Homework

Ben's first homework assignment is due tomorrow. Yes, apparently kindergarteners do have homework. His assignment was to find out how long he was when he was born, and to bring in a baby photo and a baby outfit he wore. I am sending the cute little yellow onesie with the monkey on it. I always loved that one, and he thought it was funny that he used to fit into it. (This isn't the picture I sent, but I couldn't find a digital copy.)
Anyway, Ben and I had some laughs getting this together, but as I thought about it, I got kind of sad. Yes, I was sad about how much Ben had grown, but that's not really what I mean. I was sad because I realized that I won't be able to do this assignment with Kate in quite the same way. Although I do know how long she was when she was born, I don't have any "baby" pictures of her. The oldest one I have was taken at about 17 months (we think). I don't have any baby clothes. There is a big chunk of her life that we don't share. There is so much that I won't be able to tell her about because I wasn't there.

At some point in her life, she will probably grieve that loss (and others). All I can do is love her and talk to her honestly about what we do know. Which isn't much. I pray God will give me the strength and wisdom to answer these questions well. To walk with her through whatever she goes through, supporting and encouraging her. All of this is one of the reasons that I wanted the boys to go with us to China. I wanted us to have family memories with her as early as possible. I want my boys to remember her birth country and be able to tell her stories about what it is like. I want her to have a positive connection with China. I want her to be proud of her heritage and birth culture.

J&A

On another note, we got to talk with Jacob and Alison today. We miss them so much, and I was so glad to talk to them. They seem to be doing well, and are adjusting to all of the changes. Pray for them to learn the language. I can't even imagine how difficult it must be. I am very proud of them:)

New Pictures!!

Check out that laugh... and those dimples!

Dana called a few minutes ago to tell me that the pictures are here! I can't believe how much she has grown!! Her measurements aren't that much bigger, but she just looks so much older! She is a little girl now. We think the previous pictures were taken in March, so she is 5 months older here, 22 months old. She looks healthy and happy, and I can't wait to get my hands on her! This is also the first time we have seen her legs and arms. Before she was all bundled up! I'm glad she isn't wearing four layers in August! I bet it is really hot there. The report gave details like that she can run and walk. She can say "Mama," but her speech is unclear (ie, will need speech therapy). This is due to her cleft palate. It also says she doesn't take toys away from other children. Her big brothers will appreciate that!

We are still waiting for Travel Approval, so pray that it will come soon. We REALLY want to go next month!

Update

We got two important updates in the last 24 hours. Today our new I-797C came in the mail. I realize that most of you don't know what this is, but it is a piece of paper from the USCIS saying that we can adopt a child with Kate's age and special need (cleft lip/palate). It turns out that the lady who processes them had the flu all last week, and that is why it was a week late. She has been very nice and even emailed me yesterday to let me know it was on its way. Can I tell you how nice it is to have a positive experience with a governmental agency!!
Second (and more exciting), Dana at AHH emailed me yesterday to tell me that they got an update on Katie. She is now about 26.5 pounds and 32 inches tall. They even said that her feet are 5.7 inches long. How cute is that?! Can anybody tell me if that is a size 7? I bought one pair of size 7s last month, thinking that they looked huge. But when I measured them against a ruler, they are about 6 inches long. Which means I probably need to return them. Oh well.
Supposedly there are pictures also. Our agency contact in Beijing said that her orphanage is going to snail mail them to Beijing, and then they will send them on to Dana, who will forward them to me. So check back in the next couple of days, and hopefully I will have pics!!!

Birthdays and Preschool

Saturday was a big day at our house. We celebrated Will's 4th birthday with Mimi, Arlie, Daddy John, Jee, Grammy, Boopa, Bunk, Ninnie & Poppie. (Don't laugh at the grandparents' names. They are what they are.) The weather was perfect, which has never happened at one of Will's parties, and we had lots of cake and ice cream. What else could you want? Will loved every single present, screaming, "That's just what I wanted!" and "Wow! Cool!" everytime he opened something.

Will's Cake...Is it just me or have we seen this somewhere before....

Today, Will started Preschool. Yesterday, he adamantly refused to ever go to preschool, but today he didn't protest. Tim took him to breakfast and dropped him off. I think it helped Will to know that Daddy was right there in the same building if he needed him. When I picked him up, Miss Ginger said that Will was a "social butterfly" and during music he was a dancing machine. Evidently he has gotten over his fear of school:) And, I got a whole 2 1/2 hours by myself!

Yesterday we sent off our applications for our Chinese visas. It always makes me nervous to do something like that. It is scary to send your passports across the country and put your adoption in someone else's hands. We are waiting for three very important things right now - 1) Our new I-797C, which is a US document that says we can go get our daughter. It is overdue, should have arrived last week. 2) Our TA (travel approval from the Chinese), which could come at any time, but we need it here in the next 10 days or so. 3) Our Chinese visas. They need a week or so to process these, and we only sent them yesterday. Please pray for us to receive these very important docs quickly so that we can travel in September! Once we have these things, we can get our appointment at the US consulate and book our plane tickets!

Kindergarten

Wow. Is it possible that Ben is old enough to go to school? Amazing. I was a nervous wreck, but he loved it. I asked him at dinner what his favorite thing was today. He quickly said "school". I said, "What was the best part about school?" He answered, "Pretty much everything!" I'm so proud!!!

His Classroom

Swim Lessons

Swim lessons ended last week, and I am very pleased with how they went. Ben especially learned a lot. He can now hold his breath and move his arms and legs at the same time. That is major progress. As a reward for doing so well, his Mimi bought him some super cool goggles, which he loves. He is the king of the pool now. He even swam (supervised, but unhelped) in the whirlpool at the Pavilion. This is a part of the pool where the water swirls in a circular motion, and he had only been in it clinging to mommy's neck. I can't believe how far he has come in the past month. Next, he wants to take Level 2 lessons so he can learn to dive for "torpedoes" in the bottom of the pool. Hopefully we will make time to swim this fall so he can keep up his skills.

B showing off his skills

Will has a love/hate relationship with his goggles. He wants to wear them, but he is constantly complaining about them. He also learned a lot in his lessons. He will now jump from the side (holding someone's hands) and voluntarily put his head in and blow bubbles. A couple of months ago he would only play in the one foot water, so this is progress!

Last, but not least, Kate's accomplishments. Her Letter arrived at our house on Friday. We were so excited that we signed it, made copies, and rushed off to Lexington to return them to our agency before they closed for the day. When we got to AHH, we realized that we had left the originals sitting on top of the printer. Oops. I said it was kind of like being in labor and rushing off the hospital. You are so excited that you forget all of the things that you had planned to do. Oh well. We turned in the papers later, and everything is now on its way to China. Yay!

Poor delivery guy probably thought I was nuts, but when I explained why I had a camera in my hand, he congratulated me and held up the package for a photo op.

Will cracks me up

"Uncle Jacob made me wear this wig!"

For those of you who know Will, you know he is a hoot. I don't know where he comes up with his one-liners, but they crack me up. Today I was kissing him goodbye, and I said, "Come give me enough hugs and kisses to last me until tomorrow." So he comes over, hugs me, kisses me right on the mouth and says, "Don't share that with anybody. That is just for you."

Today was his preschool open house. He is not convinced that this whole school thing is a great idea. He pretty much held my hand the whole time. Finally, after about 20 minutes, he spotted an awesome sight - The Book Corner! He was like, "Mom! They have Cat in the Hat here!" I told you this was a good school, Will! He sat there and looked at books the rest of the time. So sweet.

Of course, he wasn't so sweet when he screamed for 20 minutes about a burnt corner of his toaster strudel at 8am this morning. But, we will try to focus on the positive, won't we?