyone would like to join them both of our parents have the flight info.

See everyone soon!

Sights of Hanoi

Over the past couple days we've had the opportunity to get out and see some of Hanoi's great culture.

On Friday we made a short visit to the Temple of Literature. The architecture was amazing and even thought most of the historical stories we're in vietnamese I think we got the gist of it. Owen's been great on outings. Most of the times he takes in the fresh air and has a nap. He may be missing the sights, but we're making sure to get it all on film.

Yesterday morning we got up early to take in a show at the Water Puppet Theatre. We discovered that it's one of the last Theatres of its kind in the world. They say it's a lost art. The show was fun, made up of authentic music and historic fables. Definitely a must see.

Afterwards we met with a friend of ours at a nice hotel in Hanoi for Dim Sum. We haven't tried it before and the variety of more chinese food was great. While we were there we got the chance to check out Hanoi from the rooftop of the hotel. What an amazing view. You really get a chance to discover how huge Hanoi really is! The population is estimated to be close to 8 million people working/living here.

As Owen gets more comfortable with us we may venture out to do a bit more shopping. (The deals in Vietnam are amazing!)

Also, we're trying to update our flickr account with more photos as we take them, so click on the badge to the right for more pics!

Playing at the hotel

Today is a chilly, rainy day in Hanoi. While we spend the day in our hotel room, we're continually amazed at what Owen is learning to do.

Very Busy

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are well & very busy. Owen is the most mobile & energetic baby in the group & we are still adjusting to the lack of sleep. He goes & goes until he exhuasts himself! Usually we can get him to sleep by 9pm, but on days that we venture out of the hotel we pay for it that night. Last night it was 11:30 before he finally settled & went to sleep.

The past few days have been fun. One day we went shopping in the old quarter. We bought a few things, but mostly just looked around. We were out for over four hours shopping. Then the next night we went for dinner with a friend of Gavin's that lives in Hanoi. He took us to a great local restaurant.I think the name of the restaurant was hava vien. I'll have to check on that. We went with the Mason's & ordered about ten different dishes to share. The food was good & Owen was a hit at the restaurant. The staff are always wanting to carry Owen around, & twice now we've caught him behind the bar serving drinks! I've found most of the food to be very good. There are millions of choices for food & you never know what you are going to get. But, for the most part we have enjoyed everything.

Yesterday we ventured out to Halong Bay. We left at 8am & returned at 8pm. So that's probably why Owen had trouble getting to sleep. Halong Bay was even more beautiful than we expected. The weather is cool here about 14 degrees on average. It would have been nicer if it were a little bit warmer. The caves are magnificant! You can't even imagine how big they are. We took over 200 photos of Halong Bay. Owen was so amazed he had to take a nap (pic above) ;>

Today we are staying in the hotel. we said goodbye to Gavin's dad this morning & now we are on our own here. Thursday we are meeting with our agency rep. & getting the babies passports, then we apply for the visa. We are still expecting to leave Hanoi on Feb.2nd.

Video/Photos

Here's the video that we couldn't post before and we're trying to post as many photos to our flickr account. (It's a little faster with uploading, but not much)

short post

I know we have to get better at the blog updates. But we've been staying in the hotel for the past couple of days. I think Owen is feeling much better & we hope to get out & around this afternoon. I want to try to get that video up later & upload all the pictures to flickr. It takes FOREVER to get one picture on the blog. This post itself took 40 minutes. I don't seem to have very many extra 40 minutes these days.... we will try our best later. No promises though.

The Next FULL Day

Today was great and very busy.

Owen Danh woke up in a good mood and we started the feedings. He doesn't eat/drink a whole lot each time we feed him, but he lets us know when he's hungry. We're doing what we can to get him on a routine.

He was sounding a little sick today, we thought his cold might be getting worse. So we took him to the SOS International Clinic just to be safe. Owen was brave as he ventured out, taking in all the sights and sounds. The doctor was very friendly and she told us that he has minor bronchitis (sp) and an ear infection. This was probably part of why he was crying so much yesterday. So far he's taken his meds, but he sure doesn't like them. Ange and I were even thinking of asking the doc to check us out as well, since we've both had sore throats all day.

On the way back we stopped by the local FiviMart to pick up a few things. Owen had his first shopping experience and he behaved remarkably. He was amazed by the selection and couldn't get enough of Vietnamese TV playing on the big screens in each isle. The baby clothes weren't great but we picked up a few colourful items for Owen, since most of his pants don't seem to fit him. (His belly is bigger than expected)

During this full day my dad has been a big help by running around getting us meals, picking things up for us, and only providing a little parenting advice here and there. Thanks Dad!

Tonight after Owen's nap he was up and playing with us for a while, we saw a few smiles as he crawled a little and a few grunts as he had his first poop! (eeewww, baby poop stinks more than I thought!)

Sorry we haven't posted more photos/video we really did have a busy day, we'll do what we can. We are having trouble with the video. But we will keep trying.

Our First Day

Hi everyone

I'll recap what happened yesterday, as we were too tired to write a proper post. We left for the orphanage at 10:30 am, we took clothes to get the babies ready for the G&R. None of Owen's pants fit over his belly! they are all too long but too tight. He has one jumpsuit that fits, we are going shopping later today.

The G&R was nice, the officials gave a speach & then all we had to do was sign a few papers & take photos. The nannies drove the babies to the G&R. Owen did well during the ceremony, never cried at all. the nannies couldn't stop crying & kissing the babies goodbye, it was really quite sad. Afterwards, we had to go back to the orphanage with the babies to get some papers stamped. I stayed in the car with Owen, but one of his nannies came up to wave at him, he started screamimg & crying. He had a bottle & eventually fell asleep in the car.

We then went to the passport office to start that process. The guys went in to get that done, while we waited. Owen woke up & screamed for at least a couple more hours, until he eventually took another bottle & went to sleep. It was awful to see. We were trying not to cry, so we wouldn't upset him more. At the hotel he did much better. He actualy slept from 8pm-1:30, had a bottle & played for half an hour. He never cried when he woke up. He fell asleep again at 2:30 & slept until 6:30. We had a much better night then I expected. We were able to get about 5 hours sleep.

Today we are staying low in the hotel room. Daddy & baby are having a nap. When Owen wakes up we plan to take him to the SOS clinic. He has a bad cold that I would like to get checked out before it gets worse. Bad cold, teething & grieving are making for some fairly cranky moments. But all is well.

We are so happy that everything went as well as to be expected yesterday. We are hoping for some better days in the weeks to come.

Owen Danh is Ours! (officially)

It's been a long day, but the Giving & Receiving ceremony went well and Owen is finally (officially) ours.

Ange is sleeping with Owen right now and I (gavin) will be joining them soon. We will post more pics and video tomorrow.

Better get back to being a daddy. (I like the sound of that!)

Stay tuned…

We Made It

Just a very quick post to let everyone know that we made it to the hotel last evening. All families are doing well, & all luggage arrived.

Plans have changed . The giving & receiving ceremony is going to be on the 17th instead. I hope to find out lots about baby Owen.

I slept only about 3 hours last night & have been awake since 2:30 in the morning. I tried to post earlier, but it seems that the lobby opens at 6am. There is only internet connection in the lobby, not the rooms.
We will post when we return to the hotel tonight. We will post pictures as soon as we can. We have already gotten some great photos. Even though we have researched hanoi for almost 2 years, there is still so much that you can't even imagine until you are here.

As for meeting Owen, we are very excited & also much more nervous than we expected. Even gavin is awake early with a bad case of nerves. Wish us luck.

Until later....

And We're Off!

We leave in just a few short hours for the airport. We feel relaxed & ready to go. I even got some much needed sleep last night, I can hardly believe it.

We had a minor emergency with having to re-issue a last minute plane ticket for Gavin's dad. But all is well, it arrived this morning with the correct information on it, & we are feeling much better about our travels.

Next post will be from Vietnam!

Thanks EG

During this LONG and sometimes very trying wait I've come to realize one thing. Well two things, one I love Owen & my hubby more than anything, & two I've met some of the most wonderful friends during this journey. These past two years have been fillled with meeting bloggy friends that always have a comment of encouragement. I've also met some new friends that are among the strongest most wonderful people I know. The strength, courage and thoughtfulness of these women have been my strength during these two years. The wait was never easy, but it was possible with these women. I am thrilled that Owen's little friends will have the best parents around. I can't wait to have them all together for a group photo.

So with that, a sincere Thankyou. I hope your lives live out your dreams....
Love,
Ange

Spa Day Photo


You feel like a candle in a hurricane
Just like a picture with a broken frame
Alone and helpless
Like you've lost your fight
But you’ll be alright
You’ll be alright

Chorus:
Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break
Cause its all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you’ve had enough
You get mad you get strong
Wipe your hands shake it off
Then you Stand,
Then you stand

2
Life's like a novel
With the end ripped out
The edge of a canyon
With only one way down
Take what you're given before its gone
Start holding on, keep holding on

Chorus:
Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break
Cause its all you can take
On your knees you look up
[Stand lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]

Decide you’ve had enough
You get mad you get strong
Wipe your hands shake it off
Then you Stand,
Yeah then you stand.

Bridge:
Everytime you get up
And get back in the race
One more small piece of you
Starts to fall into place
Ooohhh

Chorus:
Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break
Cause its all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you’ve had enough
You get mad you get strong
Wipe your hands shake it off
Then you Stand,
Then you stand
Yeah then you stand. ~rascal flatts