Day 73 in the United States

Monday, January 26, 2008 was significant in our adoption adventure in that it marked Kairat’s 73rd day in the United States and our days at home now equaled my stay in Kazakhstan. Upon reflection, the passage of time since our departure in September to our current standing seems completely surreal. Countless pictures (actually, about 1,000 or so) help to keep our Kostanai experience fresh in our minds and to remind us that, yes, we were there and we did adopt our son in this wonderful little city.

I’ve been mentally strolling the streets and markets where so much time was spent walking and interacting with locals. The smells, sounds, and smiling faces of the baby house staff and children are also still with us…especially the children. If there had been any way possible, we definitely would have adopted another while there.

[October picture of K at the baby house.] Despite the fact that we traveled and lived in Kazakhstan and that we’ve been a family for not even three months, the reality that seems most bizarre from the entire experience is that K is actually adopted.  I don’t mean, “adopted,” in that we actually made home with him. I mean, “adopted,” in that he seems like he has been with us forever, that he is our natural child. This feeling isn’t something that took long to develop, either. Before he even left the Delphin Baby House, my motherly instincts had already kicked-in. But now, now that we are home, it seems like this is where we have always been and that the three of us were meant to be together.

Today is an incredibly quiet day in our home. With a sizable snowstorm already falling, our builders have taken the day off and there is no construction going on for the first weekday since our return in November. In celebration, I’ve turned off the typical background noises I utilize in attempting to drown out the nail guns, air compressors, saws, and other various decibel-breaking devices that go along with building. No TV, radio, or music today. Just silence.

Next week will be K’s 1st birthday and he has already outgrown some of his size twelve-month clothes. With his growth rate and chubby little cheeks, you wouldn’t think that I would be worried about his eating habits. However, for a week or so, K seemed very difficult to please at the table so I started reading Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense, jumped right to the toddler section, and began implementing some of the strategies and advice mentioned. Mealtime has once again become pleasant. I highly recommend this book and plan on reading it in its entirety. There are great suggestions for not only feeding but parenting, as well. (Kairat’s third tooth is beginning to appear; a top central incisor to join is lower.)

Kairat is such a funny and sweet little boy. We are truly blessed. He continues to charm and intrigue those that he meets and passes in the grocery store and on outings. He loves visiting with his grandparents (both sets) and squeals with excitement whenever he sees them. Our wonderful neighbors are quickly becoming his third set of grandparents, which was proven by a very successful babysitting session yesterday. When I returned home, Kairat merely smiled at me and went right on playing with his new friends.

Walking seems to be a focus of our little one. He loves to stand and receive applause and, “Hoorays!” from anyone within view. K still isn’t quite up to the hand and knee crawl on a consistent basis but will try it out once in awhile. He definitely seems intent on pulling himself up to a standing position and seeing where he can go from there.

Verbally, Kairat attempts to repeat words and sounds that he hears and although his vocabulary may seem to not vary to others, I can tell the difference between his “ball”, “bottle”, “puppy”, and other words he constantly attempts. When reading a vocabulary book the other day he quickly repeated the word “banana” with a “manana”. Really!

I know I’ve said it before, but Kairat is a wonderful, easy going, sweet baby and we love him dearly. Each day is a new and exciting adventure for us all!

Winter Update

Like most of the northeast and many other parts of the United States, Maine has been experiencing a bit of a cold spell. I woke up Friday morning to the thermometer fluctuating between minus thirteen and fourteen degrees. My suspicion is that it was a tad colder because Doug’s car thermometer, which tends to be pretty accurate, reported an additional deficit of 5 degrees upon his return home the previous evening. Either way, it’s not as cold as the thirty-two degrees below zero reported in Fort Kent, Maine. Now THAT’s cold!

Despite the chill, we’ve been making our best of the winter weather. Kairat, Kineo (our dog) and I get in at least one walk in a day. With our snow refreshed just a week ago Sunday, the sleds have also become a popular mode of transportation. I’ve included a picture of Kairat in his welcome home gift from Grandma and Grandpa and one of him in Papa’s homemade sled, both of which cruise quite well over Maine’s blankets of white.

Winter is a fun season and no excuse to stay indoors. Of course we need to temper our outdoor explorations when temperatures fall too low but fresh air in every season is important for parents and children a like. I’m already looking forward to next winter when Kairat is walking and I can slap a pair of skis on his little feet and begin to teach him the wonderful sports of downhill and cross country skiing.

The snow today will be a fun excuse to get out and play tomorrow. There’s nothing like the fun of freshly fallen snow.

Wow! It’s January 7th!

Snow and sleet is the weather here in Freeport, Maine this morning but it was still warm enough outside for a morning walk with our dog, Kineo. Ahhh…my poor little boy was so tired that he slept in his carriage on our stroll and didn’t even wake up when I stripped him of his snowsuit and put him into bed. Believe me, that NEVER happens! His curious little eyes always become alert as soon as he is jarred from any sleeping position. Kairat has been a busy little boy and missed his afternoon nap yesterday and, although he went to bed early last night, today will serve as a “catch-up” day for sleep. [Susan, I had to post these pictures for you as they are a total contrast to your sunny Florida images starring Leeza. Believe it or not, there IS a child under that protective covering.]

Blogging hasn’t been high on my priority list as of late. Basically, I just haven’t had the interest, time, or energy. With the holiday season coming to a close and as I’ve begun to reflect on the past month and a half that Kairat and I have been home, I’ve realized that our lives have been a whirlwind of activity centered around visits from family and friends, holiday gatherings, last minute shopping, and the big day, Christmas. Oh, did I also forget to mention feeling a need to catch-up on what I missed while away for 2 1/2 months, that we’re having an addition and barn being built along side our living quarters, and that we are new parents who are discovering all of the joys and complications of that position? Life has been moving at high speed and we’ve been doing a pretty good job keeping up. That is until the week of Christmas. [Here is a picture of K in his new snowsuit from Mimi and Bampi.]

A number of people have kindly stated that, “Oh, your Christmas must have been wonderful this year with your new little one.” To be honest, it was pretty darn stressful. Of course, having Kairat did make this holiday even more of a blessing. He was our true gift! However, juggling the newness of parenthood with trying to keep our usual pace that occurs this time of year proved to be a little much for me.

It wasn’t until mid-December that I realized Christmas was only two weeks away and I hadn’t purchased a gift, let alone even thought of putting up a Christmas tree and decorations. To make matters a little more tense, as Doug and I were frantically trying to finish up last minute shopping and prepare for family celebrations, Doug came down with a very nasty case of the flu that laid him flat out from the eve of December 23rd to December 26th. The poor guy missed all of Christmas. [Yes, we did manage to make room for a very small tree this year.]

While Doug made trips from the couch to the bathroom, Kairat and I had Christmas Eve dinner with Doug’s parents and then spent Christmas Day in Mexico, Maine with my family. By the morning of the 26th, Doug was feeling a little better and we celebrated our holiday followed by a Christmas at his parent’s in Yarmouth. So, yes, while our Christmas this year was full of blessings it was also a bit of a struggle handling it alone for a few days and a bit lonely not having my husband nearby to share all of Kairat’s Christmas celebrations.

Admittedly, I felt a little worn down and discouraged over the holiday but once I began to think about all we have achieved since the beginning of September and how well we have acclimated ourselves to home life, baby schedules, and even having some personal time, I began to feel much better. Sometimes I think that I expect too much of myself (and maybe others around me) too soon.

With that said, it was wonderful to see all of my siblings at home together for the first time in more years than I can remember. Now that we are all married (Tom and Steph were the last in St. Croix, November 2007) it seemed even more special that we could all be together, which made me miss Doug even more on Christmas day. We did hold up his Christmas stocking in his honor during the family picture. [I love this picture of my brother Joel "chasing" Kairat through my parent's house.]

Although it was only family, we still had a house full with Kairat finally meeting all of his aunts and uncles, having time to play with his cousin Connor, and engulfing himself in wrapping paper instead of gifts. My dad, known as Bampi to his grandchildren, proudly donned his Kazakh hat along with his newest grandson. It was a wonderful gathering and even more wonderful to be with my entire immediate family (minus Doug) all under one roof. Below are pictures of my siblings and I (I’m in red on the right) and siblings and our growing families. (My brother Joel and his wife are expecting in April.)

So here it is, January 7th, and I’m just getting back into Blog mode. I’ve missed writing and am going to try to give myself a little more time during the week to skip housework and enjoy the things I love. Other pastimes that need some attention are exercise and knitting, both of which I’m craving! I’m sure the exercise will come today with snow removal (shoveling is such a good workout) but I’m looking forward to more yoga and visits to the gym. And those mittens that I was going to learn to knit in Kazakhstan? Well, I plan on getting those started tonight!

Happy Holidays

I have three or four posts that I’ve started but some how haven’t had the chance to complete so I’m writing a very, very quick post. Please forgive my lack of editing on this one. [Here's a little apres bath photo.]

The holiday season is a busy and this year is no exception. It is a fun kind of busy, though. Attending holiday festivities, baking scrumptious delicacies, searching for that special gift for a certain someone, and spending time with friends and family are a sample of the activities that I love this time of year. Of course, having a little one makes everything even more special and meaningful.

Kairat continues to amaze us every day with how much he understands and how many new skills that are developing. His favorite game is putting objects in containers and taking them out, dropping things, pushing his ball or stacking cups out in front of him and chasing them, walking around the house while holding on to our hands (he can stand alone for a quick second or two),  and trying to feed himself with a spoon.

The other day he climbed off the couch to a standing position and was found sitting up in his crib when I went to get him yesterday morning, proving that he is becoming much more mobile and stable in his movements and positions. “No” and “nyet”  are words that he definitely understands (and even listens to) along with many other comments and commands. Of course I could go on and on as these little achievements are what impress us parents who carefully watch their children grow from day to day. [Here Kairat is trying SO hard to reach the dog who is just out of his reach. Good dog!]

Christmas is close at hand and I’m sure Kairat will be more fascinated with wrapping paper and ribbons than any gifts. Whichever it may be, it will be a joy to experience this day of thanks with our little one who is already enriching our lives more than we can imagine

WISHING ALL THE HAPPIEST OF HOLIDAYS!

Lazy, Lazy, Lazy

O.K., I’ve been lazy about writing on the blog and, perhaps, experiencing a little Blog burnout. I could use being a new mom as an excuse but that wouldn’t be honest. Sure, things are busier and my downtime is limited but I’ve been spending my free time playing on Facebook and doing…well…nothing.

One thing that has been keeping us a little busy is wonderful visits from friends from all over Maine and even California. (O.K., the California friends were in Boston but they did drive all the way to Freeport to meet Kairat.) This picture is of a recent Saturday spent with Tougy (so beautiful) and her parents before they headed to the Polar Express in Portland. We love seeing friends!!! It has been great to reconnect with so many people!

However, it is time to be more motivated and productive when I’m not with my kiddo. New knitting projects, Blog posts, Christmas cookies and decorations, and exercise!

Speaking of exercise, Kairat and I had our first visit to the local YMCA this week where they will watch your child in a daycare room for up to two hours while you work out in the gym. I’ve been anxious to get back to a regular exercise routine but even more anxious to have Kairat exposed to more children. (Every time he sees a picture of a small child he kisses them with his big, open mouthed baby kiss.) He did have one afternoon of playing with his cousin, Connor, but he is definitely craving more child attention. We have friends with young kids but it is a hectic time of year to plan play times.

We did a little pre-visit to the gym last week to get a feel for the day care facilities but, of course, it wasn’t remembered by K. I tried to quickly drop him off on Wednesday and leave while he was distracted so that he wouldn’t be upset.

The staff know where the parents are in the facility so they can retrieve you if needed. Wanting to get Kairat home before 10 a.m. for his morning nap, I worked out for about 45 minutes and headed back to the daycare. I found him in a rocking chair with one of the caretakers, looking very sleepy. Along with his enjoyment of music and the murals on the ceiling tiles, it was also reported that he cried for about 10 minutes when I left, which was not bad for a first timer according to the staff.

I’m looking forward to making the YMCA a regular part of our routine. I know we’ll both benefit from these visits!

The Trip and Home

Monday, November 17th, 2008: Day 3 at Home

Thanks so much for the well wishes from all. The support from family and friends and those who have “popped-in” with comments on the Blog have kept me going over this entire process. I can’t express my gratitude enough! Thank you, thank you, and thank you!

It is now 4:25 a.m. and Kairat and I, along with Kineo our dog, are enjoying some quality early morning time together. Jet lag has turned its ugly eye upon the both of us. My excellent sleeper is now having problems resting throughout the night and is completely comatose during his daytime naps. Think about it; it is now 5:30 p.m. in his little body’s time clock and instead of an early breakfast, he is gearing up for dinner. I can’t say that I blame him. His 2 a.m. waking coincide directly with my thoughts of, “I wish I could just fall back asleep.” This morning he was WIDE AWAKE at 3 a.m. and everything I tried was not going to convince his internal clock that he should be going back to bed. I’m sure it will take a week or so to work this out so for now, I’ll just be tired.

The week in Almaty and the trip home is really what disrupted his wonderful sleeping pattern established back in Kostanai. During our hotel stay afternoon naps were interrupted by sporadic appointments so evening hours were unbearable, but he did still sleep throughout the night. The trip was what really messed up any pattern familiarity.

Kairat was woken at 1 a.m. on November 14th, Almaty time, in order to get to the airport for our flight. [Our hotel on the left.] We and another family with the same itinerary were promptly picked up from the hotel at 1:15 a.m. After checking our bags through, we headed to the Lufthansa waiting terminal where we visited with our new friends who would be returning for their court date sometime in December. While there Kairat took a very short nap while being held in the Ergo carrier.

Our flight left promptly at 4:20 a.m. and, overall, went well. Because I decided to purchase a lap-seat I had made reservations for the bulkhead area where they able to attach a baby bassinette to the wall in front of the seat. The flight was not full so we had two full adult seats with an attached baby bed. Very nice! We were also one step away from the lavatory, which came in very handy with a child. I have to check and see what type of plane we had because the seats and the leg areas were very roomy. It actually was a very comfortable flight. Kairat had no problems with take-off or landings and slept in the bassinette for the first three or so hours from Almaty to Frankfurt.

While not sleeping, he was sure to charm the stewardesses as well as a gentleman sitting across the isle with his stares, smiles, and chatting. Not realizing it until near the end of the flight, we were seated in the same row as another woman and her newly adopted son. They were traveling home to Paris and, although we had interacted and talked a little during the flight, it wasn’t until almost the end that it was discovered we were both new moms.

Having a toddler as a traveling companion is certainly much more challenging than a 9 month old who is easily entertained with objects such as a paper cup, plastic spoon, and anyone walking by to use the bathroom. The other new mom certainly had her hands full with a fussy little guy who wanted to move around every waking moment.

Once in Frankfurt, we found the couple we started our journey with earlier and spent our morning? afternoon? sitting at the McDonald’s Café taking turns walking around the airport while the others watched carry on luggage intermixed with learning more about each other and our adoption processes. They were also wonderful baby assistants as they held and played with my little guy when I needed to take a short break. It was a long but pleasant six-hour layover. Once again, Kairat had only a short nap in the Ergo as there was just too much going on in the airport terminal for his curious mind to rest.

The last leg of our journey was a little more difficult. A crowded 747 with less legroom (even with a bulkhead seat) and more crying children proved to be exhausting for everyone. The hour-long delay on the tarmac didn’t help, either. Because he was so overtired, Kairat screamed for the first 5 or 10 minutes just before take-off. Rocking him the best I could, he finally fell asleep and I plopped him in his little bassinette where he stayed for the next five hours. Yes, he slept through most of the entire flight.

The company of a very nice gentleman who happened to work for Hasbro helped the passing of my time. We spent the trip talking about our families, children, traveling, and the ins and outs of daily life. He was great company and very helpful and patient with Kairat. I’m sure he is a wonderful dad, himself.

Our trip was very long but bearable. However, if I hadn’t had the bulkhead with the bassinette seat I may have lost my mind. I’m not one to sit for extended periods of time so any flight is difficult for me. To spend so many hours in an airplane on my butt is torture enough. With an almost 19 lb kid on my lap the entire time would have been unbearable. If I couldn’t have reserved the bulkhead seat I definitely would have purchased and additional ticket for my child.

Here’s the breakdown:
4.5 hours- Checking out of the hotel, going to the airport, and catching our flight.
7.5 hours- Flight from Almaty to Frankfurt.
6 hours- Layover in Frankfurt airport.
1 hour- Hanging out on the runway in Frankfurt.
7 hours- Flight to Boston
2 hours- Drive from Boston to Freeport
29 hours= Total Traveling Time to Get Home

Customs and registering Kairat at the Passport Control in Boston went quickly and we were soon out the gate and in the arms of Pa-pa. Ahh…what a feeling. I missed Doug so much I can’t describe it. Seeing him was just, well, wonderful.

Both Kairat and I slept most of the way home, arriving in Freeport around 7 p.m. Maine time. Our bed never felt so comfortable and Kairat settled into his new crib quickly, until around 2 a.m.

Jet lag is tough but it must be even tougher on a 9 month old. I’ve been waking up at around 2 a.m. every night unable to fall back to sleep and so has Kairat. Although he is ready for bed at his typical time of around 7:30 p.m., his internal time clock keeps waking him up in the early morning hours. Yesterday during the day all he wanted to do was sleep and today he woke up at 3 a.m. all chipper and cheery-eyed and refused to take a nap until almost 12:30 p.m. I’ve been trying to wake him and follow his typical schedule even though he may not be ready to get up from a nap, but it just hasn’t kicked in yet.

I think this week has been the toughest week with our little one so far. He is tired and out of sorts and Ma-ma is his main focus. Along with the mixed up sleeping patterns he has a bit of separation anxiety when I am out of sight. Right now I’m the only one that can seem to soothe him. That is to be expected and he is warming back up to Doug already, but it has been a tough few days. That is why I haven’t posted anything…just too darned tired and busy. [Kairat hanging out in his little toy box.]

We’ve also had company our first two full days home. It has been wonderful to see everyone but we are looking forward to a few quiet days this week to get back on track with our sleeping patterns and to have Pa-pa become as much as a focus as mom.

Being home is the most wonderful feeling I’ve ever imagined. Kazakhstan was wonderful but I was definitely ready to leave. The comforts that we all take for granted are so welcoming; English speaking people every where you go, drinking water from the tap, a large washing machine, brewed coffee in the morning (around 3 a.m. the past two days), sitting on a couch that doesn’t slope downhill, family and friends, and being back with my husband. I could go on and on. Being away for 73 days really took its toll and I’m so excited to be back.

I can’t wait to get out and about in a few days and show off our little charmer. Unfortunately, I’m going to need a little more recovery time than I expected but we should be knocking on doors and catching up with friends very soon!

At this point, I’m going to take advantage of a wonderful opportunity to nap while Kairat is taking his. I have some other posts I wrote while in Almaty that still need to added to the Blog as well as more on our acclimation to home.

I’d love to hear any advice other adopting parents may have on how they got their little ones back into their sleep patterns after such an extreme change in time zones. I’ve tried soothing him by patting his bottom in his crib (a typical sleep-inducing rhythm he likes), a bottle for at least one of his wake-ups, letting him cry, rocking, waking him up during the day to set a pattern, etc. Is there something I’m forgetting or, maybe, it is just going to take some time.

Thanks for any information you’d like to share.

We’re Home!

Phew! We’re home. The trip went well. Visited today with family. Kairat is sleeping. I’m on-line for the first time in a few days. Will report more this week.

It is SOOOO awesome to be home!

Crazy Internet Connections!

Once again I suffer with no Internet. The service here has been very inconsistent. I’ve about three blog entries to post but I haven’t been able to get on-line to post them. Tomorrow is our last full day in Kazakhstan. We’re flying out at 4 a.m. Friday morning and need to leave the hotel by 1:30 a.m. That WILL be interesting.

To whom it may concern: If I haven’t emailed you, its because I haven’t been able to get on-line. I will try to do one more post, at least, tomorrow if I can get access. The rest will have to go up after I get home.

Ahh..home! Can’t wait!

Leaving Kostanai and Reaching Almaty

Posts are going in a day or so late due to Internet connections and lack of baby naps. (-:

Sunday, November 9, 2008: Day 1 in Almaty and Day 68 in Kazakhstan

Before leaving we had some firsts:

Kairat had his first time eating in a restaurant where I learned to not bring bananas as finger food. Bread is much less messy.

He also loves taking a bath which means splashing endlessly until the last of the water disappears down the drain.

My last few days in Kostanai were busy ones. It snowed a couple days ago and, as I said quickly in my previous post, once in snows it stays. In fact, on our way to the airport this morning my coordinator said that it snows almost every day once it begins.

We managed to hit three seasons in Kostanai: the end of summer, fall, and now winter. I think winter is my favorite, although I only get to experience the very beginning and not the bitter cold that comes as the season lengthens. Why is it my favorite? Because it is the most quiet. As soon as the snow came, our apartment courtyard and the Kostanai streets were silent. Ahhh…two peaceful nights of sleep before Kairat and I left.

As we ran errands for the past few days to get ready for our trip home, Kairat attracted much attention. There are a few things that catch someone’s eye as we pass by. First, I am carrying him around in an Ergo baby carrier. Baby carriers are not a typical mode for transporting a child. If a Kostanai baby isn’t in a carriage they are being carried and lugged around by one parent or the other.

Secondly, Kairat has been wearing this goofy hat that I bought on sale last winter. He looks like a jester preparing to perform and attracts smiles and looks as we walk through town. The third attention grabber is, I think, the fact that he is just so darn cute and that he stares a person down the second they make eye contact with him.

We were stopped on our walk the other day by city workers scraping ice from the walkways, two elderly gentlemen with a lot of gold teeth and kind words, and our neighbor who was excited to be meeting Kairat for the first time. The day was so beautiful: clear and crisp with blue skies and just the right temperature. “A perfect ski day,” was the most prevalent thought I had as we strolled around the park and square.

Leaving Kostanai is bitter sweet. Part of me hates to go while another part is dying to get home. I could easily live here for awhile and may return at some point if there is still a need for teachers who are native speakers of English to teach the language or, as I was asked, science in English. (Have I told you about my job offer in this Blog? I guess that will have to wait.)

Packing seemed crazy and I’m amazed that I fit everything into the bags that I had. Even though I thought our baggage was only slightly heavy, I accrued more overweight luggage fees than Doug. I don’t see how that is possible as I couldn’t even lift his two bags, unless the true test of cost comes down to the mood of those in charge. If this is the case, the people in front of me that spent ten minutes arguing with the officials because they didn’t want to pay a fee (and they weren’t Americans) must have cost me a few extra tenge.

Rising at 5 a.m. to take a shower before Prince Charming awoke, we were ready to go and left the apartment just after 8 a.m. We arrived at the airport just in time to check in and, with some help and extra fees; Kairat and I were relaxing in the airport terminal by 9 a.m. [The picture at the right is Kairat's fake cry look.]

The people on our flight were very kind. A woman and two men chatted with Kairat and I while we waited for the plane (in both English and Russian) and many other passengers offered to help us with our carry-on bags, seats in the trolley heading out to the plane, and more. Very helpful and nice!

Because Kairat was the youngest child on the flight, we were the first to board the plane and had our choice of seats. I made the mistake of moving to the front of the plane to the bulkhead seat where we would have the most legroom. Little did I realize, until the plane began to taxi to the runway, that the propellers were right beside our window. Absolutely deafening is how I would describe the noise and I spent the first hour of the flight trying to calculate how much hearing loss would occur from this experience while pressing my fingers over my sleeping baby’s ears. Like many things in life, “live and learn”.

I will say that after Kairat woke up the noise didn’t seem quite so bad and we did have a lot of room so maybe space was a just trade for my ringing ears this evening. Kairat faired the 4-hour trip well and actually took a second nap after his lunch and slept right through the landing.

Our assigned Almaty driver met us at the gate and brought us to our hotel that I thought was the Hotel Kazzhol, but is actually a different hotel that is in the same building but using a separate entrance. I don’t quite understand this yet but hope to find out more tomorrow.

Our beginnings here were a bit frustrating as I didn’t quite understand all of what our driver was telling me (his English is good, but not good enough to explain adoption details), no one at the hotel spoke English, Kairat was incredibly fussy (starving, as I found out later), the hotel cost more than I was expecting and I couldn’t figure out how I was suppose to connect to the Internet. (Come to find out, the Internet connection is 1,000 tenge per hour, or a little over $8 at the current exchange rate.) As a result of my receiving unclear information in relation to our adoption process (I could handle the other stuff on my own), I sent out SOS emails to our coordinators in Kazakhstan and the U.S. in reference to adoption stuff and received two very helpful phone calls tonight. THANK YOU!!

After finally settling in and figuring out how to get on-line, I emailed Doug and felt much better. As Kairat and I were getting used to our hotel room, a very pleasant employee came in and made up Kairat’s crib and tried talking with me a little bit. Once I told her Kairat’s name, she was very pleased and introduced us to everyone at the desk when we went downstairs to the lobby a bit later. (Doug, I’ve been telling everyone that he looks like “Pa-pa” when they ask. And they do ask!)

Initially, upon our arrival, I was very tense with the front desk people. Not because they weren’t trying to be helpful but because I was trying to process too much information in regards to the hotel stay, was attempting to understand our driver and his instructions, and was simultaneously trying to keep Kairat from screaming (he was already crying). I felt sorry afterwards because they have all been incredibly nice. It is kind of homey here in a way.

Unfortunately, in my haste in leaving Kostanai I forgot to purchase a “hot-pot” to use to heat Kairat’s food. Part of his frustration today was that he was served cold formula, something he will not drink. It doesn’t help that his first tooth is just about through his gums making him less patient than usual. I am now on a quest to find this implement that was once common to all college students. A Sunday evening search just after dusk was not successful so I will venture out tomorrow.

Kairat’s late nap and cold food seem to put him in a terrible mood this evening and he didn’t go to sleep until almost 9 p.m. Poor little guy. In only two weeks he’s moved from the baby house to an apartment and now a hotel room. With all of that considered, I think he is doing fairly well. I have a feeling that I’m going to have to wake him early in the morning to get him back into his routine and so we don’t miss breakfast! (I did bring his evening bottle downstairs to the front desk and they heated it in the employee break room for me.)

It looks as though I’ll have plenty of time to catch up on journaling although not as much time to be playing on-line. While Kairat is sleeping I will probably by typing or reading, which is a good thing. Right now, I’m finishing my dinner of little bagel like treats that are slightly sweet but more similar to bread and a piva (I needed one) and then I am heading to bed. It is just after 10:30 p.m. and I don’t really know what is in store for us tomorrow, so I want to be ready.

New Pictures…

I just uploaded some new pictures on the picture site…

There will be more to come here after I get to Almaty and get settled in. Time to feed Kairat and put away the computer.

Paka, paka!