We got back from a wonderful Disney trip last night to find our I-800a approval waiting for us! I knew it was going to be fast but was shocked how fast it was! This is a huge step! Normally this takes months but since we already had I-800a approval for Haiti transferring it was very quick!

So now Holt has our dossier and our I-800a approval! We are now waiting for everything be to sent to NJ to certified and than the Chinese embassy in Washington DC to be authenticated. I am hoping this can happen within the next month but not 100% sure what the timeframe is.

We were Dossier to China in mid-July with Connor and I am hoping we will be Dossier to China around the same time this time. Crazy!  We are actually on the matching list already and hoping we get a match very soon-although we cant start the LOI wait until we are logged into China.  This is bringing back so many memories from Connor.

We had an awesome trip to Disney-an amazing few days! We managed to do a ton in the 2+ days we were there and the kids had the best time ever!

When we left they were a buzz talking about bringing their sister back. Every once in awhile they will each mention their sister out of the blue and I love when they do! We were throwing pennies into Its A Small World and out of nowhere Connor said he wished his sister would come home soon.

Well today was a big step forward. Now fingers crossed that we get a match soon!

Today was a big milestone in the adoption paperchase and it happened really fast thanks to our great team at Holt. We sent our updated homestudy to the  Department of Homeland Security for approval. Normally this takes 2-3 months but since we already have approval and our just changing the country-we are expecting it to take 2 weeks.

We are almost done with the dossier and hoping to get it to HOLT by next Wednesday so they can review it. We just have a few items left on the list. Once HOLT approves the dossier and once we receive our 797 immigration approval-everything can be sent off to be certified and authenticated.  I am hoping to be sending everything off by early June. If we continue at this pace we may be dossier to China by mid-July!  Its amazing how our timeline is following Connor’s pretty closely as we were dossier in China by mid-July  with him too.  Of course I am sure their will be a few bumps along the road and trying hard not to get attached to these dates.

Speaking of Connor-hard to believe the little guy got registered for Kindergarten on Tuesday! Still cant believe that he is going to start kindergarten! He is so ready to start. I also cant believe how much easier life will be next year having them in the same school for a few months before our little girl comes home!

So today was one step closer to bringing our little girl home!

My 3rd dossier preparation- I got this! I remember feeling so overwhelmed with Connor’s dossier and again with the Haiti dossier. The Haiti dossier was really hard because there was no service to assist in. Our agency has a service for China in which they help you prepare it. Its worth every penny!

The dossier is pretty much a collection of never-ending documents that are sent to the County from where you are adopting from.

China requires: a detailed homestudy (which requires numerous meetings with a social worker, clearances in every state you have ever lived in, and just tons of paperwork), medical reports, blood tests, birth certificates, police clearances, financial forms,  employment letters, references letters, finger printing, 797 Immigration approval (this is a big one), photos and a whole bunch of specific documents.

What makes the dossier so fun 🙂 is that once you have all the documents they have to be notarized, than certified by the State they were prepared and than authenticated by the Chinese Consulate in DC.

So pretty much its more paperwork than you can imagine But 3rd time is the charm and I am working my way through it this time!

Because our file is being expedited and we already have our I-800a approval we are trying to expedite the dossier. NJ takes a really long time to certify their documents so we are guessing we wont have it complete until mid-summer. My goal is to have it logged into China by mid-July. Fingers crossed!

We made a lot of progress today-medical tests, police clearances and a birth certificates! Exciting stuff!