And Now We are 4

A Book about a Blog about a Trip to China

2009-02-02T20:27:00.001-05:00

One Year Ago Today

2008-02-26T15:10:00.002-05:00

Cady's adoption was official one year ago. Life is busy and time has flown. I sat down to update the blog and I couldn't even remember my user name or password. (Is anybody reading this?)

Cady really is a perfect child, she's simply a delight. I can't believe that it's been a year already, but in a way I don't remember life without her.

Here are some updates:

*Cady started walking at 18 months. I was so relieved! Recently she has found a new speed. I wouldn't call it running, but she's got a cute little bounce to her second gear. She hasn't quite learned to jump up off the ground, but the last time we were at Monkey Joe's she was getting the hang of bouncing up and down.

*Chewing is becoming more efficient now that Cady has 11.5 teeth. After the front 8 came in the back 4 molars appeared. And, by the way (and just to give more evidence of her perfection), teething is never accompanied by fussiness. Sometimes she'll have a runny nose or chew on her fingers when a tooth is coming in, but mostly we don't know until we see it. Meal time is never a battle. She still doesn't like green beans and she's not especially fond of brussel sprouts (one of Lexi's favorites!), but other than that she'll eat what we give her.

*She weighs at least 30 pounds. We haven't weighed her since October when she was 27 pounds with a cast on. (yes, poor thing broke her arm. She fell off the end of our bed. Head first over the foot board.) She still carries that squeezable baby fat. Her thighs are very pinchable, she just laughs and laughs.

*Cady's verbal skills are coming along. She will attempt most words you ask her to say. She loves to point to each member of the family and name them. Lexi is "Sissy" (which I'm not real crazy about, but "Lexi" is a hard word for a baby to say so I'm biting my tongue for now). She is still using a few signs, her favorite has always been eat. She also likes to name body parts and count (un, ew, ee). It's so cute. Lexi gets excited when she can get Cady to say a new word, sometimes she's a little too persistent.

*We are down to just one nap a day. This is a good thing because we were stuck at home alot while Cady had her 2 long naps each day. She usually sleeps for 2 hours in the afternoon and then goes to bed at 7:30 each night. She wakes up between 7 and 7:30 in the morning. Still loves her warm milk first thing in the morning and right after naps.

*Fear is not a factor for Cady. She climbs tall playground equipment and slides down the steepest slides. She loves swinging and riding fast in her car around the neighborhood.

*Cady's favorite toys are ones that sing or make noise. She loves to push buttons, play with dishes and dolls, and read books. Balls are another fav.

There is so much more to say about our sweet Cady Lin, but I'll end with some pictures.

September 2007

December 2007

January 2008

February 2008

6 Months

2007-08-26T07:56:00.000-05:00

Holy cow! It's been 6 months since Cadence Lin was placed in our arms. She is an amazing baby and we can't imagine a more perfect fit for our family. There are days that Lexi reminisces about the time before we "picked up Cady from China," but all in all the adjustment has been smooth for all of us (just not enough time in the day for blogging and scrapbooking and resting or cleaning!).

Here are some updates:

*Cady is growing like a weed, she eats anything we put in front of her. The only food she prefers not to eat is green beans. She only has 2 teeth (I'm a little concerned, her doc is NOT) but that doesn't seem to stop her. Currently weighing in at 25 lbs 9 oz.

*Cady started crawling at 13 months. We keep telling her she needs to learn to walk (she's killing my back), but she still prefers all 4s. She loves to walk back and forth between Mom and Dad or Papa and Nana. Actually, she's quite proud of herself when she makes it across the room and we all clap. It won't be long before walking becomes her preferred mode of transportation.

*Language skills are slowly coming. She uses 2 words: up and apple. She signs: more, eat, milk, all done, & yes (this is a vigorous head nod), also, she loves to clap when we say "yeah". She understands much, much more. She follows commands like: come here, no touching, (be) gentle, don't eat that, etc.

*Fun facts: She loves to mimik silly faces. She closes her eyes (just briefly) and folds her hands we say it's time to pray. She is very ticklish under her chin and on her thighs. She's a snuggler. She sleeps with one leg propped up on the side of the crib. She loves her crib. Sleeps and snuggles with Bear Bear, she hugs him up close to her face. Has to have milk as soon as she wakes up in the morning. She enjoys bath time with Lexi, they see who can splash the most water out of the tub. She tries to lick the wash cloth everytime we wash her face, that tongue comes out every single time. She really only cries if she is super tired or hungry. She loves to ride in her little car when we take Godiva out for a walk around the neighborhood.

And now for some pics:

We are Home!

2007-03-17T15:32:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm getting lots of complaints that the blog hasn't been updated. We're suffering from jet lag people!! But really, I'm sorry.

The flights home seemed never ending. Cady got sick with a cold and fever the night before we left. Poor baby was quite miserable and then so were we. She slept a few hours, but after that she was up for the next 24 hours, fussy and crabby (or maybe that was me). Lexi was super, she slept most of the way. We were lucky enough to get an extra seat (the China Southern attendant blocked the seat by us when we checked in, he said if the flight wasn't full we would have it to ourselves) so Lexi spread out over 2 seats and slept the flight away! I wouldn't choose China Southern again and I definitely wouldn't choose a red eye!! I didn't like LA airport much either!

Enough of the complaining, once we arrived in Orlando we were so relieved. And when we exited past security we were welcomed home by a wonderful group of family and friends. They had all gotten up early and skipped church to be at the airport to welcome us. It was so nice to see everyone and be back home. Once we got home we found more surprises waiting for us there. Our fridge was full of food, casseroles and fresh fruit, yummy bread and bagels, homemade muffins and the makings for spaghetti. We are blessed with wonderful friends.

Just when we thought that jet lag was going to win, we are starting to feel normal again and sleep at normal times again. We aren't waking up at 3am feeling hungry anymore. Lexi is sleeping until around 7 and Cady isn't waking during the night. Cady was the first to switch to EST. She is really a champion of sleep. A couple mornings this week I actually had to wake her up because she was sleeping in past 9. She naps for 3 or 4 hours at a time in the afternoon and is ready for bed by 7:30. Cady has had a cold since we returned, it's slowly starting to clear up. I took her to the doc this week for a check up and the doc very impressed with her health and disposition. She babbled and smiled for him, charmed him well. She is in the 85th percentile for weight and 60th for height. You really have to see the thighs in person to really appreciate their size. She's just so squeezable!!

Lexi enjoys playing with her sister and always wants to wake her in the morning or from her nap. We are impressed so far with her attitude toward her sister.

Well, I know you want more pictures so here's a few (the pictures of Lexi with blue stuff on her face is how we found her at 6am one morning, the blue stuff is some funky lip gloss, her face stayed tinted for 2 days!):

2007 March

Last Full Day in China!!

2007-03-08T10:03:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm not going to tell you what we did today except that we had a lovely farewell dinner with our group tonight. It was bittersweet because we have made friends on this trip that we won't see for a while and saying goodbye to the China Team is very sad. I didn't get emotional at dinner because I was too busy tending to Cady's meltdown. Yes, sweet Cady had a major meltdown. Poor thing was so tired she didn't know what to do. And the room temperature bottle that I offered her just made her mad. Oh, yes, she kicked and screamed. We finally got the bottle warmed up and she was still too mad to enjoy it. By the time she finally gave in and drank the bottle she was so tired she couldn't stay awake. I put her in the stroller and she fell asleep instantly.

We are pretty much packed. We had to buy an extra suitcase, because, well, we haven't just been window shopping you know!! Tomorrow is a busy day of last minute purchases and packing and lunch and naps and heading to airport at 4. We don't actually reach our destination until Saturday at 8:20am, so we are looking at over 30 hours of bus/airports/airplanes/car between hotel and home sweet home. Pray for us!

I didn't edit any of the pictures from tonight. Just too tired!

Last full day in China!! 3-8

Our next post will be from home!!

Random thoughts:
*I am blessed. Great husband, wonderful kids!
*Lexi keeps asking for spaghetti, I thinks she's over the Chinese food (which is actually a favorite of hers, along with Indian and Korean!).
*I'm going to have to start cooking again!
*Russ is going back to work on Monday!
*It's going to be me with 2 kids, all day!
*Jet lag, oh my
*I miss my dog.
*I'm going to miss maid service.
*At home I am the maid.
*I need a cook and a cleaning lady.
*I think I gained some weight.
*It's late, I better stop thinking!

Guess What We Did Today......

2007-03-07T08:34:00.000-05:00

More shopping!!! We went to a jade market and a pearl market and got some great deals. One of the ladies in our group has a Chinese friend that lives here in Guangzhou. She loaned us her friend for the morning. Millie took us to the markets and did the bargaining for us. She buys alot of pearls so she knew right were to take us and how much we should pay. Fun stuff.

For dinner we went on a cruise on the Pearl River. It was a bit disappointing because the weather was bad and the food was terrible. Oh well, we got some nice pictures along the way. We don't have any other pictures today so it's just the scenery along the Pearl.

Pearl Dinner Cruise 3-7

Tomorrow we are off to the US consulate to take an oath. And then we are home free. During Lexi's bath tonight I told her that we only have 2 more nights in China and then we are going home. She was very disappointed and said, "But our vacation is so much fun!" She doesn't want to go home!

Cady is really coming out of her shell now. She is eating well, except for breakfast - she doesn't have much of an appetite in the morning. She is playful and happy. She goes along with what ever the plan is and only gets fussy when she wants a bottle. At bed time she fusses or cries, but it only lasts 5 or so minutes. For nap time she puts up less of a fuss. She doesn't make a peep the entire night. We've had to wake her up most mornings (and that kills me!! I hate to wake a sleeping child!). Lexi is sleeping well too! (that's an answer to lots of prayers) Both girls put up with the pearl and jade markets this morning much better than my Dad. He got bored and took a cab back to the hotel. The girls and Russ stuck it out.

More Shopping

2007-03-06T08:37:00.000-05:00

We are doing more shopping than touring these days. The money is running low, but we haven't been to all the shops. In between shopping expeditions we had to do some paperwork today. We had to fill out more papers and make sure we had everything together for our consulate appointment tomorrow. We don't actually go to the consulate our agency goes for us. They will be submitting our application for a visa for Cady. Also, this application is for immigration to US. When we land on US soil Cady will be an American citizen. Yeah!!!

We spent a few hours on Shaiman Island this morning (for those of you not familiar with this island - it is an area where the US consulate used to be, there is a huge 5 star hotel there where most adoptive families stay, lots and lots of shops catering to adoptive families, dresses and shoes, oh my). Dad and Deanna made friends with Amy at Jessica's Place. She teased them and said they were her best customers. She also said that Deanna could be on American Idol and that Russ looks like a famous Chinese actor. She took a picture of him! So many people tell him that he looks Chinese. Funny stuff, they don't believe us when we tell them he's from South Africa! Amy about busted a gut laughing, I think she didn't understand the South part and just heard African.

I don't have many pictures to show you today, but I've uploaded pictures from an unsuccessful photo shoot. Enjoy!

Shopping....3-6

Shopping, Shopping, Shopping

2007-03-05T08:34:00.000-05:00

Oh, how we love to shop! Even Russ and my Dad are getting into the spirit of shopping. We are old pros at Chinese taxi rides. It's best that you pray and keep your eyes closed. Sometimes its down right terrifying! I will have to say that we still haven't witnessed any accidents. We went to Beijing Road today where there are hundreds of little shops selling everything you can imagine. There is also a 7 story department store with a grocery store in the middle somewhere, we never actually found it, but we heard it was there. We found some fun things, we did not go home empty handed (can't really tell you what we bought because some of you will receive these items as gifts:). I bought Cady an adorable pair of shoes for $3.65, what a bargain.

Besides shopping, we had a bit of business to take care of today. We had Cady's medical exam. The US consulate requires these adopted babies to get a physical exam before receiving a visa. They check weight, height, temp, ears, nose, throat, etc. Cady checked out okay. One of the doctors couldn't believe the size of her thighs. She keeps pinching them and saying "big, healthy." She just shook her head is disbelief. This is the same reaction (from the same Doctor I think) that Lexi got at her physical exam over 3 years ago. The Goliath's have big babies. God is good!!

So sorry that I don't have pictures today. We didn't take any while shopping and I went alone to the exam while Russ stayed at the hotel with Lexi so that she could nap and Papa & Nana shopped, so picture taking was out of the question. I was carrying around a 22 pound baby!! Actually, we bought a stroller today for less than $20, that eased my load.

Back in Guangzhou

2007-03-04T09:19:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,

We made it back to Guangzhou safe and sound. We got in late and didn't get our luggage until after 9. We hadn't eaten a real meal since breakfast and room service was a desaster. We had a small misunderstanding. They didn't understand my english! I made Lexi eat her sandwich and didn't realize until after she finished half of it that it had some kind of nasty meat in it. I've poisoned my child. So we were exhausted and didn't have time to blog last night. I'm online now but the internet service is painfully slow. I'm even having trouble reading my email. I'll try from starbucks tomorrow.

We visited the temple today to have the babies blessed (we didn't really participate in the blessing, but it was interesting to watch). Today is Chinese Valentines, it is the 15th day of the lunar new year. The temple area was very crouded because everyone wanted to pray to budda and burn insense to him. Our guide warned us to be careful, there would be lots of people burning incense and we don't want to get burned. Lexi heard this warning and said "There's going to be alot of insects? I don't want to burn insects!" Anyway, it was quite an experience. Check out the pictures.

Temple Blessing 3-4

We had some free time this afternoon so we took a scarry cab ride to the leather market. We had a blast shopping for purses. We are going to need an extra suitcase to bring home our loot. We are planning more shopping for tomorrow and then we go for Cady's medical exam.

Tonight our agency planned a pizza party for all the families. They call it a reunion because everyone is back from the different provinces with their babies. It was fun to see all the babies and hear their stories. The pizza wasn't bad either (Pizza hut delivers in China!) We really are eating quite well.

Cady is doing better with eating. Tonight she ate some congee with chicken. I've decided since she hasn't been a vegetarian I won't convert her until we're back home :) Really, I was just glad she would eat something. She has been refusing everything but a small bottle and gerber puffs and cheerios.

Until tomorrow......

Last Full Day in Changsha

2007-03-02T08:14:00.000-05:00

We received our official adoption papers today and Cady's Chinese passport. And now we are done in Changsha. It's bittersweet, but tomorrow we head to Guangzhou. The picture above is from our adoption decree.

Our outing today took us to the Hunan Embroidery factory. We saw some amazing work. The pictures won't do justice to the artistry and talent, but you can see the beauty. Some of the pieces are double sided. Our guide told us that there are only 10 people in China with skills good enough to embroidery on both sides of a piece of cloth/silk. It really was impressive.

After naps (Cady is a champion sleeper) we headed out onto the streets of Changsha - alone. There is great danger on the streets. The cars, bikes, motorcycles, and pedestrians all share the same space and the rules are just suggestions. I can't tell you how many "near" accidents we witnessed. The pedestrians are bold and take chances. Our guides told us there are very few accidents, but you wouldn't believe it by watching the traffic. I can't believe that we haven't witnessed an accident. So anyway, we wanted to see more of the local people. We came across a street market and witnessed a chicken's fatal boiling. Really, these people eat everything from bull frog to horse. Yes, we saw both. I think we scarred Lexi. At first she thought it was a little zoo or maybe a pet shop. I'm glad she didn't recognize the horse carcass. There was meat just hanging in the open air waiting to be butchered. And of course the live animals just waiting to be boiled. I'm so glad to be vegetarian! Anyway, it was interesting. My dad and Russ didn't enjoy the explorations as much as Deanna and I so we ditched them and headed off on our own. We saw lots of cool shops and witnessed more "near" accidents. Fortunately, they have underground cross walks at many of the busy intersections.

Cady continues to come out of her shell. I'm happy to report that she is eating better. She's now taking her bottles and she ate steamed egg and squash at dinner tonight. We've been trying to get her to drink the formula supplied by the orphanage, but she has refused it. I bought a couple different kinds at Walmart and she likes the Isomil soy formula. I'm glad because that's the kind I planned on giving her once we're back home.

She's really trying to be mobile. That's funny because she can barely sit up. She topples so easily. She's rolling over with no trouble, however, she doesn't care much for being on her belly.

We enjoyed watching her and Lexi in the stroller today. Lexi would kiss her and she would crank her head around to get more. Awe, sisters.

I guess that's all for now. Enjoy the pictures.

Embroidery Factory & Local Changsha 3-2

And the Winner Is.......

2007-03-01T07:58:00.000-05:00

Us, yes, we have won the baby lottery. We have the best baby ever.

We had another fun filled day today. We had a tour of the oldest and most prestigious university in China. And then we went to Walmart. Okay, the second part may not sound that exciting, but it actually was quite interesting. They carried all the usual Walmart products and some very unusual (to us) items. Of course, half of the items weren't even recognizable or identifiable. Lexi thought she saw dried bat (we saw lots of dried foods, pig skin with head and all, but I don't think there was any bat. Anyway, the coolest part was the people mover. Walmart was on 2 floors of this building. The people mover took you and your cart from one floor to the next. Your cart some how locked into the escalator so it wouldn't roll as you moved. They even had misc items along the way so you could shop as you moved. Fun stuff.

University and Walmart 3-1

(Click picture for today's album)

Cady continues to amaze us with her personality. She is easy going and happy pretty much all of the time. During our tour this morning I had her strapped to my chest with my Mei Tai (babyhawk) for over 3.5 hours. She was happy and I was happy too. I could be a spokesperson for this carrier. It's not easy carrying a 22 pound baby, but this Mei Tai makes it a breeze. No back pain or shoulder pressure. Delightful! I especially enjoyed having her so close. We chatted, played lip noise games, kissed a lot, and she even took a nap. We kept each other warm on this chilly and cloudy day. Nice bonding time.

A few P.S.'s:

To Miss Heather and all the little ballerinas: Lexi is dancing her way through China. She's practicing her ballet moves in front of the mirror in our hotel room. In the elevator there is a perfect ballet bar where she has more practice. She's even teaching her new friends some of her dance moves. And doesn't she look cute in that beautiful orange coat! Thanks Kaitlyn and Kendall.

About last night: Cady ended up sleeping peacefully all through the night. Yeah!! She woke up happy at 8am. That would have been super sleeping in time for us, but Lexi decided she needed to start her day at 5:15. Oh, well, there's always tonight.

To everyone leaving comments and emailing: Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers. It's nice to know that you are thinking of us.

To all future adopters: Sorry about taking the best baby ever, I'm sure there are lots of really wonderful babies just waiting for you!

Fun Day, Not so Fun Ending

2007-02-28T09:40:00.000-05:00

Free Day 2-28

Since official business is completed here in Changsha and we are now just waiting to receive the paperwork and Cady's passport we can now have some fun. We went to the Hunan Provincial Museum this morning and had some free time this afternoon. The museum was fascinating, sorry I can't elaborate, I really didn't get much out of it because I was tending to 2 kids. We had to wake Cady up from her nap to meet the group to leave for the museum so she was a tad fussy. And Lexi had a minor melt down in the museum. All three of the big sisters had a turn at melting! So much fun. Cady finally fell back asleep in the carrier. She seems to prefer her crib. Everytime we lay her in the crib she falls right asleep. That is, until tonight. I'm not sure what happened. One moment she was laughing and playing on the bed (see the photo album - purple jammies) and literally the next moment she was screaming in the crib. This was the first all out crying fit. Holding her didn't seem to comfort her so back in the crib she went. Oh she cried. We didn't like it too much and Lexi didn't know what to do. She patted Cady and asked why she was crying. Then she had tears in her eyes. I asked her if Cady's crying made her sad and she broke out into a major boo hoo fit. It was anarchy in room 3122! Oh my, this lasted 20 minutes and then both were asleep. I guess the babymoon is over. I hope the rest of the night goes without tears!

We didn't take many pictures today, the museum had a no photo rule - they had 2000 year old artifacts, oh and a real live (or I mean dead) 2000 year old (well, 2000 years dead) person. It was some important person, but remember, I didn't really pay attention. I'm going to get the book. Click on Cady's oh so cute picture to go to the album.

More tomorrow.

We Are Blessed

2007-02-27T08:29:00.000-05:00

Official Adoption Day 2-27

Today was our official adoption day. We went back to the Civil Affairs office for business. We were asked questions like why China, why this child, when were we married (that was the hardest one!) and did we promise not to ever abandon her. They made a footprint of Cady's right foot and we signed about 100 papers (okay, it wasn't really that many, but it seemed like it). Yeah!! She's ours.

Other than that, we shopped, played, and ate. Cady really came out of her shell today and showed us her little personality. She is a lot of fun and really a happy and content baby. She's so good. And she sleeps well, and never really cries. I guess we're in the baby honeymoon phase. I hope it doesn't end. She slept through the night last night and is down for the night right now. We just kiss her goodnight and lay her in the crib and she is asleep within 2 minutes. So wonderful.

I've uploaded a bunch of pictures from today on my Picasa album. Click the picture above to see them all.

More pictures

2007-02-26T17:56:00.000-05:00

Gotcha! 2-26

Click picture to go to my album.

And Here She Is...

2007-02-26T08:59:00.000-05:00

She's Amazing!!

2007-02-26T08:04:00.000-05:00

Oh, what a day! Cadence Lin was placed in our arms this afternoon. She is just adorable and chunky. 22 pounds. She didn't cry one bit when they handed her to us and hasn't cried yet. She's very content and easy going. We laid her in the crib tonight and she made a few quiet noises and starting sucking her hand (oh, I think we have another sucker) she was asleep in no time. (We'll let you know how the rest of the night goes). We haven't had any success giving her a bottle yet, guess we just don't have the right temperature or right consistency. She gobbled down the congee and tofu at dinner tonight though. We'll keep trying with the bottle. We are pretty tired, been up since 4 this morning, so I'm going to make this short (I know all you really want is a picture or two).

We are thrilled and so in love! Lexi can't get enough of her sister. (She's doing great and sleeping well too) By the way, the similarities between Lexi and Cady are unbelievable. More on that later.

Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures later.

We're in Guangzhou

2007-02-25T07:07:00.000-05:00

We made it to China!! It was a long flight. Lexi was a trouper. She slept for about 3 hours in the airport before we got on the plane and then slept for the first 6 hours. The flight was 15 hours. We wouldn't have made it through with out Nana's big colossal bag of snacks. Russ made fun, but he appologized in the end (actually, he was the first to ask for snacks). Painful in several ways, but we made it. Our group is made up of 23 families, 7 are getting babies from Cady's orphanage. We have to meet the group at 6:30 tomorrow morning to head back to the airport to fly to Changsha, we'll get the babies shortly after arriving. I'll post pictures as soon as I can (although I'm not quite sure how because my blogger dashboard is in Chinese:)

We've had our first yummy Chinese meal. We had dim sum that was delightful. There are a few other vegetarians in our group so we sat together and enjoyed meatless dishes. So yummy, we'll have to explore what Orlando has to offer!

Until tomorrow...

Bad Hair

2007-02-23T18:05:00.000-05:00

We made it to LAX, however, my hair cream did not!! It got confiscated at security. Here's the story. I read about the rules and regs, you can't take any liquid or gel on the airplane that is over 3.4 ounces. So, my hair cream was in a 4 ounce bottle but it was half empty (or half full, depending on your perspective). They took it out, read the label, and said "ma'm this is a 4 ounce bottle, you can't take it through, I know it's half empty, but the rule is......" No pity. They didn't care that I will have bad hair for the next 2 weeks, because I won't be able to find hair cream for curly hair in a country where all the people have stick straight hair!!! Oh well, I'll get over it.

Tomorrow!!

2007-02-22T18:17:00.000-05:00

Yes, we leave tomorrow!!

We are almost packed and ready to go. Getting last minute items added. I'm sure I've forgotten something....

We may not be able to post again until we reach Changsha on Monday. So, until then, please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Next Week!

2007-02-14T15:35:00.000-05:00

Our newest Valentine, Sweet Cady Lin

I still can't believe we are leaving next week!

Yes, we are leaving next week. Our flight schedule stinks, but we'll be on our way next Friday. I'm hoping we'll get some sleep on the flight. I'm really hoping Lexi will sleep more than she'll be awake. We shall see.

Cadence will be placed in our arms on Monday, Feb 26. I'm anxious to meet her. Lexi can't wait to hold her and she's actually curious about how Cady will smell. Not sure where that one came from. We'll spend 5 days in Changsha before heading to Guangzhou for another week. The ride home includes 2 red-eyes. Yikes. Please keep us in your prayers!

Polka-Dotty-Deliciousness

2007-01-24T17:32:00.000-05:00

You have to see it in person, but until then......here's a preview of Cady's freshly painted room.

Inspired by her Pottery Barn crib set, designed by Nana, painted by Daddy (did not participate in the polka-dots), Mommy, & Nana!

I Know You're not Supposed to Compare, But......

2007-01-04T15:59:00.000-05:00

At 5 months old Cady was 16.5 pounds and 24.75 inches,

Lexi was 16.75 pounds and 25.25 inches.

Very close, I wonder if Cady will be 22 pounds on Gotcha day like Lexi (9.5months).

Seems right that the Goliath's have BIG babies!!

Our Beautiful Daughter!

2007-01-04T13:37:00.000-05:00

It is in My Hands!!!

2007-01-04T12:41:00.000-05:00

The FedEx guy was EARLY!! The tracking information said it would be delivered at 3pm, but at 12:30 I heard the truck outside. Russ wasn't going to be until home 3. I called him and told him to rush home! The package with our daughter's picture is in my sweaty little hands (well, it's in my lap while I'm typing:) and I can't open it until Russ gets here.

Need more Pepto!!!

We Have a BABY!!!

2007-01-03T17:36:00.000-05:00

We haven't seen her beautiful face yet (FEDEX will deliver tomorrow) but here's what we know so far:

Her name is Zhi Xiao Xiang
She was born on April 21, 2006
She's living in the Zhijiang SWI in Hunan Province
As of Sept 21 she was 24 inches long and 16.5 pounds
Tracy told me the report said she is quiet - I squealed!!

We are supposed to travel late Feb or early March.
Is it too early to start packing?!!

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-01-03T16:54:00.001-05:00

I missed the call!!! I'm on hold right now returning THE CALL! I can hardly type.

Pass the Pepto, Please

2007-01-03T14:47:00.000-05:00

Our agency just called to say that our referral is on the way. We should be getting our referral later today or tomorrow.

Stomach in knots, breathing is difficult!!

Waiting, Waiting, and Still Just Waiting

2007-01-02T14:01:00.000-05:00

Any day now. We've been saying that for almost 2 weeks, but really, we should get our referral any day now! It's been a long extended wait so we should be prepared, however, that's not the case. There's so much to do. The baby's room is a mess, not painted, crib still in "toddler mode" and baby clothes still packed away in tubs.

As soon as we get the call we'll post information about our baby, Cadence Lin.