It does take a village!

Look who is sitting up all by herself!!!!!!

Aimée is sporting a new look these days. She is wearing a beautiful custom made "powder blue/butterfly chapeau", also known as a corrective helmet for positional plagiocephaly. Basically, Aimée has a flat noggin. The helmet encourages a more rounded head shape as she grows. It does not apply pressure to her head and she is not bothered by it for the most part. She will be wearing the helmet for the next 4-6 months and will be monitored by Tim at the Ottawa Rehabilitation Center. Tim says he regularly sees a large number of adopted children from orphanages because these babies tend to spend a great deal of time on their backs as wee babes. It is a bit of a pain for now; but, it will have tremendous long term gains in the end. It is incredible how many people come up to me and comment on her helmet. I naively thought people would be more discreet about it. Nope! One man asked me if it was because of my driving that she needed a helmet in the car. HUH??? So far, I have given the real reason for the helmet; but, I do have a few liners for when I am feeling a little cheeky.
1. She was born with an unusually large brain and the helmet keeps it from spilling out.
2. What helmet?
3. Her brainwaves interfere with cellular phones.
4. I like butterflies!!!
5. She just came from rugby practice.
6. Again.... What helmet?
7. We are Simpson fans and we are reshaping her head to look just like Lisa Simpson's.
8.?
9.?
10.?

Here is my cutie wearing her "Worth the wait" t-shirt. So true!!!!

Well, I have been thrown into the deep end of motherhood last week. I have been feeling very sick for the last little while and discovered I have mono. Apparently, 95% of adults over the age of 30 have built an immunity to it. Not me! (Clearly because I am still in my twenties!)It is hard to believe that I have taught children for over ten years and have no immunity to mono.... (say it, I know you are thinking it.... I've got THE KISSING DISEASE and who did I kiss). All to say, my throat hurts, my body aches, my head throbs and I am exhausted and feverish a great deal of the time. As a single mother, this could be devastating. It is not. I have such amazing support from my friends. I have help from someone every day. Also, Linds and Meg are the kind-hearted, conscientious babysitters every mom dreams of finding. On top of all that, my mom is coming back to Ottawa to help us out at the beginning of the week. Aimée and I are in excellent hands! I can't find the words (only cheesy ones come to mind right now) to express how truly grateful I am for my life and those in it!

Really? One month?

Has it really been one month since Aimée and I flew back from Vietnam?! If it weren't for clocks and calendars I would not believe it. (Even with calendars I can't seem to get the time thing straight. I have shown up for several appointments on the wrong day this month. Oops)

Aimée is amazing! She is adjusting fantastically to so many new things, places and people. Believe it or not... she says Maman. It's true; many of my friends will attest to it. She does not know exactly what it means just yet of course, but it always gets a big cheer and hug from me. It sounds so sweet and gentle.





She eats really well now. Feeding her is one of my favorite times of the day. I love when she opens up her little mouth like a baby bird. It warms my heart because this is the little girl that kicked and screamed anytime someone came near her with a spoon and cereal. Yes, she even eats cereal now when it has been generously covered with fruit. Here she is trying to feed herself a cookie (check out the bed head too!)



She loves being outdoors, going for walks, watching Casey chase the ball or having a swing.

She is not yet crawling... but, she is now pulling herself up with her arms. With a bit more practice she will be crawling in no time at all.

See how proud she is of herself? "Belle fille, BRAVO!"

I am learning that Aimée is VERY strong willed and has... hummmmmm... a little temper. I am trying to work on that. You should hear her scream (and I mean SCREAM), when she does not get what she wants. It sounds like someone is torturing a cat or tiger. God only knows what my neighbours must think.

She is adorable even when she is having a bad day! Now how many of us could pull that off?

"No nap time, Maman!"

Her and Casey are now great old friends. She loves to play with her. She often tries to summon Casey over to her with little squeals. Sometimes, it even works.

The other day I was cleaning up after dinner in the kitchen when I heard Aimée just burst out with giggles. I went to the living room. There she was, standing in her Exersaucer with her arms wide open. She was sticking her tiny tongue out as far as it could go and (take a deep breath...) Casey was licking it. Icky, I know! She thought this was sooooooooo funny and Casey got to clean any food remnants from dinner. It's a Win/Win situation as far as they are concerned. I think otherwise!!

Aimée initially did not like putting any weight on her legs. When I first brought her back with me to the hotel in Vietnam, I tried to make her stand. She would just let her legs crumble. Now her legs are incredibly strong. She can now support her full weight (the back of the couch is keeping her upright.) So cute! That's my girl!

She likes to stroke my arm or hold a finger (usually my thumb) when she is drinking her bottle. It melts my heart each and every time.
Here you can see the bracelet she wears with her name and Mom written on it. I gave it to her the day she was officially adopted.

Do you remember when I was blogging from Vietnam I wrote about her teething? Well, those two little teeth can now be seen clearly. If you look closely in this next picture you will see them at the bottom.

Look at that face!!!!! I am so proud of her my heart could burst!!!!

Last week we went to CHEO for a consultation. Aimée and I were sitting in the waiting room with two other families. A nurse came out and said "Fam Family!" "Fam, Family?" Then much louder, "Faaaaaam Family!!!". No one moved. Clearly, there was no Fam Family there. The nurse left in a huff and went over to speak to the receptionist. She then came back and walked right up to me. "Are you NOT the Fam family?". "Oh.... Pham... uh, oh ya, that would be us". You see, Aimée's name cannot be legally changed for one full year so all her records still have her Vietnamese name, including her Health Card. The nurse thought I was a total tool for not recognizing my own daughter's name.

On that note I wish you a goodnight. Aimée has gone to bed and so must I. As a good friend of mine would say.... "Make hay when the sun is shining".

Happy Canada Day!

Aimée had a great first Canada Day today. I can't tell you how much it means to me to be celebrating this day together. We are incredibly privileged here in Canada. I never realized just how much until I was in Vietnam. Without sounding too cliché like... I am sincerely proud to be Canadian.

Aimée is great! We have finally figured out the sleep thing. It turns out she has acid reflux and was in terrible pain when lying down. She is now on a medication to help control the acid and she is feeling sooooooooo much better. She is now sleeping like a baby.... and so is her mommy! Life is so much nicer with sleep.

I hope you are all enjoying the brilliant weather we have had in the last few days!

A Rose By Any Other Name

I love that little face!!!!

Mmmmm.... Mmmm... Mmmm... Nummy.. Num... Num!!

Hamming it up for the camera after her bath.

Aimée and I have been together for three weeks now and it is all still so magical. I say with great pride that she is thriving. Her legs and and core muscles are getting stronger every day. I am sure she will be sitting up very soon. She is eating better too! She likes fruit and cheerios but still does not care much for cereal. She thinks Casey is a hoot, but; Casey still is not very interested in Aimée (unless of course she has milk dripping down her face or she is in the bath with all those oh so wonderful chewey bath toys). She loves to laugh and even laughs in her sleep. I am convinced she sees fairies and angels. Often she gazes into what appears to be nothing and giggles and squeals with delight. She kicks and splashes in the bathtub. She is so full of energy and life. The flip side is she not much of a sleeper. We are trying to work on that. The girl does not want to miss a minute of anything and fights falling asleep. We do the bath and massage routine before bed every night. She will fall asleep but does not stay sleeping for long. Any tips are greatly appreciated.

Yesterday, we took Aimée for her very first trip to Value Village. Some may say she is too young for such an adventure, but I couldn't wait any longer. I have been sooooooooo excited to share this special mother daughter moment. This is what life is all about Baby, recycling and treasure hunting! Woohoo! Well, she slept for the most part... go figure!?? We will try again.

My mom is leaving tomorrow. It has been so nice having her here with us. Aimée has become quite fond of her Mémère and loves when her Mémère plays with her and makes her laugh. Aimée sometimes babbles "Dadadada" and Mom and I always answer with "Nope, no Dadadada here Bébé! It's Mamamamamama!!!!!" Aimée finds this very funny.

I am so very glad Aimée and I have found each other. We were meant to be a family!

Baby and Mommy are doing well!

Coming off the plane. Oh so happy.... Oh so tired!!!

Friends and family waiting at the airport to meet Aimée.

A very tired baby Aimée in her car seat for the 1st time.

Bye bye everyone... we need to get to our beds.

Aimée sleeping in her own crib, in her own room, in her own home!!!

Mémère feeding Aimée

We made it! We are home. Wow! That trip home was brutal. Sorry for not sugar coating it, but it was really not easy at all. Aimée found the plane ride very very difficult. I think I should get a refund on the plane fare because I pretty much walked to Canada from Vietnam. Aimée needed to be rocked and did not want to be seated. By the time we arrived home and we got settled I had been up almost 46 hours. Aimée managed to get a whopping four hours of cumulative sleep during the entire trip. Needless to say, we were both extremely tired. I don't care to be in another plane for a very long time. Apparently, women eventually forget about labour pain.... I am hoping that this is also true for "international adoption return trips". Thank heavens I have so many friends and family that have helped us over the last few days. Aimée and I are slowly getting over the jet lag and are trying to settle into a routine. It gets better every day.





Today we (Mom, Aimée and I) ran downtown to apply for Aimée's OHIP card. It was super easy. I could not believe it; I have gotten used to much confusion with paper work in Vietnam. I was surprised to see the office open during lunch hour. In Vietnam everything, and I do mean everything, shuts down (including government offices) for siesta time every afternoon. The locals go to sleep wherever they are. We have seen men sleeping on mopeds and older women sleeping on newspapers in the middle of the sidewalks. (I so wanted to get my picture taken curled up beside these ladies, but; we did not have enough time.)





I am thrilled to be home with my daughter! I love my friends and family! I love my dog! I love Canada! I love Costco! I love tap water you can drink. I love traffic lights.

Flight Change

Hi Guys,
Just a very quick note to let you know that our flight schedule has been changed. We are now coming in from Vancouver on Air Canada flight 138. We will be arriving two hours later at 12:07 am tonight (Wednesday night)! We are very close now.....

Bye Bye Vietnam, we are coming home!!!!!

Aimée is now officially Canadian and we are coming home. We will be arriving in Ottawa on Air Canada AC 468 at 10:10pm on Wednesday evening. I have so much to share with you. I can't wait to see you. Love Aimée and Moi! (If there are any changes to our flight, I will post it on the blog... )