Excitement is Building

Getting travel dates so far in advance of the actual travel has thrown me for a loop. Initially the thought of having eight or nine weeks until trip #2 sounded like such a long time...long enough that it didn't really motivate me to do much in the way of preparing for travel or for HotDog coming home. I mean, she could come home tomorrow if possible - we have a crib, diapers, bottles, etc. But knowing that we had two months didn't encourage me to put the finishing touches on the nursery, go through her dresser to see what clothes would fit/be in season, start getting my packing list ready. Now, however, I have only 38 days before I leave...38 DAYS!!! That is 5 1/2 weeks from now. That is not long at all and my mind is racing with all of the details I need to complete in the next few weeks, starting with airline and hotel reservations. Fortunately Stu has been in touch with our travel agent and seems to have a great flight for me that we are going to reserve today. Booking a hotel has been another problem; evidently there is a huge government official conference the week we will be in Bishkek and most hotel rooms have been booked for months. But I think one of my travel mates has come to my rescue and booked hotel rooms for both of us at a fairly new hotel that we checked out on trip #1. We are waiting to hear a confirmation back from the hotel. So with those two big things out of the way, I can focus on the details I've been neglecting - checking the weather to figure out what clothes I'll be taking (we are expecting new measurements for HotDog this week so I'm waiting to see what size she'll be in ***edited to add: Holy smokes, my five-month-old baby weighs almost 17 pounds!!! I better start lifting the weights now), figuring out how to pack a big donation of shoes for the orphanage (more on that in the next post), making meals to freeze so we'll have some dinners ready after we get home, scheduling appointments at the pediatrician/international adoption clinic for HotDog in the days after we get home. So much to do and 38 days definitely doesn't seem like long enough now! I wake up each night with my mind racing trying to think about what I've forgotten; I think my body will be used to getting up in the wee hours of the morning for those nighttime feedings:) But it is SO much easier planning for this trip, knowing Stu will be home with the boys so we don't have to deal with childcare/scheduling for them. That is such a relief.
So after a long journey, I am finally starting to get excited and cannot wait to hold my daughter in my arms again. Only 38 more days until the adventure begins!!!

Also, check back later this week...our 30-day after court will be over and I can finally introduce you to our little girl!