Tai's first present

This is a picture of the first package that we had sent to Tai along with a letter to the nannies/orphange dirctor.

Christmas in China 2008

Look at the yummy cake my mama and baba sent for me and my friends and my nannies

our lil "Rou Rou" such a big boy

I love the new truck my parents sent me!

Hey! Thats my truck!

Forget the highchair mama - just get me a bucket! (and some pink pants)

This year we got the best Christmas present EVER! Well, I suppose having Tai in our arms would be the best, so this was a close second. We got an update on Tai and some pictures. Below are the ten questions we asked and the response from the nannies........

What name do you call him?What is his favorite and least favorite food?What are his sleep patterns? (naps - when and how long? bedtime and how long?)How would you describe his personality?Does he like animals?What makes him happy?What makes him angry or upset?Does he have a special friend or crib mate in the orphanage?What is his favorite activity?Does he drink from a bottle or a cup?

At the orphanage we call him “Rou Rou”(means chubby). We all love him. That means we treat him as our dearest baby. He likes fruit jello and candies. He doesn’t like spicy food. He is not a picky eater. He gets up at 6:15am every morning and goes to bed at 7:30pm. His nap time is 12:15pm-2:00pm. He is out going, active and restless. He doesn’t like animal, but he likes gold fish. His favorite activity is outdoor activities. He gets unhappy when he and other children have some problems. He doesn’t have any special friends at the orphanage because he is still too little. He uses cup to drink. His updated measurements are: Height: 81cm; Weight: 12kg; Head: 48cm; Chest: 49.5cm; Foot: 14cm. We are going to send you some pictures of loving families sharing cake after the New Year.

When we awoke Christmas Eve to this update, the tears of joy were flowing. It is so wonderful to hear how much he is loved. We take so much comfort knowing that he is their "dearest baby". I know the nannies will be sad to see him leave, but happy that he has a forever family. We are of course going to buy him a goldfish for his room and I think that grandma is already getting the jello jigglers started! We are very much looking forward to our 14 hour flight with our restless, active boy! This Christmas was all about Tai, he is the only thing in the world that we want or need right now. We pray that god keeps him safe and healthy until we can go get him. We hope he feels peace while he waits for us.

Happy Holidays!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

September Update

Check out Tai and his split pants!

That is one brave nanny!

Here is the update we received in September from Ladybugs and Love. We were so very blessed to get all of this information. It brought so much joy to us. We were able to ask 10 questions and below were the responses......

He catches cold sometimes, not been really sick. Every morning he eats some congee or bread at 7:00am, some snack or milk at 9:00am; rice and mashed vegetable at 11:00am; mashed fruit at 2:00pm; rice or noodle at 5:00pm. He can pick up little things, and he can hold a crayon and scribble. He walks alone, he can crawl. He is not very familiar with pointing to features yet. His favorite activity is going outside and play, he likes toys new to him. He waves bye bye, and clap his hands. Take him outside and play when he is upset.

Since then the only news we have received was an updated ECHO from 2 weeks ago and updated measurements. Oh, guess I should mention about his heart defect. Tai has a VSD (a hole between his L and his R ventricle). His hole is large and will most likely need surgical repair when he gets home. Obviously heart surgery is a big deal, but as far as cardiac anomalies go, this one is pretty "easy" to repair. The good news is that he is growing and seems to be right on track developmentally. As of the week of Thanksgiving he is 25 pounds and 31 1/2 inches tall. He has 10 teeth! What a big boy!

Our LSC has arrived

Today is such a happy day! After 96 long days of waiting, Tai has officially been matched with us! Now we will just wait for our Travel Approval. This can take 2-3 weeks. Since nothing has happened quickly for us, we won't hold our breath until week #3. We are hoping and praying to go to to China in January. The Chinese New Year is the end of January. It would be so fun to have fireworks on our Gotcha Day!

I have so much to do now, life has all of a sudden kicked into high gear. I am trying to get Tai's care package together. It is so exciting that I am finally able send him a present from his mommy and daddy! Oh we just want to hold him our arms so badly - but it won't be long now.

Thank you to all of our family and friends for all of your never ending love and support. This has been a long journey to parenthood and we are so very close to getting there!!!!!!!!! Thank you for following us along on our journey to Tai!