Day 4 at home

I had to wake up our princess atb10:45 this am. What a sleeper! I had time to drink a few cups of coffee, clean and do laundry. That girl jus mazes me on her sleep..


Today, we spend the day inside. She played with her toys and made us laugh all day. Janie and Ghislain, her cousins came for visit. Ghislain was really happy to see her.

I enjoyed every moment with her. I still can't believe she's really here. My baby girl is just perfect!

Since we got home. 4 days ago, kyanne did not want to play with her dolls. This evening, I took out a doll with a stroller and she walked carrying the stroller in one hand and dragging the doll by the foot! What a classy girl LOL! By the end of the evening she carried the doll the right way and kissed the doll. It really surprised me because she is not giving us any kisses yet. When someone leaves, she waves bye bye and will sometime blow a kiss in her hand

When we took our bath this evening, she remembered the flute and gave it to me so I. could play some music and she was making her head go to the sound of the music and making her own funny noises. She was having the time of her life! She laughs like there is no tomorrow.

Right after bath time, I decided to take out her toothbrush to see what she would do. I got her to open her mouth and brushed her little white teeth in front and she liked it. When I was done, she took the brush from me and started brushing her own teeth.

She is a really happy girl when she wants to. She only through herself on the floor once and it was right before I put her to bed. She was tired. Because she had slept till almost 11 am, she did not nap today. She did however relaxed in my arms for a good half hour to calm herself so that probably gave her a little boost of energy to last till 8 pm.

Today she got more friendly with Sam and George. She always had a biscuit in her hand and poor Geroge was following her every step she made drawling and hoping to get a piece of the cookie. After a while, she stretched her arm and gave a piece to Sam. When she realized that Sam had the cookie in her mouth, she started laughing.

After day 4, I am starting to get the trick of bed time. This evening, I brought her upstairs and sat down in our bed as she started to cry. I let her cry for 1 minute and again, stretched my arms so she would want to come in my arms and laid down at the same time. If I do it that way, she stops crying and I don’t have to hold her standing up for half hour. I could of put her to bed after 20 minutes as I could tell she was in a deep sleep but I stayed for an hour just to watch her sleep. I am cherishing every single second I have with her.

I am so happy to say that Kyanne is making herself right at home.  I don’t see any signs of fear or discomfort. I am looking forward to tomorrow spending the day alone with her.  We’ll see what’s on the agenda.   

I’m broke but I won the lottery!

We’ve been home now for 4 days and I have not stopped running around. My house is a mess, I start doing something and can’t finish it but there is one thing that I am sure of... Kyanne is home and I am the happiest mom ever! Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all pretty butterflies. I have my challenges but I love every moment of it. While I was in Haiti, I wrote in a journal each day so I could share our story. As soon as I have time to type it up, I will share our experience with all of you. Hopefully I will be getting into a routine next week.

I will give you all a little resumé of our first few days at home:

   Kyanne is everything that I wanted in a daughter, minus the bed time LOL! This evening was the second night that I was able to put her to sleep in my arms and then do the transfer in the crib. I refuse to let her cry going to bed in a crib all by herself. She’s a perfect angel and I will not let her be sad. My arms are tired but it’s worth the pain. Once she stops sucking on her thumb, I know that it’s safe for me to transfer her for a good night sleep.

   She’s a very good eater as well and she especially loves bananas.

   Both my step daughters stayed with me on Thursday and Friday for the transition. I am so blessed to have them. Yesterday we decided to take Kyanne in the car and go grocery shopping. It was a success! She was a bit shy, staring at the items on the shelves. She did so good that we decided to stop at my work so they can meet her. As soon as we stepped foot into the building, everyone stopped to see her. I think Kyanne is doing well with the attachment because she did not want to go with everyone. She was holding her hands up and wanted to be with me. That made mommy feel real good.

   Oh and one thing... Kyanne is totally Daddy’s Girl!!! She loves mommy but you can tell that she feels comfort on daddy in the evenings. She loves to cuddles with him.

   Today, my husband and I left early to go to the farmers market and see my mom with Kyanne, Sam and George. This is what I had been waiting for... doing things as a family. When we got home, I took her outside with her snow suite. She looked like a marshmallow LOL! She could barely walk and all of a sudden, she lost balance and fell front first. She did not hurt herself because she was padded in every angle.

   Since we got home, I’ve been putting on my bathing suit and taking a bath with her. She loves playing in the tub. This is the best part for me. Getting her all clean and putting her in her pyjama. I am not able to cuddle with her just yet on the couch but I know it will come. I am just so grateful that she is able to cuddle with daddy.

   Like our monthly updates stated... When Kyanne is not happy, everyone knows about it. She just stares at you with her big brown/black eyes and just throws herself on the floor and screams. As soon as I pick her up, she is a happy camper. I’m not sure if picking her up is the right thing to do, but I want her to know that she is loved and that’s what I am doing so far.

   Kyanne is what so ever not afraid of the dogs. She talks to them and sings to them. She did not like the liking part at first but she actually puts her foot down and says in a loud voice ‘Hey!’ to them while pointing her finger and they just sit and listen LOL! It’s too funny to watch her.

   I honestly believe that Kyanne has transition quite well into our family. We don’t have a routine established yet so I hope that the transition is going to continue to improve. I am looking forward to next week, everyone is going back to work, except me ( so happy). I will have my alone time with Kyanne and get to know her better.

   She’s been sleeping 12 hrs. I don’t know if it’s a lack of sleep from the orphanage or if it’s really what she was used to sleeping. I guess we’ll see as time goes by.

On our way to Haiti!

The last few days have just been a dream! I am sitting at the airport in Halifax waiting to bord and do an overnight in NYC! I don't think my brain has stoped processing since Monday. Tomorrow I will have my little girl in my arms. I probably won't blog while i'm there but will update whdn we arrive home.

Liette, Kori, Adrienne, Denise ... Your turns will soon be here as well. I will make sure to take lots of pics and videobof your little ones at GlA!

PACK YOUR BAGS!!!!!

After 3 Years 4 Months 2 Weeks 1 Day... We got the email saying that we are ready to bring our baby girl home!!!! I will blog later to say how I have been feeling the past couple of weeks and today. But for now, I just wanted to share the joy!!!!

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From: Adoptions GLA

Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:52:06 -0500
Subject: PACK YOUR BAGS!!!!!
To: Sylvie Cormier sylviecormier77@gmail.com

Congratulations Victor and Sylvie! The time has finally come!

I have Berlines' visa in my hand, so you can make your travel plans anytime!
Let me know what you are thinking in terms of dates and flights and we will get it arranged for you to come and pick up your daughter!

Once again, congratulations and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Melissa Friesen

Questions before booking our flights

As you can imagine, I am not really good at processing anything
anymore. My brain is a little scattered…

I know that when she emails me that Kyanne has her VISA to travel, I
will forget to ask the questions I need to know before I book our
flights so I decided to ask her now.

Here is her reply:

Hi Sylvie,

Yes, Berline's paperwork is now at the Canadian Embassy, so as soon as
they have the medical results and issue the visa, they will let me
know!

There is not a specific requirement for how long you need to stay. I
would suggest staying for 2 nights or so. With older kids, we usually
encourage the parents to stay at GLA for several days to give the
child time to adjust, but in your case, I am fairly confident that
Berline will have no problem adjusting to being with you!

Her name as printed on her passport is Berline Gedeon Cormier.

Hopefully the Air Canada flight will work for you….if we are going to
need a transit visa for the US, we would need to start working on that
as soon as possible. I e-mailed the embassy this morning to find out
if they can give me a tentative time frame for when we can expect the
Visa to be ready, but I'll see what they say.

We will be in touch!

Officially in VISA

GLA updated the adoption status page and Kyanne is officially in VISA! Her file is with Canadian Embassy.   This is it! Next step is travel arrangement. I can feel it coming. As I am typing, I see her face on my computer screen. She is saying "Mommy… Come and get me"!!!!

I am on a high right now!

Sent from my iPhone

GLA October Update

Here's the lovely Kyanne!

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October Greetings from God's Littlest Angels, Victor and Sylvie!

October has brought about some colder weather here in Haiti.  The children are now sleeping in warmer footy pajamas and wearing sweatshirts during the day.  It still rains just about every afternoon but dry season is on its way.  We have not had many new children join our GLA family but we have had a few children with medical needs and a few premature infants.  Please pray for these children, their needs, and their adjustment to life here at GLA.

In many countries, October provides an opportunity for children to dress up, make believe, or think about what they want to be when they grow up.  To go along with that theme of dressing up and choosing what they want to do or where they would like to be, the theme for October's update is "Favorite Things".  On photo day the 53 kids at the Toddler House got their chance to dress up like cowboys and cowgirls who wear hats, boots, and ride horses while the 49 babies at the main house got their chance to be sailors, relaxing on the open sea on their boat.  I hope you enjoy these photos of the kids all dressed up and pretending.

Sent from my iPhone

Each baby or toddler here at the Main House has his or her "favorite things" even down to the tiniest baby.  Each baby has their preferences in food, sleeping times, and what makes them smile.  The older babies here at the main house have favorite toys, activities, and people. For this months update I am going to give you a list of Berline's top 5 favorite things in her life right now.

The month of October has been a good one for Berline.  She is still as cute as ever and continues to get attention however she can.  She is loved very much by her nannies, our volunteers, and visitors.  Her smile can get a reaction from anyone, especially now that she is more verbal.  It is evident that Berline has become more aware of peoples reactions to her.   She knows how to get attention from anyone she comes across.  We have noticed that she will watch how someone reacts to something she does and then decide what she will do next.

She plays very well and is working on learning to share with children around her. Berline does pretty well with sharing, but she is strong willed and if someone takes something that she wants she will let them know how she feels.  She has gotten better at navigating the stairs.  She can crawl up them on her own but she still needs assistance when trying to walk up them.  She is a confident little girl in most things she is doing. The only time we catch her a little uneasy about something is when she is trying to climb up the stairs and then back down again.

Berline's Top Five Favorite Things:

1.

Carrying not one but two balls around at one time – Berline will carry around 2 balls at a time. It is also quite amusing to watch her when she tries to pick up a third and can manage it.

2. T

oy hammer – Berline loves to play with a toy on the balcony where she can hammer balls through holes. She will sit and play with this toy for up to 20 minutes at a time

   3.Playing "come and get me" – Berline just loves to be chased. She will giggle so hard if someone runs around and catches her. If someone asks her to come to them she will just look at them and run in order to be chased.

4. Be

ing the center of attention – Berline is a major fan of soaking up the attention and will go to many lengths to get the attention she feels she deserves. It is typically very easy for her to get some but when she can't uuhhh-ooohhh.

 

5.

Bedtime – Berline seems to be the most jolly when she is bathed, powdered, changed, and ready for sleep time.  She just beams the second you walk into the nursery and loves to get kisses and snuggles before she falls asleep.

Berline is healthy and growing:

Height: 74.5 cm

Weight: 21 lb 8.5 oz