Shopping for Lily

My sister came over and watched Emma and Meilynn so that I could go out shopping for Lily.  She did this as a celebration for getting our I-800 problem fixed.  I was waiting also for an update on Lily's size before I bought anything and now that we know that she is 44.1 inches tall and 39.6 pounds and with the help of some internet friends who either have daughters Lily's age from the same orphanage or internet friends that have children the same age I was able to get some good advice.  I figure anything that is too big she can grow into and anything too small the girls can grow into.  We estimated that she would probably take a size 5 but in shirts maybe a six.  I am guessing that in jeans and skirts a 5 also.  I thought that skirts would work well with tights for the cold and then they could carry over until the summer.  It is like when we shopped for Emma.  We had not had a little one for over 20 years so we had to start at square one.  The same with Lily, since we have not had a 6 year old in almost that long.  I bought her some basics and then we can supplement in China when we find her true size.  I bought skirts, tights, jeans, sunglasses, bathing suits, a few shirts, hair things, three underwear ( I plan to buy these in China since they fit better there.  I hope to buy Emma and Meilynn underwear there too, since they still wear size 2 here and the legs are always loose.}  I also ordered a jacket from Hannah Anderson since I could not find any coats here in California and a few dresses from their super sale.  They have really soft comfortable dresses that work well for traveling, etc.  It is kind of strange to buy clothes for someone that you have no idea what they might like.  Emma and Meilynn have definite preferences, Emma more so than Meilynn.  I don't know if she will be more comfortable in pants or dresses,  I don't know what color she likes,  I don't know if texture matters to her.  I don't know if she has worn underwear before. (Meilynn came to us without underwear).  She may have always been told what she is to wear, she may only have two outfits to pick from, it is all going to be a learning experience for all of us.  I did have fun picking out the older girl clothes, but I felt sad that I had missed the younger stages with her.

I got this one at the Gymboree outlet.  I thought it was very grown up looking and young at the same time.  I am not much for animal prints, but I really like this zebra print.

I picked up two bathing suits, the one on the left from the Gymboree outlet.  I don't remember seeing bathing suits for sale when I was in China, but then I was not really looking.  I know that we swam both times we were there, but it was hot.  I am not sure if the pool is heated.  We did swim at an inside pool in Changsha.  And since I am not sure where we might go before or after Guangzhou, I wanted to make sure that Lily had a swimsuit.  Plus with living in California and having a pool, a bathing suit is a must.  The one on the left is a two piece from the Gymboree outlet.  If she has a long torso and a small rear end, a two piece might be the answer.  But if she is modest, having never worn a bathing suit before, I found this cute one at Target.

The Children's Place was having a great sale.  I got this cute jean skirt, pink shirt, jeans, and tights, and hair things there.  I didn't get any shoes, other than thongs.  That will be one of the first things we will go shopping for.

Buying her clothes and reading about older adoptions makes me sad that I have missed so much of her life.  It makes me want to do everything I can to get to her as fast as I can.