Update on Lucee!!!

I know it's been a while since we have given an adoption update. We have kind of been sitting in limbo waiting to hear back from China as they have all of our paperwork and are reviewing it.
Today we got to hear from the physical therapist that is part of our adoption agency and we got some REALLY exciting and encouraging news. First of all she couldn't stop talking about how amazing and sweet Lucee is. Her excitement right off the bat was very exciting for us. We hadn't even gotten into any questions and she was already bragging on her. Then she got in to answering a bunch of the questions we had asked before the group went over to China to see the kids.
-Lucee is very active and even jumps around a lot. This was encouraging for us as we know that she has issues with with her legs with the muscles and tendons due to her cerebral palsy. The physical therapist did state that she is not in any kind of brace for her legs right now (this is normal in orphanages) and that the longer she goes without, the harder it will be on her legs. She does have good range of motion in her feet and legs right now, so that is encouraging. The fact that she is jumping is very exciting for us.
-With her strabismus (cross eyes), the therapist did note that Lucee is not tracking well out of her right eye. We expected this but is just a reminder that vision therapy and surgery on her eyes is in her future when she gets here. Her head is tilted to the left and they believe this is to compensate for her right eye. The therapist stated that because her head is tilted to the left that the muscles in her neck are tight and will need to be worked on when she is here.
-She does not speak any English except for "hi". She speaks Mandarin pretty well, so this will most likely be our greatest challenge when we are united. The amazing thing is that we met some new friends recently who are from China and fluently speak Mandarin. They have offered to teach us and to be a help when we don't understand Lucee. Meeting these new friends is such an amazing blessing at the right time.
-Lucee is learning lots of new things and is able to match the right colors together. Her favorite colors are green and red.
-Lucee is a very personal little girl and loves interacting with others. The therapist stated that they gave the kids fruit snacks and Lucee was offering some of her snacks to the workers before she ate any herself. Over and over the therapist continued to talk about her sweet, loving personality.
-She loves music and sings all of the time.
-Lucee is not on any medications
-She sleeps well but is a lite sleeper and likes the room completely dark. This is perfect because Lilee sleeps in the dark whereas our boys sleep with a night light on.
-A big one is that she is potty trained!!!!! She goes potty all by herself as well. That means we can't get rid of the big changing table in our house and we no longer have a need for any diapers!!!! Brandee was VERY excited about this news.
-She is 101cm tall which puts her at 39 1/2 inches. She weighs 31.4 pounds. Lilee on the other hand is 38 1/2 inches tall and weighs about 33 pounds. Both girls wear 3T clothing. We are going to basically have twin girls!!
-The nanny's and anyone that is around her states that she is an absolute joy to be around.
-Some of the most exciting news but also gut wrenching (because we have to continue to wait) is that she has been talking about wanting a "mama and baba". She has seen other kids get adopted and leave and she is desiring that as well. Obviously, this just melted our hearts and made us want to get on a plane right away and go get her. It's exciting that God is answering our prayer for her to desire to be part of a family. It's crazy to be in the spot we are in because she has no clue that there is a family pursuing her. Because we are waiting on China's final approval, they cannot tell her about us yet. We feel like we are looking through a one way mirror where we know who she is and are looking into her world, but she can't see that we are right there on the other side of the mirror smiling and ready to love on her. Once we get final approval for her they will begin telling her about us and showing her pictures.

This was a very exciting day for us as we received all of this great information about our daughter. Please pray that the process would hurry along so we can actually get over there and bring her home. Thank you all for the amazing love and support we have been receiving!! It has meant so much to us. Can't wait to tell you all more soon!