It's a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good morning,

Yesterday, on Chris's 35th Birthday, we received the phone call we've been waiting for. Joey and I decided to head to the mall in the morning since we waited all day Monday at home waiting for the phone call and did not receive it. We were gone for about an hour and a half and returned home at 11:30 to a message on my machine from Love the Children, asking for me to call back and talk with Cecelia. I did so and she told me about a little 6 month old baby girl in Korea. She was born at 40 weeks on May 29, 2008 (just 6 days after Joey's birthday!) weighing 6 lb 9 oz. The intake worker at Eastern named her Soo Hee which means outstanding and bright. Her given last name is Kim. On October 29th, she weighed 13.6 lb and 25 inches tall, which puts her at 25% for weight and 50% for height! Her head is at a 25% ... another child with a small head, like her Mama! Though I am going to have to ask Lauren for some pointers on a petite child...our family hasn't seen one since Gianna was born LOL!

After speaking with Cecelia and Cecelia telling me she will be mailing overnight mail the pictures and reports, I call Chris immediately. Happy Birthday, babe, your the proud father of a baby girl! My tears are streaming and I hear the lump in Chris's throat. Are you serious, he says? Yes, babe, I am very serious. I tell him the little I know of our daughter, basically her size and the fact that she is very healthy, and that according to Cecelia, she is beautiful. We then decide who will drive to Quakertown to get the pictures, as we both know this Mommy is not waiting until the morning to see pictures of her daughter! So I agree that I will give Joey lunch (boy had to eat!) and run up there myself. We talk about it and I agree not to look at the photos until Chris is home.....I then call my sister and try to call my mom, who is MIA!

I get there and a nice man shows me how to fill out the ton of paperwork. I hope I did it right, admittedly, I was paying VERY little attention! I get in the car, and I look at the photos. In all fairness, I realized I had to scan them in the second I got home for our international adoption doctor to look at them, so I'd have to look at them anyway. I again immediately call Chris and am crying. Our daughter is GORGEOUS! Joey is wondering why I am crying so I tell him that he has a little sister in Korea. He asks me if she will watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with him when she comes home. I cried some more.

I drive home while talking to my sister and almost crash a few times. My sister is so excited that she is asking me the baby's address to send Christmas gifts. I tell her I'll ask my agency, and then we realize that its very possible she's not celebrating Christmas with her foster mother. Hmm......

The rest of the day was "normal". I got Carmela off the bus and swore that I wouldn't tell her so Chris could be with me when they saw the news. Joey knew, but he's 2 and well if its not batman, he's not remembering it LOL! So we sit down to eat dinner when Chris shows Carmela the photos and tells her she has a baby sister in Korea. She is ECSTATIC. She wanted a girl so bad. Right away, she wants to name the baby Belle. We turned that one down, and she asked about Beast. Umm......

Chris's family called to wish him a happy birthday and he surprised them all telling them they are the new aunt/uncle to a baby girl. He said that everyone was really excited. Chris and I reviewed all the paperwork to accept our referral and made our copies, etc. This morning Chris is getting it notarized then sending it federal express back to Cecelia.

So what do we know about our new daughter??? We know that SHE is a girl and was born on May 29, 2008 :) We know that she weighed 6 lb 9 oz at birth and that she currently weighs 13.6 lb and is 25 inches tall. We know that she is on soy formula because she had difficulty pooping on regular milk. We know that she gets "fretful" before going to sleep, but she sleeps from 8 pm to 7 am waking up once to eat at dawn. She has 2-3 naps of 1-2 hours. We know that she has eye contact, babbles well, smiles if being amused, laughs out loud or shouts when she is in a good mood (she'll fit in well with this here), rolls over, takes weight on her legs if lited up on your lap, reaches for a toy, puts toys into her mouth, sits briefly if in a sitting position and turns her head when her name is called. We also know she is staying with a foster mother who is outgoing, kind-hearted and active with childcare. Lastly, we know she is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous! We just adore her. Seriously. When Carmela saw the picture the first words out of her mouth were "she's SO cute" and I have to agree with her on that one. Joey and Anthony insisted that it was "baby Carmela" when looking at the photo, to which Lauren agrees.

Cecelia said that she should be home in 4-5 months, so I am praying that she will be here for Easter and Carmela's 5th birthday!

I can go on and on talking about our new daughter. We are hoping one day our new daughter will have a name, but as of now she remains nameless.....Frontrunners are Ava, Juliana and Christina....stay tuned!

P.S. The photo of her laying down was at 2 months. The rest of them were at 5 months. The picture of her with the lady holding her is her foster mother .