Day 4 of the 10 day wait...

***UPDATED WITH VIDEOS***

Last night I guess you could say we had a somewhat night of normal sleep. Kiara is doing really well. I couldn't fall asleep until 3 AM, but slept until 10 AM. Ryan had a better night of sleep. But, I am afraid by the time we get adjusted, it will be time to go home and start the whole adjustment process over!

So, today we got ready, threw in a load of laudry and started on our journey to the orphanage. All went well on our journey. There was a lot of activity when we got to the orphanage. It looked like an ambulance had just brought a baby and there was this black car backed up to the gate and they were unloading boxes. I think it was the dignitary from Cyprus that is adopting from our orphanage. I am assuming whatever was in the boxes was a donation to the orphanage. Probably much better than our used clothes and diapers donation!

So, when we got inside there was a flurry of activity and the other family was in the orange room. So, we stood in the hallway where they have a chair and the phone. I noticed the phone was off the hook, so I knew the security guard probably wasn't able to call and tell them we were coming. We tried to communicate to a couple people that we were there to see Vera. Then, we waited and waited. Then, they brought the baby to the other family, so I thought well it might be a little longer for Vera. We were getting to the point where we thought we might need to call V to try to translate what we needed. But, then one woman who seemed to be in charge started talking to us in Russian. She said something about Vera's group and I couldn't tell if she was telling us to go up there or what. So, she finally gave up and took off towards Vera's room. She came down and told us she was eating. Shortly after that, a woman brought her down to us, but she didn't know where we were suppose to sit with her so she went off to ask. They ended up taking us through the orange room, then through the staff lunch room, then there is a play/exercise room. It had a lot of different stuff in it that I would think we would typically use for PE type classes. It was nice because it had 2 big, CLEAN rugs in it that we could get down on the floor and play with Vera. Plus, it had a lot more stuff that interested Kiara. See our hula hoop champion below...

Vera cried just a bit again today when they gave her to me. But, it didn't take her long to start smiling at us. It was fun to be on the floor with her. We all got on the floor and rolled a ball to each other. Ryan taught Vera to clap and there is a video below. It was another good visit that was too short, of course. I didn't see M at the orphanage, so I will call her tomorrow morning to see if there is any chance of having Vera before the 10 day wait is over. The trek is getting exhausting, so it would be nice to do it a few less times.

Just hangin' out with the fam!
Kiara has turned a little orange from eating the food in Russia!

After the orphange and we got back to the area where our apartment is, we met a couple who is also with our agency for dinner. They adopted a little girl from the same group that Vera is in. She is adorable and she loved making faces at Kiara. They get to leave on Friday and we are soooo jealous!! We ate at TGIFs. I think we threw the people for a loop since we had more than 4 people. They didn't know where to sit us and the restaurant was not busy at all. They sat us in the smallest booth I have ever been in! It would have been tight if there were just 4 of us, we were sitting knee to knee! But, it was great to talk to some fellow Americans and adoptive parents. I am so glad that we got to meet up before they left Moscow. Before we left, a man came over and asked if we were here to adopt. They were just finishing up their adoption of a little boy. Their story reminds me to count my blessings because they had to travel outside of Moscow and they have been in the process of adopting for 4 years!! Yes, I said 4!! I can't even imagine, 2 has been way long enough. I am grateful that we are working with a great agency and a team in Moscow that knows how to get things done as quickly as possible.

Tomorrow, we are taking a break from our trek. We have done it 4 days in a row and just need a day to relax and hang out. We will miss seeing Vera, though. It is hard not to go to the orphanage, but I think it will be best for all of us. Kiara especially needs a break. So, we might do a little shopping tomorrow, but otherwise we will hang around the apartment.

And, I will end this post with a sweet picture of each of my girls!

Just in case anyone was wondering...they had Vera dressed in the purple Tinkerbell sweatshirt again today. We aren't using pictures from previous days! It does make it hard to remember which day is which, though.