Thanks for joining in on our journey towards creating our forever family...

This is the place you can come to witness the adventures we experience as we adopt our child from the beautiful country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. We hope you will come back often to learn about where we're at in the process, the culture of our child, our hopes and dreams, and to leave comments of encouragement.

Also, be sure to check out older posts by clicking on the link at the bottom of each page titled "older posts".

HOW OLD IS OUR PRECIOUS ASHA NOW???

Lilypie Third Birthday tickers

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

ASHA LOVES THE PARK...ESPECIALLY CLIMBING UP THE SLIDE!!!





MCDONALDS...

Baba (which is Grandma in Ukrainian) sent Asha $50 cash and gave us, Dada and Mama strict instructions on what to do with it.

She said:

"Listen guys, I want you to take Asha to McDonalds".

So that is exactly what we did. Being that it was her first time there, we had to get Asha her very first happy meal of course! But she was so busy looking around, climbing up the slide and playing with all the kids, that she only got in a few bites here and there.

Overall it was a good trip, except for the fact that a little boy accidentially ran into Asha, she fell, knocked her face on the edge of the slide and started to bleed from her teeth. But other than that, it was fun! :)

Thursday, September 3, 2009

ASHA IS NOW 13 MONTHS OLD...WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?

Yep, you read right. Our little peanut is now 13 months old! Crazy. It doesn't feel like we only met her when she was 9 months old; I feel like I have known her my entire life.

Asha is growing into quite the little lady. She is still so friendly and will go up to anyone regardless of who they are. And she hasn't quite mastered the meaning of personal space yet - she loves to go up to complete strangers to kiss their legs.

We have now moved her almost completely from formula to homogenized milk. Sometimes if she hasn't eaten a lot through out the day though, we will still put a few scoops of formula into the homo milk for her.

Asha is saying a lot of words now too. She will try to copy almost any word you say EXCEPT for MAMA!!!! Do you believe this? I cannot get her to say Mama for the life of me. She will say, mmmmm if something is yummy but when I point to myself and say Mama, she gets angry and says, "Dada" - like I am the one getting it all wrong. She says, Dada, danger, burn, gentle, moon, balloon, banana, dirty, hi, water, bath, Asha, Nana, Grandpa and Grandma.

And boy is Asha ever the entertainer and loves to be the center of attention. She will do just about anything to make you laugh. And if you say Asha laugh, she will laugh out loud with her phony laugh. She will go up to you and tickle you but hasn't aced the fact that a tickle is soft, not like a scratch! And if you ask for a hug or kiss she is sure to give you one.

She is so smart too! When I am cleaning the house, she gets her little broom and will help me clean. She knows where all of her body parts are and is happy to show you, but the cutest one of all is her nose. When you ask her to show you her nose, she scrunches up her lips and blows air out of her nose. And she talks like crazy! We never really know what she is saying but she sure loves to talk.

We have spent alot of the summer staying around home and visiting family and friends. Asha got to hang out with her cousins at the lake and got to play with her new friends who are her age and are twins. Asha loves Gramps and Nana's big dog Chase and knows how to say his name too. If you talk about Chase, she will pant and pant and pant. And she gets so excited to see him that she will run up to him to give him a big hug and kiss. It doesn't bother her that he is like 10 times her size. We have spent many afternoons in Grandma's backyard swimming in the pool, golfing with Gramps and Nana on their putting green and playing with different kids at the water park by the river. It has been a perfect summer because Asha is with us. We are really enjoying every second with her and we feel so blessed to have her be a part of our family.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!!!

Hello to all my family and friends,

Guess what? Today I am 1! Can you believe it? The big O-N-E!
Mama and Dada say I am doing a lot of silly things now. I am walking now; not walking 100%, but I am walking and when I walk I have the cutest little waddle. Sometimes I like to not use my arms at all when I walk and pull them in tight infront of my tummy. And if I want to really scare Mama and Dada, I walk with my head in the air and my eyes closed!
Mama and Dada both say I am really busy and that I like to get into everything. I especially love to help Dada with the dishwasher and Mama with the laundry. And I try to be helpful by taking out all of the containers from my tupperware drawer in the kitchen.
My favorite toys right now are the new Winnie the Pooh car that Mama and Dada got me for my birthday and I also love the stacking cups that Nana and Gramps got me. I have become a lot more cuddly than I was a couple of months ago and I also love to give kisses. But I don't like it when anyone leaves my house. I love company and do silly things to make everyone laugh.
I'm still not a big eater though and no one understands that it's because I am just a small girl with a tiny stomach; plus I love my milk too much! But I do love potatoes, nectarines, corn flakes and popcorn twists!
Everyone is always saying I am such a smart little girl. I don't understand what the big deal is really because if you show me how to do something once, how hard is it for me to copy you? Mama taught me this week how to turn in a circle and everytime she says, "Turn Asha", I turn and I don't stop until I am so dizzy that I fall over.
I absolutely love bath time and would stay in the water all day if I could. For my birthday Mama and Dada took me swimming with Nana, Gramps, Grandma, Uncle Josh and Auntie Mel. I had lots of fun but wanted to stay by Mom the whole time. I have really become quite the Mama's girl.
And I am a good baby everyone keeps telling me. I don't like sleep but that's because I don't want to miss anything; but I am happy most of the time and love to laugh. My hair is finally starting to grow a little more and I still only have four teeth - two on the top and two on the bottom. Mama gets mad at me sometimes because I have started to bite things. She said that she used to bite babies when she was little and doesn't want me to do the same. But I will learn to change that behaviour in time.
Well that is what is new with me now. I am just so glad that I could celebrate my very 1st birthday at home in Canada with my family and friends.
Love, Asha Mikaela Nyah Parisien
xoxoxoxoxoxo


Asha, you are such a very special little girl and you have brought so much love and joy to our lives. We love you so much and are so happy to be your parents. Happy Birthday peanut!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

MY NEW BATHING SUIT FROM UNCLE SHAWN, AUNTIE KAREN & EVAN...


ASHA'S BIRTHDAY/WELCOME HOME PARTY...

My Mom and Dad hosted a party for Asha and us to celebrate not only her 1st birthday which is Sunday, August 2nd, but to also celebrate us being home finally as a family. The party was on July 26th and although it was raining in the morning, it ended up being a beautiful sunny day in the afternoon. And Asha was such a good little girl who charmed the pants off of many people who had not seen her before.

It was a perfect day and wonderful to see many of our family and close friends who we had missed while being away. Thank you to everyone who came and made that day even more special and for blessing us and Asha with your love and support throughout this journey to creating our forever family.






Friday, July 24, 2009

WENT TO NANA'S AND AUNTIE MEL'S WORK...

This week has been really busy and let me tell you that I have been ooohhhed and ahhhhhed at all week long - well I'm not complaining because I love the attention. There were lots and lots of people waiting to meet me at Nana's and Auntie Mel's work and then after our visit, me and Nana went to play at the park for a while.

Here are some pictures that Mama took on that day:





NO FRIENDS...


So yesterday we decided to venture out a little and went to Once Upon a Child - a gently used clothing store for children. Being that Asha doesn't have a lot of hair (poor girl), we wanted to go and buy some hair clips that would work well in the little bit of hair that she does have.

Asha had been taking a few steps here and there but we were completely amazed in the store. It was like she all of a sudden figured out how to walk and to walk strong. And once she mastered the whole walking thing she was everywhere...in the books, playing with the toys, grabbing out shoes. So many people asked us how old she was because their children were 16 to 20 months and were just walking now - it made us feel so proud.

But the saddest thing of all, or I guess you could say funny thing, was that she went up to one little baby who was sitting in her stroller and she pulled out her soother. The little girl looked bothered and I put it back in her mouth for her but Asha then quickly snatched it out again and she started to bawl. After that baby left, Asha saw another little girl sitting in another stroller and she went up to see her but instead of waving or touching her, she poked her dead centre in the eye ball. And what happened? The little girl started screaming! That was two injuries in a span of three minutes and we left the store with Asha having absolutely NO FRIENDS!

I guess you could say I'm feeling a little sleepy because making enemies really tires ya out!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

I LOVE MY GRANDMA PARISIEN...



Today we spent the afternoon over at Grandma's house. Asha and Grandma had lots of fun together. They shared an egg salad sandwich and then later a fudgesicle. Grandma said that Asha's skin color looks EXACTLY like the color of a licked fudgesicle. So cute!

We sat in the shade in the backyard and Asha played in the swimming pool that Grandma had bought for her. Later they went for a walk and Grandma put Asha to sleep. Out of the entire family Grandma is the first one so far who has been able to put our little bumble to sleep. Good job Grandma! After her snooze, Grandma set up an old sleeping bag on the back deck and put out all of the toys that she had purchased just for Asha. Grandma made us all dinner and then gave Asha a bath before we left for home. And falling to sleep was so easy...two minutes in the van and she was a goner.




HER FIRST HAIRCUT...


Guess who had her first haircut today? Miss Asha!!! And she was so good. The hair dresser said she was the best baby she has ever had to cut hair for. She just sat still in her booster seat like a little lady. Dada had to give her some popcorn twists to keep her occupied a little but other than that she was a perfect little girl.



AT NANA AND GRAMPS PLACE...

Today we took a drive out to my parents place in Martensville. It was technically the longest time that Asha has ever had to sit in a car seat because in St. Vincent there is no such thing as a car seat. You simply hold your baby in your arms and hope that you don't get into an accident - kinda scary but that's the way they do things.

Asha does not like to be told what to do and does not like to stay in one place for too long so the drive was difficult and she ended up crying most of the way there. But when we did get there, she was so happy to be outside and to see so many new things. Plus, she got more time with Nana, Gramps, Auntie Mel and Uncle Josh.

In the afternoon she took a soak in her new swimming pool and Nana even got in her bathing suit to join in on the fun. Their dog Chase was a little unsure of her but soon they were good friends and Chase was cleaning her face while Asha was sharing rocks off of the ground with him. It was sweet. Later we had a fire outside and friends of ours, Shawn, Karen and Evan, stopped by to meet Miss Asha. It was a great day!