Thursday, July 19, 2007

Update

We thought we'd never get one and our agency was not optimistic, even though her referral report was almost two years old. But on July 11 we received an e-mail from our agency with an update and they were as surprised as we were.
No pictures (sigh) but a good report. She just had her palate surgery in June, something of a surprise since we gave the OK last October, but is reported to be recovering well.
She's a peanut - (32" and 22.5 pounds.) We thought we were getting a big northern girl, but at 28 months she's about the size of an 18 month old. Hope I didn't give those clothes away. Other parents who have adopted from HanZhong report they too have some petite treasures. So now we'll have two peanuts.
Developmentally she seems to be doing fine. She can go up stairs, feed herself, drink without spilling, stack blocks, draw a circle and say short phrases, though not very clear - that should improve now that her palette has been fixed. Lian likes to help and puts out the bowls for meal times. She likes to play with small cars and blocks with her friends. She also is reported to listen to and follow directions from adults - about half the time, hum.

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Mother's Day

Last spring while riding the train home from the city where I had just handed in the last of Lian's paperwork, I had nothing to do since I had gone through all my reading material while waiting at the Chinese Embassy. I got out a notepad and this poem started to flow and practically wrote itself. Adoption can be bittersweet as there is no gain without a loss.
http://www.emkpress.com/mothersday.html

Lian on left in yellow

Lian on left in yellow
about 14 months, with her friend Hailey

Lian at 6 months

Lian at 6 months
Who could resist that smile?

Lian at 4 months

Lian at 4 months
Right after surgery for her lip

Sha'anxi Province Map

Sha'anxi Province Map
HanZhong in lower left

China Map

China Map
Sha'anxi Province in center