Quick Update

We flew to the D.C. area last week. We come here every year to attend the annual meeting/conference/retreat related to Andrey's work. The actual work-related events last about nine days in total for Andrey and involve me for about five of those. We usually tack on about a week in order to spend some time with family who travel to the area to see us. This year, Andrey's parents have arranged for us to stay in a cabin in Virginia with Andrey's sister, her husband and their new baby, Annika. It is just plain wrong to move on to the next paragraph without a word or twenty about Annika.

The first grandchild for Andrey's parents, Annika has been referred to as "the joy bringer." As we have gotten to know her this past week, I think this description is the most fitting of this five-month-old little girl. We loved her long before we met her for the first time in person this week. She is, we think and declare proudly, the cutest baby ever (no offense to other babies out there!). She seeks out eye contact and smiles at any of us who come near. She is the picture of health - chunky thighs, double chin, delicious skin, rosy fat cheeks, and bright eyes (gorgeous ocean-blue) and a smile that turns you to mush. And that hair! She has a ton of hair that is endearingly a borderline baby mullet. Precious, long-prayed-for, rejoiced over, joyful, bright, genuinely happy, content, secure, well-loved. These are a few adjectives that come to mind after spending just a few days with this little joy bringer. Mike and Lisa have agreed to let me post a few pics of her, which I plan to do once I am working on a computer that has both my photos on it and access to the internet. That will have to wait for now but I just want to say that it is so refreshing to be around a baby like Annika. Her parents are doing an excellent job at caring for her.

This weekend, my mom and aunt will join us. They are bringing lots of baby stuff with them, including more than a few home made cloth baby wipes. They both love to sew and were asking me what kind of stuff they could make. I can't wait to see what they brought! I began listing all the baby prep activities we were up to prior to this trip but decided it's best to devote a separate post to that.

Tomorrow we drive to the city, where we'll be till we leave on the 17th. I won't have access to the internet very often while in the hotel so I'll be out of touch for at least the next few days.

Tomorrow also marks 16 months of waiting since our approved adoptive parents status came to be. We are quickly approaching the average 18 months wait from approval to match but I regularly hear of families who wait much longer than the average. For instance, I recently read on the adoption group we belong to about a few families who are waiting 22 or more months and counting. I just wish I knew even a ball-park figure of how much longer. A couple of months more? Another 6 months? Unfortunately with adoption the long sought-after hour can not be known. All I know is each day brings us closer. Each day gives me more time to get my shit together. More time for learning perserverence and patience, I suppose. I should have plenty of character by the end of this wait. And then the true challenge and growth begins. The challenge of parenting a child I know nothing about, who will come to us with their own personality, experiences, hurts, uniqueness, quirks. That will present joys and challenges of its own. Maybe I'm okay with waiting a little while longer. All I really want is about another month to get the baby room organized. Of course I'll be happy if we got the call tomorrow but getting a few things organized will help reduce my anxiety level, which is worth a lot to me given the big unknown we are headed for.