Coming Home, a.k.a. Back To Reality

We checked out of The China Hotel on Friday afternoon at 3:30, received Henry's visa shortly thereafter, hopped into a van with Dr. & Mrs. Dutter and their little boy, and took off for Hong Kong.  The boys made the trip pretty well.  The constant speed-up and braking as we passed through the cities made me a bit queasy, but nothing big-deal.  Henry filled his diaper once.

As if to seal the vision in our minds, we saw high rise after high rise under construction and crane after crane, even in the "smaller" cities from Guangzhou to Hong Kong.  Whenever I used to hear about China having over a billion people, and knowing that big sections of the country were uninhabitable, I wondered where they put everybody. I don't wonder anymore.  They put people one floor on top of another.  Some of the apartment buildings look nice, but we saw many, many buildings in which I'd think nobody would want to live.

Going through customs into Hong Kong was interesting.  Definitely more intense than the Peace Bridge.  The man on the Chinese side checked our paperwork and waved us past.  At the Hong Kong gate, a masked woman opened the door to our van and aimed a gun at each of us and pulled the trigger.  That it was an infrared tool to check our temperatures was a good thing, but still kind of creepy.  We were shortly waved past as our passports and visas checked out okay, and we apparently weren't carrying any diseases.

The drive into Hong Kong was neat given the time of evening.  The buildings around Victoria Harbor were starting to light up, and we wove through traffic to the Regal Kowloon Hotel.  They're renovating this hotel floor by floor, and unless you can get a reservation for one of the updated rooms, we'd suggest finding another hotel.  The noise from the hallway and adjacent rooms was not blocked out in the least, the network did not work for us as it was advertised, the drain in the shower gave us a shower/bath sensation, and the crib they gave us for Henry was a dangerous joke.  The location was cool, but the room was not.

We passed a Subway on the way in, and that sounded like a good dinner to us, so after we got settled I asked the concierge how to get to Subway.  He told me to walk out of the tunnel, make a right, and it would be about a five-minute walk.  Dr. Indiana and I walked out of the tunnel and Subway was right in front of us.  I think the concierge was giving me directions to the subway.
We rose early to catch the airport shuttle, which was very convenient, arrived at the airport and took off on time.  This was welcome because our in-China flights never left on time.  I've got to say, too, that the staffs of the into and out of Hong Kong flights have been the friendliest I've ever seen.  Good job, United, for hiring great workers for long and potentially trying flights.

Going strong after 14 hours on a plane.

We couldn't have asked for a better traveller in Henry.  Sure he was loud at times, but he was always happy, he slept a good bit, and never gave us too much trouble. The only time he really cried was when we strapped him in the car seat at the Cleveland Airport. Grandpa Doug and Lincoln came to pick us up, and Lincoln had a Welcome Home sign that we loved. Jenn and I were thrilled to see Lincoln. Three weeks was too long.
Shortly after we arrived home, Lydia and Grandma Paulette came, and seeing Henry next to Lydia was a sight to behold. After 2 weeks with Henry, we were getting used to him and thinking of him as an 18-month-old, and it's now clear that he's much more like a 12-14 month old when we have Lydia as a point of comparison. That will all change in the next couple of months, though.
Getting home and seeing the three kids together was definitely a dose of reality. So was Henry's crying at 3:00am because of the time change and new environment. And so begins the next chapter of The Gates Experiment. The thought of being the mother and father that each of our individual children need is a bit overwhelming to think about at this point. Thankfully, we don't have to rely on our own strength. The blog posts will be fewer and further between now, but feel free to surf our blog as the days and weeks and months unfold.

Stay tuned for our upcoming Adoption-Themed post of "Things You Need To Have In Order Before You Travel," or "Setting Your Expectations Appropriately." You prospective adopters will not want to miss that.

Manicotti

Jenn and Lincoln made a great manicotti dinner yesterday!It's been a sick week at the Gates Home. Lincoln started coughing about 10 days ago, then his nose started running, and he wasn't sleeping very well at night. That meant that we weren't sleeping well, either. Then Lydia started getting it, and she was looking better Friday morning. Then something went wrong and she cried and screamed for hours on Friday afternoon. After some wrangling on the phone with the doctors' office, she was seen and they suppose that she's got an ear issue. Since starting Tylenol and Amoxi she's been much better. Today she's her pleasant little (?) self!

On Friday Jenn was talking with Lincoln about Mickey Mouse. She said, "When we go to Disney World, you'll be able to meet Mickey, Minnie & Goofy, plus go swimming and ride rides. Doesn't that sound like so much fun?!"

Lincoln replied, "I don't want to go and give Mickey my germs." A budding public health advocate, he is.

Lincoln has also been really into Big Rock Candy Mountain.He and Auntie Haley will have lots to talk about when we are in Scottsdale in a few weeks. (And thank goodness they're getting this sickness out of the way before we get on the plane!)

On Saturday evening we spent a great evening with friends. Two of these friends are moving to Johnstown, PA, soon and Jenn and I are very sad to see them go. We had a bunch of laughs and told a bunch of good stories. It was one of our more fun evenings out in a long time.

Gretel has really been filling out. She's starting to take on a more Bridget-like build, and she's been improving a bit in the "naughty dog" department. She's also been making us laugh lately, like when she takes any lap that she can find, even when there's a baby on it.Update on the robin's nest: Let's just say they didn't get out of Robin Engineering School. The wind (and we've had a lot of it lately) kept blowing down any progress they'd make, and right now there's not a shred of a nest up there. Oh, well.

The Lydia photos have been a bit scant recently. First of all, finding the time to get the camera out has been a challenge, and then finding the time to load and work on the photos has been a bigger challenge. But here are some from the other evening (NRA bib) and some from just this afternoon.

We thought we were onto a new feeding/sleeping phase, but we're learning that it was only a temporary thing. She slept for between 11 and 12 hours for a few nights this past week, but toward the end of the week, she was getting up in the 5 o'clock hour, and that's just not compatible with Jenn's sleeping/work schedule. So we're tweaking things a bit.

Lincoln has been into his John Deere DVDs big time. He doesn't want to watch any other shows, which is fine with us. He's never been terribly interested in television. So when we have other DVDs on, such as Toy Story or Chicken Run, he says after just a few minutes, "Can I have the John Deere DVD, please. I like them because they have John Deeres in them." It's really cute. He has parts 1 through 4. If you're looking for a gift idea for his upcoming birthday, there's a new DVD of part 5 that comes with all of the songs on one CD.

The other day Lincoln asked me, "How does Mommy get the milk in there?"

Lydia continues to be a spitter-upper, and she continues to poop-bomb her clothes.

Lincoln has been quite antagonistic toward Gretel recently. He moves the heater when she's laying in front of it. He also doesn't want her within feet of his personal space. "I need some space, Gretel!" he says. "Get out of my space!" He doesn't hold Betty to these standards, though. I told him this morning that if he continued to be mean to Gretel then I would take the heater away from him. So he turned the heater toward Gretel in one of the most selfless moves I've seen him make toward her... ever. That's not to say he's not into sharing. It's not unusual for him to offer me a bite of his dessert, and you ought to see how into dessert he is! The good news is that Gretel has really been good with him. She looks quizzically at him and just keeps on doing her thing. She still has many puppy moments, but she's turning into a good family dog.

My new snow-thrower has been getting a workout recently, and I love it. It was a great purchase that has literally bought me more time in the house this winter.

Our local Sears Hardware is going out of business, so for the past couple of weekend Lincoln and I have gone over there to see how deep the sales are. They've been at 10-30% off, but I heard from one of the workers that they'll be dipping to 70% before it's all said and done. So we'll see if I can be there when the fridge we want drops. Hmmmm...

Anyway, that's all for now.

IFC Thanksgiving Dinner

Lot's has been going on with us lately. Jenn and I have been running on fumes as Lydia has yet to consistently move beyond waking up every 3 hours on the hour. She's super cute, though, so we're okay with it.

Lincoln has entered a new phase of his verbal skills. He's coming up with some funny stuff, a la Kids Say The Darndest Things. Spend more than 15 minutes with him and you'll see what I mean. For instance, he picked up a Reese's and asked, "What is this?" I answered, "A Reese's Cup." He replied, "It's a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. That's what you meant to say."
Sunday evening we all went to the Internation Friendship Connections Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner at HCC. There were over 700 people there, and most of the internationals had never been a part of a Thanksgiving Dinner... they didn't even know what Thanksgiving is. Yunfei was there and it was nice to catch up with her. We haven't seen her since the HotAir Balloon Festival. She's quite busy doing her graduate work and working. Lincoln took a while to warm up, but once he was comfortable with his surroundings, he become the center of attention of the four tables surrounding his chair. He was a total ham after dinner. Maybe is was the combination of 1/2 a Pumpkin Pie and 2/3 of an Apple Pie!

Lincoln is more than excited to set up his Christmas Tree. While looking for something in the basement, Jenn and Lincoln found our small, artifical tree. Jenn told him we could set it up in his room. They then went to Hobby Lobby and picked out some train ornaments and blue and white jingle bells (Lincoln really wanted blue jingle bells!). After Thanksgiving, we're going to get the house ready for Christmas. (Not a minute before, like some crazies I know! [You know who you are!])

We are greatly anticipating our time with Auntie Em, Uncle Jeremy, Grace & Cole. They're driving up this evening our Thanksgiving dinner is planned for Thursday. This will be the first time the've seen Lydia! (Recall Lincoln's first Thanksgiving.)

I'll post our Thanksgiving photos as we get them. Enjoy your time with your family this Thanksgiving.

Reading with Grandma Laura & Football with Grandfather (pa) Dave

I'll sneak this photo in just before we leave. Lincoln is officially warmed up to Grandma Laura and Grandfather Dave. All it took was a book.
Lincoln calls Grandfather Dave "Pa," just like he does Grandpa Doug, so he may be taking away the "Grandfather" title and giving him "Pa." In any event, Lincoln has enjoyed his time with Pa Dave in this classic Ohio fall weather.

Brunch & Hikes

This has been a fun start to the weekend. We found out on Thursday and Friday that Lincoln needs the swaddle to take quality naps. This isn't the worst thing because his swaddler can travel with him. He's proven that he's capable of sleeping without it an night. He slept a ton last night (11+ hours) and he took two good naps this morning and is in the middle of another good one now.


Jenn hosted a brunch for the Counselors of Camp Lincoln this morning. It was a lot of fun, and Lincoln was on his best behavior. On the menu: Praline Pecan French Toast, Sage Mustard Sausage, Garlic & Herb Tomatoes, Blueberry Peach Cobbler with Ginger Lime Whipped Cream and Pomegranate Breakfast Soda. We stuffed ourselves.

Then we took Lincoln on his first hike in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. He's been enjoying the Baby Bjorn and he was having a big time. He's been enjoying the outdoors lately, and this walk was especially fun for him. He was wide-eyed from the start and looking all around. It's good exercise because he has to hold his head up, and he was pretty tired when he got back in the car. He didn't put up a fuss when it was naptime after the walk.

Not a day has gone by that we haven't been able to learn something about Lincoln. I guess if we keep taking things one day at a time we'll figure him out by the time he leaves for college.

Camp Lincoln

Lincoln had a fun Craft Time during his stay at Camp Lincoln (Sali Harlan's home).
Lincoln's first Biology lesson.
Lincoln doesn't know it yet, but he's going to love S'mores!
Lincoln had gone 1 week without having a poopy diaper...and then... it happened.
Jenn and I are VERY appreciative to Sali and the ladies of ORU for taking such good care of our little man.

Back to work

Jenn went back to work today.  I can't say she was excited about it.  Lincoln went to Grandma Paulette's place where he has historically been an all-star.

"Camp Lincoln" is almost here.  Because Grandpa Doug and Grandma Paulette are vacationing this coming week, Lincoln was in need of a babysitter.  Enter the ladies of O.R.U.  Sali Harlan, good friend of Grandma Paulette, offered to care for Lincoln on Monday and Tuesday, then the others from their circle of friends offered to be a part of his days, and now, as I understand it, things have mushroomed/snowballed into an elaborate "Camp Lincoln."  When I asked them to send me some pictures of the event to post here on the blog, I was informed that there will be much more than pictures.  It has been brought to my attention that there will be nothing short of professional photographs and collages outlining his time with his "counselors."  Lincoln doesn't know it's coming, but if he did, he wouldn't be able to contain himself.  It all starts on Monday morning!