A night out...

What fun! I drove up to Toronto yesterday and had the pleasure of meeting 22 other waiting mommies. Most of the mom's are adopting from China and it was interesting learning the differences in the process between China and Vietnam. There were 4 of us adopting from VN and I learned some great information just speaking with them... all of them are further into the process than we are with their Dossier's already in VN. One girl Nicole from Buffalo, NY received her referral of a tiny little baby boy a few days before the dinner. She had photos and he was beautiful. He was only 6 wks old in the photos and she expected to be traveling to Vietnam in July to bring him home. SO EXCITING. I also sat across the table from another mom who had just recieved her long awaited referral from China, a beautiful baby girl that was 8 months old in her referral photos. She will hopefully travel to China in the summer as well to bring back her pretty little gal.
The dinner was held at the Pickle Barrel in the Yorkdale Mall, Toronto. I managed a quick run into Disney store to get the kids each a pair of pjs but the rest was just a social night with some new friends. With 23 women we took up a good chunk of the back of the restaurant and were split up amongst 2 large tables so I wasn't able to meet and talk to everyone. I was lucky and got to sit beside 2 moms that had their babies with them. Olivia and Samara (both 14 months old) ... omg they are adorable and were so good during dinner. Olivia is just starting to walk and was showing off for us.
I feel lucky to have found a group of women that I can hopefully stay connected with long after we have come home from Vietnam. It is important for me that we find families like ours so our daughter/son can experience friendships with children that have some things in common with her/him. My heart goes out to all these lovely women as they face a long wait and dream of the day their children can be in their arms.
Thanks for a fabulous evening! (photo by Catherine)