Loving Life with Maddy!

We are overjoyed with our little girl!  She is incredibly sweet and full of giggles!  Since arriving home this past Saturday here are some things we have learned:

1. She answers to her Chinese name, so we call her Fei Fei or Xiang Fei.  Of course, we call her Madeline too :)

2. She is a DREAM baby when it comes to sleeping.  She has slept through the night since Gotcha Day!  No 

    crying...nothing!

3. She is a complete and total Daddy's girl!  It's really cute to see her reaction to him.  However, when he is not 

    around she is very happy and cuddly with me!

4. Since being home, she took her first steps and toddles around the living room.  She rides her little sit on 

    scooter.  She signs the word "more" when she wants more food.  She points the remote at the tv, and holds a    

    phone up to her ear.

5. What she really doesn't like is having her diaper changed or getting a bath.  As for dressing her it is an 

    Olympic sport.  One day (hopefully soon LOL!) we will look back on this and laugh!

As for now, we are LOVING life with Maddy!  

ALMOST HOME!!!

In one hour we are going to head out of the airport to pick up Walt, Kristen and Madeline!  I am beyond crazy excited!  I still have a lot to do here at home but I will leave you with a glimpse of where they are at thanks to flight tracker!

Half Way There!

Today marks the half way point of Walt's trip.  They are now in Guangzhou, China.  This is in southern China where the American Consulate is.  Kristen and Madeline are doing very well!  Walt says Maddy eats like a truck driver.  She is wearing 18 month clothing which again is great with her unrepaired palate.  She is crawling all over the place and tries to pull herself up on the bed.  As for the plane ride from Nanchang down to Guangzhou she didn't like it very much and cried a lot.

As for me... I don't know how I am going to make it through the week!  I am more than ready to have my family back home!  George doesn't know what to do with himself without his side kick/partner in crime.  Even the dog continues to stare at the door waiting for his beloved Kristen.

Here are some more pictures!

Sisters At Last

It has proven more difficult to keep the blog updated then I thought.  First and foremost all of them are well!  Madeline has been with Walt and Kristen for 3 days and it could not be going any better!  She cried a little when they first met but hasn't looked back since!  We think having Kristen there has helped A LOT!  Kristen can get her to have full on belly laughs!  Walt describes her as very sweet and is happy that she is a good eater.  She loves to play with her stacking cups and beach ball.  Her first bath was an experience but the second bath was lots of fun!  She has been going to bed easily as Walt puts her in her crib, she plays for a little bit then drifts off to sleep.  As for her size, she is busting out of her 12 month old size which is awesome! Even with her cleft palate she does a great job eating.  Of course, we owe all of this to her wonderful foster family!  She is not walking on her own but as soon as her feet hit the ground she want to go!

I can't believe they are half way through their trip already!  They will be home one week from today!  I can't wait to get my hand on that baby!!!

Thank You

The time is 7:50pm here in PA.  Half a world away, it is 7:50am.  For the last time, one mother will wake up a sleeping Xiangfei and say goodbye to her.  At the same time there is another mother who cannot wait to see her face for the first time.  I will never know the name of her birth mother or her foster mother.  I wish there was a way to let them know that me, her forever mommy promises to love her always.  In just over three hours XiangeFei will meet her forever daddy and big sister. Tonight she will go to sleep as Madeline Kate Fei.

13 Hours and 50 Minutes

That's how long a straight through flight is from New Jersey to China.  Walt and Kristen left this morning.  There plane took off at 11:55.  I have been tracking them all day.  We won't hear from them until early tomorrow morning.  George is missing them already.
 

                                                      This picture was taken around 4:30pm

It's now 7:45 pm...  5 hours to go!