So in two weeks from today we should be home!!! I really hope that we can stay on schedule! I am really ready to go home… this seems like the longest trip for some reason! And we travel all the time… maybe it is because we have been here before and we have explored most of the city… maybe it’s because it is summer and we don’t usually travel in summer… it is our busy season in the construction world! Plus our gardens are growing without us! That is one of my passions and I am missing it! I just want to get my baby and go home!! So the countdown starts…day 14… tomorrow will be day 13 and so on… :)
So we signed some more papers today and gave Olga our coordinator our tickets from flying to Uralsk, for the court to know that we did arrive the day we say we arrived! Tomorrow we should know our pre-court and court dates… Hopefully it is Monday and Tuesday! Then we can get Anthony Tuesday or Wednesday morning.
So today Jerry actually finally took the camera and thought he would play photographer! He took a class in high school, so he actually does know stuff… He just doesn’t use it much… plus he thinks bright sunlight is the best lighting… oh boy! *sigh* so after remembered the general rules of aperture and such… and I showed him how to change stuff on my camera… he took off…. I was frustrated by him as A LOT of his pictures were NOT crisp and clear… the lighting was good, but they were blurry!!! Those drive me nuts! Plus I was holding a pose and he would take two years to take the shot and then he just took one and it was blurry! Uuuuhhhh! Anyways he did get some amazing shots... basically I am a control freak… when it comes to my camera.
So Anthony and I sang songs and played baby “games.” I made him laugh. He felt the floor… then I took him away from it and he got mad and tried to start a fit!!! Then… Anthony got up on his knees… he was rocking back and forth like he was ready to crawl! It won’t be long now! It was so cute! Jerry got a couple pictures and I got some of it on video! We played some more and Alex came and smooched on Anthony… he wanted to hug on him a bit… and then he says, “I’m done… bye!” and off he goes! Then I was holding Anthony up and Jerry was taking pictures and all of a sudden Anthony got all relaxed and wanted to lay back in my arms… he immediately closed his eyes and fell asleep! Just like that! A couple minutes! I could not believe it! He snuggled right into me and away he went! He slept for probably 10 minutes and then Olga came to take him away… he woke up when she took him though… I asked her about yesterday… she said he woke up on the way to his room yesterday, but I bet he went right back to sleep! HE LIKES US!!!!!!!!!
We went and met Marina to give her the letters for Zhas Dauren, from the sponsor program with WPA! We met her at a building that is a gym… they started a new thing for the handicapped children in the city, focusing on the orphans. The kids can come there and play in the gym and they do crafts and stuff there! She gave us a letter to hand out to try to raise money for their project… Jerry gave her some money toward it all… We were the first people to give money… so everyone else local has given furniture or supplies. She was very excited and said thank you many times! She let me pick a beaded necklace that one of the kids had made. I chose a white, pearly colored one. They had a gym mat in there, so Jerry taught Alex how to do a somersault… after he showed him a cartwheel… Alex fall on his head when he tried it! We showed him a punching bag… we had talked about it recently so it was cool that we could show him what it was! There was a farmers market on the street where the gym is… But it was so hot today that we didn’t want to walk around there today! We went to Kamelot to have lunch… it was so hot we were sweating almost the whole way though lunch! Yuck! We walked to the apartment and we had a whole 15 minutes until Olga came with a different driver! Poor Misha was at the police station again! He has been there about 10 times since we were pulled over… his license is missing! The police who gave him the ticket was a police from a local village outside of town! The city of Uralsk had invited the village police in for some special thing… I don’t know… anyways, this officer took his license with him back to his village and no one’s seen it since! So we went to the babyhouse without our bag of toys and stuff, they were in the trunk of Misha’s car… no biggie really. Pretty soon Misha showed up with the stuff though… I forgot to ask if he had his license back yet… tomorrow!
We were playing on one of the covered floors with a rug and the kids came out, so we moved… We spotted the most beautiful little girl… but I could not get a sneak picture of here! I will keep trying! However we were told by the director not to take pictures of the kids… Doesn’t mean we are going to completely comply… I think it is more important for us to have picture of kids that lived with our kids! All these little kids are so cute and sweet! They watch us and play around, but mostly watch us! They were all out there in their little underwear… the boys wear girl ones too… poor boys! Some of the caregivers are nice and some are very short with the kids… I have seen a couple of the caregivers that just grab the kid by the arm and lift them up if they fall or they lift them over another kid and just kind of drop the kid on the floor... It’s not very loving… I just want to love the kids and teach them how a family is supposed to be! It is so sad that they are not available for adoption!!!! One little boy was very sad today… he would cry at every little thing… the caregiver dumped out the box of toys and he jumped a mile and started screaming! Poor little guy… and he was little… probably the size of a 12 month old… but probably at least two. Most of the kids are pretty small… maybe they are younger, but I am guessing they are undernourished some too! There are only 3 girls in there… there are probably a dozen boys! A couple of the boys are not well… they just lie on the floor and look around! So sad! We snuggled on Anthony and sneaked peaks at the other little kids! Pretty soon it was time to go… and just as we were getting ready to leave Alex’s old caregiver came out bringing babies out for some playtime… I gave her Alex’s book and asked her to write him another letter! She seemed very happy to! She is so sweet! I can’t wait to see what she writes to Alex!
We headed straight home afterwards, Luba was going to come over later. Jerry went to the bakery and bought some of those potato filled bread things… and some little cookies.
Luba came and brought her friend Helen and her younger sister! Her sister brought her 2 year old boy with her! So we played with him and Alex got a little jealous of him playing with our toys… but he wasn’t too bad! They left pretty soon, but it was so neat to meet her anyways! She was as cute as Luba! Helen has come with Luba every time… she translates for us! We talked about Luba’s plans for the summer and finding a job in Aksai. Luba wants to work in the big oil town that is maybe an hour away or so… the oil companies pay good supposedly. But the cost of living there is higher too… so who knows… Now Luba has a little part time job at a shop here in town, so she works there some… so that is good… I hope she finds something in her line of work soon!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Lots of Pictures!
Alex's old wing is on the left and Anthony's is on the right! Both on the Second Floor!
We had some serious mommy time this morning... After 14 days, Jerry finally took the camera... he thought he was a hot shot though changing all the settings... So we got some really awesome ones and some really bad ones... those will not be posted! 
Check out Alex's shoes! This is the way they go on quite frequently!
Scrunchy faces!
Trying to crawl... rocking back and forth... and making noises! He wants those stupid hardwood floor boards!
Alex wanted to *hug* Anthony!
ok... I look ridiculous, but he was smiling and laughing so... what are you gonna do!?
Singing the "Ants go Marching!"
I love this picture!!!
He fell asleep again! He wanted to just go to sleep!
Isn't that so precious!!!!?
Making faces!
Finally he looks at the camera!
Alex wanted to hold him...
Afternoon was daddy-time.
We had some serious mommy time this morning... After 14 days, Jerry finally took the camera... he thought he was a hot shot though changing all the settings... So we got some really awesome ones and some really bad ones... those will not be posted! 
Check out Alex's shoes! This is the way they go on quite frequently!
Scrunchy faces!
Trying to crawl... rocking back and forth... and making noises! He wants those stupid hardwood floor boards!
Alex wanted to *hug* Anthony!
ok... I look ridiculous, but he was smiling and laughing so... what are you gonna do!?
Singing the "Ants go Marching!"
I love this picture!!!
He fell asleep again! He wanted to just go to sleep!
Isn't that so precious!!!!?
Making faces!
Finally he looks at the camera!
Alex wanted to hold him...
Afternoon was daddy-time.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
DAY 14!!!!!
Today I was given the BEST gift! Anthony fell asleep in my arms!!!! He was so precious, he just sucked on his little thumb and finally fell asleep… I am ahead of myself here…
We got up… blah blah blah…Today I took a shirt that I had bought for Alex and it never fit him because we could never get it over his head, so I was a bit worried it wouldn’t fir Anthony either, but I sent it in for him to wear today. He came out wearing it, so apparently there was no problem! He looked so cute in it too!!! He and daddy matched today! We played… Alex watched a little of a veggietale… showed Anthony… he was entranced! Then we played some more… Anthony loves that little octopus! It was the first toy I bought for Anthony!! He adores it! He chews on the little fish that hang from the bottom, and feel the little legs… we held him a lot and snuggled on him and smooched his cheeks!! Anthony’s other favorite thing to do is pull himself over to the hard wood floor under the awning… and then pounding on the boards! He likes to scratch his nails across the boards! It’s so funny! It is his obsession! We try to keep him on the sheet… we held him some more and let him chew on the vibrating teether… Today he actually got the da-da-da-da-da out! We were so excited… before we knew it he had to go back to his room!
We stopped at the atrium for lunch again and walked home, Alex took a nap and we checked our email and took care of some business!
Off we went to the babyhouse… We had to sign some documents for Olga the coordinator to file at the court tomorrow so we can get our court dates. Then… Shocker!!!! We played!!!! Actually, he started the time yawning… It was only his second yawn I have seen and I got it with the camera! Daddy held him a bunch at first today… Then we let him touch his favorite floor… he lounged on daddy for a bit, played with the octopus some more… then it was time to snuggle down on momma and relax before naptime… supposedly naptime is 4-6 in the afternoon… He tried to fuss a little, but we ignored it and I just held him… he was sucking on his little thumb… it probably took him 10 minutes though to fall though!!! Finally his little eyes kind of rolled back and his eyelids closed! He was still sucking though! Pretty soon, his hand fell out of his mouth and he was OUT!!!! It was most precious!!!!! It was awesome!!! It almost made me cry! He is comfortable enough to sleep in my arms!!!! That is amazing!!!!! Alex never even did that!!!! He slept for about 10 more minute and then Olga came to get him… she took him and I think he stayed asleep on the way in. It was wonderful! Is he ready for us? I am sure he is going to be very scared in a few days! But until then he will go on living in those 2 rooms upstairs in the babyhouse with these fun people who come to visit 2 times a day everyday! Poor kid… he has no idea what is going to happen!!!! He will like it though! He just needs some time! :) Oh!! It’s going to be so fun!!! So today was day 14!!! Like I let any of you forget that!!!! Olga will file our papers in the court tomorrow! She is going to ask for pre-court on Monday and Court on Tuesday! I hope we get it! We were actually hoping for pre-court on Friday and Court on Monday… but we will see!!!
I am so excited that we have fulfilled our visitation requirements that I can hardly type… I don’t even know what to say… I think, like Alex’s adoption I have some reservations, that something will still happen… Last time, I finally felt relief on our drive to the babyhouse to get Alex… I finally let go of the worry! He was really ours! Not just in our hearts either… but legally!!!! Alex gotcha day was not exciting in that there were hardly any caregivers there to wish him well, and not much else happened at the babyhouse…we got to take some pictures with the director in her office in front of the Kazakh flag! This time we will bring the Tripod and I will have everyone in the picture that helped in the process! I hope that I remember that stuff in the moment! I almost have my gift ready for every one too! I just need to write thank you notes!
I better work on that tonight!
Well I found a place to get the carseat I want… I ordered and today I received an email saying they were out… so I found another… hopefully they have one! I ordered it! We will see!
We got up… blah blah blah…Today I took a shirt that I had bought for Alex and it never fit him because we could never get it over his head, so I was a bit worried it wouldn’t fir Anthony either, but I sent it in for him to wear today. He came out wearing it, so apparently there was no problem! He looked so cute in it too!!! He and daddy matched today! We played… Alex watched a little of a veggietale… showed Anthony… he was entranced! Then we played some more… Anthony loves that little octopus! It was the first toy I bought for Anthony!! He adores it! He chews on the little fish that hang from the bottom, and feel the little legs… we held him a lot and snuggled on him and smooched his cheeks!! Anthony’s other favorite thing to do is pull himself over to the hard wood floor under the awning… and then pounding on the boards! He likes to scratch his nails across the boards! It’s so funny! It is his obsession! We try to keep him on the sheet… we held him some more and let him chew on the vibrating teether… Today he actually got the da-da-da-da-da out! We were so excited… before we knew it he had to go back to his room!
We stopped at the atrium for lunch again and walked home, Alex took a nap and we checked our email and took care of some business!
Off we went to the babyhouse… We had to sign some documents for Olga the coordinator to file at the court tomorrow so we can get our court dates. Then… Shocker!!!! We played!!!! Actually, he started the time yawning… It was only his second yawn I have seen and I got it with the camera! Daddy held him a bunch at first today… Then we let him touch his favorite floor… he lounged on daddy for a bit, played with the octopus some more… then it was time to snuggle down on momma and relax before naptime… supposedly naptime is 4-6 in the afternoon… He tried to fuss a little, but we ignored it and I just held him… he was sucking on his little thumb… it probably took him 10 minutes though to fall though!!! Finally his little eyes kind of rolled back and his eyelids closed! He was still sucking though! Pretty soon, his hand fell out of his mouth and he was OUT!!!! It was most precious!!!!! It was awesome!!! It almost made me cry! He is comfortable enough to sleep in my arms!!!! That is amazing!!!!! Alex never even did that!!!! He slept for about 10 more minute and then Olga came to get him… she took him and I think he stayed asleep on the way in. It was wonderful! Is he ready for us? I am sure he is going to be very scared in a few days! But until then he will go on living in those 2 rooms upstairs in the babyhouse with these fun people who come to visit 2 times a day everyday! Poor kid… he has no idea what is going to happen!!!! He will like it though! He just needs some time! :) Oh!! It’s going to be so fun!!! So today was day 14!!! Like I let any of you forget that!!!! Olga will file our papers in the court tomorrow! She is going to ask for pre-court on Monday and Court on Tuesday! I hope we get it! We were actually hoping for pre-court on Friday and Court on Monday… but we will see!!!
I am so excited that we have fulfilled our visitation requirements that I can hardly type… I don’t even know what to say… I think, like Alex’s adoption I have some reservations, that something will still happen… Last time, I finally felt relief on our drive to the babyhouse to get Alex… I finally let go of the worry! He was really ours! Not just in our hearts either… but legally!!!! Alex gotcha day was not exciting in that there were hardly any caregivers there to wish him well, and not much else happened at the babyhouse…we got to take some pictures with the director in her office in front of the Kazakh flag! This time we will bring the Tripod and I will have everyone in the picture that helped in the process! I hope that I remember that stuff in the moment! I almost have my gift ready for every one too! I just need to write thank you notes!
I better work on that tonight!
Well I found a place to get the carseat I want… I ordered and today I received an email saying they were out… so I found another… hopefully they have one! I ordered it! We will see!
Playing and Sleeping!
The Britax Boulevard - Park Avenue (colors) Hopefully this is the one i am ordering... 
Isn't his skin just a wonderful color... and those eyes!!!!!
Daddy snuggles when he first came outside this morning!
and smooches...
Vibrating my teeth... while I zone....
just looking cute, as usual...
Tired already!!??
More Daddy time...
They are tickling me!!!
Checking out my favorite rough flooring...
Tummy time...
Lounging with Octopus...
Just lounging...
I am starting to get tired...
Now I am getting sleepy!
Just about to sleep!
OUT! so precious, I can't even believe it!
Tired already!!??
More Daddy time...
They are tickling me!!!
Checking out my favorite rough flooring...
Tummy time...
Lounging with Octopus...
Just lounging...
I am starting to get tired...
Now I am getting sleepy!
Just about to sleep!
OUT! so precious, I can't even believe it!
I told you I would make up for the lack of photos yesterday!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Jerry's Kaz Massage...
Jerry’s account of the massage: Well when I got over to the sports center for my massage I had in my mind a nice relaxing massage with calming music and a fan blowing, right? Wrong, It was this Russian guy with the hardest fingers I have ever felt, he must do finger pushups half the day to be that strong. The room was pretty hot with a massage table and a single towel. I guess I wasn’t suppose to get under the towel, because when he came in he motioned for me to get on top of the towel. He started with my back, on either side of my spine, at first I thought he was trying to see what my spine bones felt like because he was pressing so hard, but I soon figured out it was the relaxing part of the massage. I tried to relax, but it was kind of uncomfortable. I started thinking about when my wife got a Thai massage one time, where this lady poked her all over her body really hard, it was kind of what it was like. It was like when somebody grabs your collar muscle and squeezes real hard, well that was his touch all the time. Once he got done with my spine he jumped up on my back and started cracking my back every few inches by jumping up and down with his feet. A few thoughts raced through my mind about what if I die, how will they ever find me. Once he was done with my spine he rubbed the sides of my back till they were burning hot. Then to my legs, I’m slightly ticklish, so I tensed up for most of the time, trying not to laugh, it hurt so much it was funny. I didn’t know my legs had so many sore spot in them. I only yelped a few times on the first leg, the other side I knew what to expect so that was better; I knew I would at least survive. At the end of each leg massage he would bend by leg at the knee backward all the way back, kind of like the splits, I squawked a few times, but it didn’t seem to stop him from doing it. I was sweating from head to toe by the time he was done with my legs. Then he did my arms which was not so bad, it was bearable. Then he did my face, oh my, that was weird, at one point I thought he was going to somehow pop my eyeballs out, or so I thought, so funny. Then he cracked my neck 3-4 times and then pulled on my arms and legs till I thought they were going to come off. I was so glad when it was over, It was really relaxing to know that I had made it, no broken bones or broken neck. Nothing was even dislocated. My kink in my back is gone, so he did work that out, or actually I think he scared all the bad chi out of my body :) So that was my Kaz massage, Jerry
*I tried to find a picture of Ewana nd Charley getting their massages in Almaty... but nothin'!! - c*
*I tried to find a picture of Ewana nd Charley getting their massages in Almaty... but nothin'!! - c*
Bring on Day 14!!! (day 13)
YAY!!!! Day 13 is over!!!!! So far so good! Nothing scary happened to us… yet. :) So today we went over to the babyhouse to play again… we were so busy just playing that we forgot to take any pictures!!! I panicked when we left and I realized that so we said we will get some this afternoon… well… guess what we forgot this afternoon too!!!! Can you believe that!!!!?? Isn’t that horrible!!!! Tomorrow we will try to make up for it!
Anthony was kind of a mess today… his rash looks itchy, dry and reddish… and he now had a bug bite right on his little nose! He was also easily fussy too! We played with a ball, and of course the other toys we have… we looked at the photo album and I told him all about the people in it. Jerry actually played with Alex for quite a while… maybe that is why we didn’t take pictures… we were both occupied! :) We practiced sitting up some more. He doesn’t seem to hate it as much as he used to. He likes to stand up a lot actually… He is definitely doing a lot better! He relaxes his arms and legs so much more now and he smiles so much easier. I always put his arms up and down like he is flying and then I tickle him under his arms a little… he usually smiles for that. We played patty cake and sang the marching ant song again… no big laughter today for that one though! We read him a couple books… God Loves You, by Kathleen Long Bostrom, he likes that one… he always wants to kick his feet when we read that one… We have a little toy that has a bunch of songs and baby “games” like patty cake and this little pig went to the market on it… It also has the Wheels on the bus… he always goes nuts kicking his legs when that one comes on! He seems to like the fun music! Good thing because we like to listen to those “Little People” cds, that we find in Wal-mart next to the baby supplies, while we ride in the car. He will probably like dancing as much as Alex does… Alex is Mr. Rhythm! Everywhere we go around here that has music with a beat, we always look and see Alex bobbing his head to the beat! People are always smiling at him and watching him “dance.” It will be fun watching what Anthony becomes! He seems so neutral sometimes here, but maybe it is just because we have only been with him for a few hours and it is the same time of the day every day… Hopefully soon we will get him full time…
When Anthony goes back to his room, he doesn’t seem to really care that much, but he does watch us as he leaves. I wonder what is going on in his little head? I am not sure what a 7 month old thinks about at all, so who knows!
We are not expecting to have precourt before the end of the week, but we are praying that they decide to have us go through the system fast for once… It would sure be nice to have him for a few days before we need to leave Uralsk. Last time… we got Alex in the evening, and we left the next morning on a flight at 8 am! Poor kid! He really had no idea what was going on!!!!
We went to McJohn’s for lunch… they have the funniest stuff… we had a cheese sandwich and a frise sandwich – yes spelled like that! It is a sandwich with fries in it! The put coleslaw in their sandwiches! It is so funny… they really aren’t bad though just funny! We also tried a Strawberry Chick.. as in strawberry shake… haha! They crack me up!!!! The strawberry was really good… not at all the “shake” consistency of the US shakes, but tasted very good… and it was colder than Jerry’s chocolate one! The chocolate one had hardly any chocolate in it…
After that we went to the Bazaar for a while… it was so hot… and then Alex had to go potty… Jerry finally found one in a shopping center next to the bazaar. So went in there and cruised the circle… it was where they sell lots of fabric! They had a few Kazakh looking vests and stuff, but nothing that really caught our eye today… There was some beautiful fabric though!! We finished the bazaar, didn’t buy anything, and went to the Souvenir shop. We bought a doll for someone and Jerry bough a cow bank… like a piggy bank… We may go back, but I was so hot in there I couldn’t even think! Then we checked the time and had to practically run home to be home in time for Olga and Misha to come and take us to the babyhouse!
Anthony was quite sober this afternoon. So we played and cooled off… We read the God Loves You book and part of another one called… Do You Know? All about interesting things like how long blue whales are and the smallest animals in the world and the largest trees and stuff like that… Then we flew Anthony like an airplane a little bit. Then we did all kinds of other games and songs and took NO pictures!!! Then toward the end we snuggled him and he got fussy about it… little squirt! He was so tired! I almost had him to sleep, but we are near the road so truck and cars are always going by, and he couldn’t quite close his eyes! He rubs his forehead when he is sleepy… not sure if that is him trying to stay awake or if that is his way of falling asleep! No wonder he has a rash on his head!!!! I hope that goes away once he gets a little AC!
So we came home and Alex had to take a nap, so we all took little naps! Then Jerry went for his massage… One hour – 1500 tenge. Have any of you ever watched “The Long Way Round” with Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman? We were wondering if it would be anything like that… well…. It was! Hahahahaha!!!! Poor Jerry… he said if he had actually been sore, he would have died! He said it was so hard, the guy was pulling on him and cracking things and walking on him. I asked him if he yelped and moaned and all… he said a couple times… but it didn’t do any good because the guy couldn’t understand him! I was laughing pretty hard! I asked if he is going to get him another one before we leave…… he shook his head, breathed out, and said, “noooooooo!” Hahahaha! So funny! So if anyone is brave enough they will have to try it too… Just ask Olga about the Gym with the massages, when you get here!
I wish I had a picture of the massage to share!!!! I think that Bill and Josh would be up for one, should they ever come back…
On another note… this has been a life-saver… well, you know what I mean! http://www.kwikpoint.com/consumer_translators/kits.html we just point to the stuff we want to communicate and people know what we want… we use this a lot at the restaurants and shopping… That was if you can’t quite learn enough Russian, you can still get what you want… and they understand! Holly had it on our last trip and we just had to get it for this one… it is nicely laminated so, we will be able to use it for years to come… in places like China, and where ever else we decide to go! ;)
Day 14 tomorrow!!!!! Bring it on!!!!!
Anthony was kind of a mess today… his rash looks itchy, dry and reddish… and he now had a bug bite right on his little nose! He was also easily fussy too! We played with a ball, and of course the other toys we have… we looked at the photo album and I told him all about the people in it. Jerry actually played with Alex for quite a while… maybe that is why we didn’t take pictures… we were both occupied! :) We practiced sitting up some more. He doesn’t seem to hate it as much as he used to. He likes to stand up a lot actually… He is definitely doing a lot better! He relaxes his arms and legs so much more now and he smiles so much easier. I always put his arms up and down like he is flying and then I tickle him under his arms a little… he usually smiles for that. We played patty cake and sang the marching ant song again… no big laughter today for that one though! We read him a couple books… God Loves You, by Kathleen Long Bostrom, he likes that one… he always wants to kick his feet when we read that one… We have a little toy that has a bunch of songs and baby “games” like patty cake and this little pig went to the market on it… It also has the Wheels on the bus… he always goes nuts kicking his legs when that one comes on! He seems to like the fun music! Good thing because we like to listen to those “Little People” cds, that we find in Wal-mart next to the baby supplies, while we ride in the car. He will probably like dancing as much as Alex does… Alex is Mr. Rhythm! Everywhere we go around here that has music with a beat, we always look and see Alex bobbing his head to the beat! People are always smiling at him and watching him “dance.” It will be fun watching what Anthony becomes! He seems so neutral sometimes here, but maybe it is just because we have only been with him for a few hours and it is the same time of the day every day… Hopefully soon we will get him full time…
When Anthony goes back to his room, he doesn’t seem to really care that much, but he does watch us as he leaves. I wonder what is going on in his little head? I am not sure what a 7 month old thinks about at all, so who knows!
We are not expecting to have precourt before the end of the week, but we are praying that they decide to have us go through the system fast for once… It would sure be nice to have him for a few days before we need to leave Uralsk. Last time… we got Alex in the evening, and we left the next morning on a flight at 8 am! Poor kid! He really had no idea what was going on!!!!
We went to McJohn’s for lunch… they have the funniest stuff… we had a cheese sandwich and a frise sandwich – yes spelled like that! It is a sandwich with fries in it! The put coleslaw in their sandwiches! It is so funny… they really aren’t bad though just funny! We also tried a Strawberry Chick.. as in strawberry shake… haha! They crack me up!!!! The strawberry was really good… not at all the “shake” consistency of the US shakes, but tasted very good… and it was colder than Jerry’s chocolate one! The chocolate one had hardly any chocolate in it…
After that we went to the Bazaar for a while… it was so hot… and then Alex had to go potty… Jerry finally found one in a shopping center next to the bazaar. So went in there and cruised the circle… it was where they sell lots of fabric! They had a few Kazakh looking vests and stuff, but nothing that really caught our eye today… There was some beautiful fabric though!! We finished the bazaar, didn’t buy anything, and went to the Souvenir shop. We bought a doll for someone and Jerry bough a cow bank… like a piggy bank… We may go back, but I was so hot in there I couldn’t even think! Then we checked the time and had to practically run home to be home in time for Olga and Misha to come and take us to the babyhouse!
Anthony was quite sober this afternoon. So we played and cooled off… We read the God Loves You book and part of another one called… Do You Know? All about interesting things like how long blue whales are and the smallest animals in the world and the largest trees and stuff like that… Then we flew Anthony like an airplane a little bit. Then we did all kinds of other games and songs and took NO pictures!!! Then toward the end we snuggled him and he got fussy about it… little squirt! He was so tired! I almost had him to sleep, but we are near the road so truck and cars are always going by, and he couldn’t quite close his eyes! He rubs his forehead when he is sleepy… not sure if that is him trying to stay awake or if that is his way of falling asleep! No wonder he has a rash on his head!!!! I hope that goes away once he gets a little AC!
So we came home and Alex had to take a nap, so we all took little naps! Then Jerry went for his massage… One hour – 1500 tenge. Have any of you ever watched “The Long Way Round” with Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman? We were wondering if it would be anything like that… well…. It was! Hahahahaha!!!! Poor Jerry… he said if he had actually been sore, he would have died! He said it was so hard, the guy was pulling on him and cracking things and walking on him. I asked him if he yelped and moaned and all… he said a couple times… but it didn’t do any good because the guy couldn’t understand him! I was laughing pretty hard! I asked if he is going to get him another one before we leave…… he shook his head, breathed out, and said, “noooooooo!” Hahahaha! So funny! So if anyone is brave enough they will have to try it too… Just ask Olga about the Gym with the massages, when you get here!
I wish I had a picture of the massage to share!!!! I think that Bill and Josh would be up for one, should they ever come back…
On another note… this has been a life-saver… well, you know what I mean! http://www.kwikpoint.com/consumer_translators/kits.html we just point to the stuff we want to communicate and people know what we want… we use this a lot at the restaurants and shopping… That was if you can’t quite learn enough Russian, you can still get what you want… and they understand! Holly had it on our last trip and we just had to get it for this one… it is nicely laminated so, we will be able to use it for years to come… in places like China, and where ever else we decide to go! ;)
Day 14 tomorrow!!!!! Bring it on!!!!!
The Boys' Room.
Here is a picture of the boys’ room before we left home… I have to locate letters for Anthony’s side of the room, that look good and is the right size. It’s a bummer that I couldn’t find them before we left… I think I was mostly in doubt that we would get a boy… maybe we would get 2… I don’t know what my problem was… I didn’t put together his High chair either… but I am guessing he will not need it for a day or two, he can sit in Alex’s if he can even sit… :) I still have to order his carseat… I suppose I should get on that! They no longer have the cover that I like… I guess I will just have to suck it up and pick another one…
I can not wait to see Anthony in his fancy bed and riding in his fancy carseat!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Giggles and Fussing! (day 12)
All in one day!!!!
So today was pretty much like any other day in Uralsk… although we did have a storm here this morning… which cooled things off for a while! Our morning visit was nice a cool outside. Anthony was in a pretty good mood… we did some exercises and played a bunch! We sang songs and he laughed at us… We played with stacking cups and a ball. He really loves knocking over the stacking cups already… maybe he is just trying to grab them and always knocks them over… I don’t know! We let him scoot around a bit on his tummy, but there were no rugs today, since it rained… they took them in, so we didn’t make him scoot too much! We made him sit up a while as usual, I think he is getting better. Today he came to us with a bunch of, what I assume is bug bites… they look almost like pimples! Poor baby! I put some antibiotic ointment on them… His heat rash on his head looked worse today that even before! Ugh! I don’t understand why he has it on his forehead! He has it on his elbow, and under his chin… those I understand… but the forehead…? Unless he sleeps on his face? Maybe? Who knows… that is why we just need to get him!
We came immediately home and Alex slept for over 2 hours! He was tired from last night playing!
Then it was back to the babyhouse for more playing… Today a cat came by and plopped down by us under the awning. She was very sweet and lay there purring… Anthony was obsessed with her though! He HAD to be looking at her! He was driving me nuts! He wouldn’t play with us or anything! So finally I let him pet her! His first cat petting! He of course loved it and so did the kitty! The kitty then thought that was invitation to come on our sheet and she rubbed past us a couple of time and the plopped down in Jerry’s lap! Jerry of course was petting her and she was loving it! Can you tell we miss our kitties!? I sang the entire song “The Ants go Marching” to Anthony and bounced him up and down on my knees at the end of each verse when It says boom, boom, boom! He was laughing so hard, I think he snorted once! As the song went on he laughed harder and harder until Jerry got out the video camera… typically he stopped laughing so hard… we still got some good laughs though… we will try it again tomorrow. It was grand! Somehow we did not take very many pictures today… I guess we were too busy laughing! Toward the end, Anthony was getting tired so I decided to lay him back in my arms and let him calm down… his nap was next so… Well… he did not want that… so he started to fuss, and throw his fit… so I immediately laid him down on the floor next to me, said “no!” and looked away… he wondered what happened but he stopped crying… he tried to roll over and play, but I put my hand on his tummy so he couldn’t and he was kind of mad… but I said let’s try again, so I picked him up and laid him in my arms so he could just relax and suck on his thumb… he started the fit again… so I put him on the floor again, said no! and looked away, while holding my hand on his stomach… he stopped fast! I picked him up again and this time, no fits… so we just snuggled him and I kissed his cheek and he would laugh even with his thumb in his mouth! He likes to touch our faces… we put his hand on our cheeks and say “ mama, dada” so jerry came closer and we put his hand back and forth to our faces saying mama and dada. He just smiles and likes to feel our cheeks. It was so nice to just be still and snuggle with him. Once I make him just calm down he seems to like it, too. He definitely was very sleepy… his beautiful little eyes were drooping! Soon we had to send him away… Alex played with us for a while and then went off to play with Olga and Misha, I guess!
We stopped at the book store for a little bit and found a couple books and some of the new maps of Uralsk! Then we came home, played for a little while and walked to the Dixie Pub for dinner again! The Atrium now has water!!!! Yay!!! We bought a gallon and some cereal and OJ and walked home… stopping by the gym for jerry to schedule a massage for tomorrow!
We spent the rest of the evening at home, working, journaling and reading BabyWise 2!!
Today was the end of Day 12 of Visitation!!! Only 2 more days until we can apply to the court for a court date!!! WooHoo!!!
So today was pretty much like any other day in Uralsk… although we did have a storm here this morning… which cooled things off for a while! Our morning visit was nice a cool outside. Anthony was in a pretty good mood… we did some exercises and played a bunch! We sang songs and he laughed at us… We played with stacking cups and a ball. He really loves knocking over the stacking cups already… maybe he is just trying to grab them and always knocks them over… I don’t know! We let him scoot around a bit on his tummy, but there were no rugs today, since it rained… they took them in, so we didn’t make him scoot too much! We made him sit up a while as usual, I think he is getting better. Today he came to us with a bunch of, what I assume is bug bites… they look almost like pimples! Poor baby! I put some antibiotic ointment on them… His heat rash on his head looked worse today that even before! Ugh! I don’t understand why he has it on his forehead! He has it on his elbow, and under his chin… those I understand… but the forehead…? Unless he sleeps on his face? Maybe? Who knows… that is why we just need to get him!
We came immediately home and Alex slept for over 2 hours! He was tired from last night playing!
Then it was back to the babyhouse for more playing… Today a cat came by and plopped down by us under the awning. She was very sweet and lay there purring… Anthony was obsessed with her though! He HAD to be looking at her! He was driving me nuts! He wouldn’t play with us or anything! So finally I let him pet her! His first cat petting! He of course loved it and so did the kitty! The kitty then thought that was invitation to come on our sheet and she rubbed past us a couple of time and the plopped down in Jerry’s lap! Jerry of course was petting her and she was loving it! Can you tell we miss our kitties!? I sang the entire song “The Ants go Marching” to Anthony and bounced him up and down on my knees at the end of each verse when It says boom, boom, boom! He was laughing so hard, I think he snorted once! As the song went on he laughed harder and harder until Jerry got out the video camera… typically he stopped laughing so hard… we still got some good laughs though… we will try it again tomorrow. It was grand! Somehow we did not take very many pictures today… I guess we were too busy laughing! Toward the end, Anthony was getting tired so I decided to lay him back in my arms and let him calm down… his nap was next so… Well… he did not want that… so he started to fuss, and throw his fit… so I immediately laid him down on the floor next to me, said “no!” and looked away… he wondered what happened but he stopped crying… he tried to roll over and play, but I put my hand on his tummy so he couldn’t and he was kind of mad… but I said let’s try again, so I picked him up and laid him in my arms so he could just relax and suck on his thumb… he started the fit again… so I put him on the floor again, said no! and looked away, while holding my hand on his stomach… he stopped fast! I picked him up again and this time, no fits… so we just snuggled him and I kissed his cheek and he would laugh even with his thumb in his mouth! He likes to touch our faces… we put his hand on our cheeks and say “ mama, dada” so jerry came closer and we put his hand back and forth to our faces saying mama and dada. He just smiles and likes to feel our cheeks. It was so nice to just be still and snuggle with him. Once I make him just calm down he seems to like it, too. He definitely was very sleepy… his beautiful little eyes were drooping! Soon we had to send him away… Alex played with us for a while and then went off to play with Olga and Misha, I guess!
We stopped at the book store for a little bit and found a couple books and some of the new maps of Uralsk! Then we came home, played for a little while and walked to the Dixie Pub for dinner again! The Atrium now has water!!!! Yay!!! We bought a gallon and some cereal and OJ and walked home… stopping by the gym for jerry to schedule a massage for tomorrow!
We spent the rest of the evening at home, working, journaling and reading BabyWise 2!!
Today was the end of Day 12 of Visitation!!! Only 2 more days until we can apply to the court for a court date!!! WooHoo!!!
Stacking Cups and Bug Bites!
Here is the latest adopted boy from Uralsk! Askhat! He will be moving to Belgium, with him Mom, Dad and big Sister! We had played last night at the indoor playground with them.
Knocking over the stcking cups!
Just playing with dad!
Just looking cute with my bug bites and hat!
Wanting to fuss!
Momma talking me out of fussing! :)
Watching a "Baby Einstein" in some cute pjs! 
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Sweet Baby Day. (day 11)
I am rebelling on my journaling tonight! I am so tired and it takes me so long to write everything I can think of from our day… so here is a brief!
It was hot again today… at least 91! Although it feels so much hotter than that! We of course played outside under the awning… Anthony was in a good mood today. He didn’t really get fussy, even when we made him exercise a bunch and sit up a bunch! It was just a nice relaxing visit for morning and afternoon. Anthony was actually very sweet this afternoon! He smiled and laughed a few times and we just played and exercised a little… Alex hung with us a little bit. Anthony actually let me hold him on his back for a while and just sucked his thumb while I cradled him in my arms! That was soooo nice! He’s so small when we do that! He is really a baby!!!! :)
After our afternoon visit we went to the indoor playground! You pay 200 tenge per half hour for your kid to play in the room full of bouncing, blow up slides and stuff. The exchange rate is currently about 120 tenge per dollar, so it is just about $1.50 per half hour! We let Alex play for an hour! We met our Belgian friends Birgit & Erik there as well as new friends from Canada! There are 2 couples from Canada her as well! One couple just adopted and 8 year old girl! She is Russian and beautiful! Very small for her age, but bright and happy! The other couple just got here a few days ago and found a baby boy at Babyhouse 2 where we are visiting and where Alex is from! They have a daughter from Petro who is about three and a half. So the kids played a bunch and then we adults talked and then most of us decided to stay and actually eat dinner there. They have a full restaurant in there! It was funny next to each item on the menu is the size of the dish in weight and how many minutes it takes to prepare that dish! We thought that was rather hilarious! The food was fine… they send ketchup with Jerry’s spaghetti, and they forgot Alex’s fries, but what we did get was pretty good tasting! Although we left still feeling a bit hungry. Next time we are going to try their pizza… We walked home… it wasn’t too long, but long enough. We were all pretty tired though, so we are trying to go to bed earlier.
It was hot again today… at least 91! Although it feels so much hotter than that! We of course played outside under the awning… Anthony was in a good mood today. He didn’t really get fussy, even when we made him exercise a bunch and sit up a bunch! It was just a nice relaxing visit for morning and afternoon. Anthony was actually very sweet this afternoon! He smiled and laughed a few times and we just played and exercised a little… Alex hung with us a little bit. Anthony actually let me hold him on his back for a while and just sucked his thumb while I cradled him in my arms! That was soooo nice! He’s so small when we do that! He is really a baby!!!! :)
After our afternoon visit we went to the indoor playground! You pay 200 tenge per half hour for your kid to play in the room full of bouncing, blow up slides and stuff. The exchange rate is currently about 120 tenge per dollar, so it is just about $1.50 per half hour! We let Alex play for an hour! We met our Belgian friends Birgit & Erik there as well as new friends from Canada! There are 2 couples from Canada her as well! One couple just adopted and 8 year old girl! She is Russian and beautiful! Very small for her age, but bright and happy! The other couple just got here a few days ago and found a baby boy at Babyhouse 2 where we are visiting and where Alex is from! They have a daughter from Petro who is about three and a half. So the kids played a bunch and then we adults talked and then most of us decided to stay and actually eat dinner there. They have a full restaurant in there! It was funny next to each item on the menu is the size of the dish in weight and how many minutes it takes to prepare that dish! We thought that was rather hilarious! The food was fine… they send ketchup with Jerry’s spaghetti, and they forgot Alex’s fries, but what we did get was pretty good tasting! Although we left still feeling a bit hungry. Next time we are going to try their pizza… We walked home… it wasn’t too long, but long enough. We were all pretty tired though, so we are trying to go to bed earlier.
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