Paka Blake

Today we said goodbye to the Overstreet's. I am so happy that they are moving on in their journey. I am grateful our paths have crossed and we share not only the bond of adoption, but our children lived together in the same group within the same orphanage. Additionally, our visits with our children where together over the ten day wait. They will travel to Moscow to visit the US Embassy there and then finally home. Blake is blessed to now have a Mama, Papa, big brother, big sister, and a dog! His new family is also very blessed! We all said goodbye, walked them out the the van and waved as they drove away. We are down to 4 families now at the hotel.

We went for a walk down by the water today. It was very nice. Victoria enjoyed the beach area. She threw rocks in the water, gathered a few shells and rocks, and watched at least 4 trains go by while we were there. She really enjoyed being outside, seeing the birds, walking and riding in a stroller. She is curious, but does not appear to be overwhelmed. She has more of a personality in which she seems to just take it all in. We walked for over an hour. Today was the last day that I need to complete any paperwork downtown, so I do hope we can go on a couple of walks each day and spend more time outside.

Throwing rocks in the water.

We had lunch, played, watched Sesame Street on the laptop and waited for Irina and the driver to pick us up. Today I had to go to the American Consulate in Vladivostok. That went well and I just needed to get papers ready for the courier to take to Moscow. He will be going tomorrow. Tomorrow is another holiday here in Russia, so most of the government offices will be closed. Processing that needs to go on with my paperwork will take place on Monday and Tuesday. The courier will fly back Weds. Even though Vladivostok and Moscow are both in Russia, Moscow is an 8+ hour flight from here. But I am glad someone else is making that trip and not me!

Lunch...salad...not just salad, trust me, this was just the beginning of lunch!

It took a very long time to get home from the Consulate. We did not get back to the hotel until 7:00 pm and we left to go just before 3:00 pm. We did stop at the market on the way back, but traffic was awful. This is a three day weekend because of the holiday. You know? Sort of like what happens to the 91 on a three day weekend. No wait, that happens to the 91 every day!

New words for today =)
socks, shoes, I love you (sort of). She certainly says lots of other things too. I guess I should mention I am picking up a bit of Russian. Also, today she just did lots on singing, she really just sings
away...very sweet!!

This is the whole group at the potluck.

Amy, her dad Randy and son Walker (North Carolina)

Fred and Heather (Newfoundland, Canada....their daughter will be joining them on Monday)

Mom, Victoria and me

Sandy, Ryan, and Bodi (Colorado)

Heather, Justin, and Blake (Illinois)

Potluck!!

Victoria brushing Mommy's hair.

Well, Victoria slept until 8:00 am this morning. Now that was a pretty good night’s rest. It was another busy day; mostly this morning. I am starting to have trouble keeping track of where we are going and what we are doing. I did get Victoria’s passport today and she also had to visit a Dr. This Dr. makes a report for the US Embassy. She did very well with the doctor, but of course did not talk. The Dr. asked if she talked and then asked her, “Why don’t you talk to me?”…..Nothing. She does talk A LOT in the hotel room and is also talking a lot around the other families. During the car ride the kids were very serious and she wanted to look out the window as much as possible. And yes, that is possible here, no child car seats at all!

Victoria did fall asleep for about 10 minutes on the ride back and that was about it for any sort of nap. We played in the room and then went for a walk to the store. Sandy had a great idea for tonight, she suggested that we have a potluck and all bring something to share. It really was a lot of fun. There were 5 families total. The idea of the whole thing was to just sort of put something together that you got from the market, grocery store or really just whatever you had. Also, it was the Overstreet’s last night here, as they will leave in the morning to Moscow and eventually home. It was fun to get everyone all together, though it does seem we all sort of hang out in the morning now too! We had our potluck in the upstairs dining area, which is called the “White Rabbit”. I am grateful that I was able to meet the Overstreets on this trip and get to know them. I will miss Heather, Justin and Blake and am also envious that they are traveling on.

Potluck gathering.

Victoria ate A LOT today! I am not sure where she is putting it. It really is a fine line, I want her to know there is not a shortage of food and that she can have what she needs and wants. The other side of it is that I don’t want her to get sick. Like I mentioned in a previous blog, this issue with food is not uncommon. It is also not uncommon for a child to stuff themselves until they throw up. Bodi, Sandy and Ryan’s little boy, had the nickname “Baby Bird” for a few days because anytime there was food nearby he had his mouth open ready for someone to poke some in for him. Visualize a nest of baby birds waiting for the adult bird to return to the nest with a worm. He would also have a little melt down (cry) when the meal was over. This is improving. It sounds very cute and we all joke about it here, but the reality of it is really sad to think about. I have been trying to let her eat as much as she wants, mostly monitoring how much she puts in her mouth at one time, so she does not choke. I really just have to take something away until she clears her mouth by chewing and swallowing then it is given back, sometimes one piece of something at a time. Tonight though, I did feel that I needed to cut off the food when I really started to think about the whole day and how much she had eaten. This will subside soon, I know for sure.

Trying to get a pictures of all the kids....Walker, Victoria, Blake and Bodi.

Again, I received all kinds of hugs and kisses from Victoria, mostly in the evening though while enjoying the potluck. We brought a lot of items to the potluck, because we had to bring our own dishes and silverware. Also, I had my laptop there for a picture exchange. I moved Victoria over to sit on mom’s lap and told mom that I was going to make a trip downstairs, bring some of our stuff, would return for the other stuff and we could all go down together. I went down, came back up and Victoria was just sitting there crying. Heather (from Canada, not Overstreet) and mom were both trying to console her, but of course in English. This did not work. Her little heart was broken when I left the room. She did continue to cry when I held her again, letting me know that my behavior was just not OK. This was the first time I had actually seen her cry, besides the first visit when she was told to play because we would be leaving soon. Like I said, I did feel bad for her, but I for sure think that is showing signs of attaching and I think she kind of likes me. =)

Watching Dora (Russian name is Dasha. Yes, she is popular here too) on laptop.

At orphanage the day we were able to take Victoria and Blake outside. 

IT IS WITH GREAT JOY THAT I INTRODUCE....

VICTORIA IRINA RAE ELBE

Born July 29, 2005

Adopted April 17, 2009

Today was a GREAT day and a very busy day!!! Victoria is here at the hotel, finally, and things are going really well, besides almost every piece of clothing being absolutely big on her. She is even having trouble keeping her PJ pants up!!!

This morning Irina came at 9:00 to pick up Justin and me. We ran lots of errands…vital records office, passport processing and well, just lots of places that needed my signature. I was told we would leave to get Victoria at 2:00, but when we finished paperwork Irina called the orphanage to tell them we were on our way. We stopped at the hotel, picked up mom, dropped off Justin and we were off. She was asleep when we arrived. We waited down stairs; the clothes were taken up stairs. Shortly, she arrived. We took a few pictures and we were off! On the car ride back to the hotel things seemed very serious and she was mostly eager to look out the window.

We arrived at the hotel greeted by Blake, Heather and Justin. We visited for a bit and headed to our room. We had a snack. Victoria had crackers, cheese and milk. I called Dylan and talked with him for a bit. He talked to her, she listened….she did say paka paka (bye-bye) in the phone. After talking with Dylan, she just enjoyed the room and exploring for a bit. I showed her pictures on my laptop of Dylan and the dogs. When she saw the picture of Lucky, my larger dog she said, “Sobaka!(dog)”….I guess she doesn’t think Charm looks much like a dog! She really has been talking non-stop since we have been here (in the room more so then around others). I have never heard her talk so much.

She needed a bath and hair wash and that is just what she got. She really enjoyed it, I was pleased. I put some toys in, of course, and she had lots of fun filling and pouring and so forth. I was relieved she enjoyed this, as I have heard different stories. I used the blow dryer to dry her hair, this was new to her. When getting dressed for dinner, she really tried to help and do this on her own. I am sure that, of course, is from learning to be self reliant.

We went to dinner and she did such a great job during dinner. She sat in a booster seat, never tried to get down, had nice manners. It really was very impressive. Is this the calm before the storm? Haha! She does not know how to drink from a straw very well yet, but we will work on it. After dinner, we went to the upstairs dining area to visit the other families. She played a bit, mostly with Blake. Blake came over and gave her a big Ol’ kiss on the lips!! Hey, that’s my girl!!! We also had dessert with the Overstreets tonight to celebrate having both of the kids here at the hotel with us.

We went back to the room, got our jammies on and played for a bit. We have a crib in the room. The side is lowered, but it really is about the same size as the beds in the orphanage. I put her in the crib just when I started writing this. She is just laying down in there whispering to herself, in Russian of course. =)

Tonight was the first time she verbally called me “Mama”. Also, I can’t even count how many kisses I have received tonight….first time too….always have just been given hugs! Her pants keep falling down, so Grandma says "Ay yai yai!" Now Victoria has been walking around saying to both of us, "Ay yai yai!" Wait, I think that is Italian???

Seriously, my daughter is very well behaved! In the international adoption world you hear of the “Day 3 Melt Down”…would I be so lucky as to bypass this…..that sure is a good thought! Tomorrow is a new day…I hope we sleep well.

Quick update, this was her at 9:30. =)