Playing catch up...

Hello everyone....once again I am so so sorry for not staying on top of my blog posts. Since we started our visits on Thursday we have been going to and from the orphanage twice a day and it’s almost an hour trip one way...so needless to say by the end of the day we are beat. And between the orphanage and homework I have been slacking on the blog. But hopefully after tomorrow I’ll be caught up and backing to blogging at the end of everyday!:)

The rest of last week was great...we did our visits and had a blast getting to see “Aaron” come out of his shell more and more. We can see that once he is home with us and in a environment with LOTS of love and affection he is going to just blossom! During our first visit we were told that he is a quite and content little boy....but after spending just 4 days visiting with him we can tell he is more then just quite and content...he has a silly side just waiting to come out. we’ve seen little glimpses of it and we are really looking forward to what life is going to be like once we get home. Each visit is pretty much the same....we pick him up and then head down stairs to the playroom where get to just play and hang out with him and enjoy him. In the afternoons we are joined by the Herrington’s while they visit with sweet little Ol-yah (a.k.a. Olivia)...who is such a doll! So all in all everything at the orphanage is going great!:)

This past weekend we went to church on Easter which put me in a homesick kind of mood.....but let me tell you this Catholic church we went to was BEAUTIFUL!!!! The mass was a done in english and was beautiful...it was a little different then what I’m use to but I just did what the crowd did and tried to fit in as best as we could. Sunday was the only day we have missed visits one because of church and the other because it was POURING buckets and their was no way we would have made it to the orphanage with any type of dry clothing...so we decided to stay in and stay dry. And that has pretty much been our last 4 days!:)

We hope everyone back in the states had a wonderful Easter Sunday celebrating with their loved ones and we miss you all!!!

Here are some pictures I know you all have been waiting for!!:) More walking...

Being silly with Daddy!

Walking (kind of) with mommy...

More walking...

Concentrating hard while playing with his truck!!

Love at first sight...continued....

Hi everyone! Sorry I have been following behind on my blog. Life in Ukraine has been wild and so much fun. The last two days have been full of lots of excitement and completely exhausting, but so worth every minute!! 

Wednesday was the big day for us. We woke up early and prepared to go meet our little boy. On our way to orphanage I was a little nervous but more excited then anything. Once we arrived we were all (Beth, Lee, David and I) ushered into the directors office to being learning about our babies. David and I were up first, we were told all about everything in his file from medical to family to his personality. We asked a few questions and then it was Beth and Lee’s turn. During their turn the door open and their he was!!! The nanny brought him in and I couldn’t believe it...this was actually happening!!! He was little fussy and unsure of what was going on......so the nanny took him out and we finished up with the director. At first I was a little sad I didn’t get hold and love on hime but then we were told we could have a quick little visit in the playroom with him while our paper work was being prepared. Our quick 30/40 minutes visit was PERFECT!!!! He let us hold him and he played with us and smiled and we even got a laugh out of him before we left. So that was it...our first meeting....not what I have envisioned but absolutely perfect!! 

After doing some running around to the notary we headed back for our first official visit with “Aaron”. He was such a blast...we found his tickle spots and got him laughing and had fun just watching him explore the room. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day!!!

Here are some more pictures of our afternoon visit!!:)

Having fun with the drum...

Exploring the shelfs to see what he can find... 

More exploring...

 
A short little something from our first official visit!!:)

Love at first sight!!

So I have what you all have been waiting for......!!!!

Are you sure you’re ready for what you are about to see.....????

Really...really ready.....????

This post is going to be short and sweet........just a couple of pictures and a short video of clips from our first “visit”.....

ENJOY!!:)

Happy parents and happy beautiful boy!! 

love at first sight....

Holding tight to his papa’s hands!

Smiles before we go.....

I hope you all enjoyed the sneak peek...we will be going back this evening and I will have so much to share!!:) This day has truly been magical and we are so happy to share it with all of you!!!

Another day of making memories!!

Hi everyone....so I am playing catch up for yesterday!! We had a relaxing morning as the start of our day. Beth and Lee headed out to a breakfast date and to scout a church for Easter Sunday services....they found one that is right around the conner we are looking forward to mass on Sunday!! David and I had a quite breakfast at the apartment while I worked on some homework...exciting I know!:) The rest of our day was filled more walking and exploring. We walked into what looked like a very wealthy neighborhood and it was sooo beautiful. Beth and I both decided if we lived in Ukraine that would be the neighborhood we‘d live in! During our walks Beth and I discussed our hopes to come back in the summer sometime. We have only been here for 5 days and are already planning our vacation back for the future!!:) While out walking we received a phone to head over to pick up our referral for Aaron. So we headed to the DAP to pick it up and enjoyed some of the street vendors and all their souvenirs...we didn’t by anything....yet but we’ll be back to do some shopping!;) After all the walking we were all kind of wiped out and anxious to head to bed...so we had another wonderful dinner at the Irish Pub right around the corner from us and then cam home to head back to bed!!

So now it’s time to get up and dressed for the day David and I have been waiting for....we head out to meet our boy in less then 2 and hours!!! So make sure to check in when you wake up in the morning!! Pictures and videos will be up ready for everyone to see!!:)

I hope you all are having a wonderful week...our is about become soooo much better!!!! 

Day 3...Another Fun Adventure!!

Hi everyone! Well day 3 is in the books and it was another amazing day!! We had our appointment yesterday to request a referral to go see Aaron at 9a.m. and it was quick, easy and painless. I didn’t think I was going to be nervous but for some reason my nerves kicked into high gear in the middle of the night and it turned out is was all for nothing. We arrived with another family and had to wait about 25/30 minutes…we were then ushered into a side entrance of the building and asked to wait again. After a quick minute they told us to follow Serge (one of the facilitators for Reece’s Rainbow) up the stairs…he lead us into one room and the other family into another connecting room. As we sat and waited, we were asked to prepare our passports. We set our passports on the table and waited for our next set of instructions…..Serge came into our room and was handed Aaron’s profile, he began to translate the file to us…..he informed us that he had a syndrome of Down’s…which made me giggle from the way he said it…..then he let us know about some of his heart conditions, which we were prepared for, and then went into some of his families information. We also were able to see three….that right I said THREE new pictures of him….one was a baby picture and it made our hearts melt, another he looked to be about one and the next I’m guessing was when he was 2….I’m think it’s one for every. We also found out his birthday and information about his birth…this part was little tricky since we were having to kind of us sign language with our social services worker who was left to explain the rest of information. All of this took maybe 10 minutes, I think we did more waiting then we did talking. After our appointment we rushed back to our apartment to fill Beth and Lee in on what happened for us and let them know it wasn’t as stressful as we’ve seen it made out to be. Their appointment went smoothly and they were able to see a picture of their precious little Olivia which they had never seen! So now we all go and pick up our referrals in the late afternoon today and then bright and early Wednesday morning we go meet our babies!!!! All four of us are so excited but I just know the anticipation of Wednesday is going to drag out tomorrow, but the wait will be worth it I just know it!!:)

So now that I have written a short novel I have to say that the above all took place within an hour and a half of our morning…..which left us with the whole day ahead. So we decided it would be wise to ride the metro and go scout out the orphanage before we start doing this on our own. Well, it was a very interesting adventure to say the least and a VERY cold one at that. As we got on the metro my excitement grew because for the first time I felt like a real city person….growing up in the suburbs doesn’t leave a lot of chances to ride on a subway, so this was just so awesome to me….before we left we received directions from friends and even with the guide of the directions was got a little turned around! David finally asked an English speaking kid where the streets were he pointed us in the right direction. As we walked the weather decided to go from sleet to snow to rain which if hadn’t been for the drive we all had to go see the orphanage I would have turned around gotten right back on the metro! But we kept walking and finally we found it!!! It was everything I thought it would be…and our little boy was sitting right inside the buildings on the other side of the gates and it made this mama want to just rush through them and snatch him up. But I didn’t…Wednesday will be here before you know it and I can handle the wait (I hope).

After that fun adventure Beth and I decided it was time have a taste of home for a late lunch/early dinner at Fridays…this seems to be the stomping grounds for all the adopting families and the food was DELICIOUS!!! Maybe it was because our meal the day before kind of left Beth and I down or maybe it was because we were just really hungry, but whatever it was the food melted in our mouths and we all cleared our plates!! This city really is rooting its way into my heart and I love every minute of it, and the best part is I have David, my best friend and love of my life, with me!! The added bonus is being able to experience all of this with Beth and Lee…and I am so thankful for all of this!:)

Well, now that it’s 3:00am here and I wide awake thanks to my 6+ hour nap earlier (yes, jet lag finally showed its ugly face) and I will leave you with some photos from our day…as I am off to try and get another few hours of sleep!!:)

Waiting outside the DAP/SDA with the Rowe Family for our appointments...and yes it was FREEZING!!!

The loooong escalator down to the metro…

Beth and I walking to the orphanage…

The first sight of the orphanage!!

The sign says it all to us!! And the gates lead into our little guys world for the last 3 years!!

A peek at the outside play areas…

The sign that hangs outside on the wall of the orphanage….simple but so beautiful to me!!:)

Finally Fridays!!!

And the final picture from today and certainly NOT the last picture of food you'll be seeing…Beth’s yummy burger!!!:)

Day 2...Getting to Know Kiev

Hey everyone! Sorry I didn’t post about our day yesterday but.....we have been very busy exploring and taking in every part of this amazing city!! I can already say that any homesickness I had is gone. However I am missing Ryan like crazy, but knowing he is in VERY good hands with our family and close friends makes it soo much easier to relax!! Our apartment here is wonderful and very simple and I love it!! One of the best perks is David and I are sharing the apartment with Beth and Lee and having them here is like having piece of home with us, and we couldn’t ask for better roommates! 

Yesterday was our second day here and what a fun day it was! We started our morning out with a warm cup of coffee and tea at a local coffee house, people watching and watching the snow flurries come down. Which Beth and I were heaven with the snow.....and this  is when we knew we were true California girls....while everyone else was fussing over the cold and snow we were loving every second of it!!:) After coffee we meet up with Eugene and he gave us a walking tour of our local area. He showed us where we get on the metro when we start going to and from the orphanage. He also took us grocery shopping which was a different experience but still fun none the less. After spending the day walking around this beautiful city I can see why every family that has stayed here for their adoption wants to come back. I’m sure we’ll be back...one day!:) After all our exciting walking we took a nice nap and then headed back out to the Ukrainian Buffet everyone talks about.....now before I go into details about our meal I need to remind you that I am the world’s pickiest eater so I was and still am a little hesitant about trying things out of my comfort zone...ok so about our meal.....David and Lee were in absolute heaven with all the fun choices...but Beth and I not so much! I did try a bite of a cheese pancake thing and it was not my cup of tea which lead me to turn my fork to trying food off of David’s plate and I LOVED the Varenyky....which is a ravioli type dish stuffed with all kinds of different things like meat, cabbage, cherries....ours had meat and they were DELICIOUS!!!! David also had a fried breaded pork thingy and that too was delicious. So I am taking VERY small baby steps and Mom you would be so proud of me!!:) After our interesting meal we headed back and hung out at the apartment for the rest of the evening. Since we have been here I have loved begin able to do facetime with Ryan, our parents  and some close friends. The technology we have at our finger tips is absolutely amazing. 

So that is just about it....I would say our first full day in country has been a success and we are getting more and more comfortable by the day!:) Tonight I’ll post about today's events and add more pictures for everyone to see!!

We are here!!!

We made it!!! We have arrived safely in Eastern Europe and I guess it’s time to spill on where in the world we actually are, well.......we are in Ukraine!! And we are so excited to finally be able to walk in the same footsteps as the adoptive families who have come before us and we finally get to experience the country where our sweet little boy is from. I have read and reread about this experience from other parents adopting from here and I can’t really believe it’s actually happening!! This evening we were joined by our close friends Beth and Lee Herrington, and we couldn’t ask for a better couple to be sharing this journey with. We didn’t do to much tonight but we did make it down to Independence Square and checked out the shops above and below ground that are around there, we followed that with dinner at a delicious little pizza place in one of the malls and then headed back to the apartment. Now its time to relax and go to bed. But before I go enjoy the first pictures of our trip!!:)

A view of Independence Square

David and I in Independence Square

CHEERS!! Enjoying our first of many meals together!!:)

Tried our first chocolate bar tonight!