30 July 2009
Just a quick post since I am currently on battery power. We had some issues with the speed of the internet at the hotel in Almaty so that is why there have been no recent posts. I will post them as I get the chance today or tomorrow to catch up.
Lukas' passport was delayed arriving to Almaty so we were pushed back a day in having our US Embassy appointment. We were not sure if we would get out as scheduled or not. Luckily we were able to have it expidited from Astana to Almaty for a small fee of $100. Otherwise we were told it might be Friday before it would arrive. It was worth the extra money.
The embassy appointment was about 10 minutes, we received his passport and sealed envelope. Nicoli picked us up at 11:30pm Wednesday to take us to the airport. We breezed through security and immigration. We were forunate to have a row of 4 seats to ourselves. Lukas was quite excited about the whole process. We were able to get him to sleep just before we landed in Astana to pick up the rest of the passengers. It was a pretty full flight. He slept until breakfast.
He got to ride a bus from the plane to the terminal in Frankfurt and we are currently sitting by a window so he can see all the planes and trucks.
I'll post more later. Just wanted to let everyone know that we are on schedule to arrive home as planned.
Paka,
Lynda, Wayne and Lukas
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
US Embassy Interview? Yes!
29 July 2009
It is just before 7am on Wednesday morning. Lukas actually put himself to sleep last night and only a little bit past his bedtime. He saw Mama and Papa reading in bed and decided he was going to do the same thing so he grabbed his little toy truck and his book and climbed in bed between us. He eventually fell asleep. No waking up in the middle of the night; however, he was up at 5am asking to eat something. I gave in and he picked a cup of yogurt and a cookie out of the fridge. He sat at his table quietly eating and amazingly when he was done he got back in bed with his toy and book and went back to sleep.
Once everyone was up we headed downstairs for what we hope is our last breakfast at Kazzhol. Lukas is now use to the elevator and likes pushing the buttons. He ran ahead of us to the restaurant and by the time I caught up with him he was sitting at our regular table waiting in his chair. I brought him some breakfast but other than juice he didn’t seem too interested. He had already had 2 yogurts and part of a cookie so I didn’t concern myself about it.
I took Lukas back to the room while Papa headed to the store for some Pepsi light and more yogurt. We awoke to overcast skies and rain so we planned to spend the morning in the room waiting to here if his passport arrived and we would have our interview at the US Embassy. The housekeeper was making up our room so we visited with the Docter family while she finished. It appears they were unable to get two seats on the flight out with us so they will be staying another day regardless of whether we have our appointments this afternoon.
Lukas is very in to copying whatever Mama and Papa are doing. He seems to be taking better to including Papa or doing things with Papa now instead of being overly attached to Mama. We have had several short baths this morning to pass the time. Nothing else to do cooped up in a hotel room so why not. Papa played with the balloons with him until lunch time and then we put him down for an early nap in hopes that we would go to the Embassy this afternoon. He fought me a little and shed some tears but not nearly as long as other times.
We have not heard that we are not having our appointment so we will get ready and head down to the lobby to meet with Nikoli.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
Nicoli arrived about 30 minutes late to get us because we discovered that the US embassy would not accept one of Lukas' documents in it's existing condition for some reason and Nicoli was waiting for Janette to fax an acceptable version before we headed to the Embassy for our appointment.
All in all the embassy interview and process took about 10 minutes. They handed us hes Kaz passport with his US visa in it and his sealed envelope with instructions on what to do when clearing immigration in Almaty and Dulles and how to get his social security card and US passport.
Upon arriving back at the hotel Nicoli presented both families with an invoice for the services provided in Almaty. What a novel business approach. It is the first invoice we have actually been given during this whole process in Kazakhstan. We headed to our room to pack, had an early dinner and managed to get Lukas to sleep some before heading to the airport. He is an official world traveler now. He was quite excited to get on the plane.
See you state side,
Lynda
It is just before 7am on Wednesday morning. Lukas actually put himself to sleep last night and only a little bit past his bedtime. He saw Mama and Papa reading in bed and decided he was going to do the same thing so he grabbed his little toy truck and his book and climbed in bed between us. He eventually fell asleep. No waking up in the middle of the night; however, he was up at 5am asking to eat something. I gave in and he picked a cup of yogurt and a cookie out of the fridge. He sat at his table quietly eating and amazingly when he was done he got back in bed with his toy and book and went back to sleep.
Once everyone was up we headed downstairs for what we hope is our last breakfast at Kazzhol. Lukas is now use to the elevator and likes pushing the buttons. He ran ahead of us to the restaurant and by the time I caught up with him he was sitting at our regular table waiting in his chair. I brought him some breakfast but other than juice he didn’t seem too interested. He had already had 2 yogurts and part of a cookie so I didn’t concern myself about it.
I took Lukas back to the room while Papa headed to the store for some Pepsi light and more yogurt. We awoke to overcast skies and rain so we planned to spend the morning in the room waiting to here if his passport arrived and we would have our interview at the US Embassy. The housekeeper was making up our room so we visited with the Docter family while she finished. It appears they were unable to get two seats on the flight out with us so they will be staying another day regardless of whether we have our appointments this afternoon.
Lukas is very in to copying whatever Mama and Papa are doing. He seems to be taking better to including Papa or doing things with Papa now instead of being overly attached to Mama. We have had several short baths this morning to pass the time. Nothing else to do cooped up in a hotel room so why not. Papa played with the balloons with him until lunch time and then we put him down for an early nap in hopes that we would go to the Embassy this afternoon. He fought me a little and shed some tears but not nearly as long as other times.
We have not heard that we are not having our appointment so we will get ready and head down to the lobby to meet with Nikoli.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
Nicoli arrived about 30 minutes late to get us because we discovered that the US embassy would not accept one of Lukas' documents in it's existing condition for some reason and Nicoli was waiting for Janette to fax an acceptable version before we headed to the Embassy for our appointment.
All in all the embassy interview and process took about 10 minutes. They handed us hes Kaz passport with his US visa in it and his sealed envelope with instructions on what to do when clearing immigration in Almaty and Dulles and how to get his social security card and US passport.
Upon arriving back at the hotel Nicoli presented both families with an invoice for the services provided in Almaty. What a novel business approach. It is the first invoice we have actually been given during this whole process in Kazakhstan. We headed to our room to pack, had an early dinner and managed to get Lukas to sleep some before heading to the airport. He is an official world traveler now. He was quite excited to get on the plane.
See you state side,
Lynda
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
No Passport, no Embassy appointment
28 July 2009
We started the day as usual with the breakfast buffet. We were joined by Kara, Marcia and Alina this morning. After breakfast we had a bath and then headed out to explore in the other direction for a change of pace. The central part of town is evidently the other way and there was not much to see this way except for what I assume was a museum of some kind. So we headed back to the room to get Lukas an early lunch and decent nap today since we were suppose to go to the Embassy today at 2:15pm for his US Visa.
Yes, that’s right, we were suppose to got today. We were in the process of putting Lukas down when there was a knock at the door. I opened it to discover and elderly gentleman, named Ushen, at the door asking for Lynda and Wayne Robey. It ends up he is an associate of our Almaty coordinator, Oleg. I’m thinking it may be his father from the descriptions I have heard of him. He is a very kind gentleman compared to Nikoli who is your stereotypical Russian personality of being very gruff. He informed me that Lukas’ passport had not arrived in Almaty yet from Astana where it was being registered and receiving an exit Visa. It would not be ready until Friday. However, for a mere $100 extra they could get it here hopefully by tomorrow morning, Wednesday, by 8am and we could go to the US Embassy for our interview Wednesday afternoon at 2:15pm instead of today. The Power of Attorney in Astana will try to make this happen. He said he would call to let us know when the passport arrives.
Since our flight back is not until 2:15am on Thursday morning it is really no big deal for us. We were wondering how we were going to waste an entire day with a 3 year old in a city we have no clue about anyway. This will help break the day up tomorrow. Unfortunately for our traveling companions, the Docters, they were scheduled to leave tonight and now have to change there tickets. Such is the world of international adoption.
Lukas puts up a fight pretty much every time we try to put him to bed, whether nap-time or bedtime. We usually end up making him stay in bed; he throws a temper tantrum and cries himself silly, then eventually settles down and goes to sleep. I’m not sure if this is typical 3 year old behavior, institutional behavior or a combination of both. We definitely have control issues. He DOES NOT like it when he is not totally in control of what he wants or gets to do quite a bit of the time. I have been told this is to be expected with a child who had been in an orphanage. It doesn’t help to throw 3 yr old issues into the mix.
After nap-time we decided to check out the big shopping area that is a few blocks from our hotel. We were told they had a big section where they sold local crafts and souvenirs. The Tsum here in Almaty is much bigger and more like a real mall than the one in Taraz. It is attached to a long promenade with other stores and restaurants. Lukas was very good with putting up with Mama and Papa doing some shopping so he got to pick some things out for himself.
We ended up eating dinner back at the hotel and met up with the family from Chicago. They had their US Embassy interview today and are done and just waiting to leave on Friday morning. After dinner we went to the little market to get a few items to tide us over until we leave, hopefully, on schedule.
Paka,
Lynda, Wayne, and Lukas
We started the day as usual with the breakfast buffet. We were joined by Kara, Marcia and Alina this morning. After breakfast we had a bath and then headed out to explore in the other direction for a change of pace. The central part of town is evidently the other way and there was not much to see this way except for what I assume was a museum of some kind. So we headed back to the room to get Lukas an early lunch and decent nap today since we were suppose to go to the Embassy today at 2:15pm for his US Visa.
Yes, that’s right, we were suppose to got today. We were in the process of putting Lukas down when there was a knock at the door. I opened it to discover and elderly gentleman, named Ushen, at the door asking for Lynda and Wayne Robey. It ends up he is an associate of our Almaty coordinator, Oleg. I’m thinking it may be his father from the descriptions I have heard of him. He is a very kind gentleman compared to Nikoli who is your stereotypical Russian personality of being very gruff. He informed me that Lukas’ passport had not arrived in Almaty yet from Astana where it was being registered and receiving an exit Visa. It would not be ready until Friday. However, for a mere $100 extra they could get it here hopefully by tomorrow morning, Wednesday, by 8am and we could go to the US Embassy for our interview Wednesday afternoon at 2:15pm instead of today. The Power of Attorney in Astana will try to make this happen. He said he would call to let us know when the passport arrives.
Since our flight back is not until 2:15am on Thursday morning it is really no big deal for us. We were wondering how we were going to waste an entire day with a 3 year old in a city we have no clue about anyway. This will help break the day up tomorrow. Unfortunately for our traveling companions, the Docters, they were scheduled to leave tonight and now have to change there tickets. Such is the world of international adoption.
Lukas puts up a fight pretty much every time we try to put him to bed, whether nap-time or bedtime. We usually end up making him stay in bed; he throws a temper tantrum and cries himself silly, then eventually settles down and goes to sleep. I’m not sure if this is typical 3 year old behavior, institutional behavior or a combination of both. We definitely have control issues. He DOES NOT like it when he is not totally in control of what he wants or gets to do quite a bit of the time. I have been told this is to be expected with a child who had been in an orphanage. It doesn’t help to throw 3 yr old issues into the mix.
After nap-time we decided to check out the big shopping area that is a few blocks from our hotel. We were told they had a big section where they sold local crafts and souvenirs. The Tsum here in Almaty is much bigger and more like a real mall than the one in Taraz. It is attached to a long promenade with other stores and restaurants. Lukas was very good with putting up with Mama and Papa doing some shopping so he got to pick some things out for himself.
We ended up eating dinner back at the hotel and met up with the family from Chicago. They had their US Embassy interview today and are done and just waiting to leave on Friday morning. After dinner we went to the little market to get a few items to tide us over until we leave, hopefully, on schedule.
Paka,
Lynda, Wayne, and Lukas
Monday, July 27, 2009
Back to the play area at the mall and International SOS Clinic Visit
27 July 2009
The weather has been a little overcast early in the morning but the days have been sunny and although hot, not as hot as Taraz. I have been getting up early so that I have time to take a shower, get dressed for the day, write the blog posts (uninterrupted), and have some quiet time before the rug rat awakes.
Lukas decided he wanted a pre breakfast snack and drank 1 ½ glasses of yogurt smoothie before going downstairs for the buffet. Needless to say he wasn’t quite as hungry at breakfast this morning but he did eat a little of most of what I brought to the table for him. I almost forgot to mention that Lukas insisted on taking his backpack to breakfast this morning. I think it was because we have been taking my backpack everywhere we go.
While at breakfast we met one of the other families from our same agency that had been and the region of Ust. They have adopted an older sibling pair (boy and girl) and arrived Sunday. They had them escorted to Almaty and met them here. They live in the Chicago area. Our case worker mentioned that 7 children between the age of 12 months to 7 years old were coming home from Kazakhstan this week. Five of the children were in the group from Ust. Some have already left to head home.
After breakfast we headed back to the room for some play time and to check email and post. Unfortunately, even though we paid for 2 hours of internet and were able to log in to the hotel wifi and pull up the homepage for email we couldn’t connect to anything else. We decided to bag getting on the internet from Almaty and waiting until we get to Frankfurt. Lukas took his morning bath and then we headed out to the mall with the play area again. He played for a short time and then wanted to ride the carousel again. It takes two 50 tenge coins. We had one. We managed to get some change but the carousel was occupied so he rode the horse/donkey next to it. The picture doesn’t show it but he really was enjoying his ride, however, he really wanted to ride the carousel. Once it was free he got his wish, twice. We then decided we needed to start making our way back to the hotel so he could rest up before the SOS clinic appointment. On the way down from the top floor someone decided he needed to ride the escalator over and over and over…. Two sales clerks were talking at the top and got a kick out of watching him.
While Lukas and Mama rode the escalator Papa went to the supermarket for some Pepsi. I finally got Lukas off the escalator and down to the second floor flat escalator. We past Papa coming back up to get us and Lukas thought that was pretty funny.
Outside the mall there is a little café that serves meat pies and pastries. We know he likes them and so we decided to buy him one for lunch. I specifically told the girl adeen (one) and she proceeded to put 3 in the bag. I guess she thought I meant one for each of us. We sat at a table and Lukas inhaled an entire pie. They are about the size of a hostess fruit pie. We brought the others back and put them in the fridge for later. He seems to prefer them cold any way.
Once back at the room we let him play some more and then attempted to get him to take a nap. He decided it was time for an afternoon bath. We finally got him to go to sleep about 1pm. We needed to be downstairs at 2pm to go to the clinic. I dressed him while he was still half a sleep and carried him to the lobby. Once he saw he was going in a car he woke right up. He actually let me put a lap belt on him for the ride to the clinic.
He did very well at the clinic appointment and was given a clean bill of health. The doctor was very good with him. He has actually gained some weight and grown 2-2.5 cm since we met him in late April. He is in about the 5th % on both height and weight on the US CDC charts but the doctor was not concerned. I had him at about the 15th% on the WHO international charts which are more reflective of kids in orphanages. We were caught off guard when they informed us they wanted the payment in Tenge and not US dollars. Fortunately Wayne had enough tenge with him or we could have used a credit card.
Lukas wasn’t quite as happy about the lap belt on the drive back. We decided to exchange some more money and then eat at the Koo Koo Roo Chicken for an early dinner. The menu was all Russian but we managed to order 3 chicken fillet dinners. It turned out to be similar to chicken parmesan but with cheese and a white sauce of some kind. Lukas ate about half of his with some fries and rice. He doesn’t appear to like the Kaz version of ketchup. He seems to like sweet tasting things so we will see how he likes US ketchup when we get home.
We called it a day after dinner and headed back to the room. Lukas, of course, had to have another bath. He still fights us with going to sleep but once asleep he sleeps fairly well. No nightmares during the night but Mama made the mistake of moving him halfway through the night so he wouldn’t fall off the bed and woke him up. After a few tears he settled back down to sleep until about 7:30am this morning (Tuesday).
Paka,
Lynda, Wayne and Lukas
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Exploring Almaty
26 July 2009 Part 2
After my boys woke up we got dressed and headed downstairs to the free breakfast buffet. I started to prepare a plate for Lukas and he was so excited he wanted to carry the plate. I decided it was best to put a few starter items on it and take him to the table to start eating while I went back and fixed a second plate for both of us. They had what looked like a smoothie of some sort so I poured him a glass. We were told in the mornings they at smoothies so I thought it would be something familiar. He drank 2 glasses, ate from his plate, mama’s plate and papa’s plate. He ate really well and quite a bit.
After breakfast we headed out to explore the surrounding area of the hotel and get a few things from the market for the room. Papa went across the street to exchange some money and Mama was going to wait on the other side with Lukas. He wasn’t having any of that and wanted to go with Papa. So off we went across the street. You can definitely tell we are not in Taraz anymore as there was a guard in the exchange who carried an automatic weapon over his shoulder. I never saw armed guards at any of the ones in Taraz and even in the bank the guards didn’t have obvious weapons that I could tell.
During our explorations we came across a neighborhood playground only a block away. It had 2 slides, a jungle gym and a swing set. He headed straight for the swing set. I put him on the swing, gave him a push and then he began swinging on his own. I don’t know if he figured it out by himself or if he had been on a swing before. They didn’t have any swings on the playground at Umit so I was quite surprised.
As usual Lukas started a collection of sticks that we carried for a while. We continued walking around and as we reached a busy section of roads discovered they had underground walkways so you didn’t have to cross the street, you just went underneath. Each of these walkways had little kiosks in them. The last one we went in was a big toy store and mini-mart. We almost had an incident when he saw a big riding car with a huge bear in it. He went to take the bear out so he could ride the car as if it were just a playroom full of toys. I managed to distract him with a singing Eeyore doll whose ears flapped up and down as he sang. That did lead to a minor meltdown because he wanted the doll but we weren’t going to pay almost $40 for a small singing toy when he has a stuffed Eeyore in the room he doesn’t really play with yet. We managed to eventually get him moving again. We managed to find the big shopping center with the large Tsum store but opted not to go in today.
Most of the ditches on the sides of the road didn’t have water running through them but we did finally come across one that had very fast water running through it. Naturally we had to stop and throw things in it for a while. It was a very slow 2 block walk until we crossed the street. We weren’t sure where we were for a while but did manage to stumble back across the hotel from the opposite side we left on. We headed to the little grocery across the driveway of the hotel. According to Wayne it was actually cheaper than the grocery in Taraz. It’s about the only thing that is cheaper. We picked up some beverages and some food for Lukas for in the room. Mama also stocked up on her supply of candy that she keeps at the ready for major meltdowns.
Lukas had lunch and then fought us for 45 mins about taking a nap. It was a major screaming fit but we finally got him to sleep. He slept a good 2 ½ hours. At the hotel they have buttons you can push next to the door that light up outside the door to let housekeeping know not to disturb you or to clean your room. We were sure to have it on so they didn’t come in during his nap like in Taraz. The Doctor family stopped by after nap time and told us about another shopping center just a few blocks further up from the hotel that had a big grocery store in the bottom and a play area/food court on the top floor. We decided to go check it out for our afternoon outing and meal.
It is probably about 6-8 blocks from the hotel. They have what I can only describe as flat escalators as you go in the building. Lukas wasn’t to sure about it at first. The grocery store is kind of like a small version of the Super Walmarts back home. They had shopping carts like our grocery stores, food and sundry items, as well as, household items, toys and seasonal items. We headed upstairs to find the playground. They had another flat escalator that went to the second floor which was more like a regular shopping mall with different clothing shops, specialty stores, etc. Lukas was starting to get the hang of the moving escalator. To get to the third floor where the food court, play area, movie theater and internet kiosks were you actually took a regular escalator. He thought that was fun.
We introduced him to his first kid’s meal at their version of KFC. Mama actually got a chicken shashlik at KFC and it was very good. They had a version of Burger King as well with various Kazak food items in addition to a few regular Burger King items. No hamburgers though.
Next it was on to the play area. We paid for 1 hour of fun. The first thing he headed for was the riding machina. There was only one other little girl, about 7-8 years old, playing when we arrived. Then another little boy about 2-3 yrs old arrived and wanted the same toy Lukas had. He was very good about sharing. Eventually a several children arrived ranging in age from about 18 months to 7 yrs old. It was interesting to see his interactions. He spent a good deal of time in a riding car just watching the interactions of the other children together and with their parents. He played a little with them but mostly by himself which I thought was interesting. He wasn’t to sure about the ball pit until he saw some other children playing in it his age. I don’t think he liked how it felt to walk on the balls. I wasn’t sure how he was going to react when it was time to leave but he actually decided on his own about 5 mins before his time was up that he was ready to go. We took a ride on the mini carousel and then prepared to leave.
I think he enjoyed riding down the escalator as much as he did the play area. We went back up and down a second time just for fun. We explored the 2nd floor a little and took advantage of the opportunity for a potty break before heading back to the hotel. Papa took him and he had his first urinal experience. Papa had to explain that we don’t play in the urinal. I am sure to him it just looked like a big sink.
We headed home and stopped next door to visit with the Doctor family before calling it a day. We discovered we had managed to demagnetize our room key and it wouldn’t work. Lukas and I hung out at the elevator while waiting for Papa to come back. They have mirrored doors and mirrored walls inside. Lukas is a little scared of the elevators currently. He always asks to be picked up and whines a little. I pointed to him in the mirror and asked who it was. He said Anton. I decided to try and teach him how to say his name. He responds when you call him Lukas but want call himself Lukas. I actually got him to repeat after me, “My name is Lukas Anton.” We tried Robey but he didn’t quite get that out. He his pretty good at parroting back English that you tell him. As a typical 3 year old, sometimes parroting what you don’t want him to say. We practiced some more and showed Papa what we learned when he got back.
As usual we had several baths/showers again today. We spent the evening playing with our balloons with Mama and Papa and eating his evening snack. We have a small table and two chairs that are just the right height for him to sit at and eat. When he is hungry he will go sit in his chair at the table or say, “Mama tamook.” He was actually pretty good about laying down for bed even though he didn’t go to sleep right away. We play his music and try and do quiet activities. I have been telling him a bedtime story about his being adopted. It is very generic and I don’t know how much he understands but he listens somewhat especially when you talk about him.
He likes to hold things when he goes to sleep. We never know what it is going to be. Tonight he was playing with the remote and whacked himself in the mouth. He managed to cut his tongue. He was quite intrigued with the tissue I used to stop the bleeding and he got some on his finger. He kept looking at his finger and looking at the remote like why did you do that. He ended up going to sleep with the remote, his little skewers from Papa’s sandwich the night before, the ipod speaker, sippy cup, Mama’s watch and the bloody tissue. Needless to say once he was asleep mama removed everything.
About a 1 ½ after he fell asleep he woke up screaming. We were quite concerned because there appeared to be no consoling him. First I thought he was still asleep. I was holding him and he just kept screaming, “Mama, Mama” and it didn’t matter that I was holding him. Usually if I rock him and give him his sippy cup he calms down but not this time. I tried the bath but he didn’t want anything to do with it. You would have thought we were torturing the poor kid. He finally calmed down when Papa gave him a piece of candy. He crawled back in bed, collected all his items again and eventually fell back to sleep.
He woke up screaming again about 3 hours later. He didn’t want mama. Papa picked him up and rocked him and he calmed down fairly quickly. He went back to sleep and spent it close to Papa this time instead of Mama. I really wish I could know what was going through his head and what it was that scared him so. According to literature on International Adoption and other parent’s these kinds of episodes during sleep are very typical and expected but just the same they are quite difficult to experience first hand. I just hope he doesn’t have one of these episodes on the plane.
That is about it for now. It is about 7:30am on Monday morning and we go to the SOS clinic today for his US entry medical. We’ll fill you in on the experience and Lukas’ continued adventures in tomorrow’s blog.
Paka,
Lynda
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Cars and Trains and finally arrive in Almaty for US clearance
26 July 2009
At 8pm Friday evening (one hour before Lukas’ usual bedtime) with a little help from Lukas we packed up and headed downstairs to wait for Janette to take us to the train station. Our train to Almaty was to leave at 9:30pm. Kim saw us off and we all loaded up into the cars and headed off much to Lukas’ delight. Upon arriving at the train station Janette handed us a folder full of papers to give to the Almaty coordinator. It contained the original versions and English translations of his official adoption decision, passport, birth certificate, adoption certificate and medical and Umit papers.
We then headed up to the train platform to wait for our train which was coming from Moscow. Lukas has developed an attachment to his backpack on wheels and won’t let anyone else take it so it is a little slow moving up stairs and down bad sidewalks. Kural headed in to check on things and came back out to tell us that the train was delayed by 3 hrs because of a problem with the tracks. So Janette decided we would be better off going back to the hotel and waiting there. We checked the large bags and took the backpacks back to the hotel with us. Lukas actually willingly gave his bag to Kural for the trip back to the hotel, however, when we got back he immediately went to the back of the van to retrieve it. Janette got us our rooms back without paying additional and we headed back upstairs to wait until 12am. Mama and Lukas took a short catnap during the 2 hr wait.
Aima and Kural loaded us all up and we headed back to the train station to try again. They tell us that this is the first time the train has not been on time when they have sent a family to Almaty by train. When we arrive back at the train station Janette phones Aima to tell her that the train is delayed another several hours and will not be leaving until 3:30am. They offered to take us back to the hotel again but we all decided we would rather stick it out at the station. So far Lukas has been holding up pretty well inspite of the fact that it is 1am. Kural would keep checking on the status of the train and come back to help us get on the correct train and car when it actually arrived.
Wayne managed to figure out the board listing the comings and goings of the trains and kept an eye on the status of our train. Needless to say, Lukas eventually went in to meltdown mode. God bless chocolate candy! It is about the only thing that will quickly stop his screaming fits so you can attempt to calm him down. He fought off going to sleep the whole time. He was just really excited by the trains and everything was new. We finally decided to go ahead and retrieve our bags and head to the platform to wait. We met a gentleman who spoke English. He does business in the US. My best translation of what he told me “I work for the American Council” is that he does something for the US Consulate based on the location of his office from the Hotel Kazzhol where we will be staying in Almaty. He was in Taraz working with some people in the Peace Corp. He gave us some information on the train we were taking and how to locate our train car and sleeping compartments.
Kural arrived about 15 minutes before our train to assist us. When it was our turn to actually get on a train Lukas was beside himself in excitement. He couldn’t wait to get on the train. He tried to run Marcia, Kara’s mom, over on the steps to get up into the train car. Did I mention he was still pulling his backpack. Kural ended up lifting him up into the car because the steps up were very steep. We settled into our sleeping compartment and when the train started to move Lukas wasn’t to sure he still wanted to be on it. As the motion smoothed out he relaxed and amazingly settled himself in by taking a pillow and covering himself up with the blanket. I gave him a little Dramamine just to be on the safe side. He fell asleep without any problems. Once he was asleep Mama and Papa settled in to try and get some shut eye. It had been a long evening and it was 4am by the time we pulled out of the station.
Later in the morning Mama got some quiet time as Lukas was still sleeping. He slept till about 10:30am. He had a little snack and decided he was keeping all the food we brought next to him in bed along with his shorts, shoes and Eeyore that we bought him. He just kept moving the items around so he could keep a close eye on them while he laid there quietly. Every so often he would get up and look at the window and start chattering away or singing. Eventually he got restless and we wandered down to Kara and Marcia’s compartment. This seemed to occupy him as he played with Alina. We stopped at some large station outside of Almaty. We were stopped for quite some time. A young family that was in our next compartment with a little boy spoke English and translated what the purser was trying to tell us. We would be stopped for another 20 minutes. Then they said it would be faster to take a taxi to Almaty. Not having any clue where we were and being told we probably wouldn’t arrive in Almaty until 2pm we were confused because it was only 12:30pm at the time. Once we started moving again it was only about 15 minutes later and we arrived in Almaty. We then understood why the couple made the comment about the taxi.
We were met by a man named Nikoli who came directly to our compartments to get us. We hurriedly gathered all our belongings and followed him off the train. Yes, Lukas still had a clutch hold on his wheeling backpack and wouldn’t let anyone help him. We headed down the rutted out sidewalk, across the other track and up onto the main walk way. Lukas was so distracted by everything around him and tired that we had quite the time with getting him to the van in one piece. Mama eventually had to resort to standing in the middle of the parking lot to stop the cars so he could get across to the van. Everyone was calling to me that a vehicle was coming and I said, “I know, I figured if I stood in their way they would have to stop.”
It was a short van ride to the hotel and Nikoli pointed out where the big shopping center was and the buildings we would be going to for our appointments on Monday and Tuesday. You can definitely tell you are in a metropolitan city. The hotel is very nice and just like what you would expect of a major chain hotel in the states. We actually have wifi in our room for the nominal fee of about $4.50/hour. We checked in and then Nikoli asked for the papers Janette gave us. He was looking through Alina’s first and Lukas kept trying to give him his papers. Fortunately we had plenty of different pictures of Lukas in our packet. Nikoli wasn’t happy with the picture of Alina and told Kara she would have to go have another photo taken. When he looked at Lukas’ he started to tell me the same thing and I told him there were more photos in the bag and he found one he liked. I have no idea what they are for since they already have their passports done. Currently Lukas’ passport is in Astana for registry and will be sent to Almaty.
Lukas was getting extremely cranky so I had Wayne take him up to the room while I finished with Nikoli. He informed Kara and I that he would meet us at 2pm in the lobby on Monday to take the children for their SOS Clinic medical appointments. Kara and I then headed upstairs to join the others. Lukas was still all revved up and quite the handful. I showed him the bathroom and when he saw the tub with the hand held shower head he was ready to get in. When he took off the pullup I put on him once we were on the train I wasn’t sure what I would find because he hadn’t been to the bathroom since we left the train station in Taraz. It had been close to 12 hours since he had last been to the bathroom. I was amazed to find it was completely dry and clean.
Once he was dressed we headed out to find some “real” food since we hadn’t eaten anything but snack food since the evening before. We went to the hotel restaurant which was fine until after we ordered. Mr. Lukas decided he was going to start yelling and being disorderly. I immediately took him out to try and calm him down. I was afraid I was going to have to take him back upstairs. When I took him back in his juice was there and that seemed to occupy him until the food arrived. We ordered him broth with meat and noodles but the fancied it up and he wasn’t very interested in it. He dipped some vegetables from Wayne’s plate and a few pieces of bread in it and he was done. He had a few bites of Mama’s chicken ceasar salad and some of Papa’s fries and he was done.
Just before Mama left to bring him upstairs the waitress brought him 4 balloons tied together. That was enough distraction for Mama to get him upstairs. Did I mention this hotel actually has elevators! Lukas doesn’t mind them but he is very careful stepping into them and out of them over the part where the doors open and close. Once back in the room he kept trying to pull the balloons apart. Mama managed to get them separated and he entertained himself playing with them for a while. He wasn’t to happy when Mama locked herself in the bathroom to take a shower. Someone in their infinite wisdom chose to put the light switch on the outside at child level. Guess who took her shower mostly in the dark? He wasn’t too happy with Papa trying to keep him away from the light switch. While Papa showered we eventually had another meltdown and fell asleep on the floor around 4:30pm. I think it was a combination of the excitement of everything new, the messed up sleeping schedule and pure exhaustion. It was my intent to keep him up so he would go to sleep on schedule in the evening. I think we all needed some sleep because we all fell asleep. About an hour later there was a knock on the door. Just when I thought I was in for the evening we were told we needed to meet Oleg, the Almaty coordinator, in the lobby to fill out paper work. So mama got dressed, grabbed her documents file and headed down to the lobby. Filling out forms when you are half asleep is no fun. Fortunately Oleg told me what to write and I just filled it in.
Lukas was still asleep when I got back to the room. It gave Mama and Papa a chance to rest as well. When Mama woke up Papa was feeding Lukas some snack we had left over. We then played with the balloons some more until it was time to go to bed. Guess who was wide awake? Yep, Lukas was not ready to sleep. After another bath and a small dose of Dramamine (yes, I know, I’m a bad mother, but we all needed some sleep and I need something to take the edge off so he would go to sleep) we settled into bed with him quietly playing with the balloons and within about 15 minutes he was asleep. So at midnight Mama was able to turn the tv and all the lights off and get some sleep.
It is now 7:30am on Sunday morning and both my boys are sleeping soundly. I took the opportunity to write this up while I had the chance because once his royal highness is up I don’t stand a chance with his little fingers wanting to push all the keys on the keyboard.
Hopefully we will have a quiet, leisurely Sunday and get back on a “normal” schedule until it is time to leave. Of course both appointments this week are when he is just getting up from his nap and wanting to eat. That should be fun.
Paka,
Lynda
At 8pm Friday evening (one hour before Lukas’ usual bedtime) with a little help from Lukas we packed up and headed downstairs to wait for Janette to take us to the train station. Our train to Almaty was to leave at 9:30pm. Kim saw us off and we all loaded up into the cars and headed off much to Lukas’ delight. Upon arriving at the train station Janette handed us a folder full of papers to give to the Almaty coordinator. It contained the original versions and English translations of his official adoption decision, passport, birth certificate, adoption certificate and medical and Umit papers.
We then headed up to the train platform to wait for our train which was coming from Moscow. Lukas has developed an attachment to his backpack on wheels and won’t let anyone else take it so it is a little slow moving up stairs and down bad sidewalks. Kural headed in to check on things and came back out to tell us that the train was delayed by 3 hrs because of a problem with the tracks. So Janette decided we would be better off going back to the hotel and waiting there. We checked the large bags and took the backpacks back to the hotel with us. Lukas actually willingly gave his bag to Kural for the trip back to the hotel, however, when we got back he immediately went to the back of the van to retrieve it. Janette got us our rooms back without paying additional and we headed back upstairs to wait until 12am. Mama and Lukas took a short catnap during the 2 hr wait.
Aima and Kural loaded us all up and we headed back to the train station to try again. They tell us that this is the first time the train has not been on time when they have sent a family to Almaty by train. When we arrive back at the train station Janette phones Aima to tell her that the train is delayed another several hours and will not be leaving until 3:30am. They offered to take us back to the hotel again but we all decided we would rather stick it out at the station. So far Lukas has been holding up pretty well inspite of the fact that it is 1am. Kural would keep checking on the status of the train and come back to help us get on the correct train and car when it actually arrived.
Wayne managed to figure out the board listing the comings and goings of the trains and kept an eye on the status of our train. Needless to say, Lukas eventually went in to meltdown mode. God bless chocolate candy! It is about the only thing that will quickly stop his screaming fits so you can attempt to calm him down. He fought off going to sleep the whole time. He was just really excited by the trains and everything was new. We finally decided to go ahead and retrieve our bags and head to the platform to wait. We met a gentleman who spoke English. He does business in the US. My best translation of what he told me “I work for the American Council” is that he does something for the US Consulate based on the location of his office from the Hotel Kazzhol where we will be staying in Almaty. He was in Taraz working with some people in the Peace Corp. He gave us some information on the train we were taking and how to locate our train car and sleeping compartments.
Kural arrived about 15 minutes before our train to assist us. When it was our turn to actually get on a train Lukas was beside himself in excitement. He couldn’t wait to get on the train. He tried to run Marcia, Kara’s mom, over on the steps to get up into the train car. Did I mention he was still pulling his backpack. Kural ended up lifting him up into the car because the steps up were very steep. We settled into our sleeping compartment and when the train started to move Lukas wasn’t to sure he still wanted to be on it. As the motion smoothed out he relaxed and amazingly settled himself in by taking a pillow and covering himself up with the blanket. I gave him a little Dramamine just to be on the safe side. He fell asleep without any problems. Once he was asleep Mama and Papa settled in to try and get some shut eye. It had been a long evening and it was 4am by the time we pulled out of the station.
Later in the morning Mama got some quiet time as Lukas was still sleeping. He slept till about 10:30am. He had a little snack and decided he was keeping all the food we brought next to him in bed along with his shorts, shoes and Eeyore that we bought him. He just kept moving the items around so he could keep a close eye on them while he laid there quietly. Every so often he would get up and look at the window and start chattering away or singing. Eventually he got restless and we wandered down to Kara and Marcia’s compartment. This seemed to occupy him as he played with Alina. We stopped at some large station outside of Almaty. We were stopped for quite some time. A young family that was in our next compartment with a little boy spoke English and translated what the purser was trying to tell us. We would be stopped for another 20 minutes. Then they said it would be faster to take a taxi to Almaty. Not having any clue where we were and being told we probably wouldn’t arrive in Almaty until 2pm we were confused because it was only 12:30pm at the time. Once we started moving again it was only about 15 minutes later and we arrived in Almaty. We then understood why the couple made the comment about the taxi.
We were met by a man named Nikoli who came directly to our compartments to get us. We hurriedly gathered all our belongings and followed him off the train. Yes, Lukas still had a clutch hold on his wheeling backpack and wouldn’t let anyone help him. We headed down the rutted out sidewalk, across the other track and up onto the main walk way. Lukas was so distracted by everything around him and tired that we had quite the time with getting him to the van in one piece. Mama eventually had to resort to standing in the middle of the parking lot to stop the cars so he could get across to the van. Everyone was calling to me that a vehicle was coming and I said, “I know, I figured if I stood in their way they would have to stop.”
It was a short van ride to the hotel and Nikoli pointed out where the big shopping center was and the buildings we would be going to for our appointments on Monday and Tuesday. You can definitely tell you are in a metropolitan city. The hotel is very nice and just like what you would expect of a major chain hotel in the states. We actually have wifi in our room for the nominal fee of about $4.50/hour. We checked in and then Nikoli asked for the papers Janette gave us. He was looking through Alina’s first and Lukas kept trying to give him his papers. Fortunately we had plenty of different pictures of Lukas in our packet. Nikoli wasn’t happy with the picture of Alina and told Kara she would have to go have another photo taken. When he looked at Lukas’ he started to tell me the same thing and I told him there were more photos in the bag and he found one he liked. I have no idea what they are for since they already have their passports done. Currently Lukas’ passport is in Astana for registry and will be sent to Almaty.
Lukas was getting extremely cranky so I had Wayne take him up to the room while I finished with Nikoli. He informed Kara and I that he would meet us at 2pm in the lobby on Monday to take the children for their SOS Clinic medical appointments. Kara and I then headed upstairs to join the others. Lukas was still all revved up and quite the handful. I showed him the bathroom and when he saw the tub with the hand held shower head he was ready to get in. When he took off the pullup I put on him once we were on the train I wasn’t sure what I would find because he hadn’t been to the bathroom since we left the train station in Taraz. It had been close to 12 hours since he had last been to the bathroom. I was amazed to find it was completely dry and clean.
Once he was dressed we headed out to find some “real” food since we hadn’t eaten anything but snack food since the evening before. We went to the hotel restaurant which was fine until after we ordered. Mr. Lukas decided he was going to start yelling and being disorderly. I immediately took him out to try and calm him down. I was afraid I was going to have to take him back upstairs. When I took him back in his juice was there and that seemed to occupy him until the food arrived. We ordered him broth with meat and noodles but the fancied it up and he wasn’t very interested in it. He dipped some vegetables from Wayne’s plate and a few pieces of bread in it and he was done. He had a few bites of Mama’s chicken ceasar salad and some of Papa’s fries and he was done.
Just before Mama left to bring him upstairs the waitress brought him 4 balloons tied together. That was enough distraction for Mama to get him upstairs. Did I mention this hotel actually has elevators! Lukas doesn’t mind them but he is very careful stepping into them and out of them over the part where the doors open and close. Once back in the room he kept trying to pull the balloons apart. Mama managed to get them separated and he entertained himself playing with them for a while. He wasn’t to happy when Mama locked herself in the bathroom to take a shower. Someone in their infinite wisdom chose to put the light switch on the outside at child level. Guess who took her shower mostly in the dark? He wasn’t too happy with Papa trying to keep him away from the light switch. While Papa showered we eventually had another meltdown and fell asleep on the floor around 4:30pm. I think it was a combination of the excitement of everything new, the messed up sleeping schedule and pure exhaustion. It was my intent to keep him up so he would go to sleep on schedule in the evening. I think we all needed some sleep because we all fell asleep. About an hour later there was a knock on the door. Just when I thought I was in for the evening we were told we needed to meet Oleg, the Almaty coordinator, in the lobby to fill out paper work. So mama got dressed, grabbed her documents file and headed down to the lobby. Filling out forms when you are half asleep is no fun. Fortunately Oleg told me what to write and I just filled it in.
Lukas was still asleep when I got back to the room. It gave Mama and Papa a chance to rest as well. When Mama woke up Papa was feeding Lukas some snack we had left over. We then played with the balloons some more until it was time to go to bed. Guess who was wide awake? Yep, Lukas was not ready to sleep. After another bath and a small dose of Dramamine (yes, I know, I’m a bad mother, but we all needed some sleep and I need something to take the edge off so he would go to sleep) we settled into bed with him quietly playing with the balloons and within about 15 minutes he was asleep. So at midnight Mama was able to turn the tv and all the lights off and get some sleep.
It is now 7:30am on Sunday morning and both my boys are sleeping soundly. I took the opportunity to write this up while I had the chance because once his royal highness is up I don’t stand a chance with his little fingers wanting to push all the keys on the keyboard.
Hopefully we will have a quiet, leisurely Sunday and get back on a “normal” schedule until it is time to leave. Of course both appointments this week are when he is just getting up from his nap and wanting to eat. That should be fun.
Paka,
Lynda
Friday, July 24, 2009
Last day in Taraz, headed to Almaty by evening train
24 July 2009
Today’s post will be brief as we need to prepare to leave for Almaty.
We had dinner with all the other families and Lukas Anton did very well for his first time in a real restaurant. We were quite pleased.
He didn’t want to go to bed last night and it took some coaxing. He actually slept for 6 hours straight before waking up. Of course that means he was awake at 3am. No nightmares though just a lot of moaning off and on. I thought he woke up because he needed to us the toilet. Ends up he wanted to eat. He headed to the fridge and began pointing to things he wanted and asking if he could have it. So at 3am we had a wedge of cheese, yogurt and apple juice.
He then decided it was the usual routine and we would go outside after eating. He took it pretty well when I said no. We headed back to bed and I rocked him a little and put him down. He laid there for a few minutes and then proceeded to take his shirt off. We figured he was hot, then he took the rest of his clothes off and we knew he was headed to the shower. Again he took it pretty well when I said no and put his underpants back on. Again I rocked him for a while, gave him his sippy cup and when he got drowsy I put him down again. This time he stayed down. So by 4am we were all back to sleep. It is almost 7am and he is still sleeping soundly.
So the next adventure will be his first train ride. Did I mention it is ten hours long? Most of it over night and we have a complete sleeper car with for seats that convert into beds. Hopefully he will sleep most of the way. It should be a good test for being cooped up in a plane for a long time. We will be met by the Almaty coordinator, Oleg, upon arriving on Saturday morning.
We are not sure if we will have easy internet access there but if we do we will post again. Otherwise it may be Frankfurt before we get the chance to send another post. We will find out the schedule for our Almaty visits when we get there. He is to be seen by the SOS Clinic for a physical exam and then he is to have a US Embassy appointment to get his US entry Visa and the mysterious sealed envelope we are to give to Immigration when we arrive at Dulles.
Until next time, Paka
Wayne, Lynda and Lukas
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Day four as a family and we said our first real English words
23 July 2009
After our nap on Wednesday Papa wrote the blog while Mama fixed our supper. We played a while and then all headed down to the business center. Papa entertained Lukas while Mama booted up the computer. He took him outside but before long they were back. It appears Lukas is living up to what the books say and is attaching more to Mama currently. So Mama went for a walk with Lukas while Papa posted the blog and checked his email.
We headed outside and walked around in front of the hotel. Lukas decided he wanted to go across the street so off we went and stopped to look at the fountain at the Aral Café. Lukas then heads over to a table to sit down. I told him we weren’t staying because we didn’t bring any money. He was not happy with Mama when she said we had to leave. We had a meltdown on the way back in the hotel. It always makes me feel bad when he melts down coming in the hotel because everyone looks at you and I feel like they are thinking “what did you do to make him cry”. He doesn’t actually cry he just screams like he is crying traumatically. I handed him off to Papa to take upstairs while I checked my email.
He does ok with Papa but pouts more. I think currently Papa is more the tough one than Mama. It is hard to establish a routine when not at home. I figure we can work on rules and structure once we are home. For now I am happy just to not have him meltdown. We are still working on what helps him soothe and calm down the quickest.
He really likes the shower. I think he just likes playing in the water personally. He doesn’t like having his face washed in the shower though. After our shower we got ready for bed and he didn’t put up too much of a fuss when we went to bed. As Wayne said yesterday he moves around a lot in his sleep. He appears to have active dreams. Last night he had his first nightmare. He started acting like he was fighting something or someone off and started screaming in his sleep. We were finally able to wake him up and calm him down. A lot of the books on International Adoption talk about the children having nightmares or night terrors when they first come home. He didn’t want to go back to sleep right away and put up a fuss when we tried to put him back down. I then remembered he seemed to quite down when he had his travel cup with the straw. It worked like a charm and he was asleep within a minute and slept until his usual 7am.
We had breakfast but he didn’t seem very hungry. After breakfast he went and got his shoes on, the correct feet for once, and his hat and headed to the door. However, we only had our pajama top and undies on! Everyone got dressed and Lukas thought he would help out by bringing Mama and Papa their shoes. 8am and we were off for our morning adventure. He enjoyed jumping in the water puddles left from them cleaning the sidewalk and playing in any fountain we came across. We climbed on things, jumped off of walls, picked up things, etc. Typical 3 yr old boy stuff. We were gone for about an hour. We came back to the hotel, bought some pastries and sat on the bench with Miss Kim, Alina’s mama. Papa made a trip to the store and decided he was headed up to the room. Lukas proceeded to jump off the bench and follow Papa.
Papa had bought Lukas some ramen noodles. He decided he was going to eat them now, 9:45 in the morning. Since he didn’t eat much for breakfast I figured what the heck. After our mid morning snack the three of us played together. Lukas decided he wanted a shower. So, what the heck, I let him. In the warmer weather the children at the baby house strip down to their underpants when they are in their group room. So Lukas typically does like wise when we come inside. At one point during our play Mama moved the clothes she was drying to the window in the living room. Lukas saw me put his underpants I washed up on the window ledge and decided he was going to put the pair he was wearing with them. Next thing you know we have a little nudist running around the room. That lasted until he fell playing and bumped his bum on the radiator. Papa calmed him down and we put our undies back on.
We played some more and then Lukas did something that Mama told him no and we started to pout. I decided I would entice him to stop by swinging him in the air and tossing him on the bed. He decided he liked that and wanted to do it again. After a few times I told him he needed to say “again please”. He wouldn’t do it but I kept trying. After a few more times I actually said it as clear as could be. Even papa heard it in the next room. We gradually added to it so that when he came over to do it again he would repeat after Mama, “again please Mama, thank you.” He was pretty pleased with himself. At one point I asked, “what do you say?” and he repeated the question to me instead of the answer. At least we know he can repeat words, eventually we will work on getting him to say them without being cued.
After rough housing with Papa and mama on the bed he decided he needed another shower and proceeded to head into the shower, take off his underpants and reach for the hand held shower nozzle. That was the first time he figured out on his own that he was to take off his underpants when he takes a shower. The first couple of times he would just walk in the shower and stand there in his underpants. I’m just glad he likes taking a shower. I think he will do fine in the bath because he likes filling cups up and dumping the water.
After our shower it was time for lunch and a nap. Lunch went well but we wanted nothing to do with taking a nap. He had a fit when we tried to put him down even though he was tired. I finally ended up rocking him to sleep with his music playing. Naturally, housekeeping showed up a bought 10 minutes later. They usually don’t come until around 3pm. She wanted to change the sheets on the bed. She was speaking in Russian and I just kept shaking my head no and saying nyet.
Currently both of my boys are napping. It’s about the only time available to write the blog without a little one attempting to help. Yesterday he managed to set the background on the computer while we were playing a DVD. Ironically, set the background to the first family photo and tiled it on the background. I have know idea how he did it. He was just pushing on keys and when we went to boot it down the new background showed up.
We are suppose to have dinner with Kara, Marcia, Alina, Kim, Christian and Natalie to celebrate our springing our kid, Kim finishing her bonding and Christian and Natalie having their court hearing.
We still don’t know when we will be leaving for Almaty but assume it will be Friday or Saturday evening since we need to take care of our 2 appointments in Almaty by Wednesday afternoon. We should know more tomorrow.
Paka,
Wayne, Lynda and Lukas
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Streams and Fountains
July 22, 2009
Wake up time was at 5am this morning. He slept pretty good last night only waking up once to go to the bathroom. Boy does he move around a lot when he’s sleeping. He had some breakfast and we decided to head out for a walk around 8:00am to beat the heat.
We headed to a park that has a lot of fountains. He loves to pick up any spare debris and toss it in. We would lift him up and he enjoyed the feel of the spray.
They have all these gulley’s running all through the town and we found some with some moving water. So he found plenty of sticks and other stuff to throw in and watch as it sailed down the stream.
As we were walking we were approached by 2 ladies, one of whom spoke English. We gave her our standard spiel of being tourists. After a few minutes of talking, she proceeded to tell us she is a Jehovah’s Witness. Yes 7000 miles from home and they are still ringing the doorbell. Only today we had no dogs to send to the door. But they were nice enough and soon said there goodbyes.
We headed back to the hotel and met up with Jeanette and she informed us that we would be heading to Almaty by train, although we don’t know when yet. It leaves in the evening and travels the 10 hours overnight and you arrive in Almaty in the morning. It should be an adventure but it may be good practice for the plane.
The meeting was cut short when Lukas pulled down his pants and that was our cue to rush him back to the room.
He is eating well and raising Cain about taking a nap. Meanwhile mama and papa would just love a nap. Yeah, yeah I know what you’re thinking, “we told you so, we told you so”. Everybody’s an expert.
Here are some pictures
Paka
Lynda and Wayne
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The ups and downs of a three year old
21 July 2009
Lukas did pretty well for his first night. He wasn't to sure about going to bed but settled in with his drinking cup and ipod and fell asleep. About 2:15am he woke up needing to go potty. When he came back he decided it was time to look out the window and see the lights and cars. Then it was time to play. We finally got him back to sleep around 4am. Fortunately he slept until almost 8am. The day was spent walking around exploring Taraz and playing in the room. He took his afternoon nap and has been eating well in the room. He LOVES yogurt! When he is ready to eat he goes into the dining room and sits at the table and just waits.
We had a few small melt downs today but all in all I would say things are going well and we are learning to understand each other. He had his first shower and actually seemed to enjoy it. Have to keep it short since the little one takes up a great deal of our time and is waiting for mama to come back with the computer so he can watch a video. Not sure how much actual writing I will be doing on the blog but I will at least post photos.
Lukas did pretty well for his first night. He wasn't to sure about going to bed but settled in with his drinking cup and ipod and fell asleep. About 2:15am he woke up needing to go potty. When he came back he decided it was time to look out the window and see the lights and cars. Then it was time to play. We finally got him back to sleep around 4am. Fortunately he slept until almost 8am. The day was spent walking around exploring Taraz and playing in the room. He took his afternoon nap and has been eating well in the room. He LOVES yogurt! When he is ready to eat he goes into the dining room and sits at the table and just waits.
We had a few small melt downs today but all in all I would say things are going well and we are learning to understand each other. He had his first shower and actually seemed to enjoy it. Have to keep it short since the little one takes up a great deal of our time and is waiting for mama to come back with the computer so he can watch a video. Not sure how much actual writing I will be doing on the blog but I will at least post photos.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Part 2 Final Trip
20 July 2009
We met up with Christian and Natalie at the gate for our flight to Almaty. It ended up that not only were we on the same flight but we were seated across the aisle from each other. We chatted at the gate while waiting to board and for a short time when we first boarded. I think we all had the same objective of eating dinner and then trying to sleep. We were on a bigger, newer plane this trip and the seats were actually quite comfortable.
We arrived in Almaty at 11:55pm, cleared customs and went to get our bags. The first one came out quickly. We then waited and waited but no second bag. Wayne noticed they had the carousel next to it going as well and headed over there. After a few passes still no 2nd bag. I then heard someone yell about the 3rd carousel and I headed over there to see if it showed up. I was beginning to get concerned something happened to the 2nd bag after several times around and then suddenly there it was.
We said good bye to the Pelletiers and told them we would see them in Taraz. They are coming by train on Monday so they won’t get here until late. As always Ernur was waiting for us outside the baggage claim area. We greeted each other and then headed for the car. We made record time this trip and arrived in Taraz at 6:58am. Only about 6-6 ½ hours.
The hotel was very quite and the bar and restaurant were not yet serving breakfast. We have our old room again, Room 220. We met up with Kara and her mother Marcia on the stairway as we were coming upstairs. Her mother seems very nice and I am looking forward to getting to know her in person. She is very anxious to meet her newest grand daughter. They did not go to Umit yesterday but Ernur said Janette would meet us downstairs at 9 or 10am. We don’t know if it is to go to Umit or just fill us in on when we will go and when we get to spring them! Zema, our translator, is in Kyzlorda still with her mother so I am assuming Janette will have Shirin translate this morning. She is filling in for Aima this summer and has been working with Kim, Alina’s mother.
More later…..
We have now had breakfast with Kara and Marcia (thanks for the tenge loan) and packed our bag for Umit. The only place to eat at the hotel this morning appeared to be the buffet in the restaurant. We’re wondering if it is there way of getting people to eat the 10.00 buffet instead of the 10 cent pastries from the outdoor café or bar.
We resume our ritual of gathering outside on the benches to wait for Janette. We finally met up with Kim who was already out on the bench. Once Janette arrived it was a female gab fest. Janette asked about Wayne and I pointed to the bench on the other side. Her comment was, “Wayne goes home and becomes shy.” I assured her it was more likely he was staying away from all the estrogen.
First things first, “passports pajulsta!” We turn them all over and then we are informed that we will be going to Umit this afternoon. Then she catches us all off guard by telling us we will be springing the kiddos today! Yikes! Or we can wait until we leave for Almaty. Who’s she kidding! Option to take him now or wait until the end of the week, does she really need an answer to that question. Janette also informed Wayne and I of Lukas’ behavior since Kim came on the scene. It appears he is not too happy about the fact that Alina has her Mama to play with and his Mama and Papa aren’t there. So what does he do, hits Alina! I told Kim we would be bringing an end to that today. I don’t know if that means he missed us or was just jealous because he had to stay with the group.
We got upstairs and realized we had better go to the store now so we have something for the poor kid to eat and drink. When we got back we added his going away clothes to the bag. So it is now off to get some ZZZZs so we will have some energy and clear heads to deal with Lukas’ adjustment to his new world.
THE RELEASE OF LUKAS ANTON
We met Ernur, Shirin and Janette at 3pm along with Kara and Marcia. Off we went to Umit for the last time. When we got there Janette went inside to see if an administrator was there. She came back out and asked for their clothes. About 5-10 minutes later she and Shirin came out with Symbat and Lukas. He got a big smile on his face and came over to Papa. Wayne picked him up and Lukas gave him a big hug. Papa then gave him to Mama and she got a smile and big hug as well. We headed to the gazebo and right on cue he started looking through the bag for his tamook and toys. Janette came back out with the Social Worker who congratulated us, thanked us and wished us all well. After a little discussion about paper work Janette said it was time to go. I don’t think we were there for more than 30 minutes.
Lukas had no qualms about walking out the gate and was thrilled to get in the car. I think he is addicted to riding in cars already. He laughed and smiled all the way to the hotel. He kept pointing to cars and saying machina and pointing out all the daddees. When we got to the hotel he didn’t want to get out of the car.
So far he seems to be enjoying his new adventure. He came in the room and I showed him where his toys and his backpack and he just sat down and started playing. We watched a little Thomas the tank and took a tour around the hotel suite. We then decided to go out side for a walk. We had one minor short lived crying episode when he was told he couldn’t get in the machinas. We then got an ice cream cone. To bad we didn’t come prepared with the camera. We then took an hour long walk. He really seemed to enjoy himself.
That’s all for to day. Stay tuned for more Adventures of Lukas Anton on the outside.
Paka,
Lynda, Wayne and Lukas
We met up with Christian and Natalie at the gate for our flight to Almaty. It ended up that not only were we on the same flight but we were seated across the aisle from each other. We chatted at the gate while waiting to board and for a short time when we first boarded. I think we all had the same objective of eating dinner and then trying to sleep. We were on a bigger, newer plane this trip and the seats were actually quite comfortable.
We arrived in Almaty at 11:55pm, cleared customs and went to get our bags. The first one came out quickly. We then waited and waited but no second bag. Wayne noticed they had the carousel next to it going as well and headed over there. After a few passes still no 2nd bag. I then heard someone yell about the 3rd carousel and I headed over there to see if it showed up. I was beginning to get concerned something happened to the 2nd bag after several times around and then suddenly there it was.
We said good bye to the Pelletiers and told them we would see them in Taraz. They are coming by train on Monday so they won’t get here until late. As always Ernur was waiting for us outside the baggage claim area. We greeted each other and then headed for the car. We made record time this trip and arrived in Taraz at 6:58am. Only about 6-6 ½ hours.
The hotel was very quite and the bar and restaurant were not yet serving breakfast. We have our old room again, Room 220. We met up with Kara and her mother Marcia on the stairway as we were coming upstairs. Her mother seems very nice and I am looking forward to getting to know her in person. She is very anxious to meet her newest grand daughter. They did not go to Umit yesterday but Ernur said Janette would meet us downstairs at 9 or 10am. We don’t know if it is to go to Umit or just fill us in on when we will go and when we get to spring them! Zema, our translator, is in Kyzlorda still with her mother so I am assuming Janette will have Shirin translate this morning. She is filling in for Aima this summer and has been working with Kim, Alina’s mother.
More later…..
We have now had breakfast with Kara and Marcia (thanks for the tenge loan) and packed our bag for Umit. The only place to eat at the hotel this morning appeared to be the buffet in the restaurant. We’re wondering if it is there way of getting people to eat the 10.00 buffet instead of the 10 cent pastries from the outdoor café or bar.
We resume our ritual of gathering outside on the benches to wait for Janette. We finally met up with Kim who was already out on the bench. Once Janette arrived it was a female gab fest. Janette asked about Wayne and I pointed to the bench on the other side. Her comment was, “Wayne goes home and becomes shy.” I assured her it was more likely he was staying away from all the estrogen.
First things first, “passports pajulsta!” We turn them all over and then we are informed that we will be going to Umit this afternoon. Then she catches us all off guard by telling us we will be springing the kiddos today! Yikes! Or we can wait until we leave for Almaty. Who’s she kidding! Option to take him now or wait until the end of the week, does she really need an answer to that question. Janette also informed Wayne and I of Lukas’ behavior since Kim came on the scene. It appears he is not too happy about the fact that Alina has her Mama to play with and his Mama and Papa aren’t there. So what does he do, hits Alina! I told Kim we would be bringing an end to that today. I don’t know if that means he missed us or was just jealous because he had to stay with the group.
We got upstairs and realized we had better go to the store now so we have something for the poor kid to eat and drink. When we got back we added his going away clothes to the bag. So it is now off to get some ZZZZs so we will have some energy and clear heads to deal with Lukas’ adjustment to his new world.
THE RELEASE OF LUKAS ANTON
We met Ernur, Shirin and Janette at 3pm along with Kara and Marcia. Off we went to Umit for the last time. When we got there Janette went inside to see if an administrator was there. She came back out and asked for their clothes. About 5-10 minutes later she and Shirin came out with Symbat and Lukas. He got a big smile on his face and came over to Papa. Wayne picked him up and Lukas gave him a big hug. Papa then gave him to Mama and she got a smile and big hug as well. We headed to the gazebo and right on cue he started looking through the bag for his tamook and toys. Janette came back out with the Social Worker who congratulated us, thanked us and wished us all well. After a little discussion about paper work Janette said it was time to go. I don’t think we were there for more than 30 minutes.
Lukas had no qualms about walking out the gate and was thrilled to get in the car. I think he is addicted to riding in cars already. He laughed and smiled all the way to the hotel. He kept pointing to cars and saying machina and pointing out all the daddees. When we got to the hotel he didn’t want to get out of the car.
So far he seems to be enjoying his new adventure. He came in the room and I showed him where his toys and his backpack and he just sat down and started playing. We watched a little Thomas the tank and took a tour around the hotel suite. We then decided to go out side for a walk. We had one minor short lived crying episode when he was told he couldn’t get in the machinas. We then got an ice cream cone. To bad we didn’t come prepared with the camera. We then took an hour long walk. He really seemed to enjoy himself.
That’s all for to day. Stay tuned for more Adventures of Lukas Anton on the outside.
Paka,
Lynda, Wayne and Lukas
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