2:30 am CST, June 25th We became Parents!
Time to celebrate! Owen is now ours!
We are back at the Radisson (thank goodness for hotels with wifi).
It was a long day yesterday! Off to court at 9 dressed in our finest!
We started around 10 once the director of the orphanage and social worker arrived. It was a tough 2 hours pleading our case and filling the judge in with all the information she already had, but just to confirm it all. We stepped out at around 11 to let her decide, and then returned to listen to the decree to sign Owen over to us and waive the 10 day wait. I was in tears! It started raining during the decree and the judge stated that it was a sign of good luck and good things to come. Which made me cry more, because I knew in my heart that it was our loved one's shedding tears of joy for us. It was an overwhelming but joyful moment. We then were off to get his new birth certificates to get his passport started. This takes about 2 hours, so we went back to the hotel where we stayed in Smolensk to change and checked out. Then went to eat. They have many different restaurants as in the states: Italian, Sushi, Deli's and we chose Italian. It was good. Then the passport was ready so we returned to pick it up, then the Social worker and director caught us in time for a ride back to the orphanage but not until we stopped at the market for baby food and other essentials.
Then off to Pick up our Son! A new Mama & Papa (as they called us).
It was supper time, so they fed him a bit and then handed him over to us. We put his new clothes on and I couldn't help but smother him with kisses. He didn't mind, he was all smiles. The director gave us his schedule, telling us what he eats and drinks so we were all ready to go. It was about 6pm when we left. So a 4 hour drive back to Moscow with a new baby in our care! How scary is that! He did fine though. He was all smiles, playing with his new toys, and talking with his new parents. He finally dozed off when we crossed the border into the Moscow region. Arriving at the Belgrade around 10 he woke up, but didn't fuss. He's a very curious fellow, so he took in everything around him. We got settled in our room, changed him into his pj's and it took about an hour to settle him back to sleep. It was a long day for him to, so it didn't take much.
Today the doctor came at 6:45 to get an update for the embassy. It went well, nothing new to report. We fed him breakfast which he didn't eat much, but did like the Gerber puffs I opened for him. We then waited for another agency representative to sign the necessary paperwork needed for the embassy also. That was at 7 and went quick. We then just hung out and got used to each other. Fed him a bit at Noon, again he didn't want much. Vasilly picked us up at 12:30 to move us to the Radisson. This was his normal nap time, so we had trouble getting a nap in. We tried off and on, but he's a fighter! We ordered room service around 2 and shared a bit with him, and he was hungry, so I pulled his lunch back out and he filled up on it. He finally crashed at 5:30 after we shared some peppermint tea. I'm not sure he will make it through the night this time, but we will see.
It was a long day yesterday! Off to court at 9 dressed in our finest!
We started around 10 once the director of the orphanage and social worker arrived. It was a tough 2 hours pleading our case and filling the judge in with all the information she already had, but just to confirm it all. We stepped out at around 11 to let her decide, and then returned to listen to the decree to sign Owen over to us and waive the 10 day wait. I was in tears! It started raining during the decree and the judge stated that it was a sign of good luck and good things to come. Which made me cry more, because I knew in my heart that it was our loved one's shedding tears of joy for us. It was an overwhelming but joyful moment. We then were off to get his new birth certificates to get his passport started. This takes about 2 hours, so we went back to the hotel where we stayed in Smolensk to change and checked out. Then went to eat. They have many different restaurants as in the states: Italian, Sushi, Deli's and we chose Italian. It was good. Then the passport was ready so we returned to pick it up, then the Social worker and director caught us in time for a ride back to the orphanage but not until we stopped at the market for baby food and other essentials.
Then off to Pick up our Son! A new Mama & Papa (as they called us).
It was supper time, so they fed him a bit and then handed him over to us. We put his new clothes on and I couldn't help but smother him with kisses. He didn't mind, he was all smiles. The director gave us his schedule, telling us what he eats and drinks so we were all ready to go. It was about 6pm when we left. So a 4 hour drive back to Moscow with a new baby in our care! How scary is that! He did fine though. He was all smiles, playing with his new toys, and talking with his new parents. He finally dozed off when we crossed the border into the Moscow region. Arriving at the Belgrade around 10 he woke up, but didn't fuss. He's a very curious fellow, so he took in everything around him. We got settled in our room, changed him into his pj's and it took about an hour to settle him back to sleep. It was a long day for him to, so it didn't take much.
Today the doctor came at 6:45 to get an update for the embassy. It went well, nothing new to report. We fed him breakfast which he didn't eat much, but did like the Gerber puffs I opened for him. We then waited for another agency representative to sign the necessary paperwork needed for the embassy also. That was at 7 and went quick. We then just hung out and got used to each other. Fed him a bit at Noon, again he didn't want much. Vasilly picked us up at 12:30 to move us to the Radisson. This was his normal nap time, so we had trouble getting a nap in. We tried off and on, but he's a fighter! We ordered room service around 2 and shared a bit with him, and he was hungry, so I pulled his lunch back out and he filled up on it. He finally crashed at 5:30 after we shared some peppermint tea. I'm not sure he will make it through the night this time, but we will see.
