Friday we were able to take Annika to the apartment. We had to take her back several times to have her breathing checked due to her cold. Sunday was wonderful we had a "pajama day" and stayed in the apartment with no where to go! We had gotten some cake from the bakery here... only missing one person... Can't wait to get home and see our son and have our family of 4 under one roof!
We went to the outside market a few times and bought some more warm wear. Jason got a mink fur hat and a wool sweater with reigndeer on it... and I got a matching knit hat and scarf as well as some things for Nathanael and Annika.
Annika has been flurishing at the apartment and can now put her soother in all by herself. She is rolling over both back to front and back again and starting to sit. She can put all her weight on her feet but can't stand yet. She is chatting like crazy now (I thought she would wake up the neighbours that woke her last night with her chatting this morning)so I've been trying to get her to say "mama" and she has but she hasn't associated it to mean me yet. She is smilling most of the time and has had a few laughs at Jason sneezing from his allergies.
Tonya, Jason and Annika
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
New Timelines
Hey folks.
Ok, we have new timelines. We are pushed up a week from where we expected to be. We have new tickets and we will be home on December 5th. Whoo hoo!
This is great news for us as we will be able to make Nathanael's Christmas concert. That is one of the things we are very happy that we are not missing.
On the front here, Annika is teething right now. Yesterday she had a slight fever, but it has gone down, and we hope to bring her to the apartment tonight.
Ahh... we went shoping yesterday at the outdoor market. I was able to buy a fur hat, and Tonya a matching hat and scarf. I think that I got the better deal of the two :)
That's all for now. We hope to send another e-mail tomorrow.
Jason and Tonya
Ok, we have new timelines. We are pushed up a week from where we expected to be. We have new tickets and we will be home on December 5th. Whoo hoo!
This is great news for us as we will be able to make Nathanael's Christmas concert. That is one of the things we are very happy that we are not missing.
On the front here, Annika is teething right now. Yesterday she had a slight fever, but it has gone down, and we hope to bring her to the apartment tonight.
Ahh... we went shoping yesterday at the outdoor market. I was able to buy a fur hat, and Tonya a matching hat and scarf. I think that I got the better deal of the two :)
That's all for now. We hope to send another e-mail tomorrow.
Jason and Tonya
Monday, November 24, 2008
79 stairs
Today is another day... and yet another big one. Today we are going to get Annika her passport. Well, atleast her picture for her passport and visa.
I remember how much fun it was for me to get my photo. Look up, look down... darn, the camera is not working any more... well, I am sure we will have as much fun getting her her passport as well. I have never seen a baby get a passport photo before, but I betcha its gonna be fun!
For the past few days, we have been staying at the coordinators home. There is another couple here right now in the apartment that we are supposed to be in. Once they are gone (Wednesday or so), we hopefully can bring Annika home with us to that apartment. Until then, we have 79 stairs to climb each and every day. I tell you, if those stairs don't deter people from breaking into the appartments, the steel doors do. It takes a he-man to open them each time. By the way, I don't think they have WD40 either.
The apartment that we are going to has a crib, and all of the emenities that we need to have her stay with us overnight.
Well, it is first thing in the morning now, and we are off. I hope to find myself a nice fur hat, and some vodka.
Enjoy!
Jason, Tonya and Annika!
I remember how much fun it was for me to get my photo. Look up, look down... darn, the camera is not working any more... well, I am sure we will have as much fun getting her her passport as well. I have never seen a baby get a passport photo before, but I betcha its gonna be fun!
For the past few days, we have been staying at the coordinators home. There is another couple here right now in the apartment that we are supposed to be in. Once they are gone (Wednesday or so), we hopefully can bring Annika home with us to that apartment. Until then, we have 79 stairs to climb each and every day. I tell you, if those stairs don't deter people from breaking into the appartments, the steel doors do. It takes a he-man to open them each time. By the way, I don't think they have WD40 either.
The apartment that we are going to has a crib, and all of the emenities that we need to have her stay with us overnight.
Well, it is first thing in the morning now, and we are off. I hope to find myself a nice fur hat, and some vodka.
Enjoy!
Jason, Tonya and Annika!
Do you believe in Magic
Don't ask me why, but it seems from time to time, I have a song in my head. Lets just say that it is a theme song. Well, today is "Do you believe in Magic… in a young girl's arms"
Well, I do, and we have a little girl!
As you watched the Grey Cup, we were in court deciding the future of our family. Tonya thought that I should do most of the speaking as I am the less emotional of the two of us. Both the Judge and the Prosecutor asked some tough questions… but most were important ones except for "how long is the hair of your dog?"
Now the magic part. The 10 day waiting period has been waived. In Russia, the
only reason that the waiting period is supposed to be waived is when it is in the best interest of the child. We were able to convince them that she needed to come home as soon as possible to see the physiotherapist to work on her motor skills.
What that mean? Well to put it short, we are coming home sooner than we expected. As of right now, we don't know when that will be, but we will let you know when we know.
By the way, who won the Grey Cup?
Signed
Family of 4.
Well, I do, and we have a little girl!
As you watched the Grey Cup, we were in court deciding the future of our family. Tonya thought that I should do most of the speaking as I am the less emotional of the two of us. Both the Judge and the Prosecutor asked some tough questions… but most were important ones except for "how long is the hair of your dog?"
Now the magic part. The 10 day waiting period has been waived. In Russia, the
only reason that the waiting period is supposed to be waived is when it is in the best interest of the child. We were able to convince them that she needed to come home as soon as possible to see the physiotherapist to work on her motor skills.What that mean? Well to put it short, we are coming home sooner than we expected. As of right now, we don't know when that will be, but we will let you know when we know.
By the way, who won the Grey Cup?
Signed
Family of 4.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
We have arrived in Biro
Well it is 12:47 on Sunday here as we type. For those who are keeping track, or even trying to figure out what time it is at home, it is 8:47PM on Saturday. The weather is a balmy -10C, and all is well.
This morning we had a chance to see Annika. She has grown so much since we last saw her. Suprisingly she is only wearing 6-12 month clothes. She has 4 teeth (2 top and 2 bottom). Unfortunately, we think that it will take her some time to get used to us again. I was able to soothe her, and she once again fell asleep in my arms again.
This afternoon, we are getting ready for the court date, and we will hopefully see her again after that meeting. Other than that, all is great.
About the trip here. Well, needless to say, it was LONG! We left our hotel in London at 7am Friday, and we arrived in Biro 4pm Saturday. Throw in a few timezones, and a few airlines and well, you get the picture.
We were extremely lucky though. On the flight from London, all the way to Khab, there was a few Canadians. Would you beleive, they looked to us for advice on how to get through the customs in Moscow. It was quite funny. They are here for helping the area in their environmental studies. We thought we had it hard. After landing in Khab, they had another 14 hour car ride to the small village in northern Siberia.
Well, we must run. Just think of us as you watch the Grey cup as we will be in court at that time. Thank you for your prayers for the first part of our trip, and we know that you are praying for the rest.
Once we get some more time, we will hopefully find a stable connection, and will Skype those who we can, and we will also publish any pictures that we can.
See yall soon!
Jason and Tonya
This morning we had a chance to see Annika. She has grown so much since we last saw her. Suprisingly she is only wearing 6-12 month clothes. She has 4 teeth (2 top and 2 bottom). Unfortunately, we think that it will take her some time to get used to us again. I was able to soothe her, and she once again fell asleep in my arms again.
This afternoon, we are getting ready for the court date, and we will hopefully see her again after that meeting. Other than that, all is great.
About the trip here. Well, needless to say, it was LONG! We left our hotel in London at 7am Friday, and we arrived in Biro 4pm Saturday. Throw in a few timezones, and a few airlines and well, you get the picture.
We were extremely lucky though. On the flight from London, all the way to Khab, there was a few Canadians. Would you beleive, they looked to us for advice on how to get through the customs in Moscow. It was quite funny. They are here for helping the area in their environmental studies. We thought we had it hard. After landing in Khab, they had another 14 hour car ride to the small village in northern Siberia.
Well, we must run. Just think of us as you watch the Grey cup as we will be in court at that time. Thank you for your prayers for the first part of our trip, and we know that you are praying for the rest.
Once we get some more time, we will hopefully find a stable connection, and will Skype those who we can, and we will also publish any pictures that we can.
See yall soon!
Jason and Tonya
Thursday, November 20, 2008
London Tours
Phantom of the Opera was amazing! As many of you know I can not get through a love story without crying my eyes out. Phantom was no different.
Today we started off at the Chocolate Society (yum). We toured Harrod’s department store and couldn’t afford to sneeze but loved to look. Off to Camden Market for some great deals on some fun items and tried to tempt Jason with a tattoo after passing 6 tattoo and piercing parlors. We enjoyed St. Paul’s Cathedral and the crypts then took a double decker tour bus to take in a Jack the Ripper tour with a very chatty tour guide. Our tour included 3 people from Australia, 3 guys from Germany, a couple from Ireland and a couple from England that took us through many dark alleys for 2 hours. We enjoyed some falafels for lunch, Wagamama (noodle place) for supper and finished off the night with nachos and ale at a local pub… all were very good and yes the ale hit me like all alcohol but I risked it anyway.
London is expecting snow tonight as Moscow and Frankfurt have already received its share and are having flight delays tonight. Hoping it does not delay us too much as we only have 3 hours between flights in Moscow tomorrow.
Today we started off at the Chocolate Society (yum). We toured Harrod’s department store and couldn’t afford to sneeze but loved to look. Off to Camden Market for some great deals on some fun items and tried to tempt Jason with a tattoo after passing 6 tattoo and piercing parlors. We enjoyed St. Paul’s Cathedral and the crypts then took a double decker tour bus to take in a Jack the Ripper tour with a very chatty tour guide. Our tour included 3 people from Australia, 3 guys from Germany, a couple from Ireland and a couple from England that took us through many dark alleys for 2 hours. We enjoyed some falafels for lunch, Wagamama (noodle place) for supper and finished off the night with nachos and ale at a local pub… all were very good and yes the ale hit me like all alcohol but I risked it anyway.
London is expecting snow tonight as Moscow and Frankfurt have already received its share and are having flight delays tonight. Hoping it does not delay us too much as we only have 3 hours between flights in Moscow tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
London Sightseeing
We are in London and are sightseeing machines! Autumn in London is beautiful. The leaves on the trees have mostly fallen to expose the ivy growing up the trunk almost all the way to the tips of the branches. We love people watching and seeing the cute kids in their blue school uniforms. We have enjoyed the English fish & Chips and “Yo Sushi” with their 30 meter long sushi conveyor belt.
Yesterday we checked out Westminster Abby, Big Ben, 10 Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, Canada House, Piccadilly Circus, London Tower tour with a beefeater, 3 km long walk down the Thames to the London Eye for a beautiful view of city at night. Today we started out with Buckingham Palace for changing of the guards, Canada war memorial and Canada gates as well as the Spencer house, Wellington Arch, Aplsey House and the British Museum for a wonderful tour of Egypt, Greece and Roman history. Tonight we are going to Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Jason is very excited to following in some of the footsteps of his hero Rick Steves.
Walking this much not only hurts the feet! Our room at our hotel takes us on a breathtaking journey up 55 narrow winding stairs which makes the stairs at our last house
pale. I’m glad to have already booked a massage for when we get home. I picked up a purse in the market here already and a pen for our son Nate. We have become very acquainted with the subway which has been very easy to navigate. Between the tube and airports I haven’t been on this many moving sidewalks and escalators in my life as I have in the last few days. Our travel agency’s slogan is “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page” – St. Augustine. Our little girl has given us reason to see much more of the world then we ever imagined thank-you for teaching us!
Yesterday we checked out Westminster Abby, Big Ben, 10 Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, Canada House, Piccadilly Circus, London Tower tour with a beefeater, 3 km long walk down the Thames to the London Eye for a beautiful view of city at night. Today we started out with Buckingham Palace for changing of the guards, Canada war memorial and Canada gates as well as the Spencer house, Wellington Arch, Aplsey House and the British Museum for a wonderful tour of Egypt, Greece and Roman history. Tonight we are going to Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Jason is very excited to following in some of the footsteps of his hero Rick Steves.
Walking this much not only hurts the feet! Our room at our hotel takes us on a breathtaking journey up 55 narrow winding stairs which makes the stairs at our last house
pale. I’m glad to have already booked a massage for when we get home. I picked up a purse in the market here already and a pen for our son Nate. We have become very acquainted with the subway which has been very easy to navigate. Between the tube and airports I haven’t been on this many moving sidewalks and escalators in my life as I have in the last few days. Our travel agency’s slogan is “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page” – St. Augustine. Our little girl has given us reason to see much more of the world then we ever imagined thank-you for teaching us!
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