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.

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.