Mother's Day and 1 Year

March had us beginning our long stretch of annual celebrations.  The next stretch of dates is May 11: 1 year from when we left for Russia the first time, May 13: 1 year to when we met her, May 17: 1 year from submitting our official paperwork for court, and May 19: 1 year from the end of our first trip.  Yeah!!!!

How did I celebrate?  I got her photo taken for her citizenship application!  Yeah!  Hopefully that whole package can be mailed off shortly.  Have to double check everything and pay the fees and then as long as everything is good to go, she will be Canadian officially!

We had dinner with our new friends who also adopted from Russia.  Dania was much more talkative this time around.  She really took a shine to their middle son, aged 7 or 8, and is so happy she can say I's name!  We got to watch their video they made of her trip and look through the photo book they made.  The city they adopted through, Kazan, was sooooo different from Sterlitimak.  It was a big city and had touristy spots and lots to see.  It was okay for them to stay in a hotel and go out on their own hahaha.  Such a different experience that way!

We have had our 6-month followup visit to the eye doctor and now he isn't happy with how her muscles have failed to develop with her.  She is definitely nearsighted now.  She is worse in the right eye.  He had thought it was slight enough before that it would grow with her, but I guess not.  It's funny because I feel like she has fine eyesight now... she sees things far away (like the book the lady reads to the group at the library) and doesn't lean in as close to books now.  He referred us to the kids hospital (again) so we now await an appointment with their eye doctors.  At least she won't need a barrage of blood work for this!  I did forget to submit her requisition at her surgery to double check for rubella and chicken pox vaccinations, and I've been waiting for a reason to go back to the hospital to get it done... eye appointment is a PERFECT reason.

We are also going to be seeing the speech pathologist every 3 to 4 weeks now.  We go again next week.  We shall see what happens now.  We are very much working on getting her to blow with her mouth (working with bubbles, harmonicas, noise makers) and the 'B' sound.  I am curious if it is someone else doing these activities with her if she will be less frustrated; she should benefit from your classic student-teacher relationship.

On top of it all, we just had our first week of big change with Mike back at work.  It went okay.  I need to learn to relax a bit more.  I see a mess and if I can't clean it right away I start to get upset.  For example, Leia was sick on the floor and I had to let it sit there until I could ensure Dania was happy and distracted and Leia was okay.  It sat there for about 45 minutes before I could get to it to clean it thoroughly.  GUH!  I just feel very hurried when it comes to anything not Dania related.  All my time with her though?  HILARIOUS!  She wants to be outside as much as possible and I am SO okay with that.  I love heading out right after breakfast and playing in the sun.  I've been on a few stroller walks with her too (thanks again to everyone who helped gift us that gem!)  Last year I didn't get to go on really long walks but she is okay with it now for sure!  As long as cars pass us every once in awhile lol!  She gibbers away about everything, reads to herself aloud now, tries to sing, pretends to be the dog in more ways than I like, and makes me laugh and feel soooo happy to see the light in those brown eyes.

Oh!  We got her ears pierced!  I was sick of her being called a boy (even with the frilly red coat with the butterfly broach).  I had thought about after seeing a friend's cute pictures of her daughter.  The extra sparkle was just adorable with the round face and cheeks.  I mentioned it to Mike and we went the next day.  She sat there quietly and suspiciously while the lady marked her lobes.  They kept commenting on how small and dainty her features were.  I had never noticed before, but she doesn't have a lot of lobe!  Mike sat on the chair and held Dania on his lap while the ladies lined up the piercing guns.  1...2...3 BANG!  Done.  She gasped, did the silent cry while tears welled, let out the cry, I picked her up, they showed her a bucket of lollipops and she was done crying.  It was about 6 seconds of crying in total.  She then kept pointing to her ears and then to mine.  I really think she understood what had just happened.  I take mine out every night so sometimes in the morning I don't have them in and she will point out the difference, but all in all, she is so fine with it that I'm not even worried about infection from hand transfer.  She did take one out while refusing to go down for a nap.  These are the standard piercing studs that snap into place so she must have pulled HARD!  I woke her up and she pointed to her lobe and said "OOOWWwwwwWWWW."  Right away I knew where to look, the window ledge.  Sure enough, both pieces were on the floor by the window ledge.  She likes to stand and look out her window while she poops or is anti-sleep.  She was a little pissed about having it put back in but that, so far, was the only bad instance of her handling them.  The lady had mentioned they can get pinched too tight and I'm wondering if she did that and then counteracted... she just looks so cute!!!

Oh, also, she is shooting up in height again.  She has grown almost 2 inches since her birthday!  That's almost an inch a month!  GIANT!

Needles, and Grampa, and English, oh my!

What a week!  We had our first major flashback or horror (at least, I think it was!).  We went to the doctor on Monday to get our referrals for the pediatrician; ear, nose, and throat specialist; and ophthalmologist.  She also was given her 18-month needles.  She did not like that.  She was as could be expected in the office and then off for the rest of the day.  That night she would not sleep.  She woke up screaming and would not stop.  I picked her up and she couldn't even look at me and just kept screaming and thrashing her head and hands around.  I had to hold her close to me and I rocked in the chair and sang for a loooong time.  Nothing seemed to be working.  I really think the needles brought back memories from her medical exams in Russia.  It was so not her normal crying.  Eventually, I had to put her back in the crib because she was getting so hot and sweaty.  I rubbed her hair and kept singing and she kept screaming.  Then, she turned her head and looked at me, actually looked at me, and poked her fist up at me for a fist bump.  There was my girl!  She was still upset but calmed down after that!  Phew!

My dad came to visit on a whim too!  That was great for me to watch him watch her.  He looks at her like she is a scientist.  She is very inquisitive and observational and takes it all in and then does it!  I felt bad he had to see her out-of-sorts because of the needles, but she was her giggly self once her legs didn't hurt her anymore!  Dad now knows the train songs and her circuit of the main floor here.  He saw her in the tub, pretty much swimming, and we pushed her up and down the driveway in her car (a purple Flintstone-style car that her legs are too short to work).  Dad got to see her learning her new game.  3-2-1-Kaboom!  All I do is count down from 3, say kaboom and she squeels and falls on her butt.  Over and over again.  It made me realize she is recognizing my words better.

We started to teach her some body part words.  Hair, nose, eye, teeth, neck, ear.  She knows these ones.  She also "says" (more like hummmms) them with the same inflection that I do.  She is so freaking smart!  Everything we were told by our Russian training said she shouldn't have lost her Russian yet but she is already recognizing and trying to speak the English!  She listens (sometimes) when we say 'no,' like, when she unrolled the toilet paper; she hasn't tried again.

Speaking of being told by the Russians, guidelines and rules have changed yet again!  We now have to submit a 3 month post-placement report before the formerly initial 6 month one.  I shake my head but we will do it because we have to.  It just means paying for an extra set of document translation and certifications, postage, and the social worker visit.  If this money actually went to Russia I would say it was a cash-grab, but it does not.  

Lighter notes:  Other things I've noticed this week are, she still likes her moon.  She says 'ha-ka' for anything she wants.  She is faster coming down the stairs.  Her hair has gotten darker and curlier.  She is getting bolder with the dog and approaches both pets a lot more.  She enjoys laying in the tub water now; relaxing with her ears under the surface.  She is bigger but she looks a lot bigger because we were handed-down a bunch of clothes that don't fall off her shoulders or need to be pinned.  She is getting quicker at talking to new people.  She can work her talking Russian dog by herself - and has totally worn out the mechanism inside as it now plays 1 and a half phrases out of the 6 or 7 it initially spoke!  She can walk 3/4 of the way around the block.  She motions to be picked up in the kitchen so she can 'ha-ka' the arrowroots we keep on the counter... clever girl.

                                              Jeans that fit and a sticker from the doctor.

For Impatient Sisters...

I only have one!!!  She says I need to stop loafing around and blog already!

Laziness or jet lag... you tell HER after reading this.

I am still tired. guh.  But oh, so, happy.  I KNOW this was the right decision because to me it feels like she has been here always.  I emphasize the knowing because I started to question this decision after the court hearing.  Not because it was now final, but because the prosecutor asked if we would regret this decision because we were so young and could feel in five years that this high needs child would be a mistake.  I had no doubts going into it but you can bet your sweet bottoms that I started to at that point.

Then, at the airport in Toronto, Dad says to me that he could tell I was a great mom for her already.  Done with the questioning.  After day one and how well she has fit here, done with the worrying (well, the worries about this being the right decision...)!  It seriously feels to me that she has been here for her whole life so far.  Other than her not understanding us and us not knowing so many little things about her likes and dislikes, because they are already established, we have slipped back into Canada with no hiccups. 

We woke up around 5 am yesterday morning (Moscow time), traveled to the airport, went through passport control with no problems, and got on the plane.  I never again want to do that long plane ride with a child who is so unfamiliar with change.  She was so overstimulated and cranky and seriously did not sleep longer than 1 hour and 15 minutes, not in one stint, and I just felt so bad for how cranky and exhausted and upset she was getting on the plane.  Her cries were easy to muffle so I didn't give a care about the surrounding people, and she's not large enough to hit the seat in front so that wasn't an issue either.  We were all tired when we landed in Toronto.

I started crying as soon as the wheels hit the runway upon landing.  I didn't expect too... thought I was too tired.  But I looked at Dania and said 'you are home'.  I looked at Mike and we were both grinning.  Customs was a breeze, the immigration officer we had was so nice and excited for us, it was just a smooth procedure. 

I was then excited to see the family!  Yeah!  Mum was there first and then Dad, and then my sister and cousin.  It was great.  Dania was tired but she was so watchful.  As soon as we sat down she was all cute and flirty and kissing people and fist bumping and being her great self.

The same could have been said for Halifax if it hadn't been 7 hours later and she was Extremely exhausted.  She did give them a few fist bumps and smiles, but she hit the car seat and fell asleep within ten minutes.  She woke up and was excited to see the bathtub, and then was out like a light as soon as she was lowered into the crib.  She didn't even move and she is normally traveling all over the crib while she sleeps!  She slept 8 hours still and didn't have a massive freakout when she woke in a different place... it must feel right to her too.

She has spent the day puttering around here, meeting a few new faces, but mostly finding her places in the house and still being her cute self, of course.  She definitely knows Mike and me and smiles huge when she sees one of us.  I love that.  She also is really comfortable and relaxed being put into all these new rooms and fixtures around the house.  It will be fun to find out what food she likes (steak, we found out tonight) and to get her routine here now that she can have more room to run around and a yard to play in!  And friends that don't spend every minute of the day with you! LOL!

Other than the crying baby on the plane (mine, if there was any misunderstanding about how upset she was) the whole trip went smoother than any other.  In 6 - 8 weeks her permanent resident card will be here and we can start her official immigration process!

 

her one 45 minute long stretch of sleep on the plane

 her performing for everyone at the toronto airport

 

her asleep at the end of her 22 hour long day!

Dania in Moscow

Meanwhile, in Moscow...

The internet has been out so I am posting all days I was MIA all at once, while I sip a coffee in the Dunkin' Donuts across the street and scam on their wifi!

Sunday.

She slept 9 hours! I know I keep mistakenly thinking in newborn terms for things, like she should be up several times a night, but she's new to me so you can see where I blur the lines. It was a quick morning of walking practice before she crawled into the bedroom, threw Boublik into the crib, and pointed at me to be lifted up. Just like that, nap for three hours! Not only do I believe she never slept enough, but I KNOW she never ate enough. We are discovering with her that she does feel full really quickly because of air intake with her food, so we will be giving her smaller meals at quicker intervals instead of packing as much in before she starts to cry a la the orphanage. She will get fussy if it is packing into her nasal passages and refuse to eat more. This will also cause her to sneeze more and then it is like the play d'oh factory... yikes!

After lunch, we walked the old Arbat pedestrian area with D and S and G. I think they liked seeing each other again! Both girls looked happy. Dania was in the carrier with Mike and was doing really well until she just got too hot and sweaty being against him. We all sat down and had a drink or two and then went home for naps.


After nap and dinner she was more than excited to have her bath as she kept crawling into the bathroom every chance she got! She always goes to bed easy, I think she is used to being put in the crib and left. She will warm up to the cuddles, I hope! I was sitting and listening to her talk to herself for an hour and a half before going to sleep. She just loves it. I'm willing to bet it is a first for her as she has never slept alone like this before! All of a sudden she can imagine whatever and as squeelingly happily as she wants without disturbing anyone or being disturbed!!!

Monday.
207 days to the Olympics as per the big countdown in the city center!

It cooled down with the rain and thunder last night so we decided to go for along trek right after breakfast. Mike wanted to don the carrier again and we bundled her up a bit more so she was toasty but not sweaty. We took her to some of the famous spots, the Kremlin wall, the Red Square, St. Basil's, the Bolshoi Theatre, so she can know she visited her homeland's capital's hot spots. She fell asleep right after the cathedral and just slept against Mike until we stopped to eat. What a cutie. After lunch we went to Alexander's Garden, the place with all the water fountains and pretty flowers from our first trip here. I figured she'd like the fountains since she loves the tub. Did she ever! Loved them so much we had to leave because we wouldn't let her go in them or drink from them!

After lunch and naps, all around, we did a lot of walking practice. She is getting sooooo much sturdier. We are both very impressed. She was also a bit more independent today with the food...just a bit though, she fed herself some pieces of grilled cheese, Mike did more though. Later on she fed herself all of the banana and apple we cut up; she was getting delightfully frustrated with the slimey banana. Then at dinner she did a few bits of chicken and wanted the rest fed to her. She did pick up the empty spoon and put it in her mouth a few times though. I don't think she's ever had to hold a spoon! We are also really trying to encourage her independent drinking. It is at the point now where she will pick the water up off the table and hand it to us if she wants some. When playing, she has actually done it a few times on her own. Lots and lots of changes and she is adapting well.

After another fun bath we had her into bed and cooing to herself without problem. Music to my ears. She just sounds so happy playing with her reflection and the Boublik stuffy. We've actually heard it talk a few times without us squeezing it but we don't think she has figured a consistent way to activate it on her own, just luck. She loves him though! Mmmm, I'm going to sleep with the smell Johnson & Johnson in my nose and her coos ringing in my ears! I love it!

Tuesday.
This whole no internet thing really sucks, especially when waiting to hear if you have to change your flights and find accommodations! We won't have to, by the way. Fantastic relief. The visas should have been finished today and O will take them to the consulate tomorrow.

I am sick. I don't know if I caught it from Dani's cold or if I just had a lucky draw. I woke up in the night feeling like I was swallowing glass. Blah. I tried to shake it off with a walk while she was napping but no luck. I was useless today.

We have been working hard on the walking and I am proud (but nowhere near as proud as Dani) to say she IS walking! She isn't just back and forth between me and Mike, now she can get up and go on her own, steady herself, and kind of steer. We just need to work on turning on the spot. Four days was all it took for her to get that she can do it on her own.

She is also getting more comfortable with eating herself. She still prefers to be fed but we try to only do that with soup, yogurt, porridge. Loves bananas and banana yogurt.

She even likes getting her teeth brushed! The only thing she hates is us wiping her nose or mouth. She also loves making the 'h' sound. She will do it while she walks now. Kind of sounds like a dog panting...

Wednesday
She slept ten hours and I'm fairly certain she was sore from all the walking and getting up from a squat position. We decided to take her to the Moscow zoo. She slept. We enjoyed the nice day and Mike revelled in the fact that Dania slept on him for an hour. She did get a chance to mimic then parrots who were louder than a dump truck in a nitro glycerin plant (reference anyone?).

When we got home and ate she immediately began being upset and we could tell it was the belly. Pore girl. It didn't get better until after dinner and her relief was akin to a state of elated drunkeness. She couldn't walk straight and was extra goofy until the fingers went to the mouth. She settled happily in bed, thank goodness, since she had no real naps today.

She is just the best!

Saturday in Moscow

Well, last night went pretty darn well considering her situation!  Like I said, she went down easy, and then we went down about an hour later.  At one point she bumped her head and woke herself up.  We heard her whimper and then she sat upright and we could tell she was startled and she began crying pretty hard.  Even her full on wail is kind of pathetic sounding...bleating goat -like.  We tried to soothe her and tried laying her between us but  this could have been a night terror as she was looking back and forth between us but could seem to find nothing to look at.  Her whole body was tensed up and she just kept crying.  We then flipped her over on her belly and started squeezing the russian dog toy (we found his name to be Boublik, or some spelling that sounds similar) and held it near her head.  She began to o

nly cry in between his talking, like she was finally focusing on somet

hing, and then she settled after about ten minutes of this and we could put her back down.  She slept on solidly for 4 more hours, woke up with little cries because she had pooped, but we changed her and she slept for another 4 hours! 

This is a belated sleeping pic from last night.

This morning she was a happy little camper wandering around then living room playing and  'talking' to us.  We moved her crib so it is beside the wardrobe mirror and she loves that!  Went down for a nap really easily because of that.  Oh!  Breakfast!  She had yogurt(banana flavour) for the first time and her eyebrows shot up and she made a noise of exclamation and devoured it!  Didn't take her eyes off the spoon once!  So fun to see her enjoying flavourful food,  and not just plain porridge!

The rest of the day had her being a happy camper and just wanting to hold Daddy's hand and walk around.  She had half of a grilled cheese sandwhich for lunch and enjoyed it but didnt know how to eat it.  We had to cut it up small and feed it to her.  Things like that make me feel, i don't know how to explain it right, sad/hurt/anxious that she has this learned manner that is totally unnecessary but she cannot understand me to correct it quicker for her own benefit.  She is so used to being spoon fed her entire meal in under five minutes.  They just shovel it in with hardly time to breathe inbetween.  She doesn't know she can pick the food up with her hands and feed herself.  She has only done that with bread or biscuits. They also are not allowed to have anything to drink until it is all finished, so now, when she can assist her swallow with some water, she absolutely guzzles!  For a girl with no roof of her mouth that spells trouble lol!

Sigh.  I know it will take longer to unlearn her habits, just in the same way she has to unlearn her understanding of Russian before she can learn English.  But these customs are just so much more beneficial to her at this point!

We had the Moscow rep, O, visit to pick up all the necessary paperwork for the visas.  I got upset because i honestly thought we left on SATURDAY the 16th, not Friday the 16.  I thought we were worry free because of having five business days.  Now the panic sets in because we only have four!  She just kept saying she "hopes" it will be ok.  What the hell!?  Just when I thought we were only doing time some "more excitement" crops up.  Gah!

Our eve started with some excitement too.  Gas and cramping and painful bowels.  Poor girl!  I hadn't heard her cry in pain yet.  Still kind of goat-like.  She was probably still a bit dehydrated from yesterday, new foods today, stress and it all added up to bowel problems.  Aunt Kitty, you'd have been proud of the grunting strength behind her small frame!  After finally passing some foul gas but nothing more i thought sitting hef in some warm water would help, but was apprehensive because she has never had a bath before... they only get spinged down so she had never heard the thundr of the water filling a tub and then felt enclosed by tall slippery walls while water raised up around her... So, I got in first, stood her in the low level water and just started pooring it on her legs.  She stopped crying and sat down in it.  She loved it!  She settled right down and was playing in the water in about five minutes.  She was playing with the running water when I turned that on for her too.  Well, now I know, Dania loves the tub!  Phew!

She still never pooped though...

Paka Paka

That is goodbye in Russian.  We said that to a lot of people today.  The nice ladies who fed and sheltered us, the driver, the staff, and the city of Sterlitimak!  It was actually quite a quick process.  We showed up at 4, sat and waited a bit, then brought in her clothing to a small room and they brought her to us.  We changed her, said goodbye and left!  Wow!  No tears there.  She didn't even seem to mind the reverse goodbye!

She was good in the car form the most part.  First big poop we had to do an emergency roadside change! Lol!  Later on,in Moscow, Mike will change his first poopy diaper!!!  At the airport in Ufa, we fed her some porridge and gave her her first cookie, an arrowroot-ish kind, which she adored!  Eyes lit right up!  Then plane was OK too.  She was definitely getting super tired but overstimulated and couldn't sleep!  She was 3 hours past bedtime when we landed.  Four and a half hours by the time she went down.  Which she just did.  I just put my daughter to bed for the first time.  I loved it.  She is clearly not used to being held or rocked before bed.  I held her a bit and rubbed her back then put her in the crib in our apartment here.  One little whimper and she was down for the count.  I hope we all sleep tonight! Lol!

I will keep things updated for sure this week, will probably be pretty relaxed though.  Going to let her sleep and eat when she wants and not cut her off.  Will have to try to find an adapter for an three prong cord for my computer..duh...brought it for the sole purpose of doing schoolwork while she napped this week and probably won't be able to! Lol!

The apartment is nice. Fully functional and in a great location.  Close to where we were last time so we have an idea of how to get to what we need.  For now, what we need is to put our suitcases away, go to sleep, and do laundry in the morning!  How mundane and how delightful to be doing it as a three person family!!!

Last Night in The Baby Home

It is her last night in the orphanage.  I wonder if she gets told that?  Either way, we are so freaking excited!  I am back to a state of maybe throwing up because I am so worried we will miss the flight!  Jessa!  Calm the flip down!

Breathing.

This morning was another grey and rainy morning, and then it continued all day.  We stayed inside.  This morning in the party room upstairs.

And this afternoon was in the fun room downstairs.

she loves her own reflection

We went to the store and got some oatmeal and cereal so we have that for the first few mornings in Moscow.  We will get liquids at the airport once we have passed through security.  We will also pocket the bread from the airplane meals since they are individually packaged and just perfect for tiny hands.

We have repacked, almost completely. I have her outfit for tomorrow!  Yeah!  No dumpy tights!  We also had to pack the two giant folders of forms we have.  Only one folder is for us, everything is copied and translated a few times so we can give copies to the Embassy.  Her passport is cute (of course) and her name spelled in English is ridiculous!  Daniia Rouz... Not to worry, they told us it would be like that because Russian doesn't translate perfectly to English.  It also has one stamp inside that is very important "cleared to leave abroad!"  In Russian, of course, so I can't pronounce it.  We were told that copies of all of her documents will be sealed in an envelope in the embassy with the same stamp on it.  I am very much looking forward to leaving with her tomorrow.  I still won't feel 'in the clear' until we are through passport control in Moscow on the 16th.  Then I know we're cool...  We expect her to be a little cranky tomorrow, the flight is at her bedtime.  It could work for us or against us HUGE! LOL!  Either way, it will feel so good to be able to put her to bed for the first time!  I will be able to kiss her goodnight and be the first face she sees when she wakes up!  THE BEST!

Also the best...

Tomorrow's post will come later.  I will be en route to Moscow at this time tomorrow.  I won't be able to update until we are settled in the apartment... but I will before I go to bed.  You can sleep in Katie!

Day 2

Mike finally got to see her and she rememered him too!  Reached right for him!  I loved it!  It's raining nonstop today so we got to play in the party room upstairs and then the fun room this afternoon.  I sat with Dania at the grand piano and she really like playing.  I would press a key and she would try to do the same one (I say try because she would use an open palm so she would hit the surrounding keys too)!  We got to feed her dinner and she was wonderful during that.

Really?  Still taking my pic?  

I don't know why Jen, but this face makes me think of Dylan!

cute dress!

We also said good bye to our team of reps tonight.  I cried (of course).  They have been so wonderful this whole time.  E said she was really happy for us and it warms her soul to see how Dania has changed since 'bathing in our love'.  I can't believe it's almost all over!  Tomorrow will be a normal day of two visits, while we repack in between, and then we leave for Moscow on Friday!  We also went over all of our documents and their translations today.  We have quite the stack!

Official certificate of adoption!!!

Our wonderful host is going to prepare some porridge for us to take on our trip so we don't have to rush out to buy food for her at night when we get there.  We also will do a little market run tomorrow to grab some biscuits or something else we can pack for her.  I am sooooo looking forward to not having to leave her inbetween naps!

Where is Ze Child?

Back home after my first day with Dania again!  It was a funny trip here because apparently the kids show up on the itineraries for both ways even if you only actually have them one way... Every airport had us being asked where the infant was.  In Halifax, we were given a boarding pass for her and knew there was an error there.  We had to make sure to get our reservation changed so that they weren't looking for her on board!  In Toronto, when the man at the counter asked, I indicated she was in our luggage.  He laughed.  I wouldn't have tried that anywhere where English wasn't the primary language!  In Moscow, the woman stands up and almost sounds angry/aghast when she asks, "where is ze child?"  I thought it was funny.  It was even funnier for S & D because they had a stroller and no kid!

After crashing for a long and deep sleep, (well, Mike didn't because he had to get up at 5 and go back to Ufa and spend the day there getting Dania's passport.  I feel bad because he didn't get to see her at all today!  I did *BIG SMILE).  there were no tears and much less confusion.  She reached for the mouth right away and started cooing right away too.  She was definitely tired on both visits.  She doesn't get enough sleep there!  She also had a bruised eye on the second visit today - I think they sleep with multiple babies in a big crib - it looks an awful lot like the result of a head-on-head bang!  We went in the fun room, went outside.  She laughed a lot in the fun room at the mirror.  She was playing peekaboo with herself and kept holding different things and then looking at her reflection.  Really trying to figure it out.  A few head butts in there too! LOL!  I also put her on a rocking horse toy and she gave herself a good back and forth.  I got that on video to show Mike when he gets back.  I hope they didn't just wait in the passport building all day, I hope they got to see a bit of Ufa since they didn't get to see their girls!

I am going to crash hard tonight!  It feels good that it is official today!  Appeal period is over and the papers have been issued to our lawyer.  Three more sleeps and we say goodbye to the baby home and move onto Moscow for the week!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I cannot even imagine doing all I am doing and still having to do all that shopping... thanks again!

We keep receiving wonderfully kind words and help and we are so lucky! 

To just give a quick low-down on the new stress we were slapped with, the embassy diplomats went on strike in a lot of the major cities, including Moscow.  I had an email from the lady at CHOC who I keep dealing with (and it was a tad rude, but we won't get into that now since it is being dealt with) that basically said we have to check to see if we are going to experience delays because of this.  Eff that!  Isn't that part of what we are paying her for?  Contact with the reps over in Moscow who would have a better ability to find out this info?!?!  Either way, S has the email of the contact in Moscow from their previous adoption so he emailed her.  It shouldn't be a problem, still 4 business days for the visa, because of the situation.  Thank goodness for his contact with O in Moscow! 

Also, the apartment rental people are beginning to get on our nerves too (when I say our, I mean all 4 of us) with a few little things.  As S said, "there's always a little excitement, isn't there?"

I have ordered the money, washed all of her and our clothes, started the pile of what we need to take, scanned our travel documents again for registration, put new items 'away' so that we can get rid of all the garbage and packaging before she is in the house, rescheduled all appointments, gave my friends a tour of Halifax, and continually email S in Richmond Hill about everything, and dealt with the stupid responses from the two parties I mentioned earlier. 

My list is about half done, which is good because it's halfway through the time we had! 4 more sleeps!!!

Day 6

Today is our last day in Sterlitimak (for only 11 more sleeps!) and we had a fun morning visit with Dania.  She was sleepy at 11 and fell asleep on me but then the Ontario couple showed us this awesome fun room and we gently woke her up.  She didn't mind waking up when she saw where she was!  She really likes to pick at screws and feel textures so I took her to this wall that had all kinds of things screwed into it with all different materials.  She played there happily and talked to herself in the mirror.  Then she was fascinated with the plastic columns with colour changing lights in the bottom that were enclosed with mirrors so there were many Danias!  The whole room had padded stairs and forts and beanbag chairs and even a ball pit!  There were all kinds of fun lights too.  A completely awesome sensory room.  I don't know if she would have ever been in it before.  I don't think either of the girls had by their hesitation at first.  D&S remembered it from their first adoption visits so they just asked if we could go in today.  They get us all the cool breaks!

Our daughter!

First Family Photo

Our first official family photograph.

we look a little happy, eh?

July 24th will be family day for sure.  It technically isn't offical until the 6th of August, but this is the day we were congratulated by the judge!

She weighs 15-ish pounds.  Her dress said size 1... I don't know how their sizing compairs to ours though.  18-24 months would work.  She is tiny weight but she is tall.  Size 3 diaper still (again, size 3 here, 15 pounds).

It was wonderful hugging and kissing her this afternoon!  

Yeah yeah yeah!

Sweet! Day 5

We got her!

YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH!  I held true to my word that I wasn't very nervous (the prosecutor had a pair of big ol' sunglasses in her hair! LOL!) and the judge was Bashkir (which is the same ethnicity as Dania) and I wore my red shoes that I haven't worn since our wedding (and that day was awesome so it had to be lucky today too!)  I didn't cry until it was all over when the judge looked at me and said she was glad we were keeping her name because in Bashkir it means, "sweet."

She is sweet.
She is ours.
I'm a mom!

I'm crying hahahaha.

The courtroom itself was more of a conference room and it was just constant listening to the people talking and the translator beside me.  Up and down whenever we spoke or answered questions.  They seemed more concerned about her health than anything and just wanted to ensure that we would be there and able to provide what she needs to thrive and become independent.  The depression did come up, but I wasn't worried.  I kind of had the feeling this was good since we were told we could take her in ten days.  I figured the judge had already gone through our case enough with our lawyer and representative on the day they decided that and today was just a matter of the judicial motions.

YEAH!

We go to see our daughter(heehee) this afternoon and then once more tomorrow before we leave.  The flights will probably be booked in the next 24 hours.  The Ontario couple has a travel agent connection who is Russian so she has found us the best deal and we are now just hammering out the dates for certainty.  Most likely:  We will depart Canada on August 4th and arrive the night of the 5th.  The 6th is when all is official and we can pick up the documents.  Then they will apply for the passports and those will get picked up on the 8th.  On the 9th we go to Moscow.  We have the weekend to be a family in the hotel.  Monday the 12th we go to get her visa and register her as a Russian citizen living abroad.  We wait 4 days for the visa to be made.  Spend one more day in Moscow and leave on the 16th for HOME!

So, we have 9 days to do everything we need to do once home in Canada, and this includes a wedding, getting foreign money, getting her clothes and toiletry needs, and having good friends visit for the week to help me pass the time!  Holy smokes!

Thank you all sooooo much for the support and the following... this won't stop any time soon.  My journey to becoming a mom has hit the home stretch, but Dania's journey with us is just starting!!!
xoxo

Day 4

I love all the comments!  Yes, we do read them.  Katie:  Those are just in the special room and those are new since the last trip, the toy cupboard is still only filled with hard toys.  Thanks everyone for following!

It is now the end of the day and one sleep (yah, right) away from court.  We went over the procedure again today, nothing new since last time.  Then they went over our statements with us... just have to say that I was the only one who didn't have to change a thing!  Ahem!  Pat on my back!  We also got to feed the girls dinner today.  Dania was a hungry little one and ate with no problems.  Drinking is a bit harder as that can come up and out the nose a lot easier!  If she uses a sippy cup she has better flow control, that's what they did last time, but this time we just had a regular cup.

We also had a change to discuss the third trip.  They want us to coordinate our flights so we all take off and land at the same time - makes sense.  I feel like we are going to have a skype flight booking date very soon.  They have contact with the rep in Moscow.  They will email her and find out how many days we need in Moscow and then we will book.

As for the cute part of the day (every moment spent with her, of course), she fell asleep in my arms again today.  I'm starting to think she should nap at 11:00 and not 12:30! LOL  The time zone change will mess that up anyway!

She LOVES to sing with me!  I start singing and she now starts to sing too and bob her head or bounce.  Freaking adorable.  I know all kids do it, but this just PROVES music IS its own language!  She doesn't care that she can't understand me!  Videos later, promise.  For now, these will suffice...

This is her "oh, wow!" smile.

 This is her gut busting "so hilarious" smile.

Cute hat!

Family pic!

So, now tomorrow is it.  I am not so nervous about court as I thought I would be.  I know I won't cry during my speech because I can hold it in when being watched.  I'm sure I will cry when she makes her decision and gives her verdict.  Either way.  

We will also have a few moments before court to ask the case social worker current situations of Dania's parents and grandparent's to ease (hopefully) our minds as to a smaller chance for appeal (because I do feel like we will get custody now, we have to).  

I can't believe court is TOMORROW!  I feel like I've been on such a crazy-ass roller coaster and have just gone around the final turn and am about to coast into the exit...  Let's hope it doesn't derail!

Day 3 and Mind Blown

Just got back from our evening visit which was much more active than the morning one...

We just kind of hid on a swing and pretended she was awake and let her nap.  She obviously needed it if she did that 20minutes into our visit!

This evening though, we did laps of the building and sang and danced.  She now mimicks our clapping and feet stomping.  As soon as she is in our arms she is reaching for our mouths so we can make noise and pat her hand on it so it "warbles."  You know what I mean, right?  I can't explain it properly.

Now for the mind blow!  This would definitely NOT have happened if the couple from Ontario hadn't been with us.  They adopted a few years ago befor the wait times changed.  The judge has agreed that if we are awarded custody we can take her after only 10 days!  HOLY TIME DIFFERENCE, BATMAN!  This means, if we are granted custody and no one appeals she is officially ours on August 6th and we are to take her to Moscow from the baby home August 9th, and then we will be back in Canada by, probably, the 16th.  Then they went to the passport officials and negotieated getting the passports made in 1 or 2 days!  We were instantly overjoyed and then looked at each other with panic in our eyes.  How the heck are we going get all we need and flights and hotel in Moscow with only 11 days and one pay in between!?!?!  Then we look at her - it will happen.  Just look at that face:

...how can we NOT make it happen?  My "due" date just was shortened by 4 weeks!  The reps and lawyer seem confident that this will all work out.  I'm a little nervous, except I don't feel it at all with her - but, heck, I'm a mom, I worry!

It's time to make lists of things to get.  Good 14 hour layover activity hahaha!

This shorter wait time also is better for her remembering us!  She is always reaching up to be held so I'm hoping the 11 days we won't see her will be short enough that she will reach for us when we see her in August!  If not, she will at least remember a lot quicker than she did after 2 months.  I love her!

And I love watching her and Mike together!

Ok, we go over the hearing procedures tomorrow and then it's court the next day.  Let's tackle that now.

She's Got Personality! Day 2 part 2

Holy moly!  She showed us who she really is tonight!  Normally I wouldn't post twice in the same day, but I had to get all this out as I'm busting with happy!  She was like a different kid and she had us laughing our butts off!  She was trying so hard to run around, she was launching herself off of the little stage area into our arms, she was tipping over backwards in a trust-fall style, and she was singing, hooting, and hollering all over the place!  I think this was the real Dania and she is telling us she is 100% comfortable with us!  I wish I could post the videos to this, but they will have to wait until facebook when I get home.  She was mimicking me and 'telling' us what she wanted to do.  It was wonderful to see this!  You could add up all her hoots and coos from all previous days and it wouldn't add up to the fun she was squeeling out today!

She could not turn around fast enough so she could run to the other person!

 She would turn, look at whoever was sitting across from her, smile and then launch herself towards them.

She kept climbing up to be tickled or to pat her hand on our mouth while we made noise.

She kept throwing herself backwards and then wanting to be tickled!

She thought mimicking tongue sticking out was hilarious.  We then tried the raspberries on the belly again.  She didn't laugh at it, but she kept patting her belly to indicate more.

And for all of those who have asked about her celft.  She was laughing so hard that I got several photos of it.  You can see how her gum line is all in tact, but beyond the gum line it is missing and you can see straight up to the back of the nose.

I love this kid!