Kids Say the Darndest Things

I know you are expecting something darling from one of my preschoolers

 but this time it's a quote from my oldest

One that captured my thoughts and heart exactly

We were in a room full of orphanage officials and I was trying to explain the goals of advocacy and why we need to describe the children beyond the standard "shared list" descriptions that are limited to name, birthday and special need

When my beautiful, compassionate son said (it all)...

"we need to share their (the kids) hopes and dreams so prospective parents can start hoping and dreaming for them."

My big-hearted son making fast friends with a bubbly little boy in China. Two and half year old Daniel needs a family. If you want this smile in your life please email me today to learn more about adopting Daniel.

 

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Adopt Kazakhstan: Nina Beatrice

The Bee

Born December 25, 2006

Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan

  Meetcha November 3, 2008

Home Forever January 7, 2009

Our Adoption Time Line

12/18/2007...Home Study Update Visit for Kazakhstan.

12/20/2007...Filed I-824, to change from China to Kaz.

1/2/2008...Sign Agency Agreement with Adoption ARK. another paper chase begins!

1/10/2008...Fingerprints sent for FBI clearance.

1/11/2008...New I-171H received. (Change of country

1/23/2008...FBI clearance received.

2/2/2008...Home Study Update received.

2/5/2008...Dossier to Adoption ARK

2/7/2008...AA informs us that we need additional copies

2/12/2008...recv returned dossier from AA

2/13/2008...Corrected Submission to Adoption ARK

2/14/2008...AA reveives dossier for 2nd time.

2/15/2008...Dossier is sent for Translation

3/3/2008...Translation is complete and dossier is now sent for review by AA attorney (this is a new step in the process following a suspension in the DC Embassy)

3/24/2008...AA Attorney requested additional changes to dossier, including a minor change on our homestudy.

4/1/2008...Sent additional information/changes for dossier via overnight mail.

5/1/2008...Dossier sent to the Kazakhstan Embassy in Washington, DC

5/23/2008...Dossier Approved by the Embassy.

5/27/2008...Dossier to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (this week).

6/19/2008...Dossier to the Ministry of Education.

7/16/2008...Assigned to Ust-Kamenogorsk region

10/9/2008...The Call!! Agency notifies us there is a healthy 21 mo old girl who needs a family! To which we respond YES, YES, YES!

10/13/2008...LOI Recieved

11/1/2008...1st trip

11/3/2008...Meet The Bee! (first bonding day)

11/26/2008...Court

11/27/2008...Home (first trip total 27 days)

12/12/2008...Adoption Decree issued

12/21/2008...2nd trip

12/23/2008...Gotcha!!!!!!!

1/7/2009...Home Forever (second trip total 17 days)

Our Kazakhstan Adoption Agency

Adoption Ark 

830 S. Buffalo Grove Road #103
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
T. (847) 215-2755
F. (847) 215-2757

Photos From Our 1st Trip to Kazakhstan

Photos From Our 2nd Trip to Kazakhstan

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Nina's Big Bash

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

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Welcome Home

Jet lag, colds and new baby have gotten the best of us. We are all pretty beat. The trip home was excruciating and none of us is sleeping through the night yet. I feel like we are some sort of weirdo suburban vampire family up all hours of the night. Our body clocks are so messed up right now, we need to find and hit the reset button.

THE TRIP HOME...
Our trip home was tough but not for the reason I expected. I was all set to deal with a screaming baby on a plane but Nina was much better than I could have hoped. In about 30 hours of travel, she difficult for only 3 hours total. Mercifully, she slept most of the time. What was difficult was the airlines. It started with a 2.5 hours delay getting out of Almaty. We ended up waiting in the International Departure Lounge for nearly 5 hours. Don’t let the word “international” fool you, this is just one big room with a few duty free shops (inexplicably closed an hour after we arrived), a bar and a smoking lounge. We tried to find something for Nina and the kids to eat but were told the yogurt was “not fresh”, there was no milk, no juice, no food. They did have beer, vodka and candy. Breakfast of champions. So we raided our supply of cheerios, chewy bars and juices. By the time we boarded we were already 7 hours into our trip home.

On board things didn’t get much better. Let me just say here I will never, EVER fly with KLM or Northwest again. We were not offered a bulkhead/bassinet seat, which was my first disappointment, but I could deal with that. We bought Nina her own seat so she would have some space to sleep. The real problem was that although we purchased a child seat, provide her age (24 months) and requested a child’s meal we did not get it. Even worse when I told the flight attendant that I would just take a regular meal I was told she had to make sure all the adults on the plane had a meal first and IF she had extra Nina could have one. Yup that’s right but hang on it gets even more obnoxious.

Eventually KLM was able to spare an extra adult meal for Nina and we did the best we could feeding her a yogurt and some fruit and supplementing with yet more cheerios. By the time we arrived in Amsterdam we were 3 hours behind schedule. Luckily, we did not miss our flight but our plans to buy food for Nina at the airport were shot. By this time I am out of juice, milk and she has eaten about a pound of cheerios. I hope for the best. No such luck. Our next flight was KLM’s partner Northwest. The plane, a 757, was shockingly small for a transatlantic flight. Again, we started poorly; our seats were all over the plane. Nina and Nolan whose tickets were booked as children aged 2 and 9 were each seated by themselves about 10 and 12 rows behind us. Since we were so late to board, there was no way to change so we moved the bigger kids to the rear seats. Once we got going I asked again for a child’s meal. There was none. OK been there done that. Then I asked for a cup of milk and this was the piece de resistance, I was informed that the milk brought on board was for coffee and there was none to spare for our baby. I must have just stared at the flight attendant; I mean are you kidding me? Another passenger heard the whole thing and started insisting that they find milk. One half hour later I was, begrudgingly, issued my one cup and told that was it. Add to this the fact that the lavatories on the plane were all out of order by the time we landed, and the entertainment system stopped working about an hour into the flight and you get the idea-Northwest sucks.
I could have kissed the ground when we arrived in Detroit, not only because we were freed by Northwest or that I was close enough to smell the McDonald's fries but my baby was finally in the US and about to become our nation’s newest (and cutest) citizen. The Immigration process was very simple and completely lacking in ceremony, except of course for Kiefer crooning in his best Borat impression, “Velcome to Amerrrrica”! The rest of the trip home was uneventful. We had one more weather related delay and finally walked thru our front door a little after 10pm. The whole trip door to door was 28 hours.

Now the good, albeit mundane, stuff….

Nina is doing great. She slept in her crib the first night we were home; she is great about naps and bedtime. Also she is eating more varied food every day. (At the baby house when I asked what she ate, I was told “everything”, but apparently, “everything” means soup.) We have tried to introduce new foods each day. If she doesn’t like it at first, it very possible she will devourer it the next day. She is a kid that does not like new or change. I am chalking it up to institutional life, but I am pleased that we can see progress almost by the hour. Today she ate, scrambled eggs, turkey, Munster cheese, bread with cherry preserves, cantaloupe, grapes and a strawberry.

The day after we got home, we scrambled to baby proof the house. We have put up gates and outlet covers, cabinet and toilet locks. Nina took the ride to Babies R Us to get all the gear and absolutely loved riding in her car seat. The cashier at the store said my baby looked just like me…well yes of course she does:)

Our first night Dart’s parents had cakes for Kiefer’s birthday and Nina’s arrival, the next night they made us a prime rib dinner and today they brought a great pot of beef stew. God bless these wonderful Grandparents.

So far Nina likes to; play the piano, pretend to be chased by the dog, cook in her kitchen and run laps around the house. I am stunned at what a happy, healthy, curious and completely normal baby she is. Her vocabulary has exploded; she repeats everything and even has 2-3 word sentences. She understands even more. Just now she was dancing to the theme song from Drake and Josh.

We now gladly leave behind the angst and drama of “adopting” and move into the gloriously mundane days of parenting.

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Home Sweet Home

We are home and exhausted except for the Bean who slept a huge part of the past 30 hours. Nina is now busy showing us all the places and things we need to baby proof. Details later, after this brief hibernation....

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Dasvidania

This is my last post from Kazakhstan. I can’t say I am sad to leave. I miss home. I miss my family and friends. I miss English, driving my own car, and diet Pepsi. I am sick of smog, restaurants, and hotels. I will not put Kazakhstan on my list of places to which I must return. Nevertheless, I will always be grateful to this country and the people we have met along the way. After all, I am leaving Kazakhstan with the most wonderful little souvenir ever!

Best Souvenir Ever

Today marked the final step in the international portion of our adoption journey. We went to the US Embassy here in Almaty and obtained the final paperwork and approvals to bring Nina home. The appointment itself was once again lacking in any pomp and circumstance. No fireworks, champagne corks or releasing of doves but we did get Nina’s Kazakhstan passport complete with US Immigrant Visa and a sealed brown envelope which we have been told to deliver to US Immigration unopened. That’s it we are done.

Our little Immigrant

Tomorrow morning Nickoli will pick us up at our hotel at 5:30 in the morning for our 8:20am flight. We are again going through Amsterdam and then Detroit before arriving in Cleveland at 8:35pm on January 7th. We don’t have very long layovers at any one place which is both good and bad. The whole trip is only about 24 hours (I know “only”) but if we have any delays well that will not be good. (Think good thoughts!) The 7th is also Kiefer’s 18th birthday and with all the travel it looks like his 18th will last 36 hours-that’s pretty cool. It’s funny even the prospect of 24 hours of plane travel with a very active 2 year old sounds appealing when home is the destination.

I love my Daddy

I keep thinking, “what a long strange trip it has been”. To be certain adoption is not for the faint of heart (nor is adopting a 2 year old who has spent most of her short life in institutional care). So many times in this process, I was despondent, certain “she” would never come. Sometimes I muscled thru my sadness on pure stubbornness, determined not to let the “process” beat me. Mostly though I just couldn’t bear the thought of not having a daughter and therefore endured whatever pain, lack of control and disappointment that came my way. This has been the single most exhausting test of my patience and emotional fortitude. I am much stronger than I knew. Kazakhstan Car Seat

Now nearly on the other side I am like all new mothers, suffering from blissful postpartum amnesia. I catch myself saying all those things that used to sound so cliche, like; “she was worth the wait”, and “she is the child for me”, and “I would do it all over again” and of course, it is all true. I once was certain my daughter was in China, and perhaps a second daughter is there for me, but today I know the delays in the China program and the seeming host of setbacks were part of the incredible set of circumstances that led me to this daughter, one I was destined to mother…My Nina Bea.

This will look great in my room

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SOS International Clinic

We had our medical appointment today. Boy was that a big nothing. Honestly I am not sure what the point of this is other than being yet another "don't ask why international adoption hoop" we must jump thru. The exam consisted of weight with her shoes and snow pants on and on an adult scale, height again shoes on and still the nurse added 2 cm, pulse ox, listen to heart and lungs and look in ears, nose and throat (barely). Then we paid our $125 bucks and were told our paperwork would be ready by the end of the day. Silly, but still another minor milestone in our adoption adventure.

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Room with a View

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InterContinental Life

I didn't hear much about the InterContinental also known as the Ankara on the kaz boards but it turns out to be a very nice although expensive place to stay. The breakfast buffet this morning was amazing. I can't think of anything that was NOT there. There was a Japanese breakfast section with rice, bean spouts, tofu and sashimi. There was 12 feet of pastries laid out, an espresso bar, fresh squeezed juice, cooked to order eggs, caviar, 10 different meats and cheeses, all sorts of fruits, berries, nuts and cereals. Plus the usual American style breakfast foods like pancakes, french toast, bacon etc. Awesome, and all that for only $200 for the 6 of us (and I think Nina was free). Forget cereal and yogurt, tomorrow morning we are having the caviar, salmon and truffles special!

The hotel does have a pool and spa which is a huge bonus. Outside it is grey and snowy and the pool is just what we need for the kids. So we took Nina this morning for her first swim and she absolutely loved it. It is hard to believe she was afraid to take a bath just a week ago. Right now Nina is napping after her hard morning of playing in the water and I did get an appointment for a massage for this afternoon. So we are hunkering down and relaxing before the big trip home. I do think we will venture out tonight for dinner and maybe some ice skating. It is a good day.

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We are in Almaty

Fun with a napkin...

We arrived safe and sound in Almaty around 5pm. Nina's first plane trip was only slightly traumatic. It was all fun and games on the plane while we waited to take off but man oh man when the engines turned on and we took off Nina was absolutely terrified. She quickly calmed down and then went to sleep for the rest of the flight. I am so glad we had the extra time in Ust with her. I think I was much better equipped to comfort her because of it.

Leaving Ust was surprisingly emotional. Kiefer made some friends while we were in Ust and they came to the airport to send him off which I thought was really cool. Nolan, who is always sad anytime we leave anywhere, gave his heartfelt goodbyes to Arman, Aidan has been ready to go home since we got here. As I walked across the tarmac to board our plane, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the enormity of the situation. My throat tightened and my eyes welled with tears. I squeezed and kissed Nina, my god we are actually taking her home, it was almost too good to believe.

Baby Babushka

In Almaty we went to the InterContinental Hotel. It is pretty nice and really nice compared to the Shiny River. The boys acted like we just arrived in Shangra la. We had dinner which was really (I mean really) good and then crashed. The boys have their own room so Dart and I had a peaceful evening watching Nina dismantle a new hotel room.

Arrrgh, now she's a pirate

I can tell Nina is feeling the stress of all these changes but all things considered she is doing great. Our new words yesterday were; hello, bye bye (with a wave), and bird (tweet, tweet). We are here until Wednesday. Sunday is a free day when we can explore, not sure yet what to do. We might just skip the "cultural stuff" and swim at the pool. I know pathetic, but there is a spa here and mommy could really use a hot stone massage. Monday is Nina's medical visit and then we have an Embassy appointment on Tuesday. Almost done.

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Last Night in Ust

This is our last night in Ust-Kamenogorsk; we leave for Almaty tomorrow afternoon. We thought we were meeting in the lobby with two other couples adopting at the baby house for a bon voyage drink but things quickly spiraled out of control. The employees here at the Shiny River were having their New Year’s party and I guess since we have all been here so long they decided to include us in the festivities. It started with a bottle of vodka brought to us by one of the partying security guards and ended up with music, dancing and some weird potato thing on a string game, (which Dart won!) We can still here the music pumping away but I think we left just in time. A rather large blond woman looked like she had Dart in her sights. A few more swings of the potato and we might not have been able to hold her back.

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Nina say "butt"

We almost can't believe it, Nina is repeating everything she hears. She is a sponge for language. I am not sure what to think since we were told that she has a developmental delay in language. According to the babyhouse director that she understands everything but speaks very few words. I am begining to wonder if maybe the problem was noone spoke to her because she has picked up so many english words and phrases in just the last couple of days it is hard to keep up. So far this is what she is saying;

Daddy, big bus (with arms open wide), car (followed by vrooom vrooom), all done, all gone, poopie, bye bye, book, more and uht-oh . Also we get "uh ah" with a shake of the head for no (a lot) :).

Of course now that she is a bonified parrot, the boys have made it their full time job to teach her to say "butt", ha ha ha-very funny boys.

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"All done."

First Tubby (without screams)

Taking it all in at the Pizza Blues play area

Full out giggle fest

America's Next Top Model

Slides are fun when Mommy helps

Happy New Year! It was a party in Kazakhstan last night. Fireworks, music, dancing and Father Frost even came while we were asleep. Kiefer went out with our translator Arman last night and he still isn't back. I would worry if he was with anyone else but I know he is just having a good time (or recovering from one). I am very happy to have 2008 behind us and grateful to finally have a year of enjoying my daughter rather than waiting for her.

Nina is starting to speak in english! We have had an explosion of babble, words in Russian (I think) and now english. This morning at the end of breakfast Nina put up both hands and said "all done". Unreal, I can hardly say hello in Russian. Any worries I once had have faded away. It is both heartwarming and sad to think how much progress these little toddlers can make when they have a real family.

Lots more pics I want to share. Enjoy.

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