Sarah Martin: February 2010

February 22, 2010

Sarah Martin is 16 months old today!

Oh, how we love her!

February 12, 2010

February 10, 2010

Sweet Home Alabama

Jillian after 12 hours in the air.

U.S. Citizen!
Landing in Chicago

We were welcomed home with banners, bows, food, friends & family.

Big Sister

Baby Sister

"There's no place like home".

I've had a difficult time honoring my blog commitments since our return home (and while in China). Blame it on jet lag or exhaustion or the fact that I have a nineteen pound baby stuck to my hip the majority of the day. Sarah Martin loves her momma and doesn't like to be separated from me. She will play with Jason and Nana in a pinch, but she gets fussy after only a couple of minutes. We are very pleased with her attachment to us and couldn't ask for a happier baby. The first three days with her were brutal. Our sweet baby missed her loved ones desperately in those first days. We were prepared for these emotions and somewhat relieved that she grieved for her nannies. It indicated that she had formed a strong attachment early in her life, so we knew she shouldn't have difficulty attaching to us...with time. I assumed the role of Momma Bear and Jason was my wingman, and I really think that helped her realize that we were her mom & dad and we were there to love and protect her. She is such a delight and our experience has been every bit as magical as our time with Jillian. I'll post more about her personality when I can sneak some more time away. Thank you all for the sweet emails and comments! I haven't had the opportunity to respond, but I've read most of them. We still have our days and nights mixed up and I've been taking a short nap with Sarah Martin during the day instead of emailing or blogging. She is a good napper, but wakes up each night after sleeping for a couple of hours. I haven't gotten up to turn on the lights, so I've listened to her babble and laugh from 10:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. for the last three nights. She slept all night while in China, so wish me luck as I try to get her acclimated to Alabama time.

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BTW~It has taken me over two hours to upload this blog post. We seriously need to get back on some sort of routine.

February 5, 2010

Flight Information

2/6/10 Guangzhou-Beijing CA1330 Leave 10:00 a.m. Arrive: 1:00 p.m.
2/6/10 Beijing-Chicago UA850 Leave: 5:25 p.m. Arrive: 4:22 p.m.
2/6/10 Chicago-Huntsville UA5720 Leave: 6:25 p.m. Arrive: 8:03 p.m.

All times are local.

February 3, 2010

Shopping & The Red Couch

We've been busy buying twenty homeland gifts to give to Sarah Martin each year on her Gotcha Day. My favorite gifts are the handmade embroidery from Changsha and the jewelry. I found the prettiest jade earrings to give to Sarah Martin when she is sixteen and Jason selected a beautiful strand of pearls for her wedding day. All I need now is a few more mandarin dresses and another suitcase to hide the twenty pairs of shoes I bought for the girls.

Our travel group got together yesterday to pose for photos on the famous red couch at our hotel. Sarah Martin was sleepy, but she tolerated the photo session with minimal tears. The oath-taking ceremony at the American Consulate is this afternoon. Our guide will pick up Sarah Martin's passport & visa tomorrow afternoon and we'll be on our way home on Saturday!