Meeting Santa Claus

Yesterday, Maddie and Emma went to see Santa Claus with Emma's brother Evan,
mom Titi-Char, Nana and Donna. They got all dressed up for the occasion and looked so beautiful. Both girls got right up on Santa's lap and were not afraid. There were so many things to see and hear near Santa's village, the girls had a great time exploring everything. After Santa, the girls ended their evening by going for a train ride in the mall.

Happy Thanksgiving

Maddie's first Thanksgiving was very special. We spent the day with many wonderful friends and had a great dinner. I spent the day thinking of how thankful I am for having Madison in my life and for all of the special times we have shared together during the past 11 months.

Trip to Ireland

Madison and I took a trip to Ireland earlier this month. What a beautiful country. We went to the Dublin Zoo, the Imaginosity Childrens' Museum in Dublin, Fota Wildlife Park, the Rock of Cashel, the Ring of Kerry, Kinsale, The Cliffs of Moher and viewed some castles and saw so many horses, cows and sheep! We had a great time. We met some wonderful people and enjoyed some of the local cuisine and did lots of shopping.

9 Month Update.... Happy 3rd Birthday Maddie!

Hi Everyone!

It has been awhile since I updated so I thought I would post something. We have had the best summer. Madison has made so many new friends. This summer she learned how to swim, ride her tricycle, went boating with her friend Emma on her grandma's boat and started dance classes. We also had her first real birthday party. Madison turned 3 on Sept. 15th and we had a party at our local zoo for 14 of her friends and then a party at our home after that. What a great day. Maddie learned quickly what presents are, that the birthday cake was for her and that this was her special day. Now she asks everyday if this is her "birdday".

She continues to amaze me everyday. She is such a happy, social, independent, inquisitive, stubborn, affectionate and intelligent child. Madison is learning many new words and is practicing her alphabet and numbers. We are working on potty training now so she can go to pre-school. She has developed many skills and can do anything other children her age can do. I am so thankful to the people at the Maonan orphanage for the love and care they gave her. She is happy, healthy and loves people and keeping busy. Her doctor and dentist say she is very healthy and must have been given wonderful care for the first 2 1/4 years of her life. At 36 months, she is tall (36 inches) and weighs 28 pounds. She wears size 18 months pants and 24 months for dresses and other clothes. I have heard that Maonan girls are tall and thin, so she is doing well.

Now that we have more time with fall approaching, I will post more and put more pictures up to show others waiting for their children to come home that the children receive good care over there and develop very quickly when given love, attention and good nourishment when they get home.

I took a chance on the Waiting Children list and Madison was found to be perfectly healthy and to have no special needs when we got home, so I would encourage others to consider this wonderful program.

Her favorite things are: eating corn, drinking apple juice, playing with her best friend Emma, picking on our 3 cats, playing with all of her friends, hugging her mom, using her tap-dance shoes and watching her Disney movies. She is such a happy child, what a wonderful year this has been.

I hope all of you out there have the same experience as we have had. It is worth the long wait!

Friday evening

Hi, this is our last post from China. We went to the U.S. Consulate office today to take our oaths with 33 other families. The new office is located in downtown Guangzhou in a nice business district area. It was nice to see that part of the city. Everything was modern and very clean looking and there was a beautiful man made waterfall across the street. We also got to see several families who have been up to the playroom at the White Swan hotel at night when we went up there, so that was nice. There were two sets of twins that were being adopted. Twins are very rare in China, especially in Chinese Adoptions. They were so cute today. Neither family was expecting to receive twins and were quite surprised when they got the referrals. There were approximately 8000 Chinese Children adopted in the United States last year, second only to Russia.

Madison ate her own ice cream cone today and loved every bit of it. No Ginny and Liz I did not get her chocolate. I gave her Oreos by mistake the other day, what a mess. We stuck to plain vanilla today and she loved it.

For traveling families: I am donating the money I saved from not needing the hotel room for 4 additional nights to sponsor an MRI for a child so they can be adopted. The money was spent anyway and the U.S. Dollar goes so far here. I asked my guide if there was anything I could use the money for and that is what she recommended. They know what is needed in the orphanages. Also, for families who are traveling soon, it is a good way to get rid of your Yuan before you leave. Someone else told me about that and I thought it was a good idea. One family did that and their guide ended up buying a whole bunch of noisy toys for an orphanage with their Yuan.

We leave for the airport at 6am tomorrow. So, that is all for now. See you all soon!

Friday evening

Hi, this is our last post from China. We went to the U.S. Consulate office today to take our oaths with 33 other families. The new office is located in downtown Guangzhou in a nice business district area. It was nice to see that part of the city. Everything was modern and very clean looking and there was a beautiful man made waterfall across the street. We also got to see several families who have been up to the playroom at the White Swan hotel at night when we went up there, so that was nice. There were two sets of twins that were being adopted. Twins are very rare in China, especially in Chinese Adoptions. They were so cute today. Neither family was expecting to receive twins and were quite surprised when they got the referrals. There were approximately 8000 Chinese Children adopted in the United States last year, second only to Russia.

Madison ate her own ice cream cone today and loved every bit of it. No Ginny and Liz I did not get her chocolate. I gave her Oreos by mistake the other day, what a mess. We stuck to plain vanilla today and she loved it.

For traveling families: I am donating the money I saved from not needing the hotel room for 4 additional nights to sponsor an MRI for a child so they can be adopted. The money was spent anyway and the U.S. Dollar goes so far here. I asked my guide if there was anything I could use the money for and that is what she recommended. They know what is needed in the orphanages. Also, for families who are traveling soon, it is a good way to get rid of your Yuan before you leave. Someone else told me about that and I thought it was a good idea. One family did that and their guide ended up buying a whole bunch of noisy toys for an orphanage with their Yuan.

We leave for the airport at 6am tomorrow. So, that is all for now. See you all soon!

Friday, last day in China

Hi All,

I was not able to post earlier. The internet has not been working well ever since the Earthquakes.

Yesterday we had the best time going to a mountain park. We went up the mountain in a cable car, similar to a gondola. Then when you get to the top, you walk all over the mountain and see the beautiful gardens and the waterfall. The Chinese people use the parks a lot. They get up early and dance and exercise or play cards with their friends. They spend a lot of time outside because their homes are extremely small compared to U.S. standards. Outside playgrounds are used by all for exercise. I have many pictures of everything and will post them after I get home.

Madison and I are going to the U.S. Consulate in downtown Guangzhou at 2:45pm today for the final oath. The Chinese part of the adoption was finalized on December 26th, this part is required by the U.S..

We leave at 8:30 am China time tomorrow and will be home in Rochester at 6:30 pm Saturday evening (tomorrow).

I have her Buffalo Bills outfit that Liz bought a few months ago for Madison all ready to wear when we land and she officially becomes a United States Citizen. Jim has graciously offered to bring her a Syracuse Orangemen outfit to change into, very thoughtful. Probably Kevin will bring a golf hat like he put on his daughter right after she was born, too. I can only imagine. I have been working on teaching her to say "kitty" but she mostly says "more" for more food or ice cream, "baby" for her stuffed animals, "fish" for the big goldfish at the White Swan Hotel", "bye-bye" and "doggy" and "mama" sometimes.

We have had a wonderful time and have seen so many things here thanks to Jophy, our guide. She has gone out of her way to show us a great time and we really appreciate it.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words and interest in our journey. I will put pictures up when we get home!
See you all tomorrow night!

Amy and Madison

Thursday (A Note for Maonan Families)

Hi all, we are just getting up and ready to start the day. We will be coming home this Saturday! I do not know the times yet, but thanks to Sue Sorrels and her travel agency, who did not give up, she was able to find flights. Thank you Sue! Note to Maonan Families: It is my understanding that we are not to contact the Director of the orphanage directly until you have received your child. This is understandable as he would be inundated with emails and questions from people waiting for their children and also from people with questions who are not ready to proceed which could make it likely for him to become unable to answer all of the emails. This is something extra that this kind Director is willing to do after you receive your child. Let's not spoil this special opportunity. My agency was VERY CLEAR that we are NOT to email him directly. That it was improper to do. All questions about the children before you travel are to be submitted through your agency. We have to follow the rules of the CCAA and our agencies. It would not be fair to jeapordize the chances for other children. Yes, the director did give us his business card when we traveled to the orphanage and he said he welcomes emails, however, this is for updates and progress about the children after you get home. I recommend contacting your adoption agency and see what rules they follow. It is their decision to make. We have already had one miscommunication and one mother waiting to travel became upset unnecessarily and then contacted the Director with innaccurate information. This was a matter for her agency to handle, that is what they are there for. Thank you. Amy

Thursday (A Note for Maonan Families)

Hi all, we are just getting up and ready to start the day. We will be coming home this Saturday! I do not know the times yet, but thanks to Sue Sorrels and her travel agency, who did not give up, she was able to find flights. Thank you Sue! Note to Maonan Families: It is my understanding that we are not to contact the Director of the orphanage directly until you have received your child. This is understandable as he would be inundated with emails and questions from people waiting for their children and also from people with questions who are not ready to proceed which could make it likely for him to become unable to answer all of the emails. This is something extra that this kind Director is willing to do after you receive your child. Let's not spoil this special opportunity. My agency was VERY CLEAR that we are NOT to email him directly. That it was improper to do. All questions about the children before you travel are to be submitted through your agency. We have to follow the rules of the CCAA and our agencies. It would not be fair to jeapordize the chances for other children. Yes, the director did give us his business card when we traveled to the orphanage and he said he welcomes emails, however, this is for updates and progress about the children after you get home. I recommend contacting your adoption agency and see what rules they follow. It is their decision to make. We have already had one miscommunication and one mother waiting to travel became upset unnecessarily and then contacted the Director with innaccurate information. This was a matter for her agency to handle, that is what they are there for. Thank you. Amy

Thursday (A Note for Maonan Families)

Hi all, we are just getting up and ready to start the day. We will be coming home this Saturday! I do not know the times yet, but thanks to Sue Sorrels and her travel agency, who did not give up, she was able to find flights. Thank you Sue! Note to Maonan Families: It is my understanding that we are not to contact the Director of the orphanage directly until you have received your child. This is understandable as he would be inundated with emails and questions from people waiting for their children and also from people with questions who are not ready to proceed which could make it likely for him to become unable to answer all of relevant emails. This is something extra that this kind Director is willing to do after you receive your child. Let's not spoil this opportunity. My agency was VERY CLEAR that we are NOT to email him directly. That it was improper to do. All questions about the children before you travel are to be submitted through your agency. We must follow the rules of the CCAA and our agencies. It would not be fair to jeapordize the chances for other children. Yes, the director did give us his business card when we traveled to the orphanage and he said he welcomes emails, however, this is for updates and progress about the children after you get home. I recommend contacting you adoption agency and see what rules they follow. It is their decision to make. We have already had one miscommunication and one mother waiting to travel became upset unnecessarily and contacted the Director with innaccurate information. This was a matter for her agency to handle, that is what they are there for. Thank you. Amy

She Now Likes Ice Cream!

Hi all, we had another good day here. The Pagoda was beautiful. You can climb it to the top. We also went to the Buddhist temple and the monks were holding a service. It was beautiful to listen to their chants and to see the services being held. The place was packed with everyone bowing before they enter and lighting incense for good luck. What an experience. Outside the entrance there were many beggars and they all come up to you and put their tip pan in front of you. It was humbling to see some of their conditions, but the guide said not to give them any money because then you would have to give all of them money. She usually gives them food or something to drink. After that we did some more shopping and sightseeing. There are so many things to do and see here. The other day we went to Mc Donald's. It was ok. Kind of the same. They offered green bean pie rather than apple pie, somehow it just didn't seem like dessert though.

Then, after her nap, we played outside and then walked down to the playroom at the White Swan Hotel. It is a nice playroom and is sponsored by Mattel. Her favorite toy is a Tigger animal that moves and sings when you pull on the tail. She is playing with 12 month age toys that make noise , but I am sure will catch up fast. She told everyone good-bye again when we left, which is pretty cute. On the way to the playroom, we went to this deli. They have Haagendaas ice cream there. I got some the other night and showed it to her but there was no trying it, she just shook her head. Tonight she tried it, made a horrible face, then changed her mind pretty quick. So, now my little Empress is a fan of strawberry ice cream just like her mom and great-grandfather. She is really funny and does everything she knows she is not supposed to and then grins and laughs.

Today she ate about everything they offered for breakfast, scrambled eggs, congee (Chinese grits), rice with vegetables, chinese noodles, baby oranges, watermelon and 2 slices of cheese. As long as she has her water bottle and a cookie or cracker in her hand, she is very happy. She likes to share too, she will take a bite of something and then want to feed you, too. It is very cute. Tomorrow we are going on a cable car ride up a mountain. Should be a good time. The guide, Jophy, who is just great, is going to the U.S.Consulate to do some paperwork and then we will go on Friday to take an oath AND THEN IT IS ALL DONE AND MADISON CAN COME HOME. Have a good day everyone, we will post more tomorrow.

Wednesday

Good morning all. It is 5:45 pm at home and 6:45 am here so Madison is busy at work looking for snacks and playing with her toys. She is very active. She loves books, too and loves when we read together. She turns the pages in the books. Today we are going to a Pagoda where you can walk up to the top of it, I will take lots of pictures. After that we are going to a Buddhist Temple and then to a DVD store. Should be a great day. I miss seeing everyone and look forward to seeing everyone this weekend. I miss the strawberry kiwi soda or any cold diet soda for that matter, and Pasta Villa and food where you can ascertain what it is made out of. Jen/Two shoes/Maonan Mom: Can you please email me at mailto:aswlaw@aol.com? The blog is still all in German so I can not read the instructions on it or upload pictures. Yesterday I also had problems reading the AOL email. The internet is still pretty sketchy here. Nan Hui Yao was at the orphanage and I took pictures and e- mailed them to her mom. Nan Jun Lin was moved to a foster care home/family, so I could not get pictures of her. I did get some of the orphanage and the Director's office and found out that the Director reads all the email sent to him on the Maonan Families Yahoo site. He speaks English even though he did not say so when I visited. Apparently officials are told not to to preserve their heritage. That is all for now, more after we get back from the busy day! Have a good day everyone.

Wednesday

Good morning all. It is 5:45 pm at home and 6:45 am here so Madison is busy at work looking for snacks and playing with her toys. She is very active. She loves books, too and loves when we read together. She turns the pages in the books. Today we are going to a Pagoda where you can walk up to the top of it, I will take lots of pictures. After that we are going to a Buddhist Temple and then to a DVD store. Should be a great day. I miss seeing everyone and look forward to seeing everyone this weekend. I miss the strawberry kiwi soda or any cold diet soda for that matter, and Pasta Villa and food where you can ascertain what it is made out of. Jen/Two shoes/Maonan Mom: Can you please email me at aswlaw@aol.com? The blog is still all in German so I can not read the instructions on it or upload pictures. Yesterday I also had problems reading the AOL email. The internet is still pretty sketchy here. Nan Hui Yao was at the orphanage and I took pictures and e- mailed them to her mom. Nan Jun Lin was moved to a foster care home/family, so I could not get pictures of her. I did get some of the orphanage and the Director's office and found out that the Director reads all the email sent to him on the Maonan Families Yahoo site. He speaks English even though he did not say so when I visited. Apparently officials are told not to to preserve their heritage. That is all for now, more after we get back from the busy day! Have a good day everyone.

Good Morning

Today we went for a tour to the ocean. There is a local market where the river meets the ocean. There were so many fishing boats and people around there. I took many pictures. It looked like something out of a movie. The boats were so old and all made out of wood. There were families living on them and many fishermen in the area. Across the street was the market. Most of the fish was dried. They had many kinds of fish and dried clams and dried field rats and dried baby bird in case you are hungry.

The drive to the ocean was very nice. There are so many buildings and high rises in Guangzhou. It is a city of 10 million people. The stark contrast between poverty and modern amenities is evident everywhere you look.

Madison had another great day and since she slept in the car she is not wanting to have her nap right now. We will go play with all of the other local children at the outside playground and park later and then head up to the White Swan Hotel again to the playroom to see the other new families. Madison can say bye-bye, baby (for this stuffed animal that they sent with her from the orphanage), more (for more food or drink), hi, and mama. She understands exactly what you are saying to her and is very smart. She continues to be a joy to be around. For all the Maonan families getting ready to travel, bring duct tape to hold the diapers up with. The diapers are not as good here even though they are Pampers. They kept falling off of her so I use a little piece in the front to keep them on. That's all for now. I will try to see if I can upload any pictures.

Pictures

I am having difficulty posting pictures. I can not seem to get them to upload. After hitting browse, it just keeps going around in circles.

Can anyone assist?

Thanks.