Paca, Moscow

It's our last night here. In just 15 hours from this moment, we should be on the plane, probably taking off. Another 15 hours (or so), and we should be landing in Syracuse. It feels like another whole world. I have never been this excited about a transatlantic flight in my life!

Suzannah's timing angel was on her side this morning. She slept until 8:30! This was an immense relief, since I knew nap time would be all messed up by our 2:00 consulate appointment. She was still going to be messed up, by at least now I knew she could make it until we returned to the apartment.

This morning's breakfast was a huge hit: mashed potatoes. She scarfed those down like it was Thanksgiving. Her lip was barely swollen today, though a couple of times she pointed to it and said bobo (which is how she says booboo.)She got lots of kisses each time she remembered to point out her guilt-inducing injury.

We went out for a walk this morning without the demon stroller, and had much more success - at least for the first half. She trotted along, happy with her koala backpack, chattering to herself as we walked about 20 minutes down the street. We never found the Metro station - the sign that I thought was directing us to it was just a sign for a highway. I'm bummed about missing out, since the stations are so famous here, but you know, I'm not going to stick around another day just to make sure I see one.

Anyway, after 20 minutes or so, someone decided she'd done enough walking. It was time to be carried. Which wouldn't be so bad, except she doesn't know how to rest on my hip as I carry her. Whenever I try to get her in that position, she cries and squirms away. I have to carry her upright, which also wouldn't be so bad if she would rest on my shoulder, but she wants to be fully upright and observant. So my arms carry the full brunt of her weight. Any guesses why my carpal tunnel is acting up again?

We made it back without my arms falling off, had a bite of lunch (the soup she inhaled yesterday got a big thumbs down today), played a bit, and got ready for the consulate appointment. As soon as I had her in her coat and ready to go, she pooped. Argh! But better then than while we were in the car or the consulate.

The appointment itself was very easy. There was a very long, very slow line of folks waiting to go through the metal detectors, but when the guard saw us waiting, he escorted us to the head of the line. The same thing happened in the next line, too. It's nice to be special :-)

Once we handed in our tickets & the receipt that showed we had paid for her visa, we got to sit in the waiting area. There was one other family there, a mom with 2 little boys. We were soon joined by another couple with their little guy. They were all such totally adorable children! It was so very nice to sit and chat and swap notes about our experiences. Best of all, I learned that the mom with the 2 boys will be on the same flight as Suzannah and I tomorrow! Yes! Someone to be company and to keep an eye on her while I go to the bathroom (and vice versa!)

The whole procedure didn;t take too long. One by one, each family went to the window where a very nice man asked some questions, made sure all our paperwork was in order, and had us swear that all information we'd given was the truth. He went over some of the procedures once we hit the U.S. airport and had us sign some forms. Then we waited for a bit - not long, maybe 15 - 20 minutes - until we were called up to the next window to receive our packets for Immigration and the children's passports, complete with visas. It was all very relaxed and congenial, probably one of the nicest parts of this entire process.

And with that, all our official work was done!!! Yes, there are still a couple of steps to be done once we get home, like getting Suzannah a U.S. passport and all that other stuff, but the big chunk is now officially behind us. It was two years ago this month that we decided to adopt once more, and now it's done. Wow. I would say I don't know how I'll keep busy, but you know, I don't think that will be a problem :-)

With the visit over, Olga took us to another grocery store so I could buy some food for the plane. We could probably survive 3 round-the-world flights on what I bought, but there's no guarantee that the food she likes today will be a hit tomorrow. And I can't exactly zip out to the Quickie Mart when we're over Greenland.

We came home and called home to tell them everything went well. We played for a bit, then Suzannah pooped again and immediately ran to the bathroom and pointed to the tub. Well, what the heck. The whole day was messed up, we might as well have bath before supper.

She was definitely starting to show her fatigue by the time bath was finished, so I popped her in her chair and played Barney on the computer while I cooked supper. Noodles with spaghetti sauce weren't very well received, but the leftover mashed potatoes saved the day.

I planned to keep her up until 7 or 7:30, but by 6:30 I could see there was no way she was going to make it. So off to bed she went. I just hope I don't get a rude awakening at 3:00 in the morning!

So now I'm packed, the dishes are washed, sandwiches are made, all the paperwork is organized .... all that remains is to get some sleep, get to the airport, and get on the plane. I can't wait.

Catch you on the other side.