Are We Still Going to Get A Sister?

Last night Calla asked if we were still going to get a sister. I must admit I am starting to wonder that myself. Today is the 16-month mark of our wait for Suzanna Jo. I think we are at least 3 batches of referrals away from ours. That seems like a LONG time from now. I'll bet it seems even longer when you are four years old.

Paperwork

We mailed off our last piece of paperwork for Zanna's adoption today (again) ($545.00). Keep in mind this is the second time I have sent this same piece of paperwork to Immigration ($545 + $545). The first piece of paper expired as have many of our other documents. The US is very good at making sure adoptive parents don't have any criminal records. In fact they are so thorough in their checking that you have to be fingerprinted in two different offices ($140 + $66) and obtain clearance at 2 other local police stations ($26). You have to do this every 18 months. The thing that I find disturbing about this is that it is clear that all 4 of these agencies aren't communicating with each other. How efficient is that? Could you commit a local crime, and have it only show up at your local sheriff's office? If you commit a federal crime, your local sheriff has no record of it? I'm starting to see why they have a hard time locating and catching pedophiles and terrorists. There is no shared information. Anyway, until we apply for visas to go to the PRC, we don't have to send any more money for awhile. We are still waiting on Calla's passport, but that may take awhile too. Because of new travel rules, there are more passport applications than they can handle.

Good Teachers

Calla had her swim lesson last night, and she has a really great teacher. Emily has only worked with Calla a few times and yet she knows just how much to challenge her and how to balance that with the right amount of support. She also gives her frequent, yet sincere praise. That's good teaching.
Then there is Mr. Troy, her gymnastics instructor. I doubt that Mr. Troy has a degree in teaching, but he has the best "classroom management" I have ever seen. He makes the best use of all 60 minutes of the lesson--no sitting or standing around. It's kind of like a three-ring circus sometimes. He is highly entertaining (to the parents as well as the kids), often doing pratfalls and making fun of himself. He has high standards for behavior, and only the kids who follow the rules get their hands (and feet) stamped at the end of the lesson. Calla will work like heck to get those little stamps. She always shows them to me first thing when I get home and reports who did NOT get their stamps.
Finally, there are her 5 preschool teachers, whom she adores. She can tell you different things about each one, like she really knows them. They are always smiling when we drop her off and pick her up. She loves going to school, so they must be doing something right.
In my profession I see so few really good teachers that it is rewarding to have so many of them in my daughter's life. Thanks to all the good teachers! We really appreciate you.

Update On Latest Referrals

Referrals are being reported for log-in dates up through October 24, 2005. We are approaching the mammoth month of November that has some of the largest numbers of dossiers in the history of Chinese adoption, so things are less predictable than "normal"--whatever that is. I am still sticking to my guess that we will get our referral in June, but I don't think it is unreasonable to think it may be July. That puts us at 16 months and waiting, and waiting, and waiting...

Foster Sisters

We met up with Lily and her family last weekend. Lily was in foster care with Calla in China. The girls see each other about 2 times per year and yet they act like they are old friends. Do they know they spent their first 10 months together? Do they know they were born 6 days apart halfway around the world? Do they have some vague memories of playing together and just pick up where they left off? We have a photo of the 2 girls on Calla's dresser, and when she looks at it she will often say, "We haven't seen Lily in awhile." I hope they feel some connection and will draw on this as they get older. Lily has a new sister at home now, but Lily is the closest thing Calla has to one. I would be pleased if she always considered Lily a sister.

Anticipating Chinese New Year

In fact, it is not really Chinese New Year; it's the Spring Festival. Since we are in the middle of a blizzard right now, I have a hard time calling anything "Springy". Nevertheless, we are expecting to have a grand time at a local CNY celebration this weekend. We are meeting up with some of our new and old friends who have Chinese daughters and joining the local Chinese American group to eat and socialize. I think it is beyond generous of them to include our girls in their celebrations. I think the PRC would be proud of them for looking out for their little sisters. Our Chinese friend, Iris, is joining us, so I am anxious to get her take on the celebration. Today we are decorating our door with good luck couplets, hanging our lantern, preparing our red envelopes, and trying to decide if we will use the firecrackers we bought. See #1 in this post.

Last Batch of Referrals

The last batch of referrals went through October 13th dossier log-in dates. Our log-in date is November 22nd for daughter #2. The China Center for Adoption Affairs has been matching about 10-13 log-in dates per batch. That leaves about 3-4 batches before our turn. With the Chinese New Year approaching it is hard to guess when the next batch of referrals will come out. After the next batch, I should be able to make a better guess about when we will see our new daughter's face.