Little Getaway

Sometimes ya just gotta get away 'sans' babies. Greg and I skipped state last week for a mini-vacation with good friends (who had previously adopted 2 children from Russia) to the Smokey Mountains. We had a most relaxing 4 days drinking coffee in the morning, chilling (literally) in the hot tub during a snow shower in the afternoon, and winding down with Hearts and wine at night. We only had one small panic upon arrival when our friends read a sign at the base of the mountain saying, "snow chains and snow tires required during winter"... We were in my Edge which is barely equipped for Missouri travel let alone rugged, snowy terrain. BUT we made it without issue :-)

Our accommodations

Ignore our mess

The beautiful view just after the snow shower

I have germ issues with hot tubs but this was given an exception

Goregous. And of course, Valentine's Day left its mark once again. Our tradition - fondue made to perfection by Greg - was extra-special this year with Luka joining in. I think you can tell how they felt about it...

The Holidays

What a wonderful Christmas.
Our little family, having grown from 3 to 4, had a most magical holiday season in 2011. The whole family was excited to see Luka experience his first Christmas, and that includes Alena! She was so tickled when they woke up Christmas Eve morning to watch him open his stocking and gifts that she didn't even want to touch her packages until she had seen him pick every last little piece of wrapping paper of each gift. In all, we traveled to 8 homes for seasonal celebrations. It was a true eye opener when the often taken-for-granted banana (accompanied by an apple and an orange and stuffed in the stockings at Granny P and Grandpa V's ever since I can remember) was received by Luka with such zeal, one might have thought it was a puppy.
Here's hoping your family had as beautiful of a Christmas as was had in The Gilmore household and to a fulfilling 2012!!


Before the church Christmas program. Alena performed the role of a suddenly-solo angel with more confidence than we have ever seen out of her in a public forum.


The kids with their "big" gift. I think this was actually a childhood dream of my own that I am apparently now experiencing vicariously through them.


This is the best remotely-operated family snapshot you get with a toddler.

Catch Up

May I be, well certainly not the first, but one to say that the conversion from a one-child home to a two-child home is quite a change. Clearly from my recent 2 1/2 month blogging interval it would seem the number of hours in a day are diminishing in the Gilmore household. I appreciate now every little bit of assistance that makes more family time possible - Greg's donation of his weekdays off (which I currently don't get)to taking care of all the necessary "life" tasks, Bette for making the house shine and occasionally having dinner ready for us, Al Gore for ultimately making internet shopping possible [ ;-) ]...

Our three has been four now for 3 1/2 months, since August 31st. Luka's adjustment is such that even we feel like he has been ours forever. He's a typical little boy and little brother, ornery and appropriately mischievous. His vocabulary is evolving rapidly though he still recognizes and responds to some Russian phrases.

Alena is sailing through Kindergarten, now reading at a first grade level. She will be the first to "mention" that she is the only one in her class who can flawlessly count to 100. Soon, she will begin her second season of swimming classes and expresses interest in golf, running, and art.

There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to this collection of photos, in its entirety. Just evidence we have and do still exist for anyone who was wondering!


The "main" Christmas tree. We also have one in the family room decorated with keepsake ornaments.


One of the Christmas card "out-takes" shots. This may be as good as it gets :-)


Alena modeling her beloved Hello Kitty scarf. How did HK get so big all of a sudden??


He's not at all happy. Rarely smiles, and if he does - it is clearly not sincere...


The back of this shirt reads "PUJOLS 5". In April, it will be retired and replaced with one that reads "FREESE 23".

A Walk in the Park

Luka and I ventured out into a little park in downtown Hannibal this week. As the Home of Mark Twain would have it, this little park is surrounded by white picket fence so Luka enjoyed the freedom of running around, untethered. His adjustment has been surprisingly smooth and we have been rather astonished at his ability to learn. While in Russia, we worked to use signing as a language barrier-buster. Within four days, he learned to communicate "more", "eat", "drink" and "again". Now I struggle with learning signs to keep up. He has added "bath", "dog", "bubbles", "cereal", "all done", "book", and "cook". He has invented his own gesture for baby by patting himself on the belly (as in, "like me") when he sees a picture of another child. Yikes. Thank goodness for Baby Sign iPad app...

Alena has taken on the role of Big Sister with excellence! She is happy to share, eager to read him stories, and helpful with meal and bath times. I have yet to get a *great* picture of the two of them together but the one I do have is still sweet <3 .

I'm one step closer to getting some video posted but so far, I've only managed to get the audio to play... Hmph. Stills will have to do for now...



"HIIIIIIIII!!!!" --- in case you couldn't hear it from there.


This is lingual concentration.


Big Guy


Makes me giggle.



I love a good black and white

Photo Card

Checkers Chocolate Basic Borders

Send special Valentine's Day cards from Shutterfly this year.

View the entire collection of cards.

Home Sweet, Sweet Home

What an adventure. And the best part is - it has only begun. We got home last Wednesday night after a long, sleepless flight back from Moscow. Luka has been doing wonderfully. He eats well, sleeps well, plays well... Did I say eats well?? He has enjoyed many great firsts, some of which are very surreal to Greg and I. Such as putting his feet in grass, sliding on a slide, swinging, opening a gift, eating an avacado (a staple in our house)... It is wonderful watching these mini-milestones. And watching Alena with him? Ahh, it just makes my heart melt. She is determined to be in Who's Who for Excellence in Big Sisterdom.

Another first was this haircut. He was pretty shaggy when we got him and now - what a little man! I have many videos, thanks to Shirley, and will be posting those as soon as I figure out this new camera!



"Aw, Ma! This haircut makes me look dumb!"



"Oh, I look like Dad? Nevermind. This cut will do."

{{ It's Official!! }}

Greg and I traveled to Russia this week for our court hearing as the biggest part of the final adoption process! Although tremendously intimidating, all things went well before the judge. Our case worker/interpreter, Olga, the representative from the Child Welfare Department, Svetlana, and the director/head physician of Luka's orphanage, also Svetlana, all had raving things to say about us and our encounters with our son. After hearing our case, the stoic judge took a 5 minute recess (ie: smoke break) and returned with an affirmative ruling! **Insert much rambling regarding the level of relief felt at this time**

Now that it is offical :-) I am able to post a few pics.

MEET LUKA



Once we left court, we took Luka on his first - slightly panicky - car ride to get his photo taken for his passport. Yes, that is him NOT in a carseat. Apparently not a big deal in Russia.


These are videos (YES, I finally learned to do this) taken during our trips. The first one was taken only minutes after we met him. He had actually started to cry when his caregiver left but with a flash of Greg's toothy grin, he was a happy kid.

These were taken with my phone so they are a tad choppy


Turn your head sideways, I have no idea how to rotate these videos.


He was not happy for us to leave. In fact, he dove back into Greg's arms and waived good-bye to his caregivers! Great moment for Mom and Dad. We will now return in 4 weeks to bring him home. I. Can't. Wait.

Everytime I See Your Bubbly Face

The days are passing a little slower than we'd like right now, given the upcoming trip to see The Little Guy but we are transforming those lemons.Our lazy Sunday excluded church (Thank You, British Open) and included lots of pool playing and bubble chasing. This girl giggled like - well, a little girl - playing in the giant bubbles. She is definitely in need of the company of her little brother as mom and dad don't have the stamina required by a 5 year old. Just a little longer, though...

Our Day in Court

We were notified yesterday by Anna, our caseworker, that we have been assigned July 26th for our court hearing in Moscow to begin finalizing our adoption! During the 10-day waiting period, we will fly back to the States (which is considerably less expensive than staying in Moscow) and return when we get the go-ahead. On the 3rd trip, we will visit the US Embassy for a visa and get the O.K. from a western physician there. While the visa and other documents are processing, we will get to keep Luka with us! We are estimating he will be officially here with us early-to-mid August!!

3rd "Trimester" Complete

The last chunk of paperwork is complete after a long wait courtesy of the US FBI. The required federal background check for Greg and I, two pharmacists with state professional registration and licensure for the past 10+ years, took well over the Bureau's estimated 3-6week time frame. At any rate, we have hopefully met the deadline for a July completion (and not have to skip August where all Russian judges take a month-long holiday).

It was the first week of May when we first met Luka, thus it has now been 2 months since we have seen him. The wait has been pretty rough, especially with his fast approaching 1st birthday :( which we will likely miss. Nevertheless, we are elated to be now waiting for the red-eye call to hop back on a plane for our court hearing in Moscow. After that, we will fly back to the states and ride out our 10 day mandatory wait period. We will then return to Moscow, visit the fine folks at the US Embassy to get Luka's visa and passport, check in with the American physician there, and then we are official!! My fingers (as well as yours, I hope) are crossed in hopes of rapid processing in Russia!

**Note to reader: The overuse of the word "wait" in this post is recognized, but unfortunately necessary :-D

Hanging Out

No big surprise, the weather in Missouri has been unpredictable the last several days. Super hot, fairly cool, rainy, etc... It changes sometimes hourly. Yesterday was a great day for us to get outside (and not collapse of a humidity and heat stroke) and play around. Time is amazingly passing at two different rates for us: Ultra fast, when measured in terms of the First Day of Kindergarten, and Ultra slow, as the clock counting the time until we go see our son again. I'm just trying to sit calmly and find a now-balance for both scenarios.

As for Alena, she is dominating the swing set, showing a good game face for the newly attempted game of tennis, and working on her golf swing to pass time. And in her spare time, expressing her inner goofball with a school ocular creation.

Birthday Girl

In spite of my protests, my little girl turned 5 last week and it has been quite the ongoing celebration. We started with a Hello Kitty birthday party at our house the Saturday before the big day which was big fun for Alena, what with all the kids around. Then she and I headed out to Java Jive for some Jet-Tea smoothie action! After that, it was pool time. She is swimming like a fish now with the sole help of a couple semi-deflated water wings. Then we took a quick trip to Chicago with Mom and P, complete with stop at the American Girl Store.

Aside from the birthday, Alena has been enjoying a great summer so far. Golfing, more swimming, getting ready for Kindergarten , and waiting (im)patiently for her baby brother to arrive. Since I am in my *FINAL** semester of my doctorate program I, too, am able to fully enjoy the summertime bliss again! Ready to get that baby home and have a crazy-busy, fun-filled maternity leave!

These are a few shots from the bday:


Awaiting her smoothie


Enjoying that smoothie before getting out the door


Chilling in downtown Hanni

Just Imagine...

*A picture of the most adorable little boy HERE*

I am DYING to show off my beautiful son! But unfortunately, all I can post is various shots of the rest of the trip. But believe me, when all is "go", there will be pics'a plenty.
We arrived in Moscow on Monday, May 2 and traveled to the baby home to meet him on the 3rd. Before reaching the home, we had to stop by the Ministry of Education to officially receive our referral. The director, secretary, and deputy of the department handed us papers - written entirely in Russian - with a picture of a dark-haired newborn. Our translator read to us his information including is sparkling medical record and what little family history they knew. We were then asked by, who I can only describe as the most Russian person I had met, if we agreed to our referral. Once we had given our 110% affirmative, we (following the direction of our translator) jolted up out of our seats, into the car, and we sped away to the orphanage.
Upon entering the doors there, we were quickly whisked away through a labyrinth of hallways and into the 6x6 office of the social worker, fresh off her smoke break. After business was completed here, we zoomed through a few more halls (could have been the same ones, it is and was a literal blur) and into the office of the physicians. They informed us that he was one of the healthiest children they had ever seen in an orphanage. Factors I believe contributed to this were that he had been breastfed during the first crucial week of his life, he was with his biological mother for 3 months, and was given into the care of the home due to poverty rather than neglect or birth defect. After this brief and happy meeting, we - wait, can you guess?? YES. Ran the maize again and abruptly stopped at a door where we could hear the babbling of babies and the clanking of toys :-)
When the door swung open, I literally fell to my knees watching my baby, with his HUGE brown eyes and dark hair toddling toward me with the help of his caregiver. The woman picked him up and matter-of-factly sat him down on a changing table and walked away. This was the first and only sign of tears we ever witnessed during the 3 day visit and only for a minute. I picked him up and started counting his fingers in Russian. This seemed to calm him down. It was Greg's beaming smile that solidified a wonderful first 3 days. He had his son bouncing with giggles, a video that I can't wait to post! We ventured outside, played with the sheep pillow pet we brought him, and examined the baby-proof photo album we left with him with pictures of his new mama, daddy, and big sis. He actually looks a little like Greg! They definitely share ears and smiles!
We now are waiting for state records and FBI information to submit the final ream of paperwork in order to be granted a court date. After court, we return to the US to sit out our mandatory 10 day waiting period. Then, it's back to Russia one final time to bring him home! The best scenario is that we return sometime in early July, as his birthday is on the 8th. One year of age is the time the Moscow City region prefers for finalization of international adoption.

So keep your fingers crossed that all is speedy! We can't wait to have him home to stay, our sweet Luka Gilmore.

And now, a few shots from the trip:

Referral!!

Wednesday we got the greatest call from CHI that we had ALREADY been invited to travel to Russia to meet our baby! Anna, our US case manager, was shocked the process took only a few days from the time our documents arrived in the country to a few days later when the associate at CHI in Russia said there was already a match for us. I can't even believe things went so swiftly! We are right at 1 year from when we started the process and it sounds like roughly 2 months before he is home with us for good. Below is the email and itinerary from Anna explaining the first trip:

Dear Jessica and Gregory,
Congratulations!!! You’ve been invited to travel for the 1st trip to Moscow City.
Here are your official travel dates:

May 01 – leave US, arrive in Moscow on May 02
May 03 – visit to the Department of Education (where you will receive your child’s official information)
May 03 – visit to the orphanage
May 04, 05 – visit to the orphanage
May 06 – leave Moscow, arrive in US.

Karolyn will send you instructions for your visas, please apply for them as soon as you can (that way you can get your visas little cheaper).

If you should have any questions – please let me know.
Again, Congratulations!!!!

Anna

We leave in just a few days on our 18 hour journey to Moscow (I'll be honest, I'm going to need sedating for the trans-Atlantic crossing). We will be taking an item and some pictures that he will keep until our return. Still deciding on what the item will be as they note we should not leave anything we dearly want back - just in case. His room is (nearly) done with the exception of a sweet vintage dinosaur painting being completed as we speak, and of course - clothes! Poor thing has 2 pair of PJs and that's it so far! It's hard to buy things for a baby about whom you know no size or age or nutrition status! IT'S MAKING ME CRAZY!

Nonetheless, the time is almost here! Hopefully we will have at least the referral picture and possibly more when we get back! AHHHHHH!

Technological Challenges

Sorry for all the blog changes lately - I realized I had some settings wrong which were not allowing some people to access the page. Hope things work now!