Our caseworker called this morning to let us know that our LOA arrived at the agency today. She is overnighting it, and we should have it tomorrow. Then I will make copies and overnight forms and copies and paperwork to other places!
It is currently taking about 8-10 weeks to get Travel Approval, so we are not expecting to be able to travel to China until the New Year.
current stats:
DTC 4/23/09
LOI 5/4/09
LID 5/8/09
PA 5/15/09
LOA 10/26/09!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Snow!
October 10 seems a little early for snow! It's coming down pretty fast, but luckily the ground is too warm for it to stick.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Our Progress so far, and Update on Andy
Evie has been calling him Andy-pandy, now that she has given up on Johnny Cat!
We have been waiting 139 days for our LOA, which is when China officially says that Andy will be our son. The average wait is around 90 days. Our agency contacted China to find out why it was taking so much longer than normal, and found out that our paperwork had gotten delayed for some reason. Instead of being moved from the translation department to the review department on time, it had sat in the translation department all summer. We now have news that we have passed review, and our paperwork is in the department that issues approval letters. We are hopeful that it will come soon!
We are also waiting on our updated immigration approval letter, which I am hoping will come next week.
Our agency asked China for an update on Andy for us, since we have been waiting so long. I just got it in my email this morning! Andy is 31 inches tall and weighs 25 pounds. This is what they have to say about him: "The orphanage said that this child is very smart. He develops well both on language and physical. He can walk, run, jump, stand up and sit down freely. He can say a short sentence that includes a few words. He understands what his caretakers talk to him. He gets along well with other kids in his room. Everybody loves him in the orphanage."
We are very ready to bring him home. I am holding out hope that we will still be able to bring him home this year, but in reality we may have to wait until after the new year.
We have been waiting 139 days for our LOA, which is when China officially says that Andy will be our son. The average wait is around 90 days. Our agency contacted China to find out why it was taking so much longer than normal, and found out that our paperwork had gotten delayed for some reason. Instead of being moved from the translation department to the review department on time, it had sat in the translation department all summer. We now have news that we have passed review, and our paperwork is in the department that issues approval letters. We are hopeful that it will come soon!
We are also waiting on our updated immigration approval letter, which I am hoping will come next week.
Our agency asked China for an update on Andy for us, since we have been waiting so long. I just got it in my email this morning! Andy is 31 inches tall and weighs 25 pounds. This is what they have to say about him: "The orphanage said that this child is very smart. He develops well both on language and physical. He can walk, run, jump, stand up and sit down freely. He can say a short sentence that includes a few words. He understands what his caretakers talk to him. He gets along well with other kids in his room. Everybody loves him in the orphanage."
We are very ready to bring him home. I am holding out hope that we will still be able to bring him home this year, but in reality we may have to wait until after the new year.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Three First Days of School, fall 2009
Evie's first day of speech therapy, August 12, 2009
Emily's first day of seventh grade, August 20, 2009
Evie's first day of 4 year old preschool, August 24, 2009
Emily's first day of seventh grade, August 20, 2009
Evie's first day of 4 year old preschool, August 24, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
an Uninvited Guest in our Backyard
Emily found this huge snapping turtle out in the backyard this afternoon. We called all over to see if someone could come and relocate it for us, but couldn't get ahold of anyone. Rich finally called a pest control guy we found on the DNR website, and he said that he could come and remove it for a fee, or we could wait and it would probably be gone tomorrow. We put the basket over it so it couldn't get close enough to the fence for neighbor kids to stick their fingers through, and so the dog would stop harassing it. We were going to take the basket off tonight, when the kids would be less likely to be out.
A few neighbors who are hunters/fishermen came by and chatted with Rich over the back fence - they ended up taking it away for us. The man who came in the yard to get it told Rich it was worth at least $60 for the meat, so I am guessing that they are not practicing catch and release! They said that they hadn't seen one that big in years. (You can see how big it is next to an old basketball, and under the laundry basket!) We have no idea how it got in the fenced backyard!
A few neighbors who are hunters/fishermen came by and chatted with Rich over the back fence - they ended up taking it away for us. The man who came in the yard to get it told Rich it was worth at least $60 for the meat, so I am guessing that they are not practicing catch and release! They said that they hadn't seen one that big in years. (You can see how big it is next to an old basketball, and under the laundry basket!) We have no idea how it got in the fenced backyard!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Three Years Ago Today...
We met Evie for the first time!
Happy Family Day, Evie Rosa! We love you so much.
Happy Family Day, Evie Rosa! We love you so much.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Evie at home
couch while watching Dora after lunch. I gave her eardrops and she
told me they made her ears feel funny.
Evie
The nurse just came to take Evie back to surgery. They gave her a
white Teddy bear with purple sparkly feet. Evie named it Ruby. They
let her take Ruby, Muh and the Hello Kitty blanket back with her.
white Teddy bear with purple sparkly feet. Evie named it Ruby. They
let her take Ruby, Muh and the Hello Kitty blanket back with her.
Now we wait.
update 10:00
We are home. Evie did well. Dr. R put tubes in both ears, he said the one in the right ear wasn't working correctly anymore.
She was pretty unhappy when they brought her back to the room, but then the nurse let me hold her and that made things a little better. She perked up pretty quickly. She drank a cup of ice water and ate a whole bowl of fruit loops, then they decided we could leave.
Evie danced out of the hospital.
Right now she is curled up on the couch with Muh, her new bear, and her Hello Kitty blanket, and she is watching Nick jr.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Emily and Engineering Camp
Emily attended Race into Engineering camp at a local college last week. There were about 50 middle school students from area schools attending. She was on a team with three of her friends from school, all members of her school's basketball team.
They learned about physics and engineering, did experiments, and made CO2 race cars.
Em and Evie on the floor on race day, the race track is right over Em's head, behind the checkered flags.
Em pointing to her car on the race track. She raced against her friend, Sarah. Sarah won by just a little bit, but Em's team got 3rd out of 11 teams!
The poster Em's team made, and their cars. (Em's is the blue and orange one!)
Em getting her certificate at the end of camp:
They learned about physics and engineering, did experiments, and made CO2 race cars.
Em and Evie on the floor on race day, the race track is right over Em's head, behind the checkered flags.
Em pointing to her car on the race track. She raced against her friend, Sarah. Sarah won by just a little bit, but Em's team got 3rd out of 11 teams!
The poster Em's team made, and their cars. (Em's is the blue and orange one!)
Em getting her certificate at the end of camp:
Friday, June 26, 2009
Evie and the Bad Bees
We discovered this week that our Evie is allergic to bee stings. She got stung on the top of her head on June 20. She said it hurt, but we didn't see a big reaction.
A few days later, on June 24, we were sitting outside on the swing when Evie was stung again, on her hand. Her hand immediately began to swell, and was still very swollen the next day. We took her in to see the nurse practitioner at our doctor's office. The nurse was very concerned and ended up giving us a prescription for an epipen junior, and directions for giving Evie claritin and benadryl if she gets stung again. She said that some kids grow out of allergies to bees, but it is more likely that each subsequent sting will produce a worse reaction.
We went to the pharmacy to pick up the prescription, and Richard, Emily and I all got trained to use it. The pharmacist and the techs were wonderful, and answered any questions we could think of. I now carry the epipens, claritin, and benadryl in my purse at all times, and we will have a set for Evie's school to have on hand.
We are trying to avoid having Evie go outside for very long since we are still having a bee problem. We destroyed the nest, but they are still hanging around. Richard got stung tonight while mowing the lawn! Evie was very worried about her Yaya, and gave him lots of kisses and brought him the special Hello Kitty icepack to put on his ouchie.
We are hopeful that we won't have to find out what happens if Evie is stung a third time.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Evie's trip to the Surgeon today
We had our yearly appointment with Dr. P today. Evie did so well, she even talked to him a little, and willingly opened her mouth so that he could look inside. The nurses were enchanted with her, and gave her a Garfield band-aid, two stickers, a Hershey's kiss. She also got to eat lunch out (chicken nuggets, applesauce, juice, and mama's fries), so it ended up being a pretty good day for her!
Dr. P gave us good news and bad news. The good news is that Evie seems to be doing very well, and he doesn't think that she will need the p-flap surgery for another couple years, at least. It is our hope that she will catch up enough in the speech department that she will not need it at all. (We were expecting him to want to schedule the p-flap surgery at this appointment.)
The bad news is that her jaw isn't growing correctly. Dr. P explained that when she is a teenager, she will have to have several years of braces (we expected that already). Then, she will have to have surgery to basically break the upper and lower jaw bones, and reset them in the correct positions. This will be a major surgery, and he will not combine it with any of the other procedures that we are expecting Evie to need. (So, being the kind of mama I am, I am already worrying about this surgery that is at least 10 years off...)
He also said that she might need some baby teeth pulled, in order for the adult teeth to be able to come in correctly.
Dr. P gave us good news and bad news. The good news is that Evie seems to be doing very well, and he doesn't think that she will need the p-flap surgery for another couple years, at least. It is our hope that she will catch up enough in the speech department that she will not need it at all. (We were expecting him to want to schedule the p-flap surgery at this appointment.)
The bad news is that her jaw isn't growing correctly. Dr. P explained that when she is a teenager, she will have to have several years of braces (we expected that already). Then, she will have to have surgery to basically break the upper and lower jaw bones, and reset them in the correct positions. This will be a major surgery, and he will not combine it with any of the other procedures that we are expecting Evie to need. (So, being the kind of mama I am, I am already worrying about this surgery that is at least 10 years off...)
He also said that she might need some baby teeth pulled, in order for the adult teeth to be able to come in correctly.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
We have our Log In Date!
We just found out our Log In Date! It was 5/8/09, so we have officially been waiting slightly over a month for our next step, the Letter of Acceptance.
current stats:
DTC 4/23/09
LOI 5/4/09
LID 5/8/09
PA 5/15/09
current stats:
DTC 4/23/09
LOI 5/4/09
LID 5/8/09
PA 5/15/09
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Update on Andy
We got an update on Andy this morning. I was hoping for new pictures, too, but we didn't get any.
If the measurements are correct, he is short and solid! He is in the 75th percentile for weight on the Chinese growth chart, but not quite on the chart for height. (He is waaaay off the bottom of the American height chart!). At 14 months, he is 22 pounds and 26 inches tall.
This is what the orphanage had to say about him: "He can stand and walk with support. He is outgoing. He likes moving around quickly when sitting in his walker. He will cry loudly when he is upset or hungry."
I read the update to Evie, and she is worried about Andy, because the report says that Andy cries, and she doesn't want him to cry in China. After I tucked her in bed tonight, we snuggled under the covers for a few minutes to talk. She said, "Mama, I miss my Andy. I am going to be the bestest big sister ever. I might even share Muh". (Muh is her special stuffed Bunny friend.)
If the measurements are correct, he is short and solid! He is in the 75th percentile for weight on the Chinese growth chart, but not quite on the chart for height. (He is waaaay off the bottom of the American height chart!). At 14 months, he is 22 pounds and 26 inches tall.
This is what the orphanage had to say about him: "He can stand and walk with support. He is outgoing. He likes moving around quickly when sitting in his walker. He will cry loudly when he is upset or hungry."
I read the update to Evie, and she is worried about Andy, because the report says that Andy cries, and she doesn't want him to cry in China. After I tucked her in bed tonight, we snuggled under the covers for a few minutes to talk. She said, "Mama, I miss my Andy. I am going to be the bestest big sister ever. I might even share Muh". (Muh is her special stuffed Bunny friend.)
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
100 Wishes Quilt
Richard's mother, Oma, is making a 100 Wishes quilt for Alexander. You may remember the beautiful quilt she made while we were waiting for Evie, our much-loved Yellow:
If anyone would like to send some fabric to be included in Alexander's quilt, Oma is requesting 6.5" squares to be sent to her as soon as possible, within a couple weeks. I will send out an email with Oma's address, or you can send fabric to me or Mom and Dad for the quilt.
If anyone would like to send some fabric to be included in Alexander's quilt, Oma is requesting 6.5" squares to be sent to her as soon as possible, within a couple weeks. I will send out an email with Oma's address, or you can send fabric to me or Mom and Dad for the quilt.
Current Stats
These probably won't make much sense to anyone who isn't adopting from China!
DTC 4/23/09
LOI 5/4/09
PA 5/15/09
We are still waiting for our LID.
Here are a couple pictures that China adoptive parents will appreciate:
It's our dossier!
DTC 4/23/09
LOI 5/4/09
PA 5/15/09
We are still waiting for our LID.
Here are a couple pictures that China adoptive parents will appreciate:
It's our dossier!
Welcome to Waiting for Alexander!
Alexander Fuyuan Carlisle is waiting for us in Qingyang, China. We can hardly wait to bring him home! He was born on April 5, 2008, so he is just a little older than his cousin Gracen, who will turn one in July.
Here are the referral photos we were given:
I am so in love with his chubby little baby cheeks! The poor baby is going to have to put up with lots of kisses when we bring him home.
It took us much wheeling and dealing to come up with an American name for him. Evie is still a bit upset that we didn't go with her top choice, which was Johnny Cat!
Uncle Jeff, check out the teletubbie slippers!
Here are the referral photos we were given:
I am so in love with his chubby little baby cheeks! The poor baby is going to have to put up with lots of kisses when we bring him home.
It took us much wheeling and dealing to come up with an American name for him. Evie is still a bit upset that we didn't go with her top choice, which was Johnny Cat!
Uncle Jeff, check out the teletubbie slippers!
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