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!

Day 13

Going for a walk with Daddy
Wait for me Mommy!
Peek a boo - I see you!

Day 11?

I don't know anymore! I have lost track since everyday feels like the day before. We signed our petition to adopt Bobby yesterday but it can't go to the court until after day 14 which is Friday. So, that means the petition won't go in until Monday.
We also found out that we are back to once a day visits because special visitors are here until June 9! We can go twice a day on the weekends though.
We met another family today from CA who brought their 4 kids, all boys. They are adopting an 11 month old girl. We went to the bazaar and to the Sand Creek. Legend says that the water in Sand Creek is healing. It was very cold and very good. Larissa says that last year she had the flu. She went to the creek and washed her face in it. The next day her flu was gone! Also, people used to come to this creek during the time of Jesus to be baptised.
We have to go in 2 cars when we go anywhere with this family but that's okay because we get Larissa's husband and he is cool!
Not much else to report around here. The apartment was cleaned for us while we were at the orphanage! I could definitely get used to that!
Please keep the comments coming! I'm enjoying hearing from everyone. Also, we want to know what's going on at home! We don't have anything except BBC World and they don't tell much about the US.

Pictures finally!

Day 10 - Outside!

We had tons of fun with Bobby yesterday! He laughed and played like he had known us his whole life! It was wonderful to see him so relaxed. We went outside during the morning visit for a walk around the orphanage and played on some of the equipment that is scattered into little groups. The ‘road’ around the orphanage is unfortunately the best road in Semey! No potholes to dodge. Bobby liked to slide but you have to catch him at the bottom. He also liked to swing. The swing hangs from two metal poles not chains, which is typical of all of the swings we have seen. How do you like the winter clothes? You have to bundle him up like that or you can’t take him outside. You never know he might catch a deathly cold in the 80 degree weather!
I will try to post some pictures on the blog, or at least try to. I was never able to post the zoo & bazaar pictures. We bought crayons because he was very fascinated with my pencil. He loves them! We can’t wait to use the good kind that Othermama bought. These are very cheap but the get the job done!
The other family that left for Almaty yesterday left their toys with us that wouldn’t fit in their suitcases and we are having a blast with them. We will leave them for another family to use. The toy selection at the orphanage is very, very limited. Bobby seems to like almost everything we bring. We hit a milestone yesterday...he patted to 2 stuffed dogs on his own. Maybe there is hope yet! I put them on the floor so that he could begin to get used to them. It worked!
Debbie let us use her toddler CDs so that has helped me. Michael hates it! For me it really helps fill the boring time. You know me, I can’t stand too much quiet! Yesterday we pulled out the sippy cup with water in it and he really liked it as you can tell from the picture! We bought his hat at the bazaar. Apparently any hat is okay, it doesn’t have to be a stocking cap like we thought. He loved it because his daddy had one too! Later on he put Daddy’s hat on and Daddy wore his. A slight size difference but it was fun anyway! Yes, I know the hat has Mickey on it but I didn’t pick it out, Michael did!
Love, Kirsten

Day 8

Welcome to another day in Kazakhstan! Although, today will be different for us than the last 5 days! The lady is gone so we get to return to our twice a day visits! YEAH!!! I was so excited that I woke up at 5 am! It's amazing how excited you can get over one little thing, but the days here are so repetitive that you look forward to anything being different. Since the lady is gone we can also take Bobby outside during our visits! Everyday he points to the window as if to say "Outside?" Won't he be excited? It will be nice to break up that 1 1/2 hours. He is very bored with the same toys over and over. I don't blame him!
We went to the toy store and bought a couple of toys to leave at the orphanage. The toy selection is basically non-existent unless you want Barbie's or remote control vehicles. They sell stuffed animals but Bobby is still afraid of them.
We also went to the electronics store because we were curious about their prices. They are pretty much the same as America. Of course, what do you do if something goes wrong. I don't think the local Best Buy will offer us a warranty. We bought a DVD of The Last Samurai which didn't play in the portable DVD player but it did play in the laptop. The software asked me to choose the region.
We ate lunch at Don Quixote. It was very good but expensive in Kaz standards. Our lunch was about $20.

Day 7

Well, here we are again waiting for our afternoon visit. We were told yesterday by Larissa "There is a *itch here." They don’t want her to know we are here because her questions are unpredictable. It makes sense. We don’t want to risk our adoption. After she leaves everything will return to normal again. Even though we only see Bobby once a day, it still counts as twice a day.
We met with the doctor yesterday and then asked questions of the caregiver.
Yesterday we played in the group playroom again. It was hard at first because the other children wanted to play with us too. So the caregivers took the other children outside which made Bobby cry since he couldn’t go. I rocked him until he calmed down and then we had to warm him up to us again. Two more times like this and then we return to twice a day in the playroom.
Our electricity went out last night and the internet servers have been up and down. It was difficult finding someplace to eat yesterday because of the lack of electricity. We went to the bazaar in the morning which is basically a giant flea market. You can buy just about everything there even raw meats! The meats are sold inside a huge 2 story building and the smell was tremendously awful. At the other end of the building are fresh fruits and vegetables. You can buy a salad like at a buffet. You choose the pieces, they are weighed separately, and then you combine them. We didn't try that but we did buy some fresh bananas. Larissa helps us pick which vendor to buy food from. We also bought a hat for Bobby. Our travel information said to always have a stocking cap, not ball caps, on your child so I didn't bring the caps with me. It turns out, hats are necessary and caps are acceptable. We also bought a small amount of yarn. It was made in China which is typical of everything at the bazaar. You feel kind of silly buying clothes there since you could probably find the same items at Wal-Mart or Dollar General. They are very cheaply made, maybe too cheap for even Wal-Mart.
Tuesday we went to the zoo and ate at a café near the Russian border. The café was about 30 minutes away. They only serve pork ka-bobs, bread, & raw onions. The ka-bobs were very good.
Driving around town is like going 4-wheeling. It's even worse when the electricity is off because our driver, Posha goes the back roads to avoid the traffic jams. It's quite an adventure!
Today we have someone coming to give us massages at the apartment and then we will go back to the bazaar without Debbie and her daughter, Chana. Michael calls them the Seattle sisters. Larissa said that Michael will be more comfortable shopping with only one woman, not three. He agreed completely!
Things we didn't need - shower shoes
Things we did need - a couple of travel TP (just in case)
A couple of packages of travel Kleenex (there seems to be something in the air that makes our noses run!)
There maybe more as we stay here longer but for now that's all A wonderful gift idea for our translator, Larissa, is seeds of all sorts. She has a summer house where she gardens and grows flowers. Maybe some bluebonnet seeds, wildflower seeds. Seeds that are native to Texas or at least USA.
Love, Kirsten

PS - I have tried to post some pictures from the zoo and the bazaar but they are going through. I'll try again another time.

Day 5

This is the second day that we couldn't see Bobby in the morning. We won't see him in the morning on Wednesday either. I sure hope these 'important visitors' go away soon!
We went the Semey Zoo yesterday morning. You can buy snacks for the animals at the ticket booth and feed them! How unusual is that? The snacks are also edible for people. We went to eat at a pork ka-bob place yesterday that was just 7 km from Russia. It was very good and we thought it was worth the trip until about 30 minutes later when Kirsten's stomach began to churn. Michael's did also but later. I'm not sure if we will volunteer to go there again.
We played with Bobby yesterday but in the playroom with three other children. It was a strange feeling but we survived! We might have to do this again today.
TT4N

Kirsten

Day 4

Well, today started out a little different from our normal day. We weren't able to see Bobby this morning because they were expecting "very important visitors." I know...what are we - chopped beef? That's okay. We did a little souvenir shopping and went to one of the 5 museums. This afternoon we will return to see our sweet little boy. I'm sure he was a little confused as to why we didn't come this morning. These kids are very used to their routines.

Here are some pictures:






Uploading pictures takes FOREVER!!! Especially when you are used to a DSL connection. Our connection here is 50 KBps. I think my DSL connection is around 2MBps. This tests my patience tremendously!!!!

We have arrived

Hello from Semey! We are here. Sorry we haven't posted yet. It has been a whirlwind of adventure. Our flight out of Chicago was delayed 2 1/2 hours so we arrived in Frankfurt with just enough time to catch our flight to Almaty. When we arrived in Almaty our translator and driver were waiting and they took us to a very nice apartment. We were in bed asleep by 3:00 am Friday morning (that's 2 pm Thursday for Texas) We slept about 4 hours and got up to catch our flight to Semey. I don't recommend flying to Semey for vacation! I, Kirsten, was very scared! It is a 60's vintage DC plane. We had to put our luggage onto the plane on shelves at the back ourselves. The back of the seats fold forward like car seats and there were rows of 2 seats on each side. So much for getting a little nap and snack on the way! Needless to say, I was never so glad to touch down! We ate lunch at a Turkish cafe and then went off to the orphnage. We had to meet with the director first and he had some questions for us. Afterwards, he asked the caregivers to bring in 2 boys that he called by name. We were allowed to watch the older boy play for a few minutes and he interracted with us some. They called us his "Mama" and "Papa." He was precious and just as the director said, he looked a lot like Michael! Then the younger boy was brought in. He was cute also but we were enamoured by the first boy named Dilan. After the boys left, we were allowed to go into the outer office to discuss the boys. Michael and I were in agreement that Dilan was the boy we were most interested in. We were given about an hour to play with him and to begin bonding. On our way back to the apartment we stopped at the grocery store to pick up some basics. Michael bought some very expensive Vodka (1265 tenge = $10)
Saturday, May 20, 2006
We were awake at 4 am local time since our bodies are still learning to adjust to the time change. Larissa, the translator, and Posha, the driver, picked us up at 10 am and took us to the orphanage to be with Bobby. The caregivers said he was asking for Papa this morning. He came right to us. He has a little runny nose today so we stayed inside to play. He loves books. He flips back and forth through them all the time. He likes to play ball with his papa. I am the chair it seems. He likes to sit in your lap a lot. I was kissing him a lot and he would kiss the pictures in the book. He pointed to a picture of a cat and barked! That was the only sound we have heard from him. He is ticklish and will giggle outloud. We will have 2 visits every day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

We have no pictures yet because our internet is not connected at the apartment yet. The internet office is closed on Saturday and Sunday so we should be able to post some pictures Monday. You will not believe how much this little boy looks like Michael. Larissa says he has my eyes and Michael's face. I told Michael that the stork got confused and put our baby down in the wrong country!