Settling in.......

So….here’s the short version of our long journey home: We left Guangzhou at 5:15am (as scheduled) got to the airport, checked in, and boarded our plane. They were experiencing some rainy weather which led to a back-up on the runway. We sat in the airplane for approx 45 minutes while we waited for clearance. Normally this would not have been that big a deal but since we had not 1, but 2 more flights to get home we were starting to get concerned about missing the next leg. We finally took off and Avery did fabulous. I am happy to report there were no “girl fights”, no fussy babies, no further delays. We arrived in Hong Kong, checked in for that flight and had 20 minutes to spare before boarding began. This leg of our journey was 11 hours!!! Out of the 11 hours Avery slept about 3 (and not continuous). She was a little fussy but probably because she was not able to get down and move around like she wanted. I can look back now (3 days later) and say it really wasn’t that bad, but at the time I was counting the minutes!!! When we arrived in San Francisco we went through immigration and customs and Avery became a US Citizen!!!! We had only 15 minutes to spare before boarding our final leg home. The last flight was 3 hours and Avery did sleep on this one almost the entire time. For some reason this was the day that she decided to become a Mommy’s girl and would only let me hold her! Let me tell you that after these 3 flights my arms were like jello!!

When we arrived at DFW we were greeted by numerous friends and family. There were a lot of happy tears shed and everyone was so excited to finally see Miss Avery in person! She was definitely the center of attention. We all left the airport and went to a nearby burger joint to visit and have some real American food. We were joined there by even more family. I think our little entourage took up half the restaurant and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. Huge THANKS to all our friends and family that came out to welcome us home. It meant so much to us!!! I know there were several who were unable to make it but we know you were there in spirit!!!!

Next was the ride home and the initiation of the car seat. Let’s just say that 20+ hours of traveling, a very tired little girl, exhausted parents, and a 1.5 hours drive home do not make for a good time. We did make it and were so happy to see our house, Rowdy, and our own beds. We just knew that Avery would sleep like a log because she was exhausted from travel….WRONG!!!! I think it was just all the unfamiliar things but she had a very rough night. She slept in about 30 minute increments and then would wake up screaming. Finally after 1am Paul and I decided that there was no need for both of us to be up so he took a 5 hour shift so I could get some much needed sleep and then I relieved him to do the same.

Friday was a much better day. Avery still seemed a little overwhelmed (who can blame her?) and was clingy to both mommy and daddy but she did great. She napped a couple of times during the day and then went to bed at 8pm (which would have been normal in China) Unfortunately, it only lasted until about 3am and then Paul and I were back to the “shift work”. Today she has been very happy and playful and we just got her down for the night (10pm) so we will see how tonight goes. It has been a long couple of days getting acclimated back to our normal environment but we seem to be settling in a little better each day.

We are so blessed to be parents to this amazing little girl and can’t wait to see her grow and blossom!!! LIFE IS GOOD!!!!!

Now for some pictures of the last couple of days:
Our happy girl is finally home!!

When we were in China one of her favorite things to do was stand up and bounce so we headed out the day after we got home and got her this bouncer. It is definitely a hit!!!

Her first bath at home!! Rowdy and she are still a little skeptical of each other and he did not seem very happy that someone else was in "his bathtub".

I absolutely love this picture!!! She looks so comfortable chillin' with her daddy!

Tonight we ventured out to Kelby's baseball game. Avery was definitely a hit as many of the other parents have been anticipating her arrival as long as we have.
Sitting with her Aunt Danette cheering Kelby on!!!

Since coming home I know I won't be able to do daily posts anymore but I will still keep this blog going so keep checking in to see what new adventures we have as a family of: 2, a highchair, and a dog!!!