Presenting our daughter

So here she is, Ava Aceil.

She came into the world on February 1^st, 2007 weighing 6lb 4oz. She met her parents on October 10^th, 2007 weighing about 15lbs and is almost 26 inches tall. She was the second baby brought in, Amber said, “Awww”, immediately went up to hold her and we were essentially done at that point. We looked at the other babies, and played with them, but she had both of our hearts from the start. Aceil is her original name and we wanted to keep it as a middle name. Several of you picked up on the mention of twins in the earlier post, but unfortunately they just had too many health issues.

Now to the good stuff. Ava is, as you can see, adorable. She watches everything around her very intently. She’s fairly quiet, but quite the eater as seen here.

They gave us a full size spoon, and a bowl FULL of food. Olga (our translator), had us wedge the bowl right under her chin and start shoveling. At that point her chin was in her bowl of food. Olga said to feed her fast, because that’s how she is used to it. And eat fast she did. She cleaned out the bowl in no time. She even tried to take the spoon out of Ambers hand to feed herself faster. We may need bigger spoons! Naturally, the approach of a full size spoon into a baby sized mouth, controlled by baby sized hands had its downfalls. We were laughing so hard it was tough to keep up with the pace of feeding. Beth came over and took some pictures, as she and her husband found it pretty funny too. She then drank her formula straight from a cup! They said ‘she’s a big girl now’. I guess they take most of them off bottles at around 6-7 months old. If Amber is holding her she looks for me, if I’m holding her she looks for Amber. It’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen (yes, I am a new dad talking about my little girl). She is fond of posing for the camera as well. I will dissuade her from the modeling career.
She’s not a big crawler, though she does ok. She prefers to stand and likes taking steps with help. She even pulls herself up in her crib! According to the orphanage doctor, she’s the only one in her group that does that. So this one isn’t just a proud papa talking, it’s a proud pediatrician too. She giggles a bit though she’s not very noisy. Her only little cry was when she got her diaper changed. They said she’s very quiet but sweet, and when we told the doctor we were adopting her, I got a nod, a smile and a thumbs up; kind of like she was saying ‘good choice’. We think so too. Really quite a bit. Really quite a lot in fact. We love our little baby girl and know you all will too when you meet her (YOU BETTER!). We’re so glad to be beyond the “Baby B" phase and to have a name and a face. Here’s one more picture of Ava being held by her mommy.
And for equality sake, here is a picture of Ava and daddy. Clearly you can see she adores me.

And for some final miscellany… Kazakh sausage tastes like salami, tenge (currency) is very pretty money, showering in brown water really isn’t so bad, chocolate butter is yummy, there’s nothing on TV in Kazakhstan either, if all goes well in court etc you will all get to meet her around the end of November, and go Cleveland.

An update designed to torture you

We made it to Karaganda. It's a pretty neat city. Our apartment is nice, and the food is actually quite good - we've only gone to the grocery store and cooked it ourselves. The flights were all great too. Aside from having to pay a fee for too much weight in our checked luggage on the flight from Almaty to Karaganda (I won't tell you it’s Ambers fault), really nothing has gone wrong! We are here with a couple (the Cruz's) from Arizona, and a single mom from Utah with her daughter she adopted from Karaganda last year (the Richards) and a friend. We're still running on very little sleep, but a bed sure beats an economy class airplane seat or a bench in an airport. We've been to the orphanage twice, and there will be baby pictures soon, we just don't want to post anything until it's official. Here are a couple pictures of the apartment - Jason

Living room:

Bathroom:

Hallway to the apt

This has been quite an experience so far! I only slept about 5 hours since Monday until last night and Jason not more than 3! We also were without showers for over 2 days, not pretty! Our apartment building looks very run down, dirty from the outside. The hallway inside is even worse. We were a little nervous when they brought us in but our apartment is very nice! We will try to post pictures. Jason is happy because he can still watch American football, it's just has voice over’s in Russian. We are eating very well, too well! I thought I would lose weight being here but now I'm not so sure! The store has coffee and lots of chocolate and sweets. We were told there wouldn't be coffee here but there is! The store also has tons of juice, a whole isle of just juice. The meat is mainly pork and red meat; we found just a few chickens at the store. People dress similar to home. The women all wear high heels though, even with pants/jeans.

The weather is nice, it's cold at night but sunny and warm during the day. Just a sweater is fine most of the day. We went to the baby house yesterday, after all this time it was hard to believe that we were actually there. It was surreal. We all went into a big room and sat on the floor or tiny sized chairs and waited for them to bring in the babies. They started bringing them in and they said their names and how old they were. They then either gave them to someone or put them down on the floor. The babies were all crawling, rolling, playing with toys and squirming around. It was a little overwhelming! They are all so beautiful! It really is so strange to have to choose your baby like that. However we have chosen our baby and we love our child already!!

As Jason said we will post about that later. I feel so mean, making you all wait!! -Amber

We're in Kazakhstan

So we're in Kaz, sitting in the Almaty airport at 2:30 AM local time because the nearby hotels are booked. Flight to Karaganda is in about 5 hours, so we still have some time to kill. But we are both very excited! Laptop battery is near death... more to come later...

Packing and other joys

As I sit here, lazily typing while falling asleep at 8:00 PM, I find myself reflecting on the chaos of the past week. Well, mostly chaos for Amber. She ran all over the place picking up the rest of our updated documents, getting them apostilled, trying to pack, taking care of an ill little doggy (just a ploy for attention as he knows we're going somewhere), getting updated pictures developed, buying clothes (never give a woman an excuse to buy clothes), and in general getting lots of stuff done. I tried to make as many calls, send as many emails, and do as much as I could do from work while still accomplishing whatever I could before I take 4 weeks off of work (I've got a great boss).
So now, paperwork is done and it's time to get things packed. This is not fun. Carry on bags can't be more than 18 lbs each (WE ONLY GET 1 EACH!), and checked can't weigh more than 50. There's also size restrictions too. So Amber's now swapping things around from bag to bag to make it fit. And of course we are trying to pack "light" despite the fact that we'll be on the other side of the planet for 3 weeks. The next few days we'll keep packing, organizing, double checking things, and trying to not stress too much, and then we drive down to JFK on Monday! Скоро мы встретим нашего ребенка!

What happens next?

That seems to be the most common question we are hearing these days, so here goes. As Amber said, our plan is leave on the 8th. That still could change, because we still have to get our visas completed and our passports sent back to us by a visa expediting company (Thank you Connie!). Once we have them, and a few more confirmations go around the world to Kaz & back, we'll be all set. We should know for sure in a few days.
Next (as it stands now), on the 8th we'll drive down to JFK (or get a ride), fly across the Atlantic, land in Germany for a few hours (quite a few actually, and Frankfurt if you're curious), fly across the rest of Europe & a chunk of Asia to Almaty, rest up a bit (hopefully in a hotel room), meet one of our coordinators, be given the tickets for a flight from Almaty to Kaz (no idea really how long this is, I'm guessing a few hours), make the flight (this is now the 10th), meet another coordinator in Kaz, drive w/ another couple to the orphanage (they are actually called baby houses), meet the babies, and try to make our choice!
Deep Breath...
Now, we pick out our baby (which I am looking forward to and terrified of at the same time), and spend 22 days in Kaz, spending 4 hours a day (2 on Sunday) with our baby, while people in the background get paperwork and everything else processed to make this all official. We have a short court date before we come home, then Amber & I will return, get everything else done at home that we need to for a few weeks (2-4 I think), then we fly back to Almaty, pick up our baby, do some more paperwork & stuff (stuff is the technical term for I have no idea), and come home as a family. The second trip should be only a few days over there, so it'll be pretty hectic.
I've signed us up for a web slide show thing, so as long as everything continues as planned, there should be plenty of pictures by the middle of next week!!!!!!! It still feels a little surreal, but I think once we actually get on the plane, it will hit me.

We have our LOI

Just heard word that we have our Letter Of Invitation! We also put tickets on hold for the 8th!

Only 9 more days!

FINALLY! We are going to meet our baby!!

We should be leaving on October 8th or 9th!! We have our final approval and our LOI is on its way. The region is open and we should be one of the first families there! There will be many babies available too since no one has been to Karaganda months. This feels so unreal. I have lists and sticky notes everywhere! I am busy packing, organizing, cleaning the house and of course calling everyone in the family! We are so happy and excited! I can hardly sleep and you know I like to sleep! We could have the baby home by the first or second week in December!

About Kazakhstan

Our agency informed us that Karaganda should be opening this week! We are happy but trying not to get our hopes up. We will be much happier when we hear something definite. We also have some paper work to redo but nothing major. Below are a few facts on Kazakhstan and some pictures. It is a very diverse and beautiful country.

Kazakhstan Flag

The population is 15.2 million

The capital city is Astana

The state language is Kazakh

Major religions are Islam and Orthodox

Still waiting

We still have no news...no idea what's going on, etc...

Here's a quote from a family who adopted their daughter from Kaz, I thought it was fitting:

"We have more hurdles, including an intimidating court hearing, but we are already beginning to feel like parents. And that's the thing about adoption. It's just like having a kid the regular way, only not. Unlike biological childbirth, there is no such thing as an accidental adoption. No equivalent of the broken condom or "forgotten" diaphragm. This is a deliberate, always conscious, undertaking. I can't say that makes it better—I wouldn't wish the process on anyone—but it does bring with it a certain sense of clarity. Why exactly do you want a child? What price—in money and sweat and tears—are you willing to pay? My answer, prompted by the two most beautiful eyes I have ever seen, is: as much as it takes."

Their blog address is: http://www.slate.com/id/2132692/entry/2132693 if you want to check it out.

More Craziness

We have just been told the process in the Almaty region has changed. Adoptive families are required to stay 3-7 weeks on their first trip, leave, then wait 4 weeks and return for their child or make THREE trips! Insanity!!
Anyway we are now probably going to wait for the Karaganda region to open up again so we do not have to make three trips to Kazakhstan. They are saying it should be soon. I feel like a liar though, everything I write changes as soon as I post it. Believe me , I wish I was making this stuff up!!Ha ha!
Thanks for the comments! You're all right~ We know we will end up with the baby we are meant to have even if it takes longer than we'd like. We know our baby is somewhere out there waiting, and we love and think about our baby all the time. And of course all of this waiting/frustration will be worth it in the end! Hopefully the end will be soon!

No Answers

We tried again to get some answers from our agency about our situation, but they told us officials in Kaz are on vacation until July 18th and we will not know anything until they return. We have no idea how long we have to wait, where our dossier has to go or what the process is from here. We have had no answers to anything except that we are going to Almaty.

It's frustrating, to say the least, having NO control over your life.

We are learning patience however and that is a good thing. We will resume bugging our agency after the 18th!

The Saga Continues

Well, we are switching regions, from Karaganda to Almaty. We were told we can adopt a baby under a year old from Almaty!!! We do want a young baby so they can get love and care from us as soon as possible and are not stuck in an orphanage longer than necessary!

Anyway, we are still on this roller coaster ride of international adoption! We know it will work out and we pray so much every day! The wait and disappointments can be very hard emotionally some days though. We are trying not to get our hopes up too high, even though we have good news, in case things change.

We hope to know more details soon.

*Check out the update on our baby's room!!*

Sad News

Adoptions are on hold in Karaganda, the region (city) we are suppose to go to. We don't know if it will be a few months or a year before it will open up again. We are considering changing regions, which would mean more paper work and thousands of $$ more. The agency told us they are going to see what they can do for us. The other region they work in doesn't allow adoption of babies under a year old and we wanted a baby as young as possible. Right now we can't do anything but pray and wait. We are very disappointed.

Not quite there yet...

Well, apparently there was some sort of mix up and we don't have our final approval yet. Our paperwork is still at the MOE. We haven't been rejected or anything, we just don't have our final approval after all. This would normally just mean a longer wait, and though this doesn't thrill us, there are apparently some other things going on in Karaganda going on that could complicate things. From what we hear, a different agency that works there hasn't been completing their post-placement reports. As a result, they are thinking about suspending adoptions there until this agency does what they should be doing. If this happens and we are still in the pipe, this would mean we have a much longer wait ahead of us.
There is still some hope though. Our coordinator is working hard to get us through, so we're still hopeful that we'll be going sooner rather than later. We'll keep you posted when we know more.

Final Approval

We have been waiting so long (it seems) to hear that we have the final approval that I didn't think we would be very excited when we got it. You know how frustrating it is to wait and wait for something and then it comes and you are too depressed from waiting to feel overjoyed.

Well that didn't happen to us! We are overjoyed! The agency has applied for our Letter of Invitation and when they/we receive it they will tell us travel dates! Yippee!

Oh by the way, we miss hearing your comments! I know the blog is a little boring right now, until we get baby pics on it, but we like to know who is watching and waiting with us!

Baby Shower

We were given a baby shower on Sunday. It was so wonderful to see how excited and happy everyone is for us. We were definitely "showered" with gifts! We could not see the floor in the babies room, the crib was full and the tops of all the dressers were covered when we brought the gifts in. In addition we have the bigger items, strollers, jumperoo, highchair, pack-n-play and more in the garage for now. It's hard to believe we are going to be parents in a few weeks! Our agency told us yesterday to start making plans to travel in the first two weeks of June! We are so thrilled and nervous thinking about how quickly June will be here!

News???

Have you heard anything seems to be the words we hear the most these days, so I guess the answer is yes and no. Yes, we have heard things, but nothing super concrete. More like warm butter than concrete. Our agency thinks our paperwork is done, but they aren't 100% sure, so we can't say anything definitive. They have said that as far as they know there aren't any children available in the age range we're looking for right now, but they still think we'll be traveling sometime in June. So even though we have nothing really substantial, it's pretty exciting to think that we could be flying to the other side of the planet next month!

Update

We were told by our agency that they are checking on the children available in the orphanage we are going to. They will let us know as soon as they find out from their coordinator in Kazakhstan. I don't think we'll know many details but it may give us a better idea of when we can travel.
We are getting more excited as we get closer to traveling. I am making lists of things to do and bring. I already have one bag packed. I think we will try to pack all our non-clothing and toiletry items soon. The agency says to pack a full two weeks in advance and then think about what you can remove or what you forgot to add. But we may not have a full two weeks when we are told we can travel, so we are starting early.

Registering

Decisions, decisions... do we want the blue or yellow burp cloths? Bibs with ducks or bears? Black or brown diaper bag? This is going to be one spoiled baby!

We had so much fun registering. We registered at Target and Babies R Us. I can't believe the amount of stuff babies need! But, do we really need a wipe warmer or shopping cart cover?

Of course we do! :)

Getting Closer!!

We have a tentative "due date"!

We just heard that our dossier is out of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is now at the Ministry of Education as of yesterday! It will be there about a month and shortly thereafter we get our Letter of Invitation! Then it will may a couple of weeks to get tickets, visas and prepare to travel.

We could be parents in 6-8 weeks!!

(Jason thinks I use to many exclamation points on the blog, but I think this warrants it!!!!!!)