Philippines Adoption Journey

Almost 1 year

2012-02-05T16:28:00.000-08:00

It is amazing to think that just one year ago we were preparing for Rafael's arrival and now here he is keeping us constantly on our toes! He has so much fun with everything he does and he just loves to make everyone laugh. Today we went to a birthday party for his friend, Emma, who was just adopted from the Philippines 2 months ago. The first present that Emma opened up was a little pink tutu. Rafael quickly hauled down his pants and proceeded to put the tutu on and dance around the room. He was spinning and twirling and was dancing his little heart out. Of course everyone got a grand laugh out of him being so silly but he just loves being the center of attention. Now here are a few photos but there are none of him doing his dance in the pink tutu. Too bad!!

Rafael and Emma snuggling up!

I love the snow!!! He plays outside for hours each day. He couldn't be any further from the Philippines!

Bringing sexy back

2012-01-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

Rafael's new haircut!!

2012-01-18T16:59:00.000-08:00

Winter fun

2012-01-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

Our little monkey is a huge fan of the snow. He would spend all day outside if you let him. He especially loves eating snow. As quickly as you take it from him, he is grabbing more snow. Rafael enjoyed making the snowman but enjoyed trying to eat him even more!! I can't wait for some more beautiful winter days so we can play outside some more!

Rafael's first Christmas at home!!!

2011-12-27T17:11:00.000-08:00

We spent Rafael's first Christmas at my parents house 2 hours away. Rafael just loved all the Christmas lights and music and of course opening his gifts. He also loved eating all the goodies that come along with Christmas. I found him hiding in the living room eating a handful of chocolate kisses with the biggest smile on his face. Adorable!! He also had lots of fun dressing up and dancing. By the end of each day he was totally exhausted and he slept in late every morning. Gotta love that!!! Now we are all back home and Rafael is enjoying playing with his new toys. Hope you all had a great Christmas as well!!

Exciting news!

2011-12-05T17:24:00.000-08:00

Friends of ours who just live a few minutes away are leaving on Wednesday to pick up there 22 month old little girl, Emma!! We are all so excited for them and Rafael is going to love having a new friend to play with. They will even go to school together. Now how amazing is that!

We've all been super duper busy since I returned to work on November 1. There has been no time for blogging and I'm lucky if I even get time to check my e-mail. I'm loving being back to work but of course I miss chasing my little monkey around all day! He is loving the sitters though and is so happy there. There are two little girls for him to play with there and they have so much fun. Rafael is often dressed in a princess dress or tutu when we go to pick him up. I think he would love to dress in cute little dresses all the time if we let him!

Rafael is getting into the Christmas spirit too. He just loves all the lights and is always after me to turn on the different decorations that light up. The tree is his favorite though. We just put it up last night and he had the biggest smile on his face as he placed each decoration on the tree. When I put the angel on top he was so happy. Adorable!!

I hope that everyone has a great Christmas and I'm really hoping that Jennifer and Dianne and lots of others who are still waiting soon get their referrals. Hopefully Decemember is that month that you all finally get some good news.

It's official!!

2011-10-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

Today we finalized Rafael's adoption. It is 2 days short of when we got our referral. Rafael did great at the courthouse and things went so quickly. So he is now Rafael Tolentino Michael Ash. Wow!!! That really is a long name! I hope that he is a good speller!

Rafael also had his birthday party yesterday. It was pretty crazy with 7 kids running around the house but he had lots of fun. I think his favorite part was all the balloons. As soon as he woke up this morning, the first word out of his mouth was balloons. He had a barney cake which he also loved.

Tomorrow I head back to work after 8.5 months off!! Crazy! I can't believe that I won't get to spend everyday with Rafael anymore. We had lots of fun in the past 8 months and now he'll have lots of fun at the sitters house. He absolutely loves it there playing with the other kids so I don't feel too bad about leaving him. I'm sure it will only take a day or two and it will feel like I never even left work.

It's a rainy, windy day here. Not the best day for trick or treating but hopefully we'll still get out to a few house with our little lion. He loves dressing up especially in dresses and tutu's. Maybe that will be the costume for next year!! That's all for now. Happy Halloween!!!

Photos from Rafael's birthday

2011-10-26T04:58:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd Birthday Rafael!!!

2011-10-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

Our little cutie pants turned 2 today!!!! He had a wonderful day and especially loved blowing out the candles on his cake! I'll post those photos later. This morning he had a halloween party at playgroup and Brian took the afternoon off work so that we could go to the park and go out for supper. Afterwards we came home for cake. Yum!! Rafael's party isn't until Sunday but we had lots of fun celebrating today. Isn't our two year old the cutest little lion???? I hope you all enjoyed your day!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-05T05:05:00.000-07:00

This photo should have been first!!

Welcoming Fall

2011-09-29T09:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that in just one month I'll be heading back to work. Rafael had his first day alone at the home daycare that he will be going to while I work. He did great!! He loved playing with the other kids and going to the park. We're so proud of our big boy!!

We are also so happy that Rafael will have a new little Filipino friend to play with very soon. A friend who lives just five minutes away was matched with a little girl in August. She is just 3 months younger than Rafael and I'm sure they will have lots of fun together when she comes home.

Rafael now says more than 30 words. I just love hearing him speak. It's precious, except when he yells no. We hear that alot!! We aren't having much luck with the toilet training but we'll keep plugging along.

His birthday party is planned for Oct. 29. We are having a Halloween theme and all the kids are dressing up. Rafael will love it! We bought him a lion costume and he looks soooo adorable! I can't believe that he will be two on Oct. 25. The time is just flying!! On Oct. 29 last year, our social worker sent us the e-mail telling us that we had been matched with a little boy and now a year later we are celebrating his birthday with him. Soooo special!!!!

We have been so blessed to become parents to this wonderful little boy. He is so happy and social and outgoing. He definitely keeps us super busy but he always keeps us laughing and smiling. I can't imagine life without him!!

Home sweet home

2011-09-05T14:51:00.000-07:00

Rafael has now been home for six months!! He just had his first haircut, since coming home, last week. We think he looks like such a cutie with his new do! Rafael has now started the "no" phase. Everything I ask him, he will reply no. I hope that this doesn't last long. He also started to say "mine" all the time and is no longer such a fan of sharing. We're going to have our hands full with this little boy. We haven't gotten too far with toilet training yet. I guess we'll have to be patient. That's all for now!

6 months ago....

2011-08-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

Rafael now (well a few weeks ago)

Rafael on Feb. 19, 2011. What a sweetie!

Meeting Rafael for the first time!! He initi.ally came towards me, but then ran away

It was six months ago on Friday that we first met out son. It is still hard to believe he has only been in our lives for six months. It seems like he has been with us forever! It seems to us that he is doing wonderfully. He seems to be well attached to us, he is saying more and more words everyday, he seems to be understanding more and more of what we say, and he is just the cutest and happiest little boy ever! We have been so blessed that Rafael was chosen to be our son. He is just perfect for our family. Yes, there are days when he drives me a little crazy. Like Friday afternoon when he poured the dog's water bowl on top of his head, then he marked on the walls in pen, and then he threw his supper on the floor, but I guess that's just part of having an almost two year old in your house! I'm sure there lots more of that to come so we'd better get used to it. The terrible twos are just around the corner!

2011-08-16T07:24:00.000-07:00

We had our final post placement visit a week ago. I can't believe that six months has passed since we first met Rafael!! Our social worker is very pleased with how well he is doing and she is hoping to have his report finished by the end of this week. We are really hoping to have his adoption finalized by Christmas but I don't know if this is realistic or not.

Rafael has been busy entertaining his little girlfriend. He is totally googlie eyed when she is around and he runs around laughing and smiling and does funny things to make her laugh. Adorable!!!!

We've also started to potty train Rafael. I'm not sure how long this will take. He still doesn't seem quite ready to me but we said we'd give it a try just in case. He doesn't mind sitting on his potty but he doesn't pee in it. We only started this yesterday! So far he will sit on the potty for 20 minutes, then he will get up and pee on the floor! Patience, patience, patience! Doesn't he look so adorable sitting on his potty!

All dressed up!

2011-08-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos of Rafael that were taken on the weekend at my cousin's wedding. Rafael LOVED the outdoor wedding, especially playing with all of his cousins. He loved hanging out with the older kids in the gazebo and I caught him eating handfuls of chips with a huge grin on his face!
Rafael also had his first horseback riding experience this weekend. He did great but he had an awfully serious expression on his face throughout the whole ride. Our little boy is growing up!!

Getting wet and dirty!!

2011-07-21T07:57:00.000-07:00

The weather here has been cooler and wet the past several days so when the sun came out yesterday evening, we headed outside. Rafael made a beeline to the ditch and proceeded to climb right into it and then to lie down in it. He was having fun so who was I to stop him!!! He really is all boy!!

It was just over 5 months ago that Rafael came into our lives and it is now hard to remember life without him. He is doing wonderfully and is finally beginning to say more and more words although he still prefers to grunt to let us know what he wants. Our final post placement visit is on August 9th. We're hoping and praying to have the adoption finalized by Christmas but this may be overly optimistic. Does anyone know how long it takes for ICAB to give their go ahead once your social worker sends over the final post placement report? Our social worker said that once ICAB gives her the okay, she can get a court date for the following week!!! I just don't know how long ICAB takes to do their part. I'd love any feedback that anyone has on this issue!

Water fun

2011-07-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

We've spent alot of time at the beach this week since the beautiful summer weather finally hit us!! Rafael loves the beach, especially dipping his hands and feet in the water and splashing. He's also spent alot of time in the kiddie pool that we bought him a few months back. He is really loving summer!

He now weighs 22 pounds and he's grown around a half inch since two months ago. He is always saying "uh oh" for when he does something he shouldn't. He has a few new words but he mainly just talks off in jibberish to anyone who will listen. He continues to eat well and just loves watermelon and pears. He could eat just that all day long. He has started to pretend that he is like Sid, the dog, and he will put food on the floor and eat it without using his hands. We really need to get him out of this but I have to admit that it is pretty funny to watch. He laughs and laughs after doing it. He really thinks that he is super duper funny and he's right!!

We have been so blessed to have been matched with such a wonderful, happy little boy. At times he can definitely try your patience but overall he is just a great little boy. I just love it when he comes up and gives me a hug and a kiss and then the world's biggest smile. How can you say no to a boy like that!

We are also so happy for Tammy and Eric who have been matched with a little boy after 31.5 months of waiting. We can't wait until they all visit us here next year and the boys get to know each other better. I'm hoping that all the families who continue to wait, especially those at and above 30 months of waiting, are matched very soon. Believe me, your little one is worth the long wait. We are also so happy for Rafael's roommate, Peter, from Dorcas House who just went home to Australia with his family. We are so lucky to be in contact with Peter's family and we plan on staying in contact as the boys grow.

Happy Canada Day!!

2011-07-01T07:41:00.000-07:00

We decided to skip the Canada Day sunrise ceremony this morning because it was..............raining, foggy and cold. Surprise, surprise!! I heard on the news yesterday that we only had three days of sunshine in the whole month of June. Now isn't that depressing?? But the forecast for the rest of the weekend is good and we can't wait to get outside and play! Rafael is tired of being cooped up and can't wait to get out. We are going on a hike in the morning and then to the playground of course. We did have some nice weather yesterday and we went to the beach for a bit. It wasn't warm enough for shorts and t-shirts but we were just thankful for the sunshine. Rafael enjoyed throwing rocks into the water and watching the birds fly overhead. I wish that I had taken my camera because it was a perfect day to get some nice photos. Next time!!

Wind, fog and rain

2011-06-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

The weather here has been absolutely awful for the past two weeks. Nothing but wind, fog and rain. Yuck!!! Poor Rafael has been stuck inside too much and I'm starting to have trouble coming up with activities to keep him busy and believe me, he LIKES to be BUSY!! So far we have baked a cake, he's helped me make homemade pizza for supper, he's helped to clean up with the handvac and we've made some crafts. Now I'm out of ideas so please let it be nice out tomorrow!

We had a great Father's Day. Once Rafael awoke, he had breakfast in bed with Daddy. Actually it was just coffee for Brian and milk for Rafael but they both enjoyed it all the same. Then Brian went golfing and I took Rafael on a 1.5 hour hike in the backpack. It was a pretty tough hike with lots of big hills and I was exhausted by the end but Rafael was loving it. He was pointing at the ocean and the birds and the dogs. That afternoon we went out for hot chocolate and a did a little downtown shopping. Did I happen to mention that our boy loves shopping!!

Baking with Mommy

Breakfast in bed with Daddy

Sweeping the floors while wearing one of Mommy's slippers.

Out and about

2011-06-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

We've been busy having lots of fun lately since the weather has improved. We've gone to the playground several times and to the beach. He loves the monkey bars at the park and can swing from them forever if we'd let him. He also loves putting rocks in his mouth which is a bad habit that we need to break him of but since he's now getting six new teeth, we may have our hands full!!

Today Rafael has his professional photos finally taken as it was a beautiful day. I can't wait to see them! Rafael did a great job and didn't slow down at all during the 1.5 hour shoot.

Rafael is doing great in his swimming lessons and he will now jump in and put his head underneath the water! We are so proud! He will kick his legs and move his arms but cannot yet stay above the water if we let him go. We also plan to put him in a dance class this coming Fall. Rafael loves dancing and performing in front of a crowd. When I take him to playgroup he likes to always be in the center of the circle dancing and jumping. We can't wait to see him in dance class!!

Our little monkey on the monkey bars!! He loves just hanging out!

Having fun with one of his girlfriends.

Family fun

2011-06-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

Rafael was loving the good weather last week but this week has been rainy and cold. He is getting his first professional photos taken next week in a park not far from his house. I'm so excited to see the proofs. Rafael usually loves having his picture taken so I'm hoping for some really good pictures. Not much else is new around here so I just thought I'd share a few photos of our cutie pants!!

Outing!!

2011-05-28T03:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning it was just beautiful here so we packed up early and headed up to Signal Hill. It is just beautiful up there and Rafael had so much fun running around and playing. Hopefully our good weather will continue although today it is rainy, foggy and 5 degrees. Oh no!!

Also Deborah and her son and husband are now in the Philippines picking up their three girls from the same orphanage as Rafael. How exciting!!! It is going to be great having another Dorcas House family here in Canada. We really hope that we can all get together sometime down the road although we are a 3.5 hour flight away from each other. Maybe next summer!!

Rafael's speech has really exploded over the past week. He looked at the screen saver on the computer a few days ago and he said "that's me!!". He then pointed to the computer screen and then to himself. What a smartie pants!! He also will repeat several new words when we say them. This stage is soooo much fun!

The Bruins won last night so they are headed to the Stanley Cup final. Hurray!!!!! I can't wait!!

Growing up!!!!

2011-05-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

Rafael continues to keep us on our toes!! He is changing everyday and is growing up so fast. He now says "mom, dad, nan, look, ball, hi, and bye". He loves to blow kisses and to say bye when someone leaves the house. Too cute!! He loves to talk to my mom on the telephone although the only words you can recognize are hi and bye. He just learned to jump this weekend and he now likes to hop all over the house. I was hanging out the clothes on the clothesline this morning and I heard him banging on the window yelling out "mom" to the top of his lungs. He is such a cutie. He goes up to Sid, our dog, and puckers his lips for Sid to kiss him but just as Sid is about to kiss him, he runs away laughing. He's a real joker.

He attends a play group with several other kids his age. He loves this group as they sing songs and he loves doing the actions especially to "head and shoulders, knees and toes" and to "if you're happy and you know it". He chases all the other kids around during playtime and he is sharing so much better. He now will only get up with me when we are out. He used to go to others to get up but now he knows to come to mama.

He sleeps well although he has started to get up at 6:00am. He still goes to bed at 8:00pm so I'm not quite sure why he's decided to start getting up earlier. He usually sleeps thru the night. Over the past 4-5 nights we can now lay him in his crib after reading his books and giving him a quick rock, and he will go to sleep on his own. Before we would have to rock him and rock him until he went to sleep and then put him in the crib. He naps for 2 hours everyday at around 11am.

He eats just about anything and everything but his favorites would be yogurt and fruit. He could eat that for breakfast, dinner and supper!! He'll now feed himself with his fork and he can use his spoon if the food is thick or sticky but he wouldn't be able to feed himself soup or anything like that. He mainly drinks from his sippy cup but loves to drink from a juice box.

I just did a photo book of our trip to the Philippines and we were so happy with how it turned out. Rafael will love looking at it, especially as he gets older. I wanted to do a regular scrapbook but it takes sooo much time and makes such a mess that I cheated and did the photobook online. I really should get back into my scrapbooking soon because we have tons of photos of Rafael since he's come home. I can't believe that we have almost been home for 3 months!!

There has been lots of good news lately!! Another family from Canada, the De Boers, are leaving soon to go pick up their three daughters from Dorcas House, where Rafael is from. Rafael's roommate Peter, also from Dorcas House, just had his medical last week and hopefully he will soon be home in Australia. Hopefully all the families who are still waiting to be matched, especially those who have waited over 30 months, will soon be matched with their children. I know how long and hard the wait can be. But it is soooo worth it in the end!!

Eating outside for the first time this year. Yummy bbq!!

Enjoying his cousin Max's birthday party.

He LOVED the chocolate cake and even wanted a second piece!

photo time!!

2011-05-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

Funky hairdo!!

2011-04-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

Rafael's hair is getting longer and is starting to stick up alot. I want to get it cut but Brian doesn't so I picked up some gel to help keep his hair down so it's not so stuck up. For fun, I used the gel to stick his hair up even more. Rafael loved this new look!!!

Rafael also loves reading his books. He will choose a book from the shelf and he will bring it over to me to read to him. So adorable!! He loves "Brown bear, brown bear what do you see". I hope that his interest in books continues until he is finished school!!

18 months old!!

2011-04-27T08:23:00.000-07:00

Rafael turned 18 month old on Easter Monday. It's hard to believe that he is growing up so fast. He woke up 4 o'clock that morning and was throwing up until 8am but then started to feel better so we headed outside after lunch. He loves the outdoors!!! He could spend all day out there but of course the weather here is still so cold. He enjoyed blowing bubbles, playing in the grass and playing on our neighbours slide. I had planned on baking him another cake but we ran out of time since we spend most of the afternoon outside.

Rafael still only says a few words but he definitely seems to understand alot more. When I sing "head and shoulders, knees and toes" he'll now point to his head and shoulders. Soooo cute!!! He loves to hide things, which is not so great. He has hidden my keys on a few occassions so I've started to put them in a new place out of his reach. He has hidden the remote to the tv in the playroom and we still haven't found it. That was over a week ago!! We have seached high and low but have no clue where it is. He's too cute!!

He saw the Easter bunny on Saturday and was not impressed. If the bunny was a few feet away, he would wave and smile but if Brian tried to place Rafael in the bunny's arms, he would scream so there was no picture with the Easter bunny this year. I hope he responds better to Santa Claus!!!

I love chocolate....

2011-04-16T04:04:00.000-07:00

Rafael assisted me in helping to lick the beaters clean when we were making a chocolate cake. I must say that he did a great job!! Our second post placement visit went great and Rafael was his usual silly self. There's not much more to report but I just wanted to share a few photos of our cutie pie!!

Back again.........

2011-04-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything in a while because I couldn't transfer the photos from my camera to the computer for some reason but now things seem to be working again. We have now been home for 6 weeks. Rafael is doing great! He now has a regular nap schedule and goes down around 11am for two hours. He also goes to bed pretty easy now after we rock him for a few minutes. Wonderful!!!! He has been sleeping through the night from 8pm until 7am but for some reason he decided to get up for 5 hours last night. He wasn't cranky but was smiling and laughing and was wide awake. He just wanted to play but I just wanted him to go back to sleep. He eventually did at 4am this morning. Hopefully that doesn't become a habit. Our second visit with the social worker is tomorrow. We have monthly visits for 6 months. The last one went well so hopefully tomorrow will be the same. Rafael is a real show off and loves to sing and dance when we have company. He dances in a circle with his eyes closed and swings his hips back and forth. He's soooo cute!!!!!!! We had a 3 night visit out to my parents house this past weekend. Brian had a course all weekend so he stayed home alone. We had a great time and Rafael loved all the extra attention. He had homemade ice cream for the first time and loved it and he also went for a walk in the woods which is amazing considering how short his little legs are! He loves the outside and had his first trip to the park a few days ago. Here are a few photos from the past two weeks. Our boy continues to be super active but he gets cuter by the day! He now will point to his head when I sing "head and shoulders, knees and toes" and he will shout Hurray when we sing "if you're happy and you know it". He is saying bye but not consistently and he will now kiss us on the lips which is precious. It is amazing how fast the time is flying by!

pediatrician visit

2011-03-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

Rafael had his first pediatrician visit today and it went well. She said that Rafael is doing very well except he only says 6 words. She feels his comprehension is good and his speech will come along with time. He is on the 5th percentile for his weight and is not even on the growth curve for his height. We have a shortie on our hands!! Not much like his dad who is 6'4''!! We are taking our first overnight outing the end of next week. Rafael and I our going out to stay with my parents for three night since Brian has to work the whole weekend anyways. I hope he does okay. Keep your fingers crossed! He had another play date with his two little cousins who are 2 and 3 this weekend. They all ran around screaming and played hide and seek. It was so much fun to watch Rafael having so much fun with his cousins. Adorable!!! His cousins already are asking when Rafael can come for a sleepover. Gotta love kids!

Happy 17 months!!!

2011-03-25T07:47:00.000-07:00

Running around like crazy after eating my cake!!!

I love playing in the dog's water bowl when no one is looking!!!

I have now learned how to climb onto the coffee table. Oh no!!! Don't I look up to no

good!!

Rafael turned 17 months old today!! We baked him a cake this morning and he had some for his mid morning snack!! There is nothing like cake a little after breakfast. He loved the icing and kept wanting more although I didn't give him too much because I thought he would be extra active. Don't want that!!

Our first post placement visit went well. Rafael was his usual charming self and was constantly dancing and singing. Well his version of singing. She was here for just under an hour and it flew by. We will have 5 more visits before the final report is done. We are really hoping to be able to finalize the adoption before Christmas.

We are having a snow day here so Brian is off of work which is nice. He can help chase Rafael around! Rafael has learned many new tricks lately and not ones that we like. He now climbs up into the rocking chair and up onto the coffee table. He can turn on the electric fireplace and turn the tv off and on. Oh my, we have our hands full with our beautiful little boy. Gotta love it.......... we wouldn't want it any other way!!

First post placement visit

2011-03-22T06:53:00.000-07:00

Our first post placement visit is tomorrow afternoon. We are hoping that all goes well of course. It seems to be going well to us so far. Rafael is the most social, happy little boy I have ever met and he loves to make us laugh. He is always dancing and doing the sign for us to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Too cute!! He loves to cuddle and to blow kisses. He says Mom, Dad, Nan, bye and no although not consistently. He just started saying no over the past few days. I guess that is because he is sick and tired of hearing it!! He still likes to get into everything. I caught him in my gym bag yesterday and he took out my bra and put it around his neck. When I went in the bedroom, he was just standing there looking down at the bra wondering what in the world it was. He then proceeded to take out my underwear and put them over his head. Very funny boy!! He also loves to clean and goes around the house sweeping the floor and dusting. I've seen more dust bunnies over the last few days because he likes to sweep underneath the stove and furniture. There is always lots of dust there!! I guess he is just getting us prepared for our post placement visit. We are so lucky to have such a helpful boy!

1 month ago....

2011-03-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

It was one month ago today that we first met our little boy and now it seems like he has been around forever!! He continues to keep us on our toes and make us laugh almost every minute of the day. Today I caught him putting my toothbrush into the dog's water bowl. Too cute!! Things seem to be going well so far. He certainly seems to know that we are his parents and if we are around other people he will keep coming back to us to check in or if he is tired. He continues to sleep well at night but still doesn't have a nap routine. He can nap once, twice or not at all. I guess we'll have to keep working on this one!!

Here are a few new photos of the past week.

More photos

2011-03-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

Rafael has been settling in wonderfully in his new home!! He now goes to sleep at 7pm and awakes around 6am. He doesn't wake up at all in between!! He naps once or twice a day for an hour or two. He eats well and enjoys his highchair which he didn't at first. He loves strawberries and yogurt but is not to fussy about vegetables yet. He does great in his carseat and will fall asleep if we are driving a longer distance. His favorite thing to do is to go out in his stroller. We do that once or twice a day and take Sid with us. He usually falls asleep after 10 or 15 minutes and the bumpier the ride the better. He's all boy!!

He loves to pick at everything. Especially things that he shouldn't be picking at. He will just turn around and look at you and laugh. He has quite the personality and he keeps us all on our toes! I caught him putting his ball in the dogs water dish and putting the tv remote into the garbage can. You need eyes in back of your head with this boy!! He has had a few outings to Walmart and Costco and hopefully soon I will take him out to some kid groups.

Life is certainly much more busy now but is so much more interesting!!! Enjoy the photos.

We're home!!!!

2011-03-04T16:48:00.000-08:00

We finally arrived home at 1:30am Thursday morning after 20 hours of flying. Rafael made out so well which made the trip all the more bearable. My parents met us at the airport and Rafael loved the Elmo doll and balloons that they gave him. He was showing off his big smile and beautiful laugh. He finally got to bed at 3:30am but was up again at 7. He had his first doctor's appointment that same day and has also gone for bloodwork and x-rays just to check him out so he has been quite busy!! I'm guessing that it may take him a while to adjust to the 11.5 hour time difference. He went to bed last night just before 8 but woke up again just after 12 because he was teething. Brian finally got him back to sleep after a few hours. He hasn't been napping much at all but this afternoon he finally collapsed and had a 3 hour nap but unfortunately it wasn't until 7pm that he woke up and then he was cranky because he had gas. We finally got him back to sleep after a few hours. He wouldn't eat his supper but he did drink. I'm sure he will be starved when he finally wakes up!!
This whole parenthood business is so busy!! I can barely find time to do anything but just the bare minimum. I guess as he adjusts to being home and to us, things will become easier. When Rafael is not tired or in pain he is the most pleasant and beautiful boy. He loves to play with his new toys and to explore his new environment. He is the most amazing little boy!!
When we visited ICAB they told us that there are at least 200 families approved in 2008 still waiting to be matched. I pray that all of those famililes hear something soon!!! The wait is so long but it is definitley worth it. Well I'd better go catch some sleep because who knows when Rafael will awake again. I'm hoping it isn't until 7am!!

photos

2011-02-27T23:34:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. Finally some photos!!! The newest photos are first and the older ones are at the end. As you can see, Rafael is adjusting well and is having lots of fun. He is the cutest little boy and loves to laugh and smile. We are so lucky that he is our son!!!

Boracay!!

2011-02-23T21:32:00.000-08:00

We have now been in Boracay for 24 hours and it is beautiful!!! We reached here lunch time yesterday after a 5 hour drive from Iloilo City. Rafael did amazingly well. He slept 4 hours and then played for the other hour and ate some teddy grahams. He has slept thru the night the past two nights which is wonderful!!

Yesterday after reaching our hotel, Rafael played in the room with his toys and then took another 3 hour nap. Boy does he love to sleep!! We then played and looked around the resort and had dinner on our veranda. Rafael then played more and ran all around the room over and over and was opening and closing the cupboards. He's so active but we just love it!! He didn't go to sleep until 10:00pm but that was because he did so much napping. He then slept until 6:30am this morning.

After breakfast I showered with Rafael (there is no tub here). He loves the shower and the water in his eyes. Afterwards we went to the pool and he got in the baby pool and was splashing like mad. He loved the pool! He just finished lunch and now we're going for a walk. It's wonderful and relaxing here. The beach is beautiful. We visited it early this morning and will go back later on today. Gotta love this life. A beautiful place and a beautiful son!!! Amazing!

Rafael is doing very well. He settles in more and more everyday with us. He still prefers Brian to me, but if Brian isn't there he will easily go with me and enjoys playing with me. That's all for now!! I tried to download some photos but for some reason, it didn't work. Sorry!

Coming around

2011-02-22T07:07:00.000-08:00

The first full day with Rafael was wonderful!! He was happy and laughing and was lots of fun. That night however, he had alot of trouble getting to sleep and kept looking around the room, for the orphanage staff I assume. It was very sad. Then last night he went to sleep much better but awoke after a few hours and was then up all night. I think that he was having alot of gas pain. Today wasn't the best as he was sleep deprived from the night before. He was irritable and didn't want to get out of arms at all. Tonight he did better and ate a big dinner and went to sleep fairly easily and he is still asleep 4. 5 hours later!!! Knock on wood.

Rafael prefers his Dad over me right now and if he has a choice, he will always pick Dad. Tonight though he went to sleep on my chest while Brian was down grabbing some dinner. He slept there for a few hours before rolling off and sleeping on the bed. He much prefers to sleep up in arms however. He cuddles into you in the most precious way!

Tomorrow we leave for Boracay. It is a 4-5 hour drive from here to the boat ride so hopefully all will go well. It will be good practice for Rafael's long flight home. We are looking forward to our time in Boracay and we are hoping to actually get to spend sometime outside. So far I have spent a maximum of 5 minutes outside each day and that's it! Most of the time is spent here in our little hotel room. Especially today when Rafael wasn't himself. We were hoping to go across the road to the mall to buy Rafael some new shorts but even that didn't happen. All the clothes I brought here for him were too big so he needs some smaller clothes, especially shorts as the ones I brought are falling off of him. I guess we'll just have to make due with what we have!!

We are so lucky that Rafael is finally in our lives and we already love him to pieces!! He is just precious and we are so happy to be able to call him our son. It is the most wonderful feeling in the world and it will only improve as he continues to adjust to us.

Hopefully I'll get to post again from Boracay but it all depends on how things go. Keep your fingers crossed!!

And here he is...........

2011-02-19T03:39:00.001-08:00

I know that I probably shouldn't be sharing photos yet but I'll share just this one. Isn't he adorable!! We met Rafael at 2:00pm today at the airport in Iloilo. It took him a little while to warm up to us but once he did, he did so well. He played with us and let us hold him. He made funny faces and laughed. He was especially happy when we gave him some animal crackers!! He loved walking around the large floor lenght windows in the restaurant of the hotel. He's a total sweetheart. He is now back at Dorcas House but we are supposed to bring him back to the hotel with us tomorrow evening after we visit Dorcas House. We cannot wait!!! He is one busy boy so we'd better enjoy one last night of rest!!!

4 hours from now....

2011-02-18T17:37:00.000-08:00

In just four short hours we will be meeting Rafael!!!! We cannot wait. It still seems unbelievable but I'm guessing that as soon as we see him, it will all feel so real!!! We catching to the plane to Iloilo and will then meet Rafael. Wow!!!! After all this time, he'll finally be in our arms!!

Tomorrow morning!!!!!

2011-02-16T09:37:00.000-08:00

We are boarding the plane at 7:00am tomorrow morning!!!! Things are still crazy around here and there is still so much to do. I finished work yesterday afternoon but had to go back in this morning as there was still more to clue up. I met with our travel agent and she went through our itinerary. So exciting!!!! We spend the first night in Manila, then 4 nights in Iloilo where we will pick up Rafael, then 4 nights in Boracay, and we end with 3 more nights in Manila. We will be staying at the Intercontinental which came highly recommended by many of you!! We meet with ICAB on Monday, Feb. 28. We will be meeting Rafael on Saturday but probably won't bring him back to the hotel with us until the following day. Hopefully he transitions fairly well but I'm sure it will still be very difficult on him. Wish us good luck!!!! Good luck to all of you who are still waiting to be matched or to travel. I hope that you all get good news very soon!! Imagine, the next time I post we will probably be in Manila!!!! Crazy!!!

In 2.5 days...................

2011-02-14T13:16:00.000-08:00

We will be boarding a plane to the Philippines!!!!!!!!!!!! We are spending one night in Manila before flying to Iloilo. I'm not sure if we will be meeting Rafael that day or not. That is also Brian's birthday so we have soooo much to celebrate!!! I can't imagine a better birthday gift. We fly back on March 2. Wowsers!!!!!!!!

We're out of here!!!

2011-02-11T15:40:00.001-08:00

Today we received the best news ever!! We got the invite from ICAB to travel to the Philippines!! It was exactly 3 months and 1 day from the time we signed the acceptance papers. Amazing!! I got the call from our adoption coordinator just before lunch and I couldn't believe it. I really thought that we would wait for another few weeks yet. After work I rushed home to start packing and I'm now all finished but there is so much left to do to the house. We have to start the childproofing, paint the playroom and about a hundred other things. Oh well, that will all get done sooner or later!
We are hoping to leave on Wednesday. ICAB didn't send us Rafael's passport number so we can't book the return flight until Monday. Our adoption coordinator asked ICAB to send us his passport info so hopefully we'll have it by Monday. This is all so crazy and exciting. I can't believe the time has finally come. If anyone has any helpful hints for this big journey, I'd love to hear them now.
Good luck to all of you still waiting. I hope and pray that your turns come very soon. It is so worth the wait so hang in there!!

3 months ago.....

2011-02-10T14:34:00.000-08:00

It was three months ago today that we first saw our son's photo and signed the acceptance papers!!! I will never forget how excited we were to return from vacation so that we could learn all about Rafael and finally see his photo!! We haven't heard anything new with regards to when his visa will be approved but we just hope that it happens sooner rather than later. I bought all the safety stuff today so that we can get started on childproofing the house. Brian is supposed to start painting Rafael's playroom this evening. It's going to be orange. I love orange!!! As soon as I remember to charge up the batteries to the camera, I'll take some photos of his room. Sid has been sleeping in there the past few nights. It looks like Rafael will have a guest when he finally moves into his room! I'm sure that those two will have lots of fun getting into trouble together!!

Hurry up...... and wait!!

2011-02-07T15:27:00.000-08:00

There is not much new on the visa front. Our adoption coordinator called this morning to say that Rafael's passport has been sent to the Canadian Embassy in Manila. She seems to think that his visa may be approved by the end of the week although I'm not so sure about that but I certainly hope so!!! Tomorrow the Canadian Immigration website is updated again so I'm hopeful that there will be some new news. Keep your fingers crossed!! The website still says that his visa is being processed.

Rafael's room is finally completed!! We have a jungle theme and I hope he likes it. I'll post some photos hopefully tomorrow or the next day. Brian has been away since early Friday morning so when he gets home tonight he will see a huge difference in Rafael's room. When he left the room was empty. Now it is totally finished with pictures and shelves on the walls, curtains up, and everything done. I can't wait for him to see it!!! Rafael's closet is absolutely stocked full with clothes and toys. I'm going to have to change his clothes every 15 minutes in order for him to wear it all!

The best part about today is that Agnes and Edward finally got to meet their daughter!!! It was so exciting to follow their journey with them. It was a long wait for them to travel but now they finally have their daughter in their arms!!! I imagine it must be such an amazing feeling. I can't wait until it is our turn!!! Not long now.............

Visa

2011-01-31T13:45:00.000-08:00

I checked on the Canadian Immigration website last Tuesday and it said that Rafael's Visa was being processed. I'm guessing this is a good sign although I don't really know what it means time wise. It said that they started processing his Visa on December 29th and that they had received his medical. They update this website every Tuesday so hopefully there will be some new news tomorrow or maybe it will still say "Visa being processed".
I got great news this morning from Agnes who finally received her invite to travel to the Philippines!!!! I am so excited for her and her husband. They finally get to meet their daughter!! I was really hoping that we would travel at the same time as them but we just have to wait a little longer. I asked Agnes to bring Rafael back in her suitcase. We will have to wait and see if she will..............

Happy 15 month birthday!!!

2011-01-25T13:50:00.000-08:00

Today Rafael turns 15 months old. What a big boy!! We hope that he had a wonderful day with all his friends at Dorcas House. We hope to be with him to celebrate his 16 month birthday!! Keep your fingers crossed that we are travelling by February 25th!!

It's a small miracle!!!

2011-01-24T13:19:00.000-08:00

Well I was so thrilled this morning when I awoke to an e-mail from Tina in Australia announcing that she had been matched with Peter from Dorcas House. Peter is Rafael's roommate in Dorcas House and there are only the two of them in the infant room. From what I can tell, they spend alot of time together. Tina and I have been e-mailing over the past several months as we had both been waiting so long for a referral so to me it seems like a miracle that Peter was actually matched with someone who I was in contact with!!!! Therefore, Peter and Rafael can stay in touch through e-mails and skype and hopefully one day they can meet up in person again. We are beyond thrilled that the boys can keep in touch. What a special connection that we both share!!

what's new since last time

2011-01-22T02:25:00.000-08:00

Since I posted last week, we received the medical condition statement that we had to sign saying that we had reviewed all of Rafael's medical information and we still would like to adopt him. This was just faxed off to the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines on Thursday. Our social worker said we most likely won't hear anything else now until we get the call to travel. They also sent us the results of his eye exam which stated that his eyes were fine, they just sometimes appear crossed but they really aren't. There is some big long name for this but spelling it may be difficult!! We were so happy to hear that all is fine.
I'm guessing now that we'll travel anywhere between 4-8 weeks. Hopefully sooner rather than later although I must say that this part of the wait is so much easier than the wait to be matched. At least now we know that we should for sure be travelling by March at the latest. We just have to hang in there for a few more weeks!!!!! Then we'll finally be on our way to our son in the Philippines!!!

Opthamology appointment

2011-01-17T14:03:00.000-08:00

Rafael had an eye appointment today to check on his left eye which appears to have a slight turn in it. Hopefully all goes well because we are soooo anxious to bring him home!!! We are now settling in for a longer wait to bring him home. Initially we had hoped it would only be 3-4 weeks from his medical until we got the call to travel but now we are anticipating 7-8 weeks. Very disappointing but there isn't anything that we can do to change it so there's no use in dwelling on it.
We have finally started Rafael's room and it is getting closer to being completed. We are getting his toddler bed this week. A friend of a friend was looking to get rid of her son's toddler bed and she is giving it to us. I had initially thought that we would transition Rafael right from his crib to a twin bed but since we now have a toddler bed, I thought we'd use it. To all of you who already have children, did you use a toddler bed? Everyone I talk to seems to have different opinions. We have a jungle theme for Rafael's room. There are lots of monkeys, giraffe's and elephants and tigers. I hope he likes it! The next job is to start his playroom. We're painting it a bright orange colour because I thought it should be bright and fun.
My friends and family are having a few baby showers for us. Very exciting!! I just love all the little kid stuff especially the books. He has soooo many already. Rafael is very lucky that there are already so many people who love him and we are so lucky that he was chosen to be our son!!

Our boy is in Manila!!!

2011-01-12T17:46:00.000-08:00

Rafael's medical is taking place right now as I type this. I'm praying that all goes well!! His Visa appointment is on Friday. We were really hoping to travel by mid February but several Canadian families in the Philippines adoption Yahoo group said that they waited 7 -8 weeks to receive their travel call after their childs medical. So based on that, we may not travel until March. I'm still praying that we will travel in February but we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Getting closer......

2011-01-07T13:31:00.000-08:00

Rafael's medical is just under 6 days away. Not that I'm counting or anything! We got a call from our social worker today to say that she's been in contact with the Canadian Embassy in Manila and they have our notification of acceptance. Our social worker feels that things should go quickly from here. I hope and pray that she's right!!

We still haven't finished Rafael's bedroom. A year ago Brian started finishing our basement but it is still far from completed! We are adding in a bathroom, a spare bedroom, laundry room and a big storage room. We can't move all the spare bedroom furniture out of Rafael's room and down into the new spare bedroom until that bedroom is close to being finished. Right now there are no walls so we are a long ways from moving down the spare bedroom furniture! Therefore, we haven't done much to Rafael's room. We aren't painting the room so I don't think that it will take too long to finish when we finally get started!! I'm getting anxious to get it all done so Brian's brother is coming in next week to help him finish off the basment. FINALLY!! I'll post some photos when the room is finally completed!

I've been busy buying lots of clothes and toys for Rafael. I'm trying not to buy too much since I don't know exactly how big he is but it's hard not too! I've been buying all 18 m to 2 year clothing so hopefully that will fit. He looks chubby in his photos so I'm starting to think that the 18 m clothes may not even fit!! My mom is having a shower for me in two weeks so I'm sure that I'll get lots of more kiddy things then.

2 months ago......

2011-01-02T02:59:00.000-08:00

It was two months ago today that we first learned about Rafael. What an amazing day that was!!! I hate not to be with him already as he is changing so much everyday and we are missing it. I learned that over Christmas he started walking but he is still wobbly. I would have loved to see him take his first steps but there will be so many other firsts we will get to share in. We can't wait!!

His medical is only 11 days away. The countdown is on. We're just hoping and praying that all goes well and things move along quickly. I've heard a huge range of timeframes from the medical appointment to the call to travel. As quickly as one week and as long as eight weeks or even longer!! I'm really hoping that we can travel in February so everyone please keep your fingers crossed for us.

Happy New Year's to everyone and hopefully this is the year many of you are matched with your children and bring them home. I know that this year is going to be a busy, fun filled and totally amazing year for us and I'm so glad that it's finally starting!!!! We'll soon be packing our bags!!!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T03:23:00.000-08:00

Today Rafael is 14 months old. The time is passing so quickly and we can't wait to have him home with us. We would have especially loved to have been with him this morning when he woke up and opened his gift. Next year......
I hope that all you guys are having a Merry Christmas and that Santa has been good to you. For those of you still waiting to be matched, I think of you all everyday and pray that your turn is coming soon. For those of you still waiting to travel to your child, I also think of you everyday as well. Hopefully by next Christmas we will all have our children home and just imagine how much fun that will be!!!!!!

Medical appointment set!!!!

2010-12-22T14:41:00.000-08:00

Today just before lunch I received an e-mail from our social worker saying that she had gotten an e-mail back from ICAB saying that Rafael's medical appointment has been scheduled for January 13th!!!!!! This is just the news I wanted to hear before Christmas!!! Hopefully he will pass his medical with flying colours and then his visa can be completed and we'll be almost finished our wait. I'm hoping that it will only be 4-6 weeks after Rafael's medical that we will get the call to travel. I don't know if anyone else can give me their timeline between the medical appointment and call to travel. This is such an exciting time. The final countdown is on!!!!!

A little bit of everything.....

2010-12-21T12:41:00.000-08:00

We've been busy for the past few weeks with lots of Christmas parties and events. I just love this time of year!! I've been eating chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Is there a rule about this???? I certainly hope not because I'm really enjoying it! I'm finished all my shopping and I even bought a Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head for Rafael. It was such a cute set that I couldn't pass it up.
I was talking to our social worker today and she is still waiting to hear back from ICAB with news on Rafael's medical and on news of the update we requested back in mid November. She e-mailed ICAB again today but she probably won't hear anything until after Christmas as things will soon be shut down over there for the holidays. We're really hoping that Rafael's medical will take place sometime in January because we are soooo anxious for him to finally come home. We are also anxious to receive the update as we're sure he has changed so much since the information given in the referral package.
It was seven weeks ago today that we found out that we had been matched with Rafael. I thought that I would post a few photos of that day and also of the day when we signed the acceptance papers on November 10. Such an exciting day!!

Care package for Rafael. I hope he enjoys it all!!!

Right after signing the acceptance papers. Brian still has his work clothes on as he had to leave work to come to the office. Such an exciting day!!! One we will never forget!!!

It was in the Bahamas that we found out about our referral. We'll never forget that vacation.

This was the internet cafe that we first found out about Rafael. I was there alone as Brian was sick on board the boat. My fingers were shaking like crazy as I e-mailed our social worker back telling her that I would call her right away to get the information on our child. All she told us in the initial e-mail was that we had be matched with a child. It was such a whirlwind that I forgot our social worker's phone number, which I know off by heart, and I ended up having to call work to get the number. That moment in time now seems like a dream.

After getting off the phone with our social worker, I headed out to buy Rafael his first gift. I thought a Bahamas shirt would be appropriate as it would always remind us of where we were when we found out about our son. I think that he has a bit of growing to do though before it will fit him.

Paradise Island, Bahamas

Cruising out of Miami

Washington D.C.

Our last photo together before finding out about Rafael. Life will never be the same again!!!!

Christmas party

2010-12-12T16:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight we attended the Christmas party for the Filipino Association of Newfoundland. This was our first time attending and we had a great time. It was our first time trying pancit, pork adobo and lumpia. It was all really good and I'll have to try making it all at home sometime. We met lots of Filipino people and children. We were also lucky to meet the only other couple from Newfoundland, that I am aware of, who have adopted from the Philippines. Their boys are 12 and 8 so they're a little older than Rafael but it is still so nice to have that connection. There were several childrens games and we're looking forward to next Christmas when Rafael can take part!!!

Preparations

2010-12-04T02:26:00.000-08:00

We just found out that Rafael received his care package yesterday. We were so happy to hear that he got it in time for Christmas. I hope that he likes all of his goodies. I have also managed to find a second hand chariot jogging stroller!!!! I was thrilled about this as I've been looking for a while because they are around $600 - $700 to buy new. I really wanted a chariot as it came highly recommended by some of my running friends. I am hoping to pick it up tomorrow. Another thing to scratch off my to do list. Next I'm going to look for some baby gates and monitors. Does anyone have a monitor that they recommend?

1 month ago.....

2010-12-02T13:24:00.000-08:00

It was one month ago today that we received the long awaited e-mail saying that we had finally been matched!!! I can't believe that a month has passed already! We were told last week that Rafael's medical will soon happen so we are hoping and praying that it happens before Christmas and then if things go smoothly maybe we could travel in January or February at the latest. It's all a guessing game!
Yesterday I bought a jungle themed quilt for his bed. We have a crib but we also plan to buy a bedroom set for him so the quilt will be for his big boy bed. He is still sleeping in a crib now so I'll guess that's where he will start out when he comes home. We haven't even started his room yet because Brian has to finish off the basement first so that we can move all the upstairs spare bedroom furniture downstairs. Then we can finish off Rafael's room. I sure hope that he likes it!!! As soon as we get started, I'll post some photos.

Our cruise

2010-11-27T17:21:00.000-08:00

Here are a few photos from our cruise. It was a month ago today that we left. Where does the time go?? It now seems like forever ago so I thought that I would post a few photos to remind me of our great vacation. Here they are. It is crazy to think that our next time on plane will be on our trip to the Philippines!!!!

I have 2 fruit skewers here that I dipped in the chocolate fountain. Of course all you can see is all the chocolate but there really is something healthy underneath!!

There were lots of ships in when we visited Nassau Bahamas. That's where we found out about Rafael!!

South Beach, Miami. It was pretty chilly in Miami but at least there was sun.

Cococay Beach, Bahamas

13 months old today!!!

2010-11-25T12:54:00.000-08:00

Our little guy turns 13 months old today. We were also lucky enough today to receive 5 new photos of him including one of him with his 1st birthday cake and one of him in his birthday hat. Just adorable he is!!!!! It is wonderful to get these new photos and to see how he's changed. We were also told by our sw that ICAB said his medical would soon be scheduled. I don't know exactly what they mean by soon but I hope it means ASAP!!!!!!! It is still so hard to believe that things are moving along so fast. After all the waiting, it is finally good to see things going smoothly. Happy 13 month birthday Rafael!!!!

It's amazing!!

2010-11-20T17:26:00.001-08:00

We just found out that Deborah's daughters are also at the same orphanage as Rafael!!! This just keeps getting better and better. She is hoping to travel in February or March to pick them up which is around the same time we are hoping to travel. She is from Canada as well. You gotta love it!!

A gift for us!!

2010-11-19T13:50:00.000-08:00

Today we received the precious gift of some new photos of Rafael!!! Jenifer, a lady in the Philippine adoption Yahoo group, told me that she had just picked up her daughter at the same orphanage as Rafael just 7 weeks ago. This is so amazing!!! She had taken a few photos of Rafael and she sent them to me today. She said that she stood next to him for a few minutes and he waved and smiled at her and her husband!! What a sweet little boy!! It is also great because Jenifer can pass on all the information about his orphanage as well as hotel information. What a wonderful connection we have made!!

gifts for Rafael

2010-11-15T15:37:00.000-08:00

Today would have been 30 months since ICAB approval. Thank goodness we didn't reach that mark!!!! Today we sent Rafael a care package with several little summer outfits, toys, books and a disposable camera for the orphanage staff to take some pictures of him. I hope that he likes all of his little gifts and I hope that he receives his package before Christmas.

We were told by our social worker that we should have a travel date in 2 - 3 months. I really hope that this is the case. It is hard to imagine that we could possibly travel by mid January. This would be the best case scenario however so most likely we won't travel until February or March. I then get almost 9 months off which will allow lots of time for bonding with Rafael.

We've already requested an update on Rafael because I'm sure that he has changed alot since the photo that was taken the end of July. It would be wonderful to see what he looks like now and to hear what he is doing.

The next job is to start his room. We haven't even started it yet so we have alot to do!!!! We'd better soon get started.

It's a boy!!!!!!

2010-11-10T11:50:00.000-08:00

It's official. After 29.5 months of waiting, we are now the proud parents of a 12.5 month old little boy named Rafael!!!!!!!!!!! We are on cloud nine and a half!!!! We actually got the e-mail while we were on our cruise in the Bahamas. It was quite surreal at the time as you can imagine!!! We just got home 1:05 am yesterday morning and we met with our social worker at 8:30 that morning. We had his file reviewed by a pediatrician and then today we signed the acceptance papers. Hopefully everything will be forwarded to ICAB by the end of the week and then it's onto the next part of the wait.
We recieved one photo of him and he is just adorable!!!!!!!!! His birthday is October 25th, 2009 and our social worker e-mailed us on the 29th of October. I'm really hoping that it will only be a 3-4 month wait from here. My fingers and toes are crossed!!!!! I still can't believe that it finally happened to us. I'm really hoping an praying for all you who are still waiting. IT WILL HAPPEN!!!!!

Renee
Mom to Rafael

Four years

2010-10-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

It was four years ago yesterday that we initially decided to adopt. It wasn't until that December that we started the paperwork and we took the two months in between to do our research and decide on a country. We had initially decided on China since there have been so many adoptions from there here in Newfoundland, but after 6 months we realized that the program there was rapidly slowly down. We then settled on Thailand or the Philippines and I spoke to a few people who had adopted from both of these countries. We ended up choosing the Philippines and we are so glad that we did. We've met so many nice families along the way.

29 months

2010-10-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

Another month down! There have been no new referrals in the Yahoo group in several weeks but I did hear of two referrals for families outside the group who had both waited 27 - 29 months so you would think that our turn should be coming soon. You would think.....

We leave in 12 days for our vacation so we're really looking forward to that. We haven't taken vacation time since April so we are both very ready for a break from work!!

A little bit of news

2010-10-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

I've heard from a few Yahoo friends that their agencies were in contact with ICAB and ICAB said that there are 50 families approved in 2008 who are still waiting to be matched. Of course we are one of those waiting families. ICAB supposedly are hoping to have those 50 families matched by the end of the year. Now whether this actually happens is another thing. I'm hoping that all those families, us included, are matched by Christmas. How wonderful would that be!!

My birthday was on Monday and I was really hoping that we would have heard on that day, but of course the call didn't come. Maybe our telephone is broken (ha, ha, ha, ha!!). Maybe we'll hear something on our wedding anniversary which is the 19th of October. Let's hope!

Hiking in the Fall

2010-09-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we did a 4 hour hike in Outer Cove and also had a little picnic. The hike was beautiful and Sid totally enjoyed himself. Hopefully this was the first of many hikes in the fall! Here are a few photos.

28 months

2010-09-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

It was 28 months ago today that we recieved ICAB approval. Where does the time go! I know of another family or two who were matched in their 28th month. I'm not sure how long the longest wait ever for a referral was but I'm sure that we will most likely break that record. Now that is one record no one wants to break!

Welcome fall!

2010-09-11T16:04:00.000-07:00

I just love the fall and when the leaves start to change colour. Unfortunately that means that the summer is over but the cooler temperatures will be nice. There is not much new around here. Last weekend we plant 15 new trees in the garden and we kept busy at the yard. We have been dog sitting my parents dog for the past 10 days so having two dogs is keeping us quite busy. They get along well so it's not too bad. I just finished watching a fantastic 5 set tennis match between Federer and Djokovic. It was a nail biter for sure. Djokovic won in the end and will play Nadal tomorrow. I can't wait! Otherwise, it has been a pretty quiet weekend.

On the adoption front, there is no news. Two families I know have just returned home with their children. There was one referral this week but otherwise things have been pretty quiet.

27 months

2010-08-15T08:04:00.001-07:00

It has now been 27 months since ICAB approval. We are another step closer to our child! I just had a lovely weekend away with the running girls. We just sat out in the sun all weekend and ate lots of junk. We packed up early this morning and headed home. I have tons of gardening to do so I better get out at that before the weekend is over and I'm back to work. I'm kind of sad that the summer is passing by so quickly but I love the Fall to so it won't be too bad.

2010-08-12T14:24:00.000-07:00

The wait has really been bugging me lately so I thought that we both needed something else to look forward to so I booked a 1o night bahamas cruise. I had been looking at vacations but I really didn't want to waste any money on going away when we could have possibly been travelling to the Philippines in the not too far future. Now I'm pretty sure that there won't be a trip to the Philippines before Christmas so this will be something to help break up the time. We leave in late October and we spend two days in Baltimore before the cruise. We ended up getting an amazing deal which I love. The cruise is $54 dollars a day and we also get $15o credit to spend on the boat. We used points to book our flight so the trip is costing us very little. As soon as I booked it I felt so much better because now I have something else to focus on and to help me forget about this very long wait. I was kind of expecting to get the call as soon as we booked the trip but that still hasn't happened. Maybe tomorrow, Friday the 13th, will be the lucky day!!

2 years, 2 months, 2 weeks and 2 days

2010-07-31T07:27:00.000-07:00

There is nothing new to report but I just thought that it was neat that we have now reached 2 years, 2 months, 2 weeks and 2 days since ICAB approval. Maybe this will be our lucky week!

26 months

2010-07-15T12:20:00.000-07:00

We now have another month under our belts. The summer seems to be flying by and before you know it the fall will be here. We have had a full week of lovely weather but today it got cold again but I'm not complaining.
Last night we had a lovely visit with Tammy and Eric who live in Quebec and are also adopting from the Philippines. It was the first time we had met another family in person who were also adopting from the Philippines. Of course there was tons to talk about and sadly they had to leave at 12:00am as I was falling asleep. I am up at 4:15 am every morning so I usually go to be around 9:30 - 10:30. Needless to say, I'm not a very good hostess! It was a great visit and I'm hoping that we may be able to visit them in Quebec sometime as well.
There was another referral earlier this week in the Yahoo group. Tammy had also mentioned that she knew of a family in Quebec who had just been matched after waiting 28.5 months. I am pretty sure that we will be matched by Christmas time but I won't get too hopeful. Last year at this time, I was thinking that we might be matched by Christmas 2009. I was pretty far off with that guess!

Visitors

2010-07-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

Next week Tammy and Eric from Quebec, who are also adopting from the Philippines, are visiting Newfoundland. They are spending a few days in St. John's so we are getting together for a hike and supper. I'm very excited to meet another family who are in the same boat as us. They have been ICAB approved for 20 months so hopefully we both don't have too much longer to wait!
The weather here has been freezing cold for the past two days. This morning it was 6 degrees celcius around 44 Farenheit. The high for today was only 11 degrees. Sad but true. I am hoping that we get some summer soon!! I had to wear heavy pants and a sweatshirt last night when walking Sid and I wished that I had worn gloves!

A little good news!

2010-06-29T13:07:00.001-07:00

Yesterday a blogging friend received her referral for an almost one year old little boy!!! Very exciting news. We were both matched around the same time and it was very exciting this morning when I received an e-mail from her saying that she had been matched. I'm very hopeful that we will soon hear as well because I'd love to have someone going through this part of the process the same time as us. My fingers are still crossed!!

Hiking photos

2010-06-27T07:51:00.000-07:00

We have finally been getting some good weather over the past few days so we've spent every second outside enjoying it. Yesterday morning I did a hike with my running friends and in the evening Brian and I went out again. Here are a few pictures of the day. The first few pictures were taken in our garden.

25 months

2010-06-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

Another month has passed and we've now reached 25 months. I can't remember anyone waiting longer than 28 months in the past while so I'm really hoping that we have no longer than three months of waiting left. There was another referral for a family last week who were approved just after us so that is a good sign. Our lives have been pretty boring lately other than we've spent lots of time in the garden. We don't plan on taking any vacation time this summer as we are still hoping to be travelling to the Philippines by the end of this year. It is looking less and less probable but we're still hopeful. Only time will tell!

More dreams

2010-05-30T02:42:00.001-07:00

Well last night I had a long and vivid dream that we were referred a little girl who was roughly two years old. I had always dreamt (I'm not even sure if this is an actual word but it sounds right) that we were referred a little boy but I guess with all the girls being referred lately, I dreamt of a girl. I am kind of superstitous and tomorrow is 2 years, 2 weeks, and 2 days of waiting so hopefully this is a sign.

The weather here is still freezing cold. Brian and I went to the gardening center yesterday and bought another rose bush and two rhododendrens. We can't plant the rose bush in yet because it's too cold so we have to put it outside in the day and take it in every night. We're hoping to get out at the garden a little today but it isn't too pleasant because you have to wear your winter jacket and a hat. I'm starting to wonder why we didn't move somewhere warmer instead of sticking around here in Newfoundland.

The poll

2010-05-24T15:43:00.000-07:00

I was just checking out the poll that I did several months back on when we would get our referral. The third option was May 24th, today, and no one picked that one and they were right as we didn't get matched yet. The last option was Canada Day, July 1st. Two of you picked that date and I hope that you're right!! That would mean we would only have just over one month left to wait. I dread that thoughts of not being matched by Canada Day and having to come up with another poll. That would just be too depressing so I'm putting my bet on Canada Day too!

This was a long weekend here so I don't head back to work until tomorrow. Brian was away with his friends all weekend so I went out to visit Mom as Dad was also away for the weekend. We had a great time playing cards, going for walks, and visiting friends and family. The weather here hasn't been good and today it was just above freezing for most of the day. I'm ready for some good weather so please send some our way!

Referrals are finally coming in!

2010-05-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

Over the past few days two of my Yahoo group friends, Tangie and Chrissi, have received referrals for little girls. This is such exciting news!!! It is nice to see that things are starting to move again because it has been so long since there has been anything. Hopefully this trend continues and the referrals will keep pouring in. My fingers are crossed!

2 years

2010-05-15T03:27:00.001-07:00

It's been 2 years nice ICAB approval. I only have one question - how much longer??

Finally, a few pictures

2010-05-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting around to posting some pictures. The pictures from our kayaking trip are on our other camera and we've somehow managed to lose the camera cord so we can't transfer the pictures to the computer. Those were some of my favorite pictures. Hopefully the cord will show up soon. Enjoy the pictures. On top of Diamond Head

Botanical gardens in Kailua

Lagoon next to the Hilton Hotel. A great place to run early in the morning.

Maakapu Beach

The Sea Life Park

Maakapu light house trail

Moana Falls hike

Fireworks cruise

View from our hotel balconey

Pool at our hotel

Home sweet home

2010-05-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

We got back from Honolulu late Saturday night and we're still adjusting to the time change. I think that I'm pretty much back to normal but everyday after work I still have a quick nap. Brian still hasn't put our pictures onto the computer so I can't post any yet. Hopefully he'll get a chance soon to get that done. Since we've been home the weather has been terrible. We've had lots of rain and cold temperatures. Just plain gross! I'm ready to leave again right now! The weather is supposed to be like this for at least the next week but I'm really hoping that things will soon change.

I've been watching tons of hockey since returning home. My team, the Boston Bruins, are up 3 to 0 against Philadelphia. I could sit and watch hockey all night. Oh yeah, I do sit and watch hockey all night.

As usual, there is no news on the adoption front. I saw that a few people had posted on the Yahoo group that ICAB were now matching families who were approved in May, June, and July 2008 but it seems like forever since the last referral. Two years is quickly approaching and it looks like we still have longer to wait.

Only 28 hours

2010-04-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

In 28 hours we leave to fly home and I am definitely not ready to go. We've had such a great time and have done so much. We've hiked, kayaked, went to the beach, snorkelled, went to a luau and lots more. The weather has been amazing. I could get used to this life! When we get home I'll post some more pictures of our trip. I'm also going to do a scrapbook of our trip. I'm addicted to scrapbooking and use any excuse to do one. There has been no news on the adoption front. I think that I heard somewhere the wait could go to 30 months but I'm not sure if that is correct or not. I'm hoping that we won't be waiting that long but the one thing that I know is that nothing is predictable in this adoption rollercoaster!

We're here!!

2010-04-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

Well it certainly was a long trip but we are now in Honolulu. In total we travelled for 24 hours which is a long time but I'm sure that it will certainly we worth it. The time difference from Newfoundland is 7.5 hours, with Newfoundland being ahead so this morning I was up at 4:30 am. I'm now trying to waste a little time until the sun starts to come up so I can run outside. It is still completely dark out so I'll have to wait a little longer.

There is nothing new on the adoption front. I gave our social worker our e-mail address and contact info for Hawaii just in case we are matched while we are away. That will most likely never happen but I just wanted to be prepared.

The fog has cleared!

2010-04-21T00:27:00.000-07:00

We are now at the airport and it looks like our flight will be leaving on time afterall. When we woke up this morning, most of the fog had cleared. Look out Hawaii, here we come!

Fog, fog go away!

2010-04-20T14:16:00.000-07:00

Well it has been extremely foggy here for the past week. Today you can barely see the house across the street. Our flight is supposed to leave 6:00 tomorrow morning but I'm not even sure if the plane will be able to land tonight and even if it does, I don't know if the plane will be able to take off tomorrow morning. I really hope that we get out because the weather in Hawaii right now is beautiful and I don't want to miss one minute of it.

We had a fantastic girls weekend and spent 8 hours in the hot tub. I came home very wrinkly and water logged but we totally enjoyed the hot tub. I'd like to get one for our backyard eventually.

23 months and counting!

2010-04-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

Another month down and how many to go?? I can't believe that we have almost reached the two year mark since ICAB approval. The referrals have been few and far between so hopefully there is a big batch right around the corner. I am away this weekend on a girls weekend. This time we rented a cabin with a hot tub outside. We were all very excited about this until we heard that there is supposed to be heavy rain, wind and fog all weekend. It looks like we'll be stuck inside which means we'd better load up on snack food!

Predictions

2010-04-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

When we were first ICAB approved in May 2008, I predicted that we would be matched on April 13, 2010 which is today. We did not get the call today so I guess that I was wrong but we did get a call to say that our update is being sent off to the Philippines today. Finally our update is on it's way to ICAB. Since my first prediction was wrong, I'll make a second prediction. I'm guessing July 8. Let's see if I am right this time!

Aloha!

2010-04-06T15:33:00.000-07:00

We leave in two weeks for a 10 day vacation to Hawaii. We can't wait. This is our first vacation with just the two of us in 4 years! For the past few years we have travelled with other couples so it will be nice to go with just the two of us. We plan on kayaking, snokelling, hiking and Brian wants to play some golf. I just can't wait to spend some time relaxing on the beach, reading my book. When I booked this trip in January, I was nervous that we would be matched with a child during this time but as it looks now, we may be waiting another while for a referral. I'm sure that whenever the call does come, it will be perfect timing.

Our update moves on again!

2010-04-01T15:51:00.001-07:00

Our update was reviewed and approved by level #1 last week and then moved on to the next person. She was out of her office until today so early this morning I gave her a call. I asked if she had received our file and I told her how until ICAB received our update, I didn't feel that they would match us. She said that she would go check to see if she had gotten our update and would then call back. She called back not long after and said that she had gotten our update and had reviewed it and approved it and sent it on to the last person to sign!!!! Hooray!!! Once it has the final signature, it will be sent to ICAB and hopefully we will be matched not too long after. Who knows if this will actually happen but we certainly hope so. This was a great way to kick off our long Easter weekend.

Hiking

2010-03-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago when we did a 3 hour hike not far from our house. It was a beautiful day and Sid loved it. This is definitely a hike that we will do again very soon.

On the adoption front, I called the lady who is the next one who has to approve our update. She is not in the office for the next week so it looks like it will be a little while before she even gets to look at our update. Too bad but I'm pretty used to waiting by now.

On to level number two

2010-03-24T12:56:00.000-07:00

I just called our social worker yesterday to see where our update is right now. We signed off on it a week ago and it was just approved by level #1. Now it's on to the next level to be approved. I plan on calling this person tomorrow to let them know how important it is to get things sent off ASAP and hopefully she will read it in a day or two and get it sent off to the last person. The update is only 2 pages so it shouldn't take too long to read it and approve it. My fingers are crossed!

22 months

2010-03-15T14:47:00.000-07:00

Another month has passed and we are now at 22 months since ICAB approval. Hopefully this is the month that we will be matched. Our update is almost complete and we are just waiting on the completion of our criminal checks. I'm not sure if we could be matched while ICAB is waiting to receive our update, but my fingers are crossed that they may send us a referral anyways.

We just bought a new camera last week. This camera is pretty complicated and I have lots to learn but I love taking pictures so I'll get lots of practice. Yesterday Brian and I took Sid on a three hour hike and we took 95 pictures while we were gone. They turned out great and I'll try to post some when I figure out how to do so.

Long weekend away

2010-03-10T15:37:00.000-08:00

Mom and I just returned from Halifax yesterday. The curling was great!! I wished that we could have stayed up there for the rest of the week to watch the finals this coming Sunday but Mom had to return to work. We stayed at the same hotel as all of the curlers which was fun and we got to meet two of the players on our favorite team - team Newfoundland and Labrador. The weather was beautiful and we watched around 10 hours of curling for 4 days straight. Now how can you beat that??

We met with our social worker yesterday and she updated our homestudy. She told us that it should be written up by early next week. Our medicals are both booked for tomorrow and our criminal checks should come in anytime now. Our social worker has already contacted 3 of our 6 references so we are well on our way. Once everything is completed next week, it will be reviewed by the three levels of government so it can be approved. This part of the process can take up to three months as each person gets 1 month to review our update. This seems a little crazy to me so I plan on calling each person every few days until they have reviewed our update. I'm hoping that then it won't take the full three months to be approved.

There have not been any new referrals lately which is kind of discouraging but hoping there is a big batch right around the corner. Here are a few pictures of our curling getaway.

This is Brad Gushue one of my favorite curlers. His team won gold in the Torino Olympics in 2006.

Walking along the harbour front in Halifax.

Dreams

2010-03-04T04:46:00.000-08:00

Well last night I had a dream that we were matched with a 20 month old boy but I've forgotten his name. It was a great dream while it lasted. We are meeting with the social worker at 3:30 on Tuesday and she said that things should be done quickly. Hurray!! Our plane arrives at 1:45 pm that same day so I have to rush home from the airport to tidy the house and prepare for the social worker. Mom and I head out to Halifax today to watch curling. It is pretty foggy here today and there is also freezing rain so I hope that our flight isn't cancelled. My fingers are crossed!

We've been matched......with a social worker!

2010-03-02T12:16:00.000-08:00

Well I was thrilled yesterday morning when I received a call from our new social worker. She has been matched with us to complete our update. She said that she will call me tomorrow re making an appointment to meet with us sometime next week. I just passed in our criminal checks and our medicals are being done next week. At some point our social worker will contact our references to speak with them but once our homestudy update is written, the whole package goes off to the three levels of government to approve!! This part takes up to three months but I'm hopeful it won't be that long. My fingers are crossed. I am so glad that we didn't have to wait three months. Yet another thing to be thankful for!

What I'm looking forward to

2010-02-28T08:58:00.000-08:00

I can't wait until April so that I can run every morning and watch the sunrise. We have the most amazing sunrises here in Newfoundland.

I am also looking forward to the Canada vs USA hockey game tonight. It's goint to be a great game and hopefully Canada can pull off a win.

I'm looking forward to Thursday when Mom and I leave to go to Halifax to watch the Brier. This is the Canadian Men's curling championship. Very exciting!

I am most of all looking forward to a referral!! Hopefully we'll be matched before this summer. There are definitely so many things to be thankful for!

Finally a little good news.

2010-02-23T13:14:00.000-08:00

I am finally starting to find a few things out about the update process here in Newfoundland. We were told today that we will definitely need to complete our Provincial update before our update will be sent to ICAB. They told us there is currently at least a 3 month wait to be matched with a social worker to begin the update process and then we'll need to redo our medicals, criminal checks, references etc. Once the update is completed, it will go through 3 levels in order to get approved. The entire process would take around 8 months. If we use a private social worker, it will only take 4 to 5 months to complete which is still a VERY long time. We are getting some information on the private agency and then we will probably go this route.

The good news is that the adoption consultant sent off an e-mail to ICAB stating that we are still interested in adopting and that they are in the process of completing our update. They didn't tell ICAB that the update will take forever to reach them. At least ICAB now knows that we are still interested and hopefully they will not delay matching us with a child until they receive our update.

It was two years ago today that our original dossier was sent to ICAB. Where has the time gone! We had a great weekend away with our friends. We enjoyed playing cards, scrabble, playing pictionary and of course eating lots of great food. We did two beautiful hikes with the dogs and watched alot of the olympics. Another great weekend over!