Another day gone by

Well, today went by relatively quickly and was a good day. We got up and had our breakfast of Cosmostars cereal before getting ready to leave for the orphanage. The trip there wasn't too bad, but a little longer due to traffic and bad roads. We got there and waited in the playroom area for about 5 minutes as Baby Boy was finishing his nap. He came in and looked a little bigger and cried a little when Heather got him. I don't know if it was from him just waking up or forgetting who we were. Not that bad as he began to warm up to us and we played around in the room. He is walking now, although still a little wobbly. He was very active today, not only playing with the toys but walking around. 

After he had warmed up to us he was more playful and fun. He as playing with one of those toys where you stack rings and was having fun with it. We started clapping for him when he would put the rings on and then he started clapping back at us and smiling. He had fun rolling and bouncing a ball back and forth. He had this thing where he would walk away while holding the ball, then turn back and give you a look like 'You're supposed to chase me'. One of us would go after him and he would stop in a corner or wherever for us to catch him. We would then tickle him and he would laugh. Lots more interacting and laughing than last time. He actually tried to say something a little later on.

He had fun on this ball pit, Heather had put him in there going down a little slide into it. He liked it and then wanted to stay in the pit. I think because the balls let him sort of sink into them. He thought that was funny. She would stand him up then sort of sit him, then he would let himself fall back a little and sink into the balls. Very cute.

Looks like we will be going to the orphanage again on Friday morning and then Monday at noon. We were surprised but very happy to get these trips. We don't know how much we will get to go after court, but hopefully a few times during the waiting period. We were all having fun when there and it should get better each day. We don't know how we will keep him busy during the flights home, especially the 11 hour one from Moscow to Atlanta. 

Off to bed soon to try to get back on a somewhat normal schedule. I think we are going to try a German restaurant tomorrow, plus we'll need to get some more from the market. Maybe look at the kid's store to see what they have in case we need to get an extra toy or something for him. 

Finally in Krasnoyarsk

Well, we are here and mostly settled in. We are connecting to the internet from our room, they have free wireless so it will be easier to blog and check email. We didn't notice this last time, so that is a nice change. Now a little recap of our journey so far ...

Saturday - Flew out at 12:15 to Atlanta. Nothing super exciting. Sat in Atlanta for a little while. Overheard several couples on our flight talking about adopting. The storms caught up with us and there was a brief period of heavy rain. Our plane had some issue so they put us on another plane at another gate, but same type of plane and tickets. We left a little late but arrived in Moscow on time. (Insert long flight here)

Sunday - Arrive in Moscow airport. Meet our translator and drive to our hotel. There is a big concert event in town, so hotels were booked up. We were supposed to stay at a Holiday Inn but stayed at a local type place. Not that bad, but glad to be only one night. It was a little odd since it was a new place. We walked around the streets outside the hotel a little, stopped at a 'market' to get a water (you only want to drink bottled water, and it is sometimes carbonated) and went back to the room. We rested and prepared for tomorrow, the medical visits. One more day down.

Monday - Still in Moscow, we leave the hotel and go to the medical place. This is the '8 doctor medical' you might have heard about. You talk with 8 doctors, nothing much, more of a formality than anything detailed. We saw a few of the couples from the plane. They we ahead of us, so we saw them at each 'station'. There was more waiting than doctor visiting, but we left with our paperwork needed for court. Yay! We had several hours until it was time to leave for the airport, so we were dropped off at a mall. We went inside to the food court to get something to eat. We had our choice of Sbarro, Baskin Robbins, McDonalds, KFC or a Russian potato eatery. We got McDonalds chicken nuggets and something called 'Village Potatoes' that our translator recommended. They were small potatoes cut into wedges, baked with a seasoning that was really good. Too bad they don't offer these back home. We then walked around a park that was next to the mall. Lots of apartment buildings around so I guess the park is popular with everyone. It was a nice day out so we at on the benches some and enjoyed our time here. It was kind of odd to be sitting in some random park somewhere in Moscow and people were acting pretty much just like back home. 

We then left for the airport, got on our plane and took off.

Tuesday - Arrived in Kras at 6 am. We still had our checked luggage so that was nice. Met our translator here, waited for our luggage, then left for the city. We had barely gotten used to the 8 hours Moscow was ahead, and now we were 4 more hours ahead. That plus lack of sleep left us messed up regarding time of day and all. We got to the hotel and checked in and it was around 8:00 when the translator left. We thought we would take a short nap but crashed and ended up sleeping lots more. We didn't really do much today. Got a few things at the market. It got dark here much later. We had blue sky and still light until about 10 pm. We are now back in the room.

We will go to the orphanage at 11am tomorrow, yay! I don't know how long we will be there or when we will go next. We'll take the items we didn't get to leave last time (since our luggage had been lost) and see how Baby Boy is doing. More stuff tomorrow to post. 

Getting ready to leave tomorrow

We're doing our last minute preparations for our long trip. We didn't get much notice for our trip and then it was changed, so we were really hit with lots to do. We were all prepared to pack for 2 tips and have time in between, but now we need more for us and then lots of stuff for Baby Boy. It was surprising how much stuff he needs once you put it all together, and we'll only have him for a week.

We wanted to say we really appreciate the emails, cards, calls, etc. from everyone. It's good to know that people are happy for us and following things and hoping for the best. We are looking forward to getting him and being able to post pictures and bring him home to meet people. He's got lots of people waiting to meet him. Remember that you can post comments without needing an account, just keep them family friendly please.

We leave Richmond at noon tomorrow and will be in Moscow until Tuesday. I don't know if we will have internet access there, so there might not be any updates. The same will go for our return trip through Moscow. They'll probably have something but we just don't know yet. We will post something on Tuesday as soon as we can, but we don't know our schedule other than arriving in Kras at 6 am their time (6pm Monday night on the East Coast). Probably nothing much exciting at first, but we'll try and venture out.

I'm going to post something that Heather doesn't know about (ha ha). You all know her to different degrees, but I think you all see the various great things about her. It's been wonderful to make this journey with her. I really like thinking about being over there with her, getting our son (wow), and coming home to start a new chapter in our lives. I'm glad that I can share with you the joy she brings to my life. Now, on to the sappy stuff! My old computer that I had built 6 or so years ago died on me, and in moving files over to a new laptop I came across a file that I thought I had lost (I got used to my work laptop instead of a desktop and we could bring it on our trip). It is a poem that I wrote for her a few years ago that went away to college and forgot to write me. It might be silly but you'll understand the meaning..

that one moment

when the sun is shining down on your face

and the wind brushes against your cheek

you feel as if you never want to leave it

stay there forever

in that moment

eyes closed

taking it all in

wanting to keep that brief window in time always open

but then it begins to close

fading away

sadness sets in, as it goes

you begin to miss it

hoping for it's return

waiting, 

waiting

and then you return

my wind, my lovely wind

eternally mine

never fading

always with me

my wife

The best laid plans ...

Well, there has been a slight change in plans. Actually 2 changes, but the net result is that we are leaving a little earlier and staying over there the entire time - 4 weeks! On the trip going over, we spend a day in Moscow, but this had to be pushed forward a few days. That caused us to not have enough time to get the proper visas to be able to leave Russia for the week in the middle, so we had to get visas that keep us there the entire time. Not a huge deal, just not what we were expecting. There are benefits to doing this, though.

So here is our current itinerary:

Leave Saturday, May 2 at 12:15 pm. Fly through Atlanta to Moscow.

Leave Moscow on Tuesday May 4 for Krasnoyarsk.

Spend time in Krasnoyarsk with an unknown number of trips to the orphanage.

Tuesday May 12 is our court date, where a judge asks us lots of questions until he feels he can allow us to be parents to Baby Boy.

Wednesday May 13 should be the start of the 10 day waiting period. This is when we were going to come home, but we will now stay over there.

Friday May 22, end of the 10 day waiting period and when we should get Baby Boy and he is finally with us! This is referred to as Gotcha Day.

Spend a few more days in Krasnoyarsk getting paperwork and his passport, etc.

Leave Krasnoyarsk Wednesday May 27 for Moscow.

Get his US visa (so he can enter the US as he isn't a US citizen until we land)

Leave Moscow Saturday May 30 to head home.

Arrive in Richmond Saturday night May 30 after a long and interesting trip!

Whew! This is going to be an interesting trip. We'll need to rethink our packing strategy if we aren't coming back in the middle. Although we weren't expecting to stay the entire time, it should be ok. It will give us more time to explore the city and be prepared to get Baby Boy when it is time. We will be updating the blog quite a bit, so it will be busier compared to now.

So hang in there, only 5 weeks (!!!) until we are back. Cross your fingers and hope that the remainder of the paperwork and process goes smoothly. 

It's really real, isn't it?

Well, we got the call today ... we are heading back to Russia in 2 weeks!!! Wow! We weren't really thinking about the call because we only got back just over 6 weeks ago. We weren't expecting to get a call this soon, so it definitely was a surprise. In 5 1/2 weeks we will be back for good ... yikes! So much still left to do and then all the travel and everything.

So, getting myself under control ... we fly out May 6 for Moscow, do a few things there, fly to the region, see Baby Boy, have our court date, then we come home for a week. We then head back after a week, get him and his paperwork and leave the region, head to Moscow for a few days, then we are home on the 30th of May. Crazy, huh?

We haven't completely got his room set up. We weren't trying to get it done too quick so we didn't have the reminder that the room was done an he wasn't here yet. We need to finish the room, get remaining paperwork ready to take with us, prepare for packing, etc., etc. The list goes on and on.

Please continue to keep your fingers crossed that things continue to go well. We are both hoping that things go relatively smoothly, and fortunately we have no reason to expect the rest of the process to be bad. 

Rockin' the mini-van!

Heather and I have entered the world of the mini-van (Toyota Sienna). It's something we had been thinking about since when we were looking at siblings, but even now it will still be good. Much more room than the Honda Civic, more room than the Camry. We traded in the Civic so now have two larger vehicles and still one car payment. It's a bit different from driving the Civic but so far is very nice. Later today I might try and decipher the car seat instructions and test fit it in the mini-van. 

On the adoption front, we are still waiting. Not that things are behind schedule, just that it is tough when there is not set timeframe. Our paperwork is in Russia and I believe has been translated and sent to the region. It is looked over by the regional staff of the agency, then Baby Boy's paperwork is added to it once that is done. The whole mess is then given to the judge, and he or she decides if it looks ok. I'm sorry that we are back in the period of nothing much to update. 

We are going to put away some more of the shower gifts so I an take a few pictures of Baby Boy's room. The wall color is a deep blue that goes with the rain forest theme, but it is still somewhat bright. We are going to do some more decorating but don't want to overwhelm him with stuff in the room.

Now back to waiting.

Another update (not as boring)

(Now that I've got you up to speed on our little jaunt to Siberia, I'll return to the present...)

Not to get ahead of myself, but our Dossier 2 docs have been sent off to Moscow!!! The next steps involve getting it translated, sent to the region, getting into the hands of the judge and then the judge decides if the docs are good enough. We are still in a waiting mode, but this is one step further in the process.

(jumping back in a time a little again)

After getting back it took a little to get used to things again after getting back. Between the time zones changes in a matter of days along with the flying we did, we were certainly not on our normal schedule. Heather took Monday off and I worked from home so we could ease back into things 100% which helped. It still took a few days to completely get adjusted. At that point it almost seemed like a dream that we had been out of the country. It was so quick and then it was over. We want to get back over there but we are ready to wait again. 

I am looking forward to the day when we finally pick him up and he is completely and officially ours. It's hard to not be able to post pictures or anything, to not really give any details about him, but unfortunately it is the nature of this process. We will be able to post over there and once we can post information we will have pictures from the beginning to post. Not too much longer now (we hope) but we are getting ready. 

We are getting his bedroom ready. We have painted it a medium blue color to go along with the rainforest theme. We need to take pictures after it has been prepared some to show to the judge at the court hearing. Those plus pictures of us from the first trip (and maybe some from trip 2, there is a 1 hour Kodak place there). Just a few more things in our trip toward parenthood.