We Received Kai's Finding Ad

We received Kai's "finding ad" today from the Southern Farmer's Daily newspaper in China. A finding ad is an advertisement the orphanages in China are required to run in the provincial newspaper for each child that is found or brought to their orphanage. These ads contain information about where and when the children were found and which orphanage is caring for them. These ads also include photographs and are usually the earliest available pictures of the children. Below is a picture of Kai's "finding ad" as well as the translated description.

Published September 11th, 2008 in the Southern Farmer's Daily it was the 1043rd picture ad for 2008.

Translation--

Ad # 1043

Li Yun

A girl

On May 8, 2008 she was found by the roadside across the street from the Donghua Hospital in Dongcheng district, Dongguan City.

She was about five months old when found

Claim unit: Dongguan City Children Welfare Institute

Preparing For Baby?

I guess Tucker is trying to prepare us for a 2-year old roaming the house with her toys. We walked into the bedroom tonight to find this. I'm not sure which toy he was looking for but I guess he found it. The toy basket is over in the right corner...virtually empty now.
Merry Christmas???

New Pictures and Information On Kai

This week we received some updated pictures and general information on Kai. After review of the current measurements the doctor says all seems well except her weight is approximately 5% lighter than average, sometimes typical of institutionalized children. We'll put some weight on her once she arrives.

We were able to send off some general questions to the orphanage to find out more about Kai. Her favorite foods are milk formula, soft rice and crackers. She sleeps alone in her crib with a small towel (seen in some previous pictures). She likes to be picked up and played with, which purportedly makes her laugh and smile. We hope this is true because we have yet to receive a picture where she doesn't look sad or frustrated, and I'm sure she is going to get picked up and played with more than she has ever before.

Her updated measurements are 30" tall and 18 pounds. She wears approximately a size 5 shoe and has 12 teeth.

(our favorite picture)

Showering Kai With Gifts

Sunday we had our first adoption celebration at Red Bowl Asian Bistro. Everything was so beautiful & the food was delicious. The only problem was that the time flew by & I didn't get to spend as much time with everyone as I had wished!

The cake was so thoughtful. It was lemon (my favorite) & had Kai's name written in Chinese lettering.

As you can see Kai was showered with so many gifts. This tiny little girl, so far away, has no idea what has been going on here to get ready for her & how loved she already is! We can't wait to get her home to use everything! She got so many books, so bedtime is all set now! And, her carseat & stroller have a cup holder (perfect for her iced DECAF skinny vanilla lates).

The gifts were all so sweet & thoughtful & if I weren't so medicated I would have cried. These two books were given to Kai by Scott & Sam Maillet. They picked out which books used to be their favorites & wrote a personal note to Kai along with their pictures. I think she will love reading these & one day realizing how much everyone loved her before she was ever here.