http://www.babycenter.com/0_popular-baby-names-from-around-the-world_1429034.bc
http://www.babycenter.com/0_top-100-names-of-2006_1506831.bc
http://www.babycenter.com/0_top-10-names-of-2006_1506830.bc
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Lily? To be or not to be?
OK, we have trouble right here in River City folks. Lily is the name we have planned on, told family and friends about. This is the name that was used to think about, pray for and make wishes for her. It is a lovely name. It is a gorgeous flower with a big fabulous scent.
So what's the problem? We have discovered it is also a very popular name, ESPECIALLY in the Chinese adoption community. Does our love for the name outweigh the fact that she may have to be Lily #7 at Chinese culture camp when she is eleven?
We do not want her to feel like a caricature of a little Chinese girl. But, what do you name a daughter born in China? Nadia, Antonia, Samira? We Americans come from all different cultures, do we ignore the cultural connotations of a name like Elke? if we love it? Do we choose from the parents' cultural backgrounds? Do we give her an exotic sounding Chinese name that we may not be able to say correctly? Think JiangJiang. Would she feel proud of her name or feel like she sticks out even more than she already does with older, caucasian parents?
We have a list of other names we like, but especially Doug, and some extended family do not want to give up on the idea of the girl we called Lily.
Tell us what you think. Leave any really good name ideas you want. Nothing off the top ten list please :)
So what's the problem? We have discovered it is also a very popular name, ESPECIALLY in the Chinese adoption community. Does our love for the name outweigh the fact that she may have to be Lily #7 at Chinese culture camp when she is eleven?
We do not want her to feel like a caricature of a little Chinese girl. But, what do you name a daughter born in China? Nadia, Antonia, Samira? We Americans come from all different cultures, do we ignore the cultural connotations of a name like Elke? if we love it? Do we choose from the parents' cultural backgrounds? Do we give her an exotic sounding Chinese name that we may not be able to say correctly? Think JiangJiang. Would she feel proud of her name or feel like she sticks out even more than she already does with older, caucasian parents?
We have a list of other names we like, but especially Doug, and some extended family do not want to give up on the idea of the girl we called Lily.
Tell us what you think. Leave any really good name ideas you want. Nothing off the top ten list please :)
Sunday, August 12, 2007
We have a daughter!
In May of 2007 we had begun to explore adopting a 'special needs' child who was waiting for a home. Our adoption agency, Hand in Hand Adoptions, is piloting a new program working with the Nanjing Orphanage.
The following is the text of the email we sent to friends and family to announce the referral for our daughter on July 2! We apologize if you did not receive this, we had a few outdated addresses.
Hello Dear Friends and Family,
We are very excited to announce that we are going to be parents! We have received a referral for a beautiful, almost 2 year old little girl from Nanjing, China. Her Chinese orphanage name is Cao Jiang Jiang; the surname is first followed by her given name. Jiang Jiang means big or mighty river and is meant to imbue her with great expectations or wishes. Her birthday is 7/18/05. She was born in the Chinese year of the rooster.
She had heart surgery for a congenital problem in December 2006 at the Nanjing Children's Hospital next to her orphanage. She seems to be doing well, she looks good and she is growing. She is behind developmentally, but this is very normal for children from orphanages and they usually catch up quickly once they arrive home.
We do not yet know when we will be able to travel to China to bring her home. Sometime in the next 3-6 months is what we have been told. We hope sooner than later, we have been in process for over 2 years now! We are really looking forward to our 2 weeks in China. We are also nervous about the long flight home with a sweet, but traumatized little girl. A bit worried about our fellow travelers also!
We have been reading a lot about how to best introduce a toddler into our home and will try to follow the expert's recommendations. Early attachment of children to their primary caregiver can avoid many emotional and behavioral problems down the road. The books we have read strongly encourage that in order to avoid these problems, we need to provide a calm, controlled environment for the first 3 months. We must be the ones to hold, feed and change her during that time. She must learn to look to us, her parents, to trust that we will provide for all of her needs. We are so excited to share her with the people we love, but we will try to do what is best for her first. We will be looking forward to lots of visiting after these first 3 months!
We have attached pictures and according to her Dad she is soo cute you may need to make sure you are sitting down before you look. We have fallen pretty hard for our little dumpling! We are not sure about her new name yet, but we will let you know as we figure it out.
Love,
Deirdre & Doug
The following is the text of the email we sent to friends and family to announce the referral for our daughter on July 2! We apologize if you did not receive this, we had a few outdated addresses.
Hello Dear Friends and Family,
We are very excited to announce that we are going to be parents! We have received a referral for a beautiful, almost 2 year old little girl from Nanjing, China. Her Chinese orphanage name is Cao Jiang Jiang; the surname is first followed by her given name. Jiang Jiang means big or mighty river and is meant to imbue her with great expectations or wishes. Her birthday is 7/18/05. She was born in the Chinese year of the rooster.
She had heart surgery for a congenital problem in December 2006 at the Nanjing Children's Hospital next to her orphanage. She seems to be doing well, she looks good and she is growing. She is behind developmentally, but this is very normal for children from orphanages and they usually catch up quickly once they arrive home.
We do not yet know when we will be able to travel to China to bring her home. Sometime in the next 3-6 months is what we have been told. We hope sooner than later, we have been in process for over 2 years now! We are really looking forward to our 2 weeks in China. We are also nervous about the long flight home with a sweet, but traumatized little girl. A bit worried about our fellow travelers also!
We have been reading a lot about how to best introduce a toddler into our home and will try to follow the expert's recommendations. Early attachment of children to their primary caregiver can avoid many emotional and behavioral problems down the road. The books we have read strongly encourage that in order to avoid these problems, we need to provide a calm, controlled environment for the first 3 months. We must be the ones to hold, feed and change her during that time. She must learn to look to us, her parents, to trust that we will provide for all of her needs. We are so excited to share her with the people we love, but we will try to do what is best for her first. We will be looking forward to lots of visiting after these first 3 months!
We have attached pictures and according to her Dad she is soo cute you may need to make sure you are sitting down before you look. We have fallen pretty hard for our little dumpling! We are not sure about her new name yet, but we will let you know as we figure it out.
Love,
Deirdre & Doug
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