Growing up way too fast!!

My oldest little sweet pea is growing up too fast for her mother's liking. Ainsley had her dance recital last night and when she came out on stage I was blown away by how grown up she looked.....of course the makeup and hair helped. It was more than that though. She had a poise and grace on stage. She held her head high and smiled the whole time and did her absolute best. They were so cute. The recital was held in a high school auditorium complete with balcony and it was packed. They just walked out on stage and danced their little hearts out in front of a lot of people. I was so proud of her!!!

Ainsley and her friend!!

Sofie had a blast at her sister's recital. We weren't sure how she would do as it was in a large auditorium that was packed full. She screamed that whole way to the hall and calmed down as soon as we got there. She was mesmerized by the dancers and our seats were in the first row so she had her own stage and she just danced the night away. So her are is a video of our little ham!!!!!

Tomorrow is our first post adoption placement visit. We have six visits that we have to do over the next five years. It includes a visit from our social worker and she submits a report and photos of all of us to the CCCWA in China. Quite a feat to put together a mere week and a half after getting home. Sofie also has her appointment at the University of Minnesota Adoption Clinic. They will go over her file and  draw blood etc and etc. She will get a full physical....should be fun!!!

I also received all the information on Sofie from Love Without Boundaries. They are a charity that works with her orphanage to help get kids ready for and pay for any surgeries that they may require. They paid for Sofie's lip repair. We finally got some answers as to why she is so small and doesn't have a lot of muscle. She was a very sick little baby before her surgery. She was severely malnourished,vomited up formula, had laryngitis, bronchitis, suffered from asthma which required nebulizers, and was diagnosed with patent foramen ovale. This is a common heart defect which usually heals itself. She had fevers for which they couldn't determine the origin and they were worried she would contract pneumonia in the hospital so she was discharged back to the healing home. LWB operates healing homes where they look after the vulnerable, ill children both pre and post surgical. At any time, any type of infection could have been deadly for little Lu Jing Jing. She is a fighter!!! She fought to stay alive and best of all, I have a picture of her before her lip repair and she has the same awesome, full face, glowing smile that she has now. It was always there, even when she was sick.
 I am grateful to LWB for the information that they provide, but, I am angry at the Chinese Government for not providing this information to adoptive parents. None of this seems to be done in the best interest of the child. Why would you not want to give any and all medical information to prospective parents at the time of referral. It is all political. It makes me very angry. Just do what is right.

I am very thankful for all that I have, for my family and my friends. I am very grateful for how hard this  sweet little girl has fought to survive and I will do everything I can to make sure that she gets everything she needs and all the medical help she requires. We are taking one day at a time.....the awesome smiles really help too :)