siberia for the brands

Long time, No Post

2009-06-10T10:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some adorable pics from our Memorial Day jaunt to Saturna with Max and Family. We had a great time and the kids all had a blast. We made our first 'from scratch' cake and the kids all played super well. And also a pic of Nas at the park by Grandma's house- just because I love this shot- it was a beautiful day, she had a new dress she loved and all was right with the world. So adorable!

I know, I know, it has been forever since I posted. It is too bad because I want this to be a record of our first year together - something I can print and show the kids years from now and I am totally being lame about posting often enough for it to be relevant. I guess some posting is better than none - hopefully they will see it that way too!

Okay- what is new:

WE ARE MOVING. It is crazy but we have decided to finally make the move to Bellingham. We have been talking about moving up there for years- our family is there, Aaron grew up there, the houses are big and cheaper etc etc etc. Honestly I just have not been ready. But life being what it is some business opportunities came up that worked really well for us and that sealed the deal. I was already going up 2 days a week for a client and now have taken on a big new client that would mean I would be up 3-4 days each week. That is ALOT of time in the car. So, we are selling our house here and moving up there. Please hope or pray or whatever that we sell our house quickly and for a good price. People seem to be upbeat about it but in this crazy market you never never know what will happen. We have put alot of work into our house, spent a lot of money on structural updates etc and I know we will not break even but I would really really love to come close. Thankfully we have a ton of equity so will have enough for a down payment on a bigger place- as long as everything doesnt go terribly awry. So, fingers and toes crossed please.

The house is going on the market next week - just in time for us to head off to wausaukee so the agent has 10 whole days to show it clean and happy before kids and dog come home. If it could just sell in that 10 days my world would be so happy! We have been looking at places in the 'ham but have yet to see the perfect house. We have seen a couple that are really great but just not "perfect" and I would LOVE to find one we could stay in for several years. Now is the time for that.

We have been talking to the kids alot about it and hopefully they will be okay. It is scary to move and I know Sasha is worried he will be left behind. It is so sad to me. I tell him about 30 times a day that we are all moving together, all hist stuff is going, we are moving as a family, it is a good thing etc. But I am not sure he gets it. Ugh. Nas is more okay with it - on the surface....

Other than that things are all about the same. The kids are doing great for the most part. We have had some sleep problems with Sasha- he is waking up several times a night and needs to be comforted back to sleep. The good news is that this is taking less time - 10 minutes as opposed to 30 so as long as we can go back to sleep it is okay. Of course the frequency has increased to 3-4 times a night which is tiring but we will get through.

I think we have made a real progress in some areas- especially with Nas. She is much calmer at bedtime and that is great. She seems to be more comfortable with the idea of not being in charge. She is still definitely "willfull" at times but that is her testing us, which is to be expected.

Overall they are such a joy to us that it is great - they are so funny and cute together- I am so glad they have each other though at times, like when they fight, I want to throw my hands up and let them duke it out! I think that is probably normal too. :)

I am so excited for our upcoming trip to wausaukee. Of course it was booked months ago and we could have gone way cheaper if we had waited to book our tickets but you live and learn. And it is at a terrible time in terms of move, new client etc but the one thing I learned from Mom's death was you never ever postpone or cancel a vacation. We cancelled that trip to Italy 3 times and have given up on going now that we are parents. That is really too bad and life is short so forget doing something like that again!

That is all I have time for right now. Hope all is well with everyone!

SKB

potty, potty, where on earth is the potty?

2009-04-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

Hi All-

Sorry it has been an age (again) but life is busy! Lets see what is new:

1) The pictures above are from Grandma's big Seder and from Easter morning when the Easter Bunny came. As you can see one event was civilized, with dresses and books and the other was a candy free for all lying back in Pajama's with eggs filled with jelly beans. I think this is probably just as it should be. :)

2) Jane and I FINALLY went on our girl's night away this past weekend and it was soo soo soo fun. It was just what the doctor ordered- Mama was getting a tad cranky between too much work and too much of everything else and spending 26 hours shopping, spaaing and drinking expensive wine with my darling twin was just what I needed to recharge those batteries. Now if only we could find time every 6 months- that would be ideal. :)

3) The kids are excited that it is finally warm out- we have been riding bikes alot and we opened up the sand table in the backyard. Mama forgot how much dirtier they get in the summer! It is hilarious to see them after they have been in the sand- I am not sure how they get it everywhere but they do! They are so cute and growing like weeds still - I literally think they grow every day. And Nas's hair is turning sort of red which is exciting because as many of you know red hair runs in my family in some blonde shades so I think it is fun that her hair is also turning a bit red. Sasha is still a blonde blonde just like I was when I was little and they both have cute new haircuts.

4) We are still having some issues with Sasha at swim class. He is not terribly interested in getting in the pool without a parent and last week when Papa went alone he didnt venture in at all. This week we are back to 2 parents going and I am pretty sure I will get him in there but he may not be 100% thrilled about the idea. He just really prefers it if one of us goes in with him but the whole point of this class is for him to actually learn to swim, not to have him float around on Mama so it is important that he moves forward with it. Nas is doing well in her class- last week she floated all by herself and is working on kicking. :)

Now the big issue (disclaimer: if you are not yet a parent this may be too graphic and TMI for you).

Sasha is in the midst, still, of potty training. When we came home and he was 27 mos old he was trained, the baby home way- meaning they limited their liquid intake and 3 times a day they sat on potties for 45 minutes and went then or not at all or suffer the consequences, think training by fear. Once home when he realized nothing terrible would happen if he didnt stay dry he decided quickly to revert to being #1 not trained. He has ALWAYS been #2 trained- that goodness. We figured, okay, he is a boy and he is young, no problem and into pull ups he went. This worked well but as he aged we started talking about how he couldnt wear pull ups forever and we decided on his 3rd bday the pull ups would be history. he said he was okay with this and for the last couple months in pull ups he never even went in them during the day- at all. We thought he was sooo ready. We talked about it, read about it, sang a little song about it etc. So on his bday into big kid underoos he went. It has been both good and bad. This kid will stay dry for 3+ weeks and everything will be going swimmingly and we will think, well YAY, we are finally done and then all of a sudden (yesterday) he will have 3 accidents in one day. This has happened a couple different days since we have gone to underwear FT- multiple multiple accidents in one day. Thankfully all of his accidents are #1 accidents only - I would not know what to do if otherwise....It is so weird- he knows what to do, literally he will be completely trained for a month or so and then boom, all hell breaks loose. We talk about it and he says he doesnt know why he goes in his pants sometimes and doesnt know why it happens multiple times in one day and he doesnt feel bad about it in any way (though I have tried to make him understand it is not cool, he doesnt seem to care)- it is incredibly frustrating. A couple times he has even said he has to pee, gone into the bathroom and stood there and peed in his pants - so it isnt that he is getting distracted and doesnt realize he is peeing or something like that. Any ideas? And candy doesnt work for him - he could care less about that too. I am not sure if it is some sort of control thing or some sort of plea for more attention those days or what - we have tried everything- snuggles, talking, demanding he stop, pretending it was not a big deal, making a huge deal out of it- everything! Any advice?

Happy Holidays!

2009-04-11T09:49:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody,

So we are deep in the Passover/Easter season here. Today we are off to Mercer Island for a big big seder at Grandma and Grandpa's house. People have even flown in and it should be very fun. Then tomorrow the Easter Bunny will come (I have this on good authority) and we may go to church down at that nice Episcopalian church on First Hill that would be our church if we ever went enough to be officially affliated with a church-- as well- that plan is still up in the air due to some other commitments.

As many of you know we are a blended family and we are not exactely the most observant in any of our religions but it is good to expose the kids to everything and see what they like and so they can learn more about the various faiths that make up our family.

Because they dont watch much TV the kids dont know about the Easter Bunny but I am pretty sure they will be psyched to get baskets tomorrow and I feel that it is important to also do that as it was always a big part of things in my family. I will always remember the Easters spent in Chicago at Bar and Bob's (my grandparents) where Bar individually wrapped jelly beans in 5 different types of tissue paper (each child only was able to find their own color/pattern of wrapping) and hid them all over their house. I am pretty sure the people that live there now are probably still finding petrified individually wrapped jelly beans! Talk about a lot of work for Bar- I dont have that kind of time but I can at least get a decent basket together for the kids. :)

The kids started swimming class again this past week. It was pretty interetsing. They were in 2 different classes because Sasha had to be in the 3 yr old class while Nas was in the 4yr old section. This was hard on her- she was very worried about him and kept watching his class rather than paying attention to her teacher. Towards the very end of the class she seemed to relax a bit and listened more which was good. Though she did say she did not like it because they were not together. This is something we expected- they are very very close and it is time for them to develop a bit more independently so this is a good first step. Hopefully this week it will go more smoothly- she was pretty cranky about the whole thing and I would prefer to not go through that again. Sasha was nervous at first but the minute they pulled out the pool toys for his class he said, "see ya" and was off into the pool without a look back. This coming week Papa has informed me that perhaps it would be better for me NOT to meet them at the pool, that perhaps she was feeding off that and my anxiety over it all and he is probably right. So I guess I will just hear the story afterwards.

Well the dog is barking, the kids need a snack and we are all still in our PJ's so gotta go.

SKB

Sunny Day, washing the cares away....

2009-04-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some cute pics from the beach and yard yesterday- an abnormally warm and sunny day here in Seattle. Snow on Weds, 70 and sunny on Sunday- crazy town!

So I have the theme song from Sesame Street in my head. The kids have "discovered" Elmo - and now instead of Caillou they like to pick Sesame Street about 1/2 the time for their TV hour. They watch one show a day usually, usually when mommy gets home from the office and needs to make dinner while papa deals with stuff around the house (I know, bad, but umm, hello you try to make dinner with 2 toddlers buzzing around or skimishing constantly- it is hard). So there has been a fair amount of Elmo in our world this week and now that it is finally sunny I really have the theme in my head.

Things are good, lots of stuff going on. Gymnastics class is still going strong and now this Weds we are adding swimming (the next in the series of classes) to the schedule. I know it isnt much to have 2 activities, especially while they are still not in school, but I dont want to over schedule them too much! I think this will be fine though - dance class has ended and we did not "re-upp" there.

I am a bit bitter having received our ridiculous tax bill though. We were unable to take any of the adoption credit because we sold stock to fund the adoption, which made our "earned income" too high for the credit. The result is a ridiculous tax bill based on Capital Gains. Yuck and Ugh. Oh well, at least I sold the stock before the fall so that is good I guess. And apparently as long as we do our WA State re-adoption this year- which we are planning on doing but simply never got around to in 2008, we can claim the full credit next time around, which is good. But still painful to see all those numbers add up and think about the size of the bill. I need the sunny day to wash away those cares!

My sister Brooks is coming to town this week which should be fun and I am very interested to see how the kids react to her. They haven't seen any pregnant people really (not in person, just on the street or whatever so who knows what they think of them). Anyway, they think all babies come from baby homes apparently- or so they told me. I havent actually disavowed them of this notion- I was waiting until I had to because I am a chicken when it comes to the 'adoption' talk stuff but I am pretty sure they will say something to Brooks because last time they saw her she was not noticably pregnant so they have no idea and here she will show up VERY pregnant so....We shall see!

The 12 days of Sasha's birthday continues

2009-03-30T14:52:00.001-07:00

Hi All,

The long extravaganza that is Sasha's birthday celebration continues. Here are a couple pictures of him in his PJ's and one of his sister's hats the morning of his party- we were talking about how everyone was coming over just for his birthday and this was his reaction. This past Saturday was his family party. We had 21 people over to our house for brunch. It was a lot of work but fun. We had not entertained on that scale since we have been home (usually when we entertain we try to keep dinner numbers to 10 so it is civilized and because that is where I like it) and I had forgotten how much work it is to feed 21 people in the way I like to do it. Also, with two kiddos you do not have as much time for prep and set up- that is for sure! But it all worked out, Aaron really helped in the kitchen the night before after the kids went to bed so we had alot of the prework done by midnight and then I was up at 6am to get the rest of the stuff cooking etc. Everyone had a great time and lots of food, laughter, presents. And, Poppy Nick showed up after all! He was alone because Elizabeth chose not to attend but I was very glad he was able to make it because it means a lot to me and to the kids because they love him lots.

Also, Saturday was the third anniversary of my Mom's aneuroysm. I cant believe it has been 3 years and I still miss her this much. The limbo time (the horrid 32 days between March 28-April 30th 2006 while she was in a coma and then slipping away is harder still for me because I was there every day, all day and I think about it way way too often even now) but I need to remember that she was off in spirit searching for our children then and she found them because Sasha was born during that time.

I made a small toast to her at the party but got a little choked up but I know she would have been happy to have been there and that she was there in spirit so that helped.

On to happier things:

It is so fun to see our kids play with their cousins now that they are less shy- they all get along well and hopefully that will continue. Now that Nas is the oldest grandchild we will see how it develops over time- I remember getting into ALOT of mischief with my cousins when I was a teenager, wonder if the same will happen.....

Tomorrow is Sasha's actual birthday- which will be very very low key, just regular dinner (maybe a cake for dessert, though we are still munching through the baby cupcakes we had for the brunch) and a couple presents from us. I think we are all birthday fatigued at this point.

Tomorrow is also the one year anniversary of when we received our referral. Yes, we got our referral on Sasha's second birthday. We had been up at Jane's condo at Mt Baker for a long weekend to celebrate Aaron's birthday- never thinking that we could possibly be missing anything up there in land of no cell phones and as we drove down the mountain our phones started ringing the second we hit range- our coordinator had been trying to track us down for hours and hours and was beside herself. See, we had been told 12-18 months for a referral of healthy siblings so we didnt bother to keep the agency posted as to whereabouts or anything like that, we didnt sit by the phone etc etc etc- it had only been 4 months (and barely that) since we turned in our dossier- we had no inkling we could possibly get a referral that fast. Anyway, it was a crazy day filled with calls to IA docs, emails sent to phones with pictures of the kids, talks about flights, visas etc and we ended up leaving 12 days later to go meet the babies! I remember so clearly having to pull over on the side of Hannigan road because I couldnt drive and listen to Jaimie tell us about the kids, sitting there on the highway and then getting pics texted to my phone because we were still 2 hours from home and I could not wait that long. Oh, it was a very very emotional day. I was so excited, scared, amped up, nervous, scared, happy, scared - you get the idea. I had not emotionally prepared for a referral at all- it blind sided us - so there was alot to get through in the 12 days before we left. :)

And poor Aaron, his birthday is April 1 -- one day after Sasha's and I can tell you he isnt getting a party at all. And last year he lost out to getting ready to go to Russia. I feel bad, he is a good husband etc but I told him forget it- maybe next year. Turning 34 isnt such a big deal, he says he is fine with it and hopefully that is true because there is no suprise party in the works. Between work and doing all the Sasha parties I just have had no time for anything of that nature. Poor Papa!

More later,

SKB

Sasha's Friend Party

2009-03-24T13:11:00.001-07:00

Here is one super adorable shot of Sasha the other night and then there are some cute pics from Sasha's "friend" birthday at the Little Gym. This was the party that was co-hosted by Kate and Christopher and we celebrated Sasha and Esme's birthdays together. It was super fun! Sasha does look a little overwhelmed at cake time but overall he had a great time.

More Later,

SKB

The Dreaded "Talk"

2009-03-17T09:43:00.001-07:00

Well, it finally happened - we had the first of many (I am sure) talks about the biological family today... Here is what went down. Nas has apparently been mentioning to Aaron recently that it is not "fair" that we hold baby Will. She said Will has Totya (Aunt) Jane and so we should not hold him. This is VERY typical - she is jealous. So Aaron mentions this to me at breakfast today after the kids have left the table to go play. We are discussing this and she is listening from where she and Sasha are playing in the living room. I get up to go downstairs to do my hair and when I come up the kids both come up to me and say "it isnt fair, dont hold Will".

Now, I have not held Will in over a week - when I did very very briefly at his birthday party. But there have been a lot of birthdays and Sasha's is coming up so it is not suprising this is coming up now. I said, okay, lets all sit down and talk. They said they wanted to all get in our bed and talk there so we did. Nas started off that it wasnt fair that Will had Jane so didnt need me. I agreed that WIll belonged to Jane and Jane belonged to Will, just like she and Sasha were my babies and I belonged only to them. This seemed to placate her a bit. Then I asked her if she was mad that she and sasha were not here when they were babies and she said, "YES!" (I was pretty sure that was what was really wrong anyway) and so I said I was sad too that they hadnt been but that they had been born in another lady's tummy- the tummy lady (I just cannot use the term birth mother- I just cant) and that she loved them very much but was not their real mother so she had to take them to the baby home so their mama and papa could find them, because we wouldnt be able to find them anywhere else. I have no idea if this is the right thing to say but I have been reading about this and it seemed plausible so I went with it. I explained that we had a whole team out searching for them (plays off a book we read where something similar happens) and as soon as they found them we flew as fast as we could to come get them. We were also sorry we didnt find them as tiny babies but we love them so much that it is okay because we are all home and safe now. Then we talked about how far we went for them, Papa pulled out the atlas and we looked at Russia and Novo and Seattle and they got bored so we looked at baby home pictures (which they love to do) and they were happy and took off to play.

Now I am sure this is the first of many many conversations about this- I guess it is good it is finally coming out but it is hard, all around.

It is also hard because they obviously compare themselves to the other kids in the family and we just had this super fun big party at Poppy Nick's for Will's birthday and now we are not doing something similar for Sasha- Elizabeth is against it for reasons unknown and not understood by me. And now Pop isnt even coming to his birthday party (because of Elizabeth and her schedule and desire not to attend apparently)- so I am really concerned that my children will feel extra slighted, which is worse than the sting of the slight I already feel regarding this issue- which they don't know about at all. We will have a party at our house and it will be great and I hope Sasha sees that it is even better to be surrounded by those that love you whole heartedly but it sucks all around and has definietley strained things between my dad and I. I know HE loves Sasha but it is sometimes hard for him to make the right choices regarding situations like this- this is why it was so great when Mom was around, she acted as an appropriate social compass and made him slow down and realize what was really important, like grandchildren.

They say that alot of adoption issues come up around birthdays so this is not a surprise but we shall see where it goes. Nas obviously thinks about this alot and Sasha takes his cues from her - so it could be an interesting month!

Laid low by colds and snow

2009-03-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some cute pics from Will's 1st birthday last week. It was a great party and here we have Sasha, Nas (as she would now like to be called, aka Ana, aka Nastia aka Anastasia) Harley and MJ sitting on the steps - MJ and Harley are in pajamas because they have to drive home late- our kids are still in regular clothes because we stayed at Poppy Nick's house that night. :)

Today we are having a "quiet" day at home. We all have a terrible cold and we decided that as it is Sunday and we are all sick it would be best to call it good, stay in our PJ's and hang out. And it is snowing again. The kids are not used to such a do nothing day and it may be starting to get to them- we shall see if it lasts all day. They do like being in their PJ's at 11:45 in the morning.

The next couple weekends are all about Sasha's bday- next weekend is his "friend party" with all of his little buddies at the Little Gym. We are actually doing a c0-party with Kate and Christopher as their daughter Esme (one of Sasha's best friends) is also 3 this week and we decided it would be totally fine to kill two birds with one stone on this as the same 12 kids would be invited to both parties. Hopefully it will be fun for all. Then the following weekend is his "family party". This should be held at Pop's - just like MJ's and Will's parties were (Nas missed out because we were in Mexico) and Harley missed out for other reasons that are similar to why Sasha is being left out in the cold on this issue -- Elizabeth is simply not into it and feels strongly that as it is not her tradition it is not worthy of continuing..... So we will be holding it here. I have very mixed feelings about this that I do not need to go into here on a public blog but I can say that I am very disappointed that we will not be having Sasha's party at Poppy Nicks- it is by far better suited to this sort of thing than our house is and it would be nice to have it there but c'est la vie I guess. And I really like the tradition of having all of the kids' parties there and I know if Mom was still alive it would be awesome and totally be something we could look back with fondness for years to come but I guess people do what they gotta do and it is what it is.

Anyway, it will be great and hopefully 30 people for brunch will fit in our house! I am excited to celebrate Sasha's first birthday here and nothing will get in the way of making it fabulous for him. He is turning 3 and is going to be a big boy now! He is very excited and so am I.

Other than that nothing new to report- I really am going to try to blog more- it is good for me. Now off to the homeopathic pharmacy to try to find something to help Sasha. While Nas can take a low dose antihistamine to help with her terribly runny nose we have found that Sasha does NOT react well to antihistamine at all- he does not do well so I want to find something else that may work as he is a little miserable with this cold. Wish me luck.

SKB

A night to remember

2009-03-14T16:49:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone-

I know it has been a zillion years since my last post. I keep trying to post and then get sidetracked. Here are some cute recent pics of the kiddos. Check out how in love Sasha is with Aga- thank goodness those days of being scared of the doggie are over! The rest are just from various days outside in the yard and at the park.

Here is what is new:

-We are all booked to go to wausaukee in late June and I cannot wait! I am soo excited for the kids to see wausaukee, spend time there, meet all the cousins etc. For those of you who are like "what is she talking about" wausaukee is a place that is very special to me where we have had a cabin for 4 generations. Plus it is where 'grand-nanny' Jaimie lives so that is always a reason to go in and of itself. The kids cannot wait to see her again! It is back in Wisconsin so we dont get there as often as we would like but it is always fun and family filled. I cannot wait- now if I can just convince Jane and Will to go with us it would be perfect!

-Wanted to give a shout out to Joni who is finally safely home with her darling son, Kirill, who is from the same BH our kids are from. We cant wait to meet him soon and hear they are settling in well over in Green Lake.

-The kids are doing very well- have just been growing like weeds recently - new clothes every couple of weeks to handle it! They are smart and funny and cute. They keep us going from dawn to dusk too- they have a lot of energy and we are happy. tired, but happy.

-Last night was our first night away from the kids. We have been remiss on the whole mommy and daddy time thing since we got home (3 dates total) and we had been feeling like it would be great to be able to actually spend some time together - as someone wise pointed out to me recently "parenting is a marathon, not a dash. So dont act like it is a dash - make sure everyone in the family is taken care of." We were not doing that part very well at all. So we made a plan to combine a business dinner I had an hour away with a night at a nice hotel there. Beth -- our best friend, Sasha's godmother, resident psychologist, awesome chick who sees the kids once or twice a week as it is (because she spends a lot of time here having dinner etc) agreed to stay with the kids. They were awesome for her. We were SO nervous and I was feeling serious mommy guilt about the whole thing but it worked out just fine. We had a blast, stayed out WAY too late but had a chance to really talk and giggle and hang out and the kids and Beth had a fun slumber party here. We came back EARLY this morning so Beth could catch a train and the kids have been slightly more needy than yesterday but nothing terrible at all. I am really glad we did it and hope we get to do that at least once a year (maybe twice!) if possible. We shall see. :)

Super Mommy!

2009-02-20T14:55:00.000-08:00

Hi-

So this is a totally self congratualtory blog post. Bear with me.

Aaron has been a trooper these many months- diving right into the role of stay at home dad and doing an awesome job with the kiddos. But everyone needs a break. So, yesterday we waved goodbye to Papa and off he went for a couple days and nights of relaxation and snow boarding up at Mount Baker. Thanks Jane for letting us borrow your condo!!!

So, I am playing 'single mommy' for a couple days. Now, lets be honest. I have help- Anya, our trusty PT nanny was here this morning (as she would have been anyway so Aaron can get a break), we are going to dinner at a friend's house tonight and Beth and I are going to take the kids to the park tomorrow. So, it is not me and the kids on a desert island fending for ourselves or anything. But it is the first time Papa has been gone overnight since we got home. I have had a few quick business trips and he has been a trooper through those (with Anya's help too) but this was a big step all around. It is going very well. The kids were so cute when he left - blowing kisses and telling him to be careful on the mountain.

Last night went well - totally normal night with Mama- we made dinner and just did our normal night time routine, only difference was it was all me and not the two of us. It went well- a bit of weepiness from Sasha when it was time to go to sleep since Papa wasnt there to rock him but he got over it really quickly. Of course we had another night of in and out of our bedroom and he woke up at an ungodly hour (5am) and would not go to back sleep but that is pretty much par for the course- except the early wake up- that was new.... Today they have been great and are currently napping- which is a miracle as several days this past week have been decidely nap free due to babies' refusals to nap. Lets just hope it all continues to go well with no major melt downs and we will be all happy to see Papa relaxed and rejuvanated tomorrow night.

Things have been going well other than that- just really normal. We had a good Valentine's day- made cookies for Papa and had a quiet family night at home. President's day weekend was also extremely low key- no trips or anything. We continue to find our stride as a family and the kids are just more funny and adorable every day. Sasha is most definitely 2 at the moment and Ana is testing us with "No" alot recently but it is all very normal kid stuff. We are very lucky and blessed with our two little munchkins.

We are still looking at preschools for Fall and I will keep you posted on that when we decide - do we go expensive, close and montessori or less expensive, not as close but still within 10 minutes and 'general' curriculum? Any ideas?

I am so concerned about the state of IA these days in general though- things seem to be getting really crazy with the process and I just hope that all the families currently in process are sped through quickly and safely. It makes me grateful every day that our kids are home with us and I just want everyone to have their babies home too!

Here are some cute pics- just because. A couple from Valentine's - note Ana has decided to wear her Cinderella dress to dinner and Sasha thinks frosted cookies he helped make are the best thing ever and then one from post haircut Ana. :)

SKB

Snowing, Again!

2009-02-10T15:18:00.000-08:00

Hi Everybody-

It is snowing, again. It isnt sticking at all so it is really just a nuisance at this point! The kids are excited it is snowing but the whole not sticking thing seems to have them down on it too. Here are some cute recent pics for you to enjoy.

The first is the kiddos at the child's play area at Bellevue Square. Okay, so note to parents- do NOT take your kids to the child's play area at Bellevue Square on a Sunday afternoon when it is sort of yucky outside. It was chaos, uncontrolled chaos. Children everywhere, jumping on things, each other, running, falling, crazy crazy crazy. I am pretty sure Mama aged at least 5 years in 20 minutes. But we had to go bed shopping- we are over the whole Queen size bed thing now that Sasha has decided he vastly prefers our bed every night starting at around 2am (he is a kicker!) so we all went together to look at King size beds. The kids were great about it and patient and while we have picked our dream bed we have not yet made the financial commitment to a fancy, super nice new sleeping arrangement. Hopefully soon. Sasha will love it! :)

Anyway, they were good so we said we would take them to playland and apparently so did every other parent in the free world. I wish I had video - I have never seen anything like it.The kids LOVED it. But for you grown ups -- Imagine a lord of the flies scenario, in an enclosed space, with parents hovering to make sure their kid was absolutely first or not pushed out of the way or whatever. Seventh circle of hell time for me. So we survived and then off to have a snack and go home.

The pic of Ana posing is right before we went for a new haircut- she was excited to get it trimmed now that she is 'growing it out'. I am glad the horrid mullet from the baby home is finally gone and cannot wait for it to be longer. I will post a pic of post haircut cuteness next time. I want to braid it and put bows and barrettes and stuff in it and right now it is pretty fine and still a wee bit short for that. Soon, soon, soon.

The pic of Sasha posing is at the FRUA event we went to Saturday. It was fun but maybe a bit strange. We had not been to a FRUA event (for those of you not deep into IA, this is great group of parents who are all involved with Russian adoption that has been very helpful to us- especially the online community, and they have community events from time to time so you can hang with other adoptive families, which is great) with the kids since we were first home (and that one they were way too new and freaked to understand) but it was good we went. Ana was especially excited to meet kids who also came from baby homes and both seemed to really like the idea that all the families there were "made in the same way our family was made". But the strange part was all the people asking them which one they were from etc etc etc. They are pretty shy in general and some of the other kids were not at all and came right up to them and started talking away and asking a million questions one right after the other so it was pretty funny. But as you can see from the above pic they did eventually warm up and played with all the dress up stuff. One little girl told Sasha that he couldn't wear a tiara because he was a boy and he just laughed at her and put 2 on his head. I love him! I told her he could wear whatever he darn well pleased - so we are probably labeled as the wacky family now but c'est la vie.

Anyway, so a super busy weekend was had overall as I had to work much of Sunday and now we are into a semi- busy week. I was out of town yesterday and that created a cranky girl at bedtime- she dislikes it when she wakes up and I am not there but I pointed out I made it home in time for milk snuggles so that somewhat mollified her- I need to figure out how to better explain the whole mommy works so you can eat/play/live etc thing. She doesnt seem to have a firm grasp on that concept quite yet.....

We have our second preschool interview on Thursday- this one is a bit farther away but less expensive and also Montessori- so we shall see. I think Aaron really liked the one we went to last week that is blocks from home but man, that is A LOT to pay for 1/2 day preschool so I need to mull it over and work the numbers and in the interim we are looking at lots of options.

Thats all for now!

SKB

Pics - just because...

2009-01-29T15:40:00.001-08:00

these are some cute shots taken in the last couple days.

Ana looking ever so serious as she decides what to color next, Sasha with the giant Mishka (teddy) at the dentist office and Ana this morning. Sasha and Papa were still asleep and Mama was getting some work done so she decided to read quietly. I caught her on the couch in this pose and thought it was too cute and took a quick shot. Adorable!

Things are going well, the kids had their first dentist appointment yesterday and after full check ups and yucky flouride treatments it was determined that they have no cavities! This is absolutely amazing considering the dental care in the baby home and we are super happy (especially because dentists are not covered by our insurance) and the kids did so well- no tears at all!

Other than that we are just chugging along- this weekend Mama and Papa are going to an auction/dinner and the kiddos are going to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa. This will definitely be the longest we have left them for and the first time they will (maybe) fall asleep without us there as we probably wont get back until pretty late in the evening so fingers crossed. :)

More later.

SKB

Sasha's Surgery and other random January happenings

2009-01-17T15:15:00.000-08:00

Hi All-

So Sasha's surgery was last week. It went really well. I will try to post some cute post op pics but my laptop died so I am rolling a new one and need to get all the pics together on this one so I can post them...

Anyway, he was a total trooper. At first he was really not sure at all- very nervous and scared but the doctors gave him some sort of 'giggle juice' and he went to town, drunk as a skunk and giggly as all get out. He basically skipped to the OR after that. The surgeries went well - about 1 hour total in surgery and then 3 hours in recovery before we could see him. That was the hard part- waiting to see him! We had a great private room though and had brought all sorts of things from home- his blankie, teddies etc and we set the room all up for his arrival. He was pretty out of it and upset all night but he survived with Papa by his side. I went home and stayed with Ana because she wasnt able to sleep with someone else- which was totally fine. She did great with her first 'alone' babysitting with first Anya and then Beth. She was an angel.

The next day we went and picked up Sasha and Papa and we were all happy to get the heck out of there. His recovery has been pretty seamless- he did have pain the first few days but was pretty much himself the whole time, just a bit cranky. I think the 'pika' surgery was harder on him (and Papa) than the tonsils for sure. But the drs said we had to do it and he is happy that his pika looks like Papa's and baby Will's and baby Harley's now- he is very into being like the babies in the family... Right now he is running around in his new Frog boots (they look like frogs) and pretending to be a frog dinosaur so I would say he is better. :)

Both kids have some jealousy of the babies that are around- Ana even told us she was "mad it took so long for us to find them" which was sad but pretty cute. It started a good conversation anyway about how we had been searching for them for a long time and that we were so happy when we found them and came as fast as we could. She seemed to get that. She really likes talking about the baby home and what it was like and what is different here and how this place is better because it is a home and she found her mama and papa etc. Supposedly this is all good in terms of attachment so we help by showing pics of the BH etc. I am not 100% on if this is the right plan. Sasha seems to care less about the past- he seems to have forgotten most of it but maybe he is just too young. He is also less sensitive in general than Ana so it may be that.

Also, we had our first post placement (6 months) the other day and that went well. The kids were nice to the lady and other than showing off for her (which they do for new people sometimes) it was just fine. They were upset after it was over because Ana was worried the lady was coming to talk about sending them away but once we got that all cleared up we were all fine and happy again. I wish she wasnt so worried about stuff like that but I guess it is normal and a phase.

Other than that we have had a relatively quiet January. Lots of indoor play due to rain and surgery and cold but the last couple days have been nice. My laptop dying has been big in my world but I am mostly over it.

Other milestones this month:

-Sasha learned to ride his tricycle. He had been having pedaling issues and they are over- he is speed demon.

-Ana is staying dry through the night (99%). We are planning to move her to no pull ups at night very soon. This is exciting on many levels.

-Sasha is also staying dry most of the days so he is going from pull ups all the time to underwear FT! This is sort of less of a big deal as he is pretty dry all the time so the pull ups are not a big deal really but still it is exciting!

-The kids survived their first babysitting and survived. And Mama and Papa got to have dinner together for the first time since we came home. We had Anya over and the kids were great- they got to watch Calliou and stay up till 8:30 when we came home and it was great all around. Apparently they were good and we got 3 whole hours to just talk to each other and be together which was amazing and so very very needed. Six months is a LONG time to never ever be alone for a meal together. We need to plan 2 of these a month I think! Now our plan is to get them more comfortable with more than just Anya or Beth- we cant just have 2 people we rely on constantly, that is not a feasible long term plan but for now it is awesome.

That is enough for now, I will try to post soon. :)

SKB

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T20:40:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone-

It is officially a new year - YAY! I have high hopes for 2009 and lets all just believe and hope really hard that with some hard work, a lot of luck and some better government we can turn this recession around and everyone can be prosperous again!

Anyway, we are back from our Whistler adventures. Above are a couple pics for you...Aaron rallied on the 27th and we made it up there just fine. It was sooo nice to see Demian and get to spend time with him- we see each other far to rarely and so it was really great to spend time together. He and the kids got along super well too so that is good. Hopefully we will see him soon in Careyes!

The kids just loved the snow and especially the horse drawn sleigh ride we went on- definietly the high light of our time up there. They think Poppy Nick's chalet is nice too but were bummed that the hot tub was broken (oh yes, they are so my kids, very high standards). But they really liked the home theatre and watching Kung Fu Panda in surround sound with a giant screen is an experience. Now if only they got Caillou in Canada....

The trip back was hellish. 2 hour wait at the border, long drive in general, tired cranky parents, kids and dog. Ugh. We survived though and are getting back in the swing. Today was my first day back at the office in over a week and the kids were none too thrilled but they understand -i think....

Anyway, I am super stressed about Sasha's upcoming surgery- i cant believe it is on Monday! That is too soon!!! Grandma Marta and Beth are both coming in to help with entertaining Ana so we can both go to the hospital and I am nervous she will be a total handful too but mostly worried about my baby Sasha. Positive thoughts please. I know this is supposedly not a big deal surgery but I am sorry - any surgery where they put you under and you have to spend the night is a big deal- especially when you are my baby!

Gotta go - the kids need to sleep and are fighting it out a bit this evening!

SKB

Merry Christmas Everybody!

2008-12-26T09:57:00.000-08:00

Hi!

Here are some pics from Christmas. The favorite toy of the day seems to be the giant tiger that Poppy Nick and Elizabeth gave the kiddos. And of course some shots of them in their helmets that go with the new bike and trike!

I know it has been an absolute age since I posted but the holiday season and a crazy work schedule got in the way of things like blogging! Way too much travel in December for Mama and the kids were not terribly excited by that- it is so hard to be away from them and my 3 night trip to NYC was not fun for them or for Papa, especially as it came on the heels of 2 other short trips. It all adds up and I know they are as short as they can possibly be but it is hard, on them, on Papa, on me. Oh well, I am just thankful there is work for my company and if I have to travel then so be it.

Things on the home front are great, the kids had their first Christmas yesterday and it went very well. As many of you know we have been having crazy weather in Seattle for the last week- snow, snow and more snow. Because the Seattle infrastructure is completely unable to deal with even a flurry, let alone several feet of snow, the city basically shut down. We were able to get around due to Mama's big truck and Papa's ability to put chains on. :)

The kids love all the snow and have been having a blast. A quick rundown of our holiday schedule -

Sunday, Dec 21- we ventured out mid-blizzard to go to Hannukah at Grandma Marta and Grandpa Craig's house on Mercer Island. Original plan had been to celebrate at their place in Bellingham but extreme snow kept us from being willing to drive there and back in one day so.... It was very fun, the kids had a blast and we all had fun making cookies, eating latkes and opening presents.

Weds, Dec 24- after another foot or so of snow we left very early in the morning for the drive to Bellingham. Because of the amount of stuff, the dog etc we could not take my truck and had to roll in Aaron's minivan. This was pretty scary because the clearance is so low on a minivan but with chains and front wheel drive we did pretty well. It did take absolutely forever though- a drive that normally takes an hour and a half took 4 hours but we made it up safely! Spent the rest of the day doing "elf business" and then went to the traditional Xmas Eve dinner at Aunt Robin's. Having heard that her road was plowed we came charging up it- only to get stuck half way up because our car is too low!! Carried the kids the rest of the way and then Aaron, Craig and Tom spent more than 1/2 hour digging and dealing with the car, finally freeing it and making it up to the house!

It was fun though, Brooks was in from Hawaii/Pennsylvania and of course Max and his family so the kids all played with each other quite a bit and fun was had by all.

Then back to Jane's house for sleep. The kids (and Mama) are super bummed that Jane is not here this year- it is her year to be with Terry's family in CT and we miss them greatly but are so happy we got to use their house because it makes it easier to have our own space. :)

Then it was Christmas morning!! The kids slept really well and woke around 7:30. Santa had come of course and they were pretty excited. We did a few presents here and then off to Max's for the full family celebration. Chaos- the poor kids were having a bit of a hard time handling all the action and the dozens of presents coming their way and it stressed Sasha out a fair amount. He decided to bail and go into their playroom for some quiet play, which was totally fine but some of the other 'helpful' people there thought it was odd he would prefer that to presents.... It was just too much, he will be into the presents in his own time, when they arent being piled on him.

They were great though and pulled through. Went back to Jane's for a nap (not happening, way too excited for that) and to change and get ready for the big dinner at Poppy Nick's house. That was also fun and the kids fell asleep on the way back to Jane's.

Today we are supposed to be off to our place in Whistler for a few days but unfortunately Aaron woke up in the middle of the night really sick. not sure if it is something he ate or if he has the flu but he is pretty darn sick. We are torn because Demian (one of my very best friends from college) and his girlfriend are flying in from Mexico to see the kids in Whistler and we certainly do not want to miss that at all but with Aaron so sick it seems like it will be very ridiculously hard to get there. We are mulling over our options but I am super torn- I am dying to see Demian and he is flying 3000 miles to meet the kids so.... But sick Aaron is no fun at all!

So, that is the long and short of our holiday thus far. I have a few days off so hopefully I will be able to post more. Hope everyone is having a safe and fun holiday!!

SKB

So many things to be thankful for.

2008-11-28T09:57:00.000-08:00

Hi All-

The kids first Thanksgiving went very well. Grandma Marta and Grandpa Craig slaved over a hot stove for days I am sure and we had a FEAST. Aaron's pies were very well received and everyone had a great day playing, eating, visiting and just being together.

It is so crazy to think about last Thanksgiving. Last Thanksgiving we were in Mexico (common theme in our family since our mom died- my dad likes to go away for a family holiday someplace warm and nice and not here) but we were at a swanky very un-kid friendly place that was great, but so different than this year. Of course, the only "child' there last year was baby Will and he had still to make his appearance so I am not sure that really counts... (poor Jane- flying at 5 mos pregnant!).

Anyway, what I want to talk about it the fact that last Thanksgiving we were all done with our homestudy and weighing our options as to which agency to go with. I was really on the fence and had a lot of trouble deciding between WACAP ( a great agency and the one that we eventually did sign with- and they had done our homestudy which made it even easier) and CSS - a very well respected agency in North Carolina. While we were in Mexico we got word that we had been rejected as applicants by CSS. Apparently my medical history (which is very old and ridiculously unimportant in terms of real life but can freak people out who are dumb or dont know better) and they felt that we were not good candidates for International Adoption and that we would not be able to adopt a child. Okay, I was CRUSHED. I wandered around Mexican paradise for 2 days in a daze of tears and hurt. My whole family was there trying to cheer me up -- Pop was offering to find us babies no matter what it took, Aaron was telling me there would be a way, everyone was being as nice and supportive and I was just devastated. I was sure we would never be parents- that a stupid idiomatic seizure disorder from 10 years ago that was long gone was going to keep us out of the parenting world forever. I was so angry that an agency would tell us that we were not good enough to go through the process when we have so much to offer a child(ren) and that they would be better off in Russia than with us etc etc etc. It still makes me super upset to think about this. I mean, we are sort of a catch really- we are nice, normal, well educated, love each other, have great families, have resources, want to be parents, had a parenting plan etc. For someone to tell me that I wasnt good enough was a real blow to my psyche (and dumb if you ask me).

But, I guess everything really does happen for a reason! Because when we returned we met with WACAP again (they had alreay agreed to represent us as they didnt think it was all such a big deal either and that "your pros outweigh your cons") and decided to move forward with them. I was nervous-- what if they changed their minds about us, what if the Russians didnt like us etc etc etc. but we wanted to move forward and so we did. And, you all know how that turned out- our kids, the kids that were so meant to be ours, were able to find us (with some help from Queen Markell and the folks at the MOE and the people at WACAP) and are now home playing as I type this. We never ever thought we would have our kiddos home before this holiday season- we were sure it would take at least 2 years and that we were looking at 2010 before we became parents. Just goes to show how the world works in mysterious ways. Our kids were ready for us now so CSS had to reject us, they dont work in the baby home our kids were from so if we had gone with them we might have missed them! It is all kismet to be sure.

It is hard because I miss my mother more at Christmas time than any other time of the year (which is saying something). She WAS christmas- ask anyone- this was her time of year for sure. It is hard to see the kids get so excited about it and know that this will be our first year with them and have her not be there. It is just really hard. I know that she is watching out for them and I know we have plenty of other family but without her Christmas has never seemed quite "right" for me. All i can do is try to make it fabulous for my kids- maybe that will help this year. I need to get in the spirit though and i am having some trouble there- must be all the craziness in the world!

Anyway, enough of my musings. I just wanted to post how happy I am that we are all home and safe and how glad I am to have my children going into this Holiday season. I am also glad Pop is not in India anymore and I hope that the situation there gets resolved as quickly and well as possible at this point!

SKB

Back from Mexican Paradise

2008-11-26T10:54:00.001-08:00

Hi All-

I know it has been an age since I posted- but we have been a busy bunch. Just returned from 8 days in sunny Mexico with the family. The trip went well- the kids loved being around so much family and the house we stayed in was awesome. Thanks Poppy Nick and Elizabeth for making it all happen.

Sasha loves "the big waves" in that he had so much fun wave jumping with Mama that I fully see a surf board in our future. Ana, not so much. Aaron took her out and she swallowed a ton of water which led to an hour long sad sack crying fit- poor little girl! She did love the pool though and we went swimming twice a day every day! All in all it was super fun.

We do have a little bit of post vacation regression. It is nothing huge, just some extra neediness and a bit of forgetfulness on Sasha's part in regards to being potty trained. Apparently this is super normal as the change of the vacation is super stressful for the kiddos. I do think that they were a bit worried on the planes even though we talked a zillion times about how we were going home, Sasha especially seemed unsure on the way home (aka screamed for 2 hours, sorry all thos around us!) but was happy as a clam when we arrived on our doorstep.

Now Thanksgiving is here. We are off to Grandma Marta's for a Thanksgiving feast tomorrow and then home tomorrow night. Ana's 4th birthday is this weekend and she is very excited. We talk about often- she cant wait for the party and the presents- she has quite the list going! She is fitting into our American lifestyle very very well, which is pretty funny to watch.

We have a new cousin- Megan just had a baby boy (Miles) to add to the clan. I cant wait for this summer and totally hope that we can all get together at Wausaukee at the same time as there are now simply dozens of kids under 5 in the gang and it would be hilarious.

That is all I have time for now. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Pics to Mexico to follow once Aaron emails me some. My camera phone did not work well at all- too sunny- so all of my pics are totally lame! Hopefully better ones will appear soon.

SKB

Their first election day!

2008-11-05T15:01:00.000-08:00

Hi Everybody!

So, of course yesterday was the kiddos very first election day. They went to dance class per usual and then Papa took them to vote! I had alreay voted absentee but Aaron still goes down to the polling place and he took the kids. Apparently they did very well (though Ana disagreed with Papa's/Mama's choice of candidate- I told you she was channelling Markell). Anyway, it is was a very exciting event for them and I was thrilled that they got to be here for such a historic election. This is one people wont forget and it will help ground them in their American history when they say "I remember when Obama was elected, I was little and brand new to the States" when they are old and gray.

Isnt the above pic the cutest of all time. It is one of the Becky photos and I love it! All of the pics are so cute it will be hard to decide what goes on the Xmas card but I have a feeling this one will be part of the final design!

This past Sunday was Will's Christening and party so we all went up to Bellingham for that. The church service was LONG but the kids were total troopers and got to leave before communion which was good because it just dragged on and on and on after that- the new priest at St Paul's is quite a talker! We had a great party at Poppy's after that and everything went well - good food, lots of people and everyone had fun I think.

Both kids are doing well. They are totally having a language explosion and really funny. It is hard to remember sometimes that they now understand most (if not all) of everything we say and I am often suprised when one of them pipes up in the middle of the conversation. We have had to start spelling words like "cookie" and "park" when we are talking about them so that we dont get them too excited- makes me feel very 'mommy' and is cool.

I am a bit concerned about Sasha's attachment to me- he seems to be pulling away from me which is not good. I know it is because I am not there all the time but I am still trying to figure out how to deal with that. I have special snuggle time with Ana which is great and totally helping her attach to me but right now Sasha doesnt have the same special time- I need to figure out a way to get it in there but everytime I try he is totally uninterested in the idea and wont sit still, let alone snuggle and let me sing to him. Any ideas? I have high hopes that spending lots and lots of time with him in Mexico will help and plan on doing just that. I know it is a process but I am just nervous that it is going the wrong way with him- he seems interested soley in Aaron and even that is teneous I think. I guess we shall just keep trying and see where that leads us. I am wondering how young is too young for attachment therapy - any ideas on that one? I think he is too young but maybe I am wrong. I just want him to be happy and healthy and I think being firmly attached is pretty important for that. Maybe I am overthinking it....

SKB

YAY Alaska Airlines

2008-10-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

HI-

Here are some cute pics of the kids (the extreme close up of Ana is a bit crazy but Sasha is at a better angle/distance) at a Halloween party this weekend. Sasha (a pirate if you are wondering about the bandana) was not 100% sure about the bouncy house- while Ana was willing to bounce and jump all around the place he was content to hang on to the side for dear life and just very very gently bounce up and down, as long as we were right there- Aaron inside and me outside. This is funny because at home he is daredevil Sasha the destructor - willing to do anything, no matter how risky. I think it was the other kids- he was scared- some of them were much bigger. How cute are they though- Ana is a butterfly but it is hard to tell because it was so cold she put a big sweater over her outfit at the last minute.

In other news...

How often do you see someone saying an airline did a good thing? Rarely these days, yes? Well, I am so psyched with Alaska Airlines at the moment. If you recall we had a ticketing issue- Sasha's name is wrong on all of his US docs- his COC, his passport etc. So it did not match the spelling on his ticket for our upcoming vacation to Mexico.

Yesterday, I finally went down to the airport with his passport, a picture of my adorable children, and my sad sad story of government gone wrong, ineffective clerks who cant spell, my desire to show my little Siberian babies the Caribbean, the family nature of our vacation- I am telling you - my halo was shining bright and I laid it on THICK for this lady at Alaska. I was super scared they were going to cancel his ticket and then charge me full price for a new one- as others have experienced with similar problems.

Well, she got on the phone and after several conversations with supervisors where she repeatedly mentioned the fact that he was only 2, that he was a "little orphan boy" etc they finally changed the ticket - for free. Now I wasnt totally sold on how this all went down- as I am not sure I like trotting out our kids past to all and sundry but it truly is a product of the dumb government etc that his papers are all wrong. And it meant we werent charged $800 which helps too.

So, I am glad Alaska had a heart and we are all set now for our Mexican vacation next month. I am not sure what they will think of us when we approach check in with 2 umbrella strollers, 2 car seats, enough luggage to facilitate a move to Mexico and 2 kids in tow, but by then it will be too late!

The funniest thing is that the kids are growing so fast that all of Ana's summer clothes no longer fit so I am running around consignment stores trying to find 4T ones that will work - I dont want to buy "resort wear" for a child that is growing so fast that they will literally only be used for this one trip. And Sasha is finally fitting into his 2T clothes with no rolling of the legs! It is crazy. He is having a harder time with the growing part though- he keeps telling me his legs hurt at night- I know it is because he is growing but no idea what to do for it. Any ideas?

And, yesterday was Ana's last day of school. As many of you know we feel that the school she was in enrolled in was not the right choice for her- way too big of a class, not enough structure, the teacher did not 'get' it and Ana had super duper anxiety about Aaron leaving. So, I am thankful we only paid for a trial month and now we will start again in the Spring. We are thinking Montessori so if anyone knows of any spectacular places in north Seattle let me know!

Up to our eyeballs....

2008-10-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

In craziness this past week!

Here are some cute pics of the kids for everyone to laugh at. :)

Yesterday afternoon our wonderful friend (and professional photographer) Becky Nelson and took a zillion pics of the kids and some family shots too. The kids were all sorts of cute in little 'fall' outfits from Gymboree and I cannot wait to see the results as I am pretty sure they are the cutest little ones in all the land. And, we will finally have shots for the adoption announcements (is there a statute of limitations in how long after you come home that you can send those out, if so we may be well past it) and a Xmas card- I am sooo on it (hahaha, I just am killing 2 birds with one stone). Cant wait to see them though!

I have had early meetings every single day which means not only does Aaron have to get our little munchkins up (something I try to help with most days) but I have left the house long before they awake- which makes them (especially Ana) MAD at mama. They feel strongly that it would be better if no one went to the office so we could play all day together. While this is nice it isnt exactly realistic so.... I feel guilty, Aaron feel stressed, the kids are grumpy- ugh- sometimes it feels like you cant always get what you want - a new feeling for me... Of course, it probably is because i have been working on developing their sense of entitlement- I need them to catch up to the rest of us you know :) and they are quick studies!

I am also dragging my feet on scheduling Sasha's surgeries - yes, they are willing to do a 'twofer' after all so he is getting it from top to bottom, literally with a adnoid, tonsil and circumcision in one. Poor thing- hopefully some day he will forgive me. I think we will wait until we get back from Mexico though because I worry about him not being fully recovered and trying to travel. Hopefully we will be able to do it really quickly after we get back though because mid-december is looking absolutely loo loo in terms of Mama travel so I need to have him mostly healed before I take off on back to back short trips that will have me out of town for a week probably. I cant believe I am already stressed out about a couple 3 day trips in 2 months- life certainly does change when you have kids. A couple months ago that wouldnt even be a blip on my radar yet and now I am totally sweating finding someone to help Aaron with the kids the days I am gone or thinking about them all going up to Marta's or something to help. I know it will all work out and if need be Aaron is perfectly capable of just handling the kids all on his own but I would like him to have some support- if only to make me feel less guilty for traveling - especially so close to Christmas.

SKB

Well it is about time!

2008-10-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, fabulous news to report- our children are finally, officially, sleeping in their super fancy, beautiful beds! As many of you know our kiddos were very 'bed adverse' as part of their multitude of bed time related issues and have been sleeping in little 'nests' on the floor- mattress, duvets, pillows etc. We tried everything- begging, bribe, cajoling, demanding etc and nothing could get them to sleep in these darn beds. I was really starting to think that they would outgrow them before they slept in them (and they are usually good until about 8 yrs old!).

Well, in a nod to those who say kids will do something only when they are ready- about 10 days ago Ana just climbed in when it was time for bed and announced she would be sleeping in her bed from now on. We didnt say anything other than "good girl" because we didnt want to get too excited (we have had a few false starts) but here we are 10 days later and she has been in her bed every night! Sasha, who follows her every move, moved up to his bed about 5 days ago. We have the floor around him laid out with pillows because he does fall out every now and again but not recently. :)

This is big in my world- I was OBSESSED with these beds- for years, before we even started the process i knew I wanted these beds. Dont ask- it is just one of those things where you cant get away from an idea of something you want. So, it was a big deal to me that they hated them- I cant say why but it hurt my feelings. I know how dumb this is, trust me. But I am so excited that they are in them now! And, last night Ana asked me to stay while she fell asleep (Papa and I, but the first time she has been willing to have me there so that is something).

Anyway, here is a pic of the beds- just so you can see how loo-loo I truly am. :)

Pumpkin Patch Day!

2008-10-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone-

This past weekend we went to a pumpkin patch. It was totally fun and the kids had a great time. Attached is some video for you- just a short one- of our time there. Sorry about the bee reference- Mama hates bees and one interrupted her filming, leading to a shortened version of our day on my camera.

Our kids, like many Russian kids who have spent time in a Baby Home, LOVE to be bundled up. Please note their outfits, hats, mittens etc and then know that it was about 60 degrees out the day we went on this little adventure. The minute it hits about 62 they start asking for the super warm stuff. I am not sure what we are going to do in the real winter but we have already purchased down jackets and giant snow boots so hopefully we will be okay with our little Nanooks of the North.

Both kids both still have bad colds so no school this week so far for Ana - which is a bummer for a variety of reasons but mostly because I am worried she is going to stop wanting to go and we will lose the traction we were building with her dealing with being away from Papa and Sasha. We are trying hard to get her more used to be around people other than Papa and Sasha. It is hard enough when Papa leaves them with me, (she cries for anywhere between 5 minutes and 1/2 hour when he leaves the house without her) but a teacher has been out of the question so far- she freaks out! And a baby sitter is still out of the question which is too bad because going out to dinner with Aaron is a dream I have. Not a big dream, but a dream... Hopefully soon that will happen. Beth and Gina have volunteered to give it a try and if those two who work with kids all day every day can't do it then we are in bigger trouble than I thought. :) I am pretty confident we will succeed but just havent't 'pulled the trigger' on that yet. Keep you posted on how that goes.

That is it for now.

SKB

Swimming at Poppy Nick's

2008-10-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

Hi All-

We had a great day yesterday! We decided to go up to Bellingham to see some family and because Mama had to be there for work anyway. So early in the morning (kid time, so way later than I am used to leaving) we piled in the minivan and headed on up. Aaron and the kids dropped me off at the Cap and took a quick tour of the offices. It was cute and funny and they love the leather chairs! Then Aaron and the bambinos took off for Baba Marta's house and Mama got down to work. The market was not helping anyone feel all that cheerful but we all took it in stride. :)

Baba Marta couldnt hang out too long with the kids because it was Yom Kippur and she had services to attend but they got to play at her house all day anyway and they also hit Whatcom Falls, Bloedel and Cornwall parks in the afternoon (ambitious park schedule due to Papa not being sure what to do next apparently) and then we all rendevous'd (sp??) at Poppy Nick's at around 4:30. The kids were super excited to see the indoor pool and agree whole heartedly that swimming in Poppy's pool is far far more civilized and all around better than at the local community center- warmed towels, big bathroom, bedroom with the biggest bed ever seen-perfect for jumping on naked after a shower and before putting your clothes back on, fluffy robes, no other kids splashing- I think I may have ruined them for our pedestrian lifestyle down here.

After the swim we all went down to the main house for dinner which was yummy chicken and mac n' cheese etc etc etc. The kids chowed down and Ana especially enjoyed the chocolate cupcake Elizabeth brought her for dessert. The kids had never had cupcakes before and she LOVED it. Then we changed the kids into their PJ's and loaded them into the van, covered them with beautiful silk blankies borrowed from Pop and E. because we forgot ours and headed home. The kids were asleep 30 minutes into the ride and here is the best part- they actually stayed asleep during the transfer to the house and bed and slept ALL NIGHT! So, the key may be to run them super ragged at several parks and then with a swim, feed them crazy amounts of food and then forgo the bath? Who knows, but it was very exciting to us.

Now it is back to work and to watch the market fall some more. Ugh- maybe Em was right and I should be out stockpiling precious metals?? I guess I just need to take the LONG TERM view here- the money will come back, it just will take a while... I need to keep telling myself that and all will be fine. :)

Later Skater-
SKB

What is in a name??

2008-10-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

Hey All-

Can't believe it has been 6 days since I posted- it has obviously been busy. Work is just super busy- for which I am thankful - and the kids are busy so...

Anyway, I have a serious issue today. As you know we decided to keep our kids original names- Anastasia and Alexander. We felt this was best for several reasons and are happy with that decision. BUT, we hit a huge snag last week regarding Sasha (Alexander). Apparently in Russia they spelled his name wrong on the paperwork- Aleksandr. They told us at the time that this was fine, normal and would all be translated into Alexander here in the US. We believed them. Our tickets home said Alexander and all was fine, no one blinked that it didnt match his adoption decree or Russian passport.

So, we get home and wait for the Certificate of Citizenships - the document that makes it possible to get a US passport, SSN etc. Ana's comes right away- they have a 45 day window to get it to you after you land in the US and your child becomes a citizen. So, hers is here but no sign of Sasha's. We started to worry a couple weeks ago because we need US passports to take the kids to Mexico next month- a trip already booked. Well, we FINALLY Received his last week (it had gone to a totally wrong address- scarey!) and had finally been routed to us. Guess how his name was spelled??? Aleksandr!!!! This is a huge problem because this is not his name -- Alexander is his name, and it is a big deal to me!!! Because we are in such a hurry to get his passport etc though we have been advised (and started process of) getting it all in this dumb wrong name and then we will have to change it with our re-adoption in WA State. This is crazy, will cost us an additional couple grand in paperwork changes down the road and has me sooooo mad I cant even tell you.

Aaron doesnt see it as such a big deal- he thinks this spelling is "cool" and that maybe we should keep it. Well, hell no- it is sort of annoying to me that (okay, really annoying) that we didnt get to name our children the first time around and I will be damned if I am going to live with a spelling dictated by some dumb clerk.

I personally hold the court translator responsible. She is the one that spelled it wrong in the first place and that is what got this all started. UGH!

And, guess what the name on his Alaska ticket to Mexico is...Alexander. So now I have to try to get them to change that so it matches- which is never fun or easy. I guess I will have to go downtown or to the airport to do that as they wont do it on the phone, and maybe not at all- some rule about changing the name. Umm, he is 2, how much of a big deal does this have to be?? I am MAD!!!

Anyway, that is my issue this week.

On a lighter note, here are some adorable pics of Ana from yesterday- she was wearing her new coat (faux of course) and was so in love with it that she would not take it off. I would say she is channelling Queen Markell for sure- calculator, fur and a tiara. She coulnt be more like Mom if she tried. :)

That is all for now!

SKB

Surprises all over the place today

2008-09-30T09:15:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone-

Here are a couple pics from the other day- just for fun and because I think that it makes my blog more colorful! This week has been full of surprises- both good and not so fun. On the good side (YAH, we love good things) I really think the kids are starting to think in English. We knew they understood most of what was being said in English before but in the last couple days I have seen a real switch, especially in Ana, in the way she phrases things and I think (in my completely unprofessional, slanted, biased way) that she is brilliantly switching in her mind between English and Russian and making a concerted effort and progress to converse more in English. She knows her school starts tomorrow and is sooo excited about it and I think she wants to be able to talk to her classmates and knows this is the best way. Mommy is a little bit scared about school - I know it is only 3 mornings a week and she is ready and dying to go but what if she freaks out? What if she is scared? What if the teacher can’t understand her? I know, she will be fine- just keep telling me that! Aaron is going to put together a little Russian primer for the teacher today- the issue is that lots of Russian words actually sound like swear words in English and they are, of course, the ones our kids use often. We dont want any misunderstandings so I think it is best if they speak English in public (when possible) and if Aaron makes a list of common Russian toddler words for her teacher. Lets hope that goes well.

On the bad side poor Sasha had to go to the doctor AGAIN yesterday. We went just to get his stitches out and thought it would be a quick in and out but the doctor took a look at a boo boo on his bottom (he gets rashes and scratches them) and decided it was not a rash but rather an infection and to cut it open for a better look! Well, when you go in for a quick 2 stitches removal and end up with a scalpel to your bum, your day has gone from okay to not so fun. Poor little guy- he was very very unhappy. They biopsied the boo boo and we shall see. He is on really strong antibiotics while we wait it out! It is odd how things work out, in Russia we were told that Sasha was healthy as a horse and that Ana was the one to be a bit concerned about in terms of health and now that we are home and settling in and going to the doctor it is our poor Sasha who needs to have tonsil/adenoid surgery, had stitches in his noggin, has this infection etc. He has had a way worse time of it physically than she has- which was a surprise for sure. I just hope we can get this all sorted out quickly and stop visiting the doctor. Thankfully it is nothing serious really - it is all standard kid illnesses but still it is hard to watch him be unhappy at the doctor's office!

I still haven’t scheduled his tonsil surgery- we are waiting to see if we can do a "twofer" with a circumcision (I know, it just gets worse for him, doesn’t it?) but there is some question as to if they will allow that. They should, it would mean general anesthesia (sp?) only once which is way way safer but because the circumcision can be considered elective they may not. (please no comments on if we should or should not circumcise- that is a choice we will make, no flames please) Which would mean tonsils now, and we go back to the drawing board and discuss all over again how we feel about the other thing. We had made our minds up- for social, emotional, health related reasons but this is sort of a roadblock and we will need to re-evaluate if they won’t do it this way for us. I have strong feelings about putting a small child under and I am not sure if I can allow it twice. We will have to think hard on this and I will keep you posted.

SKB

Going to the Zoo

2008-09-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody-

Here is my first attempt to upload video to blogger. I think it is okay- it looks like some of the resolution was lost - probably because I compressed it. But c'est la vie. Here are the kiddos outside the daddy mobile after an exciting trip to the zoo yesterday. Here in Seattle we dont wait for sunshine to get out there - we would never go outside if we did! Aren't their boots the cutest things you have ever seen!

More later...

SKB

How to organize a life....

2008-09-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

This week is all about crazy schedules and trying to fit way too much into our schedules in order to keep the Brand Family moving forward.

First it was off to Edmonton (on a Sunday!) for a quick business trip so Aaron had the kiddos all to himself for 2 days- poor guy is pretty tuckered, even with our brand new fabulous daddy's helper, Colleen, coming in for several hours on Sunday to help him. And, the kids were pretty mad at me when I did return Monday night just before bedtime- I had been gone 40 hours and they hadnt seen me leave Sunday morning because it was early. They hate that. I always agonize over whether to wake them up to say good bye (which is bad for Aaron after I leave but better for me maybe) or not and I seem to always decide to let them sleep- must be the mommy in me.

Then yesterday was just a flurry of meetings for me so I was crazy and the kids started their new dance class which was fun but apparently a bit scary for Sasha- who spent most of it in Papa's lap... Today I need to go to the office of course, we have swim lessons, Sasha also needs to have his tonsil surgery scheduled, both have dr appts coming soon, i need to check out Ana's school and write the check for that today, I have to be out of town tomorrow all day for a client (but no overnight thank God) and then Friday is the Charity Golf Tournament for the school for which I sit on the board. We have already decided that for this one, Aaron (who is signed up to play in a foursome with some of my fellow board members) will attend alone- it is sort of weird because he is the 'spouse' but he is the golfer and we can't both go- it is too crazy around here and who would be with the kids? I will have to stay home from the office and try to work from here - hahaha- but at least we have Colleen on Fridays for 3 hours as a daddy's helper so I might get something done from the house.

At what point do you say, "okay, it does take a village and the kids will survive with a sitter for a couple of hours?". I mean, they like Colleen, she is perfectly capable of us not being here (she sits for several of our friends families, is 25, etc etc), and someday it would be nice to go out to dinner or something.... We have been home 8 weeks today and we have not left the kids a single time- not even for an hour (though we did leave Sasha with Jaimie for a hour when Ana went to the doctor but that doesnt count as it is family) - and I am feeling the strain. One or both of us has been with them all of the time, no matter what. Aaron is also feeling the strain- I can tell- it is him that is with them every day all day when I go to work...I try to help by giving him as much down time as I can (golf, beers with the guys etc and he does get way more of that sort of purely social interaction than I do right now but still, I talk to grown ups all day so...) I know we are still cocooning/attaching etc but I am beginning to believe that we need to look to the health (mental included) of the whole family here. Now, I just need to convince Aaron that they will not suffer irreprable (sp?) attachment harm if we go to dinner or if Mommy goes to work while he plays golf for charity.... Any ideas? Am I just crazy? I just think they are more resiliant than that- and I KNOW that other adoptive parents havent gone to the crazy lengths to never leave the kids with someone else that we have gone through and I applaud them for it- we need to find the same sort of balance, and probably RELAX about it all. Easier said than done apparently....

SKB

Well, it was bound to happen.

2008-09-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

Last night was our first trip to the ER. Poor Sasha took a header into the corner of heating vent during a game of "lets run around instead of going to bed". His socks were just to slippery and his sister was chasing him and well, that is how these things happen.

There was lots of blood (yuck) and Aaron called 911 before the situation was fully assessed by Mama so soon we had 6 firemen in our living room. We got the blood to stop fast with pressure and a towel before they even got there. They announced he would be fine but we needed stitches, so off to the ER for the Brand family. I think Sasha was a little bummed he didnt get to ride in the fire truck really. They had already taken off for the next emergency by the time we found shoes and got the kids into the car. I dont recommend Northwest Hospital on a thursday evening- we should have gone to Children's but this is closer. It is also apparently where the ladies of the night come for their late night needs - not as bad as Harborview, but not exactly what I was hoping to expose my toddlers too...

Anyway, 4 hours later, 2 stitches and gauze turban to keep him from scratching at it and we were finally off. Then it was time to put our kids (who were great and brave in the hospital) to bed now that they were home and could freak out in peace. LONG TIME for that. Anyway, all is fine now- he is running around playing dress up with his sister. Here is a funny pic of him taken last night- just for kicks.

Mama is tired and now that the adreline has worn off I need a nap!

Thanks for all the people that responded to my last post- good to know I am not talking to myself (makes me feel slightly more sane) and I will keep it up. :)

SKB

Time for school, already???

2008-09-17T13:31:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone-

Busy busy week- sorry.

So, the lame news is that we found out yesterday that Sasha does have to get his tonsils and adneoids out- and soon. They usually try to wait until they are 3 to do this because apparently it is safer but they dont want to wait that long because they are so big they are concerned that it is over affecting his sleep (it is!), his eating (not sure about this) and his general health. So, my baby has to STAY OVERNIGHT at Children's Hospital and get them out. We dont have it scheduled yet- we are waiting on one more consult but my guess is it will happen in early October. Yikes!!! I am scared and I hate hospitals (serious understatement) and he is so little and cute- I am freaking just thinking about him in the big horrible hospital bed. He doesnt like beds- he sleeps on the floor in a nest of blankets - they arent gonna allow that for sure...

They better let me or Aaron stay with him all night- that is for sure. Hopefully because it is a Children's Hospital they are used to crazy parents but I am not sure they have seen my level of mama-bear ness yet. And dont get me started on general aenestethia (sp?) and how I feel about that. Ugh, I feel sick just thinking about this. On to happier subjects.

Ana informed us a couple of weeks ago that it is time for her to go to school. She has brought it up time and time again since then. She is so serious and grown up sometimes it kills me- it is cute and at the same time very disconcerting and sad because a 3.8 year old should not be like that really. But, after some careful discussion, thought and observing how she does in groups of kids we realize that she is right. She is very social and she thrives on talking and playing with other kids- her little brother is a fine playmate, but at the end of the day he is still just a little brother. Also, her English has grown by leaps and bounds recently and can read along with simple books (Brown Bear for example). So, after lots of research we have settled on a 3 morning a week program at a preschool near our house. She went this morning for a tour and a teacher meeting and she did not want to leave- she was having such a great time. They liked her too. So, it looks as if very soon (as in next week) she will be enrolled M/W/F in a morning program. We are giving it a month trial and will see how it pans out. Hopefully it will be great all around. And that means Papa and Sasha will have quality one on one time 3 times a week which will be good too as he is still a baby in many ways and will love the extra attention.

I will keep you posted. :) I am not sure how much longer I will blog as honestly I think no one reads it anymore (totally fine, I know the adoption part is basically over and that was the draw) but I hate to think about talking to an empty room so to speak. I expect I will do it for another month maybe... who knows.

SKB

Water Babies!

2008-09-10T20:58:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone-

Today we went to see Dr. Epley.

Dr. Epley is the pediatric neuro-opthamologist that is the go to guy here on nystagmus. He did a full exam- Ana was a trooper- just a few tears when they put the drops in her eyes, and the news is mostly good. Her nystagmus is as minor as we hoped. Basically it happens when she is stressed or scared- which we have already figured out. He said that all of the indicators of something worse were not there so that is great news. He also said that her vision seemed okay- she is far sighted but she is okay- probably 20/40. They cant really tell that until she is 4 apparently... So, maybe she will have bad eyes and need some help with that along the way but there is currently no need to plan surgery or give her drugs- he said she is far too mild a case for either of those routes. She doesnt even have a null point and she can actually will the wiggling to stop if you ask her too- which apparently is just a fabulous sign. The only bummer thing we learned is that apaprently if her sight is bad due to the nystagmus glasses actually wont really help, because it is not a focus problem but rather a nerve problem. So if in fact her vision is bad then she will just have bad vision- and maybe have to have a few allowances in school for that. But, my hopes are high that all will be fine and we will continue to monitor it of course. She will go back in 6 months for a check up but right now we are all okay- yes, she has the wiggly eyes when stressed but that is okay and something we can deal with and the dr. thinks it will continue to lessen as she ages.

And then back to the office for Mama and home to play with Jaimie (YAY JAIMIE!) and Sasha for Aaron and Ana. He did super well for his first play time away from Ana since they have been with us- but of course it was with Jaimie so no suprise there.

We also had our first family swimming lesson tonight. I met the kiddos and Aaron at the Ballard pool for our 6pm parent and tot class. It was fun and the kids absolutely love swimming. We were nervous and we arrived early so they could check out the pool, watch other kids in the class before us swim, prance around in their swimmers etc. Well, they were just rarin' to go in. They couldnt wait for it to be our turn. They literally hopped into our arms as soon as we got in the water and we had a great 1/2 hour learning to blow bubbles (Ana is great at this, Sasha decided that he doesnt yet get the difference between breathing in and out underwater but he doesnt seem to mind the taste of pool water....), kicking- both are champs - and basically having a grand time frolicking in the water. i really feel like I bonded with Sasha during this swim- he was in my arms the whole time and we had a ton of fun eye contact etc. Next time i will have to take pics for sure!

Then home where the awesome Jaimie had made us dinner. Sasha is currently sleeping and Aaron is still trying to convince Ana it is a good idea so it will be another long night but we had a great day!

SKB

What do you mean, control freak?

2008-09-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

Hi All-

It was a good weekend. K & C had a great welcome shower for us- I swear- I think the kids now believe that every weekend involves having a party that revolves around them and where they receive presents. Poor things are in for a rude awakening- this was officially the last shower. :) Everyone has been so awesome and supportive - the outpouring of support, acceptance and love has been so wonderful and we are so glad the kids have been doing well at integrating into the family and the wider circle of friends.

Grand Nanny Jaimie has been here almost a week now- her help is so so so great. Aaron and I are going to miss her immensly when she has to leave next week. It is so nice to have someone there who is so great with kids and so relaxed about it- we dont have to do everything perfectly- we just have to make it through the day and everything will be okay as long as all are safe and fed and clean. And, it has been especially helpful this week as Sasha and Ana (and Mama) have been nursing a terrible cold/cough and her medical expertise has been invaluable and probably kept us from an emergency room visit or panicked call to the doctor.

So a few people (most recently Jaimie) have told me that Ana is very very much like my mom, Markell. That is is channelling her for sure. This is basically because she is a control freak and wants it all her way. Unfortunately, I am also like my mom and therefore we have a long road ahead of us in terms of working out who is really in charge (me, of course, but it takes time for her to get this) and is entertaining along the way.

This made me think- I miss my mom so much and today would actually have been her birthday. I wish that she had been here to hold the kids and kiss them and show them how to do things because Queen Markell would have been a fabulous grand mother to my two little ones. I know she 'picked' them for us and that she is watching over us each and every day but I still would like to see her and hear her voice and watch her play with them. Not many people know this but Sasha was actually born while my mom was in the hospital in her coma - I think just maybe she was out cosmically searching for the right family for us and that took all of her energy that particular day- she just wanted to find them and then later she could lead them to us and us to them. Is that super dorky? Oh well, it is what I choose to believe so there ya go.

Later,
SKB

Social Butterflies

2008-09-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

Hi!

So we had a busy busy long weekend as our lives slowly transition from forced cocooning and everyone staying away to a more normal social schedule. This is good but at the same time we have to be careful to try not to do too much, too soon or it throws the kids off. We probably overdid it this weekend but you dont know what is too much until you are there.... Everyone had fun though! Dinner at Clay's on Saturday, the Elflines at our house Sunday night and then Baba Marta and Dyuduska Craig for morning play time and finally Aunty Beth for dinner last night! Busy busy little bees. Here are some pics from the weekend I thought you might enjoy. Too crazed with a big work deadline to write more now but wanted to say we are so excited that Grand Nanny Jaimie is arriving tonight- we cant wait to see her!!!

More later-

Da Pazolasta vs. Yes Please

2008-08-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hi-

So nothing truly exciting to report on the home front- the kids are doing well, Aaron is excited it is Friday and has already booked his tee time for tomorrow morning as he desperately needs some daddy time and Mama has been at the office all week, and the kids are starting to be okay with Aga - though not in the same room...

But here is what I am thinking about today. When do we stop speaking Russian to the kids? We learned a fair amount of Russian (nothing fancy, just toddler Russian, maybe 75 phrases) before we took custody and have been speaking a mix of Russian and English all along- more in Russian when we speak directly to them and then in English around them and to them occassionally.

Now, I would say that THE BEST THING we did in adopting 2 verbal toddlers was learn some Russian. I know there are those out there that think full immersion is best and that they dont have time to learn Russian etc etc etc but I honestly cannot fathom how hard things would have been if we could not communicate, soothe, talk and play with them in Russian. Especially in country and the first week home. I am not sure how people do that but I would say it would make your life way less difficult if you could learn a bit of Russian to help you along...

But we may have erred on the other side of the equation....We are pretty sure they "get" about 90% of the English spoken at home-- especially Ana as she chirps in often with her opinion even when we are speaking exclusivly in English. But their vocabulary is still pretty limited- 2 and 3 word sentences mostly. This is okay and normal for Sasha as he is only 2 but Ana's Russian vocab is much higher- she is/was speaking in full sentences and she still prefers to speak Russian I think as she usually does... So, while it is awesome to actually be able to communicate with them and I would not trade that for anything- do we at some point go cold turkey on Russian to get their English vocab ramped up? I understand that Ana will 'lose' her Russian before the English really kicks in (that is what the experts say anyway) but are we hindering her English skills by continuing in Russian? I for one would love to stop speaking Russian so much- it confuses me when I am out and about and I keep talking to waitresses etc at business meetings in Russian- which is just weird....

I am also seriously considering letting them watch more TV- now they watch about 1/2 hour of Sprout a day, but I think it does help their receptive language and am considering upping that to at least an hour- I just need buy in from Aaron on that one!

So any ideas on language acquistion or if we should go cold turkey on Russian at home are welcome!

SKB

Bye Bye Docteur

2008-08-26T06:58:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone-

Sorry it has been a couple days- things have been busy in Brand Land! The rest of our weekend was fine and dandy- nothing major to report. But yesterday was our first big doctor's appointment. So, Mama cleared her work calendar and off the 4 of us went to the UW Adoption Clinic for Pediatric Medicine (whew, long name) for the kids check up with our favorite pediatrician Dr. Davies. As some of you know Dr. Davies helped us evaluate Ana and Sasha from 14,000 miles away on Trip 1 and then on Trip 2 he was super duper awesome with helping figure out what was wrong with Sasha when he was sick and helping us figure out how to treat it. So, YAY Dr Davies. He was great with the kids and did better than anyone else could have. The visit on the whole, however, was pretty darn traumatic for the following reasons:
- underground parking garage (the kids have a very real fear of something being over their heads in terms of tunnels, overpasses, underground parking etc- no idea why but both of them have this little quirk) but they were troopers and didnt freak out too much. And they made it onto the elevators too so good for them!
-Then lots of paperwork for Mommy while Papa played with the kids and some waiting around.
-Off to be weighed and have our height and hearing test taken- all pretty okay- not too scary but still stressful, especially when we had to take off our beloved tufli (shoes) for part of it- that is still hard for Ana as she loves her shoes and doesnt want them to dissappear.
-The clinic had a translator there- apparently that is required if one of the kids is over 3 years old- we tried to tell them that Ana wouldnt talk to a stranger but c'est la vie. She was a nice lady but I think she wasted her morning. She decided to leave before the actual exam because it was obvious that it wasnt something we needed and we were all behind schedule.
-Then we had some more waiting and the kids had to change into these cute hospital gowns- which they did not like at all! And then Mama and Papa and the doctor talking for what seemed like forever and then the EXAM- Sasha went first and he was very very good and passed with flying colors. He may need a tonsilectimy (sp?) but it is not an emergency so we just received a referral to a specialist for him and then it was on to Ana. She was so not interested in being examined I cannot begin to explain it. It is scary and yucky I know but Papa was holding her and the Dr. was being great but she just hated it. So it turned into a very quick exam to lessen the drama and trauma all around. All seems fine though so that is great! She did learn the word Doctor though on the way in (Docteur if she is saying it) and she spent the whole time crying and saying NO DOCTEUR, NO DOCTEUR- Yikes!

Then the shots! They each had to have a couple shots - just the dire ones and we are back for more in a couple weeks. And then the blood draw- 4 vials each. This was the worst part- both kids hated it so much and especially poor Sasha - it was like his poor little heart was being ripped out. I do think it may have been more traumatic for me than for them in the end. But they both survived, the people in the lobby of the lab must have thought we were murdering them, but they survived. The lollipops in Mama's diaper bag helped. As we got into the car (which they were so happy to see) Ana started chanting "Bye Bye Docteur, Bye Bye Docteur" and got Sasha to join in. They did this the whole way home almost, only interspersing the chorus of their favorite ditty, "I want to go home aka Nasha Dom" every now and again. Funny.

Mama took off for the office for a few hours and Papa held down the fort with some lunch, nap time and play. A couple minutes after Mama got home we had a scare while Sasha tumbled down 6 steps downstairs, but he bounced right back up. Thank goodness kids are so pliable and resilient- I guess that is why they are also clumsy and fall down?!? Then dinner and bed. They actually got on my lap and let me read them a story- a first for us!!! It was sooo exciting. And I got to stay in the room with them until they fell asleep- no tears or screaming about No Mama! I think we are making real progress there. I mean Aaron had to be in the room too, but still, real progress is being made on the Mama at bed time front and that is good. I guess they must trust me more after the trial by fire that was the Dr.'s office. So, YAY!

Gotta Go!
SKB

Family Party!!!

2008-08-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone-

Well today was the awesome family party that Baba Marta, Aunt Robin and Elizabeth threw for us at Robin's house. It was great. A quick rundown:
Thankfully, the kids love being in the car. So other than 3 stops to pee (or to think about peeing) they loved the drive up to Robin's. We got there around 11:30 and the festivities began. Marta is so smart that she brought a whole toy basket of toys with her- so all the kids there would have things to play with. Ours dove right in and out came slinkies and blocks and bears- they had a good time! People started arriving en masse and yes, our kids got super shy, super fast. We figured this would happen but honestly they were so great- no tears, no freak outs, nothing like that. Seriously shy and attached to one of us at all times for the first couple of hours, then some tentative play and looking around for about an hour and then it was a free for all of fun. They were running around the table, going from patio to kitchen to bathroom and back- zig zagging around guests, laughing and smiling. They were careful to always keep an eye out for Aaron or I, which is a good sign, and it was a hugely successful day.

Highlights:
-"Happy" the dog on the patio- helped Ana get a little bit closer to the idea of petting a dog
-Cookies friom the fabulous spread of food put out by Robin, Marta and Elizabeth. YUM was the word of the day from the kids on that one.
-Sasha shaking Poppy Nick's hand- it was hilarious and I wish I had it on tape!
-Ana laughing and smiling and running through the house.

It was so nice to see the family- because of the chicken pox and the fact they live a couple hours away we hadnt seen everyone and many of the kids before today. It was awesome for our little ones to get to see the whole family in action and they really enjoyed it. Thank you so much Robin and Tom, Marta and Craig and Elizabeth and Pop! Here is a pic of Sasha and Craig reading at the party!

Aaron just got our super duper over stimulated kids to sleep and they did not love that part of the day. That is what too much fun, too much sugar and no nap will do to you but it was so worth it.

I feel bad though because this evening Aaron is making a big sacrifice. We realized at around 5pm that tonight is Wilder and Tonje's wedding! We have been so wrapped up in our world and the kids and all the new experiences that it slipped our minds- bad bad Aaron and Sarah! As many of you know, Wilder was in our wedding as a groomsman and he and Aaron have know each other since they were little. Well, we were obviously supposed to be there and Aaron and Wilder talked a couple of weeks ago and they knew he was a maybe and I was a no (because 2 kids at a night wedding is so not my style, for anyone involved) and we were hoping the kids would go down quickly and easily and Aaron would get to go. They have been hard this evening but they are finally asleep so while he missed the ceremony (which is technically okay because they really got married several months ago due to immigration issues as Tonje is Canadian) and dinner he is on his way as I type this to go to the reception for a couple hours. Personally I am so tired after today's festivities that I cannot imagine where he is getting the energy but I think it has something to do with the fact that we have not been "out" since before we left for Russia and he needs some peer socialization that doesnt include toddler speak in Russian. :) Trust me, I get it. I go to the office and talk to grown ups all day- he talks to Ana and Sasha- that is HARD and I wouldnt be able to do it without going a bit loo loo and he has been just awesome. He has only had a few golf breaks etc since we got back so if he needs to let his hair down with one of his oldest friends then woo hoo- go for it, be safe, and you turn into a pumpkin at midnight mister!

Lets all just keep our fingers crossed the babies stay asleep! That would be nice for Mama. :)

SKB

Who is that doggie in the window?

2008-08-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone-

So today was my first completely full day away from the kiddos. I had to leave the house at 6am to go up to B'ham to get some work done and I was gone from 6am to 7pm. I have been on a modified schedule to give Aaron a bit of respite in the afternoons and today was a real test of his stamina. The kids were a bit put off that I was not there when they woke up but they rallied well with a song about their new shoes that they sang over the phone to me at breakfast time. So cute.

Apparently the rest of the day went pretty well- a visit from Aunt Marion, Uncle Jim and Baby Mitzi was well received and everyone had good times. I got home just in time for dinner and Sasha had me hold him on my lap to feed him- he was in need of a little 'baby' time and I was more than happy to oblige. For those of you not well versed in 'attachment adoption parenting' if the kiddos tell you they need to be babied- they do! It is because they did not get the baby time when they were physically babies and this helps them feel secure and loved. So if he needs to be fed on my lap occassionally and is aware enough to know this and ask for it then woo-hoo we will do it his way!

We are having some bed time trauma (or Aaron is, they still dont like me in the room at bedtime due to bad memories of bed time) and they are not interested in sleep tonight- more so than usual it seems. But I am SURE we will prevail in this and Aaron will get them settled and off to dream land, where they will stay for at least 3 hours if we are lucky!

But the really good news from today is that we decided to pursue the whole kid-doggie connection a bit more agressively. We have been very diligent about the kids and the dog being very very separated- because the kids are scared. We have done everything you are supposed to do with the dog play outside and kids watching inside from the window and vice versa. We have watched videos of Aga, we have watched Mama play with Aga, Papa play with Aga. We even have the kids playing "Aga Sabaka" with each other where they pretend to be dogs and run around "arfing" and giving doggie kisses. But this has not translated to them being willing to be anywhere near her- to date we have always needed a real door or a window between them or there have been terrified tears and screams.

So, due to that fact and because it was pouring and Aga couldnt stay outside for long periods of time today we decided that if we just put her in the laundry room/office area and put a bigger baby gate up between there and the play room then the kids would eventually deal with her being that close. Aaron just refused to shut the big door and said that's it- the giant baby gate is safe and you will be fine. It worked! They were not thrilled to say the least but they do seem a little less averse at the end of the day. I think maybe in a couple of days they may even let her in the same room. It was also good for Aga- she got to watch them more closely and get more used to their sounds and actions- always a good thing. I think she honestly is waiting for them to go home so she can have her mommy and daddy back - but she will be fine once everyone starts loving each other! So YAY- maybe by next week we will be one big happy family and Aga will be able to sleep in our room again and not be shuttled around the house based on where the kids are moving to each moment. She will be so much happier and so will we!

I mean, look at the pictures above, is this a dog you couldnt just want to cuddle up too??

SKB

Weekend happenings

2008-08-18T07:15:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone-

So we had our first official outing this weekend! The kids are no longer contagious- YAY!! Ana still has a couple spots but they are on their way out and the doc says that because they have already come and done their thing we are good. So, to celebrate, we went to the park! The picture above was taken as we were heading out the door. Sasha is so funny, he smiles all of the time- expect at picture time. Ana is more of a ham, she loves having her pic taken and will smile and goof any time!

It was a sunny Saturday morning here in Seattle- this past week has been super HOT (in the 90's) so we loaded up ye old minivan with kids, diaper bag, snacks, sunscreen etc -amazing what you need to go to the park these days -- and off we went to the park a couple of miles from our house. It was super fun- Ana and Sasha played on the slide for an hour, up and down, up and down - they had a blast. It was also good for them to see other little kids I think. But some little park kids are mean! Poor Sasha got pushed by a little girl who was trying to cut in line at the slide and he fell down one step and on his bottom. Well, he was just fine- brushed himself off and sort of looked at her like "hey, we are in line here lady" but man, her dad was HORRIFIED. I guess around here people worry that you might sue if their kid pushes your kid? At least that is what he was worried about. Yikes, my kid was fine, his kid was fine, make her say sorry and off to the races- does that make me a bad mom? I just dont think it is good to get all worked up about a small "incident" (if it can even be called that) like this- if he isnt bleeding or broken or crying why make a big deal out of it? Oh well, maybe I am too old school, who knows.

It is odd- someone we know very well asked if "our kids are bullies because of their 'rough' beginning" - apart from being a dumb, and somewhat insensitive question, it made me think. Our kids are better at sharing than any kids I know. We have a lot of 3 and 2 year olds in our circle of friends, all good kids, but I can tell you that my babies are better at sharing! They are very kind with each other and if, for example, we are playing bubbles, one is very good at blowing bubbles and then reloading and handing to the other for her/his turn. Truly cute to watch. They also are good about giving spontaneous hugs and kisses to each other, and to us. Cutest thing ever was them holding hands while asleep our first night in Moscow. They were so tired and so scared and I was so happy they had each other. Makes me all teary now when I think about it- dumb, I know but it must be those new mommy hormones or something....

Anyway, back to the weekend- the park was fun but pretty stimulating and so we took it easy at home for the rest of the day. On Sunday Great-Grandma Carol, Great Aunt Gwen, Great Uncle Bob and their daughter Hannah (so cousin?) all came over to meet the kids and play with them. Because it is so hot we had a good time outside, playing in our "pool", blowing bubbles and playing ball. The kids really warmed up to Hannah and Gwen so that was cool. And they were so tired, because of their very very little sleep Saturday night and Ana's refusal to nap Sunday, and subsequent massive meltdown, that both were asleep before 9pm. Now this is a miracle in our house. It is true that Sasha woke up several times in the night and poor Aaron went in and laid down with him (not comfortable for A. as Sasha is currently sleeping on the floor on a mattreass due to his propensity to fall out of bed and his fear of his bed- long story, for a different day) for an hour at 3am but still we did get some sleep! This is a good thing for sure. Now, how can we make that happen everynight?

A good weekend had by all. Off to work for me now.

SKB

Random Musings

2008-08-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

Hi-

So the babies were super cute this morning- very snuggly and I got kisses from both on my way to the office! Now, if we could just get them to kiss Aga (or be in the same room with her) that would be awesome as the whole family would be together!! It is hot here in Seattle today and the kiddos are making full use of the luxurious, high tech, kiddie pool (ha,ha - a piece of molded plastic) we picked up at Fred Meyer- Sasha prefers to swim 'au nautrel' in the buff while his sister has more wading and splashing in her than actual plunking down in the water. Now that we have decided to join the family on the annual fabulous vacation in Mexico this November we need to get the babies really swimming so they can enjoy the Riviera Maya with the best of them. Swimming lessons at the local pool are scheduled to start as soon as the chicken pox is fully gone and will be intensive!!

I have been reading the WSJ this morning and looking at all the back and forth between the US and Russia on choosing sides etc and I realize that we were so lucky to get out of Russia on Tuesday August 5th. I know that there is no physcial danger in Moscow and that things will cool down between the US and Russia in terms of words exchanged heatedly over Georgia but I would be a basket case if we were still in country with the little ones. Just because I would be worried that someone would decide not to grant the visas, or to delay our return, or make things more difficult than they already were. I feel like we were truly blessed to get on that plane and come home that day and that we are very very lucky to have our children home safe and sound. To think that all of the hostilties etc started just 48 hours after we left, makes me really think Queen Markell and the other angels had a hand in the kiddos staving off the chicken pox until we were in US airspace.

My heart goes out to everyone still in process; I cannot imagine what you are going through and I hope with every fiber of my being that the dumb politicians can stop their posturing and swaggering around and that none of this affects adoptions. Children should not be political pawns and families should not be held up because of political differences. Okay, off my soapbox for today- I just wanted to say how lucky we feel to be home each day.

That's it for today. :)

SKB

And we have.....some regression.

2008-08-13T10:48:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone-

Well last night was pretty rough- it took over 3 hours to convice Ana to go to sleep- she was having none of it. Just was amped up and all over the place. Sasha fell asleep an hour in but the poor baby woke up about 7 times in the night, crying and upset. He was having terrible nightmares I think. Anyway, it takes some time to get him settled back down and so it was an "in and out" night all night in their room. A bit tired this morning.

And it looks as if we have a wee bit of regression on Sasha's part - he has decided that he is no longer completely potty trained, though until yesterday he was... He will say he has to go, actually go into the bathroom and stand next to the potty and then go in his diaper. It is a bit odd and we are hoping with some gentle encouragement it will stop and he will go back to loving the 'big boy' ness of being fully trained. I am glad however that we have been keeping him in pull-ups at night - at least he isnt going in underwear.... Or maybe we should let him do that and it will remind him why he likes the potty. Any advice would be welcome on that one. :)

Today Papa brought the kiddos to Mama's office to check it out- and because Mama is silly and left her cell phone on the table! They love going in the car and since they are still not allowed to go to the park or anyplace fun (in case they are still contagious, which I think they are NOT but we are waiting until the last spot goes) the office seemed like a good adventure. Sasha thought it was fun to come in and look at his picture on the wall and see my toys (I have clients who own toy companies so there are actually some real toys in here) but Ana did not like it one little bit. I think it was a bit scary for her as she has only seen me in the "mama" setting. Oh well, we will all figure it out I am sure. It was a quick visit and now they are off to home because Babuska Marta is visiting today!

That's all for now- hope everyone is having a good week!

SKB

Aaron the Uber Dad

2008-08-12T10:40:00.001-07:00

Hi!

So yesterday was Aaron's first official day as a stay at home dad. He was awesome- not only did the kids have an awesome day but he was able to do dishes, fold laundry, clean the bathroom - all at the same time. I never ever would have been able to pull that off!! YAY Aaron! The kids were a bit miffed at Mama when I got home from the office (early!) because, well, I think they were not expecting me to be gone so long but it is a transistion on all sides and we will figure it out I am sure.

I dont have long to blog but I did want to post some more pics of the kiddos- because they are so cute (even with chicken pox). Here they are playing super hero in the apartment in Moscow and then a couple from home this week.

SKB

Monday Morning Blues

2008-08-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

Hi All!

Now we have been home for almost a whole week! The kids still have the chicken pox but I think we are on the back side of it- hopefully!! We are all slightly stir crazy due to the 'quarantine'. Aaron and I have been taking turns going out to do errands etc and that has been nice but the kiddos have really just been inside and in the back yard for days now! Yesterday we did take them for a drive - mostly for a change of scenery. Sasha loves everything about being in the car and was happy as a clam. Ana was not so sure- she was very very worried and anxious basically the entire time- I am not sure if she thought we were taking her someplace else or what (though we talked repeatedly about how this was just jaunt for fun and we would be going right back home)- she was very excited and happy when she saw the house again.

Things are going pretty well - we had a little visitor yesterday - our friends K. and C. came over with their daughter E. She has been vaccinated for the chicken pox and if she did somehow get it K & C are okay with that. This was great as I think the kids were really beginning to wonder where all the other kids were. Great times were had all around and it was super nice to see K & C and E. again!

Poor Aga- she has had the hardest time so far I think. The kids are VERY VERY SLOWLY warming up to her. We had her stay with a friend until Thursday and then when we brought her home we tried to introduce her to the kids but they were absolutely terrified. We had shown them video and pics and the like and they love to talk about Aga and the idea of having a dog but when she came trotting in they absolutely freaked out. We were sort of thinking this might happen so we installed a zillion baby gates. Right now we are living in a segregated house - they can see her sometimes through the gates and other times she is outside while they are in and vice versa. She also has to sleep in her crate till we get this sorted as she cannot be in our room if we are constantly in and out of the kids room. Poor doggie is so confused- this is not what she is used to at all and for it to be like this after we have been gone so long is really bumming her out I think. So far we have gotten Sasha within 2 feet of her and Ana hasnt come anywhere near that close but I think it will take days and days until there is no screaming. Aga has been great though- very soft and docile whenever she seems them staring at her through the gate. She basically just sits there and wags her tail- saying, "come on kids, I am cute and fluffy and awesome. Please love me". Hopefully soon.....

Today I have to go back to my office. My clients have all been very very patient with us as we traipsed around the world making our family and I need to also give them some attention- as it is our livelihood after all! So, this morning I am up early- dealing with dumb email server problems (of course, worst day possible so why not) and trying to both get ready to do to the office and get breakfast for the currently sleeping kiddos. I am very torn about going back to work. I really like what I do and think that I am pretty good at it but it is hard to leave the kids all day so soon. They are attaching super well to Aaron and less so to me so it is sort of hard as I know I will lose some precious time with them. Plus, it is HARD to keep up with the 2 of them and I feel bad for leaving Aaron here all alone for hours on end. He is great though and i know will do super well- it is just mommy guilt setting in. Sigh.

Oh well, gotta go get my act together. :)

Shhhh.... They are sleeping!

2008-08-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

Hi!

I know I havent blogged in a day or two but it has been a bit of chaos here! So, after the baby home doctor decided they had not been exposed, and the Embassy doctor agreed that they were clear to fly due to the time elapsed guess who got the chicken pox as soon as we got home? Ana and Sasha (so nice to use their real names!). Yup, the night we got home. So, we have two scared and itchy babies on our hands. They are troopers though!

We have been settling in- everything is as it should be- major tantrums, refusal to eat more than 3 things- apples, bananas and cheerios, and refusal to sleep. :) But tonight, they are both asleep and it is only 7:30. I think that the last 2 nights- with a combined total of 4 hours of sleep, combined with the itchy sickness has finally caught up with them. Hopefully they will sleep for several hours!!!

They did great on the planes- not to many tears and all in all good times had travelling. Apple juice in the sippy cup really helped Sasha on landings- thanks for the advice! If only the security people in Chicago had not been such jerks I could say that our 26 hour odyssey home was okay. But man, they were. We had to basically strip the kids down at the security checkpoint- take off their shoes, their sweaters etc. Now, this did not make them happy at all. I sort of lost it at this point because the guys were so lame about it and would not let poor Sasha be carried through the metal detector - he had to walk, screaming, in socks through to me. It was tramautic to say the least. But we prevailed, made our flight and were met by Beth and Babuska Marta and Dyudeska Craig at the airport! Thanks guys- it was beyond awesome to see faces of love at the airport!!

Marta, Poppy Nick, Elizabeth, Jane, Max and Sarah all visited the next day and the kids were cute, if cranky, for all the guests. Sarah and Max brought Sasha is first chocolate chip cookie and he warmed up right away- Ana wasnt so sure about the cookies but I know she will come around. :)

We have been playing in the yard alot and they seem to really like that- thank goodness it is sunny. The kiddos cant leave the house for several days due to the CP and we cant wait for them to be better so they can meet all their new little friends! I am sure by the time our 'sick time' is up we will all be so ready for some fun and socialization but this forced cocooning is also good for us I am sure.

So, that is the latest- we are tired, our house is a mess, but the babies are cute and happy (most of the time) and sleeping they are just angelic.

Love to all,
SKB

And Introducing for the first time.....

2008-08-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

Anastasia Austin Brand- 11/30/04 and Alexander Sterling Brand- 3/31/06!!!

Finally home. Happy. Tired. Write more later.

Love,

Last Night in Moscow

2008-08-04T08:39:00.001-07:00

I feel like we should be celebrating!

Tonight is our last night here - Orange is already asleep and Apple looks like she will go down relatively easily too! Now, we have to pack up everything that is scattered around the apartment and it is a mess! That will take hours to be sure but who cares- we are finally really coming home!

We went to the Embassy today - pretty well fortified! I guess some cold war relics die hard. And after some confusion about which room we were supposed to be in we paid our $800 for the paperwork and then were given our super secret sealed envelopes - these are what we give the UCSIS person in Chicago. They told us a zillion times to not open it - wonder what is in there??? Not planning on finding out - we will follow their rules. We also got the kiddos passports back (russian, american get sent later) and the official adoption documents and all the stuff we had to turn over Friday in order for the Embassy to check us out and make sure the kids were not felons or whatever it was they did with it.

It has been a very very long trip and tomorrow we have to leave our apartment at 10am, drive over an hour to the airport, then catch a 2:30pm flight (dont ask why we have to be there so early- I was unable to get a straight answer but that is the plan) and then 11 hours to Chicago. In Chicago we clear customs and Apple and Orange become US Citizens in some dingy customs office at O'Hare. Sort of anti-climatic if you ask me.....Then another wait and then the flight from Chicago to Seattle- another 4 hours. So, a total transit time of 23 hours - until we land in Seattle, if all goes well. This is quite the undertaking with two toddlers so wish us well!

Love to all and I will officially "unveil" Apple and Orange - names, pics and everything once we are safely home!

SKB

Mama, is it time to go home yet?

2008-08-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

So, another day in Moscow. It was very very rainy today so we stayed pretty close to home. This morning at 9:30am (very civilized hour) the doctor from the Embassy came to call. He pronounced the children healthy- Orange has a cold (still!) and he thinks he may have a Vitamin D deficieny - which milk and sunshine will cure lickety split - but other than that they have been given a clean bill of health- which means that if all goes well at the Embassy tomorrow we will actually, truly, really leave on Tuesday!!! YAY!!!

So, as many of you know we have been talking to the kids about home, showing them pictures of everyone, talking about the family etc. They know that we are going to "nasha dom" (our house) the day after tomorrow and today we played a game about leaving. They seem excited to get to our house and I hope that this excitement does not fade. I am not sure Orange really realizes that this means he will have to get on another plane....but with the cough medicine decongestent the doctor prescribed this morning maybe his poor ears will be better on landing and we will not have the scary total meltdown experience again?!?

Other than that a day of play in the apartment- again, so glad we are in an apartment even though it is "more work" because it gives us a place to really spread out and play - rather than a hotel where we would have less private space. Each kiddo had a couple meltdowns today - mostly about toys and bath time and bed time but we made it through. It only took us 1 hour to put them to bed tonight!!!

I did go out for a quick shop at the 'mall' across the street and bought Apple a new sweater as she is cold if it is not super hot inside (baby homes tend to keep the heat at 80 in the winter and as you know in the summer it is a zillion degrees in Siberia) and so off I went in the rain to the fanciest mall of all time. I got her a sweater that cost more than any piece of toddler clothing should ever cost but she loves it- it is pink with shiny buttons and she thinks it is perfect. And she isnt cold anymore which is all a mother can ask for. It was very surreal to tell the shop girl that I was shopping for my DAUGHTER -- almost teared up right there in the store! It felt natural and crazy all at the same time.

Side Note: I have decided that Moscow is like Las Vegas, Paris and New York all rolled into one. Totally glizty and nouveau, great architecture and of course history and lots of hustle and bustle- this is one ridiculously amazing city. Someday we will be here and be in the mood to explore it but right now we are all about "cocooning" with the kids before our odyssey of a trip home begins on Tuesday.

Tomorrow we are off to the Embassy- I will let you know how it goes!

Love,
Us

Moscow - Red Letter Day

2008-08-02T02:25:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

So guess what- we got the babies to sleep last night at 10pm- only 2 hours after we started, and they slept in their room (here at the apt) and didnt wake up until 5am!!! So no one slept on the floor, no one cried ALL night or did any scared sitting up all night- actual sleep, for 6 hours.

Of course, the minute that they went down we crashed- HARD. So, that was pretty exciting.

This morning was fun- Apple really finally warmed up a bit to me- she has been a 'daddy's girl' since the beginning and not wanted anything to do with me at all for the last 2 days- no playing with me, no dressing, no snuggles, nothing- only Aaron, everything Aaron. This is normal in the beginning apparently due to stress and fear and i am trying very hard not to take it personally. But today we had some one on one play time while Aaron was showering and Orange was "reading" and it was great. We played tickle tag and everytime i caught her she gave me a kiss- and it was all her idea. So that was very happy time for Mama.

Then we went on a private tour in Moscow that I arranged through our apartment rental agency. It was great! We had a nice driver and a tour guide and a small mini van and we drove around the city and saw the sites. We didnt have to deal with any big tours and we got to take the strollers and wheel the kids around the different places we got out to walk. We saw a lot of places we would not have had time to find or see and it was much easier with the kids to do it this way. I actually highly recommend it. You can also take a fancy Mercedes if you choose... :)
What really suprised me was how romantic Moscow feels- it sort of feels like you are in a novel and you can just see yourself draped in fur and jewels in some sort of winter romance. I think we will come back here someday just the two of us! And for those of you that were here years and years ago I cant tell you how cosmopolitan it is now- crazy spendy but very nice and comfortable- after the grittiness of Novosibirsk I am in heaven at the grocery and just as a result of the selection. And if I need to go to Ralph Lauren or Armani (hahaha) then they are just down the street!

We got out at the Kremlin, (which, unfortunately, was closed due to Navy Day today), at the cathedral and at the highest point in the city - where there is a park and lots of people posing for wedding pics- the wedding dresses here are huge- it is funny that women who wear barely any clothes 99.9% of the time wear dresses that are bigger than anything Scarlet O'Hara ever pulled off for their weddings. They must want to even the scale on total fabric usage or something. We also went to a cool (and spendy) store where they sold the faberge egg necklaces that I have really really been wanting so I spent much more than I should have on the good ones, not the street stall type. But they are cool and I like them- alot. One will be a good present for Apple someday as well.

Then back home for lunch and "nap time". Though Orange fell asleep in the car at the end of the tour he cried his little eyes out when it was time to nap. 25 minutes of screaming followed by passing out- he is asleep as I write this! And Apple, well, she is sitting quietly and playing with her doll and she is in bed and that is honestly the best we can hope for with her at nap time at the moment- she may be out growing the concept a bit so we have decided to let it go. We give her snuggles for 1/2 hour and ask her if she needs anything and check on her every 10 minutes during the nap time (which she secretly loves and she often seems to need something- water, potty, a kiss on an invisible boo-boo) so it works out all around. Maybe less sleep but at this point lets just get through this!

So that is that. Tomorrow we have the medical exam for the US embassy and then Monday we have our interviews there- I hope Apple and Orange do well (they are toddlers, so I am thinking they will pass!) I want to post pictures and I hear that now that they are ours officially from a Russian perspective I can but I am superstious and waiting until we are actually home and done - so next Tuesday if all goes well!!!

SKB

Moscow, I think....

2008-07-31T19:42:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone-

Well, we are here. It was very very hard to get here and I am soo soo soo tired but we made it and are officially in Moscow- or so I hear- I havent actually been outside yet.

So, you know how everyone says, "dont worry if your baby crys on the plane- you will never see these people again". Well, that may be true but try staring down 200 angry, grumpy Siberians while your 2 yr old screams like he is being tortured for 35 minutes during landing. Poor Orange- they both did GREAT on the first part of the flight- no problem with take off (thanks to lollipops- shhh) and for most of the flight. Apple was awesome the whole time but Orange had a couple meltdowns along the way. In anticipation of the jaw dropping, cant believe someone who weighs 32 lbs could make this much noise for this long, screams of deathly pain sound less horrible, complete and total breakdown he had for the last 1/2 hour of the trip. We tried everything- and everyone was staring at us and "tsk tsk"ing us and I just wanted to yell at them all. Of course, weirdly, Apple slept through it all as she had fallen asleep about 45 minutes prior to this, even though she was 2 feet away. But we got payback for that later- read on.

Anyway, so once we finally got off the plane and made it through baggage etc and the babies had calmed down we walked for about 1/2 mile (I swear) with the luggage and the babies etc to get where our driver had left his car. Ugh. But thank god for the strollers- they are worth their weight in cold. I think had we not had them I would be sitting in the DME airport crying right now with 2 sad babies because we never would have made it. Then our driver, who spoke no English (which is weird for our agency and highly annoying to me last night- i know, I am entitled and bad etc etc etc but at 1am with 2 kids who are crying and it is late and you are hungry and tired and dirty and when you are expecting someone who does understand you it is hard), couldnt find our apartment- so we drove around. Orange had another fit- which culminated in him completely blowing out his diaper all over poor Aaron - he was just so past tired and so upset and had to go and the diap couldnt hack it. Poor Orange and poor Aaron!! It was almost funny at the time- we were so tired and out of it.

Then on to the super expensive apartment- which we finally found at 1am Moscow time (4am Novo time). It is fine- not as nice as the Novo one, and three times the money, but fine. The kids were so worked up we decided to bring their mattresses into our room. It still took absolutely hours to get them down. Orange went around 3am and Apple at 5:30am- just in time for me to get up at 5:50am - for the Embassy doctor who was supposed to come at 6am to check the babies for their immigration papers. But, guess what- it is 7am and no doctor yet!! Thank god i didnt wake the babies - I had decided that Apple needs as much sleep as she can get (both do, but she way behind) but Mama and Papa are the furthest behind- of course. This whole parenting thing takes some getting used to! I am not familiar with multiple days of no sleep, no food (because I am busy making them toddler food and it seems to hard to make more for us) and travel. Ugh. We are SO ready to be home so we can get them on a schedule and work on the sleep issues and get our lives back to normal- the new normal!

So we are here- YAY! but so tired I can barely function, need to go find a grocery because we have very little to feed the babies for breakfast but tied to the apartment to wait for this dumb doctor to come. I am beyond cranky at this point but I am sure we will survive.

Thanks for reading to my ranty post- I will be better next time. Lets just be glad at least we are in Moscow!

Love,
Us

Adios Siberia!

2008-07-31T01:08:00.000-07:00

Or, it should be das vadanya!

Woo Hoo- in 2 hours we will be on our way to the airport and on the way to Moscow. The gods have smiled on us and we are off to the big city pox free! So, hopefully nothing will develop there but right now we are good to go and the Dr. says we can fly. :)

So, we have spent the day the cleaning the apartment, going for a stroll in the park and all the usual things you do with toddlers- breakfast, play, snack, play, lunch, play, nap, play, snack. Tiring on those of us who are not used to so much play in our day!!

Also, in Moscow it is currently 60 degrees! We cannot wait to not be hot and sweaty all the time. Gotta go- the kiddos need some more play before we leave for the airport! Hopefully they will fly as well as they drive. We can only pray about that one but hopefully!

Love,
Us

Happy - that is what they said today!

2008-07-30T02:31:00.000-07:00

Hi!

Last night Orange finally fell asleep at midnight but Apple was having none of it- she was up all night with me- not crying the whole time, just scared and sad and awake- not in the mood for a cuddle but also not in the mood to sleep or anything else so we sat quietly and did baby massage, I sang to her, we tried snuggly, role play- you name it, we tried it! It was hard all around but Papa came to the rescue this morning (I had let him sleep so we would not both be basket cases today) and made breakfast and took over for a couple hours so Mama could get some sleep.

After everybody got clean and dressed we went off to the photo store for some shots for the visa immigration. Apple was a champ (amazing considering the neglible sleep she got last night) but Orange did not like all the strangers at the photo store so his Visa pic will look at bit teary.

But apparently yesterday's good car behavior was no fluke- they LOVE being in the car- it is safe and with us and no one else yet you can see everything.

Then back home for some lunch of yummy Mama prepared Pelmeni and peas and then- nap time. Orange was out like a light, Apple, not so much. No nap for her but she did sit quietly on her bed for 2 hours while Orange slept. Papa went in and sat with her and snuggled with her for most of it - but still no sleep for our little one. I know she will sleep someday- but I hope it is soon! I took a nap at the same time- YAY!

More play- we have been practicing our English vocabulary - slowly but surely they are picking up new words. The words for today are "Yum" and "Happy" - both of which came out after a snack of yogurt and rice cakes this afternoon. We had been saying them at meals and to each other for a few days and they caught on easily to what they meant! This is awesome and their vocabulary is growing slowly everyday.

That is all for now- if all goes well we will be leaving Novo tomorrow for Moscow. Keep your fingers crossed!

Love,
us

YAY We are a family!!!

2008-07-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

HI Everybody-

We are officially a family. It is 11:30pm on Tuesday night and the kiddos, while still in their beds are STILL NOT ASLEEP. That is right, they have decided there is no way, no how, they are going to sleep at all. And, if we leave the room then they are unhappy and we dont want that either. So, right now Papa is in there and I will go relieve him momentarily. I cannot believe they are still awake. We started the 'to bed' process at 8pm- their bedtime- and are still at it. Any advice?

But to give a recap of our wonderful day!

First we went off to the vital records office- a boring place, filled with bureaucrats. Aaron filled out some very unofficial looking paperwork and off our coordinator went to the powers that be. A little while later we were called into an office where this lady handed us very official looking -- new birth certificates- naming Aaron and I the parents of Apple and Orange. Wow, seeing my name, in Russian, as the birth mother- for some reason I didnt actually realize you got a totally new birth certificate with all new info. Kind of surreal to be honest but in a good way. Then we got the adoption certificates and decree, stating that the children are now ours and the 10 day period has ended. YAY! We had to sign about 20 different places- it was crazy she kept handing us papers and saying Mama, Papa, sign here over and over again. No idea what we signed because it was all in Russian but hopefully not led astray! Then she gave a lovely speech about family and we were off.

Next it was to the bank to exchange more $$ for donations to the baby home and then some last minute shopping for some other gifts I hadnt known about before. Then we were off to the Baby Home! We got there around 4pm and the kids were awesome- I mean, totally calm, totally happy- let us change their clothes no problem, happy to read a story while we waited etc. I was so worried, and for nothing! There was one moment of tears when we left and got into the car but that was soon forgotten as we whisked down the highway for 2 hours of sights and sounds they had never heard or seen before. They were so great in the car- so brave and cute and good - very proud! Seatbelts were not their favorite thing so who knows what they will feel about car seats but they were so good anyway!

Then to the apartment- elevators are very very scary if they are tiny, old, Russian, noisy and you have never ever seen one before. Once we got over that and up to our 9th floor apartment things were great. We fed them a light dinner and they loved it- had 3rds and 4ths of things but here is a shocker, Orange, who we thought would eat anything, will not eat hard boiled eggs. Nope. Very interesting.

Then onto bathtime- Apple was so awesome- she loved the bath, great at brushing her teeth, combing her hair etc. She didnt even mind me washing her hair. Orange was also a trooper to be sure and cute as a button-- he doesnt like to have his hair washed and brushing his teeth was not high on his list of favorite things but they both love being wrapped in big fluffy towels to dry off. :) So adorable.

Then a story, a snack and a cuddle. Things are going well, right. You are all reading along thinking- Wow, even though Sarah and Aaron have never parented a moment in their life, they are doing a pretty bang up job of it. Well, here is where the wheels come off the cart. Bed time. Yup, at 8pm we put them down- lots of tears, scared, unhappy. Get that sorted out, but no sleep. If we leave the room Orange is out of his bed runnng around and Apple is sitting in her bed crying. She still has not even laid down- she would not even take her shoes off until 10:45pm (she had put them on again with her jammies after her bath- apparently this is common with kids from baby homes- their shoes disappear onto other kids if they do not guard them so she is feeling quite attached to her new pink sparkly sandals). So, at least we have her shoes off now! I will let you all know how it goes if and when we ever go to sleep but for now we are HAPPY, THRILLED, and TIRED.

Love,
Us

One more day!

2008-07-28T02:43:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody-

well, we just got back from the baby home and we had a great visit. They tell us they are giving us custody tomorrow "for sure" as the kiddos have no signs (knock wood) of CP and they do not think they were exposed now (grain of salt). But the plan is for us to go do some paperwork related to the passports in the morning and then go to the BH in the afternoon- laden with lots of "presents" and such for everyone there. Then we get to change the kiddos into their new clothes and off we go! Then home to the apartment and we spend Weds and Thursday together hanging out and waiting for their passports and then off to Moscow on Thursday night if all goes well!

Today was really funny- Apple had on a bride of frankenstein getup in blood red and gold thread- I wish I could post a pic here! And Orange was his usual cute self, and we all had lots of fun playing with balloons and blocks.

That is all we have to say today- tonight is our last night as parents with no kids so we are going out to dinner.

Love,
Us

1, 2, 3 breathe, breathe, breathe

2008-07-25T06:25:00.000-07:00

Hi All-

So we got to go to the baby home again today! YAY! The babies seem to be just fine - they were laughing and we played pretty hard for 2 hours. Today we brought an apple with us (a real one, not just Apple products) and you would have thought it was Christmas and Easter all rolled into one. Those 2 will sit quietly and read a whole book if they know a "yablaka" piece is coming their way. This was super cute. Apple (the child) was not 100% happy when she came in but soon shed that with a cookie and some water and a new coloring book.

And guess what, she said "1, 2, 3" with me as we were counting doggies in one of the books! YES! These are her first English words. It was, of course, followed by a long conversation in Russian about her hair- mostly I think about her desire for a barrette (she arrived this afternoon with a haircut- a mullet- and neither she nor I think it suits her) but I only got about 50% of that down. And then lots of crazy play with the big blocks and puzzles.

Orange had his first real meltdown today- after being told "nyet" about something. But Aaron was a champ and got him through it with yoga breathing and a time in. And then it was all forgotten and off to play.

For some reason the baby home director is "sure" they did not contract the chicken pox and that it will all be fine. Not sure what inside info she has going on but I can tell you that I am going with this info. I know it could all be out the window tomorrow or sometime before we leave but I just need to believe that everything will happen on schedule and we will leave Thursday, with 2 healthy kiddos, for Moscow! So, everyone else- positive thoughts too please!

We have a long weekend of nada in front of us- no baby visits until Monday but we are going to clean the apartment, go shopping for toddler food etc so it should be okay. :)

Love,
Sarah & Aaron

Friday Morning in Novosibirsk

2008-07-24T18:43:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody-

Just a quick post to say no new news yet. We didnt get to see the babies yesterday (we knew that we would not, it was not on our every other day schedule) but if all goes as planned we will get to go this afternoon to see them!

So, no word on the chicken pox issue either- please everyone just keep your fingers and toes crossed that it passed over them- we will know by Tuesday hopefully one way or the other and as you all know I am all in favor of us leaving Novo for Moscow on Thursday as planned.

The good news is that if we have to stay for longer we think we should be able to stay in our apartment (80% chance) rather than have to move someplace else. And, of course, Aaron would get to see the eclipse - Uncle Peter, he will have a full report for you!

So, everybody think positive no chicken pox thoughts and we will keep you posted.

Love,
Sarah and Aaron

Worst Day Ever

2008-07-23T06:24:00.000-07:00

Ok- so today we went to our every other day (supposed to be every day but they changed their minds at the last minute) visit with our kiddos and we learned that one of the kids in their groupa has chicken pox. They are not sure if our kids do or not. But, if they do they are possibly not going to release them to us on Tuesday as planned. We may be here MUCH longer than anticipated. And, with the eclipse who knows if we will have someplace to stay. And why on earth we cannot have custody now and take care of them I do not know but that is also out of the question. I am MAD and SAD and scared for our little ones. Anyone have any advice for me??? Anyone know the incubation period for chicken pox? My DH is being very nice and supportive- he wants me to remember that "fyosh budit harasho" (sp?) but it is super hard right now.

And the darn washer in our apt broke with all of our clothes in it. I am losing it right now.

So, that is where we are right now. Will keep everyone posted on what happens- hopefully they will not present symptoms and we will get to leave this hinterland on Thursday as planned but at this point I have little hope. Or a place to stay after the 31st.

Another Day in Siberian Limbo....

2008-07-22T06:59:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

Just a quick update- quiet day today as we did not get to see the babies and Aaron was recovering from his terrible cold. Bad news is that I finished my last book that made the trip with us and English language books seem hard to find. I will have to find something to read because one can only watch so much Russian 'pimp my ride' on Russian MTV.

We went out to dinner tonight with another adoptive couple here in Novo- HI Tanya and Jon- thanks for the fun dinner! It was great to have a whole conversation in English and you guys are cool! Have a great rest of your trip. :)

So, that is all today- nothing to report other than we have one more day on our 10 day count down to check off and we are safe and well (except for Aaron's cold).

Love,
Us

Quiet Weekend

2008-07-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

Hi,

Well it is Monday morning and it is POURING out. Huge thunderstorms rolled in yesterday and we have had torrential rains on and off for the last 24 hours. Good news- cooling things down- it is only 80! and Bad News- very very wet when you only have your feet as transportation. :)

Aaron braved the elements yesterday morning and went out and bought 2 umbrellas - at at least 100% + of the cost from the day before I am sure, but we needed something! Then we waited for a break in the downpour (princesses dont like to get too wet if possible) and went out for a walk, a visit to the dept store that is about 8 blocks away, a quick stop by the Sibir to leave a note for another adoptive family that arrives tonight, a grocery visit, and dinner at the pub nearby. It actually didnt start really raining until we were on the walk home and with our trusty new umbrellas we stayed pretty dry.

Today we are free until 2pm when we will leave for our afternoon visit with the babies. Aaron woke up this morning with a hideous cold- either caught from Orange or due to his foray into the storm yesterday morning for umbrellas so I will go to the pharmacy when they open and use my incredibly stilted and sad Russian to try to find him some medicine. While we brought over a dozen kinds of baby medicine from our doctor with us- we forgot all grown up medicine- no tylenol, no cold stuff- nada. So, now I will go forage (umbrella firmly in hand though) and hopefully find something good that isnt too potent and scary.

That's it- just wanted to give you all a quick update on our very quiet weekend.

Saturday Morning in Siberia

2008-07-18T18:16:00.000-07:00

Well, you have not lived until you are in a car in the middle of an 8 lane Siberian Highway, when it is 90 degrees outside, after sitting in traffic for 2 hours and your car dies as soon as traffic really starts moving! It was pretty scary for a few minutes but Nicolai, our fearless driver, actually willed (I really do think this at this point) the car into starting again and we made it home safely just an hour or so later. Traffic on Friday nights here is the same as in Seattle- terrible!

Well we are catching our breath today- no visits to the baby home until Monday (BOO! Silly rules) so we are just getting our acts together this weekend. We found out the other day that all of the 6 pairs of shoes we bought for the kiddos are too small (our children seem to have giant tootsies and the outline of their feet I took during trip 1 did not translate into shoes that fit now) so we are on a hunt for children's shoes today! It is good to have a mission- it keeps us from dwelling on our thoughts about being parents who are not allowed access to their children. Lets all just pretend they are at a lovely toddler summer camp- it does help.

Yesterday's visit was good- hot and we decided to play outside on their little playground. This was a so-so idea- it was very very buggy out there and they were in the mood for quiet play so we ended up just playing with small toys and reading a book- all of which probably should have been done inside. Oh well, live and learn! Both kiddos were cute and Apple made my day when she told the caregiver to "go away" (in Russian) when it was time for them to go back to groupa. It was a good change from her tears and "mommy, no, dont hold me" of earlier so I think progress is being made! She is an independent little spitfire for sure!

Orange is picking up more English already- we have "look" and "no" and "yes" so far which is awesome but his previously on the mend cold seems to be developing into a full blown issue so I cannot wait to get custody so we can give him some medicine and lots of love and care!! I want to make him better and hate seeing him coughing etc but we are not allowed to do anything until we have custody- UGGGHHH!

The weather has broken a bit- it is only going to be 88 today! YAY! Of course by Monday it will be back to 100 but lets concentrate on today. And I know some of you are wondering on the summer uniform- much like the winter uniform of short skirts and high boots we have moved into even shorter skirts (or hot pants), tops that truly are barely there and high heel sandels (preferably 4" and sparkly) for all women under 40. I still cant figure out how they all walk long distances in those heels but they do- it must be what keeps them in shape. So I feel frumpy but whatever - at least my feet are not killing me. :)

Hope all is well with all of you - now that court is over and we are counting down the days I am starting to miss home- just want to get there with the babies. Only 17 more days until the Brand family is at home!

We are parents!

2008-07-17T22:32:00.000-07:00

Hi!!!!

We just got back from court. It went well and we are officially parents!!! It was a bit stressfull- Aaron had to give a speech that we had prepared but then we had to change it at the last minute which is always hard. And then they had lots of questions for us about our house, our lifestyle, if we were capable of raising children, why we want to adopt 2 etc. It lasted just over an hour and was a bit nerve wracking but everyone was direct but not mean. Then the judge went out and came back 5 minutes later with the verdict-- we are officially the proud parents of Apple and Orange!!!

Now we are quickly back at the apartment to change clothes from our suits to baby home clothes and then off to the baby home for our first visit as real life parents! We get to visit today, Monday, Wed, Fri and Saturday of next week. The following week is still up in the air but we think we get custody on Weds! That is the current plan- things tend to be a bit fluid here with things like that (UGH!) but Aaron is forcing me to go with the flow and the good news is we are parents!!!

More later,
love,

Sarah and Aaron

Apple and the iPhone

2008-07-17T00:23:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the baby home in the morning- which is nice because it is not quite so hot in the car etc if you leave town at 7:30am rather than 2pm. Our visit was overall good- Orange was his usual cuddly bear self- of the 2.5 hours we got with them he was in one of our laps for at least 1/2 of it. SO CUTE!

Apple developed a deep affinity for Apple products yesterday (so naming her Apple on my blog must have been a premonition of some kind!). We had downloaded some Russian children's music onto my iphone and I played it yesterday for them. Dancing and general merriment ensued. Then I showed her pictures of herself on the phone- from the last trip and from yesterday and she really really loved that. She took the phone away and spent quite a while flipping through all the pics and calling out what they were - it was hilarious and she loved it. She also figured out how to change the song at the same time. Very smart girl.

Poppy Nick- you should call Steve J. and tell him he has a new spokesmodel. :)

The rest of today went well- lots of snacking on cheerios, drinking of apple juice, sorting of puzzles etc. Apple is very good at puzzles and she taught Orange how to do a few too. We also played with our Russian/English flash cards and their vocabulary is just amazing.

Tomorrow is court day and we have been told to spend the rest of the day reviewing our dossier, brushing up on our Russian vocabulary (not to worry- we have a translator with us but they like to know we are trying to learn- which we are!) and generally preparing ourselves for our big day! Everyone has been wishing us luck- it is a very big deal because tomorrow is the day the judge decides if our adoption will be final and we will officially become Apple and Orange's parents. So everyone think very positive and good thoughts for us!

The one piece of bad news we received is that they have decided that we DO NOT get to go to the baby home every business day of our 10 day wait- apparently there are other families from other agencies who will be coming in next week to meet children and the baby home feels like too many prospective parents in house at one time is a bad idea. SO, now we get only see the children every other day of our 10 day wait- which is a huge bummer but at least it means we get to see them on a weekend day as well. In the long run this will not be a big deal at all but right now in country it is a big deal to me. We will power through though- keep our eye on the end goal of bringing our kiddos home in August!!

Love,
Sarah and Aaron

Baby Time!!

2008-07-16T06:47:00.000-07:00

Hi!

We are here in Novosibirsk- we arrived late last night and our apartment is great- very spacious and nice by European standards- it was a good choice and much better than being cooped up at the Sibir for days on end. The best part is the fabulous internet connection and privacy- anyone want to Skype?

So, this morning after a fitful jet laggy night we took a LONG walk around Novo- looking for a grocery store. We thought there would be one in our neighborhood but after walking for quite a while in the direction we were told we would find one we gave up and walked the opposite direction to the main square- where we had visited a grocery on our first trip. Success! Then back to the apartment for a meal and to wait for Katia and Nicolai (coordinator and driver). We went to the baby home around 2pm and first met with the head doctor. She gave us the update on the kiddos and then it was off to the races.

Apple and Orange were great. Some trepidation and tears at first but once they calmed down it was fabulous- we played lots and Orange let both of us hold and cuddle him- he was very snuggly. Apple was excited about the toys and we had a good time romping around. She was also very nice to her brother and made sure he got some 'cookies' and water when we were having snacks and he was snuggling with Aaron.

And here is the BEST PART- they both called us Mama and Papa - for the first time ever. It was awesome- I cant quite explain the feeling.

They have both grown a little bit physically but really they have had a language EXPLOSION- especially Apple- she is chattering away none stop and talking to us all the time. I need to practice more Russian as I was not expecting here to be talking in complete sentences and holding actual conversations. She was patient with us though and repeated things so we could "get it" and Orange was also talkative and he actually said an English word at the end of the play time- FABULOUS!

So, YAY! We get to see the kids again tomorrow and then Friday is Court Day! Hope all is well and love to you all.

Sarah and Aaron

Chicago, Chicago...

2008-07-14T11:48:00.001-07:00

Hi All-

blogging from the Chicago airport. Bored, bored, bored. Not much to report- super ready to be there which is bad as we have over 20 hours to go. :) First flight uneventful- back of the back of the plane.

Really just wanted to post this picture of the crazy amount of luggage that is making this trip with us. Between all of the gifts we must bring, the snacks etc for the kiddos and 2 strollers we are definitely travelling HEAVY for us. But American didnt seem to mind, as long as we paid our overweight fees so that was good- rather pay a fee than have my bag rejected for being ridiculously heavy.

Write more once we are there!

Love,

We have confirmation!

2008-07-07T08:43:00.001-07:00

So, we are definitely going in July! Our court date has been set, plane tickets have been purchased, apartments have been rented and we are ready ready ready to go! If all goes as planned we will be home August 5th as a family!!

Just wanted to let those who were wondering if we had gotten confirmation that yes, we are a go for launch. :) Mommyhood here I come!

WOO HOO!! TRIP 2 HERE WE COME!!

2008-07-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

We got tentative trip 2 dates today! I am over the moon excited. It looks like we MAY leave Seattle on July 12th/13th and be in Novosibirsk by the 15th. We would have court a few days later and then have our lovely 10 day waiting period. We would get to leave Novo by the end of the month - with the babies!!! Then off to Moscow for a few days of Embassy paperwork and home by August 5th/6th.

Can you believe it? It is actually happening!!! Now, I just need to sort everything out to leave in 10 days and go across 11 timezones and stay there for 3 weeks- no problem- I am an organized girl and we have been getting ready for 11 weeks now so I think as long as I can find us a place to stay and some tickets we are good to go! I cant believe that we will be parents by the end of July!!!

I will keep you all posted!

love,
Sarah and Aaron

More Delays and a Second Honeymoon?

2008-06-24T08:42:00.000-07:00

Hi All-

Many of you know we had a delay last week- UGH! Apparently dumb old DHL lost some of our documents in Russia! So, needless to say I am no longer a fan of this service!

Anyway, thankfully Aaron was able to run all around the town and with some help from Marta and Bob (who both have been absolutely great about re-doing documents 3 or 4 times each for us) we were able to pull it together in less than 24 hours. Then the agency was able to get them apostilled and off to Russia in another 48 hours- I think we all did pretty well considering! They are in Novo now and hopefully we will hear soon- maybe this week but more likely next I think- about a court date!!!! So, keep your fingers crossed and I still hope to get there in mid July now.

So, due to this and the fact that we have been lost in baby preparations, stress from waiting and general other stress due to work and the house and all we decided on the spur of the moment yesterday that what we needed was a break, a last minute "second honeymoon", the last trip we will ever take just the 2 of us, with no other responsibilities. So, we are off to Wausaukee Thursday - Tuesday for some sun, golf, relaxing, recharging and reconnecting. We are totally ready to go to Russia and ready for the babies to come home so even if we get court dates and need to leave next week we are all set- we can fly home, throw everything in a bag and leave again! And it would still be worth it! Cant wait to get to the cabin and enjoy the weekend together - our last as a couple with no kids. The next time we are at wausaukee it will be VERY different so this is fun and we are excited for this trip, though short.

waiting, waiting, waiting

2008-06-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

Hi All-

It has been a while since we posted but that is because we have been so busy getting ready for the babies!

Since we have now been back 4.5 weeks (not that I am keeping track or anything) I thought I would give an update of where we are now.

1) The work at the house is continuing. Doug, our fearless friend and contractor, and his crew have almost finished the new laundry/mudroom - which is good because I am dying to do some laundry! The good news is it will no longer be a scary unfinished part of the house with wires hanging down, it is now bright and white and has tile and walls and floors and a ceiling and all that good stuff. Very exciting!

2.) Aaron is almost done with the nursery! The closet is being painted as we speak (poor thing- all weekend has been spent on that closet but it looks awesome!) and the beds, dressers, chair etc have all arrived and are in various states of togetherness. I expect we will have a fully functioning kiddo room by the end of next weekend and will post pics as soon as it is done. Aaron's dad Craig has been absolutely instrumental in getting the projects we needed done finished - help with wiring, baby gates etc- THANK YOU SO MUCH CRAIG!

3.) Check out the new "mac daddy mobile". This is a terrible picture but I was in a hurry and my iphone is not perfect. In anticipation of Aaron becoming a stay at home dad and needing a safe car to transport our babies in we are now the proud owners of a 2005 Honda Odyssey. This is crazy to us but in a good way. Our neighbors are all staring at us though - many of them have no idea we are adopting and then they see the minivan and the play structure go up in the back yard- I think they are all trying to figure out if I am pregnant- it is pretty funny. When we show up with 2 toddlers it will be quite the surprise for them!

4.) When are we going back you ask? We dont know- ARRGGHH! We are still going with our agency's original July timeframe but we do not yet have travel dates or a confirmed court date. We have been told we "MAY" get court dates as early as the first week in June (umm, now!) or as late as the end of June. This is making me a bit loo-loo but what can you do? The good news is that the family in front of us did get a notice that their papers have been officially filed, which means they should have a court date soon and we are about 10 days behind them in process so I am hoping that we have dates by June 15th. Don't worry- i will keep you all posted! It is maddening to not know but that is how this works so I just keep saying to myself "chin up buttercup" and know that we will get back to them soon and bring them home. (Queen Markell is someplace working on that I am sure and making sure they are safe until we get there too).

That is all the news for now. Just keep thinking good thoughts and if anyone happens to have any secret tricks for getting us back there faster please fill me in!

Love,

Sarah and Aaron

Copenhagen Overnight

2008-04-26T22:17:00.001-07:00

Hi Everybody-

Blogging from CPH this morning. Arrived after a flying from Novo to Moscow (and circling the airport for over and hour) and then Moscow to CPH.

Took the train into the city and are staying at a hotel right in the centre of the city that was recommended. I can say this city seemed fresh and bright in comparision to the pollution of Novosibirsk and there is lots of shopping.

But, Here is the deal- this town is not our town. I am not sure if it is that we are exhausted or just missing the kiddos or whatever but this town is all about the party. We are unfortunately right on the main party plaza so until about 4am we had people outside our hotel screaming and whooping it up. Ugh.

And everything here is ridiculously overpriced- $100 for soup and sandwiches is even more expensive that Russia- which I thought was impossible.

Maybe at a different time, on a different trip this place would be awesome but right now we are just ready to be home I think (sorry Brooks- I know how much you love this city and I tried, I really tried).

Anyway, we are off to the airport in a few hours and then straight onto Seattle!!!! We will be there tonight - talk to you all soon!
Love,
Sarah and Aaron

Last Day with the Babies

2008-04-25T01:51:00.001-07:00

Hi All-

Today was our last day with the babies. It was fun but sad too. A couple meltdowns but mostly fun play time. And we got to try on the outfits we brought for them (to try sizes so we know what to buy) and that was great as they love having fancy new clothes- especially Apple- she LOVED her outfits.

It was hard to leave them though- they were really opening up to us and starting to attach and now we will be gone for 6 weeks- it is an imperfect system for sure. But we told them that we would be back and they have the books to look at each day and hopefully they wont be too mad at us when we come back. It looks like it will be late June or early July when we come back and we just found out that it looks like we will have the 10 days in Novosibirsk (the official waiting period after court) for sure- it is not being waived for any families right now apparently. So, that will be interesting... A 20 day trip total for sure because we have to arrive a few days before court and then after the waiting period we have to go to Moscow for a couple of days for official stuff and then home!

I know some of you are thinking of a vacation in Moscow and would love to have anyone who wants to come meet us there! We can figure that out later of course. :)

Then we came back to town and signed some more papers and now are going out to dinner with someone from the adoption world.

We leave bright and early tomorrow- Novo to Moscow and then on to Copenhagen. We spend the night there and will be back in Seattle Sunday night - tired but happy.

Love,
Sarah and Aaron

More about Novosibirsk

2008-04-24T03:13:00.000-07:00

So funny things about Novosibirsk:

-Our hotel is the only game in town. Right now we have a Microsoft conference here (can never get away from them), tons of business people and at least one other adoptive family. Busy place.

-No one in Russia goes out for Russian food. So far we have eaten in a Levi's 501 bar, an Irish Pub, an American diner, the hotel's French restaurant and finally today had lunch at the one traditional Russia place in the city. It was good- had some borscht and pelmeni (russian potstickers with dill and sour cream) but funny that we have been here for days and just now having Russian food.

- We typically get back to the hotel around 4pm (except day one when we didnt get back until 8pm) and then take a walk and go find a place to eat. It is a walkable city but very very polluted so I would not recommend coming here if you have any issues with wanting to breathe easily or well. :)

-It is hot here. It was 75 yesterday and it is 70 now. This is funny because just last week it was 12 degrees- so there is snow on the sides of the roads and the lakes are all frozen but now it is hot and I am sure it will just get warmer as they head into summer. Wish I hadnt brought those boots and all that cashmere but c'est la vie!

-Russian women wear very short skirts and very tall boots- all the time. Doesnt matter the age of the lady- that is the outfit. So we definitely stick out a bit though Aaron has been mistaken a couple of times by people in stores which is funny.

Hope all is well!

Lots of news- long post

2008-04-24T02:46:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody-

Sorry for being incommunicado. Lots to tell:

Day 1 at the baby home: after going to the MOE and meeting the lady that doles out the referrals (very nice, very efficient) and answering several questions we were officially given permission to go to the baby home. Our baby home is 2 hours each way from town. So we hopped in the car with our translator Anna and our driver Nicolai for the journey. Siberia is very flat and dusty. We were stopped by the cops at one point -- Nicolai handled it all well and we never really learned what happened as he went into the police building to sort it out.

Arrived at the baby home and met the kiddos. For the purposes of this blog we shall call them Apple and Orange.

The meeting was a bit of a disaster! They took one look at us and started crying. Apparently they never see men and were scared of Aaron and I was a stranger so they were scared of me too. After an hour of tears and not coming near us they started to warm up and we spent 3 hours tentatively playing with them as they were very on edge and scared. We also got some new medical info and had to get that back to our IA doctor for review. Then back to the hotel and got in around 8pm and crashed- hard.

Day two- off to the baby home with our team and our Russia doctor- a lovely lady named Dr. Galina. We got stopped by the cops AGAIN- which apparently never happens- and again Nicolai handled it all very well and we were underway again after 20 minutes of waiting.

We got there in time to see the children participating in their Spring Festival- very cute- Russian dancing, a small skit and some treats. They gave each child half of a pear- core and all and you should have seen them chomp down on those! Both of our kiddos have quite an appetite and there is no messing around with cutting it into chunks for ease of eating- they just go right to town on whatever you give them. After the festival we spent another 3 hour marathon play session with them. This one went slightly better- only two meltdowns per child and I was able to play "tea time" with Apple and Orange warmed up enough to Aaron to play ball and let him hold him for a bit. Then back to the hotel to wait to hear from the docs and make our decision. Finally at midnight we talked to Dr. Davies and got the go ahead- both babies look good and the reports were great. This was a huge relief and we went to bed knowing that we would be accepting the referrals officially today- which was awesome after 48 hours of anxiety and worry!

The baby home is very poor but well cared for. It is obvious the people there take good care of the kids and love them lots. But it is an orphanage so there is never enough love to go around. It is nice though that they are out in the country as Novosibirsk is incredibly polluted and at least they have fresh air. They go for walks every day and even in 70 degree weather (it is warm here) they get all dressed up in snow suits to go outside per the custom here. It is cute and funny.

A bit about each kiddo:

Apple- she is very smart and apparently quite bossy (just like her new mama). She is the leader of her groupa (the kids are divided into groupas- kind of like cabins at camp). She is shy to warm up to strangers- which is good because it means she wont just go with anyone but once she warms up she is great. She is very smart and talkative and can say complete sentences, has great motor skills and all around seems like she will grow up to be very bright and in charge!

Orange- he is a cutey and also very smart and verbal for a 2 year old. He loves Cheerios, cookies, fruit- whatever you have he will eat happily. Toys that make noise are the best and if it has lights that is a bonus. He is running around all the time. I swear when I saw him sitting at the Spring Festival he sat just like Poppy Nick sits when he is concentrating! He is a big boy and very active and will be a handful but is a great kid.

Day Three: Today was good. Only a few tears but lots of play- and we got to hold both of them and comfort them when they were tired and upset towards the end of the visit. Today we brought the family books we made and they went over like a house on fire. They loved them and wanted to go through all the pictures over and over again.

We have officially accepted the kids now and are are now in the waiting period. We have one more meeting with them tomorrow and then we leave Saturday morning - which is sad and terrible to think we will be gone for 6-8 weeks but it is the way it is done and I cannot dwell on that at this moment.

That is all for now. Lots of love to you all!

Sarah and Aaron

We are here!

2008-04-21T05:43:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone-

We are here- officially at the Hotel Sibir in Novosibirsk. All I can say is that Novosibirsk is FAR AWAY from Seattle! And, that business class is SO WORTH IT no matter what- the flights were long but we survived.

Russia so far is just like any other developing country. The airport in Moscow is dingy but doable and there is construction everywhere. Definitely growing. Novosibirsk appears to be an industrial city- as we thought- but we havent really explored much yet.

Our room here- the King Size room is about the size of the bedroom on the China Cloud and has as much storage. A King size bed is 2 single beds pushed together.

Wifi seems to work in the bar and lobby but not in the rooms.

Tomorrow we have our meeting with the MOE and then off to the baby home for the first time! I am sure we will have lots to report then.

If you want to Skpe with us- I think it would be good to email and set up times to make it easier all around. We will be back at the hotel tomorrow late in the day here and we are 14, not 15 hours ahead (daylight savings) so that should help a bit. :)

Love,
Sarah and Aaron

Siberia Here we Come

2008-04-19T14:04:00.000-07:00

This is a blog we are setting up to document our adoption journey. We leave on trip 1 today! We are going to Novosibirsk and will be meeting two little children who we hope to make our own. Because this is a public blog we will not be giving out too much information or personal details and hope everyone understands!

We leave for the airport in 2 hours- our next post will be from Novo!