Our Bonding Trip!

It's been two weeks since we got back from Haiti. There will not be enough time or words for me to tell of our entire trip, but I can say that it was an experience I will never forget! The overall bonding period with our son Jameson went extremely well. This little boy went from being extremely shy and reserved to outwardly energetic and so lovable. I love kissing his soft, chubby cheeks and twirling him around to hear his contagious laugh. He loves applesauce, Ritz crackers, yogurt, rice, oatmeal cereal, juice, Pedia Sure, and Enfagrow milk. He also likes playing with Legos, puzzles, and balloon's. It was very hard to leave when it was time for us to go home. I am counting down the days until we return for our next visit. 

 It's a hard life down here for the people who live in Haiti. The streets are just lined with people trying to survive. We had an appointment at the US Embassy and there were hundreds of Haitians trying to get Visas to the United States. Our creche or orphanage, MDA,  is pretty much secured off from the outside or general population. The food is pretty good, but they serve a lot of salad and fruit and we did not eat anything that was not cooked. Lunch was the biggest meal of the day there and the best. The hot water here was very limited, but seemed to be most abundant at night, so that's when we took our showers. There are lots of orphans at MDA, mostly infants and toddlers. Gladys, the orphanage director was very nice and made us feel comfortable in her home. MDA is arranged so that there is a main house where the director and her family live, 3-4 guest houses where visiting families stay during their trips, and then the orphanage section where the kids live. 

The other important parts of our trip included our embassy appointment and interview with IBESR. Overall, they both went very well. Our embassy appointment was at 7:00am. I think we were finished around 11:00am. 90% of the time is spent standing in line and waiting to be called to the front. For those adopting, it very important to have all your required paperwork with you. We had our agency lawyer with us, which was very helpful especially with the language barrier. The interview with IBESR occurred the second week of our trip. The interview was a little intimidating at first, but we survived. Our lawyer spoke with us several days before the interview and gave us a list of possible questions that we would be asked. Jameson was also with us during the interview, so I had to make sure to have snacks and things to keep him occupied. He did great but got a little antsy near the end. 

As a bonus we were able to go to Kaliko Beach Club which is about an hour outside of PAP. During the ride there, we were able to see some of the city of PAP and surrounding areas. It's a very crowded place, lol! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below!

*It's advised not to post pics of our adoptive son, Jameson on social media until our adoption is final, so I will follow that rule. But I can't wait to show him to the world, he is so cute!

MDA is the creche where our son lives

This is the patio where we spent a lot of our time with Jameson

Second floor of MDA where kids are watching

Courtyard of MDA where kids play and hang out

PAP

PAP. I think this is so cool, the women that carry supplies on their heads!