11/15/06 We’re back in Russia!

Sorry we have not posted yet. I actually wrote up a lengthy post last night but all the controls on the blogger browser were in Spanish and then when I was finished and went to upload the post, I must have hit cancel instead of post to site. I was defeated and went to bed, although not to sleep.

Our trip here was uneventful and we are safe, and as usual sleeping at the wrong times. We had an 8 hour layover in Moscow and were taken to the agency’s office for a rest. Mike slept on the floor of the coordinator’s office while I listened to him snore. Men and babies, they can sleep anywhere! We were taken back to the airport to catch a 1:15 am plane to our region. There is a weight limit on these old Aeroflot planes, and you pay a penalty charge for overages. You can only have 20 total kilos per person and we had over 60 total. I decided to save a little and took a heavy sweater from my suitcase to wear under my coat. We also wore our cameras in our pockets and I accordian folded a burgundy fleece blanket into a scarf and put it around my neck. Mike thought that was a little over the top and it looked ridiculous but I didn’t have anyone to impress. I think we were able to cut our weight by 3 kilos. We arrived in Perm about 5 am in the morning. There is snow on the ground in both Moscow and Perm.

Yesterday we were re-united with little Helena. She did not know that today was a special day for her. She did not know that on this day she woke up to meet her parents that would always strive to be there for her most every day of her next 17 years. She did not know that this day was her first birthday. She did not know that this day represented a fork in the road where she would have a chance to be part of a family, to have her own belongings, and unconditional love by so many. She still doesn’t know that the people who come and play with her each day have anything to do with a new future. We can only hope and pray it goes smoothly for her. She really is very happy, I’ll admit it is a little sad to take her from the only home she has ever known.

Helena did not really look too different, as we thought she might, until she opened up her mouth. She smiles a lot more and she has no hesitation in showing us the 4 big teeth (two upper and two lower) she has grown during the last two months. It’s a little startling. I am sad to have missed seeing them come in. She is still quite petite, but seems all legs. I still can’t fathom how her legs can seem so long and she is not even 27 inches in length. She has put on just over a pound but seems to be staying on her own curve on the growth chart. Her head is a centimeter bigger which is really good! She acts differently, more mature. She is much more confident in her gross motor skills, crawls well, her feet and legs are straighter when she cruises. She will probably walk in another month. I can’t get over how much she smiles, she even laughs a bit and I think it will be more forthcoming as she gets to know us better. There are a lot of children in her group, I see maybe one to two caregivers to about fifteen children. It’s difficult to fathom how Helena is so personable and good at eye contact given the improbability of one on one attention. We wished we’d thought to bring bubbles for the children to celebrate her birthday; they don’t permit you to bring in food but we did have a party had which we all took turns wearing.

We stayed at the orphanage for about two hours and then came back to the hotel to rest briefly. That was Tuesday afternoon here. We decided to dine at a café adjacent to the hotel because the hotel restaurant no longer has English menus, very weird considering that other written material is in English and they have a lot of international guests. We are under the presumption that Russians get better service. Eating here is very leisurely, which is nice when you are social, but not great when you are plain hungry. We have a joke going that they do not want to feed Michael. On our last trip we dined in the hotel’s dining room one night and while one course came for me (a salad), none arrived for Michael. After over an hour we decided to go our room and asked that the food be delivered there. My second course came (a hot appetizer), but still nothing for Mike. He had to go up and complain and after about two hours he finally had something to eat. At the café on Tuesday, my salad came and then my soup. Still nothing specific for Mike arrived although we did have some bread. After we had been there for nearly an hour and fifteen minutes his main course (pork medallions) came. I think they are very strict about serving appetizers then main course, and although the appetizers are my main course, Mike has to wait through them to be fed.

Today we returned to the orphanage to see Helena again. She has a bit of a cold. There is a rattle when she coughs but it doesn’t impact her interaction. She seems to have plenty of energy and we launched into our routine of playing with the toys we brought. She’s quite aware of her power and likes throwing toys while we go and fetch them for her. Mike taught her this, way to go Mike! We also go through a little picture book of her home and brothers. She actually pointed to the boys when we said each of their names today, I’m sure it was just a fluke. We play games with her, peek a boo, how big is baby and she seems to roam from one to the next initiating the next game with gestures. We are also bouncing her on our legs and bending her backwards, she really likes this one and will throw her head back in anticipation. We were able to spend time in a more private room today so it was very intimate. But… there were exposed pipes low to the floor and dust everywhere. The pipes were clogged up with wood chunks in a few places… interesting. We can’t wait to get her out away from all the carcinogens. The visiting crib has been painted and you can see where the paint has rubbed off. We just hope it’s not lead-based. We’re trying to create some routines that connect her to us; if anyone has any attachment advice please let us know. I’m embarrassed to admit I left my book at home.

We’re still waiting to dine with the two couples we met in September (with another agency). They have some pre-court preparations to do tonight. Their court dates are later this week. A couple from our agency arrive tomorrow, so we are looking forward to seeing them. I asked them to bring me some pimento cheese in a jar. You can get groceries here, but it’s hard to know what you are getting, so I brought a lot with me, hence the weight. We’ve got peanut butter (not avail. here) some cereal, Kashi bars, lots of tuna fish packs with crackers, raw almonds and tea.

Well, it’s 7 pm here now and I’m sure you’re getting bored with the level of detail, if you are even still reading. After sleeping all afternoon, we’re up for a night of not sleeping (well, Mike might sleep), so I will be sneaking in and out of the room to the computer center. We are about to figure out how to get wireless in our room, that is an improvement over last time. It is really very comfortable here, if only we were awake at the right times it would be great! Send us an email and we’ll respond, we don’t have access to our online address books at home but will write down the email when we get it.

Love and blessings to you all.

Jill and Mike