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.