I Have The Bestest Friends Ever!

So, I went on my annual "Girls Weekend" this past weekend and my sweet friends gave me a surprise shower! I have NEVER had a surprise anything...so it was SO MUCH FUN...and, would it be redundant to say-IT WAS SUCH A SURPRISE! I had no idea! And, I ALWAYS have an idea of something...I am the type that likes to know what is going on at all times in all situations and I usually do...so they really pulled one over on me! These were the same girls who were with me when we were "passed over" for our referral in the beginning of December...so, that made it extra special to share a "happy" moment with them.
There was even a cute little cake with a Chinese baby on it! LOVE IT! They gave me a TON of stuff! I even got a massage out of the deal! I have the greatest friends ever!!! So, I promised them I would give them a "shout out" on the blog so they would forever be "famous" in cyber space!
Here goes: Thank you too...Tina E.; Jonna P. ;Cheryl J (who masterminded it all!); Julie W.;Princess Teresa W.; Kiesha; Virginia W.;Sherrie O.;Diana H.;Regina C.;Sandy T.;Julie C.S.; Janet V.; Cherrie. C; Lynne. L; Trish; Pennie Y.; Lydia; Amy F.;and Michelle H. There were also a few ladies who came that I had never met (cuz' they were there scrap booking with us!) and I wish I new their names...I am already HORRIBLE with names, so I feel bad I can't mention them as well! Also, if I left ANYONE out let me know (and I know you will!), because I was listing names from memory...and my memory is sleep deprived so I might have left you out on accident! However, since I don't really know them they will not be reading this blog anyway!
So, I wanted to share my first shower with everyone and also say THANK YOU to the wonderful friends that I have who love me enough to take me by surprise!

Princess T is growing and growing and growing...

Check out our chubby girl!!! She has changed SO much that I had to sit with the first picture held up to the computer for 30 minutes to convince myself it was her! And even then I had to recrute others to get thier opinion! Apparently, she has had a growth spurt! Of course, I would venture to guess that about 3 pounds of what you see is the 9 outfits she has on!!! For those of you new to Chinese culture...they "bundle" their babies...why? Well, I can't answer that one! All I know is they put multiple layers of clothing on the babies no matter if it is January or July! And, I have also heard from other China adoptive families that they will not hesitate to let you know if they think your child is "under dressed"! She looks like she is stuffed into the walker...or using the bathroom...take your pick!
Anyway...according to the latest information she weighs 15 pounds now at 9 months. These pictures were taken last week so they are pretty recent. She went from the 10th percentile on the growth chart to the 70th! We will see what she "really" weighs and looks like on the day we get her!!!
I have big plans for that day and they are as follows:

1. Hug and Kiss her for the entire day.
2. take off the 9 outfits she will be in.
3. Give her a bath.
4. put Vaseline or some kind of serious lotion on her chapped cheeks (as a nurse I noticed!).
5. slap a big, fat bow on her head.
6. Finally, put her in the pinkest outfit that I can find! In that exact order...

As of right now...we are traveling March 5-March 18th! Yippee! I NEVER thought this day would come!!!
I will be posting pretty regularly when we travel (every day I hope!) and as we draw closer to our travel date!
Thanks for hangin' in there with us!

Drum Roll Please....

Wow! Thanks to all of our friends and new "cyber-friends" on the name dilemma!!! I actually have to say that I learned more from adoptive parents than I realized! Don't get me wrong, my friends who haven't adopted had plenty of great advice (just strokin' you all a bit so you don't get all "riled" up!)...but, I REALLY liked the advice given by people who have "been there and done that"! I even had people with the actual name in question answer! Zheng-how cool are you! Anyway, for now, we are going with (and this is where you hear a cyber drum roll...) :
Taryn Joy ZhengBen.
Apparently, it is just not correct to use only one of the two given names in China, and this is how it is done. It would be like calling me "Re" or "Becca", but not ever putting them together. She is probably being called "ZhengBen" or "BenBen" by her caretakers now. I have also learned that just like in America, Ben is a boys name in China as well!
Given' our princess a boys name...was up with that???? On the flip side of that, when I look at her cute, little face I want to call her "BenBen" as well!
However, we like the meaning of both. We like the sound of both together. And we like how it looks written down...so it shall be!
Now, the only catch will be if we get over there and for some reason it just "doesn't seem right". And I say this, only because it has been brought up in the comments by several parents whose daughters name didn't fit her upon meeting her. I can understand that...in theory...BUT, I am such a HUGE name FREAK (apparently) that I doubt this will be happening! I am just allowing "room" for it if it does!
So, a BIG thank you to everyone who posted and those of you who posted on Face book...
I am truly grateful to every ones interest and advice and am SO totally stoked about hearing from other adoptive parents!
Until next time....