Second Shower

On Wednesday the 29th, the people Mike work with threw us a fabulous shower. I know Christine, and others that Mike works with, went to a LOT of trouble decorating their conference room, putting together a delicious lunch, and a yummy cake. We got MORE presents!! Some very nice outfits, an ADORABLE pair of kid's size fireman boots (love those!!!), and then everyone in the office went in on a Baby Einstein bouncer, a ball popping toy (which is a RIOT), some diapers, a cute little footie jammie outfit, and a trick or treat pumpkin. We'll be using THAT tonite, and it goes with her outfit PERFECTLY. AND, Mommy hadn't gotten a chance to get one yet, so it was faaabulous!!! :)

It all was so very nice, and I am still so touched they did that for us. Mike works with some wonderful people and we very much appreciate all they did.

Here are a few photos of the day...and one of Mike changing Maelie's diaper right on their conference table. TOO FUNNY!!!! Don't worry, though...Becky, another of Mike's co-workers, put down a couple of pages from their meeting flip tablet....ha!!!!

Thanks again, guys. :)

Maelie's Fashion Pics

Maelie has gotten so many nice outfits, and I know she will grow out of them too fast, so I think it's only fitting that we have a new blog feature called "Maelie's Fashion Pics." This way, I can take photos of the cute, little sweetheart and she can show off her lovely outfits.

This week's edition, we are sporting a fabulous Children's Place outfit, complete with beret, that we received from one of my sister's co-workers and friend. Couldn't you just eat her up????

Also, for bedtime, we have some very warm and cuddly jammie jams from my sister. She is so cuddly, she's just like a teddy bear!!!

Baby Shower

This past Saturday the 25th, Maelie had a lovely baby shower put on by my sister, with help from my sister in law, niece, and some wonderful friends. It was a great shower!! We kept it low-key, without games, and just did some door prizes. I can't tell you how many people thanked me for not having games!!! It was nice just to mingle and talk and eat and show off Maelie. We were there from noon until after 4:00 p.m., and Maelie was TERRIFIC. I think she fussed twice, and that was it. She is SUCH a good baby, and I just absolutely love her.

We had such wonderful food, decorations, and PRESENTS...oh my goodness. This child is going to be the best dressed baby EVER. I really should take photos of my livingroom right now...we had the shower in a meeting room at a restaurant, but all our gifts are right now still sitting in my living room. We need to get everything sorted and put away before we are taken over by baby gift bags!!

Wednesday we have another shower to go to - the women that Mike works with are giving us a luncheon shower. I think it's tremendously sweet of them. This baby is spoiled!! But, come on...how can you NOT spoil this princess????? :)

My sister made me the best gift..it was a diaper cake. I have never seen one so nice. I still have it together...I just hate to take it apart. I'm going to have to take more photos of it before I do, but here are a few of the cake, the decorations, Miss Maelie's first attempt at cake (which she LIKED!!!), and our poor pooped out party girl.

And thank you again for those of you reading this that came to the shower. It was a wonderful, wonderful time!

Please! No more peas!!

So, Maelie is not one for solid foods yet. She's getting a LOT better, though. She's still not keen on any kind of cereal..rice or oatmeal..and fruits and veggies aren't the best. Although, today I got her to eat some peaches! It was an improvement! We take things slow, though, and I follow her pace for eating. We've found she's like her daddy...loves meat. Yep, that lovely baby food meat is one thing that she seems to like!

One night last week we tried peas. Here's the photos of THAT attempt....hey, you all wanted to see more photos, right?!?!

One Month

This is at the orphanage when she was placed in my arms. This was her main caregiver nanny, a very sweet, little woman, especially compared to me!!


It has been one month since Maelie was placed in my arms in Vietnam. At once, it seems like only yesterday, and that she's always been with us. It's kind of a yin/yang feeling. I've gone from losing my freetime to gaining playtime with Maelie. From eating out in restaurants at the drop of a hat to being happier eating a bowl of soup at home. From relishing sleeping in to enjoying naptime. From reading novels before bed to reading 'Goodnight Moon.' From lying awake at night to falling asleep before my head hits the pillow. I won't lie and say it hasn't been an adjustment for me, Mike, or the Yorkies, but it's been a good transition. Maybe not for the Yorkies who haven't quite figured out what this new four-legged crawling creature is yet!!

I can honestly say I have never felt more complete, more happy. Even with 3:00 a.m. diaper changes, the kind when you wonder, 'How can one baby poop this MUCH???' Even when I end up wearing her dinner attempt at peas. Even when I'm dead tired, in bed, look at the clock and it's only 9:00 p.m. THIS is what I have been waiting for, this indescribable feeling of love and completeness. And not just for Maelie, but for Mike, as well. When he gets up with me every night at 3:00 a.m. to help change and feed Maelie, my heart swells and I couldn't love him more. When he took the day off to watch her because I didn't feel good, it was better than if he had handed me a 5 carat diamond. When he told me just a few days after we got home from Vietnam that he was up on the firetruck and told himself to be careful, because he has a child now, I had to turn away to hide the tears in my eyes. And, yes, he'll deny everything, he'll come up with some silly comment to cover it up, but in this short amount of time, less than a month for him, he is totally wrapped around Maelie's finger, and in love with her. He can't deny what I can see shining in his eyes.

Here are a few statistics on Miss Maelie:

* She is 7 months old
* She weighs 15 lbs 15 ounces
* She is 27 inches long
* She LOVES music and dancing
* She loves lights and motion
* She's not too keen on solid foods yet, but we try. She likes meat!!
* She will go to sleep by herself, after we tuck her in
* She still scratches her ear and pulls her hair when she's tired and falling
asleep
* She has never minded her carseat, or stroller, as long as we're in motion
* She likes her formula warm, and does NOT drink juice
* She wears a size 6 months...some 9 months are even good because of length
* She loves seeing other babies and children, photos of herself, and mirrors
* She has a sweet disposition, babbles a bit now, and seems to learn fast

She is the pride of my life and I love her and my family to the moon and back.

My Husband, the Hero

I've been wanting to write a blog about Mikey for awhile now. I've wanted to gush and talk about what a great daddy he's been, how he has really taken to Maelie, and how I'm proud of him. I've been putting off doing this, I think, so I can get the words just right. Silly, I know. But, he did something yesterday that was so incredibly wonderful, I can't put off mentioning it.

Since being in Vietnam, I've had perpetual colds. Yesterday, I felt miserable. This little cough I had turned into an elephant sitting on my chest, my head in a vise, and someone shoving hot pokers in my eyes. Not to mention my throat being raw and resembling something like hamburger. Pretty picture, eh??? I even started crying yesterday morning for no good reason, other than I didn't feel good.

Mike left for work, and suddenly, an hour later, he was back. He took the day off for me, to watch Maelie. I took cold medicine and slept ALL DAY while he and Maelie hung out together. Mike worked from home, making phone calls and working on the computer while Maelie sat next to him, 'helping' him type. It was the greatest gift EVER.

Today, poor Miss Maelie has caught my cold, too. She's coughing and sneezing. We made do by ourselves today, though. She laughs at me when I blow my nose. Silly baby. :)

Now, I'd like to think up something extra special and nice to do for Mikey. I just don't know what would show him just how thankful I am for what he did. Any thoughts out there? And remember...this is a family program....ha!!!!!

More Maelie Photos

Here are a few more of Maelie's photo shoot. Not bad for just a quick Walmart trip, I don't think!! Isn't she just adorable??? Have I mentioned that I love her???? :)

A Great Big Hug Filled Thank You

For everyone out there that reads my blog and keeps up with Miss Maelie, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. There are so many friends and family members that come here and check on the little peanut, it sometimes surprises me!! I so much appreciate your love and kindness, and I am so touched at the tears of happiness shed at the photos I post and what I write.

Thank you, Everyone. And speaking of photos...yes, there will be more tonite. :)

Finding Normalcy?

Tomorrow, Mike goes back to work. He's been off and home with us since we got back, which has been nice. It's also been go-go-go, too...visiting people, outings, doing things as a family, etc. So, tomorrow will really be the first day that Miss Maelie and I will be together alone since we got her. I'm a little nervous about that, I don't know why, I suppose because it's different. I'm hoping, though, that tomorrow also starts a semblance of normalcy and routine for me. We have Maelie on a pretty good routine at the moment...she's been going to sleep and getting up at about the same time every night now, and sleeping mostly, if not all the way, through the night. But getting her there, Mike and I have pretty much been flying by the seat of our pants. So, now it'll be time for MOMMY to find her routine.

I guess we'll see how it goes tomorrow...I'll keep y'all posted....

On the Move

Well, she finally did it. Maelie's been doing a scoot/squirmy wormy thing since we got her, but today, she put the pieces of the puzzle together and CRAWLED. Yep...crawled.

I felt so bad the way she did it, too. She was in the living room with Daddy and I went into my craft room, which is adjacent to the living room, for a minute. I heard her out in the living room making a fuss, but didn't think much of it. Then, I turn around, and she's in the doorway of my craft room looking for me! Poor baby!!!

***I gotta admit here, though...I felt badly that she was missing me and crawled to find me, but it also felt GOOD that she was missing me. I'm hoping this is a good sign that she's thinking of me as her momma!!!***

Have I mentioned lately how much I love her????

Sneak Preview

We went the other day on the spur of the moment to Walmart and had some photos taken. It was Daddy's idea. I don't want to post them all here yet as some are going to be gifts and used for baby announcements, but...I'll give you a little preview.

Every single shot had a big smile. I LOVE looking at her. I just love her, period.

Daddy's Girl

We have found that a certain someone loves a few things:

1. Running around without pants.

2. Eating meat.

3. Is happy as long as they are getting their own way.

Turns out Maelie shares the same traits!!! HA!!!! I think Miss Maelie is a Daddy's Girl. And the 'Adoption Fairy' sure knows what she's doing...this baby was so meant for this family. How does that work? It's a beautiful mystery.

The Sweetest Thing

Tonight, Maelie met her Grandpa Sully...Mike's dad. We call him 'Sully' since he's also a Mike...not sure where he got that name from, exactly. Anyway, Grandpa Sully is a very sweet man, not overly romantic or sentimental, but he's wonderful.

Anyway, Maelie met her Grandpa for the first time tonite. Before we even got her sweater off, Grandpa came to see her....and started crying. (I'm tearing up as I write this.) He said, "She's so beautiful," and choked up. I so wish I had a camera to capture that moment, but it's an image I will never forget. It was so touching. I was never so proud to be her mommy. It made no difference that I did not carry this child for 9 months...Grandpa made me feel as if she was born to us. I will never forget that feeling.

Thank you, Grandpa Sully.

A Cute Photo

I'm still going through my luggage and photos and stuff, but I had to share this photo with you. This is Grandma and Maelie catching up on their reading together in our hotel room in Hanoi. Isn't it just precious??

There's No Place Like Home

We are HOME!!!! We left Hanoi on Friday. Our plane was supposed to leave at 7:00 p.m., but we were stuck on the tarmac for an hour for some technical reason. And Maelie had a complete meltdown. Oy. It was NOT pretty. I swear to you I was ready to go rip the door off the cabin and shake that pilot. Maelie was hot, screaming bloody murder, and NOTHING could console her. We were given cold towels, tried bottles, toys, NOTHING worked. We took her clothes off and tried rubbing the cool towels on her, which helped slightly, but didn't stop the screaming. Finally, we took off, and she was instantly fine. That was when I really wanted to go shake that pilot!!!!

Since we were an hour late leaving Hanoi, we were late getting into Hong Kong and our connection. We were ushered through the Hong Kong airport to get to our plane, which was already boarding. We got settled there, and that flight went well. Miss Maelie slept in her bassinet for most of the 12 hour flight. She really did well and I was so proud of her. Unfortunately, though, she was naked for a bit...we were hoping to have time in the airport to change her and get her dressed again from her meltdown, but we didn't have any time. So, we get on the plane and the flight crew were looking at us funny and asking if she was going to get cold because the poor little thing was naked!! We just kept saying 'trust us...you do NOT want to get this child overheated!!!' After take-off, we were able to get her dressed and changed, and she slept and slept. Thank God!!!

We made up time and actually arrived in LAX 45 minutes early, which was GREAT. We had to get through Customs and Immigration before our next flight took off for Minneapolis. This gave us three hours. We, again, barely made it!!! We went through Customs and I headed for Immigration, while my sister and mom got our luggage. Immigration was a breeze, by the way, and my eyes welled up when I was handed back her passport and a piece of paper that said, "Welcome to the United States." What a feeling!!!!

It took us a little bit to find our terminal, which was about a 5-10 minute walk, and then get our boarding passes and find the gate. We still thought we'd have plenty of time to get her changed, make some bottles, use the bathroom, before boarding. NOPE. We had enough time to get through security and find the gate. I changed Maelie right there in line, and then my sister and Maelie went off in search of some bottled water. We ended up missing pre-boarding and had to wade onto the plane, and to the VERY LAST row, with a ton of people on board already. But, after a little fussiness, Maelie did well. I went in search of water on the plane for her bottle, and made myself at home in the rear galley. Hey...what you won't do for your children, right???? :)

AND...let me tell you. For some reason, my mom was in the row ahead of us, and I had some younger guy sitting next to me. He had the WORST breath in the entire world, and he kept snoring on me. It was TERRIBLE!! He must've taken something, because he was so out he kept leaning on me. I kept telling my sister that if I only had some Tic-Tacs I would so have been throwing them in his mouth. It was BAAAAAD. And funny! LOL!!

When we got to the Minneaplis airport, I was never so happy to not have to go through security check-points and find another gate. Mike was there to meet us at baggage, and since we were in the last row of the plane, and Mr. Bad Breath fell asleep again and didn't move until everyone else was off the plane (after the stewardess shook him), no one else was down in the baggage area. Mike had already gathered up our luggage, and it was just so nice to see him. Maelie wasn't scared of him. I thought she might be because he's such a big guy, but no. It was great. And Daddy came bearing gifts...blankeys, toys, formula, all sorts of stuff. It was so incredibly sweet.

So, since arriving Saturday morning at 6:00 a.m., followed by a fairly peaceful 3 hour car ride home, we've really not done anything. My luggage is still all packed, Maelie's room still needs to be finished and put together, but she has a crib she loves, a Daddy who dotes on her, and a still tired Mommy. But, we are working our way to being a very happy little family. We still have some time change issues, but we're working on it! I'll be writing another blog soon about my darling husband, but this post is long enough for now.

To make a long story short, we are home and we are fine. It was a long trip, but it's over now. I miss Hanoi, but I missed my husband and home even more, so I am very happy to be home. There's no place like home!

Happy Anniversary, My Darling

Happy 9th Anniversary, to the sweetest, most generous, goofy, loveable, kind hearted, humorous, wacky, zany, unique, huggable, craziest man I know. I wish I was there to spend the day with my husband, but I think he understands.

See you soon, Sweetie!!!!!!! I love you!!

Silk Village and Museum of Ethnology

Today we visited the Silk Village and the Museum of Ethnology. Both were quite fun, and full of shopping!! We went with two other families, and Martin and Kenny (our fabulous World Child staff). Martin and Kenny arranged for our van rental, gave us tours and explained the sites. It was wonderful to have them do all that!!

The Silk Village was interesting. The first stop was the silk factory itself. The machinery looks as if it hasn't changed in 100 years. Then, it was it's own little village, narrow little streets with shops selling all sorts of silk products from purses to scarves to shoes to clothing. Very inexpensive, and very nice. I did a lot of damage there...and don't complain, Mikey, I didn't spend that much! REALLY!!!!

Then, we went to the Museum of Ethnology, which was also interesting. We basically stuck to the inside exhibits, not the gardens, as it was just too hot. The museum shows various exhibits of different ethnic groups in Vietnam, how things were done years ago, different handicrafts, houses, etc. It was interesting and educational. Again, Martin and Kenny were fantastic, so helpful with the stroller and the baby, making sure everyone was together and at one point, Kenny even had Maelie in the stroller singing to her while we looked at the exhibits. It was so sweet.

Tonite, I went to a music shop recommended to me by Karey, down in the Old Quarter of town. That was fun, too! My mom came with and I bought a bunch of different musical instruments for gifts for the kids back home. My mom and I spied a little kitten in the shop...it belonged to the owner's daughter. Too sweet!!! We just had the cab driver wait for us, which was a good move. Only cost us an extra $30,000 dong, and was well worth it.

After we got back to the hotel, my mom and I did another final bit of shopping in the shopping center of the hotel. NOW...all we have to do is start PACKING everything!!!!!

We leave Vietnam tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. It will be sad to leave, but we are all anxious to get back home to the good ol' USA and reality. I'm NOT looking forward to managing the airports with a little one, and the long flight home! What's really amazing is that we leave Friday night at 9:00, and get in Saturday morning at 5:00!!! Cool, eh??

I'll be posting photos soon....I gotta start packing now, though!

Nice Rack

Okay...Funny thing. I went to the lobby of the hotel to pick up Maelie's visa and paperwork. So, I'm waiting for the elevator, and this ah...gentleman (I use that term loosely), looks at me, grins, starts talking with the group of people he was with, and gives me a thumb's up and like a hug gesture. I'm thinking...okay, he likes the US. YEAH. He then looks at me, raises two fingers, and in a general pantamine with his friend, they gesture that I have a nice...ah....set. Yeah. So, I've now been hit on by a Vietnamese drunken man. How funny is THAT?!?!?!?

Our Newest Little Citizen

Introducing.....Drumroll please......






Our newest little citizen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everything went just fine. We walked to one window, showed our passport and paid our money, and then we all sat down. The room reminded me of another DMV, or bad airport waiting area. CNN was playing on a large TV in the room. Then, we were each called up to another window, individually. I got to go first, and I have to admit, I was paranoid. With Mike not with, I had no idea if they'd be asking me for a slew of paperwork, or not. But, the nice gentleman behind the counter asked to see Maelie, compared her to her passport photo, had me sign a piece of paper, and then confirmed that my husband was not able to travel. I said no, and he just asked if I agreed that everything on the application was correct to the best of my knowledge. I said, "I do," he said, "Good...congratulations!!" That was it. No other paperwork, nothing. It was WONDERFUL. She's ours, and it feels great.

We are still planning to fly out Friday night. Tomorrow, we are all attempting the Silk Village and Museum of Ethnology again. So....until then, we can all sleep better tonite knowing that Maelie is a US citizen!!!!!! :)