And the Rest of the Story and Today

We had about 2 hours with our daughter yesterday. She was taken up from a nap. Poor baby....she's awakened and then thrust into the arms of a bunch of strangers going oooo...ahhh.. But she handled it like a trooper. Andy already mentioned in his part how she didn't like the Doctor sticking things in her ears and measuring her head. But she only cried when he was doing that and also when we tried to get her to crawl in the opposite direction from where she wanted to head.

Another aspect of this whole story which is amazing and cool is about the coincidences which have occurred. Andy and I were referred originally with another couple back in November and told we were traveling in December. Well due to audits in Moscow Region, that did not happen for us. But after Christmas we received our dates. So did Greg and Mary from Tenneesee.

They met their little boy Daniel on Monday. They are at the same orphanage. We got our second referral on Tuesday. Our guide stuck her head into the room and said hello to them. It didn't dawn on them until about 15 minutes later when we walked into the play room with Alina. So we're sharing an apartment, eating dinner together, going to the same orphanage. It's kind of scary...I'm sure they think we are stalkers.

Just kidding. They are lovely people and it has been wonderful sharing the experience with another family that can appreciate the ups and downs with this process.

Our guide showed us a restaurant at Red Square called "Red Square" which is located inside the Russian Historical Musuem. We wanted to go someplace special to celebrate. We had the most amazing Chicken Kiev and Beef Stroganoff. It's was a little pricey, but it was special. Afterwards we walked out to the Square and listened to the bells go off one of the Churches. There's also an Ice Skating rink where we watched the skaters and then walked over the St. Basils. Its the first touristy thing we'd been able to do this week.




Today, we left the house at 9:30 and we arrived at the orphanage about 12:30. The drive from Moscow the baby house is located took about 2 hours. We got stuck in traffic round the government Duma which is just around the corner. This is the equivalent to the Congress in Washington. Lots of big wigs.

When we got out of the car we got a fresh powdering of snow on the grounds. The playgrounds are covered in about 2 feet of snow. We actually haven't had a lot of problems with the cold because we've dressed properly and it's been mostly in the 30's. It's supposed to go into the negatives Saturday night, but we will already be gone when it does.




Alina was again coming up from a nap, so she was sleepy and hadn't wanted to eat. So they brought me her bottle with a fruit juice concoction that they give to them. She settled down into my lap and drank it down. She was staring and me and Andy with wariness, but after a few minutes she settled down.

She's got a very serious demeanor until you turn on the musical toys and stand her up. Then she starts to boogie and crow. It's the cutest thing (any I'm not just saying that because she's mine).

Andy was so sweet with her. She's trying to walk but she's still doing things on her tip toes so he held her hands and walked with her. She was so proud of herself.

We forgot to take a musical toy we had with us yesterday and we played it. She sang along with the music.

I could gush more, but I'll stop.

Tommorrow is the day we go to the Notary in order to sign our registration with the courts and turn them in. On Friday we do our medical exams. Our last major legal transaction before leaving the country.