One More

Ok, I know that I said the previous one would be my last but I have some time this morning and now my computer is charged back up. I don’t think that I mentioned to you last time that yesterday morning a doctor came to give Tanya a check up. This is part of the process for the U.S. Embassy. It was good to know that her heart and lungs all sound good and that she seems to be in good health. We were not really concerned about this but it is just good to have it confirmed by a doctor. The only down side of the doctor visit was that he had to come to the apartment we are staying in at 4:40 a.m. Yes that is in the morning. He works at a hospital and he had to go and visit eight children before starting at the hospital. Therefore he had to start early. For him it is a good day as I am sure that each of the eight paid him $100 U.S. dollars so he made $800 yesterday before going to work.

While we were at the Embassy we met several other families that were adopting. One family we actually met at the courthouse in Ivanovo. They were from Kansas City and I believe I mentioned them earlier. We also met a family from Chicago and New York. It was really nice to have extended conversations in English again. Each family has a different story and it is very interesting to hear about how they had come to this point of having a child(ren) from Russia that is now their own.

As for us, we are doing well. I think Tanya and I have broken through the shy/nervous barrier. She no longer just wants Mama but is also comfortable with Papa. We are having fun kicking and hitting balloons back and forth, doing puzzles and playing with her travel size lite bright. Tanya also loves to read. We bought her three books that are in Russian. One is Cinderella; another is the Aristocats and then one with Russian fairy tales in it. She has read all three at least two or three times already. She also reads anything that she sees. Even at the Embassy she was reading the papers about her adoption. Yesterday I enjoyed just watching her as we drove around Moscow. She would sit as close to the door as possible and take in all the sights. She had never been in a big city before so all the cars, tall building, people and signs were fascinating to her. However, she still keeps asking us “When are we going to America?” We finally found a calendar so we could show her what day we will be going home. Another good sign of her comfort with us and particularly me is that this morning when she woke up she came over and lay on our bed next to me. It was the first time she just snuggled up with me.

Tanya is doing very well with communication. She is already learning to use hand gestures to help us understand what she is wanting. We are also beginning to just know what each other is trying to say. However, sometimes Tanya rattles off a long statement and I just look at her and say I do not understand. We stare at each other for a moment and then she laughs and says “Oh Papa”. So far I have not found her getting frustrated with the language barrier so this is good. She does love to imitate so I think she will be doing just fine. She also is fascinated with the telephone. Yesterday we called Paula’s parents and I had Tanya say hello to her Grandmother. She repeated English after me and when Paula’s mother was talking to her she was smiling. I know she didn’t understand but the whole process of just talking on a telephone was fun for her.

Well we hope to see my sister Paula as we connect flights in Atlanta. We have a 3 hour and 45 minutes lay over so after we get through customs we should have time to eat and visit with my sister. It will be good for Tanya to meet her and begin to understand that she has more family than just Paula, Kyle, Abbie and me.

Well this will be my last entry until our return. I mean it this time, as it is expensive to use the Internet in the hotels. This country is way behind the U.S. when it comes to technology and modern creature comforts. When you spend an extended time here you gain an understanding for how fortunate we are living in the United States. I know many people in the world would not agree but I am thankful.

See you in America soon!!