Sorry, we have not added to the blog this year, but we have updated our slide show, which is included below in the previous post. I was able to edit slide but couldn't figure out how to move it to the current post. Take a look if you are interested.
Thanks for visiting and Happy Holidays!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
1/31/07 Pictures in Russia and at home
The Orphanage
Children in Helena's group in their play area. They never
have time on the floor unless they are in a walker.
Karina and another child in Helena's group on the potty
after meal time. Karina, left, was an animated child who learned
the gestures to itsy, bitsy spider, as she is doing here. I inquired
as to her availability but didn't find anything out.
Mike and Helena playing in the small room with exposed plumbing.
I loved this outfit on Helena, it was the most American one I saw.
Helena with a caregiver who cared for her when she was
in the younger group. This caregiver would always try to get Helena's
attention when she passed which I found distracting, but she
obviously cared for Helena, which is truly wonderful.
Gotcha Day - Helena's first afternoon out of the
orphanage on the bed in the hotel.
At St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow
Each picture we had taken of us by a stranger is out of focus.
We are home in time for Nutcracker,
December 9th!
Justin dressed as a Page awaiting his entrance. He
really enjoys the make-up and has been known
to apply theatrical eyeliner on any given day and
wear it around town.
Helena is home and sifting through the cabinet
in the kitchen (again). This is a daily ritual.
Helena climbing the stairs
Helena cuddling with Jacob
Jacob playing jump in front of the camera while the flash goes off and try to get in the frame. He was very successful! This a game we invented right before Christmas
Helena with our beloved neighbor Sara
Justin and Helena at Justin's class Christmas party.
The boys impersonating two of the seven dwarfs in the bathtub.
01/31/07 Update in the New Year
It has been a long time since we have given an update. I do apologize and often think of posting. We are spread thin with our new addition. Energy and free time is a premium and I have been waiting for a week when things seem more balanced.
We have been home with Helena for nearly two months. The time has really gone fast. Within the first month, she gained a pound and a half and grew over an inch! She is now fitting into 12 month size clothes! Improved nutrition and the stimulation of our family is helping her grow at twice the rate as she did in the previous months. She is on finger foods except for yogurt or cereal, which she wants to feed herself anyway. She loves boca burgers, tofu, whole wheat bread and bananas. Jacob recently gave her his Popsicle and she liked it, of course.
Helena is a lovely little girl and in some ways she and the boys have adjusted quicker than her parents. She behaves as though this has always been her home and over stimulation doesn't seem to be an issue for her. Currently, she is saying “da” and “Jacob” very clearly. She also says “ma,” but not necessarily in relation to her mama. She has all kinds of intonations for "uh oh," and jabbers quite a bit in reaction to her environment. She throws kisses and also kisses us on the lips, and sometimes with her tongue which we so enjoy when she is sick! She regularly seeks out books and brings them to us to read to her.
We no longer take responsibility for the mess in the house. It is clearly all Helena's fault. She walks around like a tornado, tearing dishcloths off the racks in the kitchen, pulling appliances and tupperware out of the cabinets, and taking her bottles out of the drawer. If we dare open the refridgerator door or the dishwasher, she is there in an instant to see what she can dismantle. Of course she is solely responsible for the legos on the floor of the office, the piles of mail and the clothes on the floor as well!
Helena still does not sleep through the night and getting her on a nap schedule has been challenging. We have been a bit timid to demand that she sleep as we wonder how much sleep she really needs per day given our boys as toddlers only needed about 80% of what most other children need. Lately we have taken the bull by the horns and determined (with the encouragement of dear friend Scottie) a stricter sleeping schedule that allows her and us adjust to sleep time (translation: free time for parents). So now she has a designated nap time of 12 to 3. She may wake up during that period and be briefly comforted, but she does not leave her room until she has slept for at least two hours. It seems to be working, but she still often wakes after about 45 minutes. I no longer decide her nap is over but persevere for it to be longer and it seems to be working. There are moments when I wonder “what were we thinking,” or why not a three year old who is less dependent and sleeps better? I imagine I could be up rocking a 30lb. three year old at night for months on end as well. Many children from institutions have a difficult time with sleep for a long time as they adjust to their new environment and gain trust with their caregivers.
Helena has been ill, suffering from a respiratory infection and a resistant ear infection that required two rounds of different antibiotics. She also cut three teeth during the last month. All these factors, of course, impact her nights, in addition to the expected mourning cry time, which lasts an hour each night. Mike was gone last week for a trip and it was exhausting being on call 24/7, given she was waking 2-3 times a night that week. I was exhausted and could not get her to sleep for any length of time during the day. Dawn took pity on me and insisted on taking leave to help me out one night. It was sorely needed and I was able to relax and sleep for a while that night, relieved that someone else would respond when she woke. Despite the difficult nights, Helena is very happy and active during the day. Mike is now back and things are much better! The last two nights she slept from 12 to 7, so I hope this is the beginning of a new trend and we can give up the 2 am screaming hour.
The boys are doing wonderfully. They really have adapted well to having a little sister. I am so proud of them. Jacob loves to go up to her crib and get her up from her nap. We’ve come a long way from them saying, “I don’t want to pick her up if she has pee in her diaper.” (Uhhh, she always has pee in her diaper!) When I run on errands it is actually easier to have three of them than just Helena or the boys as a pair. They pay a lot of attention to her and pushing the stroller seems to keep them from messing with each other. It is wonderful to see the how much the boys have grown since they were Helena’s age, and she is a benefactor of their nurturing and playfulness.
This past Saturday I took a photography class at NOVA. I hope to get a few more skills under my belt and further my ability and artistry to photograph children. I went in hoping to be convinced to buy a new camera (digital SLR) and instead learned that there is so much more I could be doing with my current camera (a SONY Prosumer). I hope to take another class later in the spring. I have also been teaching a ballet class at Loudoun Ballet on Friday afternoons. I couldn't be in worse shape but seem to be adding value all the same.
Adopting from Russia is becoming more difficult. New laws are encouraging Russians to expand their families and adopt and they are being offered substantial financial compensation to do so. This is wonderful for those families who desire to and are capable to parent but who had to place (or intended to place) their children in orphanages because of financial considerations. There is concern that people will choose to parent who really are not capable of providing a nurturing family atmosphere, and that some children will be at risk. This will change the face of adopting from Russia for those abroad as fewer children will be available in years to come but it is a good thing that the stigma of adopting within Russia may change.
My dear friend Maureen just came home with the blind referral of her new little girl. She is only 2 weeks younger than Helena and about the same size. We are hoping, like us, they will be great friends. I am so fortunate to have met Maureen on this journey and to share all that we have experienced together. Please pray that Maureen gets invited back to Russia soon to bring her daughter home! We so look forward to the completion of her journey.
We hope you are all well and enjoying the new year. We will post some photos in the next post very soon!
We have been home with Helena for nearly two months. The time has really gone fast. Within the first month, she gained a pound and a half and grew over an inch! She is now fitting into 12 month size clothes! Improved nutrition and the stimulation of our family is helping her grow at twice the rate as she did in the previous months. She is on finger foods except for yogurt or cereal, which she wants to feed herself anyway. She loves boca burgers, tofu, whole wheat bread and bananas. Jacob recently gave her his Popsicle and she liked it, of course.
Helena is a lovely little girl and in some ways she and the boys have adjusted quicker than her parents. She behaves as though this has always been her home and over stimulation doesn't seem to be an issue for her. Currently, she is saying “da” and “Jacob” very clearly. She also says “ma,” but not necessarily in relation to her mama. She has all kinds of intonations for "uh oh," and jabbers quite a bit in reaction to her environment. She throws kisses and also kisses us on the lips, and sometimes with her tongue which we so enjoy when she is sick! She regularly seeks out books and brings them to us to read to her.
We no longer take responsibility for the mess in the house. It is clearly all Helena's fault. She walks around like a tornado, tearing dishcloths off the racks in the kitchen, pulling appliances and tupperware out of the cabinets, and taking her bottles out of the drawer. If we dare open the refridgerator door or the dishwasher, she is there in an instant to see what she can dismantle. Of course she is solely responsible for the legos on the floor of the office, the piles of mail and the clothes on the floor as well!
Helena still does not sleep through the night and getting her on a nap schedule has been challenging. We have been a bit timid to demand that she sleep as we wonder how much sleep she really needs per day given our boys as toddlers only needed about 80% of what most other children need. Lately we have taken the bull by the horns and determined (with the encouragement of dear friend Scottie) a stricter sleeping schedule that allows her and us adjust to sleep time (translation: free time for parents). So now she has a designated nap time of 12 to 3. She may wake up during that period and be briefly comforted, but she does not leave her room until she has slept for at least two hours. It seems to be working, but she still often wakes after about 45 minutes. I no longer decide her nap is over but persevere for it to be longer and it seems to be working. There are moments when I wonder “what were we thinking,” or why not a three year old who is less dependent and sleeps better? I imagine I could be up rocking a 30lb. three year old at night for months on end as well. Many children from institutions have a difficult time with sleep for a long time as they adjust to their new environment and gain trust with their caregivers.
Helena has been ill, suffering from a respiratory infection and a resistant ear infection that required two rounds of different antibiotics. She also cut three teeth during the last month. All these factors, of course, impact her nights, in addition to the expected mourning cry time, which lasts an hour each night. Mike was gone last week for a trip and it was exhausting being on call 24/7, given she was waking 2-3 times a night that week. I was exhausted and could not get her to sleep for any length of time during the day. Dawn took pity on me and insisted on taking leave to help me out one night. It was sorely needed and I was able to relax and sleep for a while that night, relieved that someone else would respond when she woke. Despite the difficult nights, Helena is very happy and active during the day. Mike is now back and things are much better! The last two nights she slept from 12 to 7, so I hope this is the beginning of a new trend and we can give up the 2 am screaming hour.
The boys are doing wonderfully. They really have adapted well to having a little sister. I am so proud of them. Jacob loves to go up to her crib and get her up from her nap. We’ve come a long way from them saying, “I don’t want to pick her up if she has pee in her diaper.” (Uhhh, she always has pee in her diaper!) When I run on errands it is actually easier to have three of them than just Helena or the boys as a pair. They pay a lot of attention to her and pushing the stroller seems to keep them from messing with each other. It is wonderful to see the how much the boys have grown since they were Helena’s age, and she is a benefactor of their nurturing and playfulness.
This past Saturday I took a photography class at NOVA. I hope to get a few more skills under my belt and further my ability and artistry to photograph children. I went in hoping to be convinced to buy a new camera (digital SLR) and instead learned that there is so much more I could be doing with my current camera (a SONY Prosumer). I hope to take another class later in the spring. I have also been teaching a ballet class at Loudoun Ballet on Friday afternoons. I couldn't be in worse shape but seem to be adding value all the same.
Adopting from Russia is becoming more difficult. New laws are encouraging Russians to expand their families and adopt and they are being offered substantial financial compensation to do so. This is wonderful for those families who desire to and are capable to parent but who had to place (or intended to place) their children in orphanages because of financial considerations. There is concern that people will choose to parent who really are not capable of providing a nurturing family atmosphere, and that some children will be at risk. This will change the face of adopting from Russia for those abroad as fewer children will be available in years to come but it is a good thing that the stigma of adopting within Russia may change.
My dear friend Maureen just came home with the blind referral of her new little girl. She is only 2 weeks younger than Helena and about the same size. We are hoping, like us, they will be great friends. I am so fortunate to have met Maureen on this journey and to share all that we have experienced together. Please pray that Maureen gets invited back to Russia soon to bring her daughter home! We so look forward to the completion of her journey.
We hope you are all well and enjoying the new year. We will post some photos in the next post very soon!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
12/21/06 Holiday Message
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Last Saturday we had some professional pictures taken. It was great to see all the other families there with their boys and girls dressed up and I loved having my girl in a dress there as well. Just one of many firsts for us!
Helena continues to keep us busy. She is waving bye bye, blowing kisses, giving kisses, and still doing her clapping for anyone who cares to notice. After she had been home for about five days she began putting her hand to her ear when the phone rang.
We apologize that we will not be very active in gift exchanging this year. It is all we can manage to get back two weeks before Christmas and get through the mail, bills and laundry that have collected in addition to adjusting to and figuring out Ms. Busybody. (new nickname) I did have some cards printed but they may not be received until after Christmas given the obvious challenges as I would like to do more than simply mail the picture with greeting. Helena did have some good nights recently, but she does like waking up at 5 am for THE day!
Our extended families are far away so once again it will be just our immediate family for Christmas. I hope you all have safe travels this holiday season, do not get over-stressed and focus on the meaning of God's gift to us in sending Jesus for our salvation.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
12/14/06 Pictures
The top picture is Jacob playing with her on the first morning home at 6 am.
The bottom picture is the first day we saw Helena at the orphanage in November. It was her first birthday and we put a party hat on her.
The picture to the right is taken on one of the days spent playing with her in the small room filled with pipes. I thought this was the cutest outfit the orphanage ever dressed her in as she was not all "bundled up" with the institutional booties.
Helena is keeping us up at nights but otherwise is pretty happy during the day. She is beginning to walk and she prefers the gymnastics routine in the kitchen (climbing under chairs) and climbing the stairs (with a chaperone) to playing with her toys in the family room. She has enjoyed meeting the neighbors, especially all the little girls, and is happy to perform all her tricks for them, clapping, waving, etc. Yesterday the phone rang, and she put her hand up to her ear. Yes, she has already talked on the phone, mostly to her daddy.
12/10/06 Back Home
On Friday, December 8th, we arrived back home to the states. Our flights and connection through Munich was fairly uneventful. As anticipated, Helena was pretty stimulated by the whole experience. We woke up at 2:30 am Moscow time on Friday morning and she woke up as well about 3 am, despite our attempt to wisk her to the airport unawares. Our flight was scheduled for 5:50 am and since it was only 3:30 am when we arrived, the luggage check-in area was not yet open. We waited for nearly an hour as people lined up for their check-in all around us. I walked around with Helena in the front carrier. She was wide awake and active. We were very tired (already!) Finally we were able to check-in. The attendant looked through the papers Mike presented and asked if we had a ticket for Helena. Mike explained the airline had informed him she could go as a lap baby on the short leg to Munich. They told him he needed to go back through security and buy her a ticket even as a lap baby. I was a bit ticked off at this point. We pushed the luggage aside for the attendant to hold and I continued to circle the area with her for the second hour as I waited. After another half hour, Mike showed up with the ticket. We got to the gate just in time to board the flight. Thank goodness we had arrived to the airport so early, because we might have missed our flight.
The trip to Munich was only 3 hours and we were served a nice breakfast. In Munich we had a five hour layover and spend some of the time in the red carpet lounge. We set up some luggage and chairs to keep Helena contained but she managed to sneak out and enjoyed crawling through all the tunnels under the arms of the chairs. It was very early in Munich and at first there were not many travelers in the lounge, but as time went on, more arrived. Helena cried a few times and I don’t think the some of the travelers were too fond of sharing their space with her. As we walked to the gate to catch our 11 something am connection to the states, Helena fell asleep – but for only 15 minutes! We boarded the plane and began our final nine hour trip home. Helena continued enjoying other travelers, peeking over the seats, looking over in the next aisle. We enjoyed keeping her from going flying onto the floor or bonking her head on the seat in front of her (she had her own seat). I looked longingly at the couple across from us who once represented us. They sat alone, reading books and watching the movie while their children, six and fourteen, sat in another row and independently entertained themselves! At times, Helena did seem tired and we took turns walking her around the airplane. Later in the flight I’d put on her butterfly shoes, so some of our rounds on the 777 included her walking (no racing) as we bent over holding her elbow. After crying for a while, she finally fell asleep for about 20 minutes. Sometime during the ride, she fell asleep for another few minutes in my arms (I didn’t dare move her this time) and in all she logged about 75 minutes total sleep time over the nearly 20 hour travel ordeal.
We arrived at Dulles a few minutes ahead of schedule and with the exhausted and sleeping Helena (who fell asleep as we touched the ground) went to get our luggage and go through customs and immigration. She woke up abruptly when the passport control officer scanned her passport. It didn’t take too much time to get through immigration and enter the main terminal of the airport and when we did, we were greeted by a wonderful group of friends holding signs, balloons and gifts and shouting words of greeting. It was wonderful and a bit overwhelming, given our stupor. Helena rose to the occasion and managed to crank out a few smiles. It was great greeting our friends and several other adopted children who had entered the country through the same hallways. Michael’s parents and our sons arrived a few minutes later. I clutched whichever one would let me (Jacob I think) and vowed never to let him go. They both seemed much larger than I recalled. My knee, which did pretty well overseas is now hurting, given that I refuse to stop picking up my boys. Jacob and I have a ritual of twelve hugs a day and I have alerted him that we have a lot of time to make up for. Our entourage took many pictures of our family re-united and soon dispersed to send us home.
We are back home as a family now and I truly feel that my family is complete and this is the way God intended it to be. On our first morning, I got up with Helena at 5 am and Jacob came down and joined us at 6. We spent some time together uniting the two siblings one on one. It’s great to see the tenderness Jacob exhibits towards his little sister and he is enjoying building pillow walls and tunnels for her to cruise and crawl through. Justin was engaged with “Nutcracker” performances most of the day, so his time with Helena was brief on Saturday.
I am a few days late posting this and it is now Thursday, December 14th. We are now pretty tired but adjusting and really enjoying Helena. It is like she has always been with us. The nights are a bit difficult but I'm sure it will take a while for her to re-set her schedule and for us all to adapt. Thank you so much for reading and for supporting us on this venture.
The trip to Munich was only 3 hours and we were served a nice breakfast. In Munich we had a five hour layover and spend some of the time in the red carpet lounge. We set up some luggage and chairs to keep Helena contained but she managed to sneak out and enjoyed crawling through all the tunnels under the arms of the chairs. It was very early in Munich and at first there were not many travelers in the lounge, but as time went on, more arrived. Helena cried a few times and I don’t think the some of the travelers were too fond of sharing their space with her. As we walked to the gate to catch our 11 something am connection to the states, Helena fell asleep – but for only 15 minutes! We boarded the plane and began our final nine hour trip home. Helena continued enjoying other travelers, peeking over the seats, looking over in the next aisle. We enjoyed keeping her from going flying onto the floor or bonking her head on the seat in front of her (she had her own seat). I looked longingly at the couple across from us who once represented us. They sat alone, reading books and watching the movie while their children, six and fourteen, sat in another row and independently entertained themselves! At times, Helena did seem tired and we took turns walking her around the airplane. Later in the flight I’d put on her butterfly shoes, so some of our rounds on the 777 included her walking (no racing) as we bent over holding her elbow. After crying for a while, she finally fell asleep for about 20 minutes. Sometime during the ride, she fell asleep for another few minutes in my arms (I didn’t dare move her this time) and in all she logged about 75 minutes total sleep time over the nearly 20 hour travel ordeal.
We arrived at Dulles a few minutes ahead of schedule and with the exhausted and sleeping Helena (who fell asleep as we touched the ground) went to get our luggage and go through customs and immigration. She woke up abruptly when the passport control officer scanned her passport. It didn’t take too much time to get through immigration and enter the main terminal of the airport and when we did, we were greeted by a wonderful group of friends holding signs, balloons and gifts and shouting words of greeting. It was wonderful and a bit overwhelming, given our stupor. Helena rose to the occasion and managed to crank out a few smiles. It was great greeting our friends and several other adopted children who had entered the country through the same hallways. Michael’s parents and our sons arrived a few minutes later. I clutched whichever one would let me (Jacob I think) and vowed never to let him go. They both seemed much larger than I recalled. My knee, which did pretty well overseas is now hurting, given that I refuse to stop picking up my boys. Jacob and I have a ritual of twelve hugs a day and I have alerted him that we have a lot of time to make up for. Our entourage took many pictures of our family re-united and soon dispersed to send us home.
We are back home as a family now and I truly feel that my family is complete and this is the way God intended it to be. On our first morning, I got up with Helena at 5 am and Jacob came down and joined us at 6. We spent some time together uniting the two siblings one on one. It’s great to see the tenderness Jacob exhibits towards his little sister and he is enjoying building pillow walls and tunnels for her to cruise and crawl through. Justin was engaged with “Nutcracker” performances most of the day, so his time with Helena was brief on Saturday.
I am a few days late posting this and it is now Thursday, December 14th. We are now pretty tired but adjusting and really enjoying Helena. It is like she has always been with us. The nights are a bit difficult but I'm sure it will take a while for her to re-set her schedule and for us all to adapt. Thank you so much for reading and for supporting us on this venture.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
12/7/06 - Finally got online
Mike's turn again. Our friend Mark let us use his computer to make some posts - we posted three new ones in addition to this one. On the off chance that my parents read this post this morning (Thursday before 11 AM your time) you can give us a call at the Marriot Courtyard. Use the calling card and then look in the folder for a copy of our confirmation - it wil have the phone number on it. Put a 011 in front of the 7 and you should have no problem - everyone at the front desk speaks excellent English, though you might have to spell our name. We are 8 hours ahead, and after about 11 your time we willbe sleeping to prepare for an early wake up to make our 5 AM flight. By this time tomorrow, we should be in Munich waiting for our final leg home. See you soon!
12/6/06 Waiting and Visiting Red Square
This morning we greeted our cherished friend, Mark, who came into Moscow with his son, Max, and step-dad, Vincent. They were two days behind us in Perm, but had managed to get their passport done in a day. We were in waiting mode, we did not hear about our visa this morning and because the doctor at Max’s physical said that Max had to have his blood tests re-done, we were all free for most of the day. We ventured out to a baby store to get a stroller for Max (we had brought one with us for Helena) and to see the sights. The baby store was magnificent though very expensive. They had no truly inexpensive umbrella strollers and the prices started at 3500 rubles ($180). Mark asked me what lightweight stroller I’d choose. I was paralyzed at the idea of making the choice on the spot, but managed to point out a Chicco mustard colored model that had a weather protection bag for the child attached. Mark had already been addressed by a woman on the street for having some skin on Max’s calf exposed to the cold air, and since I didn’t see Mark taking me up on my offer to dress Max in Helena’s extra tights for the remaining two days, the stroller with the weather bag seemed to be a sound choice.
Once outfitted with Max in the stroller, more diapers, and more baby food we rolled over to Red Square and St. Basil’s cathedral. It was magnificent! St. Basil’s is much more impressive in person, it is so colorful! Apparently Ivan the Terrible blinded the architect who designed it, as he didn’t want anything as beautiful to ever be created again. In front of the Kremlin is Lenin’s tomb and we also managed to videotape a ceremony in front of the tomb of the unknown soldier on the other side of the Kremlin. Michael insisted I take all the pictures since I had my passport with me (his was with Helena’s paperwork) in the event one of us got arrested, at least I would have my passport to prove my identity. We took the babies in to eat at Sbarro (which faced the tomb of the unknown soldier we had just seen), where it was child friendly and the food was inexpensive. We then all rolled back to the hotel. We were sure we would be delayed a day and we were astonished to find a message on our service stating that Helena’s visa had been processed late in the morning and that we would be able to leave Friday morning!!!! Michael was overcome with emotion as he heard the message and then we all had a big cry. Moscow is beautiful, but we are ready to go home and due to circumstances surrounding Justin’s participation in Nutcracker on Saturday, we really wanted to come home on Friday and be reunited as a family and so we will!
For anyone who is planning on meeting us at the airport, you can call our home for final details through Mike’s parents. We are scheduled to arrive from Munich right around 3 pm, but it will likely be after 4 by the time we take the shuttle from the plane and go through immigration (for Helena) and customs. Also, at this moment in time we are limited in our ability to communicate by email or phone. If you are reading this, could someone arrange to videotape us re-uniting with our sons at the airport? I’m sure this would be valuable for Helena in years to come. Mo, I know you have a camcorder and you are planning on coming. Or, someone else, give our parents a call at home, there is a camcorder in the top of the hall closet. Please direct them on how to use it or ask them to hand it to someone else.
Once outfitted with Max in the stroller, more diapers, and more baby food we rolled over to Red Square and St. Basil’s cathedral. It was magnificent! St. Basil’s is much more impressive in person, it is so colorful! Apparently Ivan the Terrible blinded the architect who designed it, as he didn’t want anything as beautiful to ever be created again. In front of the Kremlin is Lenin’s tomb and we also managed to videotape a ceremony in front of the tomb of the unknown soldier on the other side of the Kremlin. Michael insisted I take all the pictures since I had my passport with me (his was with Helena’s paperwork) in the event one of us got arrested, at least I would have my passport to prove my identity. We took the babies in to eat at Sbarro (which faced the tomb of the unknown soldier we had just seen), where it was child friendly and the food was inexpensive. We then all rolled back to the hotel. We were sure we would be delayed a day and we were astonished to find a message on our service stating that Helena’s visa had been processed late in the morning and that we would be able to leave Friday morning!!!! Michael was overcome with emotion as he heard the message and then we all had a big cry. Moscow is beautiful, but we are ready to go home and due to circumstances surrounding Justin’s participation in Nutcracker on Saturday, we really wanted to come home on Friday and be reunited as a family and so we will!
For anyone who is planning on meeting us at the airport, you can call our home for final details through Mike’s parents. We are scheduled to arrive from Munich right around 3 pm, but it will likely be after 4 by the time we take the shuttle from the plane and go through immigration (for Helena) and customs. Also, at this moment in time we are limited in our ability to communicate by email or phone. If you are reading this, could someone arrange to videotape us re-uniting with our sons at the airport? I’m sure this would be valuable for Helena in years to come. Mo, I know you have a camcorder and you are planning on coming. Or, someone else, give our parents a call at home, there is a camcorder in the top of the hall closet. Please direct them on how to use it or ask them to hand it to someone else.
12/5/06 Embassy Day and “trying” to get Helena’s Visa
On Tuesday morning, Helena woke at 5 am and I used my cold as a legitimate excuse to stay in bed a while longer. Mike and his girl walked the halls of the hotel. Breakfast was not included in the room rate, and at $33 a person, we chose to pass and eat granola bars in the room. We also risked drinking the tap water since it cost $5 for a 1 litre bottle of water in the room. If you haven’t heard already, Moscow is THE most expensive city in the world. Our discounted standard room rate could easily have bought us an upgraded suite with breakfast included at the Ritz Carlton back in the states. At 8 am we went to get Helena’s physical, a requirement for her to leave the country. (I don’t know what they do if a child fails to pass, and fortunately we didn’t get to find out.) It was brief, and we did not need to repeat blood tests. The doctor declared her healthy, said she was teething and suggested we purchase a big shotgun to keep the boys away from her. I remarked that we had two older sons to protect her and he responded that they will sometimes be on dates themselves and she will need protection then. We went back to the hotel to rest for our 2 pm appointment at the American Embassy to get Helena’s visa.
I cried as I walked in the Embassy. Everyone spoke English and the lady that briefed all the parents in the adoption area had an American accent and a real Yankee way about her. It was great to see the other adoptive children with their new families. One family had two biological children with them, ages eight and nine, and had just adopted a brother and sister, ages three and four. What an inspiration! They had been together for only three days but behaved very much like a family. Basically our job there was to wait and wait and wait. Each family was interviewed briefly. We were told that there might be a delay and that we might not receive our Visa’s that day, which would delay our trip home. Apparently D.C. was experiencing some difficulty transmitting electronic files and this had caused delays for families over the previous few days. It was great visiting with the other families for the two hours we waited. Helena took (what seemed to us) her first steps alone, no doubt aided by the extra support in her sturdy red butterfly shoes. Of course we thought she was the cutest child there. At four o’clock the Yankee lady came out and announced that the electronic files had not yet come in and that we needed to leave. She hoped they would come in overnight or in the morning, but could not be sure. We were in serious jeopardy of not being approved to come home on Friday due to the requirement that we register with the consulate. It takes two days to register the child at the consulate and the visa must be completed to begin the registration process.
We came back to the hotel and had a wonderful evening playing with Helena. She really is the most marvelous little girl. It’s so fun to watch patterns of interaction develop between us. Mommy (me) is the sleep time nurturer, and she looks to me when she is hurt or disturbed. Daddy is the perpetual playmate. He taught her to cover her mouth after she coughs and say a serious of grunts to mimic “excuse me.” We already see her testing us. She is often grabbing for my earring, and when I say no, she laughs, looks me in the eye and tries again. We’ve developed several pet names for Helena, among them are stinky pants and Linka Lue, which is a derivative of the name “Lenitchka,” a name she was affectionately called at the orphanage. It’s hard to believe this little girl, that is as big as a sack of flour, may one day lead me around by the hand when I am blind, feeble or both. It’s harder still, as interactive and mobile as she is, to comprehend that she spent the first twelve months of her life in an orphanage with a poor ratio of care. It takes nearly 100% of two of us adults to care for her right now. We can hardly believe that 1/7th of a person cared for her up until last Saturday!
I cried as I walked in the Embassy. Everyone spoke English and the lady that briefed all the parents in the adoption area had an American accent and a real Yankee way about her. It was great to see the other adoptive children with their new families. One family had two biological children with them, ages eight and nine, and had just adopted a brother and sister, ages three and four. What an inspiration! They had been together for only three days but behaved very much like a family. Basically our job there was to wait and wait and wait. Each family was interviewed briefly. We were told that there might be a delay and that we might not receive our Visa’s that day, which would delay our trip home. Apparently D.C. was experiencing some difficulty transmitting electronic files and this had caused delays for families over the previous few days. It was great visiting with the other families for the two hours we waited. Helena took (what seemed to us) her first steps alone, no doubt aided by the extra support in her sturdy red butterfly shoes. Of course we thought she was the cutest child there. At four o’clock the Yankee lady came out and announced that the electronic files had not yet come in and that we needed to leave. She hoped they would come in overnight or in the morning, but could not be sure. We were in serious jeopardy of not being approved to come home on Friday due to the requirement that we register with the consulate. It takes two days to register the child at the consulate and the visa must be completed to begin the registration process.
We came back to the hotel and had a wonderful evening playing with Helena. She really is the most marvelous little girl. It’s so fun to watch patterns of interaction develop between us. Mommy (me) is the sleep time nurturer, and she looks to me when she is hurt or disturbed. Daddy is the perpetual playmate. He taught her to cover her mouth after she coughs and say a serious of grunts to mimic “excuse me.” We already see her testing us. She is often grabbing for my earring, and when I say no, she laughs, looks me in the eye and tries again. We’ve developed several pet names for Helena, among them are stinky pants and Linka Lue, which is a derivative of the name “Lenitchka,” a name she was affectionately called at the orphanage. It’s hard to believe this little girl, that is as big as a sack of flour, may one day lead me around by the hand when I am blind, feeble or both. It’s harder still, as interactive and mobile as she is, to comprehend that she spent the first twelve months of her life in an orphanage with a poor ratio of care. It takes nearly 100% of two of us adults to care for her right now. We can hardly believe that 1/7th of a person cared for her up until last Saturday!
12/4/06 Departing for Moscow
On Monday, December 4th, we were scheduled to leave Perm. Often on this journey, it seems we are running on tight deadlines. The passport can be processed on one business day but can potentially take two. The application was turned in on Friday, December 1st, but it was not completed on the same day, despite our coordinator’s best efforts, because four out of five employees were out sick. We were hoping it would come through on Monday so we could leave on a 7 pm flight to Moscow as scheduled. On Monday we spent the day packing and meeting more couples arriving for their second trip. I drew maps for them, got Helena down for a nap and accompanied one couple to my favorite shopping area “children’s world” to make a last minute purchase of decorative barrettes for Helena to wear when she gets older. It’s a lot of pressure to consider what memorabilia might be important to Helena in a decade or two. I also purchased some soviet style hats for the boys.
When I arrived back around 2 pm, Helena was up from her nap and we finalized our packing. Our coordinator picked me up at 3:30 pm to go the passport office while Mike stayed with Helena in the hotel room waiting for our 5:15 pm scheduled departure to the airport. The passport office was up four flights of stairs in an unimpressive, run down building, reminiscent of where I would imagine an illegal office to be located. There were about twenty people waiting in line. Our coordinator whisked me past the crowd and guards, who were cracking jokes and were the least stern faced men I’d seen guarding anything in Russia. We anxiously waited for over an hour for the passport, right up to the deadline of 5 pm, when finally, the passport was completed in the nick of time. Our coordinator whisked me down four flights of stairs to the waiting car and back to the hotel where we met Michael, Helena, and our friend Mark, who was assisting us in bringing our luggage to the lobby.
In the lobby of the hotel, we stuffed Helena in her snowsuit and hat (this is a necessity because Russians will lecture you lest you forget) jumped in the car, and through a dusk-lit, rush hour complete with softly falling snow, drove to the airport with Helena crying most of the way. I found myself tearing up at the prospect of Helena leaving her birth city and what she might envision this moment to be like in the years ahead. I wondered if her crying now reflected some level of sub-conscious angst. I found myself also nostalgic about my time in Perm, and missing what had become my home for three weeks. I knew that it seemed unlikely that we would ever return here, and if and when we did, perhaps on some mission trip fifteen years hence, it would be a far different place than the city I had visited in 2006.
Checking in at the airport went smoothly and then we waited an additional hour before boarding our flight. We noticed a Spanish couple with their newly adopted beautiful, pale, strawberry blonde toddler, and exchanged knowing looks. We didn’t yet realize we would be sharing more time with this family later in the evening. We boarded the plane on time and expected a timely departure. The Spanish couple was seated in the row in back of us and the girl was calm except for the occasional kick in my back.
The plane began to prepare for take-off and circled the terminal. We began feeding Helena finger foods to keep her in place and were ready with a bottle to stuff in her mouth once we’d left the ground, to encourage swallowing to release pressure in her ears. We also gave her a small dose of Benadryl, hoping it would help dry her sinuses and have a sedative effect. After several moments of what we thought was pre-flight ground movement, the plane stopped. Mike looked out the window and remarked that we were back at the exact same place we had started. The mobile staircases moved towards the center and front of the plane. We looked around to see if we could glean any information from the faces of other passengers since any announcements were delivered in Russian. No one spoke English but soon everyone began departing the plane and we followed suit, Mike carrying the luggage, me carrying Helena in the front carrier. It was snowing heavily by now and the terminal was about 200 yards away. Someone motioned for me to get into the front seat of a van and I did, leaving Michael behind to walk. They deposited me at stairwell leading to a different room than the one I’d departed from. I climbed the stairs wondering if I’d ever see Michael again, but I quickly surmised it was their version of a lounge and Michael soon joined me upstairs.
In the lounge, there were several U-shaped couches, a bar, a large TV with a news channel set at full volume and several businessmen. We joined the Spanish couple and settled in to take turns chasing Helena all over the room and prevent her from bumping her head or crawling under the glass coffee tables. It was getting past her bedtime (of 8 o’clock) and she was becoming tired and irritable but the lounge was full of men speaking loudly on cell phones and a loud TV, so it was too stimulating for her to sleep. I carried her around in the carrier and by now she was crying periodically at full throttle. We’d exchanged brief information via sign language with the Spanish couple. Their daughter was eighteen months old. She stood in the same place between her parents the entire time we were in the lounge while her new papa fed her cookies and her mama laid back and rested. We were quite a contrast and I found myself thinking how slim we would be either in the next few years due to chasing Helena or having food grabbed out of our hands by her as we eat, as she is already prone to do.
After about an hour and a half, an announcement was made that we could not understand, but because everyone began to put on their coats and pack up their things, we did as well. We were shuttled to a different plane. Apparently the previous plane was not fit for flight (one of something was not working) and we boarded another plane. Michael later confessed to me (once we’d safely arrived in Moscow) that the plane was thirty to forty years old, which in plane years is an antique, and probably something that would be safer in a museum. I’m glad he waited until later to tell me.
The plane trip was a good dress rehearsal for the flight home to the states, which, one of my friends has noted, is considered the adoption “birth.” Some are easy, some are not, and we were fairly sure by now that Benadryl was acting as a stimulant, not a sedative for Helena. Helena now became 16 pounds of writhing mass, she was not happy about being restricted to four square feet of space. She was tired, she was over stimulated, the lights were on, and she had experienced way too many changes in a few days. It was exhausting for us, but frankly, I felt that she was entitled to express any emotion she felt! She cried and writhed, arching her back and flinging her head backwards which she is prone to do when she is upset. Michael tried to amuse her and she had moments of contentment looking back at the peaceful toddler (of the Spanish couple) behind us, but generally she was just mad. We’d exhausted our supply of food for her and because Mike was sure there would be a meal for us (there wasn’t) we had little with us and were starving. I did manage to locate a small chocolate bar and we split it and stuffed it in our mouths without Helena noticing. (No, we are not giving her chocolate yet, though I am extremely embarrassed to admit she has had a french fry or two.)
After about 30 minutes of the playing, writhing, crying dance, I made a decision to do some tough love and take control of the situation. I held onto her tightly on my lap, tummy to tummy and placed my hand on the back of her head to keep her from arching. She struggled and wailed nonstop for about ten minutes and then finally fell asleep on my shoulder. After a while, I managed to put her down on the seat between us and she slept for about an hour. I found myself wondering what this might be like for inexperienced parents or parents who had reservations about the child they had adopted. We knew that this was transitional; we knew we were committed to her, and this was just a difficult time in the life of our child who we loved.
We finally arrived in Moscow and our coordinator met us and escorted us to our hotel, The Courtyard Marriott. It was now 1 am Perm time, 11 pm Moscow time. We were tired, we were hungry and I’d realized the scratchy throat I’d thought was a reaction to the smoke in the lounge in Perm, was turning into a sore throat accompanying a cold. The coordinator seemed surprised that we were not in better spirits. I guess most couples arrive in the middle of the night after a difficult flight jumping for joy? In the car she explained to us that the embassy physical for Helena in the morning might require an additional blood test (because they may mistrust those performed in region) that would delay our trip by a day. Yippee, I was in an even better mood! Helena was now passed out in Michael’s arms, and fortunately, once we arrived to the hotel, getting her to bed was no problem. Due to my cold and benadryl, I slept great! Mike was still getting accustomed to the time change, and was also concerned about Helena, so he stayed awake listening to her snore.
When I arrived back around 2 pm, Helena was up from her nap and we finalized our packing. Our coordinator picked me up at 3:30 pm to go the passport office while Mike stayed with Helena in the hotel room waiting for our 5:15 pm scheduled departure to the airport. The passport office was up four flights of stairs in an unimpressive, run down building, reminiscent of where I would imagine an illegal office to be located. There were about twenty people waiting in line. Our coordinator whisked me past the crowd and guards, who were cracking jokes and were the least stern faced men I’d seen guarding anything in Russia. We anxiously waited for over an hour for the passport, right up to the deadline of 5 pm, when finally, the passport was completed in the nick of time. Our coordinator whisked me down four flights of stairs to the waiting car and back to the hotel where we met Michael, Helena, and our friend Mark, who was assisting us in bringing our luggage to the lobby.
In the lobby of the hotel, we stuffed Helena in her snowsuit and hat (this is a necessity because Russians will lecture you lest you forget) jumped in the car, and through a dusk-lit, rush hour complete with softly falling snow, drove to the airport with Helena crying most of the way. I found myself tearing up at the prospect of Helena leaving her birth city and what she might envision this moment to be like in the years ahead. I wondered if her crying now reflected some level of sub-conscious angst. I found myself also nostalgic about my time in Perm, and missing what had become my home for three weeks. I knew that it seemed unlikely that we would ever return here, and if and when we did, perhaps on some mission trip fifteen years hence, it would be a far different place than the city I had visited in 2006.
Checking in at the airport went smoothly and then we waited an additional hour before boarding our flight. We noticed a Spanish couple with their newly adopted beautiful, pale, strawberry blonde toddler, and exchanged knowing looks. We didn’t yet realize we would be sharing more time with this family later in the evening. We boarded the plane on time and expected a timely departure. The Spanish couple was seated in the row in back of us and the girl was calm except for the occasional kick in my back.
The plane began to prepare for take-off and circled the terminal. We began feeding Helena finger foods to keep her in place and were ready with a bottle to stuff in her mouth once we’d left the ground, to encourage swallowing to release pressure in her ears. We also gave her a small dose of Benadryl, hoping it would help dry her sinuses and have a sedative effect. After several moments of what we thought was pre-flight ground movement, the plane stopped. Mike looked out the window and remarked that we were back at the exact same place we had started. The mobile staircases moved towards the center and front of the plane. We looked around to see if we could glean any information from the faces of other passengers since any announcements were delivered in Russian. No one spoke English but soon everyone began departing the plane and we followed suit, Mike carrying the luggage, me carrying Helena in the front carrier. It was snowing heavily by now and the terminal was about 200 yards away. Someone motioned for me to get into the front seat of a van and I did, leaving Michael behind to walk. They deposited me at stairwell leading to a different room than the one I’d departed from. I climbed the stairs wondering if I’d ever see Michael again, but I quickly surmised it was their version of a lounge and Michael soon joined me upstairs.
In the lounge, there were several U-shaped couches, a bar, a large TV with a news channel set at full volume and several businessmen. We joined the Spanish couple and settled in to take turns chasing Helena all over the room and prevent her from bumping her head or crawling under the glass coffee tables. It was getting past her bedtime (of 8 o’clock) and she was becoming tired and irritable but the lounge was full of men speaking loudly on cell phones and a loud TV, so it was too stimulating for her to sleep. I carried her around in the carrier and by now she was crying periodically at full throttle. We’d exchanged brief information via sign language with the Spanish couple. Their daughter was eighteen months old. She stood in the same place between her parents the entire time we were in the lounge while her new papa fed her cookies and her mama laid back and rested. We were quite a contrast and I found myself thinking how slim we would be either in the next few years due to chasing Helena or having food grabbed out of our hands by her as we eat, as she is already prone to do.
After about an hour and a half, an announcement was made that we could not understand, but because everyone began to put on their coats and pack up their things, we did as well. We were shuttled to a different plane. Apparently the previous plane was not fit for flight (one of something was not working) and we boarded another plane. Michael later confessed to me (once we’d safely arrived in Moscow) that the plane was thirty to forty years old, which in plane years is an antique, and probably something that would be safer in a museum. I’m glad he waited until later to tell me.
The plane trip was a good dress rehearsal for the flight home to the states, which, one of my friends has noted, is considered the adoption “birth.” Some are easy, some are not, and we were fairly sure by now that Benadryl was acting as a stimulant, not a sedative for Helena. Helena now became 16 pounds of writhing mass, she was not happy about being restricted to four square feet of space. She was tired, she was over stimulated, the lights were on, and she had experienced way too many changes in a few days. It was exhausting for us, but frankly, I felt that she was entitled to express any emotion she felt! She cried and writhed, arching her back and flinging her head backwards which she is prone to do when she is upset. Michael tried to amuse her and she had moments of contentment looking back at the peaceful toddler (of the Spanish couple) behind us, but generally she was just mad. We’d exhausted our supply of food for her and because Mike was sure there would be a meal for us (there wasn’t) we had little with us and were starving. I did manage to locate a small chocolate bar and we split it and stuffed it in our mouths without Helena noticing. (No, we are not giving her chocolate yet, though I am extremely embarrassed to admit she has had a french fry or two.)
After about 30 minutes of the playing, writhing, crying dance, I made a decision to do some tough love and take control of the situation. I held onto her tightly on my lap, tummy to tummy and placed my hand on the back of her head to keep her from arching. She struggled and wailed nonstop for about ten minutes and then finally fell asleep on my shoulder. After a while, I managed to put her down on the seat between us and she slept for about an hour. I found myself wondering what this might be like for inexperienced parents or parents who had reservations about the child they had adopted. We knew that this was transitional; we knew we were committed to her, and this was just a difficult time in the life of our child who we loved.
We finally arrived in Moscow and our coordinator met us and escorted us to our hotel, The Courtyard Marriott. It was now 1 am Perm time, 11 pm Moscow time. We were tired, we were hungry and I’d realized the scratchy throat I’d thought was a reaction to the smoke in the lounge in Perm, was turning into a sore throat accompanying a cold. The coordinator seemed surprised that we were not in better spirits. I guess most couples arrive in the middle of the night after a difficult flight jumping for joy? In the car she explained to us that the embassy physical for Helena in the morning might require an additional blood test (because they may mistrust those performed in region) that would delay our trip by a day. Yippee, I was in an even better mood! Helena was now passed out in Michael’s arms, and fortunately, once we arrived to the hotel, getting her to bed was no problem. Due to my cold and benadryl, I slept great! Mike was still getting accustomed to the time change, and was also concerned about Helena, so he stayed awake listening to her snore.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
12/3/06 – Part Two: Just the three of us
I guess that I should pick up where Jill left off. Shortly after she finished drafting her post in Word, I woke up. We talked about the day and listened to Helena sleep. After a bit, I got Jill set up with a movie and headphones while I readied myself for bed. We all slept fairly well, though Jill and I both woke up several times when Helena stirred. I admit to taking a Sonata at about 1:30 AM, but it didn’t really seem to kick in until later. Helena woke up for good at about 7:15, and after a bit of play and getting ready for the day we headed down to breakfast. Helena gobbled up the boiled rice from the buffet, especially after Jill mixed in some mashed up meatball (making it very similar to the types of food she had at the orphanage) and she also enjoyed the yogurt from the buffet. During breakfast one of the Spanish gentlemen that Jill met (who had adopted an older child) came over to see Helena. He was very excited to see her – Jill had spoken of her when they met.
After breakfast we headed back toward our room, but met another US couple in the lobby. They were on their first trip, so we chatted a bit. I was starting to feel really tired (perhaps the Sonata was finally kicking in – maybe it was just my body clock realizing it was about midnight back home). I took Helena up to the room while Jill stayed to talk, then she showed up to take Helena up to a sitting area on the sixth floor she had discovered so I could sleep. Around 11:30 Jill woke me to say that she had just got Helena down for her nap and that she was going to show the couples she had just met around town a bit (yes, I said couples, as Jill had met a second US couple while talking to the first). I reminded her that we were meeting our driver and translator at 2 PM, but said that she should have a good time.
I settled back in to map with her, but of course about 10 minutes later Helena woke up. So for the next two hours we had Daddy time. We crawled around the room a lot, I built towers for her with her stacking cups countless times to watch her smile, crawl over and knock them all down (with a big grin). At one point she slipped while crawling and hit her forehead on the floor – but she let me comfort her, which isn’t always the case with kids raised in orphanages. We had lunch together (I strapped her to the desk chair with my wool scarf as a makeshift highchair). Then we played some more and I introduced her to a couple of Jacob’s and Justin’s favorite shows on Nick – though they were in Russian. At about 1:30 Jill came back from her adventure and we got ready for a trip to pick up some souvenirs with Helen (Lana’s daughter). Helena enjoyed looking at all the brightly colored items in the store, but was getting tired so we headed back for her afternoon nap.
It took a bit of doing, but Jill got Helena to fall asleep once again. We thought we would have a short break, but Helena woke up after about 20 minutes. We think that she has been having quite a bit of gas due the change in her diet, as once we got her to berp she was all smiles. She wasn’t going to have any of that nap business anymore, though, so we settled in to play while we waited for our friend Mark and his stepfather, Vincent (who arrived today to get Mark and Mary’s new son out of the orphanage) to call us for dinner. The two couples Jill had taken out earlier stopped by, and once Helena figured out that they weren’t there to take her away she was all smiles.
After Mark called we got Helena all bundled up again and the five of us departed for dinner. Jill really liked the place next door to the hotel where she had eaten Friday night (and it had been the last place Mark and Mary ate before departing for home last time), but Jill said she thought they had said something Friday about closing for two weeks. It was close by, so we decided to take a chance and see if Jill had misunderstood and it was still open. We walked over, and opened the door (which was unlocked) only to find all the lights out and the place gutted. The hostess we had met there previously was there (in the dark), and said again that they were closed. We decided to move on and headed for the “Living Room”, a little coffee house/café around the corner from the hotel. Food was good, but I got the feeling that they didn’t really want to be a ‘family’ place, as it seemed to be a date spot for young Russian couples. The hostess seemed a bit unfriendly at first, but later offered me a toy for Helena to play with, so it might have been me reading something into the situation that wasn’t there (or it might have been Helena’s charm that won her over). After dinner we returned to the hotel, got Helena ready for bed, and Jill worked her magic once again to get her to sleep. After she was asleep. Jill was feeling a little cooped up in the room, so went down to the restaurant, where she ran into Mark, Vincent, and two other new couples from the states who were here adopting. I stayed in the room with Helena working on these posts until about 11 PM local, at which point I went to bed. Jill came in a short while later and we had an uneventful night. It is now Monday morning, Helena is down for her morning nap (Jill’s magic again), and we are packing up to go to Moscow this evening. We’ll post again from Moscow when we figure out how to get access. This trip it has been very easy to get online as they installed wifi in the hotel this fall – we just login in using the info on the scratch card we bought at the front desk. Take care and thanks for reading all this.
P.S. Be sure to read the post from saturday again, as we've added a picture.
After breakfast we headed back toward our room, but met another US couple in the lobby. They were on their first trip, so we chatted a bit. I was starting to feel really tired (perhaps the Sonata was finally kicking in – maybe it was just my body clock realizing it was about midnight back home). I took Helena up to the room while Jill stayed to talk, then she showed up to take Helena up to a sitting area on the sixth floor she had discovered so I could sleep. Around 11:30 Jill woke me to say that she had just got Helena down for her nap and that she was going to show the couples she had just met around town a bit (yes, I said couples, as Jill had met a second US couple while talking to the first). I reminded her that we were meeting our driver and translator at 2 PM, but said that she should have a good time.
I settled back in to map with her, but of course about 10 minutes later Helena woke up. So for the next two hours we had Daddy time. We crawled around the room a lot, I built towers for her with her stacking cups countless times to watch her smile, crawl over and knock them all down (with a big grin). At one point she slipped while crawling and hit her forehead on the floor – but she let me comfort her, which isn’t always the case with kids raised in orphanages. We had lunch together (I strapped her to the desk chair with my wool scarf as a makeshift highchair). Then we played some more and I introduced her to a couple of Jacob’s and Justin’s favorite shows on Nick – though they were in Russian. At about 1:30 Jill came back from her adventure and we got ready for a trip to pick up some souvenirs with Helen (Lana’s daughter). Helena enjoyed looking at all the brightly colored items in the store, but was getting tired so we headed back for her afternoon nap.
It took a bit of doing, but Jill got Helena to fall asleep once again. We thought we would have a short break, but Helena woke up after about 20 minutes. We think that she has been having quite a bit of gas due the change in her diet, as once we got her to berp she was all smiles. She wasn’t going to have any of that nap business anymore, though, so we settled in to play while we waited for our friend Mark and his stepfather, Vincent (who arrived today to get Mark and Mary’s new son out of the orphanage) to call us for dinner. The two couples Jill had taken out earlier stopped by, and once Helena figured out that they weren’t there to take her away she was all smiles.
After Mark called we got Helena all bundled up again and the five of us departed for dinner. Jill really liked the place next door to the hotel where she had eaten Friday night (and it had been the last place Mark and Mary ate before departing for home last time), but Jill said she thought they had said something Friday about closing for two weeks. It was close by, so we decided to take a chance and see if Jill had misunderstood and it was still open. We walked over, and opened the door (which was unlocked) only to find all the lights out and the place gutted. The hostess we had met there previously was there (in the dark), and said again that they were closed. We decided to move on and headed for the “Living Room”, a little coffee house/café around the corner from the hotel. Food was good, but I got the feeling that they didn’t really want to be a ‘family’ place, as it seemed to be a date spot for young Russian couples. The hostess seemed a bit unfriendly at first, but later offered me a toy for Helena to play with, so it might have been me reading something into the situation that wasn’t there (or it might have been Helena’s charm that won her over). After dinner we returned to the hotel, got Helena ready for bed, and Jill worked her magic once again to get her to sleep. After she was asleep. Jill was feeling a little cooped up in the room, so went down to the restaurant, where she ran into Mark, Vincent, and two other new couples from the states who were here adopting. I stayed in the room with Helena working on these posts until about 11 PM local, at which point I went to bed. Jill came in a short while later and we had an uneventful night. It is now Monday morning, Helena is down for her morning nap (Jill’s magic again), and we are packing up to go to Moscow this evening. We’ll post again from Moscow when we figure out how to get access. This trip it has been very easy to get online as they installed wifi in the hotel this fall – we just login in using the info on the scratch card we bought at the front desk. Take care and thanks for reading all this.
P.S. Be sure to read the post from saturday again, as we've added a picture.
12/3/06 – Part one: The long journey back
It is time for me to once again take some of the blogging responsibilities off Jill’s shoulders. I just posted her impressions of our first day with Helena. I’ll summarize my trip and then fill in from where she left off.
I left Thursday night about 10 PM Eastern from Washington Dulles. I was on a 777, and I had hopes that I would be able to find an empty row to stretch out and sleep, as I knew that the fare I was on was non-upgradeable. Of course that meant that the flight would be completely full, without an empty seat to be found anywhere. I had an aisle seat in Economy Plus, so wasn’t I uncomfortable, but I proved once again that I can’t sleep on airplanes anymore, even when aided with Ambien. At least I had a selection of movies to choose from, and enjoyed the Will Ferrell NASCAR movie (Talladega Nights?) immensely.
I arrived in Frankfurt at about 11 AM local, and promptly made my way to the Red Carpet Club (to which I had access courtesy of the amount I fly for work back home). I made myself comfortable and settled in for my ~7 hour layover to read the English language newspapers they stock and to browse on their snack bar. I even tried to doze a bit, but couldn’t get comfortable enough to do more than nap for about 20 minutes stretched across two chairs. I had just refilled my water bottle for my flight to Perm when they announced that they wanted everyone in the Club to step outside and go through the security checkpoint. Of course when I got there, they immediately asked if I had any liquids. I decided it was time to move on to a Lufthansa club nearer to the gate where my flight would be later in the day. No new English papers here, and crowded enough that I couldn’t stretch out anymore, but I was sitting at the window and enjoyed reading a book I had brought and watching the airport operations outside. Finally at about 3:30 local I decided to check on the status on my flight to Perm. The attendant told me it was on time and pointed out that there was another Lufthansa club across from that gate. I decided to head over there. It was a smaller club, but not crowded. Looking around, I discovered a small room off to one side with three recliners for sleeping! If I had known earlier, I could have headed straight to this club and perhaps caught a bit of rest. At about 5PM local, I headed over to my gate. They bussed us out to our plane (which was way out in the boonies).
Once again the flight was completely full – as were the overhead bins by the time I made it on board. I had a window seat, which helped a little, and settled in to try to sleep once again. I napped a bit, but spent much of the time looking out the window as we passed over Stockholm and Moscow and the way to out first stop, Nizhy Novgorod. We landed there after about three hours flight time, and about half the passengers got off. I noticed that the row across from ours was empty, so promptly grabbed my stuff and took possession. It was nice to be able to stretch out my legs, but with only about an hour and a half of flight time from Nizhy Novgorod to Perm, I didn’t get a chance to try to sleep.
This time around I knew the drill on the ground and got near the front of the line for passport control – but of course then they opened a new line that moved much faster than ours. I knew I was in trouble as I got near the booth, as I recognized the lady as the same one that had a hard time understanding my double entry visa on my departure from Perm. Sure enough, I got up to her, she asked my something in Russian, to which I replied “Ya nye panimayu paRuski” (or “I don’t understand Russian”) and she waved me over to the side. I got a lot of commiserating looks from the Russians in line, and a short time later her supervisor showed up, looked at my passport, said something short and abrupt in Russian, and I was waved back up to the booth, my passport stamped, and sent on my way. Customs went very quick, and Lana was waiting to whisk me through the snow to the hotel. By this time it was about 5AM Saturday local (or about 7PM Friday back home). Jill has covered Saturday from this point on in her post, so I will wrap this up and get started on how our first day with Helena went.
I left Thursday night about 10 PM Eastern from Washington Dulles. I was on a 777, and I had hopes that I would be able to find an empty row to stretch out and sleep, as I knew that the fare I was on was non-upgradeable. Of course that meant that the flight would be completely full, without an empty seat to be found anywhere. I had an aisle seat in Economy Plus, so wasn’t I uncomfortable, but I proved once again that I can’t sleep on airplanes anymore, even when aided with Ambien. At least I had a selection of movies to choose from, and enjoyed the Will Ferrell NASCAR movie (Talladega Nights?) immensely.
I arrived in Frankfurt at about 11 AM local, and promptly made my way to the Red Carpet Club (to which I had access courtesy of the amount I fly for work back home). I made myself comfortable and settled in for my ~7 hour layover to read the English language newspapers they stock and to browse on their snack bar. I even tried to doze a bit, but couldn’t get comfortable enough to do more than nap for about 20 minutes stretched across two chairs. I had just refilled my water bottle for my flight to Perm when they announced that they wanted everyone in the Club to step outside and go through the security checkpoint. Of course when I got there, they immediately asked if I had any liquids. I decided it was time to move on to a Lufthansa club nearer to the gate where my flight would be later in the day. No new English papers here, and crowded enough that I couldn’t stretch out anymore, but I was sitting at the window and enjoyed reading a book I had brought and watching the airport operations outside. Finally at about 3:30 local I decided to check on the status on my flight to Perm. The attendant told me it was on time and pointed out that there was another Lufthansa club across from that gate. I decided to head over there. It was a smaller club, but not crowded. Looking around, I discovered a small room off to one side with three recliners for sleeping! If I had known earlier, I could have headed straight to this club and perhaps caught a bit of rest. At about 5PM local, I headed over to my gate. They bussed us out to our plane (which was way out in the boonies).
Once again the flight was completely full – as were the overhead bins by the time I made it on board. I had a window seat, which helped a little, and settled in to try to sleep once again. I napped a bit, but spent much of the time looking out the window as we passed over Stockholm and Moscow and the way to out first stop, Nizhy Novgorod. We landed there after about three hours flight time, and about half the passengers got off. I noticed that the row across from ours was empty, so promptly grabbed my stuff and took possession. It was nice to be able to stretch out my legs, but with only about an hour and a half of flight time from Nizhy Novgorod to Perm, I didn’t get a chance to try to sleep.
This time around I knew the drill on the ground and got near the front of the line for passport control – but of course then they opened a new line that moved much faster than ours. I knew I was in trouble as I got near the booth, as I recognized the lady as the same one that had a hard time understanding my double entry visa on my departure from Perm. Sure enough, I got up to her, she asked my something in Russian, to which I replied “Ya nye panimayu paRuski” (or “I don’t understand Russian”) and she waved me over to the side. I got a lot of commiserating looks from the Russians in line, and a short time later her supervisor showed up, looked at my passport, said something short and abrupt in Russian, and I was waved back up to the booth, my passport stamped, and sent on my way. Customs went very quick, and Lana was waiting to whisk me through the snow to the hotel. By this time it was about 5AM Saturday local (or about 7PM Friday back home). Jill has covered Saturday from this point on in her post, so I will wrap this up and get started on how our first day with Helena went.
12/2/06 Getting Helena
Today was the big day. Mike arrived back from the states this morning at about 5 am. I’d had a wonderful send off last night shopping and dining with my new friend Kristin (also adopting from the states) and Russian friends, Sveta and Sonya. It’s a long story how we know Sveta and Sonya. They are college students studying English and were a wonderful source of enjoyment as well as practical help navigating a foreign city. It’s been a long time since I met such sensitive, sweet girls who are barely into their 20s.
Anyway, onto today. Mike was very tired and so it was arranged that we would go to the baby home in the afternoon. Mike slept through the morning and I quietly crept out to breakfast and then back to bed for a while. It seemed a bit awkward knowing we were entitled to have Helena, and yet not having her, being afraid of having her and also knowing Mike needed his sleep after a very long international haul. Around 1 pm, we began making the room baby ready and deciding what she would wear. We decided on a simple footed sleeper and the small snowsuit – yes, Mo, the one you bought! We went down to meet our coordinator and driver at 2:30, bearing more gifts for various players in this ballet.
We took our last drive to the baby home, I was actually a bit sad because I have become so accustomed to this routine and also attached to the caregivers. When we arrived, Helena was awake and in the main play area with two of her caregivers. All the other babies were asleep which made it nice to spend time saying goodbye and taking pictures of the caregivers with Helena. However, I also missed saying goodbye to them. I’m glad I took so many pictures and video clips on previous days! A comment was translated that Helena looked so much like Michael and he once again told them that he had not been to Russia previously. I’m not sure they knew that he was denying the possibility that no, it was not possible he was Helena’s biological father. Here we are always saying things that no one understands and no one is the wiser. We then said our final thanks, I hugged the caregivers, did some more crying and we carried Helena to the car. She looked around and was very still as we began the trip and then she drifted off to sleep as we entered the city.
We successfully transferred her to the crib in our hotel room without waking her and I must say I was feeling like a fairly accomplished new mother. She stayed asleep for about 10 minutes while I took it all in and Mike went over to the Aeroflot office to purchase tickets for our trip to Moscow on Monday. The nap ended when I chose to open up my chewable vitamins and the noise startled her. She cried, I picked her up and she was all smiles and ready to play. Mike arrived back soon after and we played for a while and then we decided to go to dinner downstairs in the hotel’s restaurant, mainly because it is close and has a high chair. Helena ate a large jar of baby food, nibbled on bread and drank from a sippy cup and dinner was more successful than I anticipated. I was glad I’d bought a very large bib and also that we’d fed her several times at the orphanage.
We took a trek to the market after dinner and then decided to give her a bath in the shower. I know that makes a lot of sense. I sat in the bottom of the shower and put a small amount of warm water in it and washed her off. She wasn’t too upset by it but it certainly wasn’t a play bath. I can’t wait till we have a bathtub. She has very dry skin, especially her legs and we think it’s because they hose her down after sitting on the potty multiple times a day. So we lubed her up with some baby lotion. Now she is sleeping soundly in the crib and Mike is snoring next to me. She wasn’t much into being held as it seemed to stimulate her. We put her in the crib, turned out the lights and put on some soft music on the laptop. She lay down and fussed a bit but stayed laying down. I only needed to rub her back a bit and and reassure her vocally and she went to sleep after about 15 minutes which I think is a world record for any of my three children to date. I have mixed feelings about wanting to rock her and give her all that safety and reassurance vs. having her be low maintenance at bedtime.
It is now Sunday evening and we haven't yet posted about Saturday. We'll get this up and work on adding Sunday's events to the blog later.
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