Gung Hay Fat Choy! (Happy New Year!)

Today is the first day of Lunar New Year, also called Chinese New Year. Katie was born last year in the year of the Rooster (very appropriate since Lori collects folk art roosters), and now begins the year of the Dog.

Happy New Year, Katie!

China, Here We Come (in about 3 weeks...)

Our Travel Approval (TA) arrived on Friday, January 20 which meant our agency could schedule a Consulate Appointment (CA) with the US Consulate, then the rest of our myriad of appointments would get scheduled around that one.

On Tueaday, January 24 at 7:36, we got a call from our Social Worker, Carol, that we needed to be in HOng Kong by February 18 and could leave on March 3. Our CA is on February 28. Gotcha Day, the day Katie is placed in our arms, is February 19. Here are our travel plans:

TO HONG KONG
Leave St. Louis 8:38am Wednesday, February 15 on Flight 1196
Arrive Chicago O’Hare 9:45am

Leave Chicago O’Hare 12:17 on flight 895
Arrive Hong Kong 6:05pm on Thursday, Feb 16 (we lose a day in travel/time zones)


RETURN HOME
Leave Hong Kong 11:35am Friday, March 3 on flight 896
Arrive Chicago O’Hare 11:48 am Friday, March 3 (we get that day back in travel/time zones
CHICAGO-AREA FRIENDS, WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU AT THE AIRPORT...INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL #5 (you can park right there, quick in & out)

Leave Chicago O’Hare 2:45 pm on flight 1107
Arrive St. Louis 4:01pm to meet Daddy & Big Brother Alex
ST. LOUIS-AREA FRIENDS & FAMILY, WE HOME TO SEE YOU, TOO!

Katie, here we come!

Updated Info on Katie from Suichuan SWI!

We recieved updated growth and development information today on Katie! At 7 months (December or January), she was 25 inches long and 16.7 pounds. She is about 15%ile for height and 75%ile for weight. So she's a little on the chubby side, which is best for a baby! Looks like she'll be in 6 month or 6 to 9 month clothing, which could even be a little big. We know she'll grow fast once she's home, though.

We also learned from the update that she loves to eat her Hong Sing formula and Xioung Mao rice cereal. Dolls are her favorite toy right now. She is relatively introverted and loves playing in a quiet environment. Somehow, it seems that would be hard to find in an orphanage! I'm sure every baby there loves quiet...the few times that they can get it!

It's exciting to hear that she is growing well! We can't wait to bring her home!

Our TA has arrived. China will see us now!

After 6 long weeks of waiting, our TA (travel approval) arrived today from China to our agency. We got the phone call from Carol, our social worker, at 12:24 p.m. The agency that Lifelink works with in Hong Kong, called ISS, has already got our appointment requests in with the American Consulate in Guangzhou. That is our last stop in our approximately 2 week visit to China. By Monday afternoon, we should have our itinerary for China and should be able to book our flights in and out of Hong Kong. Lifelink has requested consulate appointments for mid to late-February, which means we could be traveling in just about 2-3 weeks! We are very excited to be this much closer to Katie. Lori finished her initial packing just last night. She and Carol will be taking 1 large and 1 small checked bag, plus a carry-on duffel bag on wheels and they will carry on their electronic/photographic equipment. There appears to be room for everything except perhaps diapers. There is WalMart in China, so that would be okay. Brad weighed the luggage and the big bag is up to 34 lb. without their clothes and shoes packed, so we should be fairly close to the 50 lb. maximum!