Memorial Day Weekend - Lia's Room

For those folks who had planned on taking their boat out to a lake, or camping, or having a nice backyard BBQ this weekend, the weather here in the inland northwest  - sadly - did not cooperate.  As I write this, it is raining BUCKETS (buckets I tell you!!!) - and it's been this way for several days. Temps in the 50s and 60s, and rain showers on and off. Not much of a "kickoff to summer" in these parts. So far we've only seen a handful of days with temps in the 70s and even hit 80 so far (once or twice). But those of us who live up here realize that "summer" never really starts until after July 4th anyway. Onward and upward...

Nevertheless, for us this weekend was all about indoor projects, so the weather really didn't matter. It was finally, (FINALLY!) time to work on Lia's room! To those who are newly following along on my journey, I have moved a total of five times since I started the adoption process in 2006. FIVE. TIMES. After the first two moves, I stopped unpacking all the cute, little girl items I was collecting, and instead packed everything away in rubbermaid containers, labeled and sorted by age and type of item. Not knowing what age Lia would be when she came home, I gladly accepted hand-me-downs (in various sizes) from friends, but never purchased any furniture or a crib/bed for her room, figuring I would handle all that once I knew more about her. So now that I know she will be almost 2 years old when she comes home later this summer, it was time to get to work!  There are still some finishing touches to come...but here are some of the highlights from what we accomplished this weekend:

Her bed is a very cool contraption from IKEA called the "Kura" bed. It can be set up as a bunk bed, a loft bed, or as a regular twin bed, just depending on how you flip it (upside down or right side up) and attach the bed rails. As you can see, we are starting it out in the "loft bed" position, but without the loft mattress actually in place, instead placing the mattress directly on the floor (so she can't fall out). As she gets bigger, we can flip it over and make it a twin bed, or install the railings for the upper bunk and turn the ladder out away from the wall. The pediatrician I spoke with at the adoption clinic mentioned that - at her age - the type of bed (crib, toddler bed, or twin mattress on the floor) didn't matter as much as creating a "cozy nook" for the child to help them feel safe and secure, as well as the ability for a parent to snuggle with them or sleep next to them if necessary - which should work well with this setup. We may end up co-sleeping for awhile as she adjusts to her new surroundings, but I wanted her room to be an inviting place to play and imagine...for both of us!

LOA Arrived Today!

Yesterday I rec'd notice that my LOA from the Chinese gov't had arrived at my agency's office in Colorado. They FedEx'd it to me...and ding, dong, the doorbell rang around 10:30 am and the FedEx guy was quite surprised to learn that part of his job was "delivering babies"... but he was happy to pose for a quick photo with me for Lia's scrapbook:

Then the sorting and signing of the documents began...

We wrapped this up with a trip to the FedEx office downtown so I could overnight everything I signed back to Colorado.  In the meantime, my Travel Packet arrived via email, so now I get to work on all the travel paperwork and requirements, visa applications, etc. ... never a dull moment these days, but I'LL TAKE IT - another step closer to my girl! 

One Toddler Room...coming soon...and LOA!!!!!

This weekend we headed to IKEA to purchase all of the basics for Lia's room, which I have been eyeing for several months... In my usual way, I had (nearly) the entire list of items pre-printed out including which aisles and bins to locate them in at the warehouse... I am proud to report we were in and out of IKEA with 42 items (including a bed and mattress) in 1.5 hours, with the precision of a NASCAR pit crew. Even better, we were able to fit all of our purchases into the SUV along with our overnight bags, two air mattresses, blankets, toys and food for the dogs - and of course the two dogs themselves. Five hours later we are home and unloaded. WHEW!  Guess what I'll be doing Memorial Day Weekend???

More photos to come next week. Watch out world - my need to "nest" is in overdrive!

P.S. - just rec'd notice of my Letter of Acceptance (LOA!) this morning...10-13 weeks until TRAVEL.

Famous Cleft Lips

Since receiving my referral in April, I've been doing a lot of research on cleft lip and palate, speaking with specialists, and scanning the internet for information. I was interested to find out that the following famous faces were born with clefts:

                  

Mary Crosby, Actress

         

Carmit Bachar, Singer/Dancer, The Pussycat Dolls

Rev. Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Activist

    

Peyton Manning, NFL Quarterback        

                                  Tom Brokaw, News Anchor                                   

Preparations are underway...

So what have I been doing for the past few weeks since I was matched with my girl?  Well, besides walking on CLOUD NINE... We were celebrating my birthday, Mother's Day (particularly exciting this year as a "mom-to-be"), completing additional adoption paperwork, and starting preparations for the arrival of sweet baby girl.

Some of Lia's "friends" awaiting her arrival!

Over the past three years, I've collected quite an assortment of baby & toddler clothing (not knowing how old or what size my girl might be), luckily I had been presorting it all into labeled bins for each size range. Now I know I can safely pass on, or give away the 6-12 mos. old clothes. I'm keeping everything 18 mos. and up, as I'm not sure what sizes she will actually be wearing when we go get her this summer.

Today I finally got my care package put together to mail to the orphanage. My agency gave me a list of commonly used labels and terms in Chinese, so with the magic of Photoshop, I was able to put together a baby-friendly photo album with pictures of Lia's new home and family (including grandma, grandpa, auntie, and the dogs!) and label all the photos in English and Chinese, so hopefully, her nannies will be able to show her the album and start preparing her for the transition.  

 

 

 

 

Lia's carseat also arrived. Not only did I find the brand of carseat I wanted (after working at a children's hospital for four years, I was quite certain on the brand and safety rating required to protect my child!) But I was even able to find a cute, "girly" version of it on sale for a great price online - hooray for internet sales!

P.S - To everyone who has contributed to the fundraising efforts thus far...I am overwhelmed by the generosity and feel truly blessed to have so many friends and family members who want to help me bring my girl home this summer - THANK YOU!

More Photos of My Girl!

Obviously these are quite old, as they were taken "pre-lip repair". I'm guessing by her age that they were taken sometime in late summer/early fall 2009... I love them because she looks so HAPPY!

We're hoping to receive some more current photos of her soon!

FINALLY - (on my 40th birthday no less) - HERE SHE IS!!!!

It is with great excitement and utter joy that I announce the referral of my daughter – and my parents’ first grandchild...

Lia Xiao Hui

I received the match from my agency on April 21, and now that I’ve received my Pre-Approval (PA) notice from China – I can finally share this awesome news! YES – it’s true – after 3.5 years of paperwork and waiting…we finally know who our sweet girl is:

Lia’s Chinese name is Xiao Hui. According to my agency, Xiao means “little or small” and Hui means “intelligent”. Her birthday is November 10, 2008, which means she is currently (almost) 18 months old. She is in the city of Xi’an in the Shaanxi Province of central China. As you can see from her photos, Lia was born with a cleft lip and palate, and her lip was surgically repaired around her 1st birthday in Nov. 2009. She will require some additional surgeries and dental work on her palate as she continues to grow.

But now on to the fun stuff…here is the (translated) description we received:

“She has bright eyes, and is curious about the whole world. She likes this world, so she smiles all the time, will giggle when being teased, and has two dimples. She does not like to eat the single food, she likes to eat the delicious food, such as noodle, bean food, potato mash, and so on. She is extrovert, happy and cute, you will like her. Her caretakers like her very much.”

Our first thought: She’s a “foodie” -- she will fit PERFECTLY into our family!!!

Our adoption agency expects we will travel to China by August, so she will likely be about 21 mos. old when we meet her.

A lot of friends have been asking about gifts and where we are registered. The truth is – what Lia needs most – more than clothes or toys – is to get home to her family where she can receive the love, attention, medical and nutritional care she needs. So in lieu of gifts, I am asking anyone who feels inclined, to please help us with a cash donation to help cover her orphanage fee, travel and medical costs. Even small donations will add up! Please see the “Chip In” widget at the top left of this page for more info – or feel free to email me directly…and please know that we are thankful from the bottom of our hearts for every friend and family member who has supported us along the way during this looooong process to our girl. We are over the moon!