IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

INTRODUCING CAITLIN MEI!!!!!!!!!! It's official!! We got our LOA (Letter of Approval) today! This means that China has approved Paul and me to be her parents!

Caitlin's Chinese name is Jiang Xin Er. Her birthday is February 14, 2009 (a Valentine's Baby!!), so she is almost 15 months old. She is in an orphanage in Jinjiang City in the Fujian province. As of November (the latest report we have), Caitlin was crawling and saying one word. She has some teeth, and she has quite a personality! The orphanage reports that she is active, restless, and clever- but she's a deep sleeper (yay)! She loves playing with toys, and dolls are her favorite (just like her Mama)! It is clear that the nannies are very fond of her. They describe her as a lovely and delightful baby who has a ready smile. They wrote "We hope that she could be adopted by a family which would give her a happy home and good education and make her grow up happily. Wish her happiness forever!"

We are already so in love with this amazing, special little girl, and we can't wait to bring her home! She is truly a little miracle- even the doctors we've talked to have been impressed with her. Caitlin's weight is good, she is very healthy, and she seems to be right on track developmentally. She will need surgery to repair her cleft lip and palate, but she is completely healthy and perfect!

We have no idea when we will be traveling to China to get her, but we've been told it could be 3-6 months, so we are figuring it could be any time July-October. We're aiming for September; that way we'll be happily surprised if it's any sooner!

And so Paul and I are now two very proud and happy soon-to-be parents, waiting "patiently" to get to our precious daughter! More news to come!!!!!