There's No Place Like Home

We are home - yes, home sweet home!

I think I nearly kissed the poor immigration officer when we checked in at the Atlanta Airport.  Katie stole my thunder by cutely pumping her fist and cheering "Eww A"  (That's USA in toddler language).  How could the officer turn that down?

We landed in Atlanta thirty minutes early, and getting through immigration was a piece of cake.  We got through in record time and nearly made an earlier flight, but we were just 20 minutes too late.  At the time, we were bummed, but our family time in the airport was so special.  We sat down and had dinner, Katie ran in her little tipsy form all over the airport hallway, knocking into anyone and anything possible.  And Rosa?  She was perfectly happy with bumblebee in hand.

Our flight to Pittsburgh was wonderful.  The plane was full of support for us.  Two people came up and told us that they were adopted also, and we had several people wishing us the best by the time the flight was over.  Considering Katie screamed until the plane took off, we were surprised!  But God filled that flight with amazing folks and got us safely to our hometown. 

When we landed, we met with our wonderful family.  Although the girls were tired, Katie instantly recognized her Abuela and started singing E I E I O with her (something they did many times together over Skype).  After a mixup over suitcases and nearly running out of gas on the way home, we DID make it home and got things setup for the girls.  We tucked them into bed and snuggled into our own bed (with the video monitor on high sound). 

When did they wakeup?  Bright and early - right on the dot - at 6am.  Ugh.  Room darkening shades will be my best friend!  We started our family routine and got breakfast going, ran errands, and began our near life as a family. 

Positives of Things So Far:
1)  They both are sleeping well.  In fact, today, Katie slept in until 6:45 and Rosa slept until 7:30!  And that was WITHOUT room darkening shades.  We put the shades up tonight, so we will see what happens tomorrow morning.

2)  Katie is talking more.  She is trying to repeat words we say even more than she did in Colombia.  We might have a little talker here before we know it. 

3)  They are eating like champs.  After the first full day home, Rosa finally had a good night's rest, her normal naps, and began to eat again.  She can't afford to go without eating, so we were so happy to see her eat today.

4)  They met Mo, our dog, and the meeting went well.  Mo seems to understand that these girls mean a lot to us, and she is being very patient with them, even when Rosa does a Rosa Attack without warning.  I'm so proud of Mo!

5)  The girls saw snow for the first time this morning.  They were definitely confused by it, but Katie seemed to like it when I brought some snow in for her to touch. 

Challenges We Have Faced:
1)  Because the girls only got 6 hours of sleep the first night home, the next day was tricky, especially for Rosa.  Rosa just had a hard time adjusting.  She didn't nap normally the next day, she wouldn't eat much, and she hated her rear-facing car seat.  The poor darling didn't have a rear-facing car seat since birth.  She was used to being held on a lap in the backseat of a car for as long as she can remember.  Now, she is strapped in facing AWAY from Mommy and Daddy, and even with the mirror we bought her, she just screamed yesterday.  Today, she was a bit better.  I can't wait until she can face forward.

2) The girls are definitely overstimulated right now.  Their play room is awesome with all the toys and everything, but to them, that is more than they have ever seen, and it is overwhelming to them.  Both of them have focused just on a couple of toys and play with them endlessly.  We are trying to be careful with how many toys we introduce to them because of the stimulation issue.

3)  I am actually trying to make the adjustment from Colombia to the USA.  I am so happy to be home, but a month of living in another culture definitely changes you.  I have been walking around a bit disoriented.  The house feels so big, I can flush my toilet paper, I'm driving again, and oh yeah - I have two kids now!  I know I will snap out of it and get into the swing of things soon, but it is going to take me time, too.  It makes me have a heart for the girls more because if I am having trouble, I can't imagine how the girls are feeling!

Honestly, things are going great.  We are establishing routines, meeting family and friends, and enjoying watching our girls thrive in their new environment.  We can't wait to see where they are in only a few weeks and then a few months!  I feel so excited thinking about it.