Our Duaghter An Banyun.... Mia is here!!!

Ok So I know that everyone is dying to see her so I'll post her pictures first. Keep in mind that we have to put a smile on her face and that they shave all the babies heads to keep the lice away. Also she looks much bigger than she actually is because they have several layers of clothing on her. The do not keep the heat very high in the orphanages, so it is common for the children to wear 4-5 layers of clothing. She is actually only 22 pounds and 2 feet 8 inches tall, that means she will wear 12-18 month clothes. She is a quite a little peanut! We just think that she is precious and can't wait to get her home! (The middle photo is my favorite!)

So here is what we know about her. Banyun (mia) was found abandoned at the orphanage gate on September 25, 2007. They determined her birthday to be March 10, 2007 according to her growth and development. She was abandoned at approximately 6 months old. There was no note attached to her. We can only assume that her birth family could not care for her or was unable to provide her with the medical treatment that she needs. I'm sure it was a difficult decision for her birth parents to make.

Banyun (mia) likes to eat steamed eggs, milk, noodles, congee, and fruit. She likes rocking horses, tricycles, looking at books, being read to, and playing with dolls. When she plays outside she likes to slide and swing. She likes to play hide and seek and likes to be cuddled :) She plays peacefully with other children, does not grab their toys, and shares her cookies. She is a deep sleeper (woohoo!), she can imitate drawing Ines, she can place objects in and out of cups, she can stack blocks, she can turn pages of a book, she knows big and small and her colors. She speaks in sentences (in Mandarin Chinese though), and she knows her body parts.

Her personality is described as timid and shy (the boys will quickly change that I'm sure!) She enjoys music and toys. She likes to play peekaboo and hide and seek. She is talkative, has a ready smile (wish we could see it), and gets along well with others. She has a close bond with her caretaker.

Mia (Banyun) is in Children's Welfare Institute of Xi'an China.

Xi'an has cold and snowy winters and hot and humid summers. It is most famous for it's Terracotta Warriors that we carved during the first Qin Dynasty to deter invasion of the countryside. That will be really cool to see.

We are hoping to travel to China in May or June to get her. We will spend 2 weeks in China with her, so that will be an awesome adventure! It is difficult to determine what is exactly wrong with her heart. The ultrasound report does not really make sense, but it is apparent that it is one of 2 major defects. When we get her home we will have her heart examined and are prepared to have the surgery completed as soon as possible. I will be sending her a care package to the orphanage for her birthday.

We have sent a letter to China asking to adopt her and promising to love her as if she was one of our own. They have 2 weeks to agree to our adoption, they never disagree, it's just a formality. Next is updating all of our paperwork.... all over again! We will move as quickly as we can on this because the sooner the paperwork is done, the sooner we can go get her!!

Thanks for everyone's support and well wishes! We will keep everyone updates as this process moves along.