Spring Cleaning the Yard

Doug finally made it home Friday after doing a 10-day stint in Atlanta. He was only here for 24 hours, but it was great to have him around again. We took him back to the airport today and he will be back Monday evening for a couple more days off.

We were afraid that Maddie might have trouble remembering her daddy, but that as not the case. These two picked up right where they left off.

This afternoon, my mom, brother Dave, and some of his kids came over and helped clean up the flower beds and the yard and get ready for the spring. It would have taken me weeks to get that done so I'm very thankful for the help. Libby and Audrey babysat for Maddie while the rest of us worked in the yard.

In true logger fashion, Dave went a little crazy with the chainsaw. Now that it's done, I like what he did. Don't worry Doug, the trees are still standing... there are just fewer branches to contend with! Dave was also in charge of the burn barrels.

I don't know what Cassidy was telling Maddie, but Maddie was obviously agreeing whole-heartedly!

The shrieking has returned. However, the new shrieking is gleeful and happy - not at all like the frightened shrieking we endured when we first met our little Maddie. She loves music, and loves to sing and dance. I was trying to capture some of that, but instead I got this unhibited glee and just had to share it.

The girls must have worn her out because she fell asleep during her 7:00 bottle and is now down for the night. Or, so I thought... As I was writing, she started shrieking in her sleep - the bad kind, not the happy kind. This happens occasionally in the middle of the night. A little rocking, snuggling, and a few I love you's always calm her down and she doesn't even seem to fully wake up when it happens. I wish I knew what causes those bad dreams for her but I'll never know. Based on what I have read in other China adoption blogs, this behavior is not at all unusual. All we can do is just be there to comfort her when these episodes happen.

Progress With the Pets

When we first got home, Maddie was scared of Red. That is obviously no longer the case. She now likes red, but the cat is still her favorite. Red is very protective of Maddie and sleeps on the rug in front of her crib every night. If I'm in the living room and she's in her crib, he has to be halfway between both of us so he can keep an eye on both. He is still, however, jealous of all the attention Maddie gets from other people and is quite a pest whenever people stop by or when we stop to chat with people when we're out walking. He has never been one to jump up on people or lick people, but he has this way of making his presence known and of head-butting people's hands until they pet him.


Maddie gets all excited when Squirt enters the room. She LOVES that furrball! Squirt seldom acknowledges that Maddie exists. However, when Maddie was playing with her tonight, Squirt put up with it a lot longer than she ever has from anyone else. Squirt was also way more gentle than usual while Maddie was playing with her. With Doug and me, she usually playfully nips at us when our hands are within range. With Maddie, she lunged but never nipped at her.


We have another new accomplishment. Maddie now sits on her own for several minutes at a time. She usually ends up toppling over after several minutes and then rolls around. I'm not sure if the toppling is intentional, or if she is just making the best of the situation.

Life with Maddie just keeps getting more and more fun. She has the sweetest disposition. In the past few days, she is responding consistently to her name (Maddie). Aunt Iva, you will be so proud - when she is trying to look serious or funny, she arches just one eyebrow! It's hilarious.

She is no longer as inviting or open with strangers, which we consider a good thing. In the beginning, she flashed that toothy grin at everyone. Now, when a stranger approaches her, she looks at my face for queues or assurances, and it usually takes a little time for her to warm up to new people. This is a really good sign that attachment is on track.

WARNING: This paragraph may fall under the TMI category for some of you so stop now if you don't want to know. OK, you've been warned! One more new accomplishment... Maddie peed in the potty today!!! She was grunting and straining, trying to poop, so I decided to follow the lead of one of the other adoptive moms in our group and sat her on the toilet. She continued to grunt but only peed. Hey, it's a start!! By the way, I have never heard a child grunt as loudly as this one does!!! She grunts like a little man. LOL

Laundry is calling my name so that's it for now.

Much love from Goshen,

Beth & Maddie

P.S. Can't wait to see you tomorrow, Doug/Daddy!

Hip Hop Baby

My time at home with Maddie is winding down quickly. While part of me is looking forward to going back to work, I'm really going to miss spending my days with our precious little girl. She is learning so many new things each day and I hate to miss that.

Obviously, Maddie is now enjoying her baths. She loves to splash with her bath toys.

She has also become quite the little singer and dancer - hip hop, not ballet. When I rock her and sing to her at night, she sings along. At first I thought she was just babbling, then I started noticing the higher pitches and the changes in her tone. It's the cutest thing ever.

Tuesday night we were singing and dancing to the Police's De Do Do Do. Afterward, for the rest of the evening, she kept chanting, "Do do do, da da da."

Last night, we went to see the Living Word, an Easter production at our church. Grandma Jo and Edna went with us. Maddie sang and danced with all the songs in the first half of the production. She fell asleep the second half.

Doug has been gone for a little more than a week. He comes home on Friday - not soon enough. He is missing his little girl tremendously. We skype with him every day but it's just not the same. We miss you and can't wait to see you tomorrow, Daddy!

Jabberbox

Saturday afternoon, Cassidy came over to spend a couple of hours with us. Maddie had a good time chatting it up with her. I don't know what Maddie is going to be when she grows up, but I'm pretty sure it will involve public speaking!

She's quite the talker!!


Maddie does get floor time, although you probably can't tell from all these photos!

We went to church this morning, then had lunch with Scott & Peg. Maddie is just fascinated with Scott. I'm a little concerned about that! LOL

The Floodgates Have Opened!

It was bound to happen sooner or later and yesterday it did... Our little Smelly Nelly had a bit of an explosion out her backside - the kind that creeps up and out the back of the diaper. Needless to say, the washer and the bathtub were put to good use!

Maddie obviously felt quite happy once she was all squeaky clean again.

Last night, Scott and Peggy stopped in. Maddie had a blast rough-housing with them.

We got daycare lined up yesterday. Our neighbor will be watching Maddie once I go back to work.

Maddie has two new teeth poking through... one on top, and one on bottom. She is drooling non-stop and chewing on anything she can get in her mouth - mostly her fingers. I bought her some Gerber Graduates Cheese Puffs. These are a little larger than the fruit puffs we have been working with andshe has finally figured out how to pick these up and get them into her mouth. She LOVES those things.

Maddie loves the Skype sessions with her daddy. She babbles back to him and gets all animated when she sees him on the computer screen.

A Day In The Snow Household

Who would have thought I'd be so content wiping a never-ending stream of snot or celebrating poopy diapers? My life feels more complete than ever before. I live for the next giggle and toothy grin, and just to feel Maddie's cheek next to mine or her arms wrapped around my neck. I consider the smudges on my tops a badge of honor. I will probably never go to work wearing an unmarked blouse again!

Commercial break: Boogie Wipes - they're the best! They are saline wipes and do not irritate Maddie's nose. I have wiped it at least 785 times in the last week and her nose isn't even red. She does not pull away from them as they are so gentle and they get the job done. I found them with the kids medicines at Wal-Mart.

We have had some pretty major milestones in the past few days. Maddie now enjoys her bath! Today she actually splashed with her little duck - a first for her!


Maddie has finally figured out how to pick up a snack with her fingers and gets the idea that it should go into her mouth. She's still working on figuring out how to transfer the snack from her hand to her mouth.


Tonight Maddie had carrots and prunes for dinner. She obviously enjoyed them a lot!

We miss you, Daddy!

Settling Into Our New Routine

Things are definitely getting back to "normal" here. Maddie slept through the night without getting up once during the night last night. Mom got some much needed rest - YIPPEE!!!

Yesterday afternoon we took Doug to the airport to fly back to Atlanta for work. We miss him immensely!

When we pulled into the airport, something didn't sound right with the car. When we pulled up in front of the airport, we discovered that we had a flat tire. To complicate matters, once we removed all the lug nuts, the wheel would not budge as it had a bit of rust that had frozen it in place. Long story short, we called roadside assistance and they hooked us up. This was quite the distraction from what would otherwise have been a very difficult good-bye.

In true Snow fashion, after Doug got to Atlanta, his car wouldn't start. It had been sitting in employee parking for almost a month and the battery was dead. He finally made it to his crashpad sometime after midnight.

Maddie is just sheer bliss. While we were waiting on the tow truck at the airport, she was getting fussy in her carseat so I took her out. She is such a happy baby. She just jumped and squealed (happy squeals) and smiled and laughed. It was impossible to stay stressed or upset with our situation with such pure joy emanating from her.

The longer we're home, the more we are seeing of her personality. Maddie is silly, happy, and very, very active. She fusses only when she is very tired, hungry, or needs her diaper changed; and then, only enough fussing to let us know that she needs something. Just yesterday she started tilting her head to the side sometimes to get a different view of things. Look familiar Greg & Jen? At times, we are seeing the "obstinate sometimes" part of her personality that was declared in her referral report. In China and shortly after we got home, this girl ate anything and everything. Now, she is developing an opinion and will pinch her mouth shut if she does not care for the baby food we are feeding her.

TV seemed to be an activity of the past for us. However, we have discovered that Maddie loves the show Ni Hao, Kai-Lan. She actually holds still when that show is on TV.

Maddie has two new teeth - one on top and one on bottom - just barely peeking through. No wonder she was fussy for a few days after we got home!

The video below is of Maddie babbling right before naptime yesterday.

It feels great to be home and to be settling into a routine. Being a parent rocks! It is by far the most fulfilling thing we have ever done. We are making a concerted effort to enjoy every single moment as this time is so fleeting.

Our little princess is awake so, gotta go...

Finding Our New Normal

It's hard to believe that we've been home for 5 days already! We've had some ups and downs since we have been home. Maddie has had some difficulty getting her days and nights turned rightside up. Consequently, Doug and I are exhausted as well. However, things are getting better every day.

Saturday night, shortly after going to sleep, I was so exhausted that I rolled over and fell out of bed! I now have war wounds that match Grandma Joanna's!! If it wasn't for the bruises, I wouldn't even remember it happening... I was in such a fog.

We learned very quickly - within the first few days of being home - that we have to limit our activities for a little while. We overdid it just a tad the first few days home and by Sunday morning it became obvious that we needed a little more down time during our adjustment period. Friday night and Saturday night, we were up with Maddie most of the night. She would sleep until midnight or so, then would be up for an hour or 2 at a time. Then, she would sleep for 45-60 minutes before being up for another hour or 2.

Even when she is not feeling the best, Maddie is such a social butterfly so it is difficult to recognize when she has reached her limits... until it is too late. She is such a curious little bird that she doesn't want to miss any of the action. However, after the action dies down, that's when the meltdowns happen. (Hmmm... sounds vaguely familiar... she takes after her mother!)

We missed church on Sunday, and it ended up being the best decision as that down time gave Maddie a bit of a chance to acclimate to her new surroundings. Dave, Shari, and the kids, along with Grandma and Grandpa Graber were here for lunch on Sunday. It was difficult to do, but we just let Maddie choose when and by whom wanted to be held and if she needed down time, and they were all very respectful of that. I promise, it will get better and hopefully by the next time we get together, everyone will get their share of holding and playing with her.

Sunday night was the first night that she actually slept a little better - she was up only once during the night and went right back to sleep after her bottle. Last night (Monday night), she was up from 2 AM to 4 AM, but then slept until 9:30 this morning.

Grandma Karen and Grandpa Tim came up from Terre Haute to meet Maddie. They went to the Troyer Family Breakfast at the Essenhaus with us on Saturday. Maddie loves her grandmas!

Also at the Troyer Breakfast, Maddie got to meet Cousin Mimi and all the other little tykes. She LOVES kids of all ages.

Grandpa Tim assembled Maddie's new bookshelf while they were here. Thanks Teri for this awesome gift!!

Our friends Rhea and Bailey stopped in to meet Maddie. Maddie got the biggest kick out of Bailey. I wish I could just keep him here to entertain her all the time!

Last night our neighbors, John, Sheila, and Mandy came down to see Maddie. Mandy is looking forward to being a big sister later this summer to a sibling from China. After they left, Maddie was all keyed up... her old happy self. The jumpy little wiggle worm in the video below is very typical Maddie when she is in a great mood.

Maddie is absolutely a part of our family - the missing link. Before meeting Maddie, when people would ask why we chose China for our adoption, we would tell them of the various anecdotes that led us to China. However, we now know that the reason we adopted from China is because that is where our daughter was, and God was putting these little signs in our lives so that we would find her. She was born halfway around the world. But we were destined to be together - to be family. Our hands and hearts are full and we thank God for this gift he has given us.

We're Home - FINALLY!

We left our hotel room in Guangzhou at 6:20 PM Tuesday evening (Indiana time) and arrived home at 2:30 PM Thursday. Yes, it was a loooonnngg day (or two)!

Maddie handled the flights like a litte trooper. She got fussy at all the usual times - when hungry, wet, tired, etc. Otherwise, she was her usual happy self, just charming people wherever we went.

We flew from Guangzhou to Shanghai to Atlanta. In Atlanta, we were planning to come home Wednesday evening, but the flight to South Bend got overbooked at the last minute so we couldn't get on. We were flying on Doug's employee pass benefits so we were on the standby list. But, we didn't get on so we ended up spending one more night in a hotel... something we were hoping to avoid.

Our checked baggage went on to South Bend so we were without clean clothes, makeup, toiletries, etc. However, after more than 24 hours of travel, a hot shower and the Westin Heavenly Bed felt wonderful. I can't say that we got much sleep however. With the 13 hour time difference, Maddie wasn't interested in sleeping so we all dozed for awhile, but I don't think any of us got any real sleep.













For anyone planning to do much traveling, I highly recommend the Sit-n-Stroll. It was a true back-saver for us while in China and through all of the airports. Plus, having a secure seat for Maddie to travel in made things so much more comfortable for her on the plane. To sleep on our long flight however, we put blankets on the floor. The one seat just did not lie flat enough to be comfortable for napping.

The last thing we really wanted to see when it was time to fly from ATL to South Bend was this sign, but luck was NOT on our side! We finally made it, but our flight was delayed by about 2.5 hours.

Maddie loves to read! The book in this video is her favorite. It is a book of baby faces. We call it her Baby Facebook. After we read it to her she always wants to look through it again and again and she reads it on her own in her own babble language. It's just the cutest thing!

When we got to the South Bend Airport, we had a wonderful welcoming committee there waiting on us. Maddie's cousins have waited so long for her and were so happy to finally get to see her and hold her.

Maddie wasn't too sure about Grandpa. She just checked him out from top to bottom. I'm sure she'll soon be his biggest fan!

Our friend Kim brought dinner for us after we got home. Thanks Kimmy for the wonderful pot roast. Good old American home cooking never tasted so good!

The crib is empty no more!! The very first thing Maddie did when we got home is to pee all over the only crib sheet we had so we had to impovise. Later today I'm making a Wal-Mart run to buy more sheets!







Our journeyhas just begun and we are looking forward with great anticipation to the rest of it. Our daughter is such a delight and brightens every moment of our days and nights. When she is awake, we cannot get enough of her. When she is sleeping, we miss her and can't wait until she wakes up again. I'm sure that will change. :)

Thanks for all of your prayers and support during our trip. I plan to keep blogging as time permits, but it is getting more and more difficult due to my attention being needed elsewhere most of the time. God bless you all, dear family and friends!

Much Love,

Beth, Doug, and Baby Maddie

The Many Faces of Maddie

Happy Maddie

Upset Maddie

Teething Maddie

Sleeping Maddie

Sick Maddie

Scared Maddie (we don't see this face anymore!)

Sweet Maddie - Your daddy and I love you so very much!

Red Couch Photos

Tomorrow is the day... the day we come home. YIPPEEE!!! While China has been wonderful, we are so ready to be done with living out of a suitcase and for our lives to resume some semblance of normalcy - a new normal, that is!

We will land at the South Bend Airport at 11 PM on Wednesday and cannot wait to see some familiar faces to greet us. We are looking forward to having each of your family and friends meet our new daughter. To us, she is just sheer bliss (most of the time).

It is customary for travel groups to take photos on the red couch at the White Swan Hotel here on Shamian Island, Guangzhou. Here are some photos from that event today...

Thank you all for following our precious journey. It has only just begun. See you at home soon!

Much love,

Beth, Doug, Maddie, and Grandma Jo

Shopping & Down Time

Sunday (yesterday here), we went to a wholesale pearl market. Guangzhou is known for its pearls. This is just one row in the store we went into - there were at least six aisles like this of pearls of every size, shape, color, and quality. You pick the strand you want and they string them for you. We bought Maddie a pearl necklace and earrings for her wedding day. Now that's thinking ahead!

Below is a photo from the 5th floor of the wholesale market. This entire mall is nothing but jewelry - in bulk! We got some really good deals on jewelry. Most of the shops are pearls, but there are also a few others... jade, agate, silver, gold, etc. You name it, when it comes to jewelry, it can be found here.

Maddie's little (BIG) personality is really starting to shine through. She is so cuddly and lovey one minute, and the next, she's on the move... gotta be bouncing, busy, engaged in some manner. The first day we had her, she could barely lift her head when lying on her stomach. She also had very limited use of her arms. Now, we put her on the floor on her back and she immediately rolls over, pushes herself up on her arms, and looks around. She has also learned how to propel herself forward by using her legs. She'll probably be crawling by the time we get home or soon after.

Maddie is teething and in so much pain some of the time. There are a few things that make the shrieking return - one of them is when we put Orajel on her gums. She does NOT like that! However, it is a necessary evil and she usually calms down after a minute or two. She chews on anything she can get ahold of... yes, even her dad's toe! YUK!!! She still does not like to get to the end of a bottle either. That too upsets her a LOT!

Maddie is starting to sit with less and less support. The high chairs in restaurants here are not made for infants who cannot support themselves and she had a very difficult time in them the first few days. Last night at dinner, she sat in her highchair like a champ. She is really starting to balance herself well.

The bonding is going very well. She is no longer avoiding eye contact with us. The first few days, she would make brief eye contact, but then quickly look away. Now, she makes eye contact with us for extended periods of time. This is a really good sign of attachment. At first, the only way she would go to sleep was to be put in her crib and she would lull or fuss herself to sleep. She did not like to be held when she was tired. Now, she won't go to sleep unless I rock her and sing to her. We'll work on falling asleep without the rocking once we get home. For now, however, that bonding time is way to precious to not take advantage of it.

It has been chilly and rainy here so we are all fighting colds and sore throats. Thanks for your continued prayers during our journey.

Much love from Guangzhou,

Beth, Doug, Maddie, and Grandma Jo