Creating the Andersons

I'm baaaccckkkk!!!

2011-08-08T22:53:00.004-05:00

I think my goal now is going to be to blog once a year!!! LOLOLOL! Just kidding.... or am I?? I'm horrible at this and with the new business and the 2 kids, I just forget. I don't think I have that many "followers" though, but I do want to do this for me/us. I hope to get better at it, but I'm not holding my breath. The kids are doing well. Jack is a good 2 inches taller than Madelyn now and outweighs her by probably 4 pounds. But she is growing and getting more and more beautiful every day. I look at her and can't believe that she's the same little chunky monkey that we brought home from Guatemala 3 1/2 years ago. And Jack is growing so fast and talking up a storm! He picked up the language so fast and is already speaking in full sentences/full paragraphs. When he gets nervous, he gets caught up and can't organize his thoughts, but usually he talks my ears off ALL stinking day! Both of them start school next week and are so excited. Madelyn is thrilled because she is going to learn to read and the first thing she wants to do is read a book to her cat. Yes, she has a cat. She had been asking for a kitty for a long time and we had a friend who had to give her cat away. So, we took him in and he made himself at home in Madelyn's room. He spends most of the day under her bed and when we're in there, he is very much HER cat. But when he comes out into the house, he gets anxious because of the other cats and dogs, so he gets a little snippy. She tried to pet him in the kitchen the other day and he swatted at her. She cried and cried and cried because her feelings were hurt that "her" cat didn't like her. I tried to explain to her that cats are finicky, but she doesn't understand yet. She will with time. I took the kids to a dog show on Friday and Jack is like me - he wanted one of every dog he saw. "I want that one, Mom." And that one, and that one, and that one... Madelyn fixated on one little white Chihuahua and now she tells everyone that she wants a white Chihuahua. Oh, and then on Sunday we went to PetsMart and now she wants a mouse, a fish, AND a white Chihuahua! That's my girl. I told her she can have the mouse and the Chihuahua when she's older (much older!) and she MIGHT get a fish for her birthday.

Let's see, we took the kids to Disney World in May and that was a BLAST!!! We are planning on going back next year. The kids ask me practically every day when we're going back! "Are we gong to Disney tomorrow, Mom?" Ha! I wish!!!

Well, I am falling asleep now, so I have to stop, but I really do hope to blog again soon.... In the meantime, here are a few pictures from the last few months.

Jack LOVES doing puzzles!!! This one is 100 pieces and he does it in NO time!!!

Madelyn and her new cat, Skye.

All bandaged up after busting her chin open on the Fourth of July 2011.

Our first meeting with Mickey and Minnie at Disney World, May 2011.

At the beach, Gulfport, MS, August 2011.

Oh well....

2010-11-18T21:37:00.003-06:00

WOW! I am REALLY bad at this!!! LOL! Sorry! I have good intentions and then time just gets away from me. I don't even know how long it's been since my last post and have no idea where to start updating. Let me just say that everyone is doing well. Jack and Madelyn are both attending the Mother's Day Out program on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Jack is growing like a weed and Madelyn has finally started to gain weight! Jack outweighs her by 3 pounds, though! And he's about 1/4 inch taller than her. But she has absolutely NO problem bossing him around. LOL! Jack turned 3 on November 2 and so far he's been acting a little bit better than normal. I wonder if we are outgrowing the terrible 2's?? Or have I spoken too soon? Madelyn is going to be 4 (!) in January and is certainly becoming more and more independent. And she is soooooooo smart, but her speech is still behind. I'm hoping to have her re-evaluated by the school board and see if they tell me again that she doesn't qualify. Jack is talking up a storm and is absolutely loving "school." He got a report the other day that said what a great student he is and that he's a "leader in the class!" WOW! What a trooper considering he really hasn't been home all that long! Anyhow, that's all I'm going to write for now. I'll post some recent pictures for those of you who aren't on facebook...

Madelyn at the Red Bluff Farms Pumpkin Festival 2010

Jack feeding the geese.

Party time!

Fun at a friend's birthday party!

Cupcakes for Jack at "school."

March/April update

2010-04-08T12:09:00.002-05:00

Well, I just can't seem to keep up with this like I want to. I get so busy with the kids and I just forget. :( Anyway, the kids are getting so big so fast! Jack is in speech therapy and is doing really well. Madelyn's speech is coming along really well and she's speaking in full (well, almost full) sentences now. Jack is speaking a lot more now, but he's not always intelligible. One of his favorite words right now seems to be "fot." What is that, you ask??? I have no idea! But he says it with practically everything. When we go pick up Madelyn from school, he says "fot Maddy." When we're going to my parent's house, he says "fot PawPaw house." I'm at a loss as to what this means. Another cute Jackism is that he calls Pop Tarts, "tart tarts". Madelyn is a little closer with "pot tarts." He says "tart tart" and she says "No Jack! No tart tart! Pot tart!!" Another thing he seems to say a lot sounds like "air raid." Again, I have no idea what he's trying to say.

Madelyn is in "school" until next month. Now I'm trying to find something for both of them to do this summer. Looking into different day camps, swimming lessons, etc. In the fall, Jack is going to go to the same Mother's Day Out program that Madelyn is in. Because he's 10 months younger than her and his birthday isn't until November, he'll be in the class below her. So far, every time I mention that Jack will be going to school, Madelyn gets very upset and says "NO! Maddy school! No Jack school!" It's funny, but I think she'll be okay when she realizes he's not in her class. As for Jack, he's excited to go to school. I think he'll do fine as long as he can learn to quit hitting...

We had a great Easter this year! Madelyn was so excited that the Easter Bunny brought toys and books and "croc." Jack was still a little confused, I think. He did seem happy to get some new toys and candy, though. Then we went to Paw Paw's house and the Easter Bunny had left a basket there, also! Double the fun! So, we had lunch over there and then we hunted for Easter eggs, blew bubbles, and played in the backyard.

Madelyn got the books that she wanted from the bunny... Noah's Ark, Jonah and the Whale, and David and Goliath. She already had Samson and Delilah. We were in the Dollar Store one day and she was allowed to pick out a book. Well, after scouring the shelves for a LONG time, she finally decided on Samson and Delilah. I asked her was she sure, and she said yes. She carried that book through the store and was so fascinated by it! She looked at it the whole way home and had to read it that night. So, I told her that maybe the Easter bunny would bring her the other books if she was good. Well, she got those books in her basket, and we read all 4 books that night. Guess which one is her favorite that we've read every night since then? That's right - Samson and Delilah! LOL. Jack loves to read his books before bed, too, but doesn't seem to have a favorite one yet. He does love Elmo and Cars, though. Oh and he loves books about animals - any type of animal. That's my boy!

Madelyn loves to help mommy in the kitchen! Here she is stirring brownies!

This was her bribe to go poo poo in the potty...

Time flies yet again

2010-02-21T22:07:00.006-06:00

Okay, time just flies. That's all I can say. Actually, I realized how fast time is flying by the other day when I ran across some pictures of Madelyn from two years ago (right after she came home). She was such a different little girl then. Little chubby cheeks and legs. She had just learned to walk and was still unsure on her feet. Now she is tall and thin, chubby cheeks gone, and she runs around like a crazy woman jumping from the furniture (of course that results in a time out). Her speech is getting much, much better - although she's still not where she should be. She is getting better at repeating things, but she's not good at putting the words together herself yet.

Jack is doing well. He seems to be adjusting well. He is VERY good at being two! LOL! He has quite the temper and has taken to pointing and screaming "NO!" A technique he learned from Madelyn. ;0) She was told to stop doing it and she did. He hasn't learned that lesson yet despite the many times it has landed him in time out. Jack started speech therapy two weeks ago to help him catch up. He's doing a lot better than Madelyn did, but we wanted to give him every advantage we can and help him to catch up to where he should be. So, we contacted Early Steps and he qualified for speech therapy. He has the same therapist that Madelyn had and Madelyn is NOT happy about this. She thinks that Miss Judy is coming to "play" with her and when she goes off with Jack, well, this is not acceptable!

We took the kids to Mardi Paws today. For those of you who don't know, it's a post Mardi Gras parade for dogs. The weather was really not great - overcast and drizzling. But I thought that the kids would enjoy seeing all the dogs. Well, the parade didn't start until 2:00 pm. Right about the time that BOTH kids should be napping.... Well, Jack wanted nothing to do with the dogs. Not the small dogs or the big dogs. This was surprising to me because he loves our 3 big dogs. But I think he was just tired and grumpy. Madelyn was, well, tired and grumpy, but she did a little better than Jack. She lasted for about 30 - 45 minutes. Then she wanted to get in the stroller (which she NEVER wants to do) and pull the shade down and eat her "cheer ahs." That's cheerios in Madelyn talk. So we left early and went home to put the crabs to bed. Next year I would love to walk in the parade. I think the kids will be okay by then and they would enjoy the attention and all the pups. Of course, I thought they would enjoy the parade today....

Well, that's about all to report for now. We had hoped to start our third and final adoption by now, but it's not working out as planned. That's a long story, but let's just say that Kevin is worried about how we'll pay for it. I'm of the opinion that where there's a will, there's a way. But then again, I'm the one who quit her job to stay home with the kids. Hmmm, I don't have any rich elderly rich relatives. I think I need to buy a lottery ticket. Well, here are some pics from the last month (in no particular order)....

Madelyn had to try on Mommy's Saints Super Bowl Champions hat

Jack found his Halloween bag and decided IT was a hat

Snow day! Or rather, snow/sleet/rain/slush day...

Go saints, GO!!!

Jack wearing Mommy's hat

waiting for a float at a Mardi Gras parade

Jack at his very first Mardi Gras parade

Mardi Gras day 2010

Playing outside on a RARE nice day this February 2010

Catching up

2010-01-06T22:02:00.006-06:00

As I said before, my computer was down for 2 months with a nasty virus. But I'm back now with plenty of pictures. Since I've been out of commission, we celebrated Jack's first Thanksgiving, Madelyn's 2nd Gotcha Day, Christmas, and Madelyn's 3rd Birthday. So, let me just say that everybody is doing well, Madelyn is loving school, and Jack is adjusting well. Here's some pictures from the past 2 months (in no particular order). Enjoy!

Madelyn on the scooter she got for her birthday.

Having birthday cupcakes at PawPaw's house.

The birthday girl.

Christmas morning - Santa came!

Santa's helpers.

Modeling the dress I made for her.

Not sure about this crazy Elvis dog thing...

Madelyn in the Thanksgiving dress I made for her.

Her first performance at school. They sang "If you're thankful and you know it clap your hands..." She was perfectly at home on the stage. My little diva. :0)

Swinging at grandma's house.

My handsome guy!

Madelyn in her "Princess Flower hat."

Checking in

2010-01-02T22:30:00.002-06:00

Okay, this time I have an excuse for not posting for 2 months. My computer got a NASTY virus on facebook and it has just been "cured." So, I just wanted to post a note saying that I'm sorry for the 2 month break and I will be posting a detailed update soon! I have 2 months worth of pictures to upload to my computer. If you're on facebook, I'll probably be posting a lot of pics on there soon. If not, come back by in a few days and I hope to have my new post done by then. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year.

Halloween, Jack's Birthday and more

2009-11-03T22:54:00.006-06:00

Well, not too, too bad this time! LOL. It's only been a few weeks since my last post. See? I'm getting better! Madelyn and Jack had a blast trick or treating with my friend Eddie's 3 kids. I made Madelyn a really cute witch costume and convinced her that she really wanted to be a witch. Although, I think if she was given the choice, she would have been a princess. More about that later. And on the night of Halloween, she refused to wear the tutu that I made and wore a jacket over the top part of the costume, so the only thing that made her look like a witch was her store bought hat... Anyway--- Jack was, for lack of a better costume, a cowboy. BUT...he turned out to be the cutest darn cowboy you've ever seen! He looked like a regular Garth Brooks in his big black cowboy hat! I have been trying for weeks to get Madelyn to say "trick or treat" but really wasn't working too hard on getting Jack to say it since he's just now learning English. We did manage to get "treak treak" out of Madelyn, but JACK was saying "trick treat" at every house (even the houses we walked by because they're lights were off)!!!!! So cute! We headed home at around 8:30pm because cowboy Jack was turning into a nasty little werewolf. Madelyn was upset because she wanted to keep getting free "canny" and she wanted to stay and play with her new friend, Lucas. We'll have to get together with Eddie and his family again soon for a play date.

Two days after Halloween, Jack turned 2 years old! He's been into the "terrible two's" for a few months now, actually, but he's finally actually 2 years old. I let him get away with a lot of stuff that he normally cannot get away with on Monday just because it was his birthday. Then, when daddy got home from work, we celebrated with cupcakes. Jack has never even seen a cupcake before, so this concept was completely foreign to him. He finally stuck his finger in the icing and after a few seconds, stuck his finger in his mouth. You could literally see what he was thinking - "WHOA!!! That stuff is good!!" So, he continued eating the icing off of his finger. He never made it to the cake part. He thought that was a cool toy, though, and he took it off of his plate, put it on the table on it's side, and proceeded to roll it around with his hand, slowly squishing it and making a HUGE mess. I have to admit that I didn't let him do that too long, mainly because I was concerned that the dogs would try to eat the chocolate morsels that were starting to fall on the floor. Madelyn was such a good girl today and let Jack have his day of fun. She hasn't tried to take his birthday balloon once and she had fun eating cupcake icing with the family (no cake for her, either). She's actually becoming quite a good big sister. I use that term (big sister) loosely, actually, because she's only 10 months older than him and he actually outweighs her by several pounds! But she's constantly looking out for Jack. If I give her a sippy cup of juice, she has to make sure that Jack has one, too. If she gets a stuffed animal or toy, he has to get one, too. She's an awesome big sister! Of course, then she turns around and tackles him... and she's always bossing him around.... LOL! Well, I gotta go to bed for now. More to come later. Here's a few pictures from Halloween and Jack's birthday and a few random October pics...

2009-10-12T22:30:00.006-05:00

Wow, I knew it had been a while since I last posted, but really has it been that long??? Time really does fly - whether you're having fun or not! It's going to be hard to remember everything that has happened in the past 2 1/2 months. So, I just give a general update. Jack is doing well. He is growing like crazy and he's getting along really well with Madelyn. He loves his big sister and follows her around like a puppy. He has to do everything she does, play with everything she plays with, he even follows her into the bathroom! She is in the full swing of potty training and now Jack wants to try, too! He has come up to me several times and told me "poopoo" while pulling on the back of his pants. I don't think he's actually gone on the potty yet, though. Most of the time, he goes about 30 minutes afterwards. I'd be excited about having both of them out of diapers, but I have enough on my hands with trying to potty train Madelyn! How do parents of twins, triplets, etc. do it???

Jack loves books and would have you read to him 24 hours a day if you let him. He also loves any show on t.v. that has music he can "dance" to. I use the term "dance" loosely because it looks like he's having a little seizure when he starts bouncing around. It's so stinking cute, though! He gets so into it sometimes that he falls over (making it look even more like a seizure!). So, Jack's Big Music Show and the Fresh Beat Band are some of his favorites.

I don't know if anyone realizes it, but Jack is going to be 2 in a few weeks! I'm in the process of trying to decide what theme his birthday party is going to be so I can get the stuff ordered and the invitations in the mail. It's so hard because he doesn't really have any one thing that he just really loves. He likes dogs and cars. He likes Thomas the Tank Engine and Yo Gabba Gabba. But is there anything that he would like enough to be his party theme?? Hmmm.... Then again, he's 2. I don't think he'll even notice. I did think about going with Elmo because he does like Elmo a lot, but I think Madelyn would try to steal all of his decorations and any Elmo presents he may get because she adores Elmo. I have to make a decision soon, though, because I have to get the stuff ordered...

Madelyn is doing great! Her speech is coming along nicely, although she is still behind where she should be. She doesn't speak in sentences yet, but she's managing to get her point across with words most of the time now. She does say one complete sentence - "Mama, I hear Jack" or "I hear dog" or whatever. So, she's coming along nicely. :0) Madelyn is chewing like a pro now, although I still have to remind her sometimes to "chew, chew, swallow." She's also eating a lot more things than she used to. She LOVES spaghetti and cheese pizza. And now she eats chicken nuggets, too! Before I thought we had the only child on the planet who refused to eat McDonald's chicken nuggets. And of course, Jack saw Madelyn eating them, so he decided he would eat them, too. So, I bought some frozen pizzas and chicken nuggets for them to have for dinner. And we now have spaghetti at least once a week.

Madelyn has been attending a Mother's Day Out program at the Church of the King two days a week. She absolutely loves it and wants to go to "cool" (school) day. Either that or she asks to go to pawpaw's house. :0) She loves her Pawpaw and Abuela, too. Both Madelyn and Jack loves to go outside and ride their tricycles, but sadly, it's been raining too much lately to be able to do that too often.

Well, that's it in a nutshell for now. I'd promise to update more often, but I cannot tell a lie. I tried to set a routine to do it, like every Tuesday night, but I'm horrible at following schedules unless it involves my kids directly. They get up at the same time every day, eat meals at the same time, take naps, etc. at the same time every day. Oh well. I will try to update again before 2 months have passed by. In 2 months, Madelyn will have her 2nd Forever Family Day. That means that she will have been home with us for 2 years on December 18. Wow... 2 years. Time really does fly. :0)

Beach and updates

2009-07-27T15:58:00.008-05:00

Hello friends!

Back again and it hasn't even been a month - or has it? LOL. We took the kids to the beach the weekend before last. It was Jack's first time at the beach and he loved it! Mostly he and Madelyn wanted to stay in the water, but he did play in the sand a bit. We used LOTS of sunscreen (SPF 50) to keep both of them safe. Sadly I used it on myself but missed a spot or two and ended up with a pretty bad sunburn. Madelyn reverted a little and didn't want the sand on her hands, so every time she fell down or sat down, I had to help her up because she wouldn't put her hands on the sand. But she had a blast anyway. Now she keeps saying "Mama, beesh." Think she wants to go back? :)

Jack is doing well. Learning new words and pretty much everything else from Madelyn. Which is great except that she doesn't really talk that much and she doesn't always pronounce her words correctly. So, now they both say "birgum" for "bird." Don't ask me where she got that one from, but now they BOTH say it. Sigh. But other than that he is doing great. He's growing like crazy and I think he outweighs Madelyn now. We lovingly call him "the moose."

Madelyn is doing well, also. Her speech is coming along although she's still not putting three words together. But she's saying new words practically every day. Sometimes she comes up with a word that I had NO idea that she knew. For example, she pointed to a flamingo in a book and said "mama, mingo!" So, when I read to her, I guess she really is paying attention! Boy, that's good to know. :) Her eating is getting better, also. She went to a birthday party last weekend and they served pepperoni pizza. Well, she looked around and saw the other kids eating and she picked up her slice and bit into it, chewed and swallowed! She ended up eating about 3/4 of a piece of pizza. I was just amazed! I even got pictures! LOL. I'm going to talk with a lady at a Mother's Day Out program at a local church and if I like it, Madelyn will be attending the MDO on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 930am to 130pm. I'm hoping this will help with her speech and eating and her socialization. Can't wait to see if she likes it.....

Well, here's a few recent pics from the beach and some others... Take care!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-06T20:02:00.005-05:00

Some pics from the 4th of July weekend and a couple of cute ones from June:

Hi all! I really do aspire to update the blog more often, but time just flies by and before I know it, it's been almost a month or more since I posted! Sorry! Well, Jack is continuing to adjust to life in the Anderson household. He and Madelyn have a typical sibling relationship - they play together and they fight. :) My great desire is that they grow up to be lifelong friends as well as siblings. I don't have that with my older brother and I miss it. So, I pray that they do better than we did.

Madely is doing great. She's going to Gymboree Play and Music summer camp once a week. She cries when I drop her off, but they said she only cries for about 15 minutes and then she's fine. All I know is I feel terrible when I drop her off, but when I go to pick her up she looks at me and says "MAMA!" and then continues to play with her friends! She hasn't seen her speech therapist in two weeks, but she's supposed to start therapy twice a week this week. She says new words every day, but she's still not combining words like she should. And she ages out of Early Steps in 6 months, so her therapist wanted to get in as much time as she could before she turns 3.

We spent the 4th of July at home. My parents came over for lunch and my friend Jeanne and her kids came over a little later. We put some burgers on the grill and had a great time with everyone. The kids were definitely worn out by the time everyone left! They slept well that night despite the fireworks right outside their windows. Then Sunday we went to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to the outlet mall. We stopped by the beach on the way to take some pictures of the kids. The only problem with that was that Madelyn wanted so badly to go in the water and we couldn't because we weren't dressed for the beach. So she didn't smile for any of the pictures. Oh well. And Jack has never been on the beach before, so he wasn't really sure about all the white gritty stuff that kept getting in his sandals and on his hands. Madelyn, on the other hand, loves the beach and she kept pointing to the sand on her toes and saying "Mama, bees!" "Bees" being "beach." Sigh. We have to go back soon so she can play in the sand and Gulf.

Jack is doing well. He is such a little parrot and does everything that Madelyn does. He trying really hard to talk, too. He seems to be picking up English pretty well and says probably 15 words or so by now. Not bad considering he's only been in the country for 3 months. He is, however, sooooo gross! Boys are disgusting! I was so spoiled by Madelyn who is Miss Prim and Proper. If she gets something on her hands, she must immediately wipe them. If he gets something on his, it immediately goes into his hair or ears. Today, before I knew what was happening, he stuck his hands down his diaper and came out with a handful of POOP!!!!!!!!!!! He then proceeded to play with an entire box of toys in the kitchen. Toys in the garbage, boy in the tub. OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!! I just kept thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?!?!?" LOL. I don't even know what else he touched before I found him covered in POO sitting in the kitchen floor. But after that, Madelyn kept pointing to toys and saying "Mama, poo." LOL.

Well, I gotta go put the princess to bed. I'll post a few quick pics from this weekend and I promise to try to update more often even if it's just pictures. :)

I'm baaaacccckkkk...

2009-06-17T23:34:00.003-05:00

Whoa! I'm getting really bad at this! I'm so sorry to anyone who has been following us, although they probably won't read this post because they're probably not following us anymore! I'm a bad, bad blogger. Bad blogger! Shame, shame, shame!

Wow, it's been so long since I updated, I don't know where to start. Let's see..... Jack is doing well. He's learning English really fast and he understands just about everything we say now. He says about 6 words and tries to say many more. He can do the animal sounds (moo, baa, meow, etc) when he sees pictures of animals. He's playing more and crying a little less. Although he gets very frustrated when he can't do something (like put a puzzle together) and he throws himself on the floor crying. He follows Madelyn around and does EVERYTHING that she does (good or bad) and he wants to play with everything that she's playing with whether she wants him to or not! AND he has quickly learned how to get his sister's goat. He does things sometimes that he knows is going to annoy the mess out of her. Like he picks up her favorite kitty (Hello Kitty) and walks by her with it and smiles. It's too funny until she starts screaming "NOOOOO" and then tackles him to take it away.

Madelyn is adjusting to having another chiild in the house. They still have their moments, of course, and they are still very jealous of each other. But they do play together ocassionally. They have this game where he chases her around the house and she runs screaming/laughing. It's very cute until she tires of it, screams "NOOOO" and tackles him. Do you see a pattern here? No, really, they get along just like big sister and little brother. A typical sibling relationship of love-hate.

Speaking of Madelyn, her speech is coming along nicely. She typically adds about 10-20 new words a week to her spoken vocabulary. She's still not real clear on some of the words, but she is trying, at least. She's starting to put words together, too. "Mama, play please" is one of her favorite things to say all day, every day. :) She continues in speech therapy and is actually going to start seeing the therapist twice a week in July. As for eating, well, we got a new Occupational Therapist about a month ago and she has worked wonders on this girl! On the first visit, she got her to bite and chew a goldfish cracker! It blew my mind. And since then she has been eating things that she never would have touched before. I have to sit beside her and tell her to bite and remind her to chew constantly ("chew chew Madelyn"). But she's doing it at least! Yippee!!! One funny thing is that "chew" is one of her new words. I say it so much, she learned it. :)

We've been busy little bees around here, but I'm going to try to keep up with the blog at least once a week from now on. I promise. Well, gotta go to bed. Let me post a few pics and I'm off!

WOW it's been a long time!!!

2009-04-09T20:55:00.006-05:00

I didn't even realize how long it's been since I posted anything! We were caught up in the whirlwind of our Russian adoption and I was traveling so much back and forth to Moscow, I just forgot to post. We received Jack's referral in January and we brought him home on March 28! He did okay when they handed him over to us at the orphanage. He did equally well at the hotel and then on the plane. By the last leg of the trip, he was tired and grumpy, but then again, so were Kevin and I. We arrived at the airport and were met by my friend Vanessa and her girls. It was so sweet that they did that because it was like 11pm when we got in! We got home at midnight or later and literally fell into bed. Jack didn't even put up a fuss when we put him in Madelyn's bed. FYI, Madelyn was in Jack's bed at my parent's house. She stayed with them all 3 trips (THANKS Mom and Dad!) and rather than take her crib over to their house, we bought Jack's crib and just put it up at my parent's house. Then Sunday we went to retrieve our daughter. She was so excited to see us and we were thrilled to see her. And then she saw Jack.... If looks could kill, he'd be a goner! She just stared at him with this look on her face like she just bit into a lemon. Since then, she's had a little bit of trouble (understatement of the year) adjusting. She's not used to sharing anything and she's been a little bit like a dog going around the house peeing on things marking her territory. She learned how to say "mine" really fast, too! Jack has had a hard time adjusting as well, but he's getting better slowly. He cries a lot and he wants to be held constantly which would be okay, except that I still have Madelyn and I have to give her some cuddle time, too. It's a delicate balance that I haven't quite mastered yet.

Madelyn update: She's doing awesome!!!!! She's eating all kinds of stuff that I never thought she would eat! She's eaten pizza and french fries, peas (not smushed up), chicken, Goldfish crackers, Gerber puffs, cookies, etc!!! We found out yesterday that she likes Campbell's chicken and corn chowder soup. She's even trying more stuff now that Jack is home. He eats anything, I think he'd eat a car tire if I put it in front of him. And she wants to try anything and everything that I give to him. It's working out exactly as I thought it would. It's great! She's still not really chewing anything, but she IS eating more stuff. So I'm happy! She's also saying a few more words now. She's saying "Bubba" (that's her great uncle who lives with my parents), "eyes" (said as clear as day), "hug" (she says this every time she gives me one!), and "go." Those are in addition to the other words she's saying. Her speech has not suffered since Jack's arrival which is good because the speech therapist was afraid that it might. So, anyway, she's progressing nicely. I'm soooo proud of her!

Okay, here's a few pictures of our two kiddos. I'll try to post again soon. Thanks for stopping by.

Hi/Lo Thursday and updates

2009-03-12T14:47:00.003-05:00

This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check out their blog to read everyone else's "Hi/Lo" posts and get your link on their site.

Our high this week happened today actually. We went to court in Moscow and the Judge approved our application for adoption. In 10 days, we will return to Moscow to pick up our newly adopted son! How much higher can it get!?!

Our low this week....hmmmm, we're so incredibly blessed, I can't even think of anything! Maybe just the incredibly long and exhausting flight to Moscow. Not too much to complain about!

Now an update... Yes, you read right! We went to court today and were approved to adopt Vladik! I was kind of nervous even though I have testified in court hundreds of times when I was a Probation Offcer in New Orleans. But the Judge was very nice and she seemed to love the fact that I used to be a parole officer! She also wanted to know all about Madelyn and her adoption. Anyhow, when it was all said and done, we were approved and we will be returning to Moscow to pick up our son in a week! Woohoo!

IN other news, I spoke with Madelyn on the phone today. Yes! She actually spoke to me on the phone. Of course, all she said was "mama" and "bye bye", but hey, it's a start! She is being spoiled by the grandparents while we're away. They took her to the park on Tuesday and to the mall (to ride the rides) on Wednesday. But she seems to be doing well and that's good especailly since we have to leave her there again in just a week. But that'll be it for a while. The third and final adoption won't be completed for quite some time.

Well, I'm still not supposed to post pictures of Vladik yet. But that's one of the first things I plan to do when we get home at the end of the month! So, keep coming back and looking!

In the meantime, here's a picture from our hotel room of the Moscow River...

Updates and Hi/Lo Thursday

2009-02-19T17:46:00.002-06:00

This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check out their blog to read everyone else's "Hi/Lo" posts and for a chance to win $100.

Hi everyone. I'm starting this post with something new for me. It's called Hi/Lo Thursday and I'm supposed to list a high and low point from this week. So, my high is we found out that our Russian adoption is progressing well and John Charles will be home by the end of March, probably. My low is probably that I've been sick since last Saturday and I'm pretty sure it's turned into another sinus infection. Of course my low is nothing compared to what little Abby Riggs is going through. So, we continue to send prayers her way and ask that you all do the same!

Updates on Madelyn - she's doing great! Awesome, in fact. Twice this week, she ate chicken!!! YEA!!! Those of you who have been following us for a while know that Madelyn has Sensory Integration Disorder and one of her problems is eating. So, getting her to eat pulled chicken was fabulous!! I am so proud of her. She's also trying to dress and undress herself, including her shoes. And today she put two words together and said "Hi car." Okay let me explain that one - we were at the doctor's office for her 24 month check-up and the doctor was running an hour late. So, we were standing at the window, looking out and I was pointing out things to her. We were watching the cars come and go and saying "bye-bye car" or "hi car." Mostly she was just saying "hi" and "bye-bye" but one time she put the two words together and said "hi car." She's getting to be such a big girl. Her doctor's appointment went well and the doctor said she looks awesome. She's at the 50 percentile for height AND weight. Her head is still small, but continues to grow along the 10% curve. The doctor isn't worried in the least.

Also in other news, I'm entering Madelyn's picture in a child model contest for The Children's Place. 5 or 6 kids (I forget exactly how many) get picked to go to New York for a photo shoot and the lucky winner gets to model for Children's Place. Wish us luck!

I'll post new pictures later.

Updates, changes, and things.

2009-02-07T16:12:00.009-06:00

Yes, we have changed the name of the blog to reflect the new events happening around here. Rather than trying to keep up with 2 different blogs, I'm adding updates about our Russian adoption here.

WOW! It's been a busy, busy month!!! Madelyn is progressing with her speech. She's saying "bye-bye" and says "cat" much more clearly now. She's also feeding herself most of her meals with her spoon. That's particularly good, since I'll probably have to feed John Charles when he gets home.

Speaking of John Charles..... On January 20, 2009, I received a phone call from our agency informing me that we had received a referral and would be traveling to Moscow from January 31 to February 6. Strangely enough, exactly two years ago to the day we received the referral for Madelyn. How cool is that?!? The whole time our agency director was talking, I was trying to concentrate on breathing, so I didn't really hear anything she said except that he's "young and healthy." Anyhow, we scrambled to get forms signed and notarized and flights and hotel booked. Then we started worrying about having enough warm clothing and I spent a lot of time worrying about Madelyn. I was scared to death that she wouldn't eat or sleep for 7 days while we were gone. And small details like, oh, where's Madelyn going to sleep at my parent's house? were flying through my brain at warp speed. We finally decided that John Charles would need someplace to sleep when he gets home, so we went ahead and bought his crib, but we put it up at my parent's house for now so Madelyn can sleep in there during our 3 trips to Moscow.

So, on Friday, January 20, we went to my parent's house and put up the crib. We left Madelyn there that night because we thought it would be easier for her if I put her to bed the first night. I have not been away from this child for more than 2 hours since she came home and now, suddenly I was leaving her for 7 days! Actually, I secretly suspected that she would do fine and that I was the one who would be a basket case. And it turns out that I was right! I put her to bed and managed to not cry until I got out of the room. She was just fine. I was a mess.

So, Kevin and I left our house at 10:00am on January 31 for our flight at 1:10pm to our connecting flight in Atlanta. The flight from Atlanta to Moscow was direct and was about 11 hours long. There's a 9 hour time difference, so we arrived in Moscow at 11:00am the next day (Sunday). The plan was to go out and see some sights after we got there, but all we did was look at the back of our eyelids. On Monday, our first real full day in Moscow, we didn't have any appointments or anything, so we ate lunch and went out to see the town. The high that day was 16 degrees F. Okay, when we left home it was like, 60 degrees outside! Slight difference! BRRRRRR!!!!! But we still ventured out and walked through the park by the Kremlin and then on to Red Square where we saw Lenin's tomb and St. Basil's Cathedral. The architecture in Moscow is so amazing! The churches are incredible and the older buildings are so beautiful. Although is was kind of hard to see the beauty under the muck from the snow/dirt/ash mixture. We took some pictures of Red Square and wouldn't you know it, when we got to St. Basil's Cathedral, the camera batteries suddenly DIED! right before that it was showing me a full battery and then all of a sudden they were dead! I was sooooo mad because I didn't know if we were going to get back there before we left. So, after walking around a few more minutes, we decided to go back to the hotel, since we couldn't take any more pictures. Bummer. As we were going back, I noticed a bunch of people going down some stairs to what we assumed was a tunnel to go under the street. It seems that there are no crosswalks in Moscow and the streets are very dangerous to cross. So, they have these underground tunnels people use to get across the streets. We followed everybody into what turned out to be a VERY COOL underground mall!!!! Of course, I couldn't read any of the signs, but I did recognize a few of the stores AND we found a small kiosk that sold cameras and cell phones and BATTERIES!!!! YEA!!! We bought some batteries and went back to Red Square to take some pictures of St. Basil's. The batteries lasted exactly 7 pictures before those died, too, and we headed back to the hotel. The trip to Red Square was nice because it was all with the wind and downhill. The trip back to the hotel was against the wind and uphill! UGH!!!! I had the worst windburn on my legs and serious muscle aches in my calves. So, we ate dinner and rested the rest of the night. The next day was our appointment with the Ministry of Families and Children's Services (or something like that).........
Tuesday morning at 9:45 was our appointment with the Ministry of Families. We got there on time, but they didn't take us until 10:30am. When we walked into the room, I was surprised to see 4 women sitting around 2 desks in a small room. We sat down and they asked us a few questions like why do we want to adopt and about our home and jobs and family. It was kind of funny, though, because they really didn't want to hear the answers. They were just asking out of formality because they had to ask them. I did get to show them a picture of Madelyn - they all smiled and said how beautiful she is. I cried because I was missing her so much. Then they showed us a picture of our referral - Vladislav. I instantly thought that he looked a bit like me when I was born! It was in the eyes. Dark brown and with a slight Asian slant. They then asked us if we wanted to meet him. What? Of course we want to meet him! So we signed a form and they gave us permission to go to the orphanage.

We left the Ministry and headed off for the orphanage. It was about a 35 minute drive in Moscow traffic. We got to the baby home at about 11:40am. It was a compound of buildings surrounded by an iron gate. A guard stood at the entrance, but didn't even question us as we went in. We walked into the nearest building and paused just inside the front door to put booties over our shoes. We were then led upstairs and into a small dimly lit room furnished with a sectional sofa and 2 chairs. The room was decorated with bright orange textured wallpaper and a dirty throw rug covered the floor. Two paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling and one fluorescent light provided the illumination in the room. There was a window, but on that day, it was gloomy outside and didn't provide much sunlight. We sat down and waited for Vladislav to finish his lunch. About 10 minutes later, the door opened and a chunky little boy with big brown eyes and light brown hair walked in holding a caretaker's hand. I picked him up and hugged him. After that, all he wanted to do was lay his head on my shoulder. He didn't want to play or explore the room. He just wanted to cuddle. We spent about an hour and a half with him and then we had to go. They took him back and we were told that we could come back the next day.

Wednesday we went back to the orphanage in the morning and were able to talk to the orphanage doctor. We inquired about his lack of interaction with the toys and his surroundings. She said that she knew him personally and that he is a very healthy boy who is reaching all of his milestones on time. She also said that he plays well with the other kids and that he plays with the toys in the playroom. Our coordinator asked us if we would like to see if we could watch him play with the other kids. We said yes, and we were allowed to take him into the playroom and observe him interact with the other kids. They even let us play with him and the others which was nice. It was also heartbreaking as we fell in love with all of them. Vladik seemed to do much better in the playroom and he found his favorite toy, a Winnie the Pooh toy drum, and played with that for a while. After about 15 minutes it was time for their naps. Vladik grabbed my hand and started to lead me into the bedroom. I looked at the caretakers to see if it was okay and they said it was. So, he led me into the room and straight to his bed. I was able to put him down for his nap that day and the whole time I was in there, one of the caretakers kept calling me "mama." I left him there for his nap, knowing that we would be back that evening for another visit. We were then asked if we were going to accept this referral or not. We signed the paperwork saying that we would.

Wednesday evening we did go back for another 1 1/2 hour visit. More cuddling and nothing else. It was sweet, but still a little concerning despite what the doctor said. Autism Spectrum Disorder kept running through my head. What are the symptoms? Was he displaying any of them or was he just overwhelmed by all the strange things going on and these strange people he was left with?? How would I know? Did it really matter? All children need loving homes and no child is perfect. But I still wondered. After they took him back again that evening, it took us 3 hours to get back to the hotel in the Moscow traffic and a snowstorm. We got back to the hotel exhausted and hungry. We ordered room service and then immediately fell asleep.

On Thursday morning we met our coordinator at a notary office where we officially signed the petition to the court to adopt Vladik. We then went back to the orphanage for our 4th visit. We were supposed to get two visits that day, but something came up and our driver couldn't take us for the evening visit. We didn't know this at our morning visit or we would have left all of the stuff that we brought for him. So, we actually ended up bringing everything home with us on Friday. Sigh.

Friday morning we left Moscow at 12:10pm. We had two layovers, one at JFK in New York and one in Atlanta. We were on time until Atlanta where our plane experienced mechanical problems just before we were to leave. They fixed it pretty quickly and we took off about 40 minutes late. We arrived home at around midnight and went to bed. That's the end of trip one. I'm posting a few pictures from Moscow. I'm not supposed to publicly post pictures of the child until after he's ours. Sorry. :(

Happy New Year!

2009-01-14T18:06:00.004-06:00

Okay, that was a few days late. Oh well, it's been busy, busy around here with Christmas and New Year's and Madelyn's birthday so close together. Gosh I hope John Charles's birthday is in June or July! Well, we had a great New Year. Madelyn loved the fireworks, although she went to bed way before midnight. She wanted so badly to join the big kids (Kevin (my hubby), Ryan and Adam) in lighting the fireworks, but seemed just as happy to sit back and watch. And we got to ring in the new year with our loved ones. Then on January 3, it was Madelyn's 2nd birthday! We celebrated with lunch and cupcakes with my parents. Her party was the next weekend on the 10th. She had a blast playing with all the kids and actually ate a couple of bites of cake! Woohoo! She was too busy playing to open presents, but her Gramdma couldn't wait, so Grandma opened Madelyn's presents! LOL! It's okay though, because Madelyn isn't at that stage yet where opening presents is exciting. She got lots of cool stuff including a Little People doll house (thanks Aunt Jen!!) and some Barbie skates! She got to go out with the skates once and we went up and down the driveway about 3 times with me holding her hands the whole time. Actually, she had a death grip on me for the first two trips down the driveway and then my little daredevil was ready to take off on her own! But I didn't let go yet because she doesn't have the helmet and pads yet. But you know, I was thinking...when we learned to skate, we didn't have all that safety stuff and we survived. Maybe with a few broken bones along the way, but we're still here, right? LOL. We're going to get her the safety equipment soon. Anyway, since then she's been sick, so we haven't gone back out with them again. She's been carrying them around the house and trying to put them on by herself. It's so funny. :)

Progress report - no real new news on the eating. New words are "poon" for spoon, and "bye" which she has turned into a 12 syllable word. LOL. She's also saying "girl" and "gone." I think that's it for now. I'll post a few new pics for your viewing pleasure. :-)

Merry Christmas to all!

2008-12-25T23:34:00.005-06:00

We had an awesome day today. It was Madelyn's second Christmas at home with us. We started the day at 8am when she got out of bed. Kevin got her up and I was set up in the living room with the video camera going. She came out of her room and walked right past all of the presents that Santa left! She didn't even notice them until I pointed them out!!! And they were hard to miss!! But once she noticed them and stood in the middle of the room with her big brown eyes shining and did her little gasp of surprise. Then she went around to all of her toys one by one checking them out. She figured out what the ball pit was for right away and played with that for a long time. She also got a play kitchen, an art easel, a tricycle, and a baby doll, etc. After a morning of playtime, she finally ate breakfast, took a bath and came back out for a little more playtime. My parents came over around 10am and at noon we had Christmas dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, peas, sweet potatoes, corn casserole, cheesy spinach, and mac and cheese. All of that was followed by cake and a pudding concoction that Kevin's mom made. Phew. We stuffed ourselves and then opened presents. And Madelyn played some more. She got so much stuff this year, though, that she couldn't decide what to play with, so she bounced around from toy to toy until it was finally time to go to bed. I guess we went a little bit overboard. ;) Anyhow, it was a fun day spent with family, so it's all good. Hoping that everyone else had a very Merry Christmas and has a safe and happy new year!

GOTCHA DAY!!!!!

2008-12-13T19:06:00.004-06:00

Today was the first anniversary of the day that Madelyn was placed in our arms forever. Our first Gotcha Day! Wow. In a way it seems like it was just yesterday. This past year has flown by at lightning speed. But it also feels like she's been here since birth. She certainly has been in our hearts for far longer than the past year. This child has held a place in my heart for many, many years. I just didn't know who she was yet. Anyhow, we had a cake and invited my mom and dad over. Then we viewed a 20 minute slideshow that I made of Madelyn's first year here with us. Not a dry eye in the house. :) All tears of joy, of course. Oh how I wish that my grandfather were alive to celebrate with us. He would have thought this little girl hung the moon. But I know he's looking down on us smiling and watching over her. Anyhow, Madelyn's Gotcha Day, Christmas, New Year's, and her birthday are all within 3 weeks. We're going to be rather busy around here. Come to think of it, I gotta start planning a 2nd birthday party! Well, here's some pics from today.

SNOW!!!!!!

2008-12-11T10:55:00.009-06:00

We woke up this morning to snow!!!! I knew it was supposed to snow, but I had no idea it would actually stick. But it did and I was so excited that Madelyn would get to see it. Not only did she get to see it, we went out to play in it. We got all bundled up and went outside where she was totally fascinated by all the white stuff on the ground. She was a bit apprehensive at first, but once she got used to it, she was having a blast! We even got to build a small snowman! How often do you get to do that in Southeast Louisiana??? And when it was time to come inside, Madelyn was not happy! She would still be out there if I let her. But now it's warming up a little and it's started raining making a snowy, sloshy mess outside. Ah well.

It's been ALMOST a year!!!!

2008-12-08T16:00:00.003-06:00

I can hardly believe that our 1 year anniversary is approaching. In 10 days from today, Madelyn will have been home for one whole year. The past year has flown by, and yet it seems like she's been with us forever. I can't remember what life was like without her, nor do I want to. I know I've said it before and I'll say it a million more times, she is the best thing that has ever happened to us. Ever. Period. And we've been given the opportunity to do this again times 2! I cannot wait to get to Russia and bring our son home! We may be traveling to Moscow in February if I can get these last three forms done and notarized. Pray for us that it can happen this week. Anyhow, here's a few pictures from this week.

I've been tagged!!!!

2008-12-08T15:45:00.003-06:00

WOW! I've never been tagged before!!! I feel like a real part of the blogging community now. :) I'm supposed to list 10 things that I'm grateful for and then tag 5 other people. Hmmm.... I'll have to think about who to tag. Anyhow, here's my list of things I'm grateful for:

1. my mom and dad
2. my husband, Kevin
3. my beautiful daughter Madelyn
4. to Madelyn's birthmother for oh so many reasons
5. all of my friends, both old and new
6. my 6 cats and 2 dogs
7. all of my family
8. the opportunity to help others in any way that I can
9. to be living in a place where I can celebrate the birth of my savior Jesus Christ
10. and last, but not least, for the opportunity to adopt two more children and to their birthmothers.

Now, I have to think about who to tag.....

2008-11-28T21:19:00.005-06:00

First I'd like to wish everyone a belated Happy Thanksgiving! It was Madelyn's first Thanksgiving at home and we had so much to be thankful for. And she ate the same food that the rest of us ate! Of course, I had to squish it all up, but hey. :) Then, after she went to bed, Kevin and I put up the Christmas tree. I was gone shopping when she got up and saw it, but Kevin said she kept pointing and smiling and she just loved it. Actually, she was still doing that when I got home. Every time she saw the tree, she'd point and gasp and smile. She is just the sweetest, most adorable little girl. And tonight Madelyn put her first ornament on the tree. She put it on and took it off and put it on and took it off, etc, etc, etc. LOL! As a result, we only got one ornament on the tree tonight before she had to go to bed. We'll continue tomorrow and hopefully get more than one ornament on the tree. Here's some pictures from tonight.

It's been a while.

2008-11-18T15:27:00.004-06:00

Okay, so it's been a little while since I last posted anything. We've had a lot going on this month with birthday parties and baby showers to attend, Madelyn's continuing occupational therapy and speech therapy, trying to finish up our paperwork for our new adoptions, etc, etc, etc. I've been busy, busy, busy! Anyhow, here's an update on Madelyn: she's now consistently signing 3 words: please, more, and milk (not necessarily in that order). Two nights ago she said "car" 3 times (Kevin and I both heard it), but she hasn't said it since then. She's also saying "cat" and "ball" a little better. "Cat" sounds more like cat than "dat." And "ball" is now "ball" instead of "baw." She also points to me when you ask her where "mama" is and points to Kevin for "dada." She's not really eating any better, although she seems to be getting over the severe dislike of getting her hands dirty. What do those 2 things have in common? They seem to think if we can conquer her sensory defensiveness that the eating will follow. Oh and she has discovered that she can climb in and out of her high chair by herself AND I've caught her several times climbing out of her crib. So, it looks like we may be switching to a toddler bed sooner than expected. Well, that's pretty much it for now.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-07T11:48:00.004-06:00

This was Madelyn's first Halloween at home with us! We started celebrating two weeks before by going to a pumpkin patch. She had so much fun picking out her pumpkin and petting all of the animals on the farm. Then the weekend before Halloween we had our very first Halloween party for our Guatemalan adoptive families group. The Thursday before Halloween was a party at the Gymboree Play and Music place that I take Madelyn to once a week. And then it was Halloween. Madelyn dressed up as Tinkerbell for the parties and then she was a black cat for Halloween night. She loved getting dressed up and had no idea why people were putting free stuff into her (plastic) pumpkin, but she thought that was the coolest thing ever! She didn't want to stop trick or treating! But we only went to a few houses since she's so young and she won't remember it (and we certainly didn't need any candy in the house). Then we went back home and set up our table outside and hung out with our neighbors. We didn't have many kids come down our street, but again, Madelyn had a blast staying up a little late and playing outside until well after dark. Anyhow, here's a few pictures from all of our Halloween celebrations.

I lied.

2008-10-15T20:43:00.003-05:00

I found some new pics that I took late last week. Enjoy!

Peek A Boo!

Breakthrough!!!!!

2008-10-15T20:04:00.002-05:00

Yes! We've had a major breakthrough this week! Madelyn and I were out in the yard and she wanted to go on the swing. I told her no, that I wasn't going to put her in the swing until she said "please." And guess what?!?!?! She signed "Please"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was soooooo adorable! And I know now that she HAS been paying attention to what I've been showing her and that she's just being stubborn! Then today she signed "please" 4 times. Three times were prompted and one was completely HER! She wanted help to get down and she signed "please"!!!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!! I am so excited (if you can't tell). And to think that the Occupational Therapist told me that the sign for please may be too hard and I should start with something more simple like "more." But I stuck with please because it seemed more universal. She can say please for just about anything. And she's doing it! I'm thrilled. I'm so proud of her! I still can't wait to hear that sweet little voice start talking, but this is awesome!

In other news, Madelyn's Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy are going okay. No new breakthroughs in those areas. Although after 2 weeks of sitting in front of the mirror with her and saying "ooh" until my cheeks hurt, she finally started imitating me. Phew. Now onto the next sound...."eeeeee," "eeeeee," "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee." ACK!!!!!

Well, that's it for now. No new pictures because both Madelyn and I have been sick this past week. :(

Helping a friend...

2008-10-08T20:15:00.004-05:00

I have been asked to make a plea for some dear friends of mine. Jim and Margie are two of the best people I've ever met. They have allowed me to be a part of their family and have loved and encouraged me for 20 plus years. Now they need my help and I promised I would do whatever I could. So, this is a unique post on Madelyn's blog. I'm asking everyone who visits this blog to visit a website at http://www.savemargieshouse.com/. Check it out and please consider making a tax deductible donation to help this awesome couple keep their house. We all need a helping hand at times and this is their time. Thank you all!

A few more pics...

2008-10-01T22:42:00.002-05:00

My cutie patootie...

Future soccer star....
Resting after a hard day of play.

New pictures

2008-09-28T20:30:00.004-05:00

Madelyn loves to read her books!
Just being cute...
Getting puppy kisses from a 4-legged friend...
Playing with Daddy and Gabrielle...
Wow, wow, wow! She found the box with her b'day party supplies...

Just another sweet picture...
Fun on the swing at the Mandeville lakefront...
Giddyup doggy! Kasha is such a great dog...
At Grandma and Grandpa's house...
I just love this picture of her in my shoes! She walked all the way across the living room in my shoes.

Speech Therapy

2008-09-25T20:15:00.002-05:00

Yea! Madelyn's speech therapist came for the first visit on Tuesday afternoon. I called her Tuesday morning and she asked if could she come by that afternoon to meet Madelyn and let her "get used" to her. I didn't tell her that Madelyn doesn't need to "get used" to anyone! She's NEVER met a stranger. So, the therapist got here and Madelyn went right up to her and started smiling and climbing on her. The therapist commented on how friendly Madelyn is. Yes, she is a very friendly child who just happens to not speak. Anyhow, she wasn't planning on doing the first session on Tuesday, but when she saw how comfortable Madelyn was with her, she did go ahead and start her therapy. Basically she just sat in the floor with her and let her play and talked to her. She said we have to "bombard her with words." Well, I thought I was doing that, but I guess I just need to do it more. But that's really why Madelyn understands SOOO much, because we talk to her so much. She just doesn't feel the need to say anything. Anyway, she IS the speech therapist, so I'm sure she's knows much better than I do! :) The occupational therapist is coming tomorrow afternoon, so we'll see how that goes. No new pictures to post because I'm still not on my computer. It's still being repaired. :(

Little Saints Fan

2008-09-17T21:41:00.005-05:00

Well, okay, she couldn't care less about the Saints, but she looks absolutely adorable in her new Saints t-shirt! Not much to report lately. We did get a letter in the mail today with the names of her speech and occupational therapists. I don't know when they're going to contact us to set up her first sessions, though. She did finally put a spoon in the bowl and get actual food on it and actually get it to her mouth a few times in the past few days. But nothing consistent so far. That's one of the things that the Occupational Therapist is supposed to work on with her. And she has started this funny little thing of hiding things behind her back. Whenever she has something that she's not supposed to have and I ask her for it, she immediately hides it behind her back and get this innocent look on her face. It's the funniest thing! Today she did it only her back was turned to me, so she "hid" the forbidden object right in front of my face. LOL! And she's recently started growling. If I try to get her to do something she doesn't want to do, she growls. Um....okay. Where did this come from? Maybe she heard one of the dogs growling at something? She won't repeat any words that we say, but she's imitating the dogs? I don't know, but hopefully she'll outgrow this soon. Speech therapist, where are you?!?!? I've also started trying to teach Madelyn sign language. Yeah, right. She won't repeat any words that I say, what makes me think she'll imitate me and learn sign language?? So far, nada. We'll keep working on it. Anyway, here's some pictures from the past few days.

Update on evaluation

2008-09-11T22:01:00.002-05:00

Well, our Early Steps coordinator came by today and Madelyn does qualify for Occupational Therapy once a week and Speech Therapy once a week. The test results show her at age equivalent of a 10 month old for expressive communication, self-care, and adult interaction (?). She was on target for Gross Motor skills and above for Fine Motor skills. The goals they listed were to help her communicate her needs better (speech) and to teach her to feed herself and to eat more solid foods (OT). I'm just so glad to finally get the results and we're looking forward to getting started with the therapies. I can't wait for her to start speaking! I know, everyone says that once she starts I'll wish she would stop, but I'm dying to hear her little voice saying something intelligible. So, now we wait for the actual therapists to call us to set up their first visits. I have no idea how long that's going to take, but I'll let everyone know when it does happen! In the meantime, I ordered a few videos for toddlers for sign language AND one that's made by speech therapists to help with late speakers. Just trying to get a little head start if we can. :)

Just a few cute pics...

2008-09-09T21:11:00.002-05:00

Playing in the hotel room in Atlanta (evacuated for Gustav)
Trying on mom's shoes just before bed
With Tigger
Give everyone a big kiss!

My beautiful girl
Awwwwww........ :)
She found the old box of Mardi Gras beads
An art project at Grandma's house.
Smile!

Changing spots

2008-09-08T09:18:00.005-05:00

Several events in the past few months have prompted me to ask the question... Can a leopard really change it's spots? Can a racist change his or her prejudices? I find myself in a unique position among my family and friends. I am the mother of a child of color. When we decided to adopt from Guatemala, I knew that our daughter wouldn't look like us. I didn't realize, however, exactly how much racism we are faced with every day. It never occurred to me how much prejudice my daughter would face. It was naive of me, yes. But never having encountered this problem myself, it just didn't cross my mind. However, since bringing her home, I have perhaps become hypersensitive to this kind of thing. It is out of necessity. It is an overwhelming desire to protect her from this as long as I possibly can. It is because of that need that I write this today.

To my dear friends and family - I do not write this to offend anyone. I don't want to alienate anyone. I want all of you to remain in Madelyn's life. I am not going to name any names here. But if you recognize yourself, please know that this is done out of love for my daughter and for you. Please try to understand where I'm coming from. Those of you with children can understand the mother bear instinct to protect your child. I will do anything and everything I can to protect my child from harm and that includes shielding her from racist diatribe as much as I possibly can. So, here goes....

Please don't say racist remarks, use racial stereotypes, or say racist jokes around Madelyn. She is not white. Therefore, any negative comments about other races could one day lead her to believe that you feel the same way about her. While she cannot understand right now, it is best to begin this practice now. I don't care what you say when we're not around, but please, please don't say this stuff around Madelyn. Remember, not all African-American people are criminals and on welfare, not all Hispanic people are lazy or here illegally, not all Arab Americans own a "Quickie Mart" or are terrorists, etc.

Please don't assume that all Hispanic people are "Mexican." The workers who are here in the city are from all over Central and South America - Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, etc. And when we're around, please don't talk about how the "Mexicans" are bringing the neighborhood down. One day Madelyn will understand what you're saying and this will hurt her tremendously. No, she's not Mexican, but she is Hispanic just like the people you are talking about. She will begin to believe that she is not good enough, that she doesn't belong, and that maybe you think she's bringing the neighborhood down, too.

Don't assume that because we are Caucasian that we're raising her to be "white." Absolutely NOT! She's not white, she never will be. She will be raised to be proud of who she is and where she's from. She's Hispanic and Maya Indian from Guatemala. We can't change that, nor do we want to. We love her just the way she is.

Please remember that Kevin and I are also adopting a child from China. I recently received an offensive e-mail from a friend that referred to something called "Chinglish." It was about the mis-translations that may have occurred during the Olympics. The whole concept of "Chinglish" is incredibly offensive to me and to my future daughter. I also have to remind myself and my family not to refer negatively to anything "made in China" because soon I will have a daughter who was "made in China."

Please don't think that when you make a racist comment that Madelyn shouldn't be hurt because you weren't talking about her. Don't think "well, that's different." How's it different exactly? When you make negative comments about people who aren't white, remember that Madelyn is not white! How could she not take that personally? How's she supposed to separate herself from the other people of color that you don't like? It's not different. All racist remarks will be hurtful to Madelyn and Grace.

My daughters will face enough racism and prejudice from strangers. They shouldn't have to hear this from family and friends. They shouldn't hear this stuff from people who are supposed to love them. Think about how you feel when you hear someone of another race say some racist comment about Caucasian people. You get angry, right? Think about how hearing these things from you will make Madelyn and Gracie feel.

So anyway, I hope I didn't hurt anyone's feelings. I hope I didn't make anyone angry. I just realized recently that some people may not realize how their words could affect a very small person that we all know and love. I know our friends and family love Madelyn and I know you wouldn't consciously do anything to hurt her. Thanks for listening and please just think about what you say in front of Madelyn and, eventually, Gracie.

With love, Dawn

Evacuated and back

2008-09-04T16:47:00.004-05:00

Well, it's been an interesting week, to say the least. Last week we were keeping a close eye on Hurricane Gustav in the Gulf. Saturday we decided to go stay at my parent's house in Slidell for a few days mainly because they were further east and their house is about 31 feet above sea level. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this term, it's a very important thing in this area to be "above sea level" whenever there's a storm coming. The higher you are above sea level, the less likely that your house will get flooded by storm surge. So, when they predicted a 20 foot storm surge, we figured it would be better to be 31 feet above "sea level." So, late Saturday night we packed up and headed over to Slidell. Well, long story short, Kevin wasn't happy with this and so Sunday morning we packed up AGAIN and headed out to Atlanta, GA.

After 15 1/2 hours in 2 trucks with 6 cats, 2 dogs, my mother, Kevin's mom, and Madelyn, we finally arrived at our hotel in Suwanee (?), GA., just north of Atlanta. I have to say that our little princess was SOOOOOO good on both trips there and back. She slept some of the time, but when she wasn't sleeping, she was so good! She just looked out the window at the passing scenery and played with her toys. Upon arrival, we discovered that our non-smoking room reeked of smoke. But we got the last 2 rooms, so we were stuck. And we also discovered that they were going to charge us $15 per PET per NIGHT!!!!!!!! As if my pets could make that room STINK any more than it already did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SMOKING STINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My cats could have pee-peed all over the room and it probably would have made it smell better. Anyhow, we were stuck, so we had no choice but to stay there. Sunday was a very stressful day for poor little Madelyn. She was stuck in that car seat most of the trip with just a few little breaks to get out and stretch her legs. Then the hotel didn't have cribs, so they rented us a play pen for her to sleep in. Yeah, okay. She would have nothing to do with that and screamed her little head off until I took her out and let her sleep in the bed with me. Only she didn't sleep on the bed, she refused to sleep on the bed. No, she had to sleep on TOP of me. So, I laid on my back all night with a 25 pound toddler draped over me, snoring in my ear. I didn't sleep 2 minutes that night. And the only way I could get her to nap while we were there was for me to lay down on the bed and let her sleep on TOP of me. Now, she doesn't even sleep in the bed with us at home, much less on top of me. So, I wasn't expecting this predicament, but I guess being in this strange stinky hotel was just too much for her.

Thankfully, the storm blew through with little damage to our area and our Parish was opened back up on Wednesday. We were in touch with my dad (who stayed in Slidell) the whole time and he advised us that they had power back on Tuesday afternoon, so we decided to head back home and at least stay at my parent's house until we had power back at our house in Covington. The trip home took about 10 hours, thank God! And, praise God, on our way home we called our house and found out that our answering machine was on! That meant that we had power!!!!!! YEA! We could go home and sleep in our own beds!!!! We were all so incredibly happy to get back to our own beds Wednesday night. And to get out of the car. After sitting in a car seat for 25 hours in the span of 4 days, poor Madelyn had the worst diaper rash she's had since we brought her home, but thank God for Boudreaux's Butt Paste! The diaper rash is already almost gone.

Anyhow, when we got home we found that we had no visible damage! We haven't really inspected the roof yet, but I suspect it's fine. All we have is a lot of pine tree branches in our yard. Thank you, God!!!! I was a little scared that we were going to find a pine tree in my living room.... But we were blessed to have no damage. Right now, we have to go to the grocery store to replace the contents of our refrigerator/freezer if we can find anything at the grocery stores. It may take a few days to get back to normal here, but it's nothing like the days/weeks/months after Katrina 3 years ago. Well, that's our past week in a nutshell. I'll try to post pictures from our little adventure tonight or tomorrow. :)

2008-08-23T19:21:00.002-05:00

Everywhere with Tigger....
Hey, what's this thing do??
I wonder what happens when I press this little button????
Madelyn's new ball (after one of the cats killed the pink ball...)
It's almost bigger than she is!!!!!

Well, we still haven't heard anything from Early Steps. I hope our file didn't fall under the steps (as our files have a habit of doing). Hopefully we'll hear from them next week. I'll let everyone know when we do finally hear something. In the meantime, I posted a few pictures from earlier this week. Madelyn has had another cold and she kindly gave it to me. So, we've both been sick since Sunday/Monday. But we're getting better. Anyway, the first picture is just a cute one of her and Tigger. The second and third ones - she got hold of my camera and decided to take some self portraits. Too funny. And then the last ones are of her and her new ball. Some of you might recall her huge pink ball that we got her several months ago. Well, apparently while we were out one day, one of the cats (who shall remain nameless), got in a fight with the big pink ball. And the big pink ball, sadly lost that fight. Big pink balls should never, ever take on a bad boy kitty wearing a Harley collar.... They'll almost always lose. Anyway, we came home to find one dead pink ball carcass in the living room floor. It was given a proper pink ball burial (in the garbage can) and we were off to Target to get another one. This one is even bigger and thicker, so maybe it will hang around longer than the other one. But it's blue. No more pink ball. :( But maybe big, blue playground balls have enough sense not to tease a certain black and white bad boy kitty. Only time will tell.

Update on evaluation

2008-08-15T15:39:00.002-05:00

Yes, the lady from Early Steps came by the house yesterday. She was here for 2 1/2 hours! It was a marathon evaluation. She actually spent most of the time asking me questions. It was hard for me to answer some of them because they wanted me to compare Madelyn to other children her age. Okay, how many other children her age do I have regular contact with???? None! So I had to guess. Then she did spend some time asking Madelyn to do certain tasks and just watching and observing her. She wanted her to speak , too, which she refused to do. She finally did say "dada" before the lady left. But anyway, she didn't say anything yet as far as the results. She said that they will score the tests and someone else will come back by the house to go over them. So, yes, it's done. No, we don't know anything yet. I hope to hear back from them next week. I'll post as soon as I hear something.
Last night Madelyn's grandma and grandpa came to the house to babysit and Kevin and I went to the Kenny Chesney concert at the New Orleans Arena. It was my 5th time seeing Kenny in concert and I swear he gets better and better every time. He just puts on the most incredible show. I called home after the opening act (Leann Rimes) finished around 9:00 p.m. and my mom said that Madelyn was sleeping. Phew! She said that she cried for about 10 minutes and then she fell asleep. We were so relieved that she didn't give grandma and grandpa too hard a time. Maybe they'll do it again someday! Maybe next year for the next KC concert..... :)
In other news, we looked at a spectacular house today in a great location on a FABULOUS lot. We both loved it. LOVED it. And it has a small pool in the HUGE back yard. It was really our dream home. Sadly, it's a bit out of our price range. We're trying to think of how we can make it work short of winning the lottery... Well, that's it for today. Believe it or not I have no new pictures to post today. Shocking. Hopefully I'll get some good ones this weekend to post next week.

Progress Report

2008-08-13T09:08:00.003-05:00

Here's the Madelyn Progress Report for this week. She's feeling much better. No fever or vomiting since last week. Actually she's been fine since the day I took her to the doctor. All of her tests came back negative, so we think it was just a virus. She is, however, cutting 3 teeth. She has her 2 canines coming in and one premolar on the bottom that looks extremely painful. That would probably explain the cranky toddler that has been inhabiting my house. Maybe she'll start chewing her food now? Nah. The Early Steps people came by the house last week, but it turned out to be an "assessment" to see if she should be evaluated. The girl didn't even want to see Madelyn. She just asked me a bunch of questions. But she did determine that Madelyn DOES need to be evaluated. SO, another person is coming out tomorrow to actually do the evaluation. IF she decides that she qualifies for the program, then we can start getting her speech therapy, etc. If she doesn't qualify, then I'm going to look into getting her private help. We want her to at least get help to catch up on her speech. So, hopefully she'll qualify (fingers crossed). In other news, I've attached pictures of her using her spoon. Yes, she's been feeding herself for several weeks. Well, kind of. I have to "load" the spoon, but when I give it to her, she knows exactly what to do with it. If I give her the spoon and bowl to let her do it herself, she just plays in it. We try it every day, but so far no luck. But as long as I load the spoon, she's really good about putting it in her mouth. And she seems to swallow faster when we do it that way. I think it must taste better if she does it herself... And notice Tigger in all of the pictures? She has become SO attached to Tigger that we can't do anything without him. She has to eat, sleep, play, and bathe with Tigger. Well, she wants to bathe with Tigger, but Tiggers don't do well in water, so I have to take him away before she gets in the bath. She gets so upset about this that she doesn't even want to play in the water after her bath. She has to get out immediately to get Tigger. Well, that's all for today. I will update tomorrow after the Early Steps evaluation (fingers crossed!).

Busy week and a few pics

2008-08-06T22:09:00.003-05:00

A new way to wear a bow?

Kickin' back with Tigger to watch a little Max and Ruby.
Oh that smile! :)

It's turning out to be a busy, busy week. I need a calendar to keep track of everything. Oh wait, I have a calendar, I just forget to use it! Monday was pretty calm. Tuesday I had to meet a man about a horse. Just kidding. I had to meet a notary to get some documents done for the new adoptions. Wednesday morning was spent at the doctor's office with Madelyn. She has been running fever for several days (spiking up to 102 at times) and Tuesday afternoon she started vomiting, so the earliest we could get an appointment was today (Wednesday morning). Of course today she was fine, but we went anyway. Well, after the throat swab, catheter to get urine, and blood work.... I did not have a happy toddler on my hands. My poor baby! But she bounced back quickly and was running around being her usual spunky self the rest of the day. Tomorrow we're off to Gymboree class and then to look at even more houses. Then Friday.... the people from the Early Steps program are coming to the house to evaluate her!!!!!!!! YEA!!!!! Maybe we can finally get her help to get over these eating issues and we're hoping to get her started in speech therapy so that she can catch up to where she's supposed to be. Saturday will be spent trying to fix up the house to get it sold and Sunday is our regular day at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Busy, busy, busy.

A new baby...

2008-07-30T23:13:00.003-05:00

doll. A new baby doll. Madelyn got a new baby doll this weekend. Up until recently she hasn't really showed too much interest in baby dolls. But recently she has started picking them up and kissing them. So, this weekend we went to the TRU and bought her a new baby doll, a stroller for the baby doll, and bottles for the baby doll. This baby doll is even better than the others because when you press her hand, she makes a "kissing" sound and then giggles and coos for about fifteen minutes. It gets a little (understatement of the year) but annoying, but Madelyn loves it. When we got home from the store, she immediately knew to put the baby in the stroller (although the baby was sitting on her head) and started pushing it around. She seemed to get a great amount of joy from chasing the cats and dogs around the house with the baby in stroller. She also fed the baby her bottle and tried to feed the baby a Cheerio that was on the floor. Somehow the dogs missed that one. The baby doll wanted the Cheerio about as much as Madelyn wanted it, so it ended up on the floor again (soon to be found and consumed by a canine member of the family). Today, Madelyn was happily terrorizing the cats and dogs again with the stroller. Only this time the baby doll was on the floor and Madelyn's soccer ball was getting a ride. In other news, Madelyn is cutting two new teeth. Yea! A cranky, crabby, grouchy, moody, clingy toddler in the house! But I can't blame her. It can't feel too good plus she's had a fever for 2 days now. Yuckie poo. My poor baby. :(

here you go baby doll....

Notice the baby doll is sitting on her head....

Taking a break to watch Max and Ruby....

2008-07-23T20:44:00.003-05:00

Well, let's just start off with a couple of pictures from today. These two were taken on the deck out back. Let me tell you, this girl is on to me! She's so tired of having her picture taken, every time she sees the camera she stops smiling or she turns away. And believe me, she's smiling and laughing all the time! Except when she sees the camera. Okay, I admit that I've taken a, ahem, a few pictures since she's been home, but come on girl!!! We've got lots more years of picture taking ahead of us! SMILE!!!!!

Here's some pictures from the other day. She just loves her pups! We still call them pups even though they're both grown dogs. In these pictures, she's draped over our oldest girl, Kasha. Poor Kash is a 10 year old Golden/Lab mix. She's always been good with kids and she just lets Madelyn do ANYTHING to her. She is the best dog in the universe and Madelyn just loves on her all the time. You can't tell it in this small picture, but in the second pic, Madelyn has her lips pursed to give Kasha a big ole kiss. Awwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!

This is my 18 month old who is in her terrible two's. And she's beginning to do some of those weird quirky things that toddlers do. She has suddenly decided that she doesn't like to have her hands dirty. In the first picture, she sat down in the grass, but didn't want to put her hands on the ground to push herself back up. So she sat there whining for me to help her up (while I took the picture...). In the second picture, she fell on her hands and got some dirt and grass on her hands. She got up and came straight to me with her hands out to wipe them off. She does this all the time now. Every time she gets anything on her hands, she holds them out for me to clean them. She couldn't care less if the rest of her body is covered in slime, crud, dirt, grime, but Heaven forbid if her hands are dirty!!!!

In other news, she ate some roast beef the other day. Several bites of it, actually! And she seemed to really like it. To anyone who knows the eating issues we've had, this is really amazing! And she's slowly beginning to feed herself with a spoon. She mostly plays with it, but a few bites actually do make it into her mouth. So that's good. We started going to Gymboree Play and Music classes a few weeks ago and she is loving it! She's really getting the hang of it and learning all of the games and things that they do. And at the end of class, she's the first one up there to get her Gymbo stamp on her hands and belly. It's too cute. And she's been such a trooper lately going on the house hunts with us. I think we've seen about 20-25 houses in the past few weeks. Maybe more. I don't know, I lost count. She does better in houses that are unoccupied and she can run around, but she's been really good in the other places, too. We still haven't found "the house" and we've seen everything on the market so far. We're not in a huge rush, so we have time to see if anything else comes up AND we're going to talk to a builder next week to see what they have to say. That would be best for us if we can afford it because then we can make sure that we're getting exactly what we need. It's been really difficult to find a 5 bedroom house with the right floor plan to accommodate Kevin and I, Kevin's mom, and three children AND with a good yard AND not too far out in the woods AND in our price range. We do have a lot of demands, I know, but when you consider how much money we're going to be spending on this place and the fact that we'll probably be in this house for the next 15-20 years, we really do need to get it right. Anyhow, that's it for now. Thanks for coming by!

Pool Party!!!!!!

2008-07-19T20:55:00.002-05:00

We went to Aunt Tiffany's house today for a Pool Party Wedding Celebration for Tiffany's son, Steve and his new wife Ali. We all had fun, but Madelyn had a blast as usual in the pool! She is such a water baby, it's kind of sad that she doesn't get to go in the pool more often. But of course, I would be a nervous wreck if we had a pool at our house. Well, anything other than her kiddie pool. That I can handle. But a real pool? No way. Anyway, she had a great time and was not happy when we got out to go home. After we got dressed I went out to say goodbye to everyone and she was trying to wrench herself from my arms to get back in the pool. Poor baby. But then we got in the car and she fell asleep and slept the whole way home hugging her new huge rubber ducky. Tomorrow is our day with Grandma and Grandpa. Next Saturday we're going to the Children's Museum with a couple of other Guatemalan adoptive families and then in two weeks we're supposed to go to the Aquarium with Aunt Tiffany and her kids. Fun, fun, fun!

2008-07-15T20:00:00.002-05:00

Sorry I haven't updated in a week or so! I had trouble with uploading pictures and really, what's the point of blogging if you can't add pictures??? Anyhow, Miss Madelyn went to the doctor for her 18 month checkup today. The doctor said she's doing great. She's now in the 50th percentile for height AND weight! And her head circumference is now on the charts! Yea!!! It's at 5%, but it's on the charts which is great. We're still waiting to hear from the Louisiana Early Steps people about getting Madelyn evaluated for the eating and speech issues. But other than that, she's right on target for everything. I posted a few pictures from this past weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Madelyn just looked too adorable in her little dress with the matching kerchief. :) She kept the kerchief on long enough for a few pictures and then it came straight off of her head. Oh well. And notice in the last picture, she's stacking some little can things. That's the first time I've seen her try to stack anything. I was so excited! In other news, we had our Home Study visits this weekend for the new adoptions. Everything went well and we don't anticipate any problems with anything. I'll keep everyone posted about that as things progress.

4th of July weekend

2008-07-07T20:27:00.005-05:00

Well, this was Madelyn's first July 4th at home with us and as a US citizen! We started a four day weekend on Thursday by going to look at houses. As most of you know, we are in process for 2 more adoptions (Russia and China) and we need a bigger house! So, we spent a good chunk of Thursday looking at houses in Covington and Madisonville. Out of about 8-9 houses, we kept just one on the list. Sigh. It's going to be super hard to find a 5 bedroom house that's affordable. Anyhow, Friday we had fun at home. My parents came over for lunch and we cooked hamburgers, etc., on the grill. Then they went home and a little bit later my BF and Madelyn's Godmother, Jeanne, and her family came over for dinner and fireworks! Madelyn's face as she saw her very first fireworks was absolutely priceless. The wide eyed, mouth opened look of complete fascination. And then after about five minutes, she fell asleep with her head resting on my shoulder. I just could not love this girl any more and I can't remember my life before she came home. Anyhow, Saturday we took it easy and went shopping with Grandma in Slidell. Madelyn had a great time in one of her favorite stores on the planet, Toys R Us.

Sunday we went back over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for lunch and then we all went to the beach at Long Beach, MS. Madelyn, as usual, had a blast! She just loves the beach and especially the water. We almost couldn't drag her out of the warm Gulf waters. She chased fish and birds. She fell several times in the water (face first), but then just got up laughing and kept going. Then she stopped for a moment and destroyed Grandpa's sandcastle. She had a blast! Well, that's it for today.

Southeast Louisiana Guatemalan Adoptive Families Get Together

2008-06-28T19:43:00.003-05:00

A long name for a simple thing. We got together today with about 10 (?) other families that have adopted children from Guatemala. We all met at the Audubon Zoo this morning and the weather was great. It was hot, but it didn't rain on us like we feared. It was so good to meet everyone and to let the kids play together. Most of them are really too young right now, but I hope to keep this thing going so that they can form lasting friendships. It's good for us adults, too. I definitely met some really nice people today! Madelyn had a blast playing with the other kids and looking at the animals. She thought the elephants were just really big (and smelly) dogs. When we went to the petting zoo, she made friends with a little black goat. She is definitely turning into a little animal lover just like her mom! She also got to pet a Bearded Dragon and a Rainbow Python! And she loved every minute of it! After lunch we went to Monkey Hill where she climbed the hill with Daddy and then came down and played in the water with Mommy. Needless to say, my little water baby loved that, too, and didn't want to get out. Not long after that, she fell asleep in her stroller and she slept the rest of the way through the zoo and part of the way home. She loves the zoo so much, in fact, that we're investing in a membership to the zoo/aquarium so we can go whenever we want! It's quite a little drive, but so worth it when you see her face light up when she sees the animals!

Mommy and Madelyn watching the elephants
Madelyn and her new friend, Billy Goat (goat, goat, goat,goat).
On the Carousel.
Walking with Daddy.
In the water at Monkey Hill.

Please view our slideshow "Our Journey to Madelyn"

2008-06-24T23:27:00.001-05:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

More pictures for your enjoyment....

2008-06-13T21:53:00.006-05:00

Wonder what she's thinking......

Here she is watching one of her favorite programs, Wow Wow Wubbzy.
Playing on the deck in the backyard.
Smiling in pigtails.

And here's a few pictures from last weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's house. The kids in the house behind them were having a party and they had a giant water slide in the yard. It was so pitiful seeing Madelyn peeking through the fence this way. She stayed there for several minutes jsut staring at all the kids playing in the water. :( In the other picture, she was still watching the kids play, but her Grandma was holding her so she could see the top of the slide over the fence. We have to make sure to do something extra special/fun this Father's Day weekend.....

A few new pictures...

2008-06-06T00:54:00.002-05:00

For your viewing pleasure..... :)

2008-06-02T20:26:00.003-05:00

Well, it's been a week since I posted, so I wanted to update everyone. Madelyn is doing great. She's actually eating a little better, but I'm not sure we're going to be able to avoid the Occupational Therapist. She goes for her 18 month check up in early July, so we'll see what the doctor has to say then. She has definitely gained weight since she's been home and has continued even with the eating issues. The last time I weighed her she was at 26 pounds! I had to step off of the scale and do it again - I couldn't believe it!!! She's wearing a 2T now! And to think that she came home at 11 1/2 months old weighing about 16 pounds and wearing a size 6/9 months..... It's hard to believe she's getting so big. She's not really saying too much yet, but I think she's just saving it all up and one day she's going to start speaking in complete sentences. She's a little dancing fool and shakes her booty to every song she hears. Even when she's sitting in her car seat, she can't be still. Her feet go about 90 mph! Oh, and this month on the 18 marks our 6 month anniversary home!!!! Time flies when you're having fun. And we're certainly having fun with this little one. So much so that we're in negotiations for 2 more!!! We're looking into adopting a boy from Russia and a girl from China. Well, we've already put our application in for China and we just need to figure out financing for the adoption from Russia. We're going to have a regular UN at our home! Wish us luck and pray for us that everything works out. Thanks all!!!!

Memorial Day Weekend 2008

2008-05-26T18:14:00.003-05:00

We started the long weekend on Saturday by going to Grandma and Grandpa's house. We ate lunch there and then went to the outlet mall in Gulfport. Memorial Day weekend sales!!!!!! Madelyn got lots of clothes and a pair of Nike running shoes. She always makes out like a little bandit every time we go there! Sunday we went to Aunt Tiff's house for Gabrielle's 5th birthday party. It was a pool party so we all took our swim suits. Even me. :) We spent a lot of time in the pool (and the sun) and Madelyn absolutely loved it! When it was time to go home she didn't want to get out of the water, but while she was enjoying being in the sun and turning even more brown, Kevin and I were turning into lobsters. Let me say, the princess slept well Sunday night. :) Today was Madelyn's first Memorial Day at home. Grandma and Grandpa came over for grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. Madelyn had Gerber Graduates spaghetti and meatballs. She also tried some baked beans. I think she liked them because she asked for another bite after the first one, but that was it for the beans. Probably a good thing, actually! LOL. And she had a few bites of her first grape snowball today. She actually liked that, too. She's getting a little better about trying different things, but she still doesn't feed herself and she still spits out anything with big chunks. Sigh. Well, it's time to put the princess to bed, so I'd better go for now.

May 17, 2008

2008-05-17T20:31:00.002-05:00

We spent part of the day at the Jefferson Parish Animal Shelter. It was Pet Adoption Day and Shelter Open House today. As some of you know, I've been volunteering at Pet Adoption Days for close to 13 years or so. And after I got married, I recruited Kevin to volunteer with me (he loves it!). And now, Madelyn is the youngest "volunteer." And she loves it, too! She just loves playing with the puppies and kitties. The first thing she did when we got there was try to kiss one of the dogs. Then she found some more puppy friends in one of the doggy runs they had set up. AND then we went to see the kittens. Trouble. Big trouble. 39+ kittens all looking for homes. Madelyn wanted to take them all home (or maybe I wanted to and was trying to say it was her...). She found quite a few cats and kittens that let her pet them! Not at all like the kitties at home who run and hide when they hear her coming. Alas, there were so many that we couldn't decide which one would make the best "Lola" (yes, I already have the name picked out!). Anyway, Madelyn had a blast and I can see that we are raising a little animal lover just like her parents! Maybe she'll be a Vet someday....or an animal activist.....who knows! I forgot to take my camera with me to the PAD, but I took some pics when we got home, so I posted those for everyone to admire. :)

new photos

2008-05-13T20:29:00.003-05:00

I was just experimenting with the other lens we have for the camera today. It's the first time I've used it and I just decided to try it today. So, there's really no new news today, but wanted to post some of the cute pics I got of our princess.

Mother's Day 2008

2008-05-11T20:25:00.003-05:00

My first official Mother's Day! We went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house (it's our Sunday ritual) and after lunch we met Aunt Tiffany and family at the beach in Bay St. Louis. Kevin is out of town :( so he couldn't come. This was Madelyn's second time on the beach. The first time she wasn't too sure about the sand and it was too cold for her to go in the water. But this time, well, she loved it! She had a blast playing in the water and sand. She was fascinated by the crabs and schools of fish in the water. All of her bathing suits were dirty today and so she had on her "beach clothes" that Grandpa bought her at the Big Dog store before we even had her home. They were still a little too big, but served the purpose for today. I think later this week we're going to go shopping for swimsuits for these occasions. Anyway, I had to pull Madelyn out of the water and drag her back to the truck because she wanted to stay in the water with Aunt Tiff. :) It was a really fun day and I'm glad to see Madelyn enjoying the beach as much as I did when I was a little girl. I foresee many more trips to the Gulf Coast this summer.....

In the pool

2008-05-09T20:06:00.002-05:00

Oh boy was it hot today! How hot was it? It was so hot that...... I went out in the backyard and blew Madelyn's pool up by mouth! I thought I was going to pass out several times, but it's done, finally!! I got tired of waiting to get something to inflate it with, so I just blew it up myself. And I'm glad I did because Madelyn LOVED it! She didn't have her bathing suit on when I got it up, so we had to go inside to change. Well, after she saw the pool (even without water in it), all she wanted to was get in. I had to pick her up kicking and screaming to take her in to get changed. Then we went back outside and filled up the pool while she played in the water from the hose, tried to drink it, and tried to climb in the pool by herself. So, I finally got enough water in and put her in. She had a blast! She stayed in for about 45 minutes at which point I had to pick her up and take her out because her feet were becoming little brown prunes. I know where she'll be heading tomorrow and the next day and the day after. Oh and did I mention that after about 30 minutes of me telling her not to bite the pool, she bit the pool and put a hole in it. Of course the pool didn't come with a patch, but the dollar store beach ball that I got DID have a patch in it, so I used that to patch up the hole. Of course the next time she bites a hole in it (or if she bites a hole in the beach ball) we're out of luck. Next time I'll get one of the hard plastic pools.....

2008-05-07T21:23:00.003-05:00

Well, the day started out as an adventure. I let Madelyn try to "feed" herself again. She really isn't interested in using a spoon to get food into her mouth. But she did enjoy playing with it and putting rice cereal into her hair, on the floor, probably on the walls, etc. Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house and spent most of the day there. Afterwards, we came home and Madelyn got to go out in the backyard and play on the slide on her mostly put together swing set. Mostly put together. I didn't attach the swings yet because she can't play on them anyway and I can't attach the bucket seat we bought seperately for her because we don't have the right parts. But I did get the slide attached, kind of. That's a long story, but let me just say this, you get what you pay for. And we didn't pay much for this. Get it? ARGH!!! Anyhow, she's in bed now and actually sleeping (not playing). Well, I'll be doing the same soon (I hope). I'll post more later.

Pictures as promised

2008-05-02T19:59:00.002-05:00

Well, almost as promised. I didn't get to post them yesterday, but here they are today! The two of her in her swimsuit are from Tiffany's Mom's birthday celebration. She absolutely loved the pool. I figured that she would, though, because she loves her bath and she just loves to play in the water. So, she had a blast. She did eventually sit down in the water, but not for long because it was pretty cold. And she ate a couple of bites of chocolate cake. :) The other pictures were actually taken today. I love the outfit she had on, so I had to get pics of her in it. She looked so cute! Of course, she looks cute in anything, but anyway..... Well, that's all for today.

2008-04-30T23:44:00.002-05:00

Wow! I haven't posted in a while because my computer has been down. We just had to re-order a power supply (for the 3rd time), but it took a long time for them to get it to us. Anyhow, not much has changed. We haven't made much progress in the eating arena, although Madelyn did eat some tuna fish (straight out of the can) the other day. Then yesterday, she spit it out. Go figure. After talking to several people, I have decided to relax and stop trying to force it. I'm just making myself insane over this and I'm sure that's not helping Madelyn at all. So, we're going to step back for a little bit and just let her eat at her own pace. I'm hoping that when she's ready, she'll eat. Oh and Madelyn does have a new word in her vocabulary. "Bup." When I lift her up she says "bup" for up. In addition, we went to the outlet mall in Gulfport today. Mommy bought the princess a stuffed black panther at the Disney Store (I can't for the life of me recall his name, but he's from the Jungle Book). When we got home she was holding it and I told her it was a cat. She immediately started saying cat and stroking it's back. It was the cutest thing! She finally has a kitty friend! Anyway, it's really late and I have to get up in the morning. Miss Madelyn is an early riser, unfortunately. :) I'll post some pictures tomorrow after I get them uploaded from my camera and edited.

2008-04-17T21:02:00.004-05:00

Dinner was an interesting event tonight. Yes, it was an almost two hour event. The Gerber Graduates meat sticks that she has been eating lately were not what she wanted tonight apparently. Nor did she want the mashed potatoes. Dinner tonight was like a boxing match that went all the way to the 10th round. And the 15 month old won. I finally gave up. After three complete meltdowns (two hers, one mine), I finally just gave her the bowl and let her play with it. Hence the pictures posted today! The good news is, she's drinking her milk (which I also fortify with some Next Step formula) and she willingly takes her liquid vitamin every night. So, I think she's getting her vitamins and stuff that she needs. We're still going to keep trying to give her solid foods, but I have a sneaky suspicion that we're going to end up seeing an "occupational therapist" as suggested by the doctor. Sigh. Well, at least I have my clean up crew to take care of the mess so I don't have to. The dogs love meat sticks...and cheerios....and peach puffs....and crackers....and teddy grahams....etc. LOL. By the way, the last bite of food that I managed to get into Madelyn's mouth stayed there for about 45 minutes until she finally washed it down with some nice soapy bath water. YUM!

2008-04-17T00:01:00.002-05:00

Forgot to post a picture of Madelyn in the little car that the little boy across the street gave her this week.... She loves it!

2008-04-16T20:27:00.005-05:00

All of our pictures lately have been out in the back yard. We've been spending a lot of our time outside since the weather has been so beautiful. Not much new to report on. We have made improvement with Madelyn's eating. She's started eating some of the Gerber Graduates although I have to smash it up with a fork, but it still has some texture and chunks. She especially likes the meat sticks and mashed potatoes. She also ate some rice and spinach at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Tuesday. That was quite an accomplishment. I promised myself that I wasn't going to write anything embarrassing about M on the blog, but I gotta ask - can somebody tell me how to get this child to keep her tongue in her mouth?!?!? She runs around most of the day with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. She looks like one of the dogs! I sometimes tell her that a little birdie is going to get her tongue and I grab it with my fingers and she doesn't like it when I do that, but she still keeps doing it. Is there some reason she's doing this? Is it normal behavior for a 15 month old??? She does a lot of other stuff that I know is just "normal" toddler behavior, but I haven't read anywhere about this particular behavior. As far as everything else, she's sleeping well, exploring everything, running around, walking backwards and forwards and sideways, learning new things everyday. She is such an amazing spirit. And I'm hoping to give her a sister soon. Pray for us that we are able to choose a program, find the money, and resolve our housing situation, so that we are able to do just that. Thanks everyone!

2008-04-13T21:03:00.003-05:00

Well, we've had a good weekend overall. Madelyn had her first play date with Lily and Caleb on Friday. Madelyn still isn't too sure how to play with other children, but they all had fun, I think. I know Madelyn played her little heart out and was dead tired by the time we left. Then Saturday started out a little so-so because of the weather. But it turned out to be a beautiful day and so we went outside to play. As soon as we got out the door, the kids across the street came running over and played with Madelyn for probably 45 minutes. She also ended up getting a free car out of the deal. The little boy gave her his little plastic Pooh car. It's the Fred Flintstone type car that's propelled by the child's feet and it's a little too big for Madelyn just yet, but she likes to be pushed around in it. It was really sweet of the little boy (who's 3 1/2 years old, btw), to offer it to her. Anyhow, she had a blast playing with them on Saturday. Then today we spent the day at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Grandpa is still recovering from having his gallbladder removed on Wednesday and Madelyn doesn't understand why he can't pick her up right now. But her great uncle Bubba took up the slack and carried her around a lot today. I've never seen him act this way around children and it's really good to see. So, like I said, overall it was a good weekend. We're looking forward to next weekend when Madelyn gets to meet my friend Amy and it's another pet adoption day for us, also. Somebody stop me, I'm missing having a kitten around the house.......... LOL!

2008-04-08T19:54:00.000-05:00

She hugged me and she kissed me today!!!!! We were sitting in her room playing and she just walked up to me and put her arms around me and hugged me! I didn't even realize what she was doing at first and then it hit me - it was so sweet! She actually did it a couple of times! And then later on she came up to me a few times and put her face up to me to be kissed. She's such a sweet little girl. Other than that, it was another uneventful day. We played and I read Harry Potter to her. Her doctor thought that it was hilarious that I'm reading her Harry Potter books. I told her that she can't understand what I'm saying now anyway, so I may as well enjoy what I'm reading!!!!! LOL. She watches Noggin while she's eating because it's the only way I can keep her still and focused in the high chair. If the tv's not on, she's moving around trying to see the cats and dogs and everything else. But if the tv is on (Lazytown, Max & Ruby, Little Bear, whatever), she's entranced and meals go by faster and easier. I think I can sing the theme songs for all of these shows and I'm pretty sure we've seen every episode ever made....twice. She also likes Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go, so I let her watch those some days. I'm trying not to let her watch too much tv (when she's not eating). I still want her to learn/remember Spanish, so I'm teaching her what little I know. I hope to get the Rosetta Stone program and try to learn more so I can teach her more. I think it's important for her to know her native language and I would love to be able to speak it with her. In other news, we bought her some crayons and a drawing pad. She has tried to eat the crayons, but she's also made some pretty impressive artwork! I'm going to try to scan one of the better ones one day and post it for everyone to see. My little artist! Well, that's what most of my days are like now. And, yes, I won't lie, I love every minute of it. I waited so, so, so long to be a mother. I pretended for so long that I didn't want kids because I was afraid that it was just never going to happen. And as it happens, it's unlikely that I'll ever have biological children. But that's okay! God had other plans for Kevin and I. Someone in Target told me the other day how lucky Madelyn is that we adopted her and I told them, "No, we're the lucky ones."

2008-04-07T21:24:00.000-05:00

We went for Madelyn's 15 month check up today. She weighs 22 pounds 1 ounce and is 29 1/2 inches long. She's now in the 25% for height and weight. She got two shots and she was, needless to say, not a happy camper. The doctor was concerned about her not eating solid foods yet and said that if she's not eating solids by 18 months that she'll have to see an "occupational therapist." Hopefully we'll be able to avoid that. Anyway, when we got home, she took a nap and then we spent part of the afternoon outside playing with the pups. That's all for today!

2008-04-05T20:08:00.000-05:00

Today may have been the best day yet since we've been home with our princess! I asked her several times "Where's mama?" and...and...and she pointed to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She also came up to me today and gave me a kiss! I didn't even have to ask for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She'll usually give kisses when asked to, but she has never just come up to me and given me a kiss for no reason! I am the happiest mommy on earth today! Other than that it was a very uneventful day. It rained last night and so it was too wet and, actually, a little too cool today to go outside. So we just hung out in the house and she played and watched Noggin. But she pointed to me and she kissed me! Also, she's also bee calling me "mom" a little more, so I'm beginning to think that she actually knows I'm mom and it's not just a random thing. Of course, she also calls me "dada" sometimes. LOL.

2008-04-03T20:50:00.000-05:00

Madelyn is 15 months old today. We spent most of the day with Grandma and Grandpa. Overall an uneventful day. We did go to Target and Madelyn got a ball that's bigger than she is! She loves it! When we got home, all she wanted to do was play with "ba" and carry it around the house.

2008-04-02T21:05:00.000-05:00

Madelyn will be 15 months old tomorrow (April 3, 2008). No new pictures for today, but I haven't updated in a few days, so I thought I'd write a little about her progress. We are discovering quickly that this little girl is very smart! She learns things so quickly, it's amazing. She knows how to turn the television on and off just from observing Kevin do it once or twice. I showed her how to slide off of the sofa (instead of taking a head dive off) one time and she's been doing it ever since. She figured our herself how to get up and down the steps of the deck out back and she's understanding more and more English every day. Remember, she heard nothing but Spanish for the first 11 months of her life. But now she's saying a few more words and she understands when I ask her if she wants to go outside, if she wants breakfast/lunch/dinner, and she when I say "come on" she follows me. She gives kisses when I ask her to. She recently learned that she can walk backwards, a move which she has incorporated into her dance moves. She can point to the light, to Dora, to the cats and dogs, and to herself. She also knows where her ears and nose are. We recently changed most of the door knobs in the house out because the cats were getting into rooms where they weren't supposed to be and it's a good thing because Madelyn can now reach the door knobs and she knows how to open the handle type door knobs (the ones you just pull down on to open). She's been "helping" mommy dress and undress her for a while now (she puts her arms into sleeves and raises her arms when I 'm taking her shirts off). But now, she's starting to learn how to get her pajamas off by herself (after I unzip or unbutton it). Well, that's all I can think of today. But she's learning and doing new things everyday. She goes to the doctor on Monday, so I'll post her stats (height, weight) then. She is a beautiful, amazing soul and we are so, so, so blessed to have been chosen to be her parents.

2008-03-26T22:48:00.000-05:00

We spent today outside because it was such a beautiful day! Madelyn has made some friends in the neighborhood, but all of the children are much older than her, so she can't really play with them. She wants to. Oh, she really wants to, but the youngest is a boy who's 3 1/2 and he's not interested in playing with a 15 month old girl! His big sister is just in love with Madelyn and loves to come over and hug her and play with her for a few minutes. But then she goes on her way and Madelyn doesn't understand why she can't play with the big kids. So, we actually got to spend some time in the backyard since the yard has been recently mowed. That was good because the dogs got to go out and get some much needed excercise and Madelyn was able to go out and explore the yard back. She had fun playing with the dogs toys and picking flowers (weeds). She also liked just lounging in the chairs on the deck and watching the dogs play. This was one part of the day today when she wasn't being Miss Cranky Pants. :) She's been teething lately and has been, let's say, difficult to handle. But luckily the good days outway the bad days by far. We've been joking, though, that she's hit the terrible twos a little early. LOL. She is, of course, still the joy of our lives and we can't imagine our world without her. We're currently talking about adopting number two, so to those of you reading this, please pray for us that everything works out! Love to all!!!

Easter Sunday

2008-03-23T21:52:00.000-05:00

Well, Madelyn had a great 2nd Easter! Of course, it was her first Easter at home with us. The Easter Bunny was very generous and brought her 3 baskets! She got all kinds of toys and books and dvd's, but no candy this year. Maybe she'll get a chocolate bunny next year. She also got a stuffed elephant from her Bubba and a stuffed monkey from Grandma and Grandpa. She made out like a bandit, let me tell you! Her favorite toy was, however, the classic plastic Easter egg. She loves taking them apart and then giving them to someone to put back together. We spent the day at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was a beautiful day, so we spent a lot of time outside blowing bubbles and hunting for Easter eggs. We had to leave early, however, because the princess missed her nap and was quickly becoming Miss Crabby Pants. So, we came home and did some yard work (yippee) after she finally went to bed. Happy Easter everyone!

Hot New Toy

2008-03-17T23:06:00.000-05:00

I have discovered the hottest new toy for toddlers since Tickle Me Elmo! It's the latest craze and every toddler absolutely must have one! You won't find it where you would expect to find something this amazing. No, the TRU won't have it. Target and WalMart might, but not in the toy section. No, you'll have to go the Petsmart or the Pet section of the previously mentioned stores to find this hot new item! Kitty toys aren't just for kitties anymore! They're for kiddies, too. Madelyn spent about 30 minutes today playing with this cat toy. That's the longest she's ever sat and played with any one toy. The cats kept coming by and looking at her with envy as she batted the ball around and reached her little paw, um I mean hand, into the holes trying to grab the other ball. She carried it around the house with her. She was fascimated by this thing! My cats hardly ever play with it, but the 14 month old loves it! I recommend it for everyone with a toddler at home!

2008-03-15T20:51:00.000-05:00

Thank you Easter Bunny, bwak, bwak. (Note: remember the Cadbury Eggs commercial?)

Another beautiful day!

2008-03-15T19:42:00.000-05:00

Wow! The weather was absolutely perfect today! It was another beautiful day that we could not spend inside. So, first we got dressed and took Madelyn to see the Easter Bunny. She was scared, but she's such a trooper and we finally got a smile out of her. I had to sing "You Are My Sunshine" in the middle of the mall, but we did get a good smile and a perfect picture with the big Bunny. Then we ate lunch and she actually took a few bites of chicken! To those of you who don't know, up to this point she has completely refused to eat solid foods. She did save some of it in her cheeks and spit it out on Grandma's floor later, but she also chewed and swallowed a good bit of it. So we were very excited about that! After lunch, Madelyn took her first ride on one of the rides in the mall. I think she liked it, it was hard to tell. We got some pictures before mall security told us that we weren't supposed to take pictures in the mall. Ooooooh. We were scolded by mall security! No pictures in the mall??? Who's ever heard of that??? Did they think we were terrorists taking pictures of a one year old in the doggy car ride????? LOL. After being barred from Northshore Mall for life (just kidding), we went to visit Grandma and Grandpa. We all took a ride to Heritage Park in Slidell and everyone had a great time watching Madelyn discover, well, everything. She met another little girl, a month older than her, who was also named Madeline, but they had to go soon after we got there. We hope to see them again at the park someday as Madeline and her parents were super nice. Anyhow, we spent a little time at the park, not too much because we forgot to bring Madelyn's sunscreen, and then we came home. It was another great day. :)

What a great day!

2008-03-14T20:46:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a great day we had today!!!! First we met Aunt Tiffany for lunch and got to spend some quality time with her and Gabrielle. Then after that we went to Aunt Jen's house and got to spend time with her and Lily. Madelyn and Lily had a great time playing together and were really good together. Madelyn has only been with me since she's been home and hasn't really had any experience playing with other children, so it was good to see that she was good for the most part. She did seem to want whatever toy Lily was playing with and ended up with all of them. Okay, she needs to learn to share. And they did end up on the floor a couple of times. The first time, we thought they were wrestling - Lily's hair bow ended up all askew and they both fell, kind of entangled in each other. But the second time, they were actually hugging (so cute!!!!!) and just lost their balance and fell. Unfortunately, Madelyn ended up on top of Lily both times, so her fall was cushioned and she came away unscathed. Lily, on the other hand, was a little, um, frightened by the experience and was reluctant to get back down and play again. But she did and they had a great time. We can't wait for another chance to get together with Lily and, next time, Caleb, and see what the three of them can get into. We hope to get to go to the zoo or the aquarium with Aunt Tiff and kids next Friday. How fun!!!! YEA! Oh, btw, the two pics of Madelyn by herself are at home. One in the backyard on the deck and the other in the front yard. She was wondering why the three kitties were just sitting there and not running from her. She kept pointing at the and saying "dat" (which is her word for cat) and then trying to pet them.

2008-03-13T20:20:00.000-05:00

Okay, now I'm totally addicted to this blog stuff. I carry my camera everywhere and my poor baby has the camera flashing in her face constantly. But it's also good for when Kevin is out of town, so he can see his baby girl every day even when he can't be here. We spent the day today with my parents. It's amazing to me how much she can make them smile. They're such proud, loving grandparents. My dad was showing her off to all of their neighbors and he even went shopping with us (a very rare thing). Madelyn spent a lot of the day chasing their cats around the house. They're letting her get closer now, but not too close. She is totally going to be an animal lover just like her parents. She's even already volunteered at a Pet Adoption Day with us. I'm working on a slideshow DVD also, so I guess I'll go do that now. Take care everyone and thanks for visiting!

Madelyn the model?

2008-03-12T19:51:00.000-05:00

Ever since we got home, everyone in my family has said how beautiful Madelyn is. And of course we think she's the most beautiful baby ever born. All completely unbiased opinions, of course. LOL. But I've also noticed that anytime we go out in public, anywhere, we always get stopped by total strangers who comment on how gorgeous she is. Today, we were in Target and a Hispanic woman and a younger woman stopped us and commented on her eyes and hair. The Hispanic woman said that she looks "Latina." I told her she was from Guatemala and she said that that explained it. :) She also suggested that I send her pictures "out to places" because she is so "perfect." The younger girl agreed and said that she looks just like a doll. Just then ANOTHER woman was walking by and stopped to comment on Madelyn's beauty. This is actually a common occurrence when we go out and one that I wasn't expecting. It made me start thinking about it. I once saw an ad at the Baby Gap that they were looking for child models. She wasn't home at the time, so we couldn't do it. If I saw that ad again, would I actually submit her photo? Should I go out and get "head shots" for a 14 month old? Is it a good idea? The proud mom in me says of course! She's beautiful and why shouldn't she be the next face at Baby Gap or Old Navy or Pottery Barn Baby? But then the cynic in me thinks about all of the child molesters that I used to supervise. Do I want some pervert looking at her picture and thinking obscene things? What about JonBenet Ramsey? Not that we would ever do pageants, but is allowing her to do modeling the same thing? I think the proud mom in me will win out and we will eventually end up submitting her photo for something like Baby Gap. How could they resist that face? An unbiased opinion, of course. LOL.

Fun Facts

2008-03-11T12:36:00.000-05:00

We picked "Madelyn" because, well, we liked it.

Her middle name, Jean, is for Dawn's mom, Betty Jean. Dawn's cousin, Lori Jean is also named for Betty Jean.

Madelyn was born in Mixco, Guatemala on 1/3/07. She came home on December 18, 2007.

She loves music and dances to just about anything.

She loves Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, and The Backyardigans.

Her favorite stuffed animal is currently Classic Tigger.

Her favorite song is "You Are My Sunshine."

She hates walking on grass. Why? No idea.

Her favorite food is any kind of fruit.

She can now point to the light, to her nose, to the cat, and to the dog.

She has called me "momma" four times in the past few weeks! xoxoxo

At 14 months, she is now 29 1/2 inches long and 21 pounds.

She has 8 teeth, four on top and four on bottom.

Well, that's all for today. Thanks for looking. There will be a quiz later, so hope you paid attention!

2008-03-10T20:48:00.000-05:00

I did it.

2008-03-06T20:11:00.000-06:00

Well, after 13 years of working in Probaton and Parole, today I went into my office and handed in my resignation letter. It was bittersweet and, for some reason, very hard for me to do. I've been unhappy there for awhile, ever since a little hurricane named Katrina destroyed our office and we were forced to move in with the evil step siblings on St. Charles Avenue. But I also have a lot of friends there, many of whom I've known since the beginning. I'm going to miss seeing them on a daily basis, especially Tiffany - my office mate, field partner, and one of the best friends I've ever had. Anyway, it's done. Kevin and I talked about it for a long, long time and we decided that it would be best for Madelyn if I stayed home with her for a while. She's been through so much change already, we couldn't see upending her world again. So, that's it. I am officially a stay at home mom. For now, anyway.

It's Official!

2008-03-04T21:09:00.000-06:00

We have a toddler on the loose! She has discovered what her feet
are for and there's no stopping her now! She is officially walking more than crawling. She doesn't want to be carried or held for very long. She follows me to the kitchen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I've even watched her on the video monitor pacing back and forth in her crib! We're all so incredibly proud of her! Now, the dogs are wondering why it's not on all fours anymore and the cats are keeping a wary eye on her. Yesterday, she walked up to Gandalf the White (our solid white male cat) and began petting him and then, before I knew what was happening, she bent down and licked his nose. He didn't move, I think he may have been comatose. But he's her favorite, so I guess she just wanted to give him a big old wet kiss. Well, that's our news for today. Thanks for looking!!

2008-03-01T23:09:00.000-06:00

Did you know that it is physically impossible to feed a baby without opening YOUR mouth with every bite? I didn't know this until I started feeding Madelyn every day and I realized that every single time, I open my mouth, too. I even tried to keep my mouth closed and it was impossible. This is not something that I ever read about in any of the baby books. Seems like one of them would have mentioned this unusual phenomenon. Hmmm... I wonder if there's anything else I haven't been warned about. Anyhow, we took our first trip to the lakefront today. It was such a gorgeous day that we just couldn't stay inside. So, we went to the lakefront and there's a small playground there with a couple of slides and swings. There was one bucket swing, so we put her in that and at first she was scared to death. She was holding on so tight that her knuckles were white. But after a little while she was loving it! She didn't want to get out, but there were lots of other kids around and we didn't want to hog it. I told Kevin that we need to buy her a swing set, but I know that will be almost impossible given that I'm not going back to work. I'm scared to death of losing my salary, it's going to be a significant loss, but we decided it's best for everyone.

Since we've been home

2008-02-27T20:33:00.000-06:00

We're having a total blast! Madelyn is so adorable and it is such an amazing feeling being a mom. We've gone to the zoo, had her first Birthday party, heard her first words (mama, dada, baba, yaya, which means "YEA!" and det, which means dog...and cat....an apparently duck). She has started standing up on her own and walking all by herself. We spend every Sunday and sometimes Thursdays/Saturdays with Grandma and Grandpa. She is still eating baby food (mostly Gerber 3rd foods) and is extremely resistant to table foods. I think she doesn't like the texture or maybe she's just too lazy to chew (???). I guess she'll get around to it eventually. It would be embarrassing if she started school still eating pureed foods! She is totally in love with the cats and dogs. She tries to meow at the cats, but it comes out more like a hiss and the cats are not real happy with that. They have gotten more and more bold in the past few weeks and will actually approach her and sometimes let her touch them. The dogs have become constant fixtures under the high chair waiting for some juicy morsel or a cheerio to fall on the ground. At least I don't have to clean up the floor after every meal.... Well, I guess that's enough for now. There is so much more that we are discovering everyday. It's so exciting to see her developing and learning. I'm sorry that we missed the first 11 months of her life, but we have the rest of our lives together. Will write more later! Take care everyone!!!

I'm so bad at this!

2008-02-25T21:37:00.000-06:00

Oh boy! I'm so bad at keeping up with this stuff! We've actually been home with our little Princess since December 18, 2007! Things went so fast at the end that everything is a blur. I know that my last day at work was Deceber 11 and we left for Guatemala on December 13. That evening was when Madelyn was placed in our arms for forever! I have never been more happy, excited, or scared. I didn't know how much she would miss her foster family and, despite the fact that I had visited her twice in the past 11 months, I really knew nothing about this new little person in our lives. It was like I had given birth to an 11 month old. Thrown into the water with no life jacket. It was very scary! But Madelyn took everything like a trooper and she has made the transition easy for everyone. Not that she hasn't had her moments, she is after all a one year old, but they're nothing we can't handle. We waited so long for her and at times I thought she was never coming home, but she's here and I can't even remember life before her. The problems we encountered in the process are a distant memory and we're looking forward to getting to know this wonderful spirit and watching her grow. We are thinking of adopting again, but Guatemala is out of the question due to ongoing issues there. I promise to try to be better at this blogging thing in the future, but, hey, I do have a toddler in the house now!

Update and OUT of PGN

2007-11-09T20:24:00.000-06:00

I haven't been posting for a while basically because we've has such a tough time in PGN. We were submitted originally on 5/29/07. We were kicked out a few weeks later because they lost my birth certificate. That was fixed quickly and we were resubmitted for the first time. Several weeks later we were kicked out again for problems with the birth mother's birth certificate. That was not such an easy fix and it took a month before we could be resubmitted again. After every kick out and resubmission, your file is sent back to the beginning of the line, so this was making it a very long process. But we found out today, November 10, 2007, that we are officially out of PGN and Madelyn is legally ours. There's still lots that needs to be done, but we should be able to pick her up in about 6-8 weeks! A huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders and I can finally breathe again.....

Second Visit Trip

2007-11-09T20:11:00.000-06:00

Well, since things were going so slowly, Kevin and I decided to go back to Guatemala for a second visit trip. Actually, it was my second trip, Kevin's first. So, on September 19, we arrived in Guatemala City and Daddy and daughter met for the first time. She had grown soooo much since I saw her in February. Madelyn is the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen! We learned so much about her while we were there. She loves music and dances to any tune that she hears. And she loves to watch t.v. We were afraid that it would be difficult for her at this age to be left with strangers, but she took it very well. We stayed for a week and reluctantly left her on September 25, 2007, not knowing when we would be able to see her again. It was again, the hardest thing I've ever done.

Visit Trip February 16 - 21, 2007

2007-03-19T22:18:00.000-05:00

WOW! What a pleasant surprise! Unfortunately, Kevin was unable to go due to work, but I was blessed with being able to go meet our daughter in Guatemala City on Febraury 16! It was so amazing to hold her for the first time and knowing that this was the precious gift God has bestowed upon us. How lucky can we be?!?! A perfect little angel was placed in my arms and I fell in love instantly. I have to admit, the mommy thing didn't come to me as easily as I would have liked, but by the second night, it was like we had been together since she was born. She may not have grown under my heart, but she's been growing in it for a long time. As I said, the first night was rough, she cried all night and by 1am, I was ready to cry, too! But I finally got her calmed down and we slept....a little. The second night, however, we were old pros - mother and daughter had it down! I fed her and burped her and changed her and loved her. And she rewarded me by sleeping from 11pm to 6am! Everynight after was the same. Sadly, I had to give her back to the foster mom on the 20th, the day before we left. But I keep telling myself that she'll be home to us soon. And I remember that she is perfect in every way and we are so blessed to have been chosen to be her parents!

What's happened so far...

2007-03-19T22:12:00.000-05:00

Boy, a lot has happened. We began our journey on June 19, 2006, when we submiited our application to the Grace International Adoption Agency. A Social Worker was then required to come to our house for inspections and interviews for a report called a "Home Study." (Thanks Mom for coming over and helping me clean house!!!) After the Home Study was completed, we submitted an application called the I-600A to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (formerly the INS). This is required to get permission to bring a foreign child into the country. After a three month wait, we discovered that they LOST our entire application. I resubmitted everything and was given our approval form, called the I-171H, that day. After gathing A LOT more paperwork, documents, etc., our Dossier was complete and was off to be Certified and then Authenticated. It was then on it's was to Guatemala where it was translated and given to our in-country attorney. On January 20, 2007, after what seemed like an eternity, we finally received our referral of our baby girl, born Marta Tomas. It was love at first sight!We acceoted the referral, completed some MORE paperwork and sent that in to Guatemala. Wow, that was a lot to go through, huh? But that was nothing compared to what we have in store in the near future!