Leaving Tomorrow!

It's so hard to believe that we are leaving tomorrow! There is still so much to do. We took our kids on a last minute trip to Cedar Point yesterday, and I had to go in to work today. So, not much has been getting done! We are going to kick it into high gear tomorrow morning, and finish with all of the last minute details. I am hoping to have some time tomorrow morning to just relax (ha ha) and hang out with my kids before we leave.

I was just looking at my blog and I realized that I have never posted our original referral picture. So here she is... the first picture we saw of our precious baby girl...

Her Name...

Our daughter's name (by unanimous family vote) will be...

Ava Guiyu

We are leaving one week from today. We can hardly believe it. I am supercleaning the house, packing our bags, and doing lots of last minute shopping. It is such an exciting time!!

The Dates are Set!!

We meet our baby on August 23rd!! Details to follow...

TA!! = Totally Awesome (or Travel Approval)

We received our travel approval from China today! We are still working out the details, but hope to be on our way to China on August 20th. If everything works out, we may be traveling with another Ohio family who is adopting from Hunan as well. That would be so amazing!! I will post more details once we have our itinerary. I'm off to make a packing list...

The Home Stretch

We've finally reached the home stretch!! Our Article 5 (collection of adoption papers) was delivered to the CCAA on July 6th. We are just waiting for China to issue our Travel Approval. After that, we can schedule our Consulate Appointment and book our airline tickets. We will fly into Changsha which is the capital of Hunan province. We will meet Gui Yu there, most likely on the second day. After her provincial paperwork is in order, we will fly to Guangzhou to the U.S. Consulate to finish the immigration process. Then we will bring her home to the wild and crazy Greenlees house. Get ready Gui Yu!!

Today, we ordered a new "Big Girl" bed for Sydney so that she will be ready to give up her crib to her baby sister. Also, I am continuing to burn up the credit card buying matching outfits for my girls. Retail therapy helps with the waiting!

And finally... we are also still trying to come up with a first name for Gui Yu. We will keep her Chinese name as her middle name like this - Guiyu. Right now the top choices are... Ava, Sarai, Jada, Eliana, and Taylor, but we change our minds daily!

New Pics and a SMILE!! :)

A group called VisitingOrphans.org just returned from a visit to our daughter's orphanage. Thanks so much to Susan and Elyssa for the wonderful new pictures. We got to see a smile from Gui Yu for the first time! We also really love that wild and crazy hair.

We have learned that Gui Yu LOVES to suck her thumb. Sometimes she twirls her shirt or her hair while she sucks her thumb. She sits up well on her own. Also, she makes great eye contact and loves to snuggle.

Happy Birthday Gui Yu!