Today you are 5 months old! I want you to know that on this day I feel joy and heartbreak. I feel joy that you are healthy and growing every day and we take great comfort in hearing nothing but the highest praise of foster families in Taiwan from those adoptive families who have already traveled. I don't think I can adequately express how indebted I feel toward this unknown woman half-a-world away who is lovingly caring for you while we sit here and wait for the threads of bureaucracy to untangle themselves so we can bring you home. I am also grateful that you are having this time in your birth country to soak up all the sights, sounds, smells and energy of the land where you were born. I hope you will always carry those impressions with you on some level and you will feel a sense of the familiar when we return to visit Taiwan in years to come. On the other hand, I am gripped by utter heartbreak at having already missed 5 months of your life; five months worth of smiles, tears, feedings, cleanings, changes, cuddles, kisses, spit-ups, sit-ups and all the facial expressions and personality traits that are you. I long to hold you, to breathe you in and know you for the unique individual that you are. Even though you are not with us now I want you to know that thoughts of you consume our day. Your daddy, your brothers and I talk about you constantly and you are always right here with us in our hearts. The waiting is so hard, our family just feels incomplete without you here. I hope this day finds you happy and well. I dream of the day in the not too distant future that we can be with you everyday. We love you baby girl!
Here is our little daughter at almost 5 months old. I can barely take it. I need to be on a plane ASAP!!! Come on final ruling. I need to hold our baby girl!!!!!!! Current stats: 12.6 lbs.; 22.83 inches long; 14.3 head circumference; 14.8 inches chest. She is still drinking about 4 ounces of formula about every 4 hours and, according to the latest report, all milestones are normal.
Hurray! Today we received update pictures and information on our little Kate Pei-Jung. We have been looking forward to seeing our little girl for a whole month! It's thrilling to get this tiny glimpse into our daughter's life but also heart wrenching because we know just how much we are missing. The pictures and information were taken at the end of September. She is now 11.2 lbs.(up from 9.9 lbs) and 22 inches long (up from 21 inches). She is still drinking about 4 ounces of formula every four hours. It looks like she also uses a pacifier about which I am actually quite happy. I'm sure some people think that is crazy, but neither of the boys would take one and I always thought it would be a help in terms of comfort tools. Our hearing is today in Taiwan and JOH advises that "no news is good news" so we hope to hear NOTHING! Even though it could still be months until we travel, it feels like a relief to be moving along in the process. Enjoy the pictures. I'm glad she smiles in the video because, quite frankly, in the pictures she looks a little worried. 
