Sophia becomes an American citizen!

Very late on Sunday, we landed in Chicago. We went through immigration and Sophia became an American citizen! A three hour drive later, we found ourselves in Michigan into the welcoming arms of Kat's side of the family. They were thrilled to meet Sophia and given the 12 hour time difference, she was awake enough to entertain and charm them.

Some 36 hours later, we are all struggling to get adjusted to a time zone that is, quite literally, half way round the world from where we have been. We are all a little foggy, cranky and prone to zoning out for several hours at a time. To her credit, so far, Sophia has been doing her best to adapt to the bright globe in the sky that beckons her to stay awake when every cell in her being wants to sleep.

This morning, Sophia had a doctors visit today that went well. The doctor confirmed what we had long suspected, she has a moderate ear infection, poor sweetheart.

Not surprisingly, her weight and height are only in the 5th percentile on the American charts, but the doctor felt that she was well within her developmental milestones, motor skill wise. I nearly cried when they gave Sophia her vaccinations. She cried and wailed and the look of indignation and hurt on her face was painful to watch.

In the meantime, Sophia has managed to utterly charm her Nana and Oompa (Kat's parents choice of endearments). Sophia has them wrapped around her pinky finger and she is quite besotted with them as well. So far, she has been fairly relaxed around the dogs. Marz is delighted to have her in the house but Skye seems to be withholding judgment.

A special thanks to my Mom for babysitting the dogs for the past three weeks. I know it wasn't always easy or convenient, but it truly was appreciated.

Another round of thanks to all our friends and family who monitored our blogs and posted such lovely comments throughout our journey. Unfortunately, the comment section of our blog doesn't always let us to respond to your comments and we didn't want you to think we had been ignoring you.

Last night, I showed Sophia her blog for the first time. She intently observed the photos of herself but squealed with happiness when she came across pictures of her traveling buddies as well as pictures of Mom and Dad. It was amazing to watch her immediate recognition and delight.

In many ways the journey has seemed long and arduous, and yet, in truth, we realize that the journey has really just begun.

Sophia with her Oompa