tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69618295033731061952024-02-08T09:05:46.535-05:00The Wyllie AdoptionWe are currently a very happy family of 3 making the exciting and fulfilling journey to soon be 4! We welcome you all to join with us and to be apart of this amazing experience together...The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961829503373106195.post-24410569999224058012009-10-16T00:34:00.002-04:002009-10-16T00:52:14.749-04:0024 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?" <br /><br />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).<br /><br />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! :)The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961829503373106195.post-25561402085420725612009-10-13T23:33:00.003-04:002009-10-13T23:54:45.171-04:00We 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961829503373106195.post-81805252010064920672009-10-12T10:29:00.002-04:002009-10-12T11:14:06.810-04:00We 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!<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961829503373106195.post-47669675035527499582009-10-11T22:29:00.005-04:002009-10-11T22:51:20.842-04:00Back 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.<br /><br />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!The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961829503373106195.post-59345824426213918172009-09-28T09:50:00.003-04:002009-09-28T15:18:59.870-04:00We Are Officially A Family Of 4!Today it was made official....our family of 3 is now a family of 4. We arrived early at the district courthouse here in Moscow for our 10:30am court appointment. The court session lasted nearly 55 minutes with a 10 minute recess. Finally at approx 11:35am Moscow time (3:35am EDT) we heard the words we have been waiting for<em>...."The court hereby grants the petitioners the legal adoption of Brayden Alexander Wyllie." </em>; however is was actually said in Russia and translated to us by our translator.<br /><br />What a great day. We will be spending the day with Brayden tomorrow at the orphanage, and returning home to Massachusetts on Wednesday (Without him) to wait out the 10 day mandatory appeal process. In Russia, the official court decree is not issued until this 10 day period expires and the baby must remain in the orphanage throughout this process.<br /><br />We will be returning to Moscow in 2 weeks (October 10th) to pick him up from the orphanage for the last time and to process his US citizenship here at the US embassy.<br /><br />The three of us (Barry, Nancy, and Brayden) will be home for the final time on Saturday; October 17th to reunite with Ashton and to finally be a complete family of 4.<br /><br />Above are the first released photos of <strong>Brayden Alexander Wyllie</strong>. Enjoy!The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961829503373106195.post-31634997149893061272009-09-26T13:54:00.002-04:002009-09-26T14:11:44.698-04:00Historic Day Today!Today was a great day. Ashton finally met his baby brother today for the first time. We woke up early this morning and made the 2.5 hour drive out to the orphanage with Ashton, and Nancy's parents (Nana and Papa). We arrived around 11:30am and waited in a small indoor playroom as one of the nurses went upstairs to get baby "Alexander" out of this crib. Ashton was waiting with a new, special toy that he had picked out earlier in the week back home.<br /><br />With the video camera rolling, baby "Alexander" was brought in to the room and Ashton's eyes lit up. He went up to his new baby brother and gave him a hug and big kiss on the check. The moment was absolutely priceless. We cannot wait to post pictures of this event and other pictures of baby "Alexander"; however we must wait until after the adoption is official, on Monday after court.<br /><br />Stay tuned for the first officially released photos of baby "Alexander" on Monday!The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961829503373106195.post-38375198811587362202009-09-25T13:28:00.003-04:002009-09-25T23:46:23.741-04:00We are BACK in Moscow!Today we arrived safely back in Moscow, Russia in preparation for our court date on Monday at 12:00 pm. We had a great flight over here with a short layover in London, England for breakfast. Ashton could not have been better on the 11 + hour flight. Tomorrow is a big day; we are heading out at 9:30 am for the orphanage where Ashton will see his baby brother for the first time.<br /><br />For the next two days our goal is to will spend as much time as we are allowed with baby "Alexander" at the baby home. Then Monday we will attend court to finally make the adoption official. We will keep everyone posted in the coming days with stories and updated pictures.<br /><br />Stay tuned ...The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961829503373106195.post-75055854732731886222009-09-16T21:50:00.002-04:002009-09-16T22:23:18.182-04:00We Have Received Our Court Date!We received our official court date today from our adoption agency. We are scheduled to meet with the judge on Monday; September 28th in Moscow to make the adoption of Baby "Alexander" official. Because the court date is less then 2 weeks away, we scrambled today to order our visas, book our airfare, and arrange our for our hotel accommodations. We have decided to take not only Ashton with us to Moscow on this next trip, but both Nancy's mom and dad will be traveling with us as well.<br /><br />We are leaving on Thursday (9/24) and will arrive in Moscow on Friday (9/25). We plan to see Baby "Alexander" on both Saturday and Sunday, at the orphanage, and will introduce him to his big brother Ashton for the first. Ashton cannot wait to see him.<br /><br />We will be returning home on Wednesday (9/30) without Baby "Alexander" because Russian adoption law requires a 10 day waiting period after court before you can take the baby from the orphanage for the final time. Nancy and I will be returning to Moscow on Saturday; October 1oth for the 3rd and final trip to Moscow to finally bring him home! If all goes as planned, Baby "Alexander" will finally be home on Saturday; October 17th!The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961829503373106195.post-61075627695468063112009-08-14T08:35:00.002-04:002009-08-14T08:48:30.838-04:001st Trip is Done!Today started at 8:45am. We were picked up and driven to a medical facility in northern Moscow for both of us to have a medical physical. We had to see 8 different specialists (hematologist, oncologist, dermatologist, infectionist, psychiatrist, lung specialist, neurologist, and addiction specialist) for this adoption physical. The entire screening took approx 3 hours from start to finish and we both passed with no issues.<br /><br />That concluded all of the official business that needed to be done on this first trip. It has been an amazing week, jammed packed every day from start to finish.<br /><br />The next step is to now fly home and wait for a court date to be set (this usually takes anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks). We have been told that we will have anywhere from 3 weeks to as little at 5 days notice for our court date. Once we receive this official date, we will both fly back to Moscow to attend court and the adoption of little baby "Alexander" will be official.<br /><br />We have an early flight out in the morning and will be back home with Ashton by Saturday evening.The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961829503373106195.post-44765074627975698672009-08-13T14:19:00.003-04:002009-08-13T14:35:29.585-04:00The Papers Are Officially Filed....Today we met our driver and translator at 9:15am outside of our hotel and he headed out to the baby hospital to see baby "Alexander." We had about 30 minutes to hold, take pictures, and to play with him. Because he is currently in the hospital and not at the orphanage, our time with him is extremely limited due to hospital guidelines. Today he was all about Nancy. He was constantly grabbing for her and when I was holding him, he was looking around the room for her.<br /><br />After leaving the hospital we made a quick stop to grab copies of his medical records from the orphanage so that our adoption agency can translate them into english for us before leaving for home.<br /><br />We then drove to the national notary office in downtown Moscow to sign the necessary paperwork officially requesting to adopt baby "Alexander." The drive from the orphanage to the notary office should have taken only 1.5 hours; however the traffic was so bad, after 2.5 hours our driver dropped us off at the Metro station and we took the subway the remainder of the way to get to the notary office in time.<br /><br />After the notary office, our day was done. We remained in downtown Moscow to have dinner (TGI Fridays) and to finish our souvenir shopping. We then took the Metro back to our hotel.<br /><br />Tomorrow is our last full day in Moscow on this 1st trip. We have our medical physicals scheduled at 9:30am (now it's our turn to show them that we are healthy enough to adopt a baby from Russia).<br /><br />Above is the first official picture of baby "Alexander." Enjoy!The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961829503373106195.post-12480088805155420942009-08-12T13:02:00.002-04:002009-08-12T14:14:43.210-04:00Emotional Rollercoaster....We want to apologize for the delay in updating our blog. The last 2 days have been very emotional for the both of us with many highs and lows...where to begin?<br /><br />On Monday morning we arrived at the Ministry of Education at 10:30am to receive our "child referral." Up until this point we have had absolutely no advance information on the child that we were being matched up with because Moscow Region is considered a "Blind Referral" region. We learned of a boy who was 25 months old and located at an orphanage (Baby Home) approx 1 hour outside of Moscow. The only information provided to us at the MOE that morning was his name, age, the fact that he was a little mentally delayed (which is normal for children in an orphanage), high blood pressure, and a little underweight (again, this is normal for children in an orphanage setting). Very excited to meet this little man, we loaded into the car with our Driver (Sergei) and our translator (Tanya) and headed out through the CRAZY Moscow traffic to the orphanage. We also had a local pediatrician that we hired to meet us at the Baby Home to do a medical physical on the child.<br /><br />When we arrived at the Baby Home we were met with a very unpleasant reality....The beautiful 25 month old boy we were matched with was very, very sick. Upon reading through his medical records we learned that he was diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and was experiencing "heavy" mental and social delays. We were told that he spends the majority of the day crying by himself and would most likely never fully recover from this condition. This information was absolutely devastating to hear. At the advisement of the pediatrician we had to make the gut wrenching decision to decline the referral, as we are just unable to properly care for this special child with his current condition. This was a decision that was very, very difficult to make.<br /><br />We then drove back to the MOE to discuss the situation with the social worker in hopes of receiving a second referral for another child. We were told that due to the current economic conditions in Russia, many local Moscovites have started fostering babies to supplement their lost income (if they are unemployed) from the Government. This is a practice that was started in 2007, but has never been as popular as now considering the current economic climate in Moscow. As a result of this "fostering" program, many young babies are currently unavailable to foreign families. We were told by the MOE that there are no more children under the age of 24 months available for foreign adoptions in Moscow. (note: Orphaned babies are not available to foreign families unless they have been on the National Adoption Registry Database or at least 8 months. This allows Russian citizens "first dibs" at their own children). For the second time in less then 10 hours we received news that we did not want to hear. This was by far the worst thing that could have happened to us over here. On Monday night we were mentally preparing ourselves for the reality of possibly heading home without an accepted child.<br /><br />Our adoption facilitator here in Moscow started making phone calls on Monday night to all of the Baby Homes in the Moscow Region in hopes of finding another child that was available and off of the National Database registry. We were asked to return to the MOE on Tuesday morning for an update.<br /><br />Tuesday morning we arrived at the MOE with our translator and waited for an update. After a wait that seemed like hours (but it was probably only 15 minutes), we were told of an 8 month and 1 DAY old boy who just came off the database that morning. He was located approx 1.5 hours outside of Moscow, but because of a recent bout with bronchitis, he was not currently at the orphanage, but at the local hospital for treatment. We were told that orphanages are very quick to get any child that is sick to the hospital, rather then to allow them to get the other kids sick in the orphanage. This was great news to hear, but with what happened on Monday we approached this with cautious optimism. We were eager to drive out to see him right away, but was told that the director of the hospital would not be available to speak to us on Tuesday and that our trip out to see him would have to wait until today (Wednesday).<br /><br />Big Day #2....<br /><br />After a very restless night sleep, we woke up early this morning in anticipation of meeting our second baby referral. We actually convinced our driver and translator to allow us to take the Moscow Metro (subway) into the part of the city to meet them to help cut down on the traffic congestion that we would face. Riding the subway was great. And if you ever had a question as to "How many people can you squeeze into a Moscow subway car?" the answer is "Always one more!" No...seriously....no joke.<br /><br />We arrived at the Metro station to meet Sergei and Tanya and we headed out to the hospital to see the new little man. We had the same pediatrician meet us to perform another medical physical on the baby. We arrived at the hospital at 11:00am, paid the 14 rubles to buy 2 pairs of required "booties" to cover our shoes and we headed up to the 2nd floor.<br /><br />This was a day that the two of us had envisioned in our minds over and over again for at least the past 10 months. The thoughts of....will he cry when we hold him?.....will he laugh?.....will he be healthy?.....how will we react?....<br /><br />Today was amazing! We walked in to a very small hospital room with 5 full cribs and to make a long story short.....We ACCEPTED the referral and we now are one step closer to being a family of 4.<br /><br />The baby is great! His medical review and physical was all "thumbs up!" from both our hired Russian pediatrician, and from our local pediatrician at home. <br /><br />Tomorrow morning we will officially sign the papers accepting him as our new son at the notary office and will file the necessary legal paperwork to petition the court to make this official.<br /><br />What a day.....We are going to bed....It is currently 10:07pm.The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961829503373106195.post-40133679623551458572009-08-09T22:34:00.004-04:002009-08-09T23:12:23.810-04:00We are in Moscow, Russia!We arrived safely in Moscow on Saturday afternoon around 1:30pm local time. We had two great flights on Lufthansa airlines (Boston to Frankfurt, Germany to Moscow, Russia). While in Germany, we were somewhat unaware of the current exchange rate between the US dollar and the Euro and we quickly realized afterwards that we spend about $50 US Dollars for breakfast (for 2 eggs, ham, OJ, coffee, and a few croissants; not to mention the $5 bottle of water...ouch!)<br /><br />We were met right at the airport by our translator (Tanya) and driver (Sergei). The driving here is absolutely crazy. There are lines painted on the road, but we don't believe at this point they serve any real function because drivers don't like to stay in just one lane. Despite the "Days of Thunder" like driving, we could not have asked for a better "crew" to work with while here.<br /><br />We got settled in our hotel room and then ventured out across the street to a local shopping mall to buy some bottled water, and to get something to eat. At the mall's food court they have a McDonalds, Sbarro Pizza, KFC, and a Chinese Wok. We both could not sleep on the plane flying over here, so by the time we got settled in out hotel, we had been up for approx 28 hours straight without sleep. We finally went to sleep around 6pm local time on Saturday and slept until 8am on Sunday. I cannot remember the last time we slept over 12 hours. Needless to say we are now officially accustomed to the local Moscow time (8 hours ahead of EDT).<br /><br />On Sunday morning, Tanya and Sergei (translator and driver) picked us up at 11am and took us on a 5 hours sightseeing tour around Moscow (took over 200 photos just in these 5 hours). We both learned more about Russian history in these 5 hours then what was ever taught to us in school. Moscow is an AMAZING city with a wealth of great history. Words cannot explain the overall atmosphere here, and the local people have been great.<br /><br />We have posted a few pictures of our sightseeing trip below.<br /><br />It is currently 7:00am (Moscow time) on Monday, and we are preparing to see our new son for the first time today. We have an appointment scheduled at the Ministry of Education this morning at 10:30am. At the MOE we will receive our "child referral" and will then head out to the orphanage to see him for the first time. We are both very excited for today's events.<br /><br />Today is expected to be a long day; however we will update the blog when we return tonight....stay tuned!The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961829503373106195.post-26196702526115059912009-08-06T14:28:00.003-04:002009-08-07T10:02:37.621-04:0024 Hours To Go...We are now just 24 hours away from heading over to Moscow, Russia to see our new addition to the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Wyllie</span> family for the first time. We will be arriving in Moscow at 1:30pm local time on Saturday and will have the remainder of Saturday and all day Sunday to get accustomed to the time change (Moscow is 8 hours ahead of EDT).<br /><br />Monday is the BIG day! We will spend the majority of the day learning about the history of the little man, and by that afternoon we will be able to see him for the first time at the orphanage.<br /><br />We will do our best to update our Blog <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">daily</span> when we return to our hotel room to keep everyone informed.The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961829503373106195.post-72430108589384414402009-07-03T09:48:00.003-04:002009-07-06T08:36:03.696-04:00We Just Got The Call!Great News! We just received "The Call" from our adoption agency with our confirmed official travel dates. We will be leaving on <strong>Saturday; August 7th</strong> to head over to Moscow, Russia. We have an appointment with the Ministry of Education on Monday morning (8/10) to receive our official child referral and by the afternoon on that same day we will see our new son for the first time at his orphanage! This is a great way to start the 4th of July holiday weekend!The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961829503373106195.post-3408743241636415712009-06-19T13:10:00.003-04:002009-06-19T13:18:58.235-04:00We Are NEXT In Line!Well...another Friday in Moscow as come and gone without "the call" from our agency (Friday is typically the day when the Ministry of Education issues travel dates to waiting parents); however we did find out today that we are <strong><em>NEXT</em></strong> in line with our adoption agency to get these travel dates assigned from the MOE.<br /><br />This great news will certainly add to our motivation to get a few certain things done around the house this weekend that we have been putting off (i.e. painting, hanging pictures, sorting through Ashton's old baby clothes and toys...).<br /><br />Keep your fingers crossed for next Friday!The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6961829503373106195.post-59345839766957986562009-06-02T08:05:00.003-04:002009-06-02T09:26:51.833-04:00So now the official wait begins...Welcome to the first official post of our new <strong><em><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Wyllie</span> Adoption Blog</em></strong>. We spoke to our social worker yesterday from Catholic Social Services of North Carolina and confirmed that as of last Monday (5/25/09) we are now FINALLY officially registered with the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Moscow. The MOE is the government agency in Russia that places available orphan children to waiting families.<br /><br />We can now expect a phone call at any time for an "invitation to travel" to meet our new son for the first time! Stay tuned...The Wyllie Adoptionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830482262500636309noreply@blogger.com