Our Court Date!
Before I get too in depth about todays events, let’s just cut to the chase….. Our Court Date went off without a hitch!!!!!!!!!!! Michelle and I are now the parents of a beautiful baby boy! Of course this does not become official until the 10 day waiting period is over on October 20th, but the court handed down a favorable decision for us this morning and granted us the parental rights over our little guy!
Now for the details of how the decision mentioned above was reached. We left the hotel around 8:15 this morning after a nice pep talk from the Duda’s (who are in court this very minute and are hopefully hearing the same news we heard this morning). Our Court time was 9:30am, but we wanted to allow for the unpredictable traffic in Vladivostok so we left with plenty of time to spare. We needed just about every minute of this time as there was a fender bender causing a huge traffic jam not too far from the hotel. It ended up taking us over an hour to travel the 20 kilometers to court (that’s right, I just went metric on you!). The social worker who was testifying in our case rode with us to court. Now that I think about it, this should have been a pretty good indication that she was going to give a favorable opinion for us or else the car ride back to her office might have been a little awkward. Anyway, we arrived at court about 10 minutes before our session, so we had a minute to take a deep breath before all the fun started. Once the prosecutor arrived, we all entered the court room and waited for the judge. The prosecutor was a middle aged woman in a uniform, and she seemed like she had somewhat of a personality which we took as a good sign. A minute or so after we were in the room the judge walked in. The judge was also a middle aged woman, but she was all business. No smiles or high fives or fist bumps or anything as she walked to her desk. The hearing began with some legal information spoken in Russian (for all we know, they could have been discussing the latest episode of Jon and Kate or something as most of this was not translated for us). The judge then asked Michelle and I if we would like to make any requests before the hearing started. We gave our answer of “no” from a seated position which is a very bad thing to do. We got scolded by the judge for this, and our interpreter, Elana, translated that we need to stand up when we address the judge. At this point the score was Judge 1, Curran Family 0 for those of you keeping score at home. We apologized, and Michelle made some comment that we “humbly ask for her forgiveness” or something, then we got on with the session. Everyone in the room identified themselves (while standing), then it was time for the grilling to commence. The judge indicated that I was first up for the questions (apparently she saw me as a slow learner so she reminded me to stand). She asked me questions ranging from our sons medical diagnosis, why we want to adopt and adopt from Russia, about our marriage and maybe one or two more topics. For the questions about our sons’ medical diagnosis, the judge returned to me two or three times stating that I had not properly answered her questions (I paused to make sure I had not accidentally sat down without knowing it therefore causing the extra line of questioning). Finally whatever I said satisfied her and she turned the questioning over to the prosecutor who had a couple follow up questions which were no sweat. I was then informed that I could sit down and Michelle was asked to stand. Michelle was asked questions about her job and how we will take care of our little guy when she needs to return to work as well as a few other topics. I felt Michelle got the hard line of questioning but she did a fantastic job. She did so well actually that the prosecutor didn’t even have any follow up questions. Way to go Michelle! Either you were so thorough in your answers or you intimidated a Russian prosecutor. Either way, I am tremendously proud of you! Once we were done being questioned, the social worker spoke on our behalf stating that it was her opinion that we would be suitable parents and that we should be awarded the parental rights for our little guy. After she was done, everyone had to leave the room so the judge could think over our case. After less than 2 minutes the judge called us back in the room. We figured the decision was going to go in our favor, or else we would have set a world record for the quickest denial ever. Once we were all back in the room, the judge read the decision that she agreed with the prosecutor and social worker and that we should be granted the rights over our son….. Our son!
After court was over, we headed to Artem to see the little guy and tell him the fantastic news. On the way over there, we asked our interpreter if she thought that we could take him out of the baby home and into town at some point next week so we could get his passport pictures taken. To our surprise she said, “let’s do that today”, so as soon as we got to the baby home we took him and headed to the van. He hardly cried at all today even at the initial meeting, and he really seems to be getting used to us. One of the caregivers rode to downtown Artem with us because I guess they figured we would make some sort of break for the States if we took him out alone. To our surprise, he really liked being in the car. He sat on Michelle’s lap and seemed to enjoy the new sights and sounds around him. Once we got to the passport photo place, he sat in a little chair and they took a few pictures of him until they got a good one. We rode back to the baby home and this time he sat on my lap, and again seemed to enjoy the ride (hopefully he likes planes as much as vans). Back at the baby home, we played for a few minutes on the playground before heading up to the gym for more sliding and horseback riding. He loves the slide, and his giant toothy grins never get old. We sat with him for the rest of our visit and just enjoyed being a family together. Wow, as of today, we are a family. That feels great to say, and even better to experience. We didn’t want to give our little guy back to the caregivers today, but we know that this week has been hard on him and that he needs some rest so we can have another great week next week.
Next up is a little downtime as we head into the weekend. Tomorrow we plan on getting some rest and organizing our gifts for everyone involved in the process. Sunday we think we are going on a little excursion into downtown Vladivostok with the Duda’s (stay tuned for more hilarity as I try to figure out a public toilet or something).
Guess that’s all for now. It looks like there is another Curran in the world tonight. For many of our readers, that means as you wake up back in the States on Friday morning many of you have a new Grandson, nephew or cousin as you head off to work or school today. We can’t wait for everyone to meet him!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Day 4. October 8, 2009
Smiles! We saw smiles today! Believe me, it’s not easy to get a smile out of a Russian but today we got plenty of them from our special Russian (soon to be American as long as court goes okay tomorrow).
When we first saw our little guy today he cried like he did the first three visits. I took him from the caretaker and immediately went outside to the playground while Michelle stayed back to speak to the caregiver about our guys’ daily routine. He and I sat on a swing and he stopped crying enough for us to have a chat about our court date tomorrow. I told him how important tomorrow is for our family and that hopefully when we see him tomorrow we will have good news for him. He didn’t say much in that conversation, but he did burp and drool which is about the interaction I get from some coworkers (though none of the ones who read this blog, I assure you). Michelle got some good information about sleeping and eating habits from the caretakers, then met us out on the playground. We had mild success on the playground, mostly in part to the traditional Russian toy we bought at the store yesterday. We bought some of these toys (sort of like a Weeble that makes a sound like a wind chime) for the baby home on our first trip, and our guy seemed to like them a lot. He still likes this toy, so we played with it a little on the playground then decided to head to the gym for the rest of our visit.
When we got to the gym we placed him down on his blanket and he cuddled up to Michelle and loved on her like he was doing on Trip 1. We were thrilled to see him like this, and we spent 30 minutes or so just enjoying watching him look us up and down. After a while we stated to walk him around the gym and eventually we went to the slide they have in there. I would guide him down the slide into Michelle’s arms at the bottom. This is where the magic happened and the smiles started coming out in force. He loved the slide and we did it over and over. Eventually we got to where Michelle would help him walk towards me and she would let him go and he would finish the walk on his own (only a step or two, but still amazing in our books). I wish everyone could have seen the full open mouth toothy grins he was giving us as he walked between the two of us. Michelle and I felt like we had won the lottery when we saw these smiles! We played like this the rest of our visit. Once we took him back to his caregiver, he cried when we handed him over marking the first time this week he seemed upset to leave us. Needless to say, we left the baby home feeling extremely good about the visit which is a good place for us to be as we head to court tomorrow!
Tonight we had a meeting with our agency to go over what we should expect for court tomorrow. Michelle and I went over our court preparations again, ate some PB&J and are now getting ready for bed. We have a big day tomorrow, and we feel like a couple of kids on Christmas Eve. Well, one of us feels that way, the other is a bit nervous but we both feel like we will have a good day tomorrow. Court is at 9:30am, then we will go visit the little guy for more slide rides and toothy grins (we hope).
We’ll let you know what happens when we get back to the hotel tomorrow!
When we first saw our little guy today he cried like he did the first three visits. I took him from the caretaker and immediately went outside to the playground while Michelle stayed back to speak to the caregiver about our guys’ daily routine. He and I sat on a swing and he stopped crying enough for us to have a chat about our court date tomorrow. I told him how important tomorrow is for our family and that hopefully when we see him tomorrow we will have good news for him. He didn’t say much in that conversation, but he did burp and drool which is about the interaction I get from some coworkers (though none of the ones who read this blog, I assure you). Michelle got some good information about sleeping and eating habits from the caretakers, then met us out on the playground. We had mild success on the playground, mostly in part to the traditional Russian toy we bought at the store yesterday. We bought some of these toys (sort of like a Weeble that makes a sound like a wind chime) for the baby home on our first trip, and our guy seemed to like them a lot. He still likes this toy, so we played with it a little on the playground then decided to head to the gym for the rest of our visit.
When we got to the gym we placed him down on his blanket and he cuddled up to Michelle and loved on her like he was doing on Trip 1. We were thrilled to see him like this, and we spent 30 minutes or so just enjoying watching him look us up and down. After a while we stated to walk him around the gym and eventually we went to the slide they have in there. I would guide him down the slide into Michelle’s arms at the bottom. This is where the magic happened and the smiles started coming out in force. He loved the slide and we did it over and over. Eventually we got to where Michelle would help him walk towards me and she would let him go and he would finish the walk on his own (only a step or two, but still amazing in our books). I wish everyone could have seen the full open mouth toothy grins he was giving us as he walked between the two of us. Michelle and I felt like we had won the lottery when we saw these smiles! We played like this the rest of our visit. Once we took him back to his caregiver, he cried when we handed him over marking the first time this week he seemed upset to leave us. Needless to say, we left the baby home feeling extremely good about the visit which is a good place for us to be as we head to court tomorrow!
Tonight we had a meeting with our agency to go over what we should expect for court tomorrow. Michelle and I went over our court preparations again, ate some PB&J and are now getting ready for bed. We have a big day tomorrow, and we feel like a couple of kids on Christmas Eve. Well, one of us feels that way, the other is a bit nervous but we both feel like we will have a good day tomorrow. Court is at 9:30am, then we will go visit the little guy for more slide rides and toothy grins (we hope).
We’ll let you know what happens when we get back to the hotel tomorrow!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Day 3. October 7, 2009
Today started a little earlier than most days here. A typical day has us leaving the hotel around 11:15 for the ride to Artem, but today we had to go to downtown Vladivostok to have some paperwork notarized. We ran into Ken and Gloria Duda in the hotel restaurant and had some coffee, then headed downtown to see the notary. We got to the notary office before they were open for business so Ken and I went down to the bank to exchange money while Michelle and Gloria held our places in the notary line. Our driver/interpreter, Sergei went to the bank with Ken and I, but was not allowed to enter the teller stalls with us. Ken seemed to have no problem with this, however I am a chicken and to be honest I felt a little intimidated to be doing a bank transaction in a foreign land. When Ken was finished, the armed guard (a young man of about 18 or 19 years old) motioned for me to enter the stall. I went in, and handed over the amount that we wanted to exchange as well as my passport, Migration Card, and hotel registration. The woman didn’t speak any English. She carefully examined the money I gave her under a little microscope, and then called her supervisor over to closely inspect one particular bill which resulted in a discussion, presumably whether they were going to call the police or just have the guard take care of me in the alley behind the bank. I tried not to make it look like I was scared, but mentally I was wondering what kind of Home Study addendum we would have to do if I was thrown in a Russian prison for 10-20 years for trying to pass a fake American bill. Finally though the supervisor must have said the bill was fine because the teller counted all of the bills, then showed me a calculator total for what she totaled up. Her total was $100 less than what I gave her, so I said “no” and proceeded to try to explain that she was wrong. She then recounted the money twice and came up with my figure twice so she gave the correct amount and Ken and I left the bank. I think the teller made an honest mistake with the counting error, but I am still claiming that as a victory!
Okay, now onto the important stuff, our visit! Day 3 started the same was as Days 1 and 2, with our little guy crying as soon as his caretaker brought him out to us. We were told ahead of time that today would be the day the Social Worker would be observing us and our interactions. We were hoping the little guy was going to warm up to us a little easier than the first two days, but it didn’t appear to be the case from the start. We immediately took him out to the playground where we took turns walking him around or sitting and rocking with him. Nothing really seemed to work outside, so we headed inside to the gym. Inside, he calmed down a little but cried again when the SW arrived. This is when we put Operation Rocking Horse into effect. During our visit yesterday, Michelle put our little guy on a little rocking horse (actually a rocking zebra) in an effort to find something that would calm him. This move hit the jackpot. The tears stopped, and he really loved it. When we realized that Michelle had found something he enjoyed, we knew we had a secret weapon for when the SW showed up. So, when the SW did show up today, I took him over to the rocking horse (actually a rocking tiger today), and he immediately shut off the tears and was a perfect little angel for the entire duration of the SW’s visit. Michelle immediately struck up a rapport with the SW, and we really feel like we had a good visit with her. Our little guy laid his head down on the tiger head and just looked around the room perfectly content with having me rock him a little. When the lights came on and it was time to perform for the SW, our little guy was the star of the show. We feel like the tables are starting to turn and he is starting to warm up to us. We hope this trend continues tomorrow. All 3 visits so far have been special, and it’s so good to be with our little guy again!
Tomorrow we really begin court preparations when we have a mock court session with Tanya from our agency. We’ll be going over the Home Study a lot between now and court…
Okay, now onto the important stuff, our visit! Day 3 started the same was as Days 1 and 2, with our little guy crying as soon as his caretaker brought him out to us. We were told ahead of time that today would be the day the Social Worker would be observing us and our interactions. We were hoping the little guy was going to warm up to us a little easier than the first two days, but it didn’t appear to be the case from the start. We immediately took him out to the playground where we took turns walking him around or sitting and rocking with him. Nothing really seemed to work outside, so we headed inside to the gym. Inside, he calmed down a little but cried again when the SW arrived. This is when we put Operation Rocking Horse into effect. During our visit yesterday, Michelle put our little guy on a little rocking horse (actually a rocking zebra) in an effort to find something that would calm him. This move hit the jackpot. The tears stopped, and he really loved it. When we realized that Michelle had found something he enjoyed, we knew we had a secret weapon for when the SW showed up. So, when the SW did show up today, I took him over to the rocking horse (actually a rocking tiger today), and he immediately shut off the tears and was a perfect little angel for the entire duration of the SW’s visit. Michelle immediately struck up a rapport with the SW, and we really feel like we had a good visit with her. Our little guy laid his head down on the tiger head and just looked around the room perfectly content with having me rock him a little. When the lights came on and it was time to perform for the SW, our little guy was the star of the show. We feel like the tables are starting to turn and he is starting to warm up to us. We hope this trend continues tomorrow. All 3 visits so far have been special, and it’s so good to be with our little guy again!
Tomorrow we really begin court preparations when we have a mock court session with Tanya from our agency. We’ll be going over the Home Study a lot between now and court…
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Day 2
We went back to Artem today to see our little guy. He cried a lot again, but a little less than yesterday. He has a cold and is teething, so combine that with the anxiety of being with two strangers, he has had an appresenvie couple of days. Today towards the end of our visit, he showed some signs of warming up to us. In the gym, there are several rocking horse type animals, and he liked to ride them. Still no smile - but last time it took several days. We look forward to being with him again tomorrow.
Tonight we had dinner at the VMI with Glenn, Lisa and their daughter Annastasia. They gave us a few pointers on court and we were able to see how well their daughter seems to be bonding and attaching to them. She is a hoot! They also gave us a spare adapter so we are using an internet card in our room instead of borrowing the hotel computer.
In the morning we leave at 9am, and along with the Duda family we go to the notary and sign updated medicals. We will also exhange some money (exhange rate not so good right now), and go to the baby home. After the baby home, Anya and Vlad will take us to the baby store and to the grocery.
It is 9pm and we are exhausted!
Tonight we had dinner at the VMI with Glenn, Lisa and their daughter Annastasia. They gave us a few pointers on court and we were able to see how well their daughter seems to be bonding and attaching to them. She is a hoot! They also gave us a spare adapter so we are using an internet card in our room instead of borrowing the hotel computer.
In the morning we leave at 9am, and along with the Duda family we go to the notary and sign updated medicals. We will also exhange some money (exhange rate not so good right now), and go to the baby home. After the baby home, Anya and Vlad will take us to the baby store and to the grocery.
It is 9pm and we are exhausted!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Day 1
We have arrived! We are safe and were already able to see our son.
We landed yesterday around 11am and was picked up from the airport and went directly to the childrens home. He was super scared and cried about 90+% of the time, and was also probably teething so felt a little icky. We don't think he remembered us, but 3 months is a long time in the life of a 1 year old! When the Caregiver brought him out, she put stood him on the floor and he did the drunken wobble for a couple of minutes. He didn't take a step, but he didn't have time because I went and scooped him up pretty quickly! We went to the gym and that didn't fly, lots of noise from construction, so we went outside and he did a little better. A Caregiver was burning some brush on the playground so it was a bit noisy outside too.
We have our same driver - Vladimir. We do not have the same Interpreter, instead we have a girl that is new so we had to lead her around a bit (never been to the baby home), but is accomodating so she will be fine. Today they are picking us up at 11:15am and we get to go see the little guy again!
We met Glenn & Lisa and the Duda family. Everyone is pretty awesome, so we feel lucky to be here with them. We were able to meet Glenn and Lisa's daughter and she is a sweet (active) little thing. What a cutie!
Oh, Bill just found out the Vol's lost! I can't believe he is so willing to miss College Football. Luckily his family will keep him updated.
More to come!
We landed yesterday around 11am and was picked up from the airport and went directly to the childrens home. He was super scared and cried about 90+% of the time, and was also probably teething so felt a little icky. We don't think he remembered us, but 3 months is a long time in the life of a 1 year old! When the Caregiver brought him out, she put stood him on the floor and he did the drunken wobble for a couple of minutes. He didn't take a step, but he didn't have time because I went and scooped him up pretty quickly! We went to the gym and that didn't fly, lots of noise from construction, so we went outside and he did a little better. A Caregiver was burning some brush on the playground so it was a bit noisy outside too.
We have our same driver - Vladimir. We do not have the same Interpreter, instead we have a girl that is new so we had to lead her around a bit (never been to the baby home), but is accomodating so she will be fine. Today they are picking us up at 11:15am and we get to go see the little guy again!
We met Glenn & Lisa and the Duda family. Everyone is pretty awesome, so we feel lucky to be here with them. We were able to meet Glenn and Lisa's daughter and she is a sweet (active) little thing. What a cutie!
Oh, Bill just found out the Vol's lost! I can't believe he is so willing to miss College Football. Luckily his family will keep him updated.
More to come!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
T - 0 days
Our driver will be here in about an hour, and we are off to the airport. The kitties have Aunt Jill coming in a couple days to check on them. The puppies are at Nana and Papa's getting extra spoiled. We are set!
We are taking our laptop this time so should be able to get the blog updated a bit more frequently then trip 1. We will not take our cell phones because they do not work in Vlad.
Wish us luck!!
We are taking our laptop this time so should be able to get the blog updated a bit more frequently then trip 1. We will not take our cell phones because they do not work in Vlad.
Wish us luck!!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
T minus 36 hours
We are on the home stretch now. We are about 2/3's packed and just doing some busy work until we leave on Saturday morning. Bill picked up his suit, got a hair cut, and is doing some last minute laundry. I am making copies of dossier paperwork, and confirming everything is in order otherwise.
We packed our little guy several outfits and PJ's. I love the PJ's with the sock feet! He is accustomed to being super warm, so we will try to keep him warm so he doesn't have a shock. We plan to TRY to keep him on on his nap schedule and on his diet as well to alleviate any unnecessary additional stresses. We will let you know how this works out :)
We did receive good news last night. We get into Vlad around 11am Monday, and we get to go visit him at the baby home. We didn't know if this was possible originally, but luckily our agency made it happen. Now we will get to see him for 4 days prior to court (M-Th), and then Friday after court as well.
We packed our little guy several outfits and PJ's. I love the PJ's with the sock feet! He is accustomed to being super warm, so we will try to keep him warm so he doesn't have a shock. We plan to TRY to keep him on on his nap schedule and on his diet as well to alleviate any unnecessary additional stresses. We will let you know how this works out :)
We did receive good news last night. We get into Vlad around 11am Monday, and we get to go visit him at the baby home. We didn't know if this was possible originally, but luckily our agency made it happen. Now we will get to see him for 4 days prior to court (M-Th), and then Friday after court as well.
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