The journey from Russia has finally ended and yet,

the journey is just beginning! Our flight home from

Kazan to Moscow to London to Miami was long and
exhausting. We are trying to both recuperate from

the eight hour time difference and all of the very new

surroundings. It is no longer easy to sleep at home with

the sound monitor on at all times, however, we are finally

both getting close to a sleep schedule which will allow

Mommy to get some rest and be able to function like a

normal person (hopefully in the very near future). Kyle
is doing great but as you can see from the picture, he was

exhausted after the long flight but did very well on the

airplane (for the most part aside from a few dirty looks

and comments from the passenger sitting in front of us)! Kyle
enjoyed his first bath and is attaching very well - of course,

I am quite pleased that one of his first words is Mom! He

has a few others but his latest exclamation is "Tada"! Thank

you all for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!

"We are now in Moscow and Kyle did great on his first

airplane ride! Our flight time was actually almost three

hours from Kazan to Moscow because of the fog but
fortunately, Kyle fell asleep the final 45 minutes of the

plane ride and did not wake up until we landed. After we

landed, Kyle got an Embassy Physical and we will be

completing paperwork over the next several days. We

went to have lunch after the physical at a Sushi Restaurant

and Kyle did great...he has a wonderful appetite as you

can probably tell from his pictures. On Thursday morning,
Grampy built Kyle a snowman and we walked around the

streets of Moscow which is very similar to New York.

This afternoon, we are headed to the Embassy to work
on the Visa. Kyle took his Visa picture yesterday and sat

perfectly still on the chair but did not crack a smile. Kyle

woke up this morning and was in a great mood and ready

to go. The words used to describe him "active and curious"

were very accurate!!!! :) He really is a great kid and yes,

I am now completely biased. Looking forward to coming

home soon. I feel for all of you in the cold weather.....the

shoes, the sweater, the jacket, the hat, the scarf, the
gloves.........! Kyle will enjoy his shorts, t-shirt and flip flops

soon enough as will his mother."

"And so our trip in Kazan is finally coming to a close. We

will depart for Moscow on Wednesday at 7:15 A.M. for the

next phase of the adoption process. While the ten day

waiting period felt like forever, it has now come and gone and
it is with mixed emotions that we will be leaving Kazan. Kyle

will probably never completely remember his experience in Kazan

and while it was a joyous occasion to pick him up for the last time

at the orphanage, it was also sad as we departed. Kyle was truly

blessed during his time in the orphanage as the caregivers, doctors,

and other orphanage workers stood in the waiting room and
watched him leave. Even as we went to the car, they looked out

the window and waived goodbye. It was painfully obvious how

much they all loved Kyle and were truly happy for him. We

have spent a lot of time with Svatlana, Roman and Jane,
and it will be very sad to say goodbye to our new friends. Roman

took us to a Kazan professional hockey game on Sunday evening

which we enjoyed. Jane has gone above and beyond her duties

as an interpreter and obviously is the only one who truly

understands what we say. She has been our interpreter and friend
during the process and has been with us during all of our visits

during the ten day waiting period. We will all miss Jane and Kyle

will definitely miss flirting with her! I want Kyle to remember all

of the special people in Kazan who loved him and prayed for the

best for him. We took a lot of pictures and video to remind Kyle

of all of the wonderful people who helped him transition into a new
phase in his life. Speaking of Kyle, as you can see, he is now fully

clothed in his own new attire and is quite handsome I must say.

He is a goofy guy with those people he feels comfortable around

but has some stranger anxiety and just gets these big serious

brown eyes...don't worry as he will soon get to know each
of you! Mommy kinda likes him attaching to her at this point :)

He was probably over stimulated at the hotel but had dinner, a

bath and finally, as you can see, fell asleep. He truly is a little angel

(especially when sleeping) and he has a kind heart. Thanks again

for all of the prayers...as you can see from the pictures, they are

being answered!"

"It is hard to believe it, but the days which seemed to
be going by so slow are now starting to fly by! We have
completed days 7 and 8 and the next few days look to
be quite busy. On Sunday, we only have the morning
visit and will spend the afternoon shopping for diapers
and any other item that guarantees that Kyle will be quiet
on the airplane (don't think they sell those items with a money
back guarantee). We were also invited by our driver to attend
a hockey game tomorrow evening. We have made numerous
friends with the staff at the Korston Hotel and all of them want
to see Kyle on Tuesday when get him out of the orphanage.
We will be flying to Moscow on Wednesday early in the morning to
finalize everything at the American Embassy and obtain all of the
necessary paperwork. We will keep you posted."

"We are happy to have completed Day 6 and we want you
to know that we are semi-celebrities at the Korston Hotel. In
between visits, we returned to the hotel and our friend, Dinara,
at the front desk, informed us that the deputy general manager
would like to meet us. We met her and she told us she was glad
that we were enjoying our stay (after all, that is a sign we have
been here a LONG time) and sent to our room a complimentary
plate of chocolates! Also, she said that we are the first people
staying at the Korston Hotel who were in the adoption process
and enjoys Americans as there are very few Americans and
English speaking individuals who visit Kazan. We have been really
fortunate to meet some nice people at the hotel and have our friends
at each of the five restaurants we frequent at the hotel. We get
especially good service at the buffet from one waitress who always
smiles (rare for Russia) but I believe that is because Americans
still tip!"

kyle come home

"We are offically through the midway point of the ten
day waiting period. On Wednesday, we actually had an
"out of routine" day for us and we really enjoyed the change.
I purchased a couple of pieces of art but it is not that easy to
get them out of the country. We had to go to the art gallery,
take pictures of the art, and bring the pictures to a museum
so that the museum can confirm the paintings are not
masterpieces or of significant value to the Russian culture.
Today, we have to do more to get the appropriate "documentation."
As an aside, "documentation" is necessary for just about eveything
in Russia. I hope that the pictures are of significant value one day
in several years! We have officially been gone almost two weeks
and we started to run out of laundry so we had the distinct pleasure
of being invited to our interpreter's house (Jane) to do laundry
and for dinner. It was really a treat to have a home cooked meal!
Jane took us all over the place in between visits to get all of the art
documentation finalized and Kyle loves to flirt with Jane! He is
going to be a true ladies man. We actually went to the Kremlin
and you can see the picture of my Dad and I in front of the
mosque, a very old and established building in Kazan. The sun
was shining yesterday but today is like a winter wonderland
fairytale. Kyle is starting to sing with us during the visits. When
we Sing Rock-A-Bye Baby, he tries to outsing us with his
rendition - BaBaBaBa.....! As a part of Gator Nation, he also
enjoyed his first experience with Gatorade. We will keep you posted."