...she's not sure when she'll be back to Viet Nam, but we know we will, so she decided to try to go today if the G&R of course wasn't scheduled today. It is a great way for us to transition slowly with her absence too. She has been a tremendous help with Matteo and also with these last few days for the G&R and the last couple of days which of course are the toughest not knowing what to expect when a new person joins your family…..not to mention that she was our personal photographer (we had fun comparing "likes" and "comments", for me on Facebook, for her on Instagram and Twitter.)
…while our meeting with Malia went well last week, there was no guarantee she would handle the change easily so while I tried to prepare for the worst, we were pleasantly surprised. I think the transition or the last couple of days were hardest on Matteo. Malia left the orphanage and didn't look back. To back track we only got a day's (or less actually) notice for the G&R…sorry we didn't post about it, but decided to tell family first and then we had to get ready. As the orphanage was an hour or hour and a half away we had to get ready to spend the day….our G&R was scheduled for the afternoon at 2 and while I thought we'd have the morning to get ready, instead the plan was to go to the orphanage in the morning (as we had not yet met the director), leave Malia's clothes, go to a local mall for lunch, and then go back, either pick Malia up or let the director drive with Malia to the Justice Department where we would have our G&R. Well of course that meant two sets of clothes for all of us….it is very hot here and the sweaty good clothes would not last the whole day...or moreso…
…so we headed out at about 9 in the morning ... Matteo and I spent some time with Malia…she definitely remembered us; however, when we were getting ready to go and she was going to have her lunch, she did not want to return to her room and had a major major major tantrum….I was thrown as she had only showed a very gentle side to her…though I did note (on our previous visits) that she was strong willed, knew what she wanted, had a bit of a free rein to wander with the nurse and other workers outside of the baby room…..this I decided (being strong willed) is a good thing, but in some instances it was going to be a challenge…..(already reared its head)….anyhow the part I didn't like was how she almost threw herself and her head on the hard floor….I grabbed her as I discovered the nanny was not sure what to do…as I found out it wasn't her usual nannies??? ….so I grabbed her and supported her head to make sure she would not hit it…and tried to calm her to no avail…some of the regular caregivers came in and L. and after spending extra time was told that this was an unusually extreme temper tantrum and she wanted to go with me then…and did not want to go back to her room….as I said she was ready to leave….they tried to explain to her that she needed to eat and have a nap….anyhow she calmed down somewhat and I was very glad to have seen this behaviour before I adopted her as I learned an awful lot about how she behaved when not getting what she wanted….and how they calmed her but in this case….I definitely think that some children, esp. older ones, are confused when they're told that "mama" is here to take them, but doesn't…I was ushered out of her room even though she was still crying and told they would calm her and she also needed her nap and lunch etc…and they would take care of her...
...anyhow when we returned she was all dressed up in her special outfit…in a good mood…we got Matteo changed and then discovered we would bring her with us. We drove to a totally new air conditioned and beautiful Justice Department building…..After being told that we might have to wait, everything happened very quickly…we went up to the special ceremonial room and all of a sudden the ceremony started….the Vice Director ( I think) was officiating…a lovely young woman in a traditional outfit read out each part about why we were there….L. translated for us. I signed multiple documents and the registrar and we took lots of photos, or I should say my sister did and so did L…..I have so much to document this moment…..though I did miss the red curtain…and the projection on the whiteboard caused us to be in shadow when we took pictures…but it was very nice…my sister compared it to a baptism ceremony…not to long, but ceremonial enough and just as exhausting….Malia Nhi's director and vice-director were there…the Director officially "gave" her to me and I "received" her….it was lovely….but too quick…
….after the ceremony we enjoyed the spectacular view of Binh Duong a thriving city with a state of the art building…..the director and vice-director gave us or Malia Nhi a pink backpack with a photo album of pictures taken from the beginning of her time at the orphanage….WONDERFUL to have these…and some milk, some water, some clothes etc…they loved the outfit and shoes I bought for Malia and were so happy for us…again it was wonderful and reflecting back on it, it is even more special as I appreciate how lovely it all was…..anyhow I'll sign off and talk more about the G&R and our first days together in another post…for now posting two photos of Matteo and Malia Nhi all ready to head to the Justice department for the ceremony.
Good to hear from you. Hope all goes well without your sister.
ReplyDeletehi trip sounds fabulous tell everyone about the phone and a reward, that will help
ReplyDeletejulia and olivia