The Many Faces of Maddox

For the most part, we see laughter on her face. She is happy and loves peek-a-boo or any game of the likes. She is a gamester and always on the move looking for the next laugh.

Of course, her favorite "game" is seeing just how far she can climb up our stairs before getting caught....and always there is this look of "hahaha, look where I am!"

And Maddox loves to be the source of laughter. She is catching onto the fact that many of the boys' friends as well as MK's friends are entertained by the likes of her silliness. The sticking out of the tongue seems to be the most entertaining for all involved!

Uh-Oh....Maddox covers her mouth anytime she is hiding something or when she has just let go of something.

And then there is our sleepy Maddox. For the most part, she does get to nap in her own bed but there are the inevitable times when she has a little snooze in the car.

Not so sure what she is thinking when she does this face but she does it often and we all laugh so I am thinking she does it to make us laugh....makes sense, right?!

And then there is the mad Maddox. The Maddox that we, thankfully, do not see a lot of but nonetheless, a Maddox that does exist. I snapped this just at the right moment and her face says it all.....mad, yet sad, yet frustrated.....so stinkin cute.

The Medical Stuff

So far this week, we have tackled bloodwork, the dentist AND the ENT. Bloodwork went as smoothly as it could though we haven't gotten the results back yet. This is routine. The comparison, because there is always one, is that with MK - even the lady doing the blood draw from Maddox noted that she remembered MK, who doesn't? - I digress, MK took three trips to three different facilities when we finally ended up at the hospital where three adults as well as myself held this poor little, screaming-her-head-off soul while they TRIED to get a vein. It was literally blood, sweat and tears at its best. Maddox - one facility, lip poked out at the site of medical gloves, tears flowed openly, and the screaming began when the needle went in and continued until it came out. She sat on my lap the entire time and the draw was over, I turned her around, she placed her pitiful little head on my shoulder, clung to my neck and the screaming ceased. They took one.two.three.FOUR tubes of blood. As little as she is, I wondered if she had any left inside.

The dentist. The comparison. Actually, the girls both get a thumbs up on this one. MK, from what I do remember, handled this one well though I do believe we didn't take her until well after her palate repair due to there not being any real concerns. Maddox, well, there were concerns so off to the dentist we went. Again, she handled it well, cried at the site of the dentist and the medical gloves but overall she was a sweet little trooper and had the staff eating out of the palms of her hands by the time we made our grand exit. Maddox does have a few cavities - this we knew. She will have those filled. Even though they are baby teeth, we want to fill them so that they do not cause her any serious harm in the near future.

The ENT. I just love our ENT. He is a patient, personable man and talks to the children, plays with the children and engages them so that they are not frightened by his white coat. Love him! I took both girls. MK asked to be first so she could "show Mady not to be scared of him." She is taking her big sister role so seriously and we love seeing this quality in her. She is the only one in the family who consistently calls her Mady. We will call her Maddox but we think MK's nickname for her is a special thing for the girls to have between them. At the end of the day, Maddox's ears will not get a break until tubes are put in during her upcoming surgery. Maddox tested as having "mild hearing loss" due to fluid build up. MK had fluid in both ears and walked out of the office with a big prescription to take care of that. There were tears from Maddox during this visit as well but she snapped right out of it.

Three things I learned yesterday during our ENT visit. One, MK is a great big sister. I attribute this to "her boys" and the fact that they have doted on MK for countless hours since she joined our family. MK has soaked that attention in and is now sharing what she has witnessed with her little sister. Two, Maddox was so shut down in China. She continues to get more and more comfortable at home....she is so easygoing, so happy, so loving. Yesterday, though, I saw a glimpse of her China personality when we were in the doctor's office....she was quiet, she was scared, she wanted to sit in my lap, she turned away from the dr. when he spoke to her, she was sad. It is part of the process, part of the adjustment and she is taking it all in stride. And third, I am officially dreading her palate surgery. Seeing her so sad yesterday gave me a reality check as to the pain she is going to endure in less than three weeks. I already hurt for her.

Guizhou - Maddox's Birthplace

Guizhou, one of China's poorest and least populated provinces. The entire province is a series of plateaus, with almost no level land. High rainfall renders the terraced hillsides a luxurious green. Rivers and streams cut through fields. The water trickles down through limestone to create vast cave networks, as well as underground lakes and rivers.

Guizhou's remoteness has allowed many of China's 56 ethnic minorities to flourish here. Together, they celebrate over 1,000 festivals a year. Depending on their tribe, women will sport headdresses of finely tooled silver, bone or embroidered cloth dangling with silver charms.

Together, they celebrate over 1,000 festivals each year. Festivals are a time to practice traditions thousands of years old - from bullfights to horse races, from flute playing to singing, from operas to down-home singing, from batik dyeing to elaborate mass gatherings where young people come to find a husband or wife.

With MK sleeping soundly beside him in the car, Pryce said, "I just love Chinese babies." This guy is one of the best two big brothers there are!

China Gathering

Saturday we hosted our first China gathering with our newest member of the family, Maddox. Though only half of our members were present, we had a great time hunting eggs and playing with our very special friends. Maddox loved the entertainment and we learned that she, beyond a shadow of a doubt, LOVES Ms. Shari's chocolate cake! To say that my children love these times with our "China Friends" is an understatement. The minute everyone leaves, they will want to know when we are hosting another gathering.

During our gatherings, we name a dinner theme and ask each family to bring a dish. Saturday night the theme was Mexican. Good Mexican food, oh, how I have missed you! Our Mexican theme was a hit and the food was amazing!

Following our dinner, the children took part in an Easter egg hunt, Maddox's very first one! She was not quite sure what to do but quickly realized that eggs=candy so she decided to join in!

The children were told to collect 11 eggs each. MK, sometimes our little over achiever, collected quite a few more than 11. She was so disappointed when we asked her to return a few to a good hiding spot.

Maddox seems to just take all new experiences with a good nature. She is easy going until you place chocolate cake in front of her or when she gets tired. Aside from those two times, she is all smiles, giggles and laughs. Many have asked how we are adjusting to having four children versus three. I told Ryan last week that even numbers seem to be our thing. When our first child was born, we had to adjust. People said during my pregnancy that our lives were about to change drastically....I realized how true this was when C was born. C was a great baby who was always on the other page. The parenting books would say, "Most babies....." and then you would turn the page and it would say, "However, some babies....." That was our C. From what I remember, he was happy, healthy and full of spirit. He taught us so much about ourselves and our relationship and to cancel our newspaper subscription - we haven't read a full newspaper since his birth! Then came P. P was our child who slept through the night the very first night home from the hospital, he was the child that nursed well, he was the child that I put in the swing to nap even though all parenting books said not to, he was the calming factor, the child that was happy unless he was hungry or wet, the child that just fit and it was, dare I say, an easy adjustment to two children. Then came MK. MK came when we had been out of diapers, out of carseats, out of bottles, out of the baby-stage for quite sometime in our home. Top that all off with her spicy personality and you will find an adjustment period in our home from two to three children. It wasn't her, it was learning how to juggle the sports, the homework, the school volunteering, the bottles, the changing of the diapers - it was life with more than two children and only two parents. And then came Maddox. With Maddox, we are already used to the juggling more than two children with only two parents. We are not too far gone from the diaper stage, we still have carseats, we are homeschooling so there is no homework or volunteering - it just seems to be an almost seamless adjustment if there is such a thing. And she is easy going, just kind of smiles and goes about her day. So, to ask us how life is with four children, we will most likely all respond with a thumbs up!