Happy Halloween

We could not let a holiday almost entirely dedicated to candy pass without thinking of our dear daughter, who clearly has quite a penchant for all things sugar (please see recent pics).  So, we decided to dress her up for the occassion.

Now, before the P-C police come and take away our adoptive parent license, we are just playing around and trying to while some time away as we wait for our I-800 approval.  Next year, E will be with us and we'll let her pick out a real costume rather than picking a virtual one for her.  But, no French Maid.  Ever.

ATTENTION:  THIS PHOTO IS DOCTORED!




She loves candy, so she must love cookies, too.

 

Update, Pics, and LOA...Oh, My!!

Now that the screaming and dancing has stopped, I have time to post.

When I got to work this morning and checked my email, I was so excited to see an update on E!  I immediately jumped on the phone so P and I could look at the pictures and read the answers to the 10 questions we had sent months ago together.  We were absolutely giddy with excitement.  She looks adorable and she's finally smiling!  Of course, what kid wouldn't be smiling with handfuls of candy and sugary treats?  You can really tell in these new pictures that she has quite a personality.  I'll start with the pics because I know that's what you are really here to see.

Look at all of those sugary treats!  Halloween came early in Liuzhou!

What did you say?  Take the wrapper off first?

Can someone give me a hand here so I don't have to gnaw through the plastic?

Hi, Mom and Dad!  See you soon!

We also got answers to our 10 questions:

1. She communicates in Mandarin.

2. She sleeps with the foster mother.  She is covered by her own blanket, not shared the blanket with the foster mother.

3. No other medical issues other than Thallassemia.

4. She is not using any medication right now.

5. She is more outgoing, a bit stubborn when she is upset and can cry loudly.  If you cannot satisfy what she wants, she would have a temper.  She likes to immitate, likes to dance.  When she listens to the music, she would move her body.

6. She likes to eat rice with meat broth.  She likes to eat vegetable, oranges, and apples.

7. She likes to play games and chase after others.

8. In the foster family, there are foster father, foster mother, big sister, and big brother.

9. She goes to the hospital for blood transfusion every month.  When it is about time for transfusion, she would appear pale, loss of appetite, and low energy.  After the blood transfusion, she regains her appetite with high energy.  She loves to smile.  The foster mother takes her to the hospital for the blood transfusion each time.  The fees are paid by the orphanage.  She does not have reaction to the medication.

10. The foster family shows the adoptive family's photos to her everyday.

Hmmm...stubborn with a temper.  Who else does that remind you of?  Well, at least I know that she was like that before coming to us, so people won't be able to say she got it from me.  And, it's nice to hear that she eats something other than candy.  In a previous update, her favorite food was listed as "milk candy" and these pictures sure look like she's got a sweet tooth.  Assuming she has any teeth left.

We love seeing how healthy and happy she looks, and it makes us happy that her foster family takes such good care of her.  It is also nice knowing that she looks pictures of P and I every day.  Probably not 1000 times a day like we look at her pictures, but that's OK!

The excitement from the awesome pictures and update hadn't even worn off when I got home and had a message from our agency saying we received our LOA!  Needless to say, I went into hysterics, crying and screaming, then I called other people and made them go into hysterics, crying and screaming...it was just happiness overload!  I called my mom who was in the middle of the casino at Mohegan Sun and she joined in on the crying and screaming, too.  People must have though she either really hit the slots big time, or really lost the slots big time.  I don't think she could have been any happier if she hit the lucky 7's!!

P and I are dancing around here so excited that our dream is becoming more of a reality every day!

Rotten Apples

We had a great day today with Auntie Sue Sue apple picking (and donut eating) at Russell Orchards in Ipswich.  Sue and I laughed so hard that we cried our mascara off.  Who wears mascara to an apple orchard, you ask?  We do. 

Sisters

There are no pictures of the 1/2 dozen donuts the three of us ate, because they were gone before I could get out the Canon.  Afterwards we took a ride up to Newburyport to shop around and grab some coffee.  It was an awesome day, but we all kept saying, "Won't it be fun next year when E is here?" and "Won't it be cool to take E on the hayride?" and "Won't it be cute to lift E up on daddy's shoulders to pick an apple?" and so on.  E, we wish you were here!

E, this is your mother and aunt.  Sorry.

I was lighter before we scoffed down hot cider donuts...

Translation...Done

I found out today that our dossier left the "Translation Room" on 9/30! What does this mean?  NO IDEA! But, hey, this gal likes a reason to celebrate!  Seriously, it doesn't necessarily mean things are moving any faster or slower, but at least it means that things are moving.  After some of the horror stories I read, I was losing sleep thinking that our precious dossier was forgotten and languishing somewhere, or eaten by a dog, or mistakingly flushed down a toilet.  So it was very exciting to finally hear that we've made some progress, and that it's now being reviewed.  Everyone cross your fingers for a fast LOA!!!

C'mon, people!  Where's that LOA?  Don't make me ask twice...

July in October

Anyone else in New England loving the awesome summer weather we had this weekend?!  We headed to Cape Cod for a day trip and sat on a beach full of people in bathing suits!  There were even people in the water!  What a lovely treat.  We always love to visit the Cape in October when it is quiet, but we are usually wearing fleece!

We enjoyed a quiet cocktail rocking away in the rocking chairs and breathing in the salt air at Chatham Bars Inn.  After, we visited a tiny beach across the street and soaked in the last rays of the sun.  I have so many wonderful memories of the Cape with my family, and I can't wait to start making similar memories with E next year.

Mmm...Cocktails at Chatham Bars Inn

Paperwork?  What paperwork?



Soaking in the last drops of summer for a loooooong time



The Hair, Again

So, there's been a lot of water cooler talk about E's whiffle.  Was it medical?  Did she have lice, or did she get a transfusion that way?  Is it cultural, and just something that we are not familiar with in the US?  Or is it just because it's so freakin' hot in the south of China that I'd be shaving my head, too?  Whatever it is, the consensus is that's she's the most adorable thing ever with or without hair, but people still talk about her new 'do.

I had the chance to chat up a lovely Vietnamese woman the other day.  Yes, this was at a nail salon getting a pedicure before our vacation-so what?  I asked her to paint a flower on my big toe and next thing I know my toe had become a canvas for something that could be in the Sistine Chapel.  She is one talented lady...email me if you need a manicure in MA.  Anyways, I'm way off topic here.

We got on the topic of the adoption, and I showed her our pictures.  She said, "Oh!  That's so good they shaved her head!  Aren't you happy?"  Um, no, "happy" was not what I had been thinking.  So I asked her if they did it because it's so hot there.  "Yes, maybe because it's hot but probably so her hair will grow in nice and thick!  It's good-now you won't have to shave it when you bring her home," she tells me.  I actually was not planning on shaving E's head to give her better hair when she got home, but whatever.

Then she went on to explain that some Asians shave their children's eyebrows as well so that they will grow nicely.  She pointed out how lovely hers are (and she really did have great brows).  She then cautioned me not to go home and shave mine, as I'm too old for that and they won't grow in.  Again, I was not considering running home to shave 'em off, but OK.

Finally, she shared the most amazing piece of information about her culture and this thing about cutting hair so that it will grow.  She said that when babies are newborns, some parents creep into their cribs as they sleep, and snip their eyelashes so that the lashes will grow nice and long.  "I did my son's, my husband did my daughter's."  Now, I will say that she did a mighty fine manicure, and she did paint that mural on my toe, but you gotta have some pretty steady hands to trim a sleeping baby's eyelashes!

So, whatever the reason that E is sporting her new crop, it's OK with us.  We are just hoping that her foster mama has hands as steady as a surgeon's.