Gotcha Day Pics 3 & Grammy's Gotcha Day Perspective!!

 

August 27, 2012  

GOTCHA DAY

Dear B’Elanna,

I know this phase of our journey has just begun but my heart started growing with love for you before we met.  Your mother shared the photos she received in the Match Day information and I started dreaming about you immediately but I must say today you are more than I could have ever dreamed possible.  When I saw you outside the van I felt like my heart was going to burst with love and then you SAW me and you did NOT want anything to do with ME!!!  You looked so sad with all the commotion in the room…there were a total of nine children meeting their forever families so there were many children crying, new parent’s crying but you barely had a couple of tears that ran down your cheeks.  I wanted to wipe them away but you would not let me touch you.  You were watching everything and everyone but again if I ended up in your line of sight you gave me “STINK EYE” until I was gone.  When your Mommy had to sign some paperwork before we left she handed you to me and that was all it took for you to scream at the top of your lungs so your Mommy quickly jumped up and grabbed you back and you calmed down and again I got the “STINK EYE”.

On the way back to the hotel you clung to your Mommy again and I sat in the seat behind you so everything was fine.  In the hotel room you continued to cling to your Mommy and wanted nothing to do with me.  I just laid down on my bed and stayed out of your way but when your Mommy went into the bathroom you wanted to follow and that meant you had to pass me on the bed and I could see your brain going a mile a minute….so cute….but heartbreaking that you were so afraid of me.  I wondered what I was reminding you of but you could not tell me so I tried to stay away.  After walking toward the bathroom but not passing my bed a number of times you finally RAN past the bed and found your Mommy and all was better.  I kept telling you, “You may not like me know but someday you will love me and in the meantime I’m going to pinch your butt.”  We shall wait and see ………..

Love you more than you could believe,

Grammy  

Gotcha Day pics 2

more pics

Zhengzhou Day 4 - Gotcha Day 08/27/2012

Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
Monday, August 27, 2012

GOTCHA/FOREVER FAMILY DAY!!!

There was a storm in Zhengzhou last night, so it delayed when we got our kiddo's... even though they are in the same city.   There was some local street flooding, so the orphanage waited for it to be safe before bringing the kids to the Registration Office.   Our group was the last to arrive, so I was able to meet her on the steps of the building.  She made eye contact and I think she recognized me from the photo album.   I got it back and it was Very Dirty and Worn... so I know she had been looking at it.   I also got the audio book I had reorded and sent to her AND all FOUR of the camera's.   I can't wait to get them developed and see what is on those pictures.

 

She took to me pretty much right away.   There were a few tears (her's and mine), but mostly, she just didn't want to be put down and kept looking around and taking it all in.   At one point, I had to hand her to Grammy so I could give the Orphanage person the gifts and donations.... she stared screaming and didn't stop until she was back in my arms.   Every time Grammy looks at her or touches her she starts to cry or make a little cry sound.   When I had to go to the bathroom to wash my face, I left her in the main room area with Grammy.    She said B'Elanna kept looking at her, then taking a couple of steps to the bathroom, then back to the bed, then a couple of steps, then the bed.... then she made a VERY wide berth around Grammy to get to the bathroom where I was.   hehehehe.   Grammy keeps telling her "You will like me one day"

 

When we got back to the room from the Registration Office, I gave B'Elanna her first bottle of formula.   She took it OK... but not the best, so we got out the sippy cup.... she grabbed right onto that.... but it leaked like a sieve all over her clothes.   So we dumped it into a coffee cup and she drank it right down.    Then we had to change her clothes.   As you can imagine, she didn't like that.... but she was cleaned up.    Then I had to meet with the other families to do some paperwork, since she is so scared of Mom still, I took her with me.   She did GREAT.    She is really smart and inquisitive.  Got back to the room and finally got her to sleep for about 10 minutes and got the call that the guide was ready to take us to Walmart for supplies.... so we went.   It was a HOT, STICKY, SWEATY Mess!!   But we got it finished, back to the room, gave her a bath, ordered room service, her new stroller arrived and then all crashed by 8:30pm.

 

Need to get ready for today before she wakes up.   Write more later!!

 

Cheers,

Carmel

We got her!

Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
August 27, 2012

From Grammy - we have her and we will write more with pictures when she goes to sleep. :)

 

Zhengzhou Day 4 - Info from the Update

Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
Monday Morning, August 27, 2012

This is the information I got in my update yesturday.   Some of it I already knew and some of it needs to be taken with a grain of salt, because Chinese Perspective and American Perspective are DIFFERENT!!
 
1.  She has 3 meals in a day at 8:00am, 12:00 and 6:00pm.  We feed her with spoon.  Her main food is noodles and rice.  She likes meat and potato.  She eats rice cereal sometimes.  Her rice cereal brand is Yili.
 
2.  She has 2 times supplementary food at 10:00am and 4:00pm.  She has small bread and cookies as her supplementary food.  She drinks fruit juice sometimes.  She like Nurti-express and other sweat beverages.  She drinks plain boiled water from a bowl.  She eats fruit such as banana, grape and peach.  She does not like apple.
 
3.  She goes to bed at 9:00pm and wakes at 5:00am.  She takes a nap from 1:00pm to 3pm everyday.  She sleeps throughout the night.  She does not need to be fed during night.  She does not need to be brought to toilet for pee during night.  She wears diaper during night.  She sleeps with her foster mother and sleeps on her back with the light off.  She does not need to fall asleep.

4.  She has one to two BMs in a day usually at 10:00am or in the afternoon.  She does not wear diaper at day time, but wears diaper at night.  She does not need to be held to fall asleep.
***This is from the Chinese Perspective. A child is potty trained and doesn't need a diaper if they know to squat and pee/poop using their split pants.... anywhere they are. One of my travel mates saw a little girl squat in the middle of the Forbidden City.... she finished peeing and her parents picked her up and they kept walking. FYI, she is still not potty trained by American Perspective and she WILL be in diapers.  Even our guide, Yisha, said most of the kids are not American Potty Trained.***

5.  She takes baths every day usually at 11:00am and 8:00pm.  She likes to take a bath.  She is not afraid of taking bath and does not cry.

6.  She is lively and active girl.  She likes to play by herself.  You can hold her when she cries or gets fussy.  She is afraid of puppy, insects and other strange things.  She can walk and run by herself.  She cries when her requests can not be satisfied.  She is happy when adult come back home she will say "Mom is back".

7.  There is nothing has been found allergy from her till now.  She does not have any serious disease except her special needs.

8.  She has no special feeding or living habit.  Her nick name is Yue.

9.  Her friend is Zheng Jian Ben who is foster cared at same family.

10.  She does not like animal.

Zhengzhou Day 4 - Grammy's Perspective

Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
Monday Morning, August 27, 2012

Here is Grammy's perspective ..... I'M EXHAUSTED but loving every minute of this trip.  My entire body aches from all the walking and swollen from the humidity that I am not accustom to but I would not miss a second of this trip.  I woke up at 2:30 AM today and went into the bathroom to work on a word puzzle so I would not wake Carmel and then I came back to bed and dozed off and on.  I can not express enough how loving, excited, scared, funny and on and on and on all the families are that we are sharing this life altering experience with.  Naturally, I am extatic with my own daughter and how she has provided supplies and coaching to the other families and women.  Yes, I said coaching, my dear daughter attempted to explain how to use the squatty potties but when some of the women still did not understand she DEMONSTRATED pulling her own jeans down (leaving her underware on - thank goodness) so she now has the nickname "TC", ie: toilet coach.  Yes, we are having a load of laughs but every once in a while the seriousness of this trip sneaks in and the stories are wonderful.  I hope this group can continue to have contact via e-mail - blog - what ever electronic means possible for their own support and for the children to later meet the children that shared their earliest life.  I don't know what will be happening in a few hours from now but I am wide awake and wanting the show to get on the road.  I am praying I don't cry but I think I will fail and I hope I don't make B'Elanna too upset.  I have so much love in my heart for her and my daughter right now I feel like my heart and mind will burst.  I have become VERY fond and proud of the other families also and I hope I can support them through today as much as they have supported me through the touring and my slow pace.  I feel so cared for by them - walking slowly with me on the Great Wall, helping with luggage, listening to my lame stories and not calling my on my foot and mouth disease. :)  I will sign off now but will try to write more once we have 'our' little one with us. 

Love you all,

Grammy

Zhengzhou Day 4: Awake!!

Good Morning,

I have been in a bit of a daze the last few days, I think.  While doing the Beijing touring, I think my body/mind thought I was on another 4-day Port Visit.... I just wasn't feeling all the choked up excitement and fear and tears that some of the other families are.  I have just felt calm, cool and collected the entire time.   Seriously, Beijing felt like a port visit.... I mean, I was tired, but you just push through that so you can see and experience all the AMAZING things of a new place.

 

Then yesterday, we flew into Zhengzhou, I really started to feel the excitement part and getting a bit choked up.   I thought I was handling it fine.... but when we received our guides Yisha and Rita handed me my update that was filled out by the foster family within the last week... WOW!!   Mom said I started getting a bit snippy in my answers to her when she was cracking jokes and questioning some things in the update.... so I guess, I am feeling just a bit more excited and overwhelmed right now than I thought.    So, I took a deep breathe, and tried to pull my "OCD/need to control the uncontrollable" side of myself up by my bootstraps and made an effort to communicate NICELY about what I needed to have happen organizing the room, putting the clothes away, getting the Gift bags and baby bag backpack ready.... and then we got along much better.   Oh, and our group went and got some lunch and I think that helped too.

 

I got everything as "Perfect" as I could and then I read email, checked Facebook and updated my blog.   That kept me up until about 11:30pm and then I CRASHED.   Then, this morning, I woke up in a DEAD PANIC.... my heart was racing, I was getting ready to yell at Mom to GET UP and I was ready to start crying.   I was looking at one side of the room and saw light and thought "OH SHIT!!! I overslept!!!"       Then I realized it was the very small hallway light I hadn't been able to figure out how to turn off last night.   (HUMPH!!!)    Then I rolled over and looked at the windows... it was still dark.   It is 4:45am and I am now... WIDE AWAKE and feeling the PANIC of HAPPINESS and EXCITEMENTS!!!  EEEAAACCCKKK!!!  

 

Oh, Goddess, please, help me control my tongue and to not unconsciously slice and dice my Mom in my excitement and FEAR as today progresses!!

Our group is meeting in the Lobby at 9:30am and taking a bus to the Civil Affairs Office to get our kids here in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province.   We have 8 families getting 9 kids in our group... but their could be other families with other Agencies getting their kids today too.    We don't have a specific time we will get our kids.   While talking with Yisha last night, we found out most of our kids will be picked up from their Foster homes by the Orphanage Director/Officials this morning while enroute from the different orphanages.    So that is a new question for me to add to my list and find out later today.

 

Everything is running through my head.... will she look the same as the last pictures??  How big is she??  and on and on and on....

 

OK, I am going to TRY and get another couple of hours sleep!!

Beijing/Zhengzhou Day 3 (08/26/2012)

Beijing & Zhengzhou, China
Sunday, August 26, 2012

WE HAVE ARRIVED IN ZHENGZHOU!!!!  My daughter is just a few miles away and I will get her in less than 12 hours!!!   

We got to the hotel, met with Yisha to find out the plan for the next couple of day, set up our room, exchanged money .... and RECEIVED THE CRIB!!!

Here is our room....




From the doorway

From the back window

THE CRIB!

The backpack all packed and ready for tomorrow.  The Orphanage Director gift, Orphanage Officer gift and a donation from one of the Facebook Families I talk with.   My wallet and ID badges are attached so we don't forget them in the morning.

MY ID BADGE!  Zhou Yin Yue is MINE!!!

AND



Beijing Day 2 - Great Wall of China!!

Beijing, China
Saturday, August 25, 2012
 

After the Jade Factory, everyone piled back onto the bus and we headed to the Great Wall of China!!!!  It has been amazing to be able to bring my mom to China, so she will be able to meet her granddaughter the moment she officially joins our family, but I have had the added benefit of being able to experinece this Wonderful Place with her also!!!  AND to make and Meet some amazing friends along the way.



Me, Raggety Ann, Mom and Bunny



Katie and Ben Komoda... first Facebook friends...
and now REAL friends.

Elizabeth and Kurt Vance... New Friends

When you are at The Great Wall of China, you just FEEL the history and breathe of humanity and how insignificant we can be in it or how important.  It was incredible to climb on stairs and stand on towers that Chinese Soldiers did Thousands of years ago... as you trudge up the uneven stairs just to look out over where you have come from you think .... "Wow!!  That is so Amazing and Cool and thank god I didn't twist my ankle or fall while climbing... but, shit, now I have to go down without killing myself too!!!"



My Mom made it to the first tower.  

My friend Katie Komoda and I kept climbing all the way to the fourth tower.   It was amazing!!!!


Katie Komoda's Husband, Ben, RUNNING the Great Wall

This is how we pulled ourselves up!!




Katie climbing a STEEP section

The view from the 4th tower.
Started at the little red building in distance.

By the time we were finished, my calves were jumping and jiving all by themselves AND my hands were Filthy and Disgusting from pulling myself UP the Great Wall and then Griping the bar so I wouldn't fall on the way DOWN the Great Wall!  

We were SO proud of ourselves And Exhausted..... Esp. my Mom!



Mom exhausted and sleeping on the bus after
The Great Wall of China.   She was such a trooper today!!

Beijing Day 2 - Jade Factory

Beijing, China
Saturday, August 25, 2012

We met with our guide George at 0830 to start our 2nd day of touring in Beijing!!!  We started off heading for the Jade Factory and then got stuck in weekend traffice combined with an accident.   It made for a VERY LONG drive.   One thing to be said about CCAI... they keep us very well hydrated.  George had 1-2 flats of water on the bus for us and kept passing around bottles of water.   Not wanting to have another "Possible Heat Stroke/Fainting Incident" like Memorial Day.... I made sure to drink every last one of them.   By the time we go to the Jade Factory, their was NO WAITING for the tour to begin.... I hurried off the bus and found the bathroom ASAP.   Found out afterwards there was a Western Toilet... but at that point... I didn't care.... and I Made It!!!    I got back to the group, just as the guide was starting to talk about the "Generational  or Family Balls."   I saw one of these mentioned on a blog MONTHS ago, and immediately decided I WANT ONE OF THOSE!!!  

Generational/Family Balls are made from a single piece of jade.  Holes are bore into it and then a Master Jade Carver proceeds to carve a Dragon (the Emporer/Ying) and a Pheonix (the Emperess/Yang) into it.  Once that is completed, the Master Carver then begins to cut more and more balls INSIDE the original ball.... representing all the different Generations of a family that are seperated, but joined... one can not exist without the other.   I have thought they were amazing since I saw them and seeing them in person was Awe Inspiring.

After the demonstration, the shopping commensed.    Thank-goodness, I went knew we would be stopping her ahead of time and went in with an idea of what I wanted to get for B'Elanna.   I was able to find a VERY nice Generational Ball for our family and a nice Tiger Zodiac pendant for when she is older.... these are the two things I Had-To-Have!!   Then, my Mom and I, proceeded to buy all the Fun stuff we wanted.... thank goodness I had budgetted for this one stop.... otherwise it could have broken the bank.   The sales attendants Assume every woman wants a Jade Bracelet and immediately start trying to get you to buy them.   I almost Sercume to Temptation.... but then I got my head back on straight and told the attendant  "Maybe later, I have some specific thing I am interested in."  From there we were more on the same page and he was very helpful in finding some Really nice things.

After that, my Mom and I had a bit of fun taking pictures.



Me getting gored by a Giant Jade Bull!



My Mom with a Giant Jade Warrior. 
Her kind of Man... Strong and silent.  :)  :) 

PJ's

OK... a couple of people have asked about the PJ's I got for my Mom and I for China.    Here is a quick pic of each of us.   Her's are lime green with Tinker Bell, ladybugs and dragonflies.   Mine are pink with coffee cups with disney characters faces on them.

Beijing, Day 2

Beijing, China
Saturday, August 25, 2012

Had an ABSOLUTELY Wonderful and EXHAUSTING day today!!!   We visited the Jade Factory and found (bought) some amazing things for B'Elanna.  Then we went to the Great Wall, I don't know which section.... just that it is the Steepest and not Badling or the one with the Gondolas.  :)  :)  :)  My Mom did GREAT, she made it about 1/2 way past the first tower and then said "Enough, taking a rest."   We had discussed this before coming to China, and I had warned her that this was the ONE scenario in China where I would leave her behind if she stalled out.   She was OK with that idea, because she knew I would come back.    Well my friend Katie Komoda and I kept chugging away.   Katie's husband took off RUNNING up the great wall.... and made it Past the 5th tower.... AMAZING.    While, Katie and I supported/encouraged each other and we made it to the 4th TOWER!!!    The hike going up seemed hard, but the reality was the hike coming back was MUCH harder!!!   By the time we got done, my calves had a life of their own and were jumping and jiving!!    After the Great Wall, we went onto the Acrobat Show.  It was nice enough... but either I was just too tired to care or.....   Anyway, it only lasted an hour (Thank Goodness!!) and it reminded me of something I could see in Las Vegas.   Nice, but I was just too tired to enjoy it!!

 

 

We fly to Zhengzhou tomorrow morning and get B'Elanna on Monday!!    I will update my blog with pictures tomorrow once we are in Zhengzhou.... just too tired right now and I still have packing to do.

   

Beijing Day 1, part 5

My Mom outside the Silk Factory, the silk coccoon's being pulled apart by 1 string, and my Mom trying to use her new Pink Children's Chopsticks.... no success.

Fwd: Beijing Day 1, part 4

My friend Alison Franklin, Raggety Ann enjoying the squatty potties (no she didn't touch anything!!)

Beijing Day 1 (08-24-2012), Part 2

Pictures:

This was our Rickshaw driver... he did very good carrying our Heavy Load (Me, Mom, Raggety Ann and Bunny)... he was even able to pass some of my traveling companions.  :) :)

Beijing Day 1, part 3

Raggety Ann and I at the enterance to Tiannamen Square,  "being popular",  The Weimer's family and my family at the Square.

Beijing Day 1 (Friday 8/24/2012), part 1

Beijing, China
Friday, August 24, 2012

***I am posting to my blog via email right now... so the pictures may be out of order and either all at the beginning or all at the end.... I will be fixing that and updating with more details/pictures once I am back in the states.***

 

As you can see we lost a day in travel... I spent all day thinking it was Thursday the 23rd, until I started writing this blog and realized I had forgotten to fix the date on my watch!!!   So we started the day with a very good breakfast here at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Beijing.  Went down, got food, and then we proceeded to people watch.  It is crazy how much we couldn't help ourselves from stareing/watching the families with previously Adopted children.   How the kids laughed and giggled and loved on their parents.... like a light was being shown for the potential soon-to-be dark and difficult road of Attachment and Bonding.

 

After that, we exchanged some money at a nifty little machine they have in the lobby.  Oh, before I forget, the night before... we had organized our stuff and realized we were going to need some more water in the morning.  So we went down to the desk to exchange some money (at 2am) and head to the 7-11 and get some water, but the receptionist told us they would send up more of the small FREE bottles of water.    Ok... so after we exchanged money, we met up with our group and our guide, George.  As we were walking up to our group, another lady yelled "That's Carmel" and came running over and gave me a HUGE HUG.... it was Katie Komoda from the DTC Winter and Spring Group.   It was SO NICE to already feel like their were a few families there that I already knew and were friends with.  :)  :)    Anyway, it proved to be a very positive omen.   We have a GREAT Group!!!   Everyone is great to be with, we all talk and share stories and laugh with one another.

 

Our 1st stop was the Hutong Alley... where families live in the more Traditional Beijing lifestyle.   We got there by way of a Rickshaw Ride!!!  (Of course, I had to pull out Raggedy Ann and Bunny to get their pictures on their 1st rickshaw rides too.)  We got a tour of one gentlemen's house.   It was small and modest, with a mixture of old and new.   He was an artist, so he had his workshop all setup with his paintings and such on tables and chairs that seemed very ricketty.  Then on the walls were flatscreen TV's and pictures of his ancestors.   When we went into the Kitchen area, there were 3 beautiful cats in a comfortable looking cage... the one on the bottom, was rolled on his back and showing us his tummy.  :)  :)     As we were leaving the alley our guide, George... every the one to take care of us... asked if any of us needed to use the restroom.   Well a few of us took him up on it.... you guessed it.... squatty potties.   They weren't that bad, smelled... but not that bad.    Of course, I couldn't pass up the photo opportunity.... and got a picture of Raggety Ann with a squatty potty too.   hahahahahaha.

 

From  there we went to the Silk Factory.   They showed us how Silk worms are grown, develop and are then harvested.   It was actually pretty COOL.... watching those little silk cacoons being pulled apart by a single thread all the way down to the worm inside!!!   From there they took us to a couple of different stations to show us how the silk is pulled apart to make bedspreads and things.   I was able to find a couple of very nice wall hangings for B'Elanna there at a VERY affordable price.   I also found a pair of Children's Chopsticks I couldn't pass up for my Mom... they had a Pink Cat on the top.... and I have had some serious "concerns" about her starving here... having to use chopsticks and all.     Well, we left the factory and headed to lunch.   I pulled out Mom's chopsticks... she tried them and FAILED misserably (see attached picture).   After a few attempts, she went back to the forks the restuarunt kindly provided for us.

 

After that, it was on to Tiannamen Square.   Got my picture in the courtyard with Chairman Mao's picture, saw some beautiful landscaping, and then.... was asked by some local women and girls to pose for a couple of pictures with them.    I think it was because I was holding the Raggety Ann and Bunny dolls for pictures.   My mom and a couple of others think it is because of my Red hair.   When they said that... I asked if I should go back and tell them it is a dye job.   :)  :)

 

From there, we walked to/thru the Forbidden City.   It was nice.  A lot of beautiful Architecture and pictures, but by then we were Hot, Sweaty and Tired... so we only took in about half of it.   Gold is the color of the Emperor, Jade and Goats go together for some reason and it is important, we didn't get to go to the big Giant Jade Lions to get our pictures taken.... oh, and I am a HOT, SWEATY MESS!!

 

OK... so we started our day at 8:45am and were back in the hotel by 4:30pm.   We got to our rooms to download pictures and cool off and then the Franklin's, my Mom and I went our to dinner at the Chinese restaurant across the street from the hotel.   It was OK.... but none of us finished our food and we went out for Hagen-Daze afterwards.    This city comes ALIVE after it starts to cool down!!!  We had to walk a few blocks to the icecream and we passed line-dancing, Break-dancing and Fan dancing in the park.  People walking dogs, kids and parents our socializing... it was a Mad house!!

 

Well, we are back in our room.... cooling down AGAIN.    We meet the group and George tomorrow morning at 8:30am for the Great Wall, Jade Factory and Acrobatics Show.... another long day.   

 

ONLY 2 MORE DAYS, 3 MORE SLEEPS UNTIL I GET B'ELANNA!!!!

Made it to Beijing

Beijing, China
Thursday, August 23, 2012

We made it to Beijing!!!  Got it at 11:20pm, got our luggage, went through immigration and then saw the most perfect person... Our guide, George, holding a CCAI sign!!!   We got the the hotel, showed our passports and to our room.  We organized our stuff for tomorrow and then crashed.... about 2am.   Meeting the rest of the group and George at 8:45am to start our day of touring.

 

The flight was OK... Delta 129.   The overhead compartments are TINY!!  I had a standard carryon that I purchased just for the small overheads... and it was almost TOO BIG.  It had to be put in sidewase instead of wheels first.    Just a warning for future travellers.

 

Once we were here my mom saw the PJ's I had bought her for the trip.... Green with Tinker Bell and lady bugs.   Mom LOVES them!!!

 

Off to breakfast.... will try to send more tonight.

 

 

*** I am emailing in this blog entry, can someone send a REPLY, so I know it is making it???*** 

Eating before our flight!!

Seattle, Washington

Wednesday Evening, August 22, 2012

 

 

Packed and Ready to GO!!!

Stayed up until about 2 am repacking, weighing, and organizing ALL the bags.    Tried to go to sleep and suddenly realized I had forgotten my camera battery charger and 2nd battery in Montana!!! 
So, while my Mom was at work today, I went out and bought a new charger and battery, got the car cleaned, and tried to stay CALM until we get on the plane.  
Only 2.5 hours we go to the airport and ..... ONLY SIX HOURS UNTIL TAKE OFF!!!

Love Letter: 29 months

My Dearest B'Elanna,

Yesterday you turned 29 months old.  In the next month, you will have MANY life altering changes in your life!!   In 13 days, you and I will meet for the Very First Time.  I am So Scared!!  I keep wondering if I have prepared enough for you?  Will I be a good enough Mommy for you??  Will I have patience?  Will I be able to help you learn and adapt to your new home and you DOG, Posideon??

I keep wondering how Gotcha Day will go.   Will you Scream, Cry, Shut down??  Will you be Well-fed or Starved?  Will you attach to me or your Grammy? 

The last pictures I had of you were from your 2nd Birthday Party at the Zhengzhou CWI.

You didn't look happy.  In fact, you looked like you were sick.   These were the 1st pictures I had of you that you weren't smiling or looking inquisitive. 

The last update I had for you, was when you were 21 months old... and you were tiny... only 31 inches tall and 20 lbs (probably with 6 layers of clothes on).  I am wondering how much you will weigh?  How tall are you?  What size shoes and clothes do you wear?  Will you like to cuddle? Will you like and tolerate the Boba Carrier??  Will you like Bows in your hair?  I really hope you do.  I have a BUNCH for you and your Grammy is REALLY enjoying making them for you and her friends!!

B'Elanna (aka Yin Yue) I can not WAIT to meet you!!  I know you have No Idea what is about to happen... but please be aware... You are about to join a family of Mommy, Grammy, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins who have EAGERLY been awaiting your Arrival!!

Love,
Mommy

PS... I got Love Letter idea from a blog I follow: http://arewethereyetlen.blogspot.com/