We made it home safe & sound! We are so glad to be home! You never realize how much you really did miss home until you are back sleeping in your own bed and just hanging out in your own house. We've had mostly good moments and a few challenging moments. However we are having the time of our life with Kaden. Our world has been turned upside down and we are cherishing every moment of it!

On Saturday we left Moscow at 8:45 am. We had to get up at 5am to leave for the airport. Kaden was such a trooper. I woke him up and of course I just got a big smile from him no crying. We spent 13 hours in a plane that day (total of 15 hours traveling). Our 1st plane ride was good. He slept for 1 hour out of the 4 hours. The 2nd plane ride was a bit more challenging. This was the long one for 9 hours. At the beginning he was doing so well. About 2 hours into the plane ride he started to get fussy. He fought going to sleep for about 30 minutes. Honestly it probably wasn't that bad but as parents you just want to get him to sleep. We hadn't heard him cry for more than 1 minute at a time. Well on plane his worst moment was when he cried for about 5 minutes. I'm sure the rest of the passengers were not too happy with us at that moment, but we well made up for it later. Once Kaden fell asleep he slept for 6 hours!! We were supposed to have a basinet but they forgot to put it up. By the time we got him to sleep we didn't want him to wake up so we didn't say anything again to the flight attendant. He slept in my arms. We did not get any sleep on the plane so that made for an interesting emotional time for me. After Kaden's meltdown, I had one of my own. I started crying b/c I was tired, frustrated I couldn't help Kaden, and I was missing my lil' sisters wedding. It was a very emotional day for me. I was so happy to finally be taking Kaden home, we have waited for this moment for 2 1/2 years but yet I was sad that it had to fall on the 1 weekend that was my sister's wedding. Once we landed in Minneapolis all the excitement took over! We were so glad to be done with our adoptive labor; thank goodness it was only for 15 hours! Kaden officially became a US citizen around 3:00pm! Then at the airport Aaron's family met us (Grandma Mary, Grandpa Gary, Great Aunt Sue, Great Uncle Chuck, and Great Grandma Meyer). It was so nice. They greeted us with signs and smiles! Kaden loved meeting everyone. We then went back to our house and hung out for the night. Our friends Leslie & Justin (Kaden's soon to be God parents) came over to meet Kaden that night too!! Kaden went to bed at 7:00pm. He slept until 3:00am. Not too bad for his first night home and trying to adjust to time.

Sunday was another big day for Kaden. My parents (Grandma Marsha & Grandpa Bill) came to visit and meet their grandson. This is the 1st boy in our family! My parents were so excited to meet him. Again Kaden did so well. Kaden went to bed around 8pm and then woke up around 5am on Monday. Hopefully we will get him to sleep a little longer! However he is taking 2 naps a day like he use to in the Baby Home. He really does do a lot better with a schedule. He is also eating a lot! He eats like every 2-3 hours. He has eaten everything I have given him, he is kind of iffy on green beans but he ate them!! He has had a little issue with sucking & swallowing at the same time when taking a bottle, so we went back to slower nipples on the bottles and this has seemed to help. We are learning he really is a people person. He loves to show off for people! It's so much fun to start to see his personality. We are also starting to see good signs of attaching. He looks for Aaron and me when we leave a room. He makes good eye contact. He also started giving us open mouth kisses! He is also letting us rock him to sleep for bedtime now. This is the highlight of my day, I love rocking with him and looking at him. We have some of the best moments together when we rock! We love him so much! He truly is amazing.

Aaron is doing so well with Kaden. This is really the 1st time he has ever taken care of a child. He is doing really well with feeding and changing him. It is so much fun to watch the boys connect. I never imagined I could love Aaron more than I already did but watching him with Kaden makes me fall more in love with the father he is!

I will leave you with a few pictures of our adventure home so far. We are still very tired & trying to adjust (jet lag + a new baby = very sleepy parents).

Mom & Kaden at the apartment in Moscow waiting to be picked up to start our long day to get home! I bought this outfit last summer with the hope it would fit our son for the plane ride home!

Dana, Aaron, Kaden, & Grandma Mary at the airport. Grandma Mary could not wait to get Kaden out of the carrier so she could hold him!

Dana, Aaron, Kaden, Grandma Mary, & Great Uncle Chuck at the airport!

Kaden & Great Grandma Meyer.

Grandma Mary, Grandpa Gary, Aaron, & Kaden

Grandpa Bill, Grandma Marsha, & Kaden.