One down, Six to Go

Dear M,

We have arrived in Newark. Our first plane trip out of seven is over. We saw this out our window.

And this.... Do you know what it is?

We are now waiting to board our next plane to Beijing in about 2 and a half hours. Then we will be on that plane for about another 14 hours.

Hope you are having fun with your cousins!

We love you!

Mom and Dad

Shouldn't you be packing?

Yes, I probably should be packing. Afterall, the clothing Captain and I plan on taking are in the dryer and everything else is packed more or less....

Of course, just like that a little thing can totally disrupt the packing plan. A little thing say, like a red crayon that got in the dryer.



Captain is, as I type this, at the store buying a number of products that, when mixed, were recommended to get this type of stain out. Otherwise, well.....I just don't know. Do we need travel clothes?

24 hours + a little

In a little over 24 hours we will be headed to Beijing. Rounding up and taking care of the little odds and ends. Since we will be gone some time we decided to "tidy up" the garden. This is what we pulled out of it.


Cucumbers
Beets
Red Pepper
Short and Sweet Carrots


Had some cherry tomatoes but M ate them so they aren't in the picture.





I try not to think about it but its going to be very hard to leave this little one behind.

Yea Hoo! Updates!

I am so tickled and can't stop crying!!!! We received an email full of updated photo's and information about K.

Here is what we know:

Height: 27.2"
Weight: 17.6 lbs
Teeth: 4/2 (?)
Foot: 4.3"

She is eating formula with rice, rice and mashed meat, egg and noodles.
She is sleeping from 7 to 7 with an hour nap.
Her playmates are Chen Yun Yue, Chen Wen Yue, Chen Yu Heng
She is crawling and can walk a few steps.
She is an active and restless baby.

And.... here are the photos!

Gotcha, not! FIMA, yes.

Within the adoption community the term "Gotcha" refers to the day when you finally get your child. Our Gotcha day is scheduled for 7/20.

I really don't like the term "Gotcha". It is what I usually say when I swat a mosquito. This makes it hard to translate the feeling into something joyous and beautiful.

I've imagined that "Gotcha" day often over the past 3+ years. Imagined the weight of her settling in my arms, the smell of her. Will she be crying or smiling? Will she be confused about the chaos that will be surrounding her and us.

In the end, she will be Finally In My Arms - FIMA day. It's not catchy, no one in the adoption community is familiar with it, but Gotcha it isn't.

Its FIMA for me.

Seven Days

In seven days we will be on our way to Beijing. I can not wait! We will be that much closer to seeing K and don't get me wrong I'm completely peeing in my pants in anticipation of us being together but also... it will be so sweet to plop my butt on a plane with absolutely nothing to do but watch the clouds go by. It has been a busy couple of weeks getting ready for this trip and I'm ready for it to be over. The gifts for officials, nannies, facilitators have been purchased. Just in case prescriptions for Captain, me and K have been ordered and filled. Clothing for 100+ temp and humidity days are being put aside. The pets will have someone here at the house looking after them and we are pulling together goodies for M to have while we are away.

Among all of this we've been able to spend some time with visiting family during the fourth of July week. Among the fun, water games, fireworks and of course, small town parade.

M and her cousins watching the floats go by..

Sidenote: On the side, go ahead look over to the right, near the top.. We wanted to have a weather bug so you can all follow along with the current weather we will be experiencing in China. Unfortunately we can not figure how to keep it on one location. Our weather bug loves NY and will default to show what you can expect if you are heading out to a Broadway show or Central Park. Until we figure this out, feel free to click on "edit" and type in Beijing, Changsha, Guangzhou or Hong Kong. Just remember you'll probably be seeing China night temps unless you are up at 1am, can't sleep and decided to check on us.

p.s. we don't live in NY.

Posting from email

We just found out a few days ago that we can post from an email.  Here's our first time trying it out.