What a wonderful blessing it was for our family to be able to celebrate with our friends, the Bullington Family, today when they arrived home with their baby girl, Pearl, from China. Unfortunately, we did not have our camera handy to record the moment :( We were oh so excited to be there to greet them and their precious children! Feel free to visit their blog at www.thebullingtonboard.blogspot.com and read all about their family adventures in China. Maddox and Pearl are destined to be great friends. Maddox was beside herself with little Pearl. She held her hand and rubbed her little arm ever so sweetly. Also, welcome back to Donna and her family at www.myshelbybaby.blogspot.com. Donna and I became friends during our first adoptions together. Since then, Donna has adopted two more little ones from China and plays an active role in advocating for lots of little ones to come to their forever homes! She is amazing.

Following our trip to greet the Bullington family, we decided to make a day of it and visit Ryan's parents, aunts and uncles. This is an easy trip as they all live on the same exact street!

It was great fun and we loved sharing Maddox with them.

She hammed it up with her usual charming self and was all tuckered out when we got in the car to go to our next destination, the pond.

Maddox's first attraction, the lawn mower. She quickly climbed atop of this mower and took to the wheel like it was a long lost friend.

Meanwhile, Ryan taught Fishing 101 to the children.....

MK really wasn't sure what to think about the fish that were being caught....one minute she was excited and the next minute she was a squealing mess because the fish was wiggling...either way, the boys were both thrilled with their catch of the day.

A much needed paddle boat ride....

Ryan took the three older kiddos fishing, all caught a fish, MK caught her very first fish - she even casted out and caught the fish all.by.herself -, and they all enjoyed going for rides in the paddle boat. Meanwhile, Maddox and I stayed nearby watching cautiously for any snake-like creatures that would be/could be lurking around. Thankfully, we did not see any. Maddox did enjoy a bottle pond side and she really liked taking a look around at what nature has to offer. So funny to watch her. She was very careful to touch and she was not at all sure what to think of the horses.

As always, Ryan and I left the pond dreaming of our house that we would love to someday build on this property. So peaceful there....

Friends

Spring is in the air! MK and her friend, Jaida, enjoyed a picnic on the trampoline. MK was so excited to spend time with her friend and have a "girl day." Though we have done some school, we all enjoyed a break from the usual activities and had more time with our friends.

The girls stayed busy outside with bubbles, swinging, and hopscotch - ever watched two four year olds play hopscotch? Quite entertaining.

Maddox was pleased to join in the fun too. Here she is seated in her favorite spot in the house - the stairs. When she cannot be found, she is on the stairs....at least she has moved on from the bathrooms :)

The girls finished up their day together with a game of Pretty Pretty Princess!

Outside....

Today was beautiful! When the girls were not taking a nap, we were outside on the trampoline or riding scooters or playing on the playset or riding bikes or doing sidewalk chalk or playing hopscotch....perfect. I was able to snap a few shots of the kiddos....minus one. Colin. Colin enjoyed a night out with a friend and came home later this afternoon stating that he will need to go to bed early tonight - I am thinking they stayed up way too late.

Pryce adoring "Madd"

Outside and happy.....

MK posing.....

My second son and my second daughter....perfect together.

Maddox loves to swing....she giggled so much!

All is well....under the watchful eye of her brother, Maddox is busy making a few calls.

She knows her name. Today I realized without a doubt that Maddox knows her name. And she knows where her nose is. And her belly. And she does not particularly care for drums being played loudly - ahem, brothers!

MK taking the lead. MK likes her role as big sister. She likes to show Maddox new things and she likes to introduce her to others. She is taking this seriously and it is oh so cute to see. I am so thankful for all FOUR of my babies!

Transportation

I took note in China that one does not see too many 18 wheeler trucks or trucks period. Instead, you see bicycles loaded to the core or people hauling way too many items in their cart...

I joked that when we arrived back home, I was going to get myself one of those stools - like the red one on this person's cart. Everyone had them....they used them in the parks, they used them in their shops, they used them when they ate, they were everywhere.

It really does amaze me as to how one can carry, let alone arrange all of this "stuff", without it falling.....

Daily delivery.....

All strapped on for the ride.....what is incredible is that the moped doesn't even look weighted down.....

I love the pic above.....this tells the story, there is a bus, a taxi, a three-wheeler bike, a three-wheeler little truck thing and a moped, all in one area of traffic, all fighting for the right of way....

And then there are those who are testing the limits where capacity is concerned....I mean, we have three people, groceries and something in a container strapped on back....

And then this guy who couldn't bear to leave the chair behind.....he needs one of those stools as it would be much easier to transport :)

And this is one of my personal favorites. Here is this guy, he is cruising around the city on his moped with a cigarette that is lit....that takes talent and, I would imagine, some practice.

One Week Later.....

We arrived home from China and hit the ground running despite the jet lag. One week later and we are all adjusted to the time, one week later and we are all getting back to school, one week later and Maddox has seen three different doctors, one week later and we can tell who is jealous and, surprisingly, who is not, one week later and we have managed to avoid a stair catastrophe, one week later and we are finally unpacked, one week later and we have only had one person ask if the girls are sisters, one week later....and things are good. Maddox continues to thrive. We are learning her likes and dislikes for food - in comparison to MK, she is quite picky with food and will politely spit things out that do not suit her palate. Maddox loves to be outside, loves to climb the stairs, loves to play with dolls, loves to play peek-a-boo, loves to be held, loves pizza, is tolerating Pediasure, has a bunch of "stuff" in her one ear that is not allowing the drs. to get a good look at it, she loves her bath, she is quite cranky when she is tired, she will give mommy kisses but no one else, she loves our dog, Finley, she likes being outside, she has jumped on the trampoline, she has the best giggle and she is very ticklish, she is hitting less, she will stroke my face when I tell her "gentle" and it is the best feeling in the world. The big kids continue to do well too. Including MK. MK has really stepped up to the plate. I have seen a side of her that I am very proud of. She is quite patient with Maddox. The boys are just glad to be home so they can ride their bikes, play baseball and play Legos. So, one week later and things are going well.....

• Pryce likes to call Maddox, "Madd."
• MK announced she can read and speak Chinese.....after making this announcement, I asked her to go and do something I needed her to do. She muttered, under her breath, something. I asked her what she said and she replied, "Well, I just said something in Chinese and it was real nice!" Hmmmm.
• At the dr., Maddox will not cry until the ear exam comes into play. Up until that point, she will stick out her bottom lip, it will shake and she gets the biggest crocodile tears ever in her eyes....it is a pitiful sight.
• I feel as though I should write something about Colin....Colin has been taking it all in. He is quick to step up should I need his help but he is also quick to sit back and do his own thing. Already 11, he is growing up entirely too fast for me!
• One week later, and we miss our China friends dearly. My children have said more than once that they miss China and the families that we traveled with! And, if we are being honest, I actually craved Chinese food this week - we really don't even eat Chinese!

Squatty Potty

I feel that I must do the ever so popular "squatty potty" post. Our second trip to China and I was oh so prepared for these little loves. MK, however, was not. She managed to avoid them at all costs until one night at dinner. She came to me and said, "I need to go potty" and then the ever so popular question, "Do they have a squatty potty or a real one?" I told her it was a squatty potty and she was not at all excited. The thing is, the stalls are less than small, they are filthy dirty, and, on this particular evening, they were COLD. Alas, we survived without incident and MK promptly ran back into the quiet restaurant shouting, "I did it Daddy, I went potty in the squatty potty!!!"

This trip did bring along with it new "squatty potty" information.....I now know that China has a Five Star Squatty Potty (above - somewhat clean and they even provide toilet paper), as well as......the One Star Squatty Potty (below - the picture says it all).

Needless to say, squatty potties being left behind are not a bad thing in my opinion. MK agrees. Poor little girl, she boarded the plane to come home and quickly inquired, "So, are there real potties on this plane?" and then again in the airport, "Do you think we can used a real potty here?" To say that these left an impression on MK would be an understatement!