Homecoming!

Yesterday we arrived home from our China adventure safe and sound. We started off the day at 5:00 am. We had to have our bags ready for the bellboy to pick up at 6:00 am. Binbin did not quite agree with this schedule as she stayed up past midnight helping us pack up all of our clothes and souvenirs. She did not wake until the Bellboy arrived so we just picked her up in her pj’s and left for the airport. With Binbin as a paying passenger, we were allowed 5o more pounds of luggage. While in Nanning, we purchased a suitcase for her so that we could fill it with items from her native land. We bought presents for her for Gotcha Days from her home province and in Guangzhou. We plan to give to her a gift a year up to when she is 18. We had heard of other adoptive parents doing the same as a way to keep their internationally adopted children connected to their roots and identity and decided to do the same. We had a very long day. We first had to fly 3 ½ hours to Beijing where we connected to an 11 ¾ hour flight to San Francisco after a 3 hour layover. While in Beijing, we finally had an opportunity to get Binbin out of her pj’s for the final leg of our journey. We arrived in San Francisco and went through new immigrants processing and came out with the newest American citizen. When we emerged from immigrations and customs we were met by a contingent of happy friends and family holding balloons, flowers and welcome signs for our little girl. We were a bit apprehensive as to the reception Binbin would give everyone after such a long flight and the time change. To our delight, she lit up and smiled and greeted everyone with excitement. We went over to Kari’s cousin’s house in Martinez for a meal and rest. Binbin remained in a very good spirits happily playing, laughing and being passed around to everyone. We are amazed how well she has adapted just after just two weeks with us. After our visit, we packed up our daughter along with Kari’s mother who flew in from Illinois the night before and headed home. The only trouble we had was the car seat. She had a fit when we tried to put her in it. She fought it tooth an nail. She settled down after a while and looked out the window to take in the new sights. I think we will have to deal with her protests until she gets used to being buckled in. In China, kids sit on the parents lap or on the seat of the car. Every cab we were in did not even have accessible seat belts in the back seat. When we arrived home, we walked Binbin through the house, introduced her to our cat Bailie and showed her her new room. We believe the room was a hit, she immediately crawled up on the bed and just looked around the room with a smile on her face. She did not want to get off. At the moment it is almost 6:00 am, Kari and Binbin are catching up on badly needed sleep. I have been up since 4:00 am. I just love jet lag!