We received an update!

5/24/11
Yesterday we received a tiny update on Ying. It's been 10 months since we got the last update, so I'm happy to get this tidbit of information. Here is what it said..

The child doesn't know she will be adopted yet. She is outgoing. She is attending 4th grade in elementary school, her academic performance is quite good. She likes music, literature and art, she has just begun learning English. She brushes her teeth every day. We have not noticed any cavities so far. She likes fruits.

My agency said pictures to follow. We've only gotten 1 picture during this long wait. The rest of the pictures we have are from when her file was originally made back in 2007, and the few I've obtained from another family that adopted an older girl from this orphanage back in 2007. So, new pics would be great! They also sent me her measurements. I compared her measurements with Briella's since they're close in age. They are almost the same height, within an inch. If the measurements are correct, Ying may be slightly taller. Briella weighs 85 lbs and Ying weighs 77 lbs. Their waist and foot size seem to be the same.

I wonder if she started school late.. in China, children usually start 1st grade at age 7 (no kindergarten). But Ying turned 12 in Jan and is in 4th grade, so she may have started school after 7. She will likely be placed in 4th grade here, so she will be older than her peers, which is the same case for Ben, Briella and even Lidia. That's just what happens when an older child who starts school late (or in Lidia's case, never had school) comes to a new country and has to learn a whole new language and catch up. Hopefully, when I'm in China I can ask the facilitator or orphanage director lots of questions.

We are sending her a care package - it's almost ready to mail out. Waiting for our letter to be translated. When she receives this box, she will know she has a family!

We just have a couple tiny steps left in the paper process & then we will receive our travel approval. I'm ordering our travel visas now and beginning to prepare for the trip, which might be about 5-6 weeks from now.

I can't wait to give her a hug!