10 Days Home

The first week home was hard. After about the third day, Thomas seemed to adjust to the American time zone and stopped trying to start his day at 3 in the morning. After being gone for 3 weeks, it took about a week to get all the house stuff organized, mail read and laundry done, all those back to life things. This week we're going to try and apply for his Social Security card and take him for a blood draw to test for infectious diseases. Each day gets a little better as we figure out what he's trying to tell us and we get settled into a routine.

40 Hours of Travel

We are home! The only 2 words to describe our trip is "suffering" and "perseverance". We left the apartment at 9 after David came by to get the keys and say goodbye. We made it to the airport by 10:30 for our 12:55 flight. That's when the suffering started. Due to mechanical problems on an earlier flight to Moscow, the plane had to land in Iceland for repairs and mandatory crew rest. That started a chain reaction of delays that affected us. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 9 something at night. So we had 11 hours of waiting at the Moscow airport. We camped out with our bags between the front windows and a phone sales kiosk,where it was quiet and less bustle. Thomas got 2 short naps in during the day but by the time we were boarding he was super tired and fussy since it was almost 2 hours past his normal bedtime.

On the plane he was fussy and was shrieking before we even pulled away from the gate. By the time we got in the air, he was asleep. He didn't sleep well and kept tossing and turning. We couldn't sleep as we had to stay vigilant that he didn't roll hims

elf off the seat, past our pillow barriers we built to try to contain him. He slept a good 9 hours and awoke with a little less than 2 hours left of the flight. He did well until we had to sit down for the descent and landing then more fussiness and shrieking.

We got into Atlanta close to 1 in the morning. The story was that Delta was going to put up everybody in a hotel until the next morning, when we could get the next connecting flight. They did have about 4 Homeland security personnel processing passports, but for a plane load, it took about 45 minutes. Because Thomas was immigrating to America, we also had to process with the immigration folks all of his Embassy paperwork. The 2 am staff was probably the "C Team" versus the "A Team", as that process took an hour and half. So by the time we got our luggage, went through Customs and got to the Delta counter we were one of the last people through, and all the overnight kits were gone. Delta had re-boo

ked us on an 8'ish am flight to Nashville but we had them push it back to a 1 0'clock flight as I couldn't see us going to the hotel for 2 hours and then coming back to catch the early flight, we needed to try and get some sleep.

We had checked 2 bags and had 2 carry-ons. The counter agent wanted to re-check both bags, but we needed some overnight stuff and more diapers. Thankfully, he let us keep a bag after we said we needed to get some items out and he saw the package of diapers in the suitcase. We then had to go from the International terminal to Ground Transportation, which were the two furthest points from each other. At that time of night the peop

le mover train was shut down. So we had to carry our bags and Thomas the length of the Atlanta airport.

When we got to Ground Transportation we found out the last hotel shuttle bus had left at 3:30 am and it was close to 4. Thankfully, another hotel's shuttle driver offered to drive us for $5 a piece to our hotel. We were a little apprehensive as it w

as too good a deal but thankfully it worked out and he had us at the hotel door in 5 minutes. We checked in and it was a nice room and a big comfy bed. Unfortunately, everything had caught up to Thomas and he just had a complete melt down...nothing would soothe him. I finally strapped on the carrier and we walked the parking lot while he cried. We watched the sun come up. Finally, around 7:30 he fell asleep in the carrier and we headed back inside.

We got about an hour and half of sleep before the alarm went off. It was nice to take a shower and we had one spare change of clean clothes left. We had packed so that we threw out all of our socks, underwear and old clothes in Moscow (we had packed old

ones that I had saved up over the year) so that we would travel lighter on the way back. I had packed a spare for a "just in case moment" and we had the moment. We took shifts going to the breakfast buffet. We then checked out and caught the shuttle to the airport.

At the airport, we found out our Nashville flight was delayed an hour. So more waiting around an airport. Finally, boarded the flight at 2:30. Thomas was the bad kid on the flight, crying most of the time when we couldn't distract him. Thankfully, it was only a 35 minute flight. My parents and brother and nephew met us at the airport. We were very glad to see them. We were walking zombies at this point. We got home around 4 and were in bed for the night by 7.

Thursday-Final Day

This will be short as we are finishing packing and will be leaving in the morning for the airport back to the US. We hung around the apartment until noon today. Our translator was registering Thomas as a Russian citizen living in the US, which is the final step in our required paperwork process. For our agency, its a requirement to do it here in Russia, but it can be done by contacting one of the Russian Embassies in the US for others. She had to pick up the finished form at 3 so we all drove to Victory Park.

Victory Park is a very large park directly west of downtown Moscow. It is filled with tanks and other military equipment along with a Military museum. We went through quickly but could have spent many more hours there. Lots of WWII display cases and pictures of other Russian cities during the war along with some incredible dioramas of different battles. We missed seeing all of it as we had to leave to pick up our paperwork.

We had dinner back at the apartment, using up the last of our food. After dinner we strolled to Tverskaya and I wanted to see if we could find Gastronom #1 or now called Eliseevskiy Gastronom. According to our guide book, the building was built at the end of the 18th century but it became a grocery in 1901. It has a long history of supplying forbidden goods to the Communist Elite and the owner was executed in 1984 for corruption charges. I remember it from one of my textbooks in school and have always wanted to see it. It did not disappoint. It was everything I wanted it to be: crystal chandeliers, beautiful plaster work and fabulous display cases filled with every kind of food. I quickly took 3 pictures as fast as I could, since I didn't know if it was allowed. People were busy shopping. I bought some tea and found their website on the grocery bag. Until I can get my pictures posted, you can go here to see the company website pictures http://www.eliseevskiy.ru/home.htm

On the way home, we bought ice cream from a kiosk. We then Skype both sets of grandparents, gave Thomas a bath and got him in bed about an hour past his bedtime. Tomorrow, we have the 11 hour flight home with a 9 month old, a 3 hour layover and then a 35 minute flight to Nashville.

Tuesday & Wednesday

We've started all the US Embassy processing. On Tuesday morning, I went to the US Embassy, which is in walking distance of our apartment. I was there to turn in all of our paperwork, request a visa for Thomas and get an appointment for the following day to finalize all the immigration paperwork and pick up the visa. Since Thomas is a Russian citizen, he travels on a Russian passport with a visa to visit the US. The great thing is that once we land in Atlanta, he automatically becomes a US citizen, thanks to all this paperwork we're doing ahead of time.

The process took about 15 minutes. There was no one there and I mean literally, I was the only person in the building besides our agency representative and everyone who worked there. It was kind of offsetting to have 2 empty rooms filled with a hundred chairs each and places for long lines to form, but not a single person.

In the afternoon, John went with our driver and translator to officially sign the book at the Ministry of Education. They are the ministry that oversees adoptions and issues the referrals. He was back within the hour.

Thomas woke from his afternoon nap after 4. We were getting hungry and only had pasta and sauce left to cook but didn't really want that for dinner. John walked next door to the TGI Fridays to get take out. He was back in about 5 minutes saying they didn't do take-out. So we were debating on what to do for dinner with Thomas in tow. We were tired and hungry and decided to risk dining in at TGI Fridays rather than getting take out from somewhere on Old Arbat. We were there at 4:30 and there was only one other family there eating. We ordered quickly, figuring Thomas would not last long before getting fussy. He did great. He is just so fascinated and curious to watch all the people around him that he was very quiet. It turned out about 10 times better than I was expecting. I was expecting to be eating in shifts as we entertained a fussy baby. Funny enough, TGI Fridays does do take-out. The lady, who told John earlier that they didn't, came over and said she made a mistake.

After dinner, feeling re-energized, we got the stroller and strolled the neighborhood. We walked for awhile past all the embassies and eventually swung back around to New Arbat. We passed the grocery, we usually go to. John ran into the grocery to re-supply for our last 2 days, while Thomas and I waited outside with the stroller.

On Wednesday, we had our Embassy interview at 2, so our morning was free. We wanted to see the Metro. The Moscow Metro has beautiful stations, with different themes. Some stations were built in the 1930's and have art deco chandeliers, lots of plaster work, murals and stonework. We packed Thomas up in the Ergo carrier (which is excellent by the way...very comfortable and Thomas likes it) and rode the metro. We stopped at about 4 different stations, waited for the crowd to clear and then took pictures and strolled the stations. Thomas fell asleep. The metro was great. A ride costs 22 rubles which is roughly 70 cents US, and once you get on, you can ride the entire system as much as you want stopping at whatever stations you want. There was a large tour group from the US (Viking River Cruises) visiting the last station as we were getting off.

Our driver picked us up outside the last station. Our translator said we needed to have a family picture. We then drove to Red Square to have the traditional family picture in front of St. Basil's Cathedral (the cathedral with fancy colored domes). We drove back to the apartment to have a little lunch, a diaper change and a rest before the Embassy appointment.

At the Embassy, we again just sailed through. There was one adoptive family in front of us, picking up their papers. After waiting a few minutes, it was our turn. The guy at the window was very nice. We answered a few questions about how our trip was going. We confirmed Thomas's information, signed some documents and he told us what to expect at immigration when we fly to Atlanta. We got Thomas's passport with the US visa and a packet of papers to give to immigration and were on our way.

Thomas fell asleep in the car on the way back. We got him in the apartment and back to sleep. Dinner is in the oven (baked fish, french fries and I'll heat up some peas). We may stroll tonight as the weather is nice.

Sunday and Monday

We've had a quiet two days. The weather has been cold (50's) and raining so we've stayed in the apartment. We're trying to maintain Thomas's schedule as much as possible, as he is a much happier baby when he gets his two 2 hour naps a day from 9 to 11 and then again from 2 to 4. The first night he took a while to settle down and didn't go to sleep until past 9:30 (he was supposed to be in bed at 8) He woke at 1 and again at 2 crying but went back to sleep quickly and then was up to start his day at 6. We must have worn him out yesterday. Last night, he was down asleep by 8:30 and slept all the way through the night until 7:30 this morning.

Today, Thomas had his medical exam at a Moscow children's clinic. This is a requirement by the US Embassy for him to immigrate to the US. He checked out fine. Our translator and driver went this afternoon to pick up his Russian passport that we applied for on Friday. Tomorrow, I will go with our translator to schedule the "exit" interview at the US Embassy for Wednesday.

All the news on tv and the radio has been about President Obama coming to visit. The Russia Today (English) news has been featuring the Obama Countdown all last week in preparation for his visit. Here's a cute video of John and Thomas...

I've Got Wheels

This video was from Sunday, June 21, when we went to visit the orphanage the day before court. Thomas liked having wheels to go but unfortunately we needed a little more space.

Saturday July 4th Video

Fantastic Fourth

Today was the day, we picked up Thomas from the orphanage. We packed a bag with his clothes, a bottle of juice, some extra diapers, a few toys and a one piece winter outdoor suit and hat. It was pretty cold here today for being July...low 60's. They were very nice at the orphanage. They removed all of his clothes and we dressed him in his American clothes. The caretakers said he looked like an "American boy". We brought gifts for the head doctor and all the caretakers and nurses. They fed Thomas his final meal and gave us his favorite pacifier. We showed them pictures of where Thomas was going to and they all said good-bye and hugged him.

We left and got in the van. Vladimir had set up a car seat in the back with us. Apparently, Russia passed a new law requiring car seat use. They still do not have back seat belts, though. Thomas was very quiet for the hour and half, all the way to Moscow. He mostly sat and watched what was going on. There may be some hope for our 11 hour plane ride to Atlanta that it won't be entirely miserable.

At the apartment, David had set up the crib/playpen and left some toys, baby food, a baby carrier and extra sheets/towels. He also left a big stuffed bear, and an Australian coin collection for 2009 as gifts. That was very nice of him. Thomas played for a little while with John. We gave him some juice and got him down for his 2:00 nap at around 3. Both John and him are napping now. We're going to try to keep on his orphanage schedule as much as possible.

Friday

On Friday, we drove back to the Moscow Regional Court to pick up the court decree declaring us the parents of Thomas Alexander. We then drove to city hall to get his new birth certificate listing us as the parents. We then drove around the outside loop of the city to the south side to go to the immigration office. Since it was lunch time and the office would be closed. We went to a large grocery store/general merchandise store (like a Walmart) and bought baby food, diapers, bottles, etc. They had a Sbarro's in the store. Our translator said we were still too early for the office so please eat lunch. So we had pizza.

After filing for his passport at the Immigration office. We drove back into Moscow to take all the paperwork to the CSS office. We were then done for the day and got home around 4.

We decided to walk south of our apartment on the other side of the Moscow River. We were following one of the recommended walks in our guide book. So far none of the "recommended walks" have been that impressive. They mostly point out some non-descript building and say that "so and so" famous Russian writer or poet lived or worked here. This walk was about the same. It did take us to the foot of the Peter the Great statue (pictured in an earlier post), so we got a close up of that.

We walked by a Starlite Diner car and on the way back had dinner there. Some American bought an old diner car and moved it to Moscow and serves hamburgers, milk shakes and other American food, while decorating the inside with a 50's theme. John had a hamburger and fries and I had a chicken sandwich. Apparently, it was so popular that he has now placed several of the diners throughout the city. Even though, the food and atmosphere were American our waitress only spoke Russian, but we got everything we ordered.

We then took a Moscow River boat ride. It was ok. It started to rain while we were on the boat. We were covered by a roof deck, but it was chilly. Luckily, it let us out near New Arbat street, where our apartment is. We stopped at the grocery store on the way home and then headed to bed.

Thursday

We visited Thomas today. The next time we come, on Saturday, we will be picking him up for good. We spent our time outside. I asked for his baptism certificate since he wears a little cross necklace around his neck. The orphanage couldn't find his certificate but did give me his Christening gown. I call it a gown, for lack of a better word, but its a simple woven white cotton shirt with some embroidery. A real treasure for future years. After our visit, we went back to the office to fill out the six documents needed for the US Embassy to add to our documents we brought from home: our home study, employment pay stubs and last three years of tax returns.

I'm going to try and upload a video of a room at the Kuskovo estate to see if I can do it, in preparation for when we can post pictures and videos of Thomas.

Wednesday-Tourist Day

Today, we went to the Cosmonaut museum and Kuskovo Estate. John enjoyed the Cosmonaut museum. They had some nice displays including space food.

Outside the Cosmonaut museum they had some gardens with statues dedicated to different men who contributed to science, including a very impressive, modern flight statue.









After the Cosmonaut museum, our translator wanted us to see the Kuskovo estate. The Sheremetev family, in which one of the airports is named after, was a wealthy family that entertained the czar's. It was built in the mid to late 1700's and contained the main house, a formal garden, guest houses, a church, a green house (orangery) that now contains a ceramic museum and an Italian grotto. The Italian grotto was fascinating. It was totally unexpected inside. It had an under-the-sea theme and was inlaid with shells, glass, sand and mother-of-pearl shells. The picture doesn't do it justice. The main house still contains the original wood parquet floors,
paintings and some furniture. It was very lavish with gold gilding and crystal chandeliers. We were very glad that Violet suggested our visit.