24 Hours and Counting!

We have just under 24 hours remaining here in Moscow before we head home for the final time with Brayden. Ashton cannot wait. We have been fortunate enough to be able to talk to Ashton in the morning when he wakes up, and also again when he gets off the bus in the afternoon. The conversation with Ashton begins the same every time with him saying..."Where is my baby brother? Can I see him?"

Yesterday (Thursday) we had our immigration interview at the US embassy. There we met 3 other American families who just adopted from here as well. We were the only family who adopted from the Moscow area. One family adopted from southern Russia and the other two were from eastern Russia (Siberian Region). After the interview we were handed a large sealed envelope that is not to be opened until we go through immigration (passport control) back in the US; and if you forget these simple instructions, they are stamped all over the large envelope. For the time being, Brayden is still considered a Russian citizen; however once we land on US soil and his Russian passport is stamped by US immigration officials, Brayden will officially become a US citizen (he will also maintain him Russian citizenship as well - dual citizenship).

The only remaining item left to do here in Russia before we leave is to register Brayden with the Russian Consulate. This is a requirement for all adoptees from Russia. Until Brayden is 18 year old, we are required to submit yearly post-placement reports (updates, photos, etc.) to the Russian government so that they can see how "their children" are doing. This registration should be completed by 2pm this afternoon and then it is "packing time." We are not particularly looking forward to the 13+ hours flight home with a 10 month old; however we will get through it one way or another. Besides, chances are we will never see the people sitting around us on the plane again! :)

We Are Bonding...

Today starts the 2nd full day that we have had Brayden with us in our apartment, and things could not have gone any better. He is adapting great to "normal" life with us. The first night Brayden went to sleep without any issues, but woke up 2 hours later crying. This was the first time in all of our visits that we actually heard him cry. Typically, babies from orphanages do not cry very much because their cries usually go unanswered. We think he woke up briefly and realized that he was in a new crib in a completely new environment and it may have scared him a little. After about 5 minutes of rocking and re-assuring, he fell back to sleep and slept through the night, waking up at 7:30am the next morning.

The first full day together (Tuesday) started with a medical checkup for the US Embassy. In order to file immigration paperwork, a medical exam must be done on the baby with an Embassy approved pediatrician. After the medical exam we returned to the apartment to fill out the 6 page immigration application, with our adoption agency, which we are submitting this morning to the US Embassy here in Moscow. The weather yesterday was sunny and approx 55 degrees, so we tried out the new stroller and walked around the city with him for the first time. He had a chance to do a lot of "people watching" and to take all of the new sights and sounds all in.

Last night Brayden went to bed at 8:15pm and slept straight through the night, waking up at 8am this morning. He appears to be a sleeper! As we type this, we are looking out from our 22nd story apartment, watching a spectacular sunrise over the Kremlin walls, and realize how fortunate we are to have been able to do this for our family. We certainly have not taken this entire experience for granted.

On the agenda for today is to submit Brayden's immigration paperwork to the US Embassy first thing this morning and to just relax for the rest of the day, bonding with Brayden. He is taking to the two of us very well, and we know he will do the same with Ashton. The weather today is expected to be sunny and 64 degrees. We plan to take him to Red Square and to the Kremlin to take some pictures with him for his scrapbook.

On a side note...Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's motorcade passed in front out our apartment building last night around 7:30pm. We were able to take a few pictures of her limo from our apartment.

We Got Him!

Today we picked up Brayden from the orphanage! We woke up early and were picked up in front of our apartment today at 10am by Tonya (our translator) and Vladamir (driver) and drove out to the orphanage for the LAST time (thank goodness). The weather here today was rainy, windy and about 45 degrees. The drive took about 2.5 hours... but it could have taken 5....we didn't care!

We were met by the orphanage doctor and she went over Brayden's daily schedule with us (napping times, eating times, types of food, etc.) while one of the nurses grabbed the clothes that we had brought to change him into it. After about 15 minutes, Brayden was brought in to the room (and not wearing purple :). This was a moment that both of us have been waiting for for a very long time.

We quickly snatched him up and headed back to our apartment here in the city of Moscow. On the way we made a "pit stop" to a grocery store to load up on the same foods that he is currently eating (this will prevent any issues this week until we get home). The visit to the store was amazing. He was so amazed at the new sights and sounds of normal life. For the past 10 months all he has seen are four white walls and the bars of a crib. We are able to see him experience new sights and sounds for the first time. It is great.

Next on the agenda is for him to receive him medical exam from the US Embassy. This is scheduled for tomorrow at 10:30am. We will keep you posted.

Back In Russia (last time)!

We arrived back in Moscow today for our 3rd and final trip. We flew from Boston to Moscow with a 6 hour layover in Paris, France, so we decided to take a train to downtown Paris for a few hours and do a little sightseeing on the way over.

Monday is the big day. We will be heading out to the orphanage on Monday morning to pick up Brayden for the final time and to bring him back to our apartment to stay with us for the week before heading home on Saturday for good. Yeah!