March 1999
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The Adoption of Natalya and Alexander: Little did we know when we started investigating our adoption options in October 1998 that we would be a rollicking family of four by March 1999. The following is a picture record of our grand adventure to pick up our two little Russian angels - Natalya Liubov Voyer and Alexander Noel Voyer from Chita, Siberia. First some of the vital statistics: Natalya was born on July 1, 1998 weighing 7.3 lbs. with a length of 20.9 inches. Alexander was born on July 23, 1998 (Ron's birthday) weighing 7.8 lbs. with a length of 20.5 inches. We fell in love with their videos taken in the orphanage in Chita and immediately said, "Yes, we want these two to be a part of our family!" The pictures will give you an idea of what Russia was like when we were there. We're all back home in Germany now and the doctors have pronounced them healthy (a little low on iron) and the developmental specialists said they are pretty much on target but a little slow on the language (they're trying to figure out this thing called "English" now.) Alexander likes to say "Dada" and sing and make all sorts of noises. He's very happy with his toys and lots of time to play. Natalya likes to listen and demands that you pay attention to her ever changing mood. She's our spirited imp. We are so thankful to God for seeing us through this process and the wonder of having such two sweeties in our family now! We are trusting Him for guidance as this journey has just begun. Enjoy the pictures! Back to the TOP.
Update Number 1 (10 months old, May 1999) Natalya turns 11 months old on the 1st. They are both very mobile now and can stand holding onto furniture and the like. Alexander can even stand alone for a minute or two, just balancing himself and crowing about it to his sister!! They can both play pattie-cake with you and Natalya also can wave and say bye-bye! Alex has two bottom teeth while Natalya just cut her first lower one. They are both babbling quite a lot and we expect them to start saying other words any day now. They both still sleep through the night! We give them a bath at around 8:30 pm and then a bottle, and then they go to bed around 9:30 and wake up around 8 in the morning. We are very blessed with this schedule. We hope that it will keep up for some time yet. 10 Month Old Pictures. Back to the TOP. Update Number 2 (11 months old, June 1999) Well, Alexander is now walking around 15 steps before falling down and he is not quite yet 11 months old!! Natalya is starting to take steps and is learning fast from her brother!! She is over 11 months old now. They are both letting us know how we are doing with regards to child proofing our home as their reach has grown in the past month. We took them for their first haircuts as seen when visiting the updated Children's Photos pages. Cheerios have become a favorite and they are having fun mashing the carrot cubes all over their highchairs. What a pair of cuties we have! :-) 11 Month Old Pictures. Back to the TOP.
Update Number 3 (One Year Old, July 1999) We just came back from our summer vacation in Chicago, IL and the children are now U.S. citizens! We were able to obtain citizenship, passports, and social security numbers all within the first three weeks of our vacation. Everything went pretty smoothly. We had an INS appointment before we left for the states, which I recommend to everyone who needs to go through INS Immigration. The plane flight was very long and the kids were pretty good for most of it. They just wanted to be entertained during the entire flight!! They slept only 30 minutes of the 9 hour flight and that wasn't all at one time either! We had several 6 and 7 hours car trips while in the states, (including a reunion with our "Chita Gang") so that set them up for a good flight back to Germany. (You can see an updated photo of the "Chita Gang" in Our Summer Vacation web page below.) After those long car trips, they were used to sitting in their car seats. The children have had their one year medical check up and they made the U.S. standard height and weight chart at the 75 percentile!! Yippee!! They are now on whole milk and eating oatmeal, scrambled eggs, grilled cheese, and the like. They both have 5 teeth and are cutting more now. Won't be long before they are eating table food with us. Back to the TOP. Visit our updated photos by clicking on One Year Photos , Our Summer Vacation, and Back in Germany! Update Number 4 (15 months old, October 1999) As of October 24th, both Natalya and Alexander are 15 months old and are cutting molars! Needless to say, they are both a little cranky!! They are running all around the house now. They like to play chase around the dining room table. They are climbing up on the sofa now as well as climbing up the stairs! (supervised, of course!) The children have decided that they like "big people's" food now. You can check out the latest pictures by clicking here on 15 month pictures, and 16 month pictures. Back to the TOP.
Update Number 5 (17/18 months old, December 1999) Natalya and Alex are definitely toddlers with attitude now!! Natalya uses her little foot to punctuate the end of her commands! Alex has worked up the courage to say "No!" to mom and dad!! We are attempting to nip the little buds here. They continue to amaze us. Natalya is our little parrot who is picking up new words daily. Alex, our little mechanic, has figured out the safety locks on our drawers! Christmas was slightly overwhelming. First a big "No No Tree" lands in the middle of the living room and then they were forced to open millions of presents! Thank goodness Christmas only comes once a year. Check out the photos by clicking here on 17/18 months old and Christmas. Back to the TOP.
Update Number 6 (19/20 months old, March 2000) We celebrated our first "Got 'Cha Day!" March 17th. It's impossible to believe that an entire year has gone by since Natalya and Alex were ours! We celebrated with a nice dinner on the town and then watched the Russia video. We were just amazed at how much they've grown and changed. They are constant chatterboxes and sometimes we can carry on a real conversation. They are eating by themselves mostly now too!! Check out the new photos by clicking here on , 19/20 Months old. Back to the TOP.
Update Number 7 (Look Who's 2 ! July 2000) Natalya is a dignified two year old now (with a strong tomboy streak!) If there's a party, she's there talking up a storm. Natalya is a loyal fan of Barney and Blue's Clues. She's a fast runner and enjoys showing off her skills indoors and out. Instead of screaming at Alex when he does something she doesn't like, Natalya will now correct him in her best Mom and Dad impersonation. "No, no, Alex! Come back here!" Alex has 3 parents! Enjoy our little cutie by clicking on Look Who's 2. Back to the TOP. Alex is our little mechanic who carefully observes how things are taken apart and put back together. He has mastered the locking childproof gates on our stairs, the locking diaper pail, and the keys in our filing cabinet! Alex has quite the throwing arm (not just balls mind you) and we are looking forward to his future career in professional baseball and all the perks. His big eyes and sunshine smile melts our hearts every time. See the latest, greatest Alexander by clicking on Mr. 2 Year Old. Back to the TOP.
Update Number 8 (Fall and Christmas 2000!) The holiday season was a big hit this year with our two crumb snatchers! The Bible character dress up party at church on October 31st was a blast with all the game booths and treats. No tears this year! To see Natalya and Alex in all their glory, click here on Fall Festival. Christmas was a fun, relaxing family time. We did have to exit the Christmas Eve service rather abruptly when Natalya decided things should be more interactive. Christmas morning was a wrapping paper storm of ripping and tearing. We tried to stretch out the mountain of gifts throughout the week. Even had some snow to play in! For pictures of the Christmas elves, click here on Christmas 2000. We have thankfully come through the winter season with no colds. That is truly amazing considering they average three playgroups a week and church on Sunday! It's that hearty Siberian blood flowing through their veins. Natalya is looking more like a little lady every day and Alex has decided that this "talking thing" isn't too bad. A great time is being had by all! For more pictures of double trouble, click here on Life After the Holidays. Back to the TOP.
Update Number 9 (Got'cha Day Number 2) Our second Got'cha Day Anniversary (March 17th) was celebrated with many friends at a Russian restaurant we found about one hour away. All 27 guests had a great time and enjoyed the Russian cuisine. The hit of the night was the Russian group singing folklore music you just had to clap along to. Natalya and Alex had a fun time opening all their presents which everyone was told NOT to bring but none the less were greatly appreciated by Natalya and Alex. Our friends felt our children were deprived not having a pet so we are now proud owners of 2 goldfish. We just prayed that they would last the trip and general shock from Natalya plastered against the fish bag shouting "Hello fish! Hey fish, hello!!" We can't believe that it has already been two years since we traveled to Siberia, Russia and became a family of four. We thank God daily for the blessing our children are to us and also for the many supportive friends and family. For a pictorial review of our special night, click here on Gotcha Day Number 2. Back to the TOP.
Update Number 10 (Summer Vacation 2001) We had a wonderful, stressful, and whirlwind tour of the United States from mid June to 8 August 2001! We visited 7 cities in 7 weeks!! Ron's family had never seen the children so we decided to try to see as many relatives as possible this year. So we ended up in Chicago & Sparta, IL., Cabot, AR, (just outside of Little Rock), Palm Bay, Fl (to include Disney World), Greenville, N.C., Waco, TX, and Phoenix, AZ. The kids had a great time flying. They were real air travelers. Ron's family also had a reunion in Florida with visits from his brother and sister's families from Houston, TX. The kids didn't know they had so many relatives. Disney World with Mickey Mouse was a real treat for them as well as a visit to the beaches in Florida. Ron and the kids tried some fishing on Grandpa and Grandma Bohn's lake while visiting them in Sparta, IL. The kids had no clue what was on the other end of the line!! The kids turned 3 years old during July and had birthday parties at every place we stayed!! It's nice to be home now but the kids really miss their grandparents and all their new found relatives. Have fun enjoying all the pictures of our summer vacation by clicking here on Summer Vacation 2001 and 3 Years Old. Well, believe it or not the kids are in pre-school. Yes, that's right, in school!! They both go each day Monday through Friday in the morning session. They enjoy school so much that they cry on Friday night because there is no school the next day or Sunday!! They can't wait to tell mom and dad what they did in class each day! You can't see the front of our refrigerator due to the kid's pictures taped all over it! They are so proud of their work and so are we! Take a look at their first day of school by clicking here at First Day of School. Back to the TOP.
Update Number 11 (Fall and Christmas 2001) We had quite a change in scenery this fall as we moved into a new house which we bought here in Germany. So we had a lot of packing and a lot of help from friends to make the move go smoothly. The house is an older house however it is much larger than our other place. We can actually run around in this house, which the kids do almost daily! They even have their own play room now!! We are further out in the country up in the Taunus Mountains and the views are fantastic! You can take a look at our fabulous views as well as the children by clicking here on Fall 2001. Christmas was very exciting this year because it was in our new house as well as the fact that Natalya and Alex are more aware of what it means and how to open all the presents up! We had a fun filled day as we watched the kids play Santa's helpers and saw their eyes grow big with each present they opened. This year was also special as we had our first snow fall on Christmas Eve which gave us all a white Christmas. Enjoy our holidays with us by clicking here on Christmas 2001. Back to the TOP.
Update Number 12 (Got'cha Day #3) We enjoyed another Got'cha Day at our favorite Russian Restaurant 'The Trojka' along with 40 friends both young and old. It was an evening filled with remembrance, music, laughter, and eating of course! Everyone had a great time and Corinne and I can't think of anything else in this world that we would rather celebrate than our 3rd anniversary of getting our two wonderful children from Chita, (Siberia) Russia. Check out the wonderful evening by clicking here on Got'cha Day #3. Back to the TOP.
Update Number 13 (4 Years Old! and Christmas 2002) Wow, where has the time gone! Natalya and Alex have definitely left the 'Toddler' stage and are now full steam ahead into the pre-schoolers stage. Natalya had a 'Pongo' (101 Dalmatian) birthday theme while Alex had a 'Blues Clues' theme. It was a wild and crazy month in July with three birthdays to plan and celebrate. The kids had a great time and received wonderful presents from friends and family. Check out the fun at the following link to 4 Years Old. Christmas 2002 proved to be a real eye opener for the kids. They have really caught on to how to open presents! They couldn't wait to open or I should say rip the next present open! Natalya and Alex are also learning about the real Gift that God sent, Jesus Christ. What a wonderful Blessing we received that December over 2000 years ago. We had a great time watching the kids as their eyes lit up as they climbed the stairs to the Christmas tree. You can catch the excitement at the following link, Christmas 2002. Back to the TOP.
Our Adoption Agency; European Adoption Consultants, Inc. Our adoption agency that we used was European Adoption Consultants, Inc. We were extremely pleased with this agency. They even have an office in the Ukraina Hotel complete with an EAC representative in Moscow full time!! We were never left alone, we always had an interpreter and transportation where ever we went. We were very impressed. If you would like more info from this adoption agency, just click on (EAC). If you would like an information packet be sent to your home, send your name and address on the feedback email form below.
Please send feedback about our Web Site. This page was last updated on 11/29/05.
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