{"id":30142,"date":"2016-02-15T19:00:45","date_gmt":"2016-02-16T00:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/?p=30142"},"modified":"2016-02-16T08:18:59","modified_gmt":"2016-02-16T13:18:59","slug":"adoption-update-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/?p=30142","title":{"rendered":"Adoption Update #5"},"content":{"rendered":"

Things are moving along with our adoption, and we are getting so excited to meet Little Miss. \u00a0I wanted to fill you in on what is going on and where we stand. \u00a0If you have no interest in adoption, feel free to skip the adoption posts. \u00a0I have read tons of adoption blogs and posts, and I want to be a resource and share our experience\/timeline with others.<\/h3>\n

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\u00a0\"Flowers<\/p>\n

At the end of last June we were matched with our little girl and were told there would be a lot of waiting. (That’s no surprise because we started this process two years ago last month.) We were waiting to get the first approval from Thailand. \u00a0This is basically where Thailand says yes and that they agree with our adopting the child we were matched with in the process.\u00a0 All along we knew there would be a long wait for this first approval.\u00a0 The hardest part was knowing we had a daughter, she was getting bigger by the day, and we were missing out. \u00a0We were getting pictures every four months, and she was growing and getting bigger in front of our eyes but not in our arms. \u00a0I guess this is how someone who is pregnant feels. \u00a0Your child is growing daily, and all you want to do is meet your baby\u00a0and love on your child.<\/h3>\n

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\u00a0\"Flowers<\/p>\n

We were told first approvals were taking around seven to ten months after being matched. \u00a0Everyone asks me why it takes so long.\u00a0 Why can’t they approve us right away, etc.? \u00a0Well, adoption is a slow process, and we knew going into this that the whole process would take two to three years.\u00a0 There is nothing we can do. \u00a0The board that makes these approvals only meets twice a month, and they have a stack of files that never will get smaller, no matter how fast they work. \u00a0We are not the only ones adopting. There are Australians, Norwegians, other Americans, and couples from many other countries. \u00a0This board stays busy.<\/h3>\n

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One thing that helped to pass the time was getting care packages ready for Little Miss.\u00a0 Every few months we are allowed to send items to her.\u00a0 We can pretty much pick what we want as long as it all fits in a one gallon ziploc bag.\u00a0 We were told about the cute books where you could record a story with your voice. \u00a0I thought this recordable book<\/a> would be perfect.<\/h3>\n

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\"Under<\/p>\n

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Yankee and I sat down one night and even did a run through practicing the story. \u00a0The story is sweet as can be, and I even choked up on the last page. \u00a0Well, as I went to put our book in the gallon ziploc bag, I read in the instructions that recordable books and noise makers were not allowed. \u00a0Whomp, whomp…….Bummer….. I understand that the foster mother might not be thrilled with something making noise and having to deal with it, so, I guess it is easier to avoid all of those items. \u00a0So, while we couldn’t send this book,<\/a> we were thrilled to discover the recordable books\u00a0because we are going to get some for the grandparents, so they can read stories to her when she comes home.\u00a0 Both sets of grandparents live in other states, and recordable books will be a great way they can send a meaningful gift to her.\u00a0 Of course, we will be using Facetime and Skype, too.<\/h3>\n

\u00a0\"The<\/p>\n

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Now, let’s fast forward to this month. With the arrival of February, we knew that our window of opportunity\u00a0 to get first approval was here. \u00a0I had my calendar marked, and I knew when the board was meeting. \u00a0I was in Africa<\/a> for the first board meeting in February and didn’t hear from Yankee about getting first approval, so we figured it didn’t happen. \u00a0The afternoon I returned from the two week trip was a tough one.\u00a0 I had just traveled for 24 hours straight and was struggling with jet lag.\u00a0 I was about to make coffee to help me fight the urge to take a nap when I got a call from our adoption agency. \u00a0“Congratulations, you have first approval.” \u00a0I was speechless because I didn’t think we were getting approval\u00a0\u00a0at the seven month mark, and we did!!!<\/h3>\n

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\"First<\/p>\n

(If you follow us on Instagram, then you have already seen this photo.\u00a0 To keep up with everything, go here<\/a> to follow us.)<\/p>\n

This is\u00a0huge in the adoption world. \u00a0First approval means travel to Thailand is right around the corner!!\u00a0 We can get a call in three to five months to get on a plane and get our girl.\u00a0 In the adoption world that is no time at all. \u00a0I was then wide awake. \u00a0 No coffee was needed, and I couldn’t wait for Yankee to get home – not only to see him after my trip to Africa but to celebrate this big step. \u00a0Next up is another round of paperwork, and then we travel. \u00a0Folks, it is crunch time. I need to finish up \u00a0a few more things for her room and start packing my bags. \u00a0I really can’t stop smiling. I just can’t wait to meet our little lady.\u00a0 To put it in regular terms, we are in our final adoption trimester, and there are things to do!!!<\/h3>\n

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\u00a0\"Dress<\/p>\n

I have made a shopping list and have been busy buying items we will need. If any of you moms out there have anything to recommend for a toddler please let me know. (One of the advantages of adopting is that we don’t need a lot of those things that newborns require.)\u00a0 Her room is almost ready, and we will be giving a reveal of it really soon.\u00a0 Be sure to check in with us here on the blog to follow our journey.\u00a0 It’s so much fun to be able to share it with you.<\/h3>\n

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There’s one more thing I need to address before I close.\u00a0 We will not be posting face shots of Little Miss or posting her real name. \u00a0We signed a document addressing this with the country we are adopting from, and they have a strict no social media policy till she is legally our daughter (which can take about another year after she comes home.) \u00a0We will show you appropriate photos, but none of her face.\u00a0 Take my word, though.\u00a0 She is a little cutie with tons of black hair.<\/h3>\n

Want to read all about our adoption?<\/em><\/h3>\n

\u00a0 Adoption<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Adoption update #1<\/a> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Adoption Update #2<\/a> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Adoption Update #3<\/a> \u00a0 \u00a0 Adoption Update #4<\/a><\/em><\/h3>\n

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Cheers!<\/h3>\n

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Affiliate link provided.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Things are moving along with our adoption, and we are getting so excited to meet Little Miss. \u00a0I wanted to fill you in on what is going on and where we stand. \u00a0If you have no interest in adoption, feel free to skip the adoption posts. \u00a0I have read tons of adoption blogs and posts, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30142"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30142"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30180,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30142\/revisions\/30180"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}