Finally back in action!

Hi Everyone!

Sorry it's been like a thousand years since we posted. This parenting stuff can be tricky to get used to (and tricky to do, come to that), but now that we've been home for almost a month we're getting the hang of things! I've been home full time with Evan for the past three weeks, and it's really opened my eyes to how fun it can be to have a little monster! He IS a monster, and it IS a lot of work, and we DID start out with a walking (almost running) toddler, but in the end he's damn cute and he has a way of making it feel like not so MUCH work all the time.

Anyways, all is grand and everyone is learning/doing/growing a lot in our own different ways. Here are the pictures we've remembered to take so far (it's hard to remember to bring the camera along... so much easier to just admire the cuteness).

Enjoy!
Jen


This picture was taken on the Frankfurt jetway, about to make our last leg of the journey. It was one of the few times Evan slept on that 30 hour day!

Finally at home and waiting for luggage!

The awesome greeting we got when we arrived at our house (thanks to Nicole and Allan). It was strange, but our house felt really weird when we got back. I think we spent so much time away that it just wasn't quite the same as we had remembered it. Either way, it is AWESOME to be home and we are now settled in again (the house seems normal... ;-) ).

Evan's first trip to "Tot Land". Tot Land is a place that is nothing short of magical. It is a local park where people also donate their old outdoor toys. I'm tempted to call it a toy graveyard, but that's too negative. Suffice to say, it's like a dream come true for any kid with a short attention span!

Evan's new camera smile. It means he's figuring things out, which can be nothing but trouble...

Hangin' with Nanna Cantwell.

Evan's first donkey. The next week he got to meet the horses at the barn where I ride. He thinks they're big dogs and barks at them when he sees them! In fact, he barks at just about every animal he sees, which we find hysterical!

The little dude's first 'do.

Who's brilliant idea was it to try to teach the maniac toddler to scribble? Ah, well. Win some, lose some!

"BEEFCAKE BEEFCAKE!!!" You must be a South Park fan to understand. Thanks to uncle John for this hat. It cracks us up!

The horrifying cuteness continues...

ROWR!

We are already hooked on "Elephant Bar", our new favorite chain-family-friendly restaurant. It's so loud in there you can't hear the screaming! Nevertheless I keep kicking Brian under the table to remind him that it is NOT ok to scream in public places! Still a kid at heart! ;-)

I can't remember what was so funny, but I'm guessing Evan did something cute. Go figure!

Our first trip to Fairyland with Becka, baby Charlotte, and Aunt Kim. We saw goats, llamas, ponies, sheep, ducks, and guinea pigs, all of whom got barked at!

Home Safe!

Hi everyone!

Just a quick post to let you all know that we made it home safe. Evan is freaked and afraid of the pets, but Brian and I are basking in our American luxury. WOW. We LOVE our house! We can drink water right out of the tap if we want to! And there were so many choices of pjs in our closet! And we're gonna watch the Colbert Report now. Amazing!

More once we get settled. Yay home!

Jen

Safe in Almaty

Hi everyone!

We just wanted to write a very quick post to let you know that we are safe and sound in Almaty. The Hyatt is like a dream come true. We are all having a blast and Evan took his first swim today! He is getting mellower as the days go by (but the two molars he has coming in are not helping). But overall he is doing great and we had all sorts of progress today... going to sleep without screaming, first swim, turning himself around in a circle all by himself, standing from a sitting position without bracing on anything... the kid is a superstar! To top that, we found out today that his given name, Ulan, is a dirivitive of the name Batir, which apparently means "Hero"! How cools is that? There is also a brand of cookies that he loves that is called Hero, so maybe that has something to do with it...

Anyways, gotta run because internet at the Hyatt is like ten million dollars a minute. If we don't post tomorrow, we will from home on Saturday or Sunday. Whoohoo! Wish us luck with a teething toddler for our 27 hour journey!

Jen

p.s. If any of you folk who are reading this have been to Almaty before (I know some of you have) and you know where I can get baby Tylenol, please speak up!

Evan's Nighttime Lullaby Extravaganza

We are exhausted. Just tonight, though. That whole thing about him being easy so far is really true... really. But today he is still sick and missed half his nap because he snorted himself out of it due to his stuffy nose and then completely melted down. On top of that he's teething something awful. Poor guy. He's lost a lot of water today from all that crying!

So, after I got lucky and had a half hour tantrum with the boy outside (or rather, he had the tantrum), I decided that Dad could be on bath duty and put-the-baby-to-sleep duty so that I could sit here and stare at the wall. He came in after getting the kiddo to conk-out and told me his lullaby list...

Two rounds of Rock a Bye Baby
One round of Wheels on the Bus including a new verse involving cell phones
One round of Mary Had a Little Lamb
One round of Jingle Bells
And then 99 Bottles of Milk on the Wall, all the way down to 55 bottles of milk on the wall before...

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Us all out and about yesterday morning after a sleepless night of listening to the baby sleep!

It's difficult to explain, and this picture doesn't really do it justice, but most of you will have an opportunity to see a 1 year old feed himself at some point. So you will understand. You will understand what it's like to have a combo of baby-stew, milk, and cookie smashed into every facial orifice (and snorted back out again to make what we like to call "Evan's special blend").

Out for a walk last night. Evan saw his first bouncy house and his first monkey. Actually, that was the first monkey I'VE ever seen out on the street...

He's getting better at walking, but stairs still pose a bit of a challange...

PHEW! This baby thing is tiring! Evan has been doing great. Perhaps he is tricking us a bit until we get home and he can grow his demon-horns to full length, but we generally feel like he's a pretty easy baby. He's not very fussy unless tired or hungry, and we're stuffing him full, so we've had relatively good luck so far. He loves his baths, loves people, did well at dinner last night with 8 adults, and generally seems to think it's pretty groovy that he's not stuck in the baby house anymore! We finally got the green light to give him his antibiotics, so hopefully by the time we get home he will be snot-free and ready for kissing!

Ok, the kid is asleep, and I have to prepare our gourmet lunch of ramen (for the second day) before we crash out, too. Only 3 more days until the Hyatt in Almaty... YAAAAAAAHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Jen

GOTCHA!

Paka paka, babyhouse...

...and watch out, kid! It's a big scary world out there!

First car ride (at least with us)

Bath-tubbin'

You know, these towels with hoods really ARE that cute!

Happy Gotcha Day!!!

Hey Everyone,

Brian here. That's right, we were sucessful! Today, after exactly 40 days of visits (stangely Biblical, we know) and one day after our 4th wedding anniversary, we obtained a shiny new birth certificate, and got our son!

We told ourselves the entire day, that it wasn't actually going to happen until Tuesday. Nice of them to try and everything, but we've gotten our hopes up before and things haven't worked out. Then suddenly (well actually after about an hour and a half wiating at the Shchushinsk City Hall), there we were with the birth certificate (and other associated paperwork) and Jen and I looked at each other and were like "Oh crap, we're actually parents! Okay, then. Wow. Well, let's go get him!"

So, off to the babyhouse to pick him up and take him home! You know, it's strange running up and grabbing someone you love so much, knowing that today is going to be unlike any day they've ever experienced (or us for that matter), but then you try to tell them, and realizing that they're 15 months old, they don't have any idea what you're talking about. "Why are we spending so much time waving at these people?" "Where are we going?" It must have been quite puzzling.

But the car ride home was smooth and uneventful. We expecting a tantrum, but there was none. He would have fallen asleep if the road weren't as bumpy as it was, nor our driver as much of a maniac.

When we got to the apartment, he was happy to see that we were still with him and the pile of toys he knew so well was sitting there waiting. He talked up a storm and started walking and crawling around everywhere we let him, excited every time he saw us, and thrilled with each room he saw.

Then dinner. A delight. Evan often has a little tantrum (really the only time we've ever seen him have one) when meal time is over. Not tonight. He ate well and kept right on having fun.

Then it was bath time! I was a little nervous about it myself, but I'll let the pictures tell the story. He absolutely loved it!

Then it was time for bed. He laid down in his crib right away, sluggling with his new Pooh Bear, looking up at Jen and I, smiliing. We sat with him for a bit, but he didn't fuss. So we snuck into the next room. He started talking and rolling around, but still no fussing. (Right now, it's about 45 minutes later, and we're still waiting for him to fall asleep.)

He's an amazing child. And, now, after all the talks I had with him over the past several weeks about how we were going to take him home with us, knowing full well that he didn't really get it, I am now truly delighted to see that, so far at least, it would appear that he's totally on board. And now, Jen just reported, he's also asleep.

Brian

And from Jen...

GOTCHA GOTCHA GOTCHA!!! We are SO thrilled (and completely mystified) to finally have the little guy here with us. As Brian said so succinctly this morning, "It's like going to the zoo and taking home the elephant. I mean, I know that it's what we've been working for, but you're not REALLY going to give us the elephant, are you???" That really is exactly how it feels, as strange as it may sound. After FORTY days of the same thing, again and again, you sort of start to think that this is parenthood: I will live in Kokshetau for the rest of my life and make this drive every day to see my son. To think that they actually intended all along to give him to us is strangely unreal.

But there he is; the baby elephant is asleep in the other room and we have magically become parents. As scary as it is for everyone, even Evan, at least he seems to really be enjoying himself. The bath was everything I had hoped for, a happy kid who had never sat in a tub of water before, delighted with bubbles and surprised to find himself in there with mom. I can't WAIT to get to the Hyatt in Almaty and take him swimming!

More tomorrow when we figure out what to do with him on our second day!

Jen

The 40th Day

Hi everyone,

Well, here we are, on the eve of what will be our 40th consecutive visit (and, we hope, our last) to the baby house. Our 40th trip down that road. The 40th time we will take him from his caregivers; only this time we won't have to give him back! This has been a very, very looooooong journey for us and a long time coming. We are REALLY ready to take him!

Well, hopefully what is coming is our baby! He gets snugglier every day. If we get him tomorrow, technically we will be a day early (but because of the weekend, three days early). Please everyone hope for us that tomorrow will be it and he will be with us forevermore! If I have to hand that kid back to the caregivers one more time...

We will post whatever news comes tomorrow!

Jen