Sunday, July 29, 2007

Chinapalooza 2007!






This weekend was our first official reunion with the families that we traveled with in China. Fortunately for us, it was in Chicago this year which made for easy travel plans. Maya had been quite ill this past week so we had to miss out on the welcome dinner and dim sum in China Town. By Saturday afternoon, we were finally able to join in the festivities. Ten families from all over the country were able to attend the reunion. One of the Chicago families hosted Saturday's event which was great fun. The kids had a blast jumping in the blow-up carosel, making a bubble mess, playing on the swing set, and just plain messing around. On Sunday, we enjoyed a wonderful farewell brunch at another familiy's house in Oak Park. How wonderful to see the transformation from all of the kids' referral photos to jumping, talking, laughing, smiling beautiful girls. Thanks to everyone for a great weekend.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

We Have a Son and Maya has a Brother!


Today at 4:40p.m., we got our second life-changing phone call. Erin gave us the great news that we have been matched with Shao, a beautiful 15 month old boy. He currently lives in the Guangxi Autonomous Region (highlighted on the map) which is right next to Maya's province. He is just beautiful and we can't wait to hold him in our arms. We have been told that if all goes well, we may be in China by December. Wooo Hoooo!

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Nanny Visits Indiana!




Poor Nanny. We had planned to do so many fun things during her 4 day stay. Unfortunately, the evening that she arrived, Maya became ill with a virus. Maya was in such discomfort and felt so poorly the whole time Nanny was here. Usually during Nanny's visits, Nanny takes constant photos of Maya the whole time. Since Maya was so under the weather, we were only able to take pictures when she started to feel better, which was exactly when Nanny was scheduled to return to Miami. Nanny loved being able to be here to hold and comfort Maya when she was feeling so yucky.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Going Above and Beyond!

There are few moments in life when someone other than a friend or family member goes above and beyond. Today, our pediatrician did just that. I called the Dr's office just to ask if we could set-up a "consultation" appointment with our pediatrician by the end of the week. Our adoption agency strongly encourages sitting down with a doctor to review a child's medical file before petitioning to adopt that particular child. At 8:00 that same evening, our pediatrician returned our call (he always calls us personally at home rather than having one of his office staff return his calls). He said that he would be happy to sit down with us and that this kind of service is completely pro-bono. He also said that he was extrememly busy this week as he was covering for another Doctor. Understanding the time issues and the urgency of this situation, he asked what we were doing tonight. "Tonight?" I said suprisingly. He then said to come to his office and that he would be happy to review any and all files that we had. Since Maya was already fast asleep in bed, unfortunately Dominic had to stay at home. I quickly got ready as Dom was reminding me about all the questions I should ask. I jumped in my car and couldn't believe I was heading to a doctor's office at 8:30 in the evening. Our doctor sat with me for close to an hour and answered all of my questions so thoroughly. His information and guidance was invaluable. We feel so priveledged to have found such a caring pediatrician who is always willing to go above and beyond.

Friday, July 13, 2007

A Day in Chicago!






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We've had a great time hanging out with Auntie Jil this past week. Today, Uncle Drew's parents are here all the way from Arkansas so we decided to do the "tourist thing" in Chicago for the day. We took the train which was extra fun for Maya. We walked down Michigan Avenue, went to Navy pier, and hung out at Millenium Park. Overall, it was a great day.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Happy Forever Family Day


To celebrate our second forever family day, I thought I would copy a post from our original "Bringing Maya Home" blog that I wrote in China. It was on this life-changing, incredible day that we held our beautiful daughter for the first time, and became a forever family.

"We are now a family of three! Gotcha day was absolutely amazing! On Monday, July 11, 2005, at 2:15 in the afternoon, our group of 8 anxious and excited parents met in the hotel lobby just before boarding our bus to head to the provinicial capital building in Guangzhou. Twenty minutes later, we were all sitting in a 5th floor conference room anxiously awaiting the arrival of our daughters. All of a sudden, the nannies are walking down the hallway and waiting across the room with the 9 children (one set of twins). One by one, the babies were brought into the room in front of multiple family video cameras, crying eyes, and open arms. Maya's name was announced and we quickly headed to the front of the room to receive her into our arms. She was the most precious sleeping baby we had ever seen. After about 5 minutes, her Nanny came over and woke her up by rubbing her chin and calling her by her chinese name "na na". She didn't cry at all and even gave us an occasional smile. "

July 11, 2005 was one amazing day!

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Fun in Terre Haute!




This weekend, we went to stay with our friends Gregg and Lisa and their girls Avery and Mallory in Terre Haute. We had a great time. We all went to Deming Park on Saturday where we rode the train. Maya loved hanging out with the "big girls" and followed them wherever they went.

We also surprised our friends Don and Nancy and their kids Laura and Jonathon with an unannounced knock on their door Saturday morning. It was amazing seeing Laura and Jonathon all grown up. The last time I had seen them was when Jonathon was 2 and Laura was 4. My how time flies.

On Sunday, Lisa and I and the girls when to Shakamack State Park to spend the day in the pool (trying to escape the 98 degree heat). We spent most of our time going down the huge waterslide...yes, even Maya went down the slide multiple times and LOVED it. If she's doing this at 2 1/2, what will she be doing when she's 10? I dare to even think about it.

The first picture is of the girls on the train. The following pic is of Jonathon, Laura, and Maya at the park, and the last is of Avery, Maya and Emma presenting an art project that they made.

Thank you Gregg, Lisa, Avery, and Mallory for a great weekend!

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

The 4th of July Carnival






This afternoon, we went to our local 4th of July carnival. Maya and her best friend Kenzie spent nearly 3 hours riding on the rides. Maya said that her favorite ride was "the tea pots".

Happy 4th of July!





Today, we went to our 4th of July Parade. Maya loved the concept of picking candy off of the street. One of the parade participants gave her a mini American flag so she spent the remainder of the parade waving her flag and yelling "Hi" to everyone.