Monday, March 26, 2007

Happy 10 month birthday Brooke. She is exactly 10 months old today. She is doing just great and making big improvements. Her Orenburg Scowl is going down and she is actually smiling more and more every day.

Today is an outing for us. We are off to the medical visit today. Julia is coming to pick us up at 9:30am so we can make it to the appointment by 10am. The kids get up, we get them fed and dressed and then Steve heads off for his shift at breakfast. I didn't have a very good night. I woke around 3:30am and was stirring off and on from there on out. I have no idea why I am so worked up about this medical visit. I have been told it is no big deal. I get ready while the kids are playing. It's a slow go though seeing as at one point, both of them are crying. I have no idea why Kyle is crying but Brooke has now bumped her head on the doorway and is crying. Geez, this getting ready with 2 kids is a bit hard. I finally get to almost done when Steve gets back. He takes over and I am able to get out the door.

I return around 9am and it's just enough time to get the finishing touches on the diaper bags and so a once over and then get their clothes all laid out along with their snowsuits. It's a bit colder today and there is a little bit of wind. We get the kids up, dressed and in their carriers. We head downstairs and Julia is already waiting for us. She tells us that the driver is running a little behind but that is OK. We take a seat and wait. We hand over the documents that she wants with the exception of the home study. I forgot to bring a complete copy of our dossier. I will have to wait until someone in the States wakes up to get that faxed over. Great!

The driver arrives and we get piled into the van. The medical place isn't that far and we are only in the car for about 10-15 minutes. We get in the building and Julia takes us back to where we are to go. We get right in and Brooke goes up first. Steve gets her undressed as the doctor wants to see her naked. Her exam takes about 10 minutes and then it is Kyle's turn. Nothing new from this visit. Tells us everything we already know. We get them dressed and Steve takes Brooke down the hall to have her blood taken. I had been told that it could be pretty ugly so I choose to stay with Kyle. Steve returns with Brooke and I ask if she cried. She did but she doesn't look like it so maybe it wasn't that bad. I think that's what I'll tell myself anyway.

We get back in the van and head towards home. We ask Julia if she can drop us at the store. She asks us if we want her to wait. We say sure and she actually comes in with us to help. We get some more diapers, wipes and some food for lunch. They don't have the soy formula that we have been giving the kids. I gave them some half soy, have enfamil yesterday and Brooke had quite the runny diaper this morning. I think I'll have them make the transition when we get home. Who wants runny poop on a plane ride home?!! We'll have to try and find a pharmacy once we get back to the hotel and get the kids dropped off. We end up spending a small fortune at the grocery store but oh well. We needed the stuff.

We come back up to the room with our groceries and both kids are asleep in the carriers. We lay them down and I decide to head out on an adventure to try and find this soy formula. I get the money from Steve and head downstairs for some directions. I first walk down to the first pharmacy which is literally 2 seconds from the hotel. I ask a woman if they have it and she shakes her head and says, "niet." I walk back to the hotel to ask where the other pharmacy is at. She points it out on the map. I take it with me along with the name of the formula written down in Russian and I'm on my way. This time it's about a 5 minute walk from the hotel. I hit the underground walkway and cross 2 other streets. I find it and walk in. I find the formula but they don't have what I need. I circle the place and finally get the nerve to ask one of the ladies. I ask in Russian if one of the other cans is soy. Just so you know, soy is "soy a" in Russian. Not too hard. She says it's not and I ask if there is another "apteka" close. She points like it's around the corner. OK, I head out of there and walk down the street. I go about 200 yards and sure enough, there is another "apteka" and I walk in. Third time is a charm cuz there it was right as I walked in. They have 2 cans. I really wanted 3 to be on the safe side so I ask, "tri". She looks under the cupboard where it is and says, niet. I can be good with 2 I guess. I then ask her if there is something for my nose which is now running like a faucet. She wants to give me this spray. Nope, I need something to dry it up. She gives me this flu drink. Whatever, I'll take it. I gather my things up and walk back to the hotel. I am pretty proud of myself right about now. Through the majority of trip #1 and #2, I have let Steve do the majority of this stuff. I don't know why I have been such a whimp with this crap. Guess it was my "mom mojo" that had me off and brave enough to do it.

I come back to the hotel room and both kids are still napping. I break out our food that we bought at the grocery store and have myself a little picnic on the bed and drink my flu drink. I feel like I should get a nap in while the kids are sleeping but just don't really feel that tired. I decide to check email and again update the blog. Before you know it, the kids are up and hungry. We get them fed and busy with some toys. Now that we are in this room, they have a lot more to play with than just a set of keys, a chew toy and the hippo/elephant. There are balls, big leggos and other things in the playpen. Steve has renamed the playpen "the thunderdome." We put both kids in there but Brooke pretty much stomps all over Kyle. Whatever toy he has, she wants and takes it away from him. This of course pisses him off because he isn't mobile and can't take it back. Even if we take it away from her and hand it back to him and tell her no, she'll take it right back. I'm sure this is just a kid thing rather than an orphanage trait.

I have to admitt, the honeymoon period is officially over though with Kyle. He has been sooooo fussy lately and just whining and crying all the time. I just don't know what to do with him. We figured he'd be our easy one and Brooke would be the more difficult one. NOPE! The only time she cries is when she is hungry or tired and you can tell when she's tired because she rubs her eyes. I guess we're still learning with Kyle. I know he didn't do this in the orphanage. He would have been ignored. We'll work it out. The plane ride home should be pretty interesting if he continues on with this. I already feel sorry for the people on the plane!

So tonight's dinner was KFC. I found it today while I was on my mission. Steve went out to get it for us. When I first saw it on our first trip, I laughed because for some reason to me, it looks like "pot cock" if you say it in English. Then I realized it was KFC. The little things that make you laugh.

Well, it's a whopping 8pm and I am exhausted. I am going to go to bed. We are off to the Embassy tomorrow around 1ish for our interview. We will also swing by the doctor's office to pick up a letter that he has written saying that our delay was due to medical. This should waive our rebooking ticket penalty with Delta. Let's hope so.

Hope everyone is doing well. Tomorrow is our last full day in Moscow (we hope!) and then we're headed home. I do have to say, the past few days have gone by pretty quickly....knock on wood. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well and we'll be headed for the States on Wednesday without any further delays. I'm sure I'll stay up half the night on Tuesday worrying about the flight on Wednesday. Goodnight to all!