A Wee Bit Spoiled Already!

So, baby Ade is already a wee bit spoiled!

It has been like Christmas around here except better than any Christmas I've ever known (well, the Christmas I got roller skates was pretty cool!)

Because we have been opening prezzies for Ade!!! I can't even tell you how exciting it was to get parcels with Ade's name on it!!!

EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grandma Gloria got a wee bit carried away in the store it seems as evidence in the photo below.

She said she couldn't help herself and because in our referral photos Ade is wearing only a giant shirt and a diaper she wanted to send clothes to him that would fit and that the other babies in the foster home would fit and could wear too!!!

AWWWWWWW! I love my mom!


Grandma Yvonnea and Grandpa Gerard also gave us a gift on referral day! Ummmmm...that is not all Grandma Y has gotten us...we happen to know she has been picking up things for a while now :) Between the two Grandmas our baby boy will never have to worry about being well dressed!


Great Auntie Kerry sent a handmade Afghan, a receiving blanket, wash cloths and baby's first hair cut kit! (Hey, Auntie Kerry - do you love that you are a GREAT Auntie?)

On the day of our referral we received this gift from Julie!!!
Perfect timing!! A sling, a pair of shoe laces in the colors of Ethiopia and a shaker for the many mojitos I had been drinking! Funny! I haven't had any since our referral day! I better make one this weekend! (Now we need someone to teach us how to use the sling! Natasha - you up for it?)

Auntie Krista dropped by with some outfits for Ade...her and her husband got a referral for a baby girl the day after ours...they are holding hands right now in the foster home I know it!!!

Auntie Rhonda sent this CUTE sleeper, books and BPA free bottle!

Natasha and family gave Ade this ECO Truck!!! So cool!! Yvan was so excited (if you know us you know why) and we have both been taking turns smelling it!! It smells like wood!!!! So Cool!

Carolyn and Adam sent a little outfit, a toy and the cutest shoes!!!!! Oh boy, I can't wait to see those little shoes filled with little feet!

Cousins Gail, Kristin and Ashton sent this little care package!! The frame is so cute and she hand drew our little family in it...and the shoes she made herself!!!

Love it!!

Thank you to everyone for all the gifties!!!!

We can't wait for Ade to be home and wearing or playing with all of the fun stuff you sent :)

7 Months Old

Our wee babe is 7 months old today!

We wish were with him now but we know in time we will be.

It seemed fitting that today we packed up his little care package which Lisa and Jason have so graciously offered to take with them when they go to Ethiopia to bring home their two wee ones(which could be as soon as next week - Yahooooo to you guys!) We have never met them in person but this is the kindness that adoptive parents embody!!

They are with the same agency as us and it rocks that they allow families to do this for each other!!!!!

We are so thrilled and can't put into words how much it means to us that you are doing this for us.

We are even more thrilled that your journey is almost at its end and you will soon be united with your 2 beautiful children!

Here are a few photos of the package we put together!!

We put in 2 little sleepers, 2 little blankets, a chewable picture book, and 2 little toys

Isn't this picture book great! I was looking for one just like this and couldn't find one. Then my sweet, sweet friend Hazel sent us this in the mail!

Perfecto! Thanks Hazel!!! We love it!

We are holding it up to the world map by Ethiopia :)...we are so sappy!

Happy 7 months baby Ade!!!

*edit* - I have come back to read this post again and again! I CAN NOT believe we are sending a care package! It makes me all weepy and such!

Wedded Bliss

The Bride and Groom were married and made a stunning couple!

The Bridesmaids (and groomsmen) worked hard to get it all just so...

...and we even made a chandelier for the dance floor

It was a lot of work and a lot of hoping it would stay up over night and it did!!

A candy bar that was a huge hit...the candy ran out after cocktail hour!

A good time was had by all :)


















Congrats D & K we wish you a lifetime of wedded bliss!

Going To The Chapel...

...and we're gonna get married!!

Not us!

These two

D & K

getting married this weekend after 7 years of dating!

It's about time :)

D is Yvan's sister by birth and she is my sister from another Mister!!!!!

Give them your congrats!!

What's In A Name

I realized that I haven't done a post on our wee baby boy's name.

I think I have may have mentioned it but I haven't really announced it yet.

So..drum roll please...

His name will be:

ADE SIFEN

Ade is pronounced a-day and Sifen is pronounced like Stephan (french sounding) only with out the "T" and is his birth name.

Now most you already know this because we have probably told you - lol!

But here is what we found his name means.

Thanks to my friend Rachel and to Emily for sending us what they found on name meanings.

Ade - meaning Royal, Crown, Prince, Royal one - it is listed as an African name which is something we really wanted him to have whether it be his given name or a name we picked and now both his names are African in meaning.

Sifen - we haven't found anything yet - if you do send it our way!

We will call him Ade but we really love the name Sifen too - so he might be called both :) He may also choose at some point to go with Sifen and we would be just fine with that!

So, there you have it!!!

A family of three unusual names!

Oh and Yes, in case you were wondering - we did know there was a dancer on "So You Think You Can Dance" named Ade.

Truth be told it is where we got the name....we had been keeping a list of names we liked for the last 2 years..but we had never really agreed on one name we both loved...then one night we were watching "SYTYCD" and they introduced the dancer Ade....

....we both looked at each other and said "Wow, I love that name" and it went in big bold letters in to our baby name list.

When we got our referral and saw pictures of our boy, we both knew instantly he was an Ade!!!

You might think we are cheese balls..and you would be right! We are !

But we love the name! We love his birth name!

We love Ade Sifen - plain and simple!

UH-OH!! Someone Went Shopping!

And that someone would be me!!!

I wasn't going to yet!

I was going to wait a while...but I went to Superstore today and they were having a clearance sale of their summer stuff and before you know it.....

MY BASKET WAS FULL!!!

In my defense, they had some wicked deals like $2 t-shirts, $5 jeans and $8 jumpers.....

I got bigger sizes anticipating he won't wear some of this stuff until next summer!

Ummmmm....that shopping business for baby was a lot of fun!

I have been dreading the shopping of baby clothes for years...and now! Not so much :)

Look at those adorable little shoes...I got those at Old Navy and I couldn't resist...I just hope they will fit...I know shoes can be tricky.

(What? So, I went to more than one place...I got the fever baby....I got the fever!)

Next up!

Baby furniture!!!!!!!!!!!!

One Day...

I will be able to take photos of our son in outfits like this!



Ha ha ha ha ha! I have no shame at all :)

What Happens Next?

O.k. so a long time since my last post...sorry about that.

Summertime is our busiest time at work so we have been running like crazy..plus Yvan's sister is getting married next weekend (Yahoo) and the next week or so will be even crazier!

We have had lots of people asking "What Happens Next?" and "When will you post a picture of your wee baby boy?"

I know all of my fellow adoption bloggers know this backwards and forwards but for those you who don't here you go.

What happens Next:

Well, basically we wait some more. Yup, I said it! More waiting.

We have officially accepted the referral for our son and by that I mean we signed all the necessary paper work our social worker had for us as well as the paperwork our agency CAFAC had for us.

Then we filled out what is called "Part 2" of the Canadian immigration forms to get Permanent Residency status for our boy which was surprisingly really easy to do (Part 1 was the sponsorship stuff and they want to know who your third cousin's, uncle's dog is and was really hard!)

Now we wait for our rep in Ethiopia to file get the necessary paperwork together and apply for a court date to make our son legally ours. This is done in Ethiopia by a Power of Attorney and we do not need to go to Ethiopia for this.

Once court is successful (it can take several court dates if not all the paper work is there) the final countdown is on.

At the same time as court dates are being scheduled, a medical is requested by the Canadian government to be sure he is up to "Canadian standards" health wise.

When this is approved and we have are officially parents to our boy - then an Ethiopian passport is issued and so is the Permanent Residency Visa for Canada - both of these documents are very important in order for us to bring wee one home.

Once all of this is in our Power of Attorney's hands in Ethiopia we are given the green light to book our flights to go to Ethiopia and meet our son for the first time!!!!!

All of this can take around 6 months or more depending on how things go in Ethiopia. It is important to remember that business is completely different in Africa..and so we have to be as patient as we can be. Which so far we are being very good at...in a few months it might be a whole other scenario.

So, all in all we hope (best case scenario) to be travelling in January or February!

As for the other question,

When will you post pictures of your wee baby?

We can't!

Legally we aren't his parents yet (although we are in our hearts) and the Ethiopian government has very strict rules about placing photos of children who aren't legally adopted on the Internet.

So, until we pass court we won't be posting even a wisp of the little tuft of hair on the top of his head.

And let me tell you, that little tuft is CUTE!

If you know me well, then you have my email or a way to get in touch with me and I would be more than happy to show him off to you but not on our blog or on Facebook or anywhere else for that matter until we are legally able to .

Bummer, I know! But that is the dealio and we aren't going to jeopardize him for the world.

This is a pretty abridged version of what happens next but I think you get the idea.

Much love!

I Am A Big Pile of Love

It's true!

One great, big, giant pile of love!

I didn't know I could love someone so much who I haven't even met yet!

But I do!

People told me that it would all go away once I saw THAT picture...I wasn't really a believer!

Now I am!!

In one giant whoosh of outward breath all the stress, anxiety, sadness, anger, and frustration left.

It left! It went! Away!

I feel like the Grinch whose heart was 2 sizes too small...

but went on to grow 3 sizes that day I saw our baby boy's face!



I didn't know!

Why didn't you warn me? I mean, you did, but really you should have shook me until I believed.

I know you are right! I wouldn't have known until I actually felt it.

And oh boy!!! Do I feel it!

In fact...it is all I can do to contain myself from shouting out as I am walking around the neighbourhood with the dogs "WE HAVE A BABY BOY!!!" or "NEXT SUMMER WE WILL HAVE A BABY IN STROLLER WHEN WE GO WALKING!"

I have so much love that I even forgive this lady for not telling me I had concealer under my eyes that day. Ha!

Seriously, I will be that weird lady just randomly telling people I have a son and whipping out his picture and chasing them down the street asking them if they want to see it!

I feel alive again! I feel like myself again!

I know it isn't over yet - I know this next stretch might be hard too!

But I know that the next 6 or so months will end and he will be in our arms...forever!

Sigh!

Oh the Love I have!

I feel like this!

*Edit* - I realize this song was written for Obama and you are probably all "What the heck is this girl on? This song is about Obama. She was crazy before she got her referral and now she is even crazier!"

But listen to the chorus...it could apply to many things, really it could..if you wanted it too..which I do! So there!

I went to sleep last night

Tired from the fight

I've been fighting for tomorrow

All my life

Yea I woke up this morning

Feeling brand new

'Cause the dreams that I've been dreaming

Has finally came true

It's a new day

It's a new day

It's a new day

It's a new day

It's a new day