Embassy Day One

Today Jackson woke up before the sun did, so we had to enforce the “no getting out of bed until the sun is up” rule again.  We put him in our bed and he proceeded to poke Scott’s face for the next hour until our alarm went off.  Haha!  It cracks me up thinking about it.

We had our embassy appointment at 10 am.  It was interesting going to an American embassy in a foreign country!  There is a huge iron gate around the building and a security building that you have to walk through before you go into the actual embassy building.  When we arrived there were about 40 people waiting in line outside, but Niko told us just to tell the security guard that we had an appointment for adoption.  As soon as we said these words, we were whisked away in front of everyone and taken exactly to the window we needed to go to.

At the window, an English speaking man helped us fill out the stack of paperwork that we needed in order to bring Jackson into the United States.  Jackson was just hanging out in the baby backpack on me while I filled out the paperwork and he was very quiet and calm.  However, at one point he reached out and ripped one of the papers… oops!  Scott took him to this waiting room that had toys and I finished the paperwork.  It took about 30 minutes and we were done!  We had to pay for Jackson’s visa and come back tomorrow at 2:00 pm for an interview.  Then we’ll be done!

After the embassy appointment, Niko took us to the Immigrant Doctor’s office for Jackson’s medical exam, which is required for him to enter the United States.  He did very well at the appointment and did everything that the doctor told him to do in Russian.  The doctor was so nice and calm with Jackson and us.  We also received Jackson’s immunization record, which he is up to date on.  It’s awesome that the orphanage kept him up to date on the shots and didn’t let any of them slip away.

After Jackson’s nap, we ventured out into the city again.  We finally went to the mall across the street.  There are lots of fun shops!  Then we walked to an Italian restaurant that we found.  When we went in and told the waitress that we spoke English, she was able to say a few words to us, but then she brought us English menus!  It was so crazy to be able to sit and read a menu!  We are so used to just pointing at a picture, or randomly picking something on the menu, even though we couldn’t read it.  We had an awesome BBQ pizza and focaccia bread.  Jackson was good during the meal, but he got restless towards the end.  We left a large tip (to make up for all the crumbs on the table and floor) and headed to the grocery for some essentials.

It was a good Monday.  Here are some pictures from Jackson playing on the playground by our house, sleeping, and a picture of our little Cookie Monster!