Happy Holidays

This year Santa was very good to us because he brought us the best present EVER, Maddie!

Loving her new dresses from Godpapa & Aunt Natalie

Beware little Maddie is almost ready to walk!

This year we had Christmas Day brunch at our place and the theme was "Korean".  

Got some Cake Pops from Di Ngoc and other goodies from Party Central.

Opening presents with Ba Ngoai

Spending time with Ba Ngoai Nam

Hanging with Cau Luan

Park Fun

Maddie got her first trip to Daddy's favorite fried chicken place in Florida today.  No, she did not get any fried chicken but she loved the mash potatoes with gravy!  The last time we visited Maryland's Fried Chicken in Plant City was the day we got our first photo of Maddie.  It was weird thinking back about how the agency had emailed us a photo of this little girl and asking if we wanted her and a seven months later we have her.  Funny how life works out!  

Since we took Lucy with us (chicken + Lucy = LOVE) we stopped by the park and had a little picnic with Grandma, Daddy, Mommy, Maddie & Lucy!

A Week in Review

It's been a full week since we've been home.  It's been a learning curve for the three of us but I think we are doing pretty well.  Maddie doesn't like sleeping alone in her room, so we moved her crib over to our room and it seems to work.  Now her room is a big playroom for her to practice her walking.  She isn't walking by herself but I would give it another couple of weeks and watch her go!  She has this funny thing of singing to herself (not sure what she is singing) right before she falls asleep and still continues to love eating.  We've introduced her to oatmeal, applesauce and next week we'll be introducing to her milk (since her formula runs out in a few days).  Over all it as been great having her in our lives.  We get less naps in during the day but it's all worth it.  

Here are a few photos from this past week:

Maddie's Godmama Christine got her this playpen.  Unfortunately she will have no part of this.  Tom even jumped in to show her how much fun it was but no go.  It's now packed up getting ready to be sent back to Amazon.

Ma Nga sent this Maddie for Christmas.  I LOVE this and so did Maddie.

Maddie loves bath time with Daddy every morning.  At first she was afraid of the water but now she loves playing around in it.

Getting ready for our first Christmas together!

Oh, many have asked how Lucy and Maddie are getting along.  Lucy has been feeling very neglected lately but she is a good protector of her little sister.  Maddie still doesn't know how to pet Lucy gently but we are working on it.

Our lives have changed so much since last year.  This year we have a gentle dog and vibrant little girl. We think our lucky stars every night for these blessings!

Maria

Highlights from China

We truly had an amazing time in China.  The following are just a few of our favorite moments from our trip.  

Our first day with Madeline was eventful and the rest of our time in China was an experience.  Being first time parents is a tough job but Madeline made it so easy.  She slept great, ate great and was very sweet.  We will never forget this journey and the people we meet along the way. 

Gotcha Day

Dec 5: Today was the day we have been waiting for, the reason for our journey to China - our sweet Madeline. We rode with our group to the registration office to pick up Madeline. She was already in the building and I recognized her as soon as I saw her adorable face. I turned to Tom and said she has to be ours! We approached her and Tom put his arms out and she fell right into him. She was all smiles and so very happy.

We feel so blessed to have gotten matched with this sweet little girl. Her smile is infection and she has this sweet way of touching her head with your head.

Beijing China Dec 1 - Dec 4

I wasn't able to update the blog while I was in China, which was frustrating because I wanted to share with everyone our journey to Madeline.  So, I'm going to break up these posts to let you see all we did in China and our precious little girl.

We landed in Beijing on December 1st and checked in to the Traders Hotel.  The first day there we basically slept due to Jet Lag and the next day we meet the rest of the 11 families in our group.  First I want to say this was an amazing and inspirational group of families.  I look forward to keeping in touch with them and seeing how their kids grow up.  

Dec 2: It was the first snow fall in Beijing and it was cold. We took a tour of Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and Hutong Tour.

 

Dec 3: We hit the Great Wall, Olympic Village and Jade Market. Our last night in Beijing we also caught an amazing acrobatics show.

 Tom made it to the top and took this photo proving he is a true man!

Traders Hotel had a underground mall and food court.  It was neat to walk around and get some food without having to brave the cold.  

Our last night there we at a Hot Pot restaurant.  

Dec 4th - We left Beijing and arrived in Zhengzhou.  We stayed at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Zhengzhou and anxiously waiting for the next day when we meet Madeline.