Monday, January 10, 2011
A Short Update
Today was a day of logistics. We found that April will be able to return to the US on Wednesday, as scheduled (yay!). We also got papers signed at the US consulate so that Rob will be able to do all the paperwork in April's absence. Tomorrow we're off to the notary to get power of attorney (or, as Rob sometimes slips up and calls it, "power of eternity"). Current projections for Rob and Cosi's triumphant arrival in the US: late night January 29th...
Cosi and the Tickle Monster
Just a little girl getting tickled...
She later repeated almost the whole sentence: "I'm gonna tickle tickle tickle you!" And they say she doesn't know how to talk :)
She later repeated almost the whole sentence: "I'm gonna tickle tickle tickle you!" And they say she doesn't know how to talk :)
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Cosi and the Remote Control
As you watched the juice box video, you may have been wondering, "What is Cosi holding in her hand?"
She found a TV remote control in the orphanage bedroom and, well, it seems she has other ideas for how to use it...
She found a TV remote control in the orphanage bedroom and, well, it seems she has other ideas for how to use it...
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Cosi vs The Juice Box
I realize we may be wandering into the realm of "videos that parents find cute but everyone else politely tolerates," but here's a compilation video of us trying to teach Cosi how to use a straw, because nothing says "American toddler" like a squeezable juice box with a straw. It was April's idea to bring Cosi a juice box, but it didn't turn out to be as easy to use as we thought it would be....I guess juice boxes are scarier than we thought...And Cosi only uses a cup for drinking (a cup which usually ends up on the floor or across the room before she's done!). By the way, the juice box videos were taken over the course of 2 hours.
And for you Cosi addicts, over the next few days we'll feed your need by posting a short video of Cosi each day.
And for you Cosi addicts, over the next few days we'll feed your need by posting a short video of Cosi each day.
Our Court Appearance- The Long Version
As you can see, this really is the long version, but we know that some of you are interested in hearing the whole story, and some of you are just saying, "Less talk! More videos and pictures!" To the later group, we'll have some fresh videos up soon, including- "Cosi versus the juice box."
Our train arrived at 8:50am. The ever faithful and well-paid Pasha was waiting on the platform to pick us up. But, even if he hadn't been, we were asked about 10 times by 10 different men, "taxi?" But we like Pasha, so we were happy to see his smiling face and his reliable car.
We arrived at the courthouse at 9:20 on the dot, only to wait an hour for our hearing. We were told to expect the hearing to last about 15-20 minutes.
At 10:20am, we entered the courtroom with a small crowd of unidentified people. We later found out that group contained the Inspector (like a social worker), a representative of the orphanage, a secretary, a prosecutor (wait...why is there a prosecutor? This should have been our first clue that this was not a friendly chat with the judge), and two people who were paid to be witnesses (their role is still unclear to us). We sat with our facilitator on a long wooden bench, next to some potted plants.
Within a few minutes, the judge entered the room and everyone stood. The judge was a woman, which was surprising since all the other big players were men. She was wearing a pink dress and a very interesting black hat. The hat was big, a little lacey and had a large bow on the side. We couldn't stop looking at it.
The proceedings were all in Ukrainian. We were given partial translation by our facilitator. Essentially, she told us stuff every now and then when she thought it was important. Things like "stand up, no not both of you, just Rob." (which was just as well, because as April stood, she knocked one of the plants off the bench and it landed face down, so she needed to discretely re-pot the plant while attention was on Rob.) Anyhow, then we'd get questions like, "Where do you live?" or "Are you a criminal?" or "Do you have a problem with alcohol or drug abuse?" Really? Does anyone answer "Yes" at that point? "Gee, your honor, now that you mention it..."
The funniest point was when our facilitator mistranslated a question for Rob. The question was supposed to be, "what are you using for identification?" and the answer would be "a US Passport." Instead, she asked "how would you document your personality?" Rob fumbled a bit and started talking about how he likes to read, before our translator re-phrased her question.
We thought things were going well, but after that the judge started flipping through our giant dossier (maybe 150 pages long) and making comments about every page. [Side note- the state department of adoption confirmed that we have the thickest dossier in their history.] We didn't know what she was saying. The only thing our facilitator said was, "the judge is not happy." And - just like that, we were totally nervous.
After about a half hour of who knows what, the judge announced a 5 minute break, which turned into a one hour break. The prosecutor had a problem with one detail of our adoption request, and they needed an hour to "resolve" the issue.
However, after the break, we were ushered back into the courtroom and told "Congratulations, you are parents!"
So that afternoon, we were able to visit Cosi again. She seemed to remember us, which was good, and she still seemed to prefer going to April over Rob. However, at one point, when April was holding her and Rob picked up another one of the little kids in the orphanage, Cosi had (what we believe to be) a jealous look in her big brown eyes. We don't think she liked Rob holding another kid.
Yay! Another step completed. But there is still the chance that a new objection will be filed in the next 10 days. Our adoption will be really really official on the 17th.
Our train arrived at 8:50am. The ever faithful and well-paid Pasha was waiting on the platform to pick us up. But, even if he hadn't been, we were asked about 10 times by 10 different men, "taxi?" But we like Pasha, so we were happy to see his smiling face and his reliable car.
We arrived at the courthouse at 9:20 on the dot, only to wait an hour for our hearing. We were told to expect the hearing to last about 15-20 minutes.
At 10:20am, we entered the courtroom with a small crowd of unidentified people. We later found out that group contained the Inspector (like a social worker), a representative of the orphanage, a secretary, a prosecutor (wait...why is there a prosecutor? This should have been our first clue that this was not a friendly chat with the judge), and two people who were paid to be witnesses (their role is still unclear to us). We sat with our facilitator on a long wooden bench, next to some potted plants.
Within a few minutes, the judge entered the room and everyone stood. The judge was a woman, which was surprising since all the other big players were men. She was wearing a pink dress and a very interesting black hat. The hat was big, a little lacey and had a large bow on the side. We couldn't stop looking at it.
The proceedings were all in Ukrainian. We were given partial translation by our facilitator. Essentially, she told us stuff every now and then when she thought it was important. Things like "stand up, no not both of you, just Rob." (which was just as well, because as April stood, she knocked one of the plants off the bench and it landed face down, so she needed to discretely re-pot the plant while attention was on Rob.) Anyhow, then we'd get questions like, "Where do you live?" or "Are you a criminal?" or "Do you have a problem with alcohol or drug abuse?" Really? Does anyone answer "Yes" at that point? "Gee, your honor, now that you mention it..."
The funniest point was when our facilitator mistranslated a question for Rob. The question was supposed to be, "what are you using for identification?" and the answer would be "a US Passport." Instead, she asked "how would you document your personality?" Rob fumbled a bit and started talking about how he likes to read, before our translator re-phrased her question.
We thought things were going well, but after that the judge started flipping through our giant dossier (maybe 150 pages long) and making comments about every page. [Side note- the state department of adoption confirmed that we have the thickest dossier in their history.] We didn't know what she was saying. The only thing our facilitator said was, "the judge is not happy." And - just like that, we were totally nervous.
After about a half hour of who knows what, the judge announced a 5 minute break, which turned into a one hour break. The prosecutor had a problem with one detail of our adoption request, and they needed an hour to "resolve" the issue.
However, after the break, we were ushered back into the courtroom and told "Congratulations, you are parents!"
So that afternoon, we were able to visit Cosi again. She seemed to remember us, which was good, and she still seemed to prefer going to April over Rob. However, at one point, when April was holding her and Rob picked up another one of the little kids in the orphanage, Cosi had (what we believe to be) a jealous look in her big brown eyes. We don't think she liked Rob holding another kid.
Yay! Another step completed. But there is still the chance that a new objection will be filed in the next 10 days. Our adoption will be really really official on the 17th.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Pasha- The Guy Who Gets Things Done
Whenever you do business in another country, you need a guy who gets things done. This is the guy who knows people in town, who knows where to go and what to do, and who makes miracles happen. It's their job to do this, and we pay them well. We know a guy like this in East Asia, we've heard of guys like this in other countries, and in Svalyava, we have Pasha.
Pasha's wife works in the orphanage, which is how we were connected to him. He was sent to pick us up at the train station during our first visit, and he invited us to stay with his family (for a price, of course). While we were there, Pasha was not only our driver, he was also the guy who told us where to find the right offices and who to talk to in those offices. If Pasha called ahead, we were always greeted with a smile. While we were gone, Pasha was the guy running around getting paperwork in the right hands, picking documents up from the train for us, and overall making things run as smoothly as possible.
You can't walk from the Pasha's car to a building without him stopping to greet a few people. Pasha is a man who knows people. During the one hour recess of our court hearing, Pasha was right there, making sure we knew how to get things worked out.
While we stayed with Pasha and his family, his wife made us breakfast and dinner each day. We listened to their stories of the Soviet days and the post-Soviet days. Pasha told us about his years as a logger in Siberia. They showed us their photo album of all the other families (mostly Italian) who had stayed with them while adopting from Svalyava. They told us stories of the Orthodox Jewish family from Israel who brought all their own food and cooking utensils. They told us about the family who thought Ukrainians were starving, so they brought suitcases full of food for Pasha and his wife. They made sure we knew that working around a simple egg-allergy was no big deal.
So here's to Pasha- one of the many "angels of our adoption" (as Rob cheesily calls them)- the people who, in their own way, are making sure Cosi finds her way to our home.
Pasha's wife works in the orphanage, which is how we were connected to him. He was sent to pick us up at the train station during our first visit, and he invited us to stay with his family (for a price, of course). While we were there, Pasha was not only our driver, he was also the guy who told us where to find the right offices and who to talk to in those offices. If Pasha called ahead, we were always greeted with a smile. While we were gone, Pasha was the guy running around getting paperwork in the right hands, picking documents up from the train for us, and overall making things run as smoothly as possible.
You can't walk from the Pasha's car to a building without him stopping to greet a few people. Pasha is a man who knows people. During the one hour recess of our court hearing, Pasha was right there, making sure we knew how to get things worked out.
While we stayed with Pasha and his family, his wife made us breakfast and dinner each day. We listened to their stories of the Soviet days and the post-Soviet days. Pasha told us about his years as a logger in Siberia. They showed us their photo album of all the other families (mostly Italian) who had stayed with them while adopting from Svalyava. They told us stories of the Orthodox Jewish family from Israel who brought all their own food and cooking utensils. They told us about the family who thought Ukrainians were starving, so they brought suitcases full of food for Pasha and his wife. They made sure we knew that working around a simple egg-allergy was no big deal.
So here's to Pasha- one of the many "angels of our adoption" (as Rob cheesily calls them)- the people who, in their own way, are making sure Cosi finds her way to our home.
"Congratulations, You Are Parents"
That's how our facilitator, Helen, translated the judge's ruling on our court date yesterday. She was crying as she said it, April was crying when she heard it (part stress, part happiness), and Rob just couldn't stop staring at the judge's big hat. We'll post a full description of the court date later (it was a 3 hour ordeal, not the relaxed 20 minutes we were told to expect). Right now we're in between guestrooms and need to pack up.
The one possible fly in the ointment is that, according to the unique rules of this little city, they may need April to sign a piece of paper on the 18th, which would mean she can't fly back on the 12th. We'll know for sure on Monday, the 10th. Apparently, power of attorney doesn't carry much weight in this province. We're praying it works out for April to still leave on the 12th (because April has an ultrasound scheduled on the 13th and a doctors appointment on the 14th - to find out why she was measuring over a month ahead at her December 8th appointment), but we'll keep you all updated!
One more prayer request - that nothing happens in the next 10 days (the official waiting period) to challenge our rights as parents!
The one possible fly in the ointment is that, according to the unique rules of this little city, they may need April to sign a piece of paper on the 18th, which would mean she can't fly back on the 12th. We'll know for sure on Monday, the 10th. Apparently, power of attorney doesn't carry much weight in this province. We're praying it works out for April to still leave on the 12th (because April has an ultrasound scheduled on the 13th and a doctors appointment on the 14th - to find out why she was measuring over a month ahead at her December 8th appointment), but we'll keep you all updated!
One more prayer request - that nothing happens in the next 10 days (the official waiting period) to challenge our rights as parents!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
January 6th!!
We finally received our court date- January 6th!! This is good news, because it means that Rob and Cosi could potentially be back in the States by the end of January. Here's how the schedule works:
Jan 5th: Overnight train to Svalyava.
Jan 6th: 930am-Appear in court for what is usually a routine appearance before a judge, who has full power to grant or deny our adoption. Once the the judge approves it, the decision is official. After that, we will have another chance to see our daughter before our overnight train back to Kiev.
Jan 7th-9th: Christmas break in Ukraine. Everything is closed.
Jan 12th: April flies back to the US.
Jan 17th: After a 10 day waiting period (during which people can protest the adoption, which rarely happens), Rob gets to pick up Cosi and she is finally and forever a part of our family!
Jan 17-24th: Travel to Uzgorod to do the paperwork for Cosi's passport.
Jan 24th-?: Back to Kiev to get Cosi's US visa and immigration forms in order. Hopefully this will be a quick process.
Prayer requests:
-The judge will grant our adoption and no one will file an objection.
-All the crazy paperwork will be in order and NO more surprises!
-April's travel, both on the trains and flying alone back to Virginia.
-Rob, as he tries out single-parenting a hyperactive 3 year old who doesn't speak English, while traveling around a foreign country, while trying to get paperwork finished...and then flying back to the States.
We're so excited to see her again in just 2 days. We've been going over our pictures and videos everyday and eagerly looking forward to our next visit. The adoption journey is nearing its end! And after that, a whole new journey begins.
Jan 5th: Overnight train to Svalyava.
Jan 6th: 930am-Appear in court for what is usually a routine appearance before a judge, who has full power to grant or deny our adoption. Once the the judge approves it, the decision is official. After that, we will have another chance to see our daughter before our overnight train back to Kiev.
Jan 7th-9th: Christmas break in Ukraine. Everything is closed.
Jan 12th: April flies back to the US.
Jan 17th: After a 10 day waiting period (during which people can protest the adoption, which rarely happens), Rob gets to pick up Cosi and she is finally and forever a part of our family!
Jan 17-24th: Travel to Uzgorod to do the paperwork for Cosi's passport.
Jan 24th-?: Back to Kiev to get Cosi's US visa and immigration forms in order. Hopefully this will be a quick process.
Prayer requests:
-The judge will grant our adoption and no one will file an objection.
-All the crazy paperwork will be in order and NO more surprises!
-April's travel, both on the trains and flying alone back to Virginia.
-Rob, as he tries out single-parenting a hyperactive 3 year old who doesn't speak English, while traveling around a foreign country, while trying to get paperwork finished...and then flying back to the States.
We're so excited to see her again in just 2 days. We've been going over our pictures and videos everyday and eagerly looking forward to our next visit. The adoption journey is nearing its end! And after that, a whole new journey begins.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Bump
Here it is: Baby #2 at 26 weeks. Comments about me looking 9 months pregnant are not encouraged or even allowed.
This picture was somewhat spontaneously taken. Rob likes seeing my big stomach in this blue t-shirt and he wanted a picture. I had great plans of taking a bump picture while wearing a thinning color like black and after putting on makeup, but I never seemed to get around to it. So, here it is - the bump at 26 weeks! I say the picture was "somewhat spontaneous" b/c I did insist on changing out of my gray sweatpants and into jeans, which I consider to be "dressing up" these days. (Thanks Sarah S. for letting me borrow those jeans!)
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Shopping for Cosi :)
Well, since we thought our daughter was going to be younger, all of the clothing we brought over for her is too small! And - the orphanage officials let us know that we aren't allowed to take any of their clothing, which is fine because Kiev has a wide range of used clothing stores. I love used clothing stores, especially for growing kids :)
I searched through 5 different stores and ending up buying almost all the clothing I could find for a 3 year old. Thankfully it was the end of the month, so most of the stores offered a 50% off discount. This made the selection less, but I was still able to find quite a variety of items. Most are feminine, but some are a little more masculine (if you think dinosaurs and sports are masculine, that is).
I paid the equivalent of $85 (US Dollars) for:
-20 tops (might seem excessive, but many will be layered up and she's a messy eater, not unlike her mother)
-8 pairs of pants (we probably need more b/c she's not totally potty trained)
-1 dress & 1 skirt (not practical in the weather so we'll save them for later, but they're so cute)
-1 coat (pink, of course)
-1 pair of gloves (we probably need another pair b/c she likes to toss gloves into mud puddles)
-2 hats (an extra one, in case the first gets tossed into the aforementioned puddle)
-1 scarf
I tried to lay out some possible outfit combinations for Rob. He might be taking care of our little girl for 10 days in Ukraine by himself, so I wanted to help him out a bit (and exert control from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean).
My favorite items include the hot pink H&M vest and the very European, tangerine sweater. Rob likes the flannel shirt, which is no surprise if you know Rob.
And - here are the clothes that will likely be handed down to her little brother!
*interesting cultural note: Most Ukrainians buy their clothes at 2nd hand stores, because new clothes are imported from Western Europe (= too expensive).
*2nd interesting note: From unsubstantiated gossip, I learned that the current Ukrainian president was making moves to shut down the used clothing shops. He wanted to force Ukrainians to buy new clothes & somehow improve the economy. The public freaked out and started protesting, so he backed down.
*3rd interesting note: Rob and I wonder where all of the used clothing comes from. If hardly any people buy new clothing, then where does all of this good quality used clothing continue to come from? church donations from wealthier countries? who knows?
One more thing - Did you think we forgot baby #2? No. He got a new used shirt, too. It's for a one year old and considering his enormous size, we think he'll fit into it by the fall.
My favorite items include the hot pink H&M vest and the very European, tangerine sweater. Rob likes the flannel shirt, which is no surprise if you know Rob.
And - here are the clothes that will likely be handed down to her little brother!
*interesting cultural note: Most Ukrainians buy their clothes at 2nd hand stores, because new clothes are imported from Western Europe (= too expensive).
*2nd interesting note: From unsubstantiated gossip, I learned that the current Ukrainian president was making moves to shut down the used clothing shops. He wanted to force Ukrainians to buy new clothes & somehow improve the economy. The public freaked out and started protesting, so he backed down.
*3rd interesting note: Rob and I wonder where all of the used clothing comes from. If hardly any people buy new clothing, then where does all of this good quality used clothing continue to come from? church donations from wealthier countries? who knows?
One more thing - Did you think we forgot baby #2? No. He got a new used shirt, too. It's for a one year old and considering his enormous size, we think he'll fit into it by the fall.
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