Our Uzbek Journey

We Are The Truth

2010-04-15T18:57:00.004-05:00

Last week, a 33 year old single mom from TN had her mother send her 8 year old adopted son back to Russia because of behavioral problems. This sounded like a made up story when I first heard it and I couldn't believe this actually happened. There are many better options here in the US that this mother could have taken that would have been better for the child and the many families that are in process of adopting from Russia. Now, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Child's Rights Ombudsmen have called for a suspension on adoptions from Russia to U.S. citizens. I can't imagine having this happen during our process with Vera. Even harder to imagine is how the families who have taken their first trip and met their child feel. The wait between the 2 trips is hard enough, I can't even imagine.

Today is Adoption Blogger Day - part of the Joint Council on International Children's Services Call to Action - We Are The Truth. We want the world to know that the thousands of successful adoptions in the U.S. far exceed the few horror stories that you hear about in the news. Here is our story...

I AM THE PROUD PARENT OF AN ADOPTED CHILD FROM RUSSIA!

I didn't grow up always knowing that I would adopt a child. But, when my husband and I had troubles getting pregnant with child #2, I started looking into adoption. That is all it took. After that, we knew we were called to adopt a child. So, the goal was no longer to get pregnant, but to dive into the adoption paperwork.

Our plan was to adopt a child from Uzbekistan, but God's plan for us was to adopt a little strawberry blonde girl from Moscow, Russia. We started our adoption process in January 2007, Vera was not even born yet. The process was not easy in any way, but God taught me a lot along the way.

Ryan and I traveled to Moscow in November 2008 to meet our daughter. We were expecting to meet a child that had darker features since this is the type of child we had expected from Uzbekistan. Thinking this type of child might be harder to place and this is the type of child we intended to adopt, that is what we expected. We were shocked when the 4 women at the MOE office showed us a little black and white picture of a girl and said she had red hair! After going to her orphanage and learning all about her, we finally got to meet her later in the day at a Russian hospital. I will never forget that experience of seeing this tiny 13 month old strawberry blonde girl for the first time.

On December 12, 2008, a Russian judge declared Ryan and I the parents of Vera Marie Wolland. Ryan, Kiara, and I spent 10 days waiting for Vera to join us when the decree would be final. Traveling by foot and Metro to and from the orphanage to visit with her are times our family will never forget. Vera became a US citizen when our plane touched down in Chicago on December 30, 2008.

So much has changed for Vera since joining our family. She was described by the doctor at her orphanage as a watcher and a quiet child. She is basically 180 degrees from that now! She is loud, loves to be part of the action, and is a comedian. She has learned to walk, talk, and be a part of a family. She has a sister that loves her more that anything.

It isn't all easy. She is a very strong willed child, that tests her parents every day! But, we love her more than we could ever imagine. God also provided me with extra proof that Vera was always meant to be a part of our family. Strangers will comment on how much she looks just like me!

Vera has now been in the US longer than Russia!

2010-03-26T08:38:00.005-05:00

Wow, we have finally hit that milestone of Vera being with us longer than she lived in Russia. Ryan can't believe that has already happened, but to me it feels like she has lived with us longer than she did in Russia. (Maybe that is because I am with her all day, every day! :) )

She continues to be quite the personality! She does everything to the extreme whether it is running or giving a hug! I think she will be a comedian, she definitely likes to make others laugh and she feeds off of that. She has continued with speech therapy twice a week and has made great strides. I can't wait until we see my sister next month to see what she thinks since she hasn't really been around Vera much since she started therapy. She can now even say a 4 word phrase! She loves speech and her teacher. When she sees her get to our house she will say "Joy here" over and over.

What a trip!

2010-03-05T22:03:00.002-06:00

Over the last year I have really gotten into couponing. It is so fun to get a fantastic deal. I think I had my best shopping trip yet. I spent part of my afternoon matching up my paper coupons with the coupons I had loaded on my Kroger card with the items on sale. Then, Kiara and I headed to Kroger after dinner.

When they rang me up at Kroger my total was $101 before giving them my Kroger card and coupons. Out of pocket I paid $32. Plus, I got $3.50 out of the Catlina to use on my next purchase. Kiara counted my items and said that I had 44 items. That means I paid $0.65 an item! The only things I didn't use coupons on were the milk and I got 3 pounds of ground beef half off because the sell by date is tomorrow.

I had to share. I see people online have these type of shopping trips and was kind of getting frustrated that I never could.

1 year home!

2010-01-20T19:12:00.009-06:00

This post is a little late, but better late than never! As of December 30, 2009, Vera had been home with us for 1 year. It has gone so fast and Vera has changed so much! You can read about our trip home HERE.

The month of December was a busy one, of course. Christmas was much different from last year for us. We had many family gatherings, church, and lots of presents to open. Much different than last year when it was just the 4 of us eating Christmas dinner at the McDonald's in Russia! You can read about our Christmas in Russia HERE. We enjoyed being home for the holidays. Vera wasn't much of a fan of Santa. As you can see, the only way we got a picture was including Ryan in the picture.

Below are the girls with Great-Grandma Edna.

Our family of 4 above. Below is the girls on Christmas morning. Go HERE to see some pictures from our belated Christmas morning last year.

Instead of a gingerbread house this year, we made Rice Krispy houses.

Vera also experienced her first movie this month! She saw Alvin & the Chipmunks. She did great! I couldn't believe she stayed for the whole movie. Ryan was prepared to leave and go to Dollar General while Kiara and I finished the movie.

Vera also got to play in the snow. She wasn't too sure of it at first, but it didn't take her long to dig right in!

These 2 are my most favorite girls! I love that they love each other so much. Kiara is a great big sister. Very rarely does she get tired of having her little sister around. Vera also looks out for Kiara. If I give something to Vera, she then points to Kiara and says, "KiKi". She also gets very excited when we go to pick Kiara up from school. I don't know what Vera will do next year when Kiara is gone all day!

Vera continues to grow and change right before our eyes. Last year she was a baby, now she is a little girl! Vera has been getting speech therapy for about a month now. She LOVES it! The therapist comes to our house twice a week and brings 2 big bags of toys with her. She is saying more and more each day. She attempts to point out different colors and it is hard to know if she knows them or not. Half the time she gets them right and half the time she doesn't. She also loves to count. She also has learned her shapes and will point them out whenever she sees them in her environment, especially a heart.

She is still a handful, but I think a lot of that is her personality. She is very strong willed and likes to push her boundaries as far as she can. Lately, I think we have reigned her in a little better by being more consistent and united in our discipline.

It seems unreal that just a year ago we were just returning from Russia with this little girl. That whole experience seems so long ago.

1 year ago, today...

2009-12-23T08:23:00.003-06:00

...Vera was in our arms forever.

December 23, 2008 we took Vera into our care. December 12, 2008 we were officially her parents, but had to wait out the 10 day waiting period to take her into our care.

We love you, Vera! You have blossomed into such an outgowing, sweet, passionate girl. We can't imagine life without you!

November happenings...

2009-12-01T08:20:00.000-06:00

Kiara had a friend birthday party at a local tea room. They have a room that is painted in a castle theme and is adorable. The girls all got to dress up in princess dresses and crowns. Then, they all got their makeup and nails done and then we cut into the castle cake. Kiara had a little Thanksgiving program at school. It was so adorable! They were each dressed up like pilgrims and Indians. They sang 5 songs and guess who you could hear above all the others?! Kiara did such a great job. After that, we played Turkey Bingo and then they got to eat the turkeys they had "stuffed". Vera was very happy that there was an empty seat at Kiara's table. My sister's entire family was able to come home for Thanksgiving. It was fun to have everyone together. We celebrated Vera, Kiara and Kyndall's birthdays and we exchanged Christmas presents. Check out my sister's new knitting skills!

The month ended with a couple of Thanksgiving gatherings. One on Thanksgiving at my grandma's church. It is a huge family reunion with aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts, 2nd and 3rd cousins. A lot of people were able to make it this year and it was great catching up with everyone. Vera did great at her first Thanksgiving. She loved all the people and the attention. She would just tool around from one person to the next. Then, on Sunday we got together with my dad's side of the family. Fun times and way too much food, of course!Vera is now 25 months old and has been home for 11 months. She is talking more and trying to say more words. What a difference a month makes. We will be starting speech therapy in a couple of weeks, so that should be interesting. The nice part is that the speech therapist will be coming to our house! She is still in love with LaLa, or Elmo. She imitates everything including how Cookie Monster eats!! I can tell she is just soaking it all in and learning everyday. She has the best giggle! I love to hear it. She is very picky now about who is doing things for her like putting on her bib. When Kiara is around, she usually insists on Kiara doing most things for her. Luckily, Kiara enjoys that and I hope that continues.

Home 10 months...

2009-11-02T21:04:00.010-06:00

First, I must apologize for my lack of updates! Our life has been so busy. But, we are having fun, so that is what matters. So much has been going on, so I am going to put it all into this post. So, buckle up, it is going to be a long ride.

Ryan and I took a short trip to Key West at the very end of September. We were able to do this thanks to both grandmas and some great friends. It was wonderful to get away and spend some one on one time with my man.

At the beginning of October, my sis came home for a visit. We had a great time! She spent a lot of time with me and the girls and it was so fun. The other night Kiara told me she was wishing on a star and that she wished that Aunt Dani was here. So sweet!Next came Vera's second birthday, but her first birthday with us! I don't think she completely gets the concept of a birthday yet, but the rest of us were excited. We gave her some gifts on her birthday and then had a big party for Vera and Kiara a week later. Kiara's birthday is at the beginning of November.

Since Vera didn't have a 1st birthday party, we let her dig into her cake. She didn't go as crazy as I thought she would!

Along with all of that I was able to fit a trip to the Ozarks with some girlfriends for some shopping and fun girl time! Sadly, I don't have one picture of us from the trip. We also got our pictures taken by a good friend and wonderful photographer. If you want go HERE and you can see a few pictures from the photo shoot. It is going to be very hard to pick!

Vera had another first this month. She had her first haircut. She did really well, as long as she had a lolly pop!Vera had an evaluation done by a speech therapist. She is delayed enough to qualify for services, so hopefully we will be starting some speech therapy soon. But, they said she is doing great for only being here for 10 months. She really has started trying more words lately, so I am not sure how long she will need to be in therapy.

Of course, this is October, so we visited the pumpkin farm to pick our our pumpkins. Then, we decorated them and went for the less messy route.

Last in the month came Halloween. Kiara was a cheerleader for her school party and the party at church. On the day of Halloween, she decided to be a bunny and Vera was a duck. Trick or treating was a lot of fun. We were out for about 2 hours and have way too much candy in this house now. It didn't take Vera long to figure what we were doing. Even better than the candy were the dogs that would also come to the door. At one house, Vera got into the house and was trying to kiss the dog! The man called for his wife to come and bring the camera. Around the corner came 3 people and a couple of cameras.

Vera is doing so well and I can't believe another month has passed already! She is such a sweetheart. Every time I am talking on the phone she needs to kiss the phone when I am saying goodbye. She has become a hugger. She can still be a bit aggressive, especially when she is tired. Vera has a new love in her life, ELMO! Poor Jack has been replaced. Vera is more obsessed with Elmo, or LaLa as Vera says, than she was with Jack!

Vera doesn't slow down. Lately, I have had so many people remark about how busy she is. It is nice to hear because sometime I feel like I should be able to keep up with her better. Thank goodness for LaLa or Vera would probably never sit still!

We went for Vera's 2 year check up and she is almost at the 70% mark for both weight and height. I am glad she is growing, but I kind of miss my little girl!

I will leave you with a picture of my supermodels!

Our one year Referralversary!

2009-10-14T15:18:00.001-05:00

October 14, 2008 was one of the most exciting days of my life! On this day, I got a call from Victoria telling us that we would be traveling to Russia and meeting our daughter on November 11th. That date is special to us because that is also the day that Kiara was born. My life on October 14th became a whirlwind that hasn't slowed down much since. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. I can't imagine life with only one child anymore. We didn't yet know anything about Vera except that she was 2 or under and in Moscow waiting for us.

9 months home (better late than never!)

2009-10-13T21:45:00.006-05:00

Wow, we have now been home over 9 months with Vera! Life has been very busy for us this past month, but it has been a lot of fun. Vera continues to grow and I can't wait to see where she is on the charts when we go to the doctor in a few days for her 2 year checkup. Vera turns 2 in a few days. I don't know if I will be able to think of her as a 2 year old.

We had Vera evaluated by an early intervention person and she is behind in speech. So, now at the end of the month, she will have a more in depth evaluation done by a speech pathologist and a few others, I think. I am sure she will be fine, but we want to be able to help her in any way that we can. A big thanks to Tamara for letting me know this was something we could do!

Vera is a very sweet girl. When we leave someplace, she has to hug and kiss every person, multiple times. Kiara has taught her that she needs to go to the window and wave to anyone leaving the house.

She is becoming a daddy's girl. I am use to this because this is how Kiara was at this age. It does have benefits, though; when they are sick or wake up in the middle of the night, guess who they want? Yes, their daddy! I feel like Vera has even forgotten how to say Momma. I get called Dadda numerous times a day. Ryan and I took a trip to Key West at the end of September. Before that, I couldn't tell you how many times Vera would say Momma over and over and over. Now, I get called Dadda.

Jack's Big Music Show is still her absolute favorite. She will squeal for joy and run for the living room chair when you tell her she can watch her show. She loves to play with dolls and stuffed animals. Her favorite is to push her doll stroller around. She also loves books.

Kiara and Vera can get on each other's nerves, but they are also so sweet together. I love to see them sitting together sideways in the living room chair watching TV.

I feel like there should be more for me to update, but I think that is a good thing. It is just normal to have Vera a part of our family.

Kiddie Parade & other Pumpkin Fest happenings...

2009-09-18T11:12:00.006-05:00

Yesterday was another fun day full of Pumpkin Festival happenings! We kicked off the festivities with the Kiddie Parade. Kiara got to ride in the pumpkin carriage and loved every minute of it. After the parade, guess who else wanted to ride in the carriage? Next, it was off to find the big pumpkins. It is Vera's first PFest, so of course we have to get her picture in front of the big pumpkin!
Here is a picture of Kiara from PFest 2004, she was almost 1. She wore the same shirt as Vera did this year, when Vera is almost 2. It was a little big on Kiara and obviously too small on Vera. Plus, her pants are too big, but that is what happens when daddy is in charge of dressing her!
Next, we were off to ride a few rides. Here are the girls riding the train.Then, off to the food tent to eat some pumpkin food. Well, I guess I was the only one eating pumpkin food. I had pumpkin chili and I think I will be eating it again tonight. We are also going to hit the dessert tent tonight to get our fix on pumpkin ice cream and I am eyeing the pumpkin ice cream sandwich!

Tonight, we are off to PFest with some friends to ride rides and eat. Tomorrow is the big parade. This is the first year we have ever gone to PFest every single day! It is exhausting!

Pumpkin Princess

2009-09-17T14:16:00.005-05:00

Kiara participated in the Pumpkin Princess Pageant last night. She wasn't the winner, but she had a fantastic time. She gets to ride on a pumpkin carriage tonight in the Kiddie Parade and on Saturday in the big parade. I think that might be the highlight for her.

The theme for our festival was Christmas in the Pumpkin Patch. So, Kiara dressed as Father Frost's granddaughter. Father Frost in the Santa Claus in Russia. The granddaughter helps him deliver all the presents to the boys and girls. Her costume was completed with a pumpkin scepter made by Kiara's great grandfather. She did a great job of explaining her costume during the interview portion.

Here are a few pictures from last night. After the pageant, she also performed with Singsations.

Kiara and her friend Keliah before the pageant.

Singing, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" for her talent.
The trophy, crown and flowers were definitely a highlight for her.

I can't imagine how excited she would have been if she won!

Kiara and Pa while she was waiting to perform. Notice the princess crown!

There was also a big color picture of Kiara on the front page of section B of the big paper in our area. In another local paper, there are quotes from Kiara talking about how her costume is special because we got it when we went to adopt her baby sister. We are so proud of her! She did such a great job!

Home 8 months...

2009-08-31T20:28:00.009-05:00

Wow, time has flown. Vera has now been home with us for 8 months. It is so weird to think back to this time last year. We still had no idea when we would get the call that they had a child in mind for us. What a difference a year makes!

Vera is still doing well. She is as active as ever. She still isn't speaking a whole lot. She maybe says 15 words. I am going to have her evaluated in September. I am sure she will be fine, I just want to make sure there isn't anything we should be doing to help her.

Vera is almost 34 inches tall at 22.5 months old. That is the same height that Kiara was at 2 years old. When we brought Vera home, she was 30 inches tall. Vera is 27 pounds now and was 19 pounds when we brought her home. It seems she gains 1 pound for every month we have her home.

We verified this month that Vera is allergic to dogs. After being around and playing with two dogs for 20 minutes, the picture below shows what she looked like. Poor thing, she LOVES dogs, I feel bad for her. But, I am happy to have an excuse to not get a pet.

When we were in Russia, I bought traditional Russian dress for both of the girls. We got the dresses out and tried them on girls. I think they look pretty cute!

Also, this month, we got to meet one of the many wonderful people I have met along our adoption journey. Tamara and Nathan have 2 children they adopted from Russian. Their second was adopted from the same baby home as Vera. They were probably in the same group for 6 months or so. Tamara and Nathan were such a help to us, especially while we were in Russia deciding whether to accept Vera's referral. It was nice to discuss it with someone who had been through it two times already.
Vera is just like her sister and loves to dance. Kiara has been practicing her song for the Pumpkin Princess Pageant and Vera loves to practice with her. She will do the moves before you are suppose to. It is adorable.

Vera also loves to swim. She has no fear, which is scary and kind of stressful when you are in the pool with her. She has mastered being able to use her water wings and she doesn't want you to touch her. She has to do it all by herself!

Back to school...

2009-08-20T20:50:00.003-05:00

Kiara started Kindergarten on Wednesday. Our town is still 1/2 day. I can't believe she is in Kindergarten. She is growing up way too fast! Kiara had been so excited all summer about starting Kindergarten. On the first day, I could tell she was a little nervous. She was a little more clingy than I thought she would be. Her first day was only an hour and I was there for 30 minutes in her classroom. It was a nice way to ease into it. Here are some pictures from the first day:

Here she is at her table at school.
So, today was her first full day, or half day for her. Ryan will be the one to take her to school on most days. Ryan took her and walked her into the gym where they coral all the Kindergartners in the center. He said it all went well, so that was great to hear. When I picked Kiara up, she said her day was good. One of the students even had a birthday, so they had cupcakes. So, how could your first day go bad if there are cupcakes?

While Kiara was at school, I worked out with a friend and got my shower in. I then finished a pencil brownie for Kiara. I made one last year, too, so I think it will be a tradition on the first full day of school. It is easy and cute.
While I am sad to see summer go, it will be nice to be back into a routine. I had been wishing that Kiara had full day Kindergarten, but now I am happy that it is half day. I would miss her way too much. I think she might be ready for full day, but I am not!

Road trip (Part 4) - Busch Gardens

2009-08-15T19:16:00.010-05:00

While we were in Virginia, we went to Busch Gardens on 2 days. We had a fantastic time! On the first day we were there, we also had reservations to eat lunch with Elmo and friends. I was doing it more for Vera, but Kiara LOVED it!! There was a little bit of a show and then while you ate, all the characters would come around and meet everyone. And, everyone got to go on stage and have their picture taken with Elmo and Big Bird. Vera didn't like to get too close to any of the characters. The only one she would touch was Elmo, or LaLa as she calls him. Kiara couldn't get enough of the characters. At the end of the lunch, all the characters except for Big Bird formed a congo line and invited the kids to join. Kiara ran off. I was watching and couldn't find Kiara in the line. Then, we looked up on the stage and there she was dancing with Big Bird. We should have known. Kiara cried when we had to leave.

The rest of Busch Gardens was great, too. So much to do and see. We could have easily spent another day there.

On the teacups...pure joy!

The only ride that Vera rode by herself.

Vera's favorite ride, but possibly the slowest moving ride on the planet!

Kiara went on some pretty big rides. They got soaked on this one.

Road Trip (Part 3) - Natural Bridge, VA

2009-08-08T21:46:00.006-05:00

So, on Monday morning, we woke up and headed east. This was our longest day of driving. We were going to take a detour and go through the Smokey Mountains, but after being up late partying with the F family and just being ready to make it to our final destination, we decided to save that for another time. We ended up taking an exit that we thought an outlet mall was at and it turned out to be where the Cubs AA team plays. There was a visitor center connected to the ballpark. We got out and got to go in the stadium and let the kids run around some. The picture above was taken at a McDonald's we stopped at to let the girls play.

On Tuesday, we left Roanoke and headed to Natural Bridge, VA. We were going to see, what else but the Natural Bridge. There is a bridge that was carved out by a river. It is amazing to see, the pictures don't do it justice. Also, down by the bridge they have a Native American camp set up. It was interesting to see. It was nice to spend a day outdoors after being in the car so much.

The picture above gives you an idea of how HUGE the bridge is. You can barely see Ryan and the girls, but you can see Ryan's red shirt.

There was also a wax museum that we toured before we got back in the car again. This time we ended up at our final destination, Suffolk, VA. When we pulled in, Jessica, my sister-in-law, was sitting by the front door waiting for us.

Road Trip (Part 2) - Chattanooga, TN

2009-08-05T21:31:00.005-05:00

Next, we got up in the morning and drove to Chattanooga. The plan was to go to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, but we were most excited to see the F family that we were in Russia with for both of our trips. J and I actually met on the plan ride to Moscow in the galley. We quickly realized that we had corresponded with each other over our blogs! What a SMALL world! Then, it turns out we were staying in the same apartment building just a few floors apart. On our second trip, they had the same timeline as us. This time we each had our children with us and we were each picking up a child to bring home.

We met the F family at the aquarium. The aquarium was great! The highlights were probably petting the sting rays and the butterfly room.
C & little J
Ryan and Vera by information about a river in Russia.

The men and all the children. I realized the only pic I have of J is the group picture we bought from the aquarium. J, we should have taken a picture together!

After the aquarium, the F family invited us to their home for dinner. We enjoyed a home cooked meal after eating on the road. Since we were together, we had to play Wii. The first time Ryan and Kiara played a Wii was in Russia in the F family's apartment.

I think these 2 think they were the winners!
Meanwhile, Vera was playing with her Russian boyfriend. I think little J was sweet on Vera.
We had to finally say goodbye and we were off to our hotel. Thanks F family for opening your home to us, we had a great time. We hope you are able to make it to our state someday!

Road trip (Part 1) - July 2009 - Holiday World

2009-08-03T16:07:00.006-05:00

We took a road trip in July and we were gone for 2 weeks. I have never been gone on a vacation that long, except for our trip to Russia, but that wasn't exactly a vacation. :) We stopped at a great Amish buffet on our way to our first stop. Here is Vera enjoying the yummy desserts!

Our first stop was Holiday World in Santa Claus, IN. Holiday World was A LOT of fun, we will definitely be going back. The best part for this Diet Pepsi addicted gal was that all Pepsi fountain drinks were free in the entire park!! I probably drank the amount of my admission fee in soda!! Just kidding! I tried, though. After lunch, I went to change Vera's diaper and found that she had a complete blowout! Unfortunately, the line for the bathroom went right around the baby changing station. Luckily, there were many sympathetic moms. I had to take Vera out of the bathroom just in her diaper and shoes. I don't know why I didn't bring in an extra outfit for her since this isn't the first time she has done this, but then I wheeled her out to the parking lot and got her clean clothes and got another outfit, just in case. Which, I believe, we did use, but because she was wet from playing in the water and not from a bodily function!
Our first activity was to watch the Holidazzels!
Next was lunch. I am sure the huge grin is because she knows what awaits me in the bathroom!
Outfit #2 getting wet!
One of the highlights of HW for Kiara was being able to get wet in her clothes!
No trip to HW is complete without visiting Santa.
Getting ready to get back on the road again! To Nashville to spend the night and then on to Chattanooga.

Home 7 months...

2009-07-30T23:48:00.005-05:00

Vera has now been home with us for 7 months! She is just getting bigger and bigger every day! Over the past month we were gone for 2 weeks on vacation. We had a blast as a family.

Vera is full of personality these days. She is constantly on the move and knows what she wants. She isn't talking much more and I think she gets frustrated that she can't talk more. She tries to say words, but a lot of times they sound nothing like they should. She says please a lot, but it sounds more like peas. Vera is 26.5 pounds now, so she has gained over 7 pounds since we brought her home. I haven't measured her height, but I know she has gotten taller. A lot of her pants got to short and her legs look really long.

Firsts for Vera this month...

First 4th of July.

First time to the ocean.

First time meeting characters (Elmo was her favorite).

First time to Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

Vera loves to swim and will just stick her head right in the water. She loved the beach. She would have ran as far out into the ocean as she could of if we didn't hold on to her.

When I am putting Vera to bed, she loves to be sung to. She likes Rock A Bye Baby and You Are My Sunshine. I know she wants we me to sing when she starts to sing them herself. Then, I start to sing and she lays her head on my shoulder and sucks her thumb. So precious!

She also loves Paddy Cake. She likes to take the hands of the person singing it and make their hands do the motions. Then she likes to do it again and again and again....you get the picture!

It is amazing to me how much Vera has changed. I came across this picture on my brother-in-law's Facebook page and was amazed how little Vera looked.

Vera and me on January 1, 2009.

Vera on July 16, 2009.

June happenings...

2009-07-05T21:37:00.000-05:00

June was a busy month for us. Since I am not good about blogging more often, here is a summary of what we did in June. We took a trip to Chicago that I blogged about here.

Our VBS was the first week of the month. Ryan and I helped with recreation and Kiara and Vera both had a great time in their classes.

My sister and her husband made a trip home at the beginning of the month. I asked my sister to trim Kiara's bangs while she was home since she is adventurous in the hair department. She did a great job!

I celebrated my 33rd birthday. Here is a picture of us celebrating by going out to dinner with parents. It is almost impossible for us to get a good family picture.
This summer Kiara took some fun park district classes. She took a class where she painted with bubbles and one where she painted with vegetables. Here is Kiara, I mean Rosebud, in her Native American jacket she made in another class.

She is also in a dance class where they do tap, ballet and jazz. Here she is for the day they were suppose to dress up like princesses.

Kiara had a few Singsations performances this month, too.

These two are pretty cute, but watch out when they get together!

We also squeezed in a garage sale since our neighborhood was having a sale. It went well, but we still had a lot left over, but very little of it came back in the house.

We also went to a couple of birthday parties for some cousins to round out the month. It was a busy month, but a lot of fun.

Home 6 months...

2009-07-01T20:39:00.005-05:00

It feels like I just wrote about being home for 5 months and now we have been home with Vera for 6 months!

Vera is a firecracker and about as polar opposite from the little girl we met in an orphanage in Russia in November 2008! We thought she was a quiet child who liked to observe, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I think she might be louder than Kiara, if that is possible! She knows how to turn on the charm and catch everyone's attention. She is a sweetheart. I love it when she pulls me in for a hug and will just let me rock her as long as I want. 6 months ago, I didn't think that would happen. I didn't know if the way she spent her first year of life would keep her from wanting to be held close and snuggled. It brings tears to my eyes to remember how different things are now even from a couple of months ago.

When I look at her, it is hard to fathom that she didn't come from my body. It just doesn't seem possible that she was born in another country and didn't spend the first year of her life with us. God has truly blessed us with a beautiful child. I praise Him for leading us on this journey. When so many times we wondered if we were on the right path, He was there leading us to our daughter.

I never thought my kids would be so far apart in age. They are almost exactly 4 years apart. Both Ryan and I have siblings that are 2 years or less apart in age from ourselves. As the adoption process was taking longer and longer, I worried my children wouldn't be able to connect with one another. I am happy to say that I worried for nothing. Kiara and Vera already have fun together and enjoy each other's company. So, if that is the case before Vera can even form sentences, I am sure they will only get closer as they get older.

Vera continues to add words to her vocabulary. Her newest word is baby, which she says through clenched teeth. Also, now when she waves she also says "bye bye" very clearly. She is still exhausting because the girl doesn't stop. Even when she is watching her show on TV, she is usually standing and slowly moving around. Her feet just can't stay still!

Vera LOVES to play Patty Cake. Actually, she likes to take your hands and make them do the motions. You can't just do it once, you get to do it over and over and...

Adoption brings such a joy to my heart. Today, Kiara was looking over my shoulder as I was looking at some adoption blogs. This blog had pictures of 2 little boys. One a biological son and one adopted from Ethiopia. She asked me if they were brothers, I said yes. She then asked if they were twins! Not only is there a major height difference between the boys, but one has light skin and one has dark skin. It just warms my heart that Kiara really doesn't see much of a difference from someone biologically having a child and someone adopting a child. I wish everyone saw it that way.

20 months old...

2009-06-16T21:28:00.006-05:00

Wow, Vera turned 20 months old a few days ago. Time is flying by.

Vera has continued to grow and change. She is now 25 pounds, she has gained 1 pound in the past two months. I was planning on measuring her length so I had a record of it, but have yet to remember to do that. Once I remember, I will edit the post. So, if you need to know how tall Vera is...come back in a few days!

Vera still isn't talking a ton, but has added a few words to her vocabulary. In addition to Ma Ma, Da Da and Night Night, she now says Ki Ki, Sissy, Hi, Jack (her favorite show), and probably a few others. She has mastered blowing kisses. She will blow them to anyone that is in her vicinity.

This kid can eat! She has slowed down a bit, but she eats anything you give her. The unfortunate consequence to that is some VERY dirty diapers! Kiara would blow out a diaper on occasion, but it is a regular occurence for Vera. Below is a picture of her filling her diaper. I am probably the meanest mom ever for posting this picture, but it is so accurate of what we see on a daily basis!

Vera is still a good sleeper, but she no longer likes sleep, if that makes any sense! We use to be able to barely rock her and she was pointing at her crib because she wanted in there. Now, I think she would rock forever. When we do lay her down, she cries and pitches a fit, but is quiet about a minute later.

Vera and Kiara play together so much more now. It is the sweetest thing. Kiara is so good with Vera, she makes me very proud.

Chicago!

2009-06-15T21:57:00.003-05:00

We took a trip to Chicago this weekend and had a great time! We went up with friends, R & K, who also have a 5 year old girl, D. The little ones in each of our families stayed with their grandmas. The first big event was a trip to The American Girl Place. I hadn't been to their new location and it is amazing! Kiara picked out an outfit for her Next Generation doll and herself, so they could match. D picked out a doll. We ate at the Cafe. The Cafe is absolutely adorable! Pictures don't do it justice. We had a great waiter who made our experience even better. I can't wait to go back!

The next day, the dads took the girls to a Cubs game where they got a Cubs hat and jacket for their dolls! K and I got to shop kid free at Oak Brook Mall. Plus, we ate breakfast at Corner Bakery and had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. It was a great weekend, but it was definitely good to get home and see little V again!

Home 5 months...

2009-05-30T17:17:00.006-05:00

Wow, this last month flew by! Vera has now been home with us for 5 months. Vera is still doing really well. I don't think there is a language barrier at all anymore. You can tell her to do about anything and she knows what to do and does it, if she wants to!

She loves being outside. The weather has been great this month, so we have spent a lot of time outside. Every day before Kiara left for school, we would play outside and wait for the bus. Vera was never very happy when it was time to go inside.

We celebrated our first Mother's Day with Vera. She stayed in the church nursery for the first time and they traced her hands and then she "colored" on it.

She still eats well, but not quite as much as she use to. Just the other day, we discovered she knows how to do a somersault! I don't know what made her think to do this, but she just put her head down and rolled over. Then, she kept doing it over and over!

Vera loves bath time. She goes crazy in the tub. I think she will enjoy the pool this summer.

Vera loves Kiara. They play together a lot more now! It is great to watch. Vera loves to give hugs and kisses. I think the only person she spontaneously gives them to is Kiara. But, sometimes Kiara can be a little overbearing for Vera!

We did our 6 month post placement report this month. Since they base the 6 months on our court date that was December 12th, June 12th is our 6 month mark. And, the report has to be in Russia by that date. We only have 3 more of those and then we are done. Kiara, Vera and I made a trip to the capital the other day to get the reports apostilled. It felt kind of strange having Vera there, since all the othe times I was there before was when we were working on our dossier before we even knew who she was! Here is a pic of me and the girls at Target after we were done sending off the report. A nice lady saw me trying to take a pic of the girls and offered to take a picture of all 3 of us.

It is so strange for me to think that Vera has only been a part of our family for 5 months. I can't imagine her in any other family and I can't imagine our family without her. It is hard to describe how I am feeling. But, I know that God knew all along that Vera wouldn't be physically born into our family, but was born to be our daughter forever.

The pool is OPEN!!!

2009-05-23T21:51:00.004-05:00

The weather today was sunny and in the 80s, so we headed over to my parents house to swim. They had just opened their pool for the season. My parents have only had their pool for a few years, but it has been such a blessing to Kiara's swimming ability. Kiara has gone from a child that couldn't get a drop of water in her eyes to one that jumps in with no fear. She is even a pretty good swimmer for a 5 year old. I can't take any credit for that, that all goes to my parents. They have done an excellent job of teaching Kiara to love to swim, and we hope they will be able to do the same with Vera.

Vera loves her baths. She will splash, kick and poor water all over herself. So much so that Kiara won't take a bath with her anymore since she splashes so much! So, my fear was that Vera would just jump in with no fear. But, she hasn't been as eager to swim as I would have thought. But, she enjoyed some time in the pool and I bet next time she will be eager to get in.

Arizona...

2009-05-18T20:34:00.005-05:00

Finally, here is a summary of our fun week in Arizona to visit my sister and her family. It was a great trip and we had a lot of fun.

We flew out on Friday afternoon. We didn't get to the airport as early as we planned, so between standing in line and going through security, we basically walked right on the plane. Luckily, my parents were there to help us with all our carry ons, stroller, children, etc. The girls did well on the plane. Luckily, we had a laptop to play Vera's favorite show.

When we got there, my sister was there waiting for us looking as beautiful as ever! We ate at the Elephant Bar that night and settled into our rental house. The first 2 days were spent at Dani and Bobby's house hanging out and playing in the pool. It was a lot of fun. Sunday, we got to see Kyndall and Megan for the first time. They are becoming more and more like young ladies every time I see them.

Kiara was a fish in the pool!

The only bad part about the weekend is that we found out that Vera is allergic to dogs! She loved them and would let them lick her face. But, on Sunday her face was red, blotchy and a bit swollen. When we kept her from the dogs, it slowly went away. She also had a rash all over her body. I don't know to attribute that to the dogs or the sunscreen I put all over her body.

My poor baby girl. Here is Vera giving the doggy a kiss through the sliding glass door.

Monday, most of us went to a Cubs game. Vera and Kyndall stayed back with MiMi & Pa. Unfortunately, the Cubbies didn't win that night, but we had a great time. Ryan went back to see the Cubbies on Tuesday with my dad and by himself on Wednesday afternoon.

The one thing that Kiara wanted to do when we went to Arizona was to go horseback riding. So, on Tuesday, Ryan, Kiara and myself did just that. I was a bit nervous, but it was a lot of fun. Colt was our trail guide. Kiara got to ride her own horse, and it was white, jut like she wanted. Colt led Kiara's horse, I was behind them and Ryan behind me. After I got over my initial nervousness, it was very relaxing.

Kiara looked so cute in her riding cap!

The rest of the week we got to do some miniature golfing, go carting and bumper boating, shopping, hiking and more swimming. We also got to do some great eating. Elephant Bar, Firebirds, Pei Wei, pizza, ballpark food, etc.

Kiara loves Bobby & Dani!

We had a great time and can't wait to go back!

Mother's Day...

2009-05-10T20:55:00.004-05:00

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day! I had a great day. This will sound strange, but my wonderful husband got up before 6 AM to go get me the Chicago Tribune! I have become a major couponer and the Tribune gets much better coupons than our local paper. I have tried to pick one up, but they are always out of them by the time I get there. Ryan got to the gas station around 6 AM and there were only 4 papers left. Plus, he got me a People magazine and a card. I had no idea he even had gone anywhere! We all went to church together. Vera gave me her Mother's Day gift by staying in the nursery without me and she didn't cry! Yea!

Kiara had brought me home a beautiful flower from school on Friday and brought another one home from Sunday school. She had been making me cards and pictures all week, too. She is a sweetheart. Although, she thought we should have done something fun on Mother's Day like go to Chuck E. Cheese!

After church we went to brunch at a local restaurant. Then, Ryan took care of the kids and I got to go shopping by myself. I only have one pair of dress pants, so I feel like I am always wearing the same thing to church. I had another pair but on our first trip to Russia they ended up with a huge slash through the rear end. I really hope it didn't happen while they were on me because I didn't notice the slash until I went to pack them! I hate buying pants, it is always so hard to find ones that fit me right. But, I did find a pair at New York & Company and some shirts to go with them. It was a great shopping trip.

When I got home, Ryan had taken the girls for a bike ride and was at the house of friends of ours and the girls were playing. So, we got Jimmy John's and had dinner together. It was a great evening.

I still need to blog about our trip to AZ. I will do that very soon, it just seems like the days are flying by!

Beautiful days...

2009-05-07T12:58:00.006-05:00

I finally got to use my double jobbing stroller for the purpose I bought it for! When Kiara was an infant, I wanted a jogging stroller and decided to buy a double one because I figured we would have another child sooner rather than later. Little did I know, it would be 5 years before our second child would come into our lives. Luckily, Kiara isn't yet over the weight limit for the stroller.

This week we have had gorgeous weather, so we have spent a lot of time outside. It has been great. Here are a few pics!

I think Vera would like to go on the bus with Kiara!

Home 4 months...

2009-05-04T13:40:00.006-05:00

We have now been home 4 months and Vera seems to be learning new things everyday! She is now a steady walker, for the most part. She also goes up and down stairs easily by herself. She can now say, Ki-Ki (for Kiara), I do, Elmo, Meow, Woof-Woof, nana (for banana), and maybe a few more. Even though she doesn't talk a lot, she will make herself heard! She doesn't like to be told no and will grunt as loud as possible when you tell her no or redirect her. She does not give in easily, which can wear me out at times. If I am consistent, she will learn, right???

I have taught her a tiny bit of sign language. She has been able to do the sign for "more" for awhile. During vacation, I taught her the sign for "please". The sign is rubbing one hand in a circle over your upper chest. Vera will take both hands and rub her belly. It is so cute, I will have to get a video of it! I think she now rubs herhands together when she is all done eating. I doubt that is the proper sign.

She loves to explore any cabinet or drawer she can find. I finally got smart and put rubber bands on the ones I could! She loves to be outside and especially loves the little house behind our swing set. She will scream as soon as you push her in a swing, but will go down the slide by herself.

She loves animals, but we think we discovered this past week in AZ that she is allergic to dogs! My sister has 2 and she loved them. She would let them lick her face. Then, her face got blotchy, red and swollen. She also got a rash all over her body, so I don't know to attribute that to the dogs or maybe the suntan lotion, dry air, heat, or what.

We can't imagine life without her. I will do an update on our trip to AZ soon!

18 months old...

2009-04-21T21:45:00.002-05:00

Wow, I can't believe Vera is 18 months old already! We met her when she was 13 months old and now she is a year and a half old.

We went to the pediatrician last week and I knew Vera had grown, but she has grown beyond my expectations. 3 months ago, Vera weighed 20 pounds and was 6% on the growth chart. Today, she was a little over 24 pounds and almost 50% on the growth chart! 3 months ago, Vera was 30 inches and 37% on the growth chart for height and today she was 32 inches and a little over 62% on the growth chart! Our little girl isn't so little anymore!

This is a picture of Vera and her cousin that is only a month older. Aren't they cute?

I had a couple of concerns to talk to the doctor about. Vera has a bit of a "duck" walk, but he said that should correct itself by the age of 3. You can almost always hear Vera breath, so I was a little concerned about that. But, he said he couldn't hear anything in her chest or lungs, so she just has a cold. So, my question was, "So, she has a cold all the time?". He said that kids have 7-8 colds a season.

I have noticed that when Vera gets hurt, she looks for me to comfort her. I didn't realize that she didn't do that until she actually did it, does that make sense?

Vera now will sit and look through books or bring a book to me to go through the pages with her. Vera also loves music. When she hears it, she will bop around. It is so sweet to see Kiara and Vera dancing together.

Vera can say 3 things. Mama, Dada & Night Night. I think she calls her blanket her Night Night. She is becoming more and more attached to her blanket. One of the corners of the blanket has a knot in it, she will find that corner and put it under her chin and then pop her thumb in her mouth. It is so cute.

Vera loves to go places. She will bring me her shoes or coat because she wants to go somewhere. Here is a picture of Vera waving goodbye to Kiara as she leaves on the bus.

Easter 2009

2009-04-16T08:39:00.006-05:00

Easter weekend started with Ryan and Kiara dyeing eggs on Saturday. It was even nice enough to do it outside. It is always so wonderful when a messy activity can be done outside!

On Easter morning the girls were up a little early, they must have known the Easter bunny had left them some goodies.

Next, we were off to church. Kiara went to Sunday School and then all 4 of us went to the second Easter service. Kiara was able to go to children's church for the second half. Vera lastest the longest in church that she has ever, so the morning was a success. We need to work on getting her to be able to stay in the nursery, but I am not sure how to make that happen.

Then, it was off to my aunt's house. We had a yummy lunch and then had an Easter egg hunt. One of my cousins has 2 year old twins and they were so much fun. One loved the Easter egg hunt and the other just wanted his grandpa to take him for a ride on the riding lawn mower.

Vera and Mi Mi

Vera and Pa

Then, it was back inside to open the Easter baskets. It was like Chrismas! Here is Vera modeling one of her gifts. Vera even took a 2 hour nap on the floor in a make shift bed Ryan made.

Next, we were off to my other aunt's house. Kiara got to play with her cousin the same age and we had yummy ham sandwiches for dinner.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! I feel very blessed to have such a great family and that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and rose again, so I can spend eternity in heaven.

Hard night and life lessons...

2009-04-15T09:28:00.003-05:00

I had a hard night last night. A week ago I had taught the new choreography for Body Step and it didn't go well at all. So, I worked really hard this week to make sure things went better. And, they did, but still not as well as they should have. Unfortunately, the wrong person was in the class to see that. Others were very encouraging and thought things went pretty well. The hard thing is that from my conversation, she thought things went worse than they did. I KNOW I can do better and I have done better, for some reason this new choreography just isn't sticking with me. At my gym the expections are extremely high and probably border on unrealistic, but that is why the instructors are phenomenal.

So, I had a great conversation with my husband when I got home. He helped me realize that just because I am not meeting one person's expectations, I am not failing. I crave the feeling of success and accomplishment since becoming a full-time mom. So, it is so disappointing when I have worked SO hard, put in SO much time and energy to become a good instructor, and I feel like I am not succeeding. I need to learn to focus on the positives and not the negatives. The fact is that I have had several of my participants tell me that they enjoy coming to my class, before this new choreography I was teaching great classes and things were coming more naturally. One of the other instructors has been a great encourager and is willing to help me even though her life is very full. I made it through training and accomplished getting certified as a Body Step instructor. Those are the things I need to focus on.

The fact is that preparing for Body Step takes a HUGE amount of my time. I think as time goes on it will get better, but there will always be new choreography to learn. I need to decide if this is a good fit for my life right now. Right now, I don't feel like I can not do much else than work on Body Step and take care of my girls. I love that the process keeps me working out even when I don't feel like it. The best part for me is actually teaching the classes. Teaching has given me something that gets me out of the house and something else to focus on other than kids. So, I know I would miss those things. I am not ready to make any decisions right now, we will see how things go.

So, of course I couldn't sleep last night and got up to watch some TV to get my mind off of the night. While I was up, Vera was rocking a lot in her bed, so I went in to see if she had gone #2 since she didn't do that at all during the day. She hadn't, but her diaper was full and I got her out to change her. After that, I rocked her while she layed her head on my shoulder. After a little while, I put her back in her bed. She sat right up and then stood up, so I picked my sweet baby back up. She was pointing at something, at first I thought it was the nightlight, but then realized that she was pointing at the rocking chair. She wanted me to rock her again! That just melted my heart because this is the child that barely lets you rock her and she is pointing at her bed. So, I sat and rocked my baby and probably cried as much as I had earlier in the night. This time they were tears of joy! God helped me realize that I am succeeding and accomplishing being a mom. The accomplishments aren't always obvious and don't always come right away, but they are the most fulfilling accomplishments of all.

First family vacation...

2009-04-06T21:41:00.006-05:00

We took a little trip together as a family of 4 for the first time. It was a lot of fun and soooo good to get away. We went to Fun City in Burlington, IA. It is a complex of 2 hotels, event center, restaurants, arcade, laser tag, bowling, indoor go carts, small indoor waterpark, and an outdoor waterpark. I think I got it all! It was less than a 2 hour drive up, which was nice to see how Vera did with an extended car ride. She did pretty well.

When we got there on Sunday, they were having a special Family Fun Day in the event center. It was nice, but everything was in one room and it was packed. We waited an hour to have Kiara's face painted, but it turned out great. Then, we lined up for the easter egg hunt. Well, I think there were four times more people than they expected, so they basically ran out of eggs. Kiara got to go in and find one egg! But, a nice lady gave her a couple more eggs. She ended up with $15 for the arcade, so I think she made out okay.

Our little tiger!

Next we had dinner at one of the restaurants and then went back to our room. No joke, below is the amount of leftovers that we took out with us! I don't usually get an appetizer, but they had fried cauliflower and I couldn't resist. I filled up on that and could hardly eat any of my main course. Ryan got fried shrimp and I have never seen so many in one order before! He ate the rest of them for breakfast!

Ryan and Kiara left to swim at the waterpark and I put Vera to bed. She did great for only sleeping a half an hour in the car on the way up for a nap. She basically went right to bed, but did wake up several times in the night. We were all up at 8 AM and got ready to swim.

The waterpark has a great toddler, younger kid area. It has lots of different little slides and things to play with. Kiara loved it. Vera loves her baths, so I was hoping she would like it too, and she did! Ryan would take her down the slides and she would make the sign for more because she wanted to go again. It was Vera's first time in a swimsuit and first time swimming!

My little poser!

After swimming, we went and ate at the buffet restaurant. Then, we hit the arcade to use all our arcade money. There really is only one kiddy ride in the arcade for Vera's age, but she seemed to enjoy watching everything going on.

This is Kiara playing Deal or no Deal.

Next, we packed up and were headed home. Vera basically fell asleep right away. I think she would have slept the whole way home, but we had to stop to let Kiara go to the bathroom.

It was a great vacation for the first time as a family of 4. Now, I am praying that my kids travel as well when we go to Phoenix in a couple of weeks.

Home 3 months...

2009-03-28T20:16:00.009-05:00

It really feels like we have been home with Vera much longer than 3 months. I say that in a good way. We did meet her nearly 5 months ago, but she has only been home with us for 3. It just feels like she has always been a part of our family.

She has mastered walking. Now that she walks, we have noticed that she explores a lot more. Not that she didn't get around by crawling, but she will just now kind of amiously walk around carrying different toys.

She really doesn't say any words yet. Maybe "dada" and "mama" once in awhile. But, her jabber now seems to be more defined like she really is trying to say something. Every time she waves goodbye, it sounds the same, "ga-ga".

Vera will also now sit and look at at picture books. She also likes those greeting cards that play a song once you open them up. She has already wore one out and another sounds like it won't last much longer. It is so cute. She will either sit and look through the book or bring a book to me and want me to flip through the pages with her. I never thought the girl would sit still long enough to look at a book!

Vera now takes one nap of 2-3 hours. I have worked it so I put her down just after Kiara leaves on the bus, so I have a couple hours of quiet! I love to see Vera watch Kiara leave on the bus. She will stand in the doorway and yell out the door to her and then raise one of her hands over her head and wave goodbye. She will do that over and over. It is the cutest thing.

Kiara and Vera play much more together now. I love it when they make each other laugh. Kiara can keep Vera entertained with playing peek a boo or with a ball. It has made my life a bit easier.

I think Vera will be a challenge to disipline as she gets older. After you tell her to not do something, she will go to do it again and look at you (and even sometimes laugh) and do it again. She can also thow the biggest fits when you won't let her do what she wants. I mean, full fledge flialing her body and convulsing her body. Sometimes it can be quite humorous to to watch! Unfortunately, she tends to bang her head on something in the process. :(

Sisterly love!

Having fun with daddy!

My cuties. I love them so much!

This weekend we are taking a mini family vacation. We will only be gone one night and going to Fun City in Iowa. It will be a good test to see how Vera travels since we are going to Phoenix at the end of April.

March happenings...

2009-03-23T20:38:00.006-05:00

We had been busy this month and have enjoyed the bouts of beautiful weather we have had. Here is a picture of the girls on their picnic table. Obviously, I couldn't get a good picture...

I am happy to say that I did reach my goal of getting the girls to JcPenny to get their picture taken. Yay! They aren't the best, but at least I have done my motherly duty. Vera would not sit in one place for more than one second! It is amazing we got ANY good shots.

I planned the Upward Basketball Award Ceremony that was on March 21st. On the same day, Ryan went to Chicago for his fantasy baseball draft. So, both of the girls stayed overnight at my parent's house. Vera did great! She slept 12 hours and took a nap. She had a great time. Thanks, mom & dad!!

Vera is as busy as ever and is now 17 months old! She is walking a lot, but still isn't completely stable. I put her on the scale the other day and was shocked that Vera weighs 24 pounds! She has gained 5 pounds since we brought her home. It will be interesting to see where she is on the growth charts when we go to the pediatrician next month. Vera loves to open all my kitchen cabinet doors and drawers. Luckily, once in awhile, the Tupperware drawer will keep her attention.

Kiara is as sweet as ever. Some days the things that come out of her mouth make her sound so old, makes me sad. She is growing into a little lady. Kiara loves clothes and will sometimes change her outfit 4 or more times in one day! She loves puzzles and has started to learn to read and can even do some simple addition. She is a very smart girl. Her teachers at school love her.

Kiara went on a field trip to the local children's museum last Friday. A note had been sent home the week before saying that parents could come. Unfortunately, I didn't have anyone to watch Vera, so I wasn't able to go. The day before the field trip, Kiara comes home with a sad face asking if I could go with her. I knew I couldn't, but I called Ryan to see if his morning was clear at work. Luckily, it was and the best daddy ever went on the field trip with her. Below is Kiara and Ryan on the "big bus that doesn't have seat belts", as Kiara would say.

Next month we are looking forward to going to Phoenix at the end of the month! We can't wait to spend time with Dani, Bobby and the girls. Before that, Kiara will be off of school for spring break.

Walking...

2009-03-15T19:57:00.007-05:00

I finally captured Vera walking on video! She is walking much more now. She can go quite a ways, but is still a bit unsteady.

She can now easily open the door to our basement and bathroom, unfortunately!

Kiara and Vera seem to get a bit closer everyday. Vera likes it when Kiara will get in her crib with her and do what she does. Vera likes it when Kiara comes to get her up from her naps. But, Vera will still let Kiara know when she is doing something she doesn't want her to do.

I am still getting use to having a little one that you have to supervise 24/7. I am so tired! We did get the play pen out and I put her in there when I need to get something done like make dinner. It isn't her favorite place, but after a few minutes she will sit down and start playing with her toys. Luckily, I have a wonderful husband that has let me get away a week ago Friday night to scrapbook and this weekend on Friday night and all day Saturday. It was so nice. But, I am still tired! I even took a nap today and I NEVER take naps. I think I only took a nap twice when Kiara was an infant.

I feel like I am slacking on preserving the memories of my 2nd child, so my goal this week is to get them to JcPenny's to get their picture taken. Hopefully, I am successful!

Home for 2 months...

2009-03-15T19:48:00.001-05:00

I wrote this up a week ago and never posted it...

We have now been home for 2 months with Vera. It really seems like it has been much longer, in a good way! Vera is now almost 17 months old.

Her biggest accomplishment this month was taking her first steps! It was very exciting. My parents were at our house on March 4th after they had been in AZ for a week. Out of nowhere, she starts trying to walk. The abundant amount of cheering and clapping she got, just encouraged her to keep trying. There were a few times that she took about 10 steps at a time. The last time she walked that evening, she did a face plant into the hardwood floor, so she hasn't been too eager to do it again. Although, my mom come by yesterday to pick Kiara up, and Vera just starts to try and walk to her. So, I guess my mom is going to have to be around for Vera to walk!

There have been 2 times where I have been able to leave Vera, with Kiara there, too, in small nursery settings. She did great and enjoyed playing with the other kids. The second time I took her, she wanted right down to play. I won't be leaving her on a regular basis yet, but it encourages me that we will be able to leave her and be able to get babysitters!

One of Vera's favorite things to do is kiss! I think we have given her a warped view of kissing because anytime she says goodbye or hello to anyone, she puckers up for a kiss. She won't always actually follow through with the kiss, though. Even the old man at the grocery store who talks to her because he thinks she is adorable, she leans forward and puckers up for him.

Vera has grown at least one inch and 2 pounds.

She is very quick, you can't take your eyes off of her. She is constantly finding something she isn't suppose to open, get into, etc. She is now able to reach our door handles and can open the doors if she works at it a little bit.

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

2009-02-25T20:32:00.004-06:00

Well, I am a few days late, but better late than never, right? Ryan, my husband, turned 33 on February 23rd. I did remember on his birthday and we went out for Mexican and then to Ryan's favorite ice cream place, Coldstone. Yum! Yum! I think we got some funny cards this year...

Here are some pics from Vera's first stroll around the mall in her stroller. She isn't the best shopper, but I will work on that! She likes to grab at everything and she would much rather I carry her!

Just to clairify...that is my mom giving her the soda, not me!

It is FINALLY official!!!!

2009-02-24T08:59:00.002-06:00

I have been meaning to post this for a couple of weeks, but there was always much more exciting news to post on. Well, after about 6 months of work, I am finally a certified Les Mills Body Step instructor. I knew it would be hard, but didn't realize just how hard it would be!!! The training was very physically challenging, only second to child birth, and I had a hard labor and delivery!! Then, I had to learn an entire hour long routine, teach it to a class and then send in my tape to be critiqued. Well, on the third try I finally felt it was good enough to send in. I finally got my results in January, I didn't pass and I didn't fail. There were a few things I needed to work on like my fitness level and then my general manager had to sign off on me. I knew my fitness level wasn't where some people's were, especially since I had been in Russia for 4 weeks during this process, but geesh I had lost about 10 pounds!! You would think I had to increase my fitness level to do that! So, after a few weeks of going to other classes and working hard to become more fit, my manager signed off on me and I am now a certified Body Step instructor!! It felt so great to accomplish something so difficult. I would have loved to have gotten a Pass on my video, but I am learning that I don't have to be perfect and there is more than one way to accomplish a goal. Getting that sense of accomplishment is something I have missed since becoming a stay at home mom.

If any of you belong to a gym that has Les Mills classes like Body Pump, Body Flow, Body Jam, etc, I highly recommend them. It will be one of the best workouts you have ever had. I just started doing Body Pump again and I can already see a lot more muscle definition in my arms. And, I probably am using the least amount of weight of anyone in the room. If you want to check out what their classes are about, check out www.lesmills.com.

Vera's Dedication...

2009-02-22T18:34:00.006-06:00

We had Vera dedicated at church this morning. Everything went really well. Vera and Kiara both behaved well while we were on stage. Kiara said she wanted to come up with us and I just had visions of Russian court where she first didn't want to go in with us and then wanted one of us to stay out with her and then we basically made her come in with us. Then, a lot of the time, I felt like I was telling her to not cry. But, it was nothing like that at all. She stood up there with us like a very good girl. Vera also did well and even waved to the crowd a little! It was very special to have a lot of our family with us. My parents, Ryan's parents, Ryan's younger brother and his family, one of my grandparents and 2 of Ryan's grandparents were all able to join us.

I pray that we are able to bring Vera up to love the Lord with all her heart, soul and mind. It was emotional knowing that just a couple of months ago she was in a Russian orphanage and might not have ever heard about Jesus.

So, once Vera couldn't stay quiet in church any longer me and the girls went out to the foyer. I was able to get a few cute pictures.

I love the last one, they both look so onry!

After church we were able to get a picture with Pastor.

After church was over, everyone came back to our house and my in-laws did a fish fry for us! It was very yummy. It was nice to have a get together at our house because it motivated me to clean my house and to finally get my curtains up! We have lived in our house for close to 4 years and I still didn't have curtains up. Finding window coverings is one of my most dreaded tasks. After returning several, I finally found ones we liked. Well, that was at least 6 months ago and now they are finally up! A big thanks to my parents. Mom ironed nearly all the panels and my dad installed a lot of the hardware. It is soooooo nice to have that done! So, after that was all done there was a lot of dust and sawdust on the floor. So, I dusted my house which hadn't been done in who knows how long. Everything is so clean and the drapes look wonderful.

Vera took a nice long nap when we got home from church, which allowed us all to eat and get lunch cleaned up. Here is how the princess ate her lunch when she got up.

Then, she opened a few presents with some help from her big sister.

We also celebrated some birthdays while we were all together. Ryan's birthday is the 23rd, Ryan's dad's is the 25th, and my dad's is the 28th. So, here are the birthday boys blowing out their candles.Here are a few pictures of family we took. The first is of my mom, grandma (her mom), Kiara, Vera and me. 4 generations.

This is Ryan's parents and grandma with the girls.

This is Ryan's other grandma with Ryan and Vera.Here is Ryan and our only nephew. He is the happiest most smiley kid I have ever known. He just makes me smile when I see him. He is only about a month older than Vera, so it will be fun to watch them grow up together.
It was a busy weekend with getting everything done, but we had a great day today. It was relaxing and nice to just hang out with family. We missed those who couldn't be with us especially Ryan's older brother and his family who live on the East coast and my sister and her family in Arizona. We missed you guys!

Valentine's Day...

2009-02-15T09:39:00.008-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day. We did here in our household. Mine started a couple of days before Valentine's Day when a package showed up for me with a beautiful box filled with candy and a teddy bear. Ryan and I don't usually do much for Valentine's Day, so it was a great surprise.

Kiara and I spent Thursday and Friday making cookies for her Valentine's party at school. We had fun making sugar cookies and iced cookies. And, they turned out much better than I thought they would! And, I think they must have been good because Kiara got off of the bus on Friday saying she had a tummy ache!

Of course, the girls got spoiled with cards and presents from grandparents, great grandparents and aunts and uncles. We gave the girls some small bags of candy with a movie. Saturday was the best present of all for me. Ryan basically took care of the girls all day so I could relax, get some things done, and get some scrapbooking done! I haven't scrapbooked in months and I miss it so much! Plus, now I have a whole new project to scrapbook now that Vera is home! I did a really nice baby book for Kiara of her first year, so now I am at a loss of what I should do for Vera. If anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them. I think I will do a book of her first year at home, but am not sure yet how to organize it.

After scrapbooking and Vera was up from her nap, we headed to a pizza place that has become a favorite of ours. They had a Valentine special, a heart shaped pizza, a bottle of sparkling cider, a box of chocolates, and a stuffed animal. Of course, when Kiara heard there was a stuffed animal, we had to get it! Like we need another stuffed animal! Oh, well, it was fun.

Here are a couple of pictures of my beautiful girls...

After the pizza place the plan was to play some games at Chuck E. Cheese's. I don't know if I have ever been there on a weekend night. It was packed, but luckily by the time we got there people seemed to be starting to leave. When we go there we were surprised to see 2 of Kiara's friends. So, Kiara was able to play with her friends and that was nice because that doesn't happen enough these days.

So, we had a great Valentine's Day spending the day together as a family. Unfortunately, Kiara has a runny nose again and doesn't feel well. So, looks like we are going for round 3 in our house! Ugh!!

Update...

2009-02-11T19:41:00.007-06:00

Well, I think we are all finally well. Some of us still have lingering signs of the cold, but for the most part we are much better.

Vera is still adjusting well. She is almost 16 months old. She is a good sleeper, although her naps have become shorter. Vera has always rocked on all fours and a lot of the time will bang her head into the crib in the process. She does it intentionally and the doctor says she can't hurt herself. It is probably a self soothing technique she learned in the orphanage. I had hoped that it would have diminished some by now, but every time she goes to sleep and gets up there is head banging involved. It can really be alarming if you are sitting in our living room below her room and have never heard it before!

She becomes more active and vocal everyday. She loves to be a part of the conversation. Once in awhile it seems like she might be saying an actual word, but I can't officially say that she has said her first word, yet. She is always on the move and doesn't stay in one place for very long. She loves to open and shut drawers and doors. Kiara never did this, so it keeps me on my toes. The only thing she really likes to watch on TV is Jack's Big Music Show on Noggin. If you ask her where Jack is, she will look anxiously towards the TV. It is fun to see her bop around to the music. She loves music just like her sister, so I think we have a lot of recitals in our future.

She cruises around everything and will use her toy that helps her walk, but other than that she hasn't shown much interest in walking. I just hope she is walking before it gets nice outside, otherwise I better stock up on stain stick for all the green knees. The doctor said she is very strong and has plenty of muscle tone, so now she just has to want to walk.

Vera has probably gained 2 pounds since we brought her home. You can tell in her face and her thighs. They are not sticks anymore! I really thought she would gain weight faster, especially the way she eats. I never did hear for sure how her parasite tests turned out, maybe I need to call and check on that. :) Vera will eat almost anything you put in front of her. She is done with the baby food. For breakfast she eats a big bowl of oatmeal, some Cheerios, and either a diced fruit or applesauce. For lunch and dinner she will eat things like meatloaf, pancakes, green beans, diced carrots, hard boiled eggs, crackers, etc. We can't feed her too much fruit or we have some super nasty diapers. I thought I had that all figured out until I had to chang 3 poopy diapers today!

Kiara is a great big sister. She gets mad at me if I go to get Vera out of her crib without her. She is always asking when we can get Vera up, it is sweet. She does get in Vera's face a bit, but Vera lets her know that she doesn't like it! I think they are becoming closer everyday. Just tonight, Ryan and Kiara were leaving to go to the store and Vera puckered up her lips because she wanted a kiss from Kiara. Melt my heart!

Vera's top eye teeth are both almost all the way in. Those have been pushing through since we got her in Russia. Now, the bottom 2 eye teeth are coming in. Hopefully, that will be all the teeth for awhile.

She has become much better about strangers and people she hasn't been around much. My sister was just here and met her for the first time. Vera warmed right up to her and I was able to leave her with my sister while I went grocery shopping. Ryan's parents were here the other night and she played with them like she had known them her whole life. She even let Pa Pa Duane hold her and I think she made his day if not his week.

Vera's latest tricks are waving bye bye and giving kisses. It is interesting how quick she picks up that when she is going to bed she waves and likes to give kisses. Sometimes she will even pucker up her lips. I wish I could get a picture of that! In the last week I have noticed that she really seems to understand us better. She seems to respond to things we say, even things that we don't repeat all the time, like bye bye.

I think I am still adjusting to having 2 kids and a little one around again. You forget how time consuming it is! Vera has her days when she is extremely needy and nothing seems to make her happy, like yesterday, but for the most part our days go well.

Below is a video I took today. I wanted to capture her laughing and giggling.

Orphanage pictures...

2009-02-08T17:21:00.009-06:00

During our first trip to Russia, we left 2 disposable cameras for the orphanage caregivers to take pictures of Vera while we were gone. I was hoping we would get some pictures of her in her environment that she had been in for almost the last year. They didn't take a lot of pictures, but we got some good ones. It is so weird to look at her in these pictures, she doesn't look like the same child to me.

Vera looks just like my sister's baby pictures in the picture above!

So, the cameras weren't finished when they were given back to us, so we let Kiara take some pictures with them and got some pictures like this...

These were a couple of her better shots!

Then, once we got home we had a bunch of friends and their children over because my good friend, Holli, was home from England for a visit. I think 2 little boys got a hold of the cameras that I had left out and took a few pics. Here are a few of them...

I only wish they would have asked me how to use the flash, and we would have had some pretty good pics from our get together! It was so fun to see these pics when I got the cameras developed!

Here are some better pictures from our get together.

Fun times...

2009-02-04T10:05:00.004-06:00

We have been having a great time since my sister and Bobby have been here. Bobby went back home on Monday and my sister leaves on Friday. Here are a few pictures from the last few days. I still need to get the pictures my sister has taken. She has taken a lot more and better ones.

Vera warmed right up to Dani and Bobby!
Out for pizza. Yum!

Unfortunately, both my sister and myself have caught the cold that everyone else in the family has already had. Hopefully, she doesn't take it home to her family!

Family...

2009-01-28T20:35:00.003-06:00

Our adjustment and transition has really gone very smoothly. Believe me, I didn't expect it to go so easy, I would tell you! The first couple of weeks I was just kind of holding my breath waiting for it to get bad, luckily it hasn't. The hardest part of the adjustment has been Vera being wary of everyone but the 3 of us. Which, is really a good thing. That means she knows who her mommy, daddy and sister are and that she is attaching to us. But, at times it can be waring. There are days that she can't be farther than an inch from me and I have just recently been able to leave her alone in her excersaucer and leave the room to get something. We are slowly making progress. It just takes time for our little girl to warm up to those around us. After spending some time with us and Vera together, my parents are now able to hold and play with her without her looking over her shoulder for us. And, as I learned earlier this week, there is only so much she can take. I think that was part of our problem on Monday. We had had a busy Sunday with church and a birthday party. So, going to the chiropractor and the gym nursery was just overload for her. It is so easy to forget that we still need to take things slow with her because she feels like she has always been here! Here are some pictures of Vera meeting some family. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of everyone I would have liked, I will blame it on the jet lag!

My dad with Vera.

The secret to any girls heart is chocolate, right? My mom.

My grandparents, dad's parents, with me and the girls.

My grandma, mom's mom, with me and the girls.

I am very excited that my sister and her new husband will be coming this weekend to meet Vera and spend time with all of us. I know it has been really hard for Dani to not be able to meet Vera yet, so I am so excited for them to meet. And, Dani is staying for a week! Can't wait!

Sick...

2009-01-28T20:23:00.003-06:00

Well, it seems at least one of us has been sick since we got home. I think Kiara got what Vera brought out of the orphanage, then gave it to Ryan. Then, Kiara got another bug, Ryan is kind of feeling it and now Vera has it full force. Luckily, I have yet to get anyone else's sickness. But, I am sure it is just a matter of time...I have kissed many tear and snot covered cheeks! (Sorry, that was kind of gross!)

Vera woke up this morning at 5 AM with a fever. So, after giving her some medicine, I was rocking her in her room. As I sat there and looked at her precious face, I couldn't help thinking about what it was like for her when she was sick in the orphanage. Was there someone there to hold and rock her? Or, did she just have to lay there alone? Thankfully, now she will always have someone to hold her and take care of her. It makes me sad for all the orphans that are still out there...

Thankfully, she wasn't a crab the whole day. She still was cute!

Hard day...

2009-01-26T20:27:00.003-06:00

Today has probably been the hardest day for me since we have returned. Nothing seemed to go right and everyone seemed to be in a bad mood. It is also probably because we are getting out more and Vera isn't use to that. I had a chiropractor appointment this morning and had both girls with me. I thought Vera would be fine in the same room as me with Kiara by her side, but I was wrong. She screamed the whole time I was getting adjusted! Not sure that adjustment really too, it was a little hard to relax. Then, we were off to the gym. Last Friday I left both girls in the nursery and Vera did great! I was shocked. This time, not so much. We weren't even done with the third song in my class and they came to get me because Vera wouldn't stop crying.

Since we learned that Vera isn't allergic to milk, I was hoping she would drink that now. But, no, for some reason she loves the soy formula we give her! I have tried everything, warming it up, whole milk, 1% milk, adding chocolate milk and adding a scoop of formula. I guess we will wait a bit longer and try again.

Vera has always had to have someone in the room with her at all times, but today she had to be attached to my body at all times. Luckily, I got a shower in during her nap, or that wouldn't have gotten done.

I think Kiara is testing us lately, too. Everything seems to be a struggle and she never seems to remember things we have told her before. ;)

Oh, well, if this is the worst day we have in adjusting, I will take it! I just hope tomorrow goes a bit smoother. Thanks for letting me vent!

Funny thing Kiara said...

2009-01-24T20:26:00.003-06:00

I was watching an episode of Oprah from the day before the presidental inauguration. Kiara was in the room with me. She saw Obama and said "that is Nobama", that comes from a political sign that Ryan had in our yard. I asked her if she knew that he was now our president. She proceeded to tell me that a boy in her class voted for McCain and that Obama's real name is Barack Obama. I was impressed that she knew Obama's first name. A picture came up of George & Laura Bush and Barrack & Michele Obama. Kiara asked, "Is that Obama's grandma, grandpa, and mom?" Oh, it was soooo hard not to laugh!

Medical update...

2009-01-23T20:03:00.004-06:00

Vera went to the peditrician for the first time a week ago. He thought she looked really healthy. Her weight is only at the 6% mark on the growth charts and her height is at the 37% mark. But, he thought she was petite, but proportionally petite.

She was fine with the whole process until the doctor had to examine her. It was just like when the embassy doctor came to our apartment in Russia. She screamed and cried through the whole thing and didn't stop until he left the room. Let me tell you, that made it a little hard to ask questions and hear what the answers were! Her lungs are definitely in good shape!

After the exam was over, we had to go to the lab to get a bunch of blood taken. I knew this wouldn't be any fun. They actually put her in a straight jacket type of contraption with only one arm hanging out for them to take blood from. They said that I could just hold her, but she is so strong and I didn't want the needle going everywhere in her arm! It took longer than I would have liked, but they got all the blood taken and said they thought they had gotten enough. We also brought back in a stool sample.

Well, everything is back except for the parasite tests and everything is coming back great. They had told us in Russia that she was allergic to milk, so they tested her here and she isn't! Yea! Plus, they tested her for a few other things for allergies and she isn't allergic to anything. Her lead and iron levels are good. Her Vitamin D level is good, too. I was expecting that to be low since we had been told she had rickets, but I guess not!

The doctor wrote the order wrong to test her for TB. Ideally, they would have just drawn blood to test for it. But, we went back to do the skin test and returned today to have it read. It was negative! They scared me, though, because the first nurse had another nurse come in to feel it and then they had the doctor come in. Everytime working Vera up even though they were just touching her arm. Poor thing. We still need to get her 3 shots and then she will be up to date. I can't wait until that is over!

I am still here...

2009-01-20T20:59:00.003-06:00

We are still here, we have just been busy, busy, busy. When you are gone for 3 weeks it takes awhile to catch up with everyone. I thought I would give you a video and a few pictures to tide you over until I am able to do a proper update. Enjoy!

Here are my 2 girls playing together...

Here are a couple pics from our "Christmas morning". Isn't the hair do great?!

Just a sweet picture...

Vera in a cute outfit from my sister...

The trip home...

2009-01-11T00:22:00.000-06:00

Well, the day started out way too early. M showed up at 6:15 AM and we weren't quite ready. Thankfully, he was patient with us and we finally got the car loaded and the girls in their coats in their PJs. It was really surreal that we were actually leaving Moscow and really didn't know if we would ever be back. Hopefully, one day in the future we will be able to take Vera back to see where she was born and spent the first 14 months of her life. There was more traffic at that time of day than I thought there would be, especially the closer we got to the airport.

Once we got to the airport, we found where we needed to check in. I stood with the girls and all our luggage while Ryan dealt with checking us in. Vera's ticket was a paper ticket, so they had problems knowing how to link it to our e-tickets. But, finally they figured it out and they figured out how to check our baggage all the way through to Chicago! Yes, that is an answer to prayer. I had no idea how we were going to navigate a stroller, 2 children and rechecking all our luggage in London. So, next we went up the escaltors and got ready to go through security. I was dreading this because we have so many electronics we have to get out and the line looked horrendous. It was hard enough when it was just Ryan and I. You show your ticket to a lady before you get in line and she told us that we should go to the business class line! At first I thought, oh my, we get to sit in business class! But, since we had children we got to go through the lines for business class passengers for immigration and security. That was just about as good as sitting in business class. There was little to no line and made it so much easier navigating security with 2 kids.

We made it to our gate and I needed to feed Vera her breakfast, Kiara had eaten something while we waited for Ryan to check us in. She obviously wanted more when it was all gone, so I fed her the rest of the formula from the bottle. I had tried a bottle once before and she acted like she didn't know what to do with it, but this time she sucked it right down! I thought it would be good to have a bottle of water with us so that if I needed to make another bottle I would have it. I went to the vending machine and put in a bill, pushed E3 for the bottle of water I wanted, but nothing happened. I tried it a couple more times, nothing. I look over my shoulder to the person behind them and try to ask them what I needed to do. Well, somehow I understood that I needed to put more bills in! Duh! I am so used to just putting in one bill to a vending machine, but I had just put in a 10 Ruble bill and the water was 40 Rubles! I get back to our gate, open it to take a drink and it sprays, not all over, but obviously I got carbonated water instead of still water! So, then I send Ryan to get still water. While he is gone they start boarding, I feel like I wait there for him forever and he finally comes and his is carbonated water, too! Oh, well.

The lady that looks at our tickets as we board says something to me in Russian. Another man there tells me that she said it is cold on the jetway. Basically, I didn't have Vera in her snowsuit, so I guess she thought she might get sick from walking for 20 seconds on the cold jetway! We get to our seats and Ryan and Kiara are on on side of the aisle and me and Vera are in one seat on the other side of the aisle. I sat next to a very nice lady and her 4 year old son. She works for the US Embassy and is fluent in Russian, a great person to sit next to when you are using a Russian airline.

Of course, Vera waited to poop for the second time ever for us until after we took off. So, finally I think it has to be okay to get up and change her. I get to the bathroom door and the flight attendant says something not too nicely to me in Russian, so I return to my seat. No joke, as soon as I sit in my seat, the dinging noise sounds to let you know you can now unfasten your seat belt and move around the cabin! The nice flight attendant then comes up to me to let me know I can now use the bathroom, how nice of her. It is probably one of the hardest diapers I have ever changed since it is in a airplane bathroom and there is no changing table or counter to change her on, but we got it done and returned to our seat. Kiara ended up sitting over next to Max, the 4 year old boy, and his mom. They had a good time together. Ryan and I were busy trying to take care of Vera. By this time it is time for her nap and she had gotten up 2 hours early. There was too much going on and it was too bright for her to sleep. So, I feel very bad for the people around us because Vera was not very happy. Towards the end of the flight, Vera pooped again! The line to the bathroom was extremely long, so we decided to wait until we got off the plane to change her. Again, I felt so bad for the people around us because she wasn't sweet smelling! The flight was really hard, but I was so thankful for the woman and the son. She basically took care of Kiara while we dealt with Vera, I don't know how we would have made it without her.

Once we get off the plane, we stop at the bathroom to change Vera. Unfortunately, there was no changing table there either, so Vera had to be changed on the floor. So, after a diaper change and PJ change, we were in the bus that was taking us to the right terminal for our connecting flight. So, we have to go through security again. Ryan was the lucky one who got to open and try each jar of baby food we had with us, to insure that we weren't smuggling anything dangerous! Poor guy. While he was doing that, me and the girls were over to the side and the girls were playing together so nicely, I had to take a picture. Ooops, I guess you aren't suppose to take pictures in the security area!

Next, we walk into our terminal and it is nothing like in the US. It is more like a mall. There are a ton of stores, a lot of them are pretty pricey, too. At Heathrow, they don't tell you what gate you are leaving from until about 15 minutes before you are suppose to board, so everyone congregates in one area. We found an Irish Pub to eat at and thankfully Vera fell asleep for awhile. It was hard convincing Kiara that even though it said her meal came with chips, it really was french fries!

Finally, it is time for us to go to our gate and by the time we get there they are already boarding. Luckily, we had the bulkhead seats. So, we were right behind business class and had extra leg room. Once we are up in the air, Kiara gets comfy with the Disney channel shows on the personal TVs we have on the plane. Luckily, she watched this for nearly the whole flight, she had to be watching things over and over, but I wasn't going to question her. Vera had only taken a half an hour nap at the airport, so after feeding Vera my first priority was to get her to sleep. I had asked for a bassinet that attached to the wall in front of us. Unfortunately, I think Vera was longer than the bassinet! It did serve as a great place to store things during our flight, though.

So, I tried for awhile, then Ryan took over. During this time they started to serve dinner. The flight attendent was nice enough to let me eat later. Eventually, Ryan got her asleep on the floor in front of us! It was a miracle! So, I go back to ask the flight attendants for my meal and it turns out they had saved me a meal from first class, they were so sweet! I felt like Ryan should have gotten it since he got her to sleep.

By this time, Ryan was pretty much asleep, which was good because he had to drive us home when we got to Chicago. I had finished eating and was getting comfortable when the fasten your seatbelt sign came on. The flight attendent comes up to me and says "I hate to tell you this, but you will have to pick the baby up since the sign came on.". I was like, are you kidding me! Vera had only been sleeping an hour, so I knew if she woke up it wouldn't be a pretty sight. So, I picked her up and got her to go back to sleep pretty quickly on me. That is where she spent the next 3 1/2 hours. Kiara ended up falling asleep for the last hour of the flight.

It was pretty exciting when we touched down because we knew Vera was now a US citizen! See how excited she was.

So, both the girls were pretty much a mess when we got off the plane. Kiara didn't like being woken up and basically cried all the way from the plane through immigration! I am sure some people wondered what type of parents we were when Kiara is crying and crawling on the ground through the immigration line! The first immigration officer tells us to get our bags and then to go to a certain area. We do that and the officer tells us that it will be awhile because he has a lot of people in front of us. Thankfully, 15 minutes later, he comes up to us and says, since you only have the baby, you are set and can go! Yippee!! Luckily, we didn't have to wait long to catch the shuttle back to the Park & Fly hotel we had left our car at.

Here is a picture of Vera's feet hitting US soil for the first time.

Vera was not a big fan of being in a carseat, but she fell asleep pretty quickly. We popped in a movie for Kiara and she slept a lot of the way home, too. I was kind of in and out for a lot of the trip home. Thankfully, Ryan stayed awake for the entire trip home!

So, there is our trip home. Sorry the post is so long, but I wanted to document everything and if I didn't do it here, I know I wouldn't get it done. Thanks for bearing with me!

Trip to Red Square...

2009-01-06T21:27:00.007-06:00

So, after our Embassy appointment and after Vera took a nap, we headed to Red Square. Luckily, the walk to Red Square from our apartment is pretty much a straight shot. Since we went at night there were a lot of lights to look at, which Kiara really enjoyed.

We walked around the Red Square area and enjoyed all the lights and fabulous buildings. There was an ice skating rink set up outside of the big shopping mall, GUM. We took some pictures outside of St. Basil's. By that time, both of our children were ready to be done, so we really didn't get a great picture. But, I was thankful that we made it there and were able to get the famous photo.

GUM shopping mall outside and inside.

Here are the photos outside Saint Basil's.

The plan was to stop at the McDonald's before we headed back to our apartment. But, when we looked inside, there were so many people! We would be there forever, if we tried to eat there. Plan B...the Sbarro's right next door, but they were closed and it looked like they were getting ready for a party. So, we started back towards the apartment. When we got to where Old Arbat meets New Arbat, Kiara and I started towards McDonald's and Ryan and Vera kept going towards our apartment. Ryan said Vera cried the whole way home, poor girl. McDonald's is on the opposite end of Old Arbat, let me tell you, that is one long street. Especially when you are walking it with a cold 5 year old. Kiara and I enjoyed our last McDonald's in Russia and then walked back to our apartment.

Vera was in bed when Kiara and I got back. We had to finish packing, which took us much longer than I hoped it would. Kiara got to bed around midnight and Ryan and I didn't get to bed until about 2 AM.

US Embassy appointment...

2009-01-03T08:46:00.005-06:00

Well, the trip home didn't go as smooth as I had hoped! But, we all 4 survived and are now at home as a family of 4. Vera is doing really well and seems like she has lived here her entire life. I thought it would be a lot harder for her.

Back to the day before we left to come home...So, after we were told that they would process us in one day, we walked back to our apartment. We were on cloud 9, but I was a little wary if it was really true since we didn't received anything official. Maybe Christopher thought we were a different family that he saw on the appointment list or something! But, we called M when we got back and she confirmed that yes indeed we did have an appointment today! It turns out that when Christopher went to check on us getting an Embassy appointment, M was in the process of submitting our paperwork. They asked her how much it would cost us and the other family to change our tickets. She told them $6,000 - $10,000. M was scheduled to leave the next day on vacation and was going to have to change her tickets, too! So, they called the person in charge on a cell phone, what a great idea, and got the approval that us and the other family could have our appointment today! So, once M confirmed that yes, we did have an appointment today, I was ecstatic!

We only had a couple of hours before we needed to leave for the Embassy again, so we put Vera down for a nap, got cleaned up and did a little packing. Then, we were off again for the Embassy. We met M and the other family outside of the Embassy. They went through our bags before we entered and then we had to leave any electronics, including our camera. Then, we went through security. We walked a ways and ended up in a room full of other adoptive parents and their children. There were probably about a dozen other children there and it seemed that Vera was the youngest. A lady came out and explained what would be happening. She was the only one processing adoptions today, so she needed us to be patient. As long as they got us done today, I would wait as long as they needed me to! The computers at the windows where they normally process adoptions were down, so they had to use the non immigration windows. We waited probably about an hour and then our name was called. All 4 of us went to the window. We raised our right hands and swore we were telling the truth and would do what we had agreed to do in the paperwork. I am not sure we even had to sign anything and then we had the golden envelope to give to US Customs once we entered the US. We still had to wait about 20 minutes to get the visa in Vera's passport.

While we were waiting, we met a few of the other families. Once was adopting 3 at one time and they didn't currently have any children. I can't imagine going from 0 to 3 children! The father also works for a grocery chain and has been to our town and the town I grew up in. What a small world!

Once we had Vera's passport, we were all done and we left with the other family. Once we were outside, I wanted to get a picture of the 4 of us outside of the Embassy. But, as soon as we were about to do that, we were told by one of the security guards that we can't take any pictures. So, I have no pictures of the day. We should have turned away from the Embassy and taken a picture, but I didn't think of that until later!

We walked back to the apartment and gave Vera a nap. Once she was up, we were headed to Red Square. That will be another post. I will try to get caught up soon, but it is taking me longer to get caught up, unpacked, and settled than I thought it would. It doesn't help that Kiara has been sick and we have also had to figure out what to do with all the Christmas presents.

Vera is adjusting very well, it seems like she has been here her entire life. She is extremely attached to Ryan and myself, no one else has yet been able to hold her. Which, is a good thing that she knows who her mommy and daddy are. Kiara and Vera have also bonded more as sisters. I can send Kiara into Vera's room when she wakes up from a nap and they play together for awhile. It is sweet to listen to. Vera loves to show everyone all her tricks and make faces at them. She is a joy!

WE ARE HOME!

2008-12-31T08:52:00.002-06:00

We made it home safe and sound about 9:30 PM last night!! It was a trip to remember and nothing I want to do anytime too soon. But we all made it and are home together as a family. Thanks for all the prayer! I will update about our trip later.

I am so happy to be home, but at the same time so sad to be missing my sister's wedding today. :( I can't believe I won't be there. But, I am so excited for her, Bobby, Kyndall and Megan. I am so happy they will all be together as a family!

To God be the Glory!!!

2008-12-29T03:03:00.002-06:00

We got a call at 8:15 AM this morning from M saying that we weren't going to be able to get our Embassy appointment today! One of us has to stay an extra day with Vera. M said that there was no one high enough up at the Embassy toda to give approval for us to have our appointment today, they were all on vacation. The person that M spoke to said that it wasn't worth us going to the Embassy personally to plead our case because there was no one to plead it to. So, Ryan starts checking into what our options are. Our flight out of Russia is through BMI and they don't have a 24 hour phone line, so we really couldn't do anything until 4 PM today. So, we both needed to go to the Embassy to fill out a Power of Attorney form giving each other the ability to make decisions for the other. We weren't sure yet who would be staying with Vera.

We had to get ready right away. It seems there are only short periods of time that you are able to do things at the Embassy. We had to get our power of attornies done, so M could submit our paperwork by 11 AM. We wake Kiara up, thankfully, I had already fed Vera. We get everyone bundled up and we are off to the Embassy. About a third of the way there, I realize I didnt' bring my purse with our passports in it! So, Ryan goes back to get it and the girls and I keep going towards the Embassy. We wait in M's car until Ryan gets back and then go inside the Embassy. We get in line and ask for the form and then sit to fill it out. Ryan has a question about the form, so when he does that he also asks who we would talk to about our appointment. The man is off to find out who. While he is gone, we sign our forms in front of another man, Christopher. He asks how our adoption process is going. Ryan said fine until you guys weren't open yesterday. He explains that the Embassy wasn't open basically because President Bush gave everyone the day off, which we already knew. We start probably talking jibberish to him and he says, now explain to me what you are trying to do. So, I do that without crying, which is a miracle at this point. He says let me go look into that. He comes back 10 minutes later and says you have an appointment today at 2 PM! What! I really thought it was a lost cause to say anything, but thought we had to try! Ryan is the man!

I will write more later, but wanted to update everyone! We are all 4 coming home tomorrow!! Praise the Lord!!

December 27, 2008...

2008-12-27T13:36:00.003-06:00

We all slept well last night. Ryan was up for 4 hours, but got plenty of sleep, hours wise. Vera slept from 9 PM to 9 AM. I have been telling people she is so easy to put down to sleep, but I think I might have spoke too soon. She was fighting it tooth and nail today for both of her naps! I think now that she feels better she isn't as tired and I think she feels a lot more comfortable with us. All in all, she is a joy! She has the sweetest smile and I love it when she reaches her arms up for me. I can't wait for everyone to meet her.

Today we were around the apartment until after Vera's second nap. Ryan took the girls to the other apartment to do laundry and so I could do some Body Step. What a great husband! Time by myself and he is doing laundry...you can't beat that!

After Vera's nap, we headed out for dinner and a little shopping. Ryan had seen a restaurant on Old Arbat that had a picture of Uncle Sam. I even found their website on the internet, it is called the Uncle Sam Cafe. This sounded pretty American friendly! We got there and it is a pretty small place. There is basically one booth right as you go in and then you either go downstairs to the bar area or upstairs to more seating. Since we had the stroller, we just took the first booth right inside. Our waitress came and I asked if they had an English menu. She said that they didn't! What? You are the Uncle Sam Cafe and you don't have an English menu...that makes no sense to me! She did go and get a big picture menu and it did have English on it, so I guess that is okay. We ordered chicken fingers, french fries and the Super Sam pizza. It was all very good, I would recommend it if you will be in Moscow. They have 2 or 3 other locations in Moscow and I think those places have bigger menus.

Then, we stopped at a sovenior shop and bought Vera a nesting doll. I bought a bunch of them on the last trip, but didn't ever get one for her! Ooops! We also bought a set of 3 Christmas ornaments that have famous buildings in Moscow painted on them. I bought each of the girls an amber bracelet that I plan on giving to them when they get older and can appreciate them more.

Next, it was off to the toy store. There is a toy store in the basement of where we went to the grocery store on our first trip and we had always wanted to check it out. It was a lot bigger than I thought and it had everything. It was like a Babies R' Us. Then, off to the fancy grocery store at the other end of Novy Arbat that I had heard about from many people. I had to check it out before we left Moscow. You go into this really nice looking department store, I really felt like we didn't belong, and go to the basement. The store was beautiful. It even has a fountain thing in the middle of it. It seemed more like a specialty store. Every section seemed to sell specialty items. They had some staples, but not like the other grocery stores. I was panicking a little when I didn't think they had any soda, but Ryan found it for me!

Vera was a trooper through the whole night. She was in the big snowsuit and in the umbrella stroller. When we were in the sovenior store, she was being so loud! When we were at the toy store, a lady stopped Ryan and wanted to take a picture of Vera. Then, she gave her camera to her friend and knelt down by Vera to get a picture with Vera! She was really nice, but it was so strange!

Tomorrow, we are going to trek to Red Square to get the famous picture in front of Saint Basil's. Let's hope everyone is in a good mood!

Here is a picture of 2 of my favorite things in Russia! I don't know what they are called, but they are soooo good! I am going to bring as much of each of them back with me as I can, so maybe I will share a few if you want to try them!

December 26, 2008...

2008-12-26T13:24:00.004-06:00

Not much happened today besides my previous post. Vera and I got up at 8 AM and I fed her and put her back down for a nap at 9:45 AM. The other 2 didn't get up until 10:30 AM! We all had a great night of sleep last night. It is so nice that we all got one on the same night. Vera only took an hour nap. I fed her lunch and then we all headed over to the other apartment to do laundry. Vera took another hour nap while we were over there and I worked on my Body Step routine. Then, it was back to the apartment for me to shower and Ryan made dinner. Vera took another hour nap while we were at the apartment.

After dinner we headed over to our friend's apartment for dessert. They graciously fed us cookies and hot cocoa. The boys and Kiara played the Wii. I think they might have got Kiara and Ryan addicted! They had a lot of fun. It was good to get our of our normal routine and do something different. Vera enjoyed her time, too. She was loving all the people and commotion and was even contributing to it. It was so nice to be able to meet their new son and for them to meet Vera. He is absolutely adorable! I think he helped teach Vera how to drink out of her sippy cup! Yay! She really hasn't drank much at all, so now she is downing the watered down juice. I am expecting a very wet diaper in the morning!

Houston...we may have a problem!

2008-12-26T01:12:00.004-06:00

M just called and said that for some reason the US Embassy here in Moscow just decided to take an extra day off! M had asked them personally if they would be open on December 26th and I had sent them an email and this is the response I got:

Mr. and Mrs. Wolland,

Thank you for your inquiry. Please be advised that the US Embassy Moscow will be closed only on December 25. We will be open on December 26, and December 29.

Sincerely, Immigrant Visa Unit US Embassy Moscow, Russia www.usembassy.ru

M will ask the Embassy on Monday morning if she can present our papers right then and we can have our appointment on the same day. Typically, the papers are presented the day before the appointment. If that doesn't work, Ryan will go there personally to ask. So, pray that they will have mercy on us so that we don't have to try and change our airline tickets.

I think Ryan is going to write our US Representative in case we need a little help convincing the Embassy. I feel like I should be shocked that this happened, but I really am not surprised. Nothing in this process surprises me anymore. You can prepare as much as possible and things can still not go right.

Very, Merry, POOPY Christmas!

2008-12-25T12:21:00.008-06:00

Oh, yes...Vera has made it a very memorable Christmas in more than one way! It has been great that we have been able to spend this Christmas with Vera. I thought we would have to wait to spend Christmas with our second child until Christmas 2009, so it has been a blessing to have her for this Christmas. But, she has made this Christmas even more memorable than I could have imagined...

Vera slept much better last night and so did Ryan. She did wake up twice, but once was because she had fallen asleep on me after the first time she woke up and I was trying to lay her back down.

We had been told that a doctor would come to examine Vera this morning between 8 and 8:30 AM. Well, at 7:45 AM the front door phone is ringing because the doctor is here and buzzing us to let him in! Ryan is still in a towel. I have just gotten up and Vera has just woken up. Kiara is still sleeping. So, I grab Vera and change her diaper and Ryan puts some clothes on and runs down 4 flights of stairs to let the doctor in. He was not at all what I expected. I thought it was Geraldo Rivera plus 15 pounds! Plus, he had this long haired fur coat on, it was just the funniest sight.

By now, Kiara is up and we use her magic bed to do Vera's examine. It was a pretty normal once over like a child would get at a well child visit. I have read several blogs that have used this same doctor and it was funny to me because he said a lot of the same things to me that others have said he said at their child's visit. He said that Vera must have been one of the favorites at the orphanage because she seems very healthy. He also told Ryan he will need to get a shot gun and put it by the door to keep the boys away. I think he must say these same things almost every time! Vera hated the whole thing and basically cried through the whole experience. But, no more than 20 minutes later, he was out the door.

So, Ryan fed Vera and I got the Christmas stuff ready. Kiara could hardly wait! I had gotten each of the girls a small stocking and one gift. Santa is visiting our house on New Year's Eve this year since we were out of town. ;)

Next, Ryan had to leave to meet V & C to go pick up Vera's passport. So, while he was gone, I put Vera down for a nap and gave Kiara a bath. Shortly after he returned, they came to tell us they aren't going to be able to fix our washing machine before we leave. So, we now have the key to an apartment right across the street and will go over there to use the washing machine.

Vera took a 3 hour nap and woke up without a temperature even after her medicine had worn off. This morning she still had a temperature of 101 degrees. I was so happy that she felt better. We fed her lunch, played a little, and by that time you could tell that it was time for her to have another nap. So, down she went for another hour. Ryan ended up sleeping during that time to on the floor in the living room! Vera got up and I gave her her first bath. She did pretty well. She didn't love it, but she didn't cry much. It was funny because she didn't know what was dripping from her head, she kept trying to grab whatever it was! So, once we were done with that, we woke up Ryan and got ready for our Christmas dinner.

Here are my cuties in their matching Christmas outfits.

Where do Americans who are in Russia on Christmas eat their Christmas dinner....McDonald's, of course! We made our first trek out in Moscow with 2 kids to eat at the golden arches. Our cheap umbrella stroller on slushy Moscow streets isn't the best combination, but probably better than carrying the bundle of joy all the way there and back! So, I have to back up a little. Vera had yet to do #2 since we have had custody of her. For lunch, I fed her about a half of jar of prunes to help the process along a little. After her second nap, we were yet to see any progress, so I fed her the rest of the jar of prunes for her snack. Can you see where I am going with this??

So, back to Micky D's...Ryan goes up to order and me and the girls find a table. A nice employee comes and asks if I want a high chair for Vera, which I was surprised they even had. So, we tried that out and she sat well in it. We eat our dinner and I give Vera a few Gerber Puffs that are broken in half. (For those of you out of the loop on baby food, these things basically melt in your mouth.) Vera proceeds to cough a little when she eats one. She eats a few more and then basically sounds like she is coughing up a lung! She scares the begebbers out of me, so we are done with Puffs until we get home! Ryan comments that he thinks everyone is looking at us because we have a baby at McDonald's. I haven't seen another baby there any of the times we have been there. I said that I would be looking at us too, if someone's child was coughing like that, I don't think it was just because we are Americans or had a baby with us!

Now it is time to put Vera back in her snowsuit and make a quick stop at the grocery store on the way home. I pick her up out of her seat and....you guessed it, she waited to have her first bowel movement until we took her out in public and of course it is a blowout! H & C, you are very lucky that lady brought us the highchair, or I would have still had Vera sitting in the umbrella stroller not all the way out of the very cute snowsuit you loaned us! I am so grateful that the snowsuit was spared! At this point, I am not sure if I can even get Vera to the bathroom without getting it all over me. It smelled putrid! So, I grab the diaper and the wipes, hold her under her arms and head for the bathroom. In Russia, they don't have the convienent changing tables that we have in America, so I go into a normal stall. Luckily, the stall walls go closer to the floor than I am use to and it already smells horrible in the McDonald's bathroom. I use all the wipes I have but one. Luckily, they have toliet seat lids, so after I get most of the poop off of her, I am able to sit her on there to put her diaper on. I throw away her socks and pants. It was her Christmas outfit that matches Kiara's, but at least I took a couple pictures before we left the apartment! There is a trash can in the stall, so the poor person who chooses to use that stall! So, I take her out of the restroom in only her top and diaper. I am sure all the Russian people were looking at me like the worst mother in the world since they bundle their children up SO much! But, luckily, we brought her in a warm snowsuit that even has booties, so she is still toasty warm for her ride home. And, she was kicking her legs all the way home, so she probably felt a lot better! I had thought earlier in the day that she would probably wait until we went out to poop, but I didn't imagine it would be that bad! At least it wasn't on the airplane, I can't imagine that smell in an enclosed space. Pray that it doesn't happen on the plane!

She does look like she is concentrating awfully hard!
After the blowout!

Once we get home, I give Vera her second bath and finish feeding her dinner. We call our families to wish them a Merry Christmas and then it is obvious that it is time for Vera to go to bed. She feels a bit warmer so I want to take her temperature. We have just been taking her temperature with an ear thermometer, but she absolutely hates it! We have to hold her down to do it and she gets so worked up! Her temperature was 100.2 degrees, which is up a bit, but not as high as it has been. So, we give her Motrin and she is off to bed. The 3 of us left awake played a game of Old Maid and are now trying to recover from the tramatic exerience! Oh, what a night!

After all that happened, I totally forgot to get a picture of the 4 of us together on Christmas! :( I guess we will have to do that tomorrow and count that as our Christmas picture.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

December 24, 2008...

2008-12-24T11:40:00.002-06:00

Sorry, no long post today. :( Vera still has her temperature, but slept relatively well considering. She is in a good mood when the medicine takes her temperature down.

M came to do the Embassy paperwork with us.

We stayed in all day except for Ryan going to get us pizza at Sbarro for dinner.

Vera keeps me on my toes! She gets into everything! I don't remember Kiara being like that.

Tomorrow around 8 AM the doctor comes to our apartment for her Embassy physical. Then, Ryan is leaving around 10 AM to go pick up Vera's Russian passport. It will be a Christmas like no other, that is for sure.

I wish everyone a wonderful and memorable Christmas. We are missing our families, especially today and tomorrow. We love you all and will see you real soon! Don't forget the Reason for the Season! Merry Christmas!!

GOTCHA DAY!!!!!!!!!!

2008-12-23T11:14:00.011-06:00

It finally happened! Vera is in our arms forever! It makes me want to cry just typing it! She has been wonderful! I am amazed how happy she has been.

But first...back to the beginning of the day. We knew that our driver was taking the family we had dinner with the night before to pick up their son before he came to get us. They had estimated that he would pick us up around 11:30 AM. We have been having problems with people in Russia being able to call us, so we called him at 11:30 and he said it would be half an hour. Then, Ryan called to tell our apartment people that our washing machine wasn't working. They said they would send someone to our apartment. I had forgotten someone was coming when our doorbell rang. A Russian woman comes in and goes over to our washer. She knows no English. I think she thought that we thought that the machine was suppose to dry our clothes because she was pointing to the drying rack. She did a few things and then moved the machine away from the wall a bit and out drops the belt. Oops, maybe that was what happened when the machine smelled like it was on fire! So, she knew what the problem was then. She made a phone call and then said she was going to clean our apartment. We waited a little longer an called M at 12:15 PM, he said 15 more minutes. I would go between being extremely nervous to extremely excited. I just wanted to get this process going! So, M got here at 12:30 PM and we were off. It was the quickest trip to the orphanage we have had, I think it only took 30 minutes!

We all go into the orphanage, put on our booties and wait in the orange room. M is gone for awhile and then has us come into the next room to sign something. It was like a ledger thing and Ryan and I signed in the same box. I noticed that the lady had dated under our signature 12/24/2008. So, we sit in the orange room again. There are a bunch of ladies in the next room talking loudly and I notice Vera's doctor come in and out once. I was worried something was wrong, this wasn't like anyone else's experience I had heard about picking up their child in this orphanage. M comes in and says that Vera has a cold and they are trying to figure out if we will take her today or tomorrow. WHAT?! I was like, okay, we have gone by your rules, now it is our turn! She is legally ours! Do you not think that we can take care of our sick child? (Don't worry, I only said that stuff to Ryan.) M came back again and said that they are giving Vera medicine and we need to wait 15 minutes until it takes her temperature down. Okay...we can breath again...but, I wasn't going to feel okay until she was in my arms.

Anxiously waiting to get Vera!

Quicker than we thought, they brought her down. The lady wanted me to change her clothes. I had always heard that the caregivers change their clothes, so I was very nervous trying to get Vera's clothe off with the lady looking! As soon as I had her clothes off, she took them and was gone. So, I put her into the outfit I brought, which fit perfectly. It was an old one of Kiara's and looked adorable on her. Then, I had to put the required snowsuit on her, poor thing. But, thanks to H and little C, we have the cutest snowsuit around! M took our suitcase full of gifts and gave them to someone! Who knows what person got what! Oh, well, at least I have an empty suitcase now! In Russia, they don't open gifts in front of you, so we wouldn't have seen anyone's reaction to opening them anyway.

Next, as we go out the door, I notice Vera's doctor is in the hallway watching us leave and I can tell she looks sad. So, I stop to let her kiss Vera goodbye and I tell her thank you. I could tell she cared for Vera very much. We took a quick picture in front of the orphange and we are in the van. It was emotional for me as we drove away from the orphanage. We are taking Vera away from everything and everyone she has ever known.

By this time, it is Vera's nap time and she looks tired and probably doesn't feel well. She is so good and just sits there. She isn't as wide eyed as I thought she would be, but she is probably too tired to care about this whole new world she is seeing. I eventually take her hat off of her and she is sooo sweaty. I should have taken it off earlier. We stop to get her picuture taken for her passport and the US Embassy. We go in the back of this building and go down these narrow stairs and there is a room that deals with pictures. I don't know how anyone knows to go there! The photographer sits a box on a chair and I hold her up there and he takes her picture. We wait less than 10 minutes and they give us 4 black and white passport pictures and 3 color pictures for the Embassy. So, back on the snowsuit goes and we finish our trip to our apartment.
Pictures taken for Vera's passport.

We get to our apartment at about 3:30 PM. So, nap time is basically out of the question. Ryan gets a bite to eat and then he is headed to meet C & V to go apply for Vera's passport. So, it is me and the girls. We play a little and I have Kiara get the Gerber Puffs out. Since I am super paranoid, I still break them in half. Vera loves them. Next, we change the first diaper and that goes well. Then, I mix up some rice cereal with formula and Vera loves it. I put her in the umbrella stroller to feed her and she is fine with it. The whole time she is very happy and showing us all her tricks. Kiara loves to feed her and does well at it. Notice the "I Love My Big Sister" bib.

Now, Kiara and I need something to eat. Kiara wants to push her around in the stroller, so I let her and she ends up in the bedroom with her basically entertaining her. It was so cute! Kiara has been great. She wants to help with everything, which for the most part is good. Let's just hope it stays that way! So, I make some soup while Kiara entertains Vera. We eat dinner while Vera sits on my laps and eats some more Puffs.

Next, I let Vera down on the floor with her stacking cups to kind of see what she will do. She throws and bangs them and then chases after them. She can crawl very fast! She loves all the cords around...that is not going to be fun! My mom and sister called and were able to see Vera on the webcam.

Shortly after that, Ryan returned. He also brought some food that Vera is use to. So, her first meal in our apartment was half a jar of Rice, Carrots, and Veal and a half jar of applesauce. It was amazing, as soon as she was done, she would shake her head no. So, next we got her ready for bed. We have this little blow up bed for her to sleep in. I lay her in it and lay my head on the side of it. She figits and moves around and basically fights sleep, but finally gives in. She sleeps on her stomach sucking her thumb. So, we got her to sleep by 7:45 PM on the first night!

I was just thinking, this couldn't be any easier when I hear her crying. I go in and she is really hot. We take her temperature and it is 100.8 degrees. I was nervous to give her any more medicine because I wasn't sure what they gave her at the orphanage and how long it lasted. Obviously, it has worn off now and I give her some Motrin. Ryan lays with her and gets her back to sleep. So, I don't see much sleep for me tonight. Either Vera will be up, or I will be up worrying about her! I guess it isn't much different than the first night of sleep when you bring a newborn home!

Thanks for everyone's thought, comments and prayers! I will post more tomorrow.

Day 10 of the 10 day wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-12-22T13:32:00.004-06:00

Today is the last day!!!!!! We are so excited that Vera will be with us forever starting tomorrow! I can't believe it is finally here!

Well, Ryan got A LOT of sleep last night and today. He went to bed at 6:30 PM last night and didn't wake up until 4 AM! He stayed up until 8 AM, but then slept until 2:30 PM! I woke him up then and he probably could have slept a lot longer. So, it will be interesting how he is able to sleep tonight.

Kiara and I spent the day trying to be as quiet as possible so that Ryan could sleep as long as possible. I just tried to get caught up on anything that needed to be done around here like dishes, boiling water to drink, and cleaning up, so that we can focus on Vera when she gets here.

We met a couple for dinner that we had met on our first trip here. They are on the exact same schedule as us, except that they went home during the 10 day wait. We met at our favorite spot, Hard Rock Cafe. They have their 2 boys with them this time, so it was great to meet them. Kiara had a great time and enjoyed the dad because he would pretend like they were up on stage and introduce them and then she would perform part of one of her Singsations songs.

So, on our way home we needed to make a few copies for applying for Vera's passport tomorrow. I don't know why they waited to tell us that we needed these copies less than 12 hours before we needed them when we have really not been doing much for 10 days! Oh well, we found a copy place right by the Hard Rock and Ryan was able to communicate using gestures and our little yellow dictionary. Then, a quick stop at the grocery store.

Once we got back to the apartment, I put together the gifts that we want to give the people at the orphanage that have taken care of Vera for the last year. Ryan investigated the problem with our washer, and he thinks that it doesn't spin anymore. So, we probably won't be doing too much more laundry! I am not sure if it will get fixed before we leave. I think we have enough clothes to get us through and I can always do some handwashing. Fun, fun!!

So, the plan for tomorrow is for us to be picked up around 11:30 AM and then we will go to the orphanage to pick up Vera. We will then go to the grocery store and our driver will show us the type of food that Vera is use to eating. Then, off to get her passport picture taken and back to our apartment. Ryan will then go with V and C, who we had dinner with tonight, to apply for Vera's passport. So, I will be alone with 2 kids right away right during Vera's nap time, so say a prayer for me!
This is a picture of the view from our apartment if you look to the right. We believe that this building is called the White House.

I can't wait for tomorrow's post! Hopefully, I have time. :)

Day 9 of the 10 day wait...

2008-12-21T08:13:00.010-06:00

One more day left without Vera!!! I can't believe how close it is now. You will have to excuse my appearance above. I just couldn't find the energy to put on my makeup today! But, the picture of Vera was too cute not to put on the blog.

Ryan had a horrible night of sleep. He woke up around 2 AM and was never able to go back to sleep! It seems to be every other night for him, so hopefully he will get a good night of sleep tonight. He is going to take some Tylenol PM since we don't have to get up for anything tomorrow. Kiara and I got about 8 hours of sleep, but for some reason I am really worn out today. I am tired and my body aches, especially my thighs and feet. I was in pretty decent shape when we got here from doing so much step aerobics the last few months, so I am surprised I feel it in my thighs. So, needless to say, it hasn't been one of our best days here since we are both very tired and worn out.

Today we made our last trek to the orphanage. The trip to the orphanage was great because there are so fewer people out on a Sunday morning. It also seemed to be the coldest it has been, so I am glad we are done doing so much walking. I am just very grateful that it never rained on any of the days we went to the orphanage. I can't imagine making that journey soaking wet! I guess the Lord knows how much I can handle because I don't think I could have handled that!

We got to the orphanage nice and early today since they came and got her so early yesterday. So, they brought her down to us at about 12:15 PM. She had the orange outfit on again and she had 4 layers of clothes on today! I can't wait to dress her in her new clothes, the girl won't know what to do with only 1 or 2 layers on. She cried just the tiniest bit when they handed her over. We gave her a sippy cup with water in it today. She wan't too sure what to do at first, but she got the hang of it. I think it surprised her when she got some water out of it. She really didn't want anyone to help her with it, so I think we have a stubborn one on our hands.

Kiara wanted me to put this picture on the blog that she took. It is her animal friends that she plays with when we are in the orange room at the orphanage.

After awhile, it was kind of hard to keep her happy. I think she wanted to be down and crawl, but she would pick stuff off of the dirty rug and try to put it in her mouth. She would have been fine crawling on the wood like floor, but I didn't want to get in "trouble" again for having her on that floor. I think she was getting tired and I think we are all just bored with that room and have run out of things to do in there. So, I guess that gave me a good taste of what it could be like starting Tuesday!

They came to get her 5 minutes earlier than they did yesterday, so I was glad we had gotten there early. She was sooooo happy to see her caretaker! I think she was done with us for the day, and to be honest, I was glad it was time for her to go back to her room. There is only so much you can do to keep a 1 year old happy in a small room. We aren't going to the orphanage tomorrow so that we can rest up before Tuesday when we go to get her. So, that last visit will make it a little easier not seeing her tomorrow. It will be so much better when we have more options to keep her happy!

Before they brought Vera down, one lady was trying to talk to us. We think she was asking when are we taking Vera home. At first, I thought she was asking if it was cold out today because she would cross her arms in front of her like she was cold. But, I think she was asking when we were taking her out of the orphanage.

We stopped at My My(pronounced Moo Moo) to eat on our way home. It is kind of like a Russian cafeteria, where you take your tray and point at what you want. Kiara had been looking forward to going here. She had seen the cow that they have out front and seen other chidren with balloons from there. We were a little worried if she would be able to find something she liked to eat since it is all Russian food. But, it turned out pretty well. She got a BBQ chicken kabob and ate some of the potatoes Ryan and I had gotten. I also found an English menu, so that is nice to have. I wish I had found that on the first trip.

So, Ryan turned in for the night at about 6:30 PM, hopefully he will sleep through the night. Kiara and I are trying to be quiet, so hopefully we won't wake him up. I am hoping we all sleep until noon tomorrow.

My mom's side of the family is getting together for Christmas this afternoon. We are sad that we aren't there. I am sure everyone will have a great time. Merry Christmas!

Day 8 of the 10 day wait...

2008-12-20T08:31:00.013-06:00

Well, we are almost there! I can't believe in a little over 2 days, Vera will be with us forever! Tuesday can't get here soon enough!

Well, Ryan still woke up in the night but had a 5 hour and 3-4 hour stretch of sleep. So, he is doing better today. Kiara and I both didn't fall asleep until 1 AM, but slept through the night. I can't wait to get home to my bed and my chiropractor!

Today it was interesting to watch the people on the Metro since it is a Saturday. I can see differences between the weekdays and the weekends. The old ladies that ride on the weekend are serious about getting a seat to sit down in! One lady even went over to a young man and tapped him on the knee and he got up and gave her his seat. During the week there are more people on the Metro, but no one is real pushy. I feel like people were a pushier today even though there were less people to contend with. When we ride during the week, as soon as Kiara and I get on the train, it there isn't a seat a man usually jumps up right away to give us his seat. On the weekend, people were a lot slower to give up their seats. The train was usually moving by the time a seat was offered to us. It is just interesting to see the differences.

When we got to the orphanage, the Cyrus couple was in the orange room, so we stayed out in the hall. We were contemplating what to do, when a lady from the orphanage motioned for us to come into the orange room. They had moved the other couple into that exercise/play room we were in the other day. So, then I went upstairs to get Vera. I knocked once and didn't get any response. I knocked again and heard someone say something loudly. So, I went in because I wasn't sure if she was telling me to come in or not. I peeked my head in and Vera was sitting at a low table with another child and the woman was feeding them. I hadn't seen this caregiver yet, she must be on the weekend shift. I could tell she told me that she would bring Vera down to me. Vera didn't even see me because she had her back to me.

First, the boy for the Cyrus couple was brought down. He is such a cutie, but each time we have seen him he has been in a purple hat that has a heart on the front of it in sparkles! Poor guy! Very quickly after that they brought down Vera. Ryan took her from the caregiver and she cried just a bit. But, after she saw the phone, she was all smiles again. I think it must take her a minute to register who the caregivers are giving her to. They had her in a yellow and green hat today, which really made her look like an orphan! We took that off after a couple of pictures. When I tried to put it back on when the caregiver came down, she pulled it right off!
It was another good visit, but it went really quickly today. We didn't get her quite as quick as yesterday and they came to get her at 1:45 PM instead of 2 PM. :( We weren't expecting that. She remembered "crazy baby", I just have to say "crazy baby" and she starts shaking her head. I also taught her how to do "So Big". I was surprised how quickly she caught on. She also laid contently on her daddy and played with her hat.

We didn't take as many pictures and video today, partly because the time just got away from us. And, the pictures start looking that same after awhile, especially when they keep putting her in the same outfits. The outfit she had on yesterday was under the orange one today.

After the orphanage, we got off on the Metro stop that is closer to the grocery store we frequented on our last trip so Ryan could get more Mt. Dew. We also went into a kids store that is like a smaller version of a Babies R' Us. They had these electronic carolers in the window that Kiara wanted to go in and see.

This is a picture of the high rise we stayed in on our first trip.

So, after our trip home, I made dinner of chicken vegetable soup and crackers. Now, I am updating the blog and Ryan is doing the dishes, what a good man! So, it will be a quiet night in the apartment. I will work on Body Step a little and I think Kiara will be taking a bath.

Day 7 of the 10 day wait...

2008-12-19T13:02:00.016-06:00

Here are my 3 cuties!

Last night was nice because we had more time in the apartment since we didn't eat dinner on the way home. We played a few games of Go Fish and Old Maid and just hung out as a family of 3 for one of the last times. Unfortunately, Ryan got another bad night of sleep. He woke up after 3 hours of sleep at 2 AM and couldn't go back to sleep and was then up until 8 AM. He was able to go back to sleep for 2 hours before he needed to get up to get ready to go to the orphanage. So, Ryan and Kiara turned in earlier tonight in hopes that Ryan gets more sleep!

We had probably our best visit with Vera today so far! She was so fun! Once we got to the orphanage, Ryan and Kiara waited in the orange room and I went up to her room to get her. I knocked on the door and I could hear the clinking of spoons. I started to open the door because I thought they might be busy feeding the babies when one of the caregivers came and she motioned to me that they were eating and I asked if she wanted me to wait downstairs by pointing down. I was hoping I could wait for her while she ate to see how the whole process works, but no such luck. So, not long after they brought her down and she again cried a little when they gave her to me. Then, Ryan and Kiara took out the phone that we always bring to play with her and she sighed and had a big smile, it was so cute. After that it was all smiles! Too bad she doesn't do that when she sees me!!

She looks so big when Ryan is holding her like this!

Vera was very active during this visit. She is getting louder, too, so I think she will fit in with the other 2 in our family. I feel like I am always telling someone to be quieter! I would shake my head and say "crazy baby" and she would do the same. I have quite a few videos from today, so get ready for some major cuteness!!

In this video, she would stand on my lap and bounce up and down. It looks like I am making her do it since I am holding her, but it is all Vera.

Here is the best part of the day! Vera will kiss me. I really think she is and it isn't just me hoping she would. See what you think. She did it several times. She is probably thinking, maybe if I kiss that lady, she will stop kissing me so much! LOL

And here, we got her to giggle, it is so cute!

If there was still any hope of us getting Vera early, then it is shot now! The deputy director, the one who won't give us custody early, came through our room and at that time Vera had been crawling around on the wood like floor. I don't know exactly what she said, but I could tell she wanted us to have her on the rug because the hard floor was too cold. Oh, my, I am sure the 3 layers of clothing weren't keeping her warm enough! I can't wait to get my baby home!

So, they usually come and get her around 2 PM, but they never came! So, at 2:30 PM, I took her back up to her room. We could tell she was getting tired. Today was great because we had an extra long visit with her, we had her for 2 hours today. By the time we usually get her, we only have 1 1/2 hours at most and usually less.

Since we really don't have anyone to take a picture of the 4 of us, here is the best we can do.

I have been forgetting to tell everyone that Vera's cold is much better. She kind of feels like she has a slight temperature at times, but I am use to Kiara whose normal temperature is below normal. The last couple of days it has been colder here. It is now in the 20s instead of the 30s. We only get flurries every once in awhile. It sounds better than the weather back home!

After the orphanage, we planned to meet a couple from our agency that is here for court. We got off one Metro stop before we normally do and found our way to the Courtyard Marriott. The Metro station that we got off on is one of the fancier ones. Below is a picture, but it really doesn't do it justice. Thankfully, we found the hotel without any problems. We were early so we just made ourselves comfortable in the lobby. It felt so good to be warm and just be able to sit.

K & B met us not long after we got there and we ate at the restaurant in the hotel. I am so happy that I have been able to meet so many other adoptive parents on these trips. It was great to talk to them. I think K and I have been emailing since probably at least July. They are also adopting a little girl, but from a different orphanage. At the Courtyard, they have a play room for kids. So, we went in there for a bit. It was nice for Kiara to have some new things to play with. K and Kiara built the Kremlin and the Kremlin wall out of Legos! Can't you tell?

Day 6 of the 10 day wait...

2008-12-18T08:11:00.013-06:00

Well, I don't have any good news about getting Vera early. We hadn't heard from M by the time we were going to leave to trek to the orphanage, so we gave her a call. The deputy director said that she is not going to take that risk. The good news is that we will probably only make our trek 3 more times now that we are done with today's. There is a light at the end of the tunnel! I just can't wait to have Vera with us!! It is so hard not to just put her under my coat and take her with me when we visit her! LOL

Ryan had the best night of sleep he has had since we got here! Yea!! He still woke up several times, but was able to go back to sleep. Kiara is completely back to normal and I got to bed a little earlier at 1 AM.

When we got to the orphanage, we greeted the security guard like normal. We went inside, put our little booties on and waited in the hallway. We never heard the phone ring, so I don't think the guard called to tell them we were there. We were about ready to hunt someone down when V showed up with another family. So, he told us that from now on we can just go up to her Groupa everyday to get her. So, we will see how that goes tomorrow. That will be nice, though, because we will get to see her more in her natural environment. V took us and the other family to the music room for our visit. They brought Vera in first. They brought the other couple's son in shortly after, and they must be in the same groupa because the caregivers pointed over to Vera for the little boy when they brought him in.

Vera cried again today when they gave her to me. The caregiver didn't leave right away and was talking to her, so I think that kind of drew it out. But, always shortly after she is in my arms, she will give me a smile! It is nice to know that she likes her caregivers, it makes me feel like she is well taken care of. Vera always has to see what is going on when she hears a sound, so with the other couple in the same room it made it harder to have her attention. But, they were only there for about 30 minutes because they had to leave to take care of paperwork. Kiara really enjoyed seeing V again. She asks almost everyday if we are going to see V or M. V is good with kids and will pick Kiara up and swing her around, so she enjoyed that!

It was another good visit. She likes to grunt a lot and is making more and more sounds. We got her to clap again today, so she hasn't forgotten that! Kiara enjoyed having Vera play with her belly button. See the picture & video below.

At the end of the visit, Vera enjoyed playing with her shoe lace. Here is a video.

So, at the end of the visit, we made our trek back to our apartment. We had a meal of Ramen Noodles and bananas. Below is a picture of us at our kitchen table in our apartment. So, the rest of the evening will probably involve a little laundry, a bath for Kiara, and I need to work on my Body Step routine. Not too exciting around here! Tomorrow after our visit with Vera we are meeting another family who is here with our agency, so tomorrow should be a bit more exciting. We are going to find our way to the Courtyard Marriott to eat dinner with them.

Day 5 of the 10 day wait...

2008-12-17T10:46:00.009-06:00

We are halfway through the wait!! As of tomorrow it will be 5 days until we have Vera with us forever!!

Today was good to be around the apartment, but I think the whole stress of the trip is getting to all of us. It probably doesn't help that we have been with each other 24/7 for a week now! We walked up to Old Arbat to eat, shop a little, and get some groceries. It can be stressful just to do that stuff since there is such a language barrier and the weather is a bit colder today. It still takes us 15 minutes each way to get to the Old Arbat area. We probably should have just stayed at the apartment and avoided any walking today.

Well, we didn't think we would be able to get ahold of M today to check on getting Vera early. The number we had for her wasn't working. So, we called V and he said that the deputy director had said that they would never let a family keep a child during the wait again, but he would ask when he was going to be at the orphanage today. Well, we didn't hear from V anymore today. We kept trying different combinations to get M's number to work. We felt like we were missing the first 3 numbers, I think they call it the city code. From the information we had, there was a certain 3 digit number for cell phones, but that wasn't working with the rest of the numbers I had. I tried using the Moscow city code earlier today, but I had gotten a voicemail. It was a woman, but it didn't sound like M. Well, Ryan tried it tonight when we got back from being out, and it worked!!! M said that she would call the deputy director in the morning and get back to us by 9:30 AM. She said that the deputy director had promised that we could have Vera early! So, it sounds good, but I am not counting on anything! Also, Vlad had mentioned that the court decree could come early, and then we could have her. Plus, I bet that would mean we could start our US Embassy work then, too. So, pray that all happens!!

So, today I slept until 11 AM and then spent some time on my new Body Step routine. Ryan fell asleep with Kiara last night, but couldn't sleep past 5 AM, so he didn't get more than 6 hours of sleep. So, pray that Ryan can get a good night of sleep, he really hasn't had one since we got here! Kiara slept until noon!! I really hate waking up a sleeping child/baby, so we turned off her noise maker and went about our business not being quiet. So, she was really out, but finally woke up around noon. This is how she spent a lot of the rest of her day.

She got a present from S & B for her birthday. It is a bunch of cards that you can use a dry erase marker on and have different activities for her to do, like word search, drawing, connect the dots, etc. She has spent so much time on these today! Thanks S & B!!

So, since I don't have any pictures except for the one above, I thought I would add a couple videos from our first visit with Vera when we got to Russia. I don't think I posted any videos from that day yet. Enjoy!

Day 4 of the 10 day wait...

2008-12-16T12:30:00.020-06:00

***UPDATED WITH VIDEOS***

Last night I guess you could say we had a somewhat night of normal sleep. Kiara is doing really well. I couldn't fall asleep until 3 AM, but slept until 10 AM. Ryan had a better night of sleep. But, I am afraid by the time we get adjusted, it will be time to go home and start the whole adjustment process over!

So, today we got ready, threw in a load of laudry and started on our journey to the orphanage. All went well on our journey. There was a lot of activity when we got to the orphanage. It looked like an ambulance had just brought a baby and there was this black car backed up to the gate and they were unloading boxes. I think it was the dignitary from Cyprus that is adopting from our orphanage. I am assuming whatever was in the boxes was a donation to the orphanage. Probably much better than our used clothes and diapers donation!

So, when we got inside there was a flurry of activity and the other family was in the orange room. So, we stood in the hallway where they have a chair and the phone. I noticed the phone was off the hook, so I knew the security guard probably wasn't able to call and tell them we were coming. We tried to communicate to a couple people that we were there to see Vera. Then, we waited and waited. Then, they brought the baby to the other family, so I thought well it might be a little longer for Vera. We were getting to the point where we thought we might need to call V to try to translate what we needed. But, then one woman who seemed to be in charge started talking to us in Russian. She said something about Vera's group and I couldn't tell if she was telling us to go up there or what. So, she finally gave up and took off towards Vera's room. She came down and told us she was eating. Shortly after that, a woman brought her down to us, but she didn't know where we were suppose to sit with her so she went off to ask. They ended up taking us through the orange room, then through the staff lunch room, then there is a play/exercise room. It had a lot of different stuff in it that I would think we would typically use for PE type classes. It was nice because it had 2 big, CLEAN rugs in it that we could get down on the floor and play with Vera. Plus, it had a lot more stuff that interested Kiara. See our hula hoop champion below...

Vera cried just a bit again today when they gave her to me. But, it didn't take her long to start smiling at us. It was fun to be on the floor with her. We all got on the floor and rolled a ball to each other. Ryan taught Vera to clap and there is a video below. It was another good visit that was too short, of course. I didn't see M at the orphanage, so I will call her tomorrow morning to see if there is any chance of having Vera before the 10 day wait is over. The trek is getting exhausting, so it would be nice to do it a few less times.

Just hangin' out with the fam!
Kiara has turned a little orange from eating the food in Russia!

After the orphange and we got back to the area where our apartment is, we met a couple who is also with our agency for dinner. They adopted a little girl from the same group that Vera is in. She is adorable and she loved making faces at Kiara. They get to leave on Friday and we are soooo jealous!! We ate at TGIFs. I think we threw the people for a loop since we had more than 4 people. They didn't know where to sit us and the restaurant was not busy at all. They sat us in the smallest booth I have ever been in! It would have been tight if there were just 4 of us, we were sitting knee to knee! But, it was great to talk to some fellow Americans and adoptive parents. I am so glad that we got to meet up before they left Moscow. Before we left, a man came over and asked if we were here to adopt. They were just finishing up their adoption of a little boy. Their story reminds me to count my blessings because they had to travel outside of Moscow and they have been in the process of adopting for 4 years!! Yes, I said 4!! I can't even imagine, 2 has been way long enough. I am grateful that we are working with a great agency and a team in Moscow that knows how to get things done as quickly as possible.

Tomorrow, we are taking a break from our trek. We have done it 4 days in a row and just need a day to relax and hang out. We will miss seeing Vera, though. It is hard not to go to the orphanage, but I think it will be best for all of us. Kiara especially needs a break. So, we might do a little shopping tomorrow, but otherwise we will hang around the apartment.

And, I will end this post with a sweet picture of each of my girls!

Just in case anyone was wondering...they had Vera dressed in the purple Tinkerbell sweatshirt again today. We aren't using pictures from previous days! It does make it hard to remember which day is which, though.

Day 3 of the 10 day wait...

2008-12-15T12:03:00.009-06:00

I am glad you all enjoy my daily recaps. I feel like I write a book, so I am glad that I am not boring you. I know I will be very happy that I have done this when I finally get around to scrapbooking this whole event!

Well, at least 2 of us got a normal night's sleep. Kiara slept from midnight until 10 AM and I slept from 2 AM until 9 AM. Well, at least pretty close to normal. It is consecutive sleep without waking up, which I think is the key. Unfortunately, Ryan wasn't so lucky. He maybe got 5 hours of sleep and it wasn't consecutive.

So, we did a little laundry and got ready for our trek to see Vera. Our trip on the Metro went well. There were definitely more people today versus the weekend, but not as many as I imagined. We feel like pros now. We tell the guard we are there to see Vera, go into the orphange, put on our shoe coverings, go into the orange room and wait for them to bring her to us. She did cry just a bit today when they brought her to us. The lady that brought her to us, I think, is one of her favorites. Vera always lights up when she sees her, it is so sweet to see. Here is a picture of Vera and the worker she really likes, taken by Kiara.

We had another good visit with Vera. During this time of day in the orange room there are people coming and going through our room, so it is harder to really get on the floor or anything and play with her. Plus, the rug is really dirty. I don't understand it because the rest of their floors are immaculate! It doesn't look like the rug has been cleaned since we were there on our first trip. We brought a phone toy to play with today. We had also brought this toy with us on our first trip and Vera showed NO interest in the toy at all! Today she loved it and would get upset if she didn't have it. It is great to see that she has really opened up and gotten more comfortable with us. Here is a video of her playing with the phone.

Here is what goes on when Vera and I have a little alone time!

Today the Baby Home Director came through during our visit. So, she must be back from vacation. I am dreaming that she calls M and tells her that we can take Vera before the 10 day wait it over! M might be at the orphanage tomorrow when we are there, so hopefully we can ask her then. If not, I will call her on Wednesday. Plus, my agency director is also going to see what she can find out.

This picture and video are so sweet!

We also tried a little walking today, but she isn't real interested. But, yesterday when she pulled herself up, I could tell she was pretty steady on her feet. Hopefully, she isn't walking too soon!
Our trip home on the Metro went pretty smoothly. We did go up one escalator that we shouldn't have, but realized it right away and just took it back down when we got to the top. On the way home, we stopped to eat at McDonald's. Kiara thought it was pretty neat she was eating at a Russian McD's. It is interesting to order there because there is no English on the menu at all. We did find out this time that they have this big card thing they can pull out with a pictures and a bunch of different translations. So, you can point to what you want. Ryan wanted a double cheesburger, but it wasn't on the picture menu. So, he said cheesburger and put up 2 fingers, so we thought for sure he would get 2 cheesburgers, but he actually ended up with 2 double cheesburgers. Kiara also tried a strawberry sundae and I tried a chocolate shake. It was all pretty good. The shake in America is a bit better, but I wasn't complaining! We also stopped at the grocery store on our way home.

On our walk home, the little side street that our apartment is off of was completely backed up with traffic because of an accident at the beginning of the street. The traffic usually flows pretty good, so it was crazy to see how one little fender bender can competely lock everything up! I should have taken a picture.

When we got home, Ryan needed to work for 4 hours, so Kiara and I did a craft. We made our Christmas tree for our apartment! You can't be competely without a Christmas tree on Christmas. Here is our hard work!

Then, Kiara had a bath and Ryan is now putting her to bed, but I have a feeling he will be there for awhile! Oops, guess I was wrong! I am hoping to catch the Survivor finale on my Slingbox that aired last night!

Day 2 of the 10 day wait...

2008-12-14T12:11:00.007-06:00

So, we again didn't have a good night's sleep! I think Ryan and I would have ended up having a normal night of sleep because when Kiara came in our room at 2 AM, I think we were both deep asleep. But, the little one was wide awake at 2 AM. Ryan and her tried to lay down and go back to sleep, but they couldn't. So, they were up from 2 AM on and I got up at 4 AM. The nice thing was that we got to talk to my sister, Bobby, Kyndall and Megan on the webcam. We all went back to bed at 6 AM. Ryan had set the alarm for 9 AM, but either it didn't go off or it stopped beeping before we heard it. (Seriously, I don't know why you would make an alarm to stop beeping before someone stops it!) Anyway, we didn't wake up until 12:20 PM, basically when we were suppose to get to the orphanage to see Vera! Luckily, we called V and we were able to go later in the day. This jet lag stuff really stinks! I thought we would be adjusted by now. I wish I would have brought some Melatonin. So, I am sure Kiara won't be able to go to sleep much before midnight tonight and I am setting the alarm on my watch tonight, too!

We had all basically had breakfast when we were up before 6 AM, so when we got up we ate leftovers for lunch and got ready to take our first trip on the Metro without any help. It was nice because today is Sunday and there are a lot less people on the Metro. Ryan did great! We got there without any problems.

When you get to the orphanage you first have to talk to the security guard. He doesn't know ANY English and we know VERY little Russian. We basically said Vera's name and he knew who we were talking about. I could tell he was telling us to go around and go in and put the little blue booties on our shoes and then he was pointing like he would go back in his little shack. We had thought that he would escort us in. But, I think now he was saying that he would call and tell them we were coming in. We go in, put the booties on and stand in the hall until we see someone. She gives us an inquisitive look, Ryan says Vera and basically puts his hand to the height she is, the lady says oh, Vera (in the more Russian way) and leaves. We wait for a little bit and wonder if we had communicated what we thought, but eventually a caregiver brings her in. They must always put extra clothes on her or change her clothes before they bring her down because it always takes a bit.

We were in the beautiful orange room again, so my pictures and video will all have an orange glow! Vera just keeps getting more and more fun to be around. She is definitely comfortable with us and it doesn't take her any time to remember who we are. They had her in her Tinkerbell sweatshirt again, and Kiara wore her Tinkerbell shirt just in case. Kiara brought a board book about animals to read to her, which was adorable and there is a video below of it. Vera really liked the book. I think she liked the animals and she liked to gnaw on the book. Which, she started gnawing off the paper so Ryan tried to take it from her. Wow! She didn't like that! I wish we had a video of that. But, we distracted her and hid the book. I love this about this age that you can redirect them so easily.

She was very comfortable with all of us. She sat on all our laps and seemed quite content. She loves the stacking cups that we have always had with us. She is now banging them together and trying to put one inside the other. She was a bit more vocal tonight. Sometimes, she will try to repeat a sound you make.

We try to just let Vera go a little to see what she will do. Today we got to see her pull herself up. She can get around on her own, I just don't think she showed us a lot of that in the beginning. We have seen her crawl and cruise a lot more, too.

When we got back from the orphanage, we made some dinner and called the grandparents. I attempted my first load of laundry. I think it turned out okay except that I must have missed a kleenex in someone's pocket! You can't do over 4 pounds at a time, so I think I will be doing at least a load a day for awhile. Here is the glorious machine I get to use and my beautiful model!

Day 1 of the 10 day wait

2008-12-13T08:07:00.010-06:00

First, I want to say thank you for all the comments and following along on our journey. It makes me feel closer to home than I really am!

Last night none of us got to sleep before midnight. Ryan was up first around 5:45 AM then Kiara at 7:45 AM and I slept in until 8:30 AM. Needless to say, Ryan is pretty tired right now! I think he will be checking in early tonight.

V met us outside our apartment today at 11:15 AM to take us to the orphanage for a visit with Vera. Ryan really didn't like all the walking we had done 2 days ago, so he figured out a route where we walk half as much. We do have to make 2 transfers, but V helped us figure out the system today and I think Ryan has it down. We will see tomorrow when we do it ourselves! Kiara loves riding the Metro, that is definitely a plus versus being driven to the orphanage. It isn't as boring for her.

When we got to the orphanage, the orange room was locked and it turns out there was a dignitary from Cyrus in there who is adopting a child from Vera's group. So, we were taken to the medical room, or V called it the therapy room, for our visit. Vera was still eating lunch, so we waited a bit to see her. A caretaker brought her in and she had a Tinkerbell sweatshirt on and looked adorable. Kiara thought it was pretty cool that she was wearing Tinkerbell! Early afternoon is definitely a good time of day for Vera. She was pretty smiley and she looked pretty comfy sitting her daddy's arms.

These 2 pictures are of the room we were in today.

It was probably our best visit with her. I think she enjoys the attention. She has started to make a few more sounds and show us more of her personality. When our visit was over, we got to take her back to her room. We even got to step right inside the door. She got really happy when she saw the caretaker who took her from me, so it is good to know that she has attached to at least one of them. There is a decent size open room where the kids play. There was a table where it looks like they feed 2 of the children at a time. One little boy was sitting in there and there were 2 kids in this soft fenced in area playing. There was at least one other child in there, too. To the left they said is where they sleep and I could kind of see cribs through the glass. I got the impression on the other side of the room there is a room where they bathe them.

It is harder and harder to leave Vera there everyday. I just want to take her with us. V talked about the plan for us picking her up a week from Tuesday, December 23rd, so I am not counting on getting her early. :( A week from Tuesday seems so long from now! Hopefully, it will go by quick.

The next 2 are videos. Click on the arrow to play.

Vera's dancing

Playing with Vera

When we got back to the area where our apartment is, we went to Sbarro for dinner. It was pretty good. Ryan thought it was the best meal he has had since we got here. Then, we went to the grocery store that we went to on our last trip so that Ryan could get some Mountain Dew. The grocery store that we have gone to that is closer to our apartment doesn't have it. So, now we are back at the apartment relaxing and getting ready for our next hike to the orphanage.

Some posing on our way home from the grocery store!

Day of Court...

2008-12-12T14:19:00.006-06:00

We had some issues sleeping last night. Kiara was exhausted by all of the walking and we had her to bed before 8 PM! Ryan and I didn't go to bed until after 11 PM. Well, Kiara woke up at 3 AM and was wide awake, so Ryan and I took turns setting her up with shows to watch or something to do until 7 AM. We all then fell back asleep and the next thing I know, Ryan is waking me up and saying it is 1 PM! We were getting picked up at 2:30 PM, so we had an hour and a half to get ready. I never dreamed we would sleep that long. I was glad we did, though, because I didn't sleep much from 4 AM to 7 AM and I was worried about being exhausted for court. Hopefully, tonight goes better. We all put on our Sunday best for court. Kiara looked adorable in her dress.

M picked us up and we went to the orphanage to pick up the deputy orphanage director to take her to court with us. We then had a pretty short drive to the courthouse. The courthouse looks like a pretty modern building and is really nice. We left our camera with the security guard and checked our coats with the coat check and then went upstairs to wait for court to start. The deputy director is very nice. While we are waiting she looks at our pictures of Vera with Kiara and seems to really enjoy Kiara, even though she couldn't speak any English. We probably waited 45 minutes after court was suppose to start before we went in.

Kiara had told us that she wanted to stay in the hallway with M while we were in court, which was only suppose to take 15-20 minutes. Well, when it was time, she wanted us to stay with her and she didn't want to go into court! She had been an angel all day and the most important time I need her to behave she starts to have a meltdown! Well, she goes into court with us in tears. She does pretty well, but a couple of times she asks me if she can color!

The court room looks like a pretty typical American court room, or at least what I picture one to look like. I am not sure if I have ever been in one! It is a small court room with the judge's stand at the front of the room. To the judge's left sat a lady at a big desk that I think was her secretary. To the judge's right sat the prosocuter and she faced the middle of the room. The back of the room behind a railing is where we sat with our translater and on the other side of the aisle the deputy director and social worker sat.

The judge starts by telling us our rights. Ryan is elected to be the main speaker for us. She probably asked him 10 - 15 questions. What is your name, occupation, when were you married, describe your home, do you have children, have you met Vera, do you like her, have you seen her medical, does your family know and support your adoption, who will stay home with the child, why did you decide to adopt, etc. Ryan did a great job. Then, it was my turn. I think she just asked me my name, have I met Vera, do I like her, have I seen her medical and do I work. Then, the deputy director goes up and gives her report. Which, she mentions something about Vera having been diagnosed with a small throat, but it was later taken off her medical reports!? Never hear that before! But, she says that she supports the adoption. Then, the social worker gives a short report and says that she supports the adoption. Each time the prosecuter is given a chance to ask questions, but never has a question. Then, the prosecutor gives a short report and says that she supports the adoption. The judge then leaves the court room to make her decision. Less than 5 minutes later she returns and reads her report. It is amazing how our translator can keep up with her! I don't know in where she actually said what her decision was, but when she said that Vera is now offically Vera Marie Wolland, I assumed she decided in favor of the adoption! I wasn't real nervous for court, but it felt great to have it done!
Here we are in front of the courthouse after court. Guess we should have taken a picture before court! It gets dark here around 4 PM!

After court, M drove us to the orphange and by this time it took quite a bit longer to get to the orphanage. We had about 45 minutes with Vera today in the orange room. At least Vera matched the room today! When they gave her to me she gave me a little smile, so I think she recognizes us and must like me at least a little bit! She didn't take to Ryan as well as she did yesterday, but I am sure she was tired, too. Kiara and her played their knock the cups out of my hand game. Then, we had to give her back again! Kiara and I went to the restroom while M took Vera back to her room. Kiara was upset again about having to leave Vera there. It has to be so confusing to her as to why Vera is her sister but she doesn't come with us.

Then, M drove us back to the apartment which took about an hour. Ryan and Kiara each took a little nap on the way home. That might be part of why Kiara hasn't fallen asleep yet at midnight, that and sleeping until 1 PM! I hope tomorrow isn't a miserable day getting to and from the orphanage!

We made it through court!!!!

2008-12-12T10:48:00.002-06:00

Well, we survived! Vera is now offically Vera Marie Wolland. I will write more later and put some pictures up of our visit with Vera today. Right now I have to find something to eat!

Together at last...

2008-12-11T11:04:00.004-06:00

Today the plan was for all of us to sleep until 9 AM to catch up on the sleep we lost on the trip over. But, we were all 3 basically up at 5:30 AM and couldn't go back to sleep! That at least gave us time to get mostly unpacked and setteled into our apartment. Kiara gets to sleep on a magic bed! ;) It is basically the couch that turns into a bed and it turns out it is more comfortable than our bed. I told her about her magic bed when we were back home and she has really liked it so I am glad she likes it and will sleep there alone.

The "Magic" bed

Our "comfy" bed

V came and got us at 11 AM. He lost his license so we traveled by foot and metro to get to the orphanage. It was quite a hike. Kiara did amazingly well and she loved the "trains". We got to the orphanage and we got to go to the play room instead of the orange room we were always in on our last trip. While we were waiting for Vera to eat her lunch, V told us that we aren't going to be able to keep Vera during the 10 day wait. :( I was pretty surprised because at least the last 3 or 4 kids who have been adopted from this orphange are always granted the privelege of keeping their children during the wait. Plus, one family from my agency was just granted this privelege on December 1st! I guess either the normal director is on vacation or no longer there, so the lady in charge now won't let us keep her. If something were to happen to Vera during this time, then it would fall on the orphanage. I can understand, but am disappointed. I think Kiara was most disappointed of us all.

One of the caretakers brought Vera in and wanted to show us that she could walk with the lady holding her hands. Well, Vera either didn't want to or can't, because she wasn't going to do it. She cried just a bit as I held her for the first time. I think things were coming back to her slowly. Kiara was a brand new face, so I think that confused her. But, we had the stacking cups that we played with her with on the first trip and I think that helped her make the connection. Kiara is so good with her. She will let Vera basically wack her in the face and she speaks to her so sweetly. It was so great to see my girls together for the first time.
Vera was a lot more smiley and interactive during this visit. I don't know if it is because she remembered us or if she just felt better since she hadn't just been through the whole hospital ordeal. Although, I felt she seemed more sick today than when we visited her in the hospital. She was congested and might have had a slight temperature. So, pray they don't put her back in the hospital because she has a cold. I would hate for her to have to go through that again and who knows what that would do to our process! I don't even want to think about it!
We only got to see her a little over an hour because V needed to get back to get some of our paperwork translated. It was hard to leave her, almost harder than when we left her for the last time on our first trip. I can't wait until she is with us for good. So, since she won't be with us during the 10 day wait, we can still go and visit her. I am not sure if we can do it everyday, I am not sure about the weekends. It takes us about an hour to get there with at least 30 minutes of it walking. So, we will be making the trek on a nearly daily basis, I guess I won't have to worry about exercising. No wonder everyone is skinny here! We have court tomorrow. I don't expect any hurdles, but you never know in this process. So, pray that everything goes smoothly. We will get picked up around 2:30 PM tomorrow and probably go to the orphanage to pick up either the director or doctor that needs to go to court with us. After court we will go back to the orphanage and we will get to see Vera. We might be taking her to get her passport picture tomorrow if there is time. But, since we don't have court until 4 PM and I have never heard of court starting on time, I doubt we will have time. Also, pray for a miracle that they would waive the 10 day wait, but I have never heard of that happening, either. So, it looks like we will be getting the best Christmas present. I think we will be able to keep Vera either on the 22nd or 23rd, just before Christmas.

Once we got back to the area where our apartment it, we went to each a late lunch/early dinner at The Hard Rock Cafe on Old Arbat. Poor Ryan got a BBQ sandwich that he couldn't stand the smell of, so basically had fries for dinner. It is something with the way they prepare their beef that he can't stand, so he says he will be sticking with chicken. After eating, we got some roubles and then made our a stop at the grocery store. We basically needed more water, soda and kleenex. We had already made one trip to the store yesterday. We also brought a whole suitcase full of food with us that I am already very thankful for. During our walk home, Kiara basically had a melt down, but I don't blame her. It has been a HUGE few days for a 5 year old and she has done so well. She was basically crying that we weren't going to have Vera with us starting tomorrow and about some other nonsense stuff! I am glad she misses her sister. So tonight we focused on getting Kiara ready for bed and had her asleep before 8 PM, she is exhausted. Ryan is getting a few hours of work in. I am kind of thankful that court isn't until later in the day so we can just hang out in the apartment for a good part of the day.

We probably won't get back to our apartment until late tomorrow night, so I am not sure if I will be able to update, but I will try to at least let you know if we passed court. But, I probably won't be able to post anything until after noon Central time. Thanks for all your comments, prayers, and following along!

And for anyone wondering, the outfit she was wearing today as a 12-18 month size. It was loose on her because she is so skinny, but didn't have a lot of extra room for the length.

Here are my 2 girls...

2008-12-11T09:52:00.003-06:00

Here are some pics of our visit with Vera today. I need to put Kiara to bed and then hopefully I will be able to write up a post. We did get bad news today that we won't be able to keep Vera during the 10 day wait. :( We will get to visit her almost everyday, but we have to take a 30 minute walk and metro ride for about a total of an hour each way. She is worth it, though. More later...

Safe & sound in Russia...

2008-12-10T11:43:00.003-06:00

We made it to Moscow. Our flight only took off a little late because our plane had to be deiced. I didn't get ANY sleep on the plane, so I am exhausted. Kiara & Ryan got about 3 hours of sleep. We are going to get ready for bed now. We get to go see Vera tomorrow!! We leave here around 11 AM our time. Kiara is excited to meet her sister! I will write more later.

Chicago

2008-12-08T22:21:00.002-06:00

So, Vera's plane ticket didn't come in the mail and the mail came later than it usually comes. We didn't get on the road until about 2:30 PM. It was nice, though, to not feel rushed when you are trying to finish packing for a 3 week trip. We made the trip up to our hotel without even one bathroom break. We got ourselves setteled in our room and then we made our way to the Old Chicago that is connected to our hotel. Then, Ryan and Kiara changed and went to the pool. Unfortunately, the pool isn't as good as we anticipated. The pool itself isn't heated at all, so it is cold. The hot tub is maybe 80 degrees. Kiara still had fun in the hot tub using it like the pool. Ryan was rather disappointed because he was looking forward to sitting in the hot tub. So, I am not sure if we will even use the pool tomorrow morning. That stinks because I was hoping to wear Kiara out using the pool so she would sleep on the plane. But, since it is 10:30 PM and all 3 of us are still up, she will still probably be plenty tired to sleep tomorrow night on the plane.

Weekend of packing...

2008-12-08T00:16:00.004-06:00

We are still waiting for Vera's ticket so we are waiting until the mail comes tomorrow to leave for Chicago. Hopefully it comes, but if not we have a back up plan. Kiara spent the weekend with her grandparents, which gave Ryan and I time to pack. So, we spent the bulk of the weekend packing and getting stuff done around the house. The house is in pretty good order, so I am thankful I don't have to come to messy house. I cleaned Vera's room today and I can't wait to see her in it!

I realized I haven't shared the best picture I have of Vera. So, here it is to hold you over until we can get some new pics of her.

Lots of good things in the mail.

2008-12-05T20:37:00.002-06:00

Today was a good mail day! FedEx brought our passports and visas. They didn't put Ryan's middle initial on the visa like it is on his passport, but they assure me that it should be fine. I would hate something like that to cause us problems.

Then, I got the pennant for my adoption necklace with Vera's name on it. The necklace I have from Junk Posse is a heart that has 'I choose you' stamped all over it. It comes with a round tag that hangs in front of it and you can put your child's name on it. When Ryan bought me the necklace we, of course, didn't know our child's name yet. So, when we got home he already emailed the lady and had 'Vera Marie' put on it and it is already here. I had to go out and make copies of our passports and visas, so I stopped in at a local jewelry store. 2 minutes and 2 dollars later, it was done! I love it! I tried to take a picture of it, but it didn't work out.

Now, in tomorrow's mail I am hoping to get Vera's plane ticket to come home. They had to issue her a paper ticket and it has yet to arrive yet. If it doesn't come, they say we can sign something that says we didn't receive it and they will issue us another one. I just hope it comes tomorrow. Also, tomorrow I should get a package from a friend who just got home from Russia. She is sending me her daughter's snowsuit to borrow for Vera and the traveling medicine kit. I can't wait for the mail to come...

Time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking...

2008-12-05T08:02:00.003-06:00

Time is going by quickly before we leave for Russia. Today is Kiara's last day of school before we go. She will spend the night at both of her grandparent's houses the next 2 nights, so we can get things packed. Then, Monday we leave for Chicago and Tuesday we leave for Russia! I have a good amount of packing done, but I am still nervous about it all fitting and not going over the weight limit. After I am done packing, I need to clean Vera's room.

I am getting nervous about how Vera will react to us. I just pray that things go as smoothly as possible especially with eating and sleeping. I am also worried about keeping Kiara entertained in the apartment for 20 days! I am sure it will all be fine, but it doesn't keep me from being nervous.

It is really neat to see Kiara getting more and more excited to go to Russia and meet her sister. I can't wait until my girls are able to meet!

It is a good day...even with a nasty cold!

2008-12-01T14:18:00.002-06:00

I have a nasty cold that just doesn't want to go away, but it is still a good day! Our 171 extension came in the mail today!!! Hip, Hip, Hooray!!! It took a few emails to USCIS, but it is here and one less thing to worry about. I attribute my cold to all the stress I was under last week!

Also, a family from my agency whose daughter is in the same orphanage and group as Vera had court today and everything went well. Plus, they get to keep their daughter during the 10 day wait!! Hip, Hip, Hooray!!! So, hopefully, that will also be the case for us.

7 days until we leave for Chicago...6 days until we leave for Russia...11 days until our court date!

Here is the plan...

2008-11-30T16:56:00.004-06:00

We have made our travel plans for our second trip to Russia. Ryan, Kiara, and I will be leaving to go to Chicago on Monday, December 8th. We will stay at a Park and Fly. On Tuesday, we don't fly out until 5:30 PM, so we are hoping to use the pool and wear out Kiara so she will sleep on the plane! We leave from Chicago on Tuesday, December 9th, and fly direct to Moscow. You have to love a direct flight. After 10 yours in the air, we get to Moscow on Wednesday around noon. We will then be driven to our apartment and settle in.

We don't have court until Friday, Decemer 12th. So, Thursday we can explore the area and make a trip to the grocery store before we have Vera with us.

Friday we have court, which I have heard isn't a big deal, but I am sure I will still be nervous! After court, there is a 10 day waiting period before we can finish all of the adoption paperwork. I think it is at court that we will find out if we get to keep Vera with us during the 10 day waiting period. Our 10 day wait should be up December 22nd, if I understand everything correctly, so we should have her with us for Christmas at the very least.

It will then take 4-5 business days to get Vera's passport, birth certificate, have her medical exam, and our appointment at the US Embassy. Our plan is to fly home on Tuesday, December 30th. Of course, the one time we couldn't get a direct flight is when we have 2 children with us, so we will have a layover in London!

The bad news is that at this point we aren't going to be able to make it to my sister's wedding! :( Who would have ever thought after a year and nine months in this process that our adoption would fall at the exact time as her wedding! So, pray for a miracle that they are able to process our paperwork at lightening speed and we are able to change our flights for a reasonable price!