Tempered Happiness

About a week ago our agency agreed that we could request another update on Carter. I quickly compiled a list of questions and asked Troy if there was anything he'd like to add. Oddly enough, I did not include any of his queries. Why you ask? Here's a sampling of his questions:

1. What's his favorite football team?
2. What is his favorite baseball team?
3. Does he like pepperoni or cheese pizza?
4. McDonalds or Burger King?
5. Ford or Chevy?

Need I go on? Ok. A couple more examples.

6. Blondes or brunettes?
7. Big Bang Theory or Friends?
8. Moon cakes or chocolate cake?

You get the idea. Troy did explain that the answers to the would help us make Carter's transition into our family a smooth and healthy one. Sigh. THIS is what I deal with on a daily basis.

Anyway, I said to Troy last night that I really needed our update. I guess in this case, it was an ask and ye shall receive kind of moment: we got our update! My enthusiasm is tempered for a couple of reasons, though. We didn't get any pictures or video, and of course, we still have no TA. The first is a little surprising as we've never had this happen before; the second, although probably not shocking, is stressful nonetheless. Every day we go without Travel Approval makes November travel less likely. It is, however, out of my hands -- what will be will be.

So, on to happier news. The update! We learned that he hasn't grown, but that's not surprising as it has only been a couple of months since the last update. We did glean a couple of new insights, though. His favorite foods are steamed pork with soy sauce, spareribs with brown sauce, and Chinese cabbage. (Yum! Sounds good to me.) His favorite toys are electric toys, but his favorite activity is playing ball with his foster brother. I think we'll be able to accommodate him when he gets home! Maybe the most significant news we received, however, was that he now attends pre-school, has adapted well to that, gets along well with other children, AND he has had improvement in his language skills. We have learned that he is adding new words to his vocabulary: car, eating, drinking, grandpa, and grandma. He can also follow simple directions. Way to go buddy! Now, here's praying that we will get to see this in person very, very soon.