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...