100 Good Wishes

In northern China, the birth of a child is celebrated with a colorful Bai Jia Bei, or "100 Good Wishes Quilt." Originally, the tradition involved cloth contributed by the newborn's friends and family. The quilt is said to contain the energy, good fortune and loving wishes of the gift givers.

I want to thank you for your 100 good wishes - the sea of glad tidings that flooded our inboxes and Comments section was overwhelming. What an outpouring of affection for this baby girl! We will record your good wishes in her Lifebook - similar to a baby book for adoptees - so she will know your energy, good fortune and loving wishes.

We have often referred to Piper's "village" when talking about the many people anxiously awaiting her arrival. Turns out, it's not so much a village as it is a city.

Many of you included questions with your good wishes. We'll answer the top two:

When do you leave?
We don't know. But, we do know that the earliest we can leave is August 9. The current wait is anywhere from 6-11 weeks from referral. Our group will depart on a Wednesday, so any Wednesday on or after August 9 is fair game. If we left August 9, we would receive Piper on August 13.

What's with her name?
Okay. Mommy screwed up. I posted Piper's Referral Announcement about 2 hours after receiving it. I was a tad shaky and mistyped her name. I've since corrected it, but the damage is done. Her name is Wang Fangqin. It reads top to bottom alongside her photo above.

The top character is her surname: Wang (rhymes with long), which means regal or royal...yes, she's Princess Piper. China says so. All the babies in our referral group from her orphanage have this last name.

The second character is her first name: Fang (rhymes with long) and means beautiful. We agree.

We're not sure about her middle name. And, of course, that's the name she'd go by in China. Qin is pronounced "chin" and Chinese usually double the middle name for a child's nickname - Piper's is Qin Qin, or "Chin Chin." As best we can tell, Qin means lute, piano or zither.

Royal Beautiful Lute? We're not sure that's the true meaning. Chinese - like China itself - is full of subtleties, innuendo and mixed meanings. We figure we can find out in China. But, if anyone knows what it means - even if it is beautiful lute - please let us know!

Today, we officially accepted Qin Qin's referral. Our agency asks that we have a pediatrician review her medical records before signing our letter of acceptance. Today, her doc gave her a clean bill of health, but we would have accepted her referral regardless.

Her pediatrician is Chinese American. There's a section on Pi's medical chart that says "Favorite Toys" and "Favorite Activity" but the response is in Chinese. We asked her doctor what it says. Her favorite toy is most everything - she likes "a variety of toys." Her favorite activity? Get ready..."being held by an adult." Hey! I'm an adult! I'm her favorite activity! And guess what? Holding her is my favorite activity too.

We have much more to report, but that's enough for now. Check back for more as our journey continues to evolve and unfold.