Happy Gotcha Day, Parker!

Two years ago today, a very scared and sick little guy took my hand and let me hold him for the first time.  He never cried, not even when we left the building with him and got in the van to go back to the hotel.  The only time he DID cry was when we gave him his first bath!  I still remember that day like it was yesterday.  After his bath, he took a little nap and I just watched him sleep, thinking how I couldn't believe that he was mine. Such sweet memories!

In two years, he's grown 4 inches and gained 6 pounds.  He is out going and loves to be the center of attention, but also has a tiny reserved side when he's not sure about some thing.  He loves our dog Lucy, but still doesn't like dogs any bigger than her.  He loves to play outside and ride his tricycle in the cul-de-sac.  He LOVES Jesus and loves to read stories about him.  He is very strong willed and has a stubborn streak at least a mile wide.  He is funny and serious at the same time.  He loves super heroes, but will tell you that GOD is the only real super hero! 

It's hard to believe he's only been with us for 2 years.  It seems like he's been here his whole life.  He's definitely given me a run for my money and made me question my parenting abilities on more than one occassion. 

Today, on this Thanksgiving morning, I give thanks that God whispered in my ear thatJanuary day I first saw his picture, "That's your little boy!" and that I listened.  Life wouldn't be the same with out our little ParkiePine!

Happy Gotcha Day, Parker!  We love you!!

LOA

We got our LOA today!  That means that China has reviewed our dossier (paperwork) and that we've met the requirements set forth by them to adopt MaryClaire!  Whew! 

We only have a few more steps to go before we can travel, but we still don't know when it will be.  We're still keeping our fingers crossed for an end of 2012 travel because we want that adoption credit on our taxes!  So far, it's not being renewed in 2013 so it would be great to get it!  If we don't travel by the end of December, then we'll most likely travel within the first few weeks of 2013!

Can I get a Hip! Hip! Hooray!

We have a Log In Date!!

Hello Friends,

We got our Log In Date today!  This is a HUGE milestone because it means that China has received our paperwork and that it's been logged in as received.  The wait for our next milestone (Letter of Approval) is anywhere from 45 to 130 days.  We are hoping for the average wait of around 60 something days.  Cross your fingers!

And the countdown begins!  I cannot believe after all the bumps in the road that we are finally moving (again) closer to meeting MaryClaire!

Dossier To China

We found out today that our paperwork has (FINALLY!!) been sent to China!  Thank you, God! 

Sad Eyes...

We got an update on MaryClaire today!  

Feng Qiu Dan

Height:81cm   Weight:10.3kg   Head:47cm   Feet:13cm   Teeth:6/8

Qiu Dan likes to play with other children. She likes sitting on the baby toy car with music. She likes sucking pacifier. She can feed herself with little spoon. She can climb up and down the stairs. And she can also open and close the door. She likes to stay outdoor, and she is a little shy and very attached to her foster mother. Her appetite is not so good lately and she likes eating snacks.

I've never had a pacifier baby!  Kinda scares me because I have friends who've had the joys of taking it away later on.  We'll make it, I'm sure.  Just a little fun fact I never thought much about. Currently, she weighs about 6.5 pounds less that Parker and wears the same size shoe and clothes as he did when he came home at 38 months.  (MaryClaire is 20 months now!)  She's already outgrown some of the things I've picked up along the way, which gives me a great excuse to go shopping!  :o)

Seeing her sweet little face makes it so much harder to know that we still have such a long wait ahead of us.  I've been meeting lots of new families through a facebook group and the wait times are all over the place.  Some families are waiting only 50 days for LOA and others are waiting over 100, more like 120ish.  I'm not sure what makes the difference, but of course we're hoping we're on the shorter end.   We're hoping to be DTC soon, as in the next week or so.  Yay!

It's a GIRL!!

After much consideration, we are proud to announce Baby Girl Chu-Ba to the rest of the world.  We finally received our Pre-Approval today!!

We'll be starting out home study soon and hope to travel by late summer.  The jury is still out on a name, but here is a bit of information about her:

Her Chinese name is Feng Qiu Dan and she is currently 9 months old and is in the Fengcheng Social Welfare Institute in Fengcheng City, Jiangxi, China.  Her birthday is December 23, 2010 and she was born 18 days after we got home from China with Parker.  (I knew when we were in China, even BEFORE we met Parker, that we'd be going back!)

We are fortunate to be with our same adoption agency as last time... AAC in Colorado.  We had such a wonderful experience with them last time and I was really hoping we'd be able to use them again.  When this little one popped up on RainbowKids.org and I saw AAC listed as the agency, I jumped, no RAN to call and request her file.  I certainly can't wait to meet this little one!  So excited doesn't even begin to explain how we're feeling!