Our Little One

It is our 12th day (or maybe the 13th) in Kostanai and we’re finally posting about our main purpose for being here: our child to be. We’ve sent out an email to friends and family letting them know where they can find pictures of our “little one”. If Doug or I have your email and you didn’t get the picture source, let us know and we’ll send it right out. Any students who might be following along can ask their teachers how to see pictures. Please understand that, because this Blog is open to the world, we are taking a more cautious approach to posting pictures and giving out baby information. We almost posted a picture today…..but then decided to wait a little while.

On a quick side note, I also want to say that there are many Blogs I follow and many emails that I’ve been wanting to send, but our Internet connection is so painfully slow that it takes forever to open up correspondence and reply. There are so many people we’re thinking of while we are here and hope to be in contact with soon. Oh, and uploading images? That process is complete torture! We’ve been putting thumbnails on this Blog to minimize upload times and that still is painful! We’re still hoping and crossing our fingers for a speedier connection in the near future.

As many of you have read, our beginnings here in Kostanai were a little bumpy but all is working itself out and we are progressing much more smoothly now. Each day we visit the baby house from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. We get there just in time to feed him and stay until he is ready for his nap. At first our visits seemed a little long, but now they go by so quickly we leave wanting more. Already, it is hard to say goodbye each day!

If you haven’t caught on yet, he is a boy! Yes, we are getting to know a little dark headed seven-month-old adorable boy. (We think he is the cutest one there!) Our little one is very curious and observant. He notices and watches anyone walking into the room and is already very interested in following along while we read board books with him. The best thing about the books is that he doesn’t try to eat them and is seems to be trying to manipulate the pages.

He is incredibly ticklish and I can’t wait to send or post the giggling videos we have of him. They crack both Doug and I up. His laugh is infectious. He seems to like to keep his mouth open quite a bit, caused by minimal bottle feeding (he drinks out of a little tiny shot glass after his lunch) and the muscles around the mouth still need to develop more. He has starting to babble a bit with a few “da-da-da’s and ba-ba-ba’s”, and I swear I heard “ma-ma-ma” today!

Banging plastic cups together, bouncing endlessly (I can’t wait to use the bouncy seat we have at home), and swatting at a large rubber Mickey Mouse ball approximately the same size as he is are other activities he enjoys. Of course, being thrown into the air, playing “peek-a-boo” (or “cuckoo-cuckoo” as it is done here), and being tickled and touched are all things he seems to love, as well. He is starting to teeth and has begun to drool and chew on things since we’ve met only a little over a week ago.

What can I say; he seems happy, is adorable, and I can’t wait to see him tomorrow!