9/22

We’re Adopting … Again!

Happiness, Kiddo
By Elsie Larson

Hello friends! I have the most wonderful news to share with you today … our second adoption is underway!

For those of you who have followed our story closely, I’m sure it comes as no surprise as it has been our intention from the beginning to adopt a sister for Nova from China. We had such an incredible experience adopting Nova and we can’t wait to travel back to China again, as a family of three this time, to become a family of four!

Just like last time, I will share our adoption story in detail over on my family blog (you can see the full archive of adoption posts here). But for today’s post, I thought I would just share a little bit about how our second adoption experience has been different from our first and (most importantly) how Nova feels about the prospect of having a little sister!

After bringing Nova home, we decided to wait six months before even talking about our next adoption. We knew we would need some time to settle in and focus on bonding with Nova, and wow—it flew by. So, in the early summer after we celebrated six months as a family, we decided that we wanted to begin our second adoption as quickly as possible. There were a few reasons, but overall, we just feel ready to go through the process again and we like the idea of our children being close in age.

The China program is a long-ish process—around two years on average. We decided we would like to adopt another child with albinism, which could affect our wait time quite a bit because it makes our profile very specific. We are comfortable with a long wait, but I have a weird feeling it won’t be long. The unknown timeframe has definitely caused us to cling even harder to every day with Nova. This is such a special season and we’re in no rush at all for it to end.

So far, our experience has been so different this time. In our first adoption, our home study took around seven months to complete. This time, it took less than two months. Since we’ve done all the documents before, we feel more experienced this time and it honestly feels pretty easy overall.

Emotionally, it’s also completely different. Everyone told me it would be. Having Nova in our lives makes our wait feel infinitely easier, and instead of wishing I could fast forward through this current season of life, I wish I could slow it down. We are still enjoying loads of firsts with Nova. The first adoption was pretty heavy and the wait was difficult. This time, it just feels joyful and exciting.

The other major shift is, instead of thinking of ourselves and a new child in this adoption, we are mainly focused on Nova and what is best for her. Currently, we are working on teaching her what a sister is, preparing her for things in our life that will change with a sister and talking about China. Nova is very excited to have a sister, according to her (how it will play out in real life is yet to be seen, of course!). She is constantly saying the cutest things like, “When I have sister I will share my pack pack with her” and “When I have itty bitty sister I will hug her and snuggle her.” We’re happy she’s excited, but to be fair, she’s not understanding a lot of what is happening at her age. The other night we were eating at a Chinese restaurant and she asked, “Do they have sister here?” haha. We spent a while trying to explain to her the difference between Chinese food and China and it wasn’t going to happen.

Anyway! I will keep you updated as we move forward. Since our timeline is pretty unknown, it might be a long time, but we felt like it was a good time to at least let you know where we are at. Thank you so much for your love and support during the happiest time in our lives! We love you! xx – Elsie, Jeremy and Nova

Credits//Author: Elsie Larson. Photography: Amber Ulmer. Photo edited with A Color Story Desktop.

47 Comments

  • YAY! I’m so happy for you and your family! Thanks for sharing this part of your life. We are trying to figure out when the time is right for us to begin our second adoption (hopefully soon!) and MAN ITS SO NICE TO HEAR that the emotions are different when you pursue a second adoption with your first child at home. All the prayers for your family!

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  • This brings tears to my eyes! Following your journey has inspired me to do more research about China adoptions and it’s become something that I hope to do one day. Thank you for sharing.

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  • Gah! That is so exciting!! So, so happy for you guys. 🙂 When you filled out the paperwork for this adoption, did you specify an age range? (Is that even a thing?) The thought of Nova with a little sister is just too sweet.

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  • Congratulations to you all! It’s been exciting to watch you adopt as it’s something I’ve been strongly pulled towards as well. Best of luck to you!

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  • Congratulations on the start of your newest addition! I’m sure it’s exciting/relieving to see Nova be 100% on board! ????

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  • What amazing news for all of you. I totally get wanting time to slow down with kiddos I was savouring days with just mummy and Sebastian whilst we waited for Humphrey the journey will be so different this time sending lots of loving thoughts

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  • When I saw the photo I thought: Wow, the second adopition is official – or Nova just got new shoes.. 😀
    Glad, that my first thought is the true one!
    I wish you and your family all the best!

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  • Tears! SO so incredibly happy for you. I love following you on this journey. Thank you for sharing it with us. I’m seriously so freakin happy for you! 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  • Oh. My. Goodness ! This is such wonderful, happy and heartwarming news !! Sending love and best wishes to such a special wee family from across the ocean in bonnie Scotland. XxX

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  • Aww, congratulations!! Such exciting news, and I can’t wait to follow along with the new addition to your family as well.

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  • SOOO excited for you! We are currently undergoing our second China adoption, too! And you are right – it feels so different this time. (By the way, our first adoption took over 2 years, and this one will be about 10 months total from start to finish! So much quicker!)

    SO thrilled that Nova will get a “mei mei.” 🙂 I love seeing her pics on Instagram. The joy is obvious in your family. You and your husband are doing SUCH a wonderful job with her! Congrats to you all!!!!!

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  • I absolutely love reading about your family and I am so happy for your soon to be BLESSED new addition! That was HYSTERICAL that Nova was looking for her sister at the Chinese restaurant ????. Reading about and seeing pictures of Nova always brings a smile to my ????.

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  • Oh that’s just amazing! I am pregnant with our first baby but long before this we had started talking about adoption. And we continue to do that for our second baby. It’s wonderful to follow the story of your growing family, thank you for sharing! I pray the wait is short and another little happy bundles arrives soon to you 🙂
    hugs, bipasha

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  • congratulations !!!! i don’t know if you asked for a particular age range (is that even possible ?) or, in other words, is there a chance Nova could end up with … a big sister ?

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  • Yay! Super exciting! I was sorta expecting to see a post with some crazy moon cake and Mid Autumn Festival party you did . . . But this is soooooo much better! Congratulations!

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  • Hi Elsie! I have loved your blog for years and absolutely love Nova’s story and following your family. I’m so happy for you on this journey! Thank you for sharing and being so open. So excited for you!

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  • Thank you so much for sharing this journey! I’m excited for you – congrats! But it’s also so good to read about your experiences since I’m getting ready to start my adoption journey. Wishing you all the best!

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  • Such an exciting time for your little family. Hope your wait isn’t too long!

    My niece used to call her backpack a pack pack as well. We found it so adorable, that we never corrected her. I don’t think she figured it out until she was in first grade. Thanks for bringing back this memory.

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  • Congratulations! So happy for you guys. I’m sure Nova will love the transition.
    It’s very hard to explain to young kids about “other countries”. Their world is so small and specific, bigger concepts are just not registering I think. My husband had to go to Europe for a week for work and our kids (5 and 7) could not understand how far that was (we’re in Canada right above New York state). We dropped him off to the airport the Sunday night and Monday evening, our five year old asked if he would be there for dinner. And then they would want to call him before bed time at 7:30 and they could not compute that he was 7 hours in the “future” and it was 2:30 am in Riga (Latvia). But then after 3 days they promptly forgot about him (hahaha although they were happy to see him when we picked him up at the airport). They understand distances within Canada though (well, from Ontario to New Brunswick where we have family and we’ve had to drive 11 hours before, they remember the long road time). By the time you travel back to China to get your youngest, Nova will realize the distance between China and the US.

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  • Oh wow what wonderful news for you, I always said that I would have adopted if I couldn’t have had children of my own. There are so many children out there who deserve a warm and loving home. I hope the process goes smoothly for you x

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  • Congrats! Wondering why you wouldn’t want to adopt from the U.S.? U.S. has one of the most overcrowded and unlooked needs of children who need homes.

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    • My opinion is that there are no bad choices when it comes to adopting orphans. Children in the US and children in other countries both need homes *equally*. For our first adoption we looked into a bunch of different programs and we picked the one we felt the biggest connection to. One of my best friends just adopted domestically and had an amazing experience as well. No bad choices! 🙂

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  • I’m so excited for your family! I was wondering if you’d be willing to share the names that were on your list but that you discarded (either for Nova or baby #2)?

    We’re working through the long journey of infertility and IVF, and daydreaming about names, etc is one of the fun things we can do during the long slog of shots and doctors visits.

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    • Hi! Yes- I am planning on sharing them after we pick the name for little sis. I keep a running list on my phone!

      I think dreaming is an excellent way to spend your time while you wait… I’m currently on a Pinterest binge of baby rooms. Sending love and hugs! 🙂

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