Court Day

We arrived at court this morning at 10 a.m. We were a bit nervous but answered all the questions posed to us. Everyone made a compelling case for waiving the ten days but ... no deal. We were very, very disappointed.

We headed to the hotel to pack up our things and return to say goodbye to Sasha. We are sure he didn't understand that we won't see him until July 17th when our ten days are up. Very sad. This was the first day that he didn't melt down when he saw his usual classmates and caregivers. He just looked at them and came back to us. We worry that he will again forget us. Sad ... sad ... sad.

Svetlana met us and told us that the passport agency is saying that it will take 10-15 days after our ten day waiting period to get a passport for Sasha. Svetlana will make every effort to insure that this isn't the case. At some point between all the ridiculousness you just have to wonder if Russian adoptions will be something that people will want to pursue in the future. As I said, it's been a disappointing day.

It's been such a long day. We had a five hour journey from Kaluga squished into a car (5 people ... luggage on our laps ... couldn't move a muscle). Not pleasant. We have now checked into an apartment until July 12th. We're trying to view this as positive .. a chance to see Moscow (aka Nathan dragging us about to every sightseeing spot in the town) and not let our negative outlook of how things work around here discolor our opportunity.

This photo is of Sasha greeting his caterpillar. He really loves it. Believe it or not, his face looked better today - not as raw. We suspect this might be because of our introduction of the sippy cup. He is SO thirsty and, even though he is only used to sweet tea, begs for water. The other photo above is of him eating his favorite food - cheddar cheese goldfish.