Pre Christmas pictures

We weren't very good in sending out Christmas cards or getting our family portraits done this year. We couldn't decide if we were going to do a family portrait by ourself or get it done professionally, get dressed up for the photos or just have the kids in the photos. So by the time we decided to do the pictures, it was about two days before Christmas. I had two cute dresses for Ava but they were both sleeveless! I had bought them back in May when it was warm and thought I could use them next year. Of course I wasn't thinking about the season. Also, the dresses were almost getting too small for Ava. I don't know what I was thinking. With time running out, we decided to pose the kids in front of our holiday fireplace and mantle. The lighting wasn't too great so we shifted the kids in front of the Christmas tree. Ava gave us about 15 minutes of her patience and then all heck broke loose. So this is what we got!

Deja Vu

I came across someone else's blog site and the adoptive parent is currently in Vietnam: http://beachsidepad.blogspot.com/2007/12/orphanage-sidenote.html. They mentioned on their blog that they were disappointed with the short visit at Tam Binh orphanage when they picked up their son. I posted a comment saying that I could relate to their feelings. I still feel regretful that we received the same treatment back in July when we picked up Ava. We did not get the option to tour the orphanage as well.

It all goes back to me being an adoptee from Vietnam. For months I had been looking forward to seeing where my daughter had lived for the past five mths and who had been holding her and caring for her. When we were told we weren't going to get to see the children or the orphanage, my heart just broke. Of course we didn't even raise an eyebrow or question the orphanage director because we didn't want to jeopardize anything! Even though we plan to revisit Ava's orphanage one of these days, it just won't be the same. Who's to say the same caretakers will still be there? I will always wonder what it was like for Ava, just like I sometime wonder what it was like fore me when I was in an orphanage. At least my Father had orphanage stories to share with me. I have nothing to give Ava. I know it's silly but I can't help what I feel and reading someone else's blog just reminded me of those feelings.

Retrospect

A good friend of mine sent me an email yesterday and she commented about our adoption "influences". I never really thought about my parents being the big influence in my life but she's absolutely right! I have always known I wanted to adopt a child ever since I realized I was adopted. My brother and I had the luxury of living all over the world with our parents and we got to experience life like no average American child did in their lifetime. I remember as a child that I wanted so much to make a difference in someone's life. I wanted to "better" the world somehow. I guess the thought of adoption was a good solution. Now that we have Ava, I know we have made the difference in a little person's life. Like my parents, we wanted to take care and nuture a child from an impoverished country and give the child every opportunity life could offer. I can't imagine my life without Ava and Sebastian. So I guess my blog "Come full circle" was named appropriately.

You are right, these children have been blessed, and so are we, to have them! I was thinking, after the post court session, at the restaurant,
that your parents must be very proud of you naturally, but also to see
that they are in no small way responsible for the wonderful family that
you have. Sounds corny, but they paved the way indirectly, for you and
me in our journeys to international adoption. : )

Another thing to be thankful for...

I copied a few paragraphs below from an email we received from our former adoption agency. We are still on the distribution for all communications and updates about the current adoption process. I don't know why I still subscribe. I guess I like to see how the changes in the adoption process affects families waiting. It's been apparent for quite some time that the adoption referrals have slowed down significantly and Vietnam is cracking down hard on policies and procedures. We really do feel bad for the families who are waiting. Believe me, we have paid our "dues" and we know what it feels like having to wait to hold your child in your arms.

All I know is that I thank my lucky stars every single day that we were able to get Ava out when we did. I think if we hadn't acted as fast as we did in the beginning of the adoption process, we wouldn't have Ava today. My heart goes out to all the families during this holiday season and to all the babies out there. I don't want to get into the "politics" of adoption agencies integrity and moral values. That would open up a whole discussion I'd rather not revisit and it wouldn't change things anyway.

"All the changes within Vietnam are causing many families to lose faith
but I am receiving encouraging news from Vietnam daily. While things
are not moving as swiftly as we thought they would due to new laws in
HCMC regarding how long children must remain in the orphanage before
they are available for international adoption and the new paperwork
procedures, there does seem to be light at the end of the tunnel.

All families with completed dossiers in Vietnam have their paperwork
either at the translator or it has been submitted to the DIA and is
processing. If you have been contacted regarding translation fees
then your dossier has completed this stage and has moved on to the
DIA. Once the completed dossier has been accepted by the DIA the
clock essentially stops on the expiration of documents, although
families will still need to have a valid home study, fingerprints and
171-H or 797C in order to travel.

Children who entered HCMC orphanages at the time that the new law was
passed stating that they must remain in orphanages for 6 months before
they are eligible for international adoption will be ready to be
referred to families in January or February. So we are looking
forward to the New Year when we believe that referrals will once again
be able to be handed to families for children in HCMC. We are also
receiving promising news about our expansion into other provinces. We
should have our license to work in a 2nd province in a week or so also
opening up referral possibilities from that province. This 2nd
province does not have the 6 month law but children will still need to
have announcements made, medical and police clearances which take
approximately 2 months from the time they enter the orphanage. We
look forward to working in this new province in 2008. "

Is this thing on straight?

Mom Mom bought another winter hat for Ava. She did not want the hat on and I had to do some coaxing to keep the hat on her head long enough to take a pic.

It's beginning to look like Christmas!

We finally dressed our Christmas tree. We bought the tree last Saturday and it took us a few days to get the ornaments on it. This has been the latest we've ever gotten the decorations out. We can blame it on the holiday rush, we can blame it on our family growth, or how about, there's just not enough time to do everything you possibly want! I still have to get the tree skirt and mantle stockings out from storage. Like I said, there's not enough hours in the day.

The good news is this is the first year Sebastian has shown interest in decorating the tree. In fact, he was so upset on Sunday night when we ran out of time to decorate. Now every night when we come home, he runs to turn on the Christmas tree lights and the mantle lights. I think it was so cute that Sebastian was being meticulous about making sure the back of the tree had some decorations on it. He still likes to put five ornaments on one tree branch though :-)

Did I mention that this will be the best Christmas ever? This is Ava's first Christmas and Sebastian's first Christmas with his sister. We have so much to look forward together as a family. There is so much to be happy about and we are truly blessed.

The Sandman hadn't arrived yet

I was trying to get the kids settled down for the evening. Ava was in her diaper because I was getting her ready for her bath. Of course, I must have said "okay, one more round and that's it" at least three times. They were still wired for sound and having fun. Can you tell from the pics? ;-)

Tired, Happy Baby

On most afternoons when I pick up Ava from the daycare, she is overtired and dilirious. Once she sees Mommy come through the door, she plows whoever is in her way to get across the room. The past couple of days, she's been standing on or near the climbing gym in the middle of the room. When I kneel at the bottom of the ramp, she climbs up the stairs and backs herself down the ramp to get to her Mommy's arms. I thought it was so cute and had to record her reactions.

Cat nap

Here's Marley trying to take a breather. But not for very long. The ernergizer bunny on the floor is on the prowl. The cat nap doesn't last for very long. Poor Marley! The couch is no longer a safe haven.

Stunt Baby

I'm tring to teach Ava how to sit and ride on her scooter. It's one of those toys that she can either walk behind or sit and ride. She hasn't gotten quite the "nack" of it yet. Of course why should she when she has all the "Mommy power" pushing behind it? As you can see, she can "multi task" and hold something in her mouth so she has both hands to hold on. She did turn the moving vehicle over a few times but she came out unscathed. Between diapers and good carpet padding, she bounces right back ;-)

Going Italiano!

I think one of Ava's favorite food lately is anything with noodles. Spaghetti and Chicken noodle soup being the top two. I can't remember if I mentioned it before but Ava is officially off of jar baby food and enjoying ALL table foods. She gets mad if I'm feeding her from the jar and she sees us eating something else she's not. Hey, I had a few jars of food to get off the shelf and thought I could sneak them by her. No way!

Edible Art

Sebastian rolled out the cookie dough and cut out the gingerbread people. He also decorated the cookies after they baked. Pop Pop waited patiently during the art design applications. Finally the cookies were ready to serve ;-)

What does Ava and Randy from "A Christmas Story" have in common?

They both couldn't get their arms down!

Ava's First Public Speech (on Readoption Day)

Ava made a short speech at the courthouse last week. She saw the microphone up on the stand and took the opportunity to "thank her fans". Of course everyone commented how much of a "ham" she is and I think she is the cutest little "Hammie" ;-)

Ava's debut at the courthouse!

Here is a slideshow of this morning's "readoption" ceremony at the courthouse. We ended up waiting for 40 min. to get into the courtroom. We don't know if the previous family in the courtroom were finalizing a settlement or if we were waiting for the judges. Other than the wait, the actual ceremony went off without a hitch. There was one other family waiting like us for the readoption ceremony. The lawyer was there to tell us what to expect and to take all the signed documents from the judge once the ceremony was over. We should be receiving a new birth certificate for Ava in about twelve weeks. The birth certificate will have Ava's new name on it. I was really happy that my parents, brother and best friend was able to join us today and help us celebrate anothe special day in my children's lives. Not to mention that Sebastian was able to share this moment with his sister today ;-)

So with no further a dieu (?) here is AVA LIEU HICKS!!

p.s. if the slideshow appears small on your screen, you can click over the pictures below and it will send you to the website where the slideshow is on and the pics will be normal size.

Happy Turkey Day!

Ava did great for her first Thanksgiving. She absolutely loved everything at the dinner table. There wasn't anything she didn't like and she got upset if everyone was eating and she wasn't. Everyone got such a kick out of her ;-)

Special lunch date

Sebastian and Mommy had a special lunch date at the school's cafeteria. Sebastian was so excited that his Mommy was joining him for lunch. I think he told the entire class that day ;-) It's so sweet that he still gets excited about having a lunch with his Mom....I know it won't last forever :-P


Sebastian had a choice to either bring a packed lunch or buy from the cafeteria and he wanted Daddy to pack. He wanted it to be extra special with a packed lunch.



Mommy even got her own lunch bag ;-)

Let it snow!

Yes, the white stuff you see on the ground is snow! We were excited about it because we were off the entire Thanksgiving week and could enjoy the wet stuff fron the comforts of our own home.


Sebastian getting ready for the school bus. Unfortunately there wasn't enough snow to keep him home from school.




The snow was too wet for Ava to come out and enjoy. Somehow, I don't think she missed anything.













Ava's first footprint....on a frozen glass door of course. Just practicing for the real thing.

Simple pleasures

Oh I know there will be "paybacks" for posting these pics but I couldn't resist! It's amazing what you can do with an empty paper towel roll.

Big coat to fill.

Coats never seem to make it on the coat hooks in the hallway in our house. So we improvised and made a "makeshift" coat rack at someone's expense ;-)



I think she is trying to get away in this picture. Do you blame her?

Ava's new facial expressions

Ava's expressions have been changing dramatically lately. She is learning quickly what expressions get her the most reactions from family members and practices them quite frequently. Yep, she is quite the little "ham" ;-)

Siblings at play

Here are some snapshots of Ava and Sebastian playing so cute together. One of the rare moments when Sebastian isn't barreling Ava over or stretching her to the limits.

Ava's new walking technique

Ava has discovered a whole new world....walking with assistance. We've only had the baby walker for a year and Ava has figured out how to use it over the weekend. As they say....it won't be long now!

Another Birthday

This was the most important birthday in November because it was Grandmom's birthday! We took everyone out to dinner and then stopped over for some homemade birthday cake and coffee.

Sebastian and Daddy mixing up the ingredients.

The taste tester. (sorry, we couldn't show you the end results because it was a secret! Plus, I forgot to take photos since we had to rush out the door)









After dinner.









The life of the party ;-)









On top of the world...still brings a big smile to her face :-p

The Party Boy

Sebastian was invited to two birthday parties two weeks in a row. The first one was at a Horse farm and they had hayrides, marshmellow roast over open fire and a pony ride. The second birthday party was at a roller skating rink. Boy, they didn't have these kind of parties when I was a kid! They have all kind of themes for birthday parties, anything from magicians, clowns, moonbounces to go kart rides and paintball fights. What will they think of next?

Birthday #1











Last year Sebastian tried his first roasted marshmellow and hated it. He tried it again this year and found out that if you don't brown the marshmellow, it's tastes all right.










Perfect example of "cremated" marshmellow. Mommy likes her marshmellows crispy. What do you mean it looks like......?









Birthday #2 - Limbo Dance on Roller Skates (it's not as easy as it looks!)



Sebastian told me on the way home from the roller skating party that the girl on the right, Angelica, asked him if he would be her "boyfriend" some day. Oh boy!! They are all in the same class together.