So so glad to be home...

but of course Matteo is on Vietnam time so he sleeps lots during the day and at night requires his play time!!...finally got our bags unpacked but am still working on laundry....helping three cats to adjust to a new child and help them understand he is not another cat, has been fun...two of them have accepted him totally and are a bit protective of him, while the third, Micio, sometimes seems quite relaxed and at other times still not sure what to make of this little moving "thing"....anyhow I do and will get back to the blog, do want to record our travel experience for Matteo to read one day and also update some blogs that were started in Vietnam, as I have lots and lots of photos to upload....tomorrow if all goes well, want to get some Christmas ornaments up through the house, no energy for all of my usual decorating and the playpen is in the spot where the tree usually sits, so will probably not put the tree up but do have a smaller one that will satisfy.....so all in all, I'm back to trying to sleep when I can, but a few too many things to do, so the sleep deprivation is the main adjustment....as for Matteo, other than a rash that he has on his face, from the rubbing around in the bassinet on the plane, (hope that is what it is) as when the lights went on, his face was all red...he doesn't seem to be bothered by it, only mommy is....so am trying to put cream on to keep it moist while waiting to hear back from the doctor...oh and the best news, as of last Tuesday morning, Matteo and I, our first solo excursion, got him an Ohip number....they accepted his passport, but wanted proof of my adoption,....I had my file and started to give him every document I had!!....and finally the Letter of no objection did the trick!!....so we have a new little boy registered with Ontario health...and speaking of little boys, he is crying so gotta go......

Home safe and sound...but...

a more difficult trip especially for poor Matteo...he is now asleep in his crib...and I am heading to bed....wil write more if I can tomorrow...

Travel Day...

In about an hour we are heading to the airport and our journey back to Canada begins...now packing and organizing with a little one has been very stressful....now if I compare it to the adoption journey, probably a needle in a haystack compared to some of that stress...but in the past two weeks, getting to know Matteo without this stress has been good, but of course, I am worried about what will confront us and of course how he will deal with it...he loves being out and about so that is good, but when there is too much going on he gets so wound up and mommy isn't always so patient....I know he senses when I'm feeling tense so will try to stay calm...I am not the first nor will I be the last person to travel with a baby and as well I'm sure in many ways travelling with a baby is easier than travelling with a toddler....do you think I have myself convinced to stay calm...probably not....as long as we make it to the cathay agent, get our luggage sent off, get our boarding passes and then get through customs...I will be much more relaxed...I hope!!...so hopefully I will be able to update at each stop as I did not this Viaggio a Vietnam, now it will be Viaggio da Vietnam....so if there are not updates the next one will be from Canada!!....so looking forward to being home and continuing our lives together there....and of course enjoying the Christmas season too.....

Second last night in Vietnam....

...still all feels a bit like a dream...Matteo asleep in the other room, having a so so night...we were going to try to get to the market but it was not to be....it is so hot out there, and we are definitely not enjoying Ho Chi Minh city as much as we enjoyed vung tau....it is so congested, so loud, and noisy...not to say it was noisy in vung tau but there were special perks that aren't here....now the Somerset is wonderful, like the special door man who greets Matteo Bao with such a lovely smile and joy at seeing usnand calls out "Matteo Bao" and sometimes gets a smile from Matteo......and we've had some lovely experiences, visiting Vietnam quilts for christmas decorations was great but so was meeting a fellow Canadian who was from Calgary but who has been living in Vietnam with her husband for the past 4 years...she offered us a drive back to the hotel, and Matteo loved it, he talked to her all the way home, cooed and even sang...the driver was even impressed...of course they haven't witnessed or heard Matteo's other kind of singing...when he is screaming so loud, all because I'm not getting his milk fast enough....note to Somerset staff, maybe you should add small fridges to the bedrooms so little boys will be happier sooner..

...anyhow Matteo and I are still getting to know each other...he has already seen my short patience when I'm tired, and I am starting to decifer which he is screaming about, his diaper, his stomach, or plain, he's bored....anyhow I am writing this as I am awaiting Loan to come up later to deliver Matteo's Vietnamese passport and his adoption documents...as I really don't have any of these at the moment!!...only his Canadian passport...so tomorrow I will pack our final bag, and then make arrangements to transfer us to the airport Monday morning....

....alright Loan just left and I now have all the remaining documents, his Vietnamese passport, his adoption documents etc... so final preparations to get the the airport will be made tomorrow.... and D. is here at the Somerset hoping to see her tomorrow, our final day..

....so I still can't believe it....just an update on Matteo Bao, my little boy....his two front bottom teeth have burst through his gums, so that is good, he is sleeping better through the night...still wants to drink his formula, but drinking more of it and eating some rice cereal so he is sleeping better, without as many small cries that he was making at first...he is now enjoying bath time and loves playing a little in the water but as I don't have bath toys he still isn't playing much but at least he is not screaming with being near water....he does still love to be out and about but definitely as I mentioned there is some much going on here that it is sensory overload for him at times and he gets wound up and harder to calm him...so while we will be sad to leave Vietnam, we aren't sad to leave Ho Chi Minh, and will definitely come back to stay in Vung Tau and enjoy more of its beauty....so one more day and then we will make our journey to the next phase of our lives and a new path of two....

Ode to the Dragon fruit....

Ho Chi Minh Cityscape

Christmas in Saigon .....

This morning Matteo and I headed to Ho Chi minh by taxi, a usual 3 hour drive turned into almost 4 when the driver delivered us to the Airport!! Now we did want to get on a plane for home but without Matteo's passport that would not be happening...so after a few stops to get directions, a cranky Matteo who had had enough of the bumpy drive, and a worried mommy, we made it to the luxury of the Somerset...after getting him changed and getting a bit of food into Matteo, I called Loan who told me if we felt up to it we could go and get Matteo's passport...I jumped at the chance and as you see below, we now have in our hot little hands, the passport of another Canadian citizen....Matteo, as you'll see in all the photos below was not interested in posing for pictures...instead he was more interested in what was going on behind the Canadian consulate offices, so this blurry photo of me, the passport and the back of Matteo's head is all I could manage...

....and to my pleasure Christmas has come to Saigon....the Somerset Hotel has been transformed from a week ago when we were last here, and there are Christmas decorations all over..will post some of those when I take them but below you will see the Christmas tree that was in the lobby of the Canadian consulate offices and Matteo just could not get enough of that tree and its decorations...for the life of me I could not get him to turn around so you'll have to just enjoy his reaction to seeing his very first Christmas tree in the office building where he got his very first passport....On the drive to and from the consolate, I could see a few decorations already up with some being installed as we drove....when we arrived back at the Somerset, a couple of individuals on motor bike were delivering a Christmas tree and blue and silver decorations to go with the ice theme that was already started....so all this to say getting Matteo's passport, for me means Christmas has come early...I have rebooked our homeward bound tickets for Monday, Dec. 6, and unfortuately Samantha we're still arriving at 11:30 at night unless when I arrive in Toronto, I can get myself on an earlier flight but somehow doubt that westjet does not have many flights to choose from...