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