Leaving to get Mia on January 12th!!

We got our travel arrangements! We are leaving on Saturday, January 12th at 9:15am and returning on Friday, January 25th at 5:22pm. We leave Richmond, fly to Newark, and then on to Hong Kong. From Hong Kong we take a bus to Guangzhou and stay at the White Swan Hotel for the rest of our time there. I think we get Mia on the 4th day - so that should be the 15th. I'll post more details later. It is so nice having a date so that we can plan things for the boys - and start packing!

No Christmas in China

Correction on the travel dates - it looks like we will not be in China for Christmas. We were told to be ready to leave some time between January 8th and 12th. I hope it is closer to the 8th! As soon as Christmas is over, I'll be ready to go get her! Hopefully we will hear something definite soon.

Christmas in China?

We are waiting for an official date, but it looks like we will be spending Christmas in China. We were told to be available to leave during the timeframe of December 15th through the 22nd. Travel Announcements (TA's) are on there way from China, so we should hear something more definitive around the end of this week. Time to get ready for Christmas, prepare the boys, prepare the grandparents who will take care of them, pack, .......... After 2 and half years of waiting, things have suddenly kicked into high gear!! I will hate to miss Christmas with the boys, but it will be wonderful to have Mia by then. Hopefully we will all be together next Christmas and for many more to come!

What's in a name?

After much deliberation, and valuable feedback from friends and family, we have finally decided on a name.

Mia Dawn Weiling Kenney

"Mia" because we like it and, although it is not an Asian name, it sounds a little like one. (And...it did win the most recent name poll!)
"Dawn" because it is my middle name - so be very careful critizing this one! :-)
"Weiling" because it is her birth names combined.

Four names seems like a lot, but it is actually common for children adopted from China to have two middle names. When she gets older, she can decide to drop one or keep all four.

Thanks to all who participated in the poll!!

Two brothers waiting to spoil her rotten!

Corrected name translation for Zhan Wei Ling

A friend sent me a website where you can look up the meaning of a Chinese name by looking at the Chinese character for the name. The translations turn out to be different from those found on an American baby names site. I love the meanings of her name. See below:

Zhan (4 meanings): Chinese surname meaning deep and clear. Connotes a tranquil and calm personality. That should serve her well in our house!

Wei (13 meanings): To hold fast or stand firm; to maintain or preserve (like preserve peace, which could also serve her well in our house!)

Ling (11 meanings): Intelligent, clever, and quick - like her mom :-); or soul or spirit

It's a girl!!!

After a false alarm with a UPS truck, the FedEx truck finally came at 9:50am.

Our somewhat reluctant FedEx guy posed with the package.

Chris was able to come home from work to wait with me. Check her out! I think she is the sweetest thing I've ever seen.

I think she is dribbling in the photo on the right - and note, she is using her left hand AND looking up. Look out R-MC? Va Tech?

This one makes me sad. You probably can't see it here, but she has a tear on her right cheek (her right, not your right!). Click on photo for a bigger version.

Mug shot - taken around 13 months. Gotta love that hair!




Okay, her stats...

• Her name is Zhan Wei Ling (no, we haven't decided on a name yet)
• Born 7-29-2006 (around 15 months old)
• From Zhanjiang CWI, Guangdong Province
• At 13 months, it appears that she was 18 pounds, which on US charts puts her at about the 5th percentile (not certain of this).
• At 13 months, it appeas that she was 73.3 cm long, which would put her between the 25th and 50th percentile for height on US charts (again, not certain)
• Deep sleeper (I think they say this about all of the babies!)
• Knows her name when called
• Laughs aloud (that's a good thing!)
• Has a ready smile
• Expresses her refusal in a simple way (wonder what that means?)
• Fond of music, picture books, games, and toys

For everything else, we will have to wait for the translation because I can't read a lick of Chinese! I'll post more when I get it - but this is about all we have for right now.

Still waiting for the call....

Okay, it is Tuesday and still no word. Hopefully we will hear something today. There are some beautiful babies being announced on our Dec '05 listserv!

Waiting for the call.....

Hi everyone,

It is November 1st and we are anxiously waiting to see if our LID (Log in Date) makes it in the November referral batch. Our LID is December 7, 2005 - 2 whole years of having our documents in China. We should hear something in the next day or so......