Here we are.
Last week and the week prior we met our sweet sweet boy. We got up at 4:15 am for 5 days to observe him and ask his caregivers all the questions we could possibly think of via Skype.
We got to see his smile, his laugh, his gestures, his bond with caregivers. We got to see him for 5 and a half hours.
Do we know him? Certainly not. But we cannot wait to get to know him. A virtual trip with any 3 year old is going to be difficult and we are so thankful that his caregivers showed us everything that he is capable of and our translator asked literally 100 questions that we had. And we are so thankful for their time.
Nothing much surprised us with video chatting with him. I think that came with some relief, that he was very much the little boy as they described and in the videos that we have of him that are now a YEAR old. We were able to observe some areas of development that need time and attention such as speech, feeding, and gross motor skills. None of these areas is a surprise but he needs the right therapy and he does not have it right now.
At the end of our 5 days, we got to sign paperwork that officially says yes. Typically, this is done in-country, so we have to get everything signed, notarized, and sent to get apostilled. Once our apostilled paperwork is back, it will fly over to Bulgaria to be translated and then our NGO can apply for our article 5 (which is done at the US embassy in Sofia). With article 5 in hand, it goes to the ministry of justice (MOJ) for a signature THEN it goes to the courts. Then a court date will be assigned, court will happen and then we travel about a month later. Our check-off list is getting shorter and we are hoping that things can be done as quick as they are able. I suspect we are looking at the end of October to travel.
When Bulgaria first opened up for travelers to complete adoptions there was a mandated 14-day quarantine. Now things have changed, if you get a negative COVID-19 test that is no more than 72 hours old when you land in Bulgaria you do not have to be quarantined. So our plan is that we will probably both go… might be just me but it is at least looking like there is a possibility of us both going.
Since finishing our “trip” we now know what he needs when we welcome him home. We spent last week buying clothes (now that we got his updated height and weight) and even created a baby registry! Finally, it feels like things are moving, moving in a direction that should welcome him home by Christmas.
