One Step Closer to Li Rose and Big Stuff Gets a Haircut

This has been a very exciting few weeks for our family.  We received our immigration approval last Friday afternoon.  Which caused Chrissy to race to Tallahassee that very same day to get it certified and she made it there three minutes before they closed.  We then had our approval authenticated by the Chinese embassy in Houston and sent to our adoption agency.  That was the final piece we needed to send our dossier to China.   So as of yesterday, we are officially dossier to China.  Now we are waiting for our Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from the Chinese government saying we have been approved (again) to adopt Li Rose.  The average wait for this is 60 days but we have been seeing people on our list serve who have been waiting much longer than that.  We would really appreciate your prayers that our documents get translated quickly and our LOA comes quickly! 

Once we receive LOA, it is usually takes 60 more days to get the various immigration and visa details worked out and to receive travel authorization (TA) from China.  We can travel as soon as we are able once we receive our TA.  So the average wait time between now and traveling to Li Rose is about 4 months.  We are praying that this process goes faster for us and praying we are able to keep busy while we wait to bring our daughter home. 
 
So Josh is now 20 months and 1 day old, and the day finally came when it was decided that he needed a haircut.  So Josh and his playgroup buddy Leo went to see Jazz at the Thornbrook Village Hairline Salon. 

 

 (Here is a front view of Josh before his haircut)

 

(Here is a back view - don't you just love those curls!)

Leo went first and Josh got to watch to see how it is done.  Jazz did a great job of distracting the boys during their haircuts, so it was a pretty enjoyable experience.  

 

(Leo was quite the model subject, he even sat by himself for the whole haircut (that is his Grandpa in the background))

Then it was Josh's turn.  Mommy wasn't quite sure she was ready for this but it was time.,,and well sometimes pictures tell a better story than we could. 

 (Josh checking out the bib he borrowed from Leo)

 (Big stuff sitting by himself in the chair, playing with hair clips while Jazz works)

 (Big boy enjoying his basket of clips)

 (Big stuff needed Mommy to help finish off the hair cut)

 (Almost there)

 (Big stuff and Mommy after the deed was done...Mommy does like that new look)

 (Group shot!)

 (Josh and Leo...haircut buddies - it was hard to get them to focus :-)

(Daddy and his proud handsome boogie)

Another exciting event happened this week, well more exciting then telling you all about the nesting Mommy has been doing (that is a story for another day).   Josh got his first passport in the mail!!!  So it is official - we are very ready to go to China...Li Rose, here we come!

 

(All it needs now is a Chinese visa)