Flight Booked and Beijing Itinerary!

Hi everyone!  I am getting so excited!  We leave in 14 days!  Anyways, the flights are booked(woohoo) and I have our day to day itinerary for Beijing.  This is what it looks like:

1/25  Depart Miami
 On Wednesday, we will leave Miami at 8:25am and arrive in Seattle Washington at 12:09pm.  Really it will feel like 3:09pm because of the time difference.  Around 6.5 hours flying time!  Hang out at the airport and get some lunch/dinner.  Depart Seattle at 6:10pm.

1/26 Beijing Arrival

Arrive in Beijing at 10:20pm.  (12 hour flight)  Upon arrival, we will meet our personal guide who will bring us to our hotel and help us check in. 

1/27 Beijing

After breakfast, our guide will pick us up and we will tour City Planning Museum with a 3D movie and visit the National theater photostop. After lunch at a local restaurant, we will visit the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. In the evening, we will enjoy a special duck dinner(sounds pretty good for me and my mom- not sure about the boys). AFter dinner, have a free walk on the Qianmen Street.

1/28 Beijing

The highlight today is an excursion to the Great Wall. We will enjoy the dramatic vistas and marvel at the Wall as it climbs and descends steep ridges and narrow valleys. After lunch at local restaurant, en route back to the city, drive around the intriguing architecture of the main Olympic venues: the National Stadium, nicknamed the "Bird's Nest", because of its unique design and the National Aquatics Center, known as the "Water Cube". After dinner at local restaurant, enjoy a dazzling acrobatic Show.

1/29 Beijing Departure

After breakfast, visit the Temple of Heaven, where the emperors came here to pray for good harvest twice a year in Qing Dynasty. After lunch, transfer to the airport for our 3:00pm flight to Guangzhou. 

I think we are going to be extremely busy!  However, it sounds like we will have an awesome time!  Can't wait!

CA Appointment!

I am so excited to report that I just found out this morning on a Saturday no less that our CA date is scheduled for February 7, 2012!  We will be leaving on January 25 to tour Beijing first and then head to Guangzhou where we will finally be able to meet our Emma on January 30, 2012!  Can't wait!

Update and VIDEO!

I was so excited this morning when I received an email that I had an update on Emma!  What I couldn't believe was that I received a VIDEO as well!  I can't believe how she is growing!  I was even able to ask about 10 questions to Emma's caretakers!  Here is what I received back...
                     (In parenthesis is what I wrote)

1.  Is she walking?

She is walking by holding onto handrails. She can stand alone.

2.  Does she sleep with anything special like a blanket or suck her thumb?

She likes to hold a napkin（They said napkin in Chinese. But maybe they mean handkerchief or security blanket）-The person who got me the update wrote this!

3.  Please describe her personality.

She is lively, active and playful.   (You will see this in the video!)

4.  Does she have a favorite nanny?

There are several nannies take turns to take care of her.

5.  Who are her favorite friends?

Children next to her crib: Song Ying Yi, Song Ying Hua, etc.

6.  Do you have any information about the day she was found. What was she in?  What was she wearing?  Did she have a note? Blanket?

There wasn’t any memento or note with her when she was found. She was in a carton. We didn’t keep the blanket. ( I wish they would have kept her blanket that she was found in!)

7.  How does she like to be comforted when she is sad?

Play with her or talk with her.

8.  What does she eat?

Yi Li formula mixed with rice cereal. (That's what I thought:  no solid foods yet!)

9.  What are all her updated measurements?
Height? 75cm ; (29.5 inches)
Weight? 8.3kg ; (18 pounds)
Head? 42cm ;
Chest? 43cm ;
Teeth? 5;
Foot? 12cm .

10.  Is she a happy baby?

Yes, she is.

11. is she talking yet?’

Not yet.

I am over the moon with this information!  Here are the pictures of Emma!  Enjoy!

Here is the VIDEO!!!

Hip Hip Hooray For TA!

As you can see, today we received our TA!  You cannot imagine how happy I am to have received this information!  I thought another day had gone by without our TA.  I emailed my agency around 5:30 to ask if there happened to be any news.  About 5 minutes later I received an email back saying that they had just received it about 20 minutes before!  Needless to say I was ecstatic!   I will be talking with my agency in the morning to pick our Consulate Appointment date.  You choose 5 dates and within 24-48 hours, they will let you know which date was chosen.  I am hoping to have our plane tickets purchased before the weekend is over!  Hooray!

NOTHING YET!

Can you believe that we are still waiting for our TA-travel approval!  I am so upset that it has not come yet! TA is usually issued between day 9-21.  I guess I'm one of the "lucky" ones that has to wait until the last day!   I really wanted to leave next week on Jan. 4th!  Now we will most likely not be able to leave until after the Chinese New Year!  Argh!  I just hate thinking that Emma will have to be in the SWI for another 3.5 weeks! 
Anyways, there is this website that I go onto every day.  It's a website for people who are adopting and can post questions, vent, or just talk.  So, on this website there are charts that let people know where they "stand" according to there paper work dates.  On a brighter note, I am all the way towards the top of the list of people who are waiting for their TA!  Below, I posted a picture of part of the chart. I used to be all the way at the bottom- number 170!  Now, I am all the way at the top- number 3!  Yay!   Hopefully, next week I will be off the chart and on the chart for CA- consulate appointment!

Waiting for TA

Okay... just received the email I had been waiting for!  Our article 5 was received on January 14th at the CCCWA!  So we are officially on day 4 of our wait for travel approval!  One of my online friends just received her TA on Thursday(day 9 for her ) and she was exactly one week ahead of us!  So please pray that our wait is super quick and that we receive our TA next week!  I am really hoping to travel before the Chinese New Year which begins on January 23!

Article 5 Pick Up

Hi everyone!  So I  think our article 5 pickup was today in Guangzhou!  I have not had a confirmation from my agency... but I believe it did happen!  Our China representative I have been told is wonderful and extremely reliable.  So if today was the day for pick up- then it was picked up.  My agency did tell me they will email me once they find out!  So, what does this mean?  It means we are officially waiting for our TA- travel approval!  Yeah!  Finally!  TA is usually given between 2 and 3 weeks.  I am praying that we receive our TA on the quicker side. My perfect scenario:  Leaving for China on January 4th!  Will it happen?  There is a possibility if we get a fast TA!  Only time will tell!