Thursday - another great day!

So Thursday we got up and went to Illy for breakfast. We manage to order eggs, toast, cucumbers and tomatoes for breakfast. We also had a few lattes and on. After breakfast we took a nap and then got ready to go to the baby home. The car ride is long with lots of exhaust which made Brett a bit sick. Our visit with Polina couldn't have gone better. The boys must have said her name 100 times. She had tons of fun playing with them. At the end go our visit we had Galina explain to Polina what was going to happen the next day and we gave Ludmella a gift we had made for the orphanage. I took one of the photos from our first visit, a picture of the 3 of us all smiling and had a Christmas ornament made to go on the Christmas treeat the baby home. When she opened the gift she was very touched and really loved it. She said she would make sure it went on the tree each year to remember her.

After we left, the boys were starving so we all went to McDonalds, including Galina and Alec. After that Alec dropped us off at the gift shop so we could pick up the Nebraska nesting doll for the McKernans. Brett loved my amber necklace and wanted one too so he picked out a really awesome one and of course that's what Jax wanted to because he loves to be like his big brother. Amber is actually mined out of the Baltic Sea which is why it's associated with Russia. Then we walked down Nevesky Prospect to the Lego store, the chocolate museum and on to the metro station. Galina went with us and helped us by the tickets for the Metro station nd showed us how to get back to our hotel. It was actually really east...I told her she was teaching us to fish. It was absolutely a great day!

Gotcha Day

What an awesome day it has been!! We woke up early and got everything ready to go. We had a wonderful breakfast and then off to the baby home for the last time! We stopped and got 2 cakes as we were instructed to do. When we got to the Orphanage they had us wait in the gym room while they got the children dressed. Our boys and the Bakers son Alex had a blast playing with all the toys. After a few minutes they brought the children in all dressed in their beautiful clothes. Brett stopped playing and just dotted on his new sister. She sat in his lap for quite a while. She had with her the album we gave her on our first trip and the doll we gave her the other day. She was very attached to both of those items. After a few minutes of play and a ton of pictures, we went in to talk to the director. We got about 10 minutes with them and she covered the basics like schedule and diet. The ladies tried to hurry us by standing up and putting coats on because they wanted to get to the passport office before they closed. I knew this was my only chance so I stood my ground and continued to ask questions. Then I ask for like the 5th time if I could see her room. They said I could but Joe needed to go with them to work on the passports. As we walked down the stairs Ludmella grabbed Joe and I and pulled us into Polinas living quarters. The kids were all asleep so we had to be extra quiet. We saw their bathroom, playroom, and sleeping areas. We could see the children but it was hard because they were sleeping. After that Joe got yelled at for disappearing but it was so worth it. We said our good byes andtook more pictures. Ludmella was crying. She truelly loves our daughter and she touched my heart in a very special way. After that Alec drove me and the kids back to the hotel. We let Polina listen to some music which she enjoyed but then I could tell she was very stressed so I got out those flavored puffs and she was really happy. She ate half the can on the way home and drank some water. She did not cry at all on the way to the hotel. When we got here we played and ran around the halls. I have to say that if you have one available I recommend bringing a 7 year old son along. Brett has been AWESOME! He is at her beckon call. Jaxon, not so much but he has been good. Around 4 I gave her a bottle with pedi alight and she went right to sleep while the boys and I put together a Lego in the closet so we didn't wake her. The rest of the day was simple with a dinner at the hotel followed by some more hall fun. Bed time was tough on me though. She took her bottle and was almost asleep but went I layed her down she started to rock. I sat by her and patted her but I felt helpless. Please if you have experience here, Im open for advice. All in all another great day.

My family is here.

The boys arrived today at 3pm. Joe fell asleep on the way to the hotel, Jaxon kept telling the driver he had never been to Russia before and Brett said he wanted to go home because he thought potato pancakes sounded awful. He agreed to stay but he is only eating apples while he is here. Lol

Tuesday

Today we got up and walked to the Hermatage. The place was amazing. We saw paintings from Van Gogh, DeVinci, Picasso, you name it. We saw some of the most amazing rooms from the palace. I was just in awh.

Then we were off to visit Princess P! When we got there Ludmella met us in the "green room" and she had a small gift for Polina. It was a little porciline angel with a post card of the Mary and baby Jesus. She wrote "From Ludmella, Be happy". The she held her heart smiled and said Polina's name. Then she left to go get Polina. I think she has true love for our little girl. When Polina fina came in she was initially a bit timid of Romney and she looked to me for comfort which was great. Then we just couldn't wait any longer to give her the birthday gift Romney had bought her. We showed her how to open a gift and she caught on well which should bode well for Christmas. She was very excited to see what was inside...her first doll!! Biddy Baby from American Girl!!! She was initially interested in the doll but then threw her on the floor and became extremely interested in the bottle. She loved that bottle!! She kept it in her hand most of the visit. We played bubbles, follow the leader, ball, and tried to read a book. About that time Princess P was comfortable enough to start ruling the room again. LOL She tried to get in the thing that holds the ball so I helped her in. Then soon she tried to get out and I held my hands out to help...no she did not need my help. When I conveyed that I would only let her get out if I could help her she choose to go stare at the wall instead. This went on several times. Romney was laughing and said I was in for a whole new game of parenting with a daughter. She is so much fun to try to figure out.

After our visit we went to "Zoom" - loved it!!! Great food, fun comfortable place, prices were good, and they spoke English!!! After that we went back to the Hotel and a few drinks with Jamie in the lounge. So far my trip has been nothing short of wonderful. Here to more fun with my boys!!!!

Romney's Guest Post

Once upon time, Crystal and I worked together at Illuminet / Verisign / TNS. I left work to become a mommy and then 6 months later my family moved to Wisconsin. Although, that was eight years ago, Crystal and I have not only remained friends but become really close friends. In fact, my kids are pretty sure Jaxon and Brett are their cousins. Crytal and I used to daydream about meeting somewhere for a scrapbooking weekend. We never seemed to make that work... but now I find myself in a hotel in Russia with her, drinking wine and playing on our ipads. Life surprises you. (Note: Crystal has just moved her empty wine glass in front of me and picked up my full wine glass. She thinks I haven't noticed . . . )

So, today's adventure! After breakfast, we spent over an hour walking the streets of St Petersburg looking for the Russian Museum. We took it in stride and once we found the museum, enjoyed the art. We found it odd the pictures were hundreds of years old and not covered. Many rooms had open windows. How, we wonder, will the art last? We lunched on coffee and cake . . . which cost us over $30! Yikes! Back to the hotel . . . where someone . . . fell asleep . . . no worries! I was up in time for our dinner reservation. We ate at the popular Teplo restaurant and made a reservation for Wednesday night when Joe and the kids are here. It was very good and super cute. On our way out, they gave us bags of cookies - yay! (Note: Now Crystal is eating my cookies!)

Then we spent a long time walking around the city. We went to Zara and H&M. And, a hat shop. We got into trouble for taking pictures of us wearing the hats. I bought a fur hat. It is made of squirrel. Yeah, squirrel. I think it makes me look very Russian. To make it more real, I insist Crystal walks with her arm linked with mine. Just like all the other Russian ladies. In fact, someone stopped us and asked us a question in Russian. When she realized we were tourists, she was horrified and hurried away. I felt quite smug. Obviously, my hat makes me look local :) Then Crystal said something funny and I laughed out loud. A guy passing us on the sidewalk stopped to make fun of my laughing. I read about that. Smiling and laughing in public makes people in Russia think you are an idiot. If you have met me, well, then you know. I smile and laugh a lot. And, loudly. So, in summary, I stand out in Russia. The hat helps . . . I'm convinced!

Tomorrow we see Princess P! I am super excited! When I met my daughter, Sadie, she was an hour old and asleep in the hospital. I was so excited I made loud happy noises . . . she woke up and started crying. I'm guessing the same will happen tomorrow with Princess P. I am too excited to control myself. Stay tuned to find out if Crystal throws me out of the room during the visit b/c Princess P is scared of my wild happy American ways!

Great. Now my wine is gone too. Must open another bottle . . .

Sunday

On Sunday Romney and I went to Cathrines Palace. We took some amazing photos which I can not post due to technical difficulties. Cathrines Palace including the Amber Room, was amazing and we left there with a strong desire to learn more about Russian history, add some gold leaf paint to our own homes and to buy some Amber. So off we went to a lovely souvineir shop. The ladies there were very helpful. Romney bought a couple of dolls for her girls. I bought a book of Russian fairy tales and we both bought a peace of amber. After that we went back to the hotel for a nice nap and then out to dinner. After dinner we spent the evening at the hotel watching Friends in Russian, drinking wine, eating chocolate, playing cards, and reading the Russian Fairytale book laughing about how much these stories will terrify our kids.

Saturday...

Today was a wonderful day! We are not aloud to visit P on weekends so this is what we did:

We woke up to our amazing breakfast buffet at the hotel. Then we met Galina in the lobby and we walked around town while she pointed out different buildings to us and gave us some of the history of each one. We saw St Isaac, The Hermatage,

the Military academy, Peter and Paul's fortress, St. Petersburg university, The Palace of the tsar, the palace square, the museum of Russian history, the church of the spilt blood, The Matriisky Theater and Moika Palace (the palace where Rasputin was poisoned). We ended the night at the ballet Sylphide?

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