March photos

We got some new photos of Ollie today.  Here is the best one:

It is a little blurry, but I like it because I can see he is holding his food and feeding himself. It is all we have to go on since we STILL have not had any developmental updates!  We do have our USCIS fingerprinting appointment set for April 14th.  All of our dossier paperwork is now in the process of being authenticated and translated, so hopefully it will be on the way to Taiwan in a 3-4 weeks (or less). 

And he got a haircut!  Why do they always cut MY kids' hair?  It must be hot.  The only reason I can think that they cut Sydney's hair off before we came was that she sweated a lot and it helped keep her cooler.  Because I know they don't cut everyone's hair; I have seen plenty of pictures with kids at St. Lucy's with long hair when they went home. :)

She is Taiwanese-Irish-American!

This year we celebrated St. Patrick's Day in style!

Just as she should be proud of her Taiwanese heritage, Sydney should be proud to that she is part of a Scotch/Irish clan now, too!

Learning letters and numbers has never been more fun!

Sydney's First Easter Egg Hunt...

 She had a great time and we will probably be hosting an egg hunt at our house in a couple of weeks.

It's official...

We traded in our Mazda3 for a Dodge Grand Caravan.  We are definitely living the American Dream...a house, 2 kids, a minivan.   We don't have the dog though, and I don't think one is in the picture.  

We are cat people in this house.  No dog could be as good as our 2 cats.  They are so good with Sydney and even watch over her.  They would never protect her like a dog could, but they love her and want to make sure she ok when she is upset and crying.  They play with her and let her pick them up (Simon anyway, she can't pick up Sebastian).  She is good with them, too.  Her job is to feed them and she does a great job.  I can tell she will be a good big sister by the way she takes care of them.  

Thoughts for March 12th

As I was watching Sydney eat breakfast, it occurred to me (again) how wonderfully beautiful and innocent she is (as all children are).  She has no idea of the circumstance which brought her to us, that her birth mother was (most likely) taken advantage of and used, found herself pregnant with no one to support her and unable to keep this wonderful child.  She has no idea that her birth father is (most likely) a creep.  All she knows is a happy life with people who love her and would do anything for her.

Sometimes we get looks from people out on the street and that's OK.  We chose to be a conspicuous family and not everyone will understand why.  People who adopt a same race child have their reasons, as do those of us who adopt outside our race.  We celebrate adoption and won't shy away from a discussion about it.  No, Sydney and Oliver will never look like us, but that is where the differences will end.  You raise a child to be the best person they can be and along the way they learn to be like you, good and bad.  We noticed that Sydney has picked up many of our traits and habits.  She also has picked up a few from her teachers at school.  The phrase "it takes a village to raise a child" has never been more meaningful to me.  We are all in this together, working to raise the next generation.  Does it matter so very much where they came from in the beginning?  They are ours now and we will raise them in a family filled with love and happiness, provide them with opportunities to succeed and always be ready to answer those questions looming just around the corner.

One step closer

We FINALLY got our home study report yesterday!  We also got Sydney's passport!  There were no questions from the State Department and it took 4 weeks for them to get it to us.  Not bad.  We have not received her citizenship documents back yet, so hopefully in the next few days they will be back with us (I will be anxious until then because they are her only proof that she is who she is and we NEED them).

Hooray and sigh of relief, today I mailed our I-600A application to USCIS and our dossier/home study and care package to Heartsent.  Hopefully by the end of March our documents will be on the way to Taiwan.  The last step is for Heartsent to get our documents authenticated before they go to Taiwan.  Not sure how long that will take, hopefully not more than a few weeks.  It feels good to be one step closer to bringing our son home.  Now I just have to stop worrying that I missed something or that there is something wrong with the paperwork.  DEEP BREATHS!!  He will be home soon.

Oliver with "Santa".  :D

February Update Photos

Only two photos and no developmental update, but I can see from the photos that he is happy, healthy, engaged.  He seems to be developing well in that he is gripping the rails with his hands and standing.  We can't wait to see him!  

 

International Adoption and its link to old Hollywood

                                                      

In recent years, adoption within the Hollywood set has become very popular. Trendsetting and fads aside, there is a real history of adoption and adoption advocacy in Hollywood.  One such examples is Jane Russell, a famous Hollywood star from the 40's and beyond.  She passed away yesterday at age 89.  You may remember her from her most famous role in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" with Marilyn Monroe.  As I was reading about her, I learned that she was the mother to three adopted children.  During her adoptions she experienced some problems so she was inspired to found her own adoption agency, which helped place upwards of 40,000 international children (she also served on its board for 40 years).  To read about her contributions to the adoption community follow this link:  http://www.wic.org/bio/jrussell.htm
I am sure she will be missed and appreciated by the thousands of families that she helped come together through the blessings of adoption.  Goodbye, Jane Russell and thank you!