Still on Russian Time - A Catch-up Blog

It's about 3 am, and I can't go back to sleep. Guess I'm still on Moscow time after all! Thank you to everyone for all you posts, Chris & I were so sorry to cause any concern about our abrupt stop in our posting while in Moscow. As you heard from Babushka Sue, our highly touted free phone & internet crapped out on our 2nd day, never to return. (We were SO ticked!) We had to make several calls for adoption stuff, and also a call each to the Babushkas, on our cell phones... not looking forward to that bill...

OK, how to catch you up? I'll try to work backwards, sort of. We finally got in and to bed late late Tues - 3 am. (Wed, actually, I guess). We landed about 20 min early in ATL from Moscow. Jacob was an angel on the 11 hr flight - maybe 1 or 2 min total of crying the entire time. He took his nap at his regular time, but after that, just really short stretches. He loved playing with the things in the seat pocket in front of him. He walked around the aisles in the plane. And, he was quite the charmer, playing peek-a-boo with many nearby passengers. We also put the headphones on him to listen to music, and he bobbed his head from side to side! So cute. We were told that our 2 hr connection time to our DTW flight would be cutting in very close. But when we got to customs & immigration, we breezed through - maybe 20 min total? We were relieved UNTIL we found out our flight was delayed - a total of 3 hrs!!!

No issues with any of the paperwork in Moscow. The US Embassy interview was smooth, quick & easy. Not much waiting, either. (We're told on Fridays, especially, the room is packed with a several hr wait). Other than that, Chris & Jack had to make a quick trip Friday morning to the Russian consulate to register the boys. It takes 2 business days to complete & get his passport back, so that's why we had to stay through the weekend and Monday.

The entire time in Moscow, Chris felt crappy to varying degrees. He was a real trooper, though, still helping out with Jacob. Jacob changed day by day - he became more comfortable with us, exploring the apartment room by room, playing peek a boo by leaving the room & coming back in. He also became more vocal - still nothing coherent - to us, at least - but definite syllables and quite possibly some Russian words. His tantrums that Babushka Sue mentioned got fewer in frequency and length as we stopped freaking out and figured out a way to handle. He did really well outside - we went out several times with Carrie, Jack, and Ivan - on a trip to McDonalds, a long and cold walk to Red Square to get the obligatory Russian adoption pics in front of St. Basil's Cathedral, and another night out to dinner at TGI Fridays. We discovered that when we played music, Jacob would sway side to side (and if you stood in front of him and held his hands, he would sway and "dance" with you!), and also does this funny "jazz hands" thing, where he puts both hands up, fingers out, and twists/shakes them. VERY cute... Eating hasn't been a problem - just keeping him happy & full. Every time we start to wipe his hands and/or take off his bib, he threw some pretty big fits. We don't want to feed him too much/too little, either - don't know if this is an effect of the orphanage? He doesn't look malnourished - he has quite the little Buddha belly!

Now back to the present (sort of.) Yesterday, after Jacob & I slept in, we helped him explore his new house. He really likes all of his toys. He hasn't even really gotten into all of them yet. He likes being rocked in his glider, and to much relief, was ok to be put down in his crib. (I left out the detail that in Moscow, after the first night, he screamed whenever we'd try to put him down in his crib - nap or bedtime, even after laying in the bed with him to fall asleep first. So, of course Chris & I couldn't stand him being upset and/or scared, so he slept in the bed with us.) We're both anxious to see how Jacob likes Max & Rusty when they come back home - Jacob is a lot more mobile than we had anticipated. By the end of yesterday, he was already pretty comfortable exploring most of the house. He loved playing peek a boo by running around the island in the kitchen. He also loves mirrors, so it's great that he has mirrored closet doors in his room.

Will keep everyone posted as we get settled in. Jacob has a big weekend coming up - both Babushkas & Dyehdushkas (grandpas) are coming up for a weekend visit from STL, as well as tyoh tyah Laura and dyah dyah Matt (aunt & uncle) from Chicago. I'm sure that absolutely no spoiling will take place.... (yeah right).

Love, C&C&J

More pics

We made it Home

Finally got home about 2:30 last night, our flight from ATL was 2 and 1/2 hours late, and we only had 12 minutes from the time the last pax got off to get everyone on and close the door or the crew would have timed out and it would have cancelled, leaving us in ATL. But we made it to DTW, just ahead of the front, It was 40 degrees when we landed and 11 by the time we got home. Carie and Jacob are still sacked out, but I thought I would attempt to post some pictures, I know thats what everyone wants to see. I'll let Carie do her more eloquent writing later.

Chris

Jacob is a U.S. Citizen!!

It's the Babuska again with an update.

The traveling trio safely arrived at the Atlanta airport, a good half hour early. Customs was no problem as Jacob high-fived the customs officer. I wonder where he learned that!

The 12 hr flight so far has gone well with the little guy only sleeping a total of about 1.5 hrs. Evidentally he's wired and running all around the terminal in his favorite boots, glad to be out of the seat. No screaming or tantrums thrown so he's done very well - so far. One more flight tonight plus a 1.5 hr car ride. I'm sure they will all sleep long when they finally get home. Jacob fell asleep for about 20 minutes near the end of the flight but they brought out snacks and that woke him up - he doesn't want to miss a meal, nor end one. He'll eat anything so far - just doesn't like water. He made friends with nearby passengers playing peek-a-boo and giggling and evidentally read through a substanial amount of magazines and books, loving to point to the pictures. He's quite the charmer.

So the kids have had little to no sleep and are down to one diaper left for the remaining trip to Detroit. Seems they forgot to get the extra diapers out of their checked bags as they went thru customs so maybe they'll find some at the terminal shops or bum one from some other parent:) Their Detroit flight is an hour late. Figures.

Jacob even got to talk to his Aunt Laura and this Babuska!! He jabbered something we have no clue of and began to push the cell phone buttons - but didn't disconnect us. He likes the phone! I'm sure it'll be interesting when he arrives home and sees Toy Heaven...and the Babuskas have barely started:)

Thanks for checking back. Almost home!

News from the Babuska

Hi, this is Chris' mom, one of the excited Babuskas. C&C asked that I post a message and let everyone know that it is not Jacob that is keeping them from blogging. Their internet and phone from the apartment has been down and today, their TV is down too. The internet cafe across the street is closed and they haven't found another one. The weather hasn't been great either keeping them indoors more. They did get some pics at Red Square.

So here's what I know...

Jacob is doing great. He walks all over and likes to explore. They said he is a quick learner too. His 18 month old clothes are a bit big and some pants tend to fall down when he takes off. (Babuskas to the store!) He loved his trip to McDonalds - had a cheeseburger with french fries with lots of KETCHUP - boy was Daddy proud! Jacob can feed himself and drink from a cup but hates it when it's time to quit eating and clean up. He can also throw some good tantrums too. (I see you all smiling:)

All the paperwork is done and they are able to leave a day early. On Tuesday, they will fly from Moscow to Atlanta and then onto Detroit hopefully making the connection.

While Chris is feeling better, Carie woke up with it today and of course, you know who finished all the OTC drugs. They're hoping that Jacob doesn't get it before they get home.

I don't expect to hear from them again until they are back but if I do, I'll add a post and let you know what's going on. They'll post when they get back and fill in all the gaps.

Thanks for checking in and keeping them in your thoughts and prayers.

Pictures from Kemerovo

The neon thermometer in downtown Kemerovo. This was Sunday mid-day. It was about -18 C.

This was Saturday afternoon. Chris & I walked around by ourselves, as C & J were still getting over some jet lag. Here I am standing in front of this really neat snow sculpture. Remember, in Russia they just recently celebrated Russian Orthodox Christmas Jan 7, so there were still a lot of lights & decorations up. This snow sculpture is of Father Frost (Ded Meroz in Russian) and his granddaughter, the Snow Princess (not sure how to say or spell her name in Russian). Chris thinks this picture is hilarious because of how bundled up I look, and also because how small I look compared to this giant snow sculpture:

Chris standing in front of some statue guy - maybe Pushkin?

A close-up of bundled Carie, standing in front of the fountain that you see from the web cam.

Speaking of the web cam, here's the drama theatre that is also seen in the webcam.

Here is Carie with the other Carrie and Jack, walking along the River Tom on Sunday:
Us in front of the same fountain, but this time on Sunday:

In the van on the way to the baby house on Tuesday - Carie has to scrape frost off the INSIDE of the windows with a credit card so that we can see out.

First Night in Moscow

It's about 6:30 am Thursday morning in Moscow. Jacob went to sleep early last night, and didn't wake up till about 4:30 am (to be fair - that is like 8:30 am his time, as Moscow is 4 hrs behind Kemerovo time). Chris volunteered to get him when he woke up, and inadvertently had the dubious honor of changing the first poopy diaper - way to go Chris! (he is the one with the cold, I'm sure it smelled better to him than it would have to me.) They played for a while, then I got up and we fed him breakfast. This time it was some sort of fruit puree baby food that was pretty runny, and against my better judgement, I let him feed himself again - even messier than the oatmeal!

Chris's ear is feeling a little better this morning - but overall he's still not feeling great. He went back to bed, and Jacob tuckered out as well, but was not thrilled about going back into the crib, so I layed down with him in our bed, and he fell right asleep again. So, right now they're both in the bed, sleeping. (I'd take a picture, but think I'd get in trouble!)

Here's Jacob last night when I put him down in the "crib" (really a play pen)

Here he is this morning, playing before breakfast:

Will write more after our U.S. Embassy visit this afternoon. Since I can't sleep, I'm also going to do another post with our Kemerovo pics.

Made it to Moscow

It's Wed evening here - we made it to Moscow this morning. The 4-hr plane ride went great with Jacob - again, Chris & I were amazed! After we got in, we had to wait about 30 min until our driver arrived. At that point, Jacob started to figure out he was mobile (even in his snow boots, which we've been having difficulty with getting his foot in all the way). So, even though he was a bit clumsy in the boots (with a bruise on his noggin to prove it), Jacob started cruising around the airport - and pretty quickly, too. Luckily, either Chris or I could keep up, but every once in a while he'd trip and take a little tumble.

Here's Jacob on the plane. (Since he IS the son of a pilot, he had to make sure he was familiar with the emergency procedures...)

Finally, we were picked up and taken straight to the medical clinic where the kids were examined. (This exam is also necessary for processing the U.S. Embassy paperwork to make them citizens). We're happy to report that Jacob received a clean bill of health from Dr. Boris, who spoke English and was great with the kids. He mentioned the thumb-sucking, and also that Jacob has a tendency to create a little "drama" by crying to get me to hold him, etc, and that he urged us to be stronger to resist his ploys. (Easy for him to say!)

Tomorrow afternoon is our interview at the U.S. Embassy. Not sure how rigorous the questioning is, but after Russian court, we're pretty much ready for anything! We're also going to look into changing our flights to leaving on Tues instead of Wed, as we confirmed with Oksana that we can indeed leave Tues.

Oh, and FYI, I am currently taking care of 2 baby boys: you've seen pictures of Jacob, but unfortunately the slightly larger boy with more facial hair has not been feeling well for the past few days, and has really come down with something today. His ear never cleared when we landed, and he's really not feeling well now. We're experimenting with all our OTC meds, and also have some antibiotics if nothing else is helping.

Here's Jacob showing us that he can feed himself.... (he was covered in oatmeal!)

Thanks for everyone's posts - it's been great to hear from so many family & friends while being so far away! I would just kill for a regular Diet Coke (no more Coca Cola Light!) Love, C&C&J

We are a Family!

We drove to the baby house in Prokopyevsk yesterday morning with Carrie & Jack, and a different translator, Elisa. She was great at making conversation on the 3-hour car ride there, which on the way to pick up our kids seemed like forever! When we got there, it was a bit of a wait, they had decided to get the kids lunch before sending them on the 3-hr drive back, so by the time Jacob was brought to us, we had very little time to reconnect with him and then strip him down to put his new clothes on- a tradition that symbolizes the beginning of his new life, leaving everything from the baby house behind, including everything he was wearing. Just as we expected, Jacob screamed & cried when they brought him out. His caregiver quickly left the room so that he would not want her, so I left the room with her to ask questions about his care while Chris was left to console him (and was helped by the orphanage director, Dr. Ludmila, and some cookies!)

Jacob was SO GOOD on the 3-hr drive home - Chris and I were both shocked. He even started smiling at us, giggling, and playing. We did learn that he has a thumb-sucking habit, but we'll worry about that when we get back to the US (although when he gets going vigorously enough, he makes a clucking noise that sort of sounds like a metranome). OK, I'll quit typing all these words already - here's some picture:

Here is the reunion at the baby house:

Getting bundled up (yet another Russian tradition - no skin showing when it's cold!

The newly extended Wolters family with Dr. Ludmila, the director of the Prokopyevsk baby house. (We're standing in her office, where we changed Jacob's clothes.)

Jacob & Mommy (outside the baby house):

Jacob & Daddy (on the car ride back to Kemerovo):

It's Official!!!

We are now Jacob's new Mommy & Daddy! Court was this morning, and went very well. Carrie & Jack went first, then us. Chris did great representing us, as the husband answers almost every question - except the date we were married- our coordinator said that the judge knows better than to ask the husband this question! Even better, the 10-day waiting period was waived, so we leave first-thing tomorrow morning to head down to Prokopyevsk to the baby house to pick up Jacob, and C&J's son Ivan.

There were no surpises during court. I think the judge was tired of asking questions by the time she got to us, because our session was shorter than C&Js. Pretty standard stuff - names, occupations, family yearly income, why did we want to adopt. Since we didn't have any other children in the home, they asked us if we had any childcare experience (thank you Roosevelts & Steiners for that...). Also what were our childcare plans since we both work. (Chris pointed out several times his "many days off" per month...) After court, we went to the Dept of Vital Records to get the new birth certificates, then to the police station to process the passports, which will be ready when we get back from Proko tomorrow.

Now we're all drained after all the nerves and excitement from this morning. Chris & I think it's pretty funny that a Siberian air flow has been causing a big cold snap back home - we actually saw the other day that it was warmer here than in Chicago (sorry Laura/Matt, Namy, and Erin/Ed!) We're headed out after this for one last child-free dinner, which may include some celebratory beer... or even vodka (when in Russia...)

We may not get the opportunity to post, as we will be gone all day on our trip to the baby house, then we have to head back to the police station to get passports. We'll hope to post his first official pictures as Jacob Michael Kirill Wolters when we settle in our Moscow apt Wed afternoon. Also, looks like we may get to head home a day early, on Tues, so we'll be looking into changing flights once we get into Moscow. Love, C&C

Another Day in Snow Paradise

Today seems like it will be tough - a full day just to kill, no court till tomorrow, no Jacob until Tuesday... Last night we got together again with Carrie & Jack (the other AA family) and had dinner - food was questionable, but the beer was good, and cold, too! We made the mistake of going to sleep right after we got back from dinner, and were wide awake at 11 pm. We watched a movie on the laptop, then were able to sleep again till 6 am.

This morning, we had a hot breakfast at the hotel at 9, then went back out exploring with C & J. Some of you even got to see us on the Kemerovo webcam! We're warming up at the internet cafe, then heading back out. So far, we have been getting some strange looks from the "locals" - I guess we're not blending in well. It must be our big coats and how much we're bundled up. Believe it or not, the locals wear hats, but no scarves or anything to cover their faces, lots of fur coats, but nothing quite as big and bulky as what we're wearing. One older woman in particular, could not stop staring at us today as we were walking by - she kept doing double-takes! I tried to wear less "bulk" today, but my face is freezing! Tomorrow will be a fuller day, with court in the morning at 10, then paperwork afterward, but we will try to make it back to the cafe to post again on how court went!

We have all sorts of cold-looking pictures from our exploring that we'll put on once we get to Moscow -even though by then, all you'll want to see are Jacob pictures!!! Love, C&C

K is for Kemerovo... and Kold

We arrived on schedule this morning to Kemerovo, and just like reports from other families and weather.com, it is COLD!!!! There's about 2 ft of snow on the ground, lots of Russians bustling around the city head to toe in fur. Our hotel is nice - small, more like a bed & breakfast. We are now with the other AA family, we had breakfast together, but there's still sleeping now - they had a different flight schedule and weren't able to have a day hotel in Moscow yesterday like us.

We needed to get out of the room, so we've bundled up to find our way around town (so far, so good - have found the internet cafe!) Seems like a nice city- we found the location of the webcam, so maybe we'll try to arrange to be on camera if anyone wants to try & watch. We had fun watching kids go sledding off of man-made wooden slides on the ice/snow.

We asked about going to the orphanage this weekend to see our kids one more time before court, but no go - weather is too bad, and our coordinator is very busy translating the rest of our documents. Court is Monday at 10 am, then we have other paperwork to do that day. We will leave Tues morning to make the 3hr drive to pick up the kids. We'll try to get out more to post more updates.

Made it to Moscow

Well, so far we've made it from Battle Creek to Moscow - no issues with any of the flights so far. We had an 8-hr layover in JFK, so that was an exciting day. The plane to Moscow was full, and we had bought tickets this time, so no business class. We still managed to get some rest, though. By the way, there was a flight attendant on the plane who was a dead ringer for my cousin Sarah. So Sarah, I guess that means that you could pass for Russian if you wanted... We got a "day room" at a hotel nearby the SVO airport, and we both got some more sleep, so feeling pretty good so far. Our flight to Kemerovo leaves at 10:30 pm, in another 3.5 hrs from now. Glad to have the internet access to kill some time.

Seems like we are slightly better communicators this time around with Russian. We were the only ones at the gate at JFK for hours, then they brought this old woman to the gate, who spoke no English, only Russian. She asked something about Moscow, we said "Da", then she took that as a sign we spoke Russian, and started speaking very quickly. Luckily, the only thing that came to mind helped - the equivalent of "I don't understand" in Russian. She ended up calling her daughter on her cell phone and handed it to Chris, who assured her that her mother was in the right place. Later in the day, all sorts of Russian people showed up, so she had people to talk to.

Tonight after checking out of the hotel (unfortunately we had to check out at 6 pm, and our ride is not coming until 8 pm), we ate at the hotel restaurant. Traditional Russian food - that is always challenging to pick something off the menu, but we both had spaghetti with mushrooms, and it was really good! No tomato sauce - more like an alfredo with onions, but it even met Chris's approval as the 2nd best thing he's had so far in Russia! They had brought us bread, and I was very proud of my ability to ask for butter - and we got butter! (some of you may remember me trying to ask for hot water on the plane to Siberia last trip, and getting coffee with milk instead...).

I believe there is no internet access in the hotel we'll be staying at in Kemerovo, only an internet cafe ~4 blocks away, so may not hear from us much for the next few days. We'll be able to make up for it in Moscow, where our apt is supposed to have free high-speed for our laptop.

Welcome to our Journey to Bring Home Jacob!

Family & Friends-

We're not big bloggers, but thought this would be a great way to keep family & friends updated as we head back to Russia later this week to make Jacob our forever son!

For those interested in the logistical details, we are leaving home in Battle Creek Wednesday night, 1/16, to stay near the Detroit airport. Bright & early Thursday morning, 1/17, we depart for JFK, with a healthy layover, then on to Moscow! We arrive Moscow the morning of Friday, 1/18, have another healthy layover, then depart that evening to Kemerovo in Southwestern Siberia. We arrive Kemerovo early in the morning on Sat, 1/19. We have 2 days to kill until court, which will take place on Monday, 1/21. If all goes well, we will travel the following day to pick up Jacob at the baby house 3 hrs away in Prokopyevsk. The next day - Wed 1/23, we leave for Moscow, where we'll spend a week completing immigration paperwork before finally heading home on Wed 1/30.

We'll continue to post updates as we have internet access. Right now, we are just finishing the packing. Chris is off work now until March and has been busy running last-minute errands, while I try to concentrate and wrap things up for 2 more days of work. Let the countdown begin!