tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20361093635237009402024-03-05T13:36:23.937-06:00Cramber's Taiwan BabyCramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-76444971152718103162010-04-14T20:11:00.000-05:002010-04-14T20:11:14.259-05:00Fox can climb stairs!<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/h4Sog4zUVGQ&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/h4Sog4zUVGQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
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A couple of days ago I came home from work and Chris said "Wanna see Fox's new trick?" and set him up next to our stairs. I was shocked to see he can climb them--with relative ease!Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-29875047238298598062010-03-24T18:44:00.000-05:002010-03-24T18:44:29.713-05:00Some good news--Adoption Tax Credit Extended and IncreasedSome good news--the Adoption Tax Credit has been extended (through 2011) and the amount has increased! That means if we are able to finish our adoption in 2011 (which probably isn't that likely--but I'm hopeful it will continually be extended after that), we would qualify for a $13,000-something tax credit. Whoo hoo! And it is now the GOOD kind of tax credit, that isn't limited by your tax liability. :)<br />
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<a href="http://chrisitianallianceblog.org/?p=563">Adoption Tax Credit Extended and Increased</a>Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-27311039923941900782010-03-18T20:49:00.001-05:002010-03-19T09:09:54.613-05:00Fox is 9 months oldToday Fox is 9 months old! He still won't crawl, but he will scoot around and <i>loves</i> to stand whenever he can. Enjoy this video of him chirping with excitement while he stands in his standing tub :)<br />
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<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TboCxzpDUc4&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TboCxzpDUc4&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-50145919480880693172010-03-16T07:53:00.000-05:002010-03-16T07:53:26.562-05:00Fox enjoying a plumFox LOVES to share plums with us these days. If we are eating a plum, Fox just INSISTS on getting some, too. <br />
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<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9thSMXe9vhA&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9thSMXe9vhA&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-3436323507235660082010-03-06T20:48:00.000-06:002010-03-06T20:48:13.418-06:00Fox using a spoonFox is being very insistent about holding his own spoon these days. He is also very insistent about trying to sit up when we're trying to change his diaper, but that's another story. I was feeding him some peas and squash yesterday, and thought I'd see what happened if I let him try to use the spoon himself....<br />
<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6-Lyb-4zhHw&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6-Lyb-4zhHw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-49427517726291784392010-02-28T09:30:00.000-06:002010-02-28T09:30:44.457-06:00Peek-a-boo FoxFox has learned to play peek-a-boo, which is super cute. He also learned to clap very recently. Here is a video of him playing peek-a-boo with Chris :)<br />
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<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dlXlSeiRfKE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dlXlSeiRfKE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-79973833789928094842010-02-14T13:17:00.000-06:002010-02-14T13:17:35.698-06:00Happy Year of the Tiger!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIyXnn5tbGbT07l-QqkcXlUjmorkUtkIkhxPNssAg5aOK52xFc1nJW8HxkFE7SiD8ZpJVq46KGEnwf-DtebJml1aKgZcN398z8DtYWpOLjQKVTZU_e5dixvcINri39yy6AekMF8LjNHvL/s1600-h/Year+of+the+Tiger-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIyXnn5tbGbT07l-QqkcXlUjmorkUtkIkhxPNssAg5aOK52xFc1nJW8HxkFE7SiD8ZpJVq46KGEnwf-DtebJml1aKgZcN398z8DtYWpOLjQKVTZU_e5dixvcINri39yy6AekMF8LjNHvL/s320/Year+of+the+Tiger-1.JPG" /></a></div>We had a small Chinese New Year party last night, which was a lot of fun. So much good food! And we watched Shaolin Soccer (very funny, if you haven't seen it). Here is a picture of Fox's first Chinese New Year, with his cousins :) Happy New Year, everyone!! (oh, and Happy Valentine's Day, too)Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-21307491624382139662010-02-12T19:24:00.000-06:002010-02-12T19:24:35.396-06:00Fox can stand!<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gVPsEVO0W0k&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gVPsEVO0W0k&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
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So Fox has figured out how to pull himself up to a standing position! We are so proud :)Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-30055917723269486472010-01-28T06:52:00.002-06:002010-01-28T06:55:01.994-06:00First "trimester"If our wait on the Cathwel list were akin to a pregnancy, we would have just finished the first trimester (i.e. first 3 months, approximately) and would have two more to go. Since this is instead an international adoption, I find myself wondering--how many more "trimesters" will we have? 10? 12? 15? It is a humbling thought.Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-41487973661627085052010-01-18T21:16:00.000-06:002010-01-18T21:16:53.254-06:00My baby is 7 months old<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yvEKN31g-7y1gUtiyQZZdJjYeERu_YVJdHXet5AN0B3bf7Z03i9oUxa5sT2rKFroCj7NUR29EelwdNKjlTj-N4qvPCG1QGllX_Z_RLMZfPEcWwR7QREQD6JXMQ1BdinNga-l81VYI03G/s1600-h/Tummy+Fox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yvEKN31g-7y1gUtiyQZZdJjYeERu_YVJdHXet5AN0B3bf7Z03i9oUxa5sT2rKFroCj7NUR29EelwdNKjlTj-N4qvPCG1QGllX_Z_RLMZfPEcWwR7QREQD6JXMQ1BdinNga-l81VYI03G/s320/Tummy+Fox.jpg" /></a>My baby Fox is 7 months old now! Kind of hard to believe. He is such a good boy--he's been sleeping pretty well at night, and he is eating great--he loves all kinds of fruits and vegetables, plus grains and some baby yogurt. He doesn't seem real keen on crawling (he can scoot backwards, but doesn't try to go forwards--he usually just starts fussing), but he loves to be standing and will take a few small steps (with a great deal of support). Here are a few recent pics - one of him doing tummytime on his neat foam tile flooring and the other one where he is learning to 'cruise' along the coffee table (with some assistance).<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh32P4teAy5Vz4cUjg8kgnkfN3hyphenhyphenpxGD7PPPD6KiYWFW2j7QBLvOxEWBy1_bImwg-vNcMTaLYpsagfqhJAladDFVQrgj8HB6mZZR-ON8ReSRmP-fLabon9VuqyDaSUmpVQgfyf2b4pJ8C0J/s1600-h/Fox+first+cruising.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh32P4teAy5Vz4cUjg8kgnkfN3hyphenhyphenpxGD7PPPD6KiYWFW2j7QBLvOxEWBy1_bImwg-vNcMTaLYpsagfqhJAladDFVQrgj8HB6mZZR-ON8ReSRmP-fLabon9VuqyDaSUmpVQgfyf2b4pJ8C0J/s320/Fox+first+cruising.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-12273071106780563432010-01-07T15:42:00.000-06:002010-01-07T15:42:07.568-06:00Bao BeiHere is a beautiful song by Taiwanese singer Zhang Xuan called "Bao Bei" (which is a term Chinese mothers use for their babies--I believe it loosely translates to 'precious treasure' so it is kind of like the German term of endearment "Schatz" with some baby connotations). Cute pictures of little Chinese babies are included! :)<br />
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<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yPvY6ZaukAg&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yPvY6ZaukAg&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-66175303652892163382010-01-01T16:10:00.001-06:002010-01-01T16:11:32.062-06:00Fun in the snow!We played outside today for awhile--Fox seemed to enjoy it pretty well :)<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLK3ht87PVAz2uS5Rc2Y7nnwhzwF-6MsCYt_ulQDNhp__EbEF9GxcqiAkuHJ2eFj2BepPmm-QCUhSuibf20uDdE6-qJJ2VRgeWsqUTBhT_xss6zuRiR7ZKmG_5YF7ul2oFjOjAewwI_cXJ/s1600-h/Fox+in+igloo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLK3ht87PVAz2uS5Rc2Y7nnwhzwF-6MsCYt_ulQDNhp__EbEF9GxcqiAkuHJ2eFj2BepPmm-QCUhSuibf20uDdE6-qJJ2VRgeWsqUTBhT_xss6zuRiR7ZKmG_5YF7ul2oFjOjAewwI_cXJ/s320/Fox+in+igloo.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm6Qa11Vt9nyjSP3oo-pbrWkbA-cF1Grv_APiYzF8gcl7qGCq9EXkTI24goyYS2czHf68oUIO-nO23avuJr6cr3285PS_dmkcl3-El6uV718mPfiRfc3auVqfMcLvHY2ZRk18qUSJJ4flV/s1600-h/Fox+on+sled.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm6Qa11Vt9nyjSP3oo-pbrWkbA-cF1Grv_APiYzF8gcl7qGCq9EXkTI24goyYS2czHf68oUIO-nO23avuJr6cr3285PS_dmkcl3-El6uV718mPfiRfc3auVqfMcLvHY2ZRk18qUSJJ4flV/s320/Fox+on+sled.JPG" /></a><br />
</div>Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-26437734113561504482009-12-30T21:59:00.001-06:002009-12-30T22:00:44.522-06:00Xmas, scooting FoxWe had a nice Christmas, although the weather was so bad (worst snow storm we've had in YEARS blew in on Xmas Eve) we didn't get to see all of the family members we hoped to see. Fox had a nice first Christmas overall, though. On Christmas morning he demonstrated how he could scoot backwards--his first method of locomotion! He still isn't much of a roller--he pretty much refuses to roll. Here is a video of him scooting backwards, captured the day after Christmas :)<br />
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Happy New Year everyone! It would be AWESOME if we received a referral in 2010, but very unlikely. You never know, though!<br />
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<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YD9XiETTpZQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YD9XiETTpZQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-9979553654482067502009-12-18T21:30:00.001-06:002009-12-18T21:38:05.715-06:00Baby Fox is 6 months old!... and Taiwan adoption statisticsoday my baby Fox is 6 months old. I can hardly believe it! He grows up so fast. He is now in the 90% for height, 60% for his head, and only 3% for weight. He's a tall skinny boy, apparently! The doctor wasn't worried, though--she said he is consistent and he is healthy, so we're not worried either. We will keep making sure he eats a lot, though--I don't know how this little guy is so skinny since he is such a good eater! I steamed and blended some spinach that Grandpa Dan grew, and so Fox celebrated his 6 month old birthday by eating some tasty tasty spinach. He wasn't sure about it at first, but by the end he seemed to like it pretty well. I've attached a video--this is definitely the messiest he's ever gotten!!<br />
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In other news, the US State Dept has released the total number of international adoptions in the US for fiscal year 2009, which is interesting. Last year there were 219 Taiwanese adoptions, and this year there were 253! So they are still on the rise. It really is a pretty interesting table overall (<a href="http://www.adoption.state.gov/news/total_chart.html">http://www.adoption.state.gov/news/total_chart.html</a>) As a whole, international adoptions are way down.Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-69282734212360716142009-12-09T21:30:00.000-06:002009-12-09T21:30:47.791-06:00Adoption Movie Review #1 - PinocchioI've decided to start my series of "Adoption Movie Reviews." These won't necessarily be movies specifically about adoption, but rather movies which happen to have adoption elements in them. Rather than just give an overview of the plot, I'll discuss what the adoption-related messages are, and if I feel they are positive or negative adoption stories. For my first review, I'm going to look at Disney's Pinocchio. <br />
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We were babysitting my niece Ellie and nephew Theo last night, and decided to watch our DVD of Pinocchio. I hadn't realized it, but it has been many many years since I've watched it! I was struck by Geppetto's relationship with Pinocchio--it really is quite touching. Geppetto wishes on the wishing star for his wooden puppet to become a real boy, and the blue fairy brings Pinocchio to life. Although Geppetto is startled at first, he adjusts very quickly and before long he has Pinocchio snuggled next to him in bed with a matching night cap. The next morning he is already calling him 'son', and Pinocchio is calling Geppetto 'father.' I found myself thinking "wow, they are bonding really well! What a great example of an older child adoption!" While Geppetto doesn't exactly ADOPT Pinocchio, the movie really does emphasize the fact that Pinocchio isn't Geppetto's biological child--yet he loves him as if he were. It does a great job of demonstrating that families are created in many different ways, and that a non-traditional family can be a wonderful, loving thing. The only negative aspect I'd point out is the fact that the blue fairy tells Pinocchio he has to prove himself before he can become a 'real boy.' Considering older children who have been adopted sometimes have issues feeling like they have to be 'good enough' for their new families and are fearful of not being wanted, such a concept might be distressing to some children. Overall, though, I felt it has quite a positive "adoption" story.Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-76008558778709225372009-12-06T18:13:00.000-06:002009-12-06T18:14:02.429-06:00Christmas decorating<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHHnzf2DDI8veaRfl_HqOVDNqh4-KWhlnroteU7AW-fKH9abNAuHYz586gVGvZM9dQdEakGq0ZuOnnzbFzspFC1Zt2mdHJow8qbuRnYUvf1lsV4BdZNB21hFIxIdfgdron2IumRBvIellI/s1600-h/baby+Fox+017.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CLEAR: both" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHHnzf2DDI8veaRfl_HqOVDNqh4-KWhlnroteU7AW-fKH9abNAuHYz586gVGvZM9dQdEakGq0ZuOnnzbFzspFC1Zt2mdHJow8qbuRnYUvf1lsV4BdZNB21hFIxIdfgdron2IumRBvIellI/s320/baby+Fox+017.JPG" /></a> We decided to go with a small tree this year, and ended up getting a potted tree that can fit on our table. We got out our decorations earlier today and decorated it with the help of a certain little elf.<div style='clear:both; text-align:LEFT'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-68283603486111835542009-11-25T20:56:00.000-06:002009-11-25T20:56:50.783-06:00One monthWe have now been waiting for one month on Cathwel's list. I find myself thinking "ok, so that's what a month feels like. Now do I have 10, 20, 30, or 40 of those left until we get a referral?" I'm not really anxious about it or anything--I've resigned myself to a long wait--but it is just interesting to speculate about. Of course its been over a year and a half since we originally started the Taiwan adoption process, so one month is really a drop in the bucket any way you slice it.Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-16726350859233468962009-11-21T16:52:00.000-06:002009-11-21T16:52:39.962-06:00Adoption Info #3 - Status of International AdoptionsIn honor of National Adoption Day today, I thought I'd post this interesting article I came across. It outlines the status of international adoptions in the US this year. I have to agree that it seems international adoptions are getting more and more difficult, and that ultimately they will be phased out more and more. While in some cases that will be good (i.e. it will mean that there will not be as many orphans in the countries and/or more children will be adopted within country), but in some it will be bad (i.e. the kids will just stay in orphanages or foster care rather than being adopted). I predict the world of international adoption will be very different 5 years from now.<br />
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http://www.rainbowkids.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=683Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-19627672924104364502009-11-03T07:55:00.000-06:002009-11-03T07:55:38.959-06:00Fox the Turtle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLP_1pqyCyE791DuvhvDwYBOgctlLpZ_BEZE0hf21NbjZ0-7yBdLDNURPAaWDMg5DKhVkVCSwrdx0l6wnSZR7TsOYH_BGHI4vKCtzzFXfjqdV3mDQTBu8D0BNv6o6Pxmh6I3tJVuAjueXr/s1600-h/Fox+the+turtle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLP_1pqyCyE791DuvhvDwYBOgctlLpZ_BEZE0hf21NbjZ0-7yBdLDNURPAaWDMg5DKhVkVCSwrdx0l6wnSZR7TsOYH_BGHI4vKCtzzFXfjqdV3mDQTBu8D0BNv6o6Pxmh6I3tJVuAjueXr/s320/Fox+the+turtle.JPG" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div>Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-15875577904137526412009-11-01T21:06:00.001-06:002009-11-01T21:07:26.277-06:00Taiwan Fun Fact #5 - Vegetarianism in TaiwanAh, two of my favorite topics: vegetarianism and Taiwan. I came across this interesting article, and just had to share:<br />
<a href="http://www.taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=47665&CtNode=430">http://www.taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=47665&CtNode=430</a><br />
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Did you know there are approximately 1.7 million vegetarians in Taiwan? That is a fairly notable amount, considering the island only has about 23 million people. This article actually mentions one of the restaurants (Jen Dow Vegetarian Buffet) that I posted about in my last Taiwan Fun Fact post. I cannot WAIT to hit that buffet when we are traveling to get our future daughter!! <br />
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In case anyone is wondering, Chris and I do intend on raising both of our children as vegetarians. We are not vegans (i.e. we do eat eggs, dairy products, honey, etc), but we do avoid all meats (and, yes, that includes poultry and fish products). We are hoping that there may be a birthmother out there who is vegetarian and would like to see her baby raised vegetarian, as well, and our family would be chosen because of that. I would really love to know that we would be raising our daughter the way her birthmother hoped she would be raised.Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-51809776518842865792009-10-26T21:17:00.000-05:002009-10-26T21:17:10.319-05:00Dossier received in Taiwan! We are officially waiting!Yay! We received confirmation that our dossier was received by the orphanage in Taipei yesterday, Oct. 25th. So we are now OFFICIALLY waiting for our referral! <br />
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Here is our current situation in a nutshell:<br />
The estimated wait time provided by our agency is 10 - 36 months. So we might receive a referral sometime between August 2010 and October 2012. Or it may be longer - it is hard to say. I would say it is extremely unlikely the wait would be shorter than 10 months, but one can always dream, huh? Our Taiwan baby will be somewhere between 0 - 18 months old at the time of referral. And please keep in mind that once we receive a referral (i.e. we are matched with a baby), it will likely be 4-8 months before we would actually travel to get her. So we might be home with her sometime between December 2010 and June 2013. In other words, we really don't know when anything will be happening at this point--we are starting the long wait, and there is nothing further to be done at this point.<br />
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I say that, and yet there is a lot I'd like to do over the months we are waiting. Chris and I would really like to start learning Mandarin Chinese. I would also like to keep up on this blog and give my family and friends useful information on Taiwan and on adoption. So please check back occasionally--I'd like to update here about once a week, but we shall see. <br />
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I have added another ticker to the bottom of the blog - this one will be our actual wait for referral. I'm going to keep the "...since starting our adoption paperwork" because it will be very interesting for us to see just how long it takes us to finally bring our Taiwan baby home--from beginning to end, with all of the bumps included. Bring it on!!Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-31837123774064211402009-10-20T19:32:00.000-05:002009-10-20T19:32:37.886-05:00Dossier to Taiwan!<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I confirmed with our agency that our dossier was sent to Taiwan yesterday! Yay! I have a tracking number and I'm keeping tabs on it :) Once the dossier is received by Cathwel, they will notify our agency and we will officially be waiting for a referral!! Yay!!<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">In other news, the pediatrician last week said that Fox is pretty skinny, and since he's 4 months old now she recommended we supplement his breastfeeding with rice cereal. So Fox is eating "food" now, about once a day :) He's not good about keeping it in his mouth, lol. Here's a picture for your enjoyment.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCDFZCvHZhbi5aGge6ipU5oh5tFfHwuIiyL2IJOKtrFq8bAM3Hpe8fuyRkYVxIB1yt5W5s7kPmoPhyphenhyphenmcGk2KIsD1lkT8iLiKrgBNSLx462bHRHgqZw0BOt7jxi_hRypLhtDACdBroa9x1/s1600-h/baby+Fox+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCDFZCvHZhbi5aGge6ipU5oh5tFfHwuIiyL2IJOKtrFq8bAM3Hpe8fuyRkYVxIB1yt5W5s7kPmoPhyphenhyphenmcGk2KIsD1lkT8iLiKrgBNSLx462bHRHgqZw0BOt7jxi_hRypLhtDACdBroa9x1/s320/baby+Fox+010.JPG" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div>Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-71095396747116418572009-10-15T21:10:00.003-05:002009-10-15T21:26:25.160-05:00USCIS approval!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9V6RFKoBMxuMhTrp9y28vglNQKPb8RNdkBYNwOBefHzWkkO53Q1c7EoL9pErZuntSCYHhB9ZaA_4hYxtZNHlzNmBSVGNhbGzNEhLjKWTcGK0W47wxMx_POGFO6DpvX0UaK-jqM4FuF1Ob/s1600-h/Fox+helping+with+Dossier.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9V6RFKoBMxuMhTrp9y28vglNQKPb8RNdkBYNwOBefHzWkkO53Q1c7EoL9pErZuntSCYHhB9ZaA_4hYxtZNHlzNmBSVGNhbGzNEhLjKWTcGK0W47wxMx_POGFO6DpvX0UaK-jqM4FuF1Ob/s320/Fox+helping+with+Dossier.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393017816949917426" /></a><br />Big news, YAY! Today we received our I-171H form from the USCIS, approving us to adopt a baby from Taiwan! We are so pleased by the timing--we were told to expect a 30-90 day wait, and it only took 27 days. It isn't often that things move QUICKER than expected in International Adoption! <br />This is the last item we were waiting on for our dossier, so I made copies and we mailed all of our documents to our agency. Here's a picture of Fox 'helping' us do the paperwork for his little sister :) The timing was truly perfect...we were told that we couldn't submit our dossier to Taiwan until Fox turns 4 months old. Guess what...Fox turns 4 months old THIS SUNDAY. Yep, our agency will likely be receiving our dossier literally a day or two beforehand. I'm not sure how long it'll take for our agency to mail our full dossier to Cathwel, for them to translate the documents, etc. But at this point it is all out of our hands. I'll definitely post each step of the way--I'm hoping it won't be more than a week or two. I can't wait until we can say we are officially WAITING for our referral!!<br />Just so everyone knows, I do plan on updating this blog during the long wait, so please check back often. I plan on posting more Taiwan Fun Facts and misc adoption information. Plus I'm thinking about doing movie reviews of films that are adoption-friendly (and adoption-UNfriendly). So stay tuned!Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-73445279022701942352009-09-26T09:56:00.001-05:002009-09-26T09:57:53.936-05:00USCIS FingerprintingYesterday Chris and I got fingerprinted at the USCIS office! It was actually really quick and easy--much better than I'd anticipated. Now we just have to wait for our approval, and finish up our Dear Birthmother letter and our Photobook (the fun part!).Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2036109363523700940.post-53939048181863073392009-09-16T18:58:00.003-05:002009-09-16T19:13:53.615-05:00Final draft of homestudy, and mailed the I-600AAh, today I feel pretty accomplished. We received the final draft of our homestudy in the mail (huzzah for having an agency so close that mail arrives the next day!), and after work I mailed our I-600A form (complete with check for $830, certified copies of our birth certificates and marriage license, and notarized copy of our homestudy) to the local US Citizenship and Immigration Services office (it should arrive tomorrow). This is a step I have anticipated doing for probably close to 10 years - ever since I started looking into international adoption - so I find it rather exciting :) Now we have to wait. We were told it could be 30 to 90 days total until we get the approval, although during that waiting period we will be given an appointment to go get fingerprinted. In the meantime we get to work on the other parts of our dossier - mostly pretty simple stuff. I've already started working on our photobook (pretty fun!) and the "Dear Birth Mother Letter," which is a little bit more difficult. I feel the need to make it and the photobook JUST RIGHT, since I know it could actually be influential in the referral process. <br /><br />In Fox news, he will be 3 months old day after tomorrow! He is sitting on my lap as I type this, babbling like crazy. He is getting SO close to rolling over, too! He's sleeping longer at night, too - he went 6 hours the other night, which was wonderful. Five hours is becoming pretty standard. Here's a picture of him on his new activity gym mat I got on eBay. His head is still pretty gigantic :)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKNJ8Hk2af5-FhEjv3LviHjztX-LiqCy3OQbYFerOmeN3INh1xQBrNW_6rQHTNmrUGvZThSNb9twIQBbFck2VMiuoTu8ZH2kuRgI3s3kCVxy9ZVrGotqJHAFO4j-txKqZgP3eTkeJHiRMg/s1600-h/Fox+and+his+activity+gym.JPG"><img style="margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKNJ8Hk2af5-FhEjv3LviHjztX-LiqCy3OQbYFerOmeN3INh1xQBrNW_6rQHTNmrUGvZThSNb9twIQBbFck2VMiuoTu8ZH2kuRgI3s3kCVxy9ZVrGotqJHAFO4j-txKqZgP3eTkeJHiRMg/s320/Fox+and+his+activity+gym.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382222559972499666" /></a>Cramberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03556241978315283104noreply@blogger.com1