We made it home!

Finally, home sweet home! We didn't realize how much we would miss the United States.

In 2 weeks we trekked 6 airports, numerous cabs/vans, 1 train, 3 different hotels, & an overnight visit at grandma's.

We left Guangzhou Friday afternoon & took a 2hr train ride to Hong Kong. If only we could take a train to the states. We spent the night in Hong Kong & flew out at 10am the next morning.

The plane ride was a grueling 15 hrs! Neil & I didn't get a wink of sleep. Harper did as expected, barely slept, maybe 3 hours, bored, overtired, irritable etc.

It was hard on all of us. We got to Newark & had a 3hr layover which was nice to walk around. The next flight to St Louis was better, all of us fell asleep. By this time, it had been 24 hours of traveling. We were wiped out!

Our family warmly welcomed us at the St Louis airport. They had welcome home signs & balloons. When Harper gets older, she'll recognize how much she was already a part of our family & very much loved.

Harper's first train ride to Hong Kong
Finally asleep on the airplane

United States citizen!

Welcome Home Harper!

Harper was a bit overwhelmed at first but it didn't take long for her to fit right in with our family.

Life in the United States with Harper is an adjustment. We stayed over at my parents house & she was very comfortable there.

She went to bed @ 10pm & slept until 11pm. Neil & I tag teamed & stayed up w/ her. She went back to bed from 3-5:30am. Not much rest for a toddler. Her days & nights are flipped but we're slowly adjusting it.

Her first carseat ride back to Columbia went well, no crying & she slept the entire 2 hours.

She was dozing off @ 3pm but we managed to keep her up until 6:45. She then slept for over 12 hours, woke up & ate breakfast then right back to bed for another 2 hours.

Again, she was dozing off at 3pm, we kept her up & stimulated & she finally went to bed around 8pm & slept until 6am. This is more like her schedule in China.

In her foster home she slept in bed with her mom. She's been sleeping in bed with me & we're trying to move her to a pack n play. She's not liking that. She definately does not like her crib.

One of our biggest stresses was the dogs. Surprisingly, she actually likes them! Huge relief...

She waves & laughs at them, throws them treats, they love her!

Overall, she is doing much better than we expected. She is a typical 2 yr old, no developmental delays besides her speech (which was expected).

She has a few doctor's appointments in the next week so we'll find out more about the severity of her cleft palate & when she'll have surgery.

We've had her for less than 3 weeks now & it seems like she's been a part of our family for months. We love her to pieces....