(Maureen's Post)
Today we awoke, hoping for long-distance telephone and internet access, but no luck. Maybe later today. Sean went to the Viola market today to go food shopping. He used a list I made for him that was in both English and Russian - those phrasebooks do come in handy! He said the ladies were very friendly at the Viola market. Everything is behind counters which are attended by the ladies, and you point to the item you want to purchase and then pay at that specific counter. I told him they would probably be less friendly if I was with him - ha! He came back with some sausage (more like salami) and some mozzarella and bread and we had sandwiches for lunch. Then it was time to go to the children's hospital for our afternoon visit with James.

It was a good visit, as usual! It was more physical today, with more leg and arm exercises. Plus he also learned how to pull up to a sitting position with assistance today. He loves to do that, and he opens his eyes and mouth really wide as he's pulling up. He also rolled over today (kind of) with a little help from me. He also liked that and kicked his legs quite a bit once he made it onto his stomach. He was teething pretty hard today, gnawing on some beads and also his hand. Another nap during the visit today, and then he was ready to play again for a few minutes before it was time to leave. Leaving today was especially hard. When it was time to go we put him down in the crib in the visiting room. He just started crying right away, kicking his legs, even though we went to him and gave him kisses as we were putting on our shoes and coats. That just upset him more. He stopped for just a brief moment when Sean couldn't stand it anymore and picked him up. But then Sean had to put him back down in the crib and he started wailing again, sounding so pitiful. It was so incredibly difficult to leave him, and I was in tears by the time we made it outside. "Just a little over two weeks until court and he's ours" is what we keep telling ourselves!

After our visit, Oleg and Inna took us and the Kurtz's back to the Skif Trade pick-up store where we got more diapers; found a couple of 64-ct pkgs of diapers this time - yes! We also found some other items to use at the apartment like a spatula, disposable plates, larger cups and mugs, aluminum foil, and clear plastic containers to store leftovers in. These were found at another pick-up store on the second floor above the Skif Trade. I was glad to find those plastic containers as I had forgotten to pack the disposable Gladware containers. Our next stop was a store of appliances that also sold frying pans which were kept inside a glass counter. We spent about 3000 tenge for the frying pan, which is about $24 USD. After that, Oleg dropped us off at a pizza place near the Tsum store. Darryl ordered a cheeseburger, but he said it really didn't taste like one. He did say the fries were good, though. The rest of us had pizza - not like the thick or hand-tossed crust Dominos kind, but more of a thin crust (which I love) with minimal sauce and lots of cheese, kind of like the pizza at California Pizza Kitchen. We also found an orange soda that we like called Mirinda - tastes like Fanta (yes, you can sing the song and do the dance; Sean already did that at the pizza place). Then it was back to the hotel for Darryl and Jenny and back to the apartment for us. The electricity was out in our apartment when we got back, so Oleg made some phone calls and the lights came back on in a couple of hours. In the meantime we just used our rechargeable flashlights (non-battery operated) to see around the apartment. Our internet access was finally restored so now we can post again!

That's all for today - until tomorrow, Paka! (Russian for informal goodbye, as in "see you later;" pronounced pa-KAH)

Love to all!