Since we shared our news about Tallula, some of y’all have asked a few questions…
1. When did all this happen? How are you so close to being able to bring her home?
Well, a lot has been going on behind the scenes. We chose to keep it to ourselves so we could focus on Poppy. And so we could keep our sanity. And, honestly, during the homestudy, and the wait for USCIS to complete our paperwork, our sanity was in short supply. But now that things are finally moving again, and travel is on the horizon… well, we are so happy to be able share our joyful news with y’all.
We submitted our LOI for Tallula in early July. And, amazingly, we received our LOA just three weeks later. Which would have been spectacular, had this been a regular adoption. But it wasn’t. When we got word of our LOA for Tallula, we were already in the process of bringing Poppy home from China, and moving to a new house in a new state. Which meant that we would need to bring Poppy home, then move, and then bring Tallula home.
Which meant a whole lot of additional work.
Once we got home with Poppy, Chris and I sat down and had a look at all the paperwork that needed to be done for a homestudy in our new state. And then I cried. Seriously, I don’t know if it was just this agency, or this state, or the Hague, but it was a nightmare. All new auto-biographies. All new reference letters. All new financials, employment letters… and all needed to be notarized. Original birth certificates for everyone in the house. Complete physicals for everyone in the house…
Do you know how hard it is to get physicals for all your kids when you’ve just moved and don’t even have a doctor yet?
But let’s not go there. It’s all behind us now, right? And the 4 months it took to get our homestudy completed, and the 2 months it took USCIS to get our new approval and I800 completed are now just a distant memory.
Our I800 was completed on January 26th and our paperwork was cabled from the NVC to the Embassy on February 3rd. Now we are waiting for our Article 5 paperwork with should be ready to pick up on February 21st.
After that, we’ll just be waiting for Travel Approval.
Wooohoooo!
Another question y’all have asked is…
2. Where did that name come from?
It has been a name we’ve loved for a long time. It was a name we briefly considered for Vivienne and Poppy. But it just didn’t fit.
To us, the name Tallula sounds sassy. And smart. A my-way-or-the-highway kind of a name.
And, almost as soon as we saw her face and read her referral information, we knew she was our Tallula.
Tallula means “abundance”. And “princess”. And that just seems to fit her to a T.
Her middle name, Mae, is a family name on both of our sides. And we love the southern twang it adds to Tallula. We’re not set yet on what we’ll actually call her, but there are a couple of incredibly cute nicknames we could use with a name like Tallula.
Tula.
Lula.
Or even Lula Mae.
We do need to come up with something soon, though. Before my husband’s chosen moniker for her begins to stick… T-Lu. Goodness, no.
And some of y’all have just asked for more.
3. More info! More details!
And I’m more than happy to help.
She was born in April 2010. Considered to be ‘low birth weight’, she was sent to live with a foster family in May of that year.
Her paperwork says, “She has a quick smile and when calling her name or playing games with her, she giggles. Neighbors call her ‘huan xi tuo’ – one who is happy all the time.”
And smart?
Oh my.
From her referral paperwork:
“At the age of about one year, she could speak phrases of 2 – 3 words such as she jia jiao (sleeping) and lai ya (come).”
“When celebrating the Chinese New Year, the mother took her to visit extended family members, and she was very generous and followed the mother’s instructions to do some motions and made those family members laugh happily. When having the red envelope, she would thank them in the Chinese way, gong xi fa cai. They all praise her as a smart girl.”
Seriously. By the time we travel for her, she’s going to be smarter than me. If she isn’t already.
She is also, shall we say, robust.
At admission – when she was just a few days old – she weighed 4 1/2 pounds and was 17 inches long.
Tiny, right?
But at a year, she was 26 1/2 pounds and over 29 inches tall.
And at 17 months, she was 33 pounds and 37 inches tall.
Which, to put that into perspective, is about the size of an average 3 1/2 year old Chinese girl.
*Ahem*
If her paperwork is correct, she will be taller than Poppy and Vivienne.
We are definitely going to have our hands, and our hearts, full.
And we can hardly wait.
Joy Lenz says
She’s adorable! I once knew a girl named Tallulah, who went by Tally – another possible nickname. There’s nothing like a doting foster mom to fatten up a baby! My Rachel was not quite 2 and had roll upon delicious roll when we got her and it was clear that her foster mom had fed her often!
missy says
The comment above cracks me up — we know a Tally, too! π She is darling — whatever you decide to call her!
Pam says
You can tell she is a chunk. My daughter was 24 lbs. at 12 months and can’t remember her height right off but she was taller than the two that were 4 and 6 months older than her. We were told by many of the Chinese that she would be tall. Even her orphanage name meant tall and strong arbor, which she is. At four she is 40 lbs. and 40″. She is almost as tall as a lot of her 6 year old Chinese friends (two years difference). She has always been 75th percentile for height and weight until this year and dropped a little for height.
Tallulah Mae is such a sweet Southern name and like Joy said above, Tally is adorable!!!!
Rebecca says
She sounds like an amazing little girl. Congratulations and blessings on your travels to bring her home.
Robin says
Beyond happy for all of you! Can’t wait until you bring this little chubby bubby home!
Blessings,
Robin
Misty says
What a precious little girl. She is so blessed to have you!
Jennifer says
Oh man, she’s just precious! I love the word “robust”. π It looks great on her! π
meaklims says
I couldn’t be happier for you!! She will most certainly fill your hearts to overflowing.
God is so good.
Jill
Sue says
Love it! She is adorable, what a little chubba lol. I so admire you with all your kiddos. Blessings and quick TA.
Fliss says
I know I don’t pop by as often but must say a huge congrats… this is so awesome… hugs…
Jennifer says
She is too much!!! Her name fits her perfectly! I am so excited for you guys!
Our Article 5 pick-up is Feb 14, so we are right there with you in the “wait!” Congrats!!
Oh….got my “God is Love” shirt from the giveaway the other day and I love it! π
Amy Murphy says
She’s precious! And she weighs more than my 5 yr. old son (though, he’s 42 in)! (If those #’s are correct, which you I’m sure know is highly suspect.) I hope you find just the right nick name, and that you get TA really soon. π
Emily says
Precious! So exciting! Who will travel this time? Can you share her special need? I ask just because we have a CL/CP at our house and I have 2 friends filling out paperwork and trying to decide on medical checklist and would love to give them your info to learn about another “special need”… which I feel they all have a special need… a HOME!!! Can’t wait to follow… followed Poppy’s all the way home!!!
Cheryl says
Such a beautiful girl and beautiful story!! We have the same I-800, Cabled and potential Art 5 dates!
Congratulations! And…I received my “God is Love” shirt..Thank you, again. I love it!
martha says
My guide in Wuhan said that the people in Hubei are just taller people…she also said they were prettier too! LOL My girl is tall in the percentile charts…must be something to that tall thing in Hubei…and our girls are both pretty too, SO I guess my guide was right! LOL
The Gang's Momma says
Awww, thanks for sharing all that! We’re in a hiccup to Brynna and feeling sort of flung around by the process today. It was good to read something sweet and funny and be reminded that HE has it all in His plans.
Sheryl says
What a chunker! She really is SO stinkin’ cute. I just can’t wait to follow you as you go get her.
Shonni says
She is so cute. What a precious story you have to your daughter!!
Nicole A. says
What a cutie!! So nice that she appears to have a great foster mom ~ great news for bonding! Love her name, too! I like “Lula” or “Lula Mae”, unless you call someone else LuLu (I can’t remember). Tally is cute, too. And a little sassy. π
All the best,
Nicole A., now in LA
Becky says
She is absolutely beautiful! And I love the name you have picked. Congrautlations. I am so happy for you.
Wendy Meighen says
She is darling! My oldest daughter is 8 and weighs 31#, how’s that for perspective. π
elisabeth says
Tallula makes me smile. Makes me smile that she will have a family, and that it is your family, and that you will have her!
Stephanie, did you have a chance to see her when you went to get Poppy? Was wondering as I thought I remember reading they shared the same orphanage?
Stacy says
So glad you shared! I cannot fathom getting LOA and then having to redo all of that paperwork!!! UGH! Just saw a nickname for Tallulah as Tilly! Thought that was a cute southern name!
Kate says
Congratulations! Congratulations. Our friends have a daughter named Tallula and they call her Toulie (two-Lee).
Kate says
Not sure how congratulations ended up there twice… could be the 5 kids around me or that I am just that excited for you. :o)
Nancy says
She is just the cutest little (maybe not so little) girl! I am so happy for you and your family. I know you’ve had a tough road, and wish you only the best on your adventure to Tallula, whose name I love.
Dardi says
Wowzers…we are on a similar timeline! We had Art5 p/u on 2/10, so we’re waiting on our TA. π She is soooo cute….congratulations, again!!
Karin says
I am soooo happy for you all!!! I was just thinking about you the other day and wondering if you had another little girl coming home… :)) So glad to see you do!!
Robyn says
So fun and she is adorable! We have the same art 5 pick up date too! Hope to see you in Guangzhou!
emily says
she cracks me up!!!!!!!!!!!!! our little man is 17 months old and is an itty bitty 17 pounds!!!! she’s a cutie– can’t wait to see you travel (again)! who’s going this time?
Amber Hatley says
Congrats!!! What awesome news! I love her name!! We are waiting on LOA for our precious Tulah!! Tulah for us was a family name, we have nicknamed her LuLu already though!! So exciting and I will definatley be following along!!!!
holly arnold says
I can’t wait to see pictures when she comes home!I love her name.
Best,
Holly
Lindy says
She is darling. Are you sure that 33 lbs. doesn’t include the 8 lbs. of sweaters that she is wearing? I love the knicknames Tally and Tula, along with Lulie and Lulu. Lula Mae is a little too southern belle for me. LOL
Amy Meeker says
Can’t wait to see Miss T come home. She is precious!!!!
Football and Fried Rice says
Ok, I love T-Lu π
And I would SERIOUSLY be shocked if she weighed 33 pounds. There’s just no possible way! She does look “robust”, but not THAT robust π
Happy Travels, mama!
Nancy says
Lula is a family name for me. A long line of southern women. Gets my vote!
Cute a bug she is. A really big bug!
nancy
Sharon Long says
Thanks for sharing! I think you should just call her by her name as it is really beautiful! Do you mind sharing what her special need is? Also, I can’t resist asking you-is this your last one or would you consider adoption again? I can’t wait to see you all with her. I truly enjoyed your journey to Poppy and I love to read anything about her. She is such a gorgeous little one! I don’t play favorites with my children-though I have one girl and I just can’t resist doing extra little things for her. Do you ever find yourself being more partial to one or another? How do you find that balance?
trina says
I love her! She’s so cute. How about Talli?
Lisa says
I just love Tallulas cheeks!!! She seems to be a happy girl!!!! She will soon know happiness with her family! Can’t wait for your travel!!!!
hugs
TanyaLea says
CONGRATS!!! She is absolutely darling! Oh my goodness {insert many hearts here!!} And my vote for her nickname is: Lula Mae… it just sounds southern and sassy! ~ I like it!! π Cannot believe you are so close to travel… though to you, I’m sure it feels like a long time coming! Still, that’s pretty fast.
Can’t wait to follow yet another of your journeys back to China! She is a dolly!!
…and did you say, “robust”!?! LOL!! I would venture to guess those measurements are off. Khloe just turned 4 last week, and she is pretty on point with the US charts at 39″ and 35lbs. So if that’s true, you may have one leggy girl on your hands… model material, perhaps!?! ~ hey, her mama is a great photographer, so ya never know!! π
Congratulations to all of you and God bless! <
love & hugs,
~Tanya
Aus says
Wow – thanks for sharing all of that!! The thought of a re-do from LOA is u.g.l.y. – adoption is certainly having kids the ‘hard’ way (spoken from a guy perspective anyway!).
She is absolutly perfect in every way – and I couldn’t be any happier for you guys!
And as for a nic for her – Tilly – first thing that hit me – and as pretty as she is!
hugs – great joy – and Blessings on you house!
aus and co.
Eileen says
Our Maya was only 4 1/2 pounds when she was found as well. She grew beautifully, although not quite as *robust* as your Tulla (my personal favorite nickname). Our XiXi, however, seriously shocked me when he was placed in my arms. He was SO SO heavy! All of my kids are petite and small-boned and it took me a long time to get used to holding that wide, meaty hand of his. With Maya’s hand, it’s almost like it’s not even there and I can easily go all the way around it and touch my fingers to my thumb. With XiXi, there’s some serious bulk there! But I love it and can’t imagine not getting to hold that squishibly adorable hand!
Eileen says
Oh, and I also was going to say that even though our son eats a TON here, he somehow has slimmed out a little since China! He was the favorite at the orphanage and then was with a foster mother, who it sounds like adored him, for about 6 months. I think they fed him all the time.
Have any of your kids been with foster mothers before? It seems like they’ve all been from orphanages, but maybe I’m remembering it wrong. Anyway, although XiXi had spent most of his life in the orphanage, he obviously felt like his foster family was HOME and although I’m eternally grateful that he had that time in foster care and wouldn’t change it for anything, it brought a new level of grief to the process. I don’t know that I’d fully prepared myself for that. When I was told that it took two adults to pull him away from his sobbing foster mother, I couldn’t contain my tears. It was hard. I firmly believe those foster parents will be deserving of a special place in heaven for their service.
Sarah says
I love the name Tallula! I saw name barrettes with that name on them & I almost bought them…..in the event I happened to eventually know someone named Tallula. Now I wish I had gotten them!
anything but LoKEY says
I am so happy for you guys! She is such a cutie pie!!
We also submitted our LOI in July but our LOA is still waiting….sigh. Hopefully soon. Can’t wait to get to the point you guys are at. π
Veena says
She is adorable!
I love the name. Very sassy and sweet!
I’m not sure why, but I’m drawn to the nickname Leelu. But Lula Mae is all sass and that sounds just right for her!
Her cheeks are out of the this world cute!
carrie says
Can I say how you are one of my Hero’s!?! Thank you for all you do! May God bless you in your new Journey!
christy Lillie says
OMG my 3.5 year old weighs 30 pounds. She is going to be a handful!! She sounds so smart too, i think the sassy name is perfect!!
Kam says
i love her already. what a stinkin’ cutie pie she is. cute. e. pie. her cheeks are begging to be kissed!
Becky Carlsen says
Congrats on the beautiful new daughter! Our Chinese daughter is from the AnHui province, and she’s a big one too. She is 5 years old and one of the tallest in her class. Not sure of her weight, but she is pretty solid. We laughed as we thought our daughter form China would be the tiny one. Now our Ethiopian princess is 19 month old and is only around 19 pounds. She is the tiny one!
Congrats again!
Cindy says
Congrats Stefanie and family!
So excited to hear about your precious Tallula! (LOVE her name, it fits her!)
I think God has the perfect plan for your family and her!!!!
And I can’t wait to “share” another joyous journey with your family as you bring her home!
LeeAnne says
Awesome! Is it just me, or does she totally look like she IS your family?! Geez… God is so clever sometimes?!! (I support Lula – just rolls off the tongue – and is super cute just look her gorgeous little face!) LOL! Always makes me chuckle when you see these kiddies that are “small or underweight” at birth… doesn’t take long for them to excel!
Sophi Belle says
I loved reading this. Especially the last part. Robust? Yeah, that’s good. And sweet. She is kissable and squishable. My little one, Maya, was like that when she was that age. ^^
Tallie seems a cute nickname. According to thinkbabynames.com it means ‘leaping water’. <3
Amber Leggio says
Oh my she is adorable. π We just got our Article 5 issued on Valentines Day. It looks like we are about a week apart. We are using AWAA to adopt our precious Mia form QingYang City in Gansu. Congratulations!!!!!!!!! This is our first adoption and we are soooooo excited.
Londa says
Thank you for sharing, Stefanie! Such a cutie! We too have a Wuhan cutie, but she is our smallest. Our Jiangxi sweetie is big. When they told me her weight I thought for sure they had to be mistaken…either that or she was older than they told us. No, she is just a big girl and was obviously well fed. When we got home all she wanted to do was eat…non stop. She weighs as much as her Wuhan sister who is 16 months older, but she’s not as tall.
Not to pry, but is she a special focus child? We are wondering if we might want to use our dossier again, but I am assuming we will have to find a child from the special focus list in order to do so. I am just not sure how all of this works. Tullulah looks and sounds to be very healthy and well cared for.
Congratulations once again!! I know how excited you must be… I am excited for you!! Can’t wait to see her in your arms and home with her new family!! Praise God!!
Sue says
I am so exctied for you guys, and me too. I have been following your blog since 1996 when we started our paperwork for our adopted daughter, now home almost 2 years. I love love love following your blog, especially when you are on a China trip picking up a precious new family memer! I cant wait to follow along! Her name is precious, and I vote for Tallie as her nickname! Its sassy and strong! Just like she seems in her pics!
Kieren says
She is beautiful Stephanie! Congratulations on being so close to bringing her home after what sounds like a long road! We are leaving in two weeks for our first little one from China who is almost 2! I can’t imagine how you do it all but I am in awe and truly inspired by you, your family, and your love for the Lord. God bless you on this next journey, I will be following along! π
BTW I love her name, it is beautiful as she is! For nicknames I also think Tula Mae is pretty!
Laura says
She is a cutie patootie! I adore her little pudgy fingers. Our youngest daughter’s referral photos showed her sweet little pudgy fingers, too. Couldn’t wait to hold them.
Catherine says
What a sweetie!
Wow…she is tall! My DD will be 3 on Monday and is 38 1/2″ and everyone talks about how tall she it.
Cannot wait to see sweet Lulu in your arms!
Monica Davidson says
My sister, Reese, at 2.5 years (when we adopted her) was about 24-26 lbs and around 26 inches tall, if I remember right. She was healthy and in foster care. Now, at 7, she’s 4 foot tall and 72 lbs.