Archive for January, 2012
We got an update on Merry last week and it kind of rocked my world – - although not necessarily in a good way initially.
Before I go any further I’ll tell you that she’s fine. She’s actually gained a little bit of weight which is beyond awesome since she is super tiny and really needs to put on as much weight as possible before we start the first round of surgeries.
Oh heck, I’ll just show you. We got a new picture. (YAY!!) She was just over 12 months old when this was taken.
Looks like she has another tooth already, too. Oh how this bugs me since I know that it’s likely no one is taking the time to wipe or brush her teeth for her (and I do realize that’s not the most pressing issue, but still – it’s something a mama does).
The big shocker for us was finding out that she has been moved back to the orphanage already. In fact, she was moved in late December. We don’t really know why – the reason given is that her foster home was too cold for her – but I suspect there’s more to it than that. Heck, she was moved just after we submitted our LOI so the orphanage may have simply moved her to start getting her ready for adoption. She’d lost some weight – a fairly significant amount for an already little one – from one update to another and her little cheeks being so windburned in the last picture could also have been cause for concern for the SWI. All speculation aside, I don’t know. I’ve questioned some folks who might have some info and all I can get from them is that it isn’t uncommon for children to be moved if the foster family’s situation has changed or for any number of reasons. All I know is that I’m sure Merry is reeling from the sudden loss of her foster grandma and all that is familiar to her and that just breaks my heart. So much change for her already and an even bigger change coming soon (although not soon enough for us).
All in all, other than that bomb dropped on us the update was pretty good. She is standing on her own, cruising around the room, and is close to learning to walk as you can see. She is purportedly adjusting well to life in the orphanage. Her orphanage is new (and clean and heated and was recently the beneficiary of funding which allowed some upgrades) and the room she’s in caters to special needs children and has 24/7 staff trained by a US charitable organization. She’s gained over a pound in less than a month which is awesome and (hopefully) indicates that the Ayis are taking the time with her to make sure she’s getting enough to eat.
The update also said this:
She loves smiles and is always in a happy mood. Sometimes she smiles while she is napping.
As you can imagine, this just does my heart good. I think this means we have chosen her name well.
Please, please, please keep her in your thoughts. This little one has been through a lot and we just need her to hang on a bit longer until we can get there. No news on our I-800 approval so I’ll probably start nudging them this week hoping for some action.
In honor of the Year of the Dragon I asked Ava a few questions about dragons so she could clear up any misconceptions I (or you) might have about them.
Here’s what she dictated for me to transcribe:
Description: They are red or green. Maybe gray. Dragons eat gas, chips, cornbread, grass, ham, and fruit snacks. They have wings like butterflies and they flap their wings to fly somewhere to get food. They are so cute. I like dragons, especially Figment. At Chinese New Year, people fit under dragons. (Editor’s note: She’s talking about the dragon dance.)
Where dragons live: Dragons live in China. Not where my sister lives but far, far away. Dragons live in trees.
Size: So big!
Life span: Dragons never die.
Habitat: Cold, rainy sometimes. They live with their moms, dads, brothers, sisters, and their dog.
Diet: (See above)
How do they behave? They don’t listen <insert a grrr and a foot stomp here for full effect>!
So now you know! Hope you enjoyed Ava’s take on the mythical dragon since it turns out he’s apparently not so scary after all.
We wish you all a happy and prosperous new year. Xin Nian Kuai Le!
Because our agency (CCAI) is all kinds of awesome and all on it and don’t believe in delaying anything for a minute – our I-800 (immigration) application for Merry is now at the National Benefits Center.
We received the LOA from them on January 17th, signed it that night, stayed up all night filling out the I-800 app, and sent everything back on January 18th. They got it on January 19th, reviewed it, and sent it on its way the same day. NBC received it on January 20th (thank heavens for FedEx priority overnight service) and now we wait some more.
If you recall, our first agency held some of Ava’s paperwork for a couple of weeks which is partly why our travel was delayed so long with her. They also had no inkling of how to effectively communicate so it AMAZES me how great CCAI has been about keeping us informed of every step as it occurs and guiding us through the process. I knew our first agency sucked. Now I know how bad they really were.
Oh, and I have been in communication with our local cleft team here and I am just thrilled with their nurse coordinator. She has been so kind and is so excited for us – she already has a care package with some items for Merry just waiting for me to pick up at the hospital and promises that we will be penciled in on the surgeon’s schedule within a few weeks of us arriving home from China. She’s given some great advice as well and wants to sit down with me before we travel. It is making this so much easier to know that we already have such caring medical professionals that we will be working with.
All in all, a pretty good week on the adoption front.
After only a 12 day wait WE HAVE OUR LOA!
Yes, I did mean to shout. And I’m gonna do it again.
WE HAVE OUR LOA!!!!
And what is an LOA some of you might ask? Well, it is the letter of approval from China asking us to sign and officially commit to adopt Dang, Xin Yi. It means that China has officially said that she is ours and we can now start the immigration process in the US to bring her home. This came much earlier than we expected and means that we might travel much sooner than expected (like maybe April-ish).
I’m freaking out, by the way.
We’re going to have two kids. Holy crap.
For Christmas this year we got the best gift ever…a surprise referral.
Please meet Dang Xin Yi. Soon to be known as Merry Eleanor XinYi.
Xin Yi (meaning Happy Heart) is currently in Nanyang, China under the care of her foster grandma until we are allowed to travel to pick her up. Our LOI (letter of intent) was sent to China just before Christmas. Next step is LOA (letter of approval) from China. Our agency says ~30 days. Cross your fingers, please.
Then for a post-Christmas surprise we received an update with a new picture. This was taken on Christmas Eve. The windburned cheeks are killing me (just like Ava’s when we met her) so I’ve already bought some Aveeno lotion for the care package that we’ll be sending in a day or two.
Today is her 1st birthday. We had a birthday cake at home and Ava kindly blew out the candle for her sister since she isn’t here quite yet. She also sang quite a rousing rendition of the happy birthday song which I (thankfully) managed to capture on video since it was so darn cute. Merry’s birthday gifts today were the official pre-approval (PA) from China letting us know that they have moved our file to be officially matched with her and our I-800A approval which is the beginning piece (and the one that generally takes the longest) of the immigration paperwork and process that will allow us to bring her home.
Okay, fine. And I bought her some socks and vitamins for her care package, too. Since I bought them today then I think they can count as birthday gifts.
We expect travel should happen sometime in late Spring. My prediction is May but I would love to be wrong and it end up being a little earlier. We waited for two seemingly never-ending months to travel for Ava. I sure would like to see that short of a turnaround time now.
We are thrilled, of course, and can’t freakin’ wait to go get her.