I wanted to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year....I hope everyone has a great 2008!!
Well - I originally was going to end the blog today, but I may post here and there, just not as regularly as I have been...but people have been so interested, I hate to stop all together...
So - as 2007 comes to an end...thank you again to all our family and friends who supported us and helped us and cheered us on during this crazy year - from putting together our dossier, to waiting, to going to Kazakhstan for a month, to finally bringing Drew home....it's been a heck of a year!! :)
Drew continues to do great and every day does something that amazes us...his walking is outstanding - he's toddling around everywhere - not holding on and just doing great. He's babbling tons and making lots of different sounds now so I know the words are going to come in the next days or weeks - they are almost right there. He's eating everything we give him and loving it all - he's definitely not a picky eater like his mother!
Sleep is stil an issue, though we finally decided to say "screw it" and we are letting him cry a bit before going in to get him - it's working I think...last night he woke up around midnight, cried for a few minutes and fell back to sleep...I know the adoption books say not to do that, but hey, we all need to sleep better!!!
Drew is also being a typical 18-month old with always wanting his way and falling down on the floor, crying if he doesn't get it...so we are working through that as well...
All in all - Drew is doing great, adjusting well and enjoying life - he loves his dog Peyton, bathtime, throwing his toys around his room, holding the tube of bacetracin for me while I change his diapers, being carried down the stairs, playing with all of his toys - especially his blocks, all of his cell phones, his puzzles and all of his musical stuff, he loves being tickled by his mommy and daddy...really - he's a pretty happy kid - we are very lucky he is ours!!!
So - that's where we are at the end of 2007..can't wait to see what 2008 brings!!!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Lab work...
Today we went to Children's Hospital to do all of Drew's lab work. They have to check to make sure he's had all the vaccines Kazakhstan says he's had and check for a few other things too - in all they took 7-8 vials of blood - he was not happy...I felt so awful, and even worse cause I couldn't look as I get sick from the sight of blood.
As with all medical stuff, they had to fill out some forms on him, one of which asked a lot of questions about when he was born. Mind you, I told these people from the begining that he had to get all the blood work because he had only recently come home from Kazakhstan. Still, these people asked me the name of the hospital he was born in and what time he was born!!!! I actually laughed at that one and said, "I don't know, does it really matter? I can make up a time if you want." So stupid!!! Even if I did know the time of his birth, why does it matter to test if he's had certain vaccines??????? I was born at 12:13 p.m. - I don't really think that has ever affected any blood work I've had! Yes, that question really bugged me! :)
But the good news is we got our new insurance cards today with Drew's name included - so he's official! Now we need to get him a Social Security number and a tax number and a bunch of other stuff I told myself I would not think about until Jan. 2.
So, other than the blood stuff Drew had a good day - though he's starting to get rough with the dog so we need to put an end to that...I also caught him trying to eat cheerios like Peyton does, wth his mouth off the couch, which was really funny actually, but not something to encourage!
As with all medical stuff, they had to fill out some forms on him, one of which asked a lot of questions about when he was born. Mind you, I told these people from the begining that he had to get all the blood work because he had only recently come home from Kazakhstan. Still, these people asked me the name of the hospital he was born in and what time he was born!!!! I actually laughed at that one and said, "I don't know, does it really matter? I can make up a time if you want." So stupid!!! Even if I did know the time of his birth, why does it matter to test if he's had certain vaccines??????? I was born at 12:13 p.m. - I don't really think that has ever affected any blood work I've had! Yes, that question really bugged me! :)
But the good news is we got our new insurance cards today with Drew's name included - so he's official! Now we need to get him a Social Security number and a tax number and a bunch of other stuff I told myself I would not think about until Jan. 2.
So, other than the blood stuff Drew had a good day - though he's starting to get rough with the dog so we need to put an end to that...I also caught him trying to eat cheerios like Peyton does, wth his mouth off the couch, which was really funny actually, but not something to encourage!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Visitors!!
Drew had visitors today - Carolyn, Dave and Nicholas Bailey! Carolyn is my oldest friend -we go back to middle school...
So, they came to visit and we had a really good time - they actually have Peyton's brother Eli (who used to be our dog for a few months, and now he's their dog) - so it was a "Manning puppy" reunion!! The dogs had a great time, and the people had a great time too. Nicholas even gave Drew a special gift that he picked out on his own of cookies with a cookie monster on the box because he knows that Drew loves cookies!!!
Pictures are posted on the side of the blog....
Nothing much else new here...Drew is pretty tired though...Nicholas wore him out!!!
So, they came to visit and we had a really good time - they actually have Peyton's brother Eli (who used to be our dog for a few months, and now he's their dog) - so it was a "Manning puppy" reunion!! The dogs had a great time, and the people had a great time too. Nicholas even gave Drew a special gift that he picked out on his own of cookies with a cookie monster on the box because he knows that Drew loves cookies!!!
Pictures are posted on the side of the blog....
Nothing much else new here...Drew is pretty tired though...Nicholas wore him out!!!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Happy Half Birthday Drew!!
Drew is 18 months old today!!!
And he's discovered how much fun it is to feed the dog cheerios right from his hand...as if Peyton needs to eat any more!!
It's been a quiet day here - I went to see Charlie Wilsons War (great movie!!) and Drew took a nap while I was gone - now Patrick is napping and Drew and I are typing on the computer and playing...Drew, right now, is thinking it's fun to walk around with his Elmo thermometer in his mouth taking his temperature - I think he's been doing that for about an hour now!
Well- time to go and play with my budding doctor...I hope everyone who celebrates is having Merry Christmas!!
And he's discovered how much fun it is to feed the dog cheerios right from his hand...as if Peyton needs to eat any more!!
It's been a quiet day here - I went to see Charlie Wilsons War (great movie!!) and Drew took a nap while I was gone - now Patrick is napping and Drew and I are typing on the computer and playing...Drew, right now, is thinking it's fun to walk around with his Elmo thermometer in his mouth taking his temperature - I think he's been doing that for about an hour now!
Well- time to go and play with my budding doctor...I hope everyone who celebrates is having Merry Christmas!!
Monday, December 24, 2007
Drew's Night Out...
Patrick and I took Drew out for dinner tonight - it was our first restaurant experience as a family...
While we were there, a nice older couple came up to us to tell us how cute Drew was and how well behaved he was (all true of course!!) and then the man said, "You can definitely tell who his father is!" Patrick and I just laughed and said, "Thank you." It was so funny. It will be interesting to see how often we hear that comment...we've already heard it a few times, even from people in Kazakhstan!
There's a new picture on the side of the blog of Drew enjoying his french fries and ketchup at Applebees...he dipped them in just like Grama taught him last week...
So - that was our excitement for the day...
Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Special Merry Christmas to Chris, Ben, Grandmother, Grandad, Great Grandmother, Uncle Phil, Aunt Stephie and Uncle Bryan...we hope you all have a wonderful holiday and Santa brings you lots of great toys!!!
While we were there, a nice older couple came up to us to tell us how cute Drew was and how well behaved he was (all true of course!!) and then the man said, "You can definitely tell who his father is!" Patrick and I just laughed and said, "Thank you." It was so funny. It will be interesting to see how often we hear that comment...we've already heard it a few times, even from people in Kazakhstan!
There's a new picture on the side of the blog of Drew enjoying his french fries and ketchup at Applebees...he dipped them in just like Grama taught him last week...
So - that was our excitement for the day...
Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Special Merry Christmas to Chris, Ben, Grandmother, Grandad, Great Grandmother, Uncle Phil, Aunt Stephie and Uncle Bryan...we hope you all have a wonderful holiday and Santa brings you lots of great toys!!!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Wonderful NJ Weekend!!
We had such a great weekend in NJ with Drew - he met soooo many people and he did sooo great!!! He really warmed up to the family, but he still knew to come to me or Patrick for support, love, food, etc...so I think he's bonding really welll with us...
So - first we went to Grama's house on Saturday and celebrated Hanukkah with Uncle Steve, Aunt Lizzie, David, Aunt Lysee, Uncle Shawn and Aunt Sheri. Drew got soooo many great gifts...he is definitely excited and tonight played with his vaccum and 100 wooden blocks! He had so much fun playing under the table with Uncle Steve and playing the piano with Aunt Lysee and staring at Aunt Sheri's very ugly slippers!! He and David got into it a big over a toy, and I won't say who won, but Go Drew!!! LOL...sorry Steven - couldn't resist!! :)
This morning some very special people came to meet Drew: Judy and Ruth who are Gramas' oldest friends, Randy and Steve and Debbie and Rabbi - all of whom have known me forever and my special friend Suzanne and her duaghter Brie!! Drew again got great toys and books and a specially painted chair...it was so wonderful for everyone to come over to meet Drew...he's so lucky to have you all in his life...as am I!!!
Then this afternoon we went to Bubbie's and met Opa, Uncle Lenny, Angie, Josh, Marc, Gina and Samie...and had soo much fun with them!! Drew, again, got great gifts - many musical ones and a plane like the one he flew home in!! We had a great time and loved Angie's latkes - Drew had 2-3 of them himself!! Well, OK, I ate some too!! :)
And then Drew slept most of the way home...
So - it was a great and tiring weekend....
But we came home feeling very special and loved and with enough toys to last a lifetime...
I posted some pictures on the side of the blog...
So - first we went to Grama's house on Saturday and celebrated Hanukkah with Uncle Steve, Aunt Lizzie, David, Aunt Lysee, Uncle Shawn and Aunt Sheri. Drew got soooo many great gifts...he is definitely excited and tonight played with his vaccum and 100 wooden blocks! He had so much fun playing under the table with Uncle Steve and playing the piano with Aunt Lysee and staring at Aunt Sheri's very ugly slippers!! He and David got into it a big over a toy, and I won't say who won, but Go Drew!!! LOL...sorry Steven - couldn't resist!! :)
This morning some very special people came to meet Drew: Judy and Ruth who are Gramas' oldest friends, Randy and Steve and Debbie and Rabbi - all of whom have known me forever and my special friend Suzanne and her duaghter Brie!! Drew again got great toys and books and a specially painted chair...it was so wonderful for everyone to come over to meet Drew...he's so lucky to have you all in his life...as am I!!!
Then this afternoon we went to Bubbie's and met Opa, Uncle Lenny, Angie, Josh, Marc, Gina and Samie...and had soo much fun with them!! Drew, again, got great gifts - many musical ones and a plane like the one he flew home in!! We had a great time and loved Angie's latkes - Drew had 2-3 of them himself!! Well, OK, I ate some too!! :)
And then Drew slept most of the way home...
So - it was a great and tiring weekend....
But we came home feeling very special and loved and with enough toys to last a lifetime...
I posted some pictures on the side of the blog...
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Drew and Peyton...
Well, Drew finally decided he likes Peyton...today he pet him and tonight he laid down on him - LOL...so we are definitely making some progress there...
We also had our first post-placement meeting with our social worker from the agency. She's putting together the first report to send to Kazakhstan about Drew...We had to promise to send reports every year for 18 years in order to be able to adopt him.
That's about all I got..still adjusting to motherhood - it's hard!!! :) I have no time to get anything done during the day and that gets frustrating. but, Drew is wonderful and we are learning this whole mother-son thing together...so far, I think we're doing pretty well...I love when he reaches his arms out for me and lays his head against me - that is the most amazing feeling in the world!!!
...and I'm sure every mother out there is laughing at me saying I get nothing doen during the day, right??? :)
We also had our first post-placement meeting with our social worker from the agency. She's putting together the first report to send to Kazakhstan about Drew...We had to promise to send reports every year for 18 years in order to be able to adopt him.
That's about all I got..still adjusting to motherhood - it's hard!!! :) I have no time to get anything done during the day and that gets frustrating. but, Drew is wonderful and we are learning this whole mother-son thing together...so far, I think we're doing pretty well...I love when he reaches his arms out for me and lays his head against me - that is the most amazing feeling in the world!!!
...and I'm sure every mother out there is laughing at me saying I get nothing doen during the day, right??? :)
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Great day with Grama...
Drew had his first visitor today - Grama came to visit!!!! He had a great time!!
We went to Friendly's for lunch and Drew had his first grilled cheese sandwhich, french fries and ice cream sundae - all were a big hit!! Then we went to Stride Rite to buy Drew his first big boy sneakers and shoes...they are both adorable!!!
Drew also got lots and lots of great welcome home and Hanukkah presents today...he did good!!
Now, if Drew sleeps for more than 2 hours at a time tonight, mommy and daddy will be very happy people!!!
Drew also had his first dcotor's appointment today and he's a healthy little boy....
Tomorrow, our social worker Jodi is coming for our first post-placement visit...wow - I never thought we'd be "post placement!!!"
We went to Friendly's for lunch and Drew had his first grilled cheese sandwhich, french fries and ice cream sundae - all were a big hit!! Then we went to Stride Rite to buy Drew his first big boy sneakers and shoes...they are both adorable!!!
Drew also got lots and lots of great welcome home and Hanukkah presents today...he did good!!
Now, if Drew sleeps for more than 2 hours at a time tonight, mommy and daddy will be very happy people!!!
Drew also had his first dcotor's appointment today and he's a healthy little boy....
Tomorrow, our social worker Jodi is coming for our first post-placement visit...wow - I never thought we'd be "post placement!!!"
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Drew is sleeping..
Well - today is my first day alone with Drew...
We were doing great until about 11 a.m. when fatigue hit him. He cried for a while and then I decided maybe a light lunch would be good - so we did that - Cheerioes and strawberry yougart - yum!! Then we played some more, cried some more and finaly around 2 p.m. he fell asleep and I did a big dance of joy!! LOL...it's amazing how huge an accomplishment this feels like!!
So I'm taking advantage of the time to do some cleaning (Grama is coming up tomorrow and the house can't be a total disaster - but she'll understand if it's not spotless - right Grama????) and thank you notes and organizing, etc...I know I should be napping right now, that is the cardinal rule of motherhood right - nap when they nap!! I'm sure I will regret not napping at around 8 p.m. tonight! :) Check back with me...
Not much else going on here - Peyton has already started to "play" with Drew's toys, Drew is not too impressed with that...I don't blame him one bit...
Tomorrow is Drew's first doctor's appointment - I have a whole list of questions to ask!
That's about it from here...time to get some rest before I get Drew up...
Happy (almost) Birthday Jodi!!!!!!!!!!!
We were doing great until about 11 a.m. when fatigue hit him. He cried for a while and then I decided maybe a light lunch would be good - so we did that - Cheerioes and strawberry yougart - yum!! Then we played some more, cried some more and finaly around 2 p.m. he fell asleep and I did a big dance of joy!! LOL...it's amazing how huge an accomplishment this feels like!!
So I'm taking advantage of the time to do some cleaning (Grama is coming up tomorrow and the house can't be a total disaster - but she'll understand if it's not spotless - right Grama????) and thank you notes and organizing, etc...I know I should be napping right now, that is the cardinal rule of motherhood right - nap when they nap!! I'm sure I will regret not napping at around 8 p.m. tonight! :) Check back with me...
Not much else going on here - Peyton has already started to "play" with Drew's toys, Drew is not too impressed with that...I don't blame him one bit...
Tomorrow is Drew's first doctor's appointment - I have a whole list of questions to ask!
That's about it from here...time to get some rest before I get Drew up...
Happy (almost) Birthday Jodi!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Our first day together...
Today was a wonderful, wonderful day....it was so overwhelming and so fantastic and so many other adjectives that I don't even know where to begin...
I am amazed at how well Drew is doing...except for a brief period after dinner where he was crying for Patrick, he was fine all day - a happy little boy. I was shocked at how well he responded to me, but we were fine together - we played, he splashed in the bath and thought it was funny to get me all wet, he let me rock and sing him to sleep for his nap and again tonight.
He ate lots of first foods today: Cheeroies, maple and brown sugar oatmeal with milk, pretzels and Grandma Molly's Macaroni and Cheese (a family recipe!) were all huge hits!!! Bologna - not so much. Oh well...maybe we'll try turkey tomorrow and see how that goes.
He's not too thrilled with our beagle Peyton, though Peyton is very interested in Drew! Drew got a little better as the day wore on, but if Peyton got too close, Drew got scared. I'm sure by next week they will be the best of friends...
I still can't believe he's here and he's ours forever. I can't wait for all our families and friends to meet this great little boy who has already brought so much joy into our lives...
I'm gong to post some pictures from his plane ride home and his first day!!
I am amazed at how well Drew is doing...except for a brief period after dinner where he was crying for Patrick, he was fine all day - a happy little boy. I was shocked at how well he responded to me, but we were fine together - we played, he splashed in the bath and thought it was funny to get me all wet, he let me rock and sing him to sleep for his nap and again tonight.
He ate lots of first foods today: Cheeroies, maple and brown sugar oatmeal with milk, pretzels and Grandma Molly's Macaroni and Cheese (a family recipe!) were all huge hits!!! Bologna - not so much. Oh well...maybe we'll try turkey tomorrow and see how that goes.
He's not too thrilled with our beagle Peyton, though Peyton is very interested in Drew! Drew got a little better as the day wore on, but if Peyton got too close, Drew got scared. I'm sure by next week they will be the best of friends...
I still can't believe he's here and he's ours forever. I can't wait for all our families and friends to meet this great little boy who has already brought so much joy into our lives...
I'm gong to post some pictures from his plane ride home and his first day!!
Drew is home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Drew and Patrick got home at 1:45 a.m.!!!!!!!!!!
Our baby is here...it's completely wonderful and crazy and overwelming....
I'll post more later - it's lunch time!!!!
Our baby is here...it's completely wonderful and crazy and overwelming....
I'll post more later - it's lunch time!!!!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Delays, delays....
UPDATE (11:18 p.m. EST)
Patrick and Drew's plane finally took off from Detroit - they are due to land at 12:26 a.m. The roads are all iced over again so they are taking a cab home as getting in a car accident would not be a great way to end this day...
So - now Drew's Gottcha Day (or whatever we'll call it) is December 17 - good thing I held off on ordering those announcements - LOL.. :)
The funny thing is I spent so long thinking of the fantasy reunion at the airport with our families all around...oh well..as long as they get home safe and sound, that's all that matters....
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UPDATE (6:32 p.m. EST)
Patrick and Drew have landed in Detroit - my baby is officially an American citizen!!!!!!!!!! Their plane landed at 6:11 p.m. so they are still deplaning and all that..hopefully I will hear from Patrick in the next hour.
I still don't if they will make it here tonight. The flight that was due in from Detroit to Hartford at 7:15 p.m. was cancelled, and there's no news yet about their flight...
It's snowing/icing again here now...I can't believe all this...
But at least they are in the U.S.A....that is the good news...
_______________________________________________________________
UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well - this is quite a story....
Patrick and Drew were all set to leave Almaty on time, but the plane they were taking clipped its wing against another plane upon landing in Almaty, so it had to be fixed before they could leave - that was a three-hour delay. Then the airline tried to give Patrick and Drew seats apart from each other - very smart, huh?? So, they got stuck in middle seats while every other person with a child on the plane got a bulkhead seat...ridiculous!! Aparently Drew was not too impressed with the whole plane experience - I don't know details though...
So - Patrick called this morning from Amsterdam - because their plane was late leaving Almaty, they took him off the flight to Hartford and put him on a flight to Detroit! Turns out, he could have made the flight to Hartford, but they wouldn't let him fly standby. So he's flying into Detroit and then getting into Hartford around 11:30 p.m.
In the meantime, we are having a terrible ice storm in central Connecticut - everything is covered in 3 inches of ice and it's not supposed to stop until this afternoon. I have no idea how I'm going to get out of my driveway, not to mention make it to the airport...
Of couse, since Patrick's first U.S. landing is in Detroit it means he has to go through customs there, which involves going through passport control, getting his luggage, going through customs, rechecking his luggage and getting back on a plane. Not good...
I feel sooooo awful for Patrick and Drew!!! They both must be completely miserable. It's going to be a long day for all of us...
Patrick did plan to introduce Drew to McDonald's today in the Amsterdam airport and then take him to a play area to hopefully get rid of some energy so he'll be OK for the plane ride to the U.S.
So - that's it for now..we'll see what happens...
Patrick and Drew's plane finally took off from Detroit - they are due to land at 12:26 a.m. The roads are all iced over again so they are taking a cab home as getting in a car accident would not be a great way to end this day...
So - now Drew's Gottcha Day (or whatever we'll call it) is December 17 - good thing I held off on ordering those announcements - LOL.. :)
The funny thing is I spent so long thinking of the fantasy reunion at the airport with our families all around...oh well..as long as they get home safe and sound, that's all that matters....
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UPDATE (6:32 p.m. EST)
Patrick and Drew have landed in Detroit - my baby is officially an American citizen!!!!!!!!!! Their plane landed at 6:11 p.m. so they are still deplaning and all that..hopefully I will hear from Patrick in the next hour.
I still don't if they will make it here tonight. The flight that was due in from Detroit to Hartford at 7:15 p.m. was cancelled, and there's no news yet about their flight...
It's snowing/icing again here now...I can't believe all this...
But at least they are in the U.S.A....that is the good news...
_______________________________________________________________
UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well - this is quite a story....
Patrick and Drew were all set to leave Almaty on time, but the plane they were taking clipped its wing against another plane upon landing in Almaty, so it had to be fixed before they could leave - that was a three-hour delay. Then the airline tried to give Patrick and Drew seats apart from each other - very smart, huh?? So, they got stuck in middle seats while every other person with a child on the plane got a bulkhead seat...ridiculous!! Aparently Drew was not too impressed with the whole plane experience - I don't know details though...
So - Patrick called this morning from Amsterdam - because their plane was late leaving Almaty, they took him off the flight to Hartford and put him on a flight to Detroit! Turns out, he could have made the flight to Hartford, but they wouldn't let him fly standby. So he's flying into Detroit and then getting into Hartford around 11:30 p.m.
In the meantime, we are having a terrible ice storm in central Connecticut - everything is covered in 3 inches of ice and it's not supposed to stop until this afternoon. I have no idea how I'm going to get out of my driveway, not to mention make it to the airport...
Of couse, since Patrick's first U.S. landing is in Detroit it means he has to go through customs there, which involves going through passport control, getting his luggage, going through customs, rechecking his luggage and getting back on a plane. Not good...
I feel sooooo awful for Patrick and Drew!!! They both must be completely miserable. It's going to be a long day for all of us...
Patrick did plan to introduce Drew to McDonald's today in the Amsterdam airport and then take him to a play area to hopefully get rid of some energy so he'll be OK for the plane ride to the U.S.
So - that's it for now..we'll see what happens...
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Last night without Drew....
Well, this is it...my last night alone - it's such a wierd feeling knowing that Drew will be here tomorrow and forever!!! I was downstairs watching TV and having a snack of pretzels and it hit me that from now on I won't be just hanging out at night doing whatever I feel like - there will be this little person here who will need me and demand my attention and probably won't want to watch Law and Order SVU!! It just feels so surreal right now and sort of incomprehensable...
Did lots of shoppng today - most of my Hanukah shopping and food shopping for Drew. I bought so much good food for him - I hope he likes it all! Then I cleaned the house and wrapped my presents. I'm so antsy and it's hard to sit still...
I got one last e-mial from Patrick from Kazakhstan - he said he and Drew are both sick of the hotel and irritable and ready to come home. It's 8 a.m. in Almaty right now so they are probably boarding the plane - I hope they get good seats! Drew's first plane ride - and what a ride it is!!
So - this big storm is still supposed to hit here early this morning and last through the afternoon. I hope they will be able to land and I hope I'll be able to drive to the airport to get them!! I get very nervous driving in sleet, snow and freezing rain...and it stinks that no one will most likely be able to come up to welcome Drew home...oh well - what can ya do? I guess that's what happens when your "Adoption (Gottcha) Day" is in December...thankfully Drew has a June birthday!!
Well, Peyton is laying next to me curled up on the blanket...he is in a for a rude awakening tomorrow when he's displaced by a 17-month old little boy!! LOL...
I've decided to keep the blog going through the end of the year - that seems like a good time to end this "book." Thank you again to all my friends, family, friends of family and everyone else who's been reading this blog and been so interested in our story. I can't wait to show this to Drew someday so he can see how many people were so excited for him to come into our lives. I hope he always knows how loved and wanted he is...
Good night...more tomorrow when Drew is HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did lots of shoppng today - most of my Hanukah shopping and food shopping for Drew. I bought so much good food for him - I hope he likes it all! Then I cleaned the house and wrapped my presents. I'm so antsy and it's hard to sit still...
I got one last e-mial from Patrick from Kazakhstan - he said he and Drew are both sick of the hotel and irritable and ready to come home. It's 8 a.m. in Almaty right now so they are probably boarding the plane - I hope they get good seats! Drew's first plane ride - and what a ride it is!!
So - this big storm is still supposed to hit here early this morning and last through the afternoon. I hope they will be able to land and I hope I'll be able to drive to the airport to get them!! I get very nervous driving in sleet, snow and freezing rain...and it stinks that no one will most likely be able to come up to welcome Drew home...oh well - what can ya do? I guess that's what happens when your "Adoption (Gottcha) Day" is in December...thankfully Drew has a June birthday!!
Well, Peyton is laying next to me curled up on the blanket...he is in a for a rude awakening tomorrow when he's displaced by a 17-month old little boy!! LOL...
I've decided to keep the blog going through the end of the year - that seems like a good time to end this "book." Thank you again to all my friends, family, friends of family and everyone else who's been reading this blog and been so interested in our story. I can't wait to show this to Drew someday so he can see how many people were so excited for him to come into our lives. I hope he always knows how loved and wanted he is...
Good night...more tomorrow when Drew is HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, December 14, 2007
Patrick and Drew are coming home!!!!!
Drew’s new passport arrived this morning (Friday) from Astana at 11 a.m., just as we had hoped, and Drew and I visited the US Embassy in Almaty at 2 p.m. Less than an hour later, we walked out with Drew’s US visa and all the paperwork we need to show the immigration officer in Connecticut when our flight lands on Sunday. We’re done! We’re coming home!
The embassy staff was incredibly nice and helpful. Thanks to our local coordinators arranged through Wide Horizons, all our paperwork was in order before we arrived, and all I had to do was sign two documents while the consul witnessed my signature. There were four other families meeting with the consul at the same time, so you can imagine it was a pretty happy and festive room. I’m sure that I’m very impartial when I say Drew was the cutest baby there – he spent the hour playing on my lap, giggling at our games and cooing at Galina. He also watched and smiled at the people around us and the other kids in the room. Of course, the consul remarked how cute he was, too!
Drew will be an American citizen when our plane touches down in Hartford on Sunday, assuming the weather allows us to get there. Hartford got about 10 inches of snow today and a winter storm blowing up the East Coast is expected to make things awful both Saturday and Sunday. Drew and I are flying to Amsterdam where we’re scheduled to have a 2-hour layover before flying to Hartford. If conditions are as bad on the East Coast as predicted, it’s possible that we’ll be in Amsterdam for a day or so, but I’d rather stranded in Europe than Asia. It’s closer to home!
Drew seemed to be in a good mood on the way back to the hotel. He liked the music our driver played on his car radio and bobbed and swayed back and forth in time to the tune – we call it butt-dancing. He also made us laugh by waving both his hands in the air as he danced. I’d never seen him use hand motions when he danced before!
He’s been hearing a lot of my music this week as well. I can only take so much of “Voice of America” TV and it’s the only English station on our room, so I’ve been playing my iTiunes library on my computer a lot. Drew seems like he particularly likes Guns n Roses, Rush and Bruce Springsteen, because he dances to those pretty frequently.
As good as today was, last night was pretty awful for this segment of the Sanders family. Drew crashed about 8:30 when he couldn’t keep his eyes open any more. But for some reason, he was up and rarin’ to go at 1:30 a.m. and I couldn’t get him back to sleep, or to even think about sleep, until about 4:30. We slept another 4 hours after that, but it wasn’t enough for either of us.
Breakfast was surprisingly nice, however, because we ran into two other American families who are adopting. Both adopted from the region closest to Siberia and are looking forward to going home soon. Hopefully we’ll see them again before we leave on Sunday. Drew was very good as we talked for a long time, sitting patiently on my lap and playing a bit with a 3-year-old girl.
Well, I guess the paperwork part of this affair is over! Now all we have to do is get back to Connecticut. I’m going to start hoping for a surprise warm front to strike on Saturday!
The embassy staff was incredibly nice and helpful. Thanks to our local coordinators arranged through Wide Horizons, all our paperwork was in order before we arrived, and all I had to do was sign two documents while the consul witnessed my signature. There were four other families meeting with the consul at the same time, so you can imagine it was a pretty happy and festive room. I’m sure that I’m very impartial when I say Drew was the cutest baby there – he spent the hour playing on my lap, giggling at our games and cooing at Galina. He also watched and smiled at the people around us and the other kids in the room. Of course, the consul remarked how cute he was, too!
Drew will be an American citizen when our plane touches down in Hartford on Sunday, assuming the weather allows us to get there. Hartford got about 10 inches of snow today and a winter storm blowing up the East Coast is expected to make things awful both Saturday and Sunday. Drew and I are flying to Amsterdam where we’re scheduled to have a 2-hour layover before flying to Hartford. If conditions are as bad on the East Coast as predicted, it’s possible that we’ll be in Amsterdam for a day or so, but I’d rather stranded in Europe than Asia. It’s closer to home!
Drew seemed to be in a good mood on the way back to the hotel. He liked the music our driver played on his car radio and bobbed and swayed back and forth in time to the tune – we call it butt-dancing. He also made us laugh by waving both his hands in the air as he danced. I’d never seen him use hand motions when he danced before!
He’s been hearing a lot of my music this week as well. I can only take so much of “Voice of America” TV and it’s the only English station on our room, so I’ve been playing my iTiunes library on my computer a lot. Drew seems like he particularly likes Guns n Roses, Rush and Bruce Springsteen, because he dances to those pretty frequently.
As good as today was, last night was pretty awful for this segment of the Sanders family. Drew crashed about 8:30 when he couldn’t keep his eyes open any more. But for some reason, he was up and rarin’ to go at 1:30 a.m. and I couldn’t get him back to sleep, or to even think about sleep, until about 4:30. We slept another 4 hours after that, but it wasn’t enough for either of us.
Breakfast was surprisingly nice, however, because we ran into two other American families who are adopting. Both adopted from the region closest to Siberia and are looking forward to going home soon. Hopefully we’ll see them again before we leave on Sunday. Drew was very good as we talked for a long time, sitting patiently on my lap and playing a bit with a 3-year-old girl.
Well, I guess the paperwork part of this affair is over! Now all we have to do is get back to Connecticut. I’m going to start hoping for a surprise warm front to strike on Saturday!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Cutting it close....
Hello from Almaty. The next 18 hours or so are going to be very interesting, so we need your best thoughts over here!
Galina reports that our paperwork was approved in Astana, the Kazakhstan capitol, at 4 p.m. today (Thursday). All that remains is that the papers make it back to Almaty tomorrow morning. And that’s not so easy. The plane with our papers is supposed to arrive at 11 a.m. tomorrow in Almaty. Galina then has until noon to get it to the US Embassy so they may review it for Drew’s 2 p.m. appointment. No papers, no appointment.
And if we miss Friday’s appointment, we won’t get to the Embassy until Monday, which means we won’t get home until Tuesday. Ugh! I hate uncertainties! Galina says we should have no problems IF the plane is on time. That’s a big if, so that’s why we need some good thoughts.
That’s all the adoption news today – Drew and I pretty much spent the day playing and staying warm. Remember I told you that the heat wasn’t working in our room and they brought in a space heater? Well, the side benefit to that is that our room is the warmest place in the hotel. Great for little boys to play and sleep, but it’s a little claustrophobic to be in the same room all day, every day. Drew and I went out to the lounge area on our hotel’s floor today just for a change of pace, but it was a little cold to stay for long.
One kind of sad thing is that Drew could hear a baby crying in the distance and he started calling for it (he makes loud, purposeful grunts when he wants something or your attention, the rest of the time he babbles). I don’t know if he was calling the baby, or calling what he thought were his caregivers from the orphanage. I hope it wasn’t the latter, but I’ll never know and can never imagine what he’s gone though this week.
Our only other outing today was to the pharmacy about a block away, which is the best place around here to buy baby supplies. We got a new stack of diapers that should get us through our trip on Sunday, and I stopped at the bank to change enough dollars into the local currency to pay for our hotel stay.
Drew’s being very independent today – refusing to drink out of the sippy cup unless I take off the lid so he can drink like a big kid, and trying to walk around the entire room rather than doing his crawl. Of course, he fell a couple of times on the hardwood floor, and I think he’s got a fresh bump on his head. Poor little boy!
I hope that the weather back home isn’t too bad today and tomorrow – Beth says New Britain is expected to get up to 6 inches of snow, and then a storm over the weekend. Shoveling the snow is my job at the house and I hope Beth doesn’t have too bad a time of it. I’ll worry more about the Sunday weather after I find out if we make our embassy appointment.
That’s all for now – Drew and I are having supper downstairs, and then I’m going to try to keep him up until 9, hoping that he sleeps longer tomorrow. :)
Galina reports that our paperwork was approved in Astana, the Kazakhstan capitol, at 4 p.m. today (Thursday). All that remains is that the papers make it back to Almaty tomorrow morning. And that’s not so easy. The plane with our papers is supposed to arrive at 11 a.m. tomorrow in Almaty. Galina then has until noon to get it to the US Embassy so they may review it for Drew’s 2 p.m. appointment. No papers, no appointment.
And if we miss Friday’s appointment, we won’t get to the Embassy until Monday, which means we won’t get home until Tuesday. Ugh! I hate uncertainties! Galina says we should have no problems IF the plane is on time. That’s a big if, so that’s why we need some good thoughts.
That’s all the adoption news today – Drew and I pretty much spent the day playing and staying warm. Remember I told you that the heat wasn’t working in our room and they brought in a space heater? Well, the side benefit to that is that our room is the warmest place in the hotel. Great for little boys to play and sleep, but it’s a little claustrophobic to be in the same room all day, every day. Drew and I went out to the lounge area on our hotel’s floor today just for a change of pace, but it was a little cold to stay for long.
One kind of sad thing is that Drew could hear a baby crying in the distance and he started calling for it (he makes loud, purposeful grunts when he wants something or your attention, the rest of the time he babbles). I don’t know if he was calling the baby, or calling what he thought were his caregivers from the orphanage. I hope it wasn’t the latter, but I’ll never know and can never imagine what he’s gone though this week.
Our only other outing today was to the pharmacy about a block away, which is the best place around here to buy baby supplies. We got a new stack of diapers that should get us through our trip on Sunday, and I stopped at the bank to change enough dollars into the local currency to pay for our hotel stay.
Drew’s being very independent today – refusing to drink out of the sippy cup unless I take off the lid so he can drink like a big kid, and trying to walk around the entire room rather than doing his crawl. Of course, he fell a couple of times on the hardwood floor, and I think he’s got a fresh bump on his head. Poor little boy!
I hope that the weather back home isn’t too bad today and tomorrow – Beth says New Britain is expected to get up to 6 inches of snow, and then a storm over the weekend. Shoveling the snow is my job at the house and I hope Beth doesn’t have too bad a time of it. I’ll worry more about the Sunday weather after I find out if we make our embassy appointment.
That’s all for now – Drew and I are having supper downstairs, and then I’m going to try to keep him up until 9, hoping that he sleeps longer tomorrow. :)
Thursday AM in Kazakhstan....
Good morning. It’s Thursday in Kazakhstan and today we should find out if our paperwork comes back in time to make our Friday appointment at the US Embassy. We’re very, very hopeful – if the paper comes we’ll be able to make our flight on Sunday. If it doesn’t come, we’re here until Tuesday, more than likely. It’s a big day, and there’s nothing we can do but sit and wait!
Drew had a rough day yesterday because he was off schedule – or at least what I think is schedule is – all day. But it was all worthwhile when he rewarded me with a kiss. It was sloppy and drooly, but his first one to me and one that I’ll always remember.
Here’s how it happened – after sending our e-mail Wednesday night, we went back to our room for play. Drew and I decided we were tired of watching Voice of America television, so we plugged in my computer so we could listen to the music from my iTunes library. That seemed to put Drew in a good mood because he likes to dance to some of the music by sitting down and wiggling his butt on the floor. Very cute!
As we listened, we started playing with the wooden number puzzle I bought for him here. Drew gave me the pieces and I gave them big kisses while making a loud “mm-wah” noise. Drew thought that was funny and did the same thing. About 30 minutes later, while I was laying on the floor, Drew suddenly crawled over to me and gave me a “mm-wah” right on the mouth, and then he rested his head on my chest. It was an incredible feeling, and cemented any concerns that this little boy won’t accept us as his parents. Beth, I can’t wait to share all this with you. Our little boy is full of love and fun and we’re going to have great lives by bringing him into our family!
Drew got very tired by 7, so I decided there was no better time than a bath. I figured he hated sponge baths so much, I may as well let him throw a big fit with a full-scale bath while he’s cranky. Much to my surprise, though, it went pretty well! He didn’t like sitting in the warm water at first and started crying, but as soon as I showed him that he could smack the top of the water to make a splash his cries turned to giggles. I got a couple great photos of him in the tub, but I won’t e-mail them. The last thing I need is being arrested for international distribution of naked baby photos!
Once it was bedtime, Drew was exhausted. We read “Tails” and then I tried to put him in his crib, but this time he wanted to be held and rocked in the chair until he fell asleep. It was a good way to spend a half-hour, and when I finally put him down he stayed in his crib until about 4 a.m. today. Much better than yesterday!
Drew and I slept until 6, and he’s already had a diaper change and an early breakfast of a cracker, a half-jar of fruit and apple juice. He’ll play in his crib with some toys while I take a shower, and then at 8:30 or so we’ll go to the hotel restaurant for a better breakfast of eggs, bread, cucumbers and milk. At 9 we’ll send this message and hopefully Mommy will be on IM so we can chat.
____________________________________________________________________
Patrick and I were able to IM for a little while, untuil Drew decided he'd had enough!! LOL...
Kristi - I agree with you on the sleeping - if this is the one thing that he has the hardest time adjusting to from the orphanage, that's pretty good!!
Drew had a rough day yesterday because he was off schedule – or at least what I think is schedule is – all day. But it was all worthwhile when he rewarded me with a kiss. It was sloppy and drooly, but his first one to me and one that I’ll always remember.
Here’s how it happened – after sending our e-mail Wednesday night, we went back to our room for play. Drew and I decided we were tired of watching Voice of America television, so we plugged in my computer so we could listen to the music from my iTunes library. That seemed to put Drew in a good mood because he likes to dance to some of the music by sitting down and wiggling his butt on the floor. Very cute!
As we listened, we started playing with the wooden number puzzle I bought for him here. Drew gave me the pieces and I gave them big kisses while making a loud “mm-wah” noise. Drew thought that was funny and did the same thing. About 30 minutes later, while I was laying on the floor, Drew suddenly crawled over to me and gave me a “mm-wah” right on the mouth, and then he rested his head on my chest. It was an incredible feeling, and cemented any concerns that this little boy won’t accept us as his parents. Beth, I can’t wait to share all this with you. Our little boy is full of love and fun and we’re going to have great lives by bringing him into our family!
Drew got very tired by 7, so I decided there was no better time than a bath. I figured he hated sponge baths so much, I may as well let him throw a big fit with a full-scale bath while he’s cranky. Much to my surprise, though, it went pretty well! He didn’t like sitting in the warm water at first and started crying, but as soon as I showed him that he could smack the top of the water to make a splash his cries turned to giggles. I got a couple great photos of him in the tub, but I won’t e-mail them. The last thing I need is being arrested for international distribution of naked baby photos!
Once it was bedtime, Drew was exhausted. We read “Tails” and then I tried to put him in his crib, but this time he wanted to be held and rocked in the chair until he fell asleep. It was a good way to spend a half-hour, and when I finally put him down he stayed in his crib until about 4 a.m. today. Much better than yesterday!
Drew and I slept until 6, and he’s already had a diaper change and an early breakfast of a cracker, a half-jar of fruit and apple juice. He’ll play in his crib with some toys while I take a shower, and then at 8:30 or so we’ll go to the hotel restaurant for a better breakfast of eggs, bread, cucumbers and milk. At 9 we’ll send this message and hopefully Mommy will be on IM so we can chat.
____________________________________________________________________
Patrick and I were able to IM for a little while, untuil Drew decided he'd had enough!! LOL...
Kristi - I agree with you on the sleeping - if this is the one thing that he has the hardest time adjusting to from the orphanage, that's pretty good!!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Drew called from Almaty, Update from Patrick!!
I just got off the phone with Patrick and Drew!!! Well, more Patrick than Drew, but still - it was so great to hear from them.
They are doing well and staying warm - there's lots of paperwork to do every day, but Patrick is doing OK with it. Still no word on if he can have his Embassy exit interview Friday...but we're still crossing our fingers it will work out.
Drew is doing great!!! He's eating everything and having fun playing and enjoying his "Tails" book! Apparently though he doesn't want to sleep in his crib and needs to sleep with Patrick - I guess he's scared, which is understandable. Thankfully all his clothes are fittng him well, as is his winter jacket.
Patrick put Drew on the phone so I could talk to him - Patrick said he was listening to me, until he saw some animals on TV and that was more interesting - LOL...oh my god - I just can't wait to hug and kiss that child and never let him go!!!
Patrick said people have come up to him in the hotel to tell him how cute Drew is!! I'm such a proud mom :)
Patrick also was able to see Drew's revised birth certificate and passport - both have his name that we gave him and we are listed as his parents on the birth certificate - so it's official...I can't wait to see it all myself...
We were only able to talk about 20 minutes - I can't imagine how much it cost, but it was worth it to hear Patrick's and Drew's voices...
Update from Patrick....
Hello! Drew has decided to get an early start to the day today, waking up for good at 6:30 a.m. I think sleep issues are going to be the biggest obstacle to hurdle, at least in the first few days.
We started the beginnings of a bedtime routine last night. Drew will be very good about letting us know when he’s tired – he doesn’t cry or fuss about it, but he starts rubbing his eyes nearly constantly. So shortly after 8 last night when he started making the signs, I gave him a quick sponge bath (which he hated!). Then we changed into his very warm and comfy blue and white PJs, and I lowered the lights a bit and we played quietly for another 20 minutes or so. Finally, at 8:30, we cleaned up the toys and I took him to the chair for his bedtime story – “Tails” by acclaimed author Matthew van Fleet, of course!
Then it was bedtime. Even though he was completely exhausted, he fought hard going to sleep. He didn’t want to be held or rocked, but he didn’t want to be in the crib, either – unless I was standing next to him, stroking his forehead or holding his hand. I really think bedtime is when he misses his old routines the most and when he’s most scared of all the changes that are happening in his life.
After about 30 minutes, Drew finally settled down, but still got upset if I went even as far as the bathroom. My only choice was to lay down on my own bed, about 3 feet from his, and we both fell asleep at the same time.
That lasted until about midnight, however, when Drew woke up in a complete thermonuclear meltdown fit. Maybe this wasn’t the best thing to do, but I brought him over to my bed, and he continued sleeping over there until about 6 or so. I tried, once, to put him back in his crib, about 5 a.m. or so, but he would have nothing of it.
We’ve been told this may happen – Drew not wanting to sleep by himself. And I’m sure we’re going to have the same problems when we get home and he finds himself in a crib in a bedroom all by himself. Suggestions?
Otherwise, Drew’s doing great. I’ve gotten him several toys that he can have on the plane as well – a wooden block set shaped as numbers, a set of rings, Lego-style toys, stacking cups and a set of toy cars. Drew likes to sit in the middle of the foor completely surrounded by all of his toys, and he’ll run the cars on the ground or knock the wood toys together while babbling contentedly. His favorite word is “a-ba” which he’ll repeat in various pitches and volumes until he’s nearly squealing. Sometimes I sit with him and play, but other times it’s more fun to sit back and watch.
He also seemed to rediscover his “Tails” book today after two days of ignoring it completely. I think there’s a good chance that the pig tail will take serious damage today – he’s got a very good grip on it right now in fact as he watches me type.
Drew had a rough day on Wednesday – he didn’t sleep well last night and woke up too early. So he was nodding off by 10:30 a.m., just when we were supposed to be getting ready to see Galina with more paperwork. Drew just wasn’t going to make it, so I put him down in his crib and he fought sleep until 11, when he finally dropped off. Galina and I just worked quietly outside the room.
The paperwork was pretty funny on the face of it. … it was Drew’s application for a visa from the US government, in which he had to attest that he was not a war criminal, had not committed human atrocities or acts of moral turpitude and he was not affiliated with any terrorism groups or planning any acts of terror against the USA. I hope our government screens adults better than 17-month-olds!
Galina says our revised paperwork, now that it’s been corrected by Taraz, made it to Astana safely. She’s hoping that it gets turned around today so it can be here in time for our appointment Friday at the Embassy. It makes me sick to think that after all our planning, and Beth’s dedication to the paperwork, that we now have to wait for some government official to rush our stuff because of mistakes that were made in Taraz and not caught until now. Cross your fingers that we get good news tomorrow! I’m not expected to see or hear from Galina until she knows the status of our paperwork, so all we can do is wait.
Galina left and Drew woke at 11:30 screaming, so I put him down with me in my bed and we slept until about 2. His schedule was completely thrown off but there’s really nothing I can do about it now. He was still tired and cranky when I decided it was time for an outing and we hit the Stetson – an American-themed restaurant about 2 blocks from the hotel. Drew was kind of fussy at first, but he likes watching people and there was a lot to see. Finally the food came – apple juice, pizza and French fries (really, I was just going for something he would like on his first restaurant visit, but now that I see it on the computer screen I look like a horrible father!). Drew liked the fries better than the pizza; I think it was too cheesy for him. And he completely refused his apple juice until I gave him some of my tea. Old Kazakh habits die hard!
I guess that’s all for now. I’m hoping for a quiet night, and Drew and I can settle in and relax a bit. Hello to everyone in the USA. Chris and Ben, are you reading? I can’t wait to talk to you on Sunday!
They are doing well and staying warm - there's lots of paperwork to do every day, but Patrick is doing OK with it. Still no word on if he can have his Embassy exit interview Friday...but we're still crossing our fingers it will work out.
Drew is doing great!!! He's eating everything and having fun playing and enjoying his "Tails" book! Apparently though he doesn't want to sleep in his crib and needs to sleep with Patrick - I guess he's scared, which is understandable. Thankfully all his clothes are fittng him well, as is his winter jacket.
Patrick put Drew on the phone so I could talk to him - Patrick said he was listening to me, until he saw some animals on TV and that was more interesting - LOL...oh my god - I just can't wait to hug and kiss that child and never let him go!!!
Patrick said people have come up to him in the hotel to tell him how cute Drew is!! I'm such a proud mom :)
Patrick also was able to see Drew's revised birth certificate and passport - both have his name that we gave him and we are listed as his parents on the birth certificate - so it's official...I can't wait to see it all myself...
We were only able to talk about 20 minutes - I can't imagine how much it cost, but it was worth it to hear Patrick's and Drew's voices...
Update from Patrick....
Hello! Drew has decided to get an early start to the day today, waking up for good at 6:30 a.m. I think sleep issues are going to be the biggest obstacle to hurdle, at least in the first few days.
We started the beginnings of a bedtime routine last night. Drew will be very good about letting us know when he’s tired – he doesn’t cry or fuss about it, but he starts rubbing his eyes nearly constantly. So shortly after 8 last night when he started making the signs, I gave him a quick sponge bath (which he hated!). Then we changed into his very warm and comfy blue and white PJs, and I lowered the lights a bit and we played quietly for another 20 minutes or so. Finally, at 8:30, we cleaned up the toys and I took him to the chair for his bedtime story – “Tails” by acclaimed author Matthew van Fleet, of course!
Then it was bedtime. Even though he was completely exhausted, he fought hard going to sleep. He didn’t want to be held or rocked, but he didn’t want to be in the crib, either – unless I was standing next to him, stroking his forehead or holding his hand. I really think bedtime is when he misses his old routines the most and when he’s most scared of all the changes that are happening in his life.
After about 30 minutes, Drew finally settled down, but still got upset if I went even as far as the bathroom. My only choice was to lay down on my own bed, about 3 feet from his, and we both fell asleep at the same time.
That lasted until about midnight, however, when Drew woke up in a complete thermonuclear meltdown fit. Maybe this wasn’t the best thing to do, but I brought him over to my bed, and he continued sleeping over there until about 6 or so. I tried, once, to put him back in his crib, about 5 a.m. or so, but he would have nothing of it.
We’ve been told this may happen – Drew not wanting to sleep by himself. And I’m sure we’re going to have the same problems when we get home and he finds himself in a crib in a bedroom all by himself. Suggestions?
Otherwise, Drew’s doing great. I’ve gotten him several toys that he can have on the plane as well – a wooden block set shaped as numbers, a set of rings, Lego-style toys, stacking cups and a set of toy cars. Drew likes to sit in the middle of the foor completely surrounded by all of his toys, and he’ll run the cars on the ground or knock the wood toys together while babbling contentedly. His favorite word is “a-ba” which he’ll repeat in various pitches and volumes until he’s nearly squealing. Sometimes I sit with him and play, but other times it’s more fun to sit back and watch.
He also seemed to rediscover his “Tails” book today after two days of ignoring it completely. I think there’s a good chance that the pig tail will take serious damage today – he’s got a very good grip on it right now in fact as he watches me type.
Drew had a rough day on Wednesday – he didn’t sleep well last night and woke up too early. So he was nodding off by 10:30 a.m., just when we were supposed to be getting ready to see Galina with more paperwork. Drew just wasn’t going to make it, so I put him down in his crib and he fought sleep until 11, when he finally dropped off. Galina and I just worked quietly outside the room.
The paperwork was pretty funny on the face of it. … it was Drew’s application for a visa from the US government, in which he had to attest that he was not a war criminal, had not committed human atrocities or acts of moral turpitude and he was not affiliated with any terrorism groups or planning any acts of terror against the USA. I hope our government screens adults better than 17-month-olds!
Galina says our revised paperwork, now that it’s been corrected by Taraz, made it to Astana safely. She’s hoping that it gets turned around today so it can be here in time for our appointment Friday at the Embassy. It makes me sick to think that after all our planning, and Beth’s dedication to the paperwork, that we now have to wait for some government official to rush our stuff because of mistakes that were made in Taraz and not caught until now. Cross your fingers that we get good news tomorrow! I’m not expected to see or hear from Galina until she knows the status of our paperwork, so all we can do is wait.
Galina left and Drew woke at 11:30 screaming, so I put him down with me in my bed and we slept until about 2. His schedule was completely thrown off but there’s really nothing I can do about it now. He was still tired and cranky when I decided it was time for an outing and we hit the Stetson – an American-themed restaurant about 2 blocks from the hotel. Drew was kind of fussy at first, but he likes watching people and there was a lot to see. Finally the food came – apple juice, pizza and French fries (really, I was just going for something he would like on his first restaurant visit, but now that I see it on the computer screen I look like a horrible father!). Drew liked the fries better than the pizza; I think it was too cheesy for him. And he completely refused his apple juice until I gave him some of my tea. Old Kazakh habits die hard!
I guess that’s all for now. I’m hoping for a quiet night, and Drew and I can settle in and relax a bit. Hello to everyone in the USA. Chris and Ben, are you reading? I can’t wait to talk to you on Sunday!
In Almaty...Update from Patrick...
Hi. We’ve had a full 24 hours here in Kazakhstan!
Picking our son up at the orphanage will be one of the best moments of my life. I had already seen him in the morning, and our translator (Tonya) and I spent the rest of the day shopping for him and for the orphanage. I decided not to purchase the television; Tonya’s mom (the assistant director of the orphanage) had suggested it, saying while all groups of children had TVs, there was no television for new orphanage arrivals who are awaiting their permanent placement into one of the orphanages many groups of children. Well, even Mira thought the request was ridiculous, so I settled on buying cleaning supplies and diapers. Tonya and I left the gift on the floor outside the orphanage director’s office, who didn’t even come out to tell us goodbye. It was unacknowledged and, for all I know, unappreciated. But at least I know it will be used for children or to make children’s lives a little better, and not be slipped into the trunk of someone’s car.
Then we went upstairs to get Drew. I walked into his playgroup’s room and found him on the floor, with four or five other children. They all froze as I walked in, as I think they normally do when a visitor appears. Drew suddenly crawled toward me at top speed and I swept him up in my arms, telling him he was our little boy. Drew turned around and, without prompting, waved goodbye to his friends and caregivers! Of course he thought we were just going into the next room for one-on-one play, but it melted my heart just the same.
Then I dressed Drew in one of the many outfits that you sent over – he left wearing a snuggly brown sweatsuit decorated with a happy raccoon. He looked great, of course – the 12-month clothes fit him perfectly. But Tonya immediately started questioning if he was wearing enough clothes, or had enough layers. I looked at her and said, “Tonya, don’t start now.” That solved the issue, at least for a while.
We went back to Tonya’s flat and were met by Tonya’s mother and Daniel (Tonya's son). After settling in, I gave them their gifts – Tonya and Daniel were especially excited; she loved all the books and called them “perfect,” while Daniel held and kissed his new shirts.
Then we spent the afternoon relaxing. Taraz was having one of its many days without lights, so we watched the children play by candlelight and Drew had supper of a beef and potato stew. And Daniel was enraptured by our son and kept following Drew around, trying to kiss him because he thought that he was a girl!
Happily, the lights came back on just before the party began. Constantine’s (Tonay's husband) brother and his wife arrived, followed shortly by Daniel’s godfather and his wife. Drew alternated between sitting with me and Tonya’s mother, who seemed to enjoy her last night with out little boy and didn’t want to let him go. The only problem with dinner was that it included many toasts of vodka; and as almost every toast was to wish Drew a happy and healthy life, and as Tonya’s mom kept insisting that she keep my glass filled, I was forced to go along with drinking four or five shots the same day I was taking custody of our son. It’s the Kazakh way, I suppose!
Tonya made the first toast and it was really touching, which is why I’m spending so much time on the subject, I suppose. She wished us a safe, easy journey and our family many happy days ahead, and that Drew grow up healthy and happy and that one day he would come back to Taraz to visit. As the guest, I had to make the second toast, so I thanked them for giving Drew a good start to his life, and I toasted their family’s many recent achievements – Tonya’s university degree, Constantine’s promotion to commander of his base, her mother’s planned retirement in February, and Daniel’s successful recovery from illness (I don’t think I’ve told you this, but Daniel was hospitalized for five days shortly after we left for some sort of stomach poisoning. Fortunately he’s fully recovered!).
I took the chance to give Constantine his present of present of a U.S. Army jacket and shirt, along with the Ranger ribbons we found for him. He was very pleased, and wore the T-shirt for the rest of the dinner. He also asked, jokingly I think, where his matching pants and cap were to go with the Army jacket. I told him we would bring those the next time we adopted from Taraz, and everyone laughed.
At 9 p.m., our driver came to take us to the train. I gave him his gift as well, and he was shocked that we gave him something – I hope he likes his Red Sox gear! Mira did not see us off, claiming some sort of illness, so Tonya promised to deliver her gift from us.
Drew did very well on the train. I had changed him into his PJs before we left Tonya’s flat and I gave him his Benadril when we arrived on our car. We shared the sleeping car with a woman and her 3-month-old daughter. I have to assume that the train people purposely booked both the babies in the same car so we wouldn’t keep anyone else awake! The woman spoke only Kazakh, but we were able to communicate enough to trade names, and the ages of our children. I told her we were going to America, and she asked if Esatai (I couldn’t get her to understand that his name was Drew, I suppose it doesn’t *sound* like a name here) was born in Taraz. I said he was, and she smiled and made many comments in the next 8 hours about how Esatai was saying bye-bye to Taraz and that he was going to be an American. She sounded very happy, which made me happy, too!
Drew fought sleep the best he could on the train – he was nervous, of course, and I’m sure he would have been much happier back at the orphanage. But he never cried, just fought to stay awake, before finally dropping off. Once he slept, though, he was a problem because he insisted on taking up our entire narrow bunk. I finally was able to find a comfortable way to lay and we slept most of the trip before he woke up about 6 a.m.
Our train arrived in Almaty at 7 a.m., which was white with new snow. It’s cold here! In fact, the heater in our hotel room doesn’t work, so the employees brought in a large space heater, which I’m keeping next to Drew’s crib, so he stays warm. I complained to the hotel front desk to no avail, and now I’m just forcing him to wear a couple of layers. I guess old orphanage habits die hard, but I’m not happy with the conditions in the hotel and was quite rude with the desk about it. I’m sure they chalked it up to American attitude, but I can’t care about that.
At 11 a.m., Galina arrived to take us to the clinic for a checkup and blood work. Drew cried as the doctor gave him a brief examination (she declared he had a cold and charged $100). Then he got his blood work and I was stunned that Drew didn’t even whimper or flinch when his finger was pricked. He watched very studiously as the lab doctor pinched his finger long enough to fill up a test tube with his blood. He was brave!
Our only problem, besides the lack of heat, is that Drew has a mild case of loose BMs which has caused us to ruin one outfit and a set of bedding. He’s eating well but I had a horrible time getting him to take a nap this afternoon despite how tired he was. I think his sleep times will be the worst for a while because it’s the one time that he craves the routine and familiar surroundings of the orphanage. He seemed so sad today when he woke up from his nap because I think he really misses his caregivers. In fact, he makes it a point to grunt loudly at all of the hotel maids here, I think because he associates them with his orphanage caregivers.
Galina gave me more paperwork to fill out, so I’m doing that this afternoon, and I’m told we’ll have the paperwork from his medical tests at the end of the day tomorrow. So hopefully we’re getting back on track!
Until tomorrow,
Patrick
Picking our son up at the orphanage will be one of the best moments of my life. I had already seen him in the morning, and our translator (Tonya) and I spent the rest of the day shopping for him and for the orphanage. I decided not to purchase the television; Tonya’s mom (the assistant director of the orphanage) had suggested it, saying while all groups of children had TVs, there was no television for new orphanage arrivals who are awaiting their permanent placement into one of the orphanages many groups of children. Well, even Mira thought the request was ridiculous, so I settled on buying cleaning supplies and diapers. Tonya and I left the gift on the floor outside the orphanage director’s office, who didn’t even come out to tell us goodbye. It was unacknowledged and, for all I know, unappreciated. But at least I know it will be used for children or to make children’s lives a little better, and not be slipped into the trunk of someone’s car.
Then we went upstairs to get Drew. I walked into his playgroup’s room and found him on the floor, with four or five other children. They all froze as I walked in, as I think they normally do when a visitor appears. Drew suddenly crawled toward me at top speed and I swept him up in my arms, telling him he was our little boy. Drew turned around and, without prompting, waved goodbye to his friends and caregivers! Of course he thought we were just going into the next room for one-on-one play, but it melted my heart just the same.
Then I dressed Drew in one of the many outfits that you sent over – he left wearing a snuggly brown sweatsuit decorated with a happy raccoon. He looked great, of course – the 12-month clothes fit him perfectly. But Tonya immediately started questioning if he was wearing enough clothes, or had enough layers. I looked at her and said, “Tonya, don’t start now.” That solved the issue, at least for a while.
We went back to Tonya’s flat and were met by Tonya’s mother and Daniel (Tonya's son). After settling in, I gave them their gifts – Tonya and Daniel were especially excited; she loved all the books and called them “perfect,” while Daniel held and kissed his new shirts.
Then we spent the afternoon relaxing. Taraz was having one of its many days without lights, so we watched the children play by candlelight and Drew had supper of a beef and potato stew. And Daniel was enraptured by our son and kept following Drew around, trying to kiss him because he thought that he was a girl!
Happily, the lights came back on just before the party began. Constantine’s (Tonay's husband) brother and his wife arrived, followed shortly by Daniel’s godfather and his wife. Drew alternated between sitting with me and Tonya’s mother, who seemed to enjoy her last night with out little boy and didn’t want to let him go. The only problem with dinner was that it included many toasts of vodka; and as almost every toast was to wish Drew a happy and healthy life, and as Tonya’s mom kept insisting that she keep my glass filled, I was forced to go along with drinking four or five shots the same day I was taking custody of our son. It’s the Kazakh way, I suppose!
Tonya made the first toast and it was really touching, which is why I’m spending so much time on the subject, I suppose. She wished us a safe, easy journey and our family many happy days ahead, and that Drew grow up healthy and happy and that one day he would come back to Taraz to visit. As the guest, I had to make the second toast, so I thanked them for giving Drew a good start to his life, and I toasted their family’s many recent achievements – Tonya’s university degree, Constantine’s promotion to commander of his base, her mother’s planned retirement in February, and Daniel’s successful recovery from illness (I don’t think I’ve told you this, but Daniel was hospitalized for five days shortly after we left for some sort of stomach poisoning. Fortunately he’s fully recovered!).
I took the chance to give Constantine his present of present of a U.S. Army jacket and shirt, along with the Ranger ribbons we found for him. He was very pleased, and wore the T-shirt for the rest of the dinner. He also asked, jokingly I think, where his matching pants and cap were to go with the Army jacket. I told him we would bring those the next time we adopted from Taraz, and everyone laughed.
At 9 p.m., our driver came to take us to the train. I gave him his gift as well, and he was shocked that we gave him something – I hope he likes his Red Sox gear! Mira did not see us off, claiming some sort of illness, so Tonya promised to deliver her gift from us.
Drew did very well on the train. I had changed him into his PJs before we left Tonya’s flat and I gave him his Benadril when we arrived on our car. We shared the sleeping car with a woman and her 3-month-old daughter. I have to assume that the train people purposely booked both the babies in the same car so we wouldn’t keep anyone else awake! The woman spoke only Kazakh, but we were able to communicate enough to trade names, and the ages of our children. I told her we were going to America, and she asked if Esatai (I couldn’t get her to understand that his name was Drew, I suppose it doesn’t *sound* like a name here) was born in Taraz. I said he was, and she smiled and made many comments in the next 8 hours about how Esatai was saying bye-bye to Taraz and that he was going to be an American. She sounded very happy, which made me happy, too!
Drew fought sleep the best he could on the train – he was nervous, of course, and I’m sure he would have been much happier back at the orphanage. But he never cried, just fought to stay awake, before finally dropping off. Once he slept, though, he was a problem because he insisted on taking up our entire narrow bunk. I finally was able to find a comfortable way to lay and we slept most of the trip before he woke up about 6 a.m.
Our train arrived in Almaty at 7 a.m., which was white with new snow. It’s cold here! In fact, the heater in our hotel room doesn’t work, so the employees brought in a large space heater, which I’m keeping next to Drew’s crib, so he stays warm. I complained to the hotel front desk to no avail, and now I’m just forcing him to wear a couple of layers. I guess old orphanage habits die hard, but I’m not happy with the conditions in the hotel and was quite rude with the desk about it. I’m sure they chalked it up to American attitude, but I can’t care about that.
At 11 a.m., Galina arrived to take us to the clinic for a checkup and blood work. Drew cried as the doctor gave him a brief examination (she declared he had a cold and charged $100). Then he got his blood work and I was stunned that Drew didn’t even whimper or flinch when his finger was pricked. He watched very studiously as the lab doctor pinched his finger long enough to fill up a test tube with his blood. He was brave!
Our only problem, besides the lack of heat, is that Drew has a mild case of loose BMs which has caused us to ruin one outfit and a set of bedding. He’s eating well but I had a horrible time getting him to take a nap this afternoon despite how tired he was. I think his sleep times will be the worst for a while because it’s the one time that he craves the routine and familiar surroundings of the orphanage. He seemed so sad today when he woke up from his nap because I think he really misses his caregivers. In fact, he makes it a point to grunt loudly at all of the hotel maids here, I think because he associates them with his orphanage caregivers.
Galina gave me more paperwork to fill out, so I’m doing that this afternoon, and I’m told we’ll have the paperwork from his medical tests at the end of the day tomorrow. So hopefully we’re getting back on track!
Until tomorrow,
Patrick
Monday, December 10, 2007
Snags with paperwork!!!
I heard from Patrick at around 4:30 a.m EST....he saw Drew earlier in the day and said he immediately recognized Patrick and crawled over to him!!!!! He got laughs and smiles almost immediately...so exciting!! He said Drew looks bigger, has some more teeth and had his hair cut again by the orphanage - I don't know why they keep cuttng his hair...oh well...
When I talked to Patrick, he was on his way to the baby house to pick up Drew FOREVER!!!!!!!
This is from Patrick - writing from Taraz...
"Hi. It’s 9 a.m. Monday morning and I’m in Taraz, writing this from the guest room of Tonya’s apartment.
I’ve got so much to tell you. So I’m not burying the lede, let me say that I’m fine, and I’m told that Drew is fine – I’ll be seeing him this morning and am told I’ll be taking him for good sometime this afternoon. However, there’ve been some snags that I’m working through.
Obviously, e-mail access has been less than perfect and I’ve not been near a live computer since leaving Amsterdam. In addition, problems with our paperwork are making it questionable that we’re going to catch our flight on the 16th. These issues won’t be resolved until Thursday at the earliest, and until then both we and our families should consider Drew’s arrival at 3:25 p.m. in Connecticut tentative.
Let me take this chronologically – I think that makes the most sense.
After my 12-hour layover in Amsterdam, the 6-hour flight to Almaty was completely full. I was unable to get an exit row, but at least had an aisle seat. I believe the plane was roomier than the Luftansa jet, however, and the entertainment system was far superior – each seat had its own entertainment system, where we could choose from dozens of movies, TV shows or video games. I watched two episodes of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” two episodes of “Friends” and a classic episode of “Cheers” and felt very much at home.
I sat across the aisle from a very nice couple from Rhode Island, Chris and Allison. They are adopting from Almaty and were making their first trip and were very excited. I told them what I could about Kazakhstan and how to get through customs – to me that was the most nerve-wracking part of this process, because we had absolutely no preparation for what to do. They seemed very nice and I hope that we stay in touch. I gave them our blog address so if you’re reading, hello!
Problems began when I arrived in Almaty and was met by Galina. She informed me that three pieces of our adoption paperwork contained errors that must be fixed before we could proceed to the U.S. Embassy. First, our court papers from Taraz indicated that we began visiting Drew on Oct. 1 – more than three weeks before our actual first day with him. That document must be retyped (in Russian) and resigned by court officials in Taraz. Second, an adoption certificate handwritten in Russian was incorrectly dated. And third, a petition that Beth and I had signed to the Kazakh government incorrectly indicated the court ruling was made final in October, not November. Galina had me redo the last document on Sunday, but Taraz court officials must create new papers to replace the first two documents. Galina gave me copies of the incorrect files to hand-deliver to our Taraz coordinator, Mira, when I arrive in Taraz Monday morning.
Galina is hopeful that Taraz will have these papers redone before Drew and I catch the train for Almaty Monday night. Then Almaty officials will have 48 hours to rush the paperwork through their system so that Drew and I can have our official interview at the Embassy on Friday. She is concerned that the papers won’t be completed on time; the best thing that I can do is “go with the flow,” as they say.
The second problem – my lack of e-mail access – was caused in part by my fatigue. Galina checked me in to the Alma Ata hotel and left me about 8 a.m. Monday. My plan was to sleep for 2-3 hours, then use the business center to send you an e-mail. However, I slept straight through, until 6 p.m. that day, and the business center was closed before I woke up. I suppose I needed the sleep, but I kicked myself for missing that opportunity.
I’m told Drew and I will be back in that same room when we get back to Almaty. I suppose it’s fine – it has comfortable twin bed, room for a crib and lots of storage space to put our clothes and baby supplies. The shower is awful, however.
On Sunday night, I took the Spanish train from Almaty to Taraz. However, Galina told me that a sleeping compartment was not available, so I ended up in an Amtrak-style car with about 30 other people. It was comfortable enough – more legroom than on the plane, and we were treated to the film “Spider-Man 3” dubbed in Russian before lights dimmed about midnight. Each seat had an individual light, so I read for a couple hours as well, and our train reached Taraz at 6 a.m.
It’s snowing in Taraz! I can’t believe how pretty it looks. Mira and her brother met me at the train station and, to my surprise, took me to Constantine and Tonya’s apartment. We arrived there about 6:30 a.m. and after giving Mira the papers from Galina, the driver took me upstairs, where Tonya led me to a guest room which she said would be mine for the day.
She said we would walk to the orphanage about 10 a.m. today to visit Drew, and then shop and have dinner about 1 p.m. We’ll go back to the orphanage about 3 p.m. to get Drew and will bring him back to Tonya’s apartment, where I’ll stay with him until we catch the train at 10 p.m. tonight. Also, Tonya said her brother-in-law and father-in-law were coming over tonight and we would have “a little party” to celebrate that Tonya received her university diploma last week.
Tonya also said her mother suggested that we purchase a television for the orphanage, instead of clothes and toys. I’ve been thinking about that for several hours and I’m not pleased with the idea – I so wish you were here to discuss this with! I want to get something that’s going to be for children, not the adults who work there.
And I don’t want to give a gift that’s going to end up in someone’s car within the week and be taken home. I’ve decided to ask Tonya to show me where in the orphanage our gift of a TV would be placed, and whether it would be used for staff entertainment or for the older 3-4 year-old children. If I’m not comfortable after asking some questions, I’m going to tell them, politely but firmly, that we will instead purchase gifts for the children. I mean, it’s OUR decision, right?
You wouldn’t believe how crazy it is here with the decorations and lights. You and I thought that Kazakhstan loved neon lights when we were here in November, but that was nothing. I’ve been amazed by the number of neon Christmas tree-style lights I’ve seen on public land, surrounded by references to the New Year. I’ve seen dozens of restaurants, hotels and homes in both Almaty and Taraz with “2008” decorations. This place must go crazy for Jan. 1. I wish I was going to be here to see it, but am also glad that I’ll be leaving before the craziness happens, if that makes sense.
I still have every intention of finding a phone and calling you this afternoon when we get Drew – probably sometime between 4-6 p.m. Taraz time, which is 3-5 a.m. on the East Coast. I hope that I have a chance to send this note before then. And I hope that I can send daily e-mails after today!
I miss you and love you. I can’t wait for us to get home, and I can’t wait to see you again."
So - it's 3 a.m. and I'm trying to stay calm!!! I should have known our smooth process was too good to be true...UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When I talked to Patrick, he was on his way to the baby house to pick up Drew FOREVER!!!!!!!
This is from Patrick - writing from Taraz...
"Hi. It’s 9 a.m. Monday morning and I’m in Taraz, writing this from the guest room of Tonya’s apartment.
I’ve got so much to tell you. So I’m not burying the lede, let me say that I’m fine, and I’m told that Drew is fine – I’ll be seeing him this morning and am told I’ll be taking him for good sometime this afternoon. However, there’ve been some snags that I’m working through.
Obviously, e-mail access has been less than perfect and I’ve not been near a live computer since leaving Amsterdam. In addition, problems with our paperwork are making it questionable that we’re going to catch our flight on the 16th. These issues won’t be resolved until Thursday at the earliest, and until then both we and our families should consider Drew’s arrival at 3:25 p.m. in Connecticut tentative.
Let me take this chronologically – I think that makes the most sense.
After my 12-hour layover in Amsterdam, the 6-hour flight to Almaty was completely full. I was unable to get an exit row, but at least had an aisle seat. I believe the plane was roomier than the Luftansa jet, however, and the entertainment system was far superior – each seat had its own entertainment system, where we could choose from dozens of movies, TV shows or video games. I watched two episodes of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” two episodes of “Friends” and a classic episode of “Cheers” and felt very much at home.
I sat across the aisle from a very nice couple from Rhode Island, Chris and Allison. They are adopting from Almaty and were making their first trip and were very excited. I told them what I could about Kazakhstan and how to get through customs – to me that was the most nerve-wracking part of this process, because we had absolutely no preparation for what to do. They seemed very nice and I hope that we stay in touch. I gave them our blog address so if you’re reading, hello!
Problems began when I arrived in Almaty and was met by Galina. She informed me that three pieces of our adoption paperwork contained errors that must be fixed before we could proceed to the U.S. Embassy. First, our court papers from Taraz indicated that we began visiting Drew on Oct. 1 – more than three weeks before our actual first day with him. That document must be retyped (in Russian) and resigned by court officials in Taraz. Second, an adoption certificate handwritten in Russian was incorrectly dated. And third, a petition that Beth and I had signed to the Kazakh government incorrectly indicated the court ruling was made final in October, not November. Galina had me redo the last document on Sunday, but Taraz court officials must create new papers to replace the first two documents. Galina gave me copies of the incorrect files to hand-deliver to our Taraz coordinator, Mira, when I arrive in Taraz Monday morning.
Galina is hopeful that Taraz will have these papers redone before Drew and I catch the train for Almaty Monday night. Then Almaty officials will have 48 hours to rush the paperwork through their system so that Drew and I can have our official interview at the Embassy on Friday. She is concerned that the papers won’t be completed on time; the best thing that I can do is “go with the flow,” as they say.
The second problem – my lack of e-mail access – was caused in part by my fatigue. Galina checked me in to the Alma Ata hotel and left me about 8 a.m. Monday. My plan was to sleep for 2-3 hours, then use the business center to send you an e-mail. However, I slept straight through, until 6 p.m. that day, and the business center was closed before I woke up. I suppose I needed the sleep, but I kicked myself for missing that opportunity.
I’m told Drew and I will be back in that same room when we get back to Almaty. I suppose it’s fine – it has comfortable twin bed, room for a crib and lots of storage space to put our clothes and baby supplies. The shower is awful, however.
On Sunday night, I took the Spanish train from Almaty to Taraz. However, Galina told me that a sleeping compartment was not available, so I ended up in an Amtrak-style car with about 30 other people. It was comfortable enough – more legroom than on the plane, and we were treated to the film “Spider-Man 3” dubbed in Russian before lights dimmed about midnight. Each seat had an individual light, so I read for a couple hours as well, and our train reached Taraz at 6 a.m.
It’s snowing in Taraz! I can’t believe how pretty it looks. Mira and her brother met me at the train station and, to my surprise, took me to Constantine and Tonya’s apartment. We arrived there about 6:30 a.m. and after giving Mira the papers from Galina, the driver took me upstairs, where Tonya led me to a guest room which she said would be mine for the day.
She said we would walk to the orphanage about 10 a.m. today to visit Drew, and then shop and have dinner about 1 p.m. We’ll go back to the orphanage about 3 p.m. to get Drew and will bring him back to Tonya’s apartment, where I’ll stay with him until we catch the train at 10 p.m. tonight. Also, Tonya said her brother-in-law and father-in-law were coming over tonight and we would have “a little party” to celebrate that Tonya received her university diploma last week.
Tonya also said her mother suggested that we purchase a television for the orphanage, instead of clothes and toys. I’ve been thinking about that for several hours and I’m not pleased with the idea – I so wish you were here to discuss this with! I want to get something that’s going to be for children, not the adults who work there.
And I don’t want to give a gift that’s going to end up in someone’s car within the week and be taken home. I’ve decided to ask Tonya to show me where in the orphanage our gift of a TV would be placed, and whether it would be used for staff entertainment or for the older 3-4 year-old children. If I’m not comfortable after asking some questions, I’m going to tell them, politely but firmly, that we will instead purchase gifts for the children. I mean, it’s OUR decision, right?
You wouldn’t believe how crazy it is here with the decorations and lights. You and I thought that Kazakhstan loved neon lights when we were here in November, but that was nothing. I’ve been amazed by the number of neon Christmas tree-style lights I’ve seen on public land, surrounded by references to the New Year. I’ve seen dozens of restaurants, hotels and homes in both Almaty and Taraz with “2008” decorations. This place must go crazy for Jan. 1. I wish I was going to be here to see it, but am also glad that I’ll be leaving before the craziness happens, if that makes sense.
I still have every intention of finding a phone and calling you this afternoon when we get Drew – probably sometime between 4-6 p.m. Taraz time, which is 3-5 a.m. on the East Coast. I hope that I have a chance to send this note before then. And I hope that I can send daily e-mails after today!
I miss you and love you. I can’t wait for us to get home, and I can’t wait to see you again."
So - it's 3 a.m. and I'm trying to stay calm!!! I should have known our smooth process was too good to be true...UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Amsterdam to Almaty....
Well, Patrick made it to Amsterdam safe and sound, and if my time zone calculations are correct, he is on his way to Almaty right now. He said the flight to Amsterdam was good - more comfortable on Northwest than the Lufthansa flight was - and he had an exit row. He was able to sleep for six hours in the Amsterdam airport, which he said was the nicest airport he's ever been in. So, apparently he didn't make it to the Red Light district! :) And of course, he bought us a "Holland" magnet!!
So - no more news for now...Peyton decided he's going to be sleeping with me while Patrick is away. Lucky me - woo hoo...
So - no more news for now...Peyton decided he's going to be sleeping with me while Patrick is away. Lucky me - woo hoo...
Friday, December 7, 2007
Buh-Bye....
Well - Patrick is three hours into his flight to Amsterdam...crazy!!!! Drew will be with his daddy so soon....I can't wait to hear that they are together.
It's going to be such a wierd week for both of us - hard for each of us in completely different ways. I know that Drew will be great with Patrick, but I know he's nervous. I don't blame him - I would be completely freaking out if I were going over by myself too. Hopefully all our paperwork is OK - today our agency sent over our homestudy update to say we would like to adopt a child up to 17 months old. Our original document says a child up to 16 months old. Without that change, we could have had some major problems at the Embassy..but - it will all be fine - I know it will.
Peyton and I will keep ourselves busy this weekend - we can't wait to see Kelly and Cole on Sunday!!! Work should be busy next week too - it's deadline week!!! I can't believe I have one more week of work and then that's it for 10 weeks - Drew and I are going to have so much fun!!!
Well - I will keep you all posted on Patrick's travels...he keeps joking about visiting a cafe in Amsterdam or the Red Light district - I've told him it's not that funny!!!! :)
It's going to be such a wierd week for both of us - hard for each of us in completely different ways. I know that Drew will be great with Patrick, but I know he's nervous. I don't blame him - I would be completely freaking out if I were going over by myself too. Hopefully all our paperwork is OK - today our agency sent over our homestudy update to say we would like to adopt a child up to 17 months old. Our original document says a child up to 16 months old. Without that change, we could have had some major problems at the Embassy..but - it will all be fine - I know it will.
Peyton and I will keep ourselves busy this weekend - we can't wait to see Kelly and Cole on Sunday!!! Work should be busy next week too - it's deadline week!!! I can't believe I have one more week of work and then that's it for 10 weeks - Drew and I are going to have so much fun!!!
Well - I will keep you all posted on Patrick's travels...he keeps joking about visiting a cafe in Amsterdam or the Red Light district - I've told him it's not that funny!!!! :)
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Drew's good mail day...
So - Drew is not even here yet and he had a great mail day. In fact, he got more mail than I did today. Here's what he got today:
Drew S. E. Sanders got his United frequent flier mileage card...along with a credit card offer!!!! He's not even 18 months old, or a US citizen, and he's getting credit offers - do we live in a great country or what??!!
He also got some gifts from Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Bryan...including a gorgeous blanket with his name on it that looks so cute on his rocking chair. It's Drew's first personalized gift - he'll be so excited once he learns his name! He also got my favorite children's book ever, "I'll love you forever" (that may not be the exact title) - I cry every time I read it. Just looking at the cover makes me cry...
Now we're just getting everything ready for Patrick to go. He's doing laundry, I sorted out all the gifts for everyone (including some great reading books from cousin Marcy for Tanya - thank you again!!!). And you'll all be impressed to know that I wrote on the cards "Thank you very much. All the best" - in Russian! I am a whiz with the Cyrillic alphabet...I hope everyone likes their presents - I think they will...
I can't believe Patrick leaves tomorrow - we're soooo close now.
Thank you again to all our family and friends who have been so wonderful and interested in our story...we're almost there. Soon this chapter will end and our lives with Drew will begin.
Drew S. E. Sanders got his United frequent flier mileage card...along with a credit card offer!!!! He's not even 18 months old, or a US citizen, and he's getting credit offers - do we live in a great country or what??!!
He also got some gifts from Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Bryan...including a gorgeous blanket with his name on it that looks so cute on his rocking chair. It's Drew's first personalized gift - he'll be so excited once he learns his name! He also got my favorite children's book ever, "I'll love you forever" (that may not be the exact title) - I cry every time I read it. Just looking at the cover makes me cry...
Now we're just getting everything ready for Patrick to go. He's doing laundry, I sorted out all the gifts for everyone (including some great reading books from cousin Marcy for Tanya - thank you again!!!). And you'll all be impressed to know that I wrote on the cards "Thank you very much. All the best" - in Russian! I am a whiz with the Cyrillic alphabet...I hope everyone likes their presents - I think they will...
I can't believe Patrick leaves tomorrow - we're soooo close now.
Thank you again to all our family and friends who have been so wonderful and interested in our story...we're almost there. Soon this chapter will end and our lives with Drew will begin.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Heat is important....
So - under the category of "whatever can go wrong will," we woke up this morning to no heat on the main floor of our house!! I don't understand all the technical stuff, but it turns out that our hot water heater should never have passed inspection cause it's missing some part - good to know more than two years after we bought the house...
Anyway - the very nice man named Steve fixed it temporarily and said it should be fine through the winter. We'll take care of the rest of it in the spring...when we take care of the huge tree limb in the middle of our yard from this week's ice storm!!
It's always something!!
Our paperwork will all be notorized today. There's a still a lot of mumbo-jumbo on those forms that makes no sense, but if they are notorized they can always be filled in later - so we're all set there...
Now if i could just make myself finish my stories for work....
And we found out that it will cost Patrick $70 to extend his visa in Kazakhstan for one day!! That's insane - considering a two-month visa was $90.
Two days until Patrick leaves for Kazakhstan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway - the very nice man named Steve fixed it temporarily and said it should be fine through the winter. We'll take care of the rest of it in the spring...when we take care of the huge tree limb in the middle of our yard from this week's ice storm!!
It's always something!!
Our paperwork will all be notorized today. There's a still a lot of mumbo-jumbo on those forms that makes no sense, but if they are notorized they can always be filled in later - so we're all set there...
Now if i could just make myself finish my stories for work....
And we found out that it will cost Patrick $70 to extend his visa in Kazakhstan for one day!! That's insane - considering a two-month visa was $90.
Two days until Patrick leaves for Kazakhstan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Happy Hanukkah!!
Hanukkah starts tonight - so happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate - including me!! :) Patrick and I will be having latkes for dinner (yes, the store bought ones) and maybe some donuts (sufganiot!) for dessert if I feel like splurging!! :)
I think we have all the questions answered for the paperwork, so we should be all set to get that stuff done by Friday when Patrick gets on the plane...
...and that's all I got from here...
Oh - Drew's changing table/dresser arrives today!!!
...and now that's really all I got from here...
ADDED: I have added more pictures of Drew's room - it looks so adorable - all it needs are more toys, a rug, his lamp, the valances and of course DREW!!!!!!
PS - Kristi - I love your comments - they always make me smile!!!! Sara too!!!!
I think we have all the questions answered for the paperwork, so we should be all set to get that stuff done by Friday when Patrick gets on the plane...
...and that's all I got from here...
Oh - Drew's changing table/dresser arrives today!!!
...and now that's really all I got from here...
ADDED: I have added more pictures of Drew's room - it looks so adorable - all it needs are more toys, a rug, his lamp, the valances and of course DREW!!!!!!
PS - Kristi - I love your comments - they always make me smile!!!! Sara too!!!!
Monday, December 3, 2007
Procrastination....
I've been so bad! Patrick leaves Friday for Kazakhstan and I still have paperwork to get done - that is so not like me! It's important paperwork, it needs to be done, and I just can't make myself do it...tonight I have to - I have no choice. Thankfully it only needs to be notorized, not apostilized too...
I think now that Drew is real (with a very cute room to prove it!! LOL) - it's harder to deal with the paperwork side of all this, if that makes sense. It's like - he's my baby now - what do you mean I have to fill out 10 more forms!! Come on....
And even once he's home the paperwork doesn't stop - we need to get him a Connecticut birth certificate, possibly do a readoption, do post-placement reports to Kazakhstan, etc...
I honestly don't know how people adopt internationally more than once...I really don't.
Well - back to work...
On another note...the Browns got robbed yesterday!! Winslow was forced out!
I think now that Drew is real (with a very cute room to prove it!! LOL) - it's harder to deal with the paperwork side of all this, if that makes sense. It's like - he's my baby now - what do you mean I have to fill out 10 more forms!! Come on....
And even once he's home the paperwork doesn't stop - we need to get him a Connecticut birth certificate, possibly do a readoption, do post-placement reports to Kazakhstan, etc...
I honestly don't know how people adopt internationally more than once...I really don't.
Well - back to work...
On another note...the Browns got robbed yesterday!! Winslow was forced out!
Saturday, December 1, 2007
More Shopping...
Well - I spent much of the day stimulating the local economy!! Started at USA Baby, then to Target, on to JC Penneys and finally Macys. Oh, and the book store too...it's amazing how much fun I had shopping for other people - particularly Drew! His room is really coming along...when it's all done I'll post another picture. His other piece of furniture will be delivered Tuesday and after that we're just waiting for his valances and a lamp...
I found great gifts for everyone in Kazakhstan - I'm so excited.
For Mira and Galina (our two coordinators who are doing all the paperwork and legwork) I got each of them a different sterling silver heart necklace and on the box one says "Until we meet again" and the other says "Many hearts, one family" - they are perfect and exactly what I was looking for.
Tomorrow I'll start packing for Drew....
Patrick and I went out for dinner tonight and spent most of it talking about what Drew would be doing if he were here. Somtimes I miss him so much it actually hurts - he'll be home in 15 days!!! It's not soon enough...
Other than that - I got all our laundry done! :)
Kristi - Thanks for the great idea of checking out other places that offer free classes - I think I found a few!!
And that's about it from Connecticut - it's supposed to snow tomorrow - ugh! I hate winter. About this time every year I want to move to Florida!
I found great gifts for everyone in Kazakhstan - I'm so excited.
For Mira and Galina (our two coordinators who are doing all the paperwork and legwork) I got each of them a different sterling silver heart necklace and on the box one says "Until we meet again" and the other says "Many hearts, one family" - they are perfect and exactly what I was looking for.
Tomorrow I'll start packing for Drew....
Patrick and I went out for dinner tonight and spent most of it talking about what Drew would be doing if he were here. Somtimes I miss him so much it actually hurts - he'll be home in 15 days!!! It's not soon enough...
Other than that - I got all our laundry done! :)
Kristi - Thanks for the great idea of checking out other places that offer free classes - I think I found a few!!
And that's about it from Connecticut - it's supposed to snow tomorrow - ugh! I hate winter. About this time every year I want to move to Florida!
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