We got our official travel authorization today!!!!

We leave for China on Dec. 14th and meet Esther on Dec. 18th! Yipeee!!! We'll have her before Christmas! We are so excited and so freaked out. So much to do...so little time. OK gotta go.

I finally finished Esther's quilt!!!

...with the help of Marilyn, Gene's mom. (Thanks Marilyn!! I couldn't have finished it with out you.)
Here's Audrey enjoying the quilt.










Apparently Sydney and Audrey approve of my first quilting attempt. After this picture was taken they took a catnap on it (hope Esther's not allergic).










This picture has lots of goodies in it...the sweater and hat were knitted by Grandma Marilyn, the two paintings were done by Karin (Stumpytown rocks!), and Grandpa Neil made the bookcase. I am surrounded by very creative people.

No new news...

Still waiting on our travel authorization. We're hoping to find out when we travel by the end of the month. We've got our fingers crossed for the end of December!

My incompetence about being a parent is growing ever more apparent. Here is my big list-o-confusions:
1. I was at the grocery store a while ago and had a freak out because I saw baby oil on the shelf. What is baby oil for? Do I need to buy some? If I do buy some, what do I do with it? Gene had a pretty good laugh at my expense, and then helped me look up what it's for on the internet. Apparently it's for dry skin and I think you kinda use it like lotion.
2. Another conundrum I encountered was why do they not make top sheets for cribs? Are babies so much less civilized than us that they refuse to use them? Are you just supposed to use blankets instead? The only answer I could come up with (yes, the internet again) was that they can be a suffocating hazard which I guess makes sense, but wouldn't blankets cause the same problem? Or is the real issue that babies are never cold when they sleep? I still don't think I've truly grasped the answer to this dilemma.
3. On to what baby clothes to bring to China...how many outfits will she go through in a day? What sizes should I bring? Does she always need to wear a onesy under everything? Are tights mandatory? If she's not walking, does she still need shoes? What if she doesn't like my color palette? What if she doesn't like my style choices? (The good news is that China does have stores!)
4. I have as yet not been able to purchase a bottle for Esther. It's not that I haven't tried about a million times, but have you seen the selection out there? How do I know what nipples she'll like? I can buy the "Drop In System" bottle or the crooked bottle, or the plain standard plastic one. What if the one I buy causes her to get too much air? When I get to the store I just stare until my eyes glaze over and then walk away mumbling to myself.

I know all this stuff will work itself out eventually, mostly with trial and error (hopefully Esther is a very patient baby), it's just that it all gets a little overwhelming at times. Luckly I have my laid back husband to keep me grounded.

Esther turns 9 months old today!

Or I guess really it would have been yesterday since she's in China. But I'm celebrating it today by thinking good thoughts about her all day, oh wait...I do that every day! Maybe I'll stop procrastinating and finish her sweater.
This morning, we had a conference call with Esther's pediatrician who specializes in adoption medicine. According to his expert opinion she is lovely! And her health is not bad either! She does appear to be iron deficient, but is not anemic. She was most likely born on Feb. 7, 2006, because they could tell that from the umbilicial cord (oh and she might have had a conehead when they found her). She's gaining weight and growing. She is also hitting the right milestones for one living in an orphanage. So overall, she looks pretty healthy, which is great news. Of course, when we return home with her, she'll have to undergo a battery of tests to make sure nothing was missed.

Are you ready for the cuteness to continue?

Gene and I think she has a mixture of his hair and mine. She has a widow's peak like Gene used to have and she has my wild frizzy hair. She also has my chin dimple and I think that slightly vacant expression comes from Gene (ha ha).

According to her medical exam she likes to suck her fingers when she sleeps, laughs out loud, knows her name, imitates sounds, is active and restless. She likes to listen to music, play with her toys, and play games (which is a must in our house). Being fond of quietness apparently is not one of her qualities, which should be fun for me!

Another fast Esther fact is that her Chinese name mean "little" (Xiao) and "hopeful" (Pan).

Look who we have here...

Introducing Esther Xiao Pan Blakefield!!! (We're still debating if her middle name should be spelled Xiaopan). Not that I'm biased or anything but I have to say my daughter is pretty darn cute!!

This picture is from an email that our agency sent. We should be getting the Fedex package any time now which should include one more picture and more detailed info on her. So far the abbreviated health history we got looks really good! (P.S. Gene and I are parents. Hee hee!)

Call us Momma and Papa!

We got "the call" this morning at 9:20 am. We are officially parents of a little girl!! Her name is Jin Xiao Pan (Jin is her last name) and she was born on February 7, 2006. Right now she is at the Guiping Social Welfare Institute in Guangxi. The only other thing we know right now is that on July 30 she weighed 14.8 lbs, was 24.8 inches tall, and had a head and chest circumference of 16.9 inches. She will soon be named Esther Xiao Pan Blakefield.
Tomorrow we will receive her picture! I can't wait to see her! Our adoption coordinator says that her hair is standing straight up with "bed head," which is fitting because her mommy(as I type this) has bed head too! She already takes after me.
If you want to check out some pictures of Guangxi province, here is a link: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/picture/guangxi/index.htm. It's beautiful! And we get to go there in December (fingers crossed).
Well, that's all I can tell you for now, but check back tomorrow and you can see her little face!