Life with An Angel from Above

We are ALIVE...6 months Home Today

2011-05-02T20:30:00.004-04:00

My First Birthday Party....I turned 4!

I have been EXTREMELY horrible with blogging. But today is a big moment...We have been home 6 months and it's been an amazing 6 months! Bryce is such a blessing that has filled our hearts with so much love, laughs and patience. Yes, patience. Bryce blossoms every day and some of those days are full of INDEPENDENCE and independence that a 4 year old is not quite ready to do.

A little boy from an orphanage with only 1 other child with DS (our sweet little Melanie to the Sader family) has learned sign language and uses it spontaneously now.
**Says "hi" "bye" "daddy".
**Pee and Poo-poo on toilet (still working on signing to let us know he has to go) but what an accomplishment.
** Has gained 2lbs and grown 2inches and 2 shoe sizes.
**Sweet to everyone he meets
**Lights up a restaurant,grocery store, anywhere, with his smile
** Learning to swim and LOVES the water
** Obsessed with closing doors....this child can not leave a room without every door closed.
** Started in Youth Athletes Program(part of Special Olympics for those 2-6yrs old)

He will start regular pre-school next month. We started him in January at a Charter school for mainly children with special needs, but that didn't turn out to be what we expected. He's not being challenged and this boy learns sooooo quickly so we want to give him a little more until he tells us no more.
He's had surgery for tubes in both ears, tonsils and adneoids removed; circumsion; we still have the dentist in 2 weeks and eye doctor next month. Let's see we've already had ER visit in January for falling into table at school and getting a nice gash under his eye, requiring Dermabond
(surgical glue)
Bryce will be in his first wedding in July and we just can't wait!! Chicago won't know what hit them:)
Well here are a few recent pictures of this AMAZING Ukrainian prince. We have never been so happy. Don't get me wrong, it's been challenging. Little hard to bring home a child that is a toddler and ready to go from the moment of waking; has gone through many different stages of developing but his smile, laugh, kisses and BIG hugs takes away all the challenging moments.
Mommy and Daddy are soooo in LOVE with you!!

Cool Dude!

First Christmas and Best Christmas EVER!

One Month Home-12/2

2010-12-02T19:58:00.005-05:00

Ok so I have been REALLY Bad with Blogging. It's been a world wind since coming home. First thing, Bryce is doing GREAT!!!
I sit here tonight pondering the thought that 9weeks ago, Bryce was just a picture we held onto and now he sits in the other room jamming to Itunes with his Daddy. Tom and I can't believe life without him. It's like he has been with us forever.
We've been busy running around to numerous doctors appointments.
Here are the updates, labwork all NORMAL (no thyroid issues, no parasites), weighs 31# and 35inch tall.
ENT: moderate hearing loss in both ears, has LOTS of fluid in ears, failed Sleep Study (yes, already had one of those done since being home), so we have follow up on Monday for scheduled surgery for tonsils,adenoids and tubes!

Cardio: well this was a little more disturbing. We were told that he had an ASD (atrial septal defect) that resolved on it's own. Well not quite like that. He still has the ASD, it's in a location that is not typical for ASD, but it luckily is only 1cm and not causing any deficits. Cardiologist is not sure if he had an AV Canal Defect that corrected itself or a very large VSD. He has developed a pouch in his ventricular septum. His mitral valve developed with a cleft in it. Again, another issue that is there but not causing any deficit. So bottom line, is no restrictions, nothing to worry about and we'll see her again next year for another complete ECHO. So much for a "quick" appointment for her blessing and never see her again! However, we knew this was a risk of adopting a child from another country.

ESE-Pre-K: we have this evaluation for school tomorrow. So wish us luck we get all the therapies we need.

Let me tell you the things we are just in love about Bryce

* The fact that he can put a smile on EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE's face
*Hugs and kisses his 2 doggie siblings multiple times a day (big improvement after 5days home of screaming everytime he came near him)
* He will not eat unless he does it himself
* Understands commands we give him in English, after home only a week
* Wants to help you in anything you are doing; load and unload laundry
* Loves MUSIC!!!
* Traveled over 15hours and never heard a peep from him on the planes
* Loves to put his stethoscope on and pulls up his shirt so you can listen
* Gives the BEST hugs EVER!
* Loves wearing our shoes around the house
* Is so determined to learn and do it himself
* Bath time
* Looks so CUTE when in time-out; yes he gets timeout already
* Love the fact that finally we can call him OUR son!
*** Have I mentioned, how he makes EVERYONE he comes in contact with, SMILE!!! It's a beautiful thing!

We are just in such awe and MADLY in LOVE with this AMAZING gift!!
I will try to keep this blog updated. I will close with some pictures since being home!

Not Happy About His Sleep Study
Music Therapy at our local DS association
Dr. Bryce in the House
Meeting Scoobie at Universal Studios on DS Family Fun Day
Hanging with his BFF, Max (my godson)
Look, I am out of here, even if I just have a shirt and diaper on. I've got shoes on Mom!
Fun at the Zoo!!

Officially Home 1 week

2010-11-09T21:01:00.004-05:00

We have been home for a week today and can't believe it! Bryce has been ABSOLUTELY amazing. Adjusting so well being with both of us. He is sleeping through the night, eating very well, LOVES the bath. Each day gets better and better with the dogs! That was his only difficult transition. The child even LOVES his car seat!
We thought the long haul and the misery in another country was going to put us over the edge, but it's all a distant memory now ( well maybe not sooo distant, LOL), He is just the BEST and MOST WONDERFUL and BLESSED thing that has happened to the both of us.
Unfortunately, we were so TIRED and overwhelmed getting home, NO ONE got airport pictures. But here are a few before leaving Ukraine and home pictures!

Before

After---First Haircut

First Plane Ride and he was AWESOME!!

Rough night in Kiev, LOL!!!

Last Day in Ukraine

2010-11-01T14:34:00.004-04:00

We have little mans important papers....VISA and the dreadful wait of Passport in HANDS! And we are off to the airport in T-7hours!!!
The last several days have been wonderful here, we've had a total of 6families in and out so we've all spent time sightseeing and having dinners together. Have really met and made some GREAT friends!!!
Here are some pictures of the last few days! You can see Bryce has had a GOOD time too! LOL----SEE you in the USA real soon!!!!

The Lorenz family(Adopted Leeza), Summers Family (Adopted Violet)

The New Family of 3!!!

Loving some Ukraine Ice Cream!!

Good news and Very Bad News!!!

2010-10-28T09:46:00.007-04:00

Yesterday was the big Gotcha Day! Unfortunately the region Bryce was born in does not process their old passports, which take only one day to process. We were suppose to have it yesterday if that had happened, well after a 2hour drive and almost a hour of waiting....GUESS WHAT they can't do that passport now, so we are here waiting until Tuesday. Well we are PRAYING for Tuesday.
We went to the US embassy today and dropped off the needed paper work for his visa. Of course, they are closed tomorrow and also can't enter the information until they have the passport, so again we are waiting!!! I will say, it was neat to see a TON of people standing outside on line waiting to get in and we walked straight to the front and were the next ones to go inside, it was HYSTERICAL! And you know they were all ticked off!
Tonight we are meeting several other RR families that just got back to Kiev and are in the same boat as us, so it's dinner tonight at TGIF with the kids.
So speaking of kids, Bryce did GREAT yesterday considering he was in a car for over 5hours. Then gets to the apartment and was ready to ROCK! He was very overstimulated and had a hard time getting to sleep. He broke me in for being a mommy for the first time. We had elbows in the face, got kicked multiple times and slapped a few times. Poor thing was very restless, we're hoping for a better night tonight. We went to McDonalds today for lunch and he was sooooo cute! Sat and ate 4chix nuggets, however our child doesn't like the "fry" part, so I had to peel all the breading off.

He's taking in all the commotion of being in a BIG city! And is doing GREAT!
Tom and I are sooo in love!
We'll keep everyone posted as far as when we will be getting out of this country! It can't happen soon enough. An entire month tomorrow is just way too long and we are soooo homesick!

Looking so cute on his first day FREE!!!!!

Absolutely LOVED the bath last night!

Proud of his first car ride

Gotcha DAY!!!

Thought only in the movies...Cows were walking back from pasture at 5pm right in the middle of the road, must have been 50 of them.

Our Last Day of Visits

2010-10-25T13:09:00.003-04:00

Well today is bitter sweet! It was the last day we will ever have to do orphanage visits! A very joyous day! It was also sad because we decided on our afternoon and very last visit to allow Bryce to play with the kids in the groupa. And they had a BLAST with Tom and I. That's where it gets sad.....It made me realize (well more than I already have) that these children may NEVER get the chance that Bryce has. I stood there at one point and said to Tom, I wish we could take them all home. To never have a Mommy or Daddy to dry their tears when they fall and hurt themselves, no family dinners, no opportunity to go to Disney or Seaworld or for that matter, just fly on a plane, no one to throw them in the air, like Tom did today with all 6 kids. Don't get me wrong, most of the caretakers are WONDERFUL with the kids, but you all know it's not the same. And it saddens me!!!

Tomorrow will be a day of running around getting papers and needed stuff to get Bryce out. We are hoping to have enough time for it to be Gotcha day but the way we were forewarned it doesn't look promising! But early Wednesday, he will be a free little boy and truly a Baumann and we'll head back to Kiev to get that paperwork needed to get HOME!
Well here are pictures of our bitter sweet day!

Bryce with his (and our) FAVORITE caretaker, Luda! She will be MISSED.

Bryce and his groupa in an outside "playhouse"

A mural painted on the wall of one of our inside play areas for the last 3weeks!

The Long Hallway to Bryce's Room!!!

It's Friday and Only a Few more days to go...

2010-10-22T05:36:00.003-04:00

We have made it through the majority of our 10day wait. It will be 10days tomorrow, but because its the weekend, we have to wait until start of the week.
We can't wait, Bryce has been great but you can start to tell he gets bored after 30minutes with us. We do the same thing everyday. We try to bring different toys each visit but he is starting to notice "I've already know how this works".

He amazes us every day on what he learns! He already knows to sign "more" when we give him food and he almost has "all done" figured out. We are using mostly English to him and he recognizes those words now too. If you tell him "go to daddy", he runs to Tom and vice versa! Things he loves so far, he LOVES bags! He puts stuff in, takes it out and does this over and over again. And if someone else has a bag, he wants theirs. Yes, a little OCD...LOL :-). Loves yogurt and banana. Loves white grape juice, he's mastered the straw sippy cup. He is ticklish EVERYWHERE! Hearing his giggle is priceless!!!!
Loves COUNTRY music! We brought the laptop yesterday and played some Itunes. When country came on, he rocks out! Loves to dance with Mommy! He giggles and giggles!

Well that's enough of my admiration! I know everyday he is going to amaze us! So here are the pictures, I know that's what you all look for! LOL.
Miss everyone and say prayers that these next few days FLY by and we are home at the end of the week!

Rapper Bryce in the House!!! Poor overalls would not stay on him this day!

Signs.... And 6 more days to go

2010-10-20T10:25:00.005-04:00

I've been pondering with my thoughts the last few days....cause I've got a lot of time to do this and I don't quite "think" enough, LOL!
But we've been given many signs to adopting Bryce!
October just happens to be Down Syndrome Awareness Month and Bryce became our son on October 13, 2010.
The first day we met our beautiful son, he was in blue and yellow,

The Ukraine Flag just happens to be Blue and Yellow!

The Down Syndrome awareness ribbon is what.....

When I met Tom, 9years ago, he informed me that his number for any of his sport leagues,events, etc, was 21 !!!

Can you see the signs....Many question why??? Can you see the signs, Can you see the smile on this beautiful little boy's face. It's not DS, it's a little boy who needed to be saved, a little boy that deserves love, happiness, security, hugs, kisses, LIFE!
We are so LUCKY to call him our son!

Mommy and Bryce Day....& 8 more days til freedom

2010-10-18T05:17:00.005-04:00

So today was a Mommy and Me day....Daddy had to stay close to a "human" bathroom. Stomach bug!
We had a great time together! I just can't wait until Mommy can sit and read me a book to sleep, splish splash in the bath and sit at the dinner table together, just to name a few.
Here is a picture of our Mommy and Me day and beautiful Fall pics! 8 more days until I can get out and really be part of the family. Boy we can't wait!

Me and my mommy!

Hey...I actually have boy tights on...Check out the "Ice Hockey"

9more days until Bryce is Free

2010-10-17T05:39:00.003-04:00

Here is a small clip when Bryce doesn't get what he wants!! LOL
But we certainly LOVE this little boy MORE THAN ANYTHING!!

Happy Sunday to All!!!

TGIF...

2010-10-15T06:13:00.003-04:00

Well not quite sure why I said TGIF, I guess cause 2weeks from today, we should be on a plane back HOME!! We are at least praying!
Everything is going well....We've had some great visits with Bryce the last few days, but they are OBSESSED with sending us outside with him on every visit and I have to say the highs the last few days are in the low 40s. It's COLD for these Fla people! I will say though not looking forward to going home to heat!

Tom and I had a bit of a scare yesterday during our morning visit. We were sitting outside with Bryce when this younger looking guy (we've never seen before) walks up and starts asking if we are Americans, and starts pointing at Bryce and motioning that to himself and back to Bryce telling us he's known him when little. Well I think we both almost threw up, we thought "OMG this is his father!" Well comes to find out the guy was just passing through the grounds. That's the bad thing about the orphanage, most of the locals pass through onto their homes. Not a very secure situtation!

I know you all just get on to see photos and videos of Bryce so here you go! Hope all have a great weekend!

Our little monkey!

Fall time!!

Bryce's room where the groupa play!

It's Official

2010-10-13T13:46:00.002-04:00

Introducing Bryce Vanya Baumann as of 9:15am (USA time).
Everything went well with court, unfortunately the 10days was not WAIVED so we are in for the long stretch.

We will be able to bust Bryce out on Tuesday, 26th and BOY we CAN'T wait!!! Very exciting time!

Thank you ALL for your Love,Patience and Support! It will never go forgotten!

PS. Mark Westbrook it was great meeting you today!

Court tomorrow...

2010-10-12T11:09:00.004-04:00

We ask before you go to bed tonight, please say an extra prayer, that all goes well tomorrow at court and we could possibly be home in a few days vs 2 more weeks! We will keep everyone posted tomorrow.
It's starting to get colder here again, but things are getting easier here. We were able to get our laundry done today and it cost a fortune......$2.50!!! And they are nice and crisp!! Thank goodness for google translate. I write what I want to say and put Ukrainian translation on a piece of paper, believe it or not, it's WORKING!!! Until they want to talk to me back LOL!
Well here is what you all want anyway on the blog....The day with Bryce!!!

It's Sunday and you all are sleeping

2010-10-10T06:16:00.004-04:00

Rough day today...Bryce is good, testing his limits now, definitely shows some orphanage behaviors. Bryce wants, what Bryce wants! But then the next minute he is so cute!
I had a melt down today, really wanting to GO HOME! and GO HOME with our son. It got to me to think we still have another 2 weeks. Then we get on ESPN and I find out that the GATORS lost, FSU wins and Bama got stomped on by S.Carolina! What a Saturday for football and we MISSED it! I know it sounds like I'm whining but it's hard to take. Just close your eyes and now you were lifted out of your home and placed where you have no idea what people are saying to you, you have no idea what you are eating and you barely sleep. Don't get me wrong, we CHOSE to do this and I would not have it any other way, coming home with this SWEET little boy! I'm just saying that WE MISS EVERYTHING about HOME!

Statue of Stalin Lennin (in the park across from our hotel)

Check out these boots and shoes!
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Bryce with other kids(we think these kids are part of a daycare out of the orphanage)

He LOVES backpacks! and he gets so proud to carry it around, SOOO CUTE!

Let me out of this place!!!!

And last but not least, the BEAUTIFUL smile!!

Just for fun..

2010-10-08T13:34:00.003-04:00

We had two great visits with Bryce today! We had a small cry when we were leaving, but we are learning to just leave instead of making it worse by going back after him. The caretakers are doing a great job by helping us out with it. It is such a great feeling for the both of us that when he sees us, he comes running. It's the cutest thing!
Have fun with pictures!

This is what Tom found when he went to the bathroom at the orphanage...Poor Bryce has to pee and poo in a "tupperware" bowl. All the kids line up in their bathroom and sit in their bowl. It's terrible :(

Tom's even the Dog Whisper in the Ukraine!!

This picture is for his Aunt and Cousins in San Diego (check out the Charger colors) LOL

The boy LOVES Music and Phones!!!

Not easy..

2010-10-07T06:55:00.006-04:00

We saw Bryce this morning, we're now on our break and go back in a few hours. It is VERY VERY VERY cold here! I just had to go buy tights to wear under my jeans.
It is so sweet to see the HUGE smile on him when we walk up in the morning, but today was the worst meltdown we have seen when we tried to leave. He ran for both of us, cried, fell on the floor when the caretaker went to take his hand, and ran for the door again at Tom. I cried and walked away and I felt terrible b/c Tom picked him up, placed him on the carpet with the other kids and gave him a toy and all he did was cry! This is AWFUL!!!
Good news is we have court next Wednesday! I know it's not soon enough but at least we have a day scheduled. We keep holding on to the faith that the 10day waiting appeal period will be waived by the judge. It hasn't happened yet but there is always HOPE!! If that happens, we could be on a plane next Friday! How wonderful that will be.
Well here is a video, it's mostly for Grandma and Granny, but you all can enjoy it as well.

Groundhog day...

2010-10-06T06:50:00.004-04:00

Well at least that is how we feel. We get up, see Bryce, come back, have lunch, get on internet, go back see Bryce, have dinner and go to bed. Just think our little Bryce has been living that way for the last 3 years. No interaction other than his caretakers and groupa. Same schedule, day in and day out. It saddens us.
Today was difficult after our first visit, cause he knew we were leaving and ran towards my legs to be picked up. It took everything in me not to run out those doors. He doesn't understand, all he knows is that we are there for HIM and then we leave not knowing if we are coming back, and IT KILLS US!!!
I really hope our court date is soon, it's still pending. Thanks for all the comments, please keep them coming cause it helps Tom and I stay sane! Love you all!

Gangsta Bryce!

One of the play areas

"Play Ground"

Entrance to Orphanage

The Big Day...Meet Bryce Vanya

2010-10-04T11:42:00.003-04:00

(sorry one day late, internet trouble) Today was the big moment we have been waiting for 15months now. He is the sweetest and funniest little boy! We were sitting on a couch outside the director's office when a groupa started coming up the stairs and Yulia, our facilitator, and I looked at each other at the same time and said" I think that's Vanya", he was the 2nd child coming up the stairs (by himself), so she asked one the caretakers if that was Vanya and she said yes. So they told him that we were mama and papa and he went right into my arms (yes, the tears were flowing) and then hugged Tom and never let go!
We then went into their music session and he was just a hoot! He had the 3 of us laughing. He's got a personality. Once the session was over, they gave us about 1.5hours with him in the music room, while they did paperwork. We had a blast! Paperwork is in motion and we are waiting on our court hearing! We just can't wait to get him home!
Enjoy the pictures and video!

Just pictures today

2010-10-03T09:30:00.002-04:00

We had a nice saturday down in the heart of the city! We had beer and dinner in a fun german beer garden with another RR family, the Lorenz family adopting Liza! Today is laundry day and packing, tomorrow we are off to meet little man! Hallelujah!
the shoes of Ukraine! All the women are in heels..these girls actually had big bags, changed out of sneakers into their Saturday night heels!

this one is for you, Carlos!

apartments across from ours...look at the ones in the background, very luxurious!

Day #2

2010-10-01T12:45:00.003-04:00

So all went well today...we got our needed referral to meet little man! It was neat to see our dossier today translated to Cyrillic alphabet. We found out that Vanya is Russian for Ivan(Ukrainian). All of the official paperwork has Ivan as his biological name. We'll have a better idea on Monday, what they use at the orphanage. The little office where we picked up our paperwork this afternoon, had about 6families doing the same thing. Families from Montreal,Toronto,Virginia,New Jersey. In fact the couple from New Jersey asked Tom where we were from and he said Florida and they both laughed and said "we were betting you guys were from New Jersey". They left before I could talk with them, but I was curious if we were looking Jerseylicious! We were at a street marketplace across from the SDA and 2 men stopped Tom again and asked if we were from the states, comes to find out they were from Pensacola. They were in Kiev for 1day following a mission trip! Can you see the pattern here, everyone talks to Tom...Yes, he definitely stands out being 6'4" LOL!!!
We had dinner last night with another couple from RR at TGIF! It was very nice hearing their story.
Tom and I managed to have a nice dinner in a little cafe tonight and did a little "grocery" shopping. Here is a picture of our $8.00 stash! It amazes us,how well our money does here,except for name brand. We went into a Nike store today and last seasons Nikes go for $1400 grivnas (which is $175). Crazy! But let me tell you the majority of women here are Gorgeous! They love their heels and purses! I'll try and get some people watching pictures tomorrow.
Well that's all for today, gonna lay low for the night and watch "True Blood".

our $8.00 buy...thank goodness for Coke Light (my diet coke addiction)
Our apartment stairwell...a little scary when the lights don't work!

Where's Tom??? This a statue outside the SDA in honor of a movie that was filmed there.

Dinner at TGIF with The Lorenz family.

Thursday in Kiev

2010-09-30T08:16:00.003-04:00

We had our SDA (State Dept of Adoption) this afternoon and all went well. It was a little intimidating at first cause the woman was asking ALOT of questions, well we later found out afterwards that the lady that normally does these appointments was out sick and we had the "headhancho" for ours. She was the director for the adoptions. Now we understand, Yulia (our facilitator/translator) said this woman has 2 friends with children w/ DS and she wanted to make sure that we take care of them in the US. We reassured her that in the US, children and adults with DS prosper and have an opportunity to go to school, work, etc. All she did was give us a HUGE smile and wished us well.
Bryce ( well otherwise known as Ivan- as we found out today is his biological name) We are not sure where Vanya came from and I was so excited leaving I forgot to ask. I'll find out tomorrow. Tom and I are thinking its a stage name. His parents were 29 (mom) and 26 (dad) when they gave him up at birth. He has a sister that lives with them.They gave him up due to the DS,knowing that in the Ukraine, they just don't have resources to take care of him. We were told has a perfect clean bill of health from several doctors, which was good news!

Kiev is definitely a big city...everyone walks fast, moves fast and certainly the driving here is crazy. I thought driving in NYC was nail biting, doesn't even compare to the driving here. And certainly no speed limits. LOL! We managed to get some things from the market here, my little bit of Ukrainian is getting us by plus "cherades" helps. Everything here is VERY inexpensive. We had lunch today at McDs and the value meals, cost $3.50 total for two. Our taxi ride this morning, and let me tell you it took at good 25min through traffic and that only cost $3.38. It's AWESOME!

Tonight we are meeting another RR family here at TGIF for dinner. Very excited to meet another couple in our shoes and can speak with us! Please say prayers for them as they are having some paperwork issues. Hoping for it to be cleared up tomorrow. The only good thing is that we will both have each other until Monday. Yes, unfortunately since the referral for us won't be ready until tomorrow afternoon, we won't be able to go the orphanage until Monday. Thankfully, it's only 1.5hours from here in car.
Here are some pictures since we've gotten here.

picture of Bryce from earlier days-They love to layer on the clothes! They had a recent picture of him in overalls, super cute. Was unable to get that one.
One of many beautiful churches-outside SDA
Tom and I in front of the SDA office

bedroom
living room
kitchen
bathroom

Well keep you all posted as we move along!

Big Bird has Landed in Ukraine

2010-09-29T09:52:00.002-04:00

We,thankfully, have arrived safely! Awful flights but I'll save that description for another. We have a very nice quaint apartment. Waiting on one of the adoption team members to come and give us the low down. Weather is great at about 50 degrees, of course everything is in celcius so I have to do my converting. Tom is fast asleep. We'll adventure out soon for some dinner. Hoping to get in touch with some of the RR families. So if you are reading this, please shoot me a comment cause we don't have a phone yet.
Tomorrow is our SDA (state of adoption) appointment, looking forward to that cause we'll get more of a history on Vanya (aka Bryce).
Thanks for all the departing warm wishes! Hugs and Kisses to all :)

T-22hours..Leaving on a jet plane

2010-09-27T14:55:00.002-04:00

Well I wouldn't say a jet plane, considering we'll be flying on 3different planes. Yes, the butterflies are full force. Making sure we have the right essentials with us for several weeks,but not packing too much. It's crazy! Cleaned the house. I think I've been to Target at least 3times in 2days. I just can't believe this 15month journey of paperwork is not becoming a reality. Our little man is FINALLY coming home! I pray that everything goes SMOOTHE as a new baby's butt. :). Well the next update will be coming from the Ukraine. Keep a look out!

T-5days

2010-09-23T20:12:00.001-04:00

Ok so the countdown has begun! Today was my last day at work, picked up needed money from bank, Now just need to pack our bag. Can't believe in 5 days we will be boarding our plane to meet and pick up our son!
I can not believe this is going to happen! We are soooo EXCITED!

Butterflies

2010-09-16T19:44:00.002-04:00

So is it humanly possible to have this many butterflies for this long!!! In 13days we will be in Kiev and 48hours from meeting our little man! There is so much to do before leaving and can't think straight cause all I can think about is loving on this little human being. No more pictures to look at every day, we will actually be able to wrap our arms around him and let him know that he is saved. It's so surreal!
SUPER EXCITED!!

Ukraine Bound Sept 30th

2010-09-02T19:34:00.001-04:00

Tom and I are super excited, nervouse,elated,giddy.... We got our SDA date for Sept.30th. Can't believe it's really going to happen.
Thank you for all the prayers,special thoughts and just listening to me vent for the last year of this process.
Can't wait to continue with the NEW journey coming up with you all!!
YAHOO!!!!!

Another week, Another Dollar

2010-08-29T19:46:00.004-04:00

Well we were able to get the letter the SDA requested in a lickadee split...it arrived on Monday, however DHL could not deliver it until Wednesday due to Ukraine's Independence Day on Tuesday. They have only had independence for 19years!! So it was delivered to our Ukraine Facilitator team on Wednesday but not until 4pm, so they were not able to get it to the SDA. Through some emails, we were informed that it was translated and notarized and would be delivered on Friday (which I hope it did..I have faith in the team that it was)
So the game plan now is sit and wait patiently again....I REALLY hope and pray that this week will give us the news we have SOOOOO been waiting for! We did get the little man's room done this week, ENJOY!

And yet again.....Another request

2010-08-17T19:56:00.003-04:00

So we got news this morning from our state-side facilitator and Ukraine facilitator that the SDA (State Dept of Adoption) has requested another form to clarify what the 2 other forms they already have,says. It's very frustrating, upsetting,tearful, and any other other feeling I can possibly have.Good news is we have priority once our Ukraine facilitator receives it.
Is God trying to give us a sign....I know he's testing our limits and patience. I keep having the faith in HIM that he is guiding us in the right direction and bottom line it's bringing our beautiful son home!!!!

The contractions started...

2010-08-11T20:47:00.002-04:00

So it's been a while, last week with our big, exciting news, I was at a diabetes camp for 12-14yrs old and was not able to post the AWESOME news!!! We were submitted last Thursday, 8/5. We are sooo close to getting our first child and little boy! The wait for our date doesn't seem so bad now.

We're coming sweet boy!! :-)

Still Waiting

2010-08-01T09:46:00.002-04:00

So our completed re-do documents made it to the Ukraine last Monday, but unfortunately we are still waiting, No word on submission. We can only HOPE and PRAY that this Thursday can be the day. The wait is ABSOLUTELY killing me!
At least when your pregnant(i'm assuming,haven't been pregnant long enough), you get to feel the baby, see the baby on ultrasound, so you "know" them. This waiting and not knowing how he is, is tortuous. We were blessed with recent pictures of him in September but in 10months, he's changed drastically I'm sure.
Well we pray for Thursday and can have something to be excited and look forward to!!!

Dossier is closer..

2010-07-25T17:18:00.002-04:00

It's now in Germany!
Prayers for a delivery tomorrow in Ukraine and that it's translated and READY to go on Thursday!
We NEED to get our little boy home ASAP! I can't take the wait any longer.

It's OFF again...Round 2

2010-07-22T21:14:00.003-04:00

So our corrected documents of our dossier are off again to our facilitator team!!! I really hope this "premature" labor (false alarm) stopped and we are going to be off to our true labor.

I ask of everyone reading this, please PRAY for us that this is the end! We can get submitted next Thursday! I don't think I can take another rejection.

A VERY hard day today

2010-07-06T19:51:00.002-04:00

Well we just found out today that we have a new form we need to complete and add to our dossier. And then the news came on HARD....we have at least 3forms that need to be re-done. We were hopeful that the dossier would have been submitted to SDA on the 15th but it looks as if we are postponed another week or 2.
Just when I thought I was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel or the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...right now it looks like a final storm.
I'm having a tough day today taking this all on, I just keeping thinking it will come to an end soon and our little boy will be in our arms. That's all I want.
Thanks for listening to me cry today..... :(

It's Arrived....

2010-06-30T19:25:00.001-04:00

So the big "portfolio" has arrived into the right hands. Well I'm at least hoping it's in the right hands, according to my update this morning it was "Delivered". So now we sit patiently for July 15th and hope for submission and a quick travel date. I hope it's before this little guy is ready to go off to college. LOL

Bad news today

2010-06-25T21:11:00.002-04:00

So just when we thought things were soon coming to an end, our dossier is en route. We just found out that the SDA closes from 7/1-7/14 so now our submission probably won't happen for another month. This is CRAZY!!! And we are not sure where our documents are because when I check on USPS for our daily updates, it hasn't been updated since Wednesday, 6/23 stating that they"attempted delivery", so has it been finally delivered or is it sitting in "purgatory". I can't stand this waiting, we get soooo close and then a road block. We are being so patient, but it's hard. Loving a boy we haven't even met yet, it aches.

It's Landed

2010-06-22T19:53:00.000-04:00

So the dossier has landed in Ukraine as of 8:30am this morning (our time). Hasn't gotten to our facilitator yet but it's finally gotten off the plane!!!
Wahoo....now if only it will get translated quickly by our wonderful facilitator group there and get submitted and accepted in the next week or so.
Can't wait! The anticipation is killing us! We're coming Vanya... just hold on :)

International Waters

2010-06-20T10:49:00.002-04:00

So as of yesterday, our dossier has left New York and is currently over International Waters.
Time line:
Sent dossier out of Orlando
Friday, Left Miami International
Saturday, Left New York
Stating Enroute to Destination

These very important documents have definitely been getting quite a trip!!

2cm dilated and contractions are starting

2010-06-18T20:31:00.002-04:00

Well as of this morning our dossier is over international waters. It is to be in the Ukraine Tuesday the latest.
The many many obstacles Tom and I have faced in the last year are now coming to an end and our first born is coming home soon.
Please keep us in our prayers that in the next week or two, there are no complications and our "delivery" date will be set. And the long overdue pregnancy will present with a beautiful little boy!! Is it's a BOY!!!

Dossier next week...

2010-06-11T18:17:00.001-04:00

So we got the remaining papers from State of Florida that required apostille and of course I'm missing 2 of them. They were sent later, so I am hoping for tomorrow's mail and then the Beast of Papers can be off to Ukraine!!!! A day I thought that would never be coming. Bryce....we are coming sweet boy, it will be soon enough that you can now have a mommy and daddy that are going to love you unconditionally and be so proud of you every day!

Yesterday was the Rainbow...But Today was the Pot at the end of the rainbow

2010-05-26T20:11:00.004-04:00

The very last form we were needing to get to send to Ukraine has arrived......We got our 171H letter stating we are APPROVED to get our little guy!!!
We are soooooo EXCITED!!!

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T20:58:00.003-04:00

Well today was a day I thought I would celebrate this year, but we are anxiously awaiting our USCIS approval. We had to turn in a missing piece of paperwork so we wait for our Official YES,to go get your son. It saddens me that this little boy sits in an orphanage having No idea that he has a Mommy and Daddy wanting him sooo bad to love,hug and kiss endlessly.

Please continue with your prayers that this process ends quickly so we can head to the Ukraine to bring him home with us.

To all my friends who are mothers, Happy Mother's Day!!!!

The Anticipation...

2010-04-25T18:41:00.003-04:00

The anticipation is exhausting. We just sit and wait while the USCIS has our little guy's life in their hands right now. We have the dossier ready to go but just waiting on the form, I171H, which is US Customs and Immigration's approval. I think of this little guy every minute I am awake, well even when I'm sleeping.

I dream of our first meeting, will he be receptive to Tom and I. I feel like a kid again waiting for Christmas to come and see what Santa brought me. I just can't stop thinking about it. I've emailed a contact person from our local office and haven't heard anything back yet. I don't want to be a pest and upset the lady that she doesn't speed things along. I just hope she will see in the letter we attached with our application that they will see how beautiful our little boy is and how desperate he is to get home to us. A life full of love, hugs,kisses and nothing he'll ever have to worry and want for ever again.

As this week approaches, could you please find it in your hearts to say a prayer that we get this approval VERY VERY soon!

USCIS FINALLY.........

2010-04-19T21:28:00.002-04:00

So tomorrow is the last thing we need to get our little boy.Please say your prayers, cross fingers and toes, that this will happen without any problems. All we need is fingerprinting and then the approval letter somas in the mail a few weeks later. Please Lord, our little boy is waiting. He doesn't know that his mom and dad exist, but he's waiting!!! Please we need to save this precious child of yours.

OKAY...FInally Great news

2010-03-29T17:42:00.001-04:00

Well we found out today that our USCIS is scheduled for April 20th!!! THis is our last thing to do...that means we are only a few weeks away of sending our dossier.

Bryce.. we are on our way to getting you home with us. I could not be happier.

Happy Birthday Our Handsome Boy

2010-03-23T21:05:00.002-04:00

So today is bit of a rough day...Our Vanya turned 3!!! It is so hard to think he is over there all by himself with no one celebrating a big moment in a child's life and having no idea that a family is loving him SOOOO much from afar. If only USCIS would get there act together and send us our appointment.

Bryce Vanya......Happy Birthday Sweet Boy from your Mommy & Daddy.

some papers arrived

2010-03-18T21:21:00.003-04:00

So we got our papers back from the State of Florida with their pretty gold apostle seal. But we are still anxiously awaiting our fingerprinting appointment. We received a letter a week ago stating that it was received in Tx but now we need to wait on the Orlando office to notify us. And of course ,you can't get a hold of anyone to talk to. I did get an email saying that it could be 2-3 weeks, so basically don't bother us until then.

I want to wrap my arms around him and just snuggle up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please Lord I'm trying real hard to hold on to strength and patience but it's getting tough. I know you don't give us more than we can handle but my plate...I'm quite Full!!

Getting closer...

2010-03-16T21:17:00.002-04:00

So we received a letter from USICS stating that they received our application and make sure everything is correct and THEN wait.... That word is becoming very common in our vocabulary. We now WAIT for the Orlando office to contact us for our appointment for fingerprinting. Makes no sense...we send our application to Lewisville, Tx so that they can do what they do with the application to then send it to Orlando. CRAZY stuff! So Tom & I are hoping that the appointment is coming by the end of the week. Sent 1/2 of our paperwork for the Florida State of apostille seal last week, which is very nerve wracking that it is in the right hands and gets back properly packaged. I know this is all so frustrating but I know that this will be SOOOOOO worth it, once that beautiful little blonde is in our arms and calls us Mommy & Daddy. It's a true testament of patience and strength. Keep us in one of your daily prayers :)

paper work oops

2010-03-07T10:33:00.002-05:00

Ok, so we thought we had everything done as far as paperwork and got bad news yesterday that our medical papers are now expired. So we have to repeat blood work and have the paperwork signed for the third time. I sure hope our PCP is not going to hassle us about this!!! I'm so disappointed. Just when I thought everything was done and done correctly.....I stand WRONG!

SO sad.

Another big day

2010-03-04T21:27:00.002-05:00

So we just sent off another big form towards Bryce's adoption. We just sent the immigration form needed to approve us from the US standpoint. We get an appointment for fingerprinting and then once that is done, we get an approval form. Then the dossier(all the paperwork needed to adopt Bryce) goes off to the state of florida for this pretty gold seal on it and then to the Ukraine. So to all of our loved ones......Bryce is coming home very, very,very soon.

It's so surreal now. Clothes hanging in the closet, getting his room prepped and ready to receive him.

Sending the form and money needed today is very anxiety stricken. Is it going to get in the right hands, are they going to have everything they need, are they going to approve us, and how soon is this all going to take?? Can you feel the anxiety!!!! I want this little boy more than anything in life. Loving a little boy strictly by picture...I feel it, he is our son! We are his parents.

Please pray that this next process is done very quickly with no delays! Thanks. :)

Finally....Home Study

2010-02-09T21:20:00.002-05:00

We are finally done with our home study.....Yah. We meet with our social worker this friday for completion and then off to Immigration for hopefully their blessing. It's getting closer and closer. There are so many feelings going on inside. Happiness, anxiety, questions, more happiness. Is he going to love us? what does he look like now? We just CAN'T WAIT!!!!

We're coming Bryce, hold on, WE are Coming!

It's been a long while

2009-10-26T21:05:00.002-04:00

It's been a long while since we've been on here to update. A lot has happened, unfortunately, Tom's father passed away unexpectedly. It's brought much sadness to our home. Tom is battling the issues he had with his father and now not having the opportunity to really clear them up. Worrying about his mother, his father was the typical generation gap, "The man does everything". It saddens me that he will never get to meet his grandson, Tom's first child. I'm glad he had the opportunity to see all the Beautiful pictures of him and get to 'know him" without really getting to meet him.
With all this going on, it has pushed some of our last few things back. We now have to wait another 3 weeks before we can get the home study officially completed. Tom needs to obtain one more court paper. They we can get it all sent to UCSIS. We got so close and now I feel we are so far away.
It makes me sooooo sad everyday that he can't be rocked to sleep at night, can slide down the slide we got for him, let the dogs lick him to death. I want him home SOOOOO much. I know God will only give us what we can handle, but right now, I feel like I'm about to exploded that it's too much. Please pray for us and that Bryce will come home to us SOON!
We are now conducting a fundraiser for all of those interested and love coffee.
Please visit our site at: http://www.JustLoveCoffee.com/TheBaumanns

Thank you everyone for your support and for listening to me ramble on! :)

More pics

2009-08-22T18:56:00.002-04:00

The Wells family is also from RR and currently in Ukraine, ironically enough at the same orphange as Bryce. So Lydia has blessed us with new pictures of Bryce. As you can see he is happy, full of smiles and WALKING(he's the one on the right in all grey holding nurses hand)!!! Very exciting. Monday, I600a is off to immigration awaiting an appointment for fingerprinting. Wish us luck.

I just want to say that we have been blessed with such wonderful friends, all excited for Bryce to come into our lives and theirs!

latest update

2009-08-06T19:40:00.003-04:00

We received a nice gift last night....New pictures of Bryce Vanya. He's definitely getting fed well, he's got "meat" to him. And a beautiful smile.

papers..papers..papers

2009-07-21T21:01:00.003-04:00

We are getting a little closer to getting our son. We've just sent over some of the lengthy paperwork to our coordinator, lucky enough, not too much had to be corrected. Without Meredith and McKenna, I would be completely lost. It's great knowing they get everything perfect before sending it over to the Ukraine.
We also got some promising news that our facilitator is hoping to be at Bryce's orphanage soon and will have a new update with hopefully new pictures. We can't wait. Tom is so excited, he went and bought him, his first outfit from Dad. Tom is big into Guy Harvey, fishing apparel, and found one in little guy sizes along with an adorable pair of plaid shorts. Can't wait!!!!

Day of Freedom

2009-07-02T21:00:00.002-04:00

We'd like to wish everyone a happy, healthy and safe holiday. Full of food,laughs and loves. As we celebrate our day of freedom, please keep your prayers for the freedom we are working so hard to give Bryce Vanya out of that orphanage. And please keep all those other little angels, in your prayers that they will also find a loving family to give them their freedom.
Happy 4th of July everyone!

Father's Day

2009-06-21T22:07:00.004-04:00

It was a great day with both our dads to celebrate a day dedicated to them. I just can't wait for Tom to be able to celebrate in on the fun of being a dad. I've always said anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad. And I know Tom will be just that to Bryce and future kids into our home. We are so looking forward to the day of bringing Bryce home.
Happy Dad's Day to all our friends and family!

Home Study

2009-06-17T21:17:00.002-04:00

So today was the start of the home study. We were a wreck! Of course, it went better than we ever thought. Debra was absolute sweet and relaxed all our fears. For those that don't know what a home study entails, it's like going on a job interview. Debra, our social worker, sent paperwork for us to complete before our arrival and she reviews all of that. We had to obtain local police background check, Florida dept of law enforcement check,child abuse check,medical clearance. So once all this is done and Debra makes her report and we submit to US Immigration and Customs, if they approve then we get an appointment for FBI fingerprinting. So Tom and I are not really adopting Bryce, we're becoming Ukrainian spies! LOL. It's a lot but going to be so worth it to have that little smiling guy in our arms. We'll keep you posted.

How the journey started....

2009-06-15T20:56:00.003-04:00

Tom and I met almost 8 years ago and have always had an admiration for children. Tom has the luxury of having many nieces and nephews. I, on the hand, have the luxury right now of having wonderful friends with beautiful children. I also have the luxury of having a phenomenal job as a pediatric nurse. So my heart is blessed with kids every day. It was not until a dear,dear friend of mine was blessed with a beautiful baby boy, Max, with down syndrome. I have watched his mother and father blossom with Max, especially with them not knowing his diagnosis until he was born. Tom and I had the privilege of meeting so many wonderful families and children with DS on Max's first birthday, that we decided this was our calling to add one of God's beautiful creations into our heart and life. We began researching, A LOT, and came across Vanya. Vanya is a gorgeous 2 year old boy living in an orphanage in Ukraine. And so the AWESOME journey begins......