An update -- sorry it has taken me so long!!!

Again, sorry it has taken me so long to write. Another crazy week! As you know I was sick last week. Once I started feeling better…Brent got sick... then Gracie and then Maggie. We are all on the mend now.... hopefully no one else gets sick!

Maggie is doing fantastic. She is sleeping through the night for the most part (except when she is teething… poor baby). We officially have her spoiled! In China, we could leave Maggie in the crib or on the bed to run to the bathroom.... actually she preferred to be left alone. Now we can't lay her in her highchair, buggy, etc.... as soon as we lay her down she screams to get back up with us. She wants someone to interact with her all the time. She is a very different girl than the one that was living in the orphanage. It is amazing how much she has changed in the last two weeks. She is so pleasant, playful, and full of life. We are so blessed to have her as a daughter and sister!

Gracie is a little jealous of Maggie.... but overall she loves her to death. All Gracie wants to do is help feed and change her.... and of course play with her. Maggie on the other hand is not too fond of Gracie (yet). I think she feels that big sis is taking up too much of Mommy and Daddy's time. Who would have thought that Maggie would be the jealous one???!

Thank you all for following our journey. It meant so much to us that you followed our blog and posted or emailed us while we were away. I think we will keep the blog up for a while and post updated pictures of the girls over the coming weeks. A very special thank you to our friends, Gail and Elaine, who took such great care of our older daughter while we were away. You have no idea what your generosity has meant to our family. Thank you!

Here are a few pictures we have taken over the past few weeks.

Pretty in pink.....
All ready for bed....

Maggie has claimed Gracie's Dora chair....

Such a pretty smile....

Yipppppeeeeee!!!!!!!!

Sisters -- Gracie and Maggie...

Maggie and Poppy Bussey...

Maggie with her new friends (left to right) Carter (cousin), Evan, Maggie, Evan and Kaitlyn...

Maggie with her cousins Brooklyn and Andrew...

Maggie and Aunt Holly....

Maggie and Aunt Deann...

Maggie and Nanny Morgan...

We are finally home...

Hello everyone,

I am so sorry it has taken me so long to post. We arrived home on Friday March 16th (finally!). We were so excited to be reunited with Gracie. Unfortunately I was ill for three days upon our return. The doctor said it was a really bad infection in my lungs. I was unable to parent both my kids for three days!!! I think it was the sickest I have ever been.... Thank goodness Mom stayed to help Brent out with the kids.

I am on the mend now, so I will try to post an update on Gracie and Maggie once I get some time.

Lisa

Last post in China

Well folks, this is my last post in China. We leave tomorrow for Canada. I am not looking forward to the 13+ hour flight, but am really anxious to get home to our friends and family... especially Gracie.

Today we went to the Temple of Heaven. It was really nice walking through the park, however the locals gathered around us in droves. The girls were treated like celebrities. It was really uncomfortable at times because the locals talked to us frantically in Chinese. Of course we did not understand a word they were saying. I think one lady was yelling at me because she thought Maggie's coat was too tight, and another lady was yelling while pointing to Maggie's eyes. I assume she thought Maggie should be wearing sun glasses. For the most part though, I think they were just glad to see that the girls were being adopted and that they will have a fighting chance at a good life. It's just that we do not speak the same language so it was near impossible (and sometimes scary) to communicate.

This evening, Freda's company took us out to a "Happy New Family" dinner at the Peking Duck. The restaurant was beautiful... but the food was horrible. I think it was the worse food we ate (or attempted to eat) since we have been here. I can't wait to get back to eating normal food. Living off snack type food is not doing great things to our bodies!

I have been a little sick since yesterday. It appears I may have a chest infection. It is odd though... nothing in my head or sinuses, just my chest and lungs. A few of my travelmates are experiencing the same thing. I have a feeling that it is because of the polution. The polution in China is unreal.... there is a constant smog over the land. You can feel it the minute you arrive. It has to affect the health of the locals.... Anyway I hope it passes quickly, because I can't be sick when we see our Gracie Little Bit! Just two more days and we will all be together as a family.

It will be Thursday night before I will be able to post again... as we will be on route to Canada. Wish us luck on the terribly long and difficult fight!!!

Here are a few pictures from today. Lots of love from China (finally the last time I will have to say... from China!!).

The Temple of Heaven.... Moms and daughters....

Dads and daughters....Three Newfoundland sleeping beauties... Mia, Tasha and Maggie...

Yummy Peking Duck - NOT!!!

Freda arranged for a cake for the families. It was a very nice gesture. She is such a wonderful person. She has a huge heart!

A good day...

Maggie was fussey for most of yesterday and part of this morning. By 8:30 a.m., Brent and I were starting to get concerned because she is such a good and content child.... something must be wrong. Well all of a sudden she broke out into a sweat and stated to scream at the top of her lungs (I am sure everyone in the hotel heard her). She was soaked in sweat from head to toe...I had to undress her. When I took off her pamper, she had pooped. It was as big and hard as a golf ball and there was blood. Poor baby... she must have been so uncomfortable. And it must have been terribly painful to pass. The good news is that her second bowl movement today was normal -- no blood and no pain.

Since she was back to her normal self, we headed out with the group today to the Silk Market. It was crazy!!! People were coming at us everywhere trying to get us to buy their stuff... we spent hours bartering. It was stressful, scary but exhilerating! I think we did get a few good deals though. Mind you I did not do much bartering... I basically followed Tracie and Yvonne... they did the bartering (boy they were hard asses) and I took advantage of their wheeling and dealing. Thanks ladies!!!

This afternoon Brent went to the electronics store with a few of the guys (sorry Steph, no deals here on electronics!)... while some of the moms went for a walk to the mall. It was nice to spend time outside. Maggie loves the fresh air. She is so content in the stoller... as long as she is moving!

Here are a few pictures from today....

Maggie is starting to smile much more. I wonder if this means that she is starting to like me???
No matter how many toys we give Maggie to play with, she still prefers to play with Daddy's watch, Daddy's head (it is a good drum you know), or empty water bottles.

All bathed and ready for bed....
Ok... enough about Maggie.... now on to the other babies...

Tashsa Brown (Newfoundland) Abby Lynch (Newfoundland) Lily Roche (Newfoundland)

Mia McGrath (Newfoundland)

Ok... this picture tells is all. This is Mia (the smallest baby in the group) and Maggie (the biggest yet youngest baby in the group). Look at the difference in their sizes!!! We think that Maggie and Mia must have been cribmates or at least slept close to each other in the orphanage because, of all the babies, they seem to take comfort in each other. Look at Mia reaching out to touch Maggie! I don't think she does that to the other babies. Tonight when Mia got a fright and started to cry.... Maggie sobbed right along with her. Yup.... there is a bond there.

Mira Forest (New Brunswick)

Lily Breneol (New Brunswick)

Hope Lavigne (New Brunswick)

Ashley Wells (Ontario)

Samuel Johnson (New Brunswick).

Only two more sleeps until we leave Beijing. We can't wait. It's about time we bring Maggie home to meet her big sister Gracie.

Something must have gotten lost in the translation

Something must have gotten lost in the translation, because Brent and I just read Maggie's medical report and she is 9.4 kilograms, not 8.4 kilograms, which means that she is 20.5 pounds and she IS the biggest baby in the group! That makes much more sense because she is easily the heaviest!!!

The medicals and the "Ontario" babies

Well Maggie is not the biggest in the group. She is 18.5 pounds and 71 inches long. There are two babies that are bigger. Brent and I are convinced though that she has lost some weight this week, as she does not seem as heavy now as when we first got her. I wish we had weighed her last week. I wonder if we are feeding her enough? We feed her 5 bottles of formula a day (as per the direction of the orphanage), however we are not able to get her to eat any solid food. She is the only baby in our group who is still on 100% formula. Every time we try to feed her something, she just bats our hands or the spoon away. Brent keeps telling her that she does not know what she is missing, but for some reason she just does not understand!! I guess she will eat when she is ready.... we will keep trying though. In the meantime, the doctor said that her weight loss (if she did loose weight) is probably due to her increased activity level since she was placed with us. She has definitley been stimulated and getting lots of excercise.

Here are a few pictures of our "Ontario" babies..

This is Ashley Wells. She will be living in Barrie, Ontario with mom Lynette, dad Randy and big sister Rebecca.
This is Cecelia Meglic. She will be living in London, Ontario with mom Jennifer, dad William and big brother Anthony.