Watching her music class...she's an active little sweetheart!!!
Today, we got to witness a miracle! It's amazing that they state that our child has significant, so-called "psycho-motor speech delay." During our visit today, we witnessed her music time and they did the Russian version of the Hokey Pokey & some other songs we didn't recognize, but she imitates others well and she does babble/sing (we're not sure if she's actually singing since it's in Russian), but feel VERY confident in her language skills. Yes, we are realistic and know she will have a lot of catching up to do, but we FINALLY got an accurate weight and knew she was tiny, but she isn't as underweight as I thought. She weighs 21lbs currently and is 2 1/2 ft tall.
She did SO well (oh and RUNS across the room) and she doesn't even turn two until October 10th. Katie, we will celebrate with you in spirit, baby girl! Just wait til' Gotcha Day and Christmas!!! Perhaps Russia's loss is our gain! In fact, I would say it definitely is! :-) We were told today that a Russian family looked at her in 2009 before she was a year old, right after her birth mother's parental rights were terminated and that they rejected her because she is half Chinese. Mainland China's border is only about 500 miles from Vladivostok. It's a shame they require a visa for entry because Aaron would really like to go to China when we come back for our second trip and have some authentic Chinese food.
Well, Aaron and I WANTED a half Chinese baby girl. Isn't it amazing how God works? Grandma Rosie kept telling us that God had a baby picked out especially for us and now this has further reinforced my belief in the power of prayer. If you're reading this, please continue to pray that we get back here soon for court and to bring her home forever! We're being told that the soonest we will have court is about two months from when we submit our second set of documents, which will take me less than 10 days to include our psychological reports and medical reports with labs and chest x-rays, plus rolled fingerprints and state police clearances. Also, we have to have all that notarized, certified and apostilled.
We're learning more and more everyday about our baby, but also about the city. It's the home of the Russian Naval Pacific fleet and just a five minute walk away is a Russian beach, which we will visit before we leave. It's a little chilly for swimming, but how often can you say that you went to see the Sea of Japan? On Saturday, we are going with Oksana, our translator and Russian coordinator, to downtown Vlad in the afternoon to try some truly authentic Russian food and do some more sightseeing. There is an old submarine here from I think the Cold War that they turned into a museum and we're planning to see that Saturday if we don't get to see Katie.
And, we have been able to make this into a vacation, despite what our agency said. They said it would be all business! To that I say, hogwash! Aaron has been trying all the local food and I've tried a few things to include Russian ice cream, which is FABULOUS. He loves this really awful tasting soup (no offense, Russia), but it is beet soup with beans, called Borscht. It tasted terrible. He also ate caviar (and that just looked disgusting). No, we're not rich....but caviar is dirt cheap here....about $3 U.S. dollars. And, he just HAD to have some authentic Russian vodka for a souvenir. He says he will never drink it, just display it on our wine rack. What a waste, I say!!! :LOL :-)
On Saturday, we are hoping to be able to see Katie, but the baby home's director is off on weekends and she has to grant permission so we're not sure if tomorrow is the last day we will see her. I'm trying NOT to think about how we have to leave her here and can't bring her home while we're waiting on a court date because I get choked up in tears every time I think about it! We've all three become a "family," this week and gotten really attached. We think she is really attached to us too because when we walked through the door and saw her today, she said in Russian..."Momma, Papa," and held out her arms for us. They say that typically since the children are cared for by women that they usually are scared of men since they have never seen one. Not our Katie. She was letting Aaron hold her and love on her from day one!!! It was unreal! :-) This week has gone by SO fast and I just wish we could stay and bring her home with us. BUT, alas, the sooner we get back home the sooner we can get our paperwork complete and submitted for our court dates! In the meantime, we think we will have a baby/adoption shower (maybe two) before we come back that second time. However, after all of the people we have spoken too Vladivostok has the best Russian orphanages. The children here receive milk and some fruits from China. They also are fed a lot of carbohydrates to keep them full, but I think we have a good eater on our hands (thank the Lord!!!)
Without further adieu...here are photos from today's visit and then it's off to bed with me (Aaron's already getting his beauty rest, but we have eager grandparents back home who are dying to see photos).
She did SO well (oh and RUNS across the room) and she doesn't even turn two until October 10th. Katie, we will celebrate with you in spirit, baby girl! Just wait til' Gotcha Day and Christmas!!! Perhaps Russia's loss is our gain! In fact, I would say it definitely is! :-) We were told today that a Russian family looked at her in 2009 before she was a year old, right after her birth mother's parental rights were terminated and that they rejected her because she is half Chinese. Mainland China's border is only about 500 miles from Vladivostok. It's a shame they require a visa for entry because Aaron would really like to go to China when we come back for our second trip and have some authentic Chinese food.
Well, Aaron and I WANTED a half Chinese baby girl. Isn't it amazing how God works? Grandma Rosie kept telling us that God had a baby picked out especially for us and now this has further reinforced my belief in the power of prayer. If you're reading this, please continue to pray that we get back here soon for court and to bring her home forever! We're being told that the soonest we will have court is about two months from when we submit our second set of documents, which will take me less than 10 days to include our psychological reports and medical reports with labs and chest x-rays, plus rolled fingerprints and state police clearances. Also, we have to have all that notarized, certified and apostilled.
We're learning more and more everyday about our baby, but also about the city. It's the home of the Russian Naval Pacific fleet and just a five minute walk away is a Russian beach, which we will visit before we leave. It's a little chilly for swimming, but how often can you say that you went to see the Sea of Japan? On Saturday, we are going with Oksana, our translator and Russian coordinator, to downtown Vlad in the afternoon to try some truly authentic Russian food and do some more sightseeing. There is an old submarine here from I think the Cold War that they turned into a museum and we're planning to see that Saturday if we don't get to see Katie.
And, we have been able to make this into a vacation, despite what our agency said. They said it would be all business! To that I say, hogwash! Aaron has been trying all the local food and I've tried a few things to include Russian ice cream, which is FABULOUS. He loves this really awful tasting soup (no offense, Russia), but it is beet soup with beans, called Borscht. It tasted terrible. He also ate caviar (and that just looked disgusting). No, we're not rich....but caviar is dirt cheap here....about $3 U.S. dollars. And, he just HAD to have some authentic Russian vodka for a souvenir. He says he will never drink it, just display it on our wine rack. What a waste, I say!!! :LOL :-)
On Saturday, we are hoping to be able to see Katie, but the baby home's director is off on weekends and she has to grant permission so we're not sure if tomorrow is the last day we will see her. I'm trying NOT to think about how we have to leave her here and can't bring her home while we're waiting on a court date because I get choked up in tears every time I think about it! We've all three become a "family," this week and gotten really attached. We think she is really attached to us too because when we walked through the door and saw her today, she said in Russian..."Momma, Papa," and held out her arms for us. They say that typically since the children are cared for by women that they usually are scared of men since they have never seen one. Not our Katie. She was letting Aaron hold her and love on her from day one!!! It was unreal! :-) This week has gone by SO fast and I just wish we could stay and bring her home with us. BUT, alas, the sooner we get back home the sooner we can get our paperwork complete and submitted for our court dates! In the meantime, we think we will have a baby/adoption shower (maybe two) before we come back that second time. However, after all of the people we have spoken too Vladivostok has the best Russian orphanages. The children here receive milk and some fruits from China. They also are fed a lot of carbohydrates to keep them full, but I think we have a good eater on our hands (thank the Lord!!!)
Without further adieu...here are photos from today's visit and then it's off to bed with me (Aaron's already getting his beauty rest, but we have eager grandparents back home who are dying to see photos).
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| This is the city where our little Katie's orphanage is located. It is in Ussyrisk, Russia--Primorsky Region |
sososososo cute:))) This is kristina by the way i love that liitle girl so much and can not wait to meet her she is so precius!!
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