Our day started with the long drive back out to Podolsk.   Jetlag and our nervousness are still getting the better of us so we napped while Pashe drove to & from the baby home.   I think that it works out best for all of us that I’m not awake to see most of the driving because the traffic is pretty brutal (those of you who have driven me, know what I mean)!   Thankfully, Pashe is an excellent driver and we haven’t seen any dings on his vehicle.

When we got to the baby home today they made us wear the plastic booties over our shoes again and we also had to wear face masks.   They said that there has been a viral respiratory infection going around and they’re trying to protect the children.   We weren’t really happy about having to wear the masks on the whole time we were there and we were worried that it might frighten our little guy but he didn’t seem to mind much.   He was just as happy & interactive with us today as he was yesterday.   We got to give him lots of hugs and kisses and he was full of smiles.   We’ve discovered that he is going to need "soft" toys because he likes to play the "throw it on the floor and let Mom pick it up" game.   After about an hour and a half, our visit came to an end when they took him away for lunch and a nap.   Already, it is getting much harder to say goodbye to him.

After the baby home, we drove back to Moscow to the CSS office to meet with Irena who translates the court documents for us.   The first thing she asked for was his new name, so it is official, our son’s new name will be "Liam Matthew."   We wanted him to have an Irish first name to go with his new last name and his middle name is the English version of his Russian first name.   We also received an English translation of his birth information and a little more information on his birth mother.

After leaving the CSS office, we had a late lunch with Pashe at a traditional Russian restaurant and then he dropped us off at our apartment.   Since today was warmer (the high almost got out of the 30’s), we decided to venture out onto the streets on our own.   We’re proud to say that we were successful in ordering our own coffee & latte at a little coffee shop and we picked up a few more groceries at our local market.   I mentioned before that New Arbat street at night is like Vegas and here are a couple of pictures to show you what I mean:





That’s it for today.   It’s almost 11:00 pm here and we’re off to try to get some much needed sleep...   Goodnight!
 

Labels: traveling