Home Sweet Home!

Well, the last week has been a bit of a blur but yes, we did arrive home at the end of last week, safe and sound. A few of Lucas's fans have been hoping for the arrival post so thought I'd better get to it!

The checkout at the hotel went very smoothly, despite the fact that our wake-up call was at 3 a.m.! We were checked out by 3:30 a.m. and on our way to the airport. It was worth the early morning departure (almost!) to see HMC when it's sleeping. The streets are empty except for the large trucks, which are only allowed in the downtown during certain hours to help with traffic congestion (not to mention the flow of traffic with all the motorcycles would likely not quite work the same with transport trucks in the mix!). With no traffic, the drive to the airport was quick and we were ready to check in.

It was much nicer flying in and out of the new international airport, which wasn't opened yet when we were here with Maiya. We had the same trouble initially with Lucas's ticket that we did with Maiya's when she was a baby, likely since it is a one-way. It was worked out quickly and we were through security quickly as well. Unfortunately since it was so early in the morning nothing was open inside the airport, and it seemed like the air conditioning hadn't been turned on yet either!

The first flight was a bit tough. Lucas cried for the first hour or so (although it felt much longer!) and I finally strapped him into the baby carrier which calmed him down and he fell asleep. The worst part though was the heat - it was unbelievably hot on the flight, and we were all more than happy to get off the plane and into some air conditioning!

Unfortunately it seems the Tokyo airport is supporting power-saving measures (maybe to do with power shortages following the earthquake last year?) so we had a brief interlude of coolness walking down the hallway to the escalators and were then back to the heat. It was still better than the plane though! By the time we had cleared security again and got to our gate, we thought we'd have time to look around and get a bite to eat. Unfortunately Brett realized that we had to go check in at the Air Canada desk - the one with the long lineup of course! - and we all had to be there. The flight was full so we weren't able to change our seating assignments, which were across the aisle from each other with people on either side. By the time we finished that we had enough time to grab a drink and a muffin to eat at the gate, get Lucas changed and bottles made, and then board the flight home.

The Air Canada flights were excellent both ways though. As soon as we boarded they came to our seats and talked to us about anything we might need for Lucas. Maiya got the kids meal this time which was so much better for her (our travel agent forgot to request it on the way over) and they brought jars of baby food too. Lucas was much better on the flight and slept a fair amount, although the rest of us didn't get much sleep.

About 24 hours of travel time after we left we finally landed back in Toronto. Maiya was more and more excited the closer we got, knowing it was bringing her one step closer to seeing her "Buddy" - she missed her puppy so much while we were away! Immigration was lined up but moved quickly and we didn't have any issues, although the girl at the desk was confused about Lucas's Canadian passport at first. We explained the process is different than it used to be and everything was fine. (Maiya arrived in Canada as a landed immigrant and obtained citizenship almost a year later, while Lucas arrived as a Canadian citizen already - the laws around this changed a few months after we traveled with Maiya).

Luggage was slow but finally we were piled up and heading out the door.

We were surprised to see a few of my aunts and uncles (my dad's sisters) there waiting for us, along with my dad, Brett's parents, my sister and my niece. Everyone was waving and taking pictures and there were lots of hugs to go around once we were out. I got a few shots but it was too hard to maneuver Lucas and the camera both so hopefully we will get some shots from some of the others who were there! It was definitely good to be home (and I think my dad was especially to have mom home again too!).

Tired travelers - looking a little bleary-eyed but happy to be home!

Poppa (my dad) and Lucas

Grandpa Ron (Brett's dad) and Lucas

My niece, Cassidy, with her newest cousin!

Maiya was SO excited to see her cousin!

Brett's parents were driving us home, so after grabbing some cold drinks at Tim Horton's (we were too hot to have coffee!), we all fell asleep for most of the drive - Maiya was out cold and didn't wake up until about midnight! My brother Craig and his family came to pick up my niece, Cassidy, and then Brett's parents headed home too. They kept Buddy for a couple extra days for us to give us time to adjust, which was a big help!

Grandma Trish (Brett's mom) finally gets to hang out with Lucas back at the house.

Jetlag kicked in and we were up through the night, but it was still good to be home! Will continue to try to catch up in the next post about the first few days back.