Another big 24 hours

Each 24 hours we have with these two is so amazing.  There are so many firsts with them, and it's so fun to watch them experience new things!

So we finished the evening last night with a trip to Schultz Lake Beach.  The kids liked swimming in at the beach because the water was not too deep.   They also liked watching a little girl fish, and so we decided to try that.  More to come on that in a bit.

Mama and Papa learned a lot about sand and how much can get in a care in a single trip to the beach.  Oh well, certainly worse things to have in a car!  :-)

 After returning home from the beach, we had a supper of hot dogs, pickles, tomatoes, cheese, and ice cream for dessert.  

After dinner we walked up to the neighbors.  They had a little electric car that the kids could drive up and down the driveway, but even better, Andy let them ride on the riding lawn mower!  Now that make the kids laugh out load, and they loved it.   Very hard to get them off it!

It's funny to start to see their personalities coming through.  Anna loves everyone and is likely to ask just about everyone to pick her up.  She takes about 30 seconds to make a new friend.  Rusik is much more guarded.  He likes to be around people a bit before trusting them.  They are both starting to always look to us for reaction which is a critical sign in the attachment process.  So we are very happy to see that, and really feel like we are starting to be mama and papa or mama bama and Jeff as Anna is oft to call Dave?  Not sure where Jeff came from?

We woke up on Tuesday and practiced our alphabet.  Both kids are starting to get the hang of the letters.  We practice writing them out on lined paper.   Rusic hates making mistakes.  He works so hard to do everything just right.  We are trying to teach him it's ok to make a mistake, but that might take a little while.  He has made great progress.

After writing they went up for their first swim lesson with Liz next store.  Rusic can hold his breath for 30 seconds, and goes to the bottom of the shallow end to pick up things.  Anna can now put her head under without holding her nose.

After swimming, we took the kids out for their first try at fishing.   Anna caught one fish, and was very excited.  Both came very close to catching more, and papa is going to put smaller hooks on so that the sunfish can catch the worms.

So this was the good part of the day.  Then we had our first trip to the dentist, and the first really big challenge of parenting.  (Of course we've had some small ones, but wow, this was big one.)   Dave had been talking to kids about going to the dentist.  Seemed to be fine.  But when Rusik realized we meant him and we were going now, complete melt down.  Seriously freaked out.  Boy did the communication barriers hit us square on.   Thank goodness we were going to Nancy Holm, who has to be about the best dentist out there!!

We knew he was really scared and could not communicate that it would be ok.   Thank goodness Nancy is used to working with nervous patients.  She had hired a translator, and was ready for us.  She took her time with the children, let them get to know her, let them watch videos, and with the translator let them ask all the questions they could possibly think of.  She let them play with the equipment, and I was willing to be a test (model) patient, but Anna was quite ready at this time to go first.   She jumped right in the chair and Nancy went to work.  Rusik watched very closely and after a time was ready to try it too.  During his watching time he told us that he had been to the dentist and they had pulled a tooth and it was very bad experience.  He was quite sure we were bringing him to the dentist to have the rest of his teeth pulled.  Wow, imagine overcoming that?!  Yikes.  He is one brave boy!  And Nancy is one incredible dentist.  I can not imagine going through this with anyone else.

No coaxing needed.

Dr. Nancy Holm and Sergei, our interpreter

A very brave boy getting a checkup

After, we took the kids to Cafe Raisa in Rosemount for a Russian meal.  This went over well, and the kids were quite happy to have Pelmeni, and the staff was just wonderful with them.  Can see this being a regular hang out!!

Anna put away 8 of these Pelmeni!

A few of our favorite things

Ok, after a week and a day, we are starting to get settled into things here.  It is really great that we started this adventure with the start of summer.  Gives us lots of things to do, and provides a whole playground outside.

So far, a few favorite things have come up.  Both kids love to play soccer (fotball to them).  This is very fun.  Rusic actually has a good amount of skill, if I say so myself.  Dad found him a pair of soccer shoes at a garage sale, and it's very hard to get him to take them off.   We tried to see if he wanted to play a scrimage with a group of kids that a friend is coaching, but that was a bit too much. However, we enjoyed watching the game, and I think he is getting closer to being ready to play on a team.

I think Anna would like a team as well, but she tends to lean towards doing gymastics and dance.  Our agency has helped us find a place that teaches a special type of Russia dance/gymnastics.  When they asked Anna about it, she got very excited.  Will update as we find out more.

So far favorite foods included pickles, ketchup, meat -any and all, apples, oranges, kiwi, bananas, strawberries, watermelon, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese and did I mention pickles?  Do not like brocoli, and evidentally had enough potatoes to last a life time, as the only way that they will eat them is in the form of a french fry.    And, they like ice cream.  Imagine that.

Anna likes anything to do with princesses.  In particular she likes her new princess shoes from Kristin, and her new tiara from Denise.   She likes her heart blanket from Kelly and Paul, and refuses to sleep without it.  She likes to change clothes, sometimes up to 15 times a day.  She loves music and in particular likes Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga and Carol King.  This afternoon she looked at me and said "Tonight's going to be a good good night".    She likes to be carried by Janna and this would be her only mode of transportation if she could figure out how to make that happen.   And she like to both take pictures and to have her picture taken.  She also loves to take baths!

Rusic likes to ride his bike.  I mean he really likes to ride his bike.  He and his papa sometimes ride twice a day.   He has gotten very good, and knows not to ride in the street without his parents, and he knows not to ride down our steep driveway.    He loves to do anything with his papa, and is learning to mow the lawn - which he really likes.  He also likes to sit in the driver's seat of the machine, and pretend to be driving.   He is very mechanical and likes to tinker with and take things apart.  He really liked helping his grandpa take apart his bike and fix it.
He also likes to help his mama water the garden.  His favorite part of that - accidently spraying the mama.

They both like to swim, a lot!!  They are learning how to hold their breath, and have improved a lot since they got here.  Eileen and Jerry have been wonderful and letting the kids use their pool, which they really like to do.  And, they are going to get lessons from Liz, which will be great!

The best part of what they like....They really like to get massages from mama and papa before going to sleep.   Which mama and papa love to give them!

Huge progress made this week.  Kids are doing fantastic.  They have learned so much, and are really settling in.  They made their first friends, two little girls who live next store - Paige and Brenna.  They like to help around the house, and are starting to listen to mama and papa, and even anticipate what we are going to say before we say it.   We continue to learn more Russian and they continue to learn more English!   I'd like to say they fight a little less, but they are brother and sister, so no that has not stopped.  But sometimes they like each other in partiucular when they are watching Russia cartoons.  And they even sleep until 8 a.m. now.     Can't wait to see the changes as they continue to happen!!

Getting back home. June 4th, 2011

OK, think I am finally awake enough to write an update on our adventures.  Sorry for the delay.

Well, after a 3 hour delay at the Moscow airport, we were able to take off for America.   Flight went pretty well.  Little bit of restlessness, but after awhile both kids feel asleep.   Anya was a bit concerned about the flight prior to getting to the airport.  We had been telling her it was long, and she asked our interpreter if we would be able to sleep.  He said yes, and then she asked if the pilots would sleep as well.   Yikes.  Good question from a six year old. We all hope not.

Of course we arrived late, and missed our first flight.  We made it through immigration.  Wow.  Talk about a crabby clerk.  There were 3 families returning from adopting children.  All a little anxious, and after of missing our next flight.  She made it clear it was not her problem, and if we didn't sit down, she could guarantee that we would miss it.  Welcome back.   Well, the man who helped us was very pleasant, and made up for her.

Of course it, being we were in Atlanta, and our flight was at the far far far gate, we missed flight number 2 by about 5 minutes.  Gate agent was not going to help us.  Sent us to a machine, which would not read our tickets.  Finally found a gate agent to help, but he put us all on different flights.  Really?   Here you go Anna and Ruslan, try to find your way to MN.   Ugh.

Finally found a good gate agent, got on our flight.  Had great flight attendants, and we were able to land in MN about 11pm 25 hours later.   Kids did fantastic considering all the fun that is International Travel.

We were met at the airport luggage area by our friend Ian.  Can honestly say that he was one of the nicest sights imaginable!

We got home, and has a great surprise from our neighbors and family, with balloons, banners, and presents.  What a fun surprise, and a big thank you to everyone for that surprise.
 
Well, turns out when you are a young, very excited kid, and you are on your first day in America, you get up at 4:30 a.m. in the morning.  Giving mama and papa about 4 hours of sleep.  Ouch.  Thankfully my sister Janna was over, and got up and helped to sleep deprived parents navigate through their first day.

Kids seem to be adjusting.  Slept until 5:30 the next morning, and this morning until 6:15, so there is hope that we might get some sleep.

Ruslan loves to ride his bike.   I mean loves to ride his bike.  He and papa ride once or twice a day.  Anya is also learning and goes up and is learning to ride as well.

Anya, well she likes to change her outfits.  Counted 12 different looks one day.  Cracks me up.

They also love swimming in our neighbors pool.  Can't tell you how nice that has been considering our first couple days in MN got into the high 90's.  Wow, where did that come from?  Was kind of expecting snow on the ground when we got back.  Our neighbors have been just great and I can't thank them enough for their support.  They have been an amazing amount of help.

Will post more and pictures soon!

Gotcha Day!

There is a term in adoption called the Gotcha Day.  This is the day that the children are yours.   So today was our Gotcha Day.   We went to the consulate office and they gave us a very brief perhaps 10 minute interview, and then processed the paperwork.  They called us up to get our Visas.   I burst into tears.  I do believe until that moment, I truly believed at some point in this journey, someone would come out of the woodwork - a long lost aunt, uncle, etc) and tell us that they were sorry, but we could not go forward. But it did not happen, and now we are officially the proud parents of Anna and Ruslan.  And so our new journey begins!

Ok, back to summing up our last couple days in Russia.

After the embassy, we decided to take the kids to see Red Square.  Thought they should see that as part of their Russian Heritage.   They thought it was terribly boring.   With the help of a new friend from the Hilton, we took the subway (The Metro) down 3 stops.  Wow, you can not even begin to imagine the number of people that ride the subway.  The subways are beautiful, and the architecture amazing.  However, the pushy intensity of the commuters take a little getting used to. 

We did arrive and found our way up to ground level.  It was fun to see Red Square when it's warm (110 degrees (farenheit) warmer than when we were here in February.)  We walked around a little bit, and then headed back to the hotel to swim.  That is much more fun.

Holding an Iguana is cool enough to allow a photo to be taken.

Anna weighs about 32 pounds, and 29 pounds of that is attitude.



Walking up to Red Square



Anya's favorite form of walking.  This is when she announced she was Queen of Red Square.  It's good to be Queen.



Parents happy, children bored.



St. Basil's

On Friday morning, we got to sleep in.  It was really nice.  First time this trip we have done that.   We drove to the embassy at 10:45.  Yesterday when we got to the embassy there was a huge line, people everywhere.  It was a bit crazy.  Guard told us that over 1000 people went through yesterday.   Today, there was hardly anyone around.   We walked up to a little room, checked in, and waited for our turn.  There were 4 other families that were in the midst of adopting children.   An INS staffer came out, swore us all in at the same time, and gave us the instructions for traveling home with the children.  Learned a lot.  For instance there is a draft in Russia.  Should Ruslan decide to travel here between the ages of 18 and 35 there is a chance (very small) but still a chance that he could be drafted into military service.  OK, then.

We were then called one by one up to the desk.  We are asked to verify information, and giving some paperwork to sign.  We signed the paperwork, and sat down. 10 minutes later we were given they paperwork necessary to bring our family home.  Yeah!!   Another first today, a water fountain (bubbler here).  That was fun.  Also the first clear American phrase learned..."I'm hungry".

After that we took the kids to the Moscow Zoo to celebrate.  It was really fun.  We saw lots of animals and a dolphin/bulega whale show. A very nice security guard for a nearby office building taught us how to hail a taxi in Moscow. You simply hold out your arm into traffic, and then a car that looks like any other car, stops, confirms that it is a taxi and takes you where you want to go. Turns out you make more money if you do not get an incredibly expensive Moscow taxi license or sign on your roof. Our informal taxi driver, Georgi, was from Tblisi, Georgia and spoke only Russian and German as he studied in the former East Germany. A former communist party member, he was very interested in our opinion of Barack Obama, and remains a huge fan of George Bush (43 that is)! A direct quote from Georgi, "Bush good, terrorists, bang, dead!" Moscow is a wondeful crazy city.

We then went back to the Hilton, watching a little Russian language Monster's Inc. on DVD and then finished the day with a swim in the pool.  Both kids put their heads under the water, and Ruslan swam about 3 feet without assistance.  He was very excited about that!

We are all packed, and ready to head to America tomorrow.   This has been such an amazing trip.  Everyone we have met has been wonderful!   We have made new friends, and have a new family.  We have seen parts of Russia that few see, and have learned more about this incredible country.  My eyes have been opened to new ways of looking at things and I feel as through I have grown incredibly in the last few weeks.   A big thank you to Zina and Judy at ECAS, and Alex, Luba, and Max on the Russian side for the all the work they have done!  Also, thanks to everyone else that made this possible both in America and in Russia!  We could not have done this without the support of our friends and family!

Until we get home, paka (Goodbye).

You do not need to ask this girl twice to pose for a photo.

Any ride is better than watching some dumb animals.



Moscow skyline view from the back of the Musk Oxen exhibit.


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The monkey exhibit

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Watcing the dolphins, (Not Boring)



One of the few pictures of Ruslan.  He has decided he's not so into having his picture taken. 

A Whole New World

Ok, had this fantasy where it was possible to blog with 2 small children.   Opps, guess I am still learning the ins-and-outs of parenthood.  Have a whole new respect for parents!!

Where to begin?   It is incredible to watch these two youngsters experience one new thing after another.  Some big things - plane ride, and some smaller things - like an automatic soap dispenser in a bathroom.  Who has ever heard of such a thing?!

We started the day yesterday at 6:00 a.m.  Sleeping any longer was out of the question.  Too much to experience.   We first had breakfast where there was a buffet with all the ham that a little boy could eat, and let me tell you that's a lot.   When then went to the nortary to get the paperwork finalized, and then we received their new passports and new birth certificates.  Would love to show a picture - but not allowed.   Darn.

The we took a walk, and brought the kids, where we went to an amusement park.  Very fun.  Little cars to drive.  Let's see and how did that go.  Well, Ruslan was very disappointed that he could not go faster faster faster (reminded me a bit of his Uncle Scott).  And Anna, well after just about running over a couple people, jumping the curb, and running over Dave's foot, the attendant decided it was safer for him to walk right next to her.  (Thinking maybe Uncle Tom will be teaching her to drive - as she already just took 5 years of the life of her mama and papa.)

After driving, we did the slide, and the train, and the toy park.  All very exciting and fun.  

Stopping for gas.

  After the park, it was back to the hotel for naps for all.  Then we got up and took the kids for a long and might I add very boring walk.  They were a bit baffled by going to see all these old things?  What were we thinking?  

That night we met up with Alex and Luyba and got the passports for Anna and Ruslan.  I can not begin to tell you how great it has been to work with these two.  They did a fantastic job for us.  I can only imagine how much time and energy they have to put in to pull everything together for us.   They have kept us informed and have been a huge help in navigating the system. 

To finish up the night, we packed, watched a little Mosha and Miska (a cute cartoon about a little girl and her bear friend).  Marina helped us to pick out some Russian videos for the children, and these have been a huge help!!  And we are getting rather attached to Mosha and Miska.  Great kid's video! 

Then they took their 2nd bath of the day.  Turns out a big old tub is really fun, and should be enjoyed to the fullest!

Robe is a little big.

The next morning it was up at 5:00 a.m. to catch the first flight to Moscow.  The kids did so well!  We were a bit worried about the first time on a plane, but we need not have.   They did great.  Ruslan was not to exciting about the feeling in ears as we landed, but gum (his favorite thing) helped.

Next, Igor meet us at the airport, and we started the long ride to the hotel.  The traffic here is insane!   Igor was telling us sometimes it just stops.  We experienced that taking about 4 hours to go 25 miles - about 1 hours to go the last 2 miles.  Wow.  Would not want to face that everyday.   Thankfully the kids feel asleep about 2 hours into the drive.   They were starting the "She's touching me....."He's in my space".  Amazing how you can tell that even in Russian.  Some things are the same.

We are staying at the Russian Hilton.  Oh my, what a wonderful hotel.  It is so beautiful inside.  Everyone has been wonderful to us.  They have absolutely gone out of their way to make our stay extra special.  (A huge thank you to Denise for helping us with this!) 

Hilton Moscow

There is a pool here and we took the kids swimming for the first time.  Turns out they have no fear, and no idea that if they just jump into the deep end they might sink.  Ruslan got a little water in his nose, but all is ok.  Thank goodness papa was in the water and able to grab them right away.   We found some floating toys and things were ok.  Kids really liked the pool.  And to think we thought they might even be a little afraid of the water.  No way.

This morning, we got up early, had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel.   Fresh fruit was the favorite (next to the ham and bacon).  We then met Igor, who took us first to the Dr. for the final check up. All is good.   Papa was told the only worry was that when Anna was older, he would need to buy a shot guy to keep the boys away from her.   He was wonderful, and so good with the children.

Next we went to the Consulate to fill out the final paperwork.  We have our last interview tomorrow morning at 11:30, and if all goes well, we should recieve visas for the children tomorrow.  We are getting so close.  Wow!

We were lucky to be American.  We are able to walk right in to the waiting area.  They "regular" line was probably a 2 day wait?  It was insanely long.  Would love to show some pictures, but the day was off limits for photographs.   No pictures allowed, and they were not kidding about that rule.

Tonight, one of the wonderful staff here has offered to take us on the Metro to Red Square.   We are two stops away.   She is so very nice, and has a niece and nephew, and said it would be easier if she could show us how to go.  Again, I cannot believe how wonderful everyone has been to us.   What an incredible journey, and I just feel so blessed right now!!

LIFE IS GOOD!!

I am happy to report that last night we picked up the kids, and they are now with us!!   Life is Good!! 

We are staying in Stavropol tonight, and leave for Moscow first thing in the morning.  From there we meet with the embassy and get their visas.  We will be on a plane home on Saturday.  Unbelieveable!

Things we have learned so far:

When you have new clothes, you should try them on and change outfits at least 10 times day.  Very fun!   And your new bathing suit is the best pajamas you could have. (from Anna)

If you are a growing boy and there is food in the room, it must be eaten.  (Ruslan)

If you are out of your mind excited, it is ok to go to sleep at 11 pm and wake up at dawn's first light.  It's all exciting you see.

Your first escaltor ride is both exciting and a bit scary.

Toothbrushes that light up are the best!  (Thanks Joyce)

If the mama says no, you should ask the papa, and visa versa.   Thank goodness the mama and papa talk to each other.

Ok, nap time, no sleeping while the mama types -- so good bye (paka) for now.

Russian Spa Camp

As we finish up our last few hours here in Russian Spa Camp, I would be remiss if I did not journal our experience while here.

For the last 10 days, we wake up in the morning in our two room suite and look out the window to see what the weather will look like.  Because we are on Mashuk Mountain, some mornings, we wake up to being in a cloud, which we can watch pass by.

Looking out our window

We then go down at 8:00 and have breakfast.   Breakfast consists of tea, and bread and cheese.  Then there is some combination of cucumbers, cabbage, and/or carrots.  As well, we get a tiny bit of caviar and a wee bit of butter.  They then serve some sort of meat or fish with a bit of potato and/or noodles.  What can I say, the food is very healthy.  I can however, say that the staff is lovely and they are always stopping by to see if we are ok, or if we need anything.   This makes me feel as though I should not say anything bad about the food.  I will say, I am not going to miss it.

Then we head down to our foam bath.  This is a couple buildings away.   Many mornings we were greated by the "guard" dog, who was very happy to have a pet and belly scratch.

After presenting our treatment book (which must go with us everywhere) we are called in to take our foam bath.  It  is like sitting in a chia latte.  You climb in and the foam rises and is filled with some sort of herbs.  It makes your skin quite soft.

After that we head back to the main building for our oxygen cocktail.  I believe this is the same type of liquid that we were just soaking in, but I do not know that for sure.   They fill the glass with foamy liquid in what looks like a ice cream dish.  The girl who serves us, giggles everytime we see her.

After that, I go in for my breathing thing.  One is called quartz and one is oxygen.  I did not take pictures, as there were generally others in the room at the same time.  Dave waits patiently in a chair for me to finish.   One floor waiting room offers Russian music videos, which he has grown quite fond of.

Then we head down for our massage bath.  This is nice.  You go into a nice warm bath, and the attendant works on your muscles with a type of pulsing power hose.   It is quite relaxing, and helps with the back after sleeping on the thin, hard beds here.

After that we go to lunch and then we are free for the day.

In the end was it worth the extra few dollars a day?  Most definitely!  It was a chance to see a very unique aspect of Russian culture.   The people were really nice.   It was in a very quite and peaceful surrounding, and we were able to take nice long hikes (up and down hill).   Glad that we did it.