Friday, July 29, 2011

Moscow Update

We have been busy the last few days, so here's the update on how things are going in Moscow. This city is much nicer & more modern than Krasnoyarsk!!!!
Yesterday was Thursday & we all had to get up early because the doctor was supposed to be here between 7:30-8:00 AM to do Jonathan's medical exam for the U.S. Embassy. While we were getting ready we were able to watch the live webcast of Flood (our church's Wednesday night service). Thank you Pastor Brian for the shout out & for showing Jonathan's pictures up on the big screen!! That made our day! The doctor was running late due to traffic, so he didn't make it until about 8:30. He was very nice & had a great sense of humor. He does these exams on adopted children all the time & was very knowledgable about common issues. Jonathan threw one of his temper tantrums for the doctor during the exam & was not very cooperative...screaming with no tears & flopping his body all over. The doctor handled it well & had us laughing. He pointed out that Jonathan must have been a favorite at the orphanage because it's not common for these children to be so strong-willed & manipulative unless they received extra attention from the caregivers. We had all ready figured that out & told him how we were dealing with his tantrums which is exactly how he suggested to deal with it. I could totally get used to doctors making housecalls! Then P came & picked up the medical paperwork so he could immediately go file everything at the embassy.
We had the rest of the day to ourselves, so we made the 2 mile walk to Red Square in the 90 degree heat while carrying a one year old. It was a pretty amazing sight to see & the architecture is just beautiful!! We saw the Kremlin, Lenin's tomb, St. Basil's Cathedral, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier/War Memorial, & the Bolshoi Theatre. The Bolshoi is off season right now & they are doing some maintenance to the front, so the picture isn't perfect. We took the tour of St. Basil's which was kind of disappointing. It's 9 small churches all connected together & was like a maze to go through. The claustrophobic hallways of the 15th century didn't help with the heat. Jonathan threw a fit towards the end because he didn't want to hold Andrew's hand while walking. A Russian lady started yelling at Andrew which we think was about not letting him cry in the church...Andrew had a few words for her as well :) At this point we were hot & tired so we started to head back towards the hotel. We made a stop for an early dinner at TGIFriday's which is about 2/3 of way to the hotel. They are very popular here in Moscow! We crashed EARLY last night & I think Jonathan slept for 12 hours.
Jonathan & I woke up today feeling much better, but Andrew wasn't feeling well again. We went to Starbuck's across the street for breakfast & then found a pharmacy to get some meds for his stomach. Everything is locked behind the counter & we can't read labels in Russian....fortunately there was a girl there who spoke some English & she helped us explain what we needed. In the end, we got the right stomach meds for about $8. P picked us up at 11:00 for our embassy appointment & let me tell you- the U.S. Embassy & our American flag were a welcome sight!!! There were 3 other adoptive families there & we talked with a couple from New Jersey. Their little boy is the same age as ours & came from an orphanage here in Moscow. We were out of there with all of his paperwork within about 30 minutes & it was a very easy process!! The embassy officer walked us through everything concerning immigration when we get home & how the dual citizenship works. We got finished earlier than expected, so we were able to go to the Russian Consulate to file his registration paperwork instead of waiting until Monday :) This means it will be ready for pick up late Monday afternoon & then we are good to go! Tuesday was planned as an extra day just in case of delays, but it's not needed. We talked with P about possibly changing our flight to Tuesday afternoon, but decided it wasn't worth the extra fees just for one day. So, we will be home Wednesday as planned. Andrew is doing a little better & Jonathan is out for a good nap :) We put some pictures from Red Square on Facebook, but here are a few more. Home in 5 days....we can't wait!!!! Love you kids!!
View of Historical Museum from Red Square
St. Basil's Cathedral
The Bolshoi Theatre

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the update! The pictures are amazing and your story is too. Can't wait to see your baby boy soon!

    Have a blessed flight home and see your "whole" family soon.

    Love, Nena

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