Our court date is set!

Our attorney filed our petition for adoption on Friday and was given a court date of March 6. This means that Maddie will offcially be ours on this date. As you know, we have guardianship of Maddie in accordance with Indian law. Once we have the hearing, she will formally adopted and will have an US Birth Certificate. She will also have her new name, Maddie Ambika, printed on it. After this, we can file for her citizenship certificate and get her Social Security Card.

We are really excited that Maddie will be ours formally so soon. Of course, she has been ours in our hearts for months!!! If you are in town and can join us, please do so. Respond and I will give you all the details. We look forward to seeing anyone who can share this day with us!

The tooth fairy gave the $ to daddy!

Maddie lost a tooth on Saturday. We were very excited about the tooth fairy coming to see her for the first time, but she was not. In fact, she had a lot of trouble going to bed thinking that someone was coming into her bedroom in the middle of the night, even if it was to give her money. Therefore, Daddy "emailed" the tooth fairy and told her not to come, but just to mail the money to Daddy instead. So, even though the payment was delayed, Maddie was paid for her tooth.

She also saw the dentist and pediatrician again. She is doing well and now has five fillings (poor kid). She also had her first playground accident today. She has a big shiner under her eye, but she is doing fine.

We have made plans to see Dipti, from Maddie's orphanage, in April. Dipti lives with her mom, dad, and brother in Augusta, and even better, they are CLEMSON FANS!!!! We are very excited about getting together to visit with them!

Brand new heart and silver hat!

Today Maddie had a LOT going on. Poor thing, her mean mother made her go to two doctor appointments! First, we went to see Dr. J at the Sibley Heart Center. They did an EKG of her heart, then an ultrasound. It was a very kid friendly place and Maddie was a trooper most of the time. She became very hungry and restless during the ultrasound but overall, did great.

Dr. J said her heart was perfect. He told me that if I looked at it, I wouldn't even be able to tell that she had surgery. The reason she is growing so well now (remember those first pictures?) is because her heart is strong again. He said it was the right size and was doing exactly what it was supposed to do. She is clear to run around and be a complete monkey, which is exactly what she usually does.

After Sibley, we ran through McD's drive thru for free fries (on Tuesdays) and a chocolate dipped ice cream. Yes, we were on the way to the dentist and that's probably the worst thing I could have given her, but it's what she will eat and what she wanted to eat and she'd had a hard day, so that's what we did!

What I didn't know was that the day was actually going to get even harder. At the dentist, Maddie had to have three cavities filled and get a silver hat (crown) for one of her teeth. Needless to say, when she was finished, she was in some pain and looked a little beat up. However, after some ibuprofen and TLC, she is doing fine.

She seems to be enjoying school and is doing well. She is reading beginning books and has learned about ten sight words. Most of all, I think she enjoys being where M1 and M2 are. I think it's comforting for her to know that big brother and sister are close.

Tnings are really starting to get settled now and as much as it's crazy sometimes, I am really enjoying being a mother to three. The gray hairs may come earlier, but that's why they make Clairol!

First day at school

Today, Maddie attended her first Kindergarten class. She did well and had a great time, it seems. Her teachers were very complimentary of her and all seemed to go well. She has also qualified for ESOL services so that will help with her language. Here are a few pictures from her class today.

It's official- Maddie is an All-American Kid! She loves McDonald's!

Maddie had her first doctor appt. today and she did great! Dr. H just loved her and she impressed everyone with how adjusted she seemed. She's 36 pounds, but is up two pounds from last week, so that's good. Dr. H said her heart sounded great and her scar looked good. We will see the pediatric cardiologist and ENT doctor in the next couple of weeks, then we will do a follow up appt. with Dr. H.

After the doctor appt, we went to McDonald's. Of course, she had never been to one. I ordered a cheeseburger and gave her a bite. She liked it, so I bought her one, too. This was the first time the child has ever eaten meat, so I was really excited. A few more of those, and she won't be 36 pounds anymore! She loved playing on the playground and she especially loved the fries. Overall, I would say her first experience at the Golden Arches went well!

Maddie's first week- starting school and doctor appts.

The first week has been good. Maddie has finally moved to M2's bed and is sleeping with her throughout most of the night. She always gets up to see her brother and sister off to school, then usually helps me around the house. She will begin school on Thursday. Today and tomorrow we are going to the doctor and the dentist.

She went bowling for the first time on Saturday and bowled a 106. Not bad! She had a great time. She also went to her first birthday party on Sunday and seemed to really enjoy herself! So far, there haven't been many squabbles between the siblings, but it's bound to come sometime.

Her first day at church went well too. There were a lot of people who wanted to meet her, but she did fine. She will go to AWANA tomorrow. I think she'll be fine there as well. She seems to embrace new situations quite well.

Here's some pics of her first week. Keep checking in. Also, we had our family pics made yesterday and it went really well. We had some individual ones done of her too, and she did great. What a smile!!!