Back in the USA...to Grandmother's House We Go
Here we are in Chicago at Grandma's house! Well, that flight is not something we want to do again anytime soon! At the airport in Almaty there were 8 adoptive families going home with 9 children (we were the only brave souls with two). It was quite the baby flight on British Air. We took bets on who would be the first and biggest cryer--I would have won! Yes, Sery started the fussing first. And Lonya was the loudest, though he didn't start until the captain turned on the seatbelt sign during turbulence. He had barely tolerated the initial seatbelt, and once he had been out of it, playing, he was not about to be belted in again. This does not bode well for car seats...All during the trip, people were walking babies (and Lonya and Sergey) up and down the aisles. A few new toys did keep them busy for a while. After about 9 hours, we landed in London and had a LONG walk to the gate. The London airport doesn't bring up strollers to the gate, so we knew we wouldn't see our stroller till Chicago.
With a short layover, we had to scramble to get to the plane, though we then had to sit on the ground a long time after loading. Lucky us, we got upgraded to First Class for the London to Chicago marathon. We did not complain about having those wonderful recliner seats that are clustered in conversational groupings, and that fold into beds. Lonya slept most of the way. But Sergey woke up every couple hours and had to be walked up and down the aisle.
Then we landed, and the immigration officials handled the paperwork swiftly and efficiently. Lonya and Sergey are now American citizens. Jeff (Candace's brother) met us at the airport, fortunately for us, since luggage was the last thing we wanted to deal with much.
And finally Grandma got to meet her newest grandsons! Chicago is quite a change. Grandma did not listen to instructions to get the boys just ONE Christmas present apiece. So this morning when they got up we had presents under the tree with a 1-1/2 and 3-1/2 year old. The boys were very excited (Sery about the boxes and paper as much as the toys). They have never had a Christmas. In post-Soviet Kazakhstan, the big holiday is New Years, where they have a New Years tree that looks suspiciously like a Christmas tree. There are presents under it, and Father Winter and the snow maiden leave gifts. Actual Christmas, celebrated by the 40-odd percent of the populace that is Russian Orthodox, is January 7. They don't do Christmas stockings, and we never got much of an answer about the rest of that celebration, except that our translator (who was Orthodox) said her family did presents at New Years and not at Christmas. Christmas was more of a religious holiday. Lonya especially liked the car with the real siren noises and the percussion set (we'll get you back some day, Uncle Jeff!). Sery's biggest present has to be inflated, so he won't get to play with it until Ellensburg. But he was satisfied putting wrapping paper in and out of a box.
Got to go...Grandma's house is not exactly childproof!
With a short layover, we had to scramble to get to the plane, though we then had to sit on the ground a long time after loading. Lucky us, we got upgraded to First Class for the London to Chicago marathon. We did not complain about having those wonderful recliner seats that are clustered in conversational groupings, and that fold into beds. Lonya slept most of the way. But Sergey woke up every couple hours and had to be walked up and down the aisle.
Then we landed, and the immigration officials handled the paperwork swiftly and efficiently. Lonya and Sergey are now American citizens. Jeff (Candace's brother) met us at the airport, fortunately for us, since luggage was the last thing we wanted to deal with much.
And finally Grandma got to meet her newest grandsons! Chicago is quite a change. Grandma did not listen to instructions to get the boys just ONE Christmas present apiece. So this morning when they got up we had presents under the tree with a 1-1/2 and 3-1/2 year old. The boys were very excited (Sery about the boxes and paper as much as the toys). They have never had a Christmas. In post-Soviet Kazakhstan, the big holiday is New Years, where they have a New Years tree that looks suspiciously like a Christmas tree. There are presents under it, and Father Winter and the snow maiden leave gifts. Actual Christmas, celebrated by the 40-odd percent of the populace that is Russian Orthodox, is January 7. They don't do Christmas stockings, and we never got much of an answer about the rest of that celebration, except that our translator (who was Orthodox) said her family did presents at New Years and not at Christmas. Christmas was more of a religious holiday. Lonya especially liked the car with the real siren noises and the percussion set (we'll get you back some day, Uncle Jeff!). Sery's biggest present has to be inflated, so he won't get to play with it until Ellensburg. But he was satisfied putting wrapping paper in and out of a box.
Got to go...Grandma's house is not exactly childproof!
posted by Candace | 3:02 PM
7 Comments:
What great news - you're almost home!! At least you're back in the USA and at Grandma's house.
Welcome to America boys - we so excited to meet you!!
Can't wait to see the pictures from their first Christmas experience at Grandmas! :-) See you very soon!
Welcome back, Candace and Sue. And, welcome to your new country boys. We welcome you all with open arms.
Dear Candace and Sue,
I have spent many a late nite reading about your experiences with your new family. Back in the 70's my sister was an AFS exchange student with Candy's family in La Grange. My best to you all, perhaps our paths will cross. I live in San Francisco with my husband and three children.
In some ways, "Kaz" has many aspects of Finland, my native country, the least of which is the great distance you have to travel to get there.
With admiration for your compassion and determination,
Kristina
Welcome back! Sorry your adventure was a pain. I think that is the norm. Only the Kjorsviks were the lucky ones. :)
You are so lucky that they are American citizens now and don't have to do the re-adoption stuff like we do. We don't get to claim our adoption costs this year and right now Genet is lost in the system and we are trying to deal with that now. So you timed it just right for taxes huh? :)
Have a great trip home and we will see you after you have had some time to hunker down.
What a special Christmas for you all. One that will be hard to beat in the future :-) I'm sure the boys won't realize that -- but it will be one you parents will cherish forever.
I'm sure you aren't looking forward to the last airplane flight home, but can you believe it's almost over?? Wow!! You did it!!! I'm proud of both of you.
Lesson number ??? Grandmother's NEVER follow rules when it comes to spoiling their Grandchildren. One of the rules about "rules" is Grandma's are exempt :-) JUST KIDDING -- Kind of :-)
See you soon, have a safe last leg of your trip . Good luck with the car seats in Seattle -- I'm sure glad Grandma's can avoid those kinds of experiences :-) Nancy
Woohoo! (Once Again!) And so begins the best adventure of your life! Can't wait to see you all.
I smile to read Nancy's comments--I'm sure you're not necessarily looking forward to getting back on the plane, but the good news is that it will seem like a drop in the bucket. We traveled to Texas and Alabama last Christmas just two months after traveling to China. No prob!
I agree with Nancy - rules seem to not apply to grandparents, at least in their minds! The flight sounds like an adventure, to say the least. The leg to Seattle will be better, if only because it is shorter. As for car seats and seatbelts for Lonya, well, you're the parent, he's the child (grin) - he'll get used to them eventually or at least figure out it is not a battle he is ever going to win.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Sharon
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