Alysa was delayed a day in Almaty, so she will arrive tomorrow morning instead of today. It will be nice to finally meet her and I will try to help her get through the first couple of crazy days.
I saw a young Kazakh couple adopting a baby today. When I arrived I saw them standing in the lobby with a pretty cake and a small folder of paperwork. Later when Milo and I went for a walk we passed them again in the lobby, going and coming. There was a lot of hustle and bustle all round the orphanage. Later when we were in the playroom upstairs, we looked out the window and saw the couple exiting the building right below us with their baby. They paused and posed for photos in front of their car. The mom was holding her tiny little girl and smiling from ear to ear! Then she looked up and saw us watching through the window. She gave us a big smile and a wave. We returned them. Then they got in the car and drove off with a trail of joy swirling behind like some sparkling, spinning trail of Tinkerbell fairy dust. I was very happy for them. Aina says it is very easy for locals to adopt. It’s nothing like what we have to go through.
I’ve recently discovered that when Milo is mad, he spits. Like a little Alpaca! The first time he did it we thought he was just spitting for the fun of it, but now I am sure that it’s only after I tell him “no.” He just looks straight down, purses his lips and makes a lispy S sound until bubbly drool comes dropping out. It’s comical, but I don’t laugh because I don’t want to encourage it. I know he is only expressing his frustration, but really it can’t go on.
Of course, when he gets really upset he just cries. This usually happens when I take something away from him that he shouldn’t have. He has a very cute, but very loud cry. He huffs and puffs for a few seconds and builds up to a wail, which is given with a full head throwback. This photo was taken just before the wail started. The little moments are pretty short-lived. At least for now!
12 comments:
Oh, bless his heart and yours. It's certainly not funny, but since I've either "seen it all" or "heard it all" as they say, I just have to laugh. I cannot imagine the spitting and don't envy you, but you can break him of what is simply a bad habit. :) Obviously, focus on the positive reenforcement of good behavior. You go, girl!
Hey, I think that's neat that Alysa gets to stay with you! It'll be nice for both of you.
This is a first I've read on any adoption blog where someone has posted seeing a Kazakh couple adopting. I knew before I read it that it was a baby girl. You can tell Aina that even with domestic adoption we don't have it easy. It's weird that we switched to international adoption because it was difficult here....only it' worse now for us than ever.
I know...I will try to keep my chin up.
Have fun getting to know Alysa!
PS...Milo looks cute! I like what Karla had to say about positive reenforcement.
Eileen
awww sweet lil Milo...what a face. He is really adorable. I Love his lil body. :)
How fun for you and Alysa to shack up...I am happy for her that she has you. It will help her a lot being so new and shell shocked.
Tricia said that since she's been in Kostanai (7 weeks so far) 4 babies have been adopted. I'm glad it's easier for them to adopt, because it sure isn't easy for us to adopt locally.
Bottom line-kids needs families and it shouldn't be so hard to help them find loving homes, but I guess it is. We see it from our point of view, but it's hard all the way around. :)
We just gotta have the gumption to stick with is and keep our eyes on that cute lil prize...spittin and all. :)
Oh my Goodness he is SO CUTE!
I try really hard not to chuckle when Aila starts building to a full-throddle tantrum - it is sooooo cute! But I don't want her to think I don't take her seriously - it is just so funny sometimes.
Anyways....That photo is PRICELESS!
The full head throwback is especially fun when they are in your lap and you don't see it coming. Ouch.
How great to meet Alysa and have a roommate! How funny about the spitting...they come up with all sorts of things but I haven't heard of that one before. Not sure I could control myself! Man, one more baby girl gone...huh!
Susan
The Kazakh spitting....well, he truly wouldn't be Kazakh if he didn't spit....national sport isn't it? :) We have some wicked spit stories from our region but I will spare you the online details! ha! Nick did it some but it subsided quickly as he did not see it once he was with us.
Almaty or not Almaty.....we also thought it was a no-brainer as we were in a small city and had been there a LONG time and wanted a change. We did have a nice apt in Almaty but everything else was an absolute NO WAY would we recommend Almaty in our situation. We had a traumatized 3 year old and although it was rough in Zhez, we had our beloved translator and familiar stores/grocery/internet cafe, etc to help us stay sane. I would imagine it all depends on where you stay in Almaty. I had Patrick with me for the first week there but then he had to go home and I did not like being in an unfamiliar place with a wild one. The sidewalks and such were not stroller friendly but Milo is smaller than Nick so I suppose you could carry him some. We could not use the phones and we found the people to be not so helpful vs. what we were used to. The expense was definitely 2 to 3 times more for apt and food. I will give a shout out for Marina. We were not with LMI and never had a translator with us but we met her in the "ramstore" when she was with another family. She was so sweet and helpful....we were green with envy for her! ;) I would defiitely give yourself 4 days or so Almaty to shop if you need to for souveniers but otherwise we wished we had stayed in Zhez with our very active and loud toddler for our other extra time. We spent 2 1/2 weeks in Almaty. We missed our Zhez people the whole time! It sounds like you are pretty comfortable there in Aktobe and have good connections. If it were me, I would stay but you will know better what to do after cutie comes to stay with you. I would base it on how well he is doing.
Hugs to you! karen
Yes I have had plenty of spit on me. Ah joy, joy! I think recently our kids have forgotten who's mom and dad and who the kids are. Its a tough transition going from playmate to parent. I know you will do great. Let everyone know if you find the perfect pizza joint for your sleep over!
Regina, I'm glad you're there for Alysa, too. I met her cuz I live in the same state she does. I'm envious of her journey cuz I'm still in the dossier gathering process. someday...
Oh, and yes, I think you'll be talking about boys...your Kaz boys! =-)
Margaret
Make sure you do some prank calling too! :) How fun to have a roomy.
The alpaca comment is hysterical!
It is hard not to laugh when they do something funny. :-) I'm glad you will be there to help Alysa.
Regarding Almaty vs Aqtobe, we LOVED Almaty. We found it to be a much more comfortable city than Aqtobe. We had a nice apartment right off of the pedestrian avenue. We walked to many tourist sites. Taxis were plentiful and easy to find. We found good take out. We had a backpack for Erlan, so we didn't have to worry about the stroller. Our friend had a stroller, and we did have to lift it sometimes. Marina, Katya, and Sam were awesome. Almaty was an amazing city.
Aw... What a sweet baby face!
I hope you guys have fun slumbering it up!
Post a Comment