Anticipation

This week is going to be an exciting one.  We spent our last weekend at home as "single" people ...
We had a Thanksgiving celebration last night since we are traveling on the big day.  It was wonderful.  E has been watching football and loving every minute today.  I downloaded some books for the trip and have been reading up on Chinese culture to help make sure I don't make any big faux pas while I am there.

Since we got the update about Sofie's size, I have been shopping like crazy, and her mural is completed.  We have a car seat, booster seat, step stool, mattress set, clothes in 3T, headbands with bows, books, toys for the trip, medicine, shampoo, little tooth brushes & baby toothpaste.  It is wonderful.  Also, my mom has been sending baby showers in a box every couple of weeks and it helps to supplement the booty.

I sent her updated stats (Height: 35.8 inches   Weight: 26.5 lbs   Head size: 18.1 inches   Chest size: 20.1 inches   Foot length:  5.5 inches   Teeth number: 14) to my doctor when we got the updates, and the doctor was really impressed with her development & how healthy she looks.  In one of the pictures, it looks like she might have a prosthetic in her mouth that is helping with her development.  Maybe her cleft palate isn't going to be as bad as I feared.  I can't wait to welcome this little person into our lives.  We got a bunch of new pictures, and she is so beautiful.  And her smile is amazing.  I had worried a little in my heart that she didn't smile in any of the pictures (hoped she could smile), and of course they just hadn't captured her in a magic moment.  Apparently, her passion at the moment is balls & she will fit right in with E.  Soccer could be in her future, and it makes me happy to think about it.  I know it could change at any time, but it warms my heart to know they they having something in common already.  :)

Work is wrapping up for awhile.  It is weird to be handing over my duties and going through the motions while waiting for the travel date to come.

I am glad we will have some time with Sofie in China before we fly home.  Our schedule calls for us to be away for 2 weeks.  Luckily, a good friend recently moved to Houston and will be available to housesit for us & help take care of the cats.  I also have the best neighbor ever who is acting as a backup plan for cat-care as well as an assembler for a bunch of furniture that was going to take forever to get here.  We have the best friends.

Our trip will have us visit to Beijing, Taiyuan (Shanxi Province), and Guangzhou.  We spend about 2 days in Beijing,  5 days in Taiyuan, and 6 days in Guangzhou.  We get her on the 21st and she will be a US citizen on the 29th.

I ordered some Chinese language CDs and I am finding them hard to get into.  They claimed I could be doing something else while listening & still learning, so I tried to make my pies yesterday & clean while doing the language lesson.  It needed my full attention for sure.  I don't know if my motivation is lower since I know Sofie doesn't speak Mandarin anyway.  It could be.

So, somehow I will need to get through the next week of adventure before the next one starts.  I will take one day at a time and keep on going. :)

Happy Days.