This last week has really been a whirlwind of activity around here as you might imagine. We have been doing lots of planning and preparing to leave behind 3 of our kiddos for 2 weeks. As well as, preparing the cat care, the dog care and preparing for school to start the day before we leave...Whew!
It has been exciting to pack up Lily's suitcase - which is by the way the ONLY one I have yet to even start packing. Just to put the clothing in there that she will be wearing with us in about 2 weeks is so fun. I am sure that I have over packed, but it is so difficult to know what to take since I am not 100% sure what size she is. I have packed 12 month sizes to a size 2t. Hopefully something in there will fit! I plan to give the orphanage whatever clothes won't work for her when we go to visit there a couple of days after getting her. I am both excited and sad about seeing the place she called home this past year of her young life.
For other traveling families' references I have taken pictures and will list them below of what I packed for the trip to China to get our toddler. I have been compiling lists on Pinterest and other sources to make sure I am covering everything that I will need.
I packed 2 pairs of close toed shoes for Lily. One is a a slip one style soft sole shoe and the other pair is a standard pair of Stride Rite gym shoes. I also packed a plastic bib that easily wipes off, some stacking cups for playing with in the bathtub and in the hotel room, a book to read that I had personalized with Lily's name and a 2nd copy of the photo album I made and sent to her at the orphanage. I also brought 2 little stuffed animals - a pink poodle that looks like our dog and a panda bear that the boys got for her. And 2 dolls - one is a cute little doll she was given at the adoption shower and the other is a doll I purchased 3 years ago. That doll's name is "Ling" and she speaks several Mandarin Chinese/English phrases - she is just so cute. It is apparently now a collector's item since it is no longer made and cost at least 3 times what I paid for it...man, I am glad I bought Ling way back in the beginning! :) Also pictured here is a ladybug sippy cup, some Honest Company "Healing Balm" and a t-shirt I had made for her with a ladybug and her name embroidered on the front.
In this picture I have some diapers for her (I am taking about a dozen and will buy more there if I need them), about half a dozen pull-ups, a small backpack that I had her name embroidered on and a water purifier/filter for use in our hotel rooms, etc. I didn't actually mean to put the medication in the picture. I will talk about those in another post!
Clothing: I packed 5 sundresses with matching "bloomers", 2 rompers, 1 pair of shorts, 1 pair of pants, 1 skirt/shirt/cardigan outfit, 1 additional cardi to match the other outfits, 3 footed zip up sleepers and about 10 flower headbands. I also threw a pair of sandals in that match most of her outfits in case I end up being able to put her in those.
I also packed other things later on that are not pictured and they are:
-Swim diapers
- 2 bathing suits
- baby wipes
- a blanket
- goldfish crackers
- toddler "puffs"
- raisins
And finally for the flight home and her first step onto American soil I am bringing a couple of patriotic outfits! I have them in two different sizes since I wasn't sure what would work best for her. :)
I will be sure to document all the other things that I am taking on this trip in later posts (like when I finally get around to packing the other bags!). I found these types of lists and blogs such a help to me in preparing to travel to get Lily and I really want to help others, as well.
Okay, and finally I received today from our guide, Zhou, new pics of Lily from this weekend! She isn't smiling, but I know we will change that soon! :)
It's lunch time....Lily is sitting closest to the camera.
Lily and another little friend playing.
We found out that we are traveling with 3 other families total. 1 family will be breaking off from the group when we head out to get our babies as their child is in another province and another orphanage. The rest of us all have babied waiting for us at Lily's orphanage so we will be traveling together the entire 2 weeks. One of them will even be on our flight leaving from Chicago and flying into Beijing so we will truly be with them our entire trip :)
(Gabby kissing the picture of her baby sister!)
Well, the countdown is definitely on and we are 8 days away from leaving to get our baby girl!
Love,
Jess
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