Seriously, how did people go through adoptions before the internet? Before Facebook?! I just love having contact with other adoptive moms all over the country, and some even in other countries. We have kids at the same orphanage so when we get pictures of our kiddos we always check to see if our friends' little ones are in the background. Three of us have learned that our daughters are almost always together, so it's been fun to trade photos and videos. This morning one of these ladies emailed me that she had received photos from her daughter's birthday party and Kate was in two of the photos, yay! 

I've cropped this one down to just her:

 In this group shot she is at the far end of the table, still in the green bib.

Eeeeeeeek so excited right now! Just got a call from our social worker and found out that after 39 days our dossier is finished being translated in China! This means that we now move on to the review stage that could take as long as 4 -5 weeks, then match reviewed which should only take a week, and then we get our long awaited Letter of Acceptance (LOA). Then we move into the real final stages, a bunch of small steps that all take just a week or two each, and get us right on to travel. We won't get another update on Kate until close to the end of these steps.

I have been praying that we could get out of translation (OOT) very soon, because that was the only way we could stay on track for June travel. Getting out today (yesterday China time) means LOA should come by the first week of April (eeeek!). They estimate 10-12 weeks for travel after that which would put us right in June. A few people have traveled only 8 weeks after LOA, which would put us in May, but I can't even let my brain go there!

So excited! So happy! And so ready to go get that baby girl!

Monday night the long awaited update on Kate finally arrived! We had asked these questions when we submitted out Letter of Intent (accepting her referral) back on January 17 so we were super eager to get the answers. Especially since the newest update we had did not include her weight, so the only weight we had for her was a year old. We really wanted to see how she had grown in the last year, for health purposes first and foremost, but also because we want to be able to buy her some things! I had just sent a text to Anna's violin teacher about lessons this week and I brought up my email just to check it quickly before going back to making dinner. I honestly hadn't thought about the update for a few days, so when I saw the title of the email I may have jumped up and down flapping my hands like a crazy woman. Then I ran into our sun room so I could open it on a real computer and not my phone.

As we thought they would, they just re-sent four of the birthday party pictures and a video that we already have. Any time you get an update (paid) within 3 months of an agency requested update they often send the same photos. But they did include two new ones because we had asked them to take a picture of the inside of her mouth so we could see her palate. Honestly the pictures are out of focus and not that great, but everything looks normal. They are still valuable pictures to us, because we can see her nose and lip repair in a bit more detail.

So here are her current stats. She is a tiny little thing! We knew from her videos that she is usually the smallest girl in the room, and the sleeves of her clothes are always rolled up to make them fit, but of course we have no idea what size those things are. I can't tell you how many times in the last week I watched that video of her with the nanny and tried to get an idea of her size based on the nanny's hands around her torso. I was really grasping, ha! So it's great to have actual measurements. We are told that these are almost always inaccurate because the orphanages don't have heat in the winter and the kids are always wearing many layers of clothes when they weigh them. So we're mentally subtracting a couple of pounds, but we hope the height is accurate. Either way, she's a peanut! If these measurements are correct, American growth charts put her at about 5% for height and not even on the chart for weight. On the Chinese growth charts she's 25% for height and weight. Not too shabby!

Kate at 24 months:

       Height - 31.4 inches (right at Ben's shoulder ;)

Weight - 20.9 pounds (maybe 19??)
Foot - 4.7 inches (size 5-6 shoe)

I had already bought some 18-24 month clothes for her a few weeks ago, but their sizing says that fits kids starting at 27 pounds! Her weight puts her solidly in a 6-12 months, but her height puts her right on the edge of 12-18 and 18-24. So yesterday I exchanged those first things I bought for some smaller sizes. It's really so difficult to know. We got out the measuring tape and she is one inch taller than the desk I'm sitting at right now. So I keep bringing little clothes in here and holding them up where I think her shoulder would fall. It's kind of hilarious, and I'm quite sure Nathan is already tired of me holding up tiny pants and saying, "What do you think? Does this look right? Can her waist possibly be any smaller than this?". We have no idea! But it's pretty fun to try.

It is great to have even an idea of her size, but our favorite part of the update was the answers to the other questions. Some people say these may be totally fabricated answers, but we think they sound plausible. We learned:

It's funny, but her being bossy is a real answer to prayer. Before we even knew who she was, we have prayed that she will have a strong spirit and that she wouldn't just lie in a crib but would make herself known. Sounds like she's doing just that! We like how in the video she kind of elbows her way into the group. Of course we want her to be sweet and polite, and she may need to un-learn some orphanage behaviors, but we like that she's a tough little peanut. We 're pretty sure that will come in handy once she's home with her crazy siblings!

So no new pictures, but lots of great info. And since we don't want a post without something fun to look at, here is Ben doing the hot dog dance in his pjs.  :)

I went to bed at midnight. When I woke up I saw that the email from China had come in at 12:15. The pictures and videos had arrived! Here is what we received from Kate's little birthday package.

The icing on the nose. I've seen enough birthday videos from other kids to know that the nannies do this to them. The kids don't seem to mind. I wondered why the little girl next to her was wearing the birthday crown.

But then she got it back somehow.

Mmmm, cake....

I like her round cheeks in this one. The profile is all...round. Love that she still has some baby in her. That blue top is actually a long sleeved bib that they tied over the pink shirt she's wearing above.

I had all sorts of cute girly ideas for Anna's Valentines, but she had other plans. She was very clear about what she wanted and she sat right down to work once we got home from the craft store. Doily, name banner, rhinestone, and then a cherry tootsie pop stuck to each one. She was really proud that she had made them all by herself.

Kate's 2nd birthday was on Valentine's Day, and even though she wasn't here we definitely needed to celebrate her. That evening at home we just did a small family party. We made her a cake and set up some little table decorations, and the whole time I was making the cake I thought about how much better it will be next year. She will have been home for 8 months or so by then, and I can't wait to hear her input on her cake and party for her third birthday, but very first family birthday party. This year I let her siblings help plan and they were very excited! I just love how they get it. They know she isn't here, but they accept her as fully their sister already and don't think it's the slightest bit strange to have a party for someone that isn't here yet. They just wanted to go bigger with the party and invite tons of people!

This sweet boy was eager to make his sister's cake.

Umm, I thought that tablecloth was bigger... ;) A place set for Kate, of course!

Heart shaped pizzas.

 Don't laugh at my little cake. I was going to just buy one but none of them were even a little cute, so I made this one. I almost bought a number 2 candle at the store and then thought it would really be a waste since we won't need a 2 again (don't hold me to that ;). But then I got home and found we already had one, so it was fun to use it again.

Anna ate lettuce wraps that really were bigger than her head.

Nathan's parents made this cute card. Inside was the picture of her peeking through the crib rails. Family also brought her cute gifts, a little sundress, an angel for her room, a sunhat, and the cutest little baby doll. So fun!

Noah, dancing before school. He refused to do the super cool guy dance he was doing before I turned on my phone, and gave me this little wiggle instead.

*video*

And after Bible study Ben is always full of good songs. Here he is singing, " The rainbow's in the sky to show the world, You're the only way". I am in love with the way he pronounces world.

*video*

Made this little side by side comparison this morning. The cheeks may be less chubby, but the pouty lips are still kissable. I can't wait to put a smile on that serious little face! 18 months old on the left, 4 months old on the right. 

The way I learned about Half the Sky Foundation was from some frantic mommy internet research. In this post I mentioned that we would not be able to order Kate's finding ad. I was sad, because I really wanted to see a picture of her before her surgery and just see what she looked like as an infant. A mom in one of my adoption groups told how she was able to find the ad herself by doing Google searches with the orphanage name and her child's date of birth. So after the kids were in bed the other night, I may or may not have stayed up past 1am searching online. Google Images led me to various posts about her orphanage, which led me to Half the Sky. After finding out they had a program in her city, I went to their Facebook page and saw they had tons of photos posted. I looked through a ton, and then stopped on one....a little girl with a cleft lip...on the left side...with the same initials listed as Kate's Chinese name. 

Nathan was in the other room on his laptop, so I called him in to look at the picture. I told him to talk me down from my crazy place and tell me that the picture was NOT a picture of Kate like I thought it might be. But he couldn't. Because the more we looked at it the more we thought it was her. But we weren't sure so he went back and sat down and I went back to searching. The picture was a little too close to the baby's face and there was too much flash and we just couldn't be sure it was her. But one click of the mouse brought me to a picture that was no doubt a picture of Kate! The caption said it was the "after" shot of the baby from the previous picture! I immediately called him back and he knew it right away too. We pulled up every other picture of her we have and yup! Same eyes, same one little ear that curves out a bit more than the other, same exact placement of the lip scar, same nose, same early signs of stick up hair! 

We couldn't believe it. Not only did we find a picture of her pre-surgery, but we found 2 sweet little baby pictures of her too. She is only 4 months old in these pictures!!! I hope these are only two of the many baby pictures we will receive from Half the Sky after her adoption is complete. While we are sad that we never got to kiss those baby cheeks, we are so happy that we get to see them at all. And judging from Ben's sweet little face, we know she will still have some pretty kissable cheeks at age two!

Here are the pictures. The first is her before shot. Her lip was an incomplete cleft lip, meaning it didn't go all the way to her nose. We thought it was pretty minor just judging from her scar now, but it's good to see that really was the case. Time will tell if her gums are affected. You can't tell in this picture.

Here is her after. We recognized her immediately!

Sweet, sweet girl. We can not wait to love on you!

I found out this weekend that a wonderful organization is working in Kate's orphanage to better the lives of all the children living there. The Half the Sky Foundation was started in 1998 by an adoptive mom who saw the effects of institutionalized living on her newly adopted daughter. After just one year of love and family this little girl blossomed, and her mom knew that the orphans still in China needed and deserved that same love. So she started an organization to work in orphanages and train the nannies on the best ways to care for the kiddos. I would encourage you to look at their entire site because it really is so great, but this page tells you what they're really about.

We are so happy that this program is in place at Kate's orphanage. Half the Sky can not tell you if your child is a part of the program or not, but they aim to include every child living there. Once the adoption is complete they can give parents a memory book of sorts, filled with updates and pictures from Kate's entire life so far. This is SUCH a treasure, and it will help us fill in some of the blanks from her life before us. After some internet stalking I found out that Kate is not only a part of this program, but that they helped her during her surgery in June 2012. She had her lip consultation done in the city where she lives now, but her surgery was actually done in Beijing. Half the Sky has a Care Center in Beijing for children to prepare for and recover from medial procedures. It was in my research about this center that I found pictures of Kate as a tiny 4 month old, which I will share in tomorrow's post! Knowing that someone was with her and caring for her during that time is huge. In the many hours of education Nathan and I have had during this adoption process, we learned that when a child is all alone for medical procedures and hospitalization, it can be as traumatic to them as abuse. It's a comfort to know that she probably had a trained and loving nanny with her during that time. We won't know that for sure probably until we get their records of her life, but we hope that was the case.

I am so thankful for the women who founded this organization and for the nannies who are providing such good care every day. We know that an orphanage is still an orphanage. There are too many babies and not enough hands and no matter how good it is, it's still not a real family. Kate will still have developmental delays, she will still need to learn how to trust us and how to be part of a loving family. But just knowing that they are trying to lead her down that path is such a blessing. I've heard from many adoptive moms who's kids were in these programs and they all say their kids transitioned well because of the love the nannies gave. Half the Sky posted these videos and they just make me so happy and grateful!

This one starts out slow but gets happy.  :)

*video*

MilkyWay-Half the Sky from Half the Sky Foundation on Vimeo.

This one made me cry! I know it's not all happy all the time, but my daily prayer has been that someone would love on our Baby Sister. To think someone is hugging and kissing her and playing with and encouraging her is so wonderful!

*video*

Happy Holidays from Half the Sky from Half the Sky Foundation on Vimeo.

You guys. It is cold. I mean, cold. Like single digit cold every school morning. Luckily, I don't have to be out in it much at all, so it hasn't really bothered me too much. The yards and sidewalks are covered in snow and have been for days, but the roads are clear. That means we can get out and about, and school has only been cancelled for us once. But all of this snow and ice has also lead to some crazy beautiful views. Right now the trees and well, just about everything, are covered in a layer of ice. So when the sun is out it's like the whole world is covered in glitter. Yesterday was very sunny but just as cold, so the trees were lit up and sparkling and none of it really melted off. It was completely amazing. I drove around with the kids yelling, "Trees of glass!!!!" like a crazy woman, but I couldn't help it. It really is a gift that some things can only be truly appreciated with our eyes, but I did take a few photos. Of course these don't even come close to what it really looked like.

You really can't tell here, but our entire back yard was sparkling. It was almost blinding!

I took this last one with my phone as I sat in carpool waiting for the kids. I just loved the way it looked. No filter, just an overcast day and lots of white and dark green and grey all around. 

Make no mistake, we are ready for Spring. But we can appreciate winter while it lasts.

So maybe I'm grasping just a tad, but I'm quite sure this is another picture of Kate, from back in November of 2013. I know it's a little blurry, but I think it looks an awful lot like the other party pictures of her. She's even standing in the same spot! I'm also learning from all of these pictures that this group of kids seem to do most events together since they're all about the same age. I don't have any way of knowing for sure, but I'm saying it's her. Just follow the wonky arrow I drew over her head.  ;)

I did actually hear back from the organization that took the pictures from earlier in the week. Like I said, they aren't really able to communicate with families much and I totally understand that. But the lady who wrote to me said that she did in fact take those pictures of our daughter. She called her by name. It just felt nice to know that she was known by them. The lady told me that they did not actually work with her or evaluate her that day and they probably won't during their time there, because they are really there to work with children who have greater medical needs. But she said she is going back in another week or so and would be happy to give Kate a little snuggle for us. That makes this mama's heart so happy! She asked if we had chosen a name for Kate and if we had a blog she could follow. I sent her the blog and told her the name, and maybe she will even say it to Kate a few times so she can get used to it a bit. She said if they take any more pictures of her they can give them to us once her adoption is complete, so I will try to remember that once we are back home. It was really nice to hear from her, and of course we love any tidbit of info we can get.

Sadly, I found out today that we will not be able to order Kate's finding ad. Whenever a baby is found in China, they are required to run an ad in the newspaper asking family to come forward and claim the child. For numerous reasons, that almost never happens, and then the child is moved to the orphanage. Kate's file says she was born and found and taken to her orphanage all on the same day, so I sent that information to a man who has been able to locate finding ads for many, many adoptive families. I was very eager to see a newborn picture of Kate and to see what her lip looked like before it was repaired. I would just love to see what she looked like when she was born. Unfortunately today he wrote back and told me that he is unable to get ads from 2012 forward, because they province changed their newspaper and he can't get the one they ran the ads in at that time. Pretty sad about that, but other moms have told me that they were given a copy of the ad on the day they met their child, so we will be praying that is possible for us as well.

On a happy note, a few days ago I got a response from the lady who takes care of the birthday parties saying she had received our payment and would be back in touch with us once the party is complete. Her first day back at work is Monday, and she knows Kate's birthday is next Friday, so I'm hoping we will be getting birthday photos and videos in the next 2 weeks! I know so many parents go months without seeing their children, but I've been spoiled seeing so many new pictures of her, and I'm already eager to see more!

That weekend when Nathan and I did a short overnight trip, I tried to take cute pictures of us. So of course he gave me crazy eyes.

This song is so touching. Kate really has no idea who we are or how we feel about her already. I know our first days together will be so scary and confusing for her, and we pray that God is preparing her little heart the way he's been preparing ours.

*video*

Going to start posting the word *video* when there is a video included in the post. Seems like the videos are not showing up on mobile devices, so that way you will know if there is more that you aren't seeing!

Getting those updated pictures and the video of Little Kate at the Chinese New Year party was a serious thrill. In the adoption world, any update or snippet of information on your child is gold, and having it just appear without asking (begging, pleading) is amazing. So we have been feeling really grateful, knowing that we may not *see* her again for a few more weeks or even a month. 

The day after we saw the party pictures we were still so happy and staring at the pictures constantly. That night I put the kids to bed, pulled up my adoption group online, and there she was again!! A different social worker from my agency had posted a picture of her that had been taken the week before. I couldn't believe it! We love that we can see her from the front, since most of the photos we have of her are from the side. And her stick up hair has definitely grown! We are so in love with this sweet little face!!