She Is Home!

We are home! OK, so this is way overdue. I don't even think I posted that we were leaving for Poland! Well, let's just say things are different in preparing to travel when we already had a child, as opposed to the first time around when we had more time to update the world on our progress. Also, there seem to be more privacy concerns now that Poland is a Hague adoption country, and we did not want to post pictures or provide any identifying info on a public Blog until after all was final, we were home, etc.

We traveled to Poland in early May, we finalized the adoption of little Marta on June 4, and made it home on June 29. 53 days in country, for those keeping score. It was wonderful, challenging, and memorable all at the same time. We were fortunate to have my parents come for a couple of weeks too. Marta is a very sweet little smiley girl. Her hugs, smiles and laughs are priceless. We just look at her in amazement and thankfulness that she has brought so much joy to our lives. Big sister is doing so well too and is very proud of her new role.

We likely won't keep up the blog. Feel free to email or find me on Facebook to connect about adopting from Poland, adopting in general, parenting an adopted child, etc. We are very proud of our two journeys, and always happy to talk about them. More than that, we are very proud of our sweet angels who were miraculously placed in our care. We endeavor every day to help them grow to be caring, compassionate, self-sufficient, strong, and happy young ladies. Thank you for following us, for your comments, your reading this Blog, your support, and encouragement.

Waiting to Bring Her Home

Long time no post, eh?  In October we traveled to meet our little girl, M. We had a wonderful trip.  K was a trooper on all the travels, and was a superstar big sister when we met M.  We are now waiting to return to bring M home.  In the meantime, we get to have weekly contact where we call the orphanage, get a brief update from the director, who speaks English, and then she puts the phone by M's ear so we can talk to her.  Once in awhile we hear her breathe, and last week we even heard some giggles.  We are also getting K's room ready to house two girls.  We got M's bed, and are making our other bedroom a "playroom" to house books, toys, art stuff, etc. 

We are not sure on exact timing, but are hopeful to go back in a month or two.  This wait, after meeting her, is certainly even harder than the long wait for a referral.  But once we go back, at least we know it will be forever.  :)

It's a Girl!!

That's right!! We have been matched with a beautiful little girl! 

Needless to say, the three of us are thrilled.  Now we wait for a first trip to go see her and give her hugs. 

Her birthday is coming up later this month.  It would be awesome to be there with her...but we fear that travel won't happen that fast.  In any event, now we know who our little one is and we can further prepare our hearts and home.

p.s.  When we told K it was a girl, she jumped up and down and said "Yay! I don't like boys anyway."

Hopeful

I am overdue to post something, but there have been no developments on the adoption front.  We have been waiting for some time, so it must happen soon, right?  Klaudia is looking forward to becoming a big sister.  We are thrilled with anticipation to see the face of our next child.  And we are excited to go to Poland again. 

All in due time I suppose.  It is never on your own timing, is it? 

I wish there was something we could do in the meantime (i.e., get a room ready, get clothes, etc.).  But not knowing age and sex is a bit of a challenge to that.  We could always work on some Polish. 

For now, we continue to enjoy our days as a family of three.  We go to work, school, we have made some commitments to be healthier, we are playing lots outside, we are considering looking for a newer/bigger house, and we are super excited for our summer vacation to Wisconsin, including Lake Geneva and then Polish Fest in Milwaukee.  Underlying everything we do though is the thought that our little one is there, somewhere, in Poland. 

Polish Fest 2012!

Polish Fest
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
June 15-17, 2012

Will we see you there?  Let us know if you can make it, it would be fun to get a group together!  For more info: http://polishfest.org/

2012? How did that happen?

Hi all! I have nothing profound, cute, witty, or even informational to post. But I just wanted to say HI and Happy New Year!! We are still here, and still awaiting being matched with Klaudia's little bro or sis.

The holidays and 4th birthday were great -- a very busy time! Klaudia is all 4 year old now, and we are impressed and amazed every day at her growth, wit, and plain old cuteness. I know everyone thinks their child is the most amazing child, but mine really is. ;-)

Here is a photo of K at her school holiday program, and a photo the morning of her 4th birthday.

Where Are My People?

The other day while driving to school, Klaudia asked me, "Where are my people?" I knew exactly what she meant. But instead I said, "Your people? Well…that is your family. Mommy, Daddy and Klaudia, we are family, and we are each other's people." She responded, "No, I mean my other people." Well now. It had come back to me, the times she asked about her jewelry box, kitchen magnet, and the angel on her wall, when I had said, "Those are from Poland, made by people from Poland, your people." Now, I said that in the most light-hearted affectionate way (months ago, by the way). But it really stuck.

She followed with "And my brother or sister is in Poland?" "Yes," I smiled, "just like you, your brother or sister was born in Poland." "I want to see her," she responds. "Me too." "I want to go there," she whines. "Me too." "How do we go there?" Fair question. "Well, when it is time, we will get on an airplane. Mommy, Daddy and Klaudia will get on an airplane and go to Poland, and stay there in a hotel with your brother or sister." I continued, "We will spend time together, and see lots of places in Poland, then we will bring your brother or sister home to Klaudia's house forever." "Forever?" she questioned and laughed. "Yes, because we are family." She was quiet the rest of the drive, but went happily to school after giving lots of kisses.

No real news to report on the adoption. We remain in the waiting stage. We have begun the process of updating our homestudy and will have to redo our immigration approval. Ah well.

We are very much excited for fun holidays this year. And Klaudia is excited for her 4th birthday that is around the corner too. She has already asked for about 100 things for her birthday!

Polish Fest?

Who's going?? WE ARE!! Will we see you there? I've never been to Milwaukee before, let alone Polish Fest, so I'm super excited. Even better will be meeting families that have adopted or are in the process of adopting from Poland.

In other news...4 months waiting done. While it is possible a referral could come any time, we expect some more months of waiting. The waiting isn't too painful (yet), but I am starting to want to do something...buy something...prepare in some way. That is just super hard to do since we did not specify male/female, and we don't even know if he/she will be in a crib or a bed. Ah well -- we should be spending time learning some Polish (or at least refreshing the little we have learned).

We recently got back from a trip to California - we had a blast with my parents and Klaudia was a trooper going to wineries, seeing Bodega Bay, and exploring some kid-friendly and some not-so-kid-friedly sights. I think her highlights were the swimming pools, the Dora Easter basket and eggs from G&G, the orange mini-van rental, a Spongebob DVD, and the cats at Preston Family Winery.

We had a great Easter with Ryan's family and enjoyed hunting for eggs and opening thoughfully put together Easter Baskets - we'll have treats for quite awhile! I'm glad spring has sprung. We have been enjoying the nice weather and being able to be outside. Klaudia is much better at her tricycle now and she LOVES playing with the neighbor kids.

Hope everyone is having a nice spring! Klaudia is looking forward to exploring new places in Milwaukee...and she is an expert traveler now...

I'm Ready to Hear Some Good News.

It doesn't have to be my news, but I want to hear someone's good news! It would make my day/week/month to hear about one of the waiting families I know to accept a referral! I'm ready to start living vicariously through someone's journey. So...who's it going to be?

All is fine with us. We had great holidays and Klaudia had a great third birthday. She is very proud of being three. She moved into her big girl bed, and is getting very good with the potty. Winter is in full swing and Klaudia has been asking "where did the grass go?" Yeah...we hope to see it in March...lol.

On the next child front, we do not expect any news for several months. But nothing is predictable in the world of international adoption! :-)

We Are Officially Waiting!!!

It really is unbelievable - but we are now officially waiting!! We have completed our Dossier. Everything was reviewed and approved by our agency, each notarized document was apostilled (approximately 40 of them!), and it is out of our hands now!!

On the right is a photo of our Dossier copies. It doesn't look like much, but it is!!

I'm so excited to have this done before Christmas. It feels like the biggest Christmas present to ourselves.

So....off we go into the painful world of waiting and wondering and hoping and praying. I already know it will be "easier" this time around because of the joy our little girl gives us every day. If a referral comes sooner, that will be wonderful, but if it comes later, well, that is just more time Klaudia has to grow, be more confident, move into her big girl bed, use the potty more, be more willing to eat new things, touch new things, wear new things, etc. All around, if we wait for a year or more, she will only be more ready to handle the shock of a sibling.

When we ask Klaudia if she wants a brother or a sister, she says "I want both." Unfortunately (for her), that won't be possible this go around. We have only had our home study and immigration approval be for one child! If she wants "both", she will have to hope we are crazy enough to do this again one day, or she can hope for a biological miracle, lol.

We have not specified a preference on sex, and we really do not have a preference. People ask us if we would prefer a boy since we have a girl. That would be great, but so would another girl!

I am SO excited for Christmas and Klaudia's 3rd birthday is on the 29th!! She has already been singing happy birthday to herself - cute!!

Have wonderful holidays all!!

Dossier Copies Off to Agency!

Yay! We got our I-800A approval. We made copies of everything and today have sent a set of it all to our agency. We await their approval or changes before apostilling everything. Still looking good for sending everything to Poland by the end of the year (if not much sooner!).

Klaudia seems to be excited about having a sister/brother...although she has no clue what that really means. She sometimes holds her baby doll and says she is feeding her little sister or brother...it is sweet. It will be challenging and traumatic in some ways (isn't it for every sibling who becomes the co-center of the universe instead of the sole-center?). But it will be awesome for her in so many ways - more love, more sharing, more caring, more family, etc. Also, the girl hates to be alone, so a sibling is instant companionship (she may learn to love being alone, lol).

I truly cannot believe that we are almost "waiting" again!

Waiting for the Last Piece of Paper!

Wow, have we really gathered all of our Dossier items? I guess so!! And last week we were fingerprinted, so now we wait for the very last piece of paper (hopefully) that we need to send our in our Dossier! We are waiting for the approval of our I-800A, then we will get that notarized and be able to send all of our docs to our agency for review. How cool is that? It looks like we really may have our Dossier in before the end of the year!

With Thanksgiving coming up (too fast if you ask me), I hope we all can take some time to reflect upon family and other things for which we are thankful.

I especially want to thank my fellow Polish adopting/adopted families, fellow Bloggers, facebook friends, email buddies, etc. You are really a second family to me! Your support during our first adoption and first year home, and now during our next adoption means a lot to me. Many of you I have never met face to face, and some of you I have -- but all of you have provided support and an empathetic ear when I needed it most. There are so few children adopted by US families from Poland, so it is great we have each other!

I will post when we get our immigration approval (hopefully soon!). And have a great Thanksgiving all!!!

Fingerprints!

YAY! Yesterday we received notice of our fingerprinting ("biometrics" for those in the know) appointment with the Department of Homeland Security! The appointment is scheduled for November 10, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. Sweet! We are hoping that it only takes 2-3 weeks after that to receive our immigration pre-approval. That will be our last piece of paper to obtain before finalizing the dossier to send to Poland!

We also sent off a couple documents to be apostilled already (the homestudy, birth certificates and marriage certificate). Dare we hope to have our dossier to Poland by the end of the year?! We are so happy to have progress.

I hope everyone is enjoying fall. I just LOVE this time of year. The crisp air is wonderful! Klaudia is doing great. She loves swimming lessons and she had a great visit with Grandma & Grandpa California and Uncle Night Night (Kevin) recently. She is talking a lot and has the biggest smile.

Status?

During our first adoption, I think I posted at least weekly as to updates, non-updates, etc. On this go around, I apparently am going to be less active. Perhaps that has something to do with having a 2 year old in the house?! Also, since we have pretty recently been-there-and-done-that, I haven't felt as anxious about each step, and we know more about what is in store for us in the whole process.

I am excited to report that we have made PROGRESS! Yesterday we received our completed, finalized, and notarized HOMESTUDY!!! YAY!!! It took several months, but, hey, what doesn't? Needless to say we immediately completed our I-800A (immigration advanced processing) and Fedexed it today!

Now we get to wait for our Homeland Security fingerprint appointment (aka "biometrics"). How long has everyone's wait been for those? I'm thinking it could be 1-2 months? Once we complete that we hope for the government's stamp of approval that will be our last item for our Dossier.

At this rate, we could potentially have our DtP (Dossier to Poland...lol...I just made that up), by the end of the year!!! That would be awesome!! Ideally we would complete our next adoption in 2011. The adoption tax credit is extended through 2011, but I understand its future is uncertain beyond that.

I will report back at the next stage of progress (likely the fingerprint appointment).

Hope everyone is enjoying a nice start to fall!!

Here are a few recent photos of our favorite little girl!

Happy girl at the Wildlife Safari Park

She wanted to wear her bathing suit over her PJs

A standard breakfast at the Andrews house - face in peanut butter.

5150 Miles to a Sister or Brother!

I haven't posted in forever...so I thought I would make up for it with some VERY exciting news. We are going back to Poland to add to our family! Klaudia is going to have a brother or sister!!

We are doing everything essentially the same as last time: same country, same agency, same homestudy agency. We are close to finishing our homestudy and are off and running on the paper chase. It feels a bit easier the second time around. The paperwork is basically the same (although we were I-600 before and are I-800 now), but we know what to expect now. We wont have everything to Poland for a few months at least (need to finalize the homestudy, get immigration approval, finish dossier, etc.) Oh, and we are not specifying boy/girl - leaving that one up to the powers that be!

Meanwhile...we are enjoying our time as a family of three. You'll see some photos of Klaudia below. She is just blossoming! She is talking so much, she is walking and running great, and she sings too (she gets the "Hairbrush Song" stuck in hear head and will occasionally burst out with "oh where, oh where oh where...brush!"). Klaudia is doing well with school and they teach her so much every day.

She is also very much a two year old, is discovering her independence, and is learning how to express herself (read she is learning to say "NO" a lot, is testing us, tells me I am "naughty" and to "sit down", etc.). She goes through spurts of clinginess, but overall she is much more confident that we aren't going anywhere. I can now do some things around the house or kitchen without her screaming for me to hold her.

Klaudia's been loving the warmer weather (with the exception of the week or two our A/C was out). We got a water table that she loves, Grandpa A put a swing up in the backyard, and we head out on walks and local adventures in the evenings and weekends. That girl can go-go-go and will push herself to the limit!

On the wing of Marikay's aiplane in Santa Paula, CA (note the pink and purple stripes - she is so cool!)

In Grandpa California's lab

With Dad and Mickey (she is over her fear of soft things!)

With cousins on Easter

I will try to blog more and keep everyone up to date on Klaudia and the next addition. I haven't even thought yet about a new timeline, countdowns, etc. One day maybe I'll spruce up this Blog a bit.

Settling In

I know, I know. How long has it been? Too long. Well, let me just start by saying Klaudia is doing GREAT!! She has grown in so many ways - she is taking steps, talking LOTS, loves going to school and giving hugs. She is a happy girl and just a joy.

This is just a very brief update. But I wanted to post a few photos and give at least a bit of an update since we came home 4 months ago.

Since arriving home on Labor Day weekend, Klaudia has transitioned into school (it took a month or so of easing her in, but thankfully she LOVES it), she allowed us to put her in a Spidergirl costume for Halloween, she has begun to get to know her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, she celebrated Thanksgiving and an amazing Christmas, got used to a carseat, dealt with two blizzards, turned 2 years old, developed a love for Dora and the Imagination Movers, learned to tell mom to "shhhhh", went out to a steak dinner with parents, grandparents and uncle Kevin, took lots of steps, learned hand motions to "Twinkle, Twinkle" (and other songs), and made her parents smile A LOT.

Here are a few photos of the last couple of months:

Happy Girl at Dinner

Christmas Eve 2009

December 2009 - the Tree!

Out to Dinner

Pigtails!

Playing with Cousin Kaylee

Spidergirl 2009!

I will try to update more soon! Happy New Year all!!

HOME!

We made it home! It is wonderful settling in with Klaudia, and she is doing great! She has been her shy self with new people, but is starting to warm up. She has been tentative about her new environment, but has been exploring and figuring it all out. She has been eating pretty well, and sleeping pretty well, which is good!

Klaudia did surprisingly well on the plane. Perhaps my expectations were so low that it could have only been better. She took a 1.5 hour nap about an hour after take off, and then didn't sleep for the rest of the travels until 5 minutes before landing in Omaha. My recommendations are the same as anyone would give: dvds, many food options, a mirror, favorite books and non-noisy toys, changes of clothes, etc. It worked well to take the airplane books and toys out of her usual mix for the two days or so before the flight. Then there was a little re-discovery on the plane. The only tragedy on the plane was changing diapers on Lot (no changing tables). I don't know how people do it with infants, but Klaudia just stood and held on with all her might to a bar and cried until we were done.

Despite the fact that she was exhausted and cranky when landing, it worked out so well for acclimating to the time change. We had a great welcome at the airport by both of our families too - a warm welcome home.

Klaudia is still a mama's girl, but she is warming up more and more to dad and to other family. There are things to work on (speech, walking, a little trust that mama isn't leaving her forever when she leaves the room), but these will all happen in time. There is so much I could post - but, as naptimes go, I only have limited time! Here are some photos:

Happy girl on the plane - yay!!

Figuring out the seat belt

First night at home

Playing with cousin Keaton on the first full day home

Playing with friend BJ on the last full day in Warsaw - yes, that is the oven

All Done! Klaudia Is Coming to America!

The Embassy appointment went well today and Klaudia has her immigrant visa to travel to the United States. In other words, we are done and can travel and will make our flight on Saturday!! Here is Klaudia’s “all done” pose taken soon after we received her immigrant visa:



Klaudia will be a citizen upon entrance into the United States. That will be in Chicago on Saturday afternoon. After that, we fly home to Omaha and will be greeted by Ryan’s family and my parents – yay!! It will be so interesting to see how Klaudia reacts. She will be shy, no doubt. Who knows, she could be asleep and out of it. We’ll see! Either way, we are thrilled to go home to all of our comforts and begin settling in.

We now only have one more full day in Warsaw before our Saturday flight. I will say that, while I am thrilled to return home with my daughter, I can’t help but be sad that she won’t grow up Polish. We have taken her away from all she knows, including her country. Of course she will always be Polish and be a citizen. We will do our best to help her identify as Polish and embrace it as much as she wants. On the other hand, she will grow up in America. And there is certainly something to be said for that.

This is likely the last post from Poland. It is almost the end of the journey, and it is the beginning of our new one as parents. All the paperwork headaches, heartache, waiting and frustration are now starting to fade with every one of Klaudia’s smiles. We are blessed.

We’ll see you in America!

Polish Passport Received – Embassy Tomorrow – Home on Saturday!

We are on schedule to return home on Saturday! Today we picked up Klaudia’s passport (with the priceless mug shot). Tomorrow we have an appointment at the U.S. Embassy to obtain her immigrant visa. After we receive that (hopefully by Thursday afternoon), we are free to travel. Klaudia will be traveling as a Polish citizen and, upon arrival in the United States, will become a U.S. citizen. She will be a dual citizen – cool, huh?

The plane ride will be quite an adventure. Hopefully, for other passengers’ sake, the screaming will be at a minimum. It will be long and annoying for Klaudia, but home is on the other end. It will be interesting to see how she reacts to family upon arrival. Please no one take offense if she buries her face and gives mean looks! Magda, or facilitator and translator here, says that she gets mean looks from Klaudia all the time.

The last few days have been good. Klaudia has been a trooper on some long walks, a visit to the uprising museum, shopping adventures and cab rides. She seems to be doing well with us, and communication and trust are improving daily.

I will report back after the Embassy appointment to let you know that we are good to go!

The Order is Final

As of Wednesday this past week, the adoption order is final and no longer appealable. Klaudia is officially, fully, finally and forever ours!

Because of the order's finality, we were able to obtain Klaudia's birth certificate with her new name and a Polish social security number. Yesterday we submitted the application for her Polish passport. This week we also completed Klaudia’s immigration-required medical examination by a doctor on the embassy’s approved list. At this point we just need to receive her Polish passport then we can go to the embassy for the final immigration “interview” to receive her immigrant visa, and then home it is! Cross your collective fingers that we receive her passport on Wednesday or Friday of next week. That should ensure our September 5 return.

We continue to enjoy our days in Warsaw. We met another family who has just adopted a little boy from a town a couple hours north of Warsaw. He is an active little three year old guy, and Klaudia was really motivated to try to keep up with him. We went to their apartment the other day and, although she was shy and clingy for about 10 minutes, she was off and crawling and laughing and following him and his 5 year old brother around the apartment. She wanted to walk so bad, but at least crawled a lot, wanted to be near them, throw their toys, and just laugh. It was like a little breakthrough for her. When we got back to our apartment, she wanted to walk (with help) so much. She would stand and grab my hands and just take off into each room and turn around and go to other rooms. Then she stood in front of a full length mirror and just admired her tall self. She has been wanting to walk more and more since then. So, thank you boys for the encouragement!

Klaudia is no doubt getting a little bored with just Ryan and me. She needs kids around in a bad way. I know she spent her days, and nights for that matter, around other children, and to be mostly only with us, has to be a shock to her system in many ways. We try to get to parks daily, but it isn’t the same because she can’t really get up and run around and play with them like she could at that apartment with the other family. But at least she has some hours of at least observation and minimal interaction.

When we are home in a week (crossing fingers), she will have her cousins Keaton and Kaylee – yay!! We are thrilled for her to meet our families, and for our families to finally meet her. We have been showing her photographs of her cousins and grandparents – it probably isn’t sinking in, but maybe there will be at least a little familiarity there.