8/12 and 8/13

Zdrastvuytye! We continue to settle in here in Kokshetau. Yesterday (Sunday) we had a sweet time with Caleb. It was his first adventure outside in his short 6 months. We bundled him up in a little fleece snowsuit (the Kaz people are very particular about keeping the children warm) and we were off to the great outdoors. Ethan and I had the digital camera and video camera in hand. It was a little anticlimactic, Caleb was more interested in snuggling in our arms than anything else. He looked around some, but overall, not as enthralled as we thought he might be. He did blink a lot because I don’t think his eyes are used to the wind. Otherwise, he just fell asleep. Oh well, it was a good picture opportunity. He had a cold as well so he wasn’t quite his playful self and was pretty snotty. Today we visited again, he was a little fussy, but I think he is rebounding from the cold. We were able to play some Willie Nelson for him which he listened to peacefully. He was more enthralled when Ethan sang along with Ben Harper’s “She’s Got Diamonds on the Inside”. Caleb watched him and was completely captivated. I think Ethan may have a singing career when we get home in the nursery. We played a little, mostly throwing him up in the air a hundred times. He let us know each time that he wanted to be thrown again by looking upwards. He fell asleep about one and half hours into our visit as is becoming his pattern. He fusses some when we leave, but we have found that if we push the song button on his musical toy, he seems to be okay (thanks Aunt Cathy). I think this little guy is going to like music. We did not take him outside today at the request of the Children’s Hospital because of his cold. But our time with him continues to be wonderful. Each day we fall deeper in love with him and are amazed that God has handpicked this little baby from the other side of the world to be our son.

Yesterday we had a full day outside of our visit with Caleb. We were able to go to Lake Burabay with Frank our new friend from Minnesota. It is a beautiful park about 50 km away with gorgeous mountains and lakes. We spent the afternoon sightseeing with him and his driver Andre. It was very nice to get out of Kokshetau and see the country side and the beauty that Kazakhstan has. Of course, I heard people talking about us calling us “Americans”. I think it is my tennis shoes that give it away. Apparently no one in Kazakhstan wears tennis shoes unless they are camping (so says my translator). Oh well, it is all I brought. The ride there was interesting, sections of the road were not paved and people were going so fast. But strangely, I feel very safe. They seem to not run into each other from what I see so far. Also, we went out to dinner with Frank to a Turkish restaurant called Fast Food. It was a dream come true for a non Russian speaker as I am. There were pictures of the food on the wall, just point and that’s what you get. I ordered a pizza, which was thin crust with I think pork on it and cheese. No tomato sauce. It was divine! Ethan had a hamburger and fries. We finished off our American meal with chai and cake. Sunday was a wonderful day. Tonight we are going to have dinner with another couple and single mom who are working with our agency and adopting children from a nearby town Shchuchinsk, but are staying in Kokshetau. I look forward to meeting others who are going through this process. Oh, and we also have a treat of having no water this afternoon, I spoke our interpreter and she said there is none in the city right now. Oh well, it is all worth it when we look at Caleb. We are off to the internet café to try to send the pictures and video. It is a little difficult with the dial up in our room, so hopefully it will go through for all of you. Thanks for following our incredible venture into parenthood.