Our Growing Boy!

We received some measurements on Andrew. At 4 months, he is:

12.8 pounds
23.2 inches long
15.4 inch head circumference
15.1 inch chest circumference
drinking 4 ounces of formula every 4 hours


Looks like everything is on track. He's on the small side, but he's following a normal growth pattern. I've been buying the 6-9 month clothing size. I imagine he'll be right on the boarder of needing a 3-6 month-6-9 month size. Oh well, better to err on the side of being too big.

While we haven't heard any official word about our final court date, we've been told to start packing, contact the travel agency etc. So, it feels like it's getting closer! As always, I'll let you all know, as soon as we know.

Things continue to move quickly........

Well, last week was a very eventfull week with the other waiting parents on our adoption agency list. Many, many families received word of their "final ruling" and are gearing up to travel. It's incredibly exciting to watch them get ready and it's motivator for us to get our ducks in a row!

While it's impossible to predict exactly "when" we'll get the call, I can tell you we are next. Now, we could hear something tomorrow....or we could hear something 4 weeks from now. In either case, it's pretty exciting.

Our "To Do" list is pretty big right now. We need to:

* Finish the kids rooms
* Work on travel plans
* Buy a new car seat
* Finish the last of the dossier requirements (you do this once you get your travel notice)
* Get gifts for people in Taiwan
* Buy baby supplies
* Get medicines for everyone for travel

Whew! I felt a little anxiety even as I wrote this! I imagine the next few weeks are going to extremely busy for us. Ulitmately, this is a good thing for me as I'm worrier. Hopefully all this work will keep me happily distracted. Confession time. I must admit that last week I felt the first serious wave of anxiety. I knew it was coming and it's something most parents feel. It's just so overwhelming to think about what we are about to do. Yet, as I was going through all of this, I looked at Andrew's little pictures. That brought it all into perspective.

I am so ready to meet and hold Andrew that all the worries and fears I have don't matter. So, I changed the slideshow and placed it at the top of the page. I'm sure you noticed :) Yes, the music is a little sappy and reminescent of a what a teenage girl would use. You'll all forgive me as I feel a little sappy and sentimental right now. :)

Summer is Right Around the Corner!

Hi,

We are really getting excited about summer here. Lily and I will be getting passes to the new water park. I can't wait to have some fun days there with just the two of us. The school year is winding down and I can tell my students are ready for the end of the year too. We are looking forward to the holiday weekend and attending our local Asian festival. It's always a blast to see the performers, do some shopping and sampling yummy food. Last year, we had so much fun talking to people at the Taiwan area and seeing the dances that represented different ethnic minorities. I can also remember a travel agent really wanting to help us with our trip. Maybe this year we'll be in need of his services! I think we are pretty close to getting "the call" for travel. I'll keep you all updated.

Happy Mother's Day!

I've been looking forward to this weekend all week. I have so much to be thankfull for this Mother's Day. First, I get to honor my Mom, Mother-in-Law and Grandmother today. I'm so very lucky to have so many wonderful women in my life and we are all very, very close. Our whole family will get together today for a meal at our favorite Chinese restaurant and then go back to my parents for dessert. It's always such a great time when we get together and visit.

Second, I am also so thankfull for my Lilianna. I can't believe this is my 4th Mother's Day since she came home. Where does the time go? She is truly a sweet, smart, engaging, funny little girl. She's grown so much this past year and it's been a true priveledge to be her mommy. Here's a recent picture of her with a quote that I love.

As I've stated in many of my previous posts, I feel so fortunate to have our referral of sweet, little Andrew. Children are always a blessing, but that is especially true given the current struggles in the international adoption community. I'll admit, that I'm finally getting restless about getting Andrew home. I just can't wait to hold him and touch that fuzzy little baby hair! Here's a layout I did with the most recent pictures. I always get a kick out of the fact that Andrew looks surprised when he sees the camera. I think he looks especially surprised in this photo.

Lastly, I must share the best Mother's Day gift ever. I love little kid art, but I realize that I can't save every masterpiece my child creates. So, I requested that Bill take Lily to a paint your own pottery studio. I picked out an adorable mug and left so she could paint it in all her 4 year old glory. I was presented with the mug this morning and I LOVE it! It's just perfect, isn't it?

Mother's Day Came Early--New Pics from Taiwan

Well, I guess I couldn't have been more wrong about not getting news on anything this week. First we hear that we have our second court process and now we get new pictures and videos! I couldn't ask for a more perfect Mother's Day gift!

We can tell from the settings and voice that Andrew is now in foster care. Also, another family in our adoption group shared their pictures and video. Their daughter, is on the same green clover pillow as our Andrew. She's one week older than our little guy and our court dates have been very similiar. Who knows? Maybe we'll get to overlap in our travel dates!

Speaking of travel, the faster court date and earlier travel is really sinking in. Nothing is set in stone, but we estimate that we are likely 1 month to 2 months away from bringing Andrew home. In terms of the adoption world, that is so fast! In fact, after we enjoy this Mother's Day weekend, we must get moving on our "to-do" list! I have a feeling things are going to get busy, but it's definitely a welcomed, happy busy!

Update, Update, Update!

Well, apparently I was way off on the "no news" post below :) We got some information from Taiwan today that our Civil Ruling took place on May 7th. What does this mean? Basicallly, the hearing on April 22nd was where the judge gathered the information about our case. After the judge considers the information, he makes his intentions known through the Civil Ruling (i.e. he approves the adoption or he doesn't). Then things move toward the "Final Ruling" where it's all finalized, signed etc.

This is great news as it means our case looks good and our judge is FAST! We were anticipating a 4-6 week wait and this was a mere 15 days. For all of those who have or are adopting, it's rare that things ever go faster than expected. We still can't get really specific on travel times untill we have our Final Ruling. However, it does look good that we will a) go earlier than we anticipated and b) avoid some of the travel complications created by the Olympics.

I feel so happy! What a great, early Mother's day gift!


I just heard it though the grapevine, that there will not be any news from Taiwan untill next week. Our case manager had requested Andrew's measurements. I have been looking forward to that. I'd like to see how he is growing and try to anticipate some clothing and car seat needs. Usually the orphanage is able to get that information back to the US in about a week. Well, apparently there has been a huge batch of babies and the orphanage is swamped with getting referrals out. I can't think of a better reason for a delay :) There are some families on our agency list who have been waiting for a referral for over a year. I can't think of a better Mother's Day gift for those families, can you? So, we will patiently wait and hope to hear something next week or the week after.

On another note, who knew life with a four year old can be so much fun? Lily has always been a delight, but there's something particularily charming about this age. She continues to bring a smile to my face and often makes me laugh out loud. On Monday, I was encouraging her to pick out her own outfit. When she asked me my opinion, I told her both outfits were nice. She then sighs and very seriously says "I know Mommy. And let's face it. Everything I wear will make me look like a model." :) I could have died it was so funny.

This past weekend was National Scrapbooking Day. I know, if you don't scrapbook, you wouldn't believe such a day exists. Well, it does and I did some serious digital scrapbook supply shopping. I just had to justify my purchase and do some layouts. Here's one that turned out pretty cute. Enjoy!

Summertime and Gratitude

Well, I imagine you can tell from the new blog design, that I've got summer on the brain! The school year is winding down, outdoor activities are now possible and summer is almost here! Yipee! If money was no object, I'd love to go on a beach vacation with my family. Realistically, this blog design is probably as close to the beach as I'll get this summer :)

On another note we haven't heard anything in regards to the court processes in Taiwan. This is very typical and we won't likely hear anything for another 4 weeks. Waiting isn't my favorite thing to do, but we feel very, very fortunate to even have a referral given the current state of international adoption. I've mentioned this sentiment before in previous posts. Well, it really hit home this week because there was a lot of bad news in the adoption world. Families adopting from Vietnam heard the final word on the tough relations between the US Immigration Offices and Vietnam officials. Sadly, adoptions from Vietnam will cease later this year. Families won't be formed. Parents will lose thousands and thousands of dollars. Most tragically, children in orphanages will not find homes. It's so heartbreaking. Then in the China adoption scene the pace keeps slowing down. Back when were waiting for Lilianna, 30 days of referrals were matched per month. Currently, 3-5 days of referrals are matched per month. Given the current pace and the Olympics, they will be lucky if they get through 3 months of referral for the whole 2008 years. For those not familiar with adoption, this means families will be looking at waiting at least 3 years to be matched to a child. This is also such a heart break. We know many, many dear friends who are attemtpiong to adopt from various countries. Sadly, all are facing pretty big challenges. Our hearts go out to them.