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