The bonding continues!

This morning, Kyanne helped mommy make buckwheat pancakes. They were delicious. She really does enjoy helping out when I prepare our meals. After breakfast I decided it was time to vacuum the house. I needed to keep her entertained as well so I took out the broom and she followed me everywhere in the house. When I was half way done, I turned around and she was walking behind me with her fingers in her ears smiling

This morning was just great. While I was in her room folding her cloths, she got up on the rocking chair by herself. I went over to make sure she did not fall and she took my hand and wanted me to sit. I thought she was joking. We both sat side by side in the chair and we rocked LOL! I even got to put her in my arms for 30 seconds hahha. 30 seconds is better than not at all. We sang some songs and laughed together. It felt so powerful! I can see that she will come around one day and we’ll be able to cuddle on the couch and relax. I can’t wait for that moment. I pretended to be sleeping on the floor in her bedroom and she was running away. Next thing I know, she comes on top of me with a big smile on her face and gives me a kiss on the lips. Yes!!! She did it without me asking. We had so much fun this morning just being silly. I think she learned what ‘do do’ means.

This afternoon, she was a bit moody. She had slept in the car for about half hour and did not want to go in her bed. She was sound asleep in my arms and no way would she let me put her in her bed. I went downstairs and got the sling. She slept for another half hour on me, but I knew it would not be enough and we might have some trouble later... She was really cuddly all afternoon. She was no longer sleepy, but she wanted to stay with me. It made no difference to me. 

She ate butter chicken for supper. I was surprised she ate it. Hopefully she’ll start eating my raw food soon!!! Daddy on the other hand gave her a piece of his chocolate cake... I was not impressed hahah! She loves everything he eats... She wanted more and more...

My friend Jocelyne came by to see Kyanne and give her a Christmas Present. When she put down the boxes, Kyanne knew what to do next. She got a cute shopping cart and a box full of plastic food. I made sure she understood that french fries, cookies, were not good for her. LOL! I think Kyanne was over tired after awhile because she started to cry for no reason. Daddy tried to get her to sleep in her bed but we could hear her crying nonstop. Mommy went upstairs, picked her up in my arms and she just melted on me. I so enjoy the moment when I can feel her body just letting go. She’s just to comfortable in my arms. I got her to fall asleep first and then had no problem to put her in her bed.

She got up crying an hour after and I had to make her fall asleep in my arms again. Not sure if something is wrong but she did not seem comfortable. I’m afraid it’s going to be a long night... I better get to bed in case she needs me later.

Oh and the white noise machine... did not really work last night. She got up 4 times and was up and ready to start her day at 7am. As soon as I walked in her room, she was lying down and only took 2 minutes to fall asleep, but she still woke up. I guess the machine will probably only work for when we have company and when Nicole gets home late and goes in her apartment. It will cut out the voices and the door noises. I guess children do get up during the night. Not sure if she has bad dreams, thinking where am I??? I guess the only thing I can do for her now is make sure I respond to her right away and make her feel at ease.

Making pancakes... and sucking her thumb!

 Kyanne playing with Mrs. Potato Head and decided to try on the glasses.

Loving her yogurt!

 My inspector is telling me that she needs to be changed LOL!

My little Acadien Girl!!!

Before Kyanne came along, I used to dance with George  all the time in the kitchen. Today we danced the 3 of us. I think George was some happy to have her dance again. 

Trying on Sam's e-collar LOL!

 Opening her gift!

Let the shopping begin...

White Noise Machine

Kyanne decided that she no longer likes oatmeal. It’s a thing of the past. She’s now stuck on buckwheat waffles. I load it with almond butter or peanut butter and she just can’t have enough. Tomorrow, I will try making pancakes and see how it goes.  

I was quite amazed this morning after breakfast. Kyanne is usually velcroed to my legs if I don’t have her in my arms when I try to clean up her mess after we are done eating, but today, she went to her toy box and played by herself. I could hear her talking. Don’t know if she has an imaginary friend but she was telling whoever what to do LOL! I stopped cleaning and watched her for a moment. It’s great to see her develop in her own way every day.

Today we worked on pointing at her eyes, nose, and mouth. I think they practiced this at the orphanage because she knows where point.

I drank about 8 cups of coffee today and I was still feeling sleepy in the afternoon. I know the rain was not helping but I needed to do something. I might have to consider getting an espresso machine instead of the Keurig machine. I guess I felt restless not being able to go outside. I decided to get back on track and do a little raw cooking this evening. I got Kyanne to help. She loved when I turned on the food processor and blender. She sits in her chair and watches mommy make a mess hahah! I made a batch of raw beet burgers, onion crackers. While I had a few empty trays left in my dehydrator, I decided to add some bananas and apples. I hope she likes them.

The first few months, Kyanne was doing great during the night. She was not waking up during the night. The past week, she’s been waking up crying at least twice during the night. Mommy does not like this new arrangement. I decided to get her a white noise machine. I have it on right now and she has not woken up yet!!! Usually she would have done so already. I’ll let you know tomorrow.

Denise: Yes my plan is to go to Edmonton sometime in the spring and I would love to meet you and your family!!!

Magical Christmas

Having Kyanne present this Christmas was a blessing. I did not care about the hustle and bustle of getting things ready, making this and that... I just lived in the moment and enjoyed her presence. We visited my mom on Christmas Eve and had supper with her because we would only see her on Boxing Day when we have the get together on my dad’s side of the family with all the aunts, uncles and cousins.  

I guess things change when you have a toddler. On Christmas Eve, we normally do a “réveillon “family gets together on Victor’s side after midnight mass (10 pm LOL!) and we eat all night. This year we were home drinking a glass of wine with Kyanne in bed at 10pm. We enjoyed being by ourselves. On Christmas morning, we made waffles and waited for the other family members to arrive to open the presents. Kyanne was pleasant as always. She was stuck with her first present. I knew this was going to happened. I told everyone I did not want any gifts for her but of course, she got plenty. The joy of having her home is so great. After our family Christmas lunch, we came home and spent another quite Christmas evening by ourselves. I think this is the best Christmas ever. In my pyjamas, glass of wine and a few dips and my loved ones. This was by far the quietest Christmas and the most memorable one of all. I am so grateful for my lovely family. Boxing Day, we had a lovely time as well with the family in Memramcook. We did 3 days of visiting where there were crowds of people and Kyanne was just great. She was happy to see everyone and made them laugh. She was very comfortable and at ease I found. She made sure Victor or I were always nearby. I love that she does that. She played the piano at my aunt. It was hilarious to see her. I think she’s going to be a dancer or play music. Every time she hears music, that body just starts to move.

In the past couples of days, I find that Kyanne is saying more words. She catches on real fast. She still doesn’t say mommy but there’s a French son by 1755 that has the word goes like this “Oh mama, oh mama, oh mama, oh mama, Madelaine...” She started saying oh mama and laughs so I think she’ll say it soon. She already says papa and George.

I don’t know where she got this one but she raises her shoulders and shows her lips and laughs. It seems she’s trying to say “I don’t know”!

 Renée taught the difference between hot and cold. She will squeeze her hands is she touches something cold. It’s too funny.

This morning, she helped me unload the dishwasher. She’s starting to know where things are. There was a piece of paper on the floor and she picked it up, opened the garbage and throwed it in and said “ Yah”!!!

She still loves giving kisses. She’s on a roll now. LOL!

During the day, she learns new things, and we make sure to have lots of play time, and nap time. The afternoon naps are going well. It’s getting easier every week. In the evenings after daddy gets home, she’s just wild. She runs all over the house and screams. The dogs have a new routine now. After supper, they go upstairs to have peace and quiet.

All in all, I must say that I am not able to do everything I would like to do in a day, but the most important thing is that I get to spend it with my daughter. It’s not an easy task, but I love the challenge and would not trade it for anything else. I love being her mommy.

Kyanne being silly

Opening her first gift on Christmas Eve.

Picture with mommy and grand-ma.

Kyanne's new Dora bike.

Making our waffles on Christmas Day!

Christmas picture with Amanda (Nicole and Renée's step-sister) and Amanda's dad, Ricky.

Uncle Mathieu's gift all the way from Edmonton.



Amanda and Kyanne having fun!

Princess Kyanne!!!



Daddy playing with Kyanne on Christmas evening.

Our relaxed Christmas supper. What a treat!



Having fun before bedtime.

Sam needs some time with daddy too. I think she's a bit jealous hahah

At the camp for the first time with Kyanne.

Kyanne likes her new sled she got from matante Margo for Christmas.

Kyanne learned a new game... lets help mommy clean. LOL!



Haiti - Tuesday Leaving Haiti

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Coming Home!

This morning, there was no rush to get ready. The driver was picking us up around 10 in the morning. We still didn’t know if we were going home. I prayed God that evening to make sure we would get on that plane. We had breakfast, packed and went on the balcony for a bit to relax. It was fun to spend time with Nikki. I wish she lived down home. I am going to miss all of them. Now that we are bringing Kyanne home, I’m not sure when we will see them again.

When the driver picked us up, the first thing I asked him was if he had talked to Therriot. The answer was no. He said he would call us on the way to the airport. As we were driving, every time his cell rang, we all looked at each other thinking... is it Therriot calling to say he has the paperwork??? But no it was James calling Nicole LOL! James had gone to school that morning and he was going to meet us to say goodbye. I had Kyanne sitting on me all the way to IBESR office. I was praying that we were going to make it on that plane and bring Kyanne home. We parked on the side of the street, facing the IBESR sign. How long were we going to wait??? I guess God did answer my pray. Therriot walked out of the office with a folder in his hands. He had a big smile on his face. Victor rolled down the window and he handed the documents to us. We were all screaming of joy! This journey had to end in suspense. It seems that there was always something trying to get in the way. I guess I showed them that I was the boss and there was nothing stopping me from bringing my baby girl home. I think Victor started breathing again after Therriot left LOL!  James came by after to see Nicole. He’s such a great guy. I hope he gets to come and visit us someday in Canada.

When we got to the airport, Angela, a girl from Alberta, Canada met us to say hi and bye I guess. Nicole and I had met her last year when we were at GLA for volunteer work. She is back and wanted to come see us before we left with Kyanne. I was happy to see her. When we first entered, we got stopped at the entrance by a guard. He wanted to see all my adoption paper work. He questioned why Kyanne’s passport was signed and she was a minor. He asked if I knew Therriot, because he signed the passport. I said he works at GLA and he’s the one doing the adoption paperwork. I was relieved that he started being nice because he had a straight face at first. He took a long time to check everything but he finally let us go. After we got our boarding passes, I had to show our adoption papers to the immigration officer. He just had a quick glance at them and let us through. When we passed the second security, we got stopped again for our adoption paper work. This is where I got asked for the IBESR paperwork.  Thank god I had spoken to Brandon on that Sunday evening, because if we would of gone this far and got stopped at this point and not have that document with us... I don’t think it would have finished well. I think my husband or I would have lost it!!! But thankfully everything worked out for us and we are brining Kyanne home to Canada. I just can’t wait to get on that plane.

Kyanne was fine at the beginning, but of course, the flight was delayed a bit so she got board. I got her in the sling for the first time and she was fine. I was walking with her and got to see the planes through the glass window and got her to say bye bye Haiti. She looked at me, turned to the window and waved bye bye and gave a kiss with her hand. She was saying good bye to her native Country. I will bring her back and make sure she knows where she was born.

The most wonderful feeling of all was when I was walking up the stairs of that Air Canada Plane! I had tears running down my cheeks. I’ve waited so long for this moment. Victor and the girls were so happy seeing me walk up the stairs. She had adopted a few years ago as well and had her girl with her on the plane. She was happy to see that we were the first from GLA to bring home a child after the earthquake.

The flight went well. Kyanne loved the tv screen. We put on some cartoons and she was screaming and banging on the screen. I think it was the first time she saw a tv. She got restless a few times, but nothing mommy could not handle. I walked her down the aisle till she got sleepy and then daddy would take her in his arms and she would sleep. We had quite the system LOL!

We passed Immigration in Montreal fairly quickly. When we got her paperwork, I was some relieved. My baby girl is in Canada and we can now begin our lives together. We got to the hotel and she went straight to bed. We had her all bundled up the covers and were all staring at her. We all made our phone calls to our family to let them know we were in Canada. I then called Liette to let her know we had made it! I could not wait to talk to her.

The next morning, we got up quickly to catch our flight. We left her in her pyjamas. She was so sleepy. We got to the airport and because of the snow; the flight was delayed for several hours. We had a 2 ½ hour wait in Ottawa so I was not worried. When we got on the plane, we had to wait our turn to de-ice the plane. I asked the flight attendant if they could call to see if we would make our flight to Moncton ornot. She said they could not do that but at the end, she came to see me and said the pilot had called. I just wanted to get home. When we landed in Ottawa, there was a guy waiting at the gate and said ‘are you going to Moncton’? We said yes! He said the plane is waiting for you so run. I could not believe this... we were going to make it!!! We got to the gate, the lady, said go they are waiting for you guys. We ran and when we got to the end of the ramp, there was no plane... We got to the gate and told the lady there that there was no plane to get on. She said yes, it’s there! They are waiting for you guys. She went to look for herself and ... there was no plane. She was some mad. She make some calls and then came to tell us that there was miss communication and the pilot never got the message and left. So what did that mean for us... we got on another plane back to Montreal, were we started at and then we would take another plane to Moncton. Kyanne was so good through all of this. She was having fun. She slept on most of the flights. When we got back to Montreal, we got enough time to get her dress in a cute outfit, grab a bit to eat for the plane.

While we were in the air, heading for Moncton, the pilot made an announcement that we might not be able to land... There was a snow storm. He said they had confirmed half hour ago that it was ok to land, but they had requested another test to make sure. At this point, I just wanted to get home, but what can you do when Mother Nature gets in the way!!! We did land at the end. We got out of the plane and there was about 40 people waiting for Kyanne. I could not believe it. People made their way in the snow storm to come see her. Victor, Nicole and Renée all asked me how I wanted to process when we walked in the airport. I wanted Kyanne in my arms! There was no question about i. I left her in the sling for a few minutes and then got her out and Nicole and Renée took her to see everyone. We are so blessed to have such a great family and friends. They supported me all through this journey and they all came to meet us home as a family.

We came home Haitian style. We tried to put Kyanne in the car seat in the storm but it did not work. I sat in the backseat with her in my arms facing my chest. I put the seatbelt on and we drove home. At this point, I was not going to traumatize her the first hour she got to Canada. We got home and the dogs were so happy to see us. I did not know what to expect from the meet and greet with Kyanne and the dogs, but it went great. They were calm and gave her a few kisses. She did not get scared. It took her a few minutes and then she started pointing the finger at speaking some words we did not understand LOL! For some reason, they listened to her and they sat down and obeyed her commands haha.

Last morning waking up in Haiti.

The wonderful Nikki!

All set to go. Last family picture in Haiti.

Daddy and Kyanne having fun.

IBESR Office in PAP

Therriot arrived with our missing document. Amen!

Waiting to go home.

What a feeling... walking up those stairs. xox

In Montreal!!! Yahoo!!!

My baby girl is home in Canada!

Let the fun begin LOL!