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!