Arrived in Taiwan!!!!!

We finally made it! We are in Taipei!!!


Things were actually quite smooth, except for a few minor things. We had a slight delay getting out of Charlotte, which was actually nice, since it gave us just a few minutes to grab something to eat.

Unfortunately, Kim and I were not able to sit next to one another one any of the three legs (Pgh to Charlotte and Charlotte to San Francisco, we both got stuck with middle seats). The seats were so cramped on the domestic flight!

We were not even directly next to one another from San Francisco to Taipei, but we did both have aisle seats, and she was only one row ahead of me, just across the aisle, so it worked out okay. We basically slept most of the way, anyway. Eva Air was awesome! Comfortable seats, a mini touch screen for every seat to watch movies, TV, music, whatever. The service was excellent - those stewardesses really work hard.

Everything went smooth during arrival:


As expected, Mr. Yeh and his son were waiting for us at the airport. They are so very nice! They are so helpful to us. We got in a little later than expected, and the line was long for immigration, so we kept them waiting for a while - we felt very bad about that...

They brought us to the gorgeous Agora Garden hotel... what a beautiful place - probably the nicest hotel we've ever stayed in.

It was pretty strange to see the crib in our hotel room.


Okay... time to get something to eat... later!

We get Kai tomorrow... yeah!!!!

Updated Pics and Good News

First, the good news. We received a call from the agency and were told that our NEW Gotcha Day is October 20th! This is one day earlier than our original Gotcha Day. I think the agency felt bad when I e-mailed them and told them I was afraid our date would be changed when we pointed out that they overbooked the number of families on the same day.

We also received new pics of Kai today. Kai has a haircut. They have him in an outfit that my mom bought for Kai. In my opinion, he looks cuter than ever.

Notice Kai is no longer on solid pink...now he has flowers for a background!

I think this one is my favorite...


And finally, an updated video. He is really becoming active. I can't help to notice there is a man's voice in the video now, as well. Must be the foster parent. You will notice they call him Kai, quite a bit!

Ok, last update....we had to buy Kai a few more outfits, since we will have him for an extra day. I bought this outfit with my dad in mind, since he is a digger by trade!



I also bought this bib for Kai with dad in mind. I bought dad a book where he is supposed to write information about himself. One of the questions is "What did you want to be when you grow up?" Dad's response was, "A cowboy".

The Countdown is On....and Things Continue to Change

So, here is the latest......first, let me say UGHHHHH!!!

Last week, we met with our agency and four other families traveling to Taiwan the same week we are. During that meeting, one of our agency workers said that only two families can pick up their babies on any one given day because there are only two workers at TWCA and that's all they can handle.

Fast forward a few days - The agency sent us the e-mail addresses of the other families traveling, in case we want to get in touch with them. Through the course of e-mail exchange, we find out that three of us have the same "Gotcha Day". Kent and I discuss, commenting how odd this is, since our agency specifically said that only two families can get their babies on any one given day.

Being the overly cautious people we are, this morning I contact our agency and point out that three of us are scheduled for the same day. I was told not to worry about it and that the Taiwanese agency did not comment on this, so it must not be a problem.

About 20 minutes ago, I get an e-mail from our agency saying that three families cannot, in fact, pick up their babies on the same day. So guess who was bumped to the next day?? You got it...US. So, now, we will be in Taiwan for three days before we are able to get Kai. Not a big deal, but it's one more day we have to wait(Gotcha Day is now October 22nd). The kicker is that, when Kent and I discussed whether or not we should bring this to our agency's attention, Kent commented that if we did, we would probably be the ones to get the shaft! He was right!

Firm Dates

We finalized our travel dates late this week.

October 17th - Fly to San Fransisco

October 18th - Leave for Taipei at 1:00 a.m. - Not only will we be spending our anniversary on a plane, but this year it looks like we will lose 12 hours of it :>

October 19th - Arrive in Taipei in early morning

October 21st - Gotcha Day!

October 23rd and 24th - Meet with American Institute of Taiwan

October 24th - Leave for San Fransisco in late evening

October 24th - Kai becomes a US Citizen! Arrive in San Fransisco.

October 25th - Leave San Francisco late afternoon, arrive in Pittsburgh around 9:30 pm.

Last update - We received an e-mail from the agency stating that the birthmother has "prepared toys" for Kai to bring home. I have mixed feelings - She obviously loves him very much, which makes me sad. But I am thrilled to have a keepsake for Kai, as well as a great story to tell him - not only does she love him, but sent him to us with toys!

We have (tentative) dates!

This week has been another one of those adoption rollercoaster weeks. We were told last week that we would be contacted on Monday with travel dates. When we weren't contacted by late Tuesday, Kent e-mailed our case manager, who said she was working on it. On Wednesday, the case worker called to tell me that they couldn't set a travel date because our fingerprints expired on August 3rd (I am still not sure how fingerprints can expire, but whatever). Actually, we knew they were expiring in August and had them redone in April when we switched to Taiwan. Luckily, USCIS admitted that they had not updated out paperwork and that we did, in fact, have valid fingerprints (whew...).

So, yesterday, some tentative dates have been set. We will "pick up" Kai on either October 21st or 22nd and have our first appointment at the American Institute of Taiwan on October 23rd. We will pass along more definitive info once we receive it. We will most likely fly out on my birthday/our anniversay on the 18th!

We are getting closer!

Measurements...Finally!

We finally received Kai's measurements on Friday - after asking for them. He is almost 17lbs and about 25 inches long. According to Asian growth charts, he's in the 50th percentile for height and the 75th percentile for weight. So, he appears to be doing well.

I started washing Kai's clothes for the trip. When I washed the little socks, it finally hit me - we are going to have a baby!! We are so excited!

New Pics and FINAL RULING!!

First, the really big news!!! We received our Final Ruling today! The agency called and said they will let us know travel dates on Monday. We were told we could be traveling in anywhere from 2 - 4 weeks! We may actually be home before my birthday/our 5 year anniversary (Oct. 18th) or we may be spending it in Taiwan.

We also received new photos yesterday. He has grown so much just in a few weeks. Check out the scary alien on the outfit. We need to get him home fast, before permanent damage is done!! Kent noted he is still on a pink blanket (although a different blanket than in the past, still pink, nonetheless!)

Kai is looking a bit like a sumo wrestler these days...


Kai's latest "report card" said that he "Recognizes Feeding Bottle"....I don't think we needed a piece of paper to tell us that!!!


The great news is that Kai is now giving us a full smile - he looks so happy - poor guy doesn't know what's about to hit him!!!


And finally, the latest video, where you can see the smile in motion!