Moscow - Trip 2 - Day 20
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Whew, what a day! We spent most of the day in the car fighting tough weekday Moscow traffic — we even had to feed Liam lunch in the car because there was just no time to stop. We started our day with a trip to Red Square for a few of those typical "The 'X' marks the spot" family photos in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral & the Kremlin. (I’ll try to get those 1 or 2 of photos ready for posting here tomorrow.)
We went from there to the U.S. Embassy to get Liam’s Visa & immigration paperwork. We met up with Chris & Teresa with their new daughter Anna, and several other couples with their new adopted children. Liam had a ball playing with all the other kids. We think he’s really been missing some of that social interaction and being cooped up in this confirned apartment (when we’re not on the go) isn’t helping much either.
Due to computer problems at the Embassy, the wait was kinda long and Liam’s afternoon nap was very delayed. He fell asleep almost instantly once we were back in the car. And we got him back to sleep fairly quickly when we got back to the apartment. But his schedule being whacked out today seemed to really set things off on a downhill roll. He had a great dinner and we had a little good playtime afterwards, but then he got very cranky and was inconsolable for most of the next couple of hours.
Same thing with bath time — he had a great time splashing around and playing with his tub toys, but once the water had gotten kinda chilly and it was time to get out, he turned into a crabapple all over again. I lotioned him up, put on his jammies, & tried to rock him to stop the tears, but again, he just would not be comforted. We ended up laying him in the crib and letting him cry it out. He cried & chattered for over 30 minutes before his heavy little eyelids got the best of him. The stress of the week’s events seems to be starting to catch up and his mood is getting a little rougher each day.
Fortunately, we do think we have a pretty good handle on how to deal with him in the airplane since we’ve had to learn lots of tricks in the car this week. So we’re not nearly as intimidated by the Moscow to Atlanta flight as we had previously been. However, the representative at the Embassy cautioned us that there’s a very good chance that the 1½ hour layover in Atlanta will not be nearly enough time to clear Customs and/or Immigration with Liam. So we’ve put in a call to our travel agent for alternatives in the event that we do miss our connecting flight to Houston.
Anyway, we’re both exhausted, so off to bed we go! Tomorrow promises to be a long day too!
We went from there to the U.S. Embassy to get Liam’s Visa & immigration paperwork. We met up with Chris & Teresa with their new daughter Anna, and several other couples with their new adopted children. Liam had a ball playing with all the other kids. We think he’s really been missing some of that social interaction and being cooped up in this confirned apartment (when we’re not on the go) isn’t helping much either.
Due to computer problems at the Embassy, the wait was kinda long and Liam’s afternoon nap was very delayed. He fell asleep almost instantly once we were back in the car. And we got him back to sleep fairly quickly when we got back to the apartment. But his schedule being whacked out today seemed to really set things off on a downhill roll. He had a great dinner and we had a little good playtime afterwards, but then he got very cranky and was inconsolable for most of the next couple of hours.
Same thing with bath time — he had a great time splashing around and playing with his tub toys, but once the water had gotten kinda chilly and it was time to get out, he turned into a crabapple all over again. I lotioned him up, put on his jammies, & tried to rock him to stop the tears, but again, he just would not be comforted. We ended up laying him in the crib and letting him cry it out. He cried & chattered for over 30 minutes before his heavy little eyelids got the best of him. The stress of the week’s events seems to be starting to catch up and his mood is getting a little rougher each day.
Fortunately, we do think we have a pretty good handle on how to deal with him in the airplane since we’ve had to learn lots of tricks in the car this week. So we’re not nearly as intimidated by the Moscow to Atlanta flight as we had previously been. However, the representative at the Embassy cautioned us that there’s a very good chance that the 1½ hour layover in Atlanta will not be nearly enough time to clear Customs and/or Immigration with Liam. So we’ve put in a call to our travel agent for alternatives in the event that we do miss our connecting flight to Houston.
Anyway, we’re both exhausted, so off to bed we go! Tomorrow promises to be a long day too!
Labels: traveling
posted by Dede at 10:40 PM
11 Comments:
I am not counting the days until you guys get back to Texas! Little Liam's life is just so heckit and changed I am ready for him to settle into real home life with all of us that love him in TEXAS!
Aww, poor thing! Just remember, there is a reason it is called the terrible twos ;)
The embassy guy also had us worried about our connection time after we mentioned we were going through Atlanta. We ended up with plenty of time and our connection was less than 2 hours.
When we arrived at immigration in Atlanta, there were two Russia babies and five from Guatemala. They processed all of us at the same time.
I'm loving seeing all of the great shots of you guys and the little man!! Great call on Baby-signing with him. We used it with both of our boys and we'll be using it with our daughter-to-be also. I'd think you might be able to work on a couple words at once, especially if they aren't really related, like "eat" and "sleep" or "please" and "bath." I'm sure that there's probably more to think about with an IA child (since they don't know your words as a child reared around English might) but I think you could use more than 1 at a time. Best of luck with the rest of your trip!
Bless your hearts! So much going on, and more to come, but the love you have for your son always shines through in these posts, and I still say he's a lucky little boy! I'll be praying for a smooth trip.
VK
Busy, busy days! Mark and I were SUPER exhausted after the Moscow to Atlanta flight, so I am really fearful of how it will be when we have to bring Diego home! But as you said, you guys are having really good practice with hanging out and dealing with Liam when his schedule gets a bit disturbed. Well, few more days and you guys will be heading home!!! What a wonderfull day it will be!
Sinziana
Oh boy, do I remember the overstimulation. It still happens sometimes around here...little nervous systems are just not equipped for so much all at once.
I agree about the ATL airport. We were fortunate to have a good layover, because it took forEVER to get through passport control. Immigration was not so bad - since we were U.S. Citizens, we were given priority in coming through immigration. And customs was also a breeze. But passport control. Ugh.
Then Delta had us running back & forth between terminals - b/c the planes kept breaking down.
I think it all depends on the day...but it's a good idea to have a backup plan! :)
It will be so good to get home and in a routine. It won't be long now.
Hard to beleive you guys will be headed back tomorrow with your son! It was a pleasure meeting ya'll and best wishes for a wonderful future with your precious son! All the best!
Dinia and Ron
I'm shocked to read that you had any worries about the flight. You guys are naturals. I read your posts every day in awe! You taught him to sign in one day flat. :)
I'm fairly certain that there isnt much you two cant handle.
Best of luck on the trip home!
I remember our trip home with Simone -- during the Paris to Houston leg, she slept a total of 23 minutes! What really amazed me was how many people on the plane jumped forward with "surefire" ways to get her to go to sleep. I'm ashamed to admit it boosted my confidence as a parent quite a bit that every single one of those "experts" failed as miserably as I did! But I have never been happier to see an airport as I was when we arrived home.
Have a wonderful homecoming.
Lori
Post a Comment
<< Home