Beautiful Day

Today was an absolutely beautiful and sunny day. So nice to see the sun. When Mike was here it was gray and there was a small snow storm every day.

We had morning and afternoon visits today and had so much fun with the girls.

Today during our visit one of the caregivers took M and swung her all over the place, and threw her up in the air. She did not like it one bit but it reminded us that M is not as small and fragile as we think. Since that time we have swung her around and she does seem to like it.

M has a cold and a runny nose. I think I have caught it. I am sure not the last time that the kids will get me sick, but it is the first.

D knows there are cheerios in my bag so any time she sees it she goes crazy trying to get into it. She will take everything out of it until she finds the cup. She loves them and is so sad when they are ‘all gone’. I cannot wait to be able to feed them myself. Right now we are really not supposed to be giving them anything so it is like contraband that we have to hide when the caregivers come through. I look forward to be able to feed them. Right now the caregiver sits behind M and shovels food into her mouth. She really needs to eat more slowly as she has a tiny mouth. I bet that is why she is so small and why they say she has a ‘digestive problem’ because they do not give her any time to eat and swallow.

They both love to look in the mirror and point. There is a mirror on the wall in the room that we are using to visit with the girls everyday. We have had such fun showing them their reflections.

We enjoyed a few minutes outside of the orphanage after our visit in the sun before our driver showed up to pick us up. The sun felt good, you do not see it that often here. I took photos of Russian kitties outside of orphanage this afternoon. There seems to be about 4 stray cats that hang out outside the orphanage.The picture of my parents in their Russian hats enjoying the sun is great so I added it here too.

During lunch we walked around town and I gave them the official Tver town tour, which take all of ½ hour. I showed them the statue of St. Michael, Lenin, the Volga river and the pedestrian street. We had lunch at a small café because we did not want anything too big. So, we had hotdogs and soda.

The day was exhuasting and we had dinner at hotel tonight.

We really tire out my dad. With all the walking around town, over icy and crazy streets, up and down 3-4 flights of stairs and being busy chasing the girls all day my dad is wiped out. I have lots of funny pictures of him napping any time he sits down.

Yay- My parents are here.

Yay! Our 10 day wait has begun and My parents have arrived.

I had a nice breakfast with the Florida couple and their son before they left for Moscow for the final leg of their trip.

My parents got in around 10 and we quickly got them settled and I got to show them all the photos and videos of the girls. We had plenty of time before the afternoon visit with the girls so we set about to explore town and show them around. My dad was set on getting a real Russian hat so he asked the front desk where to find one. They sent us to a really nice hat shop literally right around the corner from our old hotel. We tried on a ton of hats and all three of us ended up getting one. Of course my dad’s was the cheapest… Now he looks like a real Russian. Especially with the mustache and hat on, he fits right in. My mom got a beautiful full fur one with cute ear flaps and pom pom bottoms. I got a cool trendy one with a big fur top. I love it. It is so warm and fun. I cant wait to wear it a lot. We all took the tags off and wore them right out of the store. Here are photos of us:


Since we were over by hotel Volga I took them to the Volga souvenir shop as I think it is the cheapest in town and also has a great selection. They bought dozens of small nesting dolls as gifts for friends and co-workers. Also a couple of the little wooden mirrors that are a specialty of Tver. We headed to the money changer in the hotel lobby and I was thrilled to have them experience 24 yaca for lunch so they can see what we ate for a week. It was a fun afternoon. We stopped in one or 2 more stores on our way back to the hotel. Rested and played on the computers before heading to the orphanage.

It was SO exciting to introduce my parents to their new granddaughters to see them interact with the girls. It was so much fun and really nice. My dad got some great photos and I took a couple of them with their new granddaughters. They got to experience the baby home, see their groupa and even meet the director and doctor. The doctor commented on how much me and my mom look alike. They were all really sweet.

Dinner and sleep.

ALL ALONE!

Today I am ALONE with the girls.

Mike left this morning for an afternoon flight home. I headed to the orphanage by myself. For my first and only visit with them alone (my parents come tomorrow). Wow, it was exhausting and certainly gave me a taste of what life is going to be like.

Masha only wants to be held and held in a certain way or she fusses and cries. Dasha does not want to stop moving for a second. So, by the end of the visit I was soaking with sweat. Sweat running down my back, my hair was an absolute mess; my tee shirt was wet with sweat, snot and drool. It was a mess. But a fun mess and I did it!

Running after D and trying to contain her and pick her up while holding M is going to have to become an art form that I will master. Thankfully every time a worker or caregiver came through the room it looked like I had somewhat of control over the situation. Most of the times I was holding both and either standing and bouncing with them or sitting and rocking them. Sometimes I was holding M with one arm walking D around the room. I was so happy that the moments where D was putting the disgusting metal doorstop in her mouth or rolling on the ground, or the time M was screaming her head off because I put her down for a second to make sure D did not tip over an entire table full of potted plants were not seen by the staff. Of course once I brought the girls back to their group and everyone saw my frazzled expression and soaked clothing I am sure they knew how the visit went. It was a blast.

I came back and ate lunch at the hotel. Then I went walking searching for the baby store that I remember passing in the car around the other hotel. It wasn’t difficult to find them. There are 4 baby stores 2 blocks away from Hotel Volga. I bought pacifiers for the girls in hopes that M will use one instead of chewing on her tongue and cheeks as she does now. I am looking for cute Russian kids clothes. Something with Russian writing or words on it. Something special that I cannot find in the states but I haven’t been able to find anything. Everything is in English, like it is so cool her in Russia to have English on your clothes!

Back in the hotel I was pooped. I watched 2 DVD’s on my computer ate bread and peanut butter with fruit for dinner in my room and relaxed. It was really nice to be on my own for a little while and I was happy to have the time to recoup before my parents get here tomorrow. I cannot wait to show them around.

Today is the DAY!!!!

Today is the day.
Last night Mike and I went over outlines of everything we wanted to say, after going over our home study and financial documents. We went through all the questions we received thanks to families who already went through court with this judge.

We were picked up at 9:30 and headed with our coordinator and social worker to the courthouse. This time we were in the criminal court floor. It was a larger courtroom and had a jail cell off to the side with a long bench in it. We got settled and waited for our 10 am trial time. We were getting a little worried as out interpreter had not shown up yet by ten and the Judge was ready to come in. Thankfully she showed up 1 minute later and barely had time to take off her coat before the judge walked in. We stood as she walked in. She read the document stating our case and asked us to stand to read us our rights. Once again, we waived our right to remove anyone from the court room. Then she basically said ‘who will speak first?’ Michael stood and she began asking questions. He spoke for about 45 minutes. It was not hard at all. Questions were like: Do you have friends? What do you do in your job? Describe your wife? Who does the chores in the house?

The prosecutor grilled the other couple for 20 minutes about the recent Harrison case of a child dying in a hot car. They got lectured and asked about their thoughts. She didn’t even ask us about it.

I stood and answered all of 4 questions. Describe your husband? Do you have enough love for these girls? Will you have any help when you get home?

Then the Orphanage doctor and the social worker stood to give their testimony. They both stated the girls medicals, their birth family history and their thoughts about us in seeing us interact with the girls. It was so nice to hear that they thought we were so good interacting with the twins.

The judge left the court room for not even 2 minutes and came back to read her verdict. It was a wonderful moment even if it was a bit anticlimactic. I don’t even remember what she said. Basically “congratulations, you are parents” and that was it. Everyone shook our hands and we left. It was over in less than 2 hours.

We were going to go to Fortuna for a celebratory lunch but our coordinator and interpreter had paperwork to finish and it was snowing out so we just headed to the hotel restaurant because we were emotionally drained and just wanted to relax. We changed, relaxed, ate and then headed to tell the girls that we are officially their parents. It was a great visit. I haven’t been taking a lot of pictures lately because we have been so busy just spending time with the girls. I know once my parents come my dad will take tons.

We ate in the hotel for dinner again as we were just too tired to venture out in the dark and snow. We had dinner with the couple who picked up their son today from baby home 2 hours outside of Tver. He is adorable and well behaved. Such a cutie.

Here are some random pictures I have taken today. Just thought I'd share.

This is a Kitty in the window of

one of the old Russian homes near our hotel.

Weird picture of the monkey bath toy that Masha likes to play with, I had no idea that I took this picture, I think it was done accidentally

when she was pulling on the cord on the camera.

This is a weird little kiosk near our hotel. It sells all sorts of sausages and frankfurters. There are kiosks like this all over the city on street corners that sell snacks, sodas, cigarettes etc. But this one looks like it only sells hotdogs!

Lazy Weekend in Tver

We visited with the girls this morning. it went really well. Easy with our driver even through we have a language barrier. We were thrilled to be allowed to feed the girls today. They were a little fussy at the end of our visit and I think they were hungry so we brought them back to their room and the caregivers put them at the little tables and put little chairs next to them so we could feed them first. I was so excited. They had a big bowl of what looking like oatmeal with some pieces of pumpernickel bread mashed up and a mug (like a coffee cup) full of something that I think is tea with fruit juice mixed in. It looked gross and it had thinks floating in it. They use soup spoons and Dasha already had hers in her hand and was shoveling food into her mouth. The spoon was way too big and she couldn’t get most of it in her mouth. I helped her but she had a really tight grip on the spoon. Michael fed Masha and lets just say he was way too slow for the caregivers. Masha has a small mouth. Mike was enjoying it and letting her savor every bit. Usually there are 2 caregivers trying to feel 12 crying and starving kids so everyone gets food shoveled into their mouths as quickly as possible. After finishing the porridge the kids take the cup themselves, hold it themselves and drink everything in the cup. I was worried that they will spill it but then realized, they are in an orphanage, they know to get every last drop of that into their mouths because if not, they do not get any more.

This afternoon we walked around the town. We saw most of Tver, at least center city. We walked to the St. Michael’s statue; he is the patron saint of Tver. We also saw Lenin Square with a sculpture of Lenin, and walked along the Volga River. I bet it is so beautiful in the summer. When the weather is warm and the boats are running. But, it was basically frozen. I took lots of pictures of the architecture. Some of these old homes look like they are going to fall down. We visited some shops and a café for lunch. Of course no one speaks English so it is always fun pointing to random things at the café (deli) and biting in to them. Some have meat, some have veggies, and some have jam!! They all look basically the same.

I am on a Tver yahoo group and put out a post asking if any other families were in Tver. We ended up have dinner with a really nice couple who came back for their son after their 10 day wait. It was great to hangout with other Adoptive families and great fun talking about our journeys and comparing notes. Their son is in a baby home 2 hours outside of the city, so they drive 2 hours, visit for not even 2 hours, and drive back to the hotel for another 2 hours. I am so thankful that the girls are only 15 minutes away. It was a great night and helped mike and I relax before court. Otherwise, we’d be in the room stressing.

Looking forward to getting tomorrow over with...
Here are some Photos we took on our walk this afternoon.

Happy Valentine's Day

We are on our own. This weekend we are without coordinator and translator- All by ourselves in Tver.

Our coordinator set up a driver to take us to the orphanage both weekend days. His wife is a worker at the orphanage so thankfully he knows his way and can get us into the orphanage (because they probably wouldn’t open the door for us if we were on our own!) Unfortunately because it is the weekend and they do not have a full staff we were asked to only make one visit a day. We chose to go in the mornings so we can walk around Tver in the afternoons. After a nice (and free) buffet breakfast in the hotel we found our driver Sergi right outside waiting for us. Yay! We got to the orphanage and it was so quiet, and didn’t smell as bad as normal. We saw one of the caregivers and figured out a way to speak English/Russian said Masha/Dasha/Sisters/their birth surname and they figured it out. Down came the girls in the same pj’s I brought them earlier in the week. Not sure if or when they wash any of the clothing, but the girls always seem clean as do the outfits. I immediately went to change them both into the cute Valentine’s Day outfits I brought. They are grey sweatpants and sweatshirts with little pink hearts all over and ruffles on the zipper of the sweatshirt. I added cute long sleeved onesies under, with socks and robezz shoes. I even brought little barrettes too. Dasha is very easy to change, she even helps along. Masha cried bloody murder the entire time and I ended up having to do it piece meal because I did not want a caregiver to hear her wailing. I got some really cute pictures but couldn’t get Dasha to stop for long enough to get a picture of the 2 of them together. We had a great visit. We brought them up to eat and for a nap at noon and got to spend a few minutes in their playroom with the caregivers. Said hello to the other couples daughter and our new friend Y’s little girl. We somehow got across to the caregiver that we would be back tomorrow same time. She asked why not this afternoon, and I was annoyed that we were told not to go for both visits. But, I guess it is true that we should not annoy the orphanage workers by being around too much. And it does give me and Mike time to explore the town and relax a little, as we are wiped out from the week.

Back at the hotel we took a nap and regrouped. I started organizing all the photos and videos I have been taking. Hundreds of them already! We headed out for lunch to our new favorite spot, Fortuna. Unfortunately they only speak Russian and do not have English menus. But, since we have been there a few times already, we had our translator write down our favorite dishes in Russian, transliteration and English and we (mostly Mike) have been practicing for a couple of days. We walked around and explored; it was snowing and very pretty because the white blanketed the town, instead of the dirty brown snow that we saw all week. We got to the restaurant and were able to order without a problem. Only issues were 1)that we forgot to say no cream in the soup (they put this heavy cream, like sour cream consistency in every dish)2) and that on our dessert Bellini’s we asked for honey but last time the honey was warmed and this time it was cold (Bellini’s were still delicious). Once we got back to the hotel we asked the receptionist to write down how you say ‘no cream’ and ‘warm honey’ so I am prepared next time. I’m looking forward to taking my parents there when they get into town.

Before heading back to the hotel we walked over to the supermarket to get some supplies. I bought diapers to bring to the orphanage for the twins. I also saw a bunch of Russian children’s books. I have absolutely NO idea what they say but I picked out 2 that looked cute. One I think is an ABC type book but whatever ABC is in Russian and the other is a story book of some kind with bears. I also got 2 cute coloring books. Stocked up on some water and fruit and headed back to the hotel. The snow was really coming down. Still, everyone was just walking around going about their business. This is just a normal day here in Tver. It looks like we are supposed to get these snow showers daily for the next week.

Mike’s napping now and we will just relax the rest of the day.

My parent’s arrive in Moscow tomorrow afternoon. I am looking forward to seeing them on Wednesday afternoon and showing them around Tver. I especially look forward to introducing them to their granddaughters. Hopefully they will have an enjoyable few days in Moscow touring around while we finish with court.

Happy Valentines Day. Last night was our anniversary- 9 years ago Michael and I had our first date.

Preliminary Court Hearing ~ Friday the 13th

I slept so well last night, I am so happy and feel refreshed and ready for trial.

Early breakfast and a relaxing morning because we know we have to go to court and are super nervous. We looked very good in our suits, if I do say so myself! We picked up Social worker and off we went to court. I took a photo of the court house.

At the court house we met up with the Doctor from Orphanage. We were introduced to the lady who would be our translator; she works teaching English in a local University. The preliminary court hearing is the part where we go over all of our documents and make sure it is all in order. The court room was very small. Lots of fake wood paneling. There is a judge’s bench with three big chairs a small table and chair on both side and 2 rows of benches facing the judge. It was very hot inside. In the room with us was the Judge who sat up high in a big chair above us like a real court room (not sure why I didn’t think it would be like a real court room). There was a secretary next to her acting as a court stenographer, but handwriting notes. Then the prosecutor, who I guess represents Russia (or the children’s interests?). Also in the room were the social worker and orphanage doctor. Since our coordinator has a vested interest in us she was not allowed in the room. So on the benches were it was just us and the interpreter on the bench. We all stood up as the Judge entered. The judge read our rights, asked if we’d like to have anyone removed from the court room (weird!) and then asked us to stand and state our names and address. She proceeded for 1 and ½ hours to go through every single document that we provided. She asked a few questions including ones regarding our mortgage (how does a co-op work?) asked about our Connecticut home as well as about Mike’s law school loans. It took a long time, as there had to be over 150 documents. Each one was translated into Russian and then notarized in Russia so our dossier was so huge that it was overflowing out of 2 giant binders. The funny thing is that she joked with our coordinator after the fact about how it was too much paper. We were thinking…listen B*!@h, you asked for it all!!! Anyway, then the she turned attention to the girls documents and went over their birth certificates, birth mother and family information and any other information like the fact that they had been referred to a Spanish couple before us and were turned down because of concern over Masha’s delays. At first I thought, I can’t believe anyone would turn these girls down, but then I snapped out of it, thank god they turned them down so we can get them now!!! The Judge also said they were offered 10 times to Russian families, but because Russians are only really allowed to adopt 1 at a time, they were never even looked at by a Russian family. Thank god! We then went over all the girls’ medicals and the long laundry list of things wrong with them. The Russians as so overly dramatic! The judge, doctor and social worker had a 10 minute conversation in Russian trying to figure out who was older, as it is shown differently on different documents. Sometimes they write ‘1st twin’ meaning the larger of the twins not necessarily the older of the two. The official documents state Masha was first, but the doctor told us after trial that really Dasha is older. But, because it is written in official documents for the purpose of this trial we just have to leave it that way because changing it would cause delays for us. That is the last thing we want. So, not until I get my hands on all those documents, like the birth certificates will I know for sure.

Lastly, the judge asked me if we loved these girls and if we were capable of caring for them and their issues. I stood and said 100% yes, we will do everything in our power to provide for them. I said that my mother was a specialist in special needs and that we have lots of doctors, teachers, physical and speech therapists in our family that will help us, that we have the financial means to care for them and we will give them everything they need to thrive and become wonderful human beings.

That was it. She set a trial date for Monday at 10 am. Now we have to get through the weekend. Everyone left the court room and they were all happy and chatty in Russian. Mike told me after the fact that he got a little bit nervous when they read the long list of Masha’s issues but as soon as I stood up and said what I did he knew it was definitely the right thing and that Masha was going to be just fine.

We were dropped off at the hotel Volga to change out of our court clothing and to pack our things. We are moving to the Hotel Osnabruck for the next week for court and the 10 day wait. I am excited because I will finally have internet access and English speaking people!

We had our final lunch at 24 Yaca and checked into Osnabruck. It is a much nicer hotel. We seem to have gotten the last room left, and the biggest. It is a duplex with a small sitting area downstairs and the bathroom and the large bedroom studio apartment type thing upstairs. It is really nice for Russian standards (although certainly not a Western style hotel). Only problem is that there are no elevators here. So up three flights of stairs, then we have another set of stairs to get up to our bedroom once inside the suite.

We were excited to see the girls this afternoon and tell them that we are half way through court to becoming their forever family. We had to say goodbye to the other couple who finished court on Thursday. They head back to Moscow this afternoon to wait out the 10 days at home.
It was nice to have quiet time with the girls. We had the private room upstairs near the baby room. It was a great visit.

We returned to the hotel and said goodbye to our coordinator for the weekend. She will be back on Monday at 9:30 to take us to court.

We had dinner at the Osnabruck restaurant. Food is good, certainly better than the 24 yaca. Wonderful seeing an English menu and after 8 pm they had a piano player for entertainment. Kind of cheesy- but a nice way to end a very busy and emotional week.

Here are photos of our new hotel: