We're HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!!!!!!

I know I keep saying this - but it just all seems so unreal. We're finally home. Carl and I are so, so thankful that our 10 day waiting period was waived...neither of us could imagine spending another 2 weeks in a hotel room. One more day would have been one too many!!

Our trip home started at 6:30am (Moscow time). I was very proud of us - we were up, packed and waiting with Danil when Val arrived to the hotel lobby. We made it to the airport at ....I don't know what time. We had bulkhead seats!!! Yea!!!! But there was an issue with Danil's ticket. So Carl stood at the ticket counter with Val for an entire hour while the issue got worked out. And I attempted to entertain Danil for an hour. We walked back and forth, back and forth, around in circles, in and out of the mobs of people in the airport. Danil was not a bit afraid of all the hustle and bustle...he watched everything intently. He got tired of walking (actually tired of holding my hand) so I got a luggage cart and sat him on it and wheeled him around for a while. Finally, it was time to go through security and customs...the good thing in Russia is that if you are traveling with a child you can go directly to the front of the line...no matter how short or long. Val taught us this unwritten rule and we took full advantage! We were on the plane in no time and off we went.

The short version of the plane ride is this...Danil was PERFECT for the first 8 hours. He ate, he played, he took his nap on schedule. He didn't try to escape our row of seats...he didn't whine, he didn't cry. Carl and I were high-fiving each other already celebrating our BIG WIN when we entered the ninth hour. And that, of course, is when Danil came unglued. He was done. He was tired to the point of delirium. He couldn't be consoled. There was nothing we could do - no amount of food, holding, playing, talking, singing, stroking, running up and down the aisles...nothing could make it better. The other element to this equation is that neither Carl nor I had had a wink of sleep the entire trip so we were on the edge of a breakdown ourselves. When I literally had no ounce of energy left, one of the airline attendants came over and talked to Danil. She did this impromptu comedy routine that was hilarious. I was laughing almost to the point of tears. Danil had stopped crying and was completely enthralled with her. She gave us two rolls for him to eat and play with. He was content the last hour of our plane ride to Houston...and fell asleeep for the last 30 minutes!!!!! What an ending!!!! Singapore Airlines is G-R-E-A-T!!!!! They were so wonderful to us the entire trip and we appreciated it sooooo much!

With all that said, please don't ask me about our experience at the Houston airport. Do not ask, do not ask! My blood pressure will skyrocket and I may have to be put in the hospital!!!! One word will sum it up - RUDE!!!! (COLD, HEARTLESS and EGOTISTICAL also come to mind...) Carl said he was treated better at LaGuardia than he was at Houston! Just don't ask.

Okay, I promise I'm bringing this story to an end. So in our last 3 hours on the plane from Moscow I looked at Carl and said, "I don't think I can handle a 4 hour layover in Houston and another hour plane ride to Dallas. Can we please just rent a car and drive the rest of the way?" Carl didn't even blink at the request. "Yes."

So we drove the rest of the way to Dallas. Carl was exhausted. I was exhausted. At one point I panicked because Danil was so hot. He was dripping with sweat...I thought he was running a fever. I took him out of his carseat. He didn't act sick but he was so hot. After about 30 mins he cooled down...I decided just being in the carseat had made him so hot. Poor Carl could harldly keep his eyes open. He stopped at a convenient store for a cup of coffee and a Red Bull. I don't know how he did it, but he did. We were home and Danil was in his own bed at 9pm. He slept until 1:30am. Then he was wide awake the rest of the night. Carl and I just decided to get up with him. We played, unpacked, did laundry and played some more. Danil ran from room to room checking the place out. I'm sure he was thinking, "Wow! I really like this hotel room!" At about 9am, the little dude once again ran out of fuel. It was back to bed for Paul Daniel. I got an hour and a half nap while Carl took our rental car back to the airport with Patrick. Then Carl came home and now he is sleeping. It's almost Noon and our little guy is out cold. Hoping to take him for a stroller ride this afternoon.

So that's the story. Now for the moment all have been waiting for....PICTURES! TODAY is the DAY! I vow to have photos up on our blog before the day is over ...maybe even video. We would have liked to put them up sooner but our agency asked us to wait about putting photos on our blog until we get home. So today is the BIG DAY! Can't wait for you to see our little guy!!!!!!!