Making it home and then some...

 This is the end result of 31 hours of traveling, but trust me, it did not always look so good.  By the time we arrived home we were exhausted.  We had to wake up at 5AM on Friday morning in Seoul (which is 4PM Thursday evening here in Concord).  We had to wake up our little one and drag our luggage to the airport shuttle stop in front of the Renaissance Hotel which was about a 1/4 of mile from the guest house where we were staying.  We had called a taxi to drive us the short trip but he looked at our luggage and said he did not have room.  Uggh.  So I had Anderson on my chest in the ergo baby with his diaper bag while I pulled a suitcase behind me.  And Andy had 2 suitcases, a bookbag, and his backpack with all the electronics in it.  We were a pitiful looking crew.  And wouldn't you know it started raining.  We finally got on the bus and we were about at the airport when Anderson vomited on Andy.  But Andy took it like a champ and we clean them up and Andy put on his extra shirt (only one hour into the trip home.)  The airport was amazingly efficient (like everything else in Korea) so we had over 2 hours to kill in the airport before we boarded our plane.

Here are my two guys just taking it easy before the long plane ride across the Pacific.

 Just chillin'

This picture was taken right before a delightful game of peekaboo between Anderson and me, the after effect was that he came around the chairs and when I held out my arms he walked into my arms and gave me a hug.  It was such a feeling of release that he was going to bond with me and that our family was going to be just fine.

 There was an indoor playground near our gate.  At first Anderson was unsure if he wanted to explore it.  He was content just to sit on Daddy's lap and watch the other kids have fun.

 But before long he had to join in.  We even climbed up the slide like the other big kids were doing.  I am not sure if this mom was completely prepared for all the energy and curiosity this guy has. 

He will watch you do about anything and then try it himself.  Except walk on grass, which we discovered on Sunday that he does not like and has probable had little experience with.  But we are working on it.

But back to the trip home.  The exhausting, trip home that seemed like it would never end.  Anderson really did amazingly well, but he would only let Andy hold him the entire time we were traveling all 31 hours.  By the time we touched down in Charlotte Andy's arm muscles had completely given out, but he held on trough the pain.  He is such an amazing father.

 Our hearts were crushed when we reached NYC and learned that our flight had been cancelled.  Andy broke down in tears when the agent told him that we would not be getting on a flight home for another 7 hours hours (9PM).  They even had to taxi us to another airport.  We had a momentary breakdown when we talked to family and friends and explained we would be much later arriving that planned.  As our family comforted us and encouraged us we could no longer hold back the tears.  Then we pulled it back together not wanting Anderson to see us so upset and knowing that falling apart was not going to solve anything. 

 Father and Son- such a mutual love

Our first photo together as a family of 3 on US soil.

 

 

 

Our family and friends were there to great us at the airport.  Just seeing their faces and being in a familiar setting was such a relief.  My parents drove us home, but even that was challenging.  Anderson had never been in a carseat before and perhaps never even been restrained in any way so he cried and screamed the moment we strapped him in.  He cried for over 25 minutes non-stop.  I was worried he was going to make himself sick.  Finally, when we reached George Liles Parkway he feel asleep.  We arrived home to a house filled with the smell of a pot roast cooking, a stocked refridgerator and cabinets, flowers in vases and many other details that my family had worked on while we were gone to make our transition into parenthood as smooth as possible.  Andy went to sleep almost immediately and slept until noon.  I always have to unpack and try to settle back in before I can fully unwind.  My mom and I gave Anderson a bath.  As it turns out, in the absence of Andy, he was eager to turn to me for comfort.  It was hard to give that up but I was exhausted as well.  So I handed him over to my mother and crawled in bed.  

The next morning I found the two of them curled up on our front porch swing.

 

I haven't taken many photos in the last 3 1/2  days that we have been home.  I have just been soaking up the joy of having our son home.  I mean look at this bundle of joy.  

Yes, he really does sleep like that on a regular basis.

We have been swinging, strolling, dancing, singing, tickling, bouncing, snuggling, exploring, learning, clapping, stacking, and so by the time the end of the day comes around, I just haven't thought about blogging.

We have also been swimming (in the kiddie pool on our back porch).  It is a refreshing activity after being in the heat of the day.  It is a little cool, but after this face comes the laughter.  He loves playing with the cups that drain.  He also loves drinking the water.  We are trying to break that habit.

 Daddy was practicing spiking my hair. 

 Anderson loves to make mommy and daddy dance to the music.  And we will do just about anything to make me giggle.  Just look at that face, can you blame us?

Initially he danced to the music by tilting my head to the left and right, but after watching mommy and daddy dance around the house, he is starting to add some dance moves of his own.

 Getting to my Tia (Aunt Meg).

So many people have stopped by to visit.  Granny, Aunt Julia, and the boys came over.  Anderson went over to Garrett and gave him a hug.  He liked blowing bubbles with Aunt Julia.  He wanted to blow them himself.  He did a good job sticking the wand in the bubble container, but instead of blowing the bubbles, he put the wand in my mouth.

 I had mentioned "stinky face" in another blog post.  We think this is how he breaks the ice and makes friends with new people.  Well, this is "stinky face" which usually changes to surprised face after a couple seconds, then back and forth.

 I know I look tired in this picture.  After seeing it, I decided to put some make-up on today.  But let's keep it real here people.  We are new parents of a toddler with extreme jet-lag, we are tired.  But we are having fun too.  This proof that mommy and Anderson are bonding fantastically since being home.  I wanted to put this picture us to show that even though we are tired we are having so much fun!  In this picture we are laying on a quilt in the front yard trying to get him used to the grass.

Oh Anderson, we have known you for 9 days now.  And in those 9 days you have already brought us so much love and joy.  You are a blessing to us.  We are so lucky that you are our son.