We’ve a big Holly bush near our back yard. After the snow, every robin in the area was in our block to feed on that tree! I took some nice pictures of the event:
Also shot a short video so you can get an idea of the air traffic on Friday. It wasn’t nearly as nice a day, so please forgive the quality of the footage.
We returned home this past Saturday and have been working on establishing a routine and setting boundaries. Things are progressing, but naps and bedtime are a real challenge. We have yet to find out what calms Alexander Roman down and promotes sleeping.
We’re resorting to drives in the car to get him to fall asleep because 1) we don’t have a way to communicate that he should lay down/rest/relax/etc and 2) if we did have a way to communicate it, he’d push the boundaries and not do it, and anyway how can you “force”/require a kid to relax? Lay him on the bed and he’ll get upset. Lay with him, and he’ll squirm away, get up and start playing, close the door and he’ll get upset at being alone (which is totally understandable).
Challenging…
We visited Red Square today. Film at 11!
Day 2 in Moscow. It’s 3:15pm as I write this (about 7:15am in DC) and we are all set. We have Roman’s (Alexander’s) passport and his visa to get into the US. I’m waiting to get confirmation, but I think we’re scheduled on a flight Saturday afternoon, the 26th) that should have us landing in DC in the mid afternoon. This part of the journey is almost over.
Before coming to Moscow we, and our facilitators, did a lot of leg- and paperwork. What remained to be done was basically confirming the paperwork, having the brief medical examination, submitting the dossier at the Embassy, and then, today, going to the Embassy for our interview.
The medical was at 8:00am yesterday at the hotel and it went fine. Boris, the doctor, said he didn’t look like an orphanage kid, his size and all was good, and alternately called him a sumo wrestler or Buddha-belly. At 11am we met to run over the paperwork, which took all of about 20 minutes. Our facilitator then took the dossier to the Embassy to start that process while the three of us took a walk, and got some lunch. Finally, we all took a desperately-needed nap (thank god!). Naps are under-appreciated.
Our hotel is very close to a pedestrian street known as “Arbat,” so we had a perfect place for the walk. Yeah, it’s the touristy part of town, but for Alexander it’s all brand new. On Monday, Moscow hadabout 20cm (8in) of snow and it caused a bit of havoc. You can see that they’re still working on removing some of it.
Alexander was fascinated by everything, and was happy as a clam in the stroller, talking, singing to himself, and making eyes at the ladies that walked by. One restaurant in the area had someone outside dressed in a sort of cow outfit and Alexander was totally thrilled! He babbled to the cow, waved hi, made some other movements which the cow immitated – it was love at first sight. We took his picture, of course.
Tomorrow we’re going to go to Red Square for some pictures and so I can finally see this iconic spot. Of course we’ll post some of the pictures as time permits.
The Embassy today was interesting. There were about a dozen families waiting. All the kids were pretty good, Alexander included. We’re so lucky that he seems to have a pretty happy disposition. We were at the Embassy from about 10am until close to 1pm (a long time indeed), but he was good, played very well, and only melted down once, near the end, when he was clearly bored, tired, and ready to go. He walked me over to his coat and insisted, in Russian, something that approximates “Roman coat,” and was very disappointed when I did not get it for him to put on so we could leave.
As happens when waiting in lines, we talked with some of the other families. They were there from all over the Eastern US, having adopted from all over Russia, and all had varying experiences. We again validated that we had it easier than many, though a few had us beat for timing. All were of course anxious to get their visas and to go home. Folks were a little tense, too, because there were some technical issues yesterday that prevented the Embassy from printing visas; if there was a problem today, it would mean waiting until Monday to get the visa since the Embassy is closed tomorrow for Christmas.
So, quickly some other milestone events of the past couple days and lessons learned:
- He’s not keen on baths. To someone outside the room last night, it would have sounded like we were doing something unspeakable to him. It was a pure scream-fest.
- The first diaper change was a nauseating event. New food meant his digestive tract wasn’t pleased. It was a two person job, with Rachel (bless her) operating and me playing assistant – “I need a towel!” “Yes, ma’am!” Today’s were smoother thank god.
- The kid loves being outside and seeing new things. He woke up this morning and just as soon as he was dressed he wanted to put on his coat and boots and go outside for a walk.
Arrived about midnight local time, which was 2am for us. Alexander didn’t sleep much at all on the plane, but he was really good.
The hotel we are in isn’t great. The room is cold and very small. This is one of the most expensive cities in the world and I know switching won’t be cheap, but we’re gonna try.
In 45 minutes we meet to do paperwork. After that, we’re free for the day. Tomorrow is our embassy appointment. Fingers crossed that it goes smoothly.
We’ve got Alexander’s passport in hand and have three tickets to Moscow for tonight! Tomorrow starts the Embassy process.
Today we were able to get a CD with a compilation of pictures of Alexander over the years he’s been at the orphanage, and a DVD with video of the same. What a special thing for a kid to have. I can’t wait till he’s 16 and we have the time to look at these!
These past few days have been days of discovery for us. I’ll not spend a lot of time on things, but it’s been eye-opening.
- We’ve met a Spanish couple and a single French woman who are adopting from this same orphanage. The Spanish couple met their son for the first time in 2007. We met our son in April. The whole process for us has been long, but these folks have really had a hard time of it. The woman from France is lovely and is adopting a beautiful little girl, but she’s having a hard time connecting with the girl. Roman was uneasy with us at first, but now we’re a “normal” part of his life.
- One of his caregivers, Svieta, truly cares for Roman. For his birthday this year she gave him a little golden cross. Today she earnestly asked if we would mind taking the cross with Roman so he would have a memory of her. Of course we said yes. We also got her mailing address so we can send pictures so she can continue to share in his life.
- Today the photo album we made when we were here in April reappeared. It’s obvious that they have been showing it to him. He was so excited and flipped through the pages, naming mama & papa, mama & roman, papa & roman, pointing to our house and saying “dom!” (house), pointing to our parents and naming them baba and dyeda (babushka, grandmother, and dyedushka, grandfather). He wouldn’t let go of the album for the better part of an hour. Whenever we moved from one part fo the room to the next, he was clutching the picture book and he really objected when he thought someone was trying to take it from him.
- He’s quite comfortable riding in a stroller and he even got concerned when I began to push the stroller before his seatbelt was fastened. This bodes well for the airport.
Tomorrow’s a busy day trying to get paperwork done as fast as we can.
It’s the shortest day of the year. At 9:30 the sun isn’t up, thought the sky is lightening. Yesterday, the sun set by 4:15. All day the shadows are long and the light is golden. I’ll be happy to be back south.
Like father, like son…
