Thursday, February 15, 2007

We are off to see Sam for the last time this trip. As I was getting dressed this morning I was thinking about what so many people had said and that was that we would get that warm fuzzy feeling and know that this was to be our child. I haven't felt that yet. But I think that's because we have only had three days with him and he has been so reserved that I am not sure how he really is.

Later when we got back to the hotel:

Well thankfully this day was the best out of all three days we spent with Sam. Today he was more interested in us and we again tickled his feet but this time he laughed and smiled. This made me feel so much better. He also was open to our hugs and kisses and hugged and kissed us back; cuddled and put his head on our shoulders. It was also a sad day for us because we had to say goodbye and it seemed he was now finally comfortable with us. We think he will be okay with us once he is not around his caregivers and he figures out that we are his parents not just two people who came to play with him, talk to him in a foreign language, give him hugs and kisses and Cheerios.

Once the caregiver came in to take him for lunch his attention towards us was broken and it was very difficult to say goodbye.

Sam "talking" to Mommy

Daddy, look what I can do!

Aren't I perfect?

"OK, I'm ready for a nap"

For all of our pictures from Trip #1 Day Three, Click Here

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

We spent a little more then 2 hours with Samuel today.

He was a little groggy when he was brought to us, and therefore he was a little cranky at first. He did seem to like to look at himself in the mirror (this may be a problem when he is a teenager). He also like a little tennis sized ball that we brought. It is Red and Blue with a Phillies logo on it. At first he just seemed to like to hold it and look at the colors, but then after sitting him on the floor on Rebecca’s lap, I would roll the ball toward him. He would then pick it up and throw it / bounce it to me.

We also played with the locking beads. Again, he seemed to figure out how they worked (both putting them together and taking them apart, but was unable to do this on his own. We think he just lacks the strength and dexterity to do it. We did try showing him a book, to see what he would do. After 2 or 3 pages, he went to turn the page to the end of the book, and when I reopened the book, he again closed it, as if to say he was not interested.

He did not seem to show much emotion (neither positive nor negative). He did not smile or laugh. He seems to be ticklish on his feet, but quickly moves them when you tickle him. It appears to us, this is a case of never experiencing the feeling and therefore not knowing what to do. He does stare a lot. We are not sure, and had heard stories on some Internet bulletin boards and from other adoptive parents of this, but it seemed like he as lightly sedated.

After about ½ hour of play, he got really tired, and fell asleep on my shoulder (not that I minded). He slept on me for about ½ hour, and then we removed his sweatshirt (he was a little sweaty), and he seemed to perk up a bit again. When he was sleeping with heard what sounded like a slight wheeze and he was snoring lightly. The room was quite warm and humid. We gave him some water in a small cup, without a lid. When he tried to drink it, he wore some of it, and poured some on me. However when we were assisting him, he did drink from the cup.

He definitely can imitate behaviors. He played Open / Close with the viewfinder of our camcorder. I would open it, and he would close the viewfinder. If I did not open it quickly, he would take my hand and move it to the spot to open it. (It locks so he could not open it himself.) When we were doing this, I would say “Open” and “Close”.

He made sounds like Da and Did and once said some thing like Ma when Rebecca was on the viewfinder, but we are not sure if he was saying MaMa or if he put the two images together in his mind, or if this was just babbling.

He does appear to be easily distracted by other children, hearing Russian words, and definitely the caregivers.

As he became more comfortable with us, he was willing to engage us more. He made very good eye contact and did not shy away when we gave him kisses. When he would be sitting on one of our laps, he would look up and back toward the parent he was sitting on. We did “bribe” him with Cheerios to walk across the room, and he did so with very even steps and extremely comfortably and confidently.

When we removed his sweatshirt, we were able to look at his entire upper body, and notice no rashes. He had a small bruise on his right arm where it bends, and what appeared to be a spot where he had some type of inoculation on his left upper arm. He does have a full head of hair (he needs a hair cut), and all of his fingers appear normal. We were not able to look at his feet, since he was wearing a pair of stocking type sock under his pants.

From what we could see, the caretakers are very good to the children, and he obviously recognizes them.

Moscow - Children's Home #20

"Mommy, dance with me"

"Daddy, stop taking pictures of me and let me play with the camera"

"He Mom, am I ready to sign a contract with the Phillies."

"OK, time for a short nap. Daddy's shoulder looks good."

For All of Our Pictures From Day #2, Click Here

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

2:40pm - we just returned from meeting our son at the baby home #20 in eastern Moscow City. As it was around lunchtime and his naptime we only got to see him for 20 minutes. He cried as they brought him up the stairs to where we we waiting, as he is unfamiliar with men, Josh handed him to me to comfort him. I walked with him and rocked him a bit then we sat down on our blanket and tried to engage him. We opened a container of Cheerios and he dove in, using both hands and loving them, it seemed he couldn't get enough of them. We think it was because he was hungry. But it was still fun to watch. At least we know its something he'll eat. He didn't seem too interested in the stuffed Eyore we had and was more interested in the snap lock beads and he tried to figure out how they worked but didn't have the strength to put them together on his own. Unfortunately it was at this time the caregiver came and took him for lunch so we didn't get the opportunity to play with him anymore.

Before we went to the baby home we went to the Ministry of Education (MOE) to officially get our referral. Although we had already seen the picture and some information officially this was just a child randomly chosen for us today (yea right). Our appointment was for 10am but we had to wait for the Official to arrive. It was snowing lightly and cold, we waited outside for a bit then inside and finally we went upstairs. We sat down in the hallway in chairs and waited for our name to be called. We were there with 2 other families from our agency. We went into the office and sat down at a table with our translator, the adoption agency consultant in Russia, the Official's secretary and the Official sat at his desk at the head of the table. The Official looked at each of our passport pictures and looked at us. We were given the referral and Josh checked the child's DOB and his eyes to make sure it was the same child as we had been given with the referral in the states. The document also had the child's full name and the mother's full name and country of origin. We were not asked any questions and in and out in 5 minutes.

The MOE building was unremarkable considering how intimidating we thought it would be. The guy behind the desk did not ask us any questions. It was weird. I imagined it to be a grand building instead it was just a four story glass non-descriptive building. I sure am glad that we don't have to drive around here, I would get lost!! All the signs are in Russian and we don't read Russian, I can identify a few letters but that's about it.

Daddy and Sam

Mommy and Sam

For All of Our Pictures From Day #1, Click Here

Monday, February 12, 2007

We landed in Frankfort, Germany around 6am (local time) and quickly crossed the airport, and connected for our flight to Moscow that left about 30 minutes late. The flight to Moscow was very crowded, but again non-eventful. We finally landed in Moscow around 1:30pm (local time), and surprisingly make it through immigration and customs without even being asked one question. When we went through customs, there are 2 lines: one if you have items to declare and another if you don't. Since we didn't have to declare anything, we went to the Nothing to Declare area, and made our way though the maze of walls and found ourselves walking out without ever even talking to a security person.

Vladimir met us on the other side, and we were in the car within 10 minutes. The weather, while cold (-23C / -9F), didn't feel to bad. It was quite warm on the flights, so a little cold air felt good. Also, there wasn't much wind, so the Real Feel temp, was about the same. Unlike back home, when it is -9 you usually have a wind-chill of -30.

After a long drive to the hotel, about 1 hour (mostly because of very bad traffic in Moscow), we took a nap (since neither of us could really sleep on the plane) and then had a light dinner. We got to bed around 9pm, but were up by around 3:30 since our body clocks are so far off. I think it is also because of our nerves and excitement for tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the big day, we finally get to see and feel him, and let him see and feel us. To say this is nerve wracking is to say the least. I guess I'll see if I can pick up a little more sleep, before the alarm goes off.

A few looks out our window at the Renaissance Inn, Moscow

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Well today was our first travel day. We were at Philly International Airport at around 1pm, and were even the first in line at security, so we had to wait for them to be set up before going through. No issues, and we even had a chance for a quick bite to eat, before boarding the plane. The flight was non eventful.

We can't believe this day has finally come. After waiting almost a year for this, we are in a little disbelief that we are finally here.