Almost Walking

Cara learning to walk hasn't been nearly as binary a process as her starting to crawl was. She started taking steps in mid-November but then gave it up for a bit. Perhaps crawling is just too easy for her. But with a respite from teething and being sick, she started up again in mid-December. Some days will be 90% crawling, other days she's in a walking mood and will toddle her way around, usually with something in her hand. Which is, of course, one of the major benefits to walking!



Falling is a natural result of learning to walk. But Cara is an easy-going girl and falls usually just result in a brief pause and return to crawling. Most of her falls are down on her butt and no cause for concern, but she has taken a few headers which means we need to be a little more cautious about what sharp edges are around that she could whack her head on. We are a little concerned about the 30" high dining room table as Cara was 29" a month ago, and growing fast. We may need to keep chairs positioned strategically near the corners.


Cara also suddenly decided that she knew how to go down stairs as well as up. We had shown her how to go down safely (not head-first, which appears to be the instinct) but she would at most go down one or two stairs before deciding either that up was where she really wanted to go, or having mommy or daddy carry her down was the preferred situation. But then one day she set off down the stairs (with careful spotting by mom). Okay, next skill - let's practice the scrunchy smile!

First Birthday

Amazing at it seems, Cara is now over a year old. It isn't so remarkable when you see her, with teeth popping in, a few first steps and a growing sense of what she wants and doesn't want. But the transformation over the last six months is incredible. The little baby we brought home six months ago is recognizable in our emerging toddler girl - she still has the same cheerful temperament and excitement to explore the world. But even the smile with which she greats that world has changed from a sunny grin to an eye-scrunching, face-encompassing expression.

Like mom, Cara has the mixed blessing of having a birthday close to Thanksgiving. On the plus, there is a better than even chance that she won't have to be in school (or at work) on her birthday. On the minus, Thanksgiving leftovers can end up dominating the birthday dinner. But we did our best to make both her first Thanksgiving and birthday (on Nov. 25th) special occasions.

Doing our best did not, unfortunately win out on the virus Cara picked up earlier in the week. She was in a great mood Thanksgiving morning and we have fun playing peek-a-boo over the couch, but by the time we woke her up from her afternoon nap, Cara was running a fever of over 101F. She spend an hour or so hanging out at mommy's side in a sling before being put down for her nights sleep. No Thanksgiving dinner this year, unfortunately.

The next day her fever was down below 100F, but our little girl still clearly sick and slept most of that and the next day. We had planned a small birthday party for her on Saturday afternoon, but when she was still clearly not feeling well canceled with most of the guests and just had two friends over for dinner. Cara was well enough to unwrap a few presents and eat some dinner. We served her some pumpkin custard in lieu of a birthday cake (she doesn't digest wheat well). She wasn't quite sure what to do with the candle, but was quite happy to tuck into that custard!



On Sunday Cara's fever was gone and we decided to still make a trip to the zoo in honor of her birthday. We were joined by a friend and her daughter, Emma, who are zoo pros. Despite the cold weather we saw gorillas, elephants, various tropical reptiles, and many other interesting critters. Of course Cara was equally fascinated by the squirrels and other children, but we think she had a good time. She was still definitely a little under the weather and we're looking forward to going again when she is feeling a little more herself.



The day culminated with another pumpkin custard (disappeared fast), a visit from her neighbor babysitter and mom, and an early bedtime. Cara remained under the weather for most of the rest of the week, not the best way to start her 2nd year. Eventually the smiley girl came back in full force. We are noticing an increasing number of stormy moments, as her toddler personality emerges!

A visit to the Bay Area

In the middle of November Cara and I undertook another adventure - a flight down the the Bay Area to visit family and friends. C originally thought he would be able to join us, but ended up having to fly to a meeting in Europe instead. But mom and Cara managed the flight down to Oakland just fine, where we were met by a very eager Grandpa. Cara was clearly delighted to see him and began waving her arms and kicking her legs soon after she realized who that smiling man was.




We had a busy schedule trying to spend time with the many people in the Bay Area that we are close to. The main focus of Saturday was a lunch-time Chinese banquet hosted by Grandma and Grandpa to introduce Cara to the extended family. It was quite the event with aunts, uncles and cousins running everywhere. Cara charmed everyone, although was still reticent about letting anyone other than mom or Grandpa hold her. She even got an early birthday cake, but didn't quite get the idea of blowing out the candle. Next year!



Sunday the focus was on visiting some old friends. Three families with children and dogs gathered in Berkeley for a day of kid-oriented play and a chance for the adults to catch up. The main event was a trip to the Tilden Park Steam Trains and we all got to ride behind a steam engine! Although I think for Cara the best part of the day was playing ball with one of the dogs, Ginger. We ended a busy day with dinner at Picante, a wonderful Mexican restaurant in Berkeley. Cara loved the pinto beans which mom sacrificed from her plate. A tired girl fell asleep in the car on the way home.




We had the following morning to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa and watch the squirrels that hang out in their backyard (lured by many peanuts). Cara had refused to nap the previous afternoon and hadn't slept so well on Sunday night, so she was a little less cheerful than usual. After a quick lunch we regretfully headed out the airport for our flight back to Seattle. Fortunately the flight home was uneventful and we both slept well back in our own beds.

Teeth and grandparents?

The lack of any upper teeth appearing wasn't exactly worrying us, but we were wondering when Cara was going to get some more teeth in. We had long since given up on chewing and drooling being indications of a tooth about to emerge as Cara had been chewing and drooling for over three months with no new teeth. Little did we realize we were missing a key factor - the presence of grandparents (who were visiting when her first teeth appeared)!

C's dad made another brief visit at the beginning of C's trip, providing some welcome support, and I had arranged for my parent's to visit towards the end. We were all initially disappointed that Cara seemed more reticent than usual to meet new people and she took awhile to decide that she really was okay with her grandparents. When we went for a hike on Sunday she seemed especially irritable, even before we all got cold and wet. As I was trying to comfort her I noticed a white area in her upper gum - another tooth! So now we know the magic requirement for new teeth.




Once her tooth emerged Cara cheered up considerably. The weather also improved so my parents were able to get out for some sunny hikes as well as having some fun with their granddaughter.

The last hike of summer

I've fallen horribly behind on this blog. C was travelling for most of the last month and a half, and time got a little tight.

So for the first part of my catch-up, here are some two-month old photos of our last summer hike on Mount Rainier. We had absolutely perfect weather with no bugs. And Cara had a great time. She's gotten big enough that being in the back carrier is more comfortable, and it has the advantage of a built-in sunshade (that works as a raincover in less clement weather).



We were joined in this adventure by Auntie D and our friend R. We were all delighted to walk out of the woods to a beautiful view of Mount Rainier. Cara announced her excitement by bouncing up and down in the backpack and waving her hands - nice that she has such good taste!

The trip back down through the woods was cool, with some fog coming up from the valley below. But Cara's enthusiasm for the trip didn't diminish, and she chatted loudly for much of the hike out, to the amusement of the other hikers on the trail. We're looking forward to understanding what she is saying, since she sure does have a lot to say to us.

Around the house

From this blog you might think that Cara leads a charmed life, constantly playing in the great outdoors. While she does enjoy being outside, in reality she spends most of her time at home making do with the toys we give her. And the toys we don't give her...

Kitchen implements are always fun, which we hope will translate to a daughter who enjoys cooking as much as we do. And have all our mountain trips spurned her delight in going up stairs? Only time will tell, but Cara does seem to be training for climbing. In reality, almost anything is fun to explore, including J's purse. Luckily she sometimes plays with her own toys too.

Not a loss but a gain

Sorry for the break in the posts. Another shift in all our lives, as J had to return to work at the end of August. We were a little worried at how Cara would take not being around mom all day. Losses in her life have occurred every three months so far as she shifted from nursery to foster home to our family. Would she see J returning to work as another loss? Well, from all we can tell, she doesn't seem to be grieving at all, but rather she celebrating having a loving nanny, Ms. A, as a notable gain to her circle of doting adults. Ms. A takes her to the park every day, never drags her to Target, and will happily help Cara explore a cardboard box for 20 minutes without running off to do a load of laundry or check her email. Not bad at all.

Although not quite perfect. After two wonderful weeks of having Ms. A's undivided attention, Isabel came on the scene. We're sharing Ms A. with another family whose daughter is just 1 month older than Cara. So Cara is beginning to learn the difficult lessons of sharing toys, people and space with another little girl. And hopefully also learning the joy of her first friend.

Life's a beach

Not all of Cara Hsiu-Wen's outings are to the mountains. While it is a bit of a drive to the ocean, Seattle is bounded by Puget Sound to the west and has several nice parks with beaches. A few weeks ago we took Cara to Discovery Park, along with a visitor from Norway. They were both impressed with trip, although at slightly different scales. Our visitor enjoyed the calm Puget Sound shore and pleasant cobble/sand beach. Cara was more intrigued with the cobbles themselves. They bang together nicely, are a little salty and can also bang on a log. She told us a lot about her opinions on rocks.

We're looking forward to next summer maybe actually getting Cara in the water (but on a warmer day!)

Another day in the mountains

After the success of our first hike the obvious question was where to go next? The Snoqualmie Pass area has lots of nice hikes, but the Mountain Loop highway is only a slightly longer drive. The trail up to the meadows on Forgotten Peak only slightly longer than Melakwa Lake. And maybe her auntie, Auntie D, would be able to carry her for part of the hike? A little more of a push, but Cara Hsiu-Wen keeps proving herself up to new challenges.

The drive up gave Cara the opportunity for a nice nap, again ending just as we turned off the highway for the trail head. A diaper change, some sunscreen and general optimism at the lack of bugs and we were off. When we reached the falls and the creek crossing we discovered that our appraisal of the bug situation was incorrect. A planned stop for Cara to have a bottle and crawl around a bit was cut short by the swarm of deer flies that immediately descended whenever we stopped. Cara was somewhat less than thrilled with the program, but let Auntie D carry her and after some fussing fell asleep for the remainder of the hike up.

The endless switchbacks finally gave way to the open meadows of Forgotten Peak. We saw few people on the trail and almost no one on the meadows, so we hunted around for a prime location, part shade and part sun to stop for lunch, savor the views, and Cara stretch her legs while us sherpas rested ours. There were no bugs and a light breeze made conditions perfect for a leisurely lounge and some photo taking.

But the long trail down awaited us. Reluctantly we packed up our bags and Cara and headed down the buggy trail. We paused only briefly on our descent for some food, swarmed at each stop by biting flies. The lack of crawling time left Cara a little irritable on the drive home, but with the radio to distract her she eventually fell asleep and we enjoyed the satisfaction of having completed a fun day out in the mountains. Somehow Cara remained bite free, although her mother was less fortunate and required liberal amounts of calamine lotion to soothe her itching legs. A worthwhile trade-off as we continue to train our mountain girl.

Food, glorious food

Luckily Cara's diet doesn't consist entirely of wood chips. Dried leaves are another favorite, and proven choking hazard. Wouldn't want Mom to get bored while exploring the great outdoors! But when she is inside, Cara Hsiu-Wen is quite happy to be fed a growing list of yummy foods. She's even happier when she can stuff the foods into her mouth herself. Needless to say, this can get a little messy, as the above photo shows. But who cares when she is having so much fun! More rice and peas, please!

In The Park

Cara is definitely an active baby, and loves getting out and about. Luckily there are several parks within walking distance of our house, and she has explored them all by now. Not that she can do much independently (except eat wood chips), but walking around with someone holding her hands, swinging and going down the slide are all favorite activties. Or just hanging out with Dad, who is always fun!

Bath Time

Okay, I've fallen behind again. No huge changes over the last three weeks, but Cara is definitely growing in all directions. She's crawling just fine and getting faster every day, especially if there is a cat in sight. She has become a pro at pulling herself up to a stand on almost everything, including Mom's legs (doesn't even require long pants to hang on to any more). She has also become very skilled at sitting down from a stand, so we've had very few bonked heads recently. Ironically enough, most of the recent bonks have come from Cara falling backwards while sitting down. She starts waving her arms around and boom, over she goes. Luckily it isn't too far to the ground yet...

Cara is also turning out to be a water girl and loves her baths. The above photo is after a bath, luxuriating in a lovely new towel that a friend gave her. Life isn't so bad!

First Hike

When our friend Ema emailed to suggest we go on a hike with Cara, after a brief hesitation I jumped at the idea. Perhaps we should start with a shorter hike, say Discovery Park or someplace like that, but Cara had already spent upwards of 3 hours in the Ergo (with breaks), so a real hike didn't seem that far off. We settled on a 9-mile hike up to Melakwa Lake, ignoring the many possible problems such as a longer drive than Cara had been on since leaving Taiwan, a long stint in the front carrier, possible bugs and the fact that she was fussing from having her second tooth come in. Cara doesn't do things by halves after all - something she shares with her parents!

The punchline is, she did great. Minor fuss in the car as we left Seattle but she soon settled down to a nice nap that lasted all the way to Snoqualmie Pass. We packed up and were soon on the trail, with Cara enjoying all the new sights around her. She started to get a little antsy after about 30 minutes, just in time for a stop near the Denny Creek water slide where we found a quiet flat spot off the to side for Cara to crawl around a little and sample the local pine needles.

Back on the trail Cara quickly dozed off, missing the beautiful waterfall along the trail. I'm sure we'll be back that way with her again. The trail seemed much longer with the extra weight of a sleeping child on my front, but since Ema was carrying all our other gear, I couldn't complain. And eventually we reached Hemlock pass, soon after arriving at scenic Melakwa Lake.

Cara had woken by then, but seemed quite content to hang out with her mommy. We found a clear spot to put down a groundcloth, change her diaper and give her a bottle, while chowing down hungrily ourselves. We didn't spend too long exploring since it was getting late and I wasn't certain how she was going to react to the long hike back to the car. Cara did have time to explore the texture of a pine cone and complained only when I didn't let her eat it. She also checked out her first big tree, and seemed appropriately impressed (probably by the bark more than anything).

She started fussing soon after we began hiking away from the lake and I was beginning to worry I'd end up carrying a tantruming baby four and a half miles down the trail. But not our sweet girl. The fusses soon abated and Cara conked out for another 50-minute nap. Brief playtime by the water slide, another bottle at the car, and we were soon headed home, feeling very satisfied with our day. As icing on the cake, Cara slept the whole way home.

I'm hoping we get many more hikes in this summer!

Big Week

Our little girl just isn't going to do things by halves and its been an eventful week. Monday saw Cara crawling. Not just creeping, but genuine, knees and hands crawling. She isn't going too far too fast, only because she gets distracted by all the new things she passes on the way. So we haven't had to corral her away from the stairs yet. But the fascination with the floor, walls and chair legs will probably only last another couple of days and we have to get into some serious childproofing.

A bigger risk is that Cara seems to view crawling primarily as a means of getting to objects she can pull herself up on to stand. The set of things that are sufficiently stable with hand-holds at the correct height is still pretty small, but that doesn't stop her from trying! And of course the further up she manages to pull herself, the bigger the thunk when she falls down. We're doing our best to protect her from sharp corners and be there to catch at least many of the falls, but we have a feeling that she's going to be falling down a lot in the next few months.

She also cut her first tooth early in the week, resulting in a relatively sleepless night on Sunday after a slightly fussy day. The second lower incisor is on its way. Needless to say she is chewing on everything in reach and drooling. But otherwise seems mostly to be her usual sweet-natured self.

Which was a good thing since she got to meet Grandma and Grandpa this week! After initial shyness they both started to get lots of big Cara Hsiu-Wen smiles, giggles and babbles. She's a very talkative little girl at times, we all just wish we had a better understanding of what she was trying to say. Both grandparents enjoyed holding and playing with their granddaughter and were suitably impressed by her easy-going temperament. She did at least prove herself a proper baby by spitting up on Grandpa. They are looking forward to another visit and we are too, since between playing with Cara and helping out we finally made some significant progress on a few house projects!

Settling in

At long last, a post! We have a hard time believing that an entire month has gone by since we came home. But when we see how much more comfortable Cara Hsiu-Wen is now, clearly time has passed.

The first week wasn't exactly easy, especially regarding sleep. Which remains as issue, but mostly because our expectations keep increasing! She now sleeps mostly through the night in her crib, going to bed around 6:30 pm and usually requiring some pats and gentle sh's to go back to sleep when she wakes around 4 am. Some mornings we're lucky and she sleeps until 6 am, other mornings she is cooing in her crib by about 5:30 am. In either case she is okay hanging out in her crib babbling for about 30 minutes, so we never get her up until 6 am. Maybe as the sunrise gets later she'll start sleeping later?

Cara's early promise of crawling hasn't fully materialized into the full arms and knees version, but she can definitely move herself around just fine. At least on carpeting. Luckily she is still slow on the hardwoods (which is most of our house), although this morning when she really wanted to get to the cat she moved several feet in just a few minutes. The house isn't childproofed yet, but we have gates and cabinet locks so we're ready when she makes that next developmental jump.

And we are discovering that we've been blessed with a baby with generally a pretty easy temperament. Cara's on the high activity end, but in general hardly fusses and genuinely seems happy most of the time. Not extremely outgoing, but warms to new people fairly quickly. Her smile will melt steel, and possibly cameras since it is very hard to capture in a photo! We're still working on getting the full effect to post.

We saw the pediatrician two weeks ago and he gave Cara a clean bill of health. Since that time she's grown out of some onesies and pants, so all that formula she's chugging down isn't just passing through. Still working on getting her used to solid food.

Hopefully now that things have calmed down a bit and we're all a little more used to eachother we'll be able to post more often.

Addendum: I take that back. As of today (7/2) Cara is definitely crawling! We're not sure if we're delighted or terrified.

Getting to know eachother

Home at last, with blogger back in English and my own keyboard. Much easier to post.

Tuesday was AIT day, that is the day we had an appointment for the American Institute in Taiwan to apply for a visa for Cara Hsiu-Wen to come to the US and become and American citizen. In most countries this would take place at a US consulate, but since the US doesn't officially recognized Taiwan as a nation there is an alternative organization that serves most of the same functions. Again we were happy to have Mei-Ru's help to navigate the different forms and lines, especially in our sleep-deprived state. The immigration official we spoke with was extremely friendly and seemed genuinely happy to be helping us bring our daughter home. For future information, the men's bathroom at the AIT does have baby changing facilities - yes, C is becoming quite the pro.

The rest of our stay was comprised of trying to figure out how to parent Cara Hsiu-Wen, and a bit of sight-seeing and shopping. The Taipei subway, the MRT, helped the later two enormously. We carried our daughter in the sling which made manuevering easy, and people were very friendly. And of course the MRT is air conditioned, a necessity for us heat wimps.

At times I regretted having scheduled an extra day beyond the necessary picking up Cara Hsiu-Wen, but in the end it was a real blessing. The second day was probably the hardest - we think that she finally started to figure out that this wasn't just an overnight, and that her life had been totally turned upside down. By Wednesday we had gotten better at soothing her and she seemed to be feeling more comfortable with us. And by Thursday we were having a lot of good quiet, interactive play time and better still finally deciphered the sleep key - the proper application of the binky.

We didn't get to see a lot of Taipei, but enjoyed what we saw. We visited Taipei 101 a second time, simply for having a sizable air-conditioned space to wander through, and a bit of quiet. Taipei is definitely a bustling city. We also made a visit to the hospital Cara Hsiu-Wen was born in, to get some photos for her lifebook. Trips to the handicraft center and the Longshan Temple rounded out our tourist experiences. Travelling with an infant definitely changed my perspective, for instance family bathrooms with changing areas suddenly appeared on my radar. We're looking forward to returning to Taiwan when our daughter is older to explore more of the country.

Family Day

On Monday we drove down to Taichung to pick up Hsiu-Wen with Mei-Ru, an employee of our agency in the US. It is wonderful to have someone helping out who knows the ropes, where to go and what to expect from a newly adopted baby. We arrived at the Taichung Womens and Children Agency at about 11 am where we were joined by Samantha, a social worker for TWCA. We then proceeded directly to the nanny's house where we met our daughter.

We hesitated to hold Hsiu-Wen at first. She seemed so happy in her nanny's arms, and neither of us wanted to be first. But eventually I stepped forward and took her from the nanny. She came to me quietly, and seemed contented as the camera's clicked photos. We posed for a few, with C and with the nanny. And also asked the nanny many questions about our little girl - how many naps, what helped her sleep, if she has problems with diaper rash. The nanny clearly has cared for Hsiu-Wen very well.

Back to the agency to sign a few papers. Unfortunately the birth mother didn't want to meet with us. She did, however, send a big bag of gifts, along with some photos taken at Hsiu-Wen's birth and her umbilical cord. She had requested that she be able to keep the photo pages, which we of course assented to. In the package is a warm suit with a lined hood - I think she must have noticed the photos of us skiing, and pictures us taking Cara Hsiu-Wen up to the snow. It is clear she cares deeply for this beautiful little girl. Even if we never meet her, I hope our daughter does some day.

After picking up some necessities at the baby gear store, we stopped at a highway rest stop for lunch. C held her initially, then I took her to let C finish his lunch. And was soon baptised as a parent, as Cara Hsiu-Wen grabbed the (thankfully) almost finished bowl of noodles from in front of me and dumped the contents on to me and the floor. Artfully missing herself. She's a clever girl!

After I cleaned up C had the honor of performing his first diaper change and later gave her a bottle of formula as we were driving back to Taipei. She's a chugger - downed the bottle in under 10 minutes and soon fell asleep on my lap. We returned to the hotel room, tired but happy. And Cara Hsiu-Wen seemed remarkably content. Another diaper change, most of a bottle and we headed out for dinner, where she fell asleep in the rezobo a friend loaned us.

Sleep the first night wasn't quite as easy. The bath went well - she loves baths! But the rest was harder. We didn't know how to soothe her, and she was clearly both tired and uncomfortable being away from everything familiar. After several wakings, soothings and going back to sleep, she fell into a deeper sleep and we all got some rest. The midnight bottle and diaper change were a little traumatic too, mostly due to our ineptitude. Lesson two (one being what you have on the table in arms reach) - don't try to change a diaper in the dark if you aren't a diaper changing pro!

And we become parents

Not much energy to post, and blogspot is putting all the commands in chinese characters so I'm having a hard time adding any photos. Our trip down to Taichung yesterday went extremely well and Hsiu-Wen has now officially joined our family as Cara Hsiu-Wen M. L. She is now playing on the bed with C. and clearly will be crawling very soon. Hopefully I'll figure out which button adds the photo soon! We have lots of wonderful ones.

Big day

Our trip to Taipei was thankfully uneventful. We met up in Narita Airport as planned and flew on to Taipei where we were met by C's colleague. I was able to sleep most of the Narita-Taipei leg, so C convinced me to wander around the area close to our hotel for a bit before going to bed. Surprisingly lively at 10 pm at night! We found an ATM, picked up some bottled water from a conveinence store and some wonderful friut from a street vendor. Delicious pineapple. I'm looking forward to more of that!

Yesterday was sightseeing, the primary focus being the National Palace Museum. Fascinating exhibits of artifacts from 6000 years of Chinese history. The only drawback was that half of Taipei seemed to be in the museum as well, making viewing of some of the rooms difficult. Next time we'll try to go on a weekday. We also wandered the nearby garden - quite lovely, but also quite busy. When I have time to download our photos I'll post one from there.

The heat was getting extreme by the time we were done wandering through the garden, and good food places were not in evidence in the immediate area. So we headed back into the main part of town, to Taipei 101 where C knew there was a large food court. Not just large- huge! Eventually we choose from the vast selection of yummy looking options and happily settled down to a late lunch of noodles. The rest of Taipei 101 is essentially just a really large mall, with a selection of stores you could find in Tokyo, Paris or New York. Not that interesting for us, except for the wonderful opportunity to people watch.

We've both been waking early, with the benefit of being able to get out for morning runs. Slow ones, as the morning temperature is still around 80F with high humidity. This morning we ran through a near-by park, Da'an. It was extremely busy at 6 am, with other runners, walkers and many, many people doing T'ai Chi as well as various forms of callisthenics. We came back through campus where we have discovered a park area with a pond featuring a remarkable selection of wildlife for being in the middle of a city. Birds, fish, turtles, dragonflies. And a little marmalade cat, lurking amid the bushes.

But today is our big day. Mei-Ru picks us up in about an hour. Time for some breakfast. I'll post more soon.

Ready to go

Just a short note as I gather the last pieces together. This whole process is rather surreal, especially given that C is away. Just realizing that tonight might be my last night alone in the house for a very long time. Wondering how it will feel to leave work in a hurry to be back with my baby girl, rather than lingering over last details. And musing on how it will feel to be needed by someone in such a basic way.

I'm also very excited to be visiting Taiwan and starting a relationship not only with this beautiful little girl, but really with an entire culture. C's ties to Chinese culture haven't been exactly strong and I think we're both eager to focus a little more on that culture. Not only the foods and holidays, but to take the time to actually understand some of the history and complex philosophy/religion that is so central to that history. In all our spare time when we aren't running around trying to keep up with our little girl.

I think we've decided on a name, but it's hard to make final decisions over email and IM. We'll definitely post on the blog once she has a first name, since I know many of you are waiting to find out. Next post from Taiwan!

Packing

We now have the bare bones of the nursery set up, enough to get us started. And a good assortment of clothes, towels and sheets. It was fun going through the clothes we have and picking out what to bring to Taipei. The assortment changed a little after checking the weather forecast. Predicted highs in the upper eighties, and lows in the upper seventies with a dew point of around 70F means minimal clothes for all of us! Except for the airplane, where we'll want some warmer outfits and can pull out the fleece. Yes, for all of us.

The crib deserves some explanation in itself. Our neighbors, offered it as a loan. Made by his father, their two kids both used it as well as one other kid. It's a beautiful piece of wordworking and already well blessed with three happy childhoods. It can only bring our daughter sweet dreams.


The quilt will not be going with us to Taiwan, but I had to show it off. An unexpected gift from an old friend with unknown talents - we'll definitely treasure it! And it fits in with the general jungle motif that seems to becoming our nursery theme. I haven't yet put up our tiger print from Laos, but as tigers are supposed to be guardians of children (by Chinese tradition) it should be added to brighten up the nursery.

I have most of my clothes pulled out as well, and have begun to put together the medicine chest recommended by the UW Adoption Clinic. It's quite the assortment of bottles, tubes and powders, even in the pared down version that I made. Hopefully we won't need any of them on our trip, although I'm sure the infant Tylenol and the various diaper creams will eventually come in handy. The irony is, I'll be carrying a greater volume of stuff for our little 16 lb girl than for myself. Even if you don't include the diapers!

Last Update

Last update from the TWCA that is. I'll post at least once more before leaving for Taiwan.

The pictures this month aren't quite as angelic as last months, but she is still obviously a sweetie. She's grown quite a bit, with numbers more on track with her 3 month check up than last months anomalous measurements. Judging from her 5 month numbers, we're going to be bringing home a 16 lb baby - quite the armful!

The rest of the pieces are falling into place. Thanks to C's wonderful travel agent, our tickets are set up with bulkhead seats. I decided to move my departure up a day, leaving on May 25th. That will give us a day together in Taipei on the 27th to get our bearing before picking up Hsiu-Wen on the 28th. We aren't flying out until June 1st, wanting to give her some time to adjust to us. Hopefully we won't have melted in the heat by then!

Unfortunately the house is still a disaster. Somehow it isn't worrying me that much though, especially since I now have a bassinet set up in our bedroom. That, a diaper changing pad and some diapers, and at least we'll be able to go to sleep when we get home. Assuming we pick up bottles in Taipei. Okay, there are a few other things I need to get this weekend.

Final Ruling!!!

The email appeared today. We had our final ruling in Taiwan, so Hsiu-Wen is now our daughter! I'm still at work so I'm trying hard not to bounce up and down too much, but it is incredibly exciting news. And my brain is trying to accelerate into over-drive, mulling over the growing list of things that need doing. No sense of panic, since the time is now pretty much fixed and what can get done in the next two and half weeks will get done. I'm sure it will be enough to bring our beautiful little girl home.

We're still waiting on confirmation for our AIT date, but it will most likely be May 29th. C will be flying to Taipei from Japan; I'll probably leave Seattle on May 27th. We'll drive out to Taichung on Monday the 28th to pick up Hsiu-Wen, go to the AIT to apply for a visa for her to come home with us, and then be able to pick the visa on the 30th. That means we should be back home on June 1st or 2nd, depending on how much time we want to spend in Taipei letting Hsui-Wen get used to us.

One of the things that does need deciding before we bring her home is a first name! We'll keep Hsiu-Wen as a middle name, but are still working out what her first name should be. The list of possibilities isn't long, but very hard to choose from.

Putting together the baby room

I'm finally recovered from last week. That was busy! C hit the ground running Sunday morning, with a stop on the way home from the airport at a co-workers house to borrow some baby gear. Lots of baby gear!!! Car seat, toys, bassinet/play-yard, bouncy seat, collapsable stroller - wow. And accompanying advice on what works well, good resource books, etc. There are still things we'll need to buy, but another friend recommended Baby Bargains as a great book to get in and out of the baby stores efficiently.

Then we had a full week - a birthday party, getting out to a show, having dinner with a friend, selecting soapstone for our kitchen counters, touring a daycare and more. Oh, and spending two nights with our cats in a friend's spare bedroom, to escape the fumes from the newly refinished kitchen floor. I had thought C was leaving on Saturday morning, but on Wednesday discovered he was actually leaving on Friday. So much for the one peaceful evening I thought we would have together.

It's hard to believe that when C comes home, it may well be with our daughter - that Thursday night might have been our last night home, just the two of us. Mixed feelings, after wanting to be parents for so long, we're also recognizing that we're going to miss many aspects of our current life. Probably a good balance, to be excited about what it to come, still appreciating the wonderful almost 20 years we have enjoyed together.

C being away does open up his study for the constant shuffling of stuff. It will be probably another week or two before I can start putting things back in the living room/dining room/kitchen area, so much of the extra stuff in Hsiu-Wen's room needs to move into C's office. I shifted a few things in there yesterday, and was able to make enough room to put together the IKEA changing dresser we picked up a few weeks ago. First step towards making her room cozy and inviting.

Big Smile

Wow - this is a banner week. Monday we find out about the first ruling, now today we get an update. The update is from March 29th, a week and a half before C saw our beautiful girl. The photos are wonderful, and she is quite animated in the video as well. Measurements are a little funny - same height as a month ago? C says it is a wonder, given how much she squirms, they get measurements at all! The important thing is that she is growing well and has a well-practiced smile.

First Ruling!

Got a bit of a surprise today from our adoption agency that the court has already made the first ruling. Wow - didn't expect that for another week or two! Given that the amount of time between the first ruling and picking a child up from Taiwan is usually 4-8 weeks, things are moving quickly. Unfortunately C's travel dates are set in concrete, so we might not be able to pick her up as soon as absolutely possible. But waiting until the day after Memorial Day will probably be at most a delay of a week, and the Taiwanese agency will probably be okay with that. The courts could still surprise us and not make the final ruling for another month.

It just can't be easy - I know there are families out there with the bedroom perfectly organized, completely ready for their child to come home, who end up with the whole process dragging on for months. Meanwhile we are totally unprepared, are halfway through a kitchen remodel, are still going to get windows replaced, including a new window in Hsiu-Wen's room, and C will only be home for 6 days of the next five weeks. Well, at least I'll be able to keep busy while he is gone!

And suddenly this is seeming very real. I know there is still a chance the birthmother will change her mind, but it isn't very likely. While we've bought two bigger ticket items, they are both still in their boxes, just in case. We've held off on picking up a jogging stroller on craigslist. We didn't want to jinx anything. But I think we're getting beyond that finally!

The photo is from last week. As an extra bonus, we should be getting a medical update sometime in the next week. I'll post more when the new photos come in.

News from C in Taiwan

Had a wonderful talk with C this morning, who is currently in Taipei. He took the train out to Taichung yesterday to meet Hsiu-Wen, and was full of news of her. First, she is adorable. She was a little scared of him, and didn't really warm to him until almost the end of the visit. She did fall asleep in his arms twice, but woke up and started crying, finding herself with someone she didn't recognize. But he was able to play with her and enjoy her lively personality. Hopefully when we return to pick her up he won't be so scary (although I will be...).

C was impressed by how much the social worker (in the photo) who helped him with Hsiu-Wen knew about her and how well the social worker interacted with her. The social worker (whose name he didn't catch) said she thinks Hsiu-Wen is a very intelligent little girl. Apparently she is very interactive - really enjoys being talked to and played with. However, unlike kids who will play with one toy endlessly, she does get bored fairly quickly. And she sleeps less than many other babies that the agency works with. I think she'll be a handful for us! I'll have to bring a big bag of toys for our plane trip home to keep her amused. Also, the social worker thought that sending a CD recording with our voices would be very helpful. It's something we've been meaning to do, but time to actually do it.

It is wonderful knowing a little bit more about our (hopefully) daughter. And to be prepared for the initial shock that she is going to go through when we pick her up. C says she has a good set of lungs! The agency told C to expect to come pick her up in about two months. Apparently the homestudy of the birth mother has been completed, so we are waiting on the judge to finish reviewing things.

The timing is going to be tight! C will be completely unavailable until May 25th, so a date with AIT before May 29th would have me picking up Hsiu-Wen on my own. So unlike most people, we're not hoping for a very fast court process, just not a slow one! Still, April is zooming by and we've barely begun putting her room together or gathering the basics like a car seat. Obviously it is time to start moving a little faster.

Court Hearing

I mentioned earlier that March 29th is our court hearing date. Depending on how you look at it (with the date line), that is either today or tomorrow. This initial hearing takes place in a Taiwan District Court; the judge on our case will review our homestudy as well as information regarding the birth family. A representative from the Taiwanese agency that our US adoption agency is working with will be at court to represent us. We may not hear anything, unless a problem turns up. Hopefully not! The usual progression after a first hearing is for the judge to make an initial ruling on the case within 2-6 weeks. The final ruling follows no sooner than 10 days after the first ruling, giving members of the birth family an opportunity to change their minds. After the final ruling, the Taiwanese agency will make an appointment for us at the AIT (American Institute in Taiwan, the defacto embassy) and let us know when we can come pick up our daughter.

Who by then will be our daughter, as she isn't yet. One of the things we liked about the Taiwan adoption program is that there will likely be some opportunity to meet the birth mother. And as mentioned above, she can still change her mind. That happened earlier this week to a family who recieved their referral in January. First they were told there would be a hearing at the end of April, and less than a week afterwards that when informed of the hearing date, the birth mother decided she wanted to mother this child after all. I'm glad that option exists, since I would be very sad to find out years later that our daughter's birth mother had quickly regretted her initial decision to relinquish, but was unable to reclaim her child. But it does leave a small degree of uncertainty in the process, and makes these court milestones more than symbolic.

One of the great things about adopting in the Internet Age is the wealth of information available from other adoptive parents. Many other PAPs (Prospective Adoptive Parents) have blogs, and there are multiple online groups where people share news and information. Incredibly valuable are the timelines that people post, giving some indication on how long the different stages of the adoption can last. Going through the last two years of information, it looks like there is a 50% chance we could have our AIT appointment by June 5th, an 80% chance we will have her home by the end of June. Of course that leaves the 20% chance that we're waiting impatiently into July. So it is all moving along, and we're looking forward to Hsiu-Wen coming home.

Planning for Taiwan

As I mentioned earlier, C's will be in Taiwan next month. This won't be his first visit - he was there for work last November. He was very impressed by the friendliness of the people he is working with there. And appreciative of the rich culture. This photo is of a temple dog, outside a temple in Kaohsiung.

We're slowly putting together the pieces we need in place to bring our daughter home. And thinking about all the fun things we hope to do with her! After talking to several friends with small children who are active in the outdoors, we made our first major kid purchase - a bike trailer that can also be used as a stroller and ski pulk (a Chariot). We'll be using it as a stroller to begin with, since she'll be too young to wear a bike helmet, but hopefully she'll learn to enjoy being in the Chariot and propelled by us in any number of ways. And we'll gain a new appreciation for the hills around here!

March Update

Welcome to the ongoing story of Hsiu-Wen joining our family. She was born in Taipei on November 25, 2006. We recieved a referral for this darling girl at the end of December and are now waiting for her file to go through the Taiwanese court system so we can bring her home. Meanwhile we get occasional updates of photos, a video and health information.

After not having gotten any updates for over two months, the expected update emails arrived today! And isn't she a cutie. Look at that hair!

Hsiu-Wen is now 3 months old, a lanky 62 cm weighing in at 5.6 kg. She'll definitely be an armful when we bring her home this summer. She's in foster care now, hopefully getting lots of love and cuddles. We know the care package we sent last month arrived safely, since it is the cream fuzzy blanket in the photo. We have a photo album to send her, but might wait for C to bring it with him when he visits her next month.

If you are wondering how to pronounce Hsiu-Wen, the approximation I get from the videos is "shao-0ne" with the emphasis on the second syllable. We're going to keep Hsiu-Wen as her middle name, but still haven't decided on a first name. Hopefully we'll have something before we fly to Taiwan to pick her up!

As for when she'll come home, we are at the mercy of the Taiwanese courts. Our paperwork went into the courts at the end of January and we will have the first hearing on March 29th. Looking at other people's timelines for adopting from Taiwan, most travel 2-4 months after their first hearing. It could be as quick as 6 weeks. We're currently figuring we'll be in Taiwan sometime in June or July, when the weather is maximally hot and humid.

And C gets to meet our sweetie! He is travelling to Taiwan for work at the beginning of April and will have time to spend a day with her. He's both excited and apprehensive. This might be his first opportunity to change a diaper. He'll have a camera with him, so by this time next month we'll have lots more photos.