So we are wondering, who is this little girl called Zhou Han Yi? You can see the file information we received on this sweetheart below. Almost all we know about Han Yi is that:
~ she was born on January 21, 2012 (if her estimated birth date was correct), arrived at the Zhengzhou orphanage about a month later, and at some point was placed in Zhengzhou’s Lily Orphan Care Center, established as part of their Henan Province focus by our adoption agency, CCAI, to provide more specialized care for those with more significant needs
~ she lives in Zhengzhou, Peoples Republic of China, located in the Henan Province, one of China’s poorest and most populated
~ she has been labeled as a Special Focus Waiting Child, which signifies that she is in a group of some of the most vulnerable children in the world
~ she has been labeled as a Special Focus Waiting Child, which signifies that she is in a group of some of the most vulnerable children in the world
~ she has hemangioma (benign (noncancerous) vascular tumors (buildup of blood vessels) that usually appear as birthmarks) on the back of head, covering her lower arm and hand, and around her tail bone
~ after a CT scan of her head was performed in China at around seven months to make sure the hemangioma on her head had not affected Han Yi’s brain, the CT report questioned if she had an underdeveloped corpus collosum (or callosum), the bundle of nerves that connect the right and left hemispheres of the brain
~ other factors when she was younger suggested she may have developmental delays, which is very difficult to accurately assess from her file information, when most children in orphanages are sometimes significantly delayed (an international adoption specialist, neurologist, and a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, who we asked to review her medical files, all indicated that we would really have to wait and have her evaluated in the USA to understand what her full physical condition and special needs truly are)
~ when we considered her file, Han Yi was still not standing on her own at fifteen months (she is propped up against a tree in a couple short video clips that we were lucky enough to be given) and was not really talking at all
Trying to stand on her own...whoa, whoa!
MAY 2013 VIDEO:
This one just kills me to watch...such a big bruise on her face!
Little Han Yi seems pretty overwhelmed by the situation
MAY 2013 VIDEO:
This one just kills me to watch...such a big bruise on her face!
Little Han Yi seems pretty overwhelmed by the situation
Since we moved forward with Han Yi's adoption in July 2013, we have received two updates from the Zhengzhou orphanage that consist of a few bullet points (each indicating that she has what sounds like some serious stranger anxiety) and a photograph of her looking somewhat unsure to downright scared at the camera. Poor little thing...meeting her new "foreigner" parents is going to rock her world!
However, we are so blessed that Han Yi is in one of CCAI's Lily Orphan Care Centers and was sponsored by some caring family or individual. This not only benefited Han Yi in a HUGE way, giving her more one-on-one care, but resulted in quarterly "foster care reports" that are a true treasure trove to us! By reading these, we have been greatly encouraged by this progression of updates that show
Han Yi is progressing developmentally and is now standing, walking and talking!
Han Yi is progressing developmentally and is now standing, walking and talking!
If you want to see
these updates, please check out the
Another very intriguing piece of information on Han Yi is that we spent a week in her orphanage city of Zhengzhou, where we were united with our first daughter, Cai Yun on August 27, 2012. (Children who are in orphanages are typically taken to the capital city of their province to join their forever families). It kills us to know we were so very close to this little girl who will become our daughter twenty months later! We even brought over a huge suitcase full of lovely baby clothes to donate since our agency informed us there was a big need in the Henan Province. A sweet neighbor was selling very gently used pieces and we bought as many as we could pack, thinking they would go to the little ones in our daughter's orphanage in Zhumadian City. Our guides told us that the clothes were instead needed more in Zhengzhou and we wonder now if the ayis (aunties or orphanage nannies) dressed Han Yi in any of them.
About four months ago, we reached out to the families in our CCAI travel group from our first adoption to ask about their before/after experiences with their children's development since most of the sweet little ones were around Han Yi's age when they joined their families. We found out that one of the families (during our group's stay in Zhengzhou) actually saw Han Yi on their visit to the Zhengzhou orphanage, where their daughter had lived. They told us that Han Yi captured their hearts and they emailed us this photo. We emailed back asking for more details on this little girl that would be joining our family, but we never heard back. Maybe someday we will, but we feel lucky to have this precious photograph that was taken the very same moment we were unknowingly just miles away from Han Yi, our new little sweet, who has captured our hearts! Just look at her...
Oh Han Yi, how we would have loved to at least catch a glimpse
of your little seven month old face that hot August 2012 afternoon!
Maybe God knew our hearts would have totally broken
after having to leave you behind.
“You are the helper of the fatherless. Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more.” – Psalms 10:14,17-18
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Photos and a Description of Han Yi,our Newest Little-Girl-to-Be
From Adoption File We Reviewed in July 2013
These photos are probably when Han Yi was around 7 months old
from the Development Report (signed on September 2, 2012), when Han Yi was 7 months old)
"Zhou Han Yi, female, born January 21, 2012 (estimated)... [was later] brought to the Zhengzhou City Children’s Welfare Institute.When Han Yi had just arrived at the institute, she had a round face, small eyes, single-lidded eyelids and fair skin. Han Yi now lives in a foster home that has a partnership with the institute. When she first arrived at the institute, she was chubby and very cute. She also seemed a little bit older than her estimated age. She often ate a lot and she also loved to sleep. Under the meticulous care of the nannies, Han Yi has now changed greatly. Below is her most recent developmental condition:
1) Motor movement ability
Han Yi can now sit on her own, play with toys and she can crawl very fast. After she sees a nanny carrying food, she will smile and quickly crawl over to the nanny. On occasion, when she is lying down on the mats and playing with toys, she will hear a nanny call to her. She will roll her body over and she does it very quickly and very nimbly. Now, when she doesn’t want to sleep when you put her in her little bed, she will just use her hands to support herself and stand up in her little bed, then lay down on her stomach with her eyes wide open gazing at you. Han Yi can now take a couple steps while supporting herself on things with her hands. When the nannies pull on her two little hands, she is even bolder and she walks even more steadily. Her hand movement is very nimble and she can grab onto things very well and do a few fine movements. For example: she can pick up toys from the floor, she can use her hands to rip paper into tiny pieces and when she’s happy, she won’t stop clapping her two little hands. Han Yi’s teeth have still not completely come in yet, they are just coming in and are pearly-white. However, she can now eat some things on her own and she can eat some little bread and cookies, etc. At present, she still cannot eat food on her own. She needs the nannies to feed her and she uses a milk bottle for milk, water and other beverages.
2) Language, emotion and social condition
Han Yi really likes people she’s familiar with to play with her. She will reach out her hands to be held but when there is a stranger playing with her, she needs to adjust a little bit and then she will play with you. She can understand adults’ facial expressions, when a nanny calls her name she will turn her head and she likes to lie in a rocker and have the nannies sway it and talk with her. At this time she will call out “n, n, a, a” in response to the nannies. Han Yi will now cry a little or get upset and sometimes she will “talk” to the nannies. When the nannies are busy and not giving her attention, she will cry out "a, a" sounds loudly at them, but when she sees the nannies smiling at her, she will happily and quickly crawl over to them. If you want something from her, she knows to give, but she’ll only give things to people she’s familiar with. She will often call out “n, n, a, a” when she is by herself and playing happily. She can now recognize the people she’s close to and the little children in her room. When the nannies aren’t around, she likes to play together with the other little children but when the nannies are around, she likes to stick around with the nannies that take of her the most.
3) Vision and hearing
Han Yi’s vision and hearing development are normal. When there is a peculiar sound in the room, she will follow the sound and search for its origin. After she hears music, she will express her excitement and her little hands will keep moving around. Han Yi’s vision can see objects very far away and when she sees a nanny that often cares for her from afar, or a nanny has some food in her hands, she will express her excitement. She is very interested in objects and movements that she sees from afar.
5) Personality
Han Yi’s personality is very lively, she really loves to smile and she likes when people play with her. She is the closest with the nannies that often care for her and she will take the initiative and crawl over to them wanting to be held. Sometimes she will be quite mischievous and when the nannies are feeding her, she will purposefully spit food out and when she sees her food on the nanny’s face, she will naughtily chuckle and smile at the nanny. When she encounters a stranger, she will open her eyes wide and look at them and pay attention to the way they are playing with her. She needs to adjust to the stranger a bit before finally responding to them. She is often very active and she is always crawling about in the room. She likes to play with toys and have the nannies play together with her. Occasionally she will also play with other little children but she mostly sticks around with the nannies.
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