Day 9 - Vietnamese passport received

We received Victoria's Vietnamese passport
Now we apply today for Canadian citizenship and her temporary Canadian passport.  This is the paper work I'm worried about because it gets sent to Singapore.  I'm so worried that I will have filled something out incorrectly.

Day 8 - First full day together

Victoria did very well today and so did we! :)  She experienced many new things including morning cuddles with a mama and a daddy, solid foods and Hanoi's crazy traffic.

Trying banana for the first time

Exploring the Old Quarter of Hanoi

We are learning a lot about our little girl and doing all that we can to love her and bond together.  Her skin is starting to look a little bit better but there are still many bites and bumps.  She seems to be pretty content though.  There is one sad behaviour that has resulted from her institutional care that makes me cry.  We've discovered that she rocks herself back and forth periodically to self-soothe.  This is not uncommon for children in institutional care who do not get the nurturing love they need to develop.  She has learned to depend on herself for comfort since she has not had a consistent caregiver to attend to her needs.  I'm sure she rocked herself to sleep many nights.  I wish I was there to hold her those nights.  I hate that she had to experience such loneliness at such a young age.  What torment!  It makes me sick in my stomach to think of all the children who have no one to care for them tonight.  I'm just happy there is one less orphan and am so grateful that God would spare Victoria from such a dreadful environment.  I know it will take time for Victoria to rely on us for love and comfort.  We are going to work very hard to develop a strong bond.

The good news is that she now cries whenever I'm more than two feet away from her.  I can't even go to the bathroom without her bursting into tears.  I'm so happy for this.  She is bonding already.  What a blessing!  I tried to get a picture of her in front of the Christmas tree but she was upset that I put her down.  So we took a picture together instead.  I'll cherish this photo forever because I think this is the first moment when Victoria wanted me to be her mom.

We finished off the night with room service again, this time mashed potatoes and pumpkin.  We also had some bare skin time.  I don't think she had much bare skin time in the orphanage because she was fascinated with her belly button.  It was really cute watching her play with her tummy and her toes!  I love her!

Such a cute giggle.  Watch the video clip.

Day 7 - Gotcha Day!

What an amazing day it was.  We drove about an hour and a half to Thai Nguyen province where Victoria's orphanage was.  We were not allowed to look around the orphanage but were ushered right into the ceremony room.  Victoria was brought to us.

Meeting Victoria for the first time:

Ceremony and pictures with the officials:
I got our translator to take pictures of Victoria's room in the orphanage since we were not allowed inside.  I know one day she will ask about where she spent the first year of her life.  It definitely isn't an ideal nursery for a little baby.  We were told that she does not get held very much which I already expected for a child living in institutional care.  Apparently all orphanages in Vietnam are run by the state.  Seventy to eighty percent of children in the orphanages are girls.

Where she slept for her first few months

They watch a lot of TV

When she was given to us, she whimpered for a little bit but then clung to us tightly.  When we tried to distance ourselves from her to get a good look at her face, she would pull closely again and bury her face in our chest.  

She has marks all over her body.  I'm not sure what they are but they look like big bites.  She also has two very large bruises on her back and bum that look very painful :(  We gave her a nice warm bubble bath (which she loved!) and got her all cozy for bed.  

Bath time

New toys

We ordered room service, played and then went to bed.

Story time

What a day!

I have the cutest video of her giggling as I'm playing with her feet.  I'll try to upload it later.
One of the happiest days of our lives!  We love you Victoria!

Day 6 - Lots of running around

We did a lot of running around today and met with Dat (the man who will be facilitating the adoption tomorrow).  We are feeling very excited but also very nervous and anxious about all of the paper work.  Please pray that everything will go smoothly.

So excited to meet our daughter!!

Day 3,4,5 - Halong Bay

David and I have been without internet connection for the last few days.  We travelled east to cruise Halong Bay.  We had a wonderful time together.  It was nice to be away from the busyness of Hanoi and see another part of Vietnam.

Some of the highlights of our cruise included exploring a cave, visiting a fishing village, kayaking and swimming.  Here is a video of us jumping off our boat together.  

Day 2 - Old town Hanoi

It's 4am and we're jet-lagged so here we are blogging.  We began our day with a cyclo ride around town.  It was nice sitting in the cyclo, not having to worry about where to walk.  Despite the lawlessness on the road, I somehow felt safe under the red umbrella of my cyclo.  We stopped at a tailor where David will have a suit made.  It was fun picking out fabrics and colours.

I'm still amazed at what people can carry on their scooters.  We talked about this on the phone with Isaiah and Adam so these next few pictures are for you boys.  

Day 1 - We've arrived!

Here is a picture outside our hotel.  As you can see, scooters are a very popular form of transportation.  I've seen many families riding with their babies on their scooters.  I find this fascinating considering I just tossed my infant car seat because it expired.  Very different standards.

 
We're staying in old Hanoi.  It is very lively and exciting to explore.  We can't walk on the side walks because there are street vendors and that's where people park their scooters.  This leaves us to walking on the street which is very intimidating but I think I'll get the hang of it.  No one really stops.  It's a sort of weaving skill.  No sudden movements.  Make your way to the other side of the street one step at a time.  When in doubt, we shadow a local, especially crossing the big intersections.  

I love the hats.  I love seeing people sell fruit on the back of their bicycles.  It's so exciting to be here!

This is troubling.  How does it all connect?

We are just waking up now for our first full day in Hanoi.  I feel much better than yesterday and am ready to explore.  We have a few days to ourselves before we pick up Victoria so we will take advantage of some kid-free time.