Caleb's Getting So Big

August 22

Salutations! Things continue to rock along here in the great country of Kaz. We had pre court this morning and that went well. Caleb was asleep again when we came in today, snuggled up with his taggy blanket. All in all a great visit. He got a little fussy right before his bottle came b/c it arrived about 30 minuets later than yesterday. We he did get it he was drinking it so fast that Ethan had to intentionally stop him a couple of times to get him to breath and burp. He did not like us pulling the bottle away, but we have found that this really cuts down on the spit up. He slept about 30 minutes today as well when we went outside. All in all he is doing great. The caretakers are noticing that he likes to be picked up more than ever now. I cannot wait to be with him 24/7. Last night we had an exciting evening. We went to a restaurant called the Boulevard with Inna (translator) and Kathy (another mom here adopting). We walked in and I was so pleased to see a restaurant that looked like something we have at home. Nice square tables, tables clothes and wine and vodka glasses sitting out. There was also a dance floor (I’ll get to that later). This restaurant is apparently THE restaurant in this town. We took Inna’s suggestions on ordering. We then had salads, I had a traditional Russian salad that was similar to potato salad, and there were potatoes, peas, bologna, mayo and dill. Ethan had something else; I don’t know it had beef, potato sticks and something else in it with dill. We then had soup, Ethan had borsch and I had something, I forgot what it was, creamy red soup with sour cream and dill. Kathy had beef tongue in broth and Ethan tried the tongue and liked it. I couldn’t do it, I just kept thinking of taste buds and the Romana books I read as a child written by Beverly Cleary. They always had beef tongue and they could see the taste buds. Anyways, then the main dish was served, I had chicken with mushrooms and a sour cream sauce with dill with French fries. Ethan had beef, tomatoes, and potatoes with dill covered in cheese with French fries. YUM! The food was fabulous (Dill by the way is used often here in case you cannot tell). Also, the music during dinner was Whitney Houston and Celine Deon, I was in heaven. Then the dancing got started. We three ladies hit the dance floor and had a great time. We then finished off our meal and got our bill, it is equivalent to 56 US dollars (tip included). Keep in mind that the average salary here is equivalent to 200 USD per month. We will definitely be visiting that restaurant again soon. Take care everyone!