The Jancso Family

It's been 2 years with Justin

2010-10-23T07:51:00.004-07:00

Time flies! It has been 2 years since we picked up Justin from the orphanage in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. At this time we were already in Moscow and I think we were about to leave to the US.

Well, I'm starting to forget details, so I'm hoping to keep this blog for him and us for the future.

For update on Justin: He is doing really well, he is right on time with development. He adjusted to us completely and he is learning everything he needs to know at his age. We enrolled him in a preschool, where he goes 2 1/2 hours a day 4x a week. He loves it. He is very healthy, no problems there.

Summer is here

2010-05-27T18:12:00.002-07:00

Justin is almost 2 years and 9 month old. Time flies. He is doing great, happy and healthy little boy!

Family in town

2010-03-09T13:50:00.003-07:00

We had Joe's parents visit us in February. The kids had a great time with them. This last week Thursday we went skiing to Sunrise Ski Resort and we stayed in cabin in Pinetop-Lakeside. The kids stayed in cabin with grandparents while we went skiiing. They had a lot of fun in the snow.

New pictures of the boys

2009-12-27T23:20:00.001-07:00

A new picture

2009-11-23T14:26:00.003-07:00

Justin is playing in the park. He loves to be outside, running, jumping... he is now almost 27 months old.

New Pictures

2009-11-06T16:56:00.002-07:00

Court date a year ago

2009-10-06T20:36:00.004-07:00

It was exactly 1 year ago when we were in Krasnoyarsk, Russia for the court hearing. Time is going very fast! Justin is now 25 months old and he is the sweetest little guy ever. He says many single words and a few double word, but every day he is getting better. He is very healthy, hasn't been sick since we have him and now he completely fills home with his new family; us.
We also had our 2nd post placement visit with the agency, and everything was fine. These visits are very easy, simple questions about his daily life and health, etc. The next one is going to be next year.

Justin turned 2 years old

2009-09-05T07:11:00.002-07:00

It is time.... well, Justin has turned 2 years old yesterday. We are having a birthday party for him this Sunday, so I'll post pictures then. He is happy, healthy and now he really feels part of our family, I can tell. Him and Joey are very close, they love each other and I'm happy that they are a good match. His speech is coming along, he says a few words on his own, but can repeat any. Come back soon for new pictures...

A few new pictures

2009-08-22T14:25:00.001-07:00

The third visit with Justin... a year ago

2009-07-24T09:26:00.003-07:00

This was our last visit with Justin last year. Again 2 hours to play, sign papers and head back to the hotel. Next day we left to Moscow early in the morning.

Our second day in the Russia...a year ago

2009-07-23T07:00:00.004-07:00

Wednesday we went to visit our boy again for 2 hours. Noon to 2 pm. Again we were in the music room. The weather was nice and I wished we could have taken him outside a little, but we couldn't. He took a nap in the morning before we came and after we left. I wanted to see his room, but they told us next time we come back for him. In the 2 hours we played constantly with him, and he really enjoyed the attention. Here are some pictures:

When we first met... a year ago

2009-07-22T16:40:00.005-07:00

It was July 22nd, 2008 when we arrived to Krasnoyarsk, Russia early in the morning (5 a.m.). We were taken to the hotel Krasnoyask by our coordinator and had a few hours to settle. Then they took us to the Ministry of Education where we met with the director who presented us with our referral. After agreeing to see the child, our coordinator took us to a city called Sosnovoborsk. 1 hour drive from the big city. We went to the Baby Home #5 at around noon. We met with the assistant director who told us about his medical/family history. After question/answers we were taken to the music room where we waited for someone to bring out our child. We spent about 2 hours with him and later that day we returned to the hotel. It was so exiting, we were so sure that he was healty, on the target for development. Justin was 10 1/2 months old, couldn't walk yet. He put everything into his mouth. He felt pretty comfortable with both of us, I guess he didn't know yet that we are the ONES for him.

9 months to this date

2009-07-17T16:31:00.004-07:00

It was exactly 9 months ago in the evening when we got custody of Justin after the 10 day wait ended. It was a Friday and it was October 17th. How interesting. He is doing great, starts to say a few words, the longest he says is: I love you. He likes to sing Jesus loves me, ABCs, I love you- you love me (from Barney) and his favorite movie is the "Cars". It is Joey's favorite, but he likes it too.

Nine months ago in Hotel Krasnoyarsk

Today in Phoenix, Arizona

Getting official with US passport

2009-07-15T20:41:00.005-07:00

Joe is at home this week, so we decided to get some paperwork done. It's getting the passport time, since we both have to be there (easier for me with 2 little ones), we decided to go to the Clerk of the Superior Court's Office. I was very unprepared. First off, I didn't take my check book, second I didn't read the instructions well. For the first run, we had to go out and get a $60 money order (they only take checks/money orders), then we go back and when they looked at our paperwork we had to go home.... I didn't take the birth certificate and the adoption certificate with us. It's the one we got in Russia. All I had was the application, the certificate of citizenship and photos. So, Friday we'll go back and try again. I'm just a little afraid of leaving all of our original documents we have for Justin. I know they mail them back, but I always think it could get lost or the mail gets dropped in the neighbors mailbox. Well, I wouldn't know where to get new ones. I've scanned them in, so at least we have something. I'm attaching a picture of Justin which goes into his US passport. The guy at the office said: whoever took this picture did a great job. (it was Joe last night....), but I didn't tell him that.

9 months will be this Friday when we picked him up from the orphanage

2009-07-14T13:33:00.005-07:00

Mommy'n Justin time. He doesn't use pacifiers, but he had to try it out a little...

Here, he is drinking his milk with his favorite cup.

I've got a smile out of him.

2009-07-12T08:18:00.002-07:00

Justin is now 22 months old

2009-07-06T10:09:00.005-07:00

We've had a great weekend, too bad it is over. Last week we went to California. We drove total 6 hours from Phoenix to L.A. We also took my daughter's two friends to Six Flags. We with the little ones went to the beach and visited Joe's sister. None of the kids cried or complained. They had a lot of fun, even sitting in the car for a long time.

I forgot to mention that it was a year ago when we got Justin as a referral. He was so cute on the pictures. We think he was about 6 or 7 months old here, but he was 9 months old when we got these pictures.

Yesterday we went to a pool party. Justin is very cautious of the water and it took him a good 15 minutes before he went in. Later he started jumping, and enjoyed the water a lot.

Kids playing in sand

2009-06-12T16:53:00.005-07:00

Today we went to a park close by. It was the first time we visited this park, but the kids enjoyed playing there more than in the others. The weather is actually below normal and it's great to be outside. They need physical activities as they have a lot of energy. Justin finally started repeating more and more words, but we can tell he understands pretty much all we say or at least he pretends he does. I don't know. He is now 21 months old. He is doing great, I think he starts to forget his past life, but I think he still has lots of memories or at least feelings. Sometimes I show him the pictures we took over in the orphanage and he seems to be interested in them, especially when he sees the kids and the caregivers.
Take care,
Kris

A trip to Payson and some home pictures

2009-05-22T21:38:00.003-07:00

I mostly have pictures to post, and again I have some new ones. Justin is growing well, he is a little slow in speech, but by next year he'll be talking like the other kids his age. It's been over 7 months and he loves to be here. He can give the biggest hugs, he squezes really hard and gives lots of kisses. His favorite toys are cars. He plays with them all the time. We don't see any developmental delay, so that's a good news.
Take care,

20 months old

2009-05-09T15:01:00.001-07:00

Easter party

2009-04-13T21:51:00.003-07:00

Justin is now 19 months old. We went to our friends house for Easter lunch on Sunday. The kids had a lot of fun hunting for eggs, painting them and playing there. It was raining on Saturday and it was cold, but on Sunday it was the perfect weather!
Justin adjusted well; it's been 6 months since we got him, actually it is going to be exactly 6 months on the 18th when we received him from the orphanage in Krasnoyarsk. He has gained about 4 pounds and grew a few inches. Now he is 33" tall. Just average for his age. He understands almost every simple commands and he says a few words too. Seems he is getting around more each day.

Easter Party: from oldest to youngest little friends

Aren't they cute?

Painting eggs, they had a lot of fun!

First hair cut

2009-03-30T12:40:00.003-07:00

Before

After

A trip to the zoo

2009-03-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

2009-03-13T09:45:00.003-07:00

2009-03-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

Post-placement adoption visit

2009-03-09T20:10:00.003-07:00

It's time for the 6 mo post-placement adoption visit. It was tonight by our local agency. It was fine, easy, nothing nerve racking like the home study was. One social worker came to see Justin, she asked questions about him, from the whole process, etc. How he is doing, eating, sleeping, his habits, etc.

Justin is 18 months old

2009-03-08T12:24:00.003-07:00

We celebrated Justin's 18 month's birthday this week. It wasn't really a celebration, we just said happy 1.5 year birthday to him. He is healthy and happy. Joey was sick this week with high fever for a day, but Justin didn't get it. In fact he got 2 shots on Friday, one for chicken pox and a PCV7 and he didn't even get fever from them. He's got a very strong Siberian immune system.

Over 3 months at home

2009-01-31T14:29:00.005-07:00

While we were waiting in the parking lot, Justin enjoyed playing with the steering wheel.

We went to play in the mall playground area last Sunday.

Justin is 16 months old

2009-01-19T11:39:00.003-07:00

It's been a long time, I know... Justin was 16 months old on Jan. 4th. He is growing... I know it usually takes about 6 months for kids to adjust to the new environment and it's been exactly 3 months now that he is with us. He babbles a lot, almost says a few words, but nothing specific yet. Joey and Justin play a lot together. Joey started preschool 2 weeks ago, 4 days a week and 2.5 hours a day which is just enough at the age of 3. I have 2 hours alone with Justin, so we go shopping or stay at home playing. He enjoys being alone too, free time for playing with anything he wants to. Then we go pick up Joey, have lunch and nap time. Justin sleeps well, every day now he takes a 3 hour nap. Yeah!!! Even at night, ever since we were 2 weeks home, he slept through from 8pm to 7am without waking up.
Pictures are from Joey's birthday party at Chuck-e Cheese.

Merry Christmas to everybody!

2008-12-15T18:05:00.012-07:00

Wishing you a special Christmas this year and a happy New Year for 2009.
Justin is now 15 months old and I know he looks a little older; but he is in the 75%ile for height. He wears 18 mo and 24 mo old clothes.

Morning wake up face.

Loves to laugh.

Cutest smiles ever.

Great weather in Phoenix in December.

Best child we could ask for...

2008-12-11T12:36:00.004-07:00

Now that we are home with Justin more than 6 weeks and he's been with us for 7 1/2 weeks total, everything is starting to get back to normal. He is so loving that is amazing. He totally acts as if he was with us since birth. He runs to as with a huge smile on his face and gives the biggest hugs. We called him once or twice with his old name Yegor, but didn't responded. He now fully responds to his new name only. He understands a lot we tell him, listens when we say "don't" or "can't do that" and honestly he stops and walks away. He's had and have some tantrums still, but less and less. I guess he learned quickly in the orphanage that with tantrums he'll get the attention, so he tried it with us too. Lately I just don't pay attention to it and he quickly stops and he does it less each day. He is always around Joey and they, "Thank God" get along very well. Even if Joey takes away toys he doesn't get mad, and if we ask for it nicely, he'll give it to us. That's so cute. Almost every day I try to take them somewhere. Today, on Thursdays we meet with an other friends and meet at a McDonald's Play area. They love to climb up and play and there are usually other kids too which is nice. On Fridays we go to a nice park close by, last week there was a Mommy'n Me club there, so many kids played together. I have an extremely busy schedule with them. Getting up, feeding them, dressing up, potty time, then we try to leave the house at around 9, or 9:15 somewhere and we have to be back home by 11:30 am. Then prepare lunch, feeding, potty time and going for a nap by 12:15 or 30. They now both sleep at the same time until 2:30 pm when I have to wake them up and go for a car ride to pick up my daughter from school. After that we are home at around 3:15 pm and Michelle usually plays with them until 4 pm. Then snack time again, making dinner and waiting for dad to come home. And hopefully when he isn't busy he takes over and finishes up with bathing and bed time stories with them. WOW! That was long. I guess you know now that it's nap time for the kids and I actually had some time to write this. I don't have time for myself at all and to do my business or the things I like. For at least 2 more years. Well, Joey will start preschool in January when he turns 3 years old, and school is only for 2 1/2 hours a day, but driving back and forth will not be easier.

He is still in the databank

2008-12-09T13:11:00.003-07:00

I've just noticed that Justin is still in the Russian database for adoption. I guess it doesn't mean anything since his adoption was finalized. He is № 8myl on the list. Here is the
database.
My bad, recently the database was updated and Justin isn't there anymore. That's great!

6 weeks home

2008-12-05T18:56:00.005-07:00

We are now six weeks at home. The first 4 was a big roller coaster, and it has been an adjusting time for all of us. Now I'm used to have 2 little with me all the time. Preparing food, feeding them, etc is fine now. Justin got used to take 1 nap a day. We keep him awake all morning and he goes to sleep after lunch at around 12:30 p.m. and he sleeps 2-3 hours straight. WOW!

Our 3 children, Michelle, Justin and Joey

Happy Boy!

2008-11-26T07:40:00.007-07:00

Justin is doing really well. Lately he takes naps without crying and sleeps more than an hour. Great! Well, we are keeping busy with the 2 little ones. They are both happy.

Justin's baby pictures

2008-11-21T15:44:00.003-07:00

We've got 2 pictures from the orphanage from Justin. He is adjusting well, we have been home with him for 4 weeks tomorrow. Adjusting takes time I know, but he is so good...

Second trip to Krasnoyarsk in Pictures

2008-11-10T22:34:00.003-07:00

New pictures

2008-11-07T18:00:00.005-07:00

We went to the park to play, the weather was great, in the high 70s. We are adjusting better and better every day. First week was very very stressful for me, but now it is much better. It is a 12 hours job for me, from 8 am to 8 pm, nonstop. Justin is getting used to the nap time, today he slept 1 whole hour. Wow!!! Not a sleeper for sure, but at least he doesn't wake up at night.

Busy at home

2008-11-05T13:03:00.005-07:00

Well, we have been at home with Justin for 10 days now.

Picture slideshow with Justin in the orphanage

2008-10-31T20:53:00.004-07:00

We are home at last!

2008-10-28T21:25:00.008-07:00

Our flight home was long and bad. 13 hours to L.A. from Moscow. Justin screamed half way through and didn't want to go to sleep, but he was extremely tired. Well, finally he slept in Joe's arms for a few hours. We didn't get ticket for him, but they gave us an empty seat next to us in the middle which was wonderful, despite that the plane was completely full. I did catch a cold on the plane and now I have the flu, unfortunately. We still have major jet lag issues, Justin gets up at 3 in the morning screaming and so do we, but by today he was sleeping much better at night. In the L. A. airport just after we checked in our luggage, we go through security and he pooped. So, after I go to the restroom to change him. He had a runny one, so it leaked out all over his back, his pants and clothes. All I could to is to take off all his clothes and wash him off in the sink. I had to throw out his onesie and washed his pants. I only had an extra shirt, so we had to buy a short at the airport for $16. Expensive one. So, make sure you take extra pants too.... :) I lost my luggage at the airport in Phoenix. When my in laws came to pick us up, we actually didn't put my luggage into the car and we drove off. At home I'm looking for my clothes and nowhere, when we realized we left it on the curb. It wasn't there later. But... thank God! it was in the lost/found at the airport. How silly of us?
The potty training goes really well for him, sits on the potty for 10 minutes then he goes after almost every big meal. He is very happy and adjusting well, so are we.

I have to comment on this picture. Justin is only 13 months old, but at the orphanage all kids are potty trained since they can sit. It is great for us, though, continue potty training is pretty easy. He goes #1 and #2 every time and he can sit on it for about 10 minutes. My older son in the yellow shirt, isn't potty trained yet, but he'll sit on it easier since Justin is doing it.

Goodbye Russia

2008-10-27T14:14:00.004-07:00

Our flight to Moscow was good and smooth. We stayed in Holiday Inn which is a 4 star hotel in Moscow. It was very nice, although the breakfast buffet cost $80 and a bottle of water cost $10 (most expensive water we ever bought) in the hotel. We went to see a pediatrician for Justin, and the same day on Thursday our agency took us for a sightseeing. It was well worth it and it was great! On Friday we went to the Embassy and got the visa. There were about 10 families at the same time there. We came out last, because in our boy's visa was put in a F as female not an M. So we had to wait about 45 minutes to have them redo the it.
Our flights were for Saturday with Aeroflot.
We mostly watched the music channel MY3 in Krasnoyarsk, because all channels were in Russian except Bloomberg.

Busy Day

2008-10-19T04:44:00.003-07:00

We are adjusting to the baby's schedule; eating times, nap times and so on... It's been very good, except going to sleep. He doesn't like to be in his crib, previous experiences we think, but once he goes to sleep he'll sleep through the whole night. Naps are harder, he rather sleep in the stoller when we go somewhere. Oh, well, in time he'll be fine at home. He totally acts like we have been with him for a long time, he runs to us, plays with us. He seems, for the short time he spent with us, very well attached. Today Sunday was cold when we went out for a walk in the late morning. We put on his snowsuit, hat and gloves. He is only 13 month, 20 lbs, but the 18 mo, snowsuit is just perfect on him. He looks so cute bundeled up. Don't you think?

We met 2 new American families that came today and they are here on their 2nd trip. They are with America World, I think that's what they said. There were 4 families with Bethany agency this month. So, things are moving quite well. Although we learned that all of these families have waited 5-6 months between trips and we with our agency Children's Home Society only 2 months. So, you could say, we are very happy with ours.
Good luck to all of you and you'll be here soon too. By the way, we took a cab to the Paneta mall, it was 460 Rubels one way, but there were 6 of us.

GOTCHA DAY!

2008-10-18T01:57:00.001-07:00

We have our boy with us! Friday evening we signed a few papers and then the orphanage director and the assistant director came and brought Justin to us. He was so cute, dressed in a pink snowsuit and a pink sweater. We got 2 baby pictures they had, then we brought him to our room and changed him. Then they took the orphanage clothes with them.

So a well deserved picture:

1 more day until Gotcha day!

2008-10-15T22:09:00.002-07:00

Yesterday 6 of us went to the Planeta Mall in Kras. We called for a van cab, so we can all fit in. We spent about 5 hours there; visited stores, had lunch and we went bowling. It is a huge mall and brand new. It was so fun. The bowling place was a Brunswick bowling alley. Nobody spoke English there, but we managed to get around. Got the shoes and we paid for 2 hours. It felt like we were back in the US; it looked exactly like our bowling places. The clothings and shoes and other things are high- end items in the malls. I would say maybe 1.5 or double the price what you would be paying at home. Every boot and shoe is mostly black, hardly saw other colors. Boots start at around $200, coats are also start at $100. If we Americans stick out in the malls here, it is probably because we wear casual clothing and walking shoes. The women here wear high hill boots, tight pants and waist level puffy jackets. It is impossible for me to walk in 2-3 inch high hills in the malls for hours. Or maybe my feet aren't used to it. Great selection in clothing and in shoes. Amazing!!!
My daughter Michelle would love to shop here.
The same taxi driver was coming to pick us up. We all sit in and the van didn't start. He tried and tried, but nothing. Then we stepped out and waited about 15 minutes and we were going to explain to him somehow that we are getting an other cab, then all of the sudden the van started. The guy was so releived. He just talked to us in Russian for a long time, like we understand...? Hahaha. Later we met Geoff and Karey for dinner at Mama Roma's. We had a good time with them, hope to see them again before we leave.
Today we went to see our boy for the last time in the orphanage. We gave our gifts to the caregivers, he has 7. He is now very comfortable with us. The director took us to his room where we could take pictures of his bed, bedroom and the other children eating snack at 10 am. We could also see how they all sit on the potty; 12 kids in a half circle and the caretaker in the front singing for them. I think they were all boys, but so cute.
Tomorrow afternoon is our Gotcha day, our coordinator said that the director might bring our boy to us. That be great! Will see...

3 days until Gotcha Day!

2008-10-13T22:51:00.004-07:00

Yesterday I wasn't feeling well. I probably ate something that bothered my stomach. I'm thinking it was either the French fries or coles slaw at KFC. Who knows? I'm being very careful of what I eat. So, I spent most of my day in bed watching movies from our laptop.
Today I feel good. Thank God! We went for our last visit this week. 7 am, pretty early again. While we were on the way we saw a deadly accident. There was a man lying in the middle of the road who was hit by a minivan and he was dead. Covered with a little blanket, but since we pulled by next to him, we saw the whole body faced down. SSSooooo bad, I was horrified, never seen a deadly accident before. The van that hit him was in pretty bad shape. It was still kind of dark; sun doesn't come up before 8 am. The temperature was 5 C in the morning, and it is better today than yesterday.
There were about 10 children that came to our room and played. They were about 3 years old. Some of them smiled at us and a couple was staring at us and wanted to come close and play. I could sense they wanted parents too. It is so sad; I would have taken all of them with me. What are the chances that they'll find them parents too? Not much. Especially over 3.

It is in front of our orphanage. It was very cold that morning at 10. Not very fashionable, I know.

5 more days until Gotcha day

2008-10-12T05:25:00.002-07:00

It is the weekend here. No visitations on the weekends for APs. Yesterday (Saturday) our coordinator arranged with her student to take us for a sightseeing tour in the city. It was very nice and well worth it. We went to see the Monument to Warriors, the Chapel on the hill, the Railway Station, the Memorial to the Participants of the World War II, Monument of Lenin, the building of Krai Administration, Couples Corner, the Monument to Perished in the Civil War and a brand new mall in the outskirts of Krasnoyarsk. Also, we visited many other interesting places/buildings too. They have a miniature Eiffel Tower located between the apartment complexes. Last night we and our friends here went out to eat dinner at the Traveler’s Coffee place. The food was OK. Every portion is so small compare to the US portions that it is easy to drop or keep the weight. No wonder everybody here is fairly skinny.

I’ve learned a few new thing about the Russian culture. They have weddings only on Fridays and Saturdays and NOT on Sundays. Some religious reasons they are not allowed to have weddings on Sundays. Also, the children start schooling when they are 7 years old and the elementary school is only 7 years long. The high school is 2 years long. And kids get out of school when they are 16 years old. They can start working at age 14 and if they don’t choose to go to school further they can start working at the age of 16. They get their driver’s licenses at the age of 18 and they must go to a driving school for 3 months. Kids at the orphanages only stay there until they become 16, and after 16 they have to leave. Isn’t that kind of too young for a child to survive alone with no family? All schooling including college education is government funded, but there are limited spaces for students so, they have to be the top best students to be accepted in the universities.

7 more days until Gotcha Day!

2008-10-09T20:54:00.008-07:00

Today Friday we were able to visit with our son. We left at 7 in the morning, 1 hour drive and we stayed and played with him for 2 hours. We had to leave at 10 am, because they had a meeting and they were using the visiting room. Only us and the driver was on the way. We didn't have a translator or coordinator, which was fine, because we know the routines and they didn't have to wait for us, only the driver. Our boy is getting well adjusted to us, he was fine with Joe, they played a lot together, both got really tired. By 10 our son was very sleepy. I took a lot of pictures from the car while on the way and back. I'll make a little slideshow once we return and post it.

Yesterday we celebrated (the American families) because one of the family who was delayed got the "Da" from the judge on Thursday. We went to eat at Mama Roma's Restaurant. They have very good food and the waitress speaks English. Also on the menu all of the food had pictures with English description too. Yesterday's weather was very nice, sunny and warmer. When we go into the stores and shopping centers, it is so warm in there, you have to take off your coats and sweaters. It is just way too hot inside everywhere. I took a few pictures of some restaurants.

KFC Restaurant
Street View. Look at the woman in the middle of the street. Most girls dress kind of outdated, not too fashionable, although they think they are the most fashionable people in the world. They kind of look like the bad girls in our country. If you know what I mean.
Subway

Oh yeah, the luggage weight is 44 lbs/person (or 20 kg/person) or 2 luggages and NOT including the carryons. So I would put the heavier stuff in the carryon.

9 more days

2008-10-08T15:42:00.005-07:00

On Wednesday we went to see our boy in Sosnovoborsk. This is the 2nd time we see him since we are here in town. The first time he was fine with me, but didn't want to do anything with Joe. This time he was warming up to him better and better. By the time we left Joe was holding him in his arms and they played a lot together. I let him play with him, so he get used to him faster. He was OK with me, in the beginning he ran to me when Joe was going close him, so he is fine with women. Next time, which I think is on Friday, I'm sure he'll be even more comfortable with us. After the 10 days are over, I will post a picture of us. I promise. I'm not sure if we are allowed yet, but since we don't have custody yet, we probably can't.
Staying in the hotel for a long time is kind of boring. We go for short walks, but it is so cold already. Cold to me, after living in Arizona for almost 20 years. 32 F or 0 C is cold, but not for these people here, they stay outside in the park across the hotel and talk. There are lot of nice restaurants here, the only problem is the language barrier. They know right away that we are foreigners. Lot of people can't even think why all these Americans are here together, when they ask what are we doing here, we just say we are tourists. When walking and asked what are we doing here, we say shopping, then they say "Here?". It's funny. Most people understand English, so we have to be careful what we say out loud. I've noticed that they sometimes laugh at us.
Bring lots of movies on your laptop, because in English there is only Bloomberg TV available and it is boring to watch financial news all day. Before we pick up our baby we will upgrade our room to a suite. Suites are only $50 more/night and it has 2 rooms. A bedroom with big bathroom and a living room where there is a big space for the child to play and sleep. It is worth it, because the normal room is so small, a crib won't fit.
Take care,

A picture of us

2008-10-07T15:27:00.002-07:00

This was after the court hearing.

Be prepared to know your home study well. The judge asked questions around the study as well. Give well rounded answers and show emotions in your answers when you talk about the child. She likes that. Nobody smiles and we too had to be serious and straight forward. There are many American families in this hotel and we go out together to have dinner. Last night 6 families went out to eat dinner, and we had so much fun. 4 families had court yesterday, all went well, except one. One of the family got delayed 2 days because of some paper was missing from the Ministry of Education and the judge wanted written proof. So, we are hoping everything will be well for them on Thursday and they can still keep the scheduled travel dates. 2 familes left to Moscow yesterday we wish them safe travels back to the States.

Court Date

2008-10-07T07:16:00.002-07:00

"Da" was the verdict. Today 2tons of weight fell off of our shoulders. We had the court in the morning. We both put on our suits and we looked good. I think. The whole hearing was extremely formal; orphanage director, Ministry of Education representative, us the prosecutor, the secretary and the judge was present. They asked us a lot of questions. We both were questioned by the judge and the prosecutor for about 45 minutes. Then we stepped out for 5 minutes then went back and the prosecutor told that it would be the best interest for our son to be with us, and so on... Then we stepped out for a couple of minutes again. Went back and the judge read the verdict and oh yeah, we have to wait out the 10 days. Honestly we didn't ask for the ten days to be waived, because we were told it won't happen.

Oct. 5th 2008 Sunday

2008-10-05T05:42:00.001-07:00

We are still adjusting to the time difference. We went to bed at 1 in the morning and I was up at 5 am. We had breakfast in the hotel, then went for a walk and we had a meeting with our coordinator at 1 pm. Meantime we met with new families in the business center. In the afternoon 5 families met in the lobby and we all went to the museum. It was very interesting, lot of different articles, they even had a plane in the inside. Later we all went out to eat dinner at an italian restaurant. There are about 8 or more families staying here right now and 4 of us have court on Tuesday. One family just picked up their daughter yesterday and she is sooo cute. We had a good talk, everybody feels more comfortable having americans around and being in the same shoe. We are all from different states, interesting though.
Tomorrow we'll go visit with our boy and I'll try to post about our adventure, since there isn't much to do here.
Take care,

In Moscow

2008-10-04T03:39:00.005-07:00

After 12.5 hours nonstop flight from L.A we arrived to Moscow City. It took us about 2 hours to get out of the airport. We arrived late 6 in the evening. Our coordinator and driver took us to the hotel Altay which was a remodeled nice hotel. We got a good rest. Next day which was yesterday Friday we had an appointment to get our medicals. Friday we checked out from the hotel and went to see the doctors. I don't know which medical center it was, but it wasn't the American Medical Center; it was a medical hospital where everybody can go. Well, we were the first ones with another family from our agency. There were 4 doctors in one room and we had to take off our shirt (bras can stay, thank God) and they did a physical exam like checking our eyes, reflexes, took blood pressure, listened to our lungs, check our feet, legs, etc. But no X-rays, no blood draws, no urine test. Which was so nice. Then we went to see a psychiatrist who asked us similar question as your psychiatrist did at home. Then we saw a dermatologist, who only asked us questions, 2 minutes. Later we saw another doctor who asked us about drug, alcohol related questions. After that we waited about 15 minutes and paid then we got our papers with all the 8 doctor signatures and their licenses. Later that day our coordinator dropped us off at a mall where we went to eat and walk and shopping. I actually bought walking shoes for me, because I only brought boots with me and it was painful to walk in it for a long time. Believe it or not, it was a Russian Wal-Mart store. But not so cheap. After killing about 4 hours we and the other family were taken back to the airport and had to leave with Aeroflot at 9pm flight to Kras. I'm telling you to be careful with your luggage weight, because we paid $200 extra for 28 extra kg weights and the other family paid $230 extra. I asked the lady for the limit there and she said it was 20 kilo/person. Not luggage. Person. So each luggage can be 10 kilos or 22 pounds, NOT including carryons. So going back I know we are losing 1 luggage somehow. I do not want to pay extra again. Well, we had a 4 hours flight which was very smooth, I think the plane shook for once for a couple of seconds and that's it. The plane was full and couldn’t sleep of course.

Off to Russia!

2008-09-30T21:51:00.002-07:00

Tomorrow we leave to Russia. This week has been very busy, busy, busy. I had to manage getting the things for us to take and the stuff our kids and in-laws will need at home. I don't know how are our son will be not seeing us for a long time. Our luggages are full, I can't believe the stuff we need to take. It's a lot! Joe's work is going to suffer. I hope they'll understand the extent of an adoption and they'll be patient. I know the 10 days wait will probably going to wait for us after court. It's going to be great to see our baby again soon!
Well, I probably won't be back posting for a while, but I'll try once we are there. I know of 2 other families going to court the same day, so we won't be along. Thank God!
Take care and we'll be checking in on your journey!

2 days left

2008-09-29T06:32:00.003-07:00

My in-laws are here and we're trying to teach them the routines in the house. Everything will be fine, they love to be here and love the kids so much. We really appreciate their efforts to stay here and help with our kids for a month.
Today I have a few papers to take care of, and continue packing. We'll have 3 luggages, an umbrella stroller and 2 carry-ons. Our court suits are packed in the carry on, in case we lose the luggages. I take the Downy's Wrinkles Releaser. ): It is so exiting that we are going to see our boy in a week. It would be so nice if our 10 days were waived. I would be thrilled.

6 days left

2008-09-25T11:11:00.005-07:00

We have 6 days to get ready before we leave. I can't wait to come back though, I am going to have a very hard time leaving my 2 children behind, especially Joey who is only 2 1/2. But...
We had our travel consultation yesterday that answered a lot of questions we had. I've pack a lot of stuff already, but there is always something else.
Take care,

Visas arrived!

2008-09-23T17:05:00.006-07:00

I was so happy to see the Fedex guy today. He brought our visas. We used Go to Russia http://www.gotorussia.com/visa_services_russia_visa_to_russia.htm to get our visas (recommended by our agency). They have the fastest return date, in our case we selected the 3 day for the business visas.
But I'm very happy that everything went well and we are one step closer to travel. One more week!

9 days left until travel

2008-09-22T17:45:00.003-07:00

Today was a little crazy too. I had to change the in-country tickets because there is a family who comes back on the same day as us to Moscow and they are leaving the Krasnoyarsk 4 hours later than we would. In Moscow we would have to wait at the airport for about 5 hours before they can pick us up. Thank God I was able to change it and get our child a ticket too. I didn't want to wait 5 hours there with a baby.
I'm trying to organize our papers, my desk is full with them. All the papers we take (extra dossier copies, etc) and everything else there is usable are very heavy. Probably 3 pounds. We bought coats yesterday (we don't need heavy coat in Phoenix) that will keep me warm. I get cold easily. Also there is a lady in California who has a snowsuit for the baby and she'll send it to me tomorrow. There is a great yahoo group if you are interested in getting snowsuits or helping out others: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/snowsuitswap/
All week I'll be packing and shopping for little items. I already bought gifts we take for caregivers, director, coordinatior and so on. We'll take money to buy donation for the orphanage in the city. There would be no more room in our luggages. We took lots of clothes on our first trip and gifts for a couple of people, like coordinator/translator, driver and assistant director at the orphange. It is a nice guesture and they feel important to you.
Hope everyone is getting some good news, escpecially if you wait for a court date. It will come!

Lots of things to do

2008-09-19T15:02:00.008-07:00

We only have 11 days until we leave. Yesterday and today was crazy, trying to find airfares. I got the tickets for the region trip and we are taking the same flights as we did in the summer. I didn't have any luck with travel agents, they wanted to give us flights with 3 connections to Moscow. I asked for a 2 connection only, but they didn't have any available for the day we have to leave and the funny thing is online they do have availability. So, I had to go online and find the tickets myself. Unfortunately there are 2 options, one with Delta and one with Aeroflot. When I called Delta Airlines and asked for an adoption rate, they came back with the price doubled as what I would pay if I purchased it online. We are just waiting for the confirmation from the Russia staff. My husbands parents are coming next weekend to stay with our children while we are gone.
Our visas should arrive next week, I hope and pray that there will be no problems.
Next week I have to shop for a lot of things and start packing. It is cold in Kras now low 30s and we have 90s in Phoenix. I can't even think of what I need to get for the cold weather. Coat, boots? Little things like gloves, hats. I have to start making a list. At least the baby's room is finished and ready for him.

We've got a COURT DATE!!

2008-09-17T10:14:00.008-07:00

We just got a call from our agency that we have a COURT DATE for October 7th!!!
Yeah!!! I'm so exited and happy. We have to be in Moscow on October 2nd then leave to Krasnoyarsk on Oct. 4th. Now we have to get the visas pretty fast, probably send them off today for a business visa. I never though the news would come so quickly, it has been 7 weeks since we saw our baby last. I'll have more details soon... thanks for all your prayers and we'll continue to keep you in ours. I sent off the visa applications today, each cost $600 for business 90 days. We needed a business, because the tourist visa is only good for 30 days and if for some reason we have to stay a little longer, it would be a problem if it expires while we are there. I'm checking on tickets and the best deal I found was with Aeroflot which has nonstop flights to Moscow. I wanted to go with British Airways because I like them and they go straight from Phoenix to London, but on the day we have to leave they don't have flights. ): Delta is an other option, but they cost more than Aeroflot and we would have to go through New York back and Atlanta going. The total flight would be about 19 hours, while with Aeroflot 11 hours. But after the crash in Perm, I kind of don't know what to do. But by tomorrow I have to have some kind of reservations and we'll see....
The good news is that the summer vacations are over and people are getting referrals and court dates in this region. The director lady at the MOE is so nice and I think she does good matches.
Blessings to all,

The room is complete!

2008-09-17T10:14:00.007-07:00

The new room we were working on is complete! It looks cute, great for a toddler boy. Now I just have to move the clothes and toys over, put the door and the closet doors back. Well, these doors are my husband's job. I was able to purchase almost every item that is PotteryBarn on Ebay. But I love potterybarnkids.com.

Sept. 16th 2008

2008-09-16T19:06:00.005-07:00

Waiting, waiting and waiting. Every day passes I get more anxious. Sunday's news about the Aeroflot flight crash in Perm made me very nervous. http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2008-09-13-1616026851_x.htm
Still no new news, all I know our judge requested paper was sent to Russia last week Thursday.
Take care,

Sept. 10th 2008

2008-09-10T13:29:00.004-07:00

Well, today I spoke with our state agency to see if they had sent off the required document (partner agency agreement) and thank God I called, because they said they didn't receive it in the email. So, I had it forwarded for them and just got the call that it is on the way to our agency in Minnesota and will be there tomorrow. :) This document was already translated, but the judge wanted an updated signature on. (I don't know why, it was signed by both agencies in July this year) Hopefully it will be there by next week and we can get a court date. They haven't heard any other request from the judge, but we can still expect it to come. I don't know, all of our documents are updated and good for an other year.

Meanwhile we are still working on the room. We just got the painting done and prepared the floor for the wood floor to be clued down. I think it looks cute and I did well with painting the little cars. Here it is:

Joey is working hard on his room.

The green hill is a chalkboard to draw on.

This is chalkboard too.

Update

2008-09-05T12:07:00.003-07:00

Our case is with the judge right now in Krasnoyarsk and the judge requested 1 updated document from the partner agency in our state. So, let's hope that they'll receive it next week and we can get a court date!
Keep us in your prayers, please and we'll keep all of you too!
Love to all,

Today is his first birthday!

2008-09-04T12:18:00.002-07:00

Today, September 4th is the FIRST Birthday of our son who we are waiting to bring home.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY for him! I wish we could have been there and celebrate.

New word in our case

2008-09-03T22:00:00.003-07:00

We got a call today from our agency. Our specialist said that all of our papers are in the court and we can expect to get info on the court date this month. This means that the papers from the orphanage and the database release is there too. I just hope the judge won't require any other new document. We'll see...

Heather you asked if we received the petition for court. When we were in Krasnoyarsk our coordinator had the document done which we signed. They said that this was an application to the court which is the same and without this our documents would not have been submitted to the court. So, yes we got it. I can tell you that our agency is great!

We've got the name

2008-08-24T20:49:00.004-07:00

We've decided to call our new son Justin Tylor. It fits him perfectly. It was my husband's pick and I liked it too. Somehow I had a hard time on picking a name for a boy. Just didn't like any.
We are working on the baby's room, finally took out the extra stuff and we also took out the carpet. I've got the primer and I'll start painting tomorrow. I found a nice theme from potterybarn and we'll make it like that. It's about cars, from an older magazine.

Our papers were sent off last week to be translated, hopefully nothing will be needed.

Krasnoyarsk in Pictures

2008-08-21T09:09:00.005-07:00

We've sent off a view missing documents to our agency and this is the time for waiting, again. Meanwhile, we are working on getting the room ready for him. First, we take out the carpet and put bamboo wood floor in. It is so much prettier. This will keep us busy for a couple of weeks.

This is going to be our boy's room with some changes. We are moving our older son to an other room.
Our first trip in pictures, but only the city:

We leave in 2 days to Europe!

2008-07-16T18:57:00.004-07:00

This week was extremely busy. We had to do 3 doctor visits, one is our family doctor, a psychiatrist and pediatrician. We had problem with our family doctor, when we asked for a copy of his medical license, he refused. Finally after calling the medical board, they told us that it is a public record and we can request one. So we did. And woala, received it today. The psychiatrist went well, we had a notary coming to her office. Tomorrow we visit with our children's pediatrician which will go smoothly, I suppose. Then later I will take all the documents we have to be apostilled. We are missing the FBI clearance and our insurance verification. This latest one isn't done yet, because they misspelled our last name and they are out of state. Oh, well.
We are packing our suitcases. We will be in Moscow on Tuesday and Wednesday in Krasnoyarsk.
We are sooo exited about meeting our little boy, it is amazing how fast things have been happening for us. It has only been 7 months since we made our first step toward our adoption.
Best wishes for all of you, endurance is the key!

Got the tickets

2008-07-10T10:01:00.002-07:00

We sent off our visa to New York and asked for a next day service. We got the tickets, extremely expensive, but hey what can you do? This month is the most expensive and with 2 weeks notice? Well.. We're doing our doctor's visits, today we see the family doctor; next week we see a psychiatrist and our kids pediatrician. Oh, yes, today I was able to get an appointment with a psychiatrist for next week. Thank God! Our FBI clearance is already in the process and it may be here before we leave, if not, we'll have to send it to the agency after our trip. But all together I think we have all the papers needed. Oh, except one. Our health insurance personnel is sending the required document, which should be here today. I need to send it back to Wyoming to apostille and that takes a week turnaround. So, that may be late before we travel. But that is OK, because we can still send documents 2 weeks after the trip.

We've got travel dates!

2008-07-08T22:28:00.003-07:00

Yesterday we received travel dates. Yes! We are so happy! We are leaving in two weeks.
I'm trying to schedule the doctor's appointments. I have a very hard time finding a psychiatrist in the city who would be available to see us by next weeend. I think tomorrow I will spend all of my free time calling around. I don't know how will we able to complete this part.
Did any of you have hard time too?

Referral Accepted

2008-07-02T15:31:00.013-07:00

Today we got some more informaton; they sent a copy of the Russian medical and some of his milestones at 9 months. After reviewing we decided to go and see him. How exiting! And now the waiting again; this time we wait for travel dates. Some other family with our agency just got travel dates 5 weeks from acceptance of the referral. I'm hoping that we'll get one sooner. If God permits. We are praying that whatever the situation is, he'll take care of us.

Medical Record Review

2008-06-27T13:42:00.007-07:00

I contacted an international adoption doctor on Tuesday evening. Fax over the received papers and she call me next day. Very nice person. Basically she needs more information; a different picture, the child's milestones at his age, and she also wanted a copy of the original Russian medical record.
I passed it on to the agency and our specialist said we might get some of the information we requested or even nothing. So, we are waiting on their response. Today is Friday and it is Saturday in Krasnoyarsk and it will be next week before we get the answers. Then we will have to decide to visit with the child. There is a 15 hour time difference between Phoenix, AZ and Krasnoyarsk. Wow!
Today I had to go downtown to the County Assessor's Office to correct the names on the proof of home ownership paper, because they didn't use our legal first names. As I understand the names must be exatly the same as in our passports.

June 24, 08 Happy News!

2008-06-24T17:10:00.003-07:00

Today, Tuesday we got a referral!!!! Yeah! Our agency called and told us they had a child for us. We've got the medical records and 3 pictures. I can tell you that he is 9 or 10 months old and extremely cute. So, we had to contact an international doctor who will review the medical records. We have 3 days to accept or reject. We are so exited and happy, we may actually travel this summer... I'm scared, though.

This is Joey & Michelle, our bio daughter & son

2008-06-13T22:26:00.002-07:00

Our daughter Michelle 15, and Joey 2 1/2.

Still waiting

2008-06-01T19:00:00.001-07:00

As of June 1st, we have no word on a referral yet. We kind of just set it a side and let our hopes on hold. We hear from other parents that usually takes a couple of months before they get a referral. Referral is the child the Ministry of Education in Krasnoyarsk, Russia will pick for us based on our preferences. Our preferences were for a healthy boy who is between 6 months to 18 months old. Hope the best...:)
Love to all!

May 22nd 2008

2008-05-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we received the I-171H approval in the mail. This is from the Immigration Office and this is the application for advance processing of orphan petition. They are sending it to the Moscow Embassy, so when we we'll be there, the visa for the child is going to be ready for him. Hurray!...

Krasnoyarsk, Russia

2008-05-17T15:59:00.000-07:00

Where is it?

Krasnoyarsk Krai is an enormous territory in Siberia that stretches from the Arctic Ocean almost to Russia's southern border with Mongolia. It is in its own time zone, and four hours ahead of Moscow.

What's the biggest city?
Krasnoyarsk, which is located toward the territory's southern end. The city's population was 909,341 as of the 2002 census, out of some 3 million inhabitants in the region at large. Other major cities are Achinsk (pop. 118,744 ) and Zheleznogorsk (pop. 93,875).

Who lives here?
Mostly ethnic Russians, But as you might expect of a region that sits smack dab in the middle of Russia, many of the country's smaller ethnic groups also show up on the census here.

Waiting - May 17, 2008

2008-05-17T15:50:00.001-07:00

Today is May 17th 2008. There is a 2 week holiday in May in Russia. So, I was told our papers will be translated by next week and the papers will be sent to Krasnoyarsk region at the end of May. Oh, yes, our agency chose the region Krasnoyarsk, Siberia for us.
We were working on the second part of the dossier so far. Lots of documents and head ache...
Employee references, financial statements, apply for immigration visa for the child (we had to be fingerprinted, again...), proof of ownership from the county assessor, warranty deed, letter from the homestudy agency, proof of insurance for the adoptive child, birth certificates for our children, recommendation letter from social worker and last, but not least medical exams from our family doctor, a psychiatrist and our kids pediatrician. Oh, I forgot we also need an FBI clearance. These medical visits and FBI clearance is only valid for 90 days, so we can only complete them just before the first trip. Good luck to us :)

April 18th dossier sent

2008-05-17T15:48:00.001-07:00

We got instruction about completing our dossier for Russia. There are two parts to it; the first part needed documents like application forms, letters to the government, passport copies, marriage certificate, consulate registration post placement report obligation, homestudy, pictures of living conditions, agency licenses and many others. These of course had to be all notarized and apostilled. With this, our dossier was sent out. After the first part was completed, we started working on the second part.

January 2008

2008-04-08T13:02:00.001-07:00

Decision made to adopt a child. We started our home study. We called the partner agency. They came out for 2 home visits, inverviewed us about our decision to adopt. The home study was actually easy. Each of us had to write a autobiography, answer to a lot of questions and take a course about adoption. The whole process took about 1 month, then they completed the study and it was sent to the Superior Court here in Phoenix. We were approved to be adoptive parents in March 7th, 2008.