How sweet it is! Thanks, Ozimum, for showcasing my PIPA.Today (or rather, Friday) I sent off PIPA's acceptance papers and some other paperwork tasks. Tomorrow (or really later today) I have some baby planning fun with my mom. Seriously, I really get to plan for THIS baby. She is MY girl. Her face is no longer a mystery. Sorry, I have to keep repeating this because I still can't believe it. It is still sinking in.
The night of my referral, I printed off PIPA's pictures and put them in two frames that had sayings about grandchildren. I wrapped them up and went to my parents telling them I had found a couple of Christmas gifts I forgot to give them. My mom got into hers first and I could see her wheels turning. She looked at the picture, looked at the frame, looked again at the picture and then said "Is this one yours?" I would say I took her by surprise. I had not told my parents I had gotten my referral yet. Of course, I could not resist saying that I just figured I would wrap up a picture of a friend's kid and present it to her as her grandchild. She's a good sport. She actually thought my daughter was the 'stock' photo and the frame was a gift for when referral came. Once my parents figured out that she was the real deal...let's just say she'll fit right in. I would say the youngest grandchild is a big hit. I'm very happy about that! I'm such a lucky mama to have a supportive family.
Oh and Ms. Thang keeps quite the hours. Apparently she awakens at 6AM and does not go to bed until 9PM. We gotta work on that a tad. I am hoping to squeak at least another hour of sleep out of her once we get settled at home. But, we'll see what life brings. One of our schedules will clearly be changing and I suspect it will be mine ;0) That's quite alright. Hopefully, for a while we can both go to sleep at 9 PM!
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34 comments:
I didn't know you'd post it!!! I just slapped it together!!! I think young PIPA would make any page look amazing!!!
I love what you did for your folks! That is priceless!
I can't think of a better way to finish off the year. Too good.
Gorgeous layout and I really love the colors. That story is too funny that you told your parents. :)
Hugs,
Jonni
I can't tell you how thrilled I am about PIPA finally making herself known to you.
What a wonderful way to present your parents with the news of their sweet little grandbaby!
Love the way you told your parents!
I told my mom I was adopting on Mothers Day - via a Grandmothers Day card....she thought it was fm the cats at first...
The things we do to our parents -
-Carol in FL
OziMum you're a wiz with the scrapbook pages! It's so cute!
What a perfect way to give your parents the AWESOME news!!
I bet it was fun baby planning! :o)
Ah, sweet peace. I am just so happy for you...
Pipa is making that page look AMAZING..
She is sooo cute..
Don't know how you stand it..
I would be looking 24/7..
Have fun shopping today..
Can't wait to see all the goodies..
So much more fun shopping for her since you know sizes and etc..
I LOVE the picture frame story.Very sweet!
I can just imagine how surprised your parents were. What an awesome present for all of you! :)
What a great way to introduce PIPA to your parents! Can only begin to imagine how shocked they must have been! Wheee!!
Great job OziMum!
Have a great time preparing for PIPA with your momma today!
Nie work, OziMum.
I love the story of how you told your parents. I wish we could have seen the looks on their faces when they realized who she was.
Take any information you've been given with a grain of salt. Sera's sleeping/eating schedule was completely different from what we were told. Sera was about the same age. She slept 12 hours a night plus took two naps. I'm sure you'll be able to get her to sleep more than her schedule says.
It means SO much to have a supportive family - glad you have that!
Mali's reports noted the same sleep hours - 9PM to 6AM. Sometimes I think they note what u would think 'proper.' Many things on Mali's report were very true, other things I never saw as being very accurate.
Or maybe they just put babies to bed at 9PM in China? Maybe they take more naps during the day? 9PM does seem late & Mali has always gone to bed at 7PM for me. We developed that routine upon arrival home & it stuck. She still goes to bed at 7PM. It works.
Whatever the case, I hope she enjoys sleeping - makes a world of difference to the (exhausting) schedule of a single Mom =)
What a fun way to tell your parents!
I don't know about China adoptions, but I can concur with what Alison said for both Russian and US adoptions. There were statements on Vladimir's (my host child from Russia) documents that were completely inaccurate; oddly, they were things saying he was delaying areas when clearly wasn't. There was also a lot incorrect in Slugger's documentation from the US.
You have to take everything with a grain of salt. Some things will be true and others won't. Plus, kids change a bit when their environment changes, too. PIPA will come into her own once she's home with you and she'll find her new routine.
What a lovely baby and frame! Love how you told your parents - very sweet.
Congrats on sending your Acceptance Letter in - you're one step closer. Time is going to fly now with all the preparations for travel, traveling and bata-bing-bata-boom . . . baby time!
Love love LOVE the way you told your parents!
Wow! You were able to keep the surprise from your parents until that evening! Nice job. I am not a great secret keeper and admire your abilities. What a wonderful way to go about it. You must have been about to explode on the drive over there. I think it took a year of being home - and maybe I'm still not able to believe it - before I could get over the amazement that such a perfect little person was my daughter.
I will second those that said not to take too much stock in the schedule hours for the babies. I also feel that all children go to bed at 9 in China. Ha! Sofie was in a foster home and her schedule was listed as identical to all of the babies in her group. Some in foster care and some in the orphanage. I can't imagine they all managed to keep to the exact same schedule? Plus Sofie was NEVER ready for bed by 9. We are still lucky to get her to sleep by then. She gave up her nap shortly after coming home and enjoys sleeping in every morning. Very unorthodox. But it works out fine for us. We will be in trouble once school starts.
Anyway - I am still so excited for you!!!!!!!!!
Katie
Ok, my last post just vanished. Sorry if this pops up as a duplicate.
I love the way you told your folks. Also, am glad you are finally getting to have fun and plan for a real live little one.
YAY!!!!
This is SUCH an exciting time!!!
Glad you are enjoying every single minute of it. (and it is so much fun living vicariously thru you, so thanks for that!!)
Finally I'm getting a moment to find internet connection to see your sweet babys face. She is BEAUTIFUL!!!! Congratulations again Pipo! And little Pipa is just the best! Huge smiles and major hugs from Disneyland.
I LOVE the way you told your folks! How sweet! My mom was a BASKET CASE when I told her about Adam and Jeane. The next day she called and told me she had already sewed them some clothes. LOL!
And can I just say BBBWAAAAA HHHHHAAAAAHHHHHAAAAAHHHHHAAAAAA about the sleeping? My kids ALL tortured me with their little regard for sleep. Which is ironic, because I LOVE sleeping. Now I just tranquilize them and have a nap. ;-)
Don't pay TOO much attention to the sleep and eating habits that are listed in her referral packet. NONE of it was accurate for us. Not sure if it was just all the stress since the day we found her but she never followed the schedule.
I LOVE the fact that you are still so excited. At times it just seems so surreal AND unreal.
Such a perfect way to tell your parents.
Awww what cuteness!!! Claire is a beauty and I know when she smiles her face will just light up the world. That is such a cool way to break the news to your parents. You have such a great imagination. Claire is one very lucky little girl
Her name is Claire and she is yours. Doesn't that sound great! Repeat it over and over again until it is branded in your mind, your heart and on your lips...then smile big because the world should know that you are a Mommy now! HOORAY!
I'll bet your parents are over the moon!
Love the grandparent story and you can repeat yourself every.single.day because I can not believe this happening either!!!! Finally!!
What a great way to break the news to the " 'rents".Tres original!!!!!
Uh, I got a bit of bad news for ya, sista, the sleeping arrangements may not be YOUR choice,at least at the beginning! That'll fall into place tho! BTDT x2!!!!
Doreen in Montreal single mom to Faith-Jiangxi & Mia-Sichuan
I am so re-living the excitement again through you!
Such an amazing time getting your referral and getting ready for the trip enjoy every second!
I recently found your blog and have to say Claire is BEAUTIFUL!! As someone who wants to adopt internationally one day, I look forward to the privilege of following your journey!!
Just so you know... my mom called me today to see if I'd read this post. She was very impressed with the way you told your parents. I think now I'm expected to do something equally spectacular when it's time to notify her. So thanks for raising the bar... :P
I love the way you told your folks and better yet the way they responded! It sure is an exciting time. The time will fly by and you'll still be packing last minute things the night before. Or am I the only one who does that?
Congrats and I'm looking forward to see you with Pipa in arms.
For the life of me I can't figure out the PIPA thing :(
Shis is sooooo beautiful! Too funny how you announced her to your parents. Yes, your schedules will totally change. We still haven't gotten one. Ellie is sleeping 11 hours! As much as I would love to do the same-ain't gonna happen, sweet thing! The schedule you have in China is totally warped once you get home!
Toss any thoughts/ideas about schedules in China and when you get home. You will both work it all out in time. My only advice is to make sure someone can film you and take pictures times a million as it only happens once. I am so thrilled for you and loved your video clip. It makes me so happy to see another waiting "person" become a MOM.
Gloria
The timing for that kind of surprise couldn't be more perfect!!
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