Hi everyone!!!! I first want to say thanks to everyone who has read the blog and commented. It's amazing to think of how many people are wishing our little one well. We've been home just over a week now and things have finally settled back into a routine. We were quite out of sorts for awhile, hence the lack of updates, but fortunately my family was here to keep us all straight. When we landed in Detroit, one of the flight attendants made the usual announcements and then followed with "There are 14 babies on board who will become citizens in just a few minutes". Everyone on board clapped and more than one new mom wiped away tears, this one included. It was such a neat way to end that long, tedious flight! The three of us exited the plane with huge smiles and nasty colds. Customs was a breeze and the officers were great. The officer took Kaitlyn's Chinese passport and said that with just a few keystrokes she'd be a U.S. citizen. First, he said with a wink, he'd need to check the database and make sure that she hadn't robbed any banks.. Her record was "clean" so the officer finished entering the data and told Kaitlyn to get ready. He wanted to make sure that she was paying attention during the big moment. He stamped her passport and with that, it was all official. He looked at Kaitlyn and said, "you don't know how lucky you are". We both smiled and nodded. Then he looked at us and said, "I wasn't talking about her, I was talking about the two of you". We smiled again because we knew he was right.

We gathered our luggage, made the last customs stop and headed for "the doors". I always love going through those doors when I come home from China. It means that I've reached the end of the journey and that I can get back to normalcy. I was excited about the doors this time, but the significance was very different. This time the doors meant that the journey was just beginning.

Mom and Dad were on the other side and I nearly melted when I saw those huge smiles on their faces. I think Mom might have actually squealed and dad grappled to get the video camera up and running. Kaitlyn gave mom the "I don't know about you" look for about a minute. I then put her down and let her show off her squeaky shoes. She danced for them and once she saw that she made them laugh she decided that they were pretty ok. We walked to the parking structure and while dad and Larry tried to figure out how to make our luggage fit, mom and I tried to figure out how to install a car seat. All of us eventually got it sorted out, so we strapped Kaitlyn in and headed for home. We weren't sure how she would deal with the carseat, but she did fine and was asleep within a matter of minutes.

The first few days home were trying and I am incredibly thankful that Dad, Mom and Micah were here to help. Mom, Micah, Larry and Me took turns taking care of Kaitlyn during the night (she would wake up 2-3 times) and Dad made sure that each of us had breakfast the next morning. To say the least, Kaitlyn bonded with the three of them. I think she was a little bit sad to see them go because she seemed to be out of sorts all day Sunday.

It's hard to think of a word to describe this week. Kaitlyn is finally back into a sleep routine and Larry and I are too. It's been amazing being home with her during the day and bonding with her. Larry wakes up before Kaitlyn and eats breakfast. She wakes up soon afterward and he drops her off in the bed with me while he makes her first bottle. Tigger bounces and giggles for a few minutes and then lets out a shriek when she sees Larry come in the room with the bottle. Larry gives her the bottle and I get a little more shuteye. After the bottle, Larry takes a shower and leaves for work. Kaitlyn and I watch a few minutes of the Today show and then we get up and have breakfast. After that we play for awhile...well actually we don't play. I sit in the floor and she uses me as her jungle gym. It makes her laugh, so why the heck not?

The two of us went out yesterday to get groceries. I was a little worried about that first outing, but there was no need. We both made it through and had a nap once we got back home. I've grown quite fond of naps and I fear that the Physics department will discourage me from continuing the practice once I return to work.

I've been having trouble going to bed before midnight, but I think it's actually going to happen tonight. It's 10:40 right now and all I need to do before going to bed is add some pictures. Now that we have a routine, I'll be updating the blog a little more regularly. Again, thanks for all of your encouraging words, thoughts, and prayers!!!!!

Nikki