Eight Doctors and a New Name!

Most of today was spent on the road traveling back fromVladimir (3 hours) and then at the Moscow Clinic. Mike and I both had to see eight specialists to once again prove that we are healthy enough to adopt. (And Krystal, you are going to love this...we had to do all the bloodwork over!) We were checked out by a neurologist, dermatologist, pulmonary specialist, oncologist, infectious disease specialist, general practitioner, one that I can't remember =), and a psychiatrist. Whew, that last one was close but you'll be happy to know that...we passed!

We didn't write anything on the blog yesterday for two reasons. First, we just wanted you to get to see her without a lot of commentary on our part. Second, last night we were just too tired to put words together. It was a long day!! Plus we were emotionally drained...in a good way.

So, now on to what all of you want to know. What did she do when she was first brought to us?? Mike was closest to the door and smiled at her, she took one look and put her hands up over her face and ....cried! The timing of our visit couldn't have been worse for her. She has a bad ear infection and has a lot of congestion in her chest. Her fever spiked the day before and she was actually in the hospital until we got there. She spent a couple of hours with us and then they were taking her back to the hospital for a five day antibiotic treatment. She was not feeling well at all. She kept pulling at her ear and hair and her chest was rattling when she breathedIt broke our hearts to see her this way. Please add her to your prayers.

A couple more Riley "tidbits. We can all refer to her as Riley now...we signed papers today to officially change her name to Riley McKenna Shortt. Her birthdate is July 1st, 2008. She has been in a good orphanage; you can tell by the way she snuggles up to you that she has been held quite a bit. As you can see in one of the photos below, she is a thumbsucker. The most ironic thing we discovered is that, although Mike is the first man she has ever seen, he definitely was her favorite . She warmed right up to him and then lay on his shoulder whenever he held her. You can see below that she went to sleep all snuggled up to her new Daddy!

Brannon and Logan, we miss you more than you will ever know. She liked the pictures of you. She would try to scratch them. You guys don't stand a chance...you will be wrapped around her finger just like your Dad!