Court Date Assigned

We received our court date this morning: October 10! We have to be in Moscow by October 3 for our medical exams, and then we'll head to Kaliningrad the following day so we can visit Little D a few times before court. After court, there will be a 10-day waiting period before the court decision can be finalized. We should be able to visit Little D once or twice most days, and the rest of the time we'll spend showing Denis around his home country.

We've decided to take Denis with us for the entire trip (which will be about a month long), rather than bring him over for just the last two weeks, which we had been considering. The logistics of figuring out that arrangement were proving to be too complicated (although we've had several wonderful offers from people willing to look after Denis for as long as needed - thanks to all!). Jon's parents have agreed to meet us in Kaliningrad, to help with Denis while we're tied up with various proceedings (a huge thanks to Tom and Mar!). We're hoping Denis will be able to visit the orphanage with us a few times, as it's the same place he lived for a short while. And we really want him to take part in bringing his brother home.

We're slowly working through our list of documents to take with us, and so far all seems to be going well. Fingers crossed that everyone continues to dot their i's and cross their t's in all the right places!

Open Access Again

The invited-readers-only option has been turned off, and until we pass court, I've hidden the posts about our trip to meet a little someone. Sorry for any frustration this caused - and any extra gmail accounts created!

Still no word on our court date. We should hear something soon, however. In the meantime, we're keeping plenty busy with all the paper work for Dossier Two and getting back into the routine of school/work.

Denis has started KA (Kindergarten A - for 4yr-olds) and has the same teacher he had last year. He's excited about Baby D coming, and is already thinking ahead. "Mom, is this toy too big for Baby D to put in his mouth? How about this one?" "Mom, Baby D won't be able to carry an umbrella when it's raining, he's too small." Apparently, he told his teacher the other day that Baby D is still in Russia in someone's tummy. He got half of it right! Never mind all the photos and video clips he's seen of Baby D!

Day Five

I had a quick visit with Dmitry today before heading to the airport. He played with a shopping cart and a little green shovel and couldn't have been happier! It was fun to watch him figure out how things work.

Dmitry Anatoly Schatzky

Introducing the-soon-to-be Dmitry Anatoly Schatzky. His name at birth was Dmitry Anatolievich, and he's known as Dima at the orphanage. I imagine he's going to be called Little D a lot at our house...

We had another good visit this afternoon - lots of strolling in the sunshine and playing with the other kids. It was Jon's last visit, as he has to fly out early tomorrow, but I'll have one more visit before I leave in the afternoon. Yuri thinks our court date will be scheduled for early October, but will let us know for sure once the judge returns from vacation in a couple of weeks. It's been a whirlwind of a trip, but a good one.

We're counting the days, Little D, until we can come back for you! And we're counting the hours, Big D, until we see you again! We've missed you this week.

Day Three - He Meets Papa

Jon arrived from Warsaw this afternoon, and we were able to have a quick visit with our little guy before dinner. It was a good first meeting, and we all played outside. The outfits have been great all week, but today's get-up wins the prize! On our way back to the hotel, Yuri said he needed our little guy's new name by tomorrow morning. We surprised Yuri this time by being ready! It only took us a minute to scribble it down on paper and agree on the spelling. But I think I'll wait until tomorrow to reveal his name since that's when we sign the petition to adopt him. Tune in tomorrow!

Having Fun Without Us

It's nice to know that Denis is in such good hands - and having nothing but fun - while we're gone. A huge thanks to Aunt Cherie, Uncle Tim, Logan, Kiernan, and Aunt Melinda for looking after him for us!

Here are a few shots of Denis and his cousins at the local children's museum. (Glad you're not too big for such fun, L&K!)

Day Two - He Smiles!

I had two great visits today - one around noon and the other at 4:00 in the afternoon. A little someone was full of smiles and giggles. You'll see and hear him below.

He's constantly putting things in his mouth - it makes absolutely no difference what it is! - a challenge which will be new for us. He's almost 6 months younger than Denis was when we met him, so we missed this stage completely. (We also missed the drooling and spitting up stage with Denis, which we're definitely in for this time around!) He also likes to take his hat and shoes off more than he likes to put them on. Pretty typical kid, it seems. I loved watching his interactions with his caregivers today. He would run and hug a few of them and get all silly. Very sweet!

Enjoy the views below. Poor guy had a swollen eye due to a nasty mosquito bite, so his face looks a little lopsided today.

Day One

Another wonderful Day One!

Yuri picked me up at 10:30 this morning and took me to the Ministry of Education, where I officially received our referral and indicated our interest in meeting him (name coming soon). Since Yuri had to have these papers notarized, I went back to the hotel and had lunch. At 3:00, Yuri came back for me and took me to the orphanage.

I first met with the director. She asked me a few questions and answered the questions that I had. Next, I was able to meet with the doctor, who went over all the medical reports with me. Looks like our little guy is healthy!

A few minutes later, a little someone entered the room. And again, as it did a couple of years ago, time stood still for a moment. Our little guy didn't seem scared or uneasy - he just looked around the room and took us all in. He liked the ball I brought (good choice, Denis!), but mostly he wanted to bang on the lid of the garbage can. We had a few minutes to play together before he went and had a snack.

A little while later, one of the caretakers brought him back, and told me I could take him outside to play. So, out we went. We played ball, we picked up leaves, and we continually tried to put fallen berries in our mouths. Well, he did the trying and I did the preventing. He's big and strong and isn't afraid to take a tumble or two as he goes after what he wants.

I love his chubby cheeks! I wish I could have captured his smile in some of these photos, but he started grabbing for the camera before too long, and I never got the chance! Here are a few video clips I was able to get:

All in all, a great Day One. Wish you could have been here, Jon.