Moritz Adoption

Last Saturday!!

Saturday, June 3^rd

This is our last Saturday in Russia. Yeah! It’s been a good day so far.

We had a few crying meltdowns last night but we were successful at managing both of them. So we’re feeling really good. We high five each other (in secret) when we manage to get through yet another one. The first one happened at dinner. We ate dinner at home last night. Natalia delivered a pasta chicken dish. It was really good. Regina requested more noodles so Dan dished some up. We told her to say ‘thank you’ to Papa and she refused. She normally does this without a problem at all. So we told her she didn’t get the noodles until she said ‘thank you’. This escalated into an issue and she ended up in the time-in spot (a corner in our living room, while we stand just a few feet away but don’t give her attention). After 15 minutes of crying and pouting, she did say ‘thank you’ and she got her noodles. By then she didn’t want them but we showed her we will follow through on this stuff. The second one happened at bedtime. We told Regina she would get 3 books with us. Dan said it in Russian to make sure she understood the number of books. We tucked her in and said goodnight. She started crying for more books. We told her we were done with books for tonight. She could have more tomorrow. She didn’t like it and continued crying. But I guess every kid has to learn that lesson at some point or another. We kept going in to say “good night” and give comfort every 5 minutes or so. She eventually fell asleep and it was only 8:25 pm! We were so excited to have a whole night to watch movies. She must have been tired from skipping her nap earlier in the day.

I went back yesterday and purchased some jewelry boxes I’d seen earlier in our trip. They’re small with colorful jewels on them. They will be perfect for the girls 16^th birthdays and we can put in a special necklace, bracelet, or earrings for them. I love the things we have purchased here. Today we went to a toy shop and bought some fabric blocks with the Russian alphabet on them. An American on the playground recommended that to us yesterday for a keepsake for the girls. I also picked out a few puzzles where blocks make up some Russian fairy tale pictures. Dan bought some shoes here also. Regina handled the mall setting fairly well. She is such a good shopper and doesn’t say much or goof off. I wonder if that will last. She was mesmerized (and somewhat confused) by the manikins. Nastia said she was saying really funny things about them.

We have noticed that Regina seems to have a knack for music. She moves her foot and her head to the beat of the music in the car. I bet she’ll love our piano. She sings us little songs quite often but we noticed she won’t do it around anyone else yet. She dances to her little telephone songs too.

Regina burped this morning and said, “Excuse me.” We love how the English just comes out when you least expect it. She is really learning it! Today we were talking about Lilia’s boat and she was saying “Boatka Lotka”. I guess she’s combining the English and the Russian words together. Her brain is working overtime. It’s really neat to watch. She has also started calling me “Miya Mama”. It means “my mama”. She usually puts her head on my leg when she says this. It’s quite endearing. I like it.

We had borscht for lunch today. It’s Regina’s favorite soup by far. It’s the only one she’ll eat until it’s gone and then sip the broth out of the bowl by bringing it to her mouth. It’s so surprising that children here love it so much. It’s a red broth and the soup includes things like potatoes, beets, cabbage, and peppers. I think it’s delicious too. Dan likes it also. I will have to learn how to make it at home. Four of us will probably love it and 2 will think it’s disgusting.

We talked with the boys tonight on the phone. That is about the third time we’ve connected with them since we left home. I love hearing their voices on the phone. They are so sweet. They are at the cabin this weekend with Dan’s parents. They had a sleepover at a friend’s house again on Thursday night. My friends have been wonderful about having the boys over for playtime and overnights. My parents have done a fabulous job of watching them for so many days in a row. I am glad they’ve had the time to bond with them like that. And what a load it’s been off of our minds to know all 4 of our parents have taken such good care of the boys while we’ve been on both trips to Russia. Regina has now spoken with all of her grandparents on the phone too. She smiles really big the whole time! Phones make her happy.

My friend Debra (who adopted 2 girls from here a few months ago) wrote something that really clicked for me this morning. She said, “I try and remember that the girls have had just a short time to think of me as their Mother, but I've had months where I've thought of them as MY daughters.” That makes so much sense to me. It’s so true.

Tonight we are going out to dinner at Pizza Town. We invited the cook, driver, and translator to eat with us. We figure our life is about to get harder with another child on the way so we want to live it up tonight. J I’m looking forward to it. They have milkshakes and coffee there too and our translator will be able to help us order this time. We only have 3 more meals with the staff after tonight. I need to start getting their gifts ready for them. I brought various gifts for all of them and gift bags/tissue paper.

Lilia is supposed to arrive tonight around 8:30 pm!! We are a bit nervous but mostly excited. Regina talks about Lilia all the time now. At lunch she was saying something we asked Nastia to translate. She was saying, “Waiting for Lilia!” She is so smart. She will really be a big help to us tonight with L’s transition. We want Regina to stay up late with us so she can help her sister so I’m glad she’s taking a nap right now. It has been 6 months (9 days short) since we met Lilia. We wonder if she’s walking now and talking…has her hair grown? Will she be as scared as Regina was? So many unknowns, but we think we’re as prepared as we’ll ever be for this moment. We definitely have been feeling like someone is missing. It has felt strange to only have one child for 10 days.

I wonder what it will feel like to have 4 kids with me the first time I go out in the van with them! It’ll probably blow me away. I had to smile to myself the other day when I told someone at the park for the first time out loud, “That’s my daughter over there.” I just can’t believe I have a daughter. The other night Dan looked at me at bedtime and said, “Do we really have a little girl sleeping in the next room?” It took so much work to get to this stage that I guess we sort of never thought it would actually happen.

We’ll post Lilia photos as soon as we can!

posted by Dan @ 11:54 PM