Monday, September 17, 2007

It's Veronika!

We appeared on Sunday for our first official visit, day 2, and Veronika was out in the yard playing with her group. When the other children saw us they escorted her to the gate for us to take her. She had such a proud smile on her face as she waived PAKA (good bye) to the children and we went off to a more private section to have our own play date.

It was a beautiful morning, cool and sunny and we enjoyed watching Veronika opening up and be inquisitive about what we would take out of the bag next to play with. She was basically amused with everything and wanted to be held by Tom as much as possible. I can tell already there is an immediate attraction. She and I are taking our time to warm up and for now that seems right for both of us. We had two visits, one hour in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. So far …..so good. Tomorrow is a big day when we meet and talk to the doctor of the orphanage about her medical records and such. More tomorrow but it looks like we're on our way...


Timeline

11/08/07 Left Kazakhstan on route home to NYC
10/22/07 Left Arkalyk for Almaty
10/03/07 Court Day - Petition for Adoption Accepted!
9/15/07 First day in Arkalyk at orphanage, met Veronika
9/12/07 Departing NYC on route to Kazakhstan
9/04/07 LOI - arrived today!
8/24/07 Heard from Agency with information about children, region and some details about trip. (1 week to gather info while caseworker on vacation)
7/27/07 Began process of updating FBI clearance and medical forms
7/03/07 Dossier arrived in Astana, Kazakhstan at the MFA
6/27/07 Approved by Kaz Embassy in DC and shipped to
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Astana, Kazakhstan (MFA is the 1st ministry to review dossier)
6/22/07 Dossier shipped to Kazakhstan Embassy in Washington, DC
6/01/07 Dossier fully translated and awaiting to be sent to Kaz Embassy.
5/21/07 Agency submitted dossier for translation.
5/15/07 Dossier complete / sent to adoption agency
5/09/07 I-171H Approval letter forwarded by INS to US Embassy in Almaty, Kazakhstan
5/01/07 Notarize, Authenticate, Apostille and copy of all documents
4/24/07 INS fingerprinting
4/08/07 Paper work hell...........working to gather all that is needed to complete dossier
3/12/07 Received notice of FBI clearance from US Department of Justice
3/11/07 Second home study visit
3/04/07 First home study visit
3/02/07 Had fingerprints taken for FBI clearance
2/28/07 I600A - Application filed with BCIS (Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services ) for I-171H
2/21/07 Applied for home study review and began collecting documents for dossier
2/20/07 Signed with Adoption Agency - Adoption Ark