Friday, July 27, 2007

Happy Gotcha Day and Happy Birthday!

Today, July 27th, is a very special day for both our girls, our Southern Belles.

Four years ago today, Cara-Li joined us and we became a family. It is hard to believe that all this time has gone by! I cannot remember life before her... what did we do with all our free time? It has been the 4 most wonderful years of our lives and we are about to start all over again with the arrival of Alexia very shortly. Happy Gotcha Day, sweet baby Cara-Li! We love you! Wo ai ni!

And today, is also a very special day for our little Alexia who turns 9 months old! We will be there soon, sweetiepie, so that we could begin our lives together as a family of four. Hopefully, we will have you in our arms on the day of your 10 month birthday. Happy Birthday, sweet little baby Alexia! We love you! Wo ai ni!

Other news... my dear husband has decided to book our airline tickets to China today. That's right... we don't even have an exact travel date but we have airline tickets. Go figure! He decided that we should get our tickets as they were available today on airmile points and they may not be later once the travel date is decided by the agency. We can change them should we have to for a small fee but hopefully we guessed right.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Drum roll please...

It has been 11 days since we had our first glimpse of our precious daughter, Guang Yun Xia who is waiting for us in the province of Jiangxi. She is described as an active and smiley baby who loves to play with her favorite rattle and loves to listen to music. She sleeps very soundly and gets excited when she sees food... much like her mother!

Some time ago, we asked for suggestions for a name for our daughter and this weekend was the weekend where the decision was to be made. So here it is.... her name is .... Alexia Yun. I think that we did OK in trying to use her 2 Chinese names. Thanks to everyone that sent us suggestions!

Last Thursday we met up with a couple, Mary and Eric, that we will be travelling to China with. It is wild to think that our daughters are together right now as we speak. It'll be so nice for them to have this connection right here in our city. Mary and Eric are great and we cannot wait to start our journey together! Mary... I am still working on a master packing list. I will let you know when it is done so we can compare.

Four years ago, we were getting ready to leave for China. It's funny because back then just before departure, I had to renew my driver's liscence and medicare card. I renewed these again last week. Also, back four years ago, I had a terrible toothache that had to be dealt with just before departure. Guess what? Four years later, same tooth, same ache. This is going to be dealt with this week as it has been aching for over a week. Is this a coincidence or does this mean that it is time for us to go China?

I say... China here we come as we cannot wait to hold our little Alexia Yun in our arms!!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Here she is!

Presenting our new baby daughter, Guang Yun Xia! I'll post more details later. She is too cute!!




The pictures are here!

I just got the call that we can go get our daughter's file and pictures. OMG... we'll finally get to see her. I will post as soon as I get back!!!

Monday, July 9, 2007

Names

While we are impatiently awaiting our next call from our agency to pick up the file and pictures of our new daughter (which should be in a couple of days), we are scrambling to find a name for her. We have some ideas but not a whole lot. I thought I'd ask you guys out there for some suggestions. Perhaps you can come up with a name that all 3 of us will like. Now, remember, her name is Guang Yun Xia. We want to somehow incorporate Yun Xia in her new name.

Off you go with your assignment. Let's see what you can come up with....

Friday, July 6, 2007

IT'S A GIRL!!

Yes, we have a girl! We got the call today and we have been floating on cloud nine ever since! Her name is Guang Yun Xia born on October 27, 2006. She is presently at the Guangchang SWI in the province of Jiangxi. She is a little over 8 months old... just a baby! We will have her file and photos some time next week. I know, I know... it's difficult. We must wait as the files are translated but at least we have some information to get us through the week. And we did not have to wait until Monday. For this, we are thankful!

Cara-Li is thrilled to have a baby sister! We have been preparing her for the possibility of a brother. We could almost see a sign of relief when we told her it was a girl. We have a very, very happy 5 year old right now.!

I am in panic mode. We don't have any clothes for such a young baby as Cara-Li was 16 months when we brought her home. Must go shopping! I have not prepared a care package to send to her in China despite the 20 months we had to prepare. Must go shopping! We must get some suitcases. Must go shopping! She is 8 months old... do I need a smaller car seat? Must go shopping! What about a baby carrier? Must go shopping! What in the world have I been doing for the last 20 months? Apparently, not much!

Here is a map of China so that you can see where our girls are from. Cara-Li is from Guangxi and Yun Xia is from Jiangxi... a couple of Southern Belles!



P.S.: I know some of you are afraid of blogs and do not know how to Comment. Here is a quick how to for those who don't blog! At the bottom of each post you will see a number with Comments . If you click on this you can read comments others have made AND add one of your own. Type your comment in the big box, click on the Other bubble, enter your name and finally the Publish Your Comment bubble. It is just that simpe.

OK... I am off to, you guessed it, SHOP!!!

Oh, geez! I guess we should name her too! Goodness, where is my ''To Do List''...

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Bugs and more bugs!

I came home this evening after work to find my daughter out in the backyard with her little friend playing on the swings. While I was setting the table for dinner, I heard them hollering, ''Found a ladybug!'' Well, not only did they find a ladybug, they found a whole pile of ladybug larvae all over the wood of the swing set hatching into ladybugs. In just a short period, they went from larvae to ladybugs. And one by one they all flew away. You know what they say about ladybugs and their Magical Red Thread that guides parents to their babies. If every ladybug that flew off tonight represented newly formed forever families, there will be a whole lot of referrals happening!

Including ours!

This is it!

The referrals have started coming an hour or so ago on the West Coast! Looks like East Coast and Canada will be tomorrow. Please, please... let us get our call tomorrow before the weekend. I cannot wait until Monday! I will not wait until Monday!

YAAAAHHHHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

They're coming!!

Quote from RQ:

It’s all an R5!

The packages left on Wednesday, and the cut-off is the 14th.
As I said before, it’s hard to say when they will arrive. They have been known (once or twice) to show up the next day, but it’s usually two days before they arrive. With the holiday, it could be three days.


This is by far the best news I have heard in a long while! We could actually hear something before the weekend! An R5 rating is the highest, by the way. Can this wait finally be over?

I will certainly sit by the phone (all my phones!) tomorrow all day willing it (them) to ring! Come on referrals!

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Our time has come!

This is it folks! Our time has come. Rumour is that referrals have left and that the cutoff is the 14th. This is a rumour however and not written in stone. Rumour Queen even mentions deep in the adoption forums that referrals may arrive as early as Wednesday. With tomorrow being the 4th of July, that means Thursday for Americans. But we are not Americans... and that means we might see something tomorrow. Goodness, could this finally really be happening?!? Will we finally meet our daughter and Cara-Li her baby sister?

Stay tuned...