We didn't take quite as many pictures of Vincent this last trip, probably because we were just so focused on spending time with him. We did take a few cute ones, though, and Andy will upload them to the blog this weekend. We didn't take a camera with us to our court date, though in retrospect it would have been nice to have taken a picture of the group. After the experience, though, I just wanted to get the heck out of there.
After court, we got back to the car and we dropped Reds off at a local Metro stop. Andy and I were sure we were headed back to our hotel. Imagine our surprise when we looked out the window and realized we were just down the street from Vincent's orphanage! They decided to let us have one last visit with him before we returned home the next day.
Vincent was with the other kids in their playroom. He ran up to us and his eyes were as big as saucers. He grabbed our hand and we headed outside to the play area. We played catch with a ball and rolled it back and forth to him. He really seemed to enjoy it! Next we took turns throwing balls into an improvised hoop (it was really a basket duct taped to two short metal poles in the ground with a stuffed animal duct taped to the top portion...a little bizarre.)
Then, it happened. Are you ready, folks? For the first time he smiled at us! Then he giggled. Soon he was laughing and squealing as he ran around the yard with us. I picked him up, hugged and kissed him and he was still smiling (after the car incident I wasn't so sure what his reaction would be) I don't think I've been happier than I was at that moment. To see him so happy...it made all of the waiting, the travel, the paperwork, and the expense of this adoption worth it. Andy, Vincent, and I.... together. I wish I could have bottled that moment. I couldn't even take a picture of him, since we were sans camera.
It was time for Vincent to go back inside. We led him up to the playroom, gave him a kiss and a hug, and waved goodbye. Once he realized we were leaving, he started to cry. Oh boy, I didn't want to see him upset but part of me was relieved that he was sad to see us go.
We'll return to Moscow 8/3 . The next day we'll visit his orphanage for the last time. After that visit he'll be walking out the door with us, his new parents.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Our court date; the play-by-play
I feel like I left everyone hanging with my last post; Vincent trying desperately to claw his way out of the car, screaming at the top of his little lungs. An image I'd rather forget, though he's two and I'm sure Andy and I will be seeing more of that particular "performance" in the future.
Back to the court hearing; it's really just too... "interesting" not give you the play-by-play. Few things in my life have every been "typical", so why shouldn't we have a court hearing that closely resembled a skit from "Saturday Night Live?"
Andy and I made our way to the Moscow City Court via Vincent's orphanage; we stopped there to pick up "Reds", the director of the orphanage. No, that's not her real name of course, just our little nickname for her. The 5 of us were piled into our driver's small car. It was about 95 degrees and 90% humidity. The only automobile air conditioning we experienced during this trip to Moscow was what my father used to call "4-40"; open all 4 windows and drive 40 mph. Andy was in a suit and I was wearing a black dress; we were a sweaty mess by the time we arrived at the court building. Fortunately it was air conditioned...what a relief!
Our hearing was scheduled for 4:00 pm. We arrive close to 3:30 and wait outside the courtroom. No sign of the judge by 4:00. Still no judge at 4:30. At 4:45 we spot a middle-age woman running down the hall; here comes our judge after all! She was the spitting image of my mother's friend, Fran! Of course I couldn't properly pronounce our judge's entire Russian name, so I nicknamed our judge "Fran." Are you keeping up with me? So far we have "Reds" and "Fran"; if these women only knew what I was calling them! Soon we were asked to enter the courtroom and we take our seats. Immediately we hear a loud thumping noise coming from the judge's chambers. It sounded like a pipe was going to explode. It was loud, and very distracting. Everyone is giggling. The judge appears, and she starts to speak. Our interpreter, Katya, is sitting next to us, translating so that we know what's being said.
Fran asks that all the Russian speaking people present sign their names in a book, located on a podium near our seats. As they assemble around the podium, they're searching for a pen. The "pen" was actually this big, poofy purple pom-pom thingy. This is a courtroom, people, not a pre-teen girl's bedroom! Everyone giggles as they pass around the jiggling, poofy pen.
Soon it's Andy's turn to take the podium. Fran asks him (via our translator) his name, date of birth, address. Then she asks Andy the date we were married. Andy, please forgive me for telling this part of the story. Oh boy, I can see the sweat collecting on Andy's brow. After a slight delay, Andy replies. He's off by a few days. There's a delay and then Fran says, "That's not the date I have, do you want to try again?" He shoots, he scores... he gets it right this time! More chuckles ensue from the crowd.
Let's not forget about the thumping coming from the judge's chambers. The door of the courtroom flies open. It's the bulding's maintenance crew, outfitted in bright orange jumpsuits. They walk DIRECTLY across the middle of the courtroom with a ladder. The Three Stooges disappear into the judge's chamber to tend to the thumping.
Red's cell phone rings. There are signs in English all around the court building (in fact, the only signs I saw in English our entire trip) stating that nobody is to use a cell phone in the building. This doesn't stop Reds. She starts chatting and laughing on her cell phone while I'm at the podium, answering the judge's questions. Another cell phone rings; this time it it's our attorney. The theme from "Swan Lake" plays as she flicks open her phone. They're both talking on their phones at the same time. The judge doesn't appear irritated by the phone calls, so I figure if she's not bothered by it, why should I be? Right?
Fran retires to her chambers for a few moments before reading her verdict. Just as she reappears and begins to tell us whether or not she has awarded guardianship of Vincent to Andy and I, the Three Stooges reappear from her chambers. They walk, with ladder in hand, directly across the middle of the courtroom. They exit, Fran reads her verdict, and Vincent is now part of our family! Everyone begins hugging and kissing everyone else.
I tried really hard to remember exactly how I felt at that exact moment, the moment when Vincent officially became our son and we became his parents. One day Vincent will ask what happened that day, and Andy and I can recount the events to him, ringing cell phones, poofy pen, and Three Stooges with their ladder and all.
Back to the court hearing; it's really just too... "interesting" not give you the play-by-play. Few things in my life have every been "typical", so why shouldn't we have a court hearing that closely resembled a skit from "Saturday Night Live?"
Andy and I made our way to the Moscow City Court via Vincent's orphanage; we stopped there to pick up "Reds", the director of the orphanage. No, that's not her real name of course, just our little nickname for her. The 5 of us were piled into our driver's small car. It was about 95 degrees and 90% humidity. The only automobile air conditioning we experienced during this trip to Moscow was what my father used to call "4-40"; open all 4 windows and drive 40 mph. Andy was in a suit and I was wearing a black dress; we were a sweaty mess by the time we arrived at the court building. Fortunately it was air conditioned...what a relief!
Our hearing was scheduled for 4:00 pm. We arrive close to 3:30 and wait outside the courtroom. No sign of the judge by 4:00. Still no judge at 4:30. At 4:45 we spot a middle-age woman running down the hall; here comes our judge after all! She was the spitting image of my mother's friend, Fran! Of course I couldn't properly pronounce our judge's entire Russian name, so I nicknamed our judge "Fran." Are you keeping up with me? So far we have "Reds" and "Fran"; if these women only knew what I was calling them! Soon we were asked to enter the courtroom and we take our seats. Immediately we hear a loud thumping noise coming from the judge's chambers. It sounded like a pipe was going to explode. It was loud, and very distracting. Everyone is giggling. The judge appears, and she starts to speak. Our interpreter, Katya, is sitting next to us, translating so that we know what's being said.
Fran asks that all the Russian speaking people present sign their names in a book, located on a podium near our seats. As they assemble around the podium, they're searching for a pen. The "pen" was actually this big, poofy purple pom-pom thingy. This is a courtroom, people, not a pre-teen girl's bedroom! Everyone giggles as they pass around the jiggling, poofy pen.
Soon it's Andy's turn to take the podium. Fran asks him (via our translator) his name, date of birth, address. Then she asks Andy the date we were married. Andy, please forgive me for telling this part of the story. Oh boy, I can see the sweat collecting on Andy's brow. After a slight delay, Andy replies. He's off by a few days. There's a delay and then Fran says, "That's not the date I have, do you want to try again?" He shoots, he scores... he gets it right this time! More chuckles ensue from the crowd.
Let's not forget about the thumping coming from the judge's chambers. The door of the courtroom flies open. It's the bulding's maintenance crew, outfitted in bright orange jumpsuits. They walk DIRECTLY across the middle of the courtroom with a ladder. The Three Stooges disappear into the judge's chamber to tend to the thumping.
Red's cell phone rings. There are signs in English all around the court building (in fact, the only signs I saw in English our entire trip) stating that nobody is to use a cell phone in the building. This doesn't stop Reds. She starts chatting and laughing on her cell phone while I'm at the podium, answering the judge's questions. Another cell phone rings; this time it it's our attorney. The theme from "Swan Lake" plays as she flicks open her phone. They're both talking on their phones at the same time. The judge doesn't appear irritated by the phone calls, so I figure if she's not bothered by it, why should I be? Right?
Fran retires to her chambers for a few moments before reading her verdict. Just as she reappears and begins to tell us whether or not she has awarded guardianship of Vincent to Andy and I, the Three Stooges reappear from her chambers. They walk, with ladder in hand, directly across the middle of the courtroom. They exit, Fran reads her verdict, and Vincent is now part of our family! Everyone begins hugging and kissing everyone else.
I tried really hard to remember exactly how I felt at that exact moment, the moment when Vincent officially became our son and we became his parents. One day Vincent will ask what happened that day, and Andy and I can recount the events to him, ringing cell phones, poofy pen, and Three Stooges with their ladder and all.
Monday, July 21, 2008
It's official!
OK, I'll cut to the chase; all went well at our court hearing in Moscow and we are "officially" Vincent's parents!
We had issues with internet access during our trip, so my apologies to all our friends in cyberspace who were diligently checking our blog during our time in Moscow. I can't troubleshoot a wireless connection problem to save my life. Right now my coworkers are chuckling at me because I've had this horizontal line across my computer screen at work for the past few months and haven't gotten around to figuring out why it's there or what to do about it. I digress...
This trip we stayed in a large hotel that appeared to host quite an international crowd. We've heard that many adoptive parents from our area/agency stay at the Marriott; at $600 a night it was too expensive for our blood. Instead, we had thumping Euro-music filling the lobby (along with a heavy cloud of cigarette smoke) There were some...err..."interestingly" dressed (or undressed) women who were parked at the lobby bar. The elevator shook and rumbled. They paved the hotel driveway at 2 am just about every night we were there. No temperature control in the room; it was either really warm or cold. The breakfast buffet consisted of mostly unrecognizable foods, even for an adventurous foodie. Hey, the price was right.
Back to Vincent, the most important part of the trip. We had several visits with him before our court hearing. Most were fairly short; about 90 minutes each. I think he did remember us; he ran over to Andy and I as soon as he spotted us in the outside play area. Just as I knelt down and started to rub his back and talk to him, he was swarmed by the group; the pediatrician who directs the orphanage, our attorney, and our interpreter. Apparently the orphanage director is very attached to him, so she couldn't resist snatching him up, kissing him, and taking him for a little walk. No fair, she hijacked our Vincent :-) No worries, they returned shortly and we had him to ourselves.
This boy loves to walk; he held on to our finger and walked twice around the perimeter of the orphanage. Then we sat with him and played with a wooden puzzle and blocks. When he concentrates on a task, he bites on his upper lip and his dark eyes get big. Then he raises and lowers his eyebrows. Then he'd stare at us with those beatiful eyes, studying our faces with such intensity. Though he seemed to be enjoying himself, we didn't see a smile...at all. He seemed enthusiastic when he said "paca" (goodbye in Russian) at the end of each visit. Great, he can't wait to get rid of us, and he's hasn't even reached his teen years!
During another visit we took him to a local photographer to have his passport and visa pictures taken. He seemed tentative as we approached the car. Once we tried to put him in the car all hell broke loose; he grabbed on to the door, screaming and kicking. He had no memory of ever being in a car. The last time he rode in one was when he was 2 months old and was brought to the orphanage. Despite our attempts to comfort him, he was hysterical. Finally curiosity won out over fear and he occupied himselp by staring out the window. Round two started up once we had to put him back in the car once the pictures were taken. I'm sure he will get used to it, hopefully in short order. If not, is it legal to drive with ear plugs???
We had issues with internet access during our trip, so my apologies to all our friends in cyberspace who were diligently checking our blog during our time in Moscow. I can't troubleshoot a wireless connection problem to save my life. Right now my coworkers are chuckling at me because I've had this horizontal line across my computer screen at work for the past few months and haven't gotten around to figuring out why it's there or what to do about it. I digress...
This trip we stayed in a large hotel that appeared to host quite an international crowd. We've heard that many adoptive parents from our area/agency stay at the Marriott; at $600 a night it was too expensive for our blood. Instead, we had thumping Euro-music filling the lobby (along with a heavy cloud of cigarette smoke) There were some...err..."interestingly" dressed (or undressed) women who were parked at the lobby bar. The elevator shook and rumbled. They paved the hotel driveway at 2 am just about every night we were there. No temperature control in the room; it was either really warm or cold. The breakfast buffet consisted of mostly unrecognizable foods, even for an adventurous foodie. Hey, the price was right.
Back to Vincent, the most important part of the trip. We had several visits with him before our court hearing. Most were fairly short; about 90 minutes each. I think he did remember us; he ran over to Andy and I as soon as he spotted us in the outside play area. Just as I knelt down and started to rub his back and talk to him, he was swarmed by the group; the pediatrician who directs the orphanage, our attorney, and our interpreter. Apparently the orphanage director is very attached to him, so she couldn't resist snatching him up, kissing him, and taking him for a little walk. No fair, she hijacked our Vincent :-) No worries, they returned shortly and we had him to ourselves.
This boy loves to walk; he held on to our finger and walked twice around the perimeter of the orphanage. Then we sat with him and played with a wooden puzzle and blocks. When he concentrates on a task, he bites on his upper lip and his dark eyes get big. Then he raises and lowers his eyebrows. Then he'd stare at us with those beatiful eyes, studying our faces with such intensity. Though he seemed to be enjoying himself, we didn't see a smile...at all. He seemed enthusiastic when he said "paca" (goodbye in Russian) at the end of each visit. Great, he can't wait to get rid of us, and he's hasn't even reached his teen years!
During another visit we took him to a local photographer to have his passport and visa pictures taken. He seemed tentative as we approached the car. Once we tried to put him in the car all hell broke loose; he grabbed on to the door, screaming and kicking. He had no memory of ever being in a car. The last time he rode in one was when he was 2 months old and was brought to the orphanage. Despite our attempts to comfort him, he was hysterical. Finally curiosity won out over fear and he occupied himselp by staring out the window. Round two started up once we had to put him back in the car once the pictures were taken. I'm sure he will get used to it, hopefully in short order. If not, is it legal to drive with ear plugs???
Monday, July 7, 2008
Annoying stuff
I think I've discovered my own hell-on-earth....Babies-R-Us.
What started out as a simple trip to buy 2 baby gates for our stairs and several gifts for a friend ended with my running out of the store, swearing never to return again. It was a combination of factors that made my trip a traumatic experience. Just say that no aisle numbers, an overwhelming variety of the same item(who knew there were 10 different types of baby thermometers?), and I had a heck of a time finding a sales associate to help me out. Let's not forget an entire store of pregnant women, hormones flowing full force, who stood, with their carts, strollers, and kids, in front of every display I was trying to view. Then they looked shocked when I politely asked them multiple times if I could squeeze in to get something.
The kicker was that I left without the darn baby gates. After weeding through 20 or so types, I finally found ones that would work for our stairs. I thought they were $39.99 each, which seemed like an incredible deal, given that most of the others were more expensive. Guess what? They were $79.99 each when I checked out at the register. At that point I just couldn't deal with going back to the gate section, so I left them at the checkout. I then promptly drove home and made myself a nice gin and tonic. Guess I'll have to get gates at some point. My vote is for Craigslist :-)
What started out as a simple trip to buy 2 baby gates for our stairs and several gifts for a friend ended with my running out of the store, swearing never to return again. It was a combination of factors that made my trip a traumatic experience. Just say that no aisle numbers, an overwhelming variety of the same item(who knew there were 10 different types of baby thermometers?), and I had a heck of a time finding a sales associate to help me out. Let's not forget an entire store of pregnant women, hormones flowing full force, who stood, with their carts, strollers, and kids, in front of every display I was trying to view. Then they looked shocked when I politely asked them multiple times if I could squeeze in to get something.
The kicker was that I left without the darn baby gates. After weeding through 20 or so types, I finally found ones that would work for our stairs. I thought they were $39.99 each, which seemed like an incredible deal, given that most of the others were more expensive. Guess what? They were $79.99 each when I checked out at the register. At that point I just couldn't deal with going back to the gate section, so I left them at the checkout. I then promptly drove home and made myself a nice gin and tonic. Guess I'll have to get gates at some point. My vote is for Craigslist :-)
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Court Date!
I never thought I'd be happy about having to show up in court! We got the good news that we're headed back to Moscow. Our court appearance is scheduled for July 15th; we'll arrive several days ahead of time so we can spend time with Andrey and take care of some paperwork.
We're hoping everything will go smoothly. In the meantime, I have some serious shopping to do. We're bringing new clothes for the kids in the babyhome, plus we have to get gifts for all 8 of his caregivers and a few other people. I am so not a shopper, nor am I a fan of spending money (ok, I'm cheap, I'll admit it), so this will take some effort on my part :-) It is fun to buy stuff for kids who so deserve something nice.
Andrey's (soon to be Vincent's) room is almost ready. We have not yet childproofed the house (the outlet protectors and cabinet locks are all still in the bag) Andy will be out of town this weekend; looks like I have plenty to keep me busy.
Many people have asked how we've been able to be so patient; waiting for our court date, waiting for the date of our final trip, etc. It's all part of the process. We knew what we were getting into when we chose to adopt, we knew there were many uncertainties along the way. We knew it would be a big financial endeavor. Finally it's all coming together and the waiting will be worth it. In the meantime we've had a few family emergencies in addition to work and daily life that have kept us occupied. Soon all this excitement, confusion, and last-minute travel arrangements will be behind us, and we'll fall into a routine with our new son. It can't happen soon enough!
We're hoping everything will go smoothly. In the meantime, I have some serious shopping to do. We're bringing new clothes for the kids in the babyhome, plus we have to get gifts for all 8 of his caregivers and a few other people. I am so not a shopper, nor am I a fan of spending money (ok, I'm cheap, I'll admit it), so this will take some effort on my part :-) It is fun to buy stuff for kids who so deserve something nice.
Andrey's (soon to be Vincent's) room is almost ready. We have not yet childproofed the house (the outlet protectors and cabinet locks are all still in the bag) Andy will be out of town this weekend; looks like I have plenty to keep me busy.
Many people have asked how we've been able to be so patient; waiting for our court date, waiting for the date of our final trip, etc. It's all part of the process. We knew what we were getting into when we chose to adopt, we knew there were many uncertainties along the way. We knew it would be a big financial endeavor. Finally it's all coming together and the waiting will be worth it. In the meantime we've had a few family emergencies in addition to work and daily life that have kept us occupied. Soon all this excitement, confusion, and last-minute travel arrangements will be behind us, and we'll fall into a routine with our new son. It can't happen soon enough!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)