bethany for the bergmans: January 2009

December is finished and January is full speed ahead. So many firsts have happened for Jackson in the past few months. I guess these firsts will continue for a while, but it still seems worth posting.
Jackson had his first flight on December 20th, and it was a full on flight, 12 hours to be exact. We tried to arrive at the airport early to request a bassinet, but our plans did not work out was the traffic in Guangzhou was especially heavy that night. We finally arrived and all the bassinets had been given out, luckily the plane was not full and they gave us an extra seat instead...even better actually. Jackson was asleep for the take off and landing, and did not give any indication that the extreme change in pressure was a bother. He continued to sleep for the majority of the flights. It was super easy! I am so thankful for that! The biggest challenge was getting through security, but thanks to a super dad and husband, Jackson and I were set free from lots of the hassles.

Jackson has his first stay in America on December 20th as well. We spent the night in L.A. It was a much needed rest from airplanes. The next morning Jackson was welcomed to Texas for the first time by mamaw and papaw. They were so excited to see him again. Jackson met Uncle Jordan and aunt Charity, followed by uncle KC and Aunt Andrea! This was probably more exciting for me than him, it was very, very cool to see my brothers meet their first nephew.

Jetlag for Jackson consisted of lots and lots of sleep. We were thankful for that. Jackson was dedicated on Sunday the 21st at Fellowship Bible Church. I will stop talking about firsts now, as there are just too many to mention. We had a great Johnson family Christmas on December 21 as my brothers were committed to being with their wives families for the 24th. My favorite gift was the DVDs that my parents had made out of our home videos. I love watching them over and over again.
Our time in Texas was pretty low key after my brothers left. We spent allot of time playing 500 with my parents, Jackson went on some walks with mamaw and papaw, my good friend Hannah came over for a couple of days, and we enjoyed way tooo much good food.
On the 27th we headed back to the airport for another international flight to Canada. Trevor and I were very excited to introduce Jackson to the Bergman’s for the first time. We were greeted at the airport by Grandpa Bergman, Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Brad, and tons of snow. Luckily Grandma had already purchased a special warm and cozy snow suit for Jackson. We made it home safely and introduced Jackson to the rest of the family. We had our family Christmas that night. There are is a two hour time difference between Texas and Canada, and that seemed to bother Jackson more that the 13 hour difference between Texas and China. The first night in Canada was a bit rough.
Jackson was dedicated a second time with all of Trevor's family and a very special group of friends by Pastors Dave and Cheryl Koop at Coastal Church in Vancouver. It was a very, very special time that I will never forget.
My extended family lives quite far away, and it is a rare occasion for us all to be together, however Trevor's extended family is very close and they all live relatively close. Jackson was introduced to the extended Bergman family on the 29th and lots of food and fun was had.
One of the last firsts was celebrating the New Year. It was cozy celebration with close friends of the Bergman’s, it was just right.
The flight back to Guangzhou was 16 hours, and was a greater challenge for Jackson, but overall not too bad. I was very proud of him as a little traveler! Here are lots of photos of our trip.