Introducing our daughter......

Name: Sun Huai Ping (孙怀平), now Anna M. D.
Birthday: 02/01/2006 (2006年2月1日)
Located: Hangzhou Children's Welfare Institute (浙江省杭州儿童福利院)
http://journeytomyanna.blogspot.com/2008/09/we-got-daughter_5054.html

Timeline
05/05/2008: Applied with Adoption Agency #1
08/25/2008: Switched to Adoption Agency #2
09/17/2008: Referral! - Connected with little Anna
09/18/2008: LOI; 09/23/2008: PA; 10/23/2008: I-800A approved;
10/31/2008: DTC; 11/07/2008: LID!!!
02/09/2009: LOA!!!!!; 03/16/2009: TA ;
03/23/2009: Gotcha Day; 04/01/2009: CA; 04/03/2009: Home

China Adoption Acronyms:
LID - Log in Date; DTC - Dossier to China
SN - special needs; NSN - non special needs
LOI - Letter of Intent (used in the SN process)
LOA - Letter of Acceptance, the document that allows you to officially accept a referral;
TA - Travel Approval; CA -Consulate Appointment

Monday, April 26, 2010

Decision made-Caltech



昨天晚上,哥哥决定接受加州理工的录取,成为他们2014届的学生。哥哥上个星期去普林斯顿大学体验生活,觉得学校也很好,可是他还是更喜欢加州理工。决定做出来了,我们全家都很高兴。 昨晚去了他喜欢的“红龙虾”餐馆吃饭,以示庆祝。
David has decided to accept Caltech's offer and will be a member of their Class 2014. He visited Princeton for two days last week. Though he likes Princeton a lot, he still feels very strongly towards Caltech. At the end, we are all very happy about his decision and celebrated the event at David's favorite restaurant "Red Lobster".




Sunday, April 18, 2010

A few recent activities

这两个星期一直很忙。复活节周末时安娜去捡鸡蛋, 时间过得真快,这是安娜第二次捡鸡蛋了。去年她刚刚跟我们回到家,正好赶上复活节,第一次去捡鸡蛋。 上个周末姑姑从旧金山来过春假,几个孩子玩儿得好开心。我们全家还去了加州理工参观,校园非常漂亮。
There has been a lot going on in the last couple of weeks. Anna went to the neighbourhood park for her second Easter egg hunt on the Easter weekend. Then our cousin's family visited us during the spring break. Kids had a lot of fun playing together. We also went visiting campus at Caltech and it is a very beautiful school.

Friday, April 2, 2010

David is accepted by Princeton!

今年美国大学录取到现在基本上尘埃落地,剩下的任务就是挑选决定去哪个大学读书。 哥哥一共申请了十所大学, 一半是州立大学, 一半是私立大学。 到昨天为止,也就是愚人节这一天, 所有学校都有了结果。 十所大学中, 有七所录取, 一所候补, 两所拒绝。 录取的学校中, 有普林斯顿,加州理工,Harvey Mudd, 加州大学伯克利分校,洛杉矶分校,圣地亚哥分校,及尔湾分校。看到这些结果,我们全家都高兴万分。 我们都深知被这些著名的大学录取是多么竞争, 多么不容易。我们真的为比同学小一岁的儿子感到骄傲。

The college admission is finally done. The next step is to choose which school to attend. David applied to ten schools and is accepted by seven of them, waitlisted by Stanford, and rejected by two schools. He has been accepted by Princeton, Caltech, Harvey Mudd, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, and UC Irvine. We are all extremely happy with the results. We all know how competitive it is to get into these prestigious schools. We are so proud of David.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

First Family Day Anniversary

昨天晚上回到家, 做好饭菜, 我招呼大家“开饭了!”,于是大家围桌而坐。 安娜正在画画, 赶紧高高兴兴地跑过来说“mommy, I want to give you a kiss”, 然后在我脸上重重地亲了一口,然后又跑到爸爸那儿, 亲了一口, 然后又跑到姐姐那里, 亲了一口。 我们每个人当然都回亲了她的小脸蛋儿。 安娜然后才乐呵呵地回到自己的座位上。 看到这温馨的场面,我心里甜滋滋的。去年的此时此刻 (美国西岸晚七点,国内早上十点),安娜由福利院的院长和阿姨领进了民政厅, 我们第一次见到了她, 把她抱在了怀里。

一年了, 真的有一年了吗?嗯, 是真的。一年时间, 在人生的长河可谓短暂。 可是对刚刚四岁的安娜来说, 是生命的四分之一, 而且是她最有记忆的四分之一。

还在好几天前,爸爸就一天天开始念叨,“去年的今天收到了中国收养中心的最后批准;去年的今天买好了机票;去年的今天已经在飞机上;去年的今天来到了杭州;去年的今天见到了安娜。。。” 一幕一幕情景就像电影一样重新播放。一转眼和安娜相聚整整一年了。

这一年是喜悦的一年, 开心的一年, 甜蜜的一年,进步的一年。看着欢快的安娜,我心血来潮,发动全家来描述安娜。大部分都是姐姐说出来的。

After I cooked dinner last night,I called "dinner is ready!” Everybody came over and sat by the dinner table. Anna was drawing while I called. She came to the table saying "mommy, I want to give you a kiss" and she kissed my cheek. She then kissed daddy and Leah. It was so heartwarming seeing this. Last year, at this exact moment, we were at the Hangzhou Civil Affairs Office meeting Anna for the first time and we held her in our arms.

It has been one year! "Is it really one year already?" I asked myself. “Yes, it truly is”. One year is short in someone’s life. However, for our 4 year old Anna, it is a quarter of her life.

Since several days ago, daddy has started counting down the days. He kept saying each day "Last year today, we received TA; Last year today, we bought our flight tickets; Last year today, we were in the airplane to China; Last year today, we met Anna......". One scene after another, it was like a movie being replayed. I can't believe it has been a year.

The past year with Anna has been joyful and rewarding. Here is a list of things about Anna:

1. She is a happy girl (小丫整天都高高兴兴的,每次看到我从外面回来都跑到门口迎接并大喊“妈咪妈咪”)。
2. She is cute。
3. She is outgoing (活泼大方, 人见人爱)。
4. She can be nice (注意用词, 意思是说也可能不nice)。
5. She is sweet.
6. She has chubby cheeks。
7. She shares her toys at home. (只是在家里, 在外面可没这么好。)
8. She kisses and hugs a lot (是个小棉袄)。
9. She says funny things.
10. She has a very good sense of humor (小丫经常开玩笑,把俺们逗得哈哈笑)。
11. She is smart.
12. She is not addicted to blogs like mom.
13. She eats veggies(安娜喜欢吃,各种青菜类都吃,但就是不爱吃茄子)。
14. She likes to sing and dance.
15. She likes to draw.
16. She likes Superman and action figures.
17. She is not addicted to TV.
18. She cares about other people.
19. She can write her name.
20. She knows how to read and write all the 26 letters of the alphabet.
21. She is fearless(一点都不怕跟人打架)。
22. She sleeps a lot (小丫每天都得睡午觉,如果不睡,到了吃晚饭时, 嘴里嚼着东西坐着都能睡着,厉害吧)。
23. She is very independent (自理能力很强)。
24. She has grown 3 inches of her height, 4 inches of her hair, and her nails haven't really grown.回家后个子长了三英寸,头发长了4英寸,手指甲基本没长。

下面是安娜需要改进的 (Here are the things we ae still working on):

1. She says “no” a lot.
2. She is stubborn.
3. She is loud(嗓门大,真拿她没办法)。
4. She is a copycat (整天跟在姐姐屁股后面,姐姐干什么她干什么)。
5. She doesn’t listen(知道姐姐好欺负)。
6. She is a fatty.
7. She is messy.
8. She is not always nice.
9. She is aggressive (这一点很对,在幼儿园里, 因为抢别人的玩具,至少被timeout 过两次)。
10. She is short tempered (是个急脾气,但是来得快,去得也快)。

这就是我们的安娜,不管你是什么样子, 都是爸妈心中的宝儿.
Anna, our little monkey, we love you !

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Happy St. Patrick's Day and last homestudy visit

今天是St. Patrick 日, 安娜穿了绿衣服去上学。昨天我去接她时她就告诉我要穿绿衣服。姐姐昨天晚上帮她找到了以前穿的绿短袖衫,可是太大了,我于是给缝小了。
另外社会工作者劳瑞到我们家做了领养后12个月的家访,也是最后一次。以前一个月,六个月时也作了家访。劳瑞很高兴看到安娜适应得这么好,临走时给了安娜一个大拥抱。
Anna wore a green T shirt to school today. She told me about it yesterday when I picked her up from school and Leah found her a green shirt. But it was too big and I had to sewe it to make it fit.
We had Anna's 12 months post adoption homestudy which should be the final one. We have had 3 homestudies since Anna came home, 1 month, 6 months and 12 months. Our social worker was very happy to see Anna adjusted to us so well. She gave Anna a big hug.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Busy time

最近一直特别忙,孩子们各种各样的活动真多。哥哥上个周末去斯坦福大学参加一个数学竞赛,这个周末又去洛杉矶参加伯克利大学奖学金面试,面试的教授高兴的告诉他已经被录取了,并给了他一个大徽章上面写着“你被录取了!”。然后又去长海滩考钢琴, 昨天晚上,他的钢琴老师兴奋地打来电话说他进入了下一轮,真是不容易。姐姐去了明尼苏达参加全国同步花样滑冰大赛,去了五天,昨天一下飞机就赶到钢琴考场去考级。总算忙过了一阵子,可以稍微轻松一下了。只有安娜无忧无虑,每天玩儿得不亦乐乎。
We have been very busy recently with all kinds of kids' activities. David went to Stanford University for a math competition a week ago and he went to Los Angles for UC Berkley's scholarship interview on Saturday and was surprised with a button saying "admitted". He then tested for the piano panel exam in Long Beach and was qualified for the final round. Leah went to Minnesota to compete in the National Synchronized Figure Skating Competition for five days and then she went to take the piano merit certificate test right after she landed at the airport. Whew, we can finally get relaxed. Only Anna is free and plays with her toys happily everyday.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Drawing and coloring

安娜最近特别喜欢画画, 而且进步特别大。昨天晚上,她拿着刚画好的画儿说:“妈咪,这是给你的!”。我一看,画了两个人,是她和妈妈,画得惟妙惟肖。今天她又把姐姐给她画得图涂上颜色,颜色搭配很好,而且都画在了线里面。

Anna has made a lot of progress drawing and coloring recently. Yesterday, she drew a picture and said: "mommy, this is for you!". I was very surprised seeing how well she can draw now. Today, she colored a picture that Leah gave her. She colored very well in the lines.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Celebrating Chinese New Year in China

昨天我们全家从国内过年回来,真正感受到了国内欢天喜地的气氛,最让孩子们高兴的是放烟花爆竹。
一回到了家里,就看到居住的小区里,到处张灯结彩,充满了节日气氛。 大年三十儿, 吃完晚饭,放烟花,看春晚,包饺子,其乐融融的温馨感觉,真是久违了。 整个晚上,鞭炮声就没停过,现在的鞭炮,今非昔比,鞭都是几万响,几十万响的,炮都是一大桶一大桶的接连打到天上,整个就是一个满天烟火秀。半夜十二点出去接神时,那鞭炮齐鸣的声音, 用震耳欲聋来形容,绝对是低估, 就感到天摇地动,心肝肺都被震颤了, 鞭炮烟花的残屑纷纷砸在头上身上,躲都躲不去。烟花爆竹,把天空映红,已分不清白昼或黑夜。
大年初一大早,孩子们给大人拜年,高高兴兴拿到了不少红包。走到外面,只见平时干干净净的小区,地上布满了厚厚的红纸穴,炮弹盒。
大家第一次看到安娜,都特别高兴,安娜很开朗大方,大家都喜欢她。安娜特喜欢放鞭炮, 一些不危险的小烟花,安娜很快就学会了自己点燃, 然后赶紧跑开。

We came home yesterday and were impressed by the Chinese New Year’s holiday atmosphere in China. The most exciting event for the kids was playing with all kinds of firecrackers.
The complex where the grandparents live was decorated with holiday banners and lanterns. During the New Year’s Eve, our whole family made dumplings while watching the New Year’s television show. The sound of firework never stopped during the night and it peaked out at midnight. It was so loud that we couldn’t hear anything else. The whole sky was lit up and it felt like day time with a colorful sky.
On the first day of the New Year, all the kids greeted grandpa and grandma, aunts and uncles with “Happy New Year!” and received a bunch of red envelopes . We then took a walk outside and were amazed by the red firework debris which covered the whole area of the neighborhood.
Everyone was very happy to meet Anna for the first time and they all loved her because of her joyful personality. Anna enjoyed lighting up the firecrackers and she learned how to do it very quickly. We all had a great time.













Monday, February 8, 2010

Packed and ready


今天晚上我们把所有的包都打好了,我们全家明天晚上乘飞机回国, 准备欢天喜地过春节,放鞭炮。
We are packed and ready to go to China for the Chinese New Year. Our flight leaves at midnight tomorrow. Everybody is excited and we are ready for the firecrackers.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Happy 4th birthday!



安娜今天四岁了。他们班的小朋友给她开了生日爬梯。安娜高高兴兴地和同学们一起吃蛋糕,唱生日歌,然后又每人发了一包东西。安娜喜欢武功人物,她手很巧,一会儿就搭了起来。晚上我们全家去了安娜最喜欢的餐馆吃饭。
Anna turned 4 years old today. We celebrated her birthday in her classroom. Anna has been excited about her birthday since a week ago. She enjoyed eating the cup cake with her friends and giving out the goodies bags . Anna likes Action Man toys and she enjoyed putting together the Lego pieces. We had dinner at her favorite restaurant, Souplantation.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Piano concert


今天晚上哥哥表演了自己的独奏音乐会。他用了大约三十分钟演奏了六首曲子,全部都背了下来,根本没用歌本,我们真为他感到骄傲。安娜在整个表演过程中都挺安静,表现也是相当不错。演出后,我们一起去吃了哥哥最喜欢的越南面。Tonight, we enjoyed David's solo piano recital at the Green Music's piano studio. He spent almost half an hour playing six beautiful pieces without the music books. We are so proud of him. Anna was sitting on her seat quietly throughout the performance. We went to eat David's favorite Vietnamese noodles after the concert.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

More presents

今天我们收到了姑姑给的礼物, 好多东西,每个人都有份, 我们都很开心,尤其是安娜, 她兴冲冲地打开了她的礼物, 然后就开始玩, 玩了好长时间.

Today, the kids received a lot of presents from their aunt. Anna enjoyed opening the presents and palying with the toys.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Gettging ready for the next day

安娜真是有个好姐姐, 每当看到这姐俩在一起那个好啊,就让我感到特别温馨。姐姐经常领着妹妹去睡觉,帮她换衣服,洗漱,讲故事,把第二天的衣服准备好。上边的照片是姐姐头天晚上给准备好的配套衣服。Leah is such a good big sister and she really takes care of Anna. I simple can't say enough how good it feels to see them being together. Leah often brings Anna to sleep, changes her into pajamas, reading her stories, and gets her clothes ready for the next day. The pictures above are the clothes Leah prepared the night before.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

An amazing girl!

最近我们一直被安娜的拼图本领所折服。圣诞节时, 我们给她买了几套拼图板,昨天晚上, 她玩儿一个42块的。 所有的小块儿都乱七八糟的放在客厅的地板上,她在书房的桌子上拼, 只见她跑到客厅,从地上随手拿起一个小块儿, 兴冲冲的跑到书房, 一下子就能放对地方,她就这样来来回回地跑, 不一会儿, 就把整个拼图板搭完了, 爸爸说她简直是个天才!
We have been amazed by Anna lately about her ability to solve jig-saw puzzles. We bought her several puzzles as Christmas presents. Last night, she was playing with one which has 42 pieces. All the pieces were mixed up on the living room floor, and she was putting them together on the table in our study room. She just simply looked at the puzzle board, ran to the other room and picked up one piece at a time, and amazingly, she can always bring back the correct piece and put it in the right place without hesitation. It didn't take very long before she finished the puzzle. Daddy said she is a miracle.






Saturday, January 2, 2010

Skiing at Mammoth Mountain


我们刚刚从马摩丝山滑雪回来。 第一天爸爸教安娜滑雪, 安娜挺有感觉, 过了不长时间就能穿着滑雪板很自如的行走了,能从小坡上慢慢滑下, 但不会减速。第二天,我们把她送到小孩滑雪学校, 她学会了内八字减速,可是速度稍快时,她还是控制不好, 好在她重心超低, 不怕摔跤, 一旦太快,她为了停下来,马上摔倒。 我们都觉得三岁的她, 能滑到这个程度,那是相当的满意了。We just came back on a ski trip from Mammoth Mountain. Anna was skiing with us the first day and she learned the basics like walking around on her skis without tripping. She could ski down the slope slowly, but didn’t know how to slow down. On the second day we sent her to the toddler's ski school and she sort of learned how to slow down by having "big feet." If she went too fast, she would simply fall onto the slope to stop. We were all very impressed by what she had learned as a 3 year old.