Meeting Max

Our arrival & the girls first glimpse of Max. A play by play in pictures courtesy of Gretchen...thank you!!








When Max saw the girls he smiled at me, then he got shy.



We were so happy to see the girls.

I love this picture. Together again!Mallory couldn't wait to get her hands on her new little brother.

She was determined to hold him first.

We were happily greeted at the airport by Aunt Paige, Mama C, Grandma Linda, The Solomon Family, and The Wilson Family. We were thankful to see all the family and friends who came to welcome Max home.

Max was acting shy in this picture and wouldn't look at the camera.

He LOVED Grandma Linda!!!

They hit it off!

He just kept hugging her. It was a sweet moment.

Finally he ran to Mallory and let her hold him.

Steve S. tried to bribe him with candy so he could hold him.

The restaurant...

He is crazy about Meredith. I knew he was going to love her.

This was funny...he made chopsticks out of straws.

He kept feeding Meredith.

He loved Aunt Paige...

and Mama C, too!

Maggie had to get a kiss in. Can you tell the girls are crazy about their new brother?

He was fascinated with these toy machines so the kids had to get him one...or two :)

It is so good to be home!!! We are settling right back into the swing of things. On Monday morning when the kids went to school we had to take Max in, too. He had gifts for all the children in Mallory and Maggie's classes to hand out. Everyone loved him. He was very cute handing out his gifts, and of course the girls were just gleaming with joy.

Max is doing amazing! We have been so amazed at the communication we have with him. The day we got him, he immediately started repeating EVERYTHING we would say. With in two days he was replacing words. He started saying hello, thank you, I love you, I'm sorry, Mama's boy, daddy's boy :), your welcome, please, and good morning. There has not been one frustrating moment as far as communication goes. He has used body language to let us know what he needs or wants. We have always known exactly what he is saying. It has truly been amazing to see. The language barrier was the thing Michael was worried about the most. He was amazed within the first couple of hours of us having Max. The day we got Max, he was on antibiotics. When we got him to the room, he got the medicine out of the bag. He had two different meds to take. He pointed to one, then put up two fingers. He pointed to the other, then put up one finger. Michael looked on the package, and sure enough Max was telling us he needed one medicine two times a day and the other only once. We also picked up a ton of Chinese while we were there, thanks to Michelle Lucas :) Michelle has been taking Chinese lessons for a couple of years so she was a huge help. We are going to continue learning through a program we have here at home. We want Max to keep his Mandarin and hopefully his Cantonese,too.

Tomorrow will mark week two. He is picking up more and more English each day. During the day he will say Maggie's at school. He repeats that phrase with each siblings name until he goes through them all. He misses them while they are gone. He also knows how to associate phrases. For instance, today I laid down with him for his nap. He wanted to play with my hair. He was tucking my hair behind my ears, and I said "Max, you are so sweet." Then, he said "Mama's boy. Now how did he know to associate those phrases already??? Amazing!!!

He doesn't care for the TV, which is really good, but I wish he liked it a little so that I could get a few things done :) He loves the computer. We have found a website that teaches ABC's, colors, numbers, and some other simple things like that. One game he really loves on there is a follow directions game. He has to help the little bear clean his room by clicking on the item the bear says, then putting it where it goes. I showed him how to do it one time. I was amazed at how he knew exactly what the bear was saying each time, and each time was different instruction. I am amazed at how he understands us. He always knows exactly what we are saying to him. He will shake his head yes, then go do what we asked him to. It is really a neat thing to watch...we are all amazed at this little guy.

He is eating us out of house and home:) He is adjusting well to an American diet. He has loved everything I have cooked so far. He loves fruit the most. He almost ate a whole pineapple for breakfast this morning. And he also ate about five oranges throughout the day. He loves to play with the play kitchen upstairs. He carries around one of the play skillets all day. He puts food in it, then puts it in his back pack. Funny!

He loves his siblings. We get so many hugs, kisses, and I love yous throughout the day. He wakes up happy and goes to bed happy. We have had some tears, but he is just learning his boundaries. It always seems to make him feel secure, and happy after he cries for a minute, then gets hugs and reassurance. I think he is learning to trust us this way, and he knows we care about what he does. It's not hard at all teaching him our rules. He is learning fast. If he starts to do something he knows he's not suppose to, he stops himself, looks at us, then says no no with a big smile.

The whole family has fallen in love with him. He has the sweetest personality. He is so loving and generous with his things. Aunt Paige can't get enough of him. She has stopped by everyday after work to see him. Mama C can't get over how sweet he is. She says he is perfect, and she loves to just watch everything he does.

Max has personality plus! He has definitely added some spice to our lives, and we love it!!!

Our home is full of more joy than we ever imagined possible. We feel so very blessed. We are glad to finally have our little boy home!!!