A celebration of sorts!

In honor of my 96th "poodle" post...

96 signs that we are so ready to bring our baby home!

96. We've had our passports for 2 years!
95. Have learned all about Chinese holidays and have celebrated them all at least once
94. All four of us have been vaccinated and immunized
93. Can quote international luggage requirements by memory
92. Have purchased luggage suitable for international travel.
91. Have TSA approved luggage locks--ready and waiting
90. Have researched Chinese electrical currency and know how to convert for our various appliances
89. Have purchased appropriate electrical converters and adapters
88. Have researched international flights and know which seats are best for families traveling with infants
87. Have read a China Travel Guide book from cover to cover
86. Can convert RMB to USD in my sleep
85. Have attempted to learn a few key phrases in Mandarin
84. Have the Chinese symbols for "men" and "women" (as in restrooms) converted to memory
83. Have scrimped and saved every penny for over two years!
82. Frequently look up the price of airfare from California to Beijing on the internet
81. Have learned all kinds of ingenious ways to stay cool in Southern China in July!
80. Have collected enough sample "packing lists" to fill a 3-ring binder
79. Have composed our very own packing list
78. Have revised above packing list at least a dozen times already!
77. Have been stockpiling DVDs for the kids to watch on the very long 15 hour flight!
76. Can quote the current weather and time in Beijing at any given point in the day.
75. Have learned all about Chinese squatty potties
74. Enrolled in a Chinese cooking class
73. Have learned how to make Chinese egg rolls, wontons, and dumplings.
72. Put a lot more stock in fortune cookies than we used to
71. Become ecstatic at the sign of a ladybug!
70. Watch every China-related show on the Tivo
69. Have watched "China's Lost Girls" at least a dozen times.
68. Still cry every time we watch it
67. Check about a dozen adoption related websites DAILY
66. Stalk sites like RQ for any morsel of information
65. Have been exercising more zealously in anticipation of "The Great Wall"
64. Searched baby name websites for hours in search of the perfect name
63. Settled on the perfect name--Lucie!
62. Joined the local group for Families with Children from China
61. Have read almost every book written on attachment and bonding
60. We know all of the common red flag symptoms to look for in "post-institutionalized" children
59. Know more than we care to about traveler's dysentery
58. Know what scabies is--do you?
57. Know how to treat lice-a common problem in SWIs
56. Have thoroughly researched which types of bottles and nipples Chinese babies prefer
55. Ditto with formula.
54. Have downloaded several recipes for congee
53. Know which everyday items are readily available in China and which items are not
52. Have you ever heard of "spacebags"?
51. Have come to realize that there are a lot more baby related gadgets on the market today than there was 8 years ago.
50. Have researched about and purchased an infant carrier (to promote bonding)
49. Know all about Chinese "split pants"--do you?
48. Have learned about the value of a "life book"
47. Have collected over 100 squares of fabric for Lucie's One Hundred Good Wishes Quilt
46. All of the cupboards and drawers still have safety locks on them from our last baby (8 years ago!)
45. The picture books and board books have resumed their place of honor on the bookshelf
44. All of the Barbie shoes, legos, marbles, crayons, etc have been placed once again "out of reach"
43. Crib has been hauled down from the attic and assembled
42. Made a new crib skirt and bumper pad.
41. Purchased a car seat--ready and waiting!
40. All of the baby bedding is washed and neatly stacked in the linen closet
39. Purchased a new diaper bag
38. Diaper bag is mostly stocked and ready to go
37. Have contacted the Federal Reserve and ordered new bills for the orphanage donation
36. Have baby announcements made and ready to mail--just need a baby! (OK, not really but I wish!)
35. Have to restrain myself from buying any more baby outfits--because I don't have a size yet!
34. Have made a list of all the souvenirs we want to buy in China
33. S-lady and Bman play with any little baby they can get their hands on!
32. Bman jumps everytime the office calls on the PA system at school (you see I have promised to check him out as soon as I hear the official word!)
31. I spend hours on the internet looking at pictures of other people's adopted babies
30. I spend hours on the internet reading adoptive families travel blogs
29. So addicted to blogs that I started one myself!
28. Sleep evades me
27. Have empty frames scattered around the house just waiting for her referral pics to fill them!
26. Have a care package all planned out to send to her SWI--just need a name and address!
25. We pray everyday for the arrival of our I-171H (starting to panic a little)
24. Our food storage has been expanded to include diapers and wipes
23. And baby formula
22. The infant and toddler toys have resurfaced on the toy closet shelves
21. S-lady's closet and dresser have been cleaned out to make room for Lucie's things
20. We talk about little Lucie every chance we get!
19. We've tried to contact all of our travel mates with varied success
18. We pray for little sis everyday!
17. We've become frustrated with our inability to plan anything--will we be home or in China??--it's anyone's guess
16. We have emailed our agency all of our contact information so they can find us anytime and anywhere should the referral arrive unexpectedly
15. The visa application site is bookmarked for easy access
14. We have stocked up on lots of memory cards for the digital camera, so we can take thousands of pictures
13. Have portable DVD player, PSP, Gameboy, books, and magazines...will travel!
12. Purchased a Babyb'air and know how to use it!
11. We wonder about many things...
10. Will she have a head full of hair or will she be bald?
9. Will she have chubby cheeks?
8. When was she born?
7. Where was she born? Where is she now?
6. Where was she found?
5. Is she in a SWI or foster care?
4. Will she be wearing 3 or 5 layers of clothes in her referral picture?
3. Will she be smiling or have a solemn look about her?
2. Will she be sitting in the infamous "hello kitty" chair? or on the hillarious stuffed chicken?
1. 28 more days seems like an eternity!

Whew...I'm exhausted, how about you?