PLLEEEEAAASSSEE...

Will she or won't she??? Of course she shares her precious watermelon with
her best friend...

mmmm - my favourite food!!!

(note the foot) dee dee calls this one: "Night at the Taverna - Ooopa"...

Emailed page from www.theismaili.org

You have been sent a link to our site by your friend, joanne

Great story from a friend...

See the webpage at the following address
http://www.theismaili.org/cms/1203/mailshot

TheIsmaili.org

JLStrategies sent you a video: "The Power of Words"

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JLStrategies has shared a video with you on YouTube: Not Caily - but hopefully she will espire to be like this... The Power of Words This short film illustrates the power of words to radically change your message and your effect upon the world. At Purplefeather we provide powerful, optimised web content to get you noticed online. Homage to Historia de un letrero, The Story of a Sign by Alonso Alvarez Barreda Music by: Giles Lamb http://www.gileslamb.com Filmed by www.redsnappa.com Director Seth Gardner. Cast: Bill Thompson, Beth Miller http://www.uk.castingcallpro.com/view.php?uid=217905 By the way, did you know you can rent movies from YouTube? Check it out now: youtube.com/movies.
© 2011 YouTube, LLC 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066

Loving her Cousin Jeremi

Jeremi spent the day with us at Cosmic Adventure. It was a blast - no
baby stuff for spider-girl. "Big slides!!" The adults (if you can call me
and Jerm that) were tired and sore while the toddler was pumped and ready
for more... no need for a gym membership with this kid... :-)

A Nite AT The Taverna

 

 

 

OPAAHH..............

 

Life is good!!!

JLStrategies sent you a video: "Caily masters the woods and driveway"

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JLStrategies has shared a video with you on YouTube: Caily masters the woods and driveway. This kid has incredible balance!!! Caily masters the woods and driveway By the way, did you know you can rent movies from YouTube? Check it out now: youtube.com/movies.
© 2011 YouTube, LLC 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066

One of her favourite past-times - sliding

This is a good "practice" slide - but know that she's mastered the big
one's at Brewer Park, this one is "for babies"... OMG - I hope Ottawa has a
circus camp. :-)

Caily and her "Auntie" Kathy

Kathy and her sister made the long trip from Embrun to meet Caily. It was
a great visit - but too short. It was sure nice to meet Denyse and be taken
for a walk by Angel, Chiquita and Fergus... Caily can't wait to go out with
the "Good DOGS" again.

Just watch me!!!

And auntie Kathy said she couldn't make it over the tree on her own... ha
ha ha... I'm surprised she didn't do a front hand-spring over it just to
prove her wrong... ok, that's next week.

practicing her front hand spring

She sure loves her rain boots & her nana

Caily visits Graydon and Ethan's grade 2 and 5 classes at Farley Mowat Public School in Barrhaven

On Friday, Graydon and Ethan presented their slide show on their visit to
Vietnam. Their teachers asked Miranda if Caily would come to visit the
classes on Monday. Of course! Any chance to see her big brothers.
It was a great visit. The students were fantastic! Very kind and
enthusiastic. We had lots of great questions like: what does "Vietnam" mean?
How long did it take to adopt Caily? Why did I choose Vietnam? What's her
birthday? What's her favorite thing? Did she like having Graydon and Ethan
there? Does she say any English words yet? We talked about all the
motorcycles in Hanoi and how a "force-field" appeared around us when we
crossed the road. Miranda showed the kids the Vietnamese currency (the
dong) and they were envious of Graydon when he told them the toothfairy left
him 200,000 dong. When I asked the group what they remembered/liked about
the slide-show they said: "the waterslides"... ha ha ha...
Caily did not disappoint. She sat there eating her cheerio's and trying to
share them with the kids in the first row. It was a great pleasure to visit
the school and see all the kids in her "big brother's" classes. Thanks
everyone!!!

Jack and Savannah playing with Caily and her new kitchen set

On Sunday we started the day with a visit from auntie Taline, Uncle Ribs and
Savannah & Jack. It was a great visit. Taline brought Caily a Sens Shirt
that was donated by Shahe - that made up for letting Savannah wear a Habs
shirt in our house. :-)

The kitchen set was a wonderful gift from Auntie Tally, Uncle Mike and
Saila. It was delivered on Saturday and has been used non-stop ever since.

My God - if I haven't said it enough already. WE ARE SO BLESSED - to be
surrounded by so much love!!!

First time using a Sippy Cup

Its taken a while, but on Saturday May 14th, she used a sippy cup. Of
course it was full of chicken broth with hot sauce :-). Sunday she grabbed
my Starbucks Iced Venti Green Tea and used a straw to take a swig of that.
Now no drink is safe. What a kid!!!

Sporting her new dress shoes.

I hope she doesn't start clicking the heals and wishing to "get out of oz"... She's stuck here for at least 18 years :-)

Nana's new shoe day!!!

A family tradition - nana takes her grandbabies shoe shopping. Miss Caily got 4 pairs - hiking boots, rain boots, hiking/water sandals and dress shoes. Lucky lady. But I think she liked hanging with her nana & deedee most of all.

I was here first!!!

Ok, we'll just share mommy's bed when she's not looking

Saila in her ao dai.

Big sister Saila (surrogate) and fellow vampire slayer in a gift from Caily. She is looking forward to Saila's fashion advise. PS. Caily's also loves Saila's art work that is all over the house. She wants her to teach her to draw!!!

Loving the new hiking boots

Neighbors Owen & Caily at Camp jojo

The beginning of a great friendship (and probably lots of trouble)....

Tipper-Shaw love sandwich

Gavin & Mack give Caily a squeeze! She's loving it!!!

Caily and Gavin

This is one of her other surrogate big brothers. She loves Gavy...

Caily in a new outfit from her cousin Jeremi

She sure loves her “beautiful”  cousin…  and can’t wait to see her again.   What a lucky little girl to be surrounded with so many people who love her unconditionally….

Mother's Day

First of all, let me wish all you mother’s a belated happy mother’s day.    You of anyone would understand why it took me a while to get this online. 

 

Thanks to all of you who sent emails and/or called to wish me a happy mother’s day.   I certainly wasn’t expecting that – and needed a few Kleenex to deal with the emotions that come from the unselfish love and kindness of friends.   

 

My first mother’s day was very surreal.   My wonderful neighbors Brenna and Jason arrived with their son Owen,  dog Taz and a plate full of yummy food (and a meat pie for dinner)…  Then Caily’s special aunt Jenni and her other surrogate brothers, Ben, Gavin and Malcolm came for their “official presentation of credentials” to the princess of Gibsonia…   they also came laden with food and kisses.    Caily was in heaven with all these people coming to play with her.  No chance did she want a nap. 

After lunch we changed out of our sweats and headed to nana and deedee’s to meet Uncle Frog, Aunt V, baby Clayton (who turns 18 today!!! OMG where does the time go?) and beautiful cousin Jeh – who was her fantastically snuggly self with Caily…  again,  princess C was charming and entertaining  – which is surprising given she had little sleep and was really tired.  So tired that she fell asleep in the “magic car” at 7pm and slept until 6am – with only a couple quick wake ups…  phew – Monday was much better for the both of us after a good sleep.

 

Isabelle, Scott, Pierce and Victor we laughed at your message.   Caily saw your picture the other day and squeaked at Victor.  I’ll start saving points for our trip to Barcelona ASAP…   

 

xoxoxo

Speedy says hello

Caily and I weren't on the deck 5 minutes before "speedy" arrived. I
haven't seen him since the fall and was happy to see he made it through the
winter. Of course, he ran right over to me and hoped on my lap looking for
his seeds. Caily was ecstatic!!! After this shot was taken, she plotted
down and he hopped on her knee... I was so excited I didn't video it, but I
wish I did. It was adorable. She very gently patted him and then gave him
a seed.

She's also seen her first loon, red squirrels, woodpecker, fox, deer and
tons of birds at the feeder. She doesn't miss a thing and greets them all
with a point and excited squeal herself.

Snow White indeed!!!

Sharing my first "Canadian Dinner" with my new best friend

Hi all,

I know, I know... I haven't been very good at keeping you up to date on how
things have been "state side".. The jetlag, timezone baby and excitement of
being "home" have made it difficult to find time/energy to get to the
computer.

So, here is a shot of Caily with Fergus (my 19 month old + 120 lb
labernese). It's not the best representation of the love between these two.
It's been absolutely amazing watching them together. Caily wasn't scared
of him at all, just a little curious at first but after about 5 minutes she
leaned over and kissed him on the nose and it's been all kisses and licks,
pats and snuggles since. Fergus knew right away that this was his
"charge." He has been so gentle, loving and "paternal" it's weird. If
Caily cries, he's at her side in an instant making sure she's ok. If she's
in her hammock, he actually rocks her back to sleep with his nose. The
other day, I caught them curled up on his dog bed together - man, where was
my camera then... Ok - for you "non-dog people" don't worry! I don't
leave them alone together - though I wouldn't worry about it for a second.
Fergus is in his glory - he has a job to do (watch over her) and he's loving
it...

Fook and Panger Ban (my two Siamese cats) are also enthralled with her and
visa versa. They get really upset when she cries in her sleep. Fook will
cry back at her and this seems to calm her down - like she knows she's not
alone... he also stays pretty close and loves it when she follows him around
the house. Last night I closed the door on her bedroom and when the
monitor picked up a wimper, the two cats were off my bed and pacing outside
her door in a flash. Yesterday, I put her down for a nap and sat on the
deck with auntie jj and the boys. I knew she was fussing because Fook ran
to the screen and yelled at me until I came into the house...

She is certainly the snow white of this cottage!!!

chill-axing in "the chair"...

As a memento of our trip and a great place to continue our snuggle-fests,
Miranda and I bought these awesome chairs and are having them shipped to
Ottawa (minus the cover).. we figure we can all fit on one + Bella and
Fergus (our dogs)

Me & my buds on the way to the airport

All my "baggage" from Vietnam to Ottawa

Here are a couple shots of all the bags I needed to bring back to Canada
+ a very special package!!!

Welcome Home!

The best 'souvenir' Jo could have brought back to a happy Nana and Dee-dee!

Princess Caily meets the Queen Mother of Gibsonia

 

FW: Princess Caily Meets the Queen Mum

Caily meets her Nana for the first time… thanks to Skype she knew her nana and dee-dee right away. J

 

FW: We're home

 

Hi everyone.   We got to Ottawa at 8pm on May 4^{th –}  with Nana & dee-dee there to greet us.  Yippee – I’m so glad to be home!!!  Now the downside: our days and nights are reversed.   We slept 2am-4am and then from 10am-8pm yesterday and got to bed last night (for our nap) at 2:30am – up at 4am.  Hoping to go down again at 10am…   thankfully Janice is coming today at 9 – it looks like a bomb went off over here and I can really use her help keep Caily awake this afternoon…

 

– Caily’s  pretty consistent with her current schedule:

·         Hanoi Sleep at 10pm – 6am (9am-8pm Ottawa time)

·         Hanoi Up from 6-10, - 5-9 pm Ottawa time

·         Hanoi nap at 10-12 am -  10 -11 pm Ottawa time

·         Hanoi Up 12-3:30 pm – 11pm -2:30 am  ottawa time

·         Hanoi Nap 3:30-5:30 pm – 2:30-4:30 am Ottawa time

·         Hanoi Up 5:30-10pm – 4:30 am – 9 am. Ottawa time

 

I noticed she was ok with only one nap a day so today I’ll try to get up at 1 and take Caily out in the car until 5ish – to try and start reversing the cycle (Janice will be with us in case I nod off).   I’ll try to get her to nap at 5-7 and then put her down again at 11.  Hopefully it starts to work and she’ll sleep past than 4:30….  I’m not kidding myself that this will be a fast transition – yawn!!! Luckily the dog bed is comfortable because that’s where I’m spending my mornings while missy and her “best friend” (yes indeed it took them about 5 minutes to fall in love with each other) Fergus, have the run of the house.

 

If anyone has advice for dealing with jet-lag and babies please email me asap!!!

 

If all goes well, I expect we’ll be fit to start making rounds by next weekend. 

 

Home photo’s soon….

 

Xoxo

Jo

On our way home

This picture was taken in the Seoul business class lounge. It was an exhausting start to the 30 + hour trip home. For some reason Miranda and Ethan didn't get business class even though we paid for it. ASEAN airlines is not very good/nice. Graydon sat beside Caily and I - poor guy! She acted like "crazy Caily"... Like someone plugs her into an electrical socket. And the head flight attendant didn't help by insisting she stay on my Lap and not on the floor where she was confined and happily active. She finally fell asleep and the same attendant insisted she not lay on my reclined legs - but in my arm again.... Ahhhhh! I finally gave up and held the squirmy worm until she fell asleep - about hour 3.5 of a 4 hour flight.
Did I sleep? Ha! Not a chance!!! Have I slept on this 5 hour layover - ha!!! It's taken me 4 hours to settle her... We have a 2 hour flight to Tokyo then another 5 hour layover.., ahhhhh!!! This is tough !!!! Feeling very tired and nauseous.. great!

By the way - I became my grandma today and started stuffing buffet food in my purse... Wow! Now that's a life altering activity... I'd be embarrassed if I didn't think the grub would keep crazy Caily calm for 5 minutes. Sigh....

On our way home

This picture was taken in the Seoul business class lounge. It was an exhausting start to the 30 + hour trip home. For some reason Miranda and Ethan didn't get business class even though we paid for it. ASEAN airlines is not very good/nice. Graydon sat beside Caily and I - poor guy! She acted like "crazy Caily"... Like someone plugs her into an electrical socket. And the head flight attendant didn't help by insisting she stay on my Lap and not on the floor where she was confined and happily active. She finally fell asleep and the same attendant insisted she not lay on my reclined legs - but in my arm again.... Ahhhhh! I finally gave up and held the squirmy worm until she fell asleep - about hour 3.5 of a 4 hour flight.
Did I sleep? Ha! Not a chance!!! Have I slept on this 5 hour layover - ha!!! It's taken me 4 hours to settle her... We have a 2 hour flight to Tokyo then another 5 hour layover.., ahhhhh!!! This is tough !!!! Feeling very tired and nauseous.. great!

By the way - I became my grandma today and started stuffing buffet food in my purse... Wow! Now that's a life altering activity... I'd be embarrassed if I didn't think the grub would keep crazy Caily calm for 5 minutes. Sigh....

Last day in Hanoi

We're all enjoying the beautiful weather on the day before we need to pack up and head home...
We're all ready to get home. living in hotels is great- for a while- but we miss our friends and family. I for one would like to "try" to get Caily on some kind of schedule so I can have some organized down time (I know I know) but it's worth a try...
Actually, I think I'm a true working mom because I actually miss work. I have great clients and projects and I'm excited to get working on the new ones. I know it will be a challenge scheduling time for work and Caily but i'll do my best. There are

JLStrategies sent you a video: "Caily's first/favorite "english" words"

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JLStrategies has shared a video with you on YouTube: Caily's first/favorite "english" words Everyone has been asking: Does Caily know any english words yet? Well yes - this is it!!!
© 2011 YouTube, LLC 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066

Paintings from Vietnam

Yesterday we were all strolling the streets of “old town Hanoi” looking for souvenirs of our trip.  Ok,  I wouldn’t say “strolling” as we toughed out what felt like 100 degree heat and 99% humidity in tight, stinky streets.  It was a shop marathon with bribes of ice cream (that didn’t really cut it given the circumstances so aunt jo through in some t-shirts too).  Ethan and Graydon were real troopers none-the less.  Momma #2 (that’s me) wasn’t such a trooper.  Carrying a hot baby on my back for 4 hours in the heat knocked me out.  Regardless of the complaining (mostly from me) we managed to get some really nice things for ourselves. 

My goal was to buy Caily enough little presents so she can have at least one special gift from Vietnam on each birthday until she’s 10-13 – at which point I hope to have saved enough to bring her back for our first of many return trips.  I also wanted to get her some traditional clothes for Tet celebrations from now until she’s 10.   I managed to get her lots of great stuff – now I just need to figure out a place to hide it all at home…

The picture attached is of a family of artists who paint all day and sell their wares.  All of us, the boys included, were blown away by their talent so we each bought a meaningful print (oil painting on canvas).  Caily got two – one that looks like Vietnamese ghosts walking away in the rain.  I had the artist translate and note on the back of it Caily’s Vietnamese name, her birthday and the following:  “In memory of my ancestors. ”  the other one is of two young beautiful Vietnamese girls passing a lotus flower between them.  This will be a beautiful addition to her enchanted garden.  Ok, she got lots of other meaningful things like a handmade quilt made by a community development non-profit that focus’s on giving Vietnamese and Cambodian mothers independent income.  J  I’m sure this will mean a lot to her one day… 

The Bee learning to play baseball

Ethan has been a great “big brother” – he watches Caily like a hawk and makes sure she doesn’t get into any trouble.  Here he jumped up to  make sure she didn’t fall in the pool… I think he’s had lots of practice keeping an eye on things with Graydon for a little brother.  Where Ethan protects Caily, Graydon is usually the one she follows into trouble.  This sounds eerily familiar to me and my two older brothers… right mom!?!