Getting Closer

Things are continuing to move along in Kazakhstan. We had pre-court yesterday which was 50 minutes of waiting in a small lobby and 10 minutes sitting in a big, hot office while the Chairman (I'm not sure of what) read through our paperwork and asked us a few questions ... "How much do you have left on your mortgage?", "Will this interfere with the adoption?", "Do you understand his medical issues?", "Why do you want to adopt a child with problems?", "How long have your ancestors been in America?", "How often do you see Cearra?", "How big is your family?", etc., then he said ok, we'll accept your application to adopt and move your paperwork along, and then he actually smiled while Bob tried to say hi in Kazakh - which is about 20 letters long and sound a little like "sell met sezs beer".Court is next up and we are waiting on word as to the date - it should be either Monday or Tuesday. We'll start working on our speeches now and trying not to be too nervous!

The other couples on the same time line as us had similarly good results and last night we hosted a party at our place to celebrate. It was pretty crowded but a good time was had by all. Oleg and his wife Vera and youngest daughter joined us as did Rada and Inna. There's also a new couple here - Joey and Gary from Phoenix - who are adopting a little boy from a town near us, and it was great to welcome them to town and introduce them to the unofficial cocktail of Kaz - yes, cherry juice and vodka.

Today's visit with Owen was wonderful, especially since yesterday he was totally cranky. Of course it was the day they were going to take his passport photo so we might end up with a crying baby picture for that - which is ok considering my passport photo is no beauty shot either. We think he was just hungry and his teeth were bothering him, but today he was back to his happy self. And good thing too as the judge we'll have for court stopped by to see us with him and ask us a few questions about our visits, his medical diagnosis, etc.

At the end of the visit he fell asleep in Bob's arms and I asked him what he thought babies dreamed of. And Bob said "mommies and daddies". Hopefully Owen is having very sweet dreams these days - we certainly are.

Around Town and More O

After one of our recent visits Rada told us that the children’s hospital had run out of food besides yogurt, so we went immediately to the store and purchased formula and cereal for them. The other families weren’t told this, so we aren’t sure how desperate the situation really was, but we are glad to be able to help out with the babies care. While we were at the store, Rada also told us that we could bring Owen some baby food to see how he liked it. Among the many jars of fruit with added sugar, I finally found a vegetable choice – broccoli. So the next day, we “bibbed” him up and gave him a spoonful. One brief grimace, and then the boy loved it! We did not want to give him too much for the first time out, but he sure let us know when we stopped that he was not happy with that decision! He also chomped half a teething biscuit and happily finished his bottle when it was brought.

Despite his apparent love of food, he actually weighs a bit less then last week – about 16.3 lbs. I’m sure that will change once he is consistently getting good food and vitamins. We take some time each visitation to work with Owen on strengthening muscles that to this point he hasn’t had much reason to use; for example we practice sitting up and balancing, and getting his knees in position to crawl. But as you can see in the picture, he much prefers to stand (with assistance of course). I have a feeling we are going to be chasing him all over the place before too long!

Rada and Vladimir took us on a city tour today, pointing out different buildings around town, giving us a brief history of Kokshetau and letting us take a lot of pictures. We drove around Lake Kapa and saw men ice fishing and one brave soul parasailing across the frozen expanse. Rada pointed out the many factories that were abandoned after the fall of the Soviet Union and one of the four apartment buildings that were built to spell “CCCP” if viewed from the air. We went through neighborhoods of small wood houses where the residents still have to get water from a central pump, dragging their filled bottles back to the homes on sleds; and the newer, bigger brick houses that Kokshetau’s wealthier citizens call home. In the gentle hills surrounding the city we saw row after row of “dachas” or summer houses where families grow potatoes and carrots and beets; and passed scattered groves of birch trees that must be beautiful in spring and summer but also have a certain spare beauty now.

One of the things we had noticed earlier on our walks is how many dentists there are in town and we asked Rada about this. She explained there are so many because it’s slippery and people fall a lot and damage their teeth. Well, shortly after Rada took this picture of us at the “horny husband” hill (we are up from the ground quite a bit and no, we still aren’t entirely clear as to why it’s named that), I fell on the ice while climbing down. And at that moment, laying face planted in the snow and hip hurting, I really wanted to be home. I think it’s that same deep seated emotion that makes you always want your mom when you are sick. Bob helped me get back to my feet and brush myself off and I’m happy to say there was no permanent damage – just a slightly swollen lip and a little soreness; perhaps a bit of a bruise tomorrow. But no trip to the Kazakh dentist required!

We met with Dr. Natalia (pictured) today and learned more about Owen's birthmother, including seeing a picture of her. We are very pleased that we will have this information to share with Owen as he grows up. Dr. Natalia also prepped us for pre-court which is Thursday morning (which is Wednesday afternoon/evening for you) so please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we move one step closer to bringing home Owen!