We have been back home since Saturday morning, after a loooooong 28 hours of travel. Ryan is doing really well, although he hasn't made much progress on adjusting to his new time zone -- he still sleeps all afternoon and evening, so I've been keeping the same hours with him. I am slowly putting together an entry with the details of our trip, but time has been pretty scarce since becoming a parent so it may be several more days until I'm able to finish it. We can't wait to introduce Ryan to all our family and friends!

Here are a few more of our favorite pictures taken in Taiwan:




And a few since we've been home, including Ryan's first visit to Red Robin (what better way to celebrate his American citizenship than with a cheeseburger and fries....or maybe just baby biscuits and a balloon for now):



Ryan with his Grandpa Bob:


First taste of banana baby food:

We just can't get enough of him!

Forever Family!

The past two days have been incredible. Ryan has been with us since Monday morning. After some initial apprehension, which we expected, he took to both of us pretty quickly, and is a total sweetheart. He is very pleasant and wants to be held all the time (which we are very happy to comply with), smiles and laughs a lot, likes to wave and imitate other gestures and sounds, and is very interested in everything going on around him. He also likes looking for trouble and getting into things -- he has already pulled one of the "control" keys off our laptop. We are completely in love with him and want to spend every second with him -- I even missed him during the 10 minutes I was in the shower this morning! We have our hands pretty full right now so we'll post more details later, but we know Ryan's many fans at home are anxious to see pictures, so here you go!

We made it!

We arrived in Taipei at approximately 5:30 am Sunday morning and are currently sitting in our hotel waiting for our room to be ready. We could both use a chance to refresh ourselves and shower after 30 hours of traveling.

Taiwan is beautiful -- green and lush, as we expected. The view of the island (the sun rising over the mountains) as we were descending into the airport was stunning. The people are very friendly and downtown Taipei is gorgeous.

We want to be well-rested for our big day tomorrow, so we're planning to spend most of the day relaxing in our hotel suite, although we'll get out for a little while -- after a nap! -- to check out the immediate area and, of course, to get some beef noodles for dinner.

It's so surreal to think that our son, who was halfway around the world from us for the past 9 months, is now only a 2-hour drive from where we sit. It's also starting to sink in that in about 24 hours, he will finally be in our arms!

We were very pleasantly surprised to receive a new monthly update by e-mail Friday morning, just a few hours before we left for the airport! We also received a developmental report indicating that he is now "creeping" (I think that means crawling?) on his stomach.

If only the rest of the wait had gone this quickly!

We have been insanely busy the past few days getting ready to travel. We're feeling joyful, panicked (in terms of finishing things at work), excited, nervous...also thinking a lot about Ryan's birthmother...just generally very emotional. I've frequently been getting teary with anticipation. Rob is already planning our "adoption video," and I choke up every time we talk about it, and at other random moments when I think about the moment -- incomparable to anything I have ever experienced -- when I will first hold my beautiful son.

Although I've been buying baby clothes over the past few months, it didn't fully sink in that there is actually going to be a baby living in our home until yesterday, when I purchased diapers and baby wipes for the first time in my life :-) Maybe the clothes alone didn't do it since I've purchased baby clothes many times before as gifts for others.

On another note, I have to comment that I am amused at how many people (at least 3 so far in our encounters) confuse Taiwan with Thailand, and the term "Thai" for Taiwanese. A woman who knows of our adoption commented to me today that she liked Thai food, and referred to the coconut milk and lemongrass "they" use in many of their dishes.

Speaking of food, we're really excited about that aspect of the trip too -- also fantasizing about the fabulous tea I'll get to drink (and I'm sure there will be a Starbucks within walking distance of the hotel for Rob the coffee-drinker). As for the food, I can't say for sure that I'll be brave enough to try the "stinky tofu" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinky_tofu), but maybe I will, just to say I did. We can't wait to try the beef noodles a fellow blogger mentioned. A Yahoo search for "Taiwan beef noodle" seems to indicate that it's a soup (http://www.sinica.edu.tw/tit/dining/0396_Noodle.html), and if it's anything like Vietnamese pho, we'll be seeking it out for every meal!
We're also hoping to find some shave ice (http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/ShaveIce.htm), which we became addicted to in Hawaii during our honeymoon, and learned that it can also be found in Taiwan, in an even fluffier form called "snowflake ice."

We'll have 6 full days in Taiwan, and Ryan will be with us for 5 of them. We hope to experience as much of the culture as possible, but our activities will, of course, revolve around Ryan's routine and whether he seems to enjoy being out and about or prefers the quiet environment of the hotel room. Either way, we're so grateful that we'll have those several days just to be with each other as a family without any of the distractions of daily life at home.

Oh, and happy 9-month "birthday", Ryan! We're so happy that we'll have you with us before the next one!