Day 10 TA Wait

Today marks the 10th day that we have been waiting for travel approval. One mommy in my fb group on the exact same timeline as us got her TA yesterday. I have been refreshing my email tons today and NOTHING! I have managed to accomplish a lot during the last 10 days:

-Wrote wills and medical auth forms had witnessed and notarized
-Spent hours on the phone with CIGNA about all the info needed to cover Chloe
-Contacted two surgeons in Orlando to schedule consults
-Ordered luggage, money belts, packing cubes, compression bags
-Borrowed more luggage and necessities from the Julianos
-Addressed and stuffed our mailing once we get TA
-Packed all of Chloe's stuff
-Bought/ordered all the stuff I still needed for her
-Finished my last day with clients (yesterday)

I am sure there's more, but during all of this we've managed some fantastic quality time with our boys! My heart is heavy at the thought of leaving them for so long...but so thankful for these moments of sweetness together as a family before we leave.

Chloe's Chinese Celebration

Could she get any cuter?? I mean, seriously, I think I am a little biased since she is mine....but oh my word!!!! I could eat her up:) We were soooo, soooo, sooo fortunate to get these pictures from Chloe's orphanage yesterday! The thumb drive we sent was put to good use:) Ann of Red Thread sent a birthday care package to our doll including the cake last weekend. Ann told us that Chloe's orphanage would not share pictures. My heart broke a little at the thought of never seeing our girl on her actual first bday, but then yesterday Ann sent me these pictures of her celebration! I am incredibly thankful. Ann said that I am a very lucky lady because the orphanage never shares any photos or videos with her. My precious baby had a very special day, even without a mommy. Still a little confused about why there are two candles on the cake (and tomatoes-thank for pointing that out Heather), but nevertheless, she was celebrated!



Chloe's U.S. Celebration

Nick's aunt Evelyne and Memere (his gma) stayed with us last weekend so they got to celebrate Chloe with us! We went out to Kobe for Japanese...seems appropriate right?! LOL! I am not a huge Chinese fan so we thought we would save room for sweet and sour cat while in China:) And our boys adore Hibachi so Kobe was the lucky restaurant for the celebration! We were so happy to have Memere and Evelyne here!! Chloe is loved by soooooo many!!! 

Happy FIRST birthday Chloe Rae!

Yesterday was Chloe's big day in China (5-18)! Today is her big day here in the U.S. We sent Chloe a birthday cake, thumb drive, toys, and some candy for the nannies to her orphanage. I am praying they had a huge party in the LOCC for my sweet girl! And that one day I will see all the pictures of her day ( that I didn't get to spend with her) on the thumb drive. Yesterday, was a difficult day...our paperwork has been held up at the American Consulate in China which had been shut down for several days because of a suspicious white powder. We should have started our wait for Travel Approval (China's invite to come get Chloe) on Wednesday. Instead, our paperwork is STILL at the Consulate waiting for pick up. I am not going to lie...I am pretty bummed! The CCCWA is closing the last week of May for a computer update and then in June it's China's Dragon Boat fest which the whole country closes for...so we were on a pretty tight time crunch to get Travel Approval before all of these closures which could delay us for weeks. But, today is about Chloe...not paperwork! Our girl is ONE and seemingly doing quite well. I met a father who picked up his son this week at Chloe's orphanage and checked on her and took these pictures for us. Such a blessing that I will always grateful for. These pictures were taken the week of her first birthday! We weren't there, but we can see her...and boy do we love her! Chloe Rae, mama and baba are coming! Happy first birthday sweet girl!

Chloe Rae's Room

And it is FINISHED! Love, love, love how it turned out. A huge, HUGE thanks to my friend Diana for all the help!!!!

Sprinkle! AKA a DOWNPOUR!

I had the best day celebrating Chloe last weekend! I have the best friends who planned the most amazing day. I really couldn't have dreamed up a more detailed, thoughtful, PINK shower! My sweet friend Andrea knows my taste well and was able to head up a sprinkle I will NEVER forget.

 Heather, whose beautiful home we had it at was an amazing hostess and cook! Heather's food is soooo YUMMY...the grape salad was my favorite!

My friend Michelle coordinated the 100 Wishes quilt which will be a treasured gift for Chloe (and me) for years to come!!!

And to the 10ish other girls who helped with food, set-up, flowers, invites, time, etc. etc etc. MY CUP RUNNETH OVER!

Nick looked at all the pictures and said and I quote "that was a lot more than a sprinkle!" And Heather followed up with it was "more of a down pour!" And that it was! I am still completely overwhelmed and teary about how thoughtful my friends are...I am one blessed mama of 3! Thank you also to all those who came and rejoiced with us at this dream coming true!

I can't wait for Chloe to see the gifts of love you poured over us! BLESSED!!!!! Grateful and blessed!!!!

Holy Packing!!!

I just downloaded this packing list from a BTDT (been there done that) adoption mom...I better get busy...this could likely take the whole 5ish weeks that are left before travel!!!

Adoption Packing List

Luggage

Checked luggage: 2x Samsonite 29” Wheeled Duffel (ordered online from Samsonite)

Carry-Ons: Hiking Backpacks

Personal Items: Large Camera Bag and a shopping bag we got while in province

Luggage must be under 44lbs/20 kg for in-China flights and 100ml liquids were allowed.

The sizes of our bags were fine also.

Most items were split evenly between our 2 checked duffel bags - it was redundant but

gave us insurance we

ʼd have what weʼd need. I picked up lots of travel-sized bottles at

Target, they were cheap and worked perfectly. I packed everything in plastic bags for 3

reasons: (1) it made sure that if any liquids spilled/exploded, they would not get on

anything else, (2) it was easy to pack, unpack, repack, etc., and (3) it was a great way

to squeeze air out of the contents to fit as much as possible. I packed alike things

together and labeled the bags - liquids went in baggies INSIDE baggies. We threw a lot

of the bags away before we left the White Swan because we combined things together,

but this was a great way to pack and I

ʼd definitely do it again!

Toiletries

Q-tips

Cotton balls -

never used, but you never know

Travel rain ponchos (2) -

never used, just dealt with the rain when it happened

Individual wet ones -

good for public bathrooms, especially squatty potties!

Disposable Razor (2)

Shaving cream (1)

Travel shampoo (2) -

all hotels had soaps, but I like my creature comforts

Travel conditioner (2)

Face wash (2 - one for each of us)

Travel size dove soap (2) -

we threw one away in province and the other in Guangzhou

Travel soap container (2) -

we threw one away in province and the other in Guangzhou

Baby shampoo/body wash (2)

Hair gel (1)

Oatmeal bath (2) -

would take more for baby if I had to do it again!

Travel size tissue packs (4) -

great to have on hand, there were never enough napkins

Floss (1)

Disposable baby wash clothes with sensitive soap (6) -

didnʼt use

Aquaphor (3 oz container plus one small 0.35 oz tube)

Eucerin calming cream (8 oz) -

used on baby every night after bath

Baby Powder - travel size (2) -

too much, one is fine

Hair ties (2)

Hand sanitizer (2)

Sonicare

Toothpaste

Hairbrush

Contacts

Medical

(medicines were in well-labeled plastic baggies with dosing instructions written on bag,

split equally between 2 checked bags)

Immodium -

definitely used a few times because of spicy food!

Cipro

Tums

Ibuprofen

Mucus Relief

Benadryl

Tylenol PM

Azo standard

Azo cranberry

Hydrocortisone cream (2)

Saline drops (baby)

Baby chest rub (for sinus relief)

Glycerin suppositories

Infant tylenol (include dosing chart)

Infant Ibuprofen (include dosing chart)

Infant gas drops

Teething gel

Children

ʼs benadryl (1/2 tsp dose)

Amoxicillin pills (to crush & mix in baby food if needed)

Sunscreen SPF50

Ear thermometer plus probe covers -

GREAT, we did have to use this one night and it is

so much faster/easier than a regular thermometer

Pedialyte powder - individual (16) -

this was a MUST as our baby drank very little - one

of the best things we packed and used almost all of them

Travel first aid kit (Target) for bandaids, gauze, etc. (I took some bandages & medicines

out because it was too much, and filled it back up with smaller stuff to conserve space)

Nail clipper

Bacitracin -

we didnʼt use, but another adoptive family did, glad we had it!

Safety Pins -

didnʼt use, but you never know

Tweezers -

didnʼt use, but you never know

Epi-pen for Nicole (1)

Bug spray -

a MUST given the hot, humid weather!

Swiss army knife

Singular

Rhinocort

We did not use MOST of the medications but I would take them again - it was nice to

have the insurance, just in case. Plastic baggies were all labeled with dosing

instructions and the exact drug ingredients.

Office

White out -

didnʼt use

Post-its -

didnʼt use

Pen

Paperclips -

didnʼt use

Scissors

Duct tape -

didnʼt use but glad we had it just in case

Rubber bands -

didnʼt use

Personal business cards -

did use a few times but probably not needed

Calculator -

didnʼt use, we had my iphone

Power strip -

an absolute MUST because there were very few outlets at the White Swan

Household supplies

Small hand soap (2) -

totally not needed but nice to have

Small dish soap (2) -

definitely used for cleaning bottles

Tide sink travel packs (6 uses) -

GREAT as long as we had a few days to let clothes dry

Tide to-go stick (1) -

didnʼt use

Paper towels (14) -

definitely used them when eating in the hotel rooms

Downey wrinkle releaser (1) -

never used, didnʼt care what our clothes looked like

Sponge (1) -

never used but we had planned on using it for cleaning bottles

Extra plastic bags, lunch size (14) -

didnʼt use all the extras, could take less

Extra plastic bags, snack size (10)

Extra plastic bags, large size (4)

Extra plastic bags, jumbo 2.5 gall size (2)

Small diaper trash bags (10) -

nice for stinky diapers

Kitchen-sized trash bags (4) -

didnʼt use, nice to have and didnʼt take up room to pack

Washcloth (1) -

never used, there were plenty of linens available from hotel

Several dryer sheets to make clothes smell nice

Reusable shopping bags for carrying stuff (2) -

these were GREAT to have on hand

Clothes pins (16) -

we definitely used these!

Piece of string to hang clothes in room -

never used this, most hotels had a drying line

Baby (12 months old, un-repaired CL/CP)

Diapers (30), purchase more in China -

our baby didnʼt drink much - we could have

gotten away without even buying more diapers

Swim diapers (4)

Wipes (1 refill pack) -

planned to take 2 packs, but we needed to drop weight at the end,

1 pack ended up being fine because we didn

ʼt change that many diapers

Travel changing pads (6) -

only used a few times, probably donʼt need this many

Nasal Aspirator -

didnʼt use

Sweet Pea Sling -

one of the best things we brought

Ergo -

one of the best things we brought

Travel diaper changer (1) -

didnʼt use this, didnʼt change diapers outside of hotel room

Take & toss bowls (3) -

GREAT for baby snacks

Spoons (2) -

definitely used - small spoons were not easily accessible

Bottle brush

Toothbrush

Bottles (2 plus cleft nipples) -

never used the cleft nipples, just cut larger holes in regular

bottles - she did fine

Small insulated lunchbox for keeping bottles warm -

did use this once but baby didnʼt

drink enough formula for it to matter

Burp cloths (8) -

would take less of these, was a pain to constantly be wiping drool

Bibs (4 cloth, 1 plastic) -

would take lots more cloth bibs, did not use plastic one

Soft, comfy blanket (1) -

used in the crib, but too hot to use for anything else

Toys (5) -

definitely used these - small, lightweight toys worked best

Small inflatable beach ball -

wonderful!

Book - Goodnight Moon -

didnʼt pack because of weight, but wouldʼve loved to have to

help start nighttime routine

Stacking cups -

awesome in the tub, baby loved them!

Sun hats (3 - different sizes) -

used only 1 day, gave up after that

Socks (8 pairs) -

didnʼt wear them because it was so hot and she kept pulling them off

Sweaters (2) -

didnʼt need

Light summer coat (1) -

didnʼt need

Swimsuit (1)

Summer rompers/dresses - one is a nice church dress (10) -

PERFECT!

Long pants warmer outfits (5) -

used 1 pair of pants for civil affairs appointment

Leg warmers to add onto outfits if needed (3 pairs) -

used 1 day only, way too hot

PJ

ʼs (2)

Short-sleeve onsies (8) -

these were great for sleeping, but took too many

Long-sleeve onsies (2) -

also good for sleeping

1 nice going home outfit (with hat and booties to match)

1 nice outfit for consulate appointment -

didnʼt use because it was too big - didnʼt matter

Several headbands and 1 cute hat (not necessary but fun!) -

so adorable, didnʼt use hat

Nicole

Swimsuit (1)

Swim cap (1)

Socks (14)

Underwear (14)

Lightweight pants (2) (wear one during travel)

Lightweight capris (2)

Sundress (2) -

would have taken more in hindsight - most comfortable given the heat

T-shirts (7) (wear one during travel)

Bra (3) (wear one during travel)

Flip flops

Tennis shoes (wore them)

Used all of this stuff - it was so stinkin

ʼ hot (June), I would probably take only 1 pair of

pants for travel days with the rest capris or shorts.

Zach

Swimsuit (1)

Swim cap (1)

Socks (14)

Boxers (14)

Flip flops

Tennis shoes (wore them)

Jeans (1 pair) (wear during travel)

T-shirts (7) (wear one during travel)

Undershirts (3)

Shorts (4)

He went home with some clean clothes that he didn

ʼt wear - could have done less!

Snacks

Small plastic bin for snacks, sized 14x11x6.5 (2) -

this was WONDERFUL and I would

absolutely do it again - we made room by eating snacks along the way and then put our

not-expensive breakable treasures in it for the trip home - we sat them in the middle of

our duffels and it helped anchor everything else in the bags too. We also put all of our

officials gifts in the boxes so they didn

ʼt get damaged during travel

Pre-wrapped plastic-wear sets (14) -

didnʼt use often but nice to have, could do with less

Plastic disposable bowls (4) -

never used

Gerber puffs (3 containers, apple, banana, sweet potato) -

used ALL of them!

Baby Mum-Mums (12) -

definitely too many - we only used several

Gerber Yogurt Melts (1 - strawberry) -

she loved them!

Similac individual 4oz servings (16) -

didnʼt use many of these but good to have, we

bought her brand of formula in China and then left it there because she didn

ʼt like it

Individual serving peanut butter (14) -

loved having these but only ate about half

Power bars (8) -

ate all of them!

Clif bars (12) -

brought back about half

Via (17) -

used almost all of them - I HAD to have coffee that was familiar to me :-)

Splenda & individual powdered creamers (enough for 17 coffees)

Individual crystal lite (37) -

again, my creature comfort - had to have it!

Goldfish (2 packs) -

we ate all of these!

Individual tuna salads (2) -

ate 1, but it kind of smelled up the hotel room

Individual chicken soup packets (3) -

didnʼt eat, ramen-type noodles were readily

available everywhere

I know not everyone takes snacks, but I liked having a few comfort foods and they came

in handy when we were trying to do meals in the hotel room. We usually took back

several pieces of bread from the breakfast buffet and I

ʼd make a peanut butter sandwich

for lunch or dinner (husband would get ramen). We also took back yogurt and some

kind of carbs (pancakes, french toast, etc.) for the baby. We usually just paid for one

meal each day and ate in the hotel room for one meal - worked great for us.

Carry-Ons

Adoption Paperwork -

obviously, the most important thing!

Translucent folder for paperwork (2) -

used one for most important documents, the other

for everything else - carried with us at ALL times

Thumb drive with scanned documents -

a little overboard, but made me feel better

PASSPORTS

Passport organizer (LL Bean) -

husband wore daily for cash, passports, etc.

Travel neck wallet (LL Bean) -

I only wore for travel days to carry passport

Extra passport photos (6 each total) -

too many, but I had extra copies everywhere

Extra copies of ALL documents (passports, visa page, driver

ʼs license, credit cards) - I

also left extra copies of ALL paperwork at home where our parents could easily access

if needed - I was convinced that if I had copies everywhere, nothing would go wrong!

Small notebook for taking notes -

didnʼt use

Information sheet of all hotels -

DID use this, you need hotel address for immigration

Information sheet of Western doctors/insurance info AND consulate contacts -

didnʼt use

but made me feel comfortable to have - travel insurance through www.medexassist.com

Contact sheet for US doctors and important ppl, including adoption agency -

important!

Sunglasses

Playing cards/card games

Cash (with cardboard placeholders) -

I ironed the bills ahead of time, worked perfectly -

the bills had no marks but were NOT new - we had no problems exchanging

Credit cards/debit cards -

used ATM at least once with no issue and bought a few

treasures with credit card

Converter (no adapter needed for us - check the voltage on your electronics)

Travel pillow (Lewis N. Clark adjustable travel neck pillow from Amazon) -

LOVED

Travel tissue packs (2)

Travel lysol disinfectant spray (1) -

didnʼt use

Toothbrush (2) -

just in case our sonicare got lost with luggage, didnʼt need

Travel toothpaste (2) -

just in case our toothpaste got lost with luggage, didnʼt need

Individual wet naps (6)

Deodorant -

we shared one, didnʼt want to chance it getting lost with luggage!

Ibuprofen

Tylenol PM (enough for flight)

Epi-pen (Nicole)

Benadryl

Hand Sanitizer (2)

Gum

Individual serving peanut butter (2) -

used on flight with pretzels

Power bar (1) -

very nice to have, food wasnʼt that great

Clif bar (1) -

very nice to have, food wasnʼt that great

Via (3) - l

oved having this

Splenda & powdered creamer (enough for 3 coffees)

Individual crystal lite (3) -

couldnʼt use because they didnʼt pass out bottled water

Netbook/charger

Ipod/charger

Opti-free replenish for contacts

Contact case/lenses

Glasses

Travel face wash -

I didnʼt want to live without my face care items if luggage got lost

Travel moisturizer

Travel toner

Travel-size warm vanilla sugar lotion -

one scent only, for attachment purposes

Lipgloss -

a must, I am addicted

Clothes & diapers to last baby a few days

Simple language Chinese for adoptive families book -

this was great!

Teach your tot to sign book -

also great!

Reading material for plane ride

Makeup

Ipad/charger

Iphone/charger

We also packed some of our clothes in the carry-ons to last for a few days, in case of

lost luggage. I am a firm believer that if you plan for everything, nothing will go wrong

and nothing did!

Photography Equipment

Of course not all families will take this much equipment, but you definitely need the best

stuff you can bring. I am so glad we had 2 cameras for Gotcha Day - we each had one!

Camera bag/purse (I used a crumpler - “the 6 million dollar bag”)

5D MkII body with 24-105L lens AND card

5D backup battery and charger

5D USB cable

Backup 5D card with large memory

Rebel body with 50mm lens

Rebel backup battery and charger AND card

Rebel USB cable

Flash with new batteries

Extra AA batteries (8) in checked bags

Receipts for equipment -

never needed, but better safe than sorry!

Remote control -

didnʼt use

Gifts

Red envelopes for tips -

not needed, but nice

Nice chocolate set for orphanage director - wrapped (1)*

Men

ʼs toiletries from Mary Kay (1)

Women

ʼs makeup from Mary Kay plus vitamins (2)

Gift set jelly bellies - wrapped (2)

Very small chocolate sets (4)

Red gift bags/tissue paper (3)

We didn

ʼt need all of the gifts we brought, but I wanted to be over-prepared instead of

not having enough. We ended up giving the extras to our guides in addition to their tips.

*Director Zhou really likes American coins - I think any coins are fine, but the rarer, the

better.