We reached Taipei two days ago, and are staying at the Caesar Park hotel. The staff has been very nice and helpful; they upgraded us to a suite and also allowed us to check in early. We reached the hotel at about 8 am, and were expecting to leave our bags at the hotel and roam around a bit, but they had a room ready, and so allowed us to check in. We were thrilled, as we got a chance to freshen up and relax a bit before exploring the city. The hotel staff also sent us the crib we had requested, so we are all set for Ava now!

We spent our first day at Taipei exploring the area around our hotel. We discovered a LOT of eating places, probably around twenty within one block of our hotel, coffee shops galore, including Starbucks, and several 7-11s and other convenience stores. There are also a couple of malls nearby. One of the little gems we discovered was something like a dollar store and everything there was NT$ 39. We bought a lot of little things from there, including a little stool for us to sit in the bath tub and bathe Ava. We also picked up a little card from Starbucks that allows us thirty days of unlimited wireless internet access in Taipei, for NT$500. The only problem with that is that there is just one point in our hotel room where the signal is strong enough that we can access the wireless network, so we have spent a good amount of time on a chair near the window of our room, surfing and checking our emails. *grin*

That evening, we visited Taipei 101, the current tallest building in the world, and got a complimentary roller coaster ride on the way there. Our cabbie obviously had grown up playing a lot of action video games, and he zigzagged through the maze of cars, scooters and people at warp speed. Wifey’s heart was in her mouth a few times on the journey, but before we knew it, we had reached our destination, safe and sound, and as soon as we paid the cabbie, he zoomed along for his next adventure.

We reached Taipei 101 just before dusk, and got a few pictures in daylight as well as after night fell. The view was awesome, and we enjoyed a quiet cup of coffee in the observation deck on the 89^th floor. We also shopped a bit at a big grocery store in the plaza in the building, and hubby finally found the rice crackers that he had been looking for ever since we reached Taipei. We were finally done for the night and after dinner at the food court of the plaza, we took a cab ride home, though this driver was a lot less prone to reckless twists and turns on the road.

We started the next day off with breakfast at McDonalds, good old sausage egg Mcmuffins *smile*. We spent the morning exploring some more, and then went on a three hour tour of the city in the afternoon. We were very impressed with the beautiful architecture as well as the history of all the places we visited. We spent a good hour and a half at the Taipei museum, and decided that we have to get Ava here once she is older so that she can experience it too.

After a leisurely dinner at one of the hotel restaurants, we returned to our rooms to pack our travel bags for the trip to Tainan and make sure we had everything we needed. We then turned in, but one of us couldn’t really sleep and is currently up, updating our blog *smile*.

So, we finally, finally get to meet our daughter in about six hours. It is surreal! We have been looking at the crib and imagining Ava in there for the last couple of hours, and tonight, she will be with us. All these months and years, our daughter has been a distant, and then a not-so-distant dream, but in a few hours, she will become our reality and our future, and the thought is overwhelming (but in a good way, of course! *smile*)

The update did come after all! Our baby is looking really sad in the photo. I think she is waiting for her mommy and dada to come pick her up soon!

• Height: 65 cm (25.6 in)
• Weight: 6.9 kg (15.21 lbs)
• Head circumference: 42.5 cm (16.73 in)

No update this month, just a few photos of our baby. Now we know how to get her to sleep *heh*

Legally at least! We got the most wonderful news today – ‘We received the final decree!’. The last legal hurdle has been crossed and Ava Chia-Wen is now legally our daughter. Years of waiting and hoping and finally we will have a daughter. It may take us 6 more weeks but at the end of it she will be with us and we are then committed to giving her the best possible life we can.

What a relief! We were getting very nervous the last few days since it was taking a little longer than expected between the first and final decree.

The gotcha day is May 23rd. Yes, that’s the day we get to hold her and bring her back with us. That’s the day our lives change forever. We are planning to travel on the 20th of May out of Los Angeles and return on the 26th. This is not going to be a sighseeing trip for us, although we will take as many photographs in as little time we have out there to create some memories for our daughter.

This is not the end of our journey but just the beginning. Until now and for the next few weeks Ava is our daughter we cannot hold or touch. On May 23 she truly becomes our daughter and will be dependant on us for a long time. This is a big responsibility and we will try to chronicle the early years of the post adoption part of the journey on this blog. I say try because we have a vague idea of what we are venturing into and have been told that time (and sanity?) is one thing we can count on not having after we become parents! *smile*

Did I mention that we are excited?

This is our lucky week…first decree and more pictures!

• Height: 63 cm (24.8 in)
• Weight: 6.4 kg (14.11 lbs)
• Head circumference: 42 cm (16.54 in)

We were on our way back from a trip today, and between flights, we checked our cellphones and realized that our adoption coordinator from Heartsent had called both of us and left messages that she had an “update” for us. An update?? That had to be good, right? That had to be ‘the’ update, didn’t it? That we had our first decree? We called back immediately only to get the voice mail, and we hoped that it wasn’t too late to reach her – it was about 4 pm. We spent the next few minutes sneaking looks at our cell phones to make sure that we wouldn’t miss any calls. Thankfully, our coordinator called back immediately and told us that yes, it was good news, we had our first decree from the court. The FIRST DECREE!!!! This means that we should be able to travel in around 6 weeks or so to pick up our baby! Six weeks!! So much to do.

So, we sat down and made a list of everything that we still need – and it’s a long list *smile* It’s going to be a busy six weeks, that’s for sure. But at the end of that, we will get to go and bring her home!! We are thrilled beyond words and can’t wait!!

Six weeks!! Phew! Wow – is it really happening?

We received a few more pictures of Ava just when we were getting serious picture withdrawal! Seeing her definitely makes the wait much easier, or does it! Can’t wait to get her home…

We are not really sure if this the 5th month update. The photos were taken on Feb 3 but the measurements could be current.

• Height: 60 cm (24 in)
• Weight: 5.8 kg (12.79 lbs)
• Head circumference: 40.7 cm (16 in)

Our baby is 5 months already but we haven’t received any update on account of the Chinese New Year. To all those waiting with us…it doesn’t get any easier. I have half a mind to just make a trip to Taiwan and get up, close, and personal with my baby. Hopefully the update will come soon…

And somewhere while you’re sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I love you

……When Love Takes You In – Steven Curtis Chapman

A very happy Chinese New Year to all! This is the year of the Boar. We went to Chinatown today to participate in the celebrations. As we were browsing around the shops we picked up a ‘Talisman for the Year of the Dog’ (Chinese Horoscope) for our baby. We also picked up a stamp with ‘Ava’ translated in Chinese. As the English language cannot be literally translated into Chinese, I have no idea what the Chinese translation means!

One interesting fact about us is that we were both born in the year of the Rat. We also got married in the year of the Rat. Aren’t we glad to have at least one dog in a family of rats! *smile*

Our baby’s horoscope reads like this “Born in the year of the Dog you are a True friend a seeker of justice and a truth protector. These fortunate characters are yours: Helflness, Supporting the community, Naturalist lover, Devoted worker, Champion of the under dog, Selfless partner, Useful initiator”. Hmmm…Now if only this was true!

We convinced our agency to send a second care package to Ava. We really wanted to send a photo album with our photos. We also wanted to send a blanket since word is that the nursery in Taiwan will embroider our baby’s name on the blanket and return it to us. These are the contents of the care package that we will put in a 1 gallon ziplock back and mail to our agency.

• 1 cute and cuddly and ultra soft pink blanket
• 1 photo album with our photos
• 2 teethers
• 1 wearable sleep blanket
• 1 plastic bib

Our baby is 4 months old now. We received a few more photographs of her from our agency. She has some rash marks on her face and hands. Poor baby… Looks like she has sensitive skin. We will make it all okay after we get her home.

Now why would anyone put a boy jacket on our cutie girl! Grrrrrrr

• Height: 59 cm (23.23 in)
• Weight: 5.3 kg (11.68 lbs)
• Head circumference: 39 cm (15.35 in)

Ava is almost 4 months old…the waiting is killing us…

Our friend, who is in Taiwan picking up her son from the same nursery, just sent us a few pictures. This is what she had to say about Ava

She was asleep at first but when we stood over her she woke up a little and kept turning her head away from the camera before settling down again. She is very tiny and totally adorable.

The nannies said that they call her Chia-wen, no nickname. In 2006 all girl babies born in St Lucy have “chia” in their names. They said this is so that if she comes back to find her roots, they will know what year she was in St. Lucy.

We also got word that our dossier (along with the care package) has reached Taiwan.

In our quest to find the meaning of Chia-Wen…

From Heartsent (our adoption agency)

I heard back from the translator that Chia-Wen translates to “beautiful disposition”.

From a friend who is travelling to Taiwan soon

“Chia-Wen” is pronounced “jia wen” – two syllables, not three. I noticed that St Lucy spells their babies’ names using the Wade-Giles method of romanization, but the modern way is to use the Hanyu Pinyin method. In Pinyin, “Chia-Wen” would be “Jia-Wen” which is closer to the actual pronunciation.

At St. Lucy, they probably call Ava “Wen-Wen” or “Xiao-Wen” or “A-Wen”. “Xiao” means “little”. “A” doesn’t mean anything but it’s a term of endearment. Chinese/Taiwanese people, when talking to their children, usually double the second character of the name or replace the first character with “xiao” or “ah”. I guess it just depends on what sounds better with the name.

We are allowed to send a few items to our baby. The only requirement is that the contents fit in a 1 gallon ziplock bag. This is the list of items we mailed to our agency which Heartsent will mail to the nursery in Taiwan

• 2 tubes of Desitin – Diaper rash cream
• 3 pairs of Socks
• 1 Bib
• 3 Caps
• 3 Onezee’s
• 1 Teether

Our baby is 3 months old now. We received a few more photographs of her from our agency.

• Height: 55.5 cm (21.8 in)
• Weight: 4.7 kg (10.4 lbs)
• Head circumference: 38 cm (15 in)

Our little girl was born in Taiwan on September 2006. As per the medical report, she is healthy in every sense. She weighed in at 2600 grams (5.73 lbs) at birth. On Nov 30th, at a little over 2 months, she weighed in at 9 lbs. Her birth name is Chia-Wen but we are thinking of calling her Ava. The name Ava is derived from Eva which is short for Evangeline which means ‘bearer of good news’.

We are probably getting carried away by calling her our little baby since anything can go wrong until the adoption is finalized. We have 2 choices: wait until we get custody of her and celebrate then or celebrate right now. We are going to celebrate right now! Wish us the best of luck. We still have about 6 more nervous months to deal with before the adoption is finalized.

Here is the first photograph of our little cutie: