Spirited Boy

Alysa made it into Aktobe fine this morning. She’s a very nice woman, and she is doing great. She had a whirlwind experience, but I will let her cover that in her own blog first when she is able. All you Alysa blog stalkers out there, she will probably update everyone tomorrow once she gets her bearings. :-) She is already zonked out. The jet lag and the enormity of the events of the last few days have exhausted her, especially since she only had 48 hours notice to travel. Poor thing!

She brought Milan a cute little plush moose from Colorado. She also brought me a headset for my computer, so now I have full Skype capabilities! I will try to be online every night from 8:30-9:00 pm if anyone would like to contact me (that’s 11:30 am-12:00 pm EST). Then I have a standing date with Frank every day at 12 noon EST. My Skype ID is simply ruopoli.

I think I’ve decided to stay here in Aktobe the majority of the waiting period. I have to remember that this is not exactly a sightseeing trip, and the most important thing is being comfortable in our apartment and with familiar surroundings and resources. There are so many unknowns once we get to Almaty. Too many transitions at once could be distressing, and there are plenty of kid's activities and parks for him here. I think 4-5 days in Almaty will be plenty. Thank you everyone for your sage advice!



Our sweet-cheeked love bug is doing great! He is a pretty easygoing chap, but he is the quintessential "active toddler." Although he is an absolute joy, he takes a lot of energy. Having him here will be much different than visiting him for 4 hours a day. As much as I look so forward to Gotcha Day, frankly I'm a little scared of it too.

He’s beginning to find his “will” and enjoys having the few little freedoms he is allowed outside his group quarters. For instance, when we went for our walks in the beginning, he just walked wherever we led him. Gradually, he would start to pull us to a certain bush, tree or rock that interested him. Now he regularly likes to pull me to the places where he wants to go.

He is a very happy boy. He smiles so much and nothing really seems to scare him. He’s not afraid of the big stuffed animals in the playroom, which is often the case with children here. He absolutely loves to be chased around the room and under the table, and to be tickled on his collarbone. He giggles like a madman.Lately he wants to climb climb climb (“like monkey”) and get rough and tumble on the floor. When he stumbles or bumps his head he quickly shakes it off. I am often surprised at how resilient he is, and how big of a daredevil he is. He is unruffled when we are outside and he sees strange people or big, loud big trucks. In fact, he is fascinated with cars. I’m convinced that “car” will be one of his first English words. And “bird.”

He is vocalizing regularly. When he hears thunder or an airplane he gets this “oh my god” look on his face, points to the window or sky and says something that sounds like “Hi? Hi? Hi?” He also says “Di” which means “give me” in Russian. The rest of his words are babble, like “Ba” and “Uhhh” and “Deutsh-Deutsh.” He says “Deutsh-Deutsh” a lot so I wonder if it means something. I once heard him repeat “Bye-Bye” but it doesn’t count as his first English word because it means “Night-Night” in Kazakh and I said it to him as I was handing him off to the caregiver for his naptime. I swear I once heard him say “Up” as clear as day, but I can’t get him to repeat it, so it won’t count yet either. (I say “up” every time I pick him up, and he said it right after I did.) He’s starting to communicate that he wants something by reaching toward it and whining. It’s a cute whine, but I would really love to hear him use words or use baby signs. We’re working on it!

Today when he lightly smashed his finger in a drawer, he held it up to show me with a little pout. I gave it kisses, and he was pleased and went on about his play. This is a good and notable thing because sometimes it takes institutionalized toddlers a while to come to their parents with injuries because they’ve usually had to deal with pain by themselves and haven’t learned to look to adults for comfort. Pitiful I know!

Last week I was very sad to see the very clear, red outline of another toddler's teeth on his forearm. Youch! He often has a little scratch here and a little bruise there. I think sometimes it's war back in his room! Bayanna once said that I should see the little girls go at it because they're the worst!

Milan rarely cries, but when he does he has been comforted by our attention. The first time we every heard him cry was the first time we took off his shoes on our second day with him. He started to huff and puff very quietly while staring at the ground. Frank and I looked at each other and said, “Is he about to cry???” It was so sweet and so sad! We put his shoes back on, and he instantly returned to himself. For about 1.5 weeks the act taking off his shoes would consistently upset him. Maybe it was because he thought it meant that it was time for bed? It was on bonding day 10 that we took them off and left them off for most of the visit. Now he doesn’t mind whether they’re off or on and he loves going barefoot. He also loves the excitement of putting them on to go outside, and he smiles the whole time. His chubby little feet and toes are so cute. I kiss them up! I can’t wait to hear their pitter-pattern on our very own floors.

Counting the weeks papa.

xoxo,
Regina and Milo


P.S. They weren't kidding about the mosquitoes here: