She is in Gansu Province, which I'm told is in Central/Western China. She has spent part of her time in foster care and part at Wu Wei Social Welfare Institute. Her adorable pictures were taken on September 6th. Her measurement stats are 71 cm tall, 9 kg.
Congratulations! She is a cutie! Here's to a speedy TA and travel.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Janice (Mayken from RQ)
Your baby girl is beautiful! Congrats - your time has come! And you are going to get her at such a fun age. :) Enjoy this amazing time!
ReplyDeleteTrace7, RQ
Congrats so thrilled for YOU! Enjoy the journey to your daughter and savor every moment. It will be an amazing journey even with all the challenges. Truly the best is yet to come. We just picked up our daughter in June. God bless and she is darling.
ReplyDeleteLinette
Our blog:
www.jailynourdreamcometrue.blogspot.com
She's simply beautiful! Congratulations!!!
ReplyDeleteTB (from RQ)
What a cutie!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! So happy for you and for your new bundle of joy!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!!! Your daughter is absolutely beautiful! So very, very happy for you!!!
ReplyDeleteDarling little girl
ReplyDeleteShe looks like such fun!
Felicidades por esa niña tan maravillosa.
ReplyDeleteNosotros estamos esperando la llamada
Thank you so much. We're overjoyed!
ReplyDeletewhat a little cutie! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your referral... what an exciting time you are about to experience...
ReplyDeleteCongratulations. It is always exciting to see a referral from Gansu.
ReplyDeleteSue from RQ.
(Mama to a Gansu Girl)
Oh Sue, I'm thrilled to see another Gansu mom. Please share your wisdom and advice with us. We don't know a heck of a lot about what to expect.
ReplyDeleteThanks to all the visiting RQ folks. I'm the husband (and now dad, wow) who reads the public content over there. We both appreciate the information over the years and kind words now.
ReplyDeleteFor those still waiting our hearts really go out to you. No matter how your path unfolds I hope you find the things you are looking for. As happy as I am now I can't help but think about the way referral days can be bitter-sweet to those still in line. We're thinking of you.
Oh my goodness, I am so happy to see Wuwei babies! We adopted our daughter from Wuwei in 2005 and were in a group of 8 families, and I am sure I am biased but we have the best girls in the world! :) They cared for our girls so well, ours were the first ones to be in foster care and they have had a super foster care net work running ever since then. Your trip to Lanzhou will be fantastic! Congratulations on your beautiful daughter!
ReplyDeleteMaria Bisceglia (mom to Lucy QinMei)
Great info, Maria! Thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteBTW, we moved to NC about a year and a half ago from Dallas after living there 11 years. I'm also a red-head. Well, in theory now, but you get the idea.
Maria, thanks so much for sharing that. We have been exclaiming over how healthy, happy, and engaged in her environment she seems.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, we'll be by ourselves when we travel, but that just means more family time. Also, I'm assuming it will be very cold, right? I guess we'll start shopping for an extra warm baby coat or suit.
So beautiful! What a wonderful day for you!!! Congratulations!!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations from another Gansu family. We adopted our daughter in 2005 (from the Zhangye SWI). You are going to have the trip of a lifetime. You may also be able to visit the Wuwei area, it is relatively close to Lanzhou - ask to see if you can. It will be bitterly cold when you travel...Gansu province is most like Utah in the winter (geographically and temp wise). Lanzhou is pretty neat though - be sure to get some of the beef noodle soups (wheat is the primary grain in Gansu...so lots of wheat noodle soups. Super yummy) There is also a substantial Muslim population, so there is a lot of Halal food available, as well as a ton of vegetarian options (if necessary).
ReplyDeleteYour daughter is gorgeous, congratulations again and best wishes!
Thanks for all the great tips and advice, Kiki!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your Gansu referral!! When you are ready to get her newspaper finding ad (which has a great picture months younger than her referral photos!) come visit us.
ReplyDeleteAll the best for a speedy trip to China!
Brian
Paul and Bridgette, yes, it will be very cold in Lanzhou (we were there in Nov 2005, my SIL and her husband - who have a baby from Zhangye - in December 2006). When we were there, it was cold but lovely, we were able to be out and about all except 1 day. When my SIL was there, the pollution was pretty bad and it was hard to be out with the baby some days, so it just depends. Lanzhou is off the beaten path for Westerners, but was by far the favorite part of our trip! Knowing some basic Chinese phrases is helpful for this part of China. You may not see another American the entire time you are in Lanzhou (we saw one German reporter, and one Dutch family who was adopting, everyone else was Asian). Our guide recommended amazing restaurants for us, and we loved wandering the streets and going to all the little shops, meeting the people. There are shops to get groceries and supplies you may need, but I would recommend bringing your own diapers if possible, as they are better than what you will find there. I can't wait to follow your journey! We are hoping to get back to Gansu with my daughter and niece in the next couple of years. Congratulations again!
ReplyDeleteWe are in Orlando now, but I miss Dallas every day!
Maria biscegliam@gmail.com
One more thing - layers (for you and for baby) are best - they keep it really, really warm in the hotel, so make sure you have some lightweight stuff too. Also, we had a hip carrier for the baby, which was super helpful - and it helped keep both of us warm!
ReplyDeleteFound you through RQ. Congratulations! She's very cute! Your wait has finally ended, thankfully. -We're still hanging on, hoping to get our referral before our stuff expires next summer. We're LID 09.11.06.
ReplyDeletejourneytomadi.com
Congratulations from another Wuwei mom. We traveled in the same group with Maria in 2005. We did not think it was as cold as she did, but we get hot easily. The hotel rooms were overheated. The trip was fantastic, awesome, and amazing. Shop in Lanzhou if you can, price and selection is better than Guangzhou and I wish I had bought more in Lanzhou.
ReplyDeleteAll eight of our families are rejoicing for you! Your daughter is just beautiful and I wish you a safe and amazing journey.
Cindy in AK
Mom to Addison Qinyao Franklin, adopted 11/9/05
oh my goodness, fantastic! it was an agony waiting for our referral, i am glad that it is over for both of us. i still cannot believe it.
ReplyDeletesharing your joy,
lea (preciousTeresa)
Thanks again to all of my Gansu moms who've shared great information. Fortunately, we're pretty good with layering. I'm thrilled to know there will be good shopping opportunities - both for the baby and for gifts.
ReplyDeleteMarsi, your time is coming. I lost faith a few times, but it really does happen!
Saw you on RQ (I am ziegsma). We traveled to Lanzhou 2 years ago (arrived Dec 7, 2009) with one other family to pick up our WuWei beauties. My daughter was 17 months on 'gotcha day.'
ReplyDeleteIt was COLD COLD COLD outside and HOT HOT HOT inside. I did not have warm enough shoes and there was no time from when they gave us the babies to when we had to be at the Civil Affairs Office the next day to buy shoes. I had to borrow the extra pair of 'ugg' style boots the other family had.
I found shopping in Lanzhou difficult because of the extreme cold. We had to walk to the department store (brr). The only time we rode in the van was to & from the airport (1 1/2 hour ride), to the Civil Affairs Office, to a nice Muslim restaurant and the tour to the Water Wheel park. We did not have the opportunity to visit WuWei City.
I was really glad that I lugged a sturdy umbrella stroller from the US....the other family had to wait until we went shopping and then there was only one stroller available....and it was priced about the same as a similar stroller here.
You can PM me on RQ for more info....the trip is still fresh in my mind!
Mary
Congratulations...I have a Gansu (Lanzhou) boy. Adopted in 2009 at age 2 1/2, but we travelled in July/Aug. to Gansu (so no help in that area). My first adoption was in winter...but it was to the southern regions, so not as cold as what you'll be looking at. But so what, right? You'll be glowing warm with the joy of your little one. Be sure to eat outside of the hotel...there is great food in Lanzhou...try the beef noodle soup (a lot!) and the Mira Pizza place is nice for a little taste of some American style food, if you are in the mood. You'll have a great time!
ReplyDelete