We're home!!!

Oh my gosh it is so great to be home. We left Guangzhou on Wednesday the 18th right after the Visa ceremony and headed back to Hong Kong. We had to say goodbye to everyone at the Consulate, so that was a little tough. We didn't have much time to get to the train station and had to make the goodbye's quick. We traveled with a great group of people and hope that we can stay in touch with all of them for years to come. I will post a pic of all the girls from the hotel, as well as a pic of all the moms with the girls.

Once we got back to Hong Kong, we checked back into the Disney hotel and grabbed a bite to eat. It was nice to be back in Hong Kong and knowing that we would soon be leaving China to head home. Leaving was bitter sweet. Bitter in the sense that we were leaving Jetta's home and sweet in the sense that we were taking her HOME!

The plane ride was long, but not because of Jetta, just because 14 hours on a plane is a long time. Both Shannon and I seem to have caught a cold the last day we were in China and had some sinus issues on the plane, so the ride home was a bit tough. Neither of us slept at all, so by the time we got home, we'd been up for over 24 hours. Jetta was great on the plane....she didn't cry at all, not even on decent. She was great and didn't even seem to mind the ride. I still can't believe what an easy baby she is.

Once we got back to the states, clearing customs and Immigration was much easier than I anticipated. One of the TSA specialists jumped us in line at the customs counter, which was nice since the line was really long and then at Immigration we got right through. Once we collected our luggage, my friend Wendy (who used to live in Belleville) came to the airport with her mom and her daughter Mara (who is also adopted from China). It was great to see them and it definitely made the layover much more tolerable. It was great to see them and they will be coming down next weekend to visit Wendy's bestfriend (who lives near Highland). She and a few other people I've know for awhile will be at her friends house and will meet Jetta....we can't wait.

Once we got back to St. Louis, my friend Tammy, her daughter Paige (who is adopted from China), and two of my other close friends Jen and Kristy and her family came to the airport to meet us. It was great. It was nice to see familiar faces and for all of them to meet Jetta. It was emotional, just knowing the whole process was finally over.

We gathered our luggage and headed home. Jen had driven my car to airport, as I had the carseat in there and figured that would be easiest. Well, it was easy in the sense that Jen had my car, but not in the sense of the carseat. It took 3 of us, me, Jen and Kristy to figure out how to put Jetta in the carseat. I guess it may have been wise to have read the instructions prior to installing, err I mean putting Jetta in the seat. She didn't know what quite to think of it , but soon became very vocal and let Jen, Shannon and I know just what she thought. It wasn't pretty....40 mins of non-stop screaming and crying. It was my first true experience of her crying uncontrollably. She hadn't done that up to this point. The most I had heard her cry was for 5 mins or less. She was not happy, but I don't blame her, as she had never been in a carseat and was used to being in our laps while we were in China. We made a pit stop at a gas station to get some hot water to make her a bottle in the hopes that would help, but it didn't, and she finally cried herself to sleep.

Once we got home, Zack and Grandma and Grandpa Vaughn, as well as our dogs were at the house to meet us. It was great to see all of them, the dogs didn't even bark when we walked in. They all seemed very happy to see us. Jetta was not sure of what to make of the dogs and wasn't real fond of them last night, as I think she was extremely tired. She is doing much better today. She has actually pet them and doesn't mind them coming around her. She warmed right up to Grandma and Grandpa and they warmed right up to her. Grandpa brought her a walker with alot of gadgets on it and she loved it. It was her first birthday present. They stayed for a bit then left to go stay at a local hotel, in order to give us some time to rest.

We finally got Jetta down around 11:00 and we went straight to bed and think we collapsed. We slept for about 3 hours when she woke up for the first time. She was a little disoriented, not sure of what to make of her new room and the ceiling fan. Just one more thing she'd never seen. I gave her a bottle and rocked her for over an hour and finally got her back to sleep, but only for about 2 hours. She woke up again around 4 o'clock and daddy took care of her, until I got up at 7. We called Grandma and Grandpa and they came back over to visit before they headed back home. She really enjoyed them. We put her down for a nap and they headed back home. Grandpa brought her her first baseball glove, as they stopped at WalMart to bring us some soda and juice.

Next week she will get to meet my mom and Arland and I know they can't wait and I can't wait for them to meet her. I got a package in the mail today from Grandma Peters (my mom). I was on the phone with her and she was telling me that I would be getting a package for Jetta and that I couldn't open it, as it's one of Jetta's first bday presents. So, I think her first birthday is gonna be a blowout. Between Grandma and Grandpa Vaughn, Grandma and Grandpa Peters and Grandma and Grandpa Alexander, I think she'll be plenty spoiled.

When we woke her up, we thought, well we'll try the carseat again, as we needed some essentials from WalMart. She was still partially asleep, but woke up and didn't seem to mind her second encounter with the carseat. Well, at least not on the way to WalMart. After we got done with WalMart, we stopped to get gas, a coffee and some lunch and then she decided she didn't like it any more. The last 7 miles home were a bit unpleasant, but hopefully with time she'll realize she has to stay in there and that it's not that bad.

She is down for her second nap of the day, hence why I can compose such a long post, but am sure she'll be waking up soon. So, I best get going, post some pics and try to put some more stuff away.

Thanks for following along while we gone, all the great comments, the visit at the airport, the texts to check in on us once we got home and can't wait for you to meet Jetta.