Update #3 from the Philippines

Wed 2nd and Thu 3rd Sep:

Sleeping, eating, shopping, having fun in the pool and the hotel room, getting to know JM, watching him devour adult size portions of food that takes his fancy, talking about Barney the Dinosaur, sessions at ‘Time Zone’ with Will... this has been the last two days. Liss slept most of Tue night on the floor next to JM, and Matt did the Wed night shift... despite not a brilliant nights sleep because of a persistent cough JM has (not made any better with A/C constantly going), I think we’ll fight for JM duty tonight because the floor’s a whole lot more comfy than our hotel bed! Will announced Wed morning with tears in his eyes that the Philippines wasn’t the place for him. Despite the appeal of a new brother, Time Zone, and 2 cool Toy shops, the heat/humidity has knocked him around, the novelty of the hotel and pool is wearing off, and he just wants to be home with his food, his stuff, and his family/friends. The reality is we’re in a spot in Pasig (metro Manila) with not much else to do except sleep, swim, or shop, and I have to say we’re all kinda there with him... pretty over it, we just want to get our newest little fella home and into a normal routine.

'The Boys'... drawing in the hotel room

Thu morning we jumped in a Taxi (old hands now) and met Elaine at ICAB in Quezon City (25mins away). Elaine handed over JM’s passport and immigration docs, along with some gifts for JM; a book on The Philippines, a toy Jeepney, and a Philippines flag. We chatted about JM’s last few days, met some of the workers and were done within 40mins. We can now technically leave the country, which we’re scheduled to do tomorrow evening at 8pm.

Us at ICAB today (Thu) - In the background is a 'welcome' sign)

So what’s the newest little Campbell like... Well he LOVES Barney the Dinosaur (stupid purple American man-in-a-suit with accompanying TV series/DVDs with super cheesy scripts and bad songs, and naturally a merchandise line). He loves shoes- changing them frequently (something that runs in the family; at least it did with Matt and Will when they were little). He loves food and the pool. He also loves having a big brother, wanting to copy him and follow him everywhere. He has started to say Will and calls him Kuya (which is big brother in Tagalog). JM is VERY busy! He has energy to burn, ready to run, explore and scream with joy. He only seems to get upset when he doesn’t get his own way, (which is not untypical behaviour for a 2 year old). He is super cute, he has a wicked laugh. When he’s nodding off to sleep he has to be touching you in some way, even if it’s his leg over you, just to make sure you’re not going anywhere. He really is like a very big baby in lots of ways (more like a one year old developmentally), which we were told to expect with any institutionalised child.


Very snuggly!

Oh and did we mention he’s still in nappies? Something to tackle over Summer holidays! He loves singing, and the repertoire so far includes ABC, The Barney Song, Twinkle Twinkle, Ring a Ring a Rosie, and Old McDonald, finishing each chorus of everything with a big scream, cheeky face and shake of the head. We noticed later Thu that he is saying Hi Daddy and Hi Mummy as he waves to us, which is soooooooooooooo beautiful.We’re packing tonight (Thu), busy tomorrow before flying out in the evening, so don’t imagine we’ll get to post an update till Sat/Sunday. We’ll keep adding a few photos to the facebook photo album, so keep an eye out. The next adventure is actually getting home! Will was in tears the day after we arrived, saying he never wanted to get back on a plane (I guess having been so sick) - even if it meant he had to live in the Philippines, then of course there’s little fella #2 ... a very determined, energetic and potentially overwehlemed 2 year old! If you’re the praying kind... we’d really appreciate it. xo