Our Yuzhno Adventures...

I finally uploaded photos from our trip to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia. We arrived on May 11. The weather was pretty cold that first few days-- temps in the high 30's- low 40's. It warmed up later that week, though. D arrived by train on the morning of May 12, so the first day of our visit to Yuznho, we just spent walking around. We needed to walk after the 9 hours we had just spent in the airplane! Our week in Sakhalin went very well. We got to visit with D for 2 days before court, and we got to walk around the city a good bit. Yuzhno is a nice city, in my opinion. Very laid back and peaceful compared to Moscow. Everything is extremely expensive though-- partly because of the location of the island, and partly because of the oil projects going on in Sakhalin-- lots of foreign money coming in drives up the cost of goods for everyone. The actually citizens of Yuzhno are the ones to suffer-- their salaries haven't increased, but the prices of goods have sky rocketed.

The Girls And I Sightseeing

One morning, I took the girls for a very long walk-- all the way to Gargarin Park. Theresa started off with us, but had to call it quits early due to a backache.... We got to the amusement park before it opened, but one of the ladies working there showed us around, uncovered all of the rides and let the girls sit on them. They had a great time. The women asked us if we were American and we said yes, we were. They were very friendly and told the girls how pretty they were. It was a very nice morning... Quiet and relaxed...

Two Sisters In Front Of The Cathedral

My Girls In Russia!!!

Chilly!!!

On the morning of May 12, I went to the nearby hotel where "D" and his caregiver were staying. It was so good to see him after all those months. He was a bit shy at first... Then we all walked back to our Hotel so that he could meet the girls! Very exciting!

D At His Hotel--After A Long Train Ride

The girls were very excited about meeting their new brother... Things went very well the first day. Little A didn't seem jealous at first, but that all changed after court-- after it was apparent that D was going to be staying... :)

Big A Meets D

Little A Sizing Up Her New Brother



Playing In The Hotel!!

Big A On The Big Train

Climbing On The Train

A Cool Bus....

My court date was May 15, 2008 at 10 am.... I didn't sleep at all the night before. I was sooo nervous. I am not good in courtroom situations, and the Judge held my family's future in her hands... I was a nervous wreck. A lot of families look at the court as just a formality, but it is not. These people can deny the adoption if they want to. It rarely happens, but it has happened in Russia before. I didn't want to be the first parent to be turned down in Sakhalin... Fortunately, the court went well. The Judge and prosecutor were very stern, but very nice. They asked question after question-- some very off the wall, but nothing that I couldn't answer. It was formal, but we all laughed a lot too. I tend to laugh and joke in serious situations, and that didn't seem to be a problem. I guess they realized that I was sincere about my desire to adopt D-- in the end---at 2:30 pm the Judge granted the adoption!!! D was officially my son!! It was pretty surreal and emotional... Sometimes I still think it hasn't quite hit me yet! The caregivers were so wonderful when they testified on my behalf. So was Svetlana. I really owe them all a debt of gratitude. They will never know how much I appreciate their help...

Later that evening, everyone came back to the hotel to say goodbye and to celebrate the adoption. The caregivers and the DOE official from Tymovsk went back on the train that very night. Below are some photos of us all.

D, Saying Goodbye To His Old Life,

And Hello To His New Life

Svetlana Gets In The Picture...

Now The Whole Family

D's first night in the hotel was pretty traumatic for us all... He was fine until time for bed-- he happily took a bath and brushed his teeth with pride. But at bedtime, he totally freaked---He rocked violently from side to side, holding his ears and sobbing and screaming. He was so frightened that he got out of bed and stood by the door rocking and screaming and wailing for about an hour. I tried to comfort him, but it freaked him out even worse, so I just sat by trying to soothe him with my voice. Meanwhile, the girls were pretty terrified-- Theresa tried to calm them. Finally D gave up and got back into bed and rocked himself to sleep. He did NOT want to be touched by anyone that night. Theresa and I were sure that we would be thrown out of the hotel because of all the racket, but apparently no one complained. The next morning, Theresa noticed that none of the rooms surrounding ours were occupied-- perhaps a strategic move by the hotel staff-- they have been through this "first night" situation before, I'm sure... No wander that before Svetlana left, she said that I should feel free to call her at 3 am if I needed to... She knew what we were in for.... Bu, we did make it through the night. Although we were all exhausted the next day, we were alive and still somewhat sane, and D was actually his happy little self the next day. The next night was much better, as was the next. He still resists going to bed, but he definitely doesn't lose it like he did the first night. By day two he was accepting affection, but he still does not want to be stopped from rocking. "Hospitalization Syndrome" is what the call it, and the pediatrician says it may never completely go away. It is petty scary when you firs see it, but he rocks himself like that because he was never rocked and soothed as an infant--so he had to sooth himself.... It is very, very sad to think that this was the only way he had to calm himself for the first five years of is life.

The other common, yet scary institutional habit he had was "hording". While we were in Russia he put food and objects in his pockets and closely guarded them. Every night he would put his little cars, his plastic knife, and whatever other little objects he had collected under his pillow so they would be safe the next morning. The funny thing is that since we have been home he has not had one instance of hording behavior... It is almost as if he really knows that his things are safe here, and they will still be there the next day. In fact, he really has adjusted amazingly well. I think he really knows he is home.

Below are some pictures we took around Yuzhno.....

A Local Park

D And Little A On The See Saw

Big A And Little A Spinning...

My Little Cutie

A Very Cute Russian Boy Named Illya

D, Digging In The Sand

Playing Connectagons In The Hotel

Two Girls, One Monkey

(This was the morning the nice women showed us around the amusement park)

The Park Worker Told Us She Painted This Mural

A couple of days after court, we finally got to go visit the amusement park at Gargarin Park. The children had a great time!!! It was very expensive---each ride was 100 to 200 rubles (approx. $4-$8)----I spent a fortune!! And I thought American amusement parks were expensive!! Here are some photos....

A Very Scary, Unsafe Ride--

The Kids Loved It...

Mama Did Not

Yikes!!!

Happy D

Riding The Train....

Swinging... This Was Little A's Favorite Ride!!

Our Family!!!

Little A Rides The Merry-Go- Round

More Merry-Go-Round

Feeding The Pigeons At Lenin Square

Big A Shares Her Seeds With D

Posing In Front Of Chekhov Theater

My Two Five Year Olds!!!

A Fish Market At Swarensky(sp?) Bizarre

A Good Use Of Old Tires

Big A Wants Some For Our Yard...

All in all our trip to Sakhalin was great. Big A already is asking when we can visit again. Since the plane tickets are outrageously priced, it will likely be several years from now, but we will be back... Afterall, this is where D was born. We will certainly go back in the future.