"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break." -Chinese Proverb



28.2.10

I didn't know I wanted it

It has been important to me to have the baby baptized. It's not that I am a practicing Catholic (nor have I ever really been) but I do enjoy a lot of the teachings of the Church.....I feel that it is important to give our son a basis of spirituality and then as an adult he can decide what religion he would like to follow. In deciding to get him Baptized, I have returned to Church.....and find that I am actually enjoying going....the songs are the same, the reading are familiar, the Mass is said the same way and there are tons of people....it's a wonderful sense of community.
In planning Adrien's Baptism, I thought I wanted something small, just family, with a small lunch at our house, nothing big......then talking to my SIL I started thinking.....her family has BIG celebrations for Religious milestones and though I'm not into BIG celebrations I find myself planning for this Baptism. At first I wanted something to celebrate the spiritual side of the ceremony.....small, intimate, family....then I started thinking (and as we all know, it's not good when I start thinking!) This would be a way to celebrate Adrien's Baptism, his introduction to God's family and a way to celebrate his life in our family.....as we got the Adoption Order (though still don't have it in our hot little hands....Snail Mail....figures!) So the celebration went from being at the Church and then our house for lunch, to at the Church, then we've rented a venue (a small one but a beautiful one) and are having it catered (lasagna, 1/2 pig, potatoes, salads etc) and I'm getting mini cakes.....he will have his Baptismal outfit for the Mass and then has another outfit for the party.....And all I want to do is celebrate him.....and though our family is enthralled and in love with his, I wanted to celebrate the joy his brings into our lives everyday.....

23.2.10

Change, change everywhere change

I know that life changes....and it's one change after another.....I get it....and for the most part I enjoy change.....A was a GREAT change, our new house was a good change, the new baby my SIL is having is a great change, A getting baptized is a good change....there are just some changes that I am not looking forward to nor am I excited about.....My job is changing on Monday. I have not left my current job or position....it's just changing.....and I don't know what to expect....it freaks me out....the uncertaintity that comes with it can be overwhelming....I have noticed behaviour changes in me due to this stress in my life (and compounded with the fact that I have to get my entire pacemaker changed too soon). I always thought that I dealed with stress ok...but I find that I can't get motivated to clean/tidy up, can't drag myself to a grocery store...don't feel like socializing...am snapping at my hubby a little bit more and don't have the same level of patience with A that I normally do. It's not fair to my family....but all I want to do is sleep....I know that as of tomorrow I will have ALL the answers to ALL my changes coming up but I'm ready to pull my hair out until then......
Adrien is doing great....I'm STILL waiting for his Adoption Order to come in the mail....hopefully today! We met with the priest last night and he has agreed to baptize Adrien and then wants R and I to get our marriage blessed in the Church because according to the priest, our first mistake was NOT getting married in the Church....but how do you explain to a 95 year old man who doesn't hear very well about your choices at the age of 27! Anyways, the baptismal date is set, it will be a small gathering of family with a small lunch at our house afterwards! I can't wait to post pictures....my Brother and SIL are his Godparents and they want to buy him his outfit.....I think SIL will be leaning towards a white suit....how cute will Adrien be!

18.2.10

Adoption Order

A's adoption order was signed February 16, 2010 meaning that he is legally our son, and we can apply for a birth certificate......but better than anything, it means no more social worker involvement in our life for him......sigh......relief....

21 months

WOW....someone is 21 months old today.....when will mommy stop counting by months! Maybe when baby hits 2!

Teeth: 12!!!!!! Where did they all come from....just waiting for the canines and 2 year molars.....
Walking: EVERYWHERE and not wanting to be carried anymore....someone is a BIG boy!
Trips to ER: on Valentine's day and Family D, A was in the ER due to issues with his belly...he had his first blood drawn, x-ray and ultra sound....he DID not enjoy it though everything came back normal!
Loves: Ernie and Elmo.....songs, Wiggles....MILK
Dancing: he's a machine....he will dance and sing all day long...
Bath time: LOVES IT....has discovered the stacking toys and how water runs through different sieves....
Friends: he's doing much better at daycare, he loves playing with his friends and it seems like he has a few close ones at the daycare, though he's still loving his BFF, his cousins and he may have a little crush on a girl....
Talking: still putting two words together and using intonations....calls himself AD-Ien.....
He is learning in leaps and bounds...

12.2.10

The Wiggles

Having worked with kids with Autism for a very long time, I have come to dislike the Wiggles because of the number of times I had to watch their videos....I always swore my kid would NEVER watch the Wiggles.....Enter cousin M who LOVES the Wiggles. On a visit to Canada, my sister brought the DVD for the kids to watch and Adrien fell in love with Dr. Knockerbocker.....asking to watching it on YouTube....until I found the same DVD.....and brought it home....the Wiggles are more liked in our house than Sesame Street right now......here is a video of Adrien dancing to another one of their songs, A Sailor Went to Sea....he does pretty good at keeping up with all the actions.....he's such a trip!




11.2.10

Letter


Right before Christmas our social worker contacted us letting us know that Adrien's mom's sister had called her and left a message. The social worker felt that the aunt was calling to set up contact with him and wanted to know how we felt about it. Though our initial feelings were fear and threatened, we only want what is best for our son and knowing EVERYONE in his family, including birth, foster and adoptive, is in his best interest as long as it is safe for him. Plus, because we have very little information and no picture of his mom, we thought this would be a good opportunity for us to fill in some of those blanks. We had some really tough conversations, like how would it impact him if there was only one visit.....how would it impact him is there was sporadic contact....we went through a bunch of different scenarios......in the end, we both agreed that we would NEVER stop any form of contact, because he does have more than one mom (and though many do not agree with me that he has more then one mom, I am comfortable with it and in my heart it is our family's truth)....Turns out it wasn't contact she wanted. Anyways.....it got me thinking......a lot....I couldn't get it out of my head.....he has a whole other family out there that know about him and have no idea where he is, how he is doing, what he's like....how great he is and how lucky we are to be raising him {smile}....The first week of January, I wrote a letter to him mom.....nothing personal about Rob and I, just about Adrien, what he likes and doesn't like, how he's grown, his learning....it was a page and a half all about this great little person....I sent it to the social worker who sent it to her last known address.....It is the middle of February and I haven't heard back.....I'm honestly not surprised, though I am disappointed.....I want the best for Adrien....and though in the beginning of this adoption journey I was all for a closed adoption, I have grown as a person and am sad that my son may not have that....I think it's really important for a person to see themselves in others, to feel connected in all aspects of their lives and to know that they have always been loved. I will continue to send letters on his birthday as he grows and maybe one day there will be a response.....for his sake I hope so.

7.2.10

1.2.10

Weekend pictures

On Saturday, R and I took A to the Science Centre.....Because it was the last weekend for the exhibit of Body Works, the line up was HUGE! We waited for 40 minutes to get our tickets to get in. Once inside it was so crowded that you couldn't move without bumping into someone....now, I'm not a HUGE fan of super big crowds and it was maddening.....We took A to the KidSpark area and the number of kids bumping into us, dumping things on the ground and leaving was more than I could take. At one point, I was picking up toys because I thought that if they were in place, the next kid would find easier....well didn't R just laugh at me....thinking I had OCD or something. While we were at the massive sized lego table, some kid was trying to grab lego's out of A's hand and at one point hit him twice.......no parent in sight, no discipline or correction for the kid....and what can I do? All I can do is protect my kid and remove him...which is what I did while I glared at the parent 20 feet away on the cell phone oblivious to her child's actions. Ok, ok, this isn't a complaint session, though it feels good to vent.


We enjoyed playing in the toddler section (for kids under 3...though there were MUCH older kids in there!) and A loved playing in the kitchen area with the real looking food and kid sized appliances......
We then went to look in the older kid section where he was mesmorized by lights and mixing them to make different colours.
Then on the bottom floor, they have those light projections things on the ground that are interactive when you step on them......my boy tried to catch those fish for a good half hour! He was sprawling, crawling and laughing his head off everytime he got close and the fish (obviously) got away!
Sunday morning started with a video chat with Grandma and Gary where Mr. Mister decided he wanted some coffee.......so he enjoyed trying to inhale leftover droplets out of my cup.....he's too funny!
And not quite sure what to do next, he began to Roll Up the Rim to try to win, not realizing that the competition isn't on yet.....he's growing so fast, learning so much and trying so many new things!
What a joy!