More baby steps...

We just mailed our application for our Visas- woohoo, we can’t believe it, we are actually starting preparations to go to China, crazy!!! We continue to work on our “while we wait to do list”. We are also working on packing lists and discussing “traveling light” whatever that means… our agency told us that we can pretty much buy anything in China but of course it depends on the region. We would hate to assume we will find anything we may need and be disappointed.  I have been doing a lot of research on traveling with toddlers- the thought of it keeps me up at night. Oh my goodness it is tough for an adult to deal with a long international flight,

I can’t imagine a little one dealing with it. So far we know we need to stash lots of snacks, toys and diapers to keep our baby comfy and entertained. Lord help us, I just hope our Little Cupcake survives this ordeal. We are just so happy that our days to meet our daughter are numbered. We don’t know exactly when but soon very soon.

For now we continue to wait for our USCIS approval and whatever else we need to wait for before we get travel approval. It’s hard to look at her pictures, I get so emotional and so impatient- I want to go to China NOW!

I can’t bring myself to get her nursery ready- I know it’s crazy but am just so scared something will happen and we won’t be able to get our baby girl. Ugh I am a mess. I feel like a crazy lady one minute am ecstatic the next I am scared to death and ready to crawl under my bed and hide from the world. This is really happening- after all this time yet I feel so unprepared. Then I get these crazy thoughts: what if she doesn't like us? What if she can’t adapt to us? What if blah, blah, blah. I don’t think I will ever be ready just hand her to me and I will take over – I will do what I have to do – this wait make me crazy!

One thing we don’t have to wait for too long is our shower, yay! It will be next month(July 2oth) we are super excited! We have waited for so long, actually thought it was never going to happen.

Not only we are looking forward to spending time with family and friends we haven’t seen in a while but we are also excited to make a small contribution to   Love without Boundaries and the children that continue to wait for their forever families. We have been blessed and our baby has already so much- we prefer that donations are made to love Without Boundaries instead of dealing with gift registries etc. 

We just go the link ~check it out Here

By the way, the picture on the LWB website is the one I had requested previously- unfortunately they are unable to release names, pictures or information to us until our adoption is finalized(that’s why I was unable to post it). 

So glad we never gave up on our dream to have our little girl...

Encouraging attachment...

Attachment is something all adoptive parents strive for. We have spent many hours reading and learning about it now we eagerly wait until we finally can put those attachment techniques to use… Here are a few baby things we bought as they were highly recommended to promote attachment and bonding.

1. Attaching in adoption- awesome parenting book geared toward promoting attachment-easy read with great techniques (We really like the nurturing approach to discipline). 

2. Ergo organic baby carrier- We got it because baby-wearing can aid attachment by encouraging closeness (so we are all for it) and it can be used for toddlers up to 40 pounds. Not sure how our girl will react to such closeness but we are willing to try it…

3. BioDours was one of the first things we purchased for our baby girl- it is such a soft and cuddly lovey- we hope she likes it as much as we do.

4. Attachment through play- The Green Toys™ A cute little nesting toy we plan to take to China with us.

 5. California baby soothing bubble bath –gentle on skin(love all California Baby products)smell so yummy! 

6. California baby soothing lotion- Did I mentioned that I love California baby products? Looking forward to giving our sweet pea soothing massages after her bath time :0)

7.  I love you like crazy cakes- a heart-warming story about adoptions from China(very sweet)...

8.  When promoting parent/child attachment, bottle-feeding is encouraged even with toddlers (closeness and eye contact).After comparing so many different brands we chose Avent bottles (they had great ratings, BPA free, easy to clean and pink :0) we also bought the bottle screw rings as we were told without them the bottles may leak (better be safe than sorry) 

9. Adorable onesie from Baby Gap (just couldn’t resist).

                    Counting the days until we finally meet our daughter...

Big update...

We have been crazy busy over here because we got our LOA!!!

Actually we got it on the 28^th of May (My Honey’s birthday, how awesome is that? That’s like the best present ever…) we were actually enjoying some yummy Mexican food celebrating when we received a call from our agency.

We were pleasantly surprised…but as soon as it sunk in I just got very emotional- actually a real hot mess. I just can’t believe this is really happening!!!   We have been planning for so long and now that things are moving along I don’t know how to act, so overwhelming. 

That same night we were watching TV and guess what? The Little Couple(I think that’s the name of the show) were in China adopting a little boy-it was their Gotcha day, as you can imagine I was crying like a baby. 

Soon it will be our turn, so super excited!!!!

Yesterday (May 29^th) I devoted my day to completing our 800 application.

I was so not prepared. I had no idea we still had to compile yet another stack of forms and supporting documents. It should have not taken me so long but I wanted to make sure everything was perfect and nothing was missing.

This was my Honey this morning when I handed over the documents

                                         LOL Anything for our Lil' Cupcake :0)

                                                                                     (picture Found on Pinterest)

                 We are happy that our I800 application was mailed today

                                      Closer, much closer to our baby girl.

                                               Signing our LOA...  Boom!

We had our travel meeting via phone today (30^th of May) and it lasted 1 ½ hours- we went over 70 pg info pack- our brains are mushy so am pretty sure we will have to revisit that packet of info again (and very soon).

Next step… apply for visas woohoo!!! Ugh I think am going to cry again…

While we wait...

One of our “while we wait” projects is the nursery, but we have decided to wait until we get our LOA~ seeing her empty crib would just make our hearts ache a little more each day as we continue to wait for her :0(

soooo, a had to go shopping of course ~ see my Polyvore board with the latest purchases for our Lil'Cupcake during the month of May. 
Outfits from Baby Gap and books from Amazon)

We are looking forward to our travel meeting with our adoption agency on May 30th- A signs of great things to come very soon :0)

…

Dear Birth mother...

We don’t know your life circumstances, we don’t know the reasons why you were unable to care for our little girl, we will not judge, we just want to say Thank You…

You did not have to choose life for her; we know you had other options yet,

 You chose to give her the gift of life.

Thank you for taking care of her for her first 20 days of life, we can only imagine how difficult it must have been to say good-bye.

Thank you for choosing a place where she could be found quickly, so that she could be taken to a safe place where she could be taken care of.

Because of the choices you made, our little girl was able to get the medical treatment she needed.

Because of the choices you made, she became available for international adoption

Because of the choices you made, now we have the opportunity to love and care for the little girl we have prayed for so long.

Because of the choices you made, our little girl will have many opportunities for a better life

You will always have a special place in our hearts and we will always be grateful for the greatest gift … the gift of our daughter.

We  pray somehow you feel in your heart that you made the right decision,

We pray that in your heart somehow you know our little girl is doing well

We pray that in your heart somehow you know your daughter is loved and will always be taken care of …

                                                                                        Images from Pinterest...

The wait is soooo hard :0(

It is so difficult… we see our little girl in pictures and see how much she has changed since October- Our little princess is growing under the care of a foster family so very far away. We are her family, she is our daughter, we want to be the ones caring for her, loving on her and taking care of her every need. 

We want to see her learn, play and grow here in her home.

Time goes by ever so slowly...

We have bought some more baby stuff of course but have been spending more time reading the books from our "while we wait to do list".

On a good note, at least with China adoption we have a time frame of sorts unlike before with Russia when all we did was paper work without an idea of how long the process would take. As we continue to wait for the day we meet our little girl, we continue to pray that she is healthy, happy and well taken care of :0)

 

Special Request...

If anyone out there reads this blog, I would like to ask that you pray for a family that is going through a very difficult time with their adoption.

I am not in the liberty to discuss any details but I know they are in need of prayer.

Please, please, please pray for them.