5 shots and 5 Vials of Blood

Wow, Maddie had her first REAL doctors appointment today.  They did a full exam, she is in the lower 30%...surprise, surprise.  Overall they were happy with her condition and her outgoing personality.  BUT...she received 5 shots and they took 5 vials blood.  Man was she pissed!  She cried her eyes out and just sat and glared at the nurse after it was done.  If looks could kill.

3 hours in a hospital it way to much for an adult, much less a 14 month old.  Overall, she did really well and gave the doctor a run for her money while trying to examine her.  We gave her some baby Tylenol and she is back to her happy, playful self.

Definitely did not enjoy watching her get so upset and not being able to do anything to really comfort her.

Maddie it officially home in her mind and is setting the rules of the house.  She has decided that she will not longer go to bed at 8pm, it is now 10pm and not a second sooner.  The dogs are adjusting and Nikki is actually letting Maddie pet her.

Already A Month

Wow, monkey butt has been with us a full month.  Time has really flown by...feels like she has always been with us.  She is an awesome little girl, so happy and so smart.  The changes she has gone thru in the last month are incredible.  The report said she was introverted and shy, boy were they wrong.  She is outgoing, talkative, energetic, and so not an introvert!  She has gone from not being able to find her mouth to feeding herself, demanding a bottle, giving kisses, clapping and rocking out to heavy metal.  She studies everything we do and tries to copy us.  Maddie has travel from Beijing to DC, drove to FL, stopped over in SC and visited South of the Border.  When it comes to traveling, she is a little trooper!  Maddie we love you so much and are glad you dropped into our life, we love ya twerp!

Photos From the Orphanage

Well, we just developed the camera that we sent to Maddie's orphanage using Ann at Redthread.  They were kind enough to take about 17 pictures of Maddie and her mates.  The orphanage appeared clean and the kiddo's looked healthy. It was very sobering to sit back and look at how Maddie's life was during her first year in this world.  To be honest, it kinda made me sick to my stomach, not because she was mistreated or anything, but because she just looked so lifeless and just blah in the photo's.  Receiving the pictures was a double edged sword because we decided against visiting her orphanage (there were many reasons why we made our decision), but we wanted to look forward with Maddie, not look back, plus we did not want her ever going back after she joined our family, unless she chooses to in the future.  That chapter in her life closed on 16 May.

Again, I encourage anyone adopting from China to reach out to Ann at Redthread.com.  She is awesome.  But understand it is a roll of the dice, some orphanages do not respond.  You can also schedule personal shopping tours with her in GZ via her web site.  I am not getting paid to endorse her, just think her efforts go above and beyond and we are forever grateful for what she did for us by securing updated medical info and photos.