Catching Up On Her Reading

Snow Angel

We've had such a dry winter that I thought we'd better get Miss Maggie out in the snow before it melts. Our little girl wasn't too excited about it but she still looked like an angel.

Pinkalicious Princess Party

It's my party and I'll pout if I want to.

We threw a birthday party for Miss Maggie yesterday. She turns a year old tomorrow. She wasn't too keen on the cake so someone else decided to help her devour some of it. Maggie Rose did enjoy the ice cream.

Liam: the pink cake eater.

Happy Birthday beautiful girl. We love you!

Where Is Maggie Rose From?

Mike works with a man who is from China. When this co-worker saw our daughter's pictures today, he said she looked Cantonese, meaning she doesn't look like she comes from the Hunan province as stated in her paperwork. Did her birth parent(s) travel from a nearby province with Maggie so that no one they knew would discover what they were doing? Or, are Maggie's birth parent(s) Cantonese but moved to the Hunan province? Or, is there another reason? It's likely we will never know the answer but it gives us a tiny clue into her background.  

The Hunan province is located close to the Guangdong province. Cantonese is believed to have originated in Canton or Guangzhou, Guangdong.

Ridiculously Cute!

Miss Maggie's swimsuit arrived in the mail today. I took a picture of it with a lotion bottle so you could see how tiny it is. The tag says it will fit a baby who weighs 12.5 to 16.5 pounds. Mike bets the suit won't fit her. My friend Shelley found us a 6 to 9 month suit at a very good price so I think we'll be in good shape in China.

Cute bow on the back! Love the ruffles!!

Care Package, Visa Apps, Oh My!

Since we received Maggie Rose's referral, time has flown.

First, we had 24 to 48 hours to send back our acceptance letter. Last week, I put together Maggie's care package consisting of a light blanket, rattle, Hello Kitty toy (thinking about you, Amy), photo book, camera, treats for Maggie and her friends and candy for her care givers. Fingers crossed that her ophanage will actually take pictures. We hear that families from her province often do not receive their cameras back. I also would love for Maggie to be able to keep her toys. I marked everything I could. The rattle was the only that I couldn't mark.  

Yesterday, I mailed our Visa applications. With some help, the four page application wasn't so bad, just time consuming. Today, I mailed our travel paperwork to our agency.

Now, I can sit back and wait for our Passports and Visas to be mailed to us. We still do not know with certainty when we will travel. However, we may receive our Travel Approvals in a couple of weeks.  

There are a few families in our Yahoo group that are leaving for China this week! They will meet their daughters next week. I am so excited for them. I can't imagine how excited I will be when we actually travel.

More Maggie Rose!

Check out these adorable pictures that came in our referral packet.

She looks so tiny!

Lady, give me my mom and dad, stat.

Look at that hair! Now, do you think they shaved the front and side of Maggie's head or does she just have super producing follicles towards the back?

Yes, Yes, Yes!

I FedExed a letter stating that we accept Maggie's referral this morning. Our agency's Child Match department should receive our acceptance letter on Monday and then will send it to China. China will then in turn give us approval to travel there to pick up Maggie. After our U.S. Consulate appointment is set in China, we will know our travel dates. I'm in a bit of a daze. After all these years, things are finally moving...fast!

The Stork Has Arrived!

Our FedEx guy arrived a few minutes ago. Of course, I made him take the traditional stork picture. At first when I asked to take his picture, he was taken aback but when I explained why he was very nice about it. He has friends who have adopted from other countries.

That package he's holding contained more pictures of Maggie Rose! I don't have a scanner so I won't be able to post her pictures for a while. You know, I thought that dark stuff on top of Maggie's head in her referral photo was the background, but it looks like that's her real hair! OMG!! Her other pictures show this big tuft of hair near the back of her head. Oh, I hope they don't shave Maggie's head before we pick her up. I want to put a bow in her lovely hair so badly!

Big Brothers!

We are so thrilled. We hope to receive more pictures of Miss Maggie tomorrow. Needless to say, it's been a pretty non productive day. Tomorrow I'll be on stork lookout as FedEx brings our little girl's referral packet.