[carrie2adopt]

Remember me? I THOUGHT I was going to adopt from Russia! I started researching summer of '05, took homestudy classes fall '05. Finished homestudy in the spring of '06, dossier to Kemerovo in June '06. Then on August 4, 2006 I saw my future daughter on a photolisting....only she wasn't in Russia, she was in Guatemala! I switched everything, agencies, updated homestudy, updated 171-h and a completely NEW dossier for Guatemala (since I couldn't get the one sent to Russia back in time to adopt from Guatemala).

Grace has been home nearly 4 months now and while I felt we were getting along well by the end of the first month...I realize now that we have truly started that bond/attatchment just in the past month. She is so much more "Grace" now than before...her personality is starting to show, she grabs a hold of me and puts our foreheads together and holds me tight when she does this. She is a true joy, and my fourth of July baby! She will be a year old soon.

I do still hope to adopt from Russia in the next year or two. Hoping things work out and I am able to make that dream come true...I visited St. Petersburg in Aug. of 2005, which is when I decided to adopt, it holds a special place in my heart.

Here's my Grace...those eyes just make me melt!

[KimOH]

Congratulations, Carrie! Grace is adorable.

[MustangLippy]

We've only been home 18 months but I don't think I have posted a photo since then so here goes...

I can't even remember how long we spent paperchasing for Em. 2 years maybe? At least 18 months. But I am so glad we did! She is a dream. Joyful, affectionate and easy going.

She just got glasses and has also been diagnosed with some hearing issues. She receives OT, ST and developmental therapy. Not sure of her long-term prognosis but we're taking it a day at a time and enjoying her so much.

[Sipper]

Wow, I have not even lurked in awhile. My hubby does all the time and keeps me updated. What a great post! As I read through I remember so many of your stories very well. Whenever I thought it would never actually happen, I would read a great story about a child coming home and it always gave me so much hope.

Now, here I am busy as can be with two. Grace will be home 2 years in October and Aiden joined us in December. I told hubby if we were going for a second, lets do it soon and boy did it ever happen quick.

These are my kids, they just happen to have been born in Russia.

Here are a couple of recent pictures. Grace turned 3 in May and Aiden is almost 17 months old (and as big as Grace). They are both from Vladimir region.

[angelkisses0102]

Great to see so many updates...

Sipper or Sipper's hubby...I was thinking of you guys today actually. There is a group of us getting together for dinner in a Russian restuarant in St Petersberg FL in July (in conjunction with a group of adoptive parents vacationing togther.) It looks like it is going to be Tuesday July 17th (it is the Tuesday of that week, I don't have a calendar handy.) There is another family that is not on the trip but is local to the restuarant joining us and we would love for your family to be included! Weird timing of your post today...

Anyway, I will PM you the details and my contact info if you are interested. The kids look great too!!!

[votemom]

sipper it's great to see the pictures of your beautiful children!

[Pinkie]

MustangLippy, I can't believe how Emily is growing and too cute in those glasses (Antonina has been wearing glasses since january). Nice to see an update from you.

[lovestruck]

Wow, this is the first time I've gotten to sit down and look at this thread. So many of you were getting your children home when I was a lurker over two years ago and then were great support and education when I finally started posting over a year ago. So happy to see your names, hear your updates and see your kiddos. Beautiful!!

Let me ask, anyone know anything about bdaddy or his other half or did I miss their name as I looked through?

[Pinkie]

Lovestruck, you didn't miss their name. I hope they check in every now and then and see this post, it would be good to see how their doing.

[GCS]

Thanks everyone for posting! All the children are getting big and are so beautiful. I may be a little biased to these Russian beauties though!

Mustang - I love the glasses and pigtails pictures! Too cute!

[waiting4babies]

Well it has been about a year since I posted anything and yesterday I decided to check in.

We adopted two children from Russia at one time. A four year old boy and a two year old girl. He is now six and our daughter is going on four. About a year ago, we adopted our third child from China and now we are a family of five.

Our Story:

We started the process in August of 2004 and were caught in the reaccreditation situation and did not bring our children home until 2005.

Our six year old son has moments where he still struggles and he still behaves much like a baby in some ways. So far he has been our biggest challenge. He is very loving but has a tendency to lie about many things to get his way in school. This is the not so good thing and we are struggling to help him.

Our three and a half year old daughter is doing very well. She is the happiest child. She wakes up every morning and runs to mommy and daddy and is always in a happy mood. She is feisty and very sassy. She wants to have brown hair like mommy. I have never heard of a blond wanting brown hair.

Our two year old daughter is loving, brilliant (knows her numbers from one to 20 in English and Spanish), she is very talkative and loves her mommy and daddy. She is; however, a daddy's girl and does not want anyone near her daddy. She just started daycare and she is having a hard time, which makes us feel so sad to leave her in the morning.

We are considering adoption again; however, only time will tell when and from where.

It is good to be back to communicate with the old timers again.

[Bcelli]

I updated photos not too long ago, but with summer activities under way, I'll chime in again.

Clay has been home since Nov. 1998 at 5.5 months of age. He is now 9 and just started his first team sport - Lacrosse - this week. He's picking it up rather quickly actually and he LOVES every minute of it. But he is very competitive with his brother on every level. And evidently he invented the word jealous or at least has perfected its application.


Luke has been home since June 2004 at 2.5 years of age. He is now 5.5 and started the Young Chef's Academy 2 weeks ago. He absolutely loves it. He loves to cook and the folks at the academy are fabulous. He starts kindergarten in August and he and his brother will finally be at the same school. Luke has a tendency to create his own version of the truth and he is still lagging behind in some developmental areas, though he's smart as a whip. Maturity has been a slower process than intellectual growth, but he is a perfect angel at the Chef's Academy so maybe the answer is in keeping him occuppied with something he loves.

I still wonder about going back for the daughter we had intended to bring home as No. 3 from the beginning, but these two have forced me into early aging, so the likelihood of returning is slim. But - never say never.

[angelkisses0102]

Bumping in response to another post.

[misshawna]

I used to post all of the time, but now I mainly pop on and off to see how the process is going for people. I was excited to see this thread!

We have been home with our ds, Jaxon, for 2 years and almost 3 months. It seems like yesterday at times, but then it seems like he has always been a part of our family.

Our adoption started off smoothly, but then we got caught in the slow downs. We had our dossier in Russia in late July or early August. We waited a few months and were told we would have to wait until after the holidays in January. But, God knew better, and we got our referral the same day as Britfish (same agency) - Christmas Eve. We traveled a couple of weeks later and met him for the first time. Then we went home for what we thought would be a 6 - 8 week wait. That is when the registry timelines changed, and we had to wait 4 months in between trips. It was hard, but worth it! We went back in May of 05 and adopted our son on the very day our agency was losing accreditation in that region. It was a miracle.

Our experience when we returned home couldn't have gone any smoother if we had planned it ourselves. We were very serious with the attachment parenting when we got home, and we have had no issues in that area to date. He had to have a cyst removed and then his adenoids removed, but he has been the picture of health. His only developmental delay is speech, and he is catching up everyday.

He is the light of my life, and I am so thankful for him. I still look at him and think how empty our house was before we brought him into it.

I am attaching two pictures. The first one is his first "studio" picture after being home one month (06/05). The second picture is of my ds and dh acting tough with their new tatoos. It was taken in June of this year. Thanks for letting me share!

Shawna

[hopeful_in_Wi]

This thread is amazing adn I can't tell you all how often my allergies acted up reading all of your stories