Tough Day for Katerina

It has been a few days since I posted. I apologize. The jet lag and looking after little Kat has me quite tired. My sleep patterns are atrocious and annoying. I can;t wait to get back to my normal sleep pattern and then have that interrupted by Katerina. She is sleeping through the night and has nothing to do with my horrendous sleep.

Now enough of about me because no one cares about me. Katerina is the important one. We brought her for a check up today. Was a tough day for the little tyke. She received four shots plus the Tb test (I always forget the actual name...ddp or something like that). Then we needed blood drawn and Kelly and I agreed it was better to get it all out of the way at once rather than spread it out over multiple days. So we went to the lab which had a difficult time with her little arms. Although it only took two tries, I was getting annoyed watching them move the needle from side to side and in and out while attempting to find a vein. Katerina was screaming and I just felt so bad for her. I hate knowing I am helpless to help with a bad situation. I would assume all parents feel this way. The great thing about Kat is that a half hour later she was back to normal and smiling, although a little tired.

This did however lead to a first for Katerina. As a reward for her bravery, she got her first soft serve ice cream. And boy did she like it. She was licking mine while in the car and then ate half of the kiddy cup we got her when we got home. While in Russia she was never fed any sweets or anything cold. So this was a double first. She probably can't believe what she was missing.

I suspect she will be sore tomorrow in her legs where she received the vaccinations and in the arms from the blood draws but at least we will be able to have everything done for now. Her next vaccination as part of the MMR will not be needed until she is four years old.

Most importantly, the doctor was quite nice and every thing seemed fine health-wise although there are a few follow ups we have to do. We also learned she is a petite gal (short and light) for her age. Although this could be genetics but the weight could be a orphanage thing as well.

First Day Home

So we arrived at the house about 8:30 Saturday night.

Katerina slept through most of the night. Unfortunately I did not. So I was up at 4:30 with Katerina. I awoke at 3:00 am. Trying to stay up late tonight so I can sleep from midnight or one am until 8 am tomorrow morning. In an effort to get back on schedule. But enough of me. Now about Katerina's first full day at home.

She is still having some gastric issues getting used to a slightly different diet which has caused her some pain. Quite happy once that is gone though.

She was frightened by the cats at first. She has not taken to petting them yet but she tolerates them near her now which is a good start only 24 hours after getting home.

Today she got to play with some of the toys we had for her. Her exersaucer, which was a Shower gift, was definitely a hit. She giggled and laughed while the sounds played. She bounced up and down in it. Definitely made the hour it took to put it together well worth it. We also had a pink princess car walker which she was fine in. Although she is too short for her feet to reach the floor. She needs a couple more inches then she will be running around the house in that.

Katerina seemed to like the juices and Gerbers food I bought for this morning. A little different from the foods she ate in Russia but she had no problem "running a train on" the different types we have (This is in here for Kelly from Role Models".

Well the Advil PM is starting to kick in so I am off to bed. Good night to all and as always thanks for reading and I hope those who have or are adopting find some of the information useful.

Flight Home

So after the Embassy meeting we anxiously awaited sleep and our trip home on Aeroflot. For the first time during our three trips, our plane actually took on time and landed on time. I would not wish our travels on anyone, but if it meant a guarantee that our flight with Katerina home went off as scheduled, I might have made that trade.

The flight itself was horrendous. We sat behind a bulk head giving us loads of leg room and a place for a bassinet for Katerina. She had nothing to do with it and squirmed from one lap to the other for the ten hour trip home. This was after crying violently, screaming, for the first 30 minutes of the trip. We assume it was because of pain in her ears during the ascent. It was horrible. We felt so bad for her because we could do nothing to help her despite trying everything. We felt bad for the passengers around us because it was quite loud. At this point, we were both thinking this might be the worst ten hours of our lives and just couldn't wait to get on the ground.

She did calm down and that started the squirming. We were hopeful she might sleep for most of the flight. This did not happen either. I would guess she might have slept for three to four hours of it. Of course the problem here was, we could not sleep either so it made the ten hours seem soooooooo loooong.

She did not cry much during the descent into JFK which was nice.

Because we were seated near the front, we were quick to get off the plane and to customs. Customs was quick. We were taken to the secondary office but only for a stamp. The first officer was able to handle everything for us except that. With the stamp from the first officer, Katerina became an American.

A couple of Pictures of the happy family

Here are a couple of the three of us and one of her.

Updates to Come

Sorry to those who read the blog. I will have updates coming soon. I promise. But between the jet lag, Kelly being sick and best of all having to watch and play with Katerina, I just have not had a chance to write about our trip home and Katerina's reaction to her new home.

Needless to say though, we did arrive at JFK in NY and Katerina made it through customs with no problems.

Odd Thoughts

As usual, I was not able to sleep through the night. Although this evening, I was able to get nearly five hours of sleep and there is still a good chance I will get another one to three hours before the alarm goes off. So I figured for my last post I would just state some of the things that come to mind as we prepare to leave.

* I will not miss traveling for a while.

* There was not one Russian who mispronounced my name which I find amazing because I can rarely find one American who doesn't know me who can pronounce it correctly. While at the Embassy, three Russians got it right. The last person we saw got it wrong. She of course was an American. I found this funny. Our driver even spoke Italian fluently because he had lived there for three years as a merchant marine. So he had asked many questions about our ties to Italy.

* The other two couples at the Embassy were from other parts of Russia. Their little boy and girl were very cute. The little girl was about 15 months and had an amazing head of hair. Had already had her hair cut twice. I do not see Katerina needing a haircut for a little while. The little boy was 2 and a half and also cute. Both were big for their age and looked quite healthy.

* As I have said previously I will not miss the traffic of Moscow.

* I still think the next place we visit in Europe is Italy and not here. We would like to bring Katerina back here at some point though so she can see where she was born. Time will dictate when and if that comes to fruition. If or when it happens she will have to travel back on a Russian passport because both countries (US and Russia) require their citizens to travel into their countries on said country's passport.

* Which leads me to, we will get her a passport almost immediately. So by the age one and a half she will have a passport. Kelly and I did not have our first passport until last July. Big difference.

* For such a cute little girl, Katerina's passport picture is adorable for the exact opposite reason. It is so not her it is funny. She looks like a tough little boy in it.

Lastly, I wanted to give a huge thanks to Adopt-A-Child, inc. I am not a big believer in fate or karma or destiny, but we do have to believe, at least a little, that Katerina was meant for us and us for her. So for those in Russia who helped us we say thank you:
- Olga & Anna - who coordinated everything and explained the process in Russia with great detail.
- Victor and Alexander - who drove us around this city and made sure we got where we needed to be at the right times no matter the traffic. And pointed out tourist sites and added tidbits of information about other areas.
And for those in the U.S. hank you very much:
Amy, Lindsay, Natasha, Julie, Adopt-A-child as a whole: Lindsay and Julie before her who handled all my emails and calls which were simple and probably foolish questions. Natasha who took my calls on the weekend including the day we did not fly out of JFK and relayed the info to Russia. And, Amy who answered our questions early on about why AAC and then oversaw the process and prepared us on what to expect during our travels to Russia.
Lutheran Social Services of New England - who performed our home study and corrected it quickly when it was missing a sentence.

Katerina, Kelly and I thank you all.

without further delay...OUR LITTLE GIRL

More pictures will be posted over the weekend as some may say the process is not technically over. Although our contacts here in Moscow certainly believe it is. So without further delay, may Kelly and I introduce you to Katerina.

Our last full day in Moscow / Most important Day as well

Today was our last full day in Moscow. It was also the most important, after getting Katerina. It was the day we went to American Embassy to get our petition approved for orphan adoption/immediate American citizenship. Our little girl was approved. We have a Russian passport and American visa and we are ready to travel. Once that visa gets stamped at JFK, Katerina is an American!!!

As for the other things that happened today. We realized that Katerina has quickly learned that crying can get her what she wants. Which in her case is usually attention and being held. For Kelly and I, it causes confusion because we worry there is something else going on. Whether that something be pain or other serious situation or just wet diaper or just hungry/thirsty. We seemed to have gone through everything else today a few times before realizing she just wanted to be held. She is a quick learner this little girl. From not getting much attention in the orphanage to getting it whenever she turns on the tears.

Other than that, we are just anxious to get to the airport and buy Katerina her ticket. We are uncertain whether it will be a seat or just infant - no seat ticket. Depends on what they have available on our flight. We prefer her own seat as long as it is not incredibly expensive. Plus we are hopeful that they will let us use the vouchers we received for the one day delay when we left JFK for her ticket. Technically they are not transferable but this is our daughter. Not like we are giving them away to someone.

So it is with a big smile that Kelly and I prepare to bring Katerina to her new home in the United States. Now off to get some sleep. As you all know, I am only sleeping about three hours at a time. Hopefully tonight I will be able to get 6 hours between 9:30 tonight and 8 am tomorrow morning.

Some pictures - including a teaser

so this one is a view of Moscow from the hill near Moscow University.

I had to post this little park off the Moscow River. It looks like nothing but it is actully quite famous. All of you know it as Gorky Park.



This is Moscow University. It is the highest building in Moscow due to its height and location on the only real hill in Moscow I think. The picture does not do this school justice.


And lastly, a little teaser. We can not post any pictures with classifying characteristics. So instead I give you a very happy and cold mom with her daughter.

Day three

Another mostly good day with one tough spot. First Katerina slept through the night which was nice. Hopefully she will do that at home, when I too will be able to sleep through the night.

Day started with me leaving Kelly and Katerina at the hotel while I went to pick up Katerina's passport and drop off documents at American Embassy. This was easy enough although I felt a bit guilty at the Embassy. The adoption people are able to just walk by the locals waiting in line for visas to visit the states.

After completing this, our driver Victor (really nice and kind man who I found out was an officer in the Soviet Navy during the Cold War) took us to a beautiful tourist site. At Moscow University, an amazing school, we got a great view of the entire city. I will post some pictures in a post in a bit. It was cold and windy but worth it for the view of the school and the city. we then went to the free market where we be bought the remaining gifts and souvenirs we needed to get.

Then came the tough spot. We had suspected the past day that Katerina may be constipated. Well this afternoon she finally had her go. We were finally able to take care of that and her demeanor afterwards was amazing. She has been happy since we got her but the change was an even happier little gal and ready to play like crazy. We will be keeping an eye on this going forward but hopefully, now that the toughest part is done, she will be fine moving forward.

Tomorrow is the big day. Once we have our meeting at the Embassy, we will have the green light to bring her into the USA and have her become an American citizen. We will post more after that.

Pictures to come soon of the sights. And Katerina in the next couple of days.

Will also add, I was on hold with Aeroflot trying to get Katerina a ticket for about 45 minutes when I got disconnected. That was annoying.

Jet Lag

It is now 1 AM here and I am awake. And probably will be for another hour. Hopefully Kat wakes up for her snack while I am awake.

Day Two

Day two was also a good day. We had a bumped head which caused some crying but otherwise a very good day.

First up after the good night sleep was the bumped head. Then off to the doctor's office for a quick physical for the American Embassy. Boris, the Pediatrician, was very nice and great with Katerina. He joked with her and got her to laugh while running his exams. He also confirmed our thoughts that she must have been a favorite at the orphanage because she did not look like a normal child from an orphanage. He said he could I better get a shotgun to keep all the boys away from when she gets older because he could tell she was going to be trouble. Kelly and i thought it was cute. I told him I would just invite Uncle Jim over in uniform. The doctor responded, "yes, but he may be working some times, so I still recommend a shotgun."

He called her a little drama queen and explained that while at the orphanage most children would be relatively quiet because they would be fighting for attention and then just give up on trying. But he said he could see she was quickly learning how to work her parents. It would be important to let her know she cannot always be picked up when she wants. Although we pick her up nearly anytime she wants :). And will continue to do so for a little while. We still have to reinforce that we are her parents/care givers now.

After the doctor's appointment it was back to the hotel for a nap for all of us. A good nap of over 2 hours although Kelly and I still felt like we barely slept. The Jet lag is kicking in big time now. Then we went to the ultimate Russian restaurant for dinner for Kelly and me. Okay that was a joke, we went to MacDonalds, which tastes the same here as it does in the United States. Katerina ate a good amount of her oatmeal and juice mix.

And now it is bed time for our little girl and probably us soon. I am sure we will be up some time this evening with Katerina. And giving my sleep patterns, hopefully it will be near the same time I wake up without any help from Katerina.

Tomorrow is an easy day. I go the Embassy to file all of our paperwork and then back to the hotel probably by 11:00. The rest of the day is ours to do as we wish. I am hopeful, we can get to the park tomorrow as the temperature is supposed be near 30 tomorrow after being around 15 today.

Getting closer to being final! We are only three days from returning to the United States with our little princess.

Our First Night Together

Katerina took a little bit to get down in the crib but finally fell asleep. I sat by the crib for awhile so she knew we were still here. In my mind, helping with the change of scenery. Who knows if it really helped. Kelly fell asleep at the same (near 8:30-9:00 ish). While quite tired, I was sucked in to finishing Dan Brown's Lost Symbol so I was up until midnight. At about three AM Katerina woke up so we gave her some warm milk which she heartily drank. Then fell asleep quickly until just before 7 AM.

For me, it mean a typical night in Russia of falling asleep for a few hours then awake for an hour or two and then back to sleep for as much time as I could get. Will certainly lead to a nap this afternoon when Katerina naps.

Our First Day Together

Today was a great day but had some trying times.

For obviously reasons it was great. Katerina is with us. We fed her for the first time. Changed her for the first time (and after that to). She giggled and mimicked us...well most Kelly. By bed time she was much more comfortable with us. Bed time, unlike nap time, was much easier and had no crying. She is sleeping now.

She was also clearly frightened at times, breathing heavily to the point of nearly hyperventilating. I can only imagine what is going through a one year old's mind concerning the sudden change of scenery and routine. She cried when we put her in the crib but calmed down when we took her. Finally during her nap time, I slept on the floor next to her crib so she could me. This was after I got her to fall asleep in my arms and put her in the crib. Right now I am typing next to the crib until she is asleep then I will move away. So Katerina knows we are still right here when she needs us to be.

There were also other moments when she cried out of the blue and almost violently. But then would stop within a few seconds. Katerina has been with us a day and already Kelly and I are looking at each other with the "what should we do about this or that" face. All we want to do is help Katerina with whatever is making her cry. Thus far we have been able to relieve the crying quickly. We are happy about that.

Tomorrow is doctor's appointment day. We were happy to learn Katerina will not need any blood drawn tomorrow. She will get no shots or needles. We also put off bath night until tomorrow so as not to traumatize her again today after the change of scenery. We have been told that bath time in Russia is not the same bonding/festive time that it is in the United States.

All in all a great first day. I think we could not ask anything much more.

Katerina and her happy parents would also like to thank all those who had nice words on Facebook and blogspot posts.

We are parents!!!

Our little princess is sitting on the bed with Kelly playing with a toy. I waited in a room while Kelly went down to change Katerina and pick her up from her room. Kelly will post something later about the process. She said that Katerina smiled at Kelly when she entered the room. Kelly felt good about that. Then said goodbye and received kisses from the care givers. Kelly said it was sweet.

More posting later after we have had more time with her.

I will add, Cindy's hat fit her (a little big) and she looked adorable in it.

Final for the night - Itinerary

The lost day will mean we lose our off day. This is not the end of the world considering the weather would prevent us form doing a lot of the things we might have been able to do outside. So Tuesday we will go to get Katerina's passport then go to the orphanage to get Katerina. She will eb with us for the remainder of the week until we fly home.

Katerina's doctor's appointment has been rescheduled to Wednesday which was our originally scheduled off day. Everything else stays as scheduled. So given the time right now here in Moscow, we are probably about 8 or 9 hours away from getting our daughter. WOW!

As I have told a few people, I am as nervous as I am excited. Despite already being parents as the legal proceeding has been final with no appeal, it is about to become real soon. Hopefully I will have time to post later this evening after we pick up Katerina.

Flight 316/1316

Our plane was schedule to leave at 7:05 pm Saturday evening. When our friends dropped us off at the airport and we nearly got blown over by the wind just getting out the car we knew we had some problems. So we started to keep check of the plane coming from Moscow that we would be taking back to Moscow. We later found out that is was schedule to land and nearly did land at JFK. But while on its approach, it pulled up because the turbulence from the wind was too bad. It was then rerouted to Washington DC where it would remain until Sunday night. The passengers were apparently bused from DC to NY City.

We waited and waited hoping the plane would take off from DC and land at JFK some time in the night and we would thne be able to take off a few hours later. We were obviously not so lucky. So finally at about 1:30 am, long after every other flight had been canceled, our flight was canceled too. We were told it would depart at 4:30 on Sunday afternoon. We made our way out to the taxis to catch a ride to the first hotel I called that had a vacancy.

The hotel was nasty but did have a bed. So after arriving a little after 2:00 am, we went to bed. We awake just to have enough time to shower and check out. Then catch a ride back to the airport so we are there in case something happens without us knowing. This seemed to be the norm the previous night. When things were announced they would announce them in Russian but never translate them to English. I understand it is a Russian flight but they are in the USA. Some of those people waiting, us included, spoke only English.

Some point in the mid afternoon, we learn that our plane will be taking off after the Sunday scheduled plane from JFK which means after 8 pm. Our plane ended up taxiing to the runway about 11:45. We had a 30 minute wait to get to the actual runway. Take off was a but turbulent as we climbed over the storm. After getting to our traveling level of 37,000 feet, the turbulence ended.

As usual, i slept a little on the plane but not much. I would have preferred a good 5 or 6 hours but got only 2-ish. we finally landed at about 4:30 Monday afternoon. About 28 hours after our scheduled arrival time of 12:20 pm Sunday afternoon.

We cannot blame aeroflot though for this issue. Mother nature just was not cooperating. The winds were crazy at JFK and the air traffic controllers just would not let anything land. With the turbulence as it was taking off, I could not even imagine what it would have been like on Sunday night.

We felt bad for our driver, Victor, because he did not know whether we were on the early flight or the late flight so he waited at the airport for a few hours for us. We are not supposed to, bu I plan to tip him well on our last trip with him which will be to the airport on Saturday for our trip home.

Weather

As you can see from the link on the right. The weather in Moscow is quite cold. Not sure how much we will be able to do outside in weather this cold. Highs in the low to mid 20s is not cool> Especially when the weather back home is supposed to be in the mid to upper 50s. We also lost our free day due to the travel delays.

And so it continues

Woke u pa little while ago, about 1:30 AM. I fell asleep about 9:30 pm. Hopefully i will be able to fall back to sleep in the next half hour or hour. This way I can add another 3 hours before having to wake up and take on the day. The problem is that when I fall asleep at 9:30 my body thinks it is 1 or 2 pm which basically creates a nap like situation rather than a full nigh sleep and nothing I can take (Excedrin OM) keeps me out for the night.

Does give me time to blog about the past couple of days.

Another Travel Problem

The extremely high winds at JFK canceled are flight last night. It is currently scheduled to depart this evening between 8 and 9 pm. So we will arrive in Moscow Monday afternoon sometime.

We have been informed that the day late arrival will not delay us once we are in Moscow. We will still be able to get all needed things done. by the end of business Friday. Our return home with Katerina will not be delayed. It may delay our pick up of Katerina by one day. We hope it does not. But if it does, our biggest concern is just making sure we can get her home on Saturday. She deserve to sleep in her own bedroom as soon as possible; to get to her new home as soon as possible; to get on with the rest of her life, her new life in a loving family. Her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents are all anxiously awaiting Katerina's arrival home.

It's About to Get Real

At this time tomorrow night, we will be on a plane. If it takes off on time, we will probably be somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. The last trip took us over the end of the Cape and then over the United Kingdom, specifically Ireland, before heading over Europe. Kelly was excited because we flew over Sweden.

More to the point though, at this time tomorrow night it will really be happening. We will be just a couple of days away from getting our little girl. Our journey, thanks to Adopt-A-Child, was relatively quick. We expected it to take longer but we were matched with such a beautiful little girl that all we can say is, we are glad it played out the way it did.

We are packed. We are thankful to our friends who are driving us down to JFK on their way to see family in the area. We are also quite thankful for them picking us up next week. We offered gifts but they say no to those and even tolls and gas. But we have a little surprise in order for both of them. Which we are sure they will both enjoy.

More later probably. If not, then the next post will come after we land in Moscow.

Boots!

We got Katerina the cutest little pair of pink boots tonight. She will need them because the weather is still not looking good for Moscow next week. Mid 20s for highs and snow a few of the days.

Prep Call

Had our conference call to prepare for Trip 3 which is coming up quickly. Still hard to believe that Katerina will be home in less than two weeks.

We discussed the itinerary for the week. What we can expect and need to do. Many small things which take a little time each day. We also discussed immigration issues and obtaining a social security number (when we can apply for one). And some of the things we can expect when we pick her up. Idiosyncrasies of the children adopted from Russia (i.e. reactions to baths, strollers, etc.)

As I may have mentioned previously, Katerina will travel to the United States on a Russian Passport with American visa. After crossing customs, we will meet with a US customs official who will take our paperwork and then quickly (hopefully) send us on our way. When we walk out that door, Kelly, Katerina and I, our little girl will be an American citizen.

When we arrive in Moscow Sunday afternoon we will go to bed and get as much sleep as possible in preparation for the biggest day our lives, since we said "I do." Monday we go get our little girl and then apply for the Russian passport.

On Tuesday, we will have a physical as required by the United States. Wednesday is an off day we can go out and see the sights with Katerina if the weather permits. Thursday, we pickup her passport and I meet with the American Embassy to drop off our documents. Friday, we all meet with an Embassy official to show this is not a scam.

Then we fly home on Saturday with her.

It's Getting Closer

Hard to believe in one week, not only will Kelly and I be parents, but we will be parents with our child in Moscow. It won't be much longer before we can share Katerina with the world. We are quite excited about this. She deserves to be the center of attention for the rest of her life. We are happy we will be the ones to try and give her all the attention she will ever need (until adulthood anyway).

Looked at the weather in Moscow. It stinks compared to what our weather is supposed to be next week. Near and into the 50s here for highs. There we will be lucky to get above 30. This stinks, I would love to take Katerina out in the city parks and the sort while we are there. But the weather will prevent much of that. :(. Hopefully the weather changes. It is still a week away which in New England is like an eternity.

Update

It has been awhile since I posted; or what feels like a long time (even though it has been less than a week). So I figured I would post a bit.

We are now all set for Katerina to come home. Her room is fully ready to go. The last necessity was a monitor which a friend graciously gave to us as a gift.

We are quite excited. It is hard to believe that the process has moved so quickly (thank you Adopt-A-Child, Inc.). The timing turns out to be great for Kelly and me. Soon our little girl will be home.

She will have to learn what a kitty cat is. And what fish are. And what to do with all the toys in her room but we think she will be okay with all those things. I am sure our cats will grow accustomed to her and love her in time. Although it may be a few years from now when she does not pull on their tails.

For now it is just setting everything up for this visit. The I-600 form. Travel for Katerina back to the USA. Making sure we have everything we need for a child. We are going on a trip, packing for a child we will not have until we get there. Seems weird and exciting and definitely nothing we have ever done before.

And while we are Katerina's legal parents (Momma and Poppa is how we were greeted at the end of the Court hearing), it still has not fully sunk in because she is not with us. I am sure it will sink in that Monday night when she is and we are trying to find out what is wrong when she cries the first time.

Here is to our last, and best, trip to Moscow for awhile.