Hurry up and Wait.......

Ahhh waiting, not one of our favorite things to do, now is it?  Well I think Dan and I have mastered this in the last 5 plus years.  It's harder now that we've seen her face.  Tick tock tick tock, is it time to go yet?  Ok, be patient and wait.  Our agency confirmed that our Letter of Confirmation was mailed to China on Friday.  So we should know in about 3-5 weeks on our travel approval from China.  Usually you get to travel 6-8 weeks after you get your referral, however, we are going to encounter being held up due to the Guangzhou trade fair, April 15-30.  Apparently, it's the largest trade fair in China and held in the spring and fall every year since 1957.  Hotels are booked up and flights are more expensive.  Guangzhou is where all adoptions are finalized, so it is the last 5 days of our trip.  Our agency does not send people during this time.  Other agencies do send their people during this time.  Our guess in why our agency doesn't travel during this time is because they have contracted rates with hotels and the hotel we will stay at in Guangzhou is the White Swan so maybe the hotel doesn't offer the reduced rates during these kind of events.  Also, our agency says we fly out on a Thursday to Beijing, get there on Friday, tour on Saturday, and leave for Adriana's province (Jiangxi) on Sunday.  So our agency has been giving us a tentative date of May 5th.  Nothing set in stone but that definitely would be the latest we would leave.  Oh how we wish we could go in April!  I did the count down when we got the "phone call" and it was 10 weeks till May 5th, now we're at 8 1/2. Tick tock tick tock.  It's off to shopping in a couple of hours.  Dan has gotten really excited about shopping, which is saying A LOT for him!

The Translations Arrive

Jing Qin Fu, born on 7/31/10, estimated according to her umbilical cord development.

Jing - means beauty
Qin - means fragrance
Fu - means happiness

She was abandoned near Zhongling Returning Park and sent to the orphanage by a neighborhood committee on 8/2/10.  They list her feeding and sleeping schedule.  She giggles when she's happy and babbles to respond when adults speak to her.  She enjoys sucking her fingers, listening to music and watching TV.  She is extroverted, outgoing, active and lively.  She is shy with strangers and will appear unhappy when strangers hold her ( I think they're giving us a heads up).  She enjoys having a bath and is very quiet when bathing.  She is sometimes impatient.  The medical exam is included and everything is listed as normal.  We Fed Ex'd our letter of acceptance back to our agency yesterday and it will be forwarded to China on Friday.  We now sit and wait for travel approval from China which can be between 3-5 weeks.  Hopefully this time will go fast.  We can't wait to hold her!

And the Package Arrives!

Our package arrived from our adoption agency via Fed Ex.  Half of it is agency forms to sign and return ASAP and the other half is Chinese medical reports.  We are waiting for our agency to translate the forms and e-mail the information to us in English.  There are some personality traits that are written out in English and then checked off for the ones that fit.  Here is what we know right now:  Born on July 31, 2010 and "instututionalized" on August 2, 2010.  She is not in foster care and has remained at the orphanage.  On December 20, 2010, she had her medical exam.  She was 5.5 kg (12.1 lbs) and 61 cm in length.  She's a moderate sleeper, active, restless, fond of listening to music and playing games, obstinate at times, laughs out loud, follows you with moving her head from side to side, locates the direction of sound, and can distinguish between strangers and acquintances.  She also smiles a lot!  She sounds perfect to us!