We are home!

We left our hotel in Guangzhou at 6 a.m. Thursday. 24 hours later we walked into our house, a very happy if tired gang of four.

But first, here's a clip of Alex from the day before we left. We used Google Translate to tell him this:

And here was his reaction:

So with Alex's approval, we headed home!

We took a van from Guangzhou to Hong Kong that left at 6 a.m.. Our guide warned us -- "Hong Kong driver! Fasten your seat belts!" It was certainly the fastest we had traveled on ground anywhere in China! We arrived safe and sound at the Hong Kong airport, where Alex was thrilled to see airplanes.

Alex was so excited to go "swoosh" up in the air!

It was a LONG flight, 15 hours and 12 minutes. Thankfully Alex slept for quite a bit of it. When he wasn't sleeping he was a busy boy. He only summoned the flight attendant to the bathroom once by pushing the emergency button. He turned his seat light on and off a few hundred times, played constantly with the seatback video display, used the iPad  to play games and take silly photos, watched a Chinese DVD on the laptop and snacked, snacked and had more snacks! Caroline and I both got in a bit of sleep while he slept; Leah had more trouble sleeping and arrived the most exhausted of us all.

But finally, we landed in Newark! We went through immigration where they inspected his Chinese passport and US consulate paperwork, ushered us to a special glass door and used a swipe card to allow us to exit. He's good to go as a US citizen!

My sister Heidi made the trip back to Newark to pick us up (thank you again, Heidi!). It was chilly with a touch of snow on the ground; Alex had never seen snow before. We piled everyone into her van, where Alex greeted cousin Mason by continually trying to stroke his cheek. Mason didn't think much of that, but Alex loves smaller kids and that's how he shows it.

After picking up my car at Heidi's house, we made the rest of the drive home. While we were still unloading suitcases the girls ran upstairs with Alex to show him his room. He came down to the landing on the stairs and stood there with a big smile saying "Mama! Come!" I went upstairs and he pointed into his bedroom, then to his own chest, grinning from ear to ear. Yes, Alex, that is your room!

He met the animals. The cats are OK; he doesn't want them in his bedroom but will tolerate them elsewhere. We gave him a slow introduction to the dogs; first mild-mannered Sophie who would just lie on the floor and let him pet her. He was initially terrified, practically climbing on my shoulders to get away from her, but gradually was willing to pet her as long as she didn't put her head anywhere near him. Understandable! So far he has not been brave enough to go near Roxy, but I'm sure he will soon be trying to boss her around too. Later that night when he was asked what he thought of the dogs, he gave them a thumbs-down!

After dinner (Boston Style pizza and sandwiches for the girls, Ramen noodles for Alex) and saying hello to a few visitors who had to get a look at Alex, we headed to bed. He was surprisingly willing to go to bed alone in his room, after popping back out of bed a few times. However, his sleep schedule was still on China time, so he was up at my door many times during the night. I finally gave up and slept in his bed just to cut down on the up-and-down activity. He was still awake much of the night, but was content just to reach out and touch me. Now he is sleeping in, happily, so Mama can enjoy her coffee and computer and play Scrabble on the iPad with today's other early riser, Caroline.

We are eager to introduce him to more family and friends.

Thank you to everyone for following along as we make Alex part of our family!