Friday, February 29, 2008

Photo of the Week

Is it Friday again already? This week I spent some time going through older photos I took in 2003-2005, that are off my computer and filed on disks. I found so many great memories hidden in that storage box of digital photo files.

This week's photo of Chloe at just under 1 yr old. This is her tucked into her carseat after a walk on the beach in March 2004. It was a chilly day. I remember this sweater and toque (Canadian's name for knit hat - pronounced Tewk) set - she had it on all the time. She was a lovely little baby!

Also, happy LEAP day to you all!

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Etsy lovin'

There are so many things I'm seeing on the internet that I want or like or feel inspired by. And... since we are moving into 'save mode' lately, I will share the links with you, since I won't be buying all this yummy stuff.

Isn't this little felt doll adorable!

I love this Vietnam pendant!

This is something I would like to get myself, perhaps after referral :) The charm reads:
Not flesh of my flesh,
Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute,
You didn't grow under my heart - but in it
--- Fleur Conkling Heylinger

This is the sweetest little baby quilt

Mama & Baby bird bracelets... that is so cute!

A few things from Etsy.com that I'm currently loving :)

The word "Soon"

I will just come out and admit it... the wait is getting to me. And we truly haven't been 'waiting' that long. We are about 1 yr into the process. In February or March of last year is when we truly started exploring the possibility of adoption. By April the decision was made, the country chosen and the agency applied to. The year has gone by relatively fast, and yet at times... has dragged on mercilessly. I know we are approaching the part of this journey where the wait will all make sense and the child that is meant to be our daughter will be revealed. An email from our agency that recently included the sentence: "Your turn will come soon" has me on the edge of my seat.

Would it be awful for me to email them back and say "how soon?"... lol, is it too much to ask to know the exact day and month that we will finally know her? Yes, I'm sure that would be bordering on pushy. I need to just sit tight and be patient (not my best trait).

So I sit here day after day wondering how soon is soon? In adoption terms, I know that soon may mean Weeks but it could mean many months too. I'm sure you can all figure out which side of that I hope we fall. Realistically I know we could be well into Summer before we know who our daughter is, but there is so much of me that keeps hoping a Spring referral is a possibility... and Hope is a good thing.

In other news, we are considering either moving or adding onto our house. We built our home 8.5 yrs ago. We built what we could afford at the time and we are growing out of it now. I think with the impending arrival of little Baby Girl, we know that we need more space. Our home is 1500 sq ft with a living room, dining room, kitchen and 3 bedrooms. We REALLY want another bedroom, another full bathroom and a big family room. The only way to achieve this is to move and build new again or to add a 700 sq ft 2-storey addition onto the back of the house. The idea of either seems really daunting but we need to decide soon. I am thinking if we got started soon on this it would be one hell of a distraction to keep my mind busy during this wait. Let's just tear the back off of our house to keep Leslie busy and sane during the wait to 'soon'.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Chloe's Idea...

of a great name for Baby Girl Lightfoot, include:
*Flowery Cloud
*Rainbow Star
*Flower in the Sky

I think we'll wait and see which one suits her best. Or at least that is what I told Chloe.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Photo of the Week


I miss her long hair. :)

She doesn't.

Friday, February 22, 2008

DTV 7 months

Wow, 7 months our Dossier has been in Vietnam. It is hard to believe how time can fly by so fast and yet seem to be ticking by so slowly at the same time.


To celebrate being 7 months closer to Baby Girl, I bought this sweet little outfit to add to her growing collection of clothes in the closet. Hey, it isn't pink. I'm branching out and am embrassing red this time. I loved this sassy little set so much that I got the same for an upcoming baby shower I'll be attending :)


7 months DTV and 10 1/2 months since we began this journey... wow. I hope things begin to progress soon or Baby Girl will have more clothes than she'll ever get a chance to wear. :)


Thursday, February 21, 2008

Happiness

I've met a woman through this journey that is a great person. She lives within an hour of me and we have a lot in common. We are both with the same agency, and today she is frantically packing and planning for her travels to Vietnam to pick up her new daughter, Sadie. Her baby girl is beautiful and I cannot wait til she is home and I can go visit her and play with her... and some day our baby girl will have a playmate with a little girl that shares her birth country and heritage with. I am really excited to see this beautiful little girl become part of a family that is truly special.


I went to lunch today with my husband - to Saigon Restaurant and I couldn't stop thinking of this little girl and the journey my friend is about to begin. It really was meant to be.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Watching the eclipse

...from the comfort of your hot tub, surrounded by crisp winter air and white snow... can't get much better than that. I cannot remember the last time I watched the Lunar Eclipse but tonight I couldn't pass up watching it unfold while we soaked it up in our outdoor hot tub.
We talked about her tonight. About how hard I'm finding the wait and how selfish I feel for admitting that. Will it be 3 months or 6 months more of waiting, to be honest... I'm just not sure - and that is the part that is hard.
Trying to keep myself busy with scrapbooking, sewing and such. Maybe I need a few more hobbies... I've always wanted to learn the guitar (or re-learn I should say) and lately I have wanted to learn knitting. I think the more things I have (on top of all the things I already juggle) to consume me...the better.

Tonight in sewing class I made the most gorgeous dress for Chloe from vintage looking white embroidered fabric. It is really going to look awesome with some vintage frayed jeans & white sandals. I also made a fabric knot-tied head band for Chloe's hair... I plan on doing a bunch more of them because they literally take 10 minutes to make. I got the free pattern from Heather Bailey's site.
Next 'to-do' on my sewing adventures: Pink dress for Baby girl, more bibs for Baby girl & Star Wars PJ's for Keaton.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Family Day

2008 was the first year for my province (Ontario) to celebrate our new holiday "Family Day". Although a lot of employee's throughout Ontario had to work today, Shaune and I both were able to celebrate the day and made a point to make it all about family.
We took the kids out for lunch at Boston Pizza (they love the pizza there) and then went ice skating at our local arena. I made a homemade spagetti supper & then we all snuggled in and watched an hour of "Planet Earth"... Keaton is loving this series so much, Chloe could take it or leave it - but likes to be warned when the Crocodiles are 'comin'.

All in all - it was one very wonderful day. Wish we had more days like this. I couldn't help but think that next year we will have another special little one to celebrate being a family with. Oh JOY!

I also thought of all the people I've "met" in adoption blog world and how my hope for all of you is to become a new family and expand your circle of love this coming year. There is truly nothing more precious than the love of FAMILY. I wish that for each and every one.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Somebody stop me...


...from buying up all the Robeez in my area of the world.


I couldn't resist and went and got another pair - this time in 0-6 months size. They are adorable. If by chance we are referred an older baby, they make great gifts, right?

I have my eye on about 3 other designs still.


Here are the ones I picked up today after K's hockey game.


Friday, February 15, 2008

I was tagged

Michelle at "And Sam Makes Seven" tagged me... so here I go.

The details:
List 7 random things that people may not know about you. The rules are to link the person who sent this to you and leave a comment on their blog so their readers can visit yours. Post the rules on your blog. Share 7 facts about yourself. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, linking their blog. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Warning: This will be boring

1. My favourite mini-series is a tie between 1) North and South (I used to be in love with Ori & fantasized about designing period dresses for the Stars) and 2) Thorn Birds (in which I fell in love with the name Meggie)

2. I was proposed to in a teeny tiny little airplane that had ski's on it for landing in the snow. It was very romantic... and cold.

3. My job is being a stay-at-home-mom. But on the side I get to have the fun job of getting paid for doing what I love - my hobby - Scrapbooking. I currently work for BHG Scrapbooks Etc, Autumn Leaves and Hero Arts Stamps. I'm lucky.

4. I want 4 children. But our house will only hold 3. Maybe we'll have to work on changing that in the coming years.

5. I used to be an Interior Designer. and. hated. the. big. city. life. so. quit.

6. I used to daydream about marrying Clark W. Griswald from the Vacation series. Odd - maybe.

7. I won 3 beer chugging contests on our honeymoon. How's that for revealing too much. Truth is I hate beer, but I can chug them like nobody's business!

Who to tag? In no particular order:
Kelly, Catherine, Bev, Jennifer, April, Renee, Amanda

Taking photos of your baby

Just posting a link to a recent blog entry I did at Better Homes & Gardens Scrapbooks Etc photo blog. It is about photographing babies (not just newborns) and since all of us are 'expecting'... I thought it might interest some of you. I know I had very little interest in photography until my son was born and then all of a sudden... getting great photos of him (and Chloe who followed 2 yrs later) consumed me.

I haven't done a ton of baby photography since turning digital 4 years ago, but am hoping that this is the year I really get to put all my photo obsessing to work - on Baby Girl Lightfoot.

Here is the link for anyone interested:
The PHOTOG BLOG

Photo of the Week

This photo has always been a favourite of mine.
Keaton - June 20, 2004. He is 3 yrs old here. Ever my handsome little man!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Home again, Home again

I have to get caught up on all the Adoption blogs I read. I think Bloglines has 241 entries highlighted and waiting... from the blogs I follow.

I had 5 beautiful weather days thanks to a trip I took to Anaheim California for CHA Winter 2008. I worked with the Autumn Leaves & Creativity Inc team and had so much fun hanging with the girls I've grown to know and love so much. Jen L is from Minnesota, Becky is from Nebraska, Tracy is from British Columbia, Jenn is from Florida, Kelli & Renee are from Atlanta, Tia is from Seattle, Kim is from Utah... we work every craft and hobby association show together and I feel really lucky to get to work with a group of people that make it feel a lot less like work.

We went down to DownTown Disney for the last night together and had fun running around buying last minute gifts for our kids, etc. This was our 'play' night but I think we were all so exhausted from long days at the booth that it was hard to stay awake :)

Yesterday, I had to be in the lobby of my hotel at 525am to catch a shuttle to LAX. I got HOME at 930pm so you can see how that added up to a crazy long day. Preparation for our flights and travel to Vietnam, I suppose. I cannot wait. But wait we must :)

I didn't take many photos. Just wanted to pop in, say I'm back and it is nice to be home again!

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Photo of the Week

Chloe - Summer 2006. Before learning to swim. Now she is a fish with no need for waterwings. :)

Cuteness!



I have really been enjoying my sewing classes I am taking. Every week I take a new and do-able project and I get so much satisfaction out of getting something DONE and learning in the process. This week I learned how to make simple little bibs. Yes, my baby girl is going to rock the bibs. I got these funky fabrics at Wal-mart clearance of all places and now I cannot wait to order some trendy funky florals and make lots more. They have terry cloth undersides and they were sooooooo easy to make... the hardest part was the silver clasps - so I let my teacher smash those into place.


Found this cute shirt and I think I have to buy it. I see it with a red tutu and striped leggings underneath. Oh so cute! The site actually has a lot of fun little t-shirts and onsies for kiddies. I also love this one ... and this one.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

The Weekend

Our weekend was spent shoveling snow (Shaune), eating leftovers (Cashew Curry Chicken) and watching hockey (Keaton's game & practice) & football (Wow... what happened?)

Again we were dumped with a ton of snow and it is expected to start melting away by Tuesday, hello wet and soggy front yard.

Keaton's team won on Saturday and today was a practice for the Select Sr. Tikes team. Keaton is improving in leaps and bounds in hockey and I love watching him play. His enthusiasm and team comraderie makes me proud.

Chloe is becoming a rink sister. She runs around the arena while I try my best to watch Keaton's game, mostly I am following her around so she stays in my sights.

We had hoped to go to Ottawa to attend a TET celebration with some other friends from our agency. Because it was Keaton's practice we couldn't make it. Next year we will be going for sure. Jacqueline, you'll have to email me and let me know how it went.

After Keaton's practice today I stopped at a little shop in Stirling and picked up a pair of the cutest Robeez shoes for Baby Girl. I think I could become addicted to these. They were around when Keaton and Chloe were little but I think only Keaton had a pair. Chloe never had the priviledge. I have my eyes on some pink winter bootie ones & a pair that look like black Mary Janes. They were on sale so I may have to run back and get a couple more pairs.

The Superbowl... Sigh. We were cheering for New England... Shaune's team since forever. I can't believe they didn't win. Not that I'm crushed or anything, I'm not a huge football fan. Shaune is walking around the house right now saying "Oh man!" They had an awesome season, regardless... and Tom Brady aint so bad to look at in his tight pants ;) We watched the majority of the game over at Kerri & Matt's and the kids had a blast just running around (inside and out) and playing with their buddies. It was mayhem, just as it always is when our kids get together. Wouldn't have it any other way... well... maybe a little less screeching at the top of their lungs. HA. Thanks K and M for a fun night.

Friday, February 1, 2008

How to foster Attachment

I've been reading all I can lately on Attachment and how we are going to best face fostering and encouraging a strong attachment as soon as possible once we finally have our daughter.
I just found this information on this site and thought I'd share it.

Recommendations for the First 6 to 9 Months

This list of recommendations is based on the collective years of experience of our team of adoption health care specialists and has evolved over time.

*We recommend a low-keyed arrival scene as you return home from your child's country of origin. It is usually best to avoid having a large crowd greet you. Your child should stay in your arms and should not be passed to others.
(The plan: As of right now, we plan on renting a limo to pick us up at the airport when we get home from Vietnam. Sounds extravagent but it is actually for practical reasons... we live 2.5 hrs from the airport... we will be away from our 2 oldest children for 2-3 weeks and will be desperate to see them... we want our immediate family there without them having to make the drive. We figure by renting a limo, we don't have to drive (TIRED) home, we will have our immediate family there with us when we get off the plane and on the drive home, we will get to spend time with all the kids on our drive back home... and we won't have to deal with Toronto traffic, parking, luggage, etc. The only way I see this plan changing is if our flight gets back at an ungodly hour - then we will rent a hotel for the night and drive home instead.)

*Develop daily routines and rituals, and stick to them as much as possible. In keeping mealtimes, bedtimes and playtimes consistent, your child will begin to feel that each day has a predictability and structure to it. This is comforting for the child who is experiencing a period of incredible change and transition from orphanage to adoptive family.
(Note: We are so not 'structured' or 'scheduled' parents. We are go with the flow parents. This will be a big challenge for us but I know it is important and plan on developing routines better in the coming months.)

*We recommend that parents, as much as possible, be the only persons to feed, change, bathe, dress, rock to sleep, or comfort their child. We think it is helpful for your newly adopted child to practice having needs consistently met by you, the parent.
(Note: Now this one is going to be hard. We know our parents and family will want to start loving Baby girl the minute she is home and cuddles is part of how we love. I hope our family will understand that we will be following this as much as possible, for our daughter... not to exclude them. Quite the opposite, it is a small thing we need to do upon uniting with our child -so that she can learn attachment and trust, for future relationships with all our wonderful family members.)

*When extended family members or friends bring gifts for your child, we recommend that you have your child sit with you and that you hand the gift to your child or assist your child in opening the gift. You may want to say something like "Look, Annie. Grandma brought you a present. You may open it now."
In the beginning, you may want to advise relatives and friends ahead of time that they should ask your permission to pick up your child or do an activity with your child. Each time they ask permission, your child is hearing them reference you as the important decision-maker for activities that involve your child. This may provide your child with practice in referencing you before embarking on a new experience.
(Note: Again.... man, that is going to be difficult. I understand the logic and reasoning behind it but I don't want to make family and friends feel strange or guarded when around our daughter.)


*In large group gatherings, like adoption shower parties, let guests know ahead of time that you will be holding your child and that you will not be passing your child around from person to person. Overall, we advise avoiding large group gatherings during your child's first few months home. A previously institutionalized child does not need trips to Disneyworld or a day of shopping at the mall. What he or she needs more than anything is lots of concentrated one-on-one time with a warm, loving and sensitive parent.

*Spend as much one-on-one time with your child as possible. Your child does not need to be surrounded by lots of toys. In fact, being surrounded by too many toys and an overly stimulating environment may be overwhelming. Instead, choose one or two toys and get down on the floor with your child, and play with the toys in an interactive manner with your child. Use lots of facial expressions and face-to-face gestures like peek-a-boo or rubbing noses together. Watch your child for cues that he or she may be getting overwhelmed or tired, and then switch to a soothing, comforting activity such as rocking your child.
(Note: This part I am so looking forward to. The getting to know each other and the bonding. The building of trust and the comforting ...just loving another child. I worry a bit about our loud house, will it be extremely overwhelming for her... Keaton and Chloe are loud and rowdy and playful at time (that is normal!) & we often joke that we have one of the loudest houses in Canada. We are used to it but how will it affect Baby girl. It is something I've been thinking about and wondering.)

We believe that all of these steps may assist your child in seeing you as the essential "gatekeepers" through which all good things in life come. The goal is to help your child realize that you are the ones to meet his or her needs, to be trusted, and with whom to seek close contact.

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One main thing I get from reading Attachment and Bonding material is that I can not approach parenting Baby girl in the same way I did with Keaton and Chloe. I would be niave to think that a child who has spent her earliest months in an institution/orphanage will come out of the situation unaffected, even if she will be young in age.

With Keaton and Chloe, they were put on my chest and comforted by me shortly after birth. They breastfed and knew that everytime they cried or smiled or laughed or yelled, I would come running. They know to turn to Mom (and Dad of course) for all the things they need in life... and they knew it from the time they were born. They knew me before they were even born, and I felt like I knew them too.

For me, the mom... it will be like teaching an old dog new tricks, I think I'm a good mom to Keaton & Chloe and I've kind of wing'd it up until now. I worry that I won't do things right, or that I won't know when to parent uniquely and when to parent all my children the same. I worry about that more and more the closer we get to a referral. I imagine that is normal, right?

Photo of the Week

I came across this photo yesterday and it made me smile...

so I thought I'd pick it for this week's Photo.

My girl is really into Barbie... especially Barbie movies. She has them all I think and for Halloween this past fall she wanted to be "Barbie Island Princess"... and her wish is our command.

She looked glorious. I don't think you can tell in this small photo but she had us put sparkle gel all over her face so she'd look "magical". It worked!

Chloe Raine - Halloween 2007