USCIS is My Friend

I bet you never thought you'd hear me say THAT. Well, it's true. In the past couple of days, I have been quite impressed with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

As many of you know, we had run into a bit of a roadblock when we found out that Isabel's new Certificate of Citizenship was going to take forever to be processed. We cannot apply for her US passport until we have it, so a couple of weeks ago, we wrote to USCIS requesting them to expedite Ibby's CoC. They turned us down! Well, I got on the phone pronto with someone from customer service and explained our situation. I spent a half an hour on the phone with an incredibly nice, concerned, and intelligent woman...YES, she was a USCIS employee...and she rewrote the request, submitted it, and five days later, we had Isabel's new CoC in hand! Whew. I will forever be grateful to that woman who took the time to write a very persuasive request that demonstrated our dire need.

Secondly, we know that our I800A application for Maddie has been assigned to a case worker. She has read our application and our home study, and although she did issue an RFE (request for evidence), it's a very minor issue. Our addendum should be sent to her within the next day or two, and we should be well on our way to a fingerprint appointment and then APPROVAL!

USCIS has NOT been my friend in the past especially when they lost some of Isabel's paperwork. It was an icky mess, and we had to get our State Senator involved. Now, I am quite pleased to see this agency working in a compassionate and efficient manner.

More Details about Maddie

Forgive me. I have been a bad blogger. The last few weeks have been a flurry of activity, and I just haven't been able to find the time to post.

First of all, we needed to finish our paperwork for the US government and get that submitted. Our forms arrived in Chicago on January 27, and they cashed our check on January 28, so we know that 1) everything arrived safely and was not lost (a special fear of ours since it happened with Isabel's adoption) and 2) somebody had to open the envelope even if it was just to remove the check. Recent processing times have been much quicker than 90 days, so we are very hopeful that trend will continue.

Secondly, we decided a few weeks ago that we were going to go ahead and move before we sold our house, so we have been doing major home hunting. In two weeks, we looked at 25 houses. We put offers in on three homes, and we came very, very close to purchasing one of them...in fact, when the sellers countered our very lowball offer, we were only $9000 apart. It would have been a steal, but after deep contemplation...and reading more headlines about job layoffs and a sadly ailing economy...we ultimately decided though we are risk takers, we aren't willing to put our entire financial future in peril by being stuck with two homes for who knows how long. So I am done looking at houses until we have a solid offer on ours. In the meantime, we are going to have to do some remodeling in Isabel's room, so it will accommodate two kiddos instead of one. The work will be minor, and hopefully, we will be able to get it completed in the next month, so that all is ready for Madeleine's homecoming.

Speaking of Madeleine, I realized that I haven't yet shared many details about her, so at long last, here is some of the pertinent information about our newest family member. Madeleine turned two on November 22, 2008, so she and Isabel are almost exactly seven months apart. They will be in the same grade in school. In fact, just this morning, I registered for community ed classes for next fall, and both kiddos will be taking the Tuesday morning Movers and Shakers class for toddlers ages 24 to 36 months. Currently, Madeleine is residing in the Social Welfare Institute (SWI) of Huangyan District in Taizhou City of Zhejiang province. For those of you not up on your China geography, Taizhou City is a coastal city just south of Shanghai. Her Chinese name is Huang Qiqi. Huang means "yellow" and Qi means "angel." She is described by her caregivers as extroverted and clever. She loves to be outside and especially likes to play with toys that light up or make sound. She has a ready smile and is close to her caretakers and other children in the orphanage. Oh, and she loves books which will make her a good fit for our family! I'm sure Isabel will be happy to share all of her favorite books with Maddie once she gets home.

Just this week, we had a care package delivered to Maddie through an organization called Red Thread China. We sent a photo album that includes pictures of us, so Maddie can see our faces before she meets us this spring. We also included a ladybug sweater, a picture book, a stuffed animal, a disposable camera, candies for the nannies, and a letter to the orphanage director. Captions on the pictures and the letter were translated into Chinese by Ann, one of the women who runs Red Thread China. She lives there, so she handles package delivery. She is so sweet. She calls the orphanage to verify that the package is going to the right child. When she called Maddie's SWI, she was able to get updated measurements for us, so we know that she is now 34.65 inches tall and weighs 27.56 pounds. She has a couple of inches and just a few pounds on Isabel. This is incredibly helpful information since it will help me plan what size clothing to take for her when we go to get her.

A Guatemala vs. a China adoption are like night and day. With Isabel, we were so comforted because not only did we know she was in foster care, but we had met the foster family and knew how much they loved Isabel and how well they took care of her. We also had the opportunity to visit several times and get to know Isabel during her infancy. With Madeleine, we hope and pray that she is getting the best of care and that there is a special someone at the orphanage to whom she is close and who makes her feel safe and loved. Also, we met Ibby when she was two and a half months old. We will not meet Maddie until she is two and a half years old. We hope the nannies show her our pictures and prepare her as best they can for the huge transition she is about to undergo.

Recently, a new rule was instituted by the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) that travel approval will not be issued until a family has received USCIS (US Immigration) approval. As soon as that is in place, we should be able to move forward fairly quickly. I am still holding out for travel in April or May. Until then, we keep Maddie in our daily prayers and look forward with great excitement to the day we can finally meet her and bring her home.

It's Official! She's Ours!

We just received word today from our adoption agency that China has approved our adoption of Madeleine Grace! Just to remind you what a long journey this has been, here is a recap of our timeline:
6.2.06: Dossier sent to China
6.8.06: Dossier logged in with the CCAA
7.27.07: Dossier passes review
12.15.08: Letter of Intent sent to CCAA for the adoption of Madeleine
12.29.08: Pre-approval received from CCAA
1.22.09: Letter of Approval received from CCAA
Seems short, doesn't it until you realize that we started this journey in 2006! We are still in waiting mode as we have to wait for the Chinese government to issue travel approval (TA). That will probably take four or five weeks considering they are on holiday all of next week for Chinese New Year. At the same time, we will be waiting for US Immigration to approve our application to adopt internationally. That can take about 90 days although we are going to see if they might be able to expedite the processing of our form. No guarantee, but our agency says they will try. Once we have TA from China and USCIS approval, then our agency will be able to go ahead and schedule our Consulate appointment (CA). I was hoping for travel in April, but I'm not counting out May. So stay tuned.

And now, without further ado, let me introduce our lovely daughter, Isabel's big sister (by seven months), Madeleine Grace:

An Historic Day

I don’t think I have ever watched a presidential inauguration ceremony live. Most likely it’s because I never had the opportunity since up until this year I would have been working. Today, Isabel and I viewed history in the making. We watched the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama. It was quite moving.

Any ceremony of this kind is inherently moving with all the pomp and circumstance, and any change in administration brings high hopes for a fresh start, a new direction. But Obama fan or not, one cannot deny the special significance of this moment in time. President Obama summed it up best when he said sixty years ago, his father would not have been able to dine in many of the restaurants in Washington, D.C. because of his color. Today, his son took the oath for the highest office in the land.

Isabel will not remember this day, this event. She will not remember that she applauded when Barack took his place on the dais. She will not remember that she danced around the family room when Aretha Franklin sang. She will not remember that she made the sign for airplane and said “bye bye” when the helicopter bearing former President Bush and his wife took off over the capital on its way to Andrews Air Force Base. But I will remember these details. And someday I will be able to tell her that though she has no memory of it, she bore witness to a moment that changed the course of history in our nation and in our world.

I’ve always been proud to be an American and grateful for the liberties and privileges we have, but I’ve never felt the sense of hope I do today. Perhaps partially that is because I now have a child, and the future of our world has become much more personal for me because that future is my daughter’s. My prayers today are with our newly inaugurated President Obama and his family and his administration. The days ahead will not be easy, but I feel very confident that we have a leader who is up to the tasks at hand. Happy Inauguration Day!

I Got Nothing

Monday seems to be the day that I usually post something about Isabel. Today, I'm sick, so I don't have the energy for anything. This nasty cold came upon me very suddenly Saturday night after the Wild hockey game. One minute I was fine, and the next minute I had a sore throat and stuffy nose. Really, it came on that fast. Anyhow, I'm feeling a little sorry for myself because I feel so lousy...I have the temp in the house turned up to 74 and the fireplace on, and I'm still cold...but mostly, I am hoping and praying that Isabel doesn't catch it from me. I'm holding back on the kisses which is VERY hard to do, and I'm washing my hands like a fiend in hopes that this bug doesn't spread. It's hard to be a mom when you're not at the top of your game. All I want to do is crawl in bed and pull the covers over my head and sleep, but little ones in the house do not allow that. Mostly, I feel like I'm cheating Isabel because I just have no get up and go. We did go to music class today, so at least she had some fun and got a bit of stimulation. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day. When I am feeling up to it, I have some funny video to post of Isabel walking her baby in the stroller. Stay well.

Funny Things Isabel Knows and Can Do

Isabel amazes us daily with what she knows. In fact, I am quite sure she knows a lot more than we are even giving her credit for. Here are some of the things she’s learned lately.
When she gives anyone a kiss, whether it be me or Daddy or the cats or a stuffed animal, she makes a big MWAAAAAH sound. It’s so funny.
She knows that a cow says mooooooo, a sheep says baaaaaa, a kitty says meow (in a high, squeaky voice), and a puppy says fffffffffff (her version of woof.) She will tell you each of these sounds when you ask.
I haven’t really done a count, but my best guess is that she knows somewhere around 30 signs. The most humorous one is the sign for cold. You make your hands into fists, and then bend your arms up, and shake them like you are shivering. Isabel adds to it by gritting her teeth and shaking her head. Honestly, it looks like she’s seizing.
She is doing a lot of dancing these days. Any music will spur her to turn circles, sometimes until she’s dizzy. She can also dance on command. And jump. She will jump when you ask her to. And she will alternate between jumping and dancing when prompted.
Cooking is still a big thing. She makes several dishes a day, and Daddy and Pooh and Piglet and the cats and her baby and I do a lot of taste testing.
Anybody who is small enough and can sit still long enough will get a ride in her umbrella stroller. I think she’d love to wheel the cats around, but they’re not having it. Mainly, Bitty Baby and her pink teddy Fuzzy get the rides. Our carpet doesn’t have vacuum tracks. It has stroller tracks.
When it’s nap time, Isabel will go to the refrigerator to signal that she wants her milk, and then she’ll walk to her room. She generally knows when she’s tired and ready to sleep.
This probably is going to come back to haunt us, but we’ve taught her to say, “No, no, no, no, no” to the cats when they get up on the kitchen island or a counter. She shakes her finger and admonishes them firmly. As she gets older, we are quite sure we are going to hear more of those no’s probably when we don’t want to.
At night, all we have to do is say the word “bath,” and she is off to the bathroom, no questions asked. She loves bathtime with Daddy.
Isabel can point to all of the following body parts when asked where each is: head, nose, eyes, ears, hair, belly button, hands, feet. When asked to show her teeth, she will bare all of them and chomp up and down sort of like Jaws.
In the cold, dry winter weather, lip balm is a necessity. When I tell her we have to put her lipstick on, she will purse her lips in anticipation. What a girly girl!
When she’s playing with her kitchen, she will make a shhhhhh sound (like running water) and pretend she’s washing her hands in the sink.
She consistently makes the signs for “please” and “thank you” at the appropriate times.
I read recently that it takes a person the rest of his or her life to amass the amount of knowledge accumulated in the first three years. Isn’t that incredible? No wonder kids get so darn tired. That’s a lot of brain work.

Just How Close is Too Close?

Isabel does not watch much television. In fact, very, very little. There is one show that's on after lunch that we watch occasionally. It's called "It's a Big, Big World." Other than that, she watches her signing videos, which she LOVES, and that's it. Oh, we've seen a half an hour of Kung Fu Panda. I am dying to know how it turns out.

Anyhow, the rule when Ibby watches tv, which as I said is not very often, is that she needs to sit about five feet back. Usually, we pull up her chair to the appropriate spot, and she lounges there as she watches her show.

Today, she asked to watch "Signing Time," which she does by making the sign for "sign" while also making a long ssssssss sound which also stands for sign. And then she walks over to the tv cabinet, giggling happily. (Like I said, she really loves her signing videos.) As I was getting the dvd ready to play, she began to pull her chair into position. She, however, decided, I guess, that she's been sitting too far back. I didn't have the heart to tell her to back up. She was so darn cute. So does sitting too close to the tv really make you need glasses? Hope not.