Updates from Kunming CWI

Recently we recieved surprise updates from Holt regarding Wu Qi Ling! We learned that she is in a foster care village, and it appears that she is being well taken care of. Some of the information included in the updates are:

*She can tear paper

*She likes smiling

*She can sit down and stand with assistance

*She can walk freely in walker

*She is babbling

*She drinks a bottle by herself

*She can pick up a dropped toy

*She sometimes will steal other children's toys

*She recognizes familiar people

Sounds like we are missing a lot of her milestones, but at least she is doing well developmentally for a 9 month old baby. We also have been told that she is approximately 16 pounds and 26 inches tall. Not quite the tiny peanut we expected, however we are glad that she is growing well. It is a good sign that her heart is not keeping her from gaining weight, and it gives us hope that her ASD (Atrial Septal Defect) is not causing her any trouble. Our biggest wish regarding her heart is that it is repairing itself and she will not need any operations. We will see a cardiologist in the first couple of weeks after bringing her home to see what the status is on that.

In the meantime we are trying to stay busy to keep our mind off of the long wait until we meet our girl. We first saw her face on 10-20-2010 and have been counting down the days until we get to bring her home. We've been completing projects around the house, including painting the basement, hanging lights in the basement, finishing Kinley's room, and so on. We are also planning on shampooing all of the carpets since we will soon be having a little one crawling all over the place!

We have ordered new luggage for the trip since our old luggage was in poor shape. We were afraid that the old would not have made it half-way around the world, especially since we expect to fly multiple times during this trip. We have to go to three differenct places in China. The first place we will go is Beijing for adoption orientation. I think this is partially to get us adjusted to the time change---China is 12 hours ahead of us. We will spend a couple of days there, touring places like the Great Wall , Tiennamen Square, and the Forbidden City. From Beijing we will fly to Kinley's Province, Yunnan. She is located in Kunming City. We are very excited to be visiting such an awesome area of China. It is known as the "city of eternal spring", because the weather is very mild. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and is where the Chinese people go to vacation. It is also the area in China where the most minorities live--many asian tribes such as the Dai live there. We expect to meet Kinley soon after arriving in Kunming. She will be with us from that point on. We will spend approximately 5 days in her Province, where we will sightsee, shop, tour the orphanage, and hopefully locate the spot where she was found. Finally, we will fly to Guangzhou in Guangdong Province where the U.S. Embassy is to finalize the adoption. All U.S. adoptive families end up here. It is a warm area of China, and we will be staying on Shaiman Island along the Pearl River. We will be here for a week waiting for the adoption to finalize, as well as getting Kinley's citizenship paperwork complete. When we land in the U.S., she will automatically be a U.S. Citizen!!! Apparently Guangzhou is only 80 miles or so from Hong Kong, so we are unsure whether we will be taking a train to Hong Kong and then flying back home. Jason would like to do this, but much of it will depend on timing, flights, and ultimately cost. It will definitely be an adventure, all with a new toddler in tow!

As far as our timeline, our paperwork gets handed to the appropriate chinese adoption officials on January 13th. The final step is getting TA (travel approval), which means that they approve the adoption and they are inviting us to travel over to get her. Once we get this, before making travel arrangements, we must make appointments in China with the appropriate officials. Once this is done, we will be set to go! Chinese New Year (CNY) is February 3-7 and all government offices will be closed, as this is China's biggest holiday. We are praying that we get our TA before January 30th so that we can get our appointments made before offices are closed. Otherwise, we will have to wait until after CNY to make arrangments, which will likely mean March travel. We are desperately trying to make it to her by her first birthday, March 15. Prayers needed please!

We still have lots of stuff that we need to purchase before our trip, such as a highchair, bottles, sippy cups, snacks, onsies, diapers, socks, bibs, a blanket, a baby carrier, etc. Oh, my head is spinning! I also have my heart set on getting a nice digital DLR? camera before going on our trip so I can capture some quality pictures of China and Kinley, but I sure don't know if we'll be able to with all of the other expenses quickly adding up. Oh well, the important thing is holding her in our arms and getting her home as quickly as possible!

Thanks to all of our family and friends who have supported us and prayed for us during this long and crazy process! We are so happy and lucky to have you all in our lives, and can't wait for Kinley to meet everyone! She will be one loved little girl!

As you lay sleeping far away, as still as you could be,

How could you know the joy today this photo brings to me?

A few short weeks and you'll be mine, and "I" will soon be "We".

How could you know the love I feel? It's something you can't see.

So have sweet dreams, my precious babe. Sleep well and tenderly.

Some say that you're the lucky one, How could you know, it's me!

---Kris Laughlin