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

Medical Exam

We made it to Guangzhou safe and sound. We have a suite at the Victory Hotel. Maddie is one very active little girl! If she is not being engaged or stimulated in one way or another, she gets fussy. For the most part, when she's dry and her tummy is full, she is a very happy baby. Right now, she is teething and we are still dealing with lots of messy diapers so she is more fussy than usual.

She handled the airplane ride like a little trouper. It took a little bribery with Cheerios and a little nap, but she was very good. Last night when we arrived at the airport in Guangzou she had pooped and soaked all the way through her clothes. I had to put a completely new outfit on her and used half a pack of wipes just to clean her up! Of course, everyone had to wait on us and when we got on the bus, Maddie just squealed and laughed. Everyone knew what had happened so they all started laughing. Maddie LOVES attention!!! She can be crying (shrieking) one second, but the second a complete stranger starts talking to her, she perks right up and smiles and coos like all is well in her world. She's quite the little performer.

Maddie did very well during her medical exam. Of course, there were so many different people poking and prodding at her and she loved the attention.

Maddie does NOT like a bath so we do sponge baths. She acts like she has never been washed. However, she loves to have her face washed. My guess is that her face is the only thing that got washed on a semi-regular basis.

Maddie obviously does love the end result of her bath!

This is a typical sight... Doug (or me) trying to hang onto one jumpy active little girl! She LOVES to head-butt.

Happy Family!

She is one ticklish little girl!

We're getting to go explore the island. I'll try to write more later.

Much love from Guangzhou,

Beth, Doug, Maddie, and Grandma Jo

We're Off to Guangzhou

We just got Maddie's passport and now we're waiting for our bags to get picked up from our hotel room. This afternoon we fly to Guangzhou where we will stay until Wednesday.

Maddie is feeling better but she is still a little fussy. She's teething and we think that is the reason for the fussiness and the upset stomach yesterday.

More from Guangzhou later...

It's Stressful Having a Sick Kid!

Maddie is a little under the weather today. She has gone through at least 10 poopy diapers and 4 clothing changes in the last 24 hours. We are not sure what is causing it for sure, but we do know that we have been putting too much powdered formula into her bottles yesterday and the first half of today. On top of that, she seems to be teething. Whatever the cause, we need your prayers - especially tomorrow - as we will be taking a 2-hour flight to Guangzhou. We hope and pray that she will be OK in the morning and will feel better for the flight. There's nothing worse than flying when you don't feel well!

This afternoon, Doug and I took a cab to the porcelaine shop to buy a tea set for Maddie. Here is a short video clip out the taxi window. Enjoy the ride!


Heather, because of the travels tomorrow, there will probably not be a blog entry. So please see if you can make other arrangements to help you get out of bed in the morning. LOL

Much Love,

Doug, Beth, Maddie, and Grandma Jo

Maddie and her Daddy Having an Meaningful Conversation

Additional photos can be seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/grabersnow.