Week 2 Update

Well – more of the same for week 2. We do our two visits a day (one a day on weekends), arrange meals, then do our laundry & dishes in the sink. However this weekend we are at the point where we will need to get materials ready for our court appointments, so that will make it seem like things are moving along.

Ana is doing very well. She is still congested from the bronchitis (she has a pretty good cough from time to time) but it does seem that whatever they gave her has helped. When she first sees us at the beginning of a visit we are now regularly rewarded with a smile, which makes us feel great. Her favorite things now are patti cake; watching the boys’ antics; her “crinkly” book (one of those baby books with the cellophane or whatever inside); her inflatable globe; and also just being held when she’s tired.

It is great to visit her, but it is getting predictably long…by that I mean that you can only do so much seeing her a couple hours a day. We just want to get her home now, but that won’t be until mid-August (we hope) which seems like a long way away to us right now. So its day to day – each day down brings us a day closer.

The boys are doing well. They have been really sweet to Ana which is great to see. From time to time they get to bouncing off the walls of the hotel, but who can blame them…so do we at this point! We do our best to make it a fun trip for them. There is a courtyard of sorts in front of the hotel so we take the soccer ball down there & kick it around almost every day. We try to get to a park or to their favorite restaurant (it has a ball pit) every day or two. Also the fact that the weather has been warm and dry has been a godsend, as the boys can play outside at the baby house on the playgrounds right with us while we’re seeing Ana. This would be a lot tougher to pull off with the boys if we had to be inside!

Our driver, coordinator and everyone involved with our process has been just great. We feel they are helpful, knowledgeable and that our process is in very good hands. We are so thankful for that.

At this point although things are going well here, we are craving the sights, sounds, tastes & company of home. It will be great to see our family & friends, our neighborhood, our patio, the grill, and the wine rack at Sendik’s!

We have some updated pictures below. Thank you to everyone for your continued thoughts & prayers.

-The Byrne Family

Daily Life

Day 10 of "bonding" went very well. Life here is surreal. A wonderful couple across the hall from us summed up life here is Ust very well - "Think "Groundhog Day" meets "Life in Translation." What really makes bizarre is the one CD that the hotel has that they play over and over and over again - just a little too loudly. Stylized muzak versions of "Over the Rainbow", some Godfather song, some wierd circus theme and then some synthesizer thing. Everyday we go to the breakfast buffet, the boys say hello and thank you in russian, we pass over the number of beef tounge and cabbage choices and stick to the yogurt, tomatoes, cucumbers, fruit and baked goods. Dan has an omelette daily. We carry out breakfast and instant coffee to a table while listening to hear where we are in the music rotation.
There are several wonderful families here. There are four from Spain, including an adorable three year old. I pull out my Spanish and they pull out their English and we all do our best. The 10 plus families with six or so siblings are kind and supportive. Joe has started playing a little soccer with a dad from Spain - Joe is trying to hit his ball with his head.
We just finished lunch - peanut butter and nutella sandwiches, apples, peanuts, milk with a 1 year shelf life and Nesquik. I did a "load of laundry" in the bathroom sink. Being married to a sailor has advantages - you should see what he can do with a 6X3 bathroom and a laundry line.
I hit paydirt yesterday - I traded 2 of my books with a Canadian mom for three of hers.
We are meeting with another couple of and their child tonight. We will all share what we have for a feast. Last night we met with 2 families from our hotel. We shared Kazak beer, screwdrivers (when in Rome...), Kazak bread, and a delicious cake from the grocery store.

More tomorrow,
The Byrne Family

Monday Update

Happy to report that Ana seems to be feeling better, she has been more awake and alert the past few days. Whatever they are giving her for the bronchitis seems to be working. Our single visits on Saturday & Sunday and our two visits Monday went very well.

This whole process is quite a roller coaster though. Although we've come a long way in this process, we are aware that there is a long way to go as well. We have a good four weeks of paperwork and "appeal periods" where this could fall through. So while we find ourselves getting attached to Ana (of course) we are remaining conscious that this is really not over until its over, as they say.

After our court date in about two weeks, there is an appeal period, but after that appeal period is done I think we are probably out of the woods. So now we are counting the days -

We had a fun evening with the boys last night, we found out there is another hotel in town that has a pool and allows people to come and swim for a reasonable fee, so we took the boys swimming last night & they had a blast. Made them pretty tired so we had the first real meltdown for Joe last night before bed. He's done so well this trip I think he was due. They're still sleeping (its 7:50am here) so will let them sleep a few minutes more at least.


Thanks so much for all the support from everyone, we couldn't do this alone!

Sorry no pictures today, more to come soon.

-The Byrne Family

Week 1

Thanks for your patience everyone – we have some more pics below. The week has actually gone very fast for us here in Ust, it has been very full, and sometimes daunting (Cyrillic alphabet still making no sense at all). But we have met little Ana. Actually not so little! She is a big kid for her age considering she has been in the orphanage – almost 18 pounds.

Where to start - ? After meeting Ana on Monday, we began our daily routine. On weekdays, we see Ana from 10am until about 11:30am. Then we see her again in the afternoon from 2:30 to 3:30. We usually take the boys along in the mornings, then in the afternoons one or the other of us sometimes goes since it is Matthew’s naptime. For each visit, we have a driver pick us up (arranged by our agency) and that has worked great. The Baby House (what they call the orphanage) is about 15 minutes from the hotel, not bad at all.

Poor Ana is sick right now though. We could tell she had a cough the first day or two, and then on Wed we got there & were told they took her to the hospital for a chest Xray. By the next day she was on meds for bronchitis. We think this is making her feel a little better, but unfortunately it also makes here pretty sleepy so sometimes our visits are more about just holding her & making her comfortable than active interaction. In any event, we look forward to her getting over her illness and also getting off the meds & “waking up” a little more. Today we did get some good smiles and more laughs than yesterday so we hope she is on the mend.

The boys have been great on this trip, real troopers. Joseph as the big brother has been asked at times by us to make several concessions to his three year old brother that go above and beyond what a 5 year old should really be asked I think, so we informed him that if he continues to do such a great job he can pick out one of those big Lego sets he’s been wanting when we get back. He’s very excited and tells everyone he meets about it!

Matthew has also been great. He’s been going to sleep really well and has taken a good nap every day (those of you who know Matthew know this is crucial or he turns to the dark side at about 4pm!). He has been lots of fun in the hotel room here making up all sorts of games with his brother, jumping on the beds, dancing, etc…! You know Matthew, never a dull moment. Both boys have been very sweet with Ana as well.

We have been so fortunate on this journey in many ways. Allison’s father Dan joined us for about the first week of the trip to help with the boys as we got settled in, did initial paperwork, etc. We were so grateful to him for this; it made a tremendous difference and allowed us to focus on what we needed to for the first few days. He is now back in Queens and no doubt went straight to the avenue for a cup of decent coffee and an English newspaper, two things that are near and dear to his heart and also nearly impossible to find here in Ust!

In addition, we have become acquainted with several other adoptive families here, some from the US, also from Ireland, Germany, Spain, Canada and more. Everyone, without exception, has been so generous in helping us get settled and it has made a big difference having them as a resource. Everyone who comes here from the west is great about passing on all they have learned about getting along here in Ust. We’ll of course do the same when we become the “veterans!”

Tomorrow we have one morning visit (only one visit a day on weekends), that will be day 7 of our 14 days of official “bonding time.” We’ll likely head to a park or something in the afternoon, and might go out for a bite in the afternoon or evening with some of the other adoptive families.

As time & internet connections allow, we’ll post again in a few days. Thanks as always for all of the good thoughts & prayers coming our way.

-Dan, Allison, Joseph & Matthew

Here She Is

We are thrilled to introduce the baby girl we hope will be our daughter!

We were “matched” on Monday afternoon with a beautiful, 8 month old baby girl. Everything is going well, we of course have many more hoops to jump through, but at this point things look good. We now have about another 2 weeks of “bonding” time, after which we will set a court date here in the Ust region.

Her given name is Anastasia, at this point we think we will keep her name and call her Ana. Just today she weighed in at a very healthy 17.75 pounds and she is rolling over. The boys had a great time meeting her today and were very sweet.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts & prayers! Internet connections here are a little spotty, but we'll do our best to keep everyone posted.

Love,

Dan, Allison, Matthew & Joseph

We're Here

Hello Family and Friends,

We made it. After forty hours, Frankfurt without euros, conversations with Belgians adopting from Kareganda, KZ, breakfast in an outdoor restaurant in Almaty, and a stunning view of Ural mountain range we are settled in our hotel in Ust-Kamenogorsk. What an adventure. We have already met about 4 American moms or couples in our hotel also adopting. Across the hall from us is Crytal and her gorgeous daughter Adell, who turned one and learned to walk here in the hotel. Next door is Laurie and her 8 year old daughter Marina.

The boys have been wonderful. Joe is more accommodating than most adults I know. Matthew wondered if we could slip back to our house to pick up something for him. Both are willing to change diapers for their new baby girl.

We go to the baby house tomorrow. Seems surreal. Our adoption coordinator met us at the airport and before she left our hotel she said the baby she has in mind for us will be a wonderful fit for our family ?!

Had breakfast with Lauren from DC. She had a picture of her five year old daughter Tanya. She is already a proud beaming mom and told us wonderful stories about Tanya. She said the other children in the orphanage break her heart. Another little girl there said “I love you – now can I come home with you.” What can you say.

More tomorrow. Lots of love,

Allison, Dan, Joseph and Matthew