Saturday, March 31, 2007 - Gotcha Day!!!!

Well this was the big day we have been waiting so long for. . . Sam is now in his parents custody. Mommy and Daddy awoke a little earlier then usual today (after a night without a lot of sleep), and were alone in the dining room for breakfast by 7:30am. It was a little unusual for the dining room to be so empty (we had always seen at least a few other tables occupied), but it was early on a Saturday morning. We ate a quiet breakfast (with the wait staff hovering since there were no other patrons), and then met Vladamir at promptly 8:20am.

Our first stop this morning was to the Office of Vital Statistics. We went there to pick up the official court order for the adoption and Sam's new Birth Certificate, listing us as his parents. The office opens at 9am, but we were there about 15 minutes early. After a short wait, and a wave to some of the people Vladamir knew, we were in at 8:55am (the first in line). We gave them some papers (don't ask us what) and showed them our passports, and then the woman went to the back room to dig out the files. After about 20 minutes, Vladamir told us that we were going to go with him to the local store, and pick-up some "gifts" for the clerks, so that everything will be "OK" with the papers. We went and got a box of Chocolates and a box of Tea, and went back to the office. After a couple minutes we went to the back room and signed some papers and were given the documents, while we left our bag of "gifts" on the table.

We then went to the Baby Home (for our last time) and went to get Sam. When we got there we met the Social Worker for the home (which we left 1500 rubles ($60) on her desk) and got the rest of the document signed. While Mommy dressed Sam (we got him in only a diaper), Daddy and the Social Worker went with Vladamir to the local bank. It seems that the government creates an account for every orphan. It is a simple passbook savings account and the government deposits money into it every month, along with quarterly interest. Technically that money belongs to the child (now us as his parents). We "donate" that money to the orphanage as a "Thank You" for caring for him. It was not a great deal of money by US standards ($550), but it is of great help to the orphanages, which do not get a great deal of money from the government.

While Daddy did this, Mommy dressed Sam and then the went out to the "playground" and ran around while waiting for Daddy to come back. When Daddy returned, we all piled in the car (Sam on Daddy's lap), and drove back to the hotel. Sam was looking all over the place, since all the sights were so new to him. He played a little nose / noise game, and put the teething ring into his mouth, then into Daddy's mouth, Mommy's mouth, and back to his mouth. After about 20 minutes driving, Sam fell sound asleep on Daddy's shoulder.

Sam woke up as we shifted him, when we got to the hotel. His eyes were wide open with wonder of seeing all the sights. As we went up the elevator, he kept staring at himself in the mirror. Finally when we got to the room, and removed all his layers (he was quite warm), Sam started to explore the surroundings. The biggest amusement for him was the drawer to the end table. He kept opening and closing it. Next is was time for lunch. . . we were not sure what he would be willing to eat, but anything we fed him was fine with him. He sat on Mommy's lap and ate the Chicken with Stars Pasta and some peas. He had his mouth wide open as soon as he saw the spoon. He was SO hungry. That plus a piece of bread along with some water (again from the cup without a lid) and some Kefer (a milk substitute) seemed to be a welcome mix for him.

After that is was nap time. He did not seem to enjoy being put in the crib, but after about 20 minutes he calmed down and started to snore. We were just enjoying watching the sleeping baby. He is still sleeping (hopefully for another hour) and then we will wake him up and get ready for dinner. We are going to keep it easy for the next few days. Our next "big" day for Sam will be Wednesday, when we get him his "physical" for the US Embassy. We then go to the Embassy to do all the US paperwork on Thursday or Friday and should be on a plane on Wednesday.

Here are some pictures of his first meal with us.

Friday, March 30, 2007

Well today is our last visit to the Baby Home, tomorrow is the big day when we simply go there to pick Sam up. Again we arrived at around 9:15am. Sam was very sociable and playful with us for the first hour or so. He even came out of his room and did not even cry or turn away, simply going right into Daddy's arms. This was a first.

We played the nose / noice game, and "read" his Alphabet book, with him saying a few of the words. He now actually thinks a Dog is a Woof. When he points to the picture of the Dog, he simply says "Woof".

Around 10:30, Sam became very cranky again, and even started to have temper tantrums on the floor. We gave him some water to help cool him down (he gets a little overheated when he throws a tantrum). We think he may still need a short (30 - 45 minute) morning nap. One other possibility, that we did not think of at the time, was that he was indicating that he had to go potty. When we took him to his room at 11:15am, the caretaker took him right to the potty room. Perhaps that was what he was trying to "say" to us.

We are still a little frustrated with the fact that his caregivers are the ones that make the decisions of what to do and when, and even though he is legally our son, we can not control any of his activities. Once again today we were "scolded" by one of the caregivers for feeding him, since they want him to eat the lunch that he is served, not our food. The language barrier is also difficult, since whenever he hears Russian, he stops listening and communicating with us. English is still very foriegn to him.

When we left the Baby Home we once again drove into a ton of traffic. This delay may throw a wrench into our plans for the day, since we were hoping to go to the Kremlin and Armory to be tourists, but we may just have to buy postcards instead, since we still have to go to the supermarket to get food for Sam to eat tomorrow, and we have to "baby proof" the hotel room a little more (if you can "baby proof" a Hotel room).

We did not take to many pictures today, between his mood, our simple desire to hold and tickle him, and his wanting to play with the camera vs. be in front of it, so you will have to wait another day for more pictures.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Sam was definitely a little cranky today, and did not seem to want to do much of anything with us, short of eat the snacks (Cheerios and Graduate Puffs) and drink water. For about 20 minutes he was rather calm and would look at the Alphabet book with us and said his few words, but then he began to get very assertive and did not want to play with any of our toys, or even be held in our arms for more then 30 seconds, before trying to wiggle out. Another first for us to see, was a small temper tantrum when we would not let him go down the stairs, he simply laid down on the floor and would not do or listen to anything.

He was much more aggressive then he had been. He was beating up on Daddy a little, and hit Daddy on the head with the cell phone, and pushed his sippy cup into Daddy's throat. We tried to "discipline" him with a brief timeout, but with all the distractions at the home, and our limits to where we can go, it did not work really well. Also, we think he does not understand that his actions are hurting someone, and we know we will have to teach him when we get home.

The weather in Moscow was quite warm today, almost uncomfortably for the clothing we have brought with us. It was over 60 degrees today, and the Russians still are running their heaters inside the buildings, such as stores and the Baby Home. Sam was quite warm, since they are still dressing the children for winter, with a Onesie, long sleeve shirt, leggings, and a pair of pants.

On our way back from the Baby Home to the hotel, we got caught in the worst traffic jam we have seen so far. It took almost 40 minutes to go what should have taken about 10 minutes back to the main road. This was also jammed, so Max made a U-Turn and made hs way across town using side streets. The side trip did take us by a neighborhood that seemed a little nicer then the ones we had been driving through. It has many high rises, with a big park in the middle. One other thing that you see all over Moscow are Kiosks that each sell something different: Flowers, Hot Dogs, Soda, Cigarettes, Fruits / Vegetables, etc. It is interesting to us, that in such a cold weather climate (this winter was an exception), there is so much outdoor shopping. The funny thing is that they have many pedestrian under-crosses (you walk under the main streets) and these are also lined with the same kiosks, plus some selling items you would never see a street vendor selling in the States (i.e. Lingerie, DVDs, and even Supermarkets)

When we got back to the hotel, we got them to change our room. When we checked in there were no "Non-Smoking" floor rooms available, but I guess there was now. Both of us were having difficulty breathing, so we were able to move up one floor and get another room. Russia definately has not seen the health care push to restrict smoking. They smoke everywhere, and chain smoke at that.

Here are today's pictures. . .

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Once again our day began with an early breakfast, followed by Max picking us up promptly at 8:40am for the drive to the Baby Home. It takes about 30 minutes to drive out there. Our hotel is in the center part of Moscow (about 1 mile NW of the Kremlin, which is the center of the city), while the Baby Home is in the South East corner. Traffic is pretty heavy in the morning, until we get out of the center of town, when it opens up leaving town (you should see it going the other way). Much like Philadelphia, most of the streets in Moscow go one way, and as anyone who has driven through Philly can tell you, all the streets go One Way the wrong way from where you want to go. Once we arrive at the Baby Home, officially we have to sign in with the security guard there. This is selectively enforced, and with some of the guards we are now known, and we pass with a simple wave.

As has happened the last few days, we arrived before Sam was ready. We really don't know what they are doing with him, but we have had to wait about 5 minutes each day for him to be lead out of his room. One thing that has happened, which has Sam a little confused is that the Baby Home is now "renovating" the room that he was living in. He now has been moved upstairs to a different room, along with a shuffle of the caregivers. I think several of the kids are a little confused, since they don't know where they belong. One other thing, while some of the clothing he has been wearing was perhaps a little borderline whether it was boys or girls clothes, today's outfit was definitely girls clothing: a bright pink outfit. Well in a few days, we will be clothing him, so I don't think he will be wearing anything like again.

We brought a different book today. It was about airplanes and the airport. It seemed to be a little advanced for him and he got bored with it very quickly. He again was drawn to the Alphabet book we have been using for the last week. Sam is definitely learning some of the words. He would first grab the book and say "Bu" or sometimes "Book", and he would point to the picture of the dog, and mimic our "Woof". He also enjoyed sitting on Daddy's lap and pointing to the frog. Daddy would say "Gribbit" and bounce Sam on his lap. This would get a good laugh or giggle, then he would point to the frog again, and look to be bounced. Eventually he would bounce himself if Daddy did not do it fast enough.

Sam seemed very thirsty over the last few days, however he refuses to drink from the sippy cup if it has the lid on it. We think he has not figured out that he has to suck on the mouth piece, and therefore has not been getting water out if it if we have the top on. When we remove the top, he drinks the water like a typical glass / cup, but does not pause to swallow what he has in his mouth. What we have taken to doing is only partially filling the cup with a little water, so he does not choke, and refilling it after he finishes the little bit. We have some other cups, but we are going to wait until next week, when he is with us exclusively to try these out.

We got a little more "physical" with Sam today, doing even more tickling, cuddling, and kissing. Daddy also played "airplane" with Sam, flying him around the room and landing him on Mommy's lap. We also "dipped" him between our legs as we were sitting on the sofa, until he was almost upside down, and then picking him up again. Finally Daddy played "baby elevator", with him. Sam would be sitting on Daddy's hands and Daddy would pick him up and lower him straight down (like an elevator). He seemed to enjoy all of these and would smile and giggle as we did them. (For much of this, you will have to wait for the video).

Sam has figured out what the diaper bag is being used for. We "stock" it everyday with his toys and food and water. He now reaches for the bag, and if the top is open, he will reach in and grab the toys or food he wants. His favorite food is the Cheerios. They come in a small 1 oz. container, that we refill everyday. He can not open the containers lid, but he will hand it to one of us, to open and pour out some into one of our hands or a smaller container / cup we have been using to serve them. He also today figured out that it makes a nice noise maker / rattle when shaking it, so that has become a toy too.

Around 11am, a Russian woman came to our "play area" and got her 2 1/2 year old daughter (or daughter-to-be - we aren't sure). The interesting thing to us was that Sam became more vocal and engaged with us, while the other girl was in the room. We think that part of the issue is that he is not used to being in a room without any other children. Obviously this is something he will get used to, but it was interesting to see.

The other game we continue to play with him is pressing his nose and making different farm animal sounds. He will also press our noses and we make sounds then too. Each time he touches our nose we change the sounds, so he keeps pressing not sure what sound he will hear. Sometimes he gets a little rough, but we think he just doesn't know what his own strength is, so we just try to gently back him away. He also likes grabbing our glasses, and it has become a game with Daddy. Whenever he reaches for Daddy's glasses, Daddy tickles him under his arm. Occasionally he will get the glasses, but he does it carefully so as not to raise his arm where Daddy can reach to tickle.

We also was given his passport and visa pictures today. He has such a serious face on the pictures, but considering how long it took to get one where he was looking at the camera, it was not to bad. It is good to get them, since to us this is one more sign we are getting closer to coming home.

A funny thing we have been seeing all week is the repainting of the curbs, fences, and manhole covers around Moscow. Work crews have been painting all of these with a very smelly epoxy type paint. They do this every Spring, after the harsh Winter takes it's toll. The very funny thing was when we were walking around Red Square a couple days ago, they were doing the Manhole covers. They did not put any cones around the ones that were freshly painted, so if you were not careful, you could easily step on the wet paint.

Pictures are right here.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Sorry for the delay. . . After going to the Baby Home, we had to go to Lufthansa's Offices to get Sam his ticket for home, and as with everything we had to do with the airlines, this took longer then expected. We may still have to return there to change our flight dates, but this first requires a call to US Airways back in the US, and I have to wait for East Coast business hours for that, so that will be tonight Moscow time.

(8:20 pm - Moscow: Side note . . . well unfortunately US Airways is acting just like it did when we had to book the flights and make changes. . . that is difficultly. They say that since we have paper tickets (which they require for frequent flyer tickets internationally), we can't change the dates once we began the trip. So it looks like we will have a few extra days in Moscow, doing some sightseeing with Sam.)

Now for what you are all tuning in for. . . more about Sam. . .

Sam was fun for the first hour. He played with Mommy and the teething ring (see pictures) and we got a few giggles and smiles out of him. He played with the stacking cups and looked through the book. He tried to make sounds and imitate us as we went through the book. Daddy flew him through the air like a plane a couple of times. He gave hugs to Daddy and at one point he even said a "Da-Da". He fed us both some of his Cheerios which we think is a sign of trust.

When 10:30am rolled around he started to get restless, cranky and squirmy. He didn't want to sit on our laps any more, he kept going towards the stairs and so we ended our visit early today. He goes hot and cold with us. We are wondering if he is getting bored with toys we have brought. Yesterday and today he shook his head no a lot more and was into throwing the toys on the floor. This was something we hadn't seen before yesterday.

We are going shopping and for a nice walk in the wonderful Moscow weather. Actually we can not complain about the weather to much. It has been mostly sunny with temperatures in the low to mid 50's everyday. Hopefully this can continue for another week or so.

Here are today's pics

Monday, March 26, 2007

Once again Max picked us up at 8:40am (promptly) for our ride to the Baby Home. Mommy went to get Sam, who shook his head "No", as if he didn't want to go with Mommy. She took him in her arms and went up stairs where his brief protest ended.

We mostly played with the pop-beads and stacking cups (which he was able to organize with Daddy's help), and of course Sam enjoyed his Cheerios and sippy cup of water. Around 11am, Sam began to get a little restless and started to throw the toys we had brought to the side, saying he didn't want to play with them anymore. This was a first for him. He also didn't want to simply sit in our laps today. He wanted to be held in our arms as we were walking. When Daddy sat down with Sam on his shoulder, Sam quickly started to wiggle his way down and walk away, until one of us picked him up again.

Teething is definitely an issue. Everything is going into his mouth. We think he has molars growing in so he is trying to put things on those areas. We bought a couple teething rings today (on our way back to the hotel), so we will use them tomorrow to help him.

Everyday is SO different. We had thought he would be progressing more in the comfort zone with us. The only difference is the shortness of the "crying" when we go and get him. Hopefully this will progress quicker once we have custody, and he begins to rely on us for everything, not just a couple hours of amusement.

We did spend a lot of time looking through the book today. Sam would point to a picture and we would say what it was. When he pointed to the dog, we would say "Dog" and "Woof". A couple time he would quietly say "Woof" too. We did "celebrate" this with him, but I don't think he understands yet.

Again, he seemed quiet and sleepy, but he didn't fall asleep for his 10am snooze.

Click Here for Today's Pictures

Sunday, March 25, 2007

We first want to say "Mazal Tov" to Michael and Julie. We will be missing their wedding, but we will be thinking of them today, and can't wait for them to meet Sam.

We could not go to the Baby Home today to see Sam, so we got some needed sleep and slept in today. After a quick Brunch, and a little straightening up our room, we are going to head out on the town for a little "walk-about" through the neighborhood.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

We arrived at the baby home this morning around 9:15am. The guard said visitor were not allowed until 10am. Max explained that we had permission; the guard had to check then we were on our way. Josh went into Sam's room to get him and found him sitting on chair by the door with the caregiver trying to tell him in Russian that his mommy and daddy were here. He had this look of "whatever" on his face, so Josh came upstairs to get the baseball and a biter biscuit. Eventually Josh was able to coax him and carried him upstairs where I was. He was really quiet today, but he fed his Cheerios to Josh and I which we felt was a good sense of trust from Sam. He didn't really want to play much today. We tried the car (which yesterday was more interesting to him) and encouraged him to push it but he didn't seem to interested. Sam simply wanted to sit on Daddy's lap or lay his head on Daddy's shoulder. We played with the pop beads for a couple of minutes.

He was pointing to what he wanted more today and pushing our hands away from things he didn't want. We gave him Cheerios and when we didn't want him to have any more we closed the container. Then he picked it up and gave it to Daddy as if to say "you open it". Then when we tried to get him to drink some water he pushed it away as if to say"I don't want it now."
He was also pointing to toys he wanted or didn't want.

Mommy's Moscow Pictures

Mommy took many pictures of me and Daddy playing and resting together, she also took many pictures of the apartment buildings and industries on the M5 and in the neighborhoods around Baby Home #20. We also posted pictures of our walking tours around Moscow. Mommy & Daddy also took video today, but you'll have to wait until we get home before you will be able to see this.

Mommy's Moscow Pictures

I thought maybe you would like some Russian history. There is something called the Seven Sisters - these are seven Stalinist skyscrapers in Moscow, Russia. They were built between 1947-1953 in an elaborate style combining elements of Russian Baroque and Gothlic styles and the early twentieth century technology of American skyscrapers. Similar buildings were built in Warsaw, Chelyabinsk, Kiev and Riga. To see the pictures of these amazing buildings and read more about them go to this website (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sisters_(Moscow)). I hope you find them as interesting as I do.

Who was Lenin?

Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov) was a Russian revolutionary, a communist politician, the main leader of the October Revolution, the first head of the Soviet Union, and the primary theorist of Leninism, a variant of Marxism.

Who was Stalin?

Joseph Stalin (Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili) was the General Secretary/First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist party of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1953.

Friday, March 23, 2007

We arrived at the Baby Home a little after 9:30am. We had to wait about 5 minutes, and then they brought Sam to us. He did his usual 2 minutes of crying, until we gave him a biter biscuit, which he quickly crunched away from, and calmed down.

He was very quiet today, neither smiling or verbalizing.

After about 20 minutes with us, Max came and told us that they needed to take the kids out to get their passport pictures. We put on the additional layers (another pair of pants and shirt, along with a snow suit, hats, and boots). He did not like to be all wrapped up, and we couldn't blame him. While it wasn't 50 degrees out, it was at least in the upper 30's to low 40's and he probably didn't need all the layers. Daddy went in the car with Sam, and 2 other children, with another woman from the agency, and a driver, while Mommy waited at the Baby Home. The kids were all very quiet in the car, but none of them seemed to happy to have the layers on or be put on a chair all alone and have the pictures taken. Eventually they all gave an acceptable pose, and were all layered back up and brought back to the Baby Home.

We played with a car today, and simply pushed it back and forth between Sam and Mommy. Eventually he figured out how the car worked and was pushing it too. It seemed that his favorite activity (after eating) was playing with one of the pop-up books. He like the pictures of the animals, particularly the Giraffe. He also was very curious about how the books works. It seems that this is the case with everything he plays with. He doesn't really start to play with something, until he has figured out how it works. (I think we have another engineer here.) We tried to get him to speak today. He did quietly say "Ba" as he pointed to a book Daddy was holding. We kept at it, by saying "Book, very good" and then playing with the book for a little bit.

He also had some Apple Juice (cut with some water) in a sippy cup (w/o the valve). He has finally figured out that he has to lean his head back while drinking, but he also continues to lick the cup on the sides, like he can drink the Juice that way. If nothing else, it makes us laugh.

We have taken to calling him Sam, exclusively now. While the caregivers still refer to him by his Russian name, he does respond when we call him too. Daddy played Pick-A-Boo with him again today, and he did seem a little perplexed by it, but still smiled and pushed Daddy's hands away from his eyes, so he could see us.

We left the Baby Home around 11:30am. It seems that everyone decided to go out in their cars this afternoon on the M5 (a small highway - similar to Rt. 1 through Philly or Princeton), as there was plenty of traffic. As you get closer the the center of Moscow, the apartment building have storefronts on the 1st level.

On the M5, we pass both a Renault Factory and a Ford Factory. It seems that many of the cars driven here, are also built here in Russia. There is also a Mercedes and VW dealerships on the M5 that we drive by daily.

An interesting thing (at least for us Americans), is that the homes and building in Moscow, don't have individual hot water heaters. There is a Hot Water Plant with its very large Cooling Towers (looks like Nuclear Power plant towers, but we were told "NO!" when we asked). They then pipe hot and cold water separately to every home and building.

We have been very lucky with the weather here. While it was a little cooler today, then it has been, the sky has been blue with plenty of sunshine everyday we have been here (on this trip). There is a lot of haze, but that is mostly pollution. It could be worse; we could be getting snow.

Capitalism has definitely taken root in Moscow. McDonald's is plentiful in downtown Moscow, along with Sparros, and we even saw a Hard Rock Cafe. The other thing that has popped up all over town is the Coffee Shops. We haven't seen a Starbucks yet, but Coffee Shops / Internet Cafes, are all over the place.

We drive by Red Square every day, both to and from the Baby Home. We haven't taken the official tour yet (we hope to next week, once we really get used to the environs). Most of the buildings in the city are concrete high rises. There are some shorter buildings tucked in behind the high rises too. It seems that most of the buildings aren't even painted, but the ones that are painted are done in bright pastels (yellow, light blue, light turquoise, pink). Considering the lack of color, these buildings definitely pop out. We have also noticed many theatres and music halls throughout the city, as well as museums. It seems they use every square inch of real-estate in the city. In fact we saw a car repair shop, tucked in under a overpass to a highway.

Here are today's pictures.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

We ate breakfast with Michelle, who is adopting a little girl from Baby home #20 also. She had court this morning and was nervous. So we talked about the children and things we had heard or read.

We were then off again at 8:40am to see Sam at the baby home. The baby home is located in a residential neighborhood in the Southeastern part of Moscow, surrounded by many high rise apartment buildings. Its about a 30 minute drive (when there isn't a lot of traffic, which is hardly the case). The neighborhood seems in pretty good condition. There is a park we pass where yesterday all the mothers where out with their babies. They seem to spend a lot of money on carriages for their children, so I don't know if that means that neighborhood is wealthier. It's hard to tell, because the buildings are old and made of concrete and not very distinct.

Upon arrival at the baby home we went up to Sam's room and peaked in the door. Sam was in the care giver's arms and started to cry. The caregiver came out into the hallway where she passed him off to Josh. He fussed a little and then was fine. We gave him a biter biscuit which he happily took and started chewing on. It looks like he is cutting two molars as he has been chewing on the pop beads or anything he can fit in his mouth. We sat on the sofa and held him a lot today. We played with the pop beads and he again tried to pull and push them apart and together. He kept making these funny faces like he was up to something or perplexed about something. Every so often we get a smile out of him. He pointed to the mirror, to the bears in the hallway, to the window and outside. When mommy brought out the Cheerios, he pointed when he wanted more. We tried to get him to drink out of a sippy cup but he had trouble. We ended up having to take out the anti-drip valve as he couldn't suck hard enough to get the liquid out of the spout. He kept looking at the water inside the cup trying to figure out how to get to it. A couple of times he licked the cup which made us laugh.

He seems to be trusting us more everyday. Today when he was eating the Cheerios he even fed Daddy a few. He did look surprised when Daddy actually ate them out of his hands. He then started to tease Daddy, by putting them toward Daddy's mouth, and then taking them back and eating them himself. After a couple hours of play, we took him back to his room, and he quickly went to the caregivers arms, but still (with some coaxing) gave Daddy a wave good-bye.

Here are today's pictures

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Arrived at the baby home at 9:15am, Sam was brought up to us and cried a bit, but soon settled down. We gave him some cheerios and tried to see what he wanted to play with. The pop beads won and we played for a little while. Then he got quiet and sleepy and fell asleep on mommy's shoulder. A brief 30 minutes nap and then he sat on Daddy's lap and played with the pop beads again. We realized that he has a rather long attention span when it comes to playing with one toy. He may put it down but then he will go back again. This is what he was doing with the pop beads today. We learned something else today - it is better for us if we end our time with him versus a caregiver coming to us and taking him away to lunch.

Click Here for Today's Pictures of Sam

After we left the orphanage, we had a nice long walk around Moscow's Red Square. Here are some pictures.

Click Here for Today's Pictures of Moscow

It's Officially Official

Samuel Jonathan Baranoff. That is now legally his name. After a very brief court session, we are now officially his parents. It has been a long process, but the end of the tunnel is now close by. Now the long road as parents we have been waiting for . . .

We had a far to short time to spend with Sam this morning. Because of the court session, we didn't get to the orphanage until around 12 noon. It was time for lunch by 12:30, so we only got about 20 minutes of time with him. He was very unsettled at the start, but I would be too if I was getting ready to eat and two people took me away from lunch. He settled down, after we gave him a cookie and pulled out the Cheerios. He even tried to feed us. We did get a chance to simply hug and kiss him, and even got some smiles when we tickled his belly.

Tomorrow we will get a few hours with him, so obviously that will give us more time to play and just enjoy the time together. . .

Sorry no pictures today, since we had such a short time, to look for more tomorrow.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Well we arrived, no worse for the travelling. There is nothing like 24 hours of travel to throw your body into confusion. After a longer then scheduled stop-over in Frankfort, Germany (the plane was late getting there), we got into Russia late this afternoon. The weather here isn't to bad, temps in the mid 30's and 40's (F). Tomorrow and the rest of the week, we are actually looking forward to sun and temps in the low 50's (F) - better then what I am seeing on CNN International for Philadelphia and the rest of the Northeast US.

After check-in and a brief nap, we took a short walk through Moscow and had dinner at TGIFriday's (just like back home, but with a small non-smoking section vs. a small smoking section). It was then back to the hotel, and time for bed. We wake up tomorrow morning and go to court, so Sam officially becomes Samuel Jonathan Baranoff, the son for Joshua Hiam and Rebecca Linn Baranoff.

Sorry, no pictures today. :(
Maybe tomorrow.

Sunday, March 18, 2007 - Travel Day

We left today at around 10am and drove to Dulles Airport (Washington D.C.) to meet Steve & Libby (they were returning from their vacation) but had offered to host our car at their townhouse while we are away. The Lufthansa counter didn't open until 2:30pm so we ended up handing over our car keys and not having lunch with Steve & Libby. We finally got through the ticket counter and through security and had some lunch - or an early dinner as it was almost 4pm. Boarded the 747 plane around 6:30pm. The flight was supposed to leave the gate at 6:55pm. There was a slight delay, a passenger had some issues that needed to be resolved with Customs. And so we left the gate a little after 7pm.

I wrote these thoughts on the plane-

Have 2 1/2 hours more until we get to Frankfort. Should be sleeping but it is too warm on the plane and I feel like I can't breath. Still can't believe we are finally going back. I'm a little nervous . We land in Moscow on Monday afternoon, court is Tuesday. Let's hope all goes smoothly and it doesn't snow since we left our boots at home.

The flight wasn't as bad as last time. We had dinner at 9:30-10pm (EST) then its only 4 hours more. They turned down the lights and we could sleep for a few hours 'til we land.

The flight didn't seem as long but maybe its because we knew where we were going, we also had more left room as we flew the whole way on Lufthansa planes.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Well, finally, after 2 days of phone calls to US Air, our flights are all confirmed (US Airways need a better computer system, and it has to be backward compatible - They lost our reservation, and then the new reservation never got to Lufthansa or United). Now all that is left is to pack (yeah right) and figure out how to fit 3 weeks of clothing for all three of us, into 4 bags and also bring plenty of other necessities of life, since in Moscow things are tough to find and are extremely expensive. . .

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Well now all the paperwork is done. . . We got our Visas back today, along with all of our Exit Documents for the embassy. Now all(?) that is left is for us to back. It is amazing how much stuff we have to fit in the suitcases, especially since we will be there for over 3 weeks, but all this will be well worth it, when we can hold our little guy in our arms, and not have to leave him in the orphanage. We just can't wait until he is physically ours, even though he has been our son in our hearts for a while. . .

Friday, March 9, 2007

Well the week is over, and one week to go before we fly away to Russia. After several calls with US Air, our flights are finally set up, I just have to go to the airport in Philly to change the tickets. Hopefully it won't be as bad as the last time. . .

The crib is coming tomorrow, so the room is beginning to look like a baby will live there. Reb has been hanging up the clothes, so the closet that looked really big a few days ago, is starting to get full. It is amazing how small the clothes are. . .

Monday, March 5, 2007

Well this was a perfect birthday present for Daddy. We got a call today with our Court Date, March 20, 2007. That is the day Sam will officially become our son. Well after the quick round of phone calls to let everyone know, I spent the better part of 2 hours on hold with US Air to finalize our flight details. Unfortunately, I know have to go to the airport to make the changes. . . Well that will be tomorrow.