Elizabeth's Journey

The End of a Chapter

2008-11-03T14:29:00.004-05:00

This blog began as we waited for our beautiful daughter from China. It has carried us through our wait, the most amazing trip to China and our first year together as a family. While we will forever be on a journey but our journey has changed. It is no longer a journey to become a family but our journey as a family. I have decided to end this blog, with our previous post being the last. It shared the celebration of our one year together. I am going to turn our blog into a book so that Elizabeth wil be able to share in all of the memories that she was not here to enjoy, all of the memories she was too young to remember and most importantly, all of the well wishes from family, friends, and strangers as we brought her into our family.
Have no fear!!! I have started a new blog to move our family into the future. Our new blog is www.emaspath.blogspot.com. It is titled "Down the Garden Path". I hope you will follow along!

A True Celebration

2008-09-13T11:02:00.009-04:00

We had a incredible celebration of our First Anniversary of our Gotcha Day! It was 12 days of family fun. We are so amazed out how quickly time flies so it was great to take some days and just enjoy being a family with no outside distractions. Our celebration started off on Friday. We traveled to Leesburg for a reunion with our travel group. We are so lucky to have had the life altering experience with this group. They are now like extended family to us. Each one of them holds a special place in our hearts, especially the girls. When we were altogether in China, I think the girls were all so traumatized that they didn't pay attention to each other. This time they played and played and played. I hope these relationships last a lifetime!! We of course had a great time watching the kids as well as reconnecting with the other moms and babas. Our hosts were fantastic. They went above and beyond to make sure our stay was comfortable and that the girls were entertained. On Friday night, we gathered at their house for pizza and time for the girls to relax and play after traveling. On Saturday, we went to the Reston Zoo, a picnic on the Potomac River, their pool and then back to their house for a great BBQ. Elizabeth did great despite that fact that she was up for most of the night on Friday. She work up at 1AM and was awake until sometime around 5am which was about an hour into my early morning drive (yes, a feeble attempt to get her a little sleep ~ and yes, you can make it all the way to just outside of DC with no traffic at 4am in the morning). On Sunday morning, we all gathered for a the breakfast buffet in our hotel and reflecting on a great trip - just like we did exactly one year earlier! It was amazing trip. I know we probably all won't be able to get together every year but I hope that we can a least get part of the group together yearly and hopefully sometime again we will all be able to gather. It was such a blessing. Again, a special thanks to Ed and Sharon for opening your home. It was wonderful!!!

We then traveled to see Grammy (in Elizabethease it is pronounced ganny) and Poppy. We had three days to relax and take some little day trips. One day, we went to the local zoo. Poppy then suggested Chuckie Cheese. Who in their right mind goes there without the kid demanding it, I don't know but once she warmed up to the little rides, she really enjoyed herself.

The next day we went to Linvilla Orchards. Elizabeth really enjoyed feeding the animals and playing on the playground. I would love to take her their someday during the pumpkin season. It is a great place that we used to go to every year when we were kids. I love sharing those kinds of places with her.

Our last day in Delaware was spent going to the park and going to Poppy's library where they had a great kid's section. She cried the whole way home. She didn't want to leave. We had alot of accomplish that day including getting a nap and getting ready for the next phase of our celebratory week!
On Thursday, we, including Grammy and Poppy, we to Wildwood NJ (aka "the shore"). My sister and her family joined us there as well. Wildwood is a special place for all of us. My dad went there as a kid. He took us there as kids and now both Janet and I took our kids there for first of what I imagine will be many times. They had a great time. We were a little worried about E enjoying the many rides but with Domi's help, she quickly learned to LOVE them. Her favorites were definitely the Carosel and the train. She loved the boardwalk tram car, the hotel pool and the beach.

Fun on the Rides!

Elizabeth just LOVES her Aunt Janet. She wanted to see her the whole time. When we weren't with her she wanted to call her on the phone. Take a look at this picture. What don't you see?That is right, you see my daughter walking across the street without her Mommy or Baba!!!! What a moment!!!!!! She was actually gone for almost 2 hours with Aunt Janet, Uncle Matt adn Domi. They were going to go fly kites and then get their hair wrapped. Elizabeth wanted to go but I was sure she wouldn't make it down the hotel steps before she started crying for me. I made Janet promise not to push her and if she wanted to come back, she could. NOPE, not only did she not come back, she even went and got her hair wrapped with red string (which was pulled out in a fit of rage the next day:( ) It was a wonderful moment in her progression of attachment. I hope we will continue to see bits of this kind of progress. Aunt Janet, can you move to Virginia?

A few things we learned on vacation:
1. A vacation with th 3 year old is not really a vacation, more of a trip.
2. We are all not meant to share one hotel room. Elizabeth can't sleep which means mommy is awake all night long.
3. Because of #1, we know that roads are not busy at 2am, 3am 4am etc.
4. We can resume life without Ling, who was accidentily left at the first hotel. (yeah, we have her back now!)
5. We know our girl and we should follow our gut. If we think an amusement will scare her, it probably will.
6. If you spend an entire ride clawing at mommy in absolute hysterical fear, it is best to go find a calmer ride next so you don't leave with that impression.
7. I wish I lived closer to my family.
8. Sam and I have had 2 childless moments together over the last year. Once on our anniversary and once this trip. We do miss those and wish Elizabeth would happily go with more people.
9. Generally speaking, people who Elizabeth will go, can't (sometimes in my pity party moods I say won't help us) and those who would love to help, Elizabeth won't go to.
10. Talking to others about their travel groups, we feel more and more blessed to have our special friends.
11. Potty training and take a HUGE regression while traveling. Sorry Mom for all of the wet spots!
12. The most important ~ I absolutly love spending this amount of time with my husband and daughter. I am a lucky, lucky lady!

One Year Ago - August 20, 2007

2008-08-20T16:31:00.009-04:00

To our dear sweet Elizabeth,

It is so hard to believe that one year ago, our lives changed forever. Your life changed and mommy and baba's life changed. Some of the changes were painful but they have been well worth it. We play over in our heads the long flight to Hong Kong and then the flight to Hefei only to be told that we had about an hour before we had to meet in the lobby to pick up "our girls". Boy, those words sound so simple but they mean so very much. We remember the bus ride to the civil affairs office. It was a quiet ride. I think everyone was anxious whether they had 3 kids at home or becoming a first time parent. We remember riding that elevator up and walking down the dark hallway. We remember turning the corner, thinking you were not there yet and all of a sudden hearing the sound of babies! I remember being the first at the door and seeing your profile as you were being held with the bright sunlight at your back. I remember your nanny handing you to me as they told you that I was your new mommy. I remember how you sobbed and how you tried to strain your neck so you could get a peak at the one person who had been your caregiver and was now leaving you. Trust me my dear one, if there was anything I could have done to take away that anguish, I would have. I just kept hoping and praying that the wonderful life you were about to embark on would make up for this day which I know was awful for you. Since we first saw your picture, we have loved you unconditionally. We have traveled thousands of miles together and we would do it again without hesitation. We can not imagine our life without you.

My pumpkin, we believe that you were destined to be our daughter and we were destined to be your family. We have watched you bloom from the sullen, scared little girl who would cower to the funny, vibrant, opinionated girl that we have now. We have watched you learn to feed yourself, climb steps, run, play, draw and most recently, learn to us the potty. We have been in awe as your language has taken off. A year ago, you said almost nothing. Today you use more and more english. We are amazed at the thoughts you can now get across to us. We are so proud of you. You have learned that toys are fun (especially when used for their unintended purposes). You have learned that dinner is more than a bottle and that food is always available (even though you can have solid food, you still love soup the best!). You have learned that during stressful moments you can let out a belly laugh and mommy and baba laugh too. You have learned that all things can be forgiven when you stroke mommy's face and say "I sorry mommy". You have learned that memaw is good for hugs, treats and all sorts of fun stuff (even better now that she moved across the street). You have learned that Santa brings toys and the Easter bunny brings candy filled eggs (ok, in your case he brought key filled eggs!). You learned that Grammy and Poppy can appear on the computer screen and talk to you (but can't take the paper you are trying to show them). You have learned to say your bed time prayers and to pray for people who are important to you without prompting. You have learned that saying "I go potty" will get you removed from just about any situation (4-5 times during dinner sometimes!) We had hoped we could write that you had learned that saying "I need help" got you things faster than whining but maybe we can write that next year. You have learned that school buses are yellow and fire trucks are red. Most importantly we have watched as you learn to trust and love us. Nothing brings mommy and daddy closer to happy tears than when you, without prompting, say I love you or place a little kiss on our cheeks.

We will never know the reasons that your birthmother had to make sure that someone else would care for you but we do know that if she had not made the decisions she had, we wouldn't have you and that would be very sad for us. We hope that when she looks at the same stars we do, she has peace in her heart knowing that her daughter could not be loved anymore than we love you.

We cherish each day and thank god he chose us for you and you for us. We love you my sweet Elizabeth. This year has been a blessing beyond all blessings.

Just as a year ago, we welcome your comments to share with Elizabeth as she gets older.

We love you like CRAZY CAKES!!!

Mommy and Baba

Elizabeth in China (August 2007)

Elizabeth in August 2008 - My how she has changed!!!

This video pretty much sums everything up! Elizabeth you are MY sunshine!

Something New

2008-08-16T23:11:00.002-04:00

Just trying out something new with my pictures!

No Words Needed

2008-08-12T09:43:00.002-04:00

OK, four words are needed.... My Beautiful Little Girl!

A Wonderful Story

2008-08-11T13:28:00.003-04:00

I found a wonderful story book today. My humble opinion is that if you brought home your precious little girl from China it is a must-have. It is called A Letter of Love From China. It is a story written as a letter from her birthmother telling her the story (the most predictable one - one child rule and poor family)of why she had to leave her, what she hoped for her and the beauty of her home country. It is just a nice story and a nice way to introduce a very tough subject.

Friends

2008-08-05T16:07:00.006-04:00

Have you seen the commercial for one of the snack chips where the moms are yapping about how well their children play together and how much they enjoy play dates and the camera pans to the kids and they are all infants? That is sort of how I feel about Elizabeth's play dates with her friend (whom she was chattering about at 4:30 am while we sat in the bathroom in dark)Fin. I think Mommy likes the play date with Fin's mommy just as much as Elizabeth enjoys Fin. Fin is about a year older and much wiser in the play/adventure area so Elizabeth plays follow the leader and learns so much from her. We see her get braver after every play date with Fin. Leslie is a few months ahead of us on the adoption process so I continue to learn valuable things from her besides the fact that I really enjoy her company and just hanging out. I met her through Rumor Queen so all of those hours spent checking in before we traveled to china was well worth it! She has got a great sense of humor and a spirit that I really enjoy. We went to the Botanical Gardens with the girls. They have a wonderful children's area. It has alot of water activities. Unfortunately we got there just before the thunder did. They had to close off the water and when the storm cleared, the pumps would not turn back on. Bummer!!! The girls still had a great time playing in the other parts of the kids area. Afterwards we went to Sonic and got the girls treats. It was a wonderful day. Most importantly, I am glad that Elizabeth is learning how to develop friendships. It is a skill that will carry her far in life. I hope that Elizabeth and Fin share many more girlfriend hugs over the years. They share a common heritage and I think that might be important to both of them as they grow. It also reminds me how thankful I am to have such wonderful friends ~ new ones like Leslie, my dear old friends, and friends that I have not yet had the chance to meet yet. Life is so good!

I SPY

2008-08-01T17:06:00.004-04:00

I spy a new wardrobe accessory!! Do you spy it? Dress - nope, socks- nope, hairbows - nope, big girl underwear- YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The teacher and I agreed that pull-ups were not for us. Elizabeth does not understand they are not diapers. We have been having success at home so this week we plunged into potty training at school - straight to the big girl underwear! I am proud to say that everyday she has come home with the same clothes on that she departed with. I am sooooooooo proud of her and she is proud of herself which is most important! Now we start a whole new world of entering a store (or any place) and scanning for the bathroom and determining how long it will take us to get there once the words "I potty" are uttered! Good job my dear Elizabeth!

Fourth of July

2008-07-13T22:01:00.007-04:00

Elizabeth had a grand first FOURTH OF JULY. Her Grammie, Poppie, Aunt Janet, Cousin Dominique and Cousin Gabe came to visit her for the long weekend.

On Thursday, just after they arrived, Elizabeth quickly convinced Poppie to push her on the swings. It didn't seem like a hard sell!!

On the fourth, we had a BBQ and then went to the beach to watch the fireworks. Sadly, they were canceled due to a huge rain storm that we got caught in. It might have been a blessing since I am not sure how Elizabeth would have done and Poppie was sick when we got home.
Our First Family photo on 4th of July!

Elizabeth and Domi enjoy the pool that Baba got her.

It must be a holiday. Even Baba got in the water.

Grammie, Baby Gabe and Elizabeth at the beach

She knows she is cute!!

On Saturday we went to Bluebird Gap Farm. The girls loved the animals and the playground but is was soooooo hot. We were FORCED to go get some ice cream to recover!
Uncle Sam/Baba kept the girls stocked in animal food. I guess you really can't take too many quarters like I thought.

The Rooney Girls!

Cold Stone provided much needed relief and refreshment after being out in the heat!

Sunday morning we had no power so we had a nice leisurely breakfast out. Elizabeth was then very excited to take Domi to the pool!

The weekend's events could not be documented without mentioning that we got to meet our nephew/cousin for the first time. Elizabeth just absolutely fell in love with Baby Gabe. She kissed him at every chance! He is a cutie and pretty hard to resist.

On Monday morning they packed up and disappeared just as quickly as the arrived. We had a wonderful weekend and look forward to our family vacation with everyone next month.
On a different note, keep Elizabeth in your prayers. She is going to the Children's Hospital tomorrow for dental work in their day surgery unit. We are anxious and she is so unsuspecting.

Yeah, she IS delayed!

2008-06-23T22:02:00.004-04:00

It is official, Elizabeth is speech and language delayed with a mild to moderate articulation disorder. YEAH!!! At first reading you might be thinking, "What kind of mother is this, she is happy her daughter is delayed?" I am sad for Elizabeth that she had to spend so much of time in the orphanage that this is the result but I am excited for a couple of reasons
1. I am now not crazy. I didn't make it up. The developmental Ped, the wonderful speech therapist who provided the second opinion and best of all the insurance company all agree that things are right.
2. My special education degree and my decade in the classroom didn't fail me. I knew there was something wrong and I knew not to stop until I found the people to agree with me (See Mom and Hubby ~ that characteristic does pay off sometimes:)
3. Most importantly, Elizabeth can now get the help she needs to grow and develop into the best little person she can be. Without identifying the problem, you just can't fix it.

We had our first speech session today after our evaluation a couple of weeks ago. Elizabeth did great. I am so thankful to be able to do the private speech therapy for as long as the insurance holds out. Ms. Robyn is fantastic. We are working right now on one word to whatever she says such as help now becomes need help or need help becomes I need help. We are working on the pronoun I and naming pictures in books. I think with a little expert advice and guidance, Sam and I will really be able to focus on specific objectives at home. I got a little teary eyed during the therapy watching her listen and doing so well. Some moments it just seems a bit overwhelming to think about how far she has come in just 9 short months ago when she couldn't pick up a cheerio or walk up a small step. I am so relieved to know begin to conquer the language.

No entry is complete without a few pictures of my beautiful baby!

May Has Come and Gone

2008-06-09T15:55:00.003-04:00

How does the time pass so quickly! This month has been so busy. The best part of the month was celebrating my first mother's day. We (I) decided it would be a weekend celebration. On Saturday, my friend Leslie and I took the girls to Bluebird Gap Farm. Elizabeth had a great time and I enjoyed the time with Leslie and watching the girls play together. Fin got her to do all sorts of things including feeding goats and enjoying a really high slide! We also took our first hayride. Mother's Day was rainy so my hopes of going to the beach were ended. Instead we spent the day at home just enjoying being a mommy!! Elizabeth had card in her crib already for me. I got a wonderful manicure and pedicure as well as some scrapbooking things. The rest of the month as been filled with lots of firts ~ First trip to the beach, first snow cone, first corn on the cob and first happy times on some inflatables. We tried to take her but we got only screams, so I took the girls down the street with us. We ran into other girls from church. Between the four of them, they taught Elizabeth that inflatables are really, really, really, alot of fun!!!! The month ended with the depature of our friends Jessie and Alicia. The bought their first house in upstate New York. We miss them so much. They were great neighbors, great friends and adored Elizabeth. She still looks at their house and asks for them. I guess at 3 years old, it is hard to understand where people disappear too. I promise to update more now that summer is here and I have a bit more free time. I keep trying to justify to myself tha it is better to live life than write about it. Right???

Enjoy some pictures of the cutiest little girl around!

Birthmother's Day

2008-05-06T22:23:00.008-04:00

As my very first Mother's Day approaches, I am reminded that the day before Mothter's Day is Birthmother's Day. I will forever be thankful to my own birthmother whose love for me was so great that she knew the best thing for me was to make an adoption plan for me. For years, I wondered all those unanswered questions that only an adopted person appreciates. I was lucky enough to find my birthmother as an adult and to enjoy a wonderful relationship with her.
Although we had know each for ten years by the time I was married, my wedding day was the first day that my parents met my birthmother and brother.

Every year, one of my favorite traditions is spending Christmas Eve Eve with her and my new extended family that i have found with my brother and his family.

This Christmas was extra special because they got to meet Elizabeth for the first time.

Although I was lucky in finding my birthmother and having all of my questions answered, I know that will probably not be the same for Elizabeth but who knows, alot can change in a couple of decades. I just hope that I can impart the same appreciation for what her birthmother did for her as my mom did for me regarding my birthmother. I know that her adoption, at some time in her life, may become her cross to bear. A little piece of me regrets that her cross to bear is the same thing that brought our family the greatest joy. To Elizabeth's birthmother, no words can ever express the gift you have given to us. We will love your little girl to the moon and back. We promise to always care and protect her as you would have if you were able. We promise to teach her about her culture, to cherish her heritage, and to appreciate that some decisions in life are heart wrenching. No real words work other than to say thank you for giving us a baby to love.

Elizabeth giving her Nana (my birthmother) a little Mother's Day gift.

It Isn't All Roses

2008-05-05T22:38:00.004-04:00

Parenting a toddler is a hard job. Parenting a toddler whose personality was shaped by people and circumstances beyond your (or her) control is even harder. Mostly, we share the wonderful progress that Elizabeth is making and the joys of our new family. This past week on one of my yahoo groups, a mother is in China right now and struggling. Basically she said that she wasn't prepared for any of the negative stuff just all of the feel good stuff that is shared. My heart went out to her. She is on my mind and tonight Elizabeth comes home from school with Daddy and like many other days, she has her usual melt-down. Usually we attribute it to being tired and hungry. Tonight was different. I can't say it was the first time but whenever it happens, it really rattles me to my motherhood core. She was beyond consoling. Touching her made her scream harder, talking to her made her scream harder. The thrashing was scary. Sam decided to take her to her crib. Not as punishment but that is usually where, when all else fails he can pat her back until she calms down. That didn't work. When I went up, she just pulled herself as far away as she could in her crib, knowing that I couldn't reach her. It broke my heart in ways I didn't know it could hurt. I have no idea why she is upset and no idea how to help her. When we brought her home, I never wanted her to cry alone in her crib but on nights like tonight, that is all she wants. It makes me so sad for her. My dear husband, not meaning to add salt to my wounds said "She is never like this with me, it is just when you are around". I know it just seemed like he was reporting the facts but to me,it was gut wrenching. Does something happen in her little mind at times and I remind her of her loss of everything she knew. Do I work to much? Does that make her feel abandoned again at times? Does she feel the need to distance herself from me in case I am about to abandon her just like has been done to her in the past. I don't know what it is. I wish she could comprehend how very much I love her. This video is reminder to me that no matter how bad some days are, a bad day here is better than a good day where she was. Elizabeth, my pumpkin, if I could make every fear go away and replace it with trust that Mommy and Baba will always do their best by you I would. We love you like Crazy Cakes!
PS. You might want to turn the music off at the bottom of the page.

She's A Keeper

2008-05-02T23:11:00.002-04:00

After this evening, there is no question that we are going to keep her!!:) I love for the summertime to be filled with trips to the pool and days spent on the beach. We have really tried neither up to this point. Tonight we got home from work at a reasonable time to be met by a grumpy little girl. We decided to go to the park to brighten her bleak mood. At the last minute we decided to grab dinner on the go and head down to Buckroe Beach. It is less than 10 minutes from our house. It is really an gem of a place that does not get near the recognition it deserves. It is about the most redemming thing about living in this city. We laid out the blanket, took her shoes off and preceded to play in God's sandbox. Her first few bare footed steps were uneasy. Soon she took off and decided to head to the water. At first I had to hold her and scoop her down to feel the water with her hand. We then sat and a few waves came and got our feet. Well her feet and my entire bottom half. We went back to Baba when she decided to go back to the water. On this trip, she stood there holding my hands. Before long she was standing by herself, laughing her big belly laugh. She was having a blast!!! We missed so many first~ sitting up, standing, walking, etc. It was nice to share this experience with her. When we got back to the blanket, she looked at us and said "Happy". What more could a Mommy and Baba need! The only thing missing was the camera to catch it all! It looks like summer will be lots of fun!

Let This Touch Your Heart

2008-04-25T12:46:00.003-04:00

Watching this makes me thankful every moment that my pumpkin wakes up in a soft bed to a Mommy and Daddy that love her like crazy cakes! Before you watch it, scroll down to the bottom of the page and turn off the music.

March Came and Went

2008-04-12T21:39:00.003-04:00

Wow, the month passed by quickly! I can't believe it has been so long since I posted. The month seems like a blur. We spent most of month feeling like we were going to be sick, being sick, or being on a slow road to recovery! Add in a busy work schedule and a 3 year old who changes by the day and things are quite hectic around here! Of course the highlight of the month was celebrating Easter. It was a great day filled with Church, family and friends. We feel so grateful to have such a full table. Elizabeth enjoyed the many egg hunts. Her first one was at church but sadly, I had to miss it. I surprised Poppy by delivering his birthday present to him. Lucky for us that my business trip was to my hometown on his birthday! We then went to the neighborhood egg hunt and then had one in our yard on easter day with our friends Rocky and Peyton. She has become quite the egg hunter!
Elizabeth continues to grow and change. She has finally outgrown her 12 month pants although as we venture into potty training, she has nothing to hold up the 18 month ones so we may have to take a step back! She now loves to have her hair in ponytails with ribbons. She says "cute" when she sees herself in her mirror. Wonder where she heard that. She continues to improve with her social skills and physical skills. She is climbing better and seems to play so much more appropriately with toys than just a short time ago. They are still toys for much younger children but you have to start somewhere! Her speech is still her biggest hurdle. We took her for a speech evaluation. In a short 15 minutes that we were actually in the office, after not getting her to say a word, after her little anxiety driven melt-down, they determined that she was impulsive, aggressive, and non-compliant with no language delay! I guess a second opinion is coming our way. I gave the therapist my opinion about her opinion which resulted in a call from her supervisor but we will NEVER step foot in there again. They can forget about there self-pay waiting list! I should not have gotten myself started!

Since it is April now, I should mention that today is our 5th wedding anniversary. For the special occasion our neighbor Alicia came over and got Elizabeth up from her nap and played with for 2 hours. Sounds like no big deal right? Maybe not to most but this was the FIRST time we have left her to go out from some mommy and daddy time since we have been home from China. It was wonderful that it happened to today so we could celebrate. We got to go to a movie and to the restaurant that we have gone to in the past to celebrate. (Thanks Mom and Dad for buying!) Many thanks to Alicia!!! You made it an extra special day for us today!
Today I will say that I love my Sam and my Elizabeth like CRAZY CAKES!!!!
Enjoy some updated pictures!

Has It Been Six Months Already??

2008-03-01T23:58:00.006-05:00

The six month anniversary of our gotcha came and went without fanfare. Since I missed that day to update, today is the 6 month anniversary of arrival back in the US and her becoming a citizenship so I thought today would be appropriate. I will say that my beloved Elizabeth is certainly not the little girl I was expecting to have at home 6 months ago. When you look back at that time in Hefei, I can now see what a frightened, traumatized little girl that she was. Today it seems hard to believe that just 6 short months ago she would go 5 days without moving under her own volition. Now, we are hard pressed to keep her in one place for even a few minutes. Our little girl who we clapped wildly for in the lobby of the Novotel hotel when she took her first step for us now runs and jumps (with 2 feet clearing bout 6 inches from the ground. Climbing is still hard but with the spring coming, I think that will be quickly conquered. Our little girl who had trouble feeding herself cheerios now eats independently doing super with a spoon and fork! Bottles are long gone and sippy cups and straws are the order of the day. Drinking straight from a cup is still a bit off. My dear Elizabeth has not missed an hour of sleep since we recovered from our jetlag. Everyday it is in bed between 7 and 8 and up in the morning between 7 and 8. A two hour nap thrown in for good measure and we have a happy girl! Sam no longer needs to sit with her until she falls asleep, he gets her settled, turns on the music and then leaves her room. She is doing great in school. The only crying we really have now is when it is time to come and she is still playing. She loves her teachers and is interacting so much better with her classmates. She is still very much attached to mommy and cries something awful if I leave her. When we are out though, after about 15 minutes she will venture away from me, if I stay seated. Once I move, she becomes very clingy again. Getting better but still our biggest obstacle. We have had about one hour without her being with at least one of us thanks to Grammy, Pop and Auntie Katy, since we have been home. We look forward to the day when a babysitter is not a traumatic event. Her health continues to be good. She has gotten caught up on all of her immunizations and we have recovered from the Giardia that she came home with She did have a bout of pneumonia this month and has seen the dentist. She has to have major work done this summer, mostly due to the extended malnutrition that she experienced ~ my poor baby, I wish I could have had you sooner in your little life. Her language is slowly improving. She understands just about everything but has few words in her expressive vocab although that it steadily changing. This week we have started to hear 2 word sentences for the first time like "me walk" "me down" "Seeya morrow" Her chatter in Chinese though is almost non-stop. Some days we are looking for the off botton. We laugh so hard when she starts to get really serious with her tone and hand motions. Most importantly, that little girl who had the vacant look in her eye, who spoke so little, who self-stimed, who had no idea what to do with a toy is sooooooooo happy today. It is wonderful to watch to the glimmer in her eye, to listen to her deep belly laughs and chatter as if there is no off button, and to experience watching her personality unfold and change weekly. Everyday we tell her how much we love her and that we will love her more tomorrow. We absolutely, positively, with out a doubt, love her like crazy cakes!!! I can't not wait to see what the next six months will bring for our family!

Elizabeth with her 2 cribmates in Huainan Social Welfare Institute. If they could see her now!

Just a few minutes after holding her for the first time. I am sorry that the happiest moment in my life was her scariest.

Mommy loves you like crazy cakes!!
Six months has been filled with meeting new family and friends like Grammy and Pop

and Cousin Domi

and Rocky and Peyton

and the whole Rooney clan

and Auntie Katy who gets me to show my big belly laugh. This is such a small list of our wonderful family and friends who have come into Elizabeth's life in the last six months. I think they were as excited about her arrival as we were. We are lucky and grateful!

The big smile and belly life that we couldn't live without. You have come so far my baby!!

The Mall is not for Shopping Anymore!

2008-02-24T07:46:00.006-05:00

MacArthur Mall is no longer for shopping in our world. It is the mecca for indoor rainy fun! We met our friends Leslie and Fin for a fun afternoon at the mall's playground and for lunch in the food court. Elizabeth had a great time playing with Fin. So rarely do we get to see her actively engaged with another child. Usually she just happily plays next to them but not actually with them. Once she established that she was just as strong-willed as Fin was and that she would not be told where to go and when to go and once she got a few lectures from Fin (it was great to watch, Fin had her hands on her hips just like E! usually does) on how to be a good girl, they had a great time together. They ran and played and with Fin's help, Elizabeth explored parts of the playground that she was never willing to do before. Wonderful day!!! Fin even got Elizabeth onto one of the cars that you drop the change into and it shakes you for a few minutes. She cried at first and then settled in and enjoyed 4 'test' drives. It was a great way to spend a cold and rainy day. We look forward to it again! PS. Thank you Cousin Domi for the box of clothes. "I usualy don't like hats but I enjoyed the one you sent me!"

January Update

2008-01-20T07:38:00.001-05:00

Since I have a few minutes while everyone is sleeping on what was supposed to be snow day (got a dusting as opposed to the 4 inches they swore we would get!, I thought I would post a few updates. It has been a busy month for our family. Sadly, it has been mostly because I have been working and Sam has had parenting duty. I have had a lot of early mornings and late evenings so I have had more than a couple of days that I have not seen Elizabeth. I may be paranoid but I think it is causing a bit of a regression in our attachment. When we do come back together, she just screams and wants no part of me. She doesn't want me to touch her. She just yells "Go mommy". When I hold her and look into her eyes, she pushes my face away. It is so hard to see her like that. I keep telling her it will only be for 2 more weeks but that is like a life time to a toddler! When we are not apart, we have been having fun together. On New Year's Day, I cooked a big dinner and Grandma, Uncle Lem, and our friend Alicia came over. Elizabeth enjoyed being the center of attention! Potty training continues to go well. She has even had a oouple of occasions to indicate she needed to go. We are low key about it now but will buckle down as it get's warmer. We are pleased with out success right now. My dear friend Auntie Katy came over last weekend. It was wonderful to see her. She loves Elizabeth so much and Elizabeth really seems to sense that. They had a wonderful time together. I hope Auntie Katys' back can survive another get together soon! Elizabeth also got to spend some time visiting with Uncle Max, rough housing with Daddy and enjoying some new toys. Thanks to the tip from my friend Leslie, we learned about a great play area at a nearby mall. Elizabeth had a great time!!! She really exhauted herself. Instead of admitting defeat to the sleep monstor she just kept patting Ling's back and saying "night, night" I will leave you with 2 things that I can NEVER resist, my baby's beautiful smile and her happy giggle!!

Long Overdue...

2008-01-14T23:09:00.001-05:00

Boy, once you have a little one in the house, time certainly does fly. I can't believe I didn't update our blog between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We were so busy enjoying our time with Elizabeth that we never got around to downloading pictures and what is a blog entry without photos!
This holiday season was certainly amazing for us as a family. In December 2004, at the christmas dinner table we announced our adoption plans. A year later at Christmas 2005 we were hopeful and pretty certain that the following year we would have our baby home with us to enjoy the holidays. By Christmas 2006, we were still without Elizabeth without any reason why or with no certainty that we would get her in 2007 or at all. While we celebrated the Christmas with our families new additions, we were sad that we still weren't able to contribute a new member to the Christmas dinner table. I am not sure if all of the waiting and anxiety just made it this Christmas with our little girl so amazing or what but boy was it wonderful. She didn't really understand what all of the fuss was about but seeing her face light up whenever the christmas tree on, or learing to appreciate the big man in red or learning to unwrap presents (now if we could just teach her to appreciate the presents rather than tossing them aside in order to play with the wrapping!. Our little Elizabeth is absolutely the best gift we could have ever received. Enjoying the holidays through her eyes was the absolute BEST!!!!! Enjoy a few pictures of our December.

A Happy Day in Heaven

2008-01-13T03:31:00.000-05:00

but a very sad on Earth. My nephew, Sonny, tragically passed away on Friday eveninig. He was intrinsically a good kid with a good heart but he lost his way and became a lost soul. I guess there is no way to tell the extent to which a person has become a lost soul until it the worst possible thing happen. If you are the praying type, please pray for my brother Charlie, my sister-in-law Alice and my nephews Richard and Christopher. Pray that they are able to find some peace in this horrible tragedy.

Christening

2008-01-10T20:48:00.000-05:00

Hooray!!! At 7:44PM tonight, the potty chair was christened!!!! We have been working at it for about a week with no results but tonight we hit a jackpot! I am not sure how long it will take to repeat tonight's victory but we will savor our success!

Happy Birthday Grammie!

2008-01-07T20:36:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to the best Grammie a little girl could have! Sorry this is a bit belated. Mommy is a bit out of sorts these days!!

So much to be THANKFUL for

2007-11-27T20:54:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving 2007 brings so much for us to be thankful for. For 2 years, we have had an empty seat at our table just waiting for our little girl. In 2007, that seat is finally filled and oh what a blessing she is to us. We are forever thankful to have her in our lives. Everyday is a blessing. Everyday that she does something new, speaks a new word, or let's us see her beautiful personality blossom is something for us to be thankful for. We are thankful for everyone and everything (including some divine intervention) that made this particular little girl ours. We absolutely love her like crazy cakes and could not be more thankful! We are also thankful for the love and good health of our family and friends. We are blessed to have so many people around us.

Thanksgiving was, as you can imagine, a wonderful holiday. My parent's came from out of town to spend the weekend with us. Elizabeth was quite the helper getting ready. She helped bag up the cut green beans. I am not sure what happened but when I went to put on my shoes later, they were filled with green beans as well. She was going to help break the bread for the stuffing but she ate more bread out of the bowl than she broke. Elizabeth really didn't get what all of the fuss was about but she did appreciate that it included mashed potatoes!! Her ability to mimic words seemed so much greater this weekend. She copied so much of what my parent's said. Her little personality took over as well. For whatever reason, she would absolutely, postively, with out a doubt, not let them in our car. I don't know what fear it stirred in her but she got hysterical everytime we tried it. Hopefully we will get over that soon. We were not feeling our best so we didn't do anything huge accept enjoy our time together and let Elizabeth get to know her Grammy and Pop a bit more. I sure do wish we all lived closer. We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you were surrounded by those you are thankful for.

What Does Cute Look Like?

2007-11-16T20:23:00.000-05:00

Answer ~ See Below!!!!

(PS. I am not at all prejudice)

A Step Back in Time

2007-11-09T21:11:00.000-05:00

Well, not a big step back in time just a post out of order. It was a life experience for Elizabeth so I don't want to leave it out. The morning of the big 3year old birthday was also the day she was baptized. It worked out wonderfully so my family could be in town for both special occaisions. Elizabeth wore a beautiful red dress that I bought in China specifically for this celebration. Since it was Reformation Sunday and Elizabeth was going to wear red, Pastor Cheryl decorated the church all in red. Elizabeth would hav no part of the pastor holding her and swatted at her hand when the water came but all in all she was tolerant. Some days that is all you can ask!!

Elizabeth's pretty red baptism dress.

Elizabeth and her cousin Dominique

Three generataions of Rooney girls!

The Apperson Family with Pastor Cheryl

Our Family who came to celebrate with Elizabeth.

Happy Birthday Baby!!!

2007-11-06T08:49:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth celebrated her 3rd birthday on Halloween but the weekend before we celebrated with a birthday party!! We had so many friends come by, many of whom hadn't gotten to meet Elizabeth yet so it was extra special. One special guest was Christina and parents Devin and Linda. Their family was part of our travel group to China so Christina came to them the same time that Elizabeth came to us. It was wonderful to see how much she has changed too. The best part of the party for me was that we had it catered by a local BBQ restaurant so I was not overwhlemed with cooking and unable to enjoy the party. Thanks so my dear friends who helped me get the food on the table and cut the cake, I had almost nothing to do other than to enjoy my little girl and her special day. Hopefully all of the kids had a good time. We had a big inflatable moonwalk, a ring toss game in the hottub, and a pinata and pumpkins to decorate for all! Thank you to everyone who came, especially my mom, sister and neice who traveled to be there. We missed having Pop here. We are hoping he is feeling better. He sure was missed! Happy 3rd Birthday, my sweet baby girl. Mommy and Daddy love you like crazy cakes!

Halloween and Happy Birthday

2007-11-02T10:32:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween and Happy 3rd Birthday to my very own Pumpkin!!! Halloween was a success. The festivities started by going to her school with cupcakes to celebrate her birthday with her class. To all of the children's parents, we are soo sorry we choose permenantly dying pink and blue frosting. Next time we know~ stick to white! Grandma came over to hand out candy while we made our first ventures into trick or treating. We just went to a few houses on our street where we are friendly with our neighbors. Although she can't say trick or treat, she did pretty good, walking up to the door. I thought she would be much more timid. When we walked home, she observed Grandma giving out the candy and quickly took over. She would stand on the front porch screaming "Dandy". When a ghoul would walk up, she would shreak in delight and run to the driveway to put a treat in their bag. No timid girl here. She even shook hands with the grim reaper. After she deposited candy in their back, she would run back to the porch and start her solicitaion one more time. It was amazaing to watch how quickly she catches on! It was a great night!

A Different Little Girl

2007-10-13T20:38:00.000-04:00

We have been so busy keeping up with the Empress that we have had a heard time getting the time to blog. Mostly because we don't want to take time away from her when she is awake and when she is asleep, we are too! She is exhausting!! Parenting must be a bit easier when you are 25!

Elizabeth is such a different little girl than the one we brought home just 6 weeks ago. She is becoming so much more outgoing with others. She is still the most reserved when people come to our house or we travel to others home but anywhere else in public and she is so much more social and really starting to venture away from us. It is wonderful to see her confidence growing knowing that she can walk away and mommy and daddy will still be there when she returns.

In the last 2 weeks we went to our first birthday party. Fin, came home from China on my birthday and she celebrated her 4th birthday. Elizabeth was reserved but took it all in, especially the chocolate cake! We have been working at our church pumpkin patch and she has been pitching in. She loads the boxes after we shuck corn and she helps move the pumpkins around. We hope this is an early sign that she will have the volunteer spirit in her like mommy and daddy. We went back to Bluebird Gap Farm. Our first visit with Grammy and Pop went over like a lead balloon but this time she really enjoyed herself. We took the stroller but she walked the farm and then the best part was that I was finally able to convince her that play equipment was fun! She must have gone down the slide 50 times! (our first visit ended after screaming on the slide!) The biggets news is that she has started school. She has been going for just a couple of hours in the morning to get her ready for a full day this coming week when I head back to work. The days have slowly started getting better with less crying at school, I just look forward to the day when she likes it rather than tolerates it. I wish I could stay home and enjoy our days together before she grows up and doesn't want me around. I wish my job would afford me to work part time so I could have my cake and eat it to but that wont' happen either so it is off to work I go and off to school Elizabeth goes! Enjoy some pictures of our latest adventures. She is best part of everyday and we love her like crazy cakes!!

Autumn Moon Festival

2007-09-26T21:00:00.000-04:00

We wemt to Town Point Park to celebrate at the Autumn Moon Festival. In the Chinese culture, this holiday is similar to our Thanksgiving. They celebrate the harvest with family and friends. Later that evening we went to a neighborhood party. The theme was international night. How appropriate! We took our favorite 21 pound dish, Miss Elizabeth, who by the way is becoming quite saucy!! Actually, we took Lo-Mein, keeping with our theme!
Here are a few pictures of her in her tradional Chinese clothes that we bought for her in China. I admit I am biased but I think she looks pretty cute! We sure do love her like crazy cakes!

First Haircut

2007-09-25T21:13:00.000-04:00

We have successful navigated our way through the first haircut!! We expected it to be a horrible experience. Typically, Elizabeth buries her head in the crook of our neck when there is a hint of a stranger around. Not tonight~ she sat in the chair with out complaint. Don't get me wrong. She was not thrilled to be there but we didn't have to fight either! Much better than we anticapted!!!

Before

During

After

New Pictures

2007-09-18T21:25:00.000-04:00

Elizabeth is doing wonderful!! She continues to blossom more and more each day, especially around other people. The two girls down the street, Jessie and Jenny have become her new friends. She no longer needs our laps as security when they are around. Today she walked off hand in hand with them, let them pick her up and laughed up a storm. It is so wonderful to see. She got to meet our special friend Max this weekend. She took to him great as well. She went out front to get the mail with him only and he took her out back to play for a little while. He is so patient and kind with her and she notices. On a down note, the doctor did call this weekend and confirm that she does have Giardia (which she has so graciously shared with her Daddy). We had to go to Children's Hospital on Sunday to pick up the medication. She takes it like a champ so hopefully we will see some positive results soon.
We had a big language break through tonight. She pointed to the kitchen and did the hand gesture that means she wants food. I told her to tell Daddy what she wanted and she went to Sam and pointed to the kitchen. He followed her in and she went to where I usually have the bananas and very clearly said banana. So sad that I didn't have any bananas. We comprised and gave her some applesauce instead and the food dance she did is just the cutest!!

Enjoy a few pictures from the last few days.

So many firsts!

2007-09-14T09:12:00.000-04:00

Sorry we have been not keeping up with the Blog. Life is really busy entertaining an almost 3 year old!!! We did want to let everyone know that Elizabeth is doing great! Thanks so much to my mom and dad who came to stay with us for a week so that we could do nothing but concentrate on bonding with her, helping to make her transistion a bit easier! Thank you mom and dad! Elizabeth continues to sleep like a champ. A 12 hour evening siesta is pretty much the norm. We are so thankful!!!! She continues to investigate her new toys and everyday seems to learn how to play just a bit better. We have had our first swing on the new playset that Daddy built, we have had our first ride in the grocery cart without screaming, we have had our first romp in the yard with our screaming and hanging on. We have had our first mornings without desperately clinging on Daddy. We had our first dip in the hot tub which she enjoyed! We have had our first car rides with more than a 10 second window to extract her from the car seat upon turning off the engine before she screams. We had our first doctors appointment. That went well. The doctor thinks she is pretty healthy just very small. He said she was on the growth chart for the first 6 months but since has fallen off. Her head circumference stays on the chart so that is a good thing. He said just keep feeding her and she should have a growth spurt. The poor little thing got six shots and 4 vials of blood taken so she was in less than a good mood for the following day. He has a referred us to a developmental specialist who will help us identify areas of weakness and work on those so we can get her as close to age appropriate before starting Kindergarten as possible. Her receptive language is blossming at an incredible rate. It seems like she understands almost all that we tell here. She is even responding with a headshake to some questions. Her expressive language is also moving along. She is so full of jabber but she is also saying momma, baba, baby, thank you, cracker, hello, goodbye, and we swear we have words like get down. She is amazaing!!!
She is still very timid around strangers so we aren't venturing out to much but we are settled so our door is open and we would love visitors. So if you are in the area, stop by and meet Elizabeth.

We love her like crazy cakes!!

Deb and Sam

Picture update

2007-09-10T20:40:00.000-04:00

So much for the promise to post pictures of our homecoming the next day. A little person really zaps the time out of your day! We will post more about our week at home later this week but for now, enjoy the picutres of our trip home.

We made it!!!!

2007-09-03T20:37:00.000-04:00

We have finally returned to our home!! Poor Elizabeth has been in so many different beds that she doesn't even know this is home. Our flight home was absolutely miserable. Almost 15 hours in the plane and she slept a total of like 20 minutes. I can assure you that when she became miserable so did we and so did the unsuspecting passengers around us. When we arrived at the airport, we were thrilled to see my parents there waiting for us with a welcome home banner. We were most nervous about the car seat but she went in it with no problem much to our shock! Of course she was so tired that she slept the entire 2 hours home from the airport. We spent 2 days at my parents house trying to recover from our own jetlag which was made so much harder because she was having such a hard time. Going over 24 hours without sleep, I admit, makes me a little less patient. Last night she slept for 8 hours so we were thrilled. While we were in Delaware, Elizabeth got to meet her Aunt Janet, Uncle Matt, and cousin Dominique. She also met her Aunt Margaret and Uncle Bob as well as our friend Betty and my parent's neighbors. She did wonderful and we were excited to share our excitement. The car ride to Virginia was uneventful. She was great in the carseat which must be god's blessing to us. When we pulled, our neighbors were outside and greeted us. Jesse and Alicia decorated our mailbox with balloons and made us a wonderful spaghetti dinner. Charlotte came over with a baby doll and slippers for Elizabeth. The cameras are still packed so I will add pictures tomorrow (or whenever we catch our breath!)

Thank you to everyone who has left a comment or took a moment to sign our guestbook. It was wonderful to know that so many people shared our journey to Elizabeth. Your prayers and well wishes were felt.

Much love,
Deb, Sam, and E

Our last post from China

2007-08-29T21:40:00.001-04:00

Today we enjoy a few last minute things at the White Swan and on Shamain Island. Our bags go in the hall at 2pm and then we are off to the US Consolate for our swearing-in ceremony. After that we take a 4 hour bus ride to Hong Kong and then back to America! As soon as we touch down on American soil. Huai Dong Song becomes Elizabeth Mei Song, an american citizen, and her life will forever be changed. We are so excited to get home but it is a little sad to be taking her out of the only place she has ever know as home where she people look like her, where she understands the language and where she recognizes the sights, sounds and smells. We know though that we will do our best to giver her the best possible life, filled with lots of family, friends, love, education, basically everything she will ever need to blossom into the woman that God intended her to be. I must attach my western feelings to her birthmother. I will forever be grateful that she knew that she couldn't take care of her for whatever reason and left her where she would be safe and found quickly ultimately insuring that our baby will have a wonderful life. Also, we are grateful to the People's Repbulic of China who have granted us our wish to be mommy and daddy to our Dong Song, to our empress, to our pumpkin, to our Song Song, to our Elizabeth Mei. We will always love her like crazy cakes!!

Because of the short time in Hong Kong, I doubt we will break out the laptop so our next post will be from Grammy's and Pop's house in Delaware. We will be there for the weekend so if anyone is around we would love to see you. Just ignore our jet lage fog!

Thanks to everyone for your support during this long process. We now have the perfect baby for us and we couldn't be happier!

Love,
Debbie, Sam, and SongSong

Day 10

2007-08-29T17:55:00.000-04:00

Lot of things happened today. Because of a small misspelling, Sam (and another parent) had to go to the US Consolate to sign some paperwork. While he was gone, Elizabeth and had breakfast together. I have learned today that a breakfast buffet is difficult with one person and a baby. Baby on hip, juggling plate in the other. After breakfast, we had to sit in our room while our guide, Helen, handled our VISA interview at the Consolate. The phone never rang during the alloted time frame, so we were golden!! We then had a meeting with Der for our briefing about the final events of our process and to pay our final expenses. Der and Helen also gave us a family chop( a beautiful carved stamp). It will be a priceless gift to remember our time here as well as the wonderful host and hostess that they were. Elizabeth really responds to Uncle Der as do the other children. His knack with the little girls is amazing.
We also gave the red couch photo an attempt today. Every adoption group does this as tradition. Our girls were TOTALLY tramautized by it. Little Ju-lie would just not let go of mommy and the others just screamed. Elizabeth just sort of sat their and took it all in. We decided to do family shots instead so everyone could calm down.

Just as we where ready to head out to lunch and shopping, Elizabeth decided it was time to nap. A good thing, but she hadn't been napping in a couple of days so we had to readjust our schedule. Sam ended up going to Starbucks to get take out sandwhichs while she slept. When she woke up, we hit the streets to shop. We ended up buying an extra suitcase to get it all home (seems crazy but a pretty typical thing here since most people pack to tight and light to get here). Elizabeth then helped us load everything into the suitcase. It was really cute watching her know that she was helping.
In the evening we went on a dinner cruise up the Pearl River. It was a pleasant evening, just a little too long for the babies who alternated who was crying. It was after 10 when we got back. The bust ride back was enough to give her a second wind so it took me a while to get her asleep of course, Sam was fast asleep while I convinced her to sleep.
Our biggest news for the day is that she is becoming a Daddy's girl which brings such joy to Sam. I love to see Sam's face as she reaches for him. He justl ights up like a christmas tree. Today she went on her first Daddy only excursion. It was just to the 2nd floor to exchange money but she voluntarily left me and walked right out next to him. At dinner she reached for him to hold her and she sat on his lap for awhile. She also wanted him again on the bus. Everyday gets better and he continues to win her over! If she only knew that he would give her the world on a silver platter!
As always, we love her like crazy cakes!!!

Day 9

2007-08-28T21:26:00.000-04:00

Today was a pretty laid back day. After breakfast, we did some time in the play room. She loves to play with Daddy and gets a little braver with strangers around everyday. we walked around the island and did a little shopping. Each store has basically the same things and the shopkeepers walk with you while you are there and "suggest" things that you just need to have. Sadly, they are pretty successful with me. They always give you "best price". After our shopping we relaxed at Starbucks and then at the Deli Shop for lunch. We had a shopping expedition to the doll store planned with our guide Der at 1:30 but the Empress was reallly tired so I decided to stay back and get her to nap while Sam went. It turned out that it was more of a mall like we saw in Hefei with no porcelain dolls like we had expected. Sam got her a set of wooden display dolls and and one of those flexible rollable keyboards for his computer. Of course, The Empress did not sleep at all. She was so fussy but wouldn't give in. At one point, I had to go to the bathroom so bad, I just gave her a cracker and put her in the crib again. While I was in the bathroom, I was amazaed. She was in her crib TALKING! Mama, mommy, baba, baby ~ over and over again. Now keep in mind, we have only ever her mama a couple of times and no other sounds really. As to not to disturb the moment, I shimmied out of the bathroom on my stomach and made my way to the bed to pull the camcorder down so I record the sweet sound. Of course, the battery was dead! At 4:30, Der arranged for a pearl buyer to come to our hotel to show us pearls as many of us were interested in buying some while we were here. I bought a beautiful necklace that they are making for me. It will be delivered tomorrow. For dinner, we got brave and went to a different restaurant on the island. We should have been paying attention. The worms, fish, and other wildlife that was in the tanks at the front of the restuarant was NOT for display. When we sat down and realized we were the only americans in an only chinese speaking restaurant, we got a bit nervous. When the menu came (thank god, with english subtitles) and we saw fried turtle, baked pig knuckles, yak, etc... we really thought Oh holy %$#&*^%$. We ended up getting some kind of chicken dish which wasn't bad expect I have no idea what part of the chicken they used. I am pretty darn sure it is not a part we eat at home and some noodles. Pumpkin slept through most of dinner so that made it a bit easier.
It has been another good day for her. We are so amazed at her progress. Everyone in our travel group has noticed the leaps and bounds she has made just in the last few days. It is hard to believe this is the same child we got over a week ago. She is funny, sweet, and quite the character. We love her like crazy cakes!!

Our Hearts Sing

2007-08-28T02:47:00.000-04:00

Our hearts sing with joy when we watch this little video so we wanted to share it. It is even better when she giggles like this when playing. We love her like crazy cakes!!

Day 8

2007-08-27T17:31:00.001-04:00

Today was a great day with our litltle Empress. Our morning started off at 8am with a dorctors appointment which is required to get her American Visa. Of course, this would be the day she would choose to sleep in! She did great at the doctor's. She didn't really appreciate the tongue depresser and really fought it. The only other crying was really not a scared crying more of a I am not touching mama cry. We came back and had breakfast and then Sam went and did our papeerwork to apply for her visa while we went to the playroom. I did most of the paperwork in the US to get ready for her but Sam has been wonderful doing it all since we have been here. Thanks Mom and Dad for the book which has helped us organize it so Sam can find all of the documents that he needs! This afternoon we went to the pool for the first time. It is a beautiful, lush, tropic setting and Pumpkin did well. She sat on the step of the baby pool and poured water from her stacking cups just like Daddy showed her. Thunder ended our trip to the pool after about 45 minutes but we will try again soon. Before dinner we went to Jordan's place and bought a few things things. OK maybe more than a few things but we want to make sure we have things to give to her as she grows. We had dinner at the infamous Lucy's which was fun. We are on a small island with not a ton of options to eat and this is the place that we have heard so many people talk about. Elizabeth had grilled cheese and french fries and was most happy with that choice. After dinner we went back to the playroom. Since it was just us, she was very brave and funny. She and Daddy ran all over the room. She was such a giggle puss! After about 20 minutes of that running around some other people came in and she headed back to mama for security. That certainly exhausted her so she fell asleep quickly with her bottle. We got as far as putting on her PJ bottoms and decided to hedge our bets and just left her t-shirt on. It is 5:30 AM right now and she is still sound asleep. We hope this good sleeping continues when we get home and over the jet lag! While she slept we were able to watch the laser light show over the Pearl River from our hotel room. It is pretty cool!

Our litttle girl's personality has really blossomed. She is a neatnick. If something is in the wrong place she is quick to bring it to me. She give me real kisses today and fed both mommy and daddy her prized Cherrios today at breakfast. We are loving every minute of watching the layers of Little Elizabeth personality reveal themselves.

We love her like crazy cakes!!

PS. Thank you for leaving comments. As much as we love being here, we are ready to come home. The comments help us feel connected to everyone back home!

Day 6 and Day 7

2007-08-26T18:07:00.000-04:00

Sorry we haven't written since arriving at the White Swan. It is just beautiful here! The 5 star hotel sits on Shaiman Island which was once occupied by the British so the architure is mostly Colonial. Few cars and very peaceful. Our room faces the Pearl River so we can see the boats go up and down plus there is an amazing light show every evening. It is much more of a western hotel. Actually cool with little humidity inside. It is a welcome relief.

Our flight from Anhui was fine. Elizabeth did great so that bodes well for our very long trip home. She sat on my lap some and in her own seat some. The best part was her personality really shined while on the plane. Of course she picks the most conveinent time to be a jokester but it was great fun to watch. She was picking up her toys and droping them on the airplane floor adn just chuckling. She knew she was funny which made us laugh which didn't help. Luckily, we were able to recover all of the toys before they rolled to the front on landing!

Almost as soon as we got to the hotel, we had to go to take her visa picutre. Sam wasn't feeling well so I took her myself. I took the carrier which she loves and is the only way I can carry my sack of potatoes with any comfort for a longer trip. Her visa picture will be of her typically scoul but at least she wasn't crying. We then walked to Jennifers where they gave us strollers to borrow. YEAH RIGHT! Well, I put her in the stroller becasue she was out of the carrier and heavy along with my bag and umbrella. To my complete amazement she just got in with NO fussing!! I was so suprised, I just bolted while I had a few minutes. Turns out she never cried and now she loves her stroller!!! For dinner, Sam walked to Starbucks and got us sandwiches so we ate dinner in the rooom.

On Sunday, we had a nice breakfast in the hotel. To our great suprise she actually got in the highchair. Now, she didn't spend the whole time in there but she did good. We will take baby steps. It was the first time that I have eaten without a lap partner. We then went shopping. We bought a few things that would be handcrafted for her so we will pick them up later in the week.
In the afternoon, we went to the Chen Temple and then our Guide Der to us shopping. WOW!!!!! It was a pedistrain street with shops on both side. It was like the day aftere Thanksgiving times 50. The crowds were amazing. We went to a department store and got to spend about 30 minutes in the baby department where I put a little dent in our wallets. We then went to the jade store and the book store.
It was hot and humid but not near as bad as in Hefei so there was a little relief. I just have never been so hot! Since Elizabeth caught a bit of a nap in the stroller, she was not into a nap but still tired. We went to the playroom for a distraction and so Sam could catch a few winks. She did well until another family came in and sat too close to us. She is very shy. Sam walked down the island to Lucy's Bar and Grill and brought us dinner back to the room. Miss Elizabeth loves chicken quesdilla's and mash potatoes. What a combo! After dinner, we all went to sleep almost instantly!

We are so in love with our little girl. To see her progress, especially in the last few days has been simply amazing!

Day 5 ~ What a difference 5 days makes

2007-08-24T08:32:00.000-04:00

If you had told me how Elizabeth would change over the past week, I never would have believed anyone. She went from a scared little girl to one who is blossoming right before our eyes. It is amazing to watch. Today was filled with amazing firsts.

This was our crowning glory for the day. We actually got her to smie and giggle. It was brief but it filled our hearts with joy. We all laughed so hard together.

Our girl is a carb addict. She loves pasta, noodles, rice, and bread. Today she grabbed off of my plate for the first time. She picked a doughnut. She ate that thing round and round. She ate it in a perfect circle to about a quarter of an inch from the center hole. She aslo eats some beef and loves green beans. Yogurt is also a big hit.

She also pointed to request things for the first time. She pointed to my water and later for her crackers. It is wonderful since that is her only way to express her needs right now. Of course she is also good about smacking your hand out of the way if you are giving or doing something she doesn't want.

Another big first today was actually play. She had refused the bells and the phone until today. She also wouldn't play with the stacking cups other than to hold them in her hand. Today she moved everything from inside her legs to outside and then began to stack, unstack, stack, unstack, etc... the blocks. I think playing will help her engage in something other than me.

She is also a great sleeper and napper. Today by 1230 she was ready for her nap as she fell asleep drinking her bottle. She slept until 330 and then needs another hour to get her empress self out of bed.

Although we did get a few smiles and giggles out of her, she still prefers to maintain her Posh Spice imitation of ~ never let them see you smile. Even when she wants to smile, she will try to hold it back.

Meals continue to be a challenge. She won't even look at a highchair so we alternate between my leg and her table perch.

A couple of random pictures from today.

Beautiful baby face!

Deep in thought about how to stack her blocks.

Another big first today was her walking. For the little girl who walked so little over the last few days, she really fooled us. In the afternoon, I tried to get her to walk in the hall but only cries happened. She walked in the room when her crackers were placed on the other side of the bed. After dinner, we took a short walk and the carrier was hurting my back so when we got back to the hotel I took her out. My little non-walker, walked across the hotel lobby, over to the elevators, up the elevator and down the hall to our room. AMAZING!!!!

Sam and baby are sound asleep so I am heading in that direction as well. In the morning we pack our bags and head fly to the next city where we spend a week. This portion will finalize the american part of the process.

Oh yeah, in all of the first excitement, I forgot to mention that we got her Chinese passport today! One step closer to brining our little girl home!!

We just love our little girl like crazy cakes!!

New Definition of Misery~ Hefei Wildlife Park

2007-08-23T19:30:00.000-04:00

The Empress woke up in a great mood this morning. She still refused the high chair but she sat nicely on the table and ate a huge amount of food. Gram, you better get ready for her with yougurt, scrambled eggs, watermelon and fried potatoes. This girl can eat!!!
After breakfast we drove by bus about 30 minutes to the Hefei Zoo. We pull up and the first thing I see is about 5o steps to the entrance. Now, if you know me and my knee, I should have seen that as a forboding sign. I carried the baby and Sam carried the stroller. At the top, we attempted to put The Empress in the stroller and she just SCREAMED for Momma. Cindy, our translator and Rose, our guide, told me just to leave her scream so I did, with my heart breaking for her. They decided to try and push her and talk to her in Chinese to calm her down. They said if that didn't work then I could pick her up and carry her. Now keep in mind that the hope of carring her is somewhat stymied by the fact that is is hotter than the hinges of hell! I have never in my life felt humidity like it is here. Between the heat, the humidity and the pollution, it is just intolerable, making this trip pretty damn miserable for me. Just as rose pushed her away, I triped on uneven sidewalk and fell smack on my face. My bad knee is twisted, my leg has a concrete brush burn and my baby is still screaming! My wonderful travel group stopped and helped me up as the chinese people began to gather and stare. Now, if I had known how long of a walk, it would be, I would have tried to preserve my knee and would have turned around, but I didn't know so I walked and I walked and I walked. Meanwhile, the Empress is being held by Rose. The only good thing out of this was that after a bit, she actually reached out for Sam so he carried her the rest of the way around the zoo. When we finally get to the Panda's ( the big attraction for most of us)my kneww had just had too much. Luckily our wonderful group, convinced Rose and Cindy to get a cart and drive me to the front. When the golf cart like vehicle showed up there was some heavy nogotiation in Chinsesa but then Rose, Sam, Elizabeth and I where wisked away to our waiting bus. My leg is a bit sore from the missing skin and my knee is a bit stiff but it could have been so much worse. After getting back, we all cooled off in our hotel room and Pumpkin took her nap. We met the rest of the families in the hotel pub for a little social time before we all headed down to dinner. After dinner, it was back to the room for bedtime. She continues to be a great sleeper. To bed between 7 and 8 and up between 5 and 6. We look forward to see what tomorrow brings us.

Love to all! We certainly do miss home.
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Daddy and Empress before bedtime. She even let Daddy put her to bed.

Baby Kristina from our travel group.

Baby Jillian from our travel group.

Baby Ju-lie from our travel group.

The view from our hotel room,

Another view from our room.

I asked her to hold the diaper for me while I got out the wipes. She would not let go. She even carried it to dinner. We learned that she has a reallky strong grip when she wants to!

Momma and Empress hanging out with the other families in the hotel pub before going down for dinner.

Here is Pumpkin ready for bed. Auntie Katy, thank you for my PJ's. Mommy exchanged a 4T dress since I am so small and bought these PJ's from you. They keep me toasty in the Air Conditioned room.

Day 3

2007-08-21T23:37:00.000-04:00

Today is a day of firsts. She woke up about 5:30am after a full night's sleep. We cuddled on the bed for a bit and then we decided to make today the day for the first bath. We were expecting it to be a screamfest so we thought we would go for the sink. WOW! Now I can't say that she smiled and acted like she enjoyed it but there was no crying. When I offered to take her out, she was happy to stay. We went to breakfast and she ate alot. She like steamed eggs, yougurt milk, fried potatoes and some orange juice. There was no fussing through breakfast. After breakfast we sat in the hotel lobby because we are getting tired of the four walls of our hotel room. She actually stood up, of course she had to stand between my legs. We went with our group and our translator Cindy to Lord Bau's Temple. It is just about a 5 minute walk from our hotel. Well of course, our little Empress was the only one who refused the stroller. The good side of this was that she started SCREAMING "mama, mama". She will only say it when she is so upset but at least it is something. The temple was beautiful but it is soooooooooo humid here. We were all drenched before we ever arrived. It didn't help that Empress was on my hip. Just at the end of the tour she reached our for Cindy. We were really suprised. She stayed with her for a few minutes before she started calling for Mama. It was so hot and it takes some work getting her in the hip carrier so since we are one our way back, I put her in the stroller and she just screamed bloody murder all of the way back. As soon as we got back to the hotel Sam took her out and she was with Mama and settled again. She is now stretched out in the middle of bed taking a nap. We learned today that she is likes much of what I drink so she really drank my Crystal Light Rasberry. Now I realize that it is probably not the best thing for her but desperate times....

Now we are heading off to Carefour which is there verison of Wal-Mart. Sam went the other day but we need more diapers so we are going to head there by cab with 3 other families. Wish us well!!
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Getting ready for her bath. We are holding our breath to see how bad this will be.

Not so bad. She tolerates it. Tomorrow we will try to shampoo her hair.

Dressed in pink, ready to head out for the day.

Our travel group. Elizabeth is the screamer!

We visited the Lord Bau Temple.

Day 2

2007-08-20T14:35:00.000-04:00

Today was a ying and a yang sort of day. The highlight of today was that we went back to the civil affiars office today and our adoption became official in the eyes of the chinese government. We had our family picture taken, promised to always take care of her and nver abandon her and basically we were done! After this long process it was very simple. Her mood today however was the lowlight. I am sure it is a combination of many things~ grieving, a fever, and a empty diaper leads to make most of us grumpy. She slept from 7pm to about 5am. We went to breakfast early since she had not had anything to eat yet. She sat on Sam's lap and ate steamed eggs and rice. As soon as she was done, the screaming started and we had to take turns on who was in the restaurant and who ate. Sam brought her to the room while I ate and I guess that terrified her because since then, she has refused to be held by Sam. After breakfast she took a nap before the civil affairs appointment. When we got home we tried to entertain her but she was crabby and was really ready to sleep again so she went down for a 4 hour nap. When she woke up, we went downstairs for dinner. We tried to go down in the stroller but that was an absolute no go! Screamed, and screamed! I carried her down and tried the high chair but another absolute NO! I held her and fed her congee. You always know when she wants more as she licks her chops. It is so cute! You also always know when she is done becasue she smacks your hand away in the universal language of go away! I had a pizza and she kept opening her mouth. She really enjoyed her bites of crust. We went outside after dinner and sat until we came inside to get away from the begging lady who kept showing us her stomach. It was just about 7pm and we came up and rubbed some lotion on her, changed her into her PJ's. She fell asleep with Sam on the bed and was easily moved to her crib. Sam and I where both out by 8. It is now about 2:30 am and she is sleeping and Sam is watching James Bond. We hope her mood improves some tomorrow. We are going to visit a temple with the instructions to bring the stroller, yeah right! I hope she will learn to like the stroller because my arm is KILLING me. But with that all said, we love her like crazy cakes!

Asleep last night with the quilt from Gram.

In the hotel lobby waiting to start the day we offically become a family.

Waiting to meet the notary.

As part of the adoption process, Elizabeth must seal it with her footprint.

The notary completes are paperwork.

Our official adoption decree!

Daddy and Elizabeth relax on the bed for sleepy time.

A sleepy little girl on our bed.

We have her!!!

2007-08-20T08:27:00.000-04:00

We have little Song Song!!! She is just beautiful and much smaller than we anticipated. Our flight to Anhui was short which was much appreciated. We were met by our guides Cindy and Rose. We had just about 45 minutes to get ready at the hotel and then we were off to meet our girls. At 3:15 we met in the lobby and the ride took about 30 minutes. When we got to the Civil Affairs office, we rode up to the 12 floor. We didn't realize our babies where already there until we got a little closer and could hear them. It was not what we had heard so many times~ where they call up one family at a time and everyone shares pictures and videotaking for each other. As I stood at the door I could see Elizabeth across the room with her Nanny. She is exactly like what her picutres where so there was no mistaken her. With such a small group of only 5 families we basically all went in at one time and met our girls. Elizabeth's nanny gave her to me immediatley (not to Elizabeths pleasure). The nanny told our translator that she is shy and scared of strangers. As we all found our corner of the room, all of the babies calmed down except ours. She didn't really cry but it was an ongoing kind of moan. It was so sad that our happiest day was her sad day. At one point, Little Kristina started to cry and Elizabeth just stopped and we haven't heard a cry out of her since. The ride back to the hotel was a calm one. She sat on Daddy's lap and fell asleep. Once we got back, she and daddy chilled while I did some paperwork and then I stayed with her while Sam and the other men when to the nearby grocery for supplies. I put her to bed at 7pm just like the Nanny said since she was resting her head on my shoulder. She fell asleep quickly and still lies in her crib. We will see how long it last. Sam and I had room service which was a Chinese verison of a cheeseburger. Pumpkin hasn't eaten anything yet. Any semblance of an offer of food she adamently refuses. Mom, As she sat on my lap tonight her little fists were closed and I did your little soft scratch and she just opend her palm right up and relaxed! She is just like her momma! Pray for a good night for us. Tomorrow we are off to officially adopt Elizabeth in the eyes of the Chinese governament. We love her like crazy cakes!!!

We are HERE!!!

2007-08-19T18:20:00.000-04:00

We made it!!! While in Newark, we gathered with our travel group and got to reconnect since our travel meeting. Our flight was uneventful but soooooooooooooo long. We were on the plane for about a total of 16.5 hours. I never knew how awful it is to sit in one place forthat long. It was a calm flight though so that helped. We went over the North Pole and then back down again over Russia and Mongolia. Sam slept about 5 hours and I got about 2. We landed in Hong Kong about 7:30 and where met by Ben our representative with Adoptions from the Heart. He was a welcome sight. Our hotel was attached to the airport and he had already checked us in and gotten some Hong Kong Dollars for us. We got to go to our room for 20 minutes and get cleaned up for a briefing. Afterwards Sam and I went to get a drink with Linda and Skip and Linda and Devin. We slept for about 5 hours and now we are ready to board our plane this morning for Heifi, Anhui. We will get Elizabeth this afternoon!!!

Today is the Day!!!

2007-08-17T10:09:00.001-04:00

Today is the day we leave! After starting this process in December 2004, it hardly seems real. Some days it felt like it would never, ever happen. Last night when we went to bed, it was sort of surreal. It was hard to comprehend that would be the last night that we go to sleep in our own bed with Elizabeth across the hall (at least for 16 years or so). Boy is our life about to change.

Our Itinerary

TODAY!!!! - Travel North
Aug 18 - Fly Newark to Hong Kong
Aug 19 - Arive in Hong Kong
Aug 20 - Fly to Hefei, Anhui and GOTCHA DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aug 21-24 - Adoption paperwork and time to spend with Elizabeth
Aug 25 - Fly to Guangzhou, Prepare for visa interview
Aug 26-27 - Free day
Aug 28 - Medical Exam
Aug 29 - Visa interview at US Consolate
Aug 30 - Take a bus to Hong Kong and spend the night
Aug 31 - HOME SWEET HOME !!!!!!

Baby Shower

2007-08-17T09:56:00.000-04:00

This post is a bit delayed but now without the same sincere appreciation to everyone who came to the party and showered Little Elizabeth with good wishes and lots and lots and lots of goodies. She sure is a lucky little girl, even if she doesn't know it yet! Special Thanks! to my sister and mom for all the hard work to make the shower so special. I really appreciate the "China Theme". We are now down to the end and Little Elizabeth will soon be able to enjoy all the new toys and clothes which she has never experienced before. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

Lots of Love to all,
Debbie and Sam

A Glimpse at the Life of Little Elizabeth

2007-08-08T11:13:00.000-04:00

Today,the first person to visit Miss Elizabeth in her orphange, alerted me to this newspaper story about China's orphange. Turns out it is a log about the trip made by the group that included the seconded person who visted Elizabeth. I just didn't know they were taking a reporter and documented as they have.

The link to the story is http://china.sunjournal.com On the home page, you can look at the video. When the counter gets to 1:17, there will be a picture of 3 kids in a crib. The little girl in the pink is Elizabeth. If you look to the left there is a daily log of their trip. Day 5 is their trip to Elizabeth's orphange. It is a sad tale of the life our little girl lives. One one of the journam entries, there will be block on the right where you can click on slide show. There are 2 more pieces there that give another insight into her life.

As I sit at my desk, it brings me to tears to see how she has had to live. It also brings me great joy in my conviction to give her the best possible life that I can. If nothing else, it gives all of us who will soon interact with her, a glimpse at her surroundings so we can better understand her and help her assimulate into our world. We love you Elizabeth. We are coming just as fast as people will let us!

Elizabeth's Finding Ad

2007-08-07T21:10:00.000-04:00

Through a internet resource, we were able to get Elizabeth's finding ad. Finding ad's are placed in the local paper with the details of where the child was found, what they were wearing, etc so that a parent has the opportuntiy to come forward and claim the child. Elizabeth's finding ad was placed in the local Huainan City paper February 7, 2005. We can share that she was found just a few hours after birth so we know she could not have spent much time alone. Since this is such a sensitive, personal issue, we have chosen to keep the details, just that, personal. We believe that this is Elizabeth's personal story. We will share it with her as she grows and give her the priviledge of sharing it or not sharing it. She has had no control as to how her little life has played out so far, we hope this can give her at least a little control.
This is the finding ads in the paper. Seems similar to a classified. Huai Dong Song is in the first column, six pictures down.

Baby Song Song at about 3 months old. How lucky I feel to have this baby picture to share with her.

The Team from CONITS

2007-08-06T07:32:00.000-04:00

Sam's team at work gathered to have a lunch in honor of our pending parenthood. Sam is lucky to work with such wonderful people who are not just co-workers but friends. We had lunch at a nearby Chinese Buffet and enjoyed the company of good people. Afterwards we were treated to a delicious cake and a very generous gift. I know Elizabeth will enjoy all of her new "Elizabeth" trinkets and we certainly appreciate the Toys R Us gift certificate. I just know there will be things we didn't think about now that we will need for her upon her return. Special Thanks to Sherry for organizing the lunch. You are a special lady!

The Maillady has Arrived!

2007-08-06T07:23:00.000-04:00

Our very favorite Maillady is a womana by the name of Wanda who lives in New Mexico. She was going to China to adopt her daughter and offered to take along care packages for anyone waiting on a little girl. How could I resist that opportunity.

This is her care package. It arrived in New Mexico just 14 hours before they got on their plane to China

This is "Song Song" with her Nanny looking at the photo album of her new Mama and Baba.

Elizabeth, Here we come!!!!

2007-07-31T15:16:00.000-04:00

We finally have our travel date!!!! We will be leaving on August 15th!!!! I hope these last 2 weeks will go quickly!! Gotta go pack!!

Little Girl Elizabeth

2007-07-19T16:11:00.000-04:00

What a blessing the last few days have been. A family from Harrisonburg traveled to Elizabeth's orphange as did another from Maine. Both were able to bring back NEW pictures of Elizabeth. Although she does not look all that happy, we will assume she is just getting up from her nap since the picutres were taken in her crib. We did learn that does sleep in a crib and has a cribmate. We are soooooooooooooooooo grateful to have these new pictures of her. Somehow it is just reassuring that someone has laid eyes on her and that she REALLY is there.
Without further ado.... Miss Elizabeth July 2007

Shower, swings and things

2007-07-18T22:52:00.000-04:00

Still no concrete ideas of when we will travel but at least things have been happening to keep me distracted!!!
First let me say thank you to my dear friends Debbie, Larisa and Katy who threw a wonderful surprise shower for me. Also, thanks to my other dear friends who took time out of their busy schedules to come and share my excitement. I was especially thrilled that my mom happened to be in town. It was a wonderful afternoon! Elizabeth is sure one lucky kid. She has lots of new clothes and new toys!!! Thank you to everyone for everything!!!

Sam, with the help of our friends Jesse, Rich and of course Max, built a great swingset for Elizabeth. I think she will love it and it will certainly come in handyd for that time outside needed to readjust her body clock to EST. Max and Sam tested the swings and slides so it should be good for her little 25 pound self!

I had a wonderful opportunity to make a new friend for Elizabeth this week. Her name is Fin and she lives nearby. She came home on my birthday and is close in age to Elizabeth. Her mom, (HI Leslie) shared all sorts of insight on adopting a toddler. I was grateful for the opportunity to ask any question I could think of. It was great just to watch Fin play and laugh. She is a beautiful little girl. I can't wait for playdates for Fin and Elizabeth!!

Stay tuned! Exciting new picutres of Elizabeth are coming soon!!!!

For now you can enjoy some pictures of the "Toddler Shower" and our new swing set.

click here to see a slide show .

2007-07-10T21:34:00.001-04:00

I almost hate to add a new entry because that pushes my sweet pumpkin's face down the page! We have a few updates to share. Last week we received her finding ad that was placed in a local chinese newspaper. I will get the pictures scanned and include them in a future post. I also had a wonderful suprise baby shower this past weekend. Many, Many thanks to my friends Debbie, Katy and Larisa for planning it and for my friends who were able to make it and share in our joy.

Today Mr. Postman delivered our translated medical documents. We were told it would take about 2 weeks but over 4 weeks later we finally have them. Our friend Betty who did our rough translation for us pretty much hit the nail on the head. She appears to be a happy, healthy little girl. The only thing we missed was a date. It appeared to us and Betty that all of the paperwork was done in June 2006. Turns out that latest of the medical reports was actually done in Feb 2007. We thought she was 9.75 kg in June 06 when actually she was 9.0kg then and 9.75 kg in February 2007. 9.75kg converts to about 21.5 pounds. We thought we were adding 15 months of growth to her 21.5 pounds now it seems like we are adding just 6 months of growth. How much does a little girl grow in 6 months. Yikes, probably not enough to weigh between 27-30 pounds we were estimating!! Hopefully in about a month we will find out!!!

Presenting Elizabeth Mei-Song

2007-06-08T22:35:00.000-04:00

After a 17 hour work day, I finally logged on to my email and to my amazement, there was an email waiting for us all day with lots of great details about Elizabeth. Not to mention her picture. Thanks to our friend Betty she helped us do a preliminary translation.

Elizabeth is a halloween baby born on 10-31-04. She is currently residing in the Huainan Social Welfare Institution in the province of Anhui, which is just west of Shanghai. She has been there since she was just a couple of hours old. The staff named her Huai Dong Song. Haui is for the town she was born in, Dong means winter and Song mean pine. Her file says that they named her Dong Song because they wanted her to be like a winter pine tree ~ to be strong and pretty as she grows. They report that her favorite activity is listening to music and that her favorite toy is bells. One report says she is timid and shy while another one says she is outgoing and active. They say she is closest to her caregiver and likes to be held. They say that she can only be put down to play with bells. That may be a challenge to live up to !! She is reported to be a deep sleeper (YES!!!!) but wakes at 5:30AM for milk and goes back to sleep until 7AM. She goes to be at 10am. Yikes, that is later than we go to bed!! Someone's schedule will be changing, we will have to see whose it will be! We are a little unclear now about how much she weighs but we have one report that she was 20 pounds. I am sure she must be more than that by now. We are going to a travel meeting tomorrow so hopefully we will have more information about our plans to go pick her up soon!!

The first picture is a younger picture that they sent us and the second picture is one we think was taken this winter.

We are so excited to be mommy and daddy to this beautiful little girl!!!

2007-06-06T18:55:00.001-04:00

Our referral is here!!!

2007-06-06T18:25:00.000-04:00

The phone call came at 12:45 today!!!! We have a little girl!! We won't have more details until Friday but we do know that she was born in October 2004. Yes, a little girl instead of a little baby but we are thrilled beyond words. Out with the baby things and in with the fun kid stuff!!!! We will keep you posted and hopefully have pictures of her up by Friday. It has been a long 19 months. So many times, people have asked us if we had heard anything yet. We can finally say YES!!!! Stay tuned for more Elizabeth details!!!!

Hurry up referrals!!

2007-06-05T20:34:00.000-04:00

We hear on the Rumor Queen that November 7th is the new cut-off so we are hoping and praying that it becomes fact over the next few days. We are praying that this will be the last weekend of being a family of 2!

I found this video clip on you-tube and just had to share it. If this doesn't make you smile then you must be really grumpy!!!! I hope we can bring this much joy to Elizabeth. I know she will bring joy to us.

Cross everything you can cross!!

2007-06-04T09:42:00.000-04:00

Cross your fingers, your toes and anything else you can find while you are keeping a look-out for Ladybugs! The latest rumor is that the cut-off date is November 7th, which is our day!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope, I hope, I hope.. (maybe we should have named her Hope!)We will keep you posted as the rumor materializes into fact. My half empty glass worries that the rumor will get worse and the cut off date will be earlier, my half full glass says that no, this will be the month/week since it is only the 2nd busiest week of my entire work year! So little time to sit by phone/computer. Please pray! We could use all of your prayers right now.

The picture belwo is of the matching room at the CCAA. Our family will be made here! You can see all of the files on the shelves. We hope that our's and Elizabeth's is on someone's desk right now!!! Please pray! Pray for our match this month and pray for Baby Elizabeth. Mommy and Daddy are coming! Just hold on a bit longer!

Unsure about what the week will bring??

2007-05-30T08:32:00.000-04:00

If I had posted this weekend like I had planned to this would have been the most upbeat post yet. We were really gearing up to get the "call" in the next week or so. Keep in mind the rumors to date where that June referrals would go through mid November (our LID is 11/7). As I was drvining back home from a business trip Sam called to say that Rumor Queen had posted that one agency had reported that they thought referrals had been mailed from China. YEAH!!! As soon as I got home, I ran to the computer. Now I should have know that after all of this time, every piece of good news must be tempered with something negative. In less than 30 minutes the RQ sight had changed and now not only were referrals probably not on the way but some people with November 8 and 9 LID have been told not to expect their referral this month. That takes us down to a cut off of November 7th. OUR DAY! While I suppose I should be excited, it is too close for comfort. I am just waiting to hear that November 7 people beign told to wait until next month. Our agency never says anything so we must just wait. This is all most dreadful! I wish I could enjoy the build up of excitement around Elizabeth's impending arrival but I just can't.

Before all of this negative news yesterday. Sam and I went to yard sales this weekend and found a never used baby carrier for $5. We bought it and brought it home to realize we neeeded something heavy enough to try it out. At first we thought about bags of sugar and then Victor walked by! Tom thinks we should have been more thoughtful of his dignity but we see it as family obligation!

The Excitement Level is RISING!!

2007-05-14T18:28:00.000-04:00

Finally, we feel like we can start to get really excited. Can the CCAA match only a couple of days again? Sure but the rumors right now are looking great! We live by Rumor Queen right now and even her bad case scenario gets us in under the cut-off date. The last cut-off was November 1 and our paperwork is logged in on November 7 so the bad case scenario is Novembr 8 so that would still be good news for us. There is even a little talk right now that it could goes as far as November 20ish. WOW!!! I know that Sam is getting excited because even he is now reading Rumor Queen website. Rumor Queen is currently guessing that the next round of referrals, hopefully with us included will be out between June 4 and June 8. What an incredible birthday present for me!!! Hold onto your hats~ Hopefully this rollercoaster is pulling into the station!

Thank you to everyone for your good wishes and prayers. They really help us get through the days and weeks. Special thanks to my Aunt Margaret for thoughtful note. No one can imagine how much it helps us to be surrounded by so many people who are just as excited to see Baby Elizabeth as we are!!

Dare I Utter the Words.....

2007-05-07T04:28:00.000-04:00

That we are next!!!!! In April the CCAA referred 2 days worth of Log In's. In May the referred 6 days bringing it to November 1, 2005. We are November 7th so we are only 6 days of Log In's away!!! Could it be? Rumor Queen even gives November 8th as the next cut off as the worst case scenario which would make us golden for a June referral. Keep your fingers, toes and whatever else you can find crossed and pray for June to get here fast!!

What Seems Like an Eternal Rollercoaster!

2007-04-06T16:28:00.000-04:00

When our adoption agency told us the wait for our referral would be 5-6 months, never did I imagine that 17 months later we would still be waiting. I just want to get off this rollercoaster and I want to get off this rollercoaster with my baby in hand NOW!!!! It seems like any bit of good news or excitement MUST be tempered with some sort of disappointment. This week, I made my trek to Richmond for our usual staff meeting. At lunch, Aliza (my friend at work who is expecting baby #1 on May 18th) and I walk into the lunch room to a BIG SURPRISE!!! Our fellow coworkers collaborated on a surprise shower. Everyone brought a delicious contribution to the lunch. Our coworkers gave us each an incredibly generous gift card to Babys R Us and I got 2 adorable dresses, a hat, a stuffed laughing bunny and some good smelling lotions. It was such a surprise and so much appreciated. It was my first celebration of Elizabeth's impending arrival. So what is the dissapointment? I come home to check my email only to find out that most likely April's referrals will only be for 2 days ~ not 2 weeks which has been typically and the source of the slow down but 2 DAYS!!! So after a month the Adoptions Affairs office has moved along 2 days! I so hope someone along the way has misintreped and they have matched farther. At this point, the May referral we figured was in the bag is probably a long shot. Today, it doesn't feel like this will ever end. Everything is in Elizabeth's room but Elizabeth. Will this ever change???

Another Step Closer

2007-03-05T21:01:00.000-05:00

It seems like forever that we have been posting about being one step closer. Today we are yet another step closer. Referrals have been made for all families through October 24! Closer to us but of course we were hoping and praying that it would be just a bit closer. I get Elizabeth is not quite ready yet! We are November 8th so at this point April seems a bit unlikely if this slooooooow pace continues but I would think that May should be our golden month! The link below is to a short video of families receiving their babies. This typically happens within the first day or so after arriving in China. The meeting is usually held in the government center of the province that the baby is from. Enjoy! I cry everytime I watch it just anticipating the day I get to hold Elizabeth. Before you start the video, go to the bottom of the blog and mute the music so that you can hear the story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yHTaxn_aDM

The Days are Dragging on!

2007-03-02T09:26:00.000-05:00

Today is one of those days where the wait seems endless. After recovering from the work involved with the Polar Plunge (yeah, we will have topped $800,000) and really taking it in that the CCAA was into October referrals, we began to get excited. We registered at Babys R Us and have bought lots of new things. It seems that every store we go to their are huge magnets just pulling us to the little girl department or the toy department!! Now, with another week down with absolutely no rumors about the next group of referrals the drain on our excitement is starting to happen again. This rollercoaster ride is really tooo long and we are ready to get off! So, we will do what we always do ~ get back to day to day life as a family of 2 and wait for the next wave of excitement. Come one Baby Elizabeth, we are waiting for you!!!

Another Baby Step Closer to Baby

2007-01-25T21:01:00.000-05:00

The last 2 days have been recharged our excitement battery!!! Yesterday our social worker called. It was the "call" before the "call" to tell you to expect the "call" about your referral soon!
This call was to up date all of our contact information. We were told, what seems like an eternity ago that they would do this soon before our referral arrives so they have every possible way to get a hold of us. I think it may really happen!!!!

Today we refiled the paperwork for Immigration. Our last very expensive document has expired to we are now doing it again. Hopefully it will be back soon as we can't go to China without the Immigration approval (just in case we have become criminals since the we last received Immigration approval). AHHH the papercase. I can't wait for it to be over for a second time!!!

Getting Closer

2007-01-04T10:18:00.000-05:00

Today the CCAA announced that they had matched families through September 27th. We are November 8th so we are getting closer!! The closer we get the far less patient I am. This journey has been tooooo long and we just want our baby and we want her now!!! Our best estimates now are that we should here something around Aprilish. For now, we have to redo our US Customs paperwork ~ Not to much work just a bunch more money! Keep your fingers crossed and keep looking for ladybugs.

Almost Christmas

2006-12-22T14:19:00.000-05:00

This past month has been one of the most stressful since we started the process. We have been refingerprinted and had our homestudy redone. There has been so much talk of new regulations as related to adoptions in China. Just as Sam has remained calm and cool, I have been just the opposite, paniced and crazied. Although no official notice has been given by China,our social worker assures us that we are OK. I want to believe her, I really do but the anxiety continues for me.

One saving grace has been the hubbub of Christmas activity. I have been busy shopping and wrapping while Sam has been busy decorating. Although we didn't win the neighborhood contest, I know our house (which the picture just don't do it justice) must bring smiles to a few passerby's.

Merry Christmas to all of friends,family, and our internet supporters who make the wait a bit more tolerable.

A Busy Week

2006-10-28T12:49:00.000-04:00

This week finds us getting a few steps closer. As you can see in the backgroud of the pictures, the mural is almost complete. That will finish up next week. Our friends Larisa and Jonathan also gave us their crib so we excitedly started putting it together. Keeping with traditional crib assembly we had our share of troubles. One problem was our new kitty Victor who was bound and determined to "help". He passed screws and springs to Sam after doing about 20 laps around the room with them. Our next problem was that Jonathan believes in throwing directions out and not that Sam is opposed to that but he has just never really even seen a crib before so we were a bit stumped. Once we realized there were missing parts it all became much more clear. Thank goodness for the internet! We were able to find replacement parts eaisly. They arrived last night and a few minutes later we were in business!!
Thank you so much Larisa and Jonathan. We hope that Elizabeth has as many good dreams in the crib as Allison and Brandon! Our friends Karl and Sherry also gave us a truck load full of baby things. Some we will keep here and some we will use to outfit Grandma's house!!

This week also included a visit from our Social Worker, Melissa, to due an annual homestudy update and a trip to to immigration to redo our fingerprints. Hold on Elizabeth! We are praying to get to you just as fast as everyone will let us!

Praise God!!!!

2006-09-01T08:07:00.000-04:00

As they say, all good things come to those that wait. Well, we have waited a long time, more than any another month in the near past and we are finally out of review!!! We had gotten so discouraged over the long wait that we just stopped checking the CCAA website. What a surprise today!!! What does this mean? It means that assuming we will not be affected by new resrictions that are due to come out, we have been approved!!!! We will continue to be a little stressed until we hear about those but we will pray that we either don't fall into any of the restricted categories or that they won't apply to those who have been already approved. For now, as we are pounded by the wind and rain of Ernesto, we will enjoy the moment. It is still a long wait until our referral. We estimate now, we should be hearing something March-June (that is of 07). For now, it is a milestone met and one step closer to our Elizabeth!!!

From the China Center for Adoptions Affairs:

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before November 30, 2005.

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before July 22, 2005.

The Rumor Mill

2006-07-27T21:58:00.000-04:00

The rumor mill is working hard these days! Things in China continue to be slow and not so steady. They are just finishing referring families whose paperwork arrived in the end of June 2005. It seems this month's referrals are going only to July 13th so we will officially be at least 13 months waiting. I am sure as the months stretch on that will increase. November 2006 will represent 12 months for us. At this point, the most reliable rumor seems that March 2007 may be the magic month for us! Never has anything like this tested my patience so much! I know that one day, it will be worth it!!!!

Paperchasing, Round 2

2006-07-20T13:15:00.000-04:00

In Virginia, a homestudy is only good for one year so...
Since the process has slowed dramatically in China, we
have had to update our homestudy. Today, we have submitted
all of our paperwork. Let's hope things move along so we don't
need to redo our fingerprints. Based on some extrapulated facts,
our new best guess is a referral in March. On top of that that,
one couple who is part of our November group was denied by
China. It just adds to the stress! We won't be able to really
relax until we know we are out of the review room and approved.
UGH!!!! Will this ever end?

Getting Closer to Baby Elizabeth

2006-06-23T08:52:00.000-04:00

Good News Today! The following post was put on the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) website.

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before October 31, 2005.

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before June 28, 2005.

We have been hoping that they have been reviewing November. We heard that they don't change the date until every last application is resolved but as a month winds down they will move into the next one before changing the date. But now it is offical. They are in November and we are DTC 11/08/05!

We can't wait to see it change to to all applications have been reviewed through November 30th. They we know we are set with approval from the Chinese Government!!

Here we go again!

2006-06-21T13:38:00.000-04:00

May 2006

The paperchase begins again. The referrals have slowed to a snails pace. It is looking like at least a year if not longer. Our new timeframe is a referral in November or December with travel in January or late February (after the Chinese New Year, which will postpone our travel some). We will see how this holds over the next few months. The downside of this downside is that now our homestudy needs to be updated! It expires in July so we have a few months.

In the meantime, We have begun working on our nursery. We have certainly changed this very dreary room into a happy place for Baby Elizabeth. More work needs to get done but these photos show our work in progress.

Another step in the right direction

2006-06-21T13:26:00.000-04:00

january 2006

We have gotten 2 more pieces of mail that let us know that the wheels are turning! We got a letter from agency stating that our paperwork was logged in (LID) on November 8, 2005. That is the official day that we start counting from! We also got the infamous "Brown Envelope" It is information and forms from the American Consulate in China. It has info that we will need to take to China with us. Although both small, it is reaffirming to know we are now on the list!!

Christmas 2005

2006-06-21T13:24:00.000-04:00

We really thought last year that there was a good chance that Baby Elizabeth would be with us by this time. Not only is she not with us but the wait for a referral has now increased. When we started our 7 months would have put us at getting a referral in June or so. Now it looks like it will be fall before we have Elizabeth. We will look at the silver lining and know that is when our baby will be ready and it won't be so hot we when go to get her!

Even though Elizabeth is not here yet, she sure did get some nice gifts! Aunt Janet gave her a hand-made crocheted blanket, Grammy and Pops gave her a christmas music box, a cookie jar and 2 blankets. They also gave us some books and a doll just perfect for our little Elizabeth. Cousin Jim and Jen gave her a toy. Grandma also made her a beautiful blanket! I also got a beautiful ornament from Sam that says "Waiting for Elizabeth" on it. I think I will keep it our until she arrives. Merry Christmas. Hopefully Elizabeth will be in the picture next year.

Complete!!!!!

2006-06-21T13:18:00.000-04:00

I met with Melissa today and everything is good to go!!!! The only hiccup she sees a slight difference between our homestudy and my medical report. We decide it is too late to change the homestudy at this point and we will just wait and see what the CCAA says when our paperwork gets into the reveiw room. After meeting Melissa is was off to my office to copy all of our documents and drop the most important package ever into the Fed Ex box!!!

Deadline Meet!!

2006-06-21T13:17:00.000-04:00

Today is October 23rd and Fed Ex has delivered back our certified and authenticated dossier paperwork. Tommorrow I meet with Melissa, our social worker to review the paperwork before it get's fed exed to New York and then off to China!!

Crunching down harder

2006-06-21T13:14:00.000-04:00

If we want to get into the November group, we must have our paperwork in by October 25th to meet the November 1 deadline. We are close!!! Our paperwork has now all been certified and we have now sent it to the Chinese consulate to be authenticated. We have paid every expiditing fee we can to make our deadline. We are crossing our fingers and toes!!

Crunch time is here!!

2006-06-21T13:12:00.000-04:00

october 2005
We are so close to being done with our paperchase. We have opened our own Fed Ex account to help us along in this last month! Today all of our paperwork has been sent to either Virginia or Delaware to have be certified. We hope this process is quick.

Sad Days

2006-06-21T13:06:00.000-04:00

September has been a sad month in our family. Out of nowhere, Sam's dad took suddenly ill and passed away. September 11th is a day our country is in mourning but will also forever be a day that our family mourns for the loss of such a wonderful man. Over the last several days we have gone over many pictures and looked at many things. We have put together some things so that as Elizabeth gets older we will be able to share stories of her grandfather. Dad A was happy to have been "the old man" as his father was. We know he would have been a wonderful grandpa just as his father was too. We all knew and loved him. It will truely be Elizabeth's loss that she will not have that opportunity.

Moving along!

2006-06-21T13:04:00.000-04:00

It is now the end of August and we are moving along at a nice clip!! Our fingerprints have been approved, we have seen the doctor, gotten our bank letter and now we have just a few things left to accomplish.

Fingerprinting

2006-06-21T13:02:00.000-04:00

August 2005

It took no time to get our fingerprinting appointment. For the last couple of days, we have been very gentle with our hands. the last thing we want is a delay caused by some roughed up hands. We agree that for the sake of Baby Elizabeth, we will take the weekend off and relax so we can protect our hands:)

Approved by AFTH

2006-06-21T12:56:00.000-04:00

July 2005
We got the word, our approval and homestudy are complete!!! Of course no process can be complete with out a few issues. After reading the homestudy, I was really disappointed. It has so many grammer and spelling errors. It seemed almost disrespectful to send this to China and ask them to trust us with a baby when we appear so illiterate. I called Adoptions from the Heart and informed them that after so much time and money that this was not acceptable. Funny how it works, a couple of days later our social worker is now "seeking employment opportunities elsewhere". Melissa is our new social worker and has promised to get everything straight and redone.
Our next step is to send our homestudy to Immigration and wait to be fingerprinted.

Phase 1 complete!!

2006-06-21T12:52:00.000-04:00

June 2005

We have finished our paperwork for our homestudy. Kinga defers our home visit to Melissa. The visit was painless!! We worried and cleaned relentlessly for no reason. We hope to hear the good word soon! Now we finish collecting the paperwork for our dossier! It appears our initial goals were a bit lofty. Now our goal is to have our dossier done by december! With that, we should get our referral after my busy spring season giving me the perfect time to stay home and enjoy Baby Elizabeth for awhile.

Our baby Easter Bunny

2006-06-21T12:47:00.000-04:00

March 27, 2005

Today is Easter and today is the day that we become and aunt and uncle for the first time. Baby Dominique May Ercolino arrived this morning. We could not be any happier for Janet and Matt. Of course in the last couple of weeks we have come to another decision on our journey. We will name our little girl Elizabeth Mei. Paperchasing continues!!!

Janet's Baby Shower

2006-06-21T12:43:00.000-04:00

Today I hosted a baby shower for Janet and my neice to be. It was a wonderful day filled with lots of anticipation for our first niece. Although I wanted did not want to take away from her day, I did share our news with a few people at the shower. The more I tell people the more excited I get. The more excited I get, the quicker I get into gear and proceed with the paperchasing.

Paperchasing is slow

2006-06-21T12:40:00.000-04:00

I surrender! The paperwork is not complicated but it does take some tenacity to get it finished. The Polar Plunge has been overwhelming my life for the last 6 weeks so we have not accomplished much. My travel season is at it's peak and Max is temporarily living with us. I really need to buckle down and get to work.

Paperchasing Begins

2006-06-21T12:33:00.000-04:00

January 2005

Today we met with Kinga our social worker. She went through all of the paperwork requirements. We complete one set of requirements for our homestudy and then one set of requirements for our dossier. She told us that the paperwork is complicated and depending on how diligent we are is how fast we will complete it. We brought the paperwork home and began to organize it. Now I will say, it is a lot of paperwork but certainly not confusing. If I can organize a polar plunge for a couple of thousand people, surely I can manage this. In our excitement we begin to ponder time lines. We are told that it will take about 6-7 months to get our referral once our Dossier goes to China (DTC). After that we will travel to pick up baby in 6-8 weeks. At this point, we think we will have baby sometime next spring! Yeah!!!

Christmas Day 2004

2006-06-21T12:29:00.000-04:00

We have told our parents that we have decided to adopt a baby girl from China. They are all very excited about the news but sworn to secrecy until Christmas when we can come home to share the good news ourselves.

During the day, Dad asks us when are we going to tell. The suspense and anticipation was killing him!! We told him that when the time was right we would tell.

I had the opportunity to say grace at dinner. I thanked God for all of his blessings, in particular Janet and Matt's upcoming arrival, Jim and Jen's upcoming arrival and the upcoming arrival of the little girl we would be adopting from China! Boy did that catch a few people off guard!! But the secret was out and we rejoiced in our good news with the people that we love the most.
Once we get back into town, the paperwork begins!!

The Decision is Made

2006-06-21T12:22:00.000-04:00

December 2004

We have been talking about adopting a baby lately but it has all been very abstract. By fate, I saw an ad for Adoptions From The Heart for the very first time. This same ad is one I have seen many times since then. I guess I never saw it because we weren't quite ready. We attended a information session in the Chesapeake office. On our way home, we know this was our direction. We knew our direction would take us to China. So now the process begins!!!