Chinese New Year!

We have been very busy here preparing for our first real Chinese New Year celebration as a family.  Sure, we were together as a family last year to welcome in the Year of the Dragon, but we had just returned from China and we were also in a whole world of chaos so I don't think we were too worried about noodles or sweeping or red envelopes.  But this year was very different...bring on the Year of the Snake!

E and I made quite a few trips into Chinatown for candies and envelopes and special ingredients for our feast.  We always stop to share a milk tea and a delicious pork bun in one of the little authentic bakeries that line the streets.  I say share, but I rarely get a bite of that pork bun.

Since we had plans to go to the Good Hope Adoption agency CNY party on Sunday, we decided to do our CNY feast on Saturday night.   A little tricky since we were hit with a blizzard, but luckily the driving ban was lifted in time for the party to go on!

So, Baba spent pretty much the entire day digging out of over 2 feet of snow, while I prepared the feast. We took E out briefly to see all of the snow, but when she realized that the drifts were big enough to swallow her whole, I think she decided once and for all that she's more of a beach person than a snow person. (Not that I'm influencing her or anything.)

Hei La Moon last weekend for dim sum and CNY shopping.
Just getting warmed up!

You should have seen me fighting the ladies in Chinatown to
get the ones with the leaves attached.

"This is fun but you can get me outta here now!"

Baba way more into making snow angels than our little angel.
She's like, "Tell me why we're laying in this cold stuff again?"

My little sous chef helping with the egg tarts.

Hand-made dumpings and spring rolls.

Chinese broccoli.  That's my Mai Tai in the background.
No, not Chinese, but delicious nonetheless.

Char siu, noodles, cabbage, rice, chicken...
I said to P that cooking a huge meal like this is like the
Super Bowl for a home cook!

Chinese egg tarts.

So after a fun night of eating and drinking we were up again today to do it all over again to celebrate CNY with our home study agency friends.  The drive down was a little dicey with post-blizzard messes everywhere, but it was well worth the trip to see some old friends and to make some new ones.  E had a great time handing out the red envelopes to everyone, and eating more Chinese food.  She loves her Chinese food!  The only thing she absolutely did NOT like was the dragon dance...she was yelling for us to take her out into the cold, snowy parking lot until it was over.  We stayed inside and braved it, but she was not very happy and was yapping about it the whole drive home from Cape Cod.

This kid loves anything on a stick.

Scissors.  Still the favorite activity.

Get outta here, dragon!

And of course a happy new year to our little R during our long LOA wait...

Emmie Day

I've started this post 3 or 4 times now, not knowing what to say, not able to see the screen through my tears.   Tears of joy that I have been so blessed to live my dream, to hold my sweet daughter in my arms and hear "Wo Ai Ni".  Tears of sadness when I think of how badly our terrified daughter was suffering last year at this time, and that someone had to say goodbye to her for us to welcome her into our lives.

We remember the moment as if it was yesterday...the dinging of the elevator in the Nanning Marriott, the heat in the room that we couldn't control, our guide taking the camera, the balloons lolling about on the green carpet, everything seeming to move so slowly but then it was all going so fast and we heard the faintest cry from the hallway and we knew it was happening...

And there she was.  Beautiful, scared, profoundly sad, wanting candy and to pick up everything she could in her tiny hands and get out of that hotel room.  And we realized that the journey we thought we had been on since May 29, 2011 was really just a lot of paperwork.  The real journey was just beginning.

January 9, 2012

E packed her bags to leave more than once on the day we met her and the days that would follow. She stood near the door and hung on to the doorknob crying an awful cry.  I cried that same awful cry on the floor of the hotel bathroom days later, and it was then that I knew E was even more special than I dreamed was possible.  She caught me in that moment, and through her own pain comforted me, wiping my tears away.  We were going to be OK.

It's hard to believe today that during our time in China, we barely saw a smile, heard a peep, or did anything besides try to calm and comfort our deeply distraught daughter.  Today, Emmilene lights up every place she walks into, warms the heart of every soul she touches, elicits laughter from every stranger, and gives love right back to those who love her.  She is courageous, compassionate, silly, bright, chatty, and affectionate.  All of this was wrapped up inside of her in China as she held on so tightly while her world was spinning out of her control.

In those first days, you wonder if your new child will ever come to accept you and your love.  Now E comes to us to kiss her boo-boos, to hold on to her tightly at her transfusions, to read her stories, to play, and to sing songs over and over.  She loves bath time with Baba and cuddle time with Mama each night.  She offers kisses and hugs and smiles at bright as the sun.

So today is a remembrance of the day we became a family.  We were going to call it "Family Day," but with little Rosalie on the way we decided to call it "Emmie Day."  It's a day to thank the people who took care of her while we waited, and to look back at just how far this amazing little child has come.  We'll think about all of the incredible memories we already have together as a family, and about all the wonderful things that lie ahead.  And Patrick and I will take a moment to quietly stop and think about just how lucky we truly are.

What a year it's been, and it's all thanks to you, our beautiful first daughter.  You have brought more joy, fun, happiness, and love to our lives than we have ever known.  We love you more and more with each passing day, minute, and second.  Happy Emmie Day!

January 9, 2013

DTC and Surprise Pics!

OK...let's rewind a bit here.  Last post:  Christmas Joy.  Everything was great in the "Emmie, Mama, Baba House" as E calls it.  Day after Christmas...all hell breaks loose with the Dreaded Christmas Stomach Bug of 2012.  Knocked out half of my extended family.  Thankfully, little E escaped it, although I landed at BCH getting one HUGE transfusion myself.  Let's just say that a hemoglobin in the low 7's plus horrible stomach bug plus a nearly 105 temperature plus living on gingerale for days equals a gray and whithered Mama.  Thank goodness for my mom's steady deliveries of homemade chicken soup or I would have seriously just melted into the couch.  E was quite supportive of my going to the hospital to get "new blood", although she cautioned me that the Abby band-aids were for "Emmie only" and that I could get one of the circular flesh-toned band-aids instead.  So noted, Boss.

Soooooooooo...anything else happen on December 26?  Why, yes something did!  We were DTC!  I wasn't even sure if I was reading it right or if I was delirious, but it turns out we were in fact DTC on 12/26!  Given the seriousness of our illnesses, P and I did our Happy DTC Dance from a seated position, but we were delighted nonetheless.

After that things were pretty quiet around here recovering from being sick, and then dealing with all of the backlog of everything that happens when you do nothing but lay on your patootie for a week.  Plus, E's favorite new Christmas gift continues to be the scissors, so it constantly looks like Times Square after the ball drops with confetti everywhere so the sweeping never ends.  Speaking of which, our darling E stayed up to watch the ball drop and nearly tucked us into bed.

So, that brings us up today.  Pretty boring Monday until guess who show's up in my Inbox!  Oh, my stars we got the most adorable pictures of R you can imagine!  We sent a care package what seems like forever ago...so long ago that I stopped even asking our agency's in-country contact if it was received.  We didn't even ask for or expect anything in return...we just wanted our R and her little pals and the Ayis to have some little things from us.  So I was literally shocked when we got some pictures...I could barely dial the phone to call P.  E wanted to look at them over and over, and remembered going shopping for things for her little sister.  Of course, after seeing the pictures, E amended her usual refrain of "Emmie, Mama, Baba go get Ro-rie in China" to "Emmie, Mama, Baba go get Ro-rie in China in a few days."  Um, not quite, sweetie, but from your lips to God's ears!

E helping to pack up the care package for her Mei Mei.

Hmm...I've already snuck out the lighted ball a couple of times but they
keep catching me and putting it back.  That chapstick looks good, too...I
wonder if I can surreptitiously grab some of that...

And our reward for all of that packing and taping and super expensive shipping...

Love that they put a bow in her hair!  In fact, a different bow for each picture!

Look at that scrunched up little smile!  And the dimple!
Can't take such cuteness!

Um, you stuck these things on my face and told me to display  these toothbrushes.
Now what?  Can we get on with the candy please?

P said she looks like she's brokering some sort of merger.
This picture is SO Emmie...multitasking, I'm "too busy" for you right now...can't
you see I'm on the phone and eating my favorite food?

Best of all, she looks healthy and cared for and happy and beautiful.  We couldn't be more thrilled!  We love you so much, Rosie, and we want you here with us now!

Christmas Fun

What an amazing first Christmas we had as a family! 

Last year, I remember being at our annual family Christmas Eve party and having E "with us" by having a picture of her at the table.  This year, she was the life of the party!  And I mean that literally, she nearly shut the place down!  Dancing, singing, marching, stopping for some shrimp cocktail or a bite of Nana's dessert, and off again wearing the grown-ups out.  She really enjoyed getting to play with her adorable little cousins.  At one point around midnight (when all of the other kids were long gone and tucked in to bed), E was playing the piano and Baba asked her if she was getting tired and ready to go home and she said, "No!  Emmie play all night!"  When we got her to go home, she put out some cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer and finally passed out.

Auditioning for "The Voice"?

This is about 12:30am.  LOTS of energy still left!

Christmas Day was magical.  It was so much fun and excitement for all of us.  I waited with nervous anticipation with the cameras as Baba led E in to see all of the fun things that Santa left for her.  Obviously, she was a VERY good girl this year!  I can report that her favorite gift so far is a pair of kid's scissors.  I'm pretty sure Santa could have just left those and a bunch of paper to cut up and that's all she would need.  We had a delicious Christmas dinner and lots more presents to open to round out a perfect day.

How do you use this thing?

The favorite gift:  a pair of kid's scissors.

Our happy girl.

Look at those big brown eyes in the magnifying glass!

It was a wonderful Christmas with the people we love.  We missed our little R, but we are so excited that she will be here to join in on the fun next year!

Holiday Thoughts

This family has sure been Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree this holiday season, and it has been amazing.  We've looked at lights, sung carols, watched all of the requisite TV specials, trimmed the tree, gone shopping together, named our very own Elf, and read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" countless times.  We even saw a real reindeer right near our neighborhood!  Yesterday, E and I baked cookies and made my Nana's recipe for fudge.  Andy Williams and Dean Martin were playing holiday classics in the background, my daughter had a mouthful of chocolate chips and was covered in sticky Fluff and my kitchen was covered in powdered sugar.  I stopped, looked, and listened and thought to myself, "Yes, this is what it's all about." 

At E's 3rd birthday party, one of my favorite relatives who we hadn't seen in awhile asked P how he was doing.  His response:  "I'm living the dream."  And if that sounds as candy-coated as my kitchen right now, it's not.  That doesn't mean that it's perfect or easy, but we never expected it to be perfect or easy.  But it's truly wonderful.

So, then, what are we complaining about?

It's Rosie.  She's in China, we are here, and it's Christmas.  I know, I know...those of you who know us or have followed our adoption journeys are saying, "But what's the big deal?  E was in China last Christmas...you should be old pros at this!  You already sang 'Blue Christmas' last year!"

Well, this year it's worse.  Does that sound like a slight against E?  I suppose it does.  But, in fact, it's actually the exact opposite.  It is because of E that we are missing our second daughter so much this Christmas.  Before E, we weren't parents.  So, the whole idea of having a child was just that--an idea.  We said, "I bet it will be so amazing to have a little daughter to celebrate the holidays with!"  Now, we know how wonderful it is to celebrate every holiday, every birthday, and every Tuesday with your child.  It's not just the idea of little feet running around...it's actually hearing those little feet, feeling those tight hugs, smelling her soft hair, and seeing her bright smile.  Like P said, "Now I know what all of the fuss was about." 

So, this year, we will celebrate this Christmas like no other before it.  It will be bigger, happier, warmer, and more full of love than ever.  But, it will also be harder because while we look and see the joy in E's eyes, we'll know what we are missing.

Update!

Yay!  If you got our Christmas card then you know that we got some new and *outrageously* adorable pics of R.  For the rest of you all out in the blog world (ie, the 3 of you reading this) here they are:

Rockin' the acid-washed denim vest.

Look at that perfectly coiffed hair!

We were so delighted to see how good she looks!  (We had received an earlier video where she did not look so well.)  I'm not going to go into the details of the medical update, but suffice it to say that I literally lost my breath when I read how low her hemoglobin had been in the past year.  When I called my Mom to give her the update (she knows a lot about hemoglobin values from raising this thal baby), she was out Christmas shopping and sounded like she, too, had been hit in the chest. Thankfully, R's recent values were much better.  Still, this Mama is worrying about her little baby from far away.

We were also thrilled to find out that R has been in the Love Without Boundaries Nutrition Program since she was a baby!  In fact, she appeared on their recent Nutrition Program update here.  It makes me so happy to know that she's getting some assistance from such a wonderful organization, but it also makes me a little sad to know that she needs this kind of assistance in her life right now.  It was amazing to see the outpouring of support when Amy Eldridge of LWB announced on Facebook that R had a family.  Supporters of LWB from all over the globe were estatic to hear that our precious little daughter would be "One Less."

Everyone please join us in hoping for a quick paperwork process to bring our second little princess home!