US trip part 1

Our US tour got off to a rocky start. The polizei stopped us at the airport and said "prove to us this is your daughter". The Germans hate it that Gianna's legal name is different from our last name and were accusing me of child trafficking. After seeing her medical records and a post adoption report they let us go. In contrast, a group of NJ high school students on the plane had at least four adoptees, two from Korea, one from Guatemala, and one from El Salvador. They were happily sharing their adoption stories with us and playing with Gianna. The US really is a melting pot with all sorts of blended families.

The first leg of our trip started out in PA and NJ with a trip to the doctor for Gianna's vaccinations, a stop by our NJ house, and a visit with some old Rutgers friends. Poor Gianna, I tried to prepare her for the fact that the NJ house would be empty, but when she found Bruno's toy in the backyard, she kept calling his name. The house is no worse for wear, although if I were there the lawn would be looking a lot better. We have decided to take it off the market and get house sitters for a year, since we will be moving back to the US in 2010 and will need a place to live.

The next part of the trip included a 5 hour drive in I-95 traffic from NJ to the DC area, probably the low light of the trip. I certainly don't miss driving. We got a chance to see my sister-in-law, Nancy who, as Gianna puts it, "has baby in belly". In just a few short months we will get to meet little Ryan Alexander. It's a shame we will be on the other side of the world for the birth. Maybe the hospital will have WiFi and Jeff can Skype the whole birth to us! We plan to come visit in August when Ryan is a few weeks old.