(Maureen's Post)
Today has been pretty low key. As Sean reported yesterday, James is sleeping better through the night, probably because he's gotten more comfortable with being in the apartment with us after leaving the children's hospital. Of course, we get to go through readjustment next week once we leave here and arrive in Almaty, not to mention flying back to Houston and finally arriving home. Also, yesterday and today he's started making whiny cries. I guess we should be glad that he's feeling comfortable enough with us now to do that. You know - the kind where he's not really crying tears but is whining because he's not happy with something. He was definitely Mr. C.P. today (Sean likes to call him Mr. Cranky Pants) and was very whiny all day. We've figured out that it's probably his teeth really bothering him because the drool is flowing nonstop and he's shoving everything he can find into his mouth.

Oleg and Inna stopped by this morning to pick up our empty gas canister for the stove and replace it with a full one. We've already seen Oleg a few times since court, but this is the first time we've seen Inna since court. She has been busy with the family arrivals after us and then was down with another case of the flu three days ago. We told Oleg that James wasn't sleeping well in the crib so we're using the mattress, instead, so he will come by again tomorrow to take it so it won't be in our way. We have less than a week left in Kokshetau now, so I think we're going to slowly start trying to pack some things up. After distributing our donations and gifts and using up some of the other things we brought (large jar of peanut butter, some toiletries, etc.) it looks like we may even be coming home with one less piece of luggage. That will be nice since we're gaining a wiggling child weighing close to 18 lbs. or so by then! Anyway, now that we have a working gas stove and oven we were able to make dinner for the Mechems who came over again today. We had a very nice dinner and playdate for the boys.

Sean "MacGyver" Powers was at it again today. One of the legs on the kitchen table wobbles and he finally had enough of it. So, he got out his trusty Leatherman and tightened the screws on the table base. The Leatherman has truly been quite handy, and we're very glad that we brought it. However, note to future families if you bring one: obviously, because most Leathermans have a blade you will need to transport it on your checked baggage. However, be forewarned that if you fly out of Almaty to another region, you will have to scan your checked baggage, too, and airport security will surely question it. Vitallii, our driver in Almaty when we first arrived, helped us get through airport security by explaining to the screeners that it was a multitool with screwdrivers and a corkscrew and such, and they seemed satisfied with that explanation.

Since we've been walking to the Viola and the pick-up store to get grocery supplies, we really haven't gone to any restaurants since taking custody of James. What we've been eating hasn't been too exciting, just whatever we make in the apartment, but the other day we were able to even find some frozen vegetables (green beans, carrots) at the pick-up store. Lunch today was salami and cheese sandwiches with mayo (what I thought was colby cheese didn't taste exactly the same to me, but it was still pretty decent) and strawberry yogurt for dessert. The yogurt here is really good - very thick and creamy. James was eyeing the yogurt while I was eating it, so I gave him a little taste. At first he made a face, but then he was wanting more. I gave him one more little taste and that was it. Don't want to tempt fate and end up with stomach problems from adding a new food right before we go home. It wouldn't make a very pleasant plane ride, that's for sure!

We now have three working local TV channels instead of two. Again, none are in English and the reception is not that great. One of the channels, however, is a local Kazakh channel that periodically showcases traditional dances, poetry, and music. Above are a few pics of a couple of the shows we saw. The top two pics are of a singing contest. Both gentlemen were in traditional costume, singing and playing the dombra, a traditional Kazakh stringed instrument. They were competing for a car. We couldn't tell who the winner was, but judging by audience reaction the second guy was the favorite. The lower two pics were from some sort of talk show. I mostly wanted to take these pictures to show examples of some traditional Kazakh costume and the ornamentation on the clothing. It's the same type of ornamentation found on the hoist side of the Kazakhstan national flag.

That concludes our post for today - paka!