WE'RE HOME!!!

On Thursday, April 2 right before 10 p.m., Camille finally met her brothers and sister. When we got to the house, my parents were there with all four kids. Many of Reg's family was there as well, ready to give us a big welcome home. It was funny because I walked in first, video camera in hand. My five year old, Daniel, walked right by me, did a double-take, and said, "Oh. Hi, Dad." He casually walked to me and gave me a hug. He's given me much, much bigger welcomes after coming home from work.

Anyway, the homecoming was very, very much a blur. I was frantically trying to take pictures, take video, reconnect with my kids whom I haven't seen for two weeks, catch up with my family, etc. In the end, I could tell you this:

Camille fit right in. All four kids surrounded her, trying to get her attention, showing her their toys. She was a wee bit overwhelmed because of all the attention, but she reacted not by shying away or throwing a fit. She would just move on to the next person or toy to play with. She totally loves our toy room. She seemed to enjoy sitting in the toddler sized chairs, playing with everything from the Littlest Pet Shop dolls to the play-food to the blocks. She was also a bit mesmerized at the kids' toy room computer. Isn't it a treat to see the look of wonder on a child's face?

Here's Lauren with the baby sister she's been waiting for her whole life:Here are Daniel and Lauren fighting for Camille's attention:
As for the relatives, all was great. I was tickled when Camille immediately let my mom carry her. She even sat in my mom's lap a couple of times. When that happened, my mom had a grin from diamond encrusted-gold earring to diamond-encrusted gold earring.

After about half an hour of mingling/bonding/catching up, Reg sat on Lauren's bedroom floor surrounded by all five kids. When I walked in, Reg said to me, "Look, I have all FIVE of my kids!" Then she gave them all a big, group hug. Sayang (too bad) I didn't have my camera or video camera with me. That was a pretty precious moment. If I were the emotional type, I probably would have cried. But I'm a manly man, so I didn't.

The rest of the night was spent trying to catch up with the other kids, while simultaneously making sure Camille was okay. It was a school night, so we put the kids to bed at little after 11. As I've done almost every night since she was born, I sang "Butterfly Kisses" to Lauren after all the kids said their prayers. For some weird reason, Daniel started crying after he said his prayers. When I asked him why he was crying, he couldn't explain himself, and he ended up sniffling himself to sleep. Overwhelmed with happiness? Or is he sad that the Dad the Disciplinarian is back? Hmmmm.....

It's now 4:20 in the morning, and Reg, Camille and I have been awake for over two hours. We're all still on Philippine time. Reg has been unpacking while I've been blogging and uploading pictures (2300 pics or so in two weeks. Don't you just love digital photography?). Camille is walking around the living room and kitchen exploring everything in sight. Aside from all our boxes and luggages, the house is immaculate, thanks to my mom, the house sitter.

Camille really seems quite at home here. Maybe it's the Filipino love songs she hears playing on the kitchen Ipod player ... or the walis (Filipino broom) she sees in the corner ... or the rice cooker she sees atop the counter. Whatever it is, she seems to fit right in. And that, my friends, makes me one happy daddy.