Five Years Ago

Five years ago we met our sweet baby girl in a small, hot room in Guangzhou, China. Oh my -- what a beautiful baby! She seemed so very small to me, although she was 14 months old already. Our dreams of her had started two years prior during all of the document prep and approvals and the wait to referral. And we had been waiting for two months to meet her from the time we first saw her picture. And there she was -- quiet, but furiously sucking on two fingers. She came to me easily and seemed to hold on for dear life, but maybe it was the other way around and it was really me holding on to her for dear life. It was such an incredible moment! We spent the next 10 days in China getting to know our girl. She cried and cried at night, slurped noodles and sucked down congee during the day and charmed us. She revealed a little bit more of herself with each passing day as she became used to us and learned to trust us. It was a marvelous time and the only thing that would have made it better would have been to have our two sons along with us. Tonight we watched our video of our trip and it seemed like yesterday, but also a very long time ago.

In the five years we've known her, she's grown and changed so much. She's become a sweet, funny, determined little girl. She's come out of her shell more and more, especially in the last year. She loves BBQ chips, kindergarten, her friends and any and every stuffed animal. She beams with happiness when she's playing outside, climbing and swinging from the monkey bars at the school playground. More than anything lately, she wants to learn how to do cartwheels. She is proud of having been born in China, and we have tentative plans to visit at some point in the future with one of her cribmates. She's brought so much happiness and love to our entire family. We are delighted and proud to be her parents -- she is simply a joy! Happy anniversary sweetie! Love, Mom