Sorry for not posting sooner....the jet lag is kicking our butts!
Our trip home was long but uneventful, thankfully. Ella slept most of the ride from China to Chicago. Unfortunately, neither Bill nor I slept due to a circus of misbehaving kids across the aisle. I was just waiting for the toddlers to give up, and after 9 hours of flying they finally did!
We made it through customs and immigration (Ella became a U.S. citizen when we passed through immigration) and walked out into the arrival hall. Bill's mom and sister had brought Ian down to meet us at Chicago! It's a good thing Ella was strapped to me in the baby carrier, because I dropped all my bags onto Bill when I saw Ian and ran (or rather waddled with a 22 lbs baby hanging from me!) over to him. I didn't realize how much I missed him until I saw him. I was so happy to finally have both my children with me that I started sobbing. Of course Ian got embarassed and asked me to stop crying - he's becoming such a little man. The others in our adoption group were standing there witnessing it all, and all the women had tears in their eyes also. Although we were so happy to finally be home, it was kind of sad to think that we won't be seeing this group of people whom we've grown close to over the last 2 weeks. We did plan to have a reunion in the summer of 2010 in Memphis (Graceland, here we come!), so that our daughters can keep ties with each other as they are 'sisters' from the orphanage.
Unfortunately the transition home has been hard. Bill and I have experienced jet lag...waking up in the wee hours of the morning because our bodies are still on China time. Bill even gave up trying to sleep and went into work at 4am last Thursday and Friday. It was Sunday before I felt like my old self. But Ella is still on China time. She's been waking up at 2am and wanting to stay awake until 6 or 7am. Then she wants to sleep all day. We've been trying to limit the napping during the day, with hopes of her sleeping more at night. Last night I was so excited because she made it to 3am before waking. Then I realized that with Daylight Savings time it was still 2am! Oh well, a girl can dream about sleep! Friday was the first of many 39th birthdays to come for me, and for my gift I asked Bill to let me take a Tylenol PM and sleep through the night in my own bed. He took care of the baby duty for the night. Best gift I've ever received!
Ian is one excited big brother. He loves to play with Ella (or rather reacquaint himself with all the baby toys he used to play with!). The only thing he's not interested in is diapers and feeding, as "that is just gross, Mom"!!! He always wants to give Ella a bottle, burp her and hold and snuggle her. And he's such a good helper for me. And he had the house decorated with Welcome Home signs and balloons.
We can't thank enough all the friends and family that have supported and prayed for us. We couldn't have done this without you.
3 comments:
Oh, Ella is such a doll! It was absolutely wonderful to meet her today, and it's great seeing you so happy, even when you're so tired! What a beautiful gift you've been given. I can tell Ella will be an absolute joy to you and your family.
I read all your last posts and let me tell you,tears were running down my cheeks! I am so happy you are back and I can't wait to meet Ella. I love the picture of her sleeping in the stroller! I know Ian must be so full of excitement to have you back and on top of that his new sister.
I hope all settles in soon, as I'm sure it will. I can't wait until I can drive, so I can stop over to meet Ella!
Just had to say hello-- although we were not in the same group, our trips overlapped. In the picture of your daughter's medical appointment, we're in the background-- the couple with the older girl on her mother's lap with the Baba in the orangish shirt! That's us-- Bob, Mary and Emily. Glad you're settling in well!
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