Finally...

.....a few minutes to write. Things have been very hectic since we left Florida and flew to New York for two days of chaotic fun. Our flight from Florida was delayed due to bad weather in NY, so that coupled with a very long line for taxis resulted in a very very late arrival to the hotel. After an indeterminate time sleeping, we were up and I was on my way up to the Biblowitz-Warmflash house to get puppy-san. A very well taken care of dog and I then made it down to the vet, where all the forms were filled out so she could make the return trip to Tokyo. Yes, kiddies, more forms. I swear, between daughter-san and puppy-san, I have filled out more forms to last a lifetime.

The afternoon was filled with friends, who we missed and was so happy to see.

Max had a lot to Tell baba-san and baby-san was quite interested, in both the conversation and the hot boy sitting on baba's lap.

Most important, baby-san and Tess met and got along brilliantly. The toy pug our friend Alaine gave us really helped I think. We practiced "puppy kisses" every day so baby-san was not freaked out by a very excitable pug jumping all over her. As you can see, she took control quickly after a quick lesson from her new boyfriend.

She then got some fashion advise from Molly, a little older and and much more worldly on how to get the attention of the men..
As you can see, my daughter instead chose the "tartlet" method, removing her shirt for Jack, who was much too polite to actually look, but did get a kick out of having a half naked girl standing next to him.

She seemed to have a change of heart regarding the clothes because she then spent much time putting on and looking over all of the clothes auntie Melissa dropped off, "oohing and aahing" over every last item. Naturally, just like her mama, she was partial to the shoes.

She was still reviewing when Chris and Declan arrived, using Chris's lap to hold the things she needed to look at again.

The next day, all of us went to visit Dr. Jane, who, After many needles (and many tears and screams) pronounced daughter-san adorable and in great shape. While we do have to wait for all of the test results to come back, we seem to have a healthy and happy child on our hands.

While baba-san and baby-san went back downtown to run errands and play with the clothes (just baby-san; baba-san was content to watch), Julie and I made our way out to Kennedy airport to get the paperwork the vet filled out stamped by the USDA vet. The drive took a total of about two hours; the stamping of the forms took about two minutes. Bureaucracy - don't 'cha just love it??

The afternoon and evening was filled with more visitors -

Juliana, pretty in pink.....
former roommate Shan-Shan with her baba and mama....
and yet another adoring man, Jonathan, our neighbor from our old apartment....
Uncle Kevin.....
and Ray and Ashley.....Jed arrived in the middle of the chaos and retreated to the bedroom to watch "Boston Legal".

Exhausted from all of the excitement and bemoaning the fact we didn't have nearly enough time to do everything and see everyone we wanted, we left early the next morning for the airport and many, many hours later, arrived at Narita airport. We found our luggage, found the dog who survived the trip and who proceeded to leave a hefty gift for the quarantine veterinarians right after they handed us the permission form that allowed her to leave the confines of the airport and come home, which pretty much summed up her opinion of being locked in a cage for seventeen hours, even if it was wonderfully decorated by Jack, who did a most excellent job taking care of her for all these months.

All in all, a wonderful holiday, even if it was much too short..