Mommy's Girl

Make a Smilebox photobook

Read more...

So close to home we can almost smell the turkey...

but actually we are eating McDonalds and feeling pretty thankful to be back in the good ole USA (Chicago airport). (As my new friend Anne said to me..."anytime you're out of the country for more than 2 weeks McDonald's is almost required!") We have been going for 36 hours now and we have another 4 hours until we are home. We look like crap, proably smell worse but we are feeling great and looking forward to seeing our boys. Almost home, almost home.

Read more...

Happy Birthday Nolan!

Nolan we are sorry we are not there for your 9th birthday. You are the best 9 year old ever and today you are officially a BIG Brother!! Mommy and Daddy love you soooooooooo much. We've got some cool presents from Kazakhstan and a really special one from Nina.

Happy Birthday Roly-Poly, XOXOXOXOXOXO!!!

Read more...

Nina Beatrice Printy is Ours!

We are a family of six! We went to court this morning and all is well. Nina is ours. We are rushing now to get our many bags together and head to the airport. Before we leave we are going to have a celebratory pot of tea with Wade and Jill then a debriefing with our Coordinator Alma. I promise all the details when I get home and have some sleep. For now a few pictures as we left the court room…

Read more...

Our Last Visit with Nina

An hour ago, we left the baby house for that last time until we return to bring Nina home forever. I am not sure how to process the wave of emotions crashing down on me. I came here to meet a baby girl which was a happy fantasy but now I am leaving behind my daughter and my heart is breaking.

Nina was PERFECT today. We could not have hoped for a better visit. She was laughing, playing, cuddling, kissing and hugging. She only wanted to be with us. Nina even sat on Dart’s lap! Our memories of this day are bittersweet. Nina, baby doll, I am counting down the minutes …

Tonight we are going to a hockey game with Arman, our translator and all around nice kid, and Jill and Wade, our new best friends! Dart has been hoping we would get a chance to see the Ust-Kam team play. It looks like Jamair Jagr is playing on the opposing Russian team so it will be extra fun. We’re going to try to make it a celebration-our last night in Ust -Kamenogorsk(for now).

Tomorrow morning we will go to court and God willing we will be granted our adoption. We are officially then, Nina’s parents. I am pushing away any thoughts that something might go wrong but I would be lying if I didn’t admit to feeling nervous. We will head to the airport after court for a 3pm flight to Almaty then @ 2:30 am we head to Astana, then Frankfurt, Chicago and home to Cleveland! We should get in about 4:30pm on Thanksgiving Day… apropos for this very thankful mommy.

Read more...

Three Weeks in Kazakhstan

 



We have been here for three weeks -I'm thinking about looking for a job. I think Pizza Blues might be hiring....

We are in the home stretch and very much ready to get back to the boys. By the time we get home our trip will have been a day short of 4 weeks. It is hard though to accept that after all this we will return home without our dear Nina. As much as I agree that the bonding period is beneficial to both child and parent, I find no good in the required month long wait to process paperwork.

Nina has come so far since we first met her. I now can snuggle and kiss and nuzzle a little girl who just a few weeks ago, was afraid to even look at me. I hate the idea that we might lose all the progress we made during this trip. Oh well we’ll do what we have to do to bring home the shy little girl who opened like a flower.

Read more...

Babymoon

The truth is Dart and I have found this trip to be a wonderfully romantic time. This is an amazing way to grow our family. Each day we get to spend time with our daughter who somehow grows more and more beautiful each day. Each afternoon we find new things to explore together and enjoy as a couple. And, each evening we relax together, content in our good fortune. I keep teasing that this is our babymoon! Why not live life as a romantic adventure?

BTW Nina is awesome-big smiles, more giggles--just a normal, sweet, gorgeous little girl. We are so in love with her...each other...life!!!!

Read more...

Greetings from Tropical Ust-Kamenogorsk

Sorry to have been out of communicato for so long but it seems the Shiny River is having some problems with their server. Let’s catch up…
We filed our court documents on Monday and the following day we found out our court date would be November 26th. Nine long days!!!! We were especially bummed since it meant we would miss Nolan’s birthday. He was great though-we told him that for his birthday we were going to go to court to get him his sister. He thought that was the best (of course he would also like a PS3 but a sister is great too!)
So we will be flying home on Thanksgiving Day. In fact we should arrive around 4:30 Thursday afternoon, just in time for turkey! I CAN NOT WAIT. Of course I wish I could just take Nina home with us but that is not possible. After court there is a 15 day period when we could change our minds (not gonna happen) or the adoption could be appealed by the birth family or the state (pray that does not happen). After the 15 day waiting period there is about 12 days of paper work and legal processing. We don’t know exactly when Nina will come home but my gut tells me it will be after Christmas (her birthday) and mostly likely early January. We are in the home stretch though and as my sister so wisely pointed out in one of her comments…we will have a whole lifetime together.
In the seemingly never-ending flow of Adoption Ark families, yesterday we said goodbye to Anne, Fred and (the always entertaining)Tasha. They were a great family who adopted a beautiful brother /sister pair. It was nice getting to know them. We saw them mostly in the mornings at breakfast but it was comforting somehow to know there was another American family here. We were happy though that they we successful in court and able to go home. The day before another couple arrived to start their adoption; Wade and Jill are here meeting two gorgeous little boys. We’ve had a great couple of days getting to know them. They have been great company and have really helped us with our homesickness as we wait out the 9 days until court. Each of these families has been a Godsend to us.
Nina Bea is getting more and more fun. Today was a riot. We were walking in the halls of the baby house and met up with other kids in her group. When Nina saw them she pointed at them and said “mama, mama” then she (rather aggressively) ran over and shoved two of the kids who were coming towards me. Dart and I were shocked. I mean she likes me…she really likes me! Yesterday though was even better because for the first time Nina sat on Dart's lap. We’re kind of wondering now if she was afraid of his beard. Yesterday because of illness, all visiting parent had to wear surgical masks. Nina seemed fascinated with this and sat looking at Dart while putting ladybug stickers on his mask.

Read more...

Smiles and Giggles

What a great day. We started out by going to the Notary to sign documents-we don't ask, they don't tell, we just sign! There was a bit of a squabble between Alma our Coordinator and the Notary and apparently some of the documents were not processed but Alma assures us she will "take care of it". I trust her. I have to. Frankly she really seems to have this under control. We are constantly amazed at how Alma seems to know everyone. She is very competent always in control. I can not imagine being here with another Coordinator-this is Alma's baby house! Anyway the issue with the Notary did not prevent us from filing at the courthouse and we did that immediately following. (we are standing, fingers crossed, in front of the courthouse.) Tomorrow we should have our court date-PRAY FOR A COURT DATE BY THE 25TH...NOLAN'S BIRTHDAY IS NOV 26TH AND WE WOULD LOVE TO BE THERE!

After all the administrative stuff we went to the baby house to see Nina. I don't know what flip has switched but everyday is better than the last with her. Today Dart fed her a yogurt which she loved. She then started playing with me-I mean really playing. She let me swing her in the air and tickle her. She not only smiled but full out giggled. She's got the sweetest voice ,very soft, very girly.

Another positive sign we are making the grade with Nina...The other kids in the room greet us everyday by saying hello and running to hug us. We always hug back as they are too adorable to resist. Today Nina was not happy about any other child hugging me. She pushed them away from me and buried her head into my chest. My toddler DOESN'T share, and I couldn't be more pleased.

Read more...

End of Formal Bonding Period

Today was our last day of the required 14 day bonding period. We are going to the notary office at 9am and will file our petition to adopt with the court. Check another thing off the list. So many hoops and hurdles to adopt in Kazakhstan-this feels like a big one.

Our morning with Nina Bea was good. We are starting to see more and more personality(stubbornness :)!) and it is wonderful. Every time I see "normal" terrible two stuff I am thrilled- a little different than my last go round with a toddler-perspective I guess. I didn't realize with the boys how very lucky I was to have every minute with them.

This second chance at parenthood is a gift.

Today we asked to see where Nina sleeps. She shares her room with 15 other cuties. Poor Nina thought we were sending her to bed with no lunch though and she was not happy about it. Ohhhh, such drama!!!!!

Read more...

Nina BaNina Cheerio!!

We had another good visit this morning with our darling girl. Now that she is willing to take food from us, we have an easy way to connect with her. For such a tiny little munchkin, she can really pack in the Cheerios. She looks like a squirrel with her cheeks full of nuts. We have begun calling her Nina Ba-nina Cheeri-O, (hey Aunt Lisa remember Lisa pizza daddy-O?).

And, for the first time Nina was willing to walk over to Dart. Of course, it was because he had the snacks! She would walk over to him, snatch her prize and then run back into my arms for safety. It was very cute and Dart is so happy for any positive interaction. It is sweet listening to this hulk of a guy talk about, how soft her skin is and how tiny her fingers are. I know it is killing him that she will not yet let him hold her-soon she will learn he is just a big teddy bear-her big teddy bear.

Towards the end of our visit, Nina seemed tired and she was starting to get cranky. The doctor came in and told us she had a fever and her throat was red. They gave her some medicine though of course, they never say what, (it is hard not having any say so in the matter but that is how it is) and then it was time to say good-bye.

Tomorrow is the last day of our official bonding period. The following day (Monday) we will file for a court date and by Tuesday we will have a court appointment. We are planning to fly home the same day as court so we should know by Tuesday when we will be home. Our original plans called for a return on December 7th but it looks like it will be sooner. I’m glad. I really REALLY miss the boys.

Read more...

Snow on the Window

We had a small breakthrough with Nina today. First we found some Russian Sesame Street DVD's which we played on the computer. She liked that a lot. She still required me to hold her but her whole body felt relaxed into mine. Next Dart started blowing bubbles and to our surprse Nina actually tried to pop them. Then we showed her the snow outside the window-jack pot!!! We had a solid ten minutes of play, glorious, sublime play. No smile but we were getting close THEN.....a MAN comes into the room saying he needs a pasport photo for Nina. Welcome back crying and screaming. 10 minutes after that assault, they come back and take her for medicine, more screaming. Then the parade in and out by the the workers carring in the soup for lunch. Seriously where's Alan Funt?

Read more...

Day 10

OK, I am not a defeatist so I am not giving up here but man we are not making progress.

Nina still cries or is on the verge of tears the entire time we are with her. Ironically all the other kids in her group love us. Seriously they do :) I know I can count on encouragement from my loyal blog followers but has anyone had a similar experience? Did anyone not have "the break through" until after you were home? or never??

The caregivers are telling me to let her cry it out. They are telling me to stop comforting her. I don't think that is the right way to go. If you ask me, I think she has had way too much of crying it out.

Advice anyone?

Signed,

Desperate in Kazakhstan

Read more...

Russian Red Riding Hood

Russian Red Riding Hood went for a stroll, her face surrounded in fur.
Bundled by Mama she stayed quite warm, despite the Kazakhstan burrrrr.
Along came a puppy frisky and free, thinking he saw a friend.
He jumped up to greet him is the usual way, by nipping him on his end.
But his friend did not return his playful affection, it's not as if he could.
His friend was not a friend at all, he was Miss Nina’s hood.

Read more...

It has gotten really cold here in the last couple of days. It is hard to imagine it getting much colder but I am promised it will. This afternoon we had lunch in the sports bar here at the Shiny River. We watched last weekend's LSU Alabama football game while we ate. Later we went to a minor league hockey game at the Palace of Sport just a short walk up the road. Dart of course was in his happy place. I am sure he felt right at home. Right now we are reading, checking emails and enjoying a pot of tea and Russian cookies. We are not exactly roughing it.

More importantly though our visits with Nina are improving. I think we have crossed the midway point, in that she cries less than half the time we are there :) We brought her a new toy, a snail that plays music and lights up in bright primary colors. She and all the children in her room loved it. The Caregivers did not. Who can blame them-toys that make noise are always sort of a love hate thing for adults aren't they?

The highlight of our visit today was when Nina interacted with another boy in her group. He found a little blue rabbit that she is apparently fond of. Nina lit up a huge smile. It is the first real smile I've seen. My God she is beautiful. I can't wait until she actually smiles at me but for now I am happy to know she can smile!

BTW: we have to take pictures everyday to prove to the court that we visited with Nina. Since Nina is still afraid of Dart this is our family pose in most every photo. I'm starting to feel like Wilson from Home Improvement.

Read more...

Feeling at Home

We had a great day walking the city. We visited another open air market and the "mall". Dinner tonight was Kazakh Beef (whatever that is) and beer at Pizza Blues. Right now Dart is washing socks and underwear in the sink....ahhhh the high life. We are staring to feel right at home here in Ust-Kamenogorsk.

Read more...

Week One and Still Having Fun

Today marks the end of our first week of bonding. Nina remains very much afraid of Dart and cries and buries her face into my shoulder for most of the time we are together. The bubbles have been a success so we will keep using them. I am going to try to find baloons today. Also we learned today that Nina really likes music. Our translator, Armand played some russian kiddy music on his cell phone (The Three Frogs I think) and Nina stopped crying and listened. She seemed very relaxed. So in addition to balloons we will try to find lots of CD's. We are going to bring a laptop with us tomorrow to play them.



Our days have settled into a nice routine. Every morning we Skype the boys and talk and blow kisses. Gramma and Grampa are doing a great job and we are so grateful to have them near us. I am not sure how this would have been possible without them. After our call, we go down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. The breakfast buffet offers nearly the same selections each day including; cooked to order eggs, meats, cheeses, fruit, breads and pastries, potatoes sausage, yogurt , tea, instant coffee and fresh jucies. Really pretty good fare. By the time we finish breakfast it is usually 9:30am and time to go to the Baby House.



Our driver and translator pick us up each morning and bring us to see Nina. The visit lasts 90 minutes and by11:30am it is time to leave. After our visit we either go to a little coffee shop/deli called Kophos (pronouced something like Kro-nos) or back to the hotel for a pot of tea and some reading in the hotel lobby bar, (thats were we are now).



In the afternoons we tend to walk and explore, shop and scout out our next restaurant for dinner that night. All and all it has been a pleasant stay. Not at all the hardship I thought it might be. I know we have 2 more weeks to go and it might not feel quite so nice then , but for now it is nice to be focused on Nina and to immerse ourselves without distraction in her birthplace. Years from now I want to be able to descibe to her, this place and this time in rich and colorful detail.

Read more...

B is for bubbles

Nina Bea likes bubbles! Now I am not saying she skipped and danced around the room but hey she didn't scream. We'll take that for now. Everyday a step closer to winning over this little munchkin. By the way is she gorgeous or what.

Read more...

Bonding Day 4;tears and more tears

I am so excited to have internet, lot’s to catch up on…

Bonding with Nina…
Today was the fourth day of bonding with Nina. It is not going well but I’m not so sure that it unusual. She is understandably terrified of us. Today Dart held her for the first time-she was not happy about it! In many ways, I think this is healthy and suggests she has made good attachments in her short little life and therefore is capable of attaching to us. We need to earn her trust and then her love. I have learned a few Russian phrases, most especially I say “don’t cry” in Russian. (I would recommend learning some words of comfort before coming. You can point and motion in the restaurants and shops but a screaming toddler needs to hear comforting words in her own language.) For now we rock, sing, soothe, and wipe many tears. At times she is inconsolable, crying hard, arching her back and just to escape us. It is so incredible sad and hard. I know this time will pass but I may have been naïvely optimistic about the reality of how a toddler would react to two perfect strangers. It does not change my bonding with her though. Today as she cried, I was kissing her face and thinking she is perfect, tears and all.
Yesterday we did some baby shopping. The clothing can be very expensive here but some things are nicer than we can get at home (tights and shoes in particular). We got her a coat and warm hat and boots, shoes and sneakers. The sneakers she has are two right shoes (some little one must be wearing two left). She does not complain-it makes me sad. Her little red “indoor shoes” are well worn, the Velcro closure no longer sticks and the inside sole is missing. On the edge of the sole is her name written in Cyrillic, written over the faded name of another child. We arranged a trade: one new pair of shoes or the orphanage in exchange for the old red shoes, this is Nina’s hospital bracelet of sorts, tangible evidence of her life in the orphanage. At twenty-two months I doubt she will have many memories here (truly I hope she does not) but some day we will talk about the baby house and the beautiful daughter we met there.

Life, food and shopping in Ust-Kamenogorsk…

We are living at the Shiny River hotel which is most certainly the nicest place in the city. It is listed as a 5 star property but I promise it is not. Not that it is terrible but if you come, it is better to have realistic expectations. The rooms are adequate, clean and well serviced. Again for those coming there is: no iron, a hairdryer that is ok to dry but not style (not that I care much), a small refrigerator, bathrobes. There is a restaurant, lobby bar and sports bar in the hotel. The restaurant is good for breakfast that is included with the room. Show your key, find a table and help yourself. You will find something you like, maybe not what you usually eat but you will not starve I promise. They have instant coffee too if you need a fix.
Each day after breakfast, we go to the baby house to visit with Nina for 90 minutes. There is only one visit each day. I’ve heard two stories why it is just one visit; that it is cold/flu season and that there are too many families visiting. It does not matter that is what we get. We have fallen into a routine of having the driver drop us off at Kronos a coffee/deli shop about a 10-minute walk from the hotel. Several other adopting families meet us there and we have cappuccinos and pastries and some lunch. The food is excellent and the coffee as good as any in the US.
Ust-Kam is a small city of about 300,000 people. We have felt entirely safe and made are way around despite the language barrier quite easily. We can walk everywhere and we do. Maybe its because Dart is such a big guy but we have not hesitated to explore. We still have lots of time to see more and I will post as we do but I really want anyone looking to adopt in Ust-Kam to know we are NOT roughing it by any stretch of the imagination. If you are stressing about bringing food or “survival gear” you can relax. The only thing that is tough is that the internet is really really inconsistent.

MESSAGE TO THE BOYS
Guys I miss you so much. The videos you have been sending are so funny and I play them every day just to see you all being so silly. Thank you so much for doing your part to get Nina home. You are going to love her and I know she will love you.
Roly- poly- Noly- I love you, I love you more, I love you the most! Mommy

Read more...

Hi All, this is the first time since we've arrived that internet has worked. We are heading out in a few minutes for our 4 visit with Nina. She is still very scared, mostly of Dart since she hasn't seen very many men, but it is getting better. I don't have time but will try to write more later.

This is our usual reaction when Dart gets close to Nina Bea...

Read more...

From Kaz with Love



In Our Arms...November 3, 2008

Forgive the long post, so much has happened, we are forever changed.


This is my “birth story” for Nina….


We are here and well. All tolled it took 36 hours to get here and we ‘lost” another half day with the time change, but we are here.

We arrived in Almaty just after midnight and passed through customs fairly easily. The airport in Almaty is relatively small but not overly friendly to this ignorant non Russian speaking American. No problem just stay calm, smile and nod and we figure it out. Once we retrieved our bags we went out to the airport arrivals area and were immediately surrounded by about 50 or so people asking if we wanted a taxi. We did not since our driver Nicolai was there holding a sign that read“PRINTY”. Yup that’s us. Full of naive trust, blind faith and a whole lot of jet lag, we got into his van. He then drove us in the dark of night to a small hotel about 20 minutes away. Described as “simple with uncomfortable beds but affordable” it did the trick. Think the Almaty Hampton Inn complete with breakfast buffet in the morning and you get the idea.

We returned to the Almaty airport at 10:30am for our flight to Ust-Kamenogorsk. Once again we had a little confusion as we navigated the baggage check in process and figured out how to pay the extra charges for our overweight baggage –in Tenge (which we had none). Just another situation where even the tiniest little bit of Russian would have spared me from feeling like a complete idiot. Oh well viva la ugly American. Idiot or not we did make it.

Dart said the Ust-Kameogorsk airport was something straight out of a cold war spy novel, I had to agree. No jet way here: we walked down the stairs, across the tarmac to a fenced in area outside (mind you it was about 30 degrees) and waited for our luggage to be dropped off via dump truck, thank you very much. We were delighted though that in the outdoor baggage claim was our coordinator, Alma along with a driver Arman. As we collected our bags (which all made it unscathed) Alma said we could go to the baby house immediately. My heart started racing with excitement and I had that weird feeling of anticipation in my stomach.  

We are meeting her today.


The driver takes us first to the hotel where we literally dump the bags in our hotel room and go right back to the car and to the baby house. We get there but no Alma. We wait in the car, literally I am staring at the blue and white building that houses (to me it now feels like imprisons) my daughter. LET”S GO!!! Then a call from Alma. There is a problem. The “inspectors” are at the baby house. We must wait. The driver is instructed to take us to Pizza Blues a restaurant around the corner and wait. We do wait, eating and making small talk and pretending to be calm. Then nearly 2 hours later Alma calls. "Come now, hurry" is her command. We practically run.

In less than 5 minutes we are back to the baby house following Alma who is moving so quickly I am afraid I might lose her in the baby house halls. The whole place smells like cabbage, I think it is dinner time. It is dark and all the lights are not working. We come to the director’s office and are told to sit, they will bring her. A few minutes go by and Alma is now saying something to the orphanage director and social worker. It sounds angry to me but the truth is pretty much all Russian sounds a bit angry. I am sure there is a problem. Dart takes my hand and tells me to calm down, its OK, she’s here he reassures and a moment later she is .

No pomp and circumstance, not at all like I imagined it a thousand times over the past year. Instead a nanny just brought her in and matter-of-factly sat her down on a chair.

So now the good part... Nina, Ni-nee-shka as she is called here, dressed for show in a yellow dress and tights sat on that huge chair as still as can be. She was clearly scared but did not dare (it seemed) to cry or whimper she just pouted her little lip and darted her eyes around the room. There were 4 people from the orphanage along with Alma in the room with us. One of them tells Dart to sit down- away from Nina-she hasn’t seen a lot of men - she is afraid of them. Then the same person tells me (translated by Alma) to pick her up.

My God she is small: about 15 pounds, I 'm guessing the size of the boys at 12 months. But oh she is beautiful-the pictures don’t do her justice-really. At this point I am quietly crying and cradling this amazing child. I feel conspicuous that I am being watched but still the tears roll down my face. I rock with her, call her name softly, cry. It is all surreal.

We are told Nina’s birthday is  “twenty five December”. “You mean she was born on Christmas day?” we asked. One of them goes out to get a calendar, “Dah twenty five December...Christmas.”

After ten minutes or so, we must have gotten the thumbs up from the social worker because we are told we can take her upstairs to “bond”. We then spend the next 30 minute rocking, holding and kissing her. Nina is still very unsure but hugs me around the neck and when Dart tries to hold her she lunges into my chest. She seem to love cuddling together. I know I do. And then much too quickly we are told in a breath; "time to go, come back tomorrow and bring pampers".

Read more...

Operation Nina Banina is Underway

With all the Halloween trick or treating and packing we didn't get to bed until after 2am. It made our 6am wake up call seem especially brutal, but maybe we'll sleep on the plane. (To all my PAP friends all I can say is start getting ready now-after all the waiting when the time finally came all I could think was "I'm not ready!!!!)

So we packed the bags in the van and went to breakfast with the boys who then dropped us at the airport. Nolan was the most upset just as I expected but he didn't cry just a little teary eyed and lots of "I love you" and "I'll miss you" and "can you get me a sword?":) Aidan and Kiefer were their usual Joe Cool selves but we did get hugs/I love you from them too. They make me feel like a good mother. Really they are just great boys-I got lucky. I am missing them already.

Right now we are sitting at the airport in Cleveland waiting for our flight to board. We are really early because I actually had a last minute meeting here at the airport for work. Right to the end man, right to the end.

So you know I am wearing a huge pink ribbon pinned to my shirt that says "It's a Girl". I have told every ticket agent, TSA officer, baggage handler and bartender that we are going to meet our daughter. I am also showing them (ok forcing them to look at) Nina Bea's picture. Dart just laughs at me. We are both beaming.

Read more...