Home, Sweet Home (An Update!)

First things first, above is Katie now. If you go back to earlier post, you'll see that she barely resembles the little girl that I carefully undressed in Nanchang, redressed lovingly and tried not to upset too much not even 4 weeks ago. My first few days home, I missed China terribly...though I was very happy to be home with my boys! Now this trip of a lifetime seems a bit like a dream. Our days were so different over there that it is almost hard to believe it really happened. But it did, and our lives will never be the same. Thank goodness!

Katie is doing just fabulous. She is sitting unaided and is able to reach for things from a sitting position without toppling over. Even last week, she needed a pillow to keep her balance. She is starting to eat and can now feed herself Gerber baby 'puffs.' Two days ago they made her gag. Yesterday she could eat them cut in 1/2 only if you stayed close to keep returning them to her mouth. Today, she gets them in herself (with a little effort...) and they don't come out much. She is really rewarding to work with because she learns things very quickly! She can also stand up at a toy for awhile without help. She may crawl pretty soon, but I am starting to think that she might just walk without crawling. She enjoys tummy time, but it usually turns into a barrel roll across the floor (once she starts rolling, she loves to keep going!).

She is sleeping great! She fell asleep at 6:30 pm the first night home (the flight landed at 4pm) and she slept though most of her welcome home party! She didn't get up until about 5am, then she ate and returned to sleep. That is her pattern now. She is in bed usually by 6pm, then wakes between 5:30 and 6:30 for a bottle, then sleeps another hour or so. She takes 2 naps during the day, between 1-2 hours each. She goes down for bed or naps really easy. Katie really only fusses much if she is tired or hungry. She's a very happy, content baby during the day and a real joy to be with. She has 2 new teeth through on top, so she is a bit happier about that, but she didn't even fuss a lot about her teething. She is almost a carbon copy of Alex, behavior-wise, as a baby. I hope this continues (everyone told me I'd never get that lucky again...).

Katie visited the doctor the third day home and was pronounced healthy as a horse! Well, she still has to have about 30 vials of blood drawn to check for everything under the sun, but otherwise she looks good. She is 15-1/4 lbs. She is around the 50% for height on the US charts (there are separate growth charts for China). Dr. Schmandt thought she was on target for everything except motor development, but I think she has just about caught up for that, too! She is babbling like crazy, so I am curious to see how her English language develops. I have heard that the transition from hearing Chinese to English slow spoken language by 3-4 months, but at her age it might not be as evident. The sounds of the two languages are very different, so I could be wrong. We'll see. It's a fun journey that just keeps getting better by the day!

Thanks again to everyone who has let us know that they were following along on our trip. I just can't tell you enough how much that means to all of us. Someday, Katie will learn about how she became a Tillock, and it will probably be somewhat hard for her to understand what happened to her in China. I know for certain it will be even harder when she becomes a mother herself and understands exactly what it would take for a mother to have to abandon a child. I hope that things like knowing how many people cared about her before she even reached US soil will help cushion the blow a bit.

For anyone who's been waiting for an update, I'm sorry it has taken so long! While Katie had virtually no jet lag, her mommy had enough for the entire flight! I am still not doing great, though every day is an improvement. I am up way past my bedtime to do this, but I know some of you out there are anxious to know how Katie is doing. In a word, great! Her big brother, Alex, is also doing well. I was really nervous about how he'd react to both of us, but he has been a really good big brother to Katie. He is anxious for her to get up in the morning, likes to help feed her, and makes her laugh harder than anyone else can. Katie gets a lot of attention, both at home and in public, and he endures it all quite well.

More later. I'll do an orphanage update soon, but we did hear from her orphanage in Suichuan last week. They just wanted to know how she is doing and they missed her already!

Katie and mom with the stork in the yard (in the rain!) announcing Katie's arrival home! We've waited a long time to see that stork...

This picture captures Alex's love for his baby sister, but Katie is usually much happier to be with him. After a few days, Alex decided that he wanted me to go back to China for 2 more baby sisters! He continues to ask for them still.

Katie playing with a stand-up toy. She is standing without help and can do so for a few minutes at a time.

Homecoming!

After a long journey, our family is finally together at home. The picture above is the first one I took of Brad holding his daughter. The look on his face says it all to me. It was very difficult for me to make this trip without him, but he made it easy for me. Back when we were researching adoption options, we had decided that it would be best that only one of us travel to bring home our child. We knew that Alex was too young for us to want to take on such a trip, plus his life-threatening peanut allergy all but makes that impossible anyway. We also felt that for Alex to be away from his parents for so long, then have them show up with a baby sister also wasn't the right thing for our family. Every family finds a solution that works for them, and as we look back, we are glad we made the decision we did.

We arrived home around 4pm on Friday, March 3. Many friends and family welcomed us home at the airport, then many more visited us at our house that evening (at our invitation). This worked well for us as we were all pretty excited from the trip (except Katie who went to bed before 7 at her own party!) and it allowed us to hibernate for the rest of the weekend. For me, the absolute highlight of coming home was wrapping my arms around Alex again. His friends at school had helped him make a sign for us and he was dressed in his new "I'm the big brother" t-shirt. I couldn't get out of the terminal fast enough and around the corner to see him! Kids his age have different reactions to a trip like this, and I was very concerned that he would be upset with me for leaving. Luckily, he did great and was just thrilled to have me home! He stayed close to my side at the airport while Brad introduced Katie to everyone. He has continued to enjoy the perks of big brotherhood and is really doing well with Katie so far. He even stayed up Friday night to help feed her, and he enjoys helping us take care of her and play with her. I'm sure the excitement will die down soon enough. Having two children is working well for us (note I'm only 4 days into it as I write this).

I'm also grateful to our small but mightily welcoming crew in Chicago. We had a 3 hour layover, so that was enough time for a few close friends to come meet Katie. Thanks to Cheryl, Andrea, Cathy, Natalie, Lydia and Clark for welcoming us to American soil. Special thanks to Cathy for bringing lunch that included fresh lettuce and tomatoes! After 2-1/2 weeks with no fresh produce, that was a treat!

Unfortunately, my camera battery died at the airport in St. Louis, so I don't have many pictures of our big homecoming. Cameras were everywhere, though, so I'll add more when I get my hands on them.

Finally, thanks to everyone who has called or e-mailed with good wishes. While Katie made the time zone change without a hiccup (still sleeping 12 hours a night since she landed), I have been hit hard by jet lag. Saturday, Sunday, Monday and now Tuesday (it is 2am as I type this) I have been way off and sleep about 6 hours during the day and just a bit at night. Luckily, Brad is able to cover my 'down' hours and I try to nap when Katie does. Hopefully, I'll have my days and nights straight soon!

Alex and Katie spending some time together at home.

Katie happy to be home! Note that she's sitting up great on her own these days, just an occasional tumble when she goes after something a little too far away. (Cheryl, note she's 'borrowing' Alex's blanket!)

The rain followed us home from China, but that couldn't stop our enthusiasm for the big stork that landed in our front yard helping us to share the good news that Katie was home.

It's pretty easy to see who Katie adores...

Katie meeting Andrea in Chicago. Pink everywhere!

Alex showing off his "I'm the Big Brother" t-shirt at the airport.

Katie dressed and ready to get off the plane. She already misses Grandma Bowen a lot!

Katie meeting Cheryl in Chicago.

Katie meeting Cathy in Chicago. Thanks again for lunch!

The Long Road Home (Well, Flight Really...)

Friday. Our last travel day! As my mom said after we arrived home, it was the longest Friday in her life. And actually, she was right. We got up at 6:30 am in Hong Kong and arrived home at 4pm CST which is actually 6:00 am in China.

We got up Friday morning, gave Katie a bath (which she loves!), got ready and I took one of the 2 loads of luggage over to the airport to check it in. This was one of the smartest things I'd done the entire trip! Long before we left home, I had wondered how mom and I would handle all the baggage. I went light on the way there, but we had big shopping plans. Friends had said that once we got to Guangzhou, we wouldn't have to handle the luggage again. That is true, except you must get it from the hotel lobby to the airport, which is not far except when you have 2 carts of luggage plus a baby in a stroller. So I checked us in early with 2 bags, then mom and I returned after breakfast with the remaining bags. In the meantime, we enjoyed one last buffet breakfast with the Rainey's.

The plan was packed (I was told by the flight attendants on both Hong Kong to Chicago flights that this is typical), but we somehow got lucky enough to get economy plus seats which gave us 5 extra inches of space. Every little inch is appreciated. We were told we'd have a bassinet several times, but the flight attendant laughed at us and said that was only for bulkhead seats. I thought that was true initially, but several people, including a flight attendant, said there were bassinets for 'regular' seats, too. Live and learn!

Katie slept like a trooper, though she took up 1-1/2 seats most of the time. She took a short nap when we first got on, giving mom and I the opportunity to have dinner. We played awhile, then she went down for a 8 to 9 hour rest. The flight went amazingly fast for us! I had been dreading the international flight with an infant for almost a year now...everyone likens it to 'labor' that you experience with a biological child. For me, the epidural kicked in at take off and it was relatively pain-free!

Katie enjoying her last bath in China.

Katie and mommy calling home one last time from Hong Kong.

Katie asleep on the plane. This position worked for the first nap, then she was moved to the window seat for her longer rest, where she was at more of an angle so that she took up 1-1/2 of our 3 seats!

As usual, my ability to get these photos in the correct order is limited. This is Katie playing on the floor our last morning in China.

Katie and Grandma getting ready for Katie's last bath in China. She knows exactly what is about to happen and is giddy with excitement (Katie, not Grandma!).

On Our Way HOME!

Wow. Two and a half weeks have passed, I feel like I've known Katie all her life and I've been drinking boiled water (and not eating dairy, fresh fruits or vegetables) for that long. I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this, but the water is not drinkable anywhere we've been. It either has to be boiled in a hot pot in the room or come out of a sealed bottle. Not convenient! But it's almost all over and Katie will step foot (or roll in her stroller) on American soil tomorrow (well, technically, tomorrow will be like a 98 hour day or something for us since we're crossing back over the date line).

Today we checked out of the hotel after breakfast and a little shopping. I dropped off a couple of bags of adoptive parent supplies at Jennifer's place...extra formula, powdered gatorade, diaper wipes, etc. that I didn't want to haul home. They have a few shelves where they store this stuff and anyone that comes in there can have it. I didn't want the weight going home and hope that it helps out someone in the future making this same journey.

We took a bus to the train station, boarded a train for Hong Kong and enjoyed a first class ride! Uncle Bob would've been in heaven. Beautiful scenery (the weather finally cleared up on our last day here) , big seats and even drink and cookies served to us. In Hong Kong, we had a 45 minute ride to the Regal Airport Hotel where we'll spend the night. Tomorrow, we'll head to the airport around 9am and begin the last day+ of this journey. I'm actually going to miss China. It was sad for me to tell Katie that she is leaving the only country she's known, but I don't think it phased her much. Quite frankly, I'm not sure she was ever outside the orphanage, so every day is such an adventure for her. She is happy as a clam just watching the world go by outside the bus/train/cab/whatever window.

Katie is sitting up by herself well these days and even enjoys playing on her stomach. She loves to take a bath and splashes like crazy. She even has a ball getting her diaper changed. She has changed so much before my eyes in the last couple of weeks. She is a happy, content and beautiful baby. I am so filled with love for her and I absolutely cannot wait until Brad lays eyes on her. She will have him wrapped around her finger in no time. Alex is VERY excited for us to be home, and I just hope that once the excitement wears off, the shock of actually having this baby sister we've talked about so long isn't too stressful for him. I'm sure there will be an adjustment period. I think he'll have fun with Katie, though. She's going to adore him!

Thanks so much for joining us on the journey. Your comments and e-mails made China feel much closer to home, and mom and I enjoyed hearing from many of you. If you haven't had time to leave a comment yet, I invite you to do so. I want to share these with Katie so that she knows how many folks loved her even before they met her. She has walked a thousand miles from the time she was born and then abandoned at the step of a store on a busy street to where she is now, coming home to be part of a forever family in Shiloh, Illinois. As I said many days ago, we are all very lucky here.

I'll update this blog as soon as I'm up to it with Homecoming photos from the airports. Can't wait to see everyone!
Much love!
Lori

First step, Grandma and Katie on the bus leaving the White Swan Hotel.

Katie at the train station...happy as ever!

If you look closely, you'll see the porters with our luggage on carts coming up the regular escalators. These carts were packed with 9-12 bags each! Our guides teased us because we came with 25 bags and left with 35. Mom and I were responsible for 2 of those extra bags, and the 2 we bought were bigger than any of the bags we came with. Good shopping!

Mom and Katie leading the pack to the train station.

Deanna, Shelby and JD excited to be boarding the bus and getting one step closer to home.

A view from the bus in Hong Kong. This is the busiest shipping port in the world, and all of the pointy things you see are giant cranes that move the shipping crates onto and off of the boats. To see the port in person is amazing...

Katie happily played in her new room at the Regal Airport Hotel in Hong Kong. She's very excited to meet Daddy and Alex.

Loading the luggage onto the bus. If you can see a black bag with an upside down "R," that belongs to the Rainey's. All of the suitcases we bought in China basically look the same, so we personalized them with duct tape so that we can find them in a crowd.

Katie is also excited to meet Grandpa Bowen (pictured in book with Alex)...

... And Grandma & Grandpa Tillock, Great Grandma and Grandpa Hayer, Aunt Lynette & Hayley. She's enjoyed seeing everyone's pictures in her photo album, and soon she'll see you all in person.

Good night one last time from China...

Blessed and Ready to Head Home

Today we spent the morning at the Six Banyan Temple where Katie was blessed by a monk. Only 3 families went to the temple and only us chose to have our babie blessed, the Kinnamon's and us. That was fine, more blessings for us! It was a neat little ceremony, but the most ironic thing to me was that the monk was dressed in traditional, simple clothes and had a Nike (brand) ski cap on his head to keep his shaved head warm. I had just slipped out of my Nike tennis shoes (no shoes on during the blessing), so I felt like that was a sign from Buddha that Katie would have much luck and a long and prosperous life. Everything is about good luck here in China, so sometimes I make up my own little sources of luck!

Mom and I shopped like maniacs today to spend the last of our Yuans. We shopped before leaving for the Temple, then shopped until we went to the American Consulate at 2:45. Then we returned home and I picked up a few more things. After dinner, I did the remaining little shopping and picked up an additional suitcase. (For anyone keeping count, I have added 2 bags that are both larger than any of the 3 I came with.)

The American Consulate visit was our last hurdle before traveling home. No cameras were allowed, so no pictures, but you're not missing much. We rode a bus for almost an hour, sat in a large room with lots of other adoptive parents, eventually were told to raise our right hand and swear about a couple of different things, then we got our Visa for Katie and could leave. And so we can now leave China.

We celebrated with a "group" dinner with me and 3 of the other families in our group of 9 families. Since arriving at the White Swan, our travel group has somewhat lost our bond to each other. Some families are sticking close to their room, mostly due to not feeling great and being ready to be home. It isn't as easy to just leave your door open here, and there is always a woman in the middle of our hallway watching us come and go, so it is a more formal environment. I have found that I have spent more time with different people than I did in Nanchang, so I can honestly say that I feel like I know everyone from our original group of 7 very well. I hope we can all stay in touch as our daughters grow up.

Afterwards, mom helped supervise my packing up of our stuff. The extra suitcase that I purchased tonight was needed. Everything is full, but not over stuffed like coming over here. We are definitely leaving with a lot more stuff than we came with. I figure about 1/3 of what is coming home actually came with us, the rest is from shopping. (Brad, don't worry! You won't believe how cheap it is over here. This is like Target's 75% of clearance EVERY day. No sale needed...plus I've gotten to be a pretty good bargainer.)

We take the train to Hong Kong tomorrow, then Friday morning we're on the plane to Chicago. I'm not sure I've ever looked more forward to coming home...

It's 11:30 here now, so I'm heading to bed since it is an early morning for us. Sorry, no captions on the photos. I'll try to add those tomorrow.

Mom and Katie were both astounded here, as you can see by the looks on their faces, to see Elvis is alive and well and living here at a Temple in China as a Monk. (Okay, not entirely the truth, but I loved this photo so much I had to include it. -L)

Katie's last night in mainland China...

Brad, you might need a U-Haul truck...