Ringing In A New Day

Most days we awake with calm thoughts of Joseph but today was a bit different. Today we awoke to the sound of the hotel fire alarm! About 6:30am we heard the sound of a bell and like all well programmed American school children, we sprung into quick but orderly action. Although we grabbed the standard shoes, coats, and flashlight, we modified and modernized what we had learned in elementary school as we added our cell phones, laptop, camera, and adoption paperwork (…and passports and moneybelts)! We entered the hallway and only ran into three people – one guy in our hallway looking a bit dazed (perhaps it was more annoyance) and the other American adoption couple Henry and Anne. It turned out as we approached the front desk that it was a false alarm and they could not figure out how to turn it off. As you can see from Laura’s look (see photo of snappy fire outfit!) she was prepared but alas her preparation went untested – thank goodness. We returned to our room and prepared for breakfast where we were reunited with Henry and Anne.

Today was a very rainy day and we were waiting for a few minutes for Igor to pick us up. The streets were pretty crowded and the usually dusty streets were full of large puddles and people crossing everywhere. We shared our morning visits with the Mangum Family (Lori, Wes and Lucy) and their son Henry. Today is also their court day so we did not see them at the baby house for a shared visit as usual. It is the day we all look forward to as it is the “gotcha day” when the adoption is completed. We had another fun visit with Joseph and learned that he has been on an antibiotic regimen of Kanamyacin. He is still congested but hopefully it will help. We brought some new toys and of course the puppy book for him to read. He hung out with both of us and the time just seemed to fly by. We did get a family photo again which is always nice to see. As it was raining we just headed back to the hotel to wait out the 2 hours until we would return to see our son.

This afternoon our normally playful visit of music and dancing was more cuddling again. The photo shows Joseph in his cute little bear outfit with our translator Olga who has been a big help to us. Although he just ate his lunch (no, we did not get to feed him), Joseph seemed hungry and just restless. Even when restless he does not cry but just squirms around and can not get comfortable. We tried working on crawling and sitting but it just was not a work day. We must say that he did hold a sit on his own for a few seconds so that was new for us. He tossed out a few smiles and grins but just wanted to be held….held upright. We gave him a taste of John Lennon but Laura thought Michael Buble should wait a bit longer (I’m bringing Dino tomorrow!). Just being with Joseph is great so his parents were content just to be there. After our visit, we went looking for some souvenirs and bakery goods with Olga. We found some cool bookstores with kids books written in three languages - Kazakh, Russian and English - so we nabbed some of them. Additionally we bought a few Kazakh gifts including some tapestries which ward off bad luck. I did my pastries including the Kazakh version of our pizza fritte or strufolli – it’s a universal comfort food that you just can’t deny! I also was able to get a small pyramid container of milk so I could have tea. This will be much better than I bought the other day thinking it was milk until I poured it into my hot tea and watched it curdle to the surface! Yuck!

This evening we went out to dinner with the two other couples for their Gotcha Day dinner (see photo). They got through their court visit and made their adoptions official. They had it at the Kamelot (yes, spelled with a K) with each family, the coordinator Olga (I) and Aleea (translator) making very touching speeches of thanks and good luck. They were all exuding such happiness and joy you could feel it for miles! It was clear to see that even though the folks here like the Olgas (I & II) and Aleea are doing a job, on this night they see how their work results in creating families and goodwill across the globe. The coordinators connect children to parents and the translators convert words and syntax into feelings of love. They hold the key to the locked door of parenthood for so many people including Laura and I. I could not help to think that someday very soon (May 10^th?) Laura and I will experience the same high high joy as we will officially become Mom and Dad…a day that for us has taken many years, tremendous heartache, and now to the other side of the world to meet our little boy Joseph...see ya tomorrow.