China
Guatemala
Russia
Vietnam
Brazil
India
EthiopiaDear FTIA Staff,
Today marks three months since our precious Bai Xiao Li was handed over to us in Guangzhou, China, and we have been meaning to sit down and write this letter ever since.
When people ask us about adoption and our agency, we are happy to recommend FTIA to them. All along, our coordinators were there, to answer questions, to help navigate paperwork and bear with us on the long wait. We appreciated the quick e-mails back, and how towards the end of the wait FTIA would share with us what they knew about upcoming referrals. Genie in China deserves A+++ for all her hard work (we know she did most of the paperwork!), and she was always courteous, helpful, friendly and got us in and out of offices very efficiently.
Annabel has been sick a lot since we got her, which has made the adjustment period a little harder. We felt she already bonded well with Scott, Sarah & I in China, and she quickly attached to her brothers at home too. But she has had three ear infections, bronchitis and various colds, so she hasn't been feeling so great most of the time. When she is well, she is a happy smiley baby, who loves playing with her siblings, singing & dancing. When she isn't feeling so great, she just wants Mommy to hold her. Even though our home has been a busy place with friends and family (as usual), she knows who her Mommy & Daddy are, and doesn't want to go to anyone else.
Not a day goes by when we marvel at the miracle of having her in our family. She fits in so well, and brings so much joy to us all. Big sibs have adjusted super well, in fact our adjustment has really been easier than I expected. My house isn't so tidy (hey, I blame it on the remodeling!) and I just yesterday started Annabel's post-adoption
paperwork: validating her adoption in NH, getting her a social security number and a passport, but that's ok, we'll get it all done.
We are planning a trip to Finland this Summer to introduce Annabel to our extended family over there.
Here are some photos of Annabel and our family from the past three months. Also, feel free to check our friend Sally's blog. She is a children's book author, and included our quadruplets in her new book 'How to Be a Baby by Me, the Big Sister', and put a picture of our 5 kids on her blog.
Thank You so much, FTIA, for making our dream come true, and walking alongside us during the very long wait. Thanks also for Annabel's Birthday Card! We celebrated her first birthday on Saturday by having family over for Chinese food, cake & presents :)
Sincerely,
Sennu Maria & Scott
Daniel, Sarah, Andrew, Thomas & Annabel (b. 03/10/06, a. 12/18/06) from Dianbai County SWI, Guangdong Province
Gotcha Day 12/15/06
