HOME!

We are home and officially a family of four!




We didn't get to post as much as we wanted on this trip; but it was quite adventurous, to highlight our last few days; Dos and Don'ts for the Delhi process:

DO make sure that you have an extra shirt with you wherever you go just in case your kiddo decides the perfect time to throw up on you is as you exit the car to go to the U.S. Embassy! Nothing like the smell of baby throw up on your shirt to say "I'll make a great parent!" :-)

DON'T under any circumstance get to the Embassy and then realize you left your binder of paperwork at the hotel; and DO have extra rupees to give your driver so that you can get back to the hotel "the fast" way which somehow is about 20 minutes shorter than the drive there.

DON'T check your electronics at the Embassy and then at security realize you left an MP3 player in your bag so you have to start over with the check in process at the Embassy.

DO trust the news when they say that there are major fog delays in Delhi and check your flight before you go.. it would really be a long night if say for instance your flight is canceled after you check in and clear immigration and then you are stuck at the New Delhi airport for say.. 13 hours with a new baby.

DO be thankful that it may have been the longest trip home you could have imagined but in the end you have a wonderful new addition to your family, and on the plus side we had a lot of extra bonding time with Seth that we didn't plan for before getting home!

What a beautiful sight it was to finally get home to Denver and see our daughter and Tami's Mom waiting for us with huge smiles.

Seth is adorable - he's almost 14 months old but just fitting into 9 month clothes. He has a huge smile that lights up his face. He's figuring it all out and we are enjoying getting to know our little man and seeing him change from day to day. We are truly blessed.

pictures

here are a few pictures of Seth Nikhil from our last few days - it's been a bit crazy so we have not been able to post. We had a really sick kiddo and a lot of small problems..but at the end of the day today Seth's visa was done and we leave for home tomorrow night! He's been a trooper - he's crawled a bit for us and is babbling up a storm; he's a perfect fit for our family.

Family Day

Seth and Cliff are sound asleep so this will just be a quick post and some pictures - a longer post will follow tomorrow. We had a fabulous day - Seth is not sure about us yet and has cried his sad little cry many times; but we've had a few smiles and a couple laughs in there too. We got to introduce Seth to our daughter and to his Nana via Skype and that was a big highlight; we miss her so so much! Enjoy the pics - they are out of order a bit ..

enjoying a post nap meal

Family Day!

Before we left the hotel - ready to become a family of four!

Beautiful Kolkata

After a delicious breakfast, and actually pretty good coffee :-), we went on a wonderful walk in the area surrounding the Kenilworth hotel. The weather is outstanding, nice and cool, we actually had to wear light jackets! Just within a few blocks of the hotel we made some great discoveries - one is Citizen's Park, which is a beautiful oasis in the middle of a large and busy city:





and it also has one of the most amazing collections of trash cans we had ever seen - these are just a few of the many wonderful animal themed trash options available:






Then, from the park, we realized the Victoria Memorial was right next door. We didn't have the 8 rupees (17 cents!) we needed to walk through the park there, but got some good pictures from the street surrounding it. Also, just on our little walk, we ran across a Planetarium, an Art Museum, and a huge church - St. Paul's Cathedral. Here are some random pictures:




So, it was a great way to spend the morning, and now we are getting ready to go pick up Seth. Don't worry, we won't torment you with another post without baby pictures! :-)

In India at Last

We made it! We had a great flight and would highly recommend the direct flight option - we flew Chicago to Delhi on AA. Fourteen hours straight in an airplane seemed quite a bit easier than having to unload and spend a few hours in London half way through. The one thing about the direct flight is that it gets you to New Delhi at night, and if you are continuing on to Kolkata at 6am the next morning, the only logical choice is to spend the night in the luxury accommodations known as the Indira Gandhi International Airport. If you choose to follow in our footsteps, here are a few things you might do well to remember:

DON'T go with the guy you meet outside the Terminal who says he'll get a "private car" to take you to the Domestic Terminal. We met a girl who did that and spent 1000 Rupees compared to our 270 that the Pre-Paid Taxi service inside the airport charged.

DON'T expect to win an argument with the guard at the entrance to the Domestic Terminal by claiming that you called the airport from the US and someone said the terminal was open 24 hours a day. He REALLY isn't going to let you in before 3am.

DO just follow his instructions and go down to the Ticketing Office to wait until 3am - it is indoors and there are nice hard, plastic seats to wait on.

DON'T expect to use the restroom while you are waiting at this Ticketing Office, unless you have a very creative way to do so without using a restroom.

DO think about staying at the International Terminal, where you arrived, until around 3am before going over to the Domestic Terminal. It seemed like a much nicer place to wait. Once you can get into the Domestic Terminal, after 3am (according to the very knowledgeable guard we had a pleasant conversation with), it is a very nice place to wait - lots of shops, food, seats, even free electronic foot massaging machines outside the Disney play area.

DON'T plan on actually playing in the Disney play area unless you are between the ages of 3 and 10.

DO get a croissant and something warm to drink at the Baker St. cafe - it was very tasty and inexpensive. You can see how happy we look after eating something and drinking some tea here. This was taken around 4am, approximately 32 hours after we left home, and only about 6 hours until we finally arrive at our hotel in Kolkata.



Thank you for reading Cliff and Tami's guide to overnighting for free in New Delhi. It feels really great to be in Kolkata and we even have the exact same room that we stayed in when we picked up Raina! It's beautiful.

Last post before India!

Suitcases packed, paperwork organized, and checklists all made. We leave early Wed morning for the airport and will post again when we get to India! Nana is here to take care of our daughter and tomorrow we will enjoy some family time before we leave!

13 months old

Seth is 13 months old as of Jan 1st!