Wednesday, Feb 28, 2007 - Emma Day 3

Our situation is a little different from everyone else's here in Changsha because I happen to have a ton of family who live here who are all vying for our time. My father was born in a town just outside of Yi Yang where Emma was also born. We like musing that she's probably a blood relative because of the area she's from and her similar features. You know, all Chinese are probably distantly related somehow when traced far back enough. And in a greater divine sense, we as humans are all brothers and sisters and are all somehow related.

My father came from a family of 9 brothers and 3 sisters. Many of his immediate family live in or around Changsha. This is the first time for me and Stephen to meet our relatives in Hunan so it's an experience we would never want to miss out on. And how amazing for them to also get to meet Emma! We felt very torn from wanting to spend alone time with Emma to bond and let her get acclimated and spending more time with my relatives. The trick was to balance quality time with them with quality time with Emma. And we also very much wanted to spend time with the other families and their babies in our group.

In the end, we made things work out and everything worked out for the best. It seemed a little crazy at first to drag Emma out to meet relatives who were also strange to us but they soon made us feel extremely at home. They all went crazy for Emma and it was so wonderful to be able to have her meet so many members of her family. She is surrounded by loving doting relatives who all immediately welcomed her into the family.

I spent some quality time with Emma today playing in bed, singing to her, helping her stand and get her bearings. She LOVES music, singing and dancing. She can sit up from a laying position to flipping on her tummy and then rolling over and sitting up and then stand herself up from sitting. Emma is also incredibly limber--she can do splits and lift up her legs in split position in the air and put her feet behind her ears!!! Most likely a gymnast or ballerina or Cirque de Soleil performer/acrobat-to-be! She has very long legs and is very tall and skinny (future model!)

Tuesday, Feb 27, 2007 - Official Adoption of Babies

Yesterday upon receiving our child, we were still only considered by the Chinese government to be guardians of the child. Today we went back to complete paperwork to officially become the adoptive parents of our children for the rest of our lives! Yes! Now no one can ever take our precious Emma away from us.

We decided yesterday almost immediately upon getting to know our baby girl that she really is an Emma and that Emileen is just too grown-up for her right now. I just look at her and she has Emma written all over her and it suits her so well. So she's officially nicknamed Emma and as only time will tell, she may grow into Emileen. At this point, I don't want her to grow at all because she's just the perfect size--she's a little pumpkin and fits perfectly into my arms and we don't get tired at all carrying her. We noticed so many of the other parents are really feeling the weight of their babies (which is good--don't get me wrong--but we're just appreciating our light little load right now!)

After signing the papers, we became the official forever proud parents of Emileen Kendall Moore (aka: Yi Ru Ge, aka: Emma). Can't believe this has finally happened! Thank you God for this incredible blessing in our lives.

Monday, Feb 26, 2007 - Gotcha Day!!!

Please click on the above blue box if you want to see all the photos from Gotcha Day






Out of the 23 families, 10 families including us left for Changsha, Hunan. at 6:30 am today. 10 families left for Chong Qing (another city in Hunan). 3 families went to 3 other cities (special needs adoptions). Changsha is the capital city of Hunan. It's also where we have a lot of family on my father's side that I'll be meeting for the first time!

It was a short plane flight (less than an hour) and I must admit this whole day was a blur as I am composing this a few days later. Need I say that we had nothing on our minds except baby, baby, baby--give us our baby!!! When we arrived at the Dolton Hotel we had just a little while to get freshened up until we were to leave for the Civil Affairs Office at 2 pm for the most exciting moment of our lives! There had been a change from the original itinerary which stated we were to receive the babies in our hotel rooms. I then heard that morning that it was changed to an office in the hotel. It was then changed again to the Civil Affairs Office. Don't really care where it happens--just want the baby! It suddenly hit me as we were leaving the Dolton Hotel to head for the Civil Affairs Office the magnitude of what we were about to do and I almost lost it--I got very choked up and emotional. Marianne told me I'd better stay away from her or else we were going to have a group cryfest!

I'm amazed we were able to function at all but somehow we made it to the Civil Affairs Office where we stood in the hallway in a queue anxiously awaiting...yes, you all know by now...the babies! There was another large group in the main room already so we were told another last minute changed which was that we were to line up in the hallway and they would bring the babies out to us one by one and then we were to take the baby inside the larger waiting area where the other families were already bonding with their babies.

And need I say anymore...WE GOT OUR BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The first day of an incredible journey that will last the rest of our lives! And life will never be the same again.....(and we're so glad for it!)

Further postscripts on this eventful day:

We met Emma's caretaker and the Director of the Yi Yang Institute where Emma came from. The caretaker brought the gifts we had sent Emma on her birthday including the talking Pooh bear, Panda, photo album, birthday cards, cameras, tape recorder with cassettes of Chinese children's songs. We were so delighted and grateful that she had gotten these items and that they were kept with her. Pooh bear came in very handy helping to get Emma calmed down. She seemed extremely traumatized when we first got her. She was wailing a storm and wouldn't stop. We asked the caretaker if this was normal for her and she said "No"--that she was a very well-behaved baby who rarely cried. We then talked about how traumatizing it must have been for her to ride in a bumpy hot bus for over 4-5 hours to get to us. We then also discovered that she hadn't had anything to eat or drink that whole time so no wonder she was cranky!!! We asked if she had brought a bottle we could feed her with and the caretaker said "Yes" so we asked for it. She went back out to the bus to get it. She had also left us a bag of rice cereal and infant formula for us to feed her for a couple weeks worth.

When the caretaker brought back the bottle, we were really surprised at how big the hole they cut into the nipple. We had been warned that the Chinese orphanage babies weren't used to drinking from normal nipples because the openings had been made larger. We were told to use a swiss army knife to widen the opening but we had not idea that the opening was actually a large hole cut into it about 7 mm in diameter. The water just gushes out of it! We were so glad to have a sample to follow because we would've had no idea how big to make the hole and would have never have dreamed to make it that big.

Emma downed the water bottle as if she hadn't drank in days. She literally gulped the entire thing down. She was definitely completely dehydrated. I suspected that most of the babies were very dehydrated and hungry upon arrival.

It was rather harried for awhile until we finally got that bottle of water. Then things began to look up. She was incredibly hot, sweaty, and bothered. I didn't blame her--I'd be crying up a storm too if I'd gone thru what she had. I started singing to her and talking to her with Pooh bear and she eventually calmed down and became very comforted. This is also when she started clinging to me in the most heartwrenching manner and I knew we had bonded. She hung on to my collar for dear life as if she were scared to death that this new person she was trusting was going to leave her too. She kept touching my hands and looking at her hands next to mine and finding comfort in the similar skin color and appearance. She definitely seemed to be registering a comfort level in my being similar to her and her caretaker.

She would not let Steve hold her at all. When I tried to hand her off she would start wailing like a banshee again. We decided she'd had enough trauma for one day so we decided that I would hold her for the rest of the day. That night she was only able to fall asleep with me laying next to her holding her in my arms. Once asleep, we put her in the crib and she was fine. Ahhhhhh, we have connected Houston.

Please click on the "question mark" blue box above if you want to see the full photo album.

Saturday, Feb 24, 2007 - Train to Guangzhou and Arriving at the China Hotel

After having our last afternoon tea at the Pen, we left with our numerous bags in tow with the help of a wonderful man from the Pen who took us to the train station and got our bags checked in. We got there so early that we were able to take an earlier train. We had purchased our train tickets online which were waiting for us at the ticket station--originally for the 5:15 pm Hong Hom to Guangzhou arriving at 6:52 pm. We changed to the 4:38 pm arriving at 6:25 pm. I was somehow imagining chickens and livestock on the train (obviously from old descriptions of earlier pioneer's adventures on Chinese trains with farmers brining their animals aboard to barter in the city)--was pleasingly surprised to see how modern it was (and no chickens anywhere!) And yes, they do serve marinated chicken drumsticks from a cart on the train. Now starting to hear a lot more Mandarin speakers as we're heading into Guangzhou (was mostly Cantonese up to this point). Coming down the escalator we were so happy to see the big USAA sign held by Sarah. Sarah is wonderful--she is tri-lingual (speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, and very good English). She has a 6 year old daughter named Kitty (Chinese name Ci Ci--no meaning--just liked the way it sounded). She let her daughter pick her English name and I guessed right--her daughter loved "Hello Kitty" hence her name! (I digress here--it's true that no card carrying Asian girl can resist the lure of Hello Kitty!)

Sarah helped us check in at the China Hotel, gave us a tour of the facilities, and most importantly, showed us where we could do laundry. There's a very convenient laundry service (has "Valet Service" sign on a little kiosk that's located down a long row of boutiques and stores on the main floor. If you drop off your laundry before 10 am you can get it back by 6 pm same day. Sarah told us to feel free to try foot and body massages in the basement (will probably take her up on that later!) There's also another laundry service available outside the hotel and next door called Susie's Laundry. We found the hotel laundry service very convenient and reasonably priced. There's a 7-11 just outside the front door of the China Hotel open 24-7 (all right!) and a Starbuck's to the left. There's free internet access from Starbuck's (which according to Cindy works great!) We paid about $10-15 U.S. dollars to have it in our room.

We ate in the American type restaurant called the Veranda. On our way there we got to peek in at a large wedding banquet being held in their ballroom. A large picture of the bride and groom covered the entire wall next to the entrance. The young lady was very beautiful and the wedding was quite a sight to see. They were all obviously having a grand time. Lots and lots of pink and blinking lights everywhere!! (the Hello Kitty influence again)

The question was a la carte or buffet. We cruised along the buffet to see what they offered. We got just a little queazy seeing the "snakehead soup" and "pig knuckle salad" and "beef and pork kidney appetizer" amongst many other similar tantalizing dishes. We just kept thinking "indian Jones and the Temple of Doom" dinner with Indie and Kate Capshaw with the monkey heads. Aaaahhhh, we're really in China now! We decided to go a la carte. My husband and I are not into anything with organs. I am probably the least Chinese Chinese person ever because I won't try any of the so-called delicacies that most other Chinese rave about. In fact, I don't even drink tea (Chinese tea that is--I have found over time that I actually really enjoy English tea).

A nice surprise was the Chinese mariachi trio that came to each table serenading. I call them Chinese but they were more likely Filippino. Interesting because the musical act at the 5-star French restaurant called Gaddi's at the Pen also employed a Filippino singer with band (who were absolutely superb--wish we could book them back home!) We were told by the staff at Gaddi's that many of the musical talent in Hong Kong come from the Philippines. And I do have to mention the Filippino guy on the cello who did an amazing Barry White impersonation. Imagine hearing Barry White in Guangzhou!

Should mention that the height of the ceilings feels like Alice in Wonderland. My husband is 5-11 and he keeps hitting the ceiling of the bathroom with his hand with combing his hair. Someone over 6-5 would definitely have to stoop over while walking. The bedroom slippers are also made for small people (perfect for me but my husband's size 12 feet would never fit in even 2 them strung together!) I'm actually surprised because as we get more into the interior of China, it's more common to see taller people whereas in Hong Kong the size is definitely diminuitive overall.

The best thing we could ever have done for ourselves was to do the pre-trip to Hong Kong. And we spent the perfect amount of time there--really nice relaxed pace and totally into the groove. We are totally rested and adjusted to the time change. We wake up automatically at 6:30 am and are raring to go! Should be no problem to keep up with the China Team!

A few of the other couples were arriving tonight as well. Can't wait to see the entire group at dim sum tomorrow! We're meeting in the lobby at 11 am with our bells on!

Tuesday, Feb 20 to Saturday, Feb 24, 2007 - Photos from Hong Kong trip

Everyday was a little misty and foggy and intermittent spurts of drizzling. Thursday morning there was a torrential downpour which caused the weirdest steamroom effect--could not see a thing!! Then amazingly the weather cleared and the rest of the afternoon was the clearest it's been for the whole week. Friday, Feb 23rd was actually clear and sunny. Actually, we really loved the weather when it was overcast (except not so great for photos).

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 - Happy Chinese New Year from Hong Kong

We left from SFO on United around 12 noon on Sunday, Feb 18 with greetings of "Gong xie fa tsai" from the United crew. Our adventure was officially underway! 15 hours later (and several movies, meals, and sleeping in few hour spurts thru out) we arrived in Hong Kong exactly on time at 6:50 pm, Mon, Feb 19. It was dark upon landing, misty, comfortable temperature with tangible humidity. We got chauffeured in one of the legendary Rolls (part of a fleet of 16) from the Peninsula hotel. Arriving in the midst of Chinese New Year celebrations and fireworks taking place along the Kowloon harbor causing that entire part of the city to be shut off to cars and traffic posed a challenge for transporting our luggage to the Pen. Some initial anxiety was quickly allayed but the all-so-efficient staff from the Pen. They had it all worked out. The ride in the Rolls itself was an experience (my husband is quite worried now that I may never want to ride in anything other than a Rolls!) The smoothness of the ride and British carmaker's attention to the finest detail was in a class that cannot be rivaled. The Rolls took us to the outer perimeter of the roped off areas--we were then escorted by a most pleasant young man named Chris Wong, valet extraordinaire, who skillfully walked us thru the utter chaos that is Chinese New Year in Kowloon. We somehow made it completely unscathed thru an over 300,000 people mob scene to arrive at the sanctuary that is the Pen. And somehow the very abled bodied porters were able to transport our luggage without us even seeing them so that the luggage arrived in our room about the same time we did. We saw glimpses of the fireworks being fired from boats along the Victoria Harbor that started at 8 pm and ended at 8:30 pm. We got to our room soon after the fireworks ended--our room has an astounding front and center view of the the entire Victoria Harbor--would have been the best seat in the house to watch the fireworks from if only we had gotten there in time! Never mind, we would have plenty of other chances to see the fireworks that would repeat themselves every night this week. The lighted skyline of the Hong Kong harbor was in a white foggy haze. Wonderful weather--more humid than SF with foggy mists created from sprinkling rain hitting the warmer temperatures.

Saturday, Feb 17, 2007 - Less than 24 hours to Blastoff!

We are finishing our packing for our big adventure! We cannot believe that we are actually taking off tomorrow. We fly out of SFO on United direct to Hong Kong tomorrow (which is also the first day of Chinese New Year--what an auspicious day to travel!) We will be staying at the Peninsula hotel in HK (something I've always wanted to do). This is much needed alone time for me and Steve (our babymoon) prior to welcoming Emileen into our home and lives forever. It will be amazing to be in HK during Chinese New Year--should be an experience in of itself. We'll be staying there until Saturday, Feb 24th when we'll be taking the 5:15 pm train from Hung Hom station in Kowloon, HK, to Guangzhou. It arrives at 6:52 pm in Guangzhou where the USAA team will be meeting us to take us to the China Hotel. The next day, Sunday, Feb 25th, the USAA team will be arriving with the rest of the families from LAX and we'll have a great big reunion. The next day we'll be leaving in 3 separate groups to go to the different provinces to pick up our babies. Steve and I will be going to Changsha (the capital city of Hunan) and staying at the Dolton Hotel. They'll be bringing our baby directly to us in our hotel room. Knock, knock--special delivery (indeed!) "Can't wait" does not adequately express our feelings, anticipation, and anxiety about finally holding Emileen in our arms. Bon voyage everyone!!!

Monday, January 15, 2007 - Development Report

We received an updated development report from Yiyang CWI on Yi Ru Ge. It states the following:
Name: Yi Ruge Sex: Female DOB: 01/26/2006 Date of Placement: 02/06/2006 Personality: quiet
Interest: Listening to music Height: 65 cm Weight: 6.5 Kg Head circumference: 41 cm
Head circumference: 41 cm Chest circumference: 40.5 cm Feet: 10 cm Teeth: None

Yi Ruge was abandoned near Jinhua Lake Community, Ziyang District, Yiyang city. A resident, Xiaochan Wu picked her up and sent her to our institute. there was a nursing bottle, two outfits and some diaper with her. She has a slim face, wore a pink hat and wrapped in a pink sleeping bag. They estimated her birthday based on her development status to be 01/26/2006, and named her "Yi, Ruge". They named her "Ruge" hoping that she could fly freely in the sky like a bird.

She was raised in the Yiyang institute and well cared for by their caretakers.

2 months--can open her hands; plays with her hands; smiles if you tickle her.
3 months--turns her head around in her cradle; looks around; doesn't always make a fist; touches her clothes and face.
4 months--can locate sounds; she is happy when the caretaker takes a musical toy to play with her.
5 months--can hold a toy; knows her name; sounds "Ou, Ah".
6 months--can hold a toy in each of her hands; can roll over her body; can sit well with leaning on the support.
7 months--understands adult's facial expression; can distinguish familiar people or strangers; can sit alone very well; bangs the table with a toy.

At the time of this report, she was 8 months old. Her fingers are agile and can feed herself cookies and pick up small stuff. She can stand with her hands holding onto support, transfer a toy from one hand to another and bags two blocks together. She smiles when she feels happy. She enjoys listening to the music. Ruge is a lovely baby, according to the report.

Her daily routine is as follows: wakes up at 5:30 am, takes naps at 7:00 am-8:30 am and 11:30 am-2:00 pm, and goes to bed at 7:30 pm. Feeding time: 5:30 am, 9:30 am, 2:30 pm and 6:30 pm - milk mixed with rice powder; 10:00 pm - milk; 11:00 - fruits, soymilk, steamed egg; 3:00 pm - fish, ground meat and vegetable soup.

Sunday, January 28, 2007 - Finding Ad for Yi Ru Ge

We received the finding ad for Yi Ru Ge that was published May 17, 2006 in the "Hunan Daily" newspaper located on the fourth ad in the second column of that edition. This was courtesy of Brian at www.research-china.org.




The finding ad states that Yi Ru Ge is female, found on 2/6/06 near Jinhuahu area, Ziyang District, Yiyang City. She was about 10 days old. She has an oval face. She had a red cap on, and she was wrapped in a pink flowered sleeping bag. She had a feeding bottle, clothing and diapers along with her.

It was something for us to see such an early photo of Emileen--squashed little "old man" face and all. I wish I had been able to know her and hold her then--to have been there for her from the beginning. The worst thing about this whole process for us has been thinking about all the time that has passed that we were not with her. I pray and hope that she was well cared for.

It made my heart ache to see all those cute little abandoned babies in the finding ad--I hope they all found good homes and loving parents like I know we're going to provide for our precious one.

Saturday, January 27, 2007 - Meet & Greet for 114, 119P, 120P

We finally all got to meet the other members of the travel group at the Hong Kong Flower Lounge in Millbrae over dim sum. From Group 114 were Marianne and Andrew Rice from Napa (who coordinated the Meet & Greet--thanks for taking the initiative to get us altogether!), Michelle and Jim Fortik from Sacramento, Linda Griffis from L.A. (her husband who has a super cool job working in the TV industry wasn't able to make it due to work), Karen Wride from Mountain View. From Group 119P was myself and my husband Stephen from Walnut Creek, and Gigi Liu and her 3 year old daughter Avery from Menlo Park (her husband John was in China on a business trip). From Group 120P were Cindy Chen and Jason Fan from Mountain View, and Laurie Pang from Menlo Park (her husband John Lamb was in Ireland on a business trip).

We ooh'ed and aah'ed over each others' baby photos and talked excitedly about the upcoming trip. The big question was when we were going to get 3rd call! Three couples had been going thru incredible stress trying to get their I-171H renewals turned in to USAA by the Feb 9th deadline. They were told if they didn't get their fingerprints and I-171H renewed by that date, they wouldn't be able to travel with our group! Yikes!!!!! Thank goodness all three couples have gotten their paperwork done and the best news was that everyone will be able to go! (The last couple to find out was Linda Griffis and her husband but the good news came after the Meet & Greet and she informed us all that the I-171H had arrived!)

It's amazing that so many strangers can come together and can be thrown together by fate and suddenly have the one thing in common that will bond us for the rest of our lives. This is an incredible group of people and we are so looking forward to sharing the most incredible experience of our lives with them.

Sunday, January 21, 2007 - Our 2nd Baby Shower for Emileen

What an incredible day of oupouring of love for our new baby! We are amazed and humbled by the love and support from our wonderful family and friends who gathered today to celebrate the pending arrival of Emileen Kendall Moore. She is the most loved baby in the world and will have so many doting aunties and uncles to smother her with attention and adoration. We have never felt luckier and feel so grateful to all the people who have been so loving and supportive. Thank all of you for being the angels you are. We couldn't ask for a better support system and feel truly blessed. Thanks especially to all of you who traveled from so far away. My sister Finny and her husband Tom who flew out from NY. Patrice who flew in from L.A. Bertha from Minnesota. My sisters Angel and Finny and Mom and Sterling, Tom, and Dad have proven themselves to be master baby shower throwers with the 2 baby showers you threw for us. THANK YOU ALL FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS!!!!!

January 5, 2007 - Pooh Loves Baby!

We received "Busy Body Pooh" in the mail today to send to Emileen in her care package. Amazon only took 1 day! Pooh bear talks when different body parts are pressed. Pressing the tummy causes pooh to say, "Pooh loves baby!" It's perfect for babies 6 months and older.



We'll be busy assembling Emileen's care package this weekend--trying to rush it off as soon as possible since I heard it can take over 4 weeks to get there and we desperately want to get her goodies to her by her 1st birthday on January 26!

Can't believe how sore I am from my vaccinations. I got them on the buttock--per my request because I develop intense permanent discolorations on my deltoid (upper arm) from post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation from annual influenza shots that are required for health care professionals (something all non-Asian parents should take note of for your Asian children). Asians, as well as other ethnic skin, are very prone to developing dark discolorations from any kind of trauma (including shots!).

I got my influenza shots already in October (perfect timing--just before flu season started). I received Hepatitis A, typhoid fever, and TDaP (Tetanus, Diphtheria, and acellular Pertussis booster) shots yesterday. Need to get a follow-up Hepatitis A booster in 6 months to ensure immunity. Will be checking my HepB titers to make sure I'm still immune against Hepatitis B (all health care professionals are required to get Hepatitis B immunization but the titer needs to be checked every 10 years in case there's need for a booster). Steve has already finished his Hep B series.

And like a silly goose, I rammed my sore bum against the pantry doorknob in a weird kind of spastic dance trying to avoid running into my husband in the kitchen. Ouch!! Hopefully, my clumsiness won't rub off on our daughter!

January 3, 2007 - 1st and 2nd CALL!!!!!!!

WOW!!!!! What a day! Got 1st call at 11 am and then 2nd call at 3 pm! We were told that 114, 119P and 120P will all be traveling at the end of Feb/early March! YIPEEE!!!!!!! Can't believe this day has finally come! I've talked to Jasmine at USAA lots of times, but this was the first time I ever heard her sound so happy! (Must be the best part of her job to be able to make that 1st call!) Tracey called later with the baby referral.

Our daughter's name is Yi Ru Ge (aka: Emileen Kendall Moore) and she comes from Yi Yang city in Hunan province. She was born on January 26, 2006, which is the Year of the Green Wooden Rooster! This is especially important for my mother who is very superstitious and was praying for us to get a baby born in the Rooster year (this is the sign most compatible with me and my husband's signs which are Dragon and Snake). And ironically, Dog year is least compatible with us and Emileen was 3 days shy of being a Dog! (Dog Year started on January 29, 2006--Whew! Not that we believe in this stuff but because my Mom does, we would've had to listen to her saying that every bad thing that ever happened for the rest of our lives was due to Dogs not mixing well with Dragons and Snakes!)

As of 8/25/06, Emileen's weight was 6.5 kg (14.3 lbs), height was 65 cm (26 inches). She is in perfect health, and tested negative for everything (syphilis, HIV, hepatitis, TB, etc.) She was described as "quiet" (there are only 3 categories: quiet, active, or restless--we're happy with quiet, thank you very much!). She's able to tear papers with her hands, sit by herself, stand with support, laughs aloud, knows her name, imitates sounds, and recognizes faces. She's also fond of listening to music, eats biscuits without help, and has a ready smile.

The translation I originally got from USAA was as follows: Yi = Good, Ru = "if", Ge = a type of bird (dove). It sounded a little lackluster to me. It wasn't until my father got to see the Chinese characters that he was able to provide a much better translation.

Her Chinese name is translated as follows: Yi = good (comes from the name of the city she's from--Yi Yang). Ru means "like" or "very much like". Ge means lovely, cute, sweet little dove, very pure lovely white dove. Dove also takes on the meaning of "like a messenger".

Ru Ge together means: like a bird, a peaceful messenger, like an Angel, as lovely and pure as a white dove

After my Dad saw the Chinese characters, he had a much better appreciation of the name and said it's a very beautiful name and very carefully selected for the baby. His final proclamation was, "It's a very excellent name!"

We're actually thinking about keeping her Chinese name. I have a whole new perception after my father elaborated further to help me appreciate the nuances of the name.

Choosing a Chinese name is an exceptionally arduous task because Chinese take great pride in making each name unique and individual. My father who is very academic, scholarly, and learned in Chinese art and history, spent months thinking of my name. My Chinese name is Min-Wei Lee. The last name (family name) Lee means plum. Min means bright as in intelligent. Wei means fragrant winter rose (as I was born in November).

Tomorrow we will receive the baby photos by FedEx! Can't wait to see her our little girl!

January 4, 2007 - We see her face for the 1st time!!!

The morning never seemed to drag so long before waiting for FedEx to arrive. Could never be happier to see him! My hands were shaking with the package in my hands as my husband looked over my shoulders. We saw her picture both at the same time and both thought she was the most beautiful baby we had ever seen in our lives! We fell in love instantly and knew our daughter had found us at last!

The amazing thing was that she looks like me and my sister when we were that age. We'd always heard that the CCAA tries to match the baby with the parent's features as best as they can and we truly believe that to be true after seeing the strong resemblance of many of the babies with their adopted parents. It's amazing to think that a Chinese baby could even look like a Caucasian parent but a trained eye can pick that out!

The moment we saw her, we knew that Emileen fits her perfectly. Now, the Chinese name will be much more difficult! This will take considerable reflection and much help from my parents. We are not going to make her Chinese name official on her birth certificate or passport, but she will know her Chinese name.