So I did not get a chance to write on Day 8, but it was extremely uneventful. Basically eat, sleep, poop and repeat!
Day 9 was much more exciting so I’ll focus on that. We had breakfast and then went for a huge walk which included a stop at the store as we had used our very last wipes during the morning poop. Amazing how conscious you become of not being wasteful when you know you don’t have many left to go and you are trying to string them out as long as possible. Enough potty talk… We went to a store and then decided to walk a new route and check things out. Jakob enjoyed every minute of it…especially shouting at Wayne as we pretended to chase him with the stroller.
When we got back, we ordered some lunch in the room, ate and put him down for his nap. He only slept an hour, which was pretty short for him. The funny thing is, once this kid wakes up…he rubs his eyes, gives a little cuddle and then he is ready to play! There is not a lot of messin’ around.
We got picked up at 2 PM by our driver as we were going to pick up Jakob’s passport which needed a stamp in it to say his was registered with the Russian Government (this helps us get his U.S. Passport faster if done here in Moscow). We arrived at the meeting spot where we were to meet Olga at 2:30 PM. We ended up having to wait in the car for just a bit over an hour. This was good practice for the plane as we kept Jakob in the car the whole time and tried to entertain him as much as possible. After we got the passport, the driver took us to Annabelle and Jeff Relf’s house (family we stayed with last time) as they graciously invited us over for dinner.
Jakob managed to sleep for about 45 minutes on the way there and woke up just as we were arriving. It was so good to see the Relf family again and it was great for Jakob to meet them and vice versa. Jakob is obsessed with bigger kids right now so he really enjoyed Peter and Abby. We were also anxiously awaiting his reaction to seeing dogs up close and personal as they have 2. Jakob was very cautious at first around them and was a little scared when he saw their teeth, but literally, about 5-10 minutes after watching them…he was off petting them, following them around, etc. As the evening went on, he was pulling their tails, trying to feed them, trying to smash their feet…typical boy stuff. So, all good things to prepare him (and us) for life with dogs. I think Bailey will still love Jakob to pieces regardless of what he does. Rosco will likely come around him when he is calm (or eating) and leave him alone the rest of the time…just looking at him from a distance.
We were at the Relf’s house for about 4 hours and it was amazing to see all of the things that Jakob learned / experienced in that amount of time….
- First time in a real house
- First time being up close and personal with dogs
- First time to be near a fireplace with the fire going
- First time to climb / crawl up and down stairs (the way a kid should…thanks Abby and Peter for teaching him)
- First time to refuse all food being served at the table except the few pieces of banana he saw (not sure what was up with that…Annabelle, I assure you it was not your cooking)
We left their place around 8:30 and Jakob was just exhausted when we finally got in the car. I know he had a wonderful time, but it was surely exhausting for him seeing all the new things and being up past his bedtime (which we didn’t really mind this time since we are going to totally screw his schedule up tomorrow on the plane…maybe he will sleep more on it)! He fussed a bit on the way home as he was just so tired. He was starting to cry as we got out of the car at the hotel, but I kept telling him that he would not want all of his friends on the club level to see him crying and he actually stopped by the time we got up there. I think he was just happy to know he was almost to the room.
When we got to the room, I just laid him on his bed and he gave a cute little grin as to say, “ah…I’m ‘home’!” We didn’t bother with a bath, teeth or anything, just took his shoes and pants off and said goodnight. I know he is exhausted as we have lights on and just finished packing up most of the stuff and he is still sound asleep.
We are SO excited to leave tomorrow. And while we are happy to leave, Room 1247 has been good to us…it is the room that brought our family closer together and bonded us in a very special way in just over a week. We will always remember the little rollaway bed that Jakob slept on each night (and rolled off of a couple of times...oops…he is a tough kid). I’ll remember always looking over to make sure he was still there, covered up, and breathing. I’ll remember him waking up each morning with a big smile on his face, his hair all messed up, me going over to cuddle him, and us opening up the blinds to see what sort of day it was. I will remember the bathtub and his obsession with throwing things in it, enjoying a bath for the first time (along with a few falls until he learned that it is ok to sit in the tub as he was so nervous to do it). I’ll remember handing him his little oatmeal packet out of the cupboard each morning and watching him carry it down the hall for breakfast. I will remember Jakob standing at the door of our room saying “Pah-ka” when he was ready to leave (and he would start passing us our shoes). I will remember all of the wonderful staff and friends that Jakob made (and we made through him) in the lounge area. How he brought a smile to so many people’s face and they were just amazed at what a cute, adorable, confident little man he was and is...at how he had bonded so quickly with us and were utterly amazed to know he was not our biological son.
I will also remember the 3 other wonderful families we met on this journey who hold an extremely special place in our hearts. Lisa, David and Patrick. Sam, Anne, and Nina. Marcy and Sydney. This final leg of the Moscow journey would not have been the same without them. Their friendship, support, humor, and love for children made the trip for us and we will forever share a special bond with them, for the lives of 4 children have just been made richer.
So – tonight I sign off for the VERY last time in Moscow. I can’t believe this time is finally here…the time we have waited for in what seems like an eternity…to finally bring our son home…
I thank you all for following the story this far. It does not end here, this is only the beginning.
With Love,
Courtney, Wayne and Jakob (Rosco and Bailey…who have been so patient during our travels)
P.S. I will continue to update the blog to some level of frequency, but will have to get back to you on what frequency that is. I’m sure I will try to at least get a quick post in while in Houston to let you know we are back and put some family photos on there.
Day 9 was much more exciting so I’ll focus on that. We had breakfast and then went for a huge walk which included a stop at the store as we had used our very last wipes during the morning poop. Amazing how conscious you become of not being wasteful when you know you don’t have many left to go and you are trying to string them out as long as possible. Enough potty talk… We went to a store and then decided to walk a new route and check things out. Jakob enjoyed every minute of it…especially shouting at Wayne as we pretended to chase him with the stroller.
When we got back, we ordered some lunch in the room, ate and put him down for his nap. He only slept an hour, which was pretty short for him. The funny thing is, once this kid wakes up…he rubs his eyes, gives a little cuddle and then he is ready to play! There is not a lot of messin’ around.
We got picked up at 2 PM by our driver as we were going to pick up Jakob’s passport which needed a stamp in it to say his was registered with the Russian Government (this helps us get his U.S. Passport faster if done here in Moscow). We arrived at the meeting spot where we were to meet Olga at 2:30 PM. We ended up having to wait in the car for just a bit over an hour. This was good practice for the plane as we kept Jakob in the car the whole time and tried to entertain him as much as possible. After we got the passport, the driver took us to Annabelle and Jeff Relf’s house (family we stayed with last time) as they graciously invited us over for dinner.
Jakob managed to sleep for about 45 minutes on the way there and woke up just as we were arriving. It was so good to see the Relf family again and it was great for Jakob to meet them and vice versa. Jakob is obsessed with bigger kids right now so he really enjoyed Peter and Abby. We were also anxiously awaiting his reaction to seeing dogs up close and personal as they have 2. Jakob was very cautious at first around them and was a little scared when he saw their teeth, but literally, about 5-10 minutes after watching them…he was off petting them, following them around, etc. As the evening went on, he was pulling their tails, trying to feed them, trying to smash their feet…typical boy stuff. So, all good things to prepare him (and us) for life with dogs. I think Bailey will still love Jakob to pieces regardless of what he does. Rosco will likely come around him when he is calm (or eating) and leave him alone the rest of the time…just looking at him from a distance.
We were at the Relf’s house for about 4 hours and it was amazing to see all of the things that Jakob learned / experienced in that amount of time….
- First time in a real house
- First time being up close and personal with dogs
- First time to be near a fireplace with the fire going
- First time to climb / crawl up and down stairs (the way a kid should…thanks Abby and Peter for teaching him)
- First time to refuse all food being served at the table except the few pieces of banana he saw (not sure what was up with that…Annabelle, I assure you it was not your cooking)
We left their place around 8:30 and Jakob was just exhausted when we finally got in the car. I know he had a wonderful time, but it was surely exhausting for him seeing all the new things and being up past his bedtime (which we didn’t really mind this time since we are going to totally screw his schedule up tomorrow on the plane…maybe he will sleep more on it)! He fussed a bit on the way home as he was just so tired. He was starting to cry as we got out of the car at the hotel, but I kept telling him that he would not want all of his friends on the club level to see him crying and he actually stopped by the time we got up there. I think he was just happy to know he was almost to the room.
When we got to the room, I just laid him on his bed and he gave a cute little grin as to say, “ah…I’m ‘home’!” We didn’t bother with a bath, teeth or anything, just took his shoes and pants off and said goodnight. I know he is exhausted as we have lights on and just finished packing up most of the stuff and he is still sound asleep.
We are SO excited to leave tomorrow. And while we are happy to leave, Room 1247 has been good to us…it is the room that brought our family closer together and bonded us in a very special way in just over a week. We will always remember the little rollaway bed that Jakob slept on each night (and rolled off of a couple of times...oops…he is a tough kid). I’ll remember always looking over to make sure he was still there, covered up, and breathing. I’ll remember him waking up each morning with a big smile on his face, his hair all messed up, me going over to cuddle him, and us opening up the blinds to see what sort of day it was. I will remember the bathtub and his obsession with throwing things in it, enjoying a bath for the first time (along with a few falls until he learned that it is ok to sit in the tub as he was so nervous to do it). I’ll remember handing him his little oatmeal packet out of the cupboard each morning and watching him carry it down the hall for breakfast. I will remember Jakob standing at the door of our room saying “Pah-ka” when he was ready to leave (and he would start passing us our shoes). I will remember all of the wonderful staff and friends that Jakob made (and we made through him) in the lounge area. How he brought a smile to so many people’s face and they were just amazed at what a cute, adorable, confident little man he was and is...at how he had bonded so quickly with us and were utterly amazed to know he was not our biological son.
I will also remember the 3 other wonderful families we met on this journey who hold an extremely special place in our hearts. Lisa, David and Patrick. Sam, Anne, and Nina. Marcy and Sydney. This final leg of the Moscow journey would not have been the same without them. Their friendship, support, humor, and love for children made the trip for us and we will forever share a special bond with them, for the lives of 4 children have just been made richer.
So – tonight I sign off for the VERY last time in Moscow. I can’t believe this time is finally here…the time we have waited for in what seems like an eternity…to finally bring our son home…
I thank you all for following the story this far. It does not end here, this is only the beginning.
With Love,
Courtney, Wayne and Jakob (Rosco and Bailey…who have been so patient during our travels)
P.S. I will continue to update the blog to some level of frequency, but will have to get back to you on what frequency that is. I’m sure I will try to at least get a quick post in while in Houston to let you know we are back and put some family photos on there.
5 comments:
Courtney, Wayne, & Jakob,
Jakob isn't the only one crying - WOW - what an adventure and what wonderful memories have been created for all of us, and it has only been possible because of your faithful posting, pictures, and videos. I'm sure I speak for all of us that this entire adoption process has been a treasure we will never forget, and what unselfish hearts you and the other families have to rescue these children and offer them a life they would not otherwise have had. YOU ARE ALL WONDERFUL PARENTS!!
I am so glad Jakob warmed up to the dogs and had a good time with the other children. What a great way to end your trip.
I hope your flights go well, and you arrive safely in Houston. I can't wait to meet my new grandson and kiss his precious face. Thank you again for letting us go along on your adoption journey with you -
what a ride!
All my love,
Mom/Pam/Nana Pam
We are so glad you are heading home after your journey, we have followed it and loved sharing it with you.
Love to the three of you.
Auntie Jan & Uncle Paul xxx
Dearest Courtney, Wayne and Jakob,
Jakob's Nana Pam called a moment ago, in tears, warning that today's blog posting offers a moving recap of your journey. And she was right! We will be praying for your continued happiness and wishing you three a safe return home. Sounds nice doesn't it?... HOME!
All Our Love,
The Haydon-Wilsons
Dear Courtney,Wayne and Jakob,
It really has been an incredible experience. We are all so happy for you. It has been such a privilege to be included in your lives in this way. Courtney and Wayne, you have both been through so much trying to have a child, and look at who you've been blessed to have. As for Jakob, well we couldn't say enough about the type of life we know he is going to enjoy, with two loving, adventurous, generous parents and two psychotic doggies. He is going to also have a Nana who is going to give him so much love. Pam, from the Jensens here in Houston, congratulations on the arrival of your new grandson, and to the rest of your families we are truly overjoyed for you all. It's nice to know that most of us have been writing these comments while you are all possibly sleeping. I hope all these good vibes are crossing the ocean and giving you sweet dreams. Sleep well Turpins. Life is going to be quite different the next time we catch up, eh?
Lots of love
Nat, Martin and Jonas
Courney, Wayne & Jakob,
Thank you for sharing this wonderful time in your lives with your friends and family. Jakob is a very lucky little boy to have such wonderful new parents. I hope your plane trip is as successful as the 10 days in Moscow turned out to be. We look forward to seeing you in Houston.
You are on your way home with your little boy - that sounds so wonderful.
Love and kisses,
Aunt Penny & Uncle Jeffery
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