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!
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!)
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.
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.
Does it ever feel good to be back here! My first stop after Yuri dropped me off at the Hotel Moscow was my very favorite cafe. I coined it the Midriff Cafe the last time we were here, in honor of all the beautifully bronzed servers who weren't afraid to show a little skin despite the chilly temps. Oddly enough, there were no exposed midriffs this time around - and it's summertime! - a direct contrast to our visit a few winters ago.
I'm happy to report that the apple cinnamon pancakes (crepes) are still on the menu, and that the service is just as friendly.
The real name of the cafe, Yuri informed me, is Croissant.
My home for the next week - Hotel Moscow.
It's 8:00 and I'm having dinner at the hotel restaurant. It's a gorgeous summer night here, with plenty of daylight left - another big contrast to our last visit here. I remember all too well pushing a bundled-up Denis in his stroller over the icy sidewalks during the dead of winter. Those same sidewalks are now filled with families out strolling in the summer evening.
Off to bed soon, as tomorrow's a big day, and I'm beat.
Well, the first hurdles of this adoption have presented themselves early on. Long story short, we've scrambled all week to get our flights booked, our visas processed, and all the other logistics taken care of that a short-notice trip to Russia brings about. In the end, Jon couldn't get a visa in time for the beginning of our August 1-5 visits. He can't enter Russia until August 3rd, so I'll have to go it alone for the first few days. To say that I'm frustrated by all the bureaucracy is a gross understatement. I'm trying to keep it all in perspective by telling myself that by week's end it won't matter that Jon missed out on those first few meetings with our (potential) son. I'm trying to convince myself that I'll be able to handle all the stress and emotional highs and lows on my own. In short, I'm trying not to feel too sorry for myself. (The huge plate of nachos I'm inhaling at the moment seems to ease the pain...so I know I'll be fine!)
After arriving at the Newark airport I hopped on a hotel shuttle bus and landed here at the Holiday Inn restaurant. The lady at the front desk was kind enough to give me the login information for their wireless connection, even though I'm not paying for a room. Perhaps I look as exhausted as I feel and she took pity on me! Whatever the reason, I'm grateful. This beats passing a 7-hour layover at the airport.
Jon will be flying in around 4:30 this afternoon, and we'll travel as far as Warsaw together. Then I'll continue on to Kaliningrad without him, while he waits until August 3rd to enter Russia. He'll be so close...yet so far away. But we felt this was the best thing to do in order to avoid any more delays and to make communicating easier. I have a feeling we'll have a lot to discuss over the next few days, so being in the same time zone will be helpful.
Thanks to all of you who have helped us and kept us sane over the last week or so - to D&L for letting us monopolize your phone and computer when we first got the news; to J&J for rushing documents from Japan to the US; to T&C for looking after Denis for the week; to Jon's family for helping with all the loose ends in Canada; and to my entire family for helping us juggle this AND all the work needed at our property as our tenant moves out and my sister moves in while we're gone. We simply couldn't have done it all without you.
If you're interested in following along for the next week, send me your email address. It doesn't look like I can password protect each post, so I'll have to limit my blog to invited readers only. Starting on Monday, August 1, you'll be asked to log in with your email address.
Unbelievably, we received a referral yesterday! After we were registered in the region of Kaliningrad just a few days ago, we thought we might hear about a child in the next 3-6 months or so. Or even longer - as one never knows how the international adoption process will go.
Our heads are still spinning this morning with all the logistics of this surprise trip, but excitement has set in! We've booked our flights to K'grad, and will be visiting him (yes, it's a boy!) during the week of August 1-5.
I hope to post about our visits, like last time, as it was so good having many of you right there with us. However, our agency asks that we be discreet and keep all posts password protected. I'll work on setting that up next week and let you know how to follow along.
We recently found out that our dossier has been registered in Kaliningrad - the same region where Denis is from. This means that we're now officially waiting for a referral of a child. Suddenly, it all seems very real! We've been talking more and more with Denis about the idea of a new brother or sister, and he seems very keen. He says he wants a brother AND a sister!
We're having a fantastic summer. Currently, we're out in Idaho at my brother and sister-in-law's place. It's a brand new, barn-sided house that they designed. Both the house and the 24 acres it sits on are gorgeous. Photos later.
Prior to this, we were in Canada (Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto) visiting Jon's family and various friends there. We then had a brief stop in Nebraska to get the camper van out of storage, say a quick hello to my family, and pack for our drive out west. On our way out to Idaho, we stopped to see more friends in Lexington, Paxton, and Steamboat Springs. We then spent several days camping until arriving out here in Moscow. We head back to Nebraska at the end of this week and will spend the remainder of the summer there. My goal is to post some pictures later, but I know my track record for the past couple of summers hasn't been very good. But I'll try!
I've been wanting a Japanese hanko (name stamp) for a while now. With the help of a few friends at school, who helped me choose appropriate kanji and who introduced me to a wonderful hanko-maker, I've got one, and it's gorgeous! I love the stone, I love the way my name looks in kanji, and I love the way Taki-san designed the characters.
Tami, my tea instructor, and Taki-san, the hanko-maker
Taki-san's different sketches of si-ri-ya (my name in Japanese). Which did I choose?
It's been a cool and wet beginning to summer so far, but we're still having a good time. We kicked off the holidays again this year with root beer floats on the last day of school. Although, it should be pointed out that none of the kids were brave enough to put the root beer in their root beer floats. A cup full of vanilla ice cream just isn't the same!Kidzania
Today we took an all-day trip to Kidzania, a bit of heaven-on-earth for kids. Denis got to don many hats:
