The Other Side: Jet Lag in Lake Villa

It's been a while since I've actually updated this blog with any details. The main reason for the blog-silence is that we are now in America, and busy spending time with family and friends! It's been great to relax in the USA, our families take such good care of us and spoil Adam, Willow and I a ton.

Our flights over to the United States were not to bad. The first flight was uneventful. There was an extra seat in our row (which never happens to us), so we had a little extra room. This meant that Willow was able to sit in her own chair for most of the flight (even though we didn't pay for a full-price ticket). She looked so cute playing and eating in her own seat with the seat belt buckle fastened over her chubby legs. Then she discovered how to unbuckle the belt....During take off and landing, we took turns holding her. It was hysterical during the take off, because as the powerful jet left the ground and soared towards the sky, Willow let out a loud, crescendo---"ooOOOHHH!!!" Her eyes were focused and her body was actually still as she yelled---she was just feeling the take-off and doing what came naturally. Adam and I were cracking up at her.

We landed in Korea, ate Burger King for dinner, and checked into a hotel since our layover was 18 hours long. Willow was able to sleep at the hotel since it was during our night, and we were able to get some rest too. In the morning, we stopped at Starbucks (got a free grande drink) and Dunkin' Donuts and made Willow walk around the terminals as much as possible. At 11am, we boarded the plane. We prayed all morning that Willow would be good on the flight, and if not--that we would have patience and that the people around us would be compassionate.

Unfortunately, we didn't have a free chair in our row--my heart sank a little at that. But, at least the lady sitting next to us was very kind. Then started 13 hours of trying to entertain Willow and keep her from screaming. Our prayers were answered for the most part though; despite the fact that she only slept for three hours, she was mostly calm. She cried only a little, and was able to play a lot on the floor since there was minimal turbulence. She must have walked a mile or two going up and down the aisles over and over again. Even though she couldn't fall asleep, she cuddled a lot and acted very calm. So surprising, if you know Willow. I watched a few movies, which I haven't done on a plane since before Willow was born. My favorite was "The Artist", which I had heard nothing about prior to watching it. Come to find out, it's pretty famous in America and has one awards. Duh.

We landed, stood in forever-long line at Customs--which employees yelling at us to get against the wall. Hello, America. You are so nice.

Found our bags, and went out to meet our families. All three of us were pretty tired--Adam and I didn't sleep at all on the plane, and Willow only slept for three hours. It felt like 2 in the morning, but it was lunch time in Chicago. It's becoming a tradition; we went to a Greek restaurant called Omega with both of our immediate families minus Erica, Ryan, Tommy, Luke, and Josh. Willow was a bit tired, but still had fun walking around and visiting with family.

For the first seven days, we were in Lake Villa. Jet lag with Willow is never fun, but she did fairly well this time around. It only took her a week to get over the time change. The first two days were very confusing for her. She was up at 1am, and then sleeping from 12pm-10pm. Because we were all sleep deprived, we didn't do too much, but managed to visit with a few friends and hang out with my family. Adam and I went out for a few early morning breakfasts. When you're up at 1am with your baby, you start to get hungry/bored by 4am! The hardest thing about jetlag with a baby is that you can't get over it until your child does.

So, my memories are a bit jumbled up and each day seems to blur into the next. It's hard to remember what was a 'day' since we were sleeping at such odd times/increments. It was also a very hot week. Temps were up in the 100's, and it was humid. Yuck!

Here are some pictures from hanging out at my parents house.