We're Home

We're finally home! It's a wonderful feeling! Bobby was tremendously happy to see his Daddy in the airport. He went running to him with his arms open as you can see from the picture! When Papa wanted to take a family picture, Bobby pushed Mommy away!

We are learning about car seats. A 2 hour ride was not the best way to be introduced to it. We'll get there though.

Bobby slept in his bed last night without any problems. He's scared of Cisco & Sara but we are hopeful that will change soon.

I'm working on adding all of our photos to a Yahoo site. I will work on it today and will post again when I get it finished. Maybe today or tomorrow.

Kirsten

Almaty Pictures

On the pedestrian walkway in Almaty









Bobby's first pizza!









World War II Memorial

Hello from Almaty!

Hello! We are in Almaty. Things here are going better than we were first told when we arrived. We were told we couldn't leave until Saturday which meant I wouldn't have much time with my brother's family. We called the German embassy yesterday and they have agreed to allow us to bring in Bobby's documentation Wednesday which means it will be ready Thursday.
We are on our own in Almaty. We can call them and they will help us but it's also nice to be independent for a change. We can leave the apartment anytime we want to. We are lonely without our Semey friends :(
I will post pictures of the city later. I haven't had time to get them off the camera yet.
Bye for now!

Othermama pictures

This is the last post from SEMEY!!!! Did you hear me screaming with joy? Here are some pictures of Bobby with his Othermama. They are in love with each other. Bobby has that effect on everyone that comes in contact with him.
Talk to you from Almaty!

6/16/06 - one month away from home :(

As of today, I have been gone one month. Mom thinks it’s like being in a prison. Otis says we know what he feels like when he’s been deployed. You are ready to go but you can’t leave because you aren’t ready to go. At least we do know we are heading out of Semey on Sunday!!!! We don’t know when we can leave the country yet but maybe we will know tomorrow. It’s difficult just sitting around all day. I am learning a lot about Bobby's behavior. He gets wild when he’s tired just like his cousin, Camden! Mommy is learning patience.
We took Bobby to the orphanage doctor yesterday. He had an awful cough that was keeping him awake at night. She told us to give him amoxicillin, which was in our medical kit we brought with us, a decongestant, and “to draw on his chest.” When Larissa translated this we looked at her like she was crazy! She said she would show us. Evidently it is some liquid that looks like iodine. She drew a 5 x 5 grid on his chest and back. He sat there very still while she did this. They do this in the orphanage. He felt 100% better today so it worked.
We went to the zoo today. Bobby thought it was really cool. He even fed them a couple of times until the lips of one of them touched his hands. Eventually, he was more willing to try but not readily.
We took one last group of presents to the orphanage today and picked up Bobby's book that the caregivers had written for him. Now, if I could just read Russian!
Well, one more full day here and away we go. We will miss our friends we have made in Semey.

6/13/06

Michael left for Almaty yesterday. My mom arrived yesterday. They saw each other for a just a minute at the Almaty airport. Bobby & Othermama have bonded. After all, she is a real grandmother who gives him whatever he thinks he needs.

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Just a little hello from Bobby! I can't keep him from the computer! He loves typing. We introduced him to Barney today. That was a hit! He likes to watch a little bit of movies but doesn't sit and watch them continually. The only movie we have found that he will sit for is videos of his programs from the orphanage. He was in at least 3 while there. They really go all out on these programs. The kids sing and have speaking parts. It's adorable to watch.

Right now, Bobby is checking out all the papers that Othermama brought with her. He is a typical 2-year old in so many ways. He has become so comfortable with me that he smiles and laughs when he is told to stop. It's hard to resist the adorable faces but I'm learning.

Eating is another challenge. At home he thinks it's funny to play with his food and not eat. We are working on not laughing at him or watching him.

We have no problems in the car. He lays his head down on my chest and waits for the car to stop. (There are no car seats.)

We miss you Daddy.

Love, Bobby & Mommy

Pictures

We are a family!








Relaxing at home!








My first breakfast at home!

We're a family!

We are officially a family of 3! What an incredible adventure! We feel so blessed to have found our little boy so far from home. He was very excited to come home with us. He already loves his new life. I have so many feelings right now that I don't know where to begin. Maybe I will have more stories later.

Kirsten

Pictures tomorrow

6/6/06

We had our first meeting today about the court. Michael will have to make a speech about our lives and why we want to adopt Bobby. We are preparing a short video of our pictures and some videos we have taken to show the judge. You are supposed to show how the child has bonded with you. I had many videos of Michael and Bobby but none of me with him. We tried to get some today.
It has rained off and on for a couple of days. We thought with the rain that the "cotton" would subside some but it seems to have gotten worse. Even the trees look white from this stuff! It's incredible. It was hard to watch Bobby playing today because the so much stuff was blowing around.
My mom is coming Sunday and Michael is leaving on Monday. I feel like the changing of the guards. We are tiring of the take home food, but eating out with 12 people is a huge pain! Mom - do you think you could sneak us some good old American food?
Not much else is going on. Just another day in the Groundhog Day movie!

Kirsten

PS - I thought you would enjoy some pictures of Bobby's first program. This was Protection of Children Day. It seems to be the one day that people give gifts to the orphanage. There were vendors everywhere and carnivals too.

BTW - Thank you Jerral for helping us finally sell our house. It will be so wonderful to come home knowing that that stressor is gone!

6/5/06

Sorry we haven't been posting as much lately. The staff is keeping us busy! We had 2 visits each day over the weekend. The rest of the week will be spent getting ready for the court which is Friday. My mom will be coming very soon. We are trying to arrange her flight here. Michael will probably still leave on the 14th. I can't wait for everyone to see our little boy. He gets more and more attached every time we see him. I cried when we left yesterday but not in front of him. He wouldn't understand that yet. The caregiver stood at the window with him and they waved "Paka" to us. You can tell how much these caregivers love these kids. They have asked us about our families and our lives at home. They showed us around the group's room and Bobby showed us his bed. He is such a proud little boy! Thank you to everyone for keeping us informed on your lives at home. We know the big news stories but not the everyday happenings. GO MAVS!!!! If we had a faster connection we probably could have listened to the entire game Saturday night. Of course that was Sunday morning for us! Paka (Bye)

Day 15 - 6/2/06

We have had a wonderful day! The Semey staff planned a picnic for all the families. We went to the river and played games. Larissa had some games for us to play like carrying the egg on a spoon, carrying the soccer ball between your legs. Michael was chosen as the 'mummy' for our team and had to be wrapped up in TP. He was a good sport about it. The staff made lamb shish ke bobs and they were wonderful!
By the time we got back it was time for our afternoon visit with Bobby. He just gets more and more precious everyday!
We found out that our court date will be Friday, June 9th. Larissa and Olga will be helping us prepare for the court appearance. Michael will have to make a speech about our lives and why we want to adopt Bobby.
I have posted a picture of what appears to be snow, but it isn't! It is the pollen from the trees. It looks like cottonwoods to us. I don't recommend coming to Semey during the spring if you have any allergies. When the wind blows it looks like it is snowing!