Day Three with Denis

We had another good visit with Denis today. He started off a little teary, but after we changed him out of his wet diaper his mood seemed to improve. Makes sense! Highlights of the day were playing with Lego-like blocks, eating more (and more!) Cheerios, and watching the world go by out the window. We only took a few pictures today. There's a medley of video clips below - about 2 minutes long. We tried to catch him saying “Arf! Arf!” at a dog out the window and his “Opa!” when he does something he thinks is great – but we seemed to miss it every time. We did manage to catch a few more giggles on tape, and I just love the clip of him shoving a handful of Cheerios into his mouth (oops!).

It doesn’t take much for Denis to become over-stimulated, and we’re quickly learning the signs. He gets this glassy look in his eyes and makes this licking/swallowing motion (hard to describe) with his mouth. He seems to recognize this in himself, too, because he’ll stop playing and turn away from his toys. Holding him and looking out the window seemed to calm him down today. As we stood there, watching the cars and people pass by below us, I could literally feel him catching his breath. Every now and then, he would take a slow, deep breath and let all the air out with the sweetest little sigh I’ve ever heard. After a few minutes of down time, he was happy to start playing again. He even got a little silly today – throwing a Lego and making us chase it. He thought that was the funniest thing ever! It’s been great to watch him grow more playful with us everyday.

Denis Dmitriy Schatzky

We're proud to (unofficially**) present Denis Dmitriy Schatzky!

Yuri picked us up just past 11:00 this morning, and told us he needed to know Our Little Guy’s name so that he could file our Petition to Adopt. “What? You need a name right now?” “No, not now. Later. When we get to the orphanage.” “So, like, in 20 minutes?” “Yes. Later. Da.”

Thankfully, we had to stop at the regional hospital on the way to the orphanage to pick up Our Little Guy’s health records. Phew – that would buy us a few more minutes! But alas, the woman we needed to meet wasn’t there, so Yuri decided it would be best to go to the orphanage and come back later for the records. Drat – that was going to cost us those few minutes! So, there we were, in the parking lot of the regional hospital…deciding on a name.

We learned yesterday at the MOE that his Russian name is Denis Dmitrievich. We both really liked the way that rolled off our tongues, and after letting it roll around our heads for a day, we decided Denis Dmitriy Schatzky felt right. We’ll pronounce Denis as Dennis; whereas in Russian Denis sounds like Denise. We’ve shortened Dmitrievich to Dmitriy since the patronymic system isn’t something we use. Not only do we like the way his name sounds, we like the fact that it’s a version of his birth name. It’s who he is, and it’s the one thing he’ll get to take with him when he leaves Kaliningrad. (Now, if his name had been Vladimir, I might be singing a different tune!)

**He’s not technically a Schatzky yet, nor is he our son yet, but we’re getting there.

Turn up the volume for today’s video! It’s a great one with all sorts of giggling – you’re going to love it! It was so good to see more smiles today and to hear that laughter. What a great laugh Denis has! Enjoy…

First Visit

Here are some photos – and a few video clips – of our first visit. Enjoy! (You may want to lower the volume of the videos – unless you want to listen to a bunch of rapid-fire Russian in the background).

Our first visit was a success! After a quick trip to the Ministry of Education where we received our referral, Yuri drove us to the orphanage. We weren’t allowed to enter the orphanage itself, but were taken to the director’s office in a neighboring building. There we met with Olga, the orphanage director. She read bits and pieces of information from a folder – information about Denis’s background, health, development, etc. Some of this information was new to us, and some of it we had already received in the referral letter. We were able to ask a few of our questions, via Yuri, and Olga patiently answered each of them. Amidst all the questioning-translating-answering-translating (and scribbling down notes so we wouldn’t forget a thing!), there suddenly appeared a young woman at the door holding the hand of a small boy – a boy dressed in a too-big blue winter coat with the sleeves rolled up and a warm-looking stocking cap.

Time stood still for the briefest of moments.

Then someone’s little lips started to quiver, as he looked nervously around the room – from Jon, to me, to Olga, to Yuri – and a look of panic was about to set in. With a nod from Olga, we took his hand, and got him out of his coat and hat. Jon put him on his lap, and I grabbed a toy from my backpack. The first picture I was able to take clearly shows how uncertain he was of the whole situation.

After a couple more minutes with Olga, the three of us went downstairs to another room so that we could spend some time together. He relaxed during this time as we played with more toys (the stacking cups and cars were his favorite) and introduced him to Cheerios. He loved the Cheerios! (Thanks, Kirsten!) I think we managed a couple of crooked little smiles, but they were hard to capture on film. He was wary of the camera, so we tried to limit the number of pictures we took.

He made a few babbling noises when he was really enjoying something – hiding the cars in the cups and throwing the ball back to Jon – but no real words as far as we could tell (but then again, our Russian is about as good as our Japanese…so who knows!). We loved watching him play – he was very methodical in the way he would organize the cups, hand us puzzle pieces, and open/close the flaps in a book.

After about an hour, he heard someone in the hallway – a voice he clearly recognized. He looked at both of us, got a pained look on his face, and tried to say something – “d-d-d-d-d-d”. He was so determined to go find this person (his caretaker?) that he put the toys down, grabbed my hand, stood up, and led me to the door. We went out, looked around, but we couldn’t see anyone. I know he felt quite desperate and sad at that moment, but I was happy – happy that he wanted to see someone so badly (perhaps he’s formed attachments?) and that he felt secure enough to take my hand and show me what he wanted. I’m new at this, but I think those are good signs!

At this point, it was about lunchtime, so we had to say goodbye for the day. Yuri took him back to the main building, and we were soon heading back to our hotel. We’re already counting the hours until our visit tomorrow…

Today's the Day

It’s a little after 4:00AM, and I’m wide-awake, antsy with anticipation for today’s events. Yuri is picking us up at 9:40 this morning. We have a 10:30 appointment at the Ministry of Education, where we will officially receive our referral. The MOE will tell us which orphanage Denis is in (although Yuri already told us that he’s here in the city and not out of town) and grant us permission to go visit him. And then…we will go visit him.

We Made It!

Hello from Moscow! We've made it this far! It's 4:45AM and we're about to catch a shuttle back to the airport for our flight to Kaliningrad. Everything has gone extremely well - all our trains, planes, and automobiles have been on time. Getting through the passport control last night was an event - definitely a cultural experience! More on that later...more on everything later.

Later...

Here are a couple shots from our flight. We were in a state of ‘perpetual dusk’ as we flew to Moscow, heading west over six time zones. We seemed to be looking down on Siberia for most of the flight. The vastness and starkness were truly impressive – a sea of snow-covered steppes and snake-like rivers that stretched on and on and on... Every now and then we would spot a lonely light shining in the middle of nowhere and wonder what on earth was down there, so cut off from everything else. From the warm interior of the plane, it was easy to wish that we could touch down for just a moment to experience the cold night below. Then a quick shiver would bring me back to my senses, as I thought of all those men I’d deployed to Irkutsk and Yakutsk in my many games of RISK!

Our flight to Kaliningrad went smoothly. We landed at 8:30AM – right on time – in a cold November rain. Yuri, FTIA’s rep, met us at the airport and drove us to our hotel. He got us settled, showed us the central areas of town, and said he’d be back to pick us up in the morning. We both liked Yuri instantly. He seems to have a great personality, he’s a nice slow driver, and he said our baby was cute!

Walking around town brought back a flood of memories for both Jon and me. The sights and sounds and smells are so familiar to us. The dark clothing, the fried garlic bread, the beautiful architecture... It feels good to be back in the Baltics.

Round Two

Anyone up for another game? I hope so because I've recently discovered I have an addiction. I'm addicted to the blog world! I love reading your responses. Getting a new comment is almost as good as receiving a real letter in the mail. Almost. So go on, give me the fix I need! 

Questions for this round are:

1. What name (first & middle) will we decide on for our little guy? 

2. Who'll be the bigger crier on our first trip - Jon or Celia?!

3. When will our day in court be?

4. Will our 10-day waiting period be waived?

Points to consider: 

(1) It's a boy, in case you've missed that bit of news! His Russian name is Denis. We plan to keep Denis as either his first or middle name. Other names we've been tossing around - some more seriously than others - are: Finnegan, Benjamin, Oliver, Nikolai, Nicholas, William, Simon, Owen. And then there's the name we've been calling him all along - Boris.  Will it stick? At this point, your guess is as good as ours. It could be any one of those names or something completely different - something that just feels right after meeting him. Or it could be the great name you predict! We really haven't decided yet. Good thing it's a long flight! 

(2) I'm a sap. Jon, not so much. However, he does have his moments, and this could certainly be one of them. 

(3) Kaliningrad is known for assigning court dates that are six weeks after the first trip. However, the holidays could interfere with our day in court. Six weeks after our first trip will be the week of our Christmas; the following week is New Years; and the week after that is Christmas in Russia (Jan 7). Will they squeeze us in before the holidays? Or make us wait until mid-January? Of course, we'll be hoping and pushing for the week of our Christmas...and I'm sure you can imagine just how much sway we'll have with a Russian judge!

(4) In Russia, there's generally a 10-day waiting period after a court ruling. Some judges in certain regions waive this waiting period when it comes to adoptions. However, the trend in Kaliningrad at the moment is not to waive this waiting period. What does this mean for us? After our court date, we might have to wait 10 business days until we can apply for our child's US visa and travel back to Japan with him, making our second trip almost three weeks long.   

Yes, there will be another door prize. Yes, it will most likely be a little trinket from a market in Russia! Oooh...maybe a piece of amber with a bug trapped inside it. Who will be so lucky? 

Kaliningrad Bound

We're packed and ready to go! Amazingly enough, we've managed to fit everything we need - including toys, books, and snacks for the little guy  - into just our carry-on luggage. No checked bags for us!

Our trip officially begins tomorrow. We fly to Tokyo tomorrow evening and will overnight there. Our flight from Tokyo leaves around mid-day on Saturday and puts us into Moscow around 5:30PM local time. Another overnight. We fly to Kaliningrad early Sunday morning, and FTIA's rep Yuri will pick us up from the airport. After that, we have no idea what the order of events is. I don't imagine we'll go to the orphanage until Monday morning. Perhaps we'll get to explore a bit of K'grad on Sunday afternoon. 

We hope to get online every night - or as often as possible - to post pictures/news of the day's events. We've been given the go ahead to post photos of Our Little Guy once we're in the region. So, check back often.

It's hard to believe we're finally at this stage in the process. We're going to Russia! We're adopting that little boy! That sweet little boy whose smile is going to melt my heart. That sweet little boy who's waited a long time for a Mama and Papa. 

Obama Wins!

Finally, a president to be proud of! Like most Americans, I was glued to the news all day today as the results came in from the voting polls. I cheered each time a state turned blue and another electoral vote went his way. This is the first time I've ever felt passionate about an election, and I couldn't be happier with this history-making Obama win! What an inspiration he is! It's amazing what he's already done for the morale of the country - and he hasn't even made it to the Oval Office yet. He certainly has his work cut out for him with our economy, health care system, and world relations in the shape they're in...and I look forward to watching him lead us to better days.

Here's a re-cap of the results as they came in:

All graphics from CNN.com

A Horse With No Name

Look at the beauty we inherited this week! A colleague of ours generously passed on this rocking horse that her kids have outgrown. Isn't he lovely? He's the best looking rocking horse I think I've ever seen! As I was running my hands along his svelte frame, my eyes were drawn to a small sticker near the bottom. A sticker that someone had almost succeeded in removing. I'm glad it was one of those stubborn stickers that threatens to leave a sticky papery mess and eventually forces its assailant to give up the fight. Otherwise, we'd have never known...

This horse hails from Latvia! (Is anyone else picking up on a Baltic theme in our family...?)

Anyway, I've named him Seabiscuit. Yep, I did. I realize that's not a very Baltic or Trojan sounding name, but that was my dad's nickname for me when I was a young girl. Seabiscuit was a famous racehorse back in the 30's when my dad was a young boy. It wasn't until the book Seabiscuit came out that I learned of the inspiration behind my nickname. (I always thought my dad was calling me C-Biscuit, as in Celia-Biscuit...??). My dad gave me a copy of the book that year for Christmas, and to this day, it's my all-time favorite Christmas present. It makes me teary every time I read it. My dad's note, that is. Not the book. Although, that made me teary, too, if I remember correctly. 

Have I come full circle here? Or am I still off on a tangent or two? I can't seem to remember where I was going with this... Maybe I should close by pointing out how ironic it is that it took me no time at all to come up with a name for our new rocking horse from Latvia - a rather meaningful name at that - while we keep referring to our little guy in Kaliningrad as Our Little Guy. (I won't, however, point out how strange it is that I'm naming inanimate objects!) It'll come, our inspiration for a name. It might not take the form of a famous race horse, but it will come.

Fall Break

It's been a gorgeous week. The leaves are changing, the air's been crisp, and we've been on fall break. We spent most of the week fighting colds and making travel arrangements, but we did manage a few outings into this lovely fall weather. Of note were our trips to Sorakuen Garden and Himeji Castle, pictured in the photos above.

This is my favorite time of year, by far. Stockpots and soup mugs take center stage in the kitchen. Vino tinto flows freely and frequently. Sweaters and blankets tumble from the closet. Favorite outfits - ensembles of well-worn corduroys, fuzzy fleeces, and knitted scarves - are donned daily. And the feathery weight of a down comforter tucks us in at night. Tell me, is there a better season than fall?  

And the Winner Is...

...Danielle! She had the best overall predictions in three out of four categories. I know you've all been dying to hear who won! ;)

Danielle's picks were:

• Referral Date  -  October 21    
• Sex of Referral  -  Boy
• Age of Referral  -  11 months
• Travel Date  -  November 11

Actual results are:

• Referral Date  -  October 24
• Sex of Referral  -  Boy
• Age of Referral  -  18 months
• Travel Date  -  November 9

Congrats, Danielle! Your door prize will be coming from a market in Russia - watch the mail! 

Travel Dates

Our dates have been confirmed. We'll be in Kaliningrad from November 9-15. We booked our flights yesterday and applied for our Russian visas at the Russian Consulate in Osaka. 

While in Kaliningrad, we'll be signing papers at the Ministry of Education, talking with the orphanage director/doctor, and best of all...meeting our little guy. I can't quite wrap my head around meeting him for the first time. What will that be like? Will he be completely frightened by us - two strangers speaking a funny language? Or will he be curious about us? Will it take him long to warm up to us? Will the caretakers have 'prepped' him in terms of who we are? 

And that's as far as I can get without my head spinning! Poco a poco. We'll be there soon. But not soon enough.

A Glowing Report

We just got off the phone with the international adoption doctor who had nothing but good news for us. She saw no red flags and told us that we couldn't have asked for a better - or more handsome - referral! We couldn't agree more.  Hopefully, we can post some pictures soon...

She was also very pleased with the number of photos and amount of detailed information that we received regarding his health and physical development. (We received the additional photos and complete medical history the following day.) It's clear that the orphanage is doing an excellent job of taking care of him and recording his progress. And I believe it was FTIA's representative in K'grad that went to the orphanage and took the additional photos for us. It's amazing to me the number of people who are working to make this - and every other - international adoption happen. We have many people to thank for all the work they've done and will continue to do. 

We are tentatively scheduled to travel to Kaliningrad November 9-15. These dates should be confirmed within the next day or two. 

Yippee!!

Referral Received!

He's beautiful! Blond hair, blue eyes, and such a sweet little face. He's 18 months old, and appears to be healthy. We received one photo and a minimal amount of information this morning, and are hoping we can find out a bit more tomorrow once we talk to our coordinator in the States. Of course, we'll then need to consult with the IA doctor to get a medical opinion.

Fingers crossed for good news! 

Sneak Preview

No, we didn't get our referral today, but we got a sneak preview. 

We received an email this morning saying that the MOE in K'grad needed yet another document. The child they plan to refer to us turned 18 months about ten days ago, and since this is slightly beyond our requested age range (which is 8-18 months) they wanted a signed letter from us saying that this was ok. (We've heard that K'grad likes to be precise!) We quickly typed up the requested letter and shot it back to our coordinator in the US. She's forwarding it to the MOE, and thinks we'll hear something by the end of the month. End of the month? We're still hoping for this week.

18 months. That means walking. That might mean talking. Oh, this is going to be fun!  Think of all the books we can read, the puzzles we can solve, the towers we can build out of blocks...!

Time on the Terrace

It's a beautiful Sunday morning here. The cats and the herbs are soaking up the sun, and I'm sipping a frothy latte, my end-of-week treat, as I consider my options for the rest of the day. A bike ride? A walk around the green belt? Maybe - just maybe - I could convince Jon to go on a picnic. The joys of the weekend are many - from lattes to lazy mornings to late-night movies - but my favorite is spending time on the terrace. It's here that I know the weekend has begun. Time slows to a most-welcome crawl out here, and finally, I find time to do all the things that get pushed aside during the work week. Flipping through cookbooks... Repotting plants... Enjoying a slow cup o' joe... And, somehow, everything seems better on the terrace - my coffee tastes creamier, the croissants feel flakier, and the weekend wishes it could go on forever.

I'll still have time for the terrace after the little guy comes home, right? Right?! 

Like the New Look?

Or was the old blue and gray blog easier on the eyes?  Is this too much green? Too many bookshelves? (The librarian in me couldn't resist!) What do you think?

Yes, this is yet another desperate attempt at distraction... Can you hear my thumbs twiddling from there?!

Next week?

We received an email from our coordinator this morning saying that she expects to receive our referral information from the MOE in Kaliningrad sometime next week. Once that information (photos and health records) arrives, we'll send it off to an international adoption doctor who will review it for us. That'll take a few days, I assume. If we accept the referral after receiving the doctor's medical opinion, then the MOE in K'grad will send us our travel dates. 

Here's hoping for good news next week! Jana, Danielle, and Melanie...the odds are in your favor!

Keeping Busy

No, still no word from Russia. So we're keeping busy by... 

bidding on (and winning!) this beautiful Kyoto Circle quilt at the Habitat for Humanity auction. An early birthday present from Jon...

playing mahjong on a wet and chilly Sunday afternoon with the ladies from East Court 5 (I love the tiles, the dragons, the winds)...

battling Los Lemleys in a friendly high-stakes game of Risk online (www.conquerclub.com is our preferred portal to geekdom, what's yours?)...

and hitting the town with the Welbi. Still not sure how I ended up in costume or why I was referring to myself as Tabby by the end of the evening. Has Shelley Jackson left the building...? (gasp!)

Baby wa doko desu ka?

I'm back in bananas (phew!), but there's still no sign of Boris a baby. It's only October 4th, though, so perhaps I shouldn't feel as antsy as I do. And yet, I get the feeling that the month could drag on and on if I don't find something to distract me.

So, how about a game to help pass the time? At the risk of sounding completely pathetic by suggesting that we play baby shower-ish games online, let's play that one where you guess the date, the sex, etc.  Yes, you know the one. The one where the person with the best predictions wins the door prize. Are you game? Okay, good. In order to play along, send me a comment with your predictions of the following:

1.  Date we'll receive our referral

2.  Sex of the baby

3.  Age (in months) of the baby at the time of referral

4.  First day we'll be required to be in Russia

Points to consider: (1) Supposedly, we will receive a referral sometime this month. Because of the Russia/US and US/Japan time differences, we will most likely receive the referral on a Tuesday-Saturday. If you want to increase your odds of winning, don't pick a Sunday or Monday as the referral date! (2) We have requested a child of either sex. There is a long wait for girls, and a much shorter wait for boys. However, it's not unheard-of for a request of 'either' to result in a girl. (3) We have requested a child between the ages of 8-18 months, and from what I understand, the MOE in Kaliningrad makes every attempt to match potential parents with a child within their preferred age range. (4) We'll be expected to arrive in Russia between 1-4 weeks after we receive our referral. At least, that's what I'm guessing since they've indicated that we will be traveling in October.

So, come on. Humor me. Distract me. Play along!

Banana wa doko desu ka?

Where are the bananas? 

Apparently, there was a program on the Japanese news the other night touting the health benefits of the banana and how one woman lost 20 kilos after including two bananas in her daily meal plan. Since then, there hasn't been a single banana on the shelves of the grocery stores here. At least, not by the time I get there in the afternoon. A Japanese colleague explained the banana shortage to me thus: the Japanese love anything that's in. They will buy it, eat it, do it, wear it - whatever it is - until they've bought it, eaten it, done it, and worn it to death. Even if they don't particularly like it. (My colleague admitted that she never ate bananas until the other day...!) And until the hot item - the banana in this case - has gone out of fashion, it will remain an ever elusive item. How long does it take for a fad to fade? My mornings just haven't been the same lately. After all, what good is a banana-blueberry smoothie without a banana?

But this wasn't supposed to be about the banana. What really fascinates me is the Japanese ability to turn even the most mundane item/event/pastime into a craze. This isn't the first time I've witnessed this It's new! It's in! Gotta have it now! phenomenon. A new IKEA opened up on Port Island last spring, and the lines to get into the store were hours long for the first few months. Yes, hours and months! Are you kidding me? Who would wait hours in line to go to IKEA? Okay, I did. But that was only because I really needed a new lamp. 

But this wasn't supposed to be about me or the banana...

October Looks Promising!

We received an email this morning saying that we should expect to travel in October! Still no referral information, but apparently that will arrive before we receive our travel dates. We also saw an email on the chat group that another FTIA family has been registered in the region of Kaliningrad, which makes three families from our agency. We were originally told that a third family wouldn't be registered until the first family (us) received and accepted a referral. So, it must be coming soon! We'll keep you posted. 

Our papers were officially registered in Kaliningrad three months ago today.

Moon-Viewing

Tsukimi, or moon-viewing, is an age-old Japanese tradition, albeit a waning one.

History has it that moon-viewing was already an old tradition in China by the time the Emperor of Japan introduced it to his court in AD 909. Back in the day, and around this time of year, nobles and artists would gather together to honor and adore the beautiful harvest moon (meigetsu). These gatherings eventually became an annual autumnal event and led to an outpouring of emotion through songs, poetry, and other writings.

Peasants and commoners were also intrigued by the moon. Believing it was capable of granting happiness and providing a successful harvest, they would pray to it for bountiful crops and set out offerings of fruit, vegetables, and nuts. The common folk are said to have created several nursery songs (e.g. Deta Deta Tsuki Ga or The Moon is Rising) and short stories (e.g. Taketori Monigatari or The Tale of Taketori) about the moon - and in particular about the rice cake-pounding rabbit that can be seen on the face of the moon. I have to agree, when I look at the moon, I now see a rabbit and not a man. Take a look - you might agree!

This year's harvest moon, and the accompanying Moon-Viewing Festival, took place on Sept 13-15, while we were in Takayama. I was hoping to stop off in Kyoto on our way home last weekend, in order to view the moon from one of Kansai's best moon-viewing spots - the Osawa Pond at Daikaku-ji Temple. But alas! The weather in Kyoto was not going to cooperate. So on our last night in Takayama, Jon and I grabbed a bottle of wine from the local liquor store and headed to the river. We offered up our vino tinto to the little rabbit in the sky and talked of all the good things to come this year. I can't remember the last time we did something so... romantic!

The moon-viewing I was hoping to do this year

In Kyoto...

on a pond...

by a temple...

sipping green tea from a dragon boat.

The moon-viewing I got to do this year (and by no means am I complaining!)

In Takayama...

by a river...

under a bridge...

swigging wine from a fish bottle.

How would you like to moon-view?

Zen in Takayama

Takayama, as promised, was full of traditional charm - not to mention traces of...Zen? Here are a few favorite shots from the weekend.