Last Day in Moscow

The last day and our last visit with Annabelle this trip went great. She is warming up to us and has been smiling a lot. We really wish we had some other place to play with her, but we made it through five days on the sofa. It would have been nice to put a blanket on the floor and sit and play, to see how she crawls and moves on her own. It was hard to judge this on a sofa where the furthest distance of travel was three feet.

We now start the long 6-8 week wait. We hope to hear about a court date in 3-4 weeks so we can start making the plans to get back here. We do have plenty of work to do at home with Tyler and preparing Annabelle’s room. Hopefully, the weeks will go fast.

Here are a couple of pictures from the outside of the baby home. The play area is a little old looking and muddy. I just hope it dries out enough for the kids to use.

We will try and post a follow-up with some current tips for travelers as well as ideas for surviving the first trip. As we learn more about our next trip we will start posting the dates and plans for our return.

Thanks for your support this trip and stay tuned for some good pictures on Annabelle in just a couple of months.

Maria and Jeff

The sign ouside the gate of the baby home

Part of the outside paly area . . . no kids have been out while we were here as it is still cool.

Day Four - Visiting Annabelle

It was another good day. The 60k drive is taking about one hour each way and our driver Yuri is well aware of all the shor cuts and takes the belief that he would rather drive an extra 5k as long as he is moving. Yesterday his horns stopped working and it was fun to watch him beating and pushing on it as it is his natural reaction. We want to send him an air horn to installl as he would love it.
Our visit with Annnabelle was a pleasant 90 minutes as she was wearing the same red velvet Christmas dress we met her in on Tuesday. She is such a content little girl and is very happy playing with just a coule of toys and being held. She is ready to walk and we used our limited space to hold her hands and walk her around. We still have one visit left tomorrow. We will have no access/limited access to the internet for the next day but will post tomorrow. We can't wait to head home on Sunday although we leave a part of our hearts in Moscow.
Maria and Jeff

Blog Day Three

There is nothing new or eventful to report today. Annabelle was dressed in a cute little navy blue dress with white lace collar and the word Cherry scripted across the collar with white tights. The visits are tough because we cannot do much besides hold Annabelle as there is no where to go or to play. We are confined to a small area that has a sofa and that is our play area. We have no floor space and the only toys are those that we bring with us. All this is OK with us as long as we get our 60-90 minutes with Annabelle.

We also got to the notary today to sign paperwork officially requesting to adopt Annabelle. For the future adoptive parents this is a little hidden cost of doing business. The fees for all the documents to be notarized and copied came to 4840 Rubels or about $205. This made for a long day as we did not get back until after 5:00PM.

The weather here has been pretty good. Temperatures today were in the mid 40s and mostly dry but a little rain fell in the afternoon evening time. All week it has been between 35- and 45.

Check out the picture our play area and the front of the baby home!

Maria and Jeff

Day Two in Moscow

The trip to the baby home in Podolsk was a little slow this morning has there were light rain/snow showers in the area. The ride is about one hour with normal Moscow traffic.

The visit was nice and nondescript as we played for 90 minutes in the 8’x9’ hallway area as staff were coming and going all around us. Annabelle laughed and played and was a little angel today. Towards the end she was getting tired and was ready for her afternoon nap.

We received the doctor’s report today and he mentioned that she was premature at birth, delay and a few issues that we should address in the United States but nothing we felt we can not handle. The social worker also stopped by and again told us about her premature birth and talked about how small she is. We feel confident that we can handle this and with nutrition, vitamins, three squares a day, and lots of love she will flourish. Tomorrow we visit and go to the notary to complete all the . So far so good.

More to follow tomorrow.

IT IS A GIRL

The day started with a short traffic free ride from the Marriott Grand to the MOE for the Moscow Region. After about 30 minutes of looking at the hole in the floor in the hallway where all families wait, the head of the MOE invited us in. We sat around a round table and she came in and explained that girls were very difficult to find, but she had one and only one. If we declined this child, she would be glad to refer us a boy.

We accepted the referral and headed to Podolsk where the orphanage is located. We met a beautiful little girl who appeared to be very healthy. Our doctor met us there and spent 20 minutes giving her an exam and than reviewed her medical records. In the end he said this was an easy job for him because he did not see any serious problems with this girl. He explained that she is small and a little developmentally behind, but that is normal for children in institutions. He said a few months of good nutrition, love and attention will cure all her problems.

We have not come down out of the clouds yet. We are going to go to visit the next four days and will post more info everyday.

Maria and Jeff

We are here!!!!!!!!!

Dear family and friends,
Just a quick note to let you know we are here safely. The trip to New York and flight to Moscow were perfect and a special thanks to Aunt Lisa and Hailey for watching Tyler when we left. Tyler did great however Hershey (our dog) was a wreak. We are staying up all day at the Marriott Grand and will be heading to bed soon as tomorrow is a huge day for us. We go to the MOE to received are referral and than go to the baby home so we will post late tomorrow night. Keep us in your prayers!
Maria & Jefff

We're Going Back!!

Well, we have been home just over one year and life with Tyler could not be better.

Yes, we are going back to Moscow and getting a baby brother or sister for Tyler!

Stay tuned for more posts as we start the adventure all over again. We leave for Moscow on Sunday March 9.

Jeff, Maria and Tyler