Never Forget Kostanai

That's what the sign says that this funny little guy is holding. A souvenir from our most unforgettable trip to Kostanai Kazakhstan and our precious children.

This time 4 years ago we were fulfilling our dream of becoming parents. After 15 months of waiting we were finally holding our beautiful children in our arms. We first met Molly and Aidan on the evening of June 8th, 2005. We were greeted at the Kostanai City airport by our facilitator, Olessya, and driven directly to the baby home. We met with Dr. Irina, director of the Delphin baby home, and after introductions and a brief conversation were shown several files. We asked to see Molly and Aidan and it was love at first sight. After a too short visit our babies were returned to their rooms and we floated over to our hotel. The next day we toured the baby home, were assigned a time to visit (1:00PM - 2:30PM), and began the required bonding period. We had our preliminary court date on July 4th and final court on July 8th. After the mandatory 15 day waiting period the court decision came into power on July 26th and Molly and Aidan were ours forever. If you're interested in all of the details check out our entries beginning June 7, 2005.

We didn't publish any pictures on our Blog during our trip because the adoption wasn't finalized and we were connecting to the Internet via dial-up and that would have been too painful. I intended to go back and update postings with pictures but life with two babies/toddlers/preschoolers is hectic to say the least. So now I'll post a few as I reflect back upon those magical days.

I'm a big follower of other family's adoption Blogs. Frequently I find a person or family who are trying to decide what country is the best fit for them. Many of them are hesitant about choosing to adopt from Kazakhstan because of the extensive travel. I usually leave a comment about our positive experience and emphasize that while the travel may seem daunting it is one of the the most amazing parts of the journey. To be able to spend that amount of time in your child's country of birth and to be able to share those memories with your child is a rare and wonderful opportunity.

Forget Kostanai. Not in a million years.

Keeping Busy

The last couple of weekends have been action packed including a visit from my niece and her family and a jaunt to Citizens Bank Park to route for the Fightin' Phils. We picnicked in the parking lot and had a really good time. Once in the ball park it took Molly 3 full innings before she was satisfied that we weren't going to pitch over the railing. Granted we were on the 300 level but nowhere near the nose bleed section. Prior to that she was glued to her seat fearing for her life. I think her Godmother can relate. All was really well when the Phanatic made an appearance in the 5th. Unfortunately, Molly will have to get used to these seats as anything field level is definitely not in the budget.

After a wet week we finally had some decent weather and took full advantage. We spent the entire day outside on Saturday. Molly and Aidan had breakfast alfresco in their PJs (Molly in a fetching Dora nightgown) and stayed that way until when we put on their bathing suits after lunch. I bought a slip and slide at Toys R Us for $9.99 and got what I paid for. I set it up and when I turned on the hose water gushed out where it should not. I patched the rip with duct tape and we were good to go. Molly and Aidan were none the wiser. Pat mowed the lawn and I explored my artistic side trimming bushes and trees while the kids played. We finished up our day outside with a BBQ.

On Sunday we attended our adoption agency's annual picnic. We've gone every year since Molly and Aidan arrived home and its always a great day. There are several family with children adopted from Kazakhstan who also attend and its so wonderful to see them and for all of the Kaz kids to get together. Molly and Aidan have been looking to having their faces painted since the last picnic and waited so patiently in the LONG line. They were thrilled with the results. The agency hires a professional photographer for the day and families can get their pictures taken at no cost. When it was our turn we quickly arranged ourselves in the usual pose and smiled away. The photographer laughed and said "I guess this isn't your first time." Hard to believe it was our 4th sitting. After the picnic wrapped up we went to see friends who live in the area (the picnic is about 1 or so from our house) and stayed for dinner. They have 3 children who were very good to Molly and Aidan. We really enjoyed seeing our friends and catching up. It makes you wonder why you don't get together more often.

And We're Off

Our dossier for our second adoption from Kazakhstan is DONE. We are sending it to our agency today via FedEx overnight. The agency will give it a once over, have it translated and then its off to its first stop at the Consulate of Kazakhstan in NY. Whew. Now, more waiting. In the mean time, we're busy, busy, with the little people.

The closing program for preschool was last Tuesday. Songs, props and "diplomas" were the highlights of the day. The school offers an extended session which Molly and Aidan will attend. It started today (AM instead of PM. Will need some time to get used to that schedule) and several of their friends are in the same class as well as some new kids. They were excited to be going and should have a good time.

Daddy was away on business all of last week. It was a good week but a long week. The kids really missed Daddy (as did I). We picked him up at the airport on Friday night and greeted him with a welcome home banner. It was a joyful reunion.

We kicked off BBQ season over Memorial Day weekend with a trifecta. On Saturday we went to friends who live in a farmhouse situated on a beautiful property featuring woods, a creek, kitty cats and lots of interesting caterpillars and bugs. Sunday was a neighborhood picnic and on Monday we headed to the in-laws for a family cook out. It was a great weekend but a few too many late nights for the kids. We took it easy on Tuesday and everyone seems to have recovered from their BBQ hangovers.

There has been quite a fascination lately with death and dying. Lots of questions about who dies and when will they die. We've told Molly and Aidan that yes everyone dies. We told them after you die you go to Heaven to be with God. We stressed that someone dies when they are really, really, really, old. Not the exact truth I know but we don't want Molly and Aidan to have worry about it. So....I stopped over our neighbor Darleen's house with Molly and Aidan. Darleen's 94 year old grandmother was there for a visit. As were getting ready to leave Aidan looks at grandma and says to me "Mom she looks really, really old. Is she going to die soon?". Luckily grandma was far away enough and hard of hearing enough not to hear the question.

Molly is gearing up for her big ballet/tap recital at the end of June. Good Lord I had no idea how involved and complicated a recital can be. Hair, makeup, dress rehearsals, mad stampede to purchase show tickets, grand finale extravaganzas. I was given a 12 page document outlining all of the details. Simply mind boggling. Next year we're signing up for soccer!

Livin' La Vida Loca

Well here it is the end of April and I'm just getting around to posting an update. Molly and Aidan are great and continue to grow at warp speed. Sometimes I look at them and just marvel at how big they are. It feels like only a short while ago I was able to carry both of my babies at the same time and now I'm struggling to carry one. They continue to be busy, busy, busy little people and are literally on the go from sun up to sun down.

Preschool has gone well this year and will be winding up at the end of May. Parent-teacher conferences were held several weeks ago and other than not being able to walk backwards on the balance beam both Molly and Aidan are doing great. Molly has blossomed tremendously. She is extremely social and the queen of crafting. She has not had any trouble keeping up with the other kids despite being one of the youngest in the class. All of the children in their class except one will be headed to kindergarten next year. Molly and Aidan will stay at their current school for Pre-K as they miss ourschool district's cut-off by three and four weeks. Its wonderful to listen to Molly explain the amazing discoveries she makes each day. Aidan has enjoyed school as well but has had some difficulties with an environment that has more structure than he is accustomed to (or cares for). He can get easily frustrated when unable do something perfectly on the first try (like zipping his coat). We're working with him on these things and hopefully encouragement and time will help. Aidan is academically and intellectually off the charts (this is a topic for a separate post) and the challenge will be to keep him interested in the curriculum and manage his expectations of himself. Both Molly and Aidan love playing with their friends and we frequently get together with many of them outside of school. Overall, preschool has been a positive and enriching experience for both.

What else is going on....Molly started ballet and tap dancing lessons in January. She loves it and will be dancing in her first recital in June....Molly and Aidan are taking swimming lessons. They've gone a few times and are doing well. They're gaining confidence with each class which is good but makes mom nervous....Molly, Aidan and I flew to Florida in February to attend my Dad's 80th birthday celebration. My whole family was there and we had a great time. We didn't go to any of the Disney theme parks (Pat wasn't there and we think its too much for 4 year olds) but we did spend a day at Downtown Disney. Molly and Aidan had a blast. I would have planned a longer stay had I know how well Molly and Aidan would travel. Next time......The weather has been warm and we've been enjoying the great outdoors- riding bikes, digging in the dirt and going to the park. It's a nice and much needed change of scenery after the winter.

And finally, we've been working on our dossier for our second adoption from Kazakhstan. Our home study was completed in December but our agency wanted us to wait until April to start our dossier. It was hard to wait but now hopefully our paperwork won't get too dated before we travel. The plan is to work on the dossier in April/May, send it to our agency in June for translation and submit it to the Consulate in July. From there who knows. Our agency said we would not travel before the end of this year. I'm hoping for travel the beginning of 2010 but ya never know. The documents required this time around are similar to those we prepared for Molly and Aidan's adoption with several additions including an evaluation by a psychologist, more finger prints to be cleared by the FBI, and copies of professionals licences (home study agency, social worker, physician and psychologist) and a verification of licences from the appropriate licensing boards. All in all there are 30 documents required. We will be compiling two original dossiers so that is 60 total documents (all to be notarized and apostilled). The good news it that we're making excellent progress and a significant part of the work is complete.

Pat and I are also doing well. Work continues to be challenging for Pat but we are relieved that there is still a job to go to. Like so many others, Pat's company has been through lay offs and restructuring. We're keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for the best. I blessed with the opportunity to stay at home with our beloved children and I'm truly thankful for that. I'm also training for a ten mile run that takes place this Sunday. Wish me luck because I'm going to need it!!

Year in Review 2008

Yikes! I was shocked to see that I only posted 4 times in 2008. I knew time was flying but that is just crazy. Below is the letter Pat wrote and we sent with our christmas card. Also included are a few recent photos. I hope I will do a better job of blogging in 2009.

Family and Friends,

What a year we have had! Home improvement and family matters dominated the landscape in 2008. Through all and throughout, Molly and Aidan, our reason for every season, continued to grow and to learn about themselves and the world around them: probing, pushing, testing, and bringing Mom and Dad equal measures of surprise, bedevilment and delight. Some blessings from this year nearly passed:

We had our home built six years ago and never thought four bedrooms, 3.5 baths and 3500 square feet of living space might one day be too small. Who knew we’d have two toddlers one day, much less how much stuff they can accumulate and how much room they need? So we began 2008 by having a substantial portion of our basement finished for living space, most of which is “Kidland” for now. The kids love the space, with room for play and crafts, Aidan’s trains and Molly’s kitchen, and Mom enjoys having some place the kids can be other than underfoot at every minute.

This summer was a wonderful collection of family get-togethers and celebrations. First, we spent the July 4th Weekend at Lake Canandaigua with the extended Reed and Reed-Hudson families. We stayed in a little B&B with Aunt Barbara and Uncle Charlie. The weather was good, the company and fireworks were great.

August began with cousin Sara Dwyer’s wedding on the first. Nearly one hundred family and friends from across the continent celebrated Mom and Dad Donohoe’s 50th wedding anniversary on the 10th: Laughs and tears flowed freely and a tableau of memories and recollections formed a fitting tribute to exceptional love and commitment. The family made the trek to Schnecksville on the 23rd for Dad Donohoe’s 75th birthday party. Finally, we spent Labor Day weekend with our Canadian family, the Petrachenko clan.

Molly and Aidan started pre-school in September! So far, so good: They love it. Coincidentally, we began the process of adopting a third child in September too. We are working with a new agency but plan to return to Kazakhstan and to Baby Home Delfin in Kostanai, from where we adopted Molly and Aidan. Molly would like a baby sister, Aidan a baby brother. In a moment of four-year old wisdom, Aidan suggested one of each, to be named – naturally – Molly and Aidan.

The kids turned 4 in October. We spent Thanksgiving with Barb and Charlie in Virginia and made a train trip into DC for “Black Friday” at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

Molly is a study of emotion in bold relief. She’s sweet and kind and affectionate; she’s loud and boisterous and full of life, with a great sense of humor and a genuine, infectious laugh. She loves arts and crafts, particularly anything to do with glue and/or tape. Her new passions are dance and frequent costume changes and she aspires to a career as a princess or fairy.

Aidan is bright and creative, imaginative and outgoing. He is curious and observant: He wants to know how things work and why things are done. His new favorite word is actually, which is followed typically by a frighteningly accurate recounting of the earlier how’s and why’s. He continues to provide hilarious and engaging commentary on the events of his life whether or not anyone’s listening.

So here we are: Christmastime has come again. We wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and the happiest of new years. May God continue to bless us one and all.

With love,

Pat, Alli, Molly and Aidan

Update Coming Soon

I want to post. I really, really do. Until then here are a few recent photos.

Aidan's Artwork

Aidan is really branching out with his drawing. For a while it was trains, trains and not much else but trains. Here are a few of his latest works with some commentary from mom.



Rocket ships and bunny



Aidan waiting for an apple to fall from an apple tree into his bucket. Black clouds threaten.



Variation on a theme



Map to undisclosed location (signed by the artist)



Green house in watercolor



Happy family in our house. Pictured from left to right...Mo, Pop Pop, Mommy, Aidan, Molly and Daddy (we're holding hands).