NEWS! NEWS! NEWS!

We would like to introduce everyone to the newest member of our family. OUR SON! Yes, you did read correctly. We received our referral, and we were granted the immense pleasure of becoming parents to our beautiful baby boy! Our agency received the file along with the others on January 8th. We then had to wait for translation and for the referrral. Our social worker was away for a week, so we needed to wait for her return, accept the file and then have the paperwork issued and signed. We heard from Joan on Monday and she was in agreement that this is our son. Family Outreach sent the paperwork on Tuesday and we signed on Thursday! So, now we wait on more paperwork and travel arrangements to go to China to meet him and bring him home!

Travel can take a while, so here are some facts about Aidan to keep everyone occupied and to get to know our little bundle of joy.

We have give him his Canadian name: Aidan Wyatt Xiaolin. (Meaning- Aidan: Little fire, Wyatt- From the wood.)It is kind of interesting that we had his English name picked out before we knew his Chinese name. They are very close! Meant to be. We referred to a couple of Doctors about his file. He is doing fine, and is growing like a weed.

His Chinese name is: Xu, Xiaolin. Xu is his last name. Xiaolin is his first name. Chinese names can have many meanings. It depends if the syllables are separated out or kept together. His name is comprised of three syllables. Xiao has the same sound in Chinese as little (named this as he was brought to the Orphanage on the day he was born) it also means strength. Lin is in reference to the Police at local officers brought him into the SWI. Xu is for the city in which he was found. His name is pronounced SHOW LIN SU. (X's are pronounced S). Dan thinks he sounds like a kung fu master! His name translated into English is Dawn Forest. (We think this is in reference to him being found in the forest at dawn, but this is a question we will ask the SWI director when we are in China).

He was born on April 13, 2006. He is on the younger end of the kids referred in the program.

What the SWI director said was that he is a very happy and active child. He is 70 cm tall at the moment and is 8.5 kg in weight (as of January 18th), which is great as he is right on par with what the Canadian growth scale says he should be. The orphanage director said he is "lively, lovely, very likeable, but is also very mischevous!" He is crawling, and likes to try to climb out of his crib. He is light sensitive (this is one of the symptoms of the albinism), but says it is not serious, as he does not have a problem with indoor light. He drinks 6 bottles per day and the majority of his diet is still milk. He has 3 teeth, and he loves his caregivers very much. He is very close with his nannies. He sucks his thumb, especially when he sleeps, he likes brightly coloured toys, and is very curious by nature.

Two questions we are being asked is: I thought you were adopting a girl!? and: What happened, I thought you were adopting from China? Ok, to make it simple we thought we were getting a girl, Because girls are mostly referred, but were never opposed to a boy and we were approved for both by the Ontario ministry. Secondly, Aidan is Chinese. He has albinism. Which simply and without going into a lot of details means he was born without pigment in his skin, eyes and hair. Well, the other question we are asked daily by everyone (including those who don't know the news) is WHEN are we going. Not an easy answer, especially with all of the changes brought into effect by China in December. Could be anytime in the next 6 months. Travel arrangements often take a while and we are still at the mercy of the Social worker, Ontario goverment, Canadian government, our agency and China. We just have to wait and see.

We have mailed off of Letter of Intent to adopt, which is basically a health and nuture plan that is sent to the CCAA to let them know that we have agreed to adopt Aidan and that we have done our homework and have a plan in place with our GP and know what steps we will take to ensure Aidan's medical needs are looked after when he returns home. After this, we wait for another piece of paperwork in the Waiting Child Program and that is called a Seeking Commitment Form. After that, we should have our travel arrangements. We are officially waiting again and back in the paperwork stage, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and staring at Aidan's pictures makes it easier and harder at the same time!