Haitian orphans arrive at Calgary airport

Two Alberta families landed in Calgary Wednesday night with their adopted children from Haiti.

The two families had flown to Calgary from Ottawa, where a plane full of children from the earthquake ravaged country had arrived earlier in the day.

Marla Munro, who lives near Cochrane, said it was an emotional experience to watch the children walk off the plane and onto Canadian soil.

"Just as the children were all coming down out of the plane, everyone was clapping and crying. Anyways we're so happy to finally have them," she said.

She and her husband, Rocky Munro, returned to Calgary with siblings three-year-old Moustapha and one-year-old Melissa. The couple also has two older adopted children from Haiti.

Jon and Melissa Gartly from Vulcan held two-year-old Nate in their arms as they walked through the Calgary airport Wednesday night.

"It was awesome. He came off that plane and it was just amazing," said Melissa Gartly.

"They said to get his stomach checked out because it was a little enlarged, but other than that he's healthy."

'She's absolutely beautiful'

In Ottawa, Fort Saskatchewan's Bonnie Winarski was able to hold her adopted daughter Sarah Marie in her arms for the first time after a two-year wait.

"She's absolutely beautiful," Winarski said.

Winarski had originally flown to Montreal to pick up her daughter, but then learned the flight was going to Ottawa instead.

On Tuesday night, she scrambled to get to Ottawa so she could meet the plane when it landed Wednesday. 

Now she is looking forward to getting Sarah Marie home to Alberta.

"To start to settle in and try to build a routine, try and figure out what she likes, what she likes to eat, what fits her body, and just kind of discover everything about her that I can," Winarski said.

The Canadian government fast tracked about 100 Haitian adoptions that were already underway before the deadly earthquake hit two weeks ago. About two dozen Alberta families were in the process of adopting at the time.