Wednesday p.m. & Thursday flights

Hello all. We’re writing from a severely jetlagged state of mind, so I’ll go easy on the exclamation points this time ;) Maya was pretty darn suspicious of us in the hotel, and not too happy…but she did have her moments of calm (pic). She did a superb job of sleeping on Wednesday night in the hotel. This of course is from my vantage point of the parent who did not take her on a midnight stroll through Seoul after she woke up from a deep 4 hour “nap.” Jason and she saw some of the Seoul nightlife together as I was passed out in the hotel room.

Thursday morning brought us a slightly bewildered, but nonetheless (fairly) content, happy baby who accompanied us on a quest for caffeine. Once she realized we weren’t such bad people after all, she was willing to let us haul her around the world with few complaints! Earlier in the week we had resigned ourselves to the idea of a horrendous 12 hour return plane trip, with a screaming baby and angry co-passengers. We got none of that! She was so amazingly content, even though the three of us were squished in 2 economy class seats (with a Tibetan woman next to us whose legs kept falling asleep, so she would stomp them on the floor as hard as she could…). Maya charmed many people, and even sat with a friendly woman in front of us so we could eat our dinners. We walked around a lot and visited with the MANY other babies and children as their parents did laps with them around the plane as well! (All that walking left both of us with some serious vertigo once we were back on terra firma. Holy moly…what a trip!) We even befriended a Vietnamese woman with a serious Wisconsin accent (think Fargo, WI- style) who had been adopted after the war and had visited Asia for the first time since she was 3.

We landed at O’Hare, got through security, customs, & IMMIGRATION(!) successfully and without hassle (pic). The last leg of our trip to Lansing was fairly uneventful, and we were all welcomed back home by Ollie, Dad (pic), Jackie, Landon, Larissa, & Lane! Thanks guys!

Oliver joined us for the car ride home. This ride was another anticipated hardship since Maya had never been strapped into a carseat before. But man, is this kid cool. She was totally chilled out the whole ride home! She loved watching Ollie do pretty much anything (breathe, eat, speak…) and he loved entertaining her and holding her (pics; and remember the gumby reference for pic 2). We’re trying to get back into Michigan time (refer to the luggage under my eyes in pic). Yet again, coffee is our friend!

Maya seems to be doing GREAT in our home already! We can get her to laugh like her housemother could (an uninhibited joyful and hearty baby laugh!). Maya and Oliver enjoyed their first bath together (pic). She’s eating well, and we all took her on many walks today. We’re enjoying this exciting time in our lives!

Later!

Pam (& Jason & Oliver)