Back Home Again

Hello All!

We made it back; no typhoon, no liquids and all. The flight was actually rather uneventful. Grace was a trooper as usual. She took a quick nap, played, ate, sat in her own seat quite a bit of the time, and then fell sound asleep for the remainder of the flight. The hardest part was getting through immigration in Chicago. We had to go through the foreigners line to get Grace logged in as a US citizen. We got a little taste of what it's like trying to enter the US as a foreigner. After two hours in line we were sent through customs where our bags had already been pulled from the carousel due to our tardiness. All of us who had waited that long in line had to comb through the leftovers from 9 different baggage carousels since our flights were no longer listed on the screen. After finding both suitcases (on opposite ends of baggage claim!?) we were sent to a different customs line where they took our passports and all of the paperwork we had been given in China and told us to go have a seat. After another half hour wait we were admitted and Grace was officially a US citizen - yeah! Then we had to go through our third security checkpoint of the day, re-check our bags for the flight to Grand Rapids, exit customs and take a tram to the opposite side of O'Hare, go through security again and barely catch our flight. Needless to say our bags were not waiting for us when we arrived in Grand Rapids.

On the flight to GR, Grace was wide awake until we landed and were taxiing (sp?) down the runway where she promptly fell asleep. We put her in her stroller and met Dad at the airport. After confirming that our bags were not there, we headed home with our carry-ons. Sophie and Lily (with a little help from Nana, I think) had made a beautiful welcome home sign that was hanging just inside the kitchen door. Grace woke up just as we came inside and was instantly smitten with her two big sisters. She went right up to Lily, pointing at a butterfly on her dress and holding her arm. It was already about 8:00 pm but the three girls stayed up and played in the playroom for a good hour I think.

Since then it's been nothing but smooth sailing for all of the girls. It's definitely still a honeymoon phase for Sophie and Lily, as they share their things gladly and find everything that Gracie does cute and endearing. I give it about two weeks until she officially becomes their sister and all bets are off. But for now it's very nice. The big girls have been a great help and Sophie is excited that Grace is small enough for her to pick up. At night we read stories together and Grace entertains us with her acrobatics on the bed. She's already discovered the power of making the other two laugh. During the day she is the most happy when she can follow the big kids around. She loves bikes and tries to climb on even the biggest two-wheelers. Which brings us to the topic of night and day. Gracie hasn't quite caught on to the difference yet. The first night she was up from midnight to 6:00 am. The second night 11:00 to 5:00, the third 10:30 to 4:30. So we're creeping closer but it looks like it's still going to be awhile. We've gotten her on a regular nap shedule during the day, sleeping from noon to 2:00, but the nights are just too confusing. She's perfectly happy when she's up as long as I get up and take her downstairs. It's when I try to put her in the crib or in the bed with me during that time that she goes ballistic. The neighbors got an earful the first night so we've kept the windows closed since then.

So, other than being pretty sleep deprived, things are going amazingly well. She's already become like any other kid on the block, swinging on the baby swings and running around in the grass. She's still eating anything we put in front of her, both western and Asian food. Right now she's back and forth between macaroni and cheese and fried rice. We've become acquainted with the new owners of our local Chinese food store and they've been very kind.

I'm embarrassed to say that we haven't taken a single picture since we've been home so I don't have anything to post. I'll try to get right on that. With all of the sleepless nights and busy days it just hasn't popped into my mind. We're very glad to be home!