Venturing Out

This evening, we ventured out with the other family that is here adopting. We walked over to Old Arbat to go to the Hard Rock Cafe, but after sort of getting the run around by two different hostesses, we were told there were no tables. LOL. There actually were tons of tables available, but they claimed they were all reserved.

Moving on to My My, a buffet that has a cow out front (that is my marker ... LOL). It was very smoky and we couldn't find a table there either, so we left.

Sbarro it is! LOL. We just wanted a place to be able to sit, eat and talk ... and we got it at Sbarro. The other family's little boy, Sasha, has been asking for Nika, so we were happy to get them together. Sasha seems to be adjusting better and better as the minutes go bye. There are still certain things that trigger grouppa memories for him and he gets sad, but on the whole I'd say he is doing great. We are getting together tonight to play in the children's room here at our hotel, so that should be fun. :)

Nika, on the other hand, is doing great. She is doing great with her walking ... she is initiating walking on her own more and more, and she even has done 180 degree turns while standing and then stepping, which is a big step in physical therapy. She is so stinkin cute! Here is a picture taken after we got home from dinner tonight ...

Touring Moscow

This evening we took a walk down to the Red Square in Moscow ... it is only about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. The Red Square is the most famous square in Moscow, if not the world. The square separates the Kremlin (the official residence of the President of Russia) from a historic merchant corner called Kitay-gorod.

The Iverskiye Gates ... leading into the Red Square. Thanks to Jen and her husband, I now know that Stalin blew these gates up so he could roll his tanks in to have his military parades on the Red Square.

In this picture, you can see the Iverskiye Gates to the right of the large building ... I'm not sure of the name of this building, but it sits at one end of the Red Square ... thanks to Jen and her husband, I now know that this building is the State Historical Museum ...
The infamous St. Basil's Cathedral ... it sits at the other end of the Red Square ...

The Kremlin Wall ... a defense wall that completely surrounds the Kremlin (the yellow and white building) ... at its highest point, it is 19 meters tall ... at its thickest point, it is 6.5 meters wide ... the wall runs all along the side of the Red Square ... and then it keeps going around the entire Kremlin ...

A church in the Red Square area ... thanks to Jen and her husband, I now know that this church is called the Kazan Cathedral ... it was also blown up by Stalin ...

Backside of the Kremlin and the Kremlin Wall ... taken from outside of the Red Square. I'm not sure the significance of the stone and the white pillars, but it appears they have some significance. Ahh, thanks to Jen and her husband, I now know that these stones are all that is left of the original Kremlin Wall ... that makes sense to me now! :)

This was taken just to the left of the picture you see above ... I believe the eternal flame commemorates the fallen heroes of WWII ... and I think Stalin's body was relocated and buried somewhere in this area years after he died in an effort to remove him from his original, honorable place of burial ...

"Nika ... say cheese!"

The main area of the Red Square had construction because they are getting ready for the holiday season. It looked like they were building an ice skating rink and some other fun stuff ... I wish it was all done now!

Getting in the holiday spirit ... I love it! This is the outside of a very upscale shopping center that runs along the Red Square, opposite of the Kremlin. There are a lot of upscale stores that would be in Beverly Hills ... I drooled on the window fronts. LOL.

The interior of the shopping center ... there was a random ballroom in the middle of the shopping center, on the top floor. There were people gathered looking in the windows, so I (of course) wanted to see what was going on. There was a full blown ball going on, with full on ball gowns and everything ... it looked awesome!

So, I have a funny, random story. We were up on the 4th floor of the shopping center trying to find a way down with the stroller. All of the escalators went up ... none went down. Seriously. So we finally found an elevator ... there is a sign that says "Personal Only" and I ask Kyle if he thinks they mean "Personnel Only". He shrugs his shoulders, so we get in and push the button for the first floor.

The elevator doors open on the 1st floor and we see this barrier blocking us in ... ahh! So we push the button for the second floor ...

... and the doors open on the second floor and we see this barrier blocking us in ... seriously. Kyle is starting to think we may end up sleeping in this elevator. We push the button for the third floor ...
... and the doors open to this barrier blocking us in. Okay, what in the heck kind of elevator is this!? LOL. Kyle was not amused ... meanwhile I'm taking pictures. Hahahaha! We tried the fourth floor and finally got out. Fun stuff!

Headed for Moscow ...

Last night after picking Addison up from the baby home, we went back to our apartment to pack and play for a little bit. Our train didn't leave until 10:30 p.m. local time, so Addison fell asleep before we left.
She has done awesome since leaving the baby home ... we couldn't be happier. While she is a little unsure of what is going on, she is coming out of her shell quickly. She has only cried twice ... clearly she hates getting a bath and she also didn't like the Tylenol cold medicine that we gave her. She hasn't cried about anything else, so our transition thus far has been great.

The train ride was ... interesting. We had never been on a real train before, other than Amtrak, which I wouldn't even consider a real train. Addison woke up on the way to the train station and was happy as could be. Once we got to our train car, we played for a little bit before putting her back to bed. She is the easiest kid to get to sleep, by the way. Maybe our other two could learn a thing or two from her! Anyway, we knew our train arrived in Moscow at 6:00 a.m. local time, so we wanted to try to get some sleep.

Cheesy monkey playing ...

Here is our little room ...

And the hallway outside the rooms ...

Addison and I got more sleep than Kyle did. He couldn't sleep much, so he sat up listening to his iPod and making sure Addison didn't fall off the bed. I had been laying by her, but that didn't make for very comfortable arrangements, so he sat by her since he couldn't sleep.

We pulled into Moscow right on time and someone from our agency boarded the train to get us and the other family that is traveling with us. That was nice ... at least we didn't have to try to figure out where the heck to go! Once we were all loaded into our cars, we went directly to the medical facility so the kids could have their medical exams done at 7:00 a.m. ... we were told the doctor was coming just for us. I love the way things work here! The medical exams are required by the embassy so they know we are bringing healthy kids into the United States. Addison did great and she weighed in at a hefty 26 pounds. The doctor was very impressed with her, stating that she must have been a favorite at her baby home since her development is so good. We said that many times the kids are not doing as well as she is doing ... I think we pretty much owe that to the baby home and the research study that PITT is doing there.

After our medical appointment, we were told that we were done for the day. They dropped us off at our hotel (a Marriott) and we played for a little bit before taking a long nap. Our hotel is very nice and it is a welcome change after staying in an apartment for the past few days. I'm just happy to have such a nice bed to sleep in! LOL. We have a pack and play for Addison too, so we are set. Oh, and most of the staff speaks some English and we can even get American food for room service! Love this place! Now we are going to venture out into Moscow to see what we can find ... I will let you know what we find. :)