Maddie's Ba Ngoai Hai made her 4 new outfits to wear around the house. 

And last week Maddie meet her cousin Duy for the first time.  They only spent a couple of hours together but I see a friendship blossoming already.

Before Gotcha Day

We finally had a CD made of the photos taken while Maddie was in the orphanage.  We thought we would share with you some of the photos, there were over 80!  Quality of the photos are not great because they came from a disposal camera but the pictures are priceless.  These photos were taken from June 2011 to December 2011.

In the Backyard

We got Maddie a toddler pool for the backyard and she loves splashing around every afternoon.  Daddy puts in some warm water and she could play for hours. (which she doesn't LOL)

@ The Beach

Maddie's first trip to the beach was a fun one.  She LOVED the sand and wanted to run into the water.  She also had fun hanging out with her cousins for the first time.  The girls were so cute together - holding hands, hugging and playing with each other. 

At Day at the Zoo

Wednesday we got the good news from the specialist that Maddie's palate is all healed.  The stitches have started falling out and the rest sound be gone in about a week.  Also gone are the arm restraints and sleepless nights.  To celebrate we went to Lowry Park Zoo yesterday and Maddie had a blast with the water and showed us she is not afraid of animals. (so unlike her mommy)

 

18 Months

Today Maddie turned 18 months and 3 months ago she officially became ours.  She's been having restless nights these past couples of nights but hopefully that will all change tomorrow.  We have our 3 weeks check up tomorrow with the specialist to see how everything looks and if we can burn those arm restraints.  We've been kinda relax with letting her go without the arm restraints during the day and she hasn't really attempted to put her hand or anything in her month.   

Words she has spoken: Ba (which means dad), Ma (mom), Nose and Banana

She is very aware of her surroundings and picks up on things very fast.  That means we have to watch what we do in front of her because she loves to copy us. LOL  

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is her new favorite show.  Just saying the words can stop tears at night!  And speaking of night, she loves to jump into bed and sleep with us.  

Brighter than the Sun

Two weeks down and now one week to get rid of the arm restraints.  Maddie is being her cheerful self but we know how much she hates those "I-can't- blow- kisses- restraints".  Our favorite thing to do during the day is take Maddie & Lucy out to the park and let them run around.  We usually stop and get some ice cream and then find a different park each time.  She takes her time walking on the grass but then usually starts running free.  She loves the feeling of flying on the swings and always has Daddy push her higher and higher.