A good friend of ours brought AJ a light saber as a “baby gift”. He is now obsessed with Star Wars, so much so that I ordered the Star Wars Trilogy to take to Florida with us in two weeks.

My brother graciously offered to knight AJ last weekend. As you can see, AJ is entranced.

Post from: Blisstree

The Jedi Master

I have been exhausted from travel and interrupted sleep, suffering from headaches and my own ear infection, and have done, in my opinion, nothing but laundry, change diapers, and feed Gus since returning home. Not that I’m complaining or anything…

But Friday morning I hit a wall. After two school snow days AJ had another day off because of conferences and I had a day downtown planned. Unfortunately Eric and I spent Thursday night up with Gussie (darn molars) AND AJ (darn nightmares) and I woke with a horrible migraine.

Thankfully, my parents were scheduled to babysit for the day and WANTED to still take them even after I canceled a fabulous event. They took the boys, I took a three hour nap, and I dreamed about meeting Monica Potter.

I watched Trust Me last week in preparation for the event and loved it. The ad world, two smokin’ men, and wit? How much better can you get?

Ah, with Monica Potter as a lead…it can get better. She’s a mom of three, (yes, a REAL mom), a star, and a person. And yes, she probably needs a break on some days just like I do. And, she is probably just as glad to get the break. I just wish my break didn’t come on a day that I had a chance to meet her.

Photo courtesy of Beth from I Should be Folding Laundry…babies are Ivy of Adventures in Babywearing and Asher of Sarahviola.org. Event planned by Beth Feldman from Role Mommy.

Post from: Blisstree

Trust Me, I Needed a Break

We have court tomorrow at 9:30. All of our papers seem in order and T and H are hopeful that things will go well.

We got passport pictures yesterday and are our plane tickets so it seems like we are on schedule to fly out Tuesday evening.

Thank you to everyone for your support and prayers. It has meant the WORLD to us to know that you all care and are looking out for us. Going into this process was hard enough, but knowing that we have friends, most whom we have never met, is worth its weight in gold…or should I say rubles?

Finally going to court!

Post from: Blisstree

Court, Again

Things are looking slightly better now that we have underwear…or should I say smelling???

For those of you who have not caught the Curse Part 1, 2, and 3…we just got our luggage today, were denied our adoption yesterday, and have pretty much had a miserable trip…except that we have had a wonderful time visiting with our beautiful son.

The update on the court proceedings: We were able to get a hold of our doctors back at home and within twenty minutes they faxed a handwritten document detailing that they were able to provide medical judgments regarding our health in all areas including cardiology, psychological, etc. Here in Russia no one sees a general practitioner and our judge could not understand that. We also obtained a letter from our social worker outlining the process in the US. Additionally, we had my doctors medical license re- translated to read that she is licensed to prescribe medicine, not that she is an alcohol and drug doctor, as it originally read.

So, we go back to court on Monday at 10 am. for the judges final decree. With all of these documents in order, we believe that he does not have an opportunity to deny this. We believe that he was/is looking to make an example out of us given the current circumstances in the US.

Today we took AJ to get his passport picture and he had his first car ride. He learned to play in puddles and drink from a sippy cup. He loves the sippy and loves just having it in his mouth. We hope to get custody on Monday after court, but it may be Tuesday before we fly to Moscow.

We will be in a mad rush on Monday getting his birth certificate, his adoption decree, and his passport so that we can leave on Tuesday afternoon for Moscow. All in all, we need to get to Moscow to get to the embassy so we don’t miss our flight out on Friday. (We will make sure to pack all we need in our carry on, don’t worry!)

Post from: Blisstree

The Curse

Well, it looks like we are officially the first family to EVER be
DENIED in the region of Arkhangelsk, if only temporarily. We did
not get our adoption granted today as we had hoped.

The judge was very specific about our medical records and wanted verification on our physicians licenses’ as well as their ability to evaluate medical conditions such as psychological conditions and drug or alcohol additions as general practitioners. Additionally, he
was very concerned that my doctor had a medical license for “controlled substances”, which by our understanding is that she can prescribe medication.

So, we have to obtain letters from our doctors back in the US by 10 am Monday in order to be approved.

Other than that…things are ok. We still have no luggage but our underwear dried quickly.

AJ loves spending time with us and just lights up when we go to pick him up. We had a blast today on the swing and the teeter-totter. He loves to walk, walk, walk.

The director of the orphanage said that after we visited him the first time his personality completely changed. He went from a sullen child who never smiled to one who smiled, played, and had fun…like he had something to live for. It was nice to hear that such a short time spent with us could have an effect on him. She also said that after we left his confidence skyrocketed and he started to walk and climb like crazy.

We go tomorrow to get his passport picture. I would love to send some pictures but I don’t have the adapter because it is in the luggage. I will send some if we get it in time.

Sorry this is such as downer of a week and not much fun to read, but I know you all want to know what is happening. Please keep us in your prayers…it looks like we need it (and some kleenex, but that is in the luggage too!)

Love,
Marcie and Eric

Post from: Blisstree

Adoption Denied…is This Real?

The summer of 2005 was very trying in regards to Russian adoptions, as Peggy Hilt had just murdered her youngest daughter (and I mean just).  We packed our bags knowing that we NEEDED extra prayers to get through customs as potential adoptive parents and knowing we would be scrutinized every step of the way.

To put it bluntly, our second adoption trip was absolute hell and I would never, in any lifetime, wish it upon anyone. If it could go wrong it did and I was just too plain worn out and tired to break down and cry (until, of course, AJ started beating on my head in airport security).

The only good thing to come out of that trip was that we finally and better later than never, brought our son home with us.

Post from: Blisstree

Leaving…

Eric and I will probably have to cancel on the picnic this year…but for a VERY happy reason!

We got word from B today that T will be presenting our papers to court on Friday or Tuesday and that we expect a mid-July court date (B said probably the 19th!). They are trying to get everyone through before the summer slowdown in the region so it does look like it WILL happen! I will keep everyone posted.

As far as the red, white, and blue colors, we plan on taking our announcement picture of AJ in front of the Kremlin…I have a perfect outfit for him!”

Marcie

Post from: Blisstree

A Russian Court Date

Our representative walked into the room and handed AJ to me and he was so scared. He took a couple of deep rattling inhales and would not look at me or hang onto me, something I completely expected. You can see his wide-eyed expressions in the pictures, but he was so tense.

Eventually, over the next two days his eyes began to light up every time we walked into the room or he saw a smile on our faces. And our hearts ached when we had to say goodbye to him…and know it was for an undetermined amount of time.

9 things we learned about AJ in 9 hours…

1. He has an infectious giggle and a gorgeous smile.

2. He loves movement…especially flying with his Papa. I wish they made toddler swings for indoors.

3. He is extremely ticklish, and he loves it. But, when he has had enough he will certainly tell you even though he can’t speak yet.

4. Throwing things seems to be his favorite things to do. He tastes the object to see if he likes it and then throws it. When he is done with the toy, he throws it. If he does not like it, he throws it. If he does like it, he throws it…Basically, he throws. Unfortunately Dad, he throws backwards. Any ideas for non throw-able plane toys?

5. He loves cars. Typical boy.

6. He sucks his thumb when he gets tired. No one told us this but I have a gorgeous picture of him doing it because I caught him as he started to get sleepy. It is one of my favorites.

7. He loves to climb and is extremely curious. Wish us luck.

8. He does not walk well yet, but knows exactly how to get places without having to walk without assistance from someone or an object. He can figure out how to get anywhere he wants to go. You can see his brain churning…do I hang onto the fence, crawl, scoot my butt against the wall, or hang onto papa? It was very humorous to watch him get places. The good thing is he has problem solving skills.

9. He is VERY active. Again…wish us luck…lots of it.

In retrospect, it is amazing how much I cued into and how much I knew about AJ just from those 9 hours. I knew he had Sensory Processing Dysfunction because he loved to swing and loved to be tickled but could only handle so much. I knew he had no fear because he would climb without any regard for heights or for falling. I knew that he was smart and could figure things out if he put his mind to it, and I knew that he was going to give us challenges every day…a run for our money, so to speak.

Thankfully, we enjoy the challenges. They certainly are not fun everyday but we’ll take ‘em.

Post from: Blisstree

The Little Things

He was getting yet another cold, he was tired, and to me, he looks so alone. In reality, he was trying to escape stimulation, something that he continued to do at home when he got there. He used to stand at his favorite window with his cars and watch the cars on the street go past the house.

To me, he looks sad, so lost, so orphan-like. It is one of my favorite pictures because it captures who he was and what he left behind. Deep down there is still so much of that little boy in him though. I catch glimpses of it every once in a while when he stops to look out a window or when he lays on the floor to play with his cars.

That afternoon, Eric and I made our final decision and signed our petition to formally adopt AJ.

It was April 1, 2005.

Post from: Blisstree

Reality of an Older Adoptee

Everyday Cole waits at the front door at the same time.

So they can start wrestling.

Post from: Blisstree

His Best Friend