sleep deprived but doing well

We are back in Moscow and have been since Saturday evening. We have Ella!! She is napping right now after getting up at 3:30 in the morning. The time zones have really messed up our systems. It is useless to get into a routine because we will be in another time zone tomorrow night.


Ella's gotcha day was awesome. We went to the orphanage around noon and spent a little time in the groupa. We got a lot of pictures and video. Sorry, i will have to post pictures when we are home- I forgot the cable to download from my camera.
After the orphanage, we went straight to the airport and were off to Moscow. Ella was great on the plane. She slept about 1 hour of the 8 hour trip but she was content just to lay down on the seat. It was nice because our court was held on Wednesday so Thursday and Friday afternoon we were able to have her in our hotel room. I think this really helped her not be so nervous when it was time to actually take her out for good.

It is really amazing what a transformation in her personality we saw just getting her out of the orphanage. She is like a different child. She is happy and playful, affectionate and engaging. It brings back so many memories of when we adopted Connor - he was the same way.

We have an apartment in Moscow. It is small but modern and nice. We have been cooking in except for 2 meals at McDonalds. the largest McDonalds in the world is here. We are about a 15 minute walk from Red Square. We walked there on Monday and took a bunch of pictures. Yesterday we did an english speaking tour of the Kremlin. It was amazing - there are a lot of beautiful buildings and cathedrals. The cathedrals reminded me of Kiev's Lavra.

It is amazing how big this city is! I didn't imagine it to be as big. Everything is in good repair - the sidewalks, buildings etc.

I will say it has been strange that we have been searching for baby food jars/food all over and have been unsuccessful so far. Don't worry - Ella has been eating well. I think she is heavier now than when we left the orphanage - or it may just be my sleep deprived bodies perception!

We haven't had to do much here adoption related really. We filled out our documents for the US embassy. Ella had her physical (which is required for her US Visa) but the doctor came to our apartment. today we have of visa interview at the embassy. Then we wait in the car while our facilitator registers her at the foreign ministry. That is it and tomorrow we hop on a plane home. We are sooo ready to get home.

Ella just woke up from her nap so I am signing out for now. I'll post pictures soon.