Did You Remember to Pack the Baby?

We are here in Moscow and very happy with our apartment right in the city center.  We are on the 6th floor and have a clear view of a Moscow Kentucky Fried Chicken! Here's some pics of Maksim helping Mommy pack the night before we left Siberia.....I could NOT keep him out of the suitcases, he even packed his own horse and other helpful items like empty water bottles.  He was a DREAM on the 4 1/2 flight and slept for about half of it...see pic with Daddy on the plane.
The Pediatrician was here first thing this morning and expressed.."I like this child very much" more than a couple times.  I was afraid of how Maksim would respond to him, but he did okay considering he had just woken up from his 12 hour sleep.  He cleared him of all signs of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and said he is growing remarkably well.  As he went out the door, the doctor, said, "You know, I really like this child...he is like any other typical toddler and very happy."  Ofcourse we knew all this, but it was good to get a professional opinion.

Kid's,,,,They're All The Same!

What is the fascination with the bathroom?  And "no", that is not a stand-up tanning booth at the end of the room....that's our "LUXURY" shower here in Siberia.  One more day and then it's off to Moscow for our final week....but who's counting?

The Boys

Sorry...Been a Little Busy!

Maksim is on day 2 with us and is an absolute love bug!  He sleeps very well... 2 hour naps and 11 hours at night...Mommy likey very much :)  When he wakes up it is always with a huge smile.  While we are pretty much in lock down in our hotel room here in Siberia....it is approaching 30 below...we couldn't be happier.  We miss our baby girl desperately and have enjoyed Skyping with her twice a day.  She is very taken with her brother.  Attaching pics ...saying goodbye to Dr. Ludmilla at the orphanage...and sleeping during the long car ride back to the hotel....forever in my arms at last!.  Kim

These Boots are Made for Walking...."I am outta here!"

 We have our Boy, back at the Hotel from the
Orphanage, more pic's to come.

Ready or Not...Here We Come!

Today is the DAY we've waited a year for.  It is approx. 20 below and snowing....beautiful day to leave the orphanage in your new UGG boots Maksim!  We're coming to get you baby boy.

Traditional Russian Dancing

Tonight is our last night in St. Petersburg.  Although I have really enjoyed this city, I am excited to be going back to Kemerovo, particularly because we are so close to getting our son now.

Last night we went to one of the local palaces and enjoyed some traditional Russian folk dancing.  It was a fun night.

The Hermitage Museum - St. Petersburg

Yesterday we visited the Hermitage Museum.  It is by far the most spectacular building I have ever been in.  I don't know that I've ever seen Kip more amazed. I have never seen so many pieces of fine art and collections under one roof.  I could have taken a thousand pictures and not come close to caputuring the true wonder of the Hermitage.

Beautiful St. Petersburg

We are here in St. Petersburg and I can tell you this picture does not do this city justice.  It is so incredibly beautiful.  The city and shopping (window shopping for us) is incredible.  We wandered around last night and plan to do some tours tomorrow.  We will be taking home wonderful memories from our son's birth Country.  I hope to return with our children one day.

Honoring Kim's Ukranian Heritage

My Aunt Linda reminded me to eat perogies while we are here in Russia.....way ahead of you Auntie!  On both trips to the orphange we stopped on our way back at an authentic little Ukranian Restaurant on the side of the road.  In the middle of our route in Siberia, we found this amazing restaurant.  The owner said his mother lives in Toronto and his brother lives in St. Louis!  Small world, eh?  The perogies (Nelesnekee) and borscht were to die for....and this coming from a girl who swore at the age of 10 she would NEVER eat borscht again.  Then our Ukranian translator, Elisa, introduced us to Ukranian liquors......all I can say is, thank goodness we had a driver!  Now you know why our driver Sergei no longer scared us.....we were well medicated :) In last photo...Sergie Andretti, at head of table, Elisa our translator next to Kip and Frank and Linda our travel partners from California...all enjoying some "juice"...except Sergie.

Leaving Our Son For the LAST Time

Today we visited Maksim at the orphanage....for the LAST time!  On Thanksgiving Day, we will go back and pick up our son.
Maksim was extra CRAZY today....he hugged us and then went immediately to the toy bag I brought along and dug out his favorite horse and a car to throw around.  We walked to the playroom and Maksim strutted the halls quite confidently....the interpreter commented on how independent he is....we said, hmmmmm, sounds like another child of ours :)
We played a lot and Maksim discovered the small plastic slide with great delight.  Suddenly he stopped playing, looked around the room and spotted me sitting about 5 feet away....he walked right over, stepped up on my lap and wrapped me in the biggest, sweetest hug.  He repeated this a couple more times throughout our playtime.....and of course, I balled like a baby each time. 

The Judge Said...."Da!"....

...okay, slight exaggeration, she said "Da" minus the exclamation mark.  The court proceeding was short and sweet but quite detailed.  It blew our minds to see the paperwork we worked on over the past year sitting in one neat pile in front of the judge.  The judge seemed most interested in our photo montage...but I guess flipping through these adoption files can be quite boring.  She also focused on our family support....so keep it coming, ha!  McKenna was an important part of the questioning and she seemed to be present even though she was half way around the world.  The orphanage representative told the judge she knew we were in love with Maksim within minutes of meeting him.  She could not have been more correct.
So now the 10 day wait begins...and then we will finally pick up our son on Thanksgiving Day!
We plan to visit the orphanage to play with Maksim this Wednesday....it cannot get here fast enough. 
Congratulations McKenna, you have a baby brother!!

It's a Small World - Papa John's, Really?!

Check out the front page of the Moscow Times.  This is what Kip was reading while we were having our medicals done last Thursday.

Red Square Photos

Some photos from our tour of Red Square prior to catching the flight to Siberia.  It is breathtaking!

Visit to Orphanage

It's been a LONG journey but we are back in Kemerovo (Siberia).  Finally, some snow!  It's really not that cold though..but it is amazing, every single person in Kemerovo is wearing a hat.  I mean EVERYONE.  That should not impress me so, but somehow it does....and many are very interesting and beautiful hats...you KNOW I am going to be coming home with one.
Once we arrived here from Moscow we were greeted by Anna, the local coordinator and it was so good to see her again.  We made it to the parking lot and were reaquainted with Sergie aka "Sergei Andretti".  Anna promised us that Sergei was warned and would drive a little slower on our next trip to the orphanage...although I was not totally convinced, I was on such an adreneline high to get to the orphanage and see Maksim again, I could have probably driven even faster than Segei to get there.

Now the most important part...after our somewhat less scary 4 hour drive ...we arrived at the orphanage.  The children were having lunch so we had tea in Dr Ludmilla's office.  Finally they brought the babies in and Maksim was even cuter than I remembered.  He cried at first but settled right away when Kip sang our family lullaby.  He held on tight as we held him and seemed a little scared.  THEN I brought out the little stuffed horse and he once again broke out of his shell.  He giggled and even gave kisses to his horse first and Mama and Papa later.  Maksim is a little clown!!  He loved making faces with Kip and would then search me out and make a little "chair" out of me and sit for a quick minute and then run right back to Kip to make faces and be tickeled.  His favorite thing hands down is throwing...he loved to toss the horse and his cars etc., and with Mama being out of practice with a toddler, even got his hands on my video camera and gave it a good toss across the room.

The visit was approx an hour and a half but flew by.  I will say this is the first time I did not break down when they took Maksim for his nap.  I am sure it is knowing that we will be back to finally take him home soon.  We hope to make one more trip to play with Maksim before the final BIG Day when we take him home for good.

8 Doctor Visits

Yesterday, we had our eight doctor visits at the American Medical Center, here in Moscow.  We arrived at 2:45pm, we were finished at 7:45pm...Wow.  It was a whole lot of sitting around.  I am happy to report that neither Kim or I have TB, or any infectious diseases.  And neither of us are vegetarians, which seemed to be a serious concern to the psychiatrist.  Wow that's a load off.  Joking aside, we are pleased to have this; one of several important requirements behind us.  After the medical examinations, we hit an "American" restaurant with our Travel partners and (like good Yankees) ate steak and drank pitchers of Beer, toasting to our mutual success and wishing for the near future. 
Today we are going to sight see (Red Square & the Kremlin) before departing tonight for Kemerovo.
More to come,...Oh and thank you to the wonderful classmates and community at Saint Francis School, everyone seems to be rallying around McKenna.  That means a great deal to us.

We're Back in Moscow

Just a quick entry to let you know we are here, finally settled into our studio apartment (really cool).  We were taken straight from the airport to the American Medical Center to have our blood drawn and a urinalysis.  The clinic is very nice.  We return there tomorrow afternoon and spend approx. 4hours completing the the 8 doctor medical.  We are in an awesome area...in the heart of the city.  A nice mix of old and new and I am surprised Kip hasn't hidden the credit cards yet.
Kip slept a bit on the plane...I think I slept a total of 15 mins...hoping to crash soon.
Will write more tomorrow.

And They're Off!!

Hour One - Sitting in Louisville Airport for the flight to Chicago.  We are very excited, but it was tough saying Goodbye to McKenna.  For the first time in her 8 years she asked us not to go :( .  Since birth she has demanded that we "Go!".  I am comforted knowing her Grandmas, Aunt and Uncle and the Teachers, Staff and Friends at school and Neighborhood are already giving her extra love.  Hang in there McKenna, only 28 more days to go...WE LOVE YOU xxxx oooo

Just bought Maksim another stuffed horse here at the airport....it was the toy that seemed to break him out of his shell on visit one.  Not sure if he still has it with him at the orphanage....it will be interesting to see.  Cannot wait to see Maksim this Saturday.  Court is Monday am.

Boarding the flight...Go Baby Go!