Girls Will Be Girls

From the painted toes to the most beautiful bows, girls will be girls. Maddox got her toes painted for the very first time on Sunday. She sat very still, she watched every brush stroke and then stood up to walk, all the while staring down at her pretty little pink toes.

"I found my Prince, his name is DADDY!"

And all beautiful little girls need their beauty rest, no matter the location.

We began our week with laundry. Maddox's new thing is climbing in and out of the laundry baskets, just another obstacle for her to enjoy. She has also taken to climbing the bannister on our stairs - thankfully our bannister only goes up a few stairs!

So proud of our little Mason-Kate! She swam in her very first swim meet and did wonderfully! I would love to say that there were absolutely no tears involved, but alas, tears were had due to the cheering that comes with excited parents - to include myself - wanting their children to swim their very best. (MK is not one for loud noise in excess!)

MK and her teammate discussing their events prior to their first race....so cute, these girls are both only four years old, the youngest on our team!

And MK is off! This is the part where I cried - she is growing up way too fast these days!

Almost to the other side of the pool....

On to Pryce - Pryce was quite the racer too! He was on top of his game, adrenaline pumping the entire evening.

Pryce - almost there.....

And, last but certainly not least, Colin. Colin moved up a level in swimming which means each heat he is swimming in is longer. His first race, backstroke, just about did him in - he did extremely well yet was extremely out of breath when he finished up. The above expression was one that we saw a lot of during the remainder of the race! A slight smile and his look as if to say, "Really?!"

Though the first race was a shock for C, he had a very exciting night and was boasting with confidence by the end of the meet.

On Wednesday we had the pleasure of visiting with one of our fav families, the Gruskins! The Gruskin family brings adoption full circle for us. Going back a bit, when Ryan and I were renewing our fingerprints for the adoption of MK, we met the Gruskin parents. We were just weeks away from meeting MK and they were finishing up their paperwork for the adoption of a non-special needs little girl in China. That was in January, 2008. We traveled to China, got MK, all the while, the Gruskins were watching and waiting and wondering when their turn would come that they would be united with their own baby girl. They met MK. We talked, we visited, we talked about switching to special needs, and they waited, all the while watching MK grow and thrive in her new home. In the early months of 2010, the Gruskins pondered the special needs program more seriously and in March, 2010, they saw a beautiful baby girl staring back at them, needing a mommy, a daddy and three wonderful big brothers! This baby girl was their little Junie, born with cleft lip and palate just like our MK.

The truth is, we knew we would adopt again and we knew we would go the special needs route in China. The part we thought long and hard about were the needs our family would be open to. Cleft lip and palate, for our family, has been mostly a non-issue. The need does not define MK in any way, she has excelled in speech, she is developmentally on target, she is healthy, happy and very well adjusted. The need, cleft lip and palate, was not/is not scary for us. However, the part that concerned us with cleft lip and palate a second time around were the costs associated with the need. I am often asked about surgeries. Both of our girls will have at least three surgeries throughout their lives. Both have had their palate's repaired, both will have a bone graft surgery around the age of 6 and both will have a revision surgery at the age of 12ish. In the midst of all of the surgeries, both girls will have orthodontic work galore, braces will be the least of the orthodontic process. The costs were/are scary to us....couple the above costs with college expenses that no doubt will occur during the midst of the girls' repairs and that is what we were discouraged about when choosing the need cleft lip and palate.

And then there was Junie's referral picture. This beautiful baby girl - I was one of the first to see her - and, though she was not my child, she was the child that was confirmation to me, to us. Junie was the little one that we looked at and said, "How could we NOT do cleft lip and palate again?" The full circle - MK, to Junie, to Maddox - one month after the Gruskins traveled to China and met little Junie, we received the phone call for Maddox, our second daughter born with cleft lip and palate, and we were elated!

Buy a child?

There are fees when adding a child to your family, no matter how you look at - hospital/dr. fees in having a biological child, legal fees when adopting a child. One cannot "buy" a child. A friend of a friend told me today how she was so glad to finally meet me and my children. I said my thank yous and waved my goodbyes. As we were walking out, she said, "I tell **** all the time that I wish they would let us buy one but they probably wouldn't because we're too old!" For the record, we did not "buy" our girls. Our girls stole our hearts and we would have it no other way. All of the fees, donations and travel expenses can never add up to the joy that our girls have added and will continue to add to our family. Pryce said it best today when he yelled, in reference to his sisters, "Hey mom, I think they picked just the right ones for us!"

Random pics.....

Maddox is warming up to the idea of a pool.

Someone is not too proud to ride in his sister's pink butterfly boat.....

Our little MK - wow, has she grown up SO much in recent months. She decided, without nudging from our part, that she wanted to do swimteam like her brothers. She is one great swimmer and we are so proud of her strong spirit.

Guilty as charged.....one of her fav pasttimes, climbing and then standing on objects that she should be doing neither on!

I asked Pryce to play with the girls one morning and this is what I walked into!

Strawberry picking - we did this in April. I love this picture because it shows how MK is always leading the way with Maddox. She is so good to her!

Our visit with my Nannie. We were so glad to see her and introduce her to Maddox.

And, last but not least, our visit with the Rhodes and Hatcher families. The Rhodes were the very first family that we met who had adopted from China. We met them one week before they traveled to pick up their daughter, Mia. The Rhodes now live in Germany so our visits with them are too few and far between. During the wait for MK, the Rhodes introduced us to the Hatcher family. We have all become great friends and we love the bond that we all share!

Same, But Different

I know a number one rule in parenting is not to compare your children. Naturally, I do. The boys and the girls. My boys are like salt and pepper, different yet they blend well together. With my girls, the verdict is still out yet I can definitely see differences where the adoption experience is involved. For instance, on Gotcha Day. MK was just mad that she was being separated from all that she knew but she was easy to soothe or distract. She played well with the boys, even laughed at them on the first day. She interacted. Maddox was so sad on Gotcha Day. There was no soothing or distracting her, she wanted no part of interacting with any of us. She had/has the largest tears ever and they were just streaming down her face on that day. MK HATED that we chose to give her a bath on Gotcha Day - she screamed like crazy, so loud that Ryan even said he didn't think he could go through giving her a bath everyday. Maddox loved her bath on Gotcha Day. She actually gave us a little smile during that time, her first smile for us. We ordered pizza for dinner on both Gotcha Days - MK would not touch hers, Maddox ate an entire piece. However, MK has proven to be our good eater and Maddox is our less enthusiastic diner. On their first night with us, Ryan rocked MK to bed and she slept soundly through the evening....and she has continued this trend.....the only time she has ever had trouble sleeping has been during her first week post-op. Maddox did well in China with sleeping. However, since coming home, she has her good nights and her not-so-good-nights. And, she feels an urgency to wake up with the sun which, in my opinion, is just too early! MK communicated her dislikes by outbursts of yelling - if someone got too close, if someone did anything she did not care for, she would just say, "ahhhwahhhh" very loudly. Maddox has no time for yelling, she goes straight to the physical approach - hitting or pulling hair. One just wanted her space, the other has a streak of jealousy. Both girls adjusted quickly to their new home. Both adored their brothers - a mutual feeling. Both loved Finley immediately. Both found the stairs to be a challenge they wanted to conquer. Both attached nicely, each had a preferable parent from the beginning. Both love books. Both love music. MK loves ballet - we are thinking Maddox will be best suited for a faster pace style of dance, she has her own style of dancing and it is so cute. MK likes to be right under our feet and has to be given ideas on how to entertain herself. Maddox likes to wander and play with her toys. MK would sit for hours on the steps of the pool. Maddox is all about walking around the pool to find the best pair of shoes for her little tiny feet. MK would lie in her crib talking until we went in to get her. Maddox stands up and cries the minute she wakes up. Both have streaks of independence. Both girls have found comfort and love in their family. We are so glad to call them OURS.

Looks as if we have another little princess in the house :) Life with Maddox is never dull and you never know what she is going to get into next. She rounded the corner the other day donning one of MK's fav crowns. Though it was a bit crooked, she wore it as if she has worn a crown all the days of her life. Precious.

We have been home for two months now. Maddox has attached beautifully. She knows what she wants and how to get it :) She is what I like to call my "hip baby" - always attached to me when she is not into mischief. She continues to understand more and more of what we say to her. She blows kisses, shakes her head yes/no, points a lot, knows her facial features as well as her belly, she loves the pool, she loves to go outside, she loves to swing, she imitates sounds, and she loves a good dose of TV - Barney and Baby Babble!

It would not be fair to say that ALL is perfect. Well, really it is as close to perfect as possible BUT there are some imperfections in Maddox's little world. She communicates her dislikes through hitting. And if you are MK, you get hit a lot. Sigh. Poor MK, she wants so badly to be the boss and the biggest, bestest sister ever yet her little sister seems to have her own ideas. It is cute though to see them when all things are good - they cook together, they play house together, they shop together, they sit together, they dance together - and where Maddox would not dare allow MK to kiss her a month ago, she welcomes those kisses now. Very sweet.

Weekend Happenings

Summer is finally here. You know its hot when you get in the pool and you continue to sweat even though you are in cool water - that is just summer life in Georgia.

With goggles in tow, all four kiddos took to the pool quite easily. In no time at all, they were all involved in one neighborhood pool game or another.

Meet our neighborhood's newest swimteam member! At the age of 4, MK has decided that she would like to participate with the boys on our swimteam. We are so excited for her!

And little Maddox.....well, I cannot say that I will be sitting and relaxing by the pool all summer. This one will have me on my feet :) She is all about walking around the pool to pick up the toys that are scattered about. She picks them up and promptly throws them in the pool. If she isn't busy collecting scattered toys, she is trying on a variety of flip flops that are strewn about. And, if that becomes boring, she likes to try out the pool side chairs....she is like Goldilocks - one is too big, so she moves to another; that one is too hot, so she moves on, etc. She is my busy girl! So glad to say that she continues to feel better!

Above and below....these were my two attempts to get a photo of all four together. Sometimes there is success, other times, not so much.

In other news, MK rode a horse for the very first time today at her friend's birthday party. The horse below was "spooked," check out his eyes. Not too long after this photo, MK announced that she was done with the trail riding and we trotted on over the the ponies that were available to ride around a ring - much safer option :) The trail horse was snorting and digging his little feet into the ground and putting his head down.....and he would walk real fast and then stop dead in his tracks. I was busy telling MK, "It's ok honey, just HOLD ON!" Meanwhile, as I was telling her this, I was saying to the helper with us, "So, this horse is not going to buck her, right?"

MK below riding a much calmer little pony. Another sign she is growing up.....six months ago she would not even pet a pony and now she is riding one and loving it!