Maddi Visits Home

11/17/13

Leaving the church after meeting Maddison for only an hour and a half, we felt like we just wanted to stay and play for hours! Teresa had mentioned that we had invited them all to our house for dinner, and she was soooooooo excited! Why was she excited? Well, because I told her I had juice and chocolate milk for her at our house... why else!?!? 
After leaving Teresa's church and meeting Maddi, we again buzzed to Toys R' Us to go buy THE Peppa Pig house.  LOL After her huge reaction to Peppa Pig and her "having to have a house"... we knew we needed it! We were on such a joyful high that honestly, I wanted to buy out every Peppa Pig toy they had!!! Thank goodness Mike still had a semi clear mind, and he kept me focused on just buying the house!

We then buzzed back to our house and I start cooking dinner and getting all our toys moved into our office, as Mike's office was immediately evicted to the basement, and the toy room was born! (Mike and I have had toys and a toy box at our house for quite some time because we have nieces, nephews, and God daughters that have spent time with us... and every house should have a toy box stash for emergencies, right?

The door bell rings and we both jump to our feet, and we can hear Maddi's squeaky little voice on the other side of the door. We open the door and Maddi marches right in (leaving Grandma Teresa, Papa, and Aunt Kaila behind at the door), she takes a couple quick glances around, and darts into the living room where she spotted we had the Peppa house and Barbie house all setup. (The Barbie house is from when I was little... so it's give or take 20 years old) She darted from each house back and forth (almost skipping)...her eyes super big.... and said "LOOK PEPPA PIG'S HOOOOUSE!"
Teresa said she has not put those figurines down since we had given them to her that morning! *my heart smiled*
We showed Maddi the toy room that had a play kitchen, play food, more barbies, our big toy box... and our dogs in their kennels. "PUPPIES!!!" (she's now hopping up and down shrieking with joy)
I tell her their names and tell them how nice they are and how much they like to lick and give kisses. (she giggles as she already had stuck her finger in Timber's kennel and he's licking them)  *my heart smiled*
She immediately started to try to say their names and figured out which one was which. After she warmed up to our home for a bit, we let them out of the kennels and she was like a kid in a candy store. Laughing and saying "Snowlow" (Shiloh) and "teem-ber" (Timber).

We ate dinner (while Peppa Pig was sleeping in the dog kennels) and we all just made small talk about our recent move, our community, our family, our jobs, etc... Now, if you know me, I tend to be a nervous conversation-er with new people. Mike (I'm so lucky) is my better half in this area, and makes conversation about anything under the sun- with anyone under the sun and is completely comfortable. (he's my lil' social butterfly) I was more "fake talking" and more watching Maddi and interacting with her. It's not that I was trying to be rude... but I wanted to spend time and focus on her. (Retrospect I hope I didn't come off rude)

Pictures from our 1st dinner with Maddi:

(chicken alfredo, spaghetti, garlic bread, chocolate cupcake, and of course... chocolate milk)

Look at that face!

After dinner we continued to talk while we played with her. I would go play with her in the toy room, and then Mike would go play with her by himself, and then at one point we all sat in the living room while she played by herself. I kinda watched her for awhile and she was checking out the room, and when she walked into the living room she would scan the pictures of family on the shelves, walk into the kitchen by herself and "check on the dogs", and she would walk around back to the toy room just kinda scoping things out.  One thing I really didn't want to do, was to be "all up in her face". I wouldn't want some "stranger" crowding me when I was trying to figure out my surroundings.

Before they left for the night, we whipped out the "night night Peppa Pig" and I showed her how Peppa Pig sleeps with a "lovey" (just like she does), we showed her that we had a tinkerbell night light (just like she does), and then we showed her the plush puppy that interacts with her while you read a book about going to a new home.  *** At this point, she has not been told all of this was because she would be coming back here. I just was to "plant a seed in her mind that "Oh WOW... they have all these same things that I have".
 It was so hard to see Teresa in tears as we were showing her all these things, because she knew I had set it all up to "show" Maddi that our house was safe and was trying to make it easier for Teresa to talk to Maddi about a new home.

All dressed up, and no where to go... Playing with Peppa Pig and the Barbie House.

As we shut the door behind them when they left, I felt like I had just woke up from a dream. I was pretty speechless. Why was everything going so smoothly? No hiccups... not at all? But... this was only day one...
So I took to the internet to study up on things I should be doing while we go through a private adoption... it's not like I was going to sleep ANYWAY!?

The next morning as I am shopping for Miss Maddi, a text came through on my phone:

As I start crying in the middle of Walmart:

*my heart smiled*