Trip 2 - Summary of our 1st day together

Pasha picked us up at 12:15 yesterday (May 27, 2008). I completely understand now what Susan is referring to when she says she felt like they were in the Pasha 500 the day she & Randy picked up Artem. Ohmygoodness! I was worried about getting carsick myself, much less Ilya if Pasha maintained the same pace and taking corners on 2 wheels once Ilya was with us. I've been scared by Moscow drivers a few times but never by "our" driver. Yesterday, I was! I think Norm & Pasha were having a great time. Me on the other hand, I was turning as green as Norm's shirt! Please don't think anything bad about Pasha, he was just trying to keep us on schedule and traffic was horrible for him once he left the Vital Statistics office on his way to pick us up. He was trying to make up for time because we needed to be to the Passport Office at a certain time, and he was afraid we were cutting it a little too close. I've never been happier to get out of a car as I was when we finally made it to the orphanage.

Oh, we also had to stop along the way to make copies of our passports, and then at a grocery store to get the traditional cakes, candies and tea. The caregivers celebrate the "sweet life" the adopted children are about to embark on. How precious!

We arrived around 1:15 and gave our gifts to the director and Ilya's caregivers. I wasn't sure what to expect from the orphanage as far as a sendoff for Ilya. I've heard some children are brought to their parents totally naked. Seems a bit humiliating to the children, doesn't it? Other accounts report that the child was at least wearing a diaper but nothing else. In either case, the parents provide their own diapers, clothing, shoes & socks to redress the children. I'm happy to report that Ilya was brought to us completely clothed, even had on the infamous PINK TIGHTS AND PINK SHOES! Ugh! So, Norm held Ilya on his lap as I started to undress him from the orphanage cothes:

Pink girlie shoes with daisies - absolutely gone!

Light Blue Fleece Pants with PINK FLOWERS- gone!

Pink thermal Tights - GONE FOREVER! I promise!

First top layer - a super thick WOOL sweater - gone!

Second top layer - long sleeve thermal onesie - gone!

Third top layer - another long sleeve (but not thermal) onesie - gone!

Fourth top layer - short sleeve (thank goodness) onesie - gone!

FIFTH TOP LAYER - sleevelss tank top - gone!

Sheesh! The poor kid was wiped out after struggling with peeling off all those layers - not to mention his new mama! The funniest thing was that the temp. yesterday was just over 70 degrees. They wanted us to put Ilya's fleece jacket on him as well as a hat. Pasha said "NYET" to the jacket and Ilya said "NYET" to the hat! It was funny but we are so thankful to Pasha for stepping in. Little guy would have baked alive had we kept that jacket on him.

There were actually quite a few caregivers in the orphanage director's office to see Ilya off. They all kissed and hugged him and allowed us to take a few group photos. They also gave us some momentos that we will share with Ilya later in life, one of which is yet another (and different!) photo that was taken of him the day he was born. We feel so privileged to have these 2 photos now. It's rare that adoptive parents get photos from this early in their child's life. His send off was very touching to all of us, and Pasha told me that the caregivers and directors all "like our family a lot and are thrilled that Ilya will be with us forever." So are we!

There was LOTS of drama putting Ilya in his carseat. He did NOT like that at all and we actually had a flow of crocodile tears for a couple minutes. He eventually calmed down and then enjoyed the rest of the ride. I was prepared for projectile vomit, lots of screaming, lots of tears but we had none of it once he accepted the carseat. We were so proud of him! About 15 minutes into the ride we got stuck in traffic & Ilya started getting fidgety. Pasha told me to take him out of his carseat & let him sit on my lap to fall asleep. It was his naptime and he was exhausted. So, I did as Pasha directed and little man was OUT in a matter of seconds. He slept for 2 hrs straight and didn't wake for anything - - not getting out of & back into the car at the Passport Office, not the hideous clanking that happened when we got a flat tire, not the car being jacked up, things being tossed around in Pasha's car, nor the actual tire change itself! Nothing waked him at all!

He finally did wake once we pulled up in front of the apartment building. Good timing! He had a lot of fun exploring the apartment and we were so excited to finally be able to feed him ourselves. He had a pretty good size snack but we're having trouble getting him to drink enough. He at a ton for breakfast this morning and seems to really enjoy his rice cereal and pureed pears.

When it was time for his bath last night, we weren't sure what to expect either. A lot of kids are terrified of the water and it takes some time to adjust to this new idea. Norm took a pair of shorts & sat in the bath with him just in case there was a freak out episode. The first time those little baby feet hit the water he got the cutest little expression on his face of shock, but once he realized daddy was in the water & had survived, he started to settle down. Then the splash fest began and we all had a blast!

Bedtime should have been 7:30 according to the schedule we were given, but Ilya wasn't even giving sleep a second thought until about 7:50. He seemed uncertain about falling asleep in this strange place, so we ended up laying in bed with him until he was out at 8:15. Given his new surroundings and everything he had been through yesterday, I think getting to bed within 45 minutes of his normal time is pretty good! He slept until 3:30 this morning and we could hear him fidgeting around in his bed. He didn't cry, but it was light enough in the room to see that he was confused and maybe frightened about where he was. We brought him to bed with us again to try to help reassure him, and he slept until 6am. We had the big breakfast I mentioned above at around 6:45 and then waited for Dr. Boris to come to the apartment for Ilya's physical. Which, by the way, was no big deal at all.

So, our first day as parents to this lovely 14 month old went pretty well I think. Ilya seems so far to be at ease and having a blast with his new found freedom. Norm & Ilya are sleeping right now, and we have some afternoon activities planned which I'll post about later.

In the meantime, here are a couple glamour shots of our boy's first bath!