Gotcha Day!

Gotcha Day is adoption lingo for the day that you get your baby.  So October 15th is our Gotcha Day!  Truly a day we will never forget.  Our flight didn’t leave until early evening and we were to meet to get Avery at 2:30.  We pretty much just wasted away the morning packing, dinking around the computer and doing some last minute shopping for some more of these really great Korean face masks, seriously they are awesome.  We wanted to get one more good Korean lunch in, but we couldn’t find a quick little restaurant so we settled for quick bite at the bakery.  Yum, chocolate cream puffs – now that’s lunch!  We were both dreading taking Avery from her foster mom.  We had just found out that Avery was her first foster baby and she raised her basically since she was born.  Wow, I can’t even imagine giving up a baby after 13 months.   She is an incredible woman and we know that Avery could not have had a better first year of life.  What a blessing for us.  And wow is was very emotional and just really strange.  Foster mom came by herself, she gave us a few more of Avery favorite treats and toys for the plane ride and then literally she hands Avery to us and we are escorted to the van.  I did ask to take a picture of us all, but it was that quick and just kind of surreal.   This should (and was) one of the happiest days of our lives, yet also we were just heartbroken for foster mom.  Really almost too emotional to explain.  And then I couldn’t just have a good cry because we had Avery.  We finally had our Avery!  After a 3 1/2  year journey we had our baby!!!  Wow!  And then she started crying and cried for the whole ride to the airport.  At the airport she calmed down for a bit when I put her in the baby bjourn, but then she started crying again and this time there was no comforting her.  She cried for over an hour like I have never heard a baby cry,  just heartbreaking.  But we found a great way to get VIP treatment at the airport is to have a screaming baby.  We got a free airline seat and escorted through the lines, that part was great.  The screaming baby, not so great!  As we were waiting at our gate everyone else that was on our flight kept giving us the look, you know the “please tell me you are not about to take that screaming baby on this 14 hour flight and please do not let me be seated by you. . “  it was lovely.   I really thought I was in for the longest 14 hours of my life and was ready to start buying everyone around us drinks or earplugs, but just after the plane took off Avery feel asleep and didn’t cry for the rest of the way home.   Our prayers were answered!  Now we have paid for that the last two nights, but that’s another story.   So Avery slept for most of the flights. She was quiet and clingy, but fairly happy when awake.  All we needed was the airplane TV remote, her bottle and blanket.  What a trooper!  She really was amazing! 

Avery’s first airline flight – all 14 hours of it!

Our new little American!

Well almost, she will officially be an American citizen in 6 months!

Her first steps in the good ol’ U.S.of A!

Hanging out in the airport waiting for our flight to Denver and loving all the snacks!

It was great to see everyone at the airport. when we finally made it to Denver.  We were stuck on the airplane for an hour in San Francisco while they did some maintenance on the plane.  Just what you want to hear before you take off!  Oh, I missed Tanner, Brynn and Carter so much!  I think Carter gained another pound while we were gone!  Avery didn’t cry or anything from all the people doting on her, she just looked at us all like we were crazy.  Carter on the other hand, he was ready for bed! 

The welcome home welcoming crew!

Our first family picture!  Hum, we are all looking at different cameras!

We were prepared to have Avery cry being put in the car seat since she didn’t use one in Korea, but she didn’t make a peep and seemed to like the car seat, hum she needs to talk to Carter about how to sit in a car seat without crying!

Welcome home Avery!  You make our family complete!