Home Sweet Home!

Well, after 4 weeks home, I am finally posting about Khloe's homecoming!  Life has been busier than I imagined, so keeping up catching up with the the posts have been tough.  But we'll get there sooner or later.  I'm so tempted to skip ahead to where we are now, but this is also our main journal, so I want to get it on here before I forget anything.  This past week was the best yet, and I think I am finally getting into the swing of our 'new' normal!  Khloe is such a gift and we are blessed to have her home.  Can't wait to share more and catch up with all of you, as well.  Have a great week!!

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(Friday, May 28th)

We touched down at MSP in the early afternoon, went smoothly through customs, gathered our MANY bags of luggage and made our way to the exit, where my sister Kami was eagerly waiting to pick us up.  Talk about a sight for sore eyes!!  I immediately filled with emotion upon seeing her and could not stop the tears when she hugged me.  It just felt SO good to be home, and with our daughter!  After the greetings, we were off to load the Suburban... I'm pretty sure we could not have fit another piece of luggage in there...thank God for that big vehicle!!  Khloe did amazing and didn't complain for even a second when we put her in the car seat. 

The ride home usually takes about an hour, but with Memorial weekend traffic, it was double.  Even still, just being on 'home soil' never felt so good... it was a LONG flight, so the drive was really not that bad.  As we pulled into our development, we brought out Khloe's photo album that we had sent her in our care package months earlier.  We skipped straight to the photos of our house and her bedroom, toys, and our little Pomeranian, Rascal.  As we pulled into the driveway, she got this excited look on her face as she pointed to the house and then the photo.  We were HOME! 

My mom had decorated the driveway in colored chalk (courtesy of Zack and Lexie!)welcoming Khloe home.  And inside our house, the kitchen was beautifully decorated with balloons, streamers and signs for our welcome home party BBQ later that afternoon with some immediate family and our neighbor friends from across the street.  My mom was the only one there upon our arrival home.  She came out to greet us, followed by little Rascal, who Khloe was initially afraid of.  She kept saying "Bu yau, Tom!"...basically saying that she didn't want him...and Tom is the name of the dog they had at NewDay...so every dog in her eyes at that point was 'Tom'!! ;)  Since she was so frightened, I took her into my arms and carried her into the house after giving my mom a big hug.  Being home as a family of FIVE was so surreal...and SO wonderful!   It was hard to believe that Khloe was FINALLY here at HOME with us!  God is good!!! 

This beautiful banner was a surprise gift from my talented blog friend, Ashley! 

She does custom orders for any special occasion and theme

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Khloe was doing so well.  She was very curious, yet cautious... and wanted to explore everything (with mama in tow, of course!)  I picked her up and carried her upstairs to show her the bedrooms.  We looked at all of the others first, and then entered her room.  She lit up the second we walked through the door and pointed to her crib with a big 'excited' smile...SO CUTE!  She recognized it from her little photo album.  After looking at her dolls and taking it all in, we went back downstairs so I could show her the little kitchen set and her other toys.  It wasn't long and she was busy playing. 

As I visited with my mom and sister, other family members began to arrive for the BBQ.  They were all so excited to meet Khloe, but were wonderful about keeping their space initially, as not to scare her.  It was obvious she was entertained by her new cousins, Zack and Lexie, and I knew they would grow to be great friends!  My sister Kami, my mom and my sister-in-law Missy, all worked hard in the kitchen to prepare for the BBQ.  My brother Jeremy was in charge of the grilling.  It was so nice to be home relaxing and watching Khloe explore her new home, while my extended family took care of the kitchen and entertaining.  Such a blessing!  My brother Jeremy and his wife Missy, also made sure that our fridge was stocked with food, along with meals prepared in our freezer and ready to pop in the oven for the week.   Such a God-send!!  How nice to arrive home and not have to worry about meals or heading to the grocery store right away.  PTL for great family!!  It was such a nice way to come home.  We enjoyed some good food and a time of fellowship with our family and neighbors.  After supper, most everyone left, as they wanted us to have our first evening at home, alone with Khloe.  She did so well with everyone there, but her 'real' personality began to emerge when it was just us. 

She played with her dolls and kitchen set for quite awhile until it was time for bed.  The first night was a bit rough, and so she slept in bed with Martin and I.  We were all so tired and just wanted to sleep.  It was simply too soon to put her in her own room alone.  As we were preparing for bed, she began to get a bit scared.  Martin soon realized that she was concerned because she didn't see Breanna and Dawson.  As soon as he walked Khloe into their rooms to show her where they were sleeping, he could feel the tension leave her body and she calmed down.  She was used to them being close-by in the hotel for the past couple of weeks, so this was all new again.  Soon after, she was sound-asleep in our bed. 

She woke up her first  morning at home ready to go... ready to EXPLORE some more!  Breanna and Dawson slept in... 15 hours straight, before we finally woke them up!!  She had a great day and took a special interest in getting to know Rascal...though only on her own terms... otherwise she preferred he not be the one to 'initiate' their newfound friendship!  ;)  The entire weekend proved to be pretty tough for all of us with the jet lag, but we pushed through.  It was a nice quiet Memorial weekend at home alone as a family of five, and it felt so good to be enjoying our new daughter at HOME! 

We decided to venture out to a small, nearby lake on Memorial Day to get out of the house for awhile.  Martin and Dawson fished off the shore, while I sat and watched Breanna and Khloe play in the sand.  I should've had her swimsuit on her, as she soon 'bravely' ventured into the water inch by inch...until she eventually made her way up to her waistline!  Little stinker!! ;)  Good thing I brought an extra change of clothes with...just incase!  We ended our outing with a stop by our local Subw@y for a bite to eat, then we stopped by the park to test out the brand new playground equipment, and then back home to play for a little while outside before bath and bed-time.  Martin had to return to work the next day and the kids would be off to their final week of school before summer break!   

That first week 'back to life' actually went very well, all considering!  Martin was up before the crack of dawn and off to work well before any of us woke up each day.  It was a tough week still recovering from the jet lag (mostly for me!)   They were doing quite a bit better, as I was sure to take care of Khloe on my own when she would wake up during the nights, so they all got a good amount of rest.  Khloe was still asleep in the mornings when the kids left for school, and napping nearly everyday when they got off the bus, so she missed seeing it.  I would talk to her about school everyday when they were gone and I would show her pictures of buses in books, so I wanted her to see them get off the bus at least a couple times before school was out for summer.   The last two days I woke her early from her naps so she could see them... it was SO cute!  She literally ran across the yard to give them hugs and greet them...too precious.  (I regret not capturing that on video or in photos!)  And to this day, she gets very excited EVERY time her baba (Martin!) comes home from work... she exclaims " baba's home!" and runs to give him a hug... it is SO sweet!!!  

To say that Khloe is doing well at home is an understatement.  We are truly blessed!  It's amazing how well she has meshed into our family over the past 4 weeks at home.  Certainly we have had our moments and trials here and there... but nothing too unexpected.  Afterall, she is also a typical 2-year old toddler in every sense of the word! ;)  But we were quick to establish boundaries, and Khloe is a quick learner.  She truly is SO smart and is a bundle of fun and cuteness, all wrapped into one!!  The toughest struggles have been with her sleeping.  According to NewDay, she was a heavy sleeper, and slept a solid 10+ hours through the night.  But that has not been the case at all, at home.  She is finally in her room, and no longer scared.  But still would rather sleep in mama's bed.  It's a test of wills, but one I need to stick to for everyone's sake.  She was recently sick, so that was a set-back, but is doing better now.  If you would, please keep this in your prayers.  I look forward to sharing more with everyone soon!  God bless!