WE'RE FINALLY HOME!

(Maureen's Post)
After what has seemed a long time coming, we are finally home with our son. Back when we first made the decision to adopt in March 2005 we never dreamed what a wild, but wonderful, experience that we would have. As Jodi, one of our travel partners said, any negative feelings or annoyances we may have had during the whole process from the paperwork to the travel home are starting to fade. I would have to agree. Even now, as incredibly jet-lagged as we are, we are so happy to have James home with us, and we find so much joy in all the new things that he is discovering.

To recap the past day, Andrei picked us up at midnight to drive us to the airport. He is a very nice guy, and we wish we had the a chance to spend more time with him and get to know him better. We had commented that we had liked some music that he was playing in the car, so he went out of his way to make us a CD of the music which he gave us as we were going to the airport. We had heard about using the Lufthansa V.I.P. services out of Almaty and asked Andrei about it. He said sure, why not try it, and took us there to check in. He dropped us off, and we said our goodbyes and gave him our thanks. I believe it cost us about $200 USD, but we felt it was worth it and were glad we used it. Their lounge/waiting area was great as it had overstuffed couches, and I was even able to catch a quick nap while waiting for our flight. The people there took very good care of us, and they even had their own passport control booth so that we didn't have to wait in line with everyone else on the flight. Plus, we got to jump in line ahead of the rest of the people getting on our flight. Sweet. We had mentioned to the Mechems and the Sullivans earlier in the day about doing the V.I.P. thing, but we had some miscommunication and ended up doing it by ourselves. So, we spent the 3-hour wait before our flight lounging around in the V.I.P. area while they were in the regular terminal worrying and waiting for us to show up. We did touch base with them again once they boarded the flight, though, to let them know we were on the plane. One thing the V.I.P. staff did that we really appreciated was to make arrangements for us to accommodate James, even though he was only traveling on a lap ticket. For the first leg of our trip to Frankfurt all the bulkhead bassinet seats were taken, so they rearranged our seating so that we would at least have one of the 3-seat middle rows to ourselves. That way, Sean and I would each have a seat and we could put James down in the seat in between us if needed. It worked out well, as Sean made another makeshift "bed" on the middle seat for James to sleep in. Plus, we each had the convenience of having an aisle seat. This was a pretty quiet 7-hour flight since it was a red-eye flight and most people were sleeping. James did pretty well on this flight, and we even managed to get a little nap in, too. As with our first experience with Lufthansa back in January, we enjoyed the food (as much as anyone can really enjoy airline food) since it was more like the food we would eat at home. I got a cup of coffee with my breakfast on the flight and thought that it was the best cup of brewed coffee ever! I think spending almost 7 weeks drinking Nescafe Gold instant coffee had something do with that.

We had a 5-hour layover at the Frankfurt airport, most of which was spent at a cafe where we could just hang out with the Mechems and the Sullivans. The stroller was helpful here as James was asleep some of the time, and we could also push him around in it at the airport if he got a little fussy. That was $25 well spent. This part of the Frankfurt airport was much nicer and newer than the terminal from which we departed for Almaty back in January. Our time together finally came to an end, and we said our goodbyes to each other. It is so nice to know that we can still keep in touch with everyone and get updates on all the kids as they grow up. Then it was time for us to head towards our gate, but we first had to go through security again. The security at the Frankfurt airport is very tight. They hand-wand and pat down every single passenger, not the metal detector machines and random searches like we've seen here. They even patted down James! The nice thing was that since we had a baby, we were able to bypass the long security line when we got there, which is something I haven't seen before. One thing I have seen before but never had a chance to take advantage of is pre-boarding the plane since we had James with us. Now, that was nice. We're learning that having kids does have its perks sometimes!

Our second flight was not quiet at all since it was a daytime flight. It was very long (11 hours) and very trying on our patience, let me tell you! The Lufthansa V.I.P. office back in Almaty was able to confirm bulkhead seats for us on this flight so we were able to get a bassinet once we were at cruising altitude. The only thing is that the baby next to us on this flight would not sleep the entire flight, so you can imagine how cranky he was. He was 9 & 1/2 months old, but actually looked like an 18-month old, but that's another story. Of course, there were other babies around us since they also had bulkhead seating, so sleeping was difficult as all the babies, including ours, took it upon themselves to start crying at different intervals in-flight. Lovely. Overall, James did very well. I think his teeth were just really bothering him today, not to mention being in all these different environments. However, James did have some fans by the end of the flight. At one point in the flight he was extra fussy so Sean walked the aisles with him wearing the baby carrier, and James flirted and smiled for the flight crew and passengers.

At 1:45 PM our plane finally touched down in Houston. We went through Immigration/Dept. of Homeland Security, and once they stamped James' passport he automatically became a U.S. citizen! That was such a good feeling. Then we collected our luggage. Interestingly, our stroller did not make it with us from Frankfurt to Houston even though we had checked it in at boarding, not with our luggage. The story was that it may have been left on the jetway or maybe it ended up on an Air France flight (we're still trying to figure that one out). We weren't worried about it since the stroller served its main purpose which was for use in Almaty and the Frankfurt airport during the layover. We just felt bad for a family trying to get to Houston that had checked in a carseat while boarding the plane, only to find out it didn't make it to Houston. We went quickly through customs to find my parents and my brother waiting for us. They brought flowers and balloons, and it was so great to see them. They were so thrilled to finally meet James. We then went home and found they, along with R.J's girlfriend, Anna, had decorated the house, too! They stayed a couple of hours before leaving so that we could get some rest. As we were driving home, we realized just how big everything is here and just how convenient things are, too. After being in Kazakhstan for so long and staying in apartments our house seemed really huge to us at first. Even my closet seemed really big! If anything, our time in Kazakhstan just reminded us how lucky we are and made us appreciate that we live in the U.S.A. even more. Too bad not everyone sees things that way, though.

Overall James is adjusting as well as can be expected. Tonight is his first night home and he has been waking up every 1-2 hours, sometimes with nightmares. This is all so new to him, so right now we're trying not to overwhelm him with too many things. Plus, we're all trying to deal with jetlag. Hopefully the adjustment will get better, and we are confident he will continue attaching to us as the days go by. We just ask that everyone be patient with us. We are very eager for everyone to meet James, but we also need to do it in a way that is in his best interests and that means taking things kind of slowly for the next few days to weeks. So, please don't be offended if we don't invite everyone over at once. Something that may sound strange is that we may ask you not to take James from Sean or myself if one of us is holding him. We are trying to establish with him that we are his primary caregivers and the last thing we want to do is have him think we're just handing him off to another caregiver, which is what has been done all his life until we came along. It would be better to pick him up from the floor if he is playing. That is also the reason why, at first, we will be the only ones to feed him, rock him, bathe him, change him, and comfort him, at least until he is comfortable with his surroundings and has adjusted well. James needs to understand that he actually belongs to someone now - that he's not just another baby in a group - and know that he can trust us to fulfill his needs.

The pics above of our travels home. The last pic was taken on March 8th, the day after we arrived home. It is also International Women's Day in Kazakhstan. It is a national holiday there and in all other former Soviet bloc countries. Sean brought me roses to celebrate it. If you notice, behind it is another gift - my cup of coffee from Starbucks! Ahh...

Before I go, I just wanted to mention how much we appreciate everyone for everything you have done to help us make this happen, especially those of you who have kept us in your thoughts and prayers. We feel even more sure than ever that this is what we were meant to do. James and his personality fits in with our family perfectly.

Special thanks to my brother, James' Uncle R.J., for keeping things going on the home front and taking care of our furry kids, Tyson and Tippy. Big thanks to Susan Cotten, our stateside coordinator, Jim and Cindy Harding, the Sisters, and the whole staff at World Partners Adoption for helping us find our son. While in Almaty and on our flight back we met some other families that had used other agencies, and while they were very happy they were united with their children, many were unhappy with how their in-country process went. I can honestly say that overall we felt very well-taken care of while we were in Kazakhstan, and that helped us make some very enjoyable memories that we can share with James when he gets older.

Wishing everyone well and lots of love to all!

It sure feels good to be home. :-)

(Maureen's Post)
This is it - our last full day in Kazakhstan before leaving for home! It was a very busy day, so I'll just recap the highlights. Actually, we have less than 2 hours left before midnight, which is when our driver, Andrei, will pick us up to take us to the airport. Our flight for home leaves at 3AM - less than 5 hours from now!

Last night was a much better night for James. He finally slept through the night, only stirring a few times but not needing to be picked up. He's starting to adjust to us being in Almaty and in this apartment. He was definitely a happier baby today. Too bad we're leaving again in a few hours and we're back to square one on the adjusting.

Today was another sunny and warmer day with high temperatures in the 40's. Andrei picked all 3 of us up at about noon today to do a little bit of sightseeing before our meeting at the Sisters' office. He took us to 28 Paniflov Heroes' Memorial Park which honors veterans from the Russian Revolution and WWII. There's quite a large bronze statue commemorating WWII veterans upon entering the park with an eternal flame. As we learned in Kokshetau, it is common tradition for newlyweds to have their pictures taken at such memorials and to lay down flowers at the eternal flame. In the middle of the park is a beautiful Russian Orthodox cathedral, built in 1907. What's so amazing is that it was built without any nails, yet it was one of the few buildings standing after an earthquake in 1911. After we left the park Andrei took us to the Small Almaty River. Apparently, there are actually three rivers here. It is tradition to bathe in it on Saturdays after fasting on Friday (at least I think that's right), even in winter weather. As we left the river we drove by some very large homes (relatively speaking). Andrei explained to us just how the housing market has boomed within the last five years, causing prices to skyrocket. We also saw some babushkas selling flowers at the side of the road, probably in preparation for International Women's Day, which is on March 8th. It is like Mother's Day and Valentine'sDay combined with all the gifts and flowers, but it honors all women of all ages. Andrei says it's the one day out of the year where the cost of flowers can be 2-3 times higher than normal. I told him it sounds like Valentine's Day in the U.S. when roses become very expensive compared to the rest of the year.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon finishing up paperwork at the Sisters' office. Then, we had to take care of one more thing before we could come home to the U.S. - our exit interview with the U.S. Embassy. It was more like a quick interview with someone behind a glass window and signing paperwork. We received James' passport with his U.S. visa in it, and it was thrilling to receive that. We also received the originals and the translations of his birth and adoption certificates that we first saw in Kokshetau last week. After we left the U.S. Embassy we met with the Mechems for dinner at Stetson to have one last meal together in Kazakhstan, not to mention today's Jodi's birthday! They have menus in English, but the waiters did not speak English. With our limited Russian we were able to communicate our order and also ask for some hot water so that Bob could get Owen's rice cereal and bottle ready. They ended up getting barely warm water, instead, so something must have been lost in translation. It was all good, though - everyone managed fine. We all had cheeseburgers with fries, which were very good. Actually, Sean first ordered a slice of pepperoni pizza, but the waiter then returned a few minutes later to tell us they didn't have it today. It's just one of those things you expect to happen here sometimes!

We then made one last quick run to the Tsum store then returned back to the apartment to get our packing together. As I type this post, Sean is finishing up what we have left and is happy to be pulling on his last pair of crunchy, line-dried jeans. Actually, since Andrei will be here shortly to pick us up, I will have to close out this post so we can also pack away the laptop and the necessary accessories. We have pics for today, but with our time constraints I will wait until we arrive home (that sounds so nice) to post them.

Our next post will be from home! At 3AM our 23-hour journey home will commence (18 hours in the air with a 5-hour layover in Germany). Let's hope we have uneventful and quiet (yeah, right) flights home.

Da Svidanya and love to all!

(Maureen's Post)
Okay, so I think last night was James' worst night here in Almaty. Poor baby kept waking up almost every hour to hour and a half. He's having a really tough time adjusting to leaving Kokshetau and coming to Almaty and being able to sleep at night. It had taken him almost a week to feel comfortable enough in our apartment in Kokshetau to get into a routine and sleep well there. And because he hasn't been getting the sleep he needs he's been extra cranky at times during the day. He still laughs and plays hard otherwise, so he's hanging in there. That's okay - we'll be home soon enough! As for us, I had no idea it was humanly possible to function on so little sleep. Of course, it's just a temporary thing until we get home, hopefully, so we should be fine.

Today I went around running some errands and left Sean with James at home since the baby had such a hard night. Andrei picked me up mid-morning, and the first order of business was to go to the Lufthansa ticket office. I was able to purchase a one-way lap ticket home for James for only $117 USD - much cheaper than if I had bought it in the States before we left. I asked the ticket agent how full our flight was from Almaty to Frankfurt, and she said it was packed. I found out later that the Sullivans had their medical appointment for the twins at the SOS International Clinic today and that there were six other adopting families there (from different agencies) to have their children's exit medical exams, and that most, if not all of them were also leaving early Wednesday morning on the same Lufthansa flight. So it's very possible we may have up to 10 babies or so on our first leg of our trip. It's going to be fun for those passengers expecting a quiet flight to Frankfurt!

After picking up the tickets, Andrei took me to a candy store so I could try some chocolates made here in Kazakhstan. He had the lady behind the counter put together a sampling of different individually wrapped filled and plain chocolates so I could try them and come back and get more of the ones I liked. I have decided that I like the dark chocolate here because it's not too bitter. I've found that the milk chocolate here is a lot sweeter than I like. I'm not a chocoholic like Sean is, though, so maybe I'm not a good judge! Next was a trip back to the Tsum store to finish up our souvenir shopping. I still have to return tomorrow afternoon, though, as I had ordered something from one of the vendors. I also picked up a few things to give to James as he grows older. We plan to give him a little something from his birthcountry each year when we celebrate his adoption day.

After I returned to the apartment I gave Sean a break and stayed in with James so he could go for a walk. Turns out we are only a 25-minute walk from the Tsum store. Of course, that would be too far to walk with a baby in tow, even with a stroller. The stroller is not the easiest thing to maneuver over slushy sidewalks. Everything's slushy because it's warming up even more (in the 40's today). He returned home with some pastries from a French bakery that he found at the Tsum. Later towards the evening he went out again to buy a 5 unit I-card. Unfortunately, we can't get it to recognize the PIN number on this new one. No worries - we still have a little bit of time on our old I-card left, and the 5 unit I-card was only about six bucks - not that big a deal when we've got bigger fish to fry, like trying to get home! Sean also picked up take-out from the American Bar and Grill for dinner, since they're only two city blocks away from our apartment. They did have the hamburgers today, so he got us cheeseburgers with fries and milkshakes for us. They were pretty good - almost tasted like home!

Before I close out today's post, I wanted to mention a few things about packing to come to Kazakhstan for the families traveling after us. Honestly, we've found that we could find most things here, even normal rolls of toilet paper in Kokshetau! They say that if you're not sure about whether or not to bring something to just save yourself the weight and leave it at home. We've found that to be pretty much true. We've used everything we've brought and didn't really miss not having anything. However, here are some things that we are very glad that we brought from home:

DVD player and LOTS of DVDs - we found that TV series on DVDs worked out better for us instead of movies since they are shorter. This was good for before we took custody of the baby and were in between running errands. This also worked out well after we had James with us so we could spend more time in between episodes playing with him, feeding him, rocking him to sleep, etc. You don't feel like you're being interrupted, like in an engrossing movie. Some people choose to play DVDs on their laptop computers, and that's fine, too. We didn't have that option since the laptop we brought was so old and the DVD player was on the fritz. Don't forget to bring cables with you if you do bring a DVD player so you can watch the DVDs on your TV in your hotel room or apartment. We brought just enough DVDs to watch during our trip. Tomorrow we finish the last "Raymond" DVD we brought. How's that for timing?

Power converter - We forgot to bring one of these, but thankfully we were able to get one from Joan Mesker while we were in Kokshetau so we could use the DVD player we brought. We actually ended up buying it from her when she left since we used it our entire time in Kokshetau and wanted it for when we're in Almaty, too. Of course, in Almaty we ended up having working cable TV, but we still ended up watching our DVD's (I have to say it was interesting to see Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and Nickelodeon dubbed in Russian). Also, double check the voltage on your electronics and hair dryers, etc. Just because it's dual voltage doesn't mean it's for the correct voltage here, which is the mistaken assumption that we made with the DVD player.

Extra long phone cord - We brought a 25-foot long telephone cord. We ended up not needing this in Kokshetau, but did in Almaty, for sure. The telephone jack was down the long hallway near the entrance, and it allowed us to use the laptop for Internet access in the living room. Sean did his MacGyver thing again and duct taped the phone cord onto the floor along the walls so we wouldn't trip over it. The cord was a perfect length and left us with 6 inches of cord to spare. Also, don't forget to bring a female ended adapter in case your apartment has no phone jack, only a phone cord coming out of the wall. Of course, if you plan to go to the Internet cafes, instead, none of this matters, but we liked the convenience of being able to connect from the apartments.

Queen-sized fitted mattress sheet - This was one item that we were on the fence about while packing, especially since we were so close to our weight limit on our luggage. We decided to bite the bullet and packed it literally at the last minute before we loaded up the car to go to the airport. We are so glad we did. There are no fitted sheets to be found here at all, and the flat sheets on the beds in the apartments here are pretty thin and don't even entirely cover the mattress. Blankets and comforters were not a problem here; our apartments had enough of those. We had brought pillowcases, too, but did not need them at all. Well probably just leave those and the fitted sheet behind so that's less for us to pack later.

About food - We are not very picky eaters, so we didn't really bring much with us. Even convenience foods (instant soups, etc) were pretty easy to find here. Microwave popcorn can be found at the Ramstore in Almaty, but we couldn't find any at all in Kokshetau. Sometimes their Tsum store has it, but they didn't during our entire stay there. So, if your apartment ends up having a microwave, that might be nice to have. We brought one very large jar of peanut butter and it was enough for us on this trip. You can find Nutella here if you're a fan, like me. We had brought powdered Gatorade which helped me a lot when I first got to Kokshetau and then had that stomach thing going on. We left that behind in Kokshetau with another family that had recently arrived and was going through the stomach thing, too.

Ziploc bags - So helpful for so many things such as storing leftovers, packing things like lotions, soaps, etc. In a pinch they're good for especially messy diapers, although we also brought the scented disposable diaper bags which we use more of. We brought a box each of the Ziploc one quart and one gallon sizes with the zipper closure for ease.

Clorox wipes - You can't find these in Kazakhstan, either. These were very helpful for wiping down the kitchen, cleaning up spit-up from the floor, etc. What we don't use we'll leave behind in the apartment.

Rubber bands - A handful should be enough. A family who traveled before us mentioned bringing these and we've found so many uses for them. I mostly use them after I prefill the Playtex disposable liners with James' formula/rice cereal combo for his bottles then put them in a Ziploc bag until I'm ready to use them. We also used them in our apartment in Almaty to hold some doors open that would swing close when we didn't want them to. The possibilities are endless!

About medications - For sure bring all the meds that your International Adoption (IA) pediatrician prescribes for you and your child. Antibiotics for traveller's diarrhea is good to have just in case. Don't forget your prescriptions. You're better off bringing Tylenol, Advil, and any cough and cold products from home if you want instructions you can read in English. We did see Thera-Flu in Kokshetau, though. Pepto-Bismol is great. It works for diarrhea (Kaopectate also has the same formulation now, and it's not as harsh to your system as Imodium can be sometimes). Plus it works well for nausea; it came in handy for when I had the stomach problem when we got to Kokshetau. Sean didn't really have any stomach problems the entire time we were here. Our doctor has always told us to take one tablet three times daily to help prevent traveler's diarrhea when we're unsure about the water anywhere. We ended up just taking one tablet in the morning and one in the evening. In the past, it's worked for us when visiting Cancun, and it didn't fail us this time in Kazakhstan, either!

That's all I have for now. If I think of any more must-need items we'll include it in tomorrow's post. Not a lot of pics today as Sean stayed in with James most of the day. James is becoming more accustomed to the baby carrier and even fell asleep in it today. Even though we have the stroller for the airport layover in Frankfurt it will be nice to have the baby carrier as an option, too.

We've only got one more full day left in Kazakhstan and then we're outta here! We'll try to get some rest tonight, as tomorrow will be extremely busy! Paka and love to all!

(Maureen's Post)
It was a fairly warm day in Almaty today - the highs were somewhere in the mid-30's (Fahrenheit). Of course, after spending several days at subzero temps last week in Kokshetau anything over 25 degrees feels warm to us. Our bodies have acclimated to the cold weather here. Wonder what it will be like when we're back in Houston with even milder temperatures? We'll probably be sweating like pigs, I'll bet.

James is still having some trouble adjusting, and it's showing itself in more ways than one. Sleep (or lack of) is the obvious one. He's only been sleeping a couple hours at a time at night. His feeding has changed, too. He has decided that he no longer wants to eat the rice cereal snack with the formula chaser. He got upset yesterday when I tried to feed it to him. I tried again today and got a full blown meltdown. But he has no problem with the formula/rice cereal combo in a bottle, which is good. We'll just have to give him an extra bottle of that to make up for his snack until we get home and into a feeding routine. We were planning to just do bottles for the flights home, anyway.

This afternoon we went to the Tsum store with the Mechems and Jill Sullivan to do a little souvenir shopping on the third floor. We were there for a couple of hours, which was about all that James could take, anyway. I will probably return tomorrow to finish up. Afterwards, we all went to the American Bar & Grill. The setup is very much like a TGI Fridays, with a similar type of menu. The descriptions on the menu are quite interesting, though. Jill ordered a stuffed chicken and got something that looked like chicken cordon bleu. Also, just because something's on the menu does not mean that the dish is available that day. For example, Sean, Bob, and I all ordered cheeseburgers, but then were told that they weren't available today. Sean then ordered a burrito which was alright (it's not Tex-Mex!), and I got a Philly cheese steak sandwich with fries which was delicious. I also got a vanilla milkshake and it was excellent. Not surprising since the ice cream here is so good and creamy. Oh, and we also started out with some mozzarella sticks for an appetizer; they were pretty good. We just took it easy the rest of the evening in the apartment.

Being in a different country with a baby does have its challenges. There are conveniences in the U.S. that are just not available in other places, such as baby changing stations in the restrooms, or even running water that is generally okay to drink from the tap. It does force you to get creative sometimes. Jodi and I were saying that after having our babies for almost a month in a foreign country and with some families even having to deal with mysterious illnesses that we are all going to be pros at taking baby out with us once we're back in the U.S. Not to mention the changes in environment the babies are forced to deal with (from baby hospital to apartment to flying for 3 hours to another apartment to flying for 18 hours to home - all within a few weeks). If we can get through this, we can get through almost anything.

Our plan for tomorrow is to purchase a plane ticket for James and maybe go back to the Tsum. I can't believe that it's almost time to go home!

Paka and love to all!

(Maureen's Post)
Well, it is very apparent that we are in a new environment as James is having some trouble adjusting to being here. Yes, the sleepless nights are back. Tough - yes. Even tougher when you're so far from home. Poor James was up a lot last night. Despite that he still seems to be handling things like a trooper overall. It's hard for him, though, and I don't know if he'll ever really adjust to being here, as in a few days we get to turn his world upside down yet again with traveling home. Let's just hope Sean and I will at least get some sleep in the next couple of days before the long flights home. We're not looking forward to our flight time which is at 3 AM on Wednesday morning, meaning we have to be packed up and out of here before 1 AM.

Today Andrei picked us up and took us to the Green Market to find a stroller. It will be helpful with going out with James and definitely for the airport, especially for our layover in Frankfurt. We just got a simple umbrella stroller. Andrei was able to talk the lady down to 3000 Tenge (about $24 USD). Then we went to the Ramstore and had a snack with Bob and Jodi Mechem at the food court next to the ice skating rink. There's even a Baskin Robbins there, and we enjoyed some ice cream. Afterwards, we went to the grocery-type store in the Ramstore and did some shopping for food items we can use in the next few days before we leave.

We and the Mechems parted ways at mid-afternoon and made plans to meet with the Kurtz's at Mad Murphy's Irish Pub tonight for dinner. Mad Murphy's is owned by a British expatriate and serves pub-style food and even has menus in English - quite rare in these parts. It was nice to be close enough to walk to Mad Murphy's (four city blocks away) using the new stroller. Sean had a bacon double cheeseburger with fries that he really enjoyed, and I had chicken quesadillas which were also very good. They were also easier for me to eat with James in tow, as he was sitting on my lap. It was great just to be able to get everyone together at the same time - both parents and the kids. All three children were fairly well-behaved considering they're still adjusting. Of course, we had the loudest and wiggliest child of the bunch. It was very much a pub atmosphere; reminded me of The Black Lab back home in Houston. It was very busy, not only because it was a Saturday night, but also because there was a big soccer match being televised live between Liverpool and Manchester United - huge rivalry. Needless to say, there were a lot of Brits at Mad Murphy's tonight. After being away from home so long it was nice to hear other restaurant customers speaking English. They also have free Wi-fi access here if your laptop has the capability (ours doesn't). When dinner was over we ended up going back to the apartment and just called it a day.

I'll let Sean take over now to explain the Nursat I-Card for families traveling after us.

(Sean's Post)
Well, as you can tell, we are back on the Internet. We just kind-of muddled our way through the Nursat I-card (International card).

For those of you traveling here, here is what we learned: You'll need an I-card while in Almaty so make a point to have your driver help you get one the first day (Most cell phone stores have them). The modern stores will give you just a strip of paper with printed out info for your I-card, other vendors will give you an actual card. The printout version lists all of the contact numbers depending on what city you are in and your PIN. Unfortunately Kokshetau was not a listed city or else we would have used this to access internet while we were there. The card lists the numbers for Almaty only and you have to scratch off the back to reveal the PIN. Be careful, if you don't use the card for 90 days, it's gone so be a little conservative on how many units you'll need. The cost for long distance calling varies so just call home and give them your number so they can call you back. It's cheaper that way, anyhow. For Almaty and Astana, the Internet costs 1.4 units per hour most of the day. It only costs .35 units from 2 AM until 8 AM. If you're a night owl or if your baby wakes you up in the middle of the night, you can save some $ here. For other cities rates are cheaper. Here are the instructions:

To make an international call or to call any cell phone (like your driver's):
Dial 2-980-111 from any phone. It's often busy so keep trying. A voice will come on and prompt you in Russian and then in English. It first asks for your PIN. Then, you're asked for the destination number - cell number for your driver or dial 8-10-1-area code-phone number to call the U.S. The voice will then tell you how long you have on your card to talk with this number. It's all straightforward and easy.

To connect to the Internet:
This was more difficult as we didn't have any instructions in English. You'll make a new modem connection or change the one you've been using (like we had for Kokshetau). For the phone number put in 2-980-980. If that doesn't work you can also try 2-954-990. At least for internet there's two access numbers, but connecting to the first one has not been a problem for us. For BOTH the username and password put in "nursat". You can then connect. Once online, you can only go to one webpage. Type in "www.nursat.kz/support/" in your browser. Look for the "English" button in the upper right-hand corner and click on it. Click on "create a new account". You'll be prompted for the PIN off your card and asked to make up a username and password. Write these down. You will then disconnect the modem connection. Then, re-open the connection, but leaving the phone number the same, change the user name and password to the ones that you just created. Hit "connect" and you're done. You can go to the support page again and add units to your card if you need to. Some vendors can also add units for you if you go through them, and I also believe there are machines (like ATM machines) where you can add units, as well.

We ran into trouble trying to add the units online so we'll just purchase a new card once this one runs out and make a new username and password. It wouldn't recognize our PIN today. Oh well, just go with the flow (our mantra for this entire trip).

That concludes our post for today! Paka and love to all!

(Maureen's Post)
Today we left Kokshetau and headed for Almaty. As I predicted, leaving was bittersweet, as we were glad to be another step closer to home but sad to say goodbye to Inna and Oleg. We will miss them very much.

The Kokshetau airport is very small and old. I had my first experience with a pit toilet here (in a stall). That's what I get for drinking a large glass of water right before we left the apartment. For future families coming to Kokshetau, there's no toilet paper in the ladies room, so bring your own if you absolutely must go. Travel Charmin is a Godsend!

This flight had 5 babies on it: James, Owen Mechem, Garrett Kurtz (three of the five Kokshetau hamsters), and the Sullivan twins from Tschuchinsk, Ryan and Lauren. The Yak-40 that we flew on this time was a newer plane than our last one (relatively speaking), and we had a slightly more comfortable flight. Of course, as we expected but hoped wouldn't happen, James had a meltdown on the plane about an hour into the flight. He cried and screamed for about 15 minutes straight before finally falling asleep. He pretty much slept for the rest of the flight, finally waking up while we were descending. We didn't feel so bad, since Owen Mechem had his turn of fussiness, too, just not as long or loud as James was. Poor babies - so many changes going on at once.

One thing we noticed is the temperature difference here. It's much warmer in Almaty - by almost 15 to 20 degrees. When we left Kokshetau, the expected high temp for today was expected to be 15 degrees Fahrenheit, and the high temp in Almaty was almost at the freezing point of 32 degrees Fahrenheit - big difference.

Once we arrived and unloaded our luggage we were met by our driver here in Almaty, Andrei. He speaks English very well and is very nice. He has a 5-month old daughter, himself. He loaded our luggage up in his Toyota Prado (Landcruiser). The driver side in this vehicle is on the right; we've seen both left and right-sided driver vehicles here. People do drive on the right side of the road here, though.

Andrei took us first by a photo store to get James' picture taken, I believe for his visa to enter the United States. Then we went to the Sisters' office to sign some papers. Then we were off to the SOS International Clinic for James' exit medical exam. James now weighs in at 18.6 lbs and is 25.5 inches long. And we actually suspect that he weighs a little more than that because his left hand and foot were touching the wall when he was being weighed. The doctor briefly went over his medical report with us and told us that James is now in the 50th percentile for his weight and somewhere in between 10th and 25th percentile in height. He then briefly examined him. Of course, this was when James was demonstrating just how much energy he can have. He loves to kick his legs, and when he's very excited he kicks at lightning speed. The doctor commented that once he learns how to crawl that he's going to be very fast, and it will be difficult to keep up with him. Yay.

I didn't expect it to happen, but coming to Almaty after being in Kokshetau for over five weeks was a bit of a culture shock. As Andrei drove us to the apartment we'll be staying in, I was looking around at the "big city" with new eyes compared to the last time we were here when we first arrived, noting how much newer and bigger buildings seemed to be. There were so many more people and lots more traffic. Our apartment is on the third floor of a building and is quite large in comparison to the one we stayed in Kokshetau. The third floor is also the top floor, so no noisy neighbors throwing late-night parties here! This one has two bedrooms. Plus, there's a little grocery store just two doors down from our building. Not a huge one, but at least we could get bread and water. Since it was such a busy day today, we opted to stay in and get settled in. Dinner tonight was peanut butter sandwiches - fancy, yes? Sean was able to get a Nursat I-card for calling cell phones (like our driver's), placing international calls, and accessing the internet. It was just a strip of paper with a bunch of numbers and instructions in Russian. We were too tired to try and decipher it tonight, so we will make an attempt at it tomorrow. Once we do figure it out, we'll post the instructions on how to make cell and international phone calls and connect to the internet tomorrow.

Paka, everyone and love to all!

IT'S OFFICIAL! HE'S FINALLY OURS!

(Maureen's Post)
Today was another big milestone day. The fifteen day waiting period expired at midnight last night, so today we were able to go to the city registrar's office and get James' official birth certificate and adoption decree naming us as his parents. It's such an amazing feeling knowing that he's all ours and officially part of our family. We still plan to do a readoption once we get home, though. We want to readopt for a couple of reasons. One is to get a state-issued birth certificate (in English) showing that he was born in Kazakhstan. This will come in handy when it's time for him to start school. Secondly, we want to protect his inheritance rights.

We didn't get to hold James' birth certificate for very long, as it needed to be sent to Astana (the capital city) along with some paperwork to get James' Kazakhstani passport. He is still considered to be a citizen of Kazakhstan until the age of 18. Of course, once our plane touches down on U.S. soil when we return home he also automatically becomes a U.S. citizen. So, he will have dual citizenship with both countries until he turns 18. There is a new procedure now where some of the paperwork has to be completed in Kokshetau before being sent to Astana, and we are one of the first families to do this. It was no big deal though, just involved some more waiting in the same office.

After the paperwork was done we went to an Armenian restaurant and had a wonderful leisurely lunch. This was a combination celebration for us families and an appreciation lunch to Inna and Oleg for all they did for us. The food was very tasty, and we and the Kurtz's were in agreement that this was probably the most flavorful meal we've had in Kokshetau. We had a great lunch and were even treated by the manager to a very large, fancy, sword-shaped bottle of Armenian cognac, which was very good. The manager was so nice for doing that, and he even came to our table to join us for a drink. Combine the cognac with the vodka that we were already drinking, and you've got some pretty tipsy folks leaving the restaurant. That is, except for Oleg. He refuses to drink any alcohol when he's driving families around.

After leaving the restaurant we went to a baby store to stock up on formula and rice cereal, enough to last until we are able to fully transition James to formula and cereal at home. We also went to the bigger Skif Trade pick-up store to stock up on diapers and wipes to last us until we return home, too. To celebrate the end of the waiting period we bought James a singing Cheburashka doll, which is an imaginary furry animal. About 3 weeks ago we were watching one of our working TV channels on a Saturday morning while some children's shows were playing. One of the shows is about the Cheburashka and his crocodile friend, Gena, and an old lady, Shapoklyak, who keeps getting into mishaps. The movies were obviously made many years ago. It wasn't animated, but more like clay-mation (think of those Frosty the Snowman or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas specials on TV). I asked Rada about it when we were at Joan's get-together last month and she told me what that the animal was called Cheburashka. Inna came with us to buy the doll today, and she told us that the story is no one really knows where he came from, but he was found in a truck in a crate of oranges, and someone just arbitrarily named him Cheburashka. The doll sings about being friendly to all, including dogs which offer him their paws in greeting. James was quite entranced with the singing doll, and we've been using it to distract him to keep him still while we're trying to change his diaper so he doesn't roll over. We think we'll probably wear out the built-in batteries. We're taking bets to see if the Cheburashka is still singing by the time we return home.

As previously promised, I've also included some pics around town that we took on our city tour a couple of weeks ago.

Until next time, paka and love to all!

(Maureen's Post)
One thing we've noticed is that from this latitude it is very obvious that the days are getting longer. When we first arrived in Kokshetau on January 24th, sunrise was at 8:19AM and sunset was at 5:49PM. We've been steadily gaining more light each day, a little over 4 minutes of additional daylight each day. Yesterday sunrise was at 8:16AM and sunset was at 6:55PM. So, just in the time we've been here we've already gained a little over an hour of daylight. So, you can imagine how long the days are in the summertime here.

Today was a cold (of course), but beautiful, sunny day - a good day for a trip to Lake Boravoi. It's about 95 miles away from Kokshetau and takes about an hour and a half to get there. This time we had a different babysitter watching James while were were gone - Oleg's mother, Galina. She is a very sweet lady and James did very well with her. She said he was a very good boy.

It was neat to leave Kokshetau and see the different landscape on our way to Boravoi. Most of Kazakhstan is arid steppe, so for the most part the landscape was very flat and covered with snow. Every now and then there would be some very large snow-covered hills and some little mountains, but otherwise it was flat. There's so much land here that's seemingly untouched. About halfway there we passed a little town (I forget the name) with a huge grain elevator and a few homes, restaurants, and hotels, but that was about it. As we got closer to Boravoi we passed through Tschuchinsk, which is the city where the Baby House is where some of our travel partners are visiting their children. It looked a lot like Kokshetau, just smaller. Once we left Tschuchinsk and went into the Lake Boravoi region we could see a rapid change in the landscape. There was forest of mostly birch and fir trees with snow-topped mountains rising up in the distance. It is very beautiful to see. Apparently this is the only place in the entire country of Kazakhstan like it. Supposedly there is a push to develop this area into a more touristy spot, bringing in casinos and more hotels and the like. Unfortunately, if that were to happen then I would imagine that trees would be cut down to make room for development. That would be a shame, as there is so much unspoiled beauty there.

As we drove back to Kokshetau and were making our way back to the apartment when we were back in town, I couldn't help but reflect on the experience we've had here. As I was watched people walking around town in the snow, just as I've seen them do every day since we arrived here, I realized that leaving Kokshetau will be bittersweet for us. While we are very anxious and excited to be another step closer to bringing James home, there's a part of us that will be sad to leave. We have made some very good friends while we were here, and we will definitely miss Inna and Oleg quite terribly. We are just so glad that we have had the chance to spend time in James' birthcountry and will be able to tell him about Kazakhstan and Kokshetau as he grows older.

That concludes today's post - paka!

(Maureen's Post)
Well, today was not an eventful day at all. When I first awoke this morning at 6AM the temperature outside was -29 degrees Fahrenheit (-34 degrees Celsius), and today's high temperature reached -13 degrees Fahrenheit (-25 degrees Celsius). Needless to say, we spent the entire day inside the apartment, just hanging out. Oleg stopped by this morning and picked up the crib that we weren't using. Inna also called to confirm plans for tomorrow's trip to Lake Boravoi. I guess she just wanted to make sure we still wanted to go if it was still this cold. Tomorrow's temps are expected to warm up quite a bit (relatively speaking) to a high of 4 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celsius), so Sean and Darryl decided that as long as it was over 0 degrees Fahrenheit that we would still go for it. Oh, yes - the longjohns and coats with fleece liners will be worn tomorrow. Hopefully, Luba will be able to babysit James for us again.

We also did a load of laundry, which is something we have been doing more often since having James with us - imagine that! One thing we've never really completely figured out is how to keep from tripping the circuit breaker which supplies both the kitchen and bathroom. So, all the big appliances (refrigerator in kitchen, washer and water heater in bathroom) are on the same circuit. We also suspect that a neighbor's apartment may also be tied into that same circuit. Nice. So, tripping the breaker on a daily basis is almost inevitable. God forbid I try to heat up water with the electric tea kettle or even have the lights on in the bathroom at the same time. And yes folks, we have had the lights go out in the bathroom in the middle of a shower more often than not. You haven't lived until you've had to try to shower by flashlight (remember, we shower in parts since the drain takes so long to clear). Luckily the breaker box is in the stairwell right outside our apartment door. Of course we need to have a coat on just to do that since the stairwell is not heated. You can see your breath the minute you walk out of the apartment on our floor (4th floor), even before going down and exiting the building.

James seems to be adjusting to us well, and we're adjusting to him, too. He's so much easier to "read" now than when we first brought him home with us. Maybe it's because we've started to figure out his likes and dislikes, and we can now kind of distinguish which cries mean what for him (I'm hungry, I'm sleepy, etc.) I think he's been eating a lot more now than what he was getting at the baby hospital. Of course, we're constantly with him and giving him attention now vs. before when we visited him for two hours at the hospital and he just spent the other 22 hours laying in a crib without a lot of contact. So, surely he's using up more calories now. We've increased the amount of rice cereal in his snack and have added a 4-oz. formula chaser afterwards. Yesterday, we also started to transition him to the new formula he'll be getting at home (soy, lactose free). His bottles now are 25% new formula and 75% old formula (thanks for the tip, Dawn). Today we've already noticed a lot less spitting up and no horribly messy poopy diapers, so I think he'll be okay with the new stuff. We'll do this for about a week before increasing the amount of new formula to his bottles.

It's amazing how much James is attaching to us, even though he hasn't been with us that long. For that, we credit the mandatory bonding period at the hospital and now the waiting period with us in the apartment. He used to indiscriminately smile at anyone in the hospital that showed him attention, but now he's starting to show preference to us and a little shyness towards strangers. Of course, it's been pretty much nonstop Mama and Daddy for the past two weeks, 24/7. We are so grateful for the opportunity to bond with him during this time with no interruptions and no distractions. It's amazing - with each passing day we fall more and more in love with this precious child, and everything just feels so right. God is truly good!

That's it for today! Paka and love to all!