Meet Our Daughter

Ashlynn Chenxin Klecker

The following information was provided in the referral written in September:

• She was born on March 21, 2012.
• Her current name is Zhang Chenxin [jahng tchun sheen]. Zhang is a common surname in China. Chen means early morning and xin means warm and cozy. The referral states that she was given the name Chenxin "hoping she grows in a warm environment".
• She is living in an orphanage in Hecheng District of Huaihua City in the Hunan Province of China.
• As of September 12, she weighed 13.2 pounds and was 23.6 inches tall.
• She mainly eats milk and rice flour, fruit and vegetables from a jar, and several spoonfuls of steamed egg custard. (She's a better eater than her picky brothers!)
• She likes to listen to light music and to play with toys with bright color and sounds. 
• She likes to listen to the adults talk to her and smiles as if she can understand them. Her eyes are described as gleaming and curious.
• She was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. The doctors at the International Adoption Clinic (IAC) of the University of Minnesota who have reviewed her information believe this can be successfully repaired.  Since her condition does not appear to impacting her growth, we have taken the doctors' advice and requested that the orphanage not treat her lip or palate.  We will seek a multidisciplinary treatment (surgeon, speech therapist, audiologist, pediatric dentist, and orthodontist) in Minnesota once we have her settled in at home.
• She was also born with a Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) or a small defect between the two small pumping chambers in her heart.  The doctors at the IAC concur with the doctors in China that this will likely close as her heart grows.  We are praying that is the case and she does not need further treatment. 

The orphanage provided this video at our request in early November.  We've watched it more times than we can count!