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We arrived home about midnight on wed/Thursday last week. Katya did amazing with all the flights and travel. We had a crazy busy day that day starting early at the embassy to get her visa and we almost didn't make our 2pm flight because of a paperwork issue they had on their end. We barely got to the airport in Kyiv in time to make our flight to Frankfurt. 

Our flight into Frankfurt was late by about 10 min because of turbulence and we only had a one hour and 12 min layover there, we had requested mobility assistance but they were not waiting on us as we arrived so I had to track someone down and wait on them to get us. We got to our gate just as they were about to close the doors. Kyiv didn't print our boarding passes so we had to do that at the gate in Germany and they put us in seats nowhere near each other. In fact one of us in comfort economy class and one in economy. No one wanted to move so after a few min the flight attendant finally found us 2 seats together in the very back of the plane so we trekked back there and started getting seated when he came back and said he had 2 seats for us in comfort class by the handicap bathroom so we had to trek back up there. No big deal when you can walk without issues but for Katya it's very hard walking in spaces like that. 

She was quite disappointed to realize that the movies on the flights were not in Ukrainian/Russian! She's refused so far to learn English or even try. She's actually told us she doesn't want to learn we of course know this will change so for now aren't pushing that to hard. 

We finally got into Houston about midnight and home about 2am, in bed around 3am on Thursday. I'm happy to be home and back with my family. I missed my kids a lot and my hubby even more. 

This was us in Wasghington DC 

On the plane headed to Houston 

Exhausted kiddo 

Pictures of Katya in Kyiv

Swinging outside our apartment here

First trip to McDonalds....ever!!!

At an aquarium here

Walking through the tunnel of fish

She liked the sharks 

Then we went to Bazaar or market 

Yum shaslik cooking 

An outfit I bought her at the Mall in Bila Tservka 

Gotcha day

Yesterday was Katya's gotcha day. We arrived early in the morning to get her from the orphanage. The orphanage is closing next month to become a regular kindergarten and daycare for the community so only 3 other children remain there now. I brought juice and snack cakes for them and gave them each their own gift bag with a pen that also has bubbles and an assortment of small plastic animals. 

Katya was excited to go but when it was time to walk out she started crying, she's been in an orphanage her whole life and one of the nannies has been with her since she was a toddler. It broke my heart seeing her cry, I know she's terrified of what's ahead but she's doing AMAZING! In fact today she wanted to get on the plane to come to America. 

We still have several days here so we can go to the embassy for paperwork and there's a medical exam she has to do before she can leave the country. 

I did give my email address to 2 of her nannies so I hope they keep in touch so they can see her bloom in a family. 

Here are a few pictures of her. 

This was walking out the gates to the orphanage. This boy was just adopted by an American family so he knows how she feels and was so sweet to comfort her.

Our first meal in a restaurant together!

Last nights dinner, she's a good eater!!! 

Having some gelato 

My chocolate cappuccino 

The apartment complex we are staying in this week