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| [Sunday, May 21, 2006 at 2:50 pm] |
| Subject: The End |
| Mood |
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 happy |
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Hello everybody. Sorry for the hiatus. At long last I think my thoughts are gathered enough, the circadians are playing in synch again, and I’m actually reasonably awake at 10 am this fine Sunday morning. So where were we…? Oh yes, the day from hell. Here’s a shot at summarizing the final stages of our trip, up to the most wonderful moment in the history of our universe, being back home with our daughter.
Sunday, May 14 – Worst Mother’s Day Ever. Sarah got no sleep, largely due to a crying baby, but also because of a splitting headache that would not subside. Asella was in an awful mood all morning, and Sarah could not move, or open her eyes. Daddy tried to take care of both ladies and finish packing, and at one point all three of us were in tears. Eugene picked up Sarah to take to the emergency room for a check-up, just in case there was something they could do to help with the pain and also figure out what the deal was with her weird rash. Sarah described the clinic as something out of a Russian movie from 1963. The diagnosis – allergies, possibly due to cat fur blowing in our 3rd floor window. Uh… sure. So, she popped some Claritin and ibuprofen and hoped for the best. Didn’t work. Asella though turned into a model citizen the moment we got in the car and headed to Kostanai airport. She slept most of the 3.5 hour ride on the 40 seater prop-plane, but my poor Sarah barely survived the flight. I’ve never seen her more miserable, and she’s never been in so much pain. Other than that, the flight was uneventful.
We landed at 7:30 pm in Almaty and were met by Murat. We stopped at a drug store to try to get some stronger pain killers, but Murat’s English is not such that we could really convey we needed the strongest thing they have. They pulled out a few, one of which was from Bulgaria (that was the selling point). Whatever we wound up with, it didn’t help. Our apartment was VERY nice, so that was good, though we had to make a suitcase corral for her next to our bed in place of a crib. It worked just fine though. Asella didn’t seem to care she was in someplace new, flopping herself down to play, then falling asleep. Sarah though still struggled, as the headache lingered.
Monday, May 15 – Almaty - Getting better. Almaty is about 180 degrees from Kostanai. Big green trees everywhere, hot, humid, tropical air, traffic up the wazoo, and tons of people. There’s lots to see, but traffic is so bad it takes forever to get anywhere.
This morning we went to the SOS International clinic for Asella’s required medical exam. It was rather cursory, and they said she looked fine. We also made an appointment for Sarah later that day. After the exam we headed to the U.S. Embassy consulate to schedule our appointment for tomorrow. The office looked like the DMV. It was a bit odd. After that we went to the mall (a real mall, with a skating rink, food court, and baskin-robbins!!!) for lunch at an Italian restaurant. Almaty is a real city, with real restaurants. It’s very cosmopolitan and geared to tourists. Something Kostanai certainly was not. After lunch Sarah had her checkup with a real doctor who spoke perfect English and seemed to know his stuff. After ruling out several nasty things and saying we don’t need to do a spinal tap, he decided this was a measles-like virus that was nearly done running it’s course. He said if we told him she never had an MMR vaccination that he would definitely say it was measles. Weird. In any case, we got what we needed – a prescription for something with Codeine. Yay!! That did the trick and Sarah was on the road to wellness. In the afternoon we went to the central mosque, which was huge and beautiful, and were confronted by a nice woman who told us to take her picture after she made herself pretty. She donned her best Muslim gear and posed for us. She also said that she was happy we were adopting Asella and would give her a good life. But she was surprised that America would be okay with us naming her Asella. We’re assuming the country is okay with it. If not, we don’t care.
We did one final bit of souvenir shopping in a huge mall, but were rushed for time as usual, and were unable to do a thorough job. In the evening we walked with Kim and her dad (and Grant) to an outdoor café for dinner. It was nice sitting outside on a warm spring night. Asella seemed to enjoy it too. Back at the apartment Asella again was a good sleeper while Sarah at long last enjoyed some peaceful slumber courtesy of our good friend Codeine.
Tuesday – May 16 – Last day in Kazakhstan! – An absolutely beautiful morning, so we headed up into the mountains. The 9-10 thousand footers always have snow on the tops and it was a beautiful ride up to Almaty’s famous ice-skating “station.” We walked around a bit, enjoyed the view, headed to a spot for some river prodding, and enjoyed the fresh air immensely.
 /a>
For lunch we had an awful time at a Georgian restaurant, where first the waiter did not bring Sarah’s lunch, and then her lunch (cheese with fruit and nuts) came with only cheese. After questioning this, the response was sometimes they make it with fruit, sometimes they don’t. After specifying we would like the fruit and nuts, it came back with only fruit. And of course, they still charged full price. Ugh. Following lunch we headed to our appointment with the U.S. embassy – the last step in the process (good thing, because we were headed to the airport at midnight.) The “interview” lasted all of 2 minutes – basically they asked if the process went well. They gave us her passport with her visa and we were ready to head home. Finally. We stopped at baskin-robbins for celebratory $5 milk shakes (prices here are NOT like Kostanai) and then did one last bit of sight-seeing. One of symbols of Kazakhstan is a statue of a guy standing atop a “snow-cat”. There’s a big obelisk with this symbol on top in the center of town.
Afterwards it was back to the apartment to pack (a much easier task now that Sarah was a functional human-being. We attempted some sleep prior to our midnight trip to the airport, but to no avail. Going home!!!
Wednesday – May 17 – Airplanes and Airports – We arrived at Almaty airport at 1 am on Wednesday morning (noon on Tuesday pacific time). Asella mostly napped while we took care of the check in arrangements. There were about 5 or 6 adoptive families on this flight, in various stages of completion. One 11 year old girl – who was halfway to getting a little sister – talked our ear off while we waited to board. The flight was not very full, and we had the bulkhead with an empty seat next to us. They set up the bassinette for us, which Asella slept in for about 2 hours, letting mommy and daddy eat and stuff like that. It was a good flight – no ear problems, no messy diapers. As perfect as could be hoped. We got to Frankfurt at 6 am local time and promptly headed to McDonalds. Ah, French fries. Comfort food.
Frankfurt airport had really lousy facilities, and the smoke wafts in from everywhere. A fun place to hang out for 8 hours. Yippy. We killed time as best we could – walking around shops and sampling different restaurants. But the time just dragged.
Finally we boarded our plane and discovered we had the 2 middle seats in the 4 seat center section, and no bulkhead. Neither the young German guy with the stupidest haircut ever nor the older Coloradoan accepted our offer to change seats so we could have the aisle with a baby. Nice. The old guy eventually realized he was a total ass and offered to take the middle seat for awhile. We declined, since we were already very well situated, and I was somewhat looking forward to waking him up several times to climb out. He had the final revenge though by hacking up a lung the entire 9.5 hour flight. This flight lasted forever. Asella slept most of it, but most of the passengers seemed to be hard of hearing – it was the noisiest flight we’ve ever been on. After an eternity, we landed. Denver. Home. 2 months later.
Immigration took about 20 minutes to get through, and when we came into baggage claim, Asella was officially a U.S. citizen. All our bags were there – we breezed through customs and into the waiting embrace of… D.J. and his mom. After a quick reunion we headed outside to our awaiting limo. Yes, a limo. Not sure what happened, but that’s what picked us up. I’d have guessed we were in such a stupor that it was a hallucination, but this picture says otherwise. Asella and Sarah promptly fell asleep and we enjoyed the quick ride home.
When we got to our cul du sac (5 pm pacific time) there were 5 or 6 kids in our yard, which was odd. Our neighbor and their kids, some other neighborhood kids, Nina and her daughter, and Grandma Mindy were all in the driveway to greet us. It was truly wonderful to be welcomed home. Our house has never looked so majestic, so inviting, so comfortable. Asella seemed a bit overwhelmed by the greeting, but took it in her usual stride. She made herself comfortable in the family room while we tried to unpack and get some laundry started.
Saint Mindy made us dinner, and then I left the building. Sarah said I was talking but no words came out. By 7:30 I was useless, so I went to sleep. Asella slept okay – getting up a few times, but all things considered, not too bad. We were finally home. The journey was over. Now life can begin. Again.
May 18 – 21 – Settling in – Aside from a nasty cough that kept her up all of Friday night, Asella has enjoyed getting to know her new surroundings. She’s started babbling again (the 3 changes of scenery caused a bit of regression), and has made strides toward crawling again. She’ll be there soon. She’s also started waving hello. Sadly, Grandma leaves today, so we’ll have to do laundry and cooking and dishes by our lonesome. Very sad. She was a tremendous help, and I don’t know how we could have survived those first few days without her, given the amount of sleep we missed. Now we get to see how life will be – as I go back to work on Monday (after her first doctor’s appointment).
So this is the end of the journal. Hard to believe the first entry was on March 20, when we were just 2 naïve Americans on our way to some stan. We’ve transitioned from just the 2 of us in a weird place doing some weird stuff to normal parents with a 9 month old. Well, normal is relative I guess. Now we’ve joined the ranks of the true Highlands Ranchers, at long last fitting into family suburbia. It’s been an amazing, bizarre, surreal, difficult and rewarding voyage, and we thank you for letting us share it with you. Thank you all for all the support and kind words you provided over the last 2 months. Reading our daily comments was something we looked forward to every night. I hope it was somewhat interesting, informative, and possibly inspiring. But I’ll settle for mildly entertaining. Future pictures will be shared through Kodak gallery, so send me an email if you want to be on that list (tujungadj@yahoo.com), or also if you want to know how things are going with our little Kazakh princess.
Thanks for listening. Take care.
Darren, Sarah & Asella |
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| [Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 2:21 pm] |
| Subject: WE ARE HOME!!!!!!! |
| Mood |
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 tired |
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Safe and sound. Home sweet home. This is going to be brief, because I am still 90% asleep. 50 straight hours of awakeness will do that.
We survived. Sarah is ok (it was a measle-like virus thing). Asella did a spectacular job of traveling. Better than we could have ever hoped for. And now she is officially an American. I bought her a pick-up truck and chili fries.
SO very very good to be home. Grandma Mindy is here helping us survive the next few days. 8 loads of laundry done. Hopefully I can get some sleep and have the energy to sum up the last couple of days in a better fashion.
Thanks for readi..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz |
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| [Tuesday, May 16, 2006 at 3:47 pm] |
| Subject: Almost done |
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 exhausted |
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In almaty. Less than 35 hours until we're back. Everything is well now that Sarah is over her bout with the measels. We'll explain later. 2 days of pure hell, but it's all okay now. Will write more when we get home and get some sleep. |
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| [Saturday, May 13, 2006 at 10:06 pm] |
| Subject: Last Supper - kinda |
| Mood |
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 excited |
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Last full day in Kostanai!!! Yeeeeeee-haw! The lack of hot water is really starting to get to us though. Roughing it is not so much fun as it sounds.
It was a very good day – with the young lass sleeping from 9 to 7. She’s been in a good mood most of the day, but at the moment she’s engaged in a progressive dinner, trying to eat while roaming all over the floor, in various states of repose. It’s not working too well, and it looks quite strange. That’s our girl.
We had a big milestone today – Asella’s first trip to the mall, and first new pair of shoes. We got her some badass pink puffy shoes with a weird bear and dog on them. They’re easy on and comfy and the price was right. A funny thing happened at the mall today – Eugene was wearing our diaper bag (backpack) while we were looking at shoes, and some Kazakh teens came up to the three of us and asked in English if we needed any help (translation). Eugene told them “No” in English. They asked where we were from and he told them “Colorado”. It was funny (though it doesn’t sound it). The second he put a backpack on he “became” an American. They picked us all out, heard the English and assumed we were all Yanks. Weird.
Sarah also got her first Mother’s Day gift, courtesy of Eugene (picked out by dad). It’s a Kazak souvenir figuring thing Sarah’s had her eye on for awhile. He’s really a good guy and we’re very fortunate that we wound up with him as our coordinator here.
All our paperwork is now set. We have her old and new birth certificates, and her passport is waiting for us in Almaty. And even better news, we’re staying in an apartment in Almaty, so hopefully we will have internet access, and maybe, finally, a washing machine. It will make feeding her much easier having a fridge and being able to boil water and all that good stuff. We were worried about doing that in a hotel. Also, since we should have internet access this will not go down as the last entry from in country. (That’s why it’s not very exciting.)
Been trying to get packed all day, hopefully with one less bag than we came with (inside another bag) – given we donated an entire suitcase of kiddie clothes to the orphanage, and Sarah’s giving away most of what she brought (though no one in their right mind will wear them here – just not their style.) That should make things a little easier. But packing an entire apartment full of stuff is quite the task.
For our last dinner we headed to, where else, Knick Knack. Ed and Joan joined us as well, providing much needed arms so that we could actually eat. Asella did very well, munching on cherrios in her mesh baggie thing that she loves so much. I ordered for Sarah and I before Eugene got there, and the waitress thought I spoke Russian. She was asking me questions with Eugene sitting right there, even though he told her twice I don’t speak Russian. It must have been confusing, because I can speak fluently when ordering certain foods and drinks, but I cannot understand much else. Survival skills.
Even Asella knows the Knick Knack menu by now. Of course, Russian is her first language.
Our last night out here. So sad – yet so welcome. Hopefully tomorrow we will get to ride the Ferris wheel before we go. Our flight is at 4 pm. So farewell from this grand city of the north. There will probably not be any entry tomorrow. So sad for you. If we are not able to post until we get back to the U.S., then I’m terribly sorry that this is the entry I left you with. I know you expect more from me, and I don’t mean to disappoint. Please the last 3 paragraphs from your favorite Hemmingway, Faulkner or Dave Barry book and insert here.
It’s been fun…
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| [Friday, May 12, 2006 at 9:29 pm] |
| Subject: So very dirty |
| Mood |
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 dirty |
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One of the Straus ladies is doing very well today, another not so much. Asella went to sleep promptly at 9 pm last night and somehow slept all the way until after 7 am. That’s good stuff. Sarah unfortunately is feverish and weak and achy and generally a mess. She’s been napping all day (more than Asella) so hopefully with some catch-up sleep she’ll feel better. Meanwhile, dad here is running the show, and doing a pretty good job, I think. I just got her down for her afternoon nap, though it really involved no effort on my part. She was sitting on my knees facing me, holding a toy and just nodded right off. Made it easy on me. She is getting better and better, and we’re also getting better about seeing the tired signals and getting into a little go to sleep routine. I think my lullaby last night went something like this:
“Lullaby, and goodnight. Go to sleep dear Asella. Because you’re tired and if you don’t, I’ll spend your college fund on me. I’ll buy me some hats, and a fancy new car, so if you want an education close your eyes and sleep tight.” (Sing it, go on, it’s pretty good, I think.)
The usual routine today. It’s raining but still warm, and with Sarah out of commission, we’re a bit cooped up. Still no hot water, and the word is that it’s not coming back until after we’re gone. Everything is centralized, so half the city is without it too. I can’t just scream at the landlord or get a refund on rent. There’s a little water heater in our bathroom that I’ve been playing with all day trying to get to work, and I think I just figured it out – so hopefully there will be enough for Sarah to take a bath and help her feel better. We’re making due otherwise, cleaning dishes camping style (pot of hot water on the stove) and just generally smelling up the place with b.o. Fun. We cannot wait to get home, or even to an Almaty hotel to take a shower.
Asella is one noisy kid. You’d never have guessed from the first month or so we spent with her. So quiet and calm. But this kid belts it out now. When she’s happy, she screams and trills her r’s. When she’s upset she screams bloody murder. (Thankfully this has not been happening as frequently as when we first got her here.) And in between she chatters to herself in the mirror. Her cell phone bill is going to be awful when she’s fourteen.
As promised, the top 10 things I won’t miss about Kostanai:
10. NOT having my own car
9. Only two types of cuisine – Regular and sorta-italian
8. Occasionally brown water
7. Being stared and/or laughed at whenever we go outdoors (it makes both lists)
6. Random attacks by camels (okay, this didn’t happen, but I wouldn’t miss it if it had)
5. 245 channels and nothing on
4. Mayonnaise on everything
3. The lack of seriously good ice cream or other chocolate desserts
2. Every restaurant has the same 6 songs on continuous loop
1. WATER OUTAGES!
It’s now evening and she’s down. 9:16 pm. Yay me. We had a reasonably okay afternoon and evening. Sarah is still feeling crummy, but I got the hot water thing working well enough for her to wash her hair, so she’s feeling better about that. Asella was a bit surly this afternoon because she cut her naps short all day. Hopefully that means another restful night. I took my little lady for a stroll around the neighborhood after dinner and we sat on the swing and absorbed the nice night. Weather is still beautiful and she seemed to enjoy being out in it. I think a member of the babushka mafia was keeping heavy tabs on me, moseying over and sitting on a rail right by us. Probably checking to see that I wasn’t thoroughly messing up the job of parent. I guess I passed the test because she was quiet. (If they don’t like something, they let you know.)
You’ll notice no pictures today. Yesterday was the 50th day since we met Asella for the first time, and after almost 1,500 pictures, the kid said enough was enough. “Please let me go one day without the paparazzi all up in my face, ai-ight?” I’m paraphrasing of course, but that was the gist. Plus, Daddy was too busy to get the camera out. She looks a lot like she did yesterday, only 1 day older. You can paint a mental picture if you like.
One more from Kostanai to go… how, will, it, end??? Stay tuned. |
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| [Thursday, May 11, 2006 at 9:21 pm] |
| Subject: On we go |
| Mood |
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 ditzy |
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So it seems we’ll do an every other day thing. Last night was exceptional. If she hadn’t had a little cough every couple of hours, we never would have known she was there. Asella slept from 10 pm to 7 this morning. Thus, I bought her a pony. (Not to eat.) If she does it again tonight, I’ll get her a Honda Civic. Now all this would be really great if not for the weight of motherhood which has burdened Sarah today with a very sore back and a low fever. She’s in pain – we’ll call it labor pains. I guess when you “give birth” to a 17 pound 9 month old, you don’t get the chance to work your muscles up using the newborn size weight. And not sleeping for 3 nights doesnt help. Daddy will be the exclusive pack-mule today.
In spite of her awesome night’s sleep, as is human nature, this morning she’s been crabby and anti-nap. She also thinks she’s starving, which cannot possibly be the case unless she’s John Goodman after a heavy duty pot-smoking session. (Fat guy with the munchies – work with me people.) Her cold is still lingering a bit, which is sucky, because everyone’s happier when they’re not sick, including Kazaks.
The hot water is STILL not on, so we’ve got a pot on the stove to dunk dishes in, and one for heating water for sponge baths. I braved the cold water shower and nearly froze my Kyrgyzstans off. 4 more days here. 4 more days here. 4 more days here. It seems a little unreal that we’ll finally be leaving this place, as we truly have made ourselves at home and as comfortable as can be. We’re excited and terrified to get to Almaty – excited because we’re that much closer to home and will be able to see some new stuff; terrified because we’re not sure how the sleeping/feeding situation is going to work. But, whatever, we’ll roll with it.
So I think I’ll take this opportunity to list the top 10 items I’ll miss about Kostanai when we’re back home.
10. A personal chauffer
9. Not paying any utility bills (though with the water service here, why would I?)
8. A loaf of good bread and 2 ice cream bars for under a dollar
7. Being the center of attention when outdoors
6. Walking to anywhere in town
5. The candy stand at the outdoor bazaar
4. Dinner out - $6
3. Fancy dinner out - $18
2. Kindness of everyone involved in this process (except the judge and state attorney of course)
1. Dinner out - $6 (worth repeating)
Perhaps later this week there’ll be the converse of this list (things I’m not going to miss at all). Be sure to keep an eye out for that.
Well, it’s now 9 pm and she’s down, hopefully for the night. She fights like mad, but she’s no match for the genetically inbred swaying action of the Daddy 2600 (now with Flavonoids!) Shhhhh. She’s sleeping.
We’ve had our ups and downs today, and hopefully Sarah’s affliction is primarily due to sleep deprivation and not something worse, like syphilis. (That would indeed be worse, right?) I’ve just realized that there may not be many more of these entries left. There’s probably no chance of posting anything Sunday night when we get to Almaty, and then I don’t know if I’ll have access Monday or Tuesday. That leaves Friday and Saturday. Yikes, I better work on a good penultimate finale. I will of course post something when we’re back home and slightly recovered from the plane trip.
Here’s to you, and you and you and you. |
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| [Wednesday, May 10, 2006 at 10:14 pm] |
| Subject: So... Sleepy... |
| Mood |
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 numb |
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Well, we knew they couldn’t all be like yesterday. Asella had her good moments and bad today, but the night was especially difficult. Mommy and Daddy did not get much sleep, and it never helps when the hot water is gone for the day. It’s 9:30 pm and still not back on.
So, it’s late, and this will be quick. Seems like we spent most of the day cooking food for the baby, washing dishes in cold water, changing diapers and trying to get her down for naps. I suppose that’s life from here on out. To all those parents out there that actually had to raise their kids themselves for the first 9 months, you are to be commended. Truly.
Ok, the day went like this… Lack of sleep, no hot water, feed, nap, play, feed, nap, play, over to Kim’s for dinner, play, feed, sleep. Grant seems to like his new digs, cruising all over the place in usual Grant rapid-motion style.
But where did the day go? There was bit of advancement in the crawling department, but other than that, it was fairly uneventful. Here’s Asella modeling the latest French fashion in sackwear.
Um… too tired to go on. Think of something funny and slightly sentimental and pretend I wrote it. Thanks. I owe you one. Less than 1 week left! Yay!!! |
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| [Tuesday, May 9, 2006 at 10:03 am] |
| Subject: V-Day |
| Mood |
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 rejuvenated |
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Victory Day! And a victory of sorts for us here as well. Today was a really good day. Asella slept until almost 5 am without any sort of intervention required. We let her cry herself to sleep in the playpen, saving our backs and only damaging our eardrums for about 10 minutes. She slept in my arms until about 6:15, and then we had breakfast. After that she promptly fell back asleep, without any tantrum whatsoever, and in the playpen. Woo-hoo! We boiled water on the stove most of the night (thanks Nina!) and we think that helped with her cold. She definitely breathed easier all night. The only problem is that our apartment can now double as a Russian sauna. There was a fat guy at the door asking if I’d beat him with some leaves at around 3 am. Weird.
The rest of the day followed suit, with Asella being very content and cheerful. At about 2 we decided to take a walk in the park, so Eugene’s mom picked us up and dropped us at the central park, which was absolutely mobbed. It’s Victory Day here in the former USSR (did I mention that?) so it seemed the entire town was out enjoying the beautiful weather and the festivities. There was a loudspeaker truck blaring nationalistic parump-a-dumps and everyone was dressed up to the hilt for a day in the park. Asella remained very calm, taking it all in, and we’re sure we over stimulated her.
Breaking News!!! We just put her down for the night without hearing a peep! We’re so awesome at this. Parents of the year, right here, oh yeah. Oh, here’s a late entry from yesterday. It’s only been three days and Asella is already walking all over me.
Back to the day… The park was filled with beer vendors, ice cream carts, karaoke booths, and stores selling inflatable stuff… toys… children’s toys. Sheesh. We bought Asella a little inflatable squeaky mallet with tigger and pooh and flowers and dollar signs. She loves it and spent most of the afternoon whacking everything in sight with it. Why do we bother with expensive toys when the 57 cent variety work just as well?
The fountains are in full bloom, though sadly it’s still too early for the flowers to be in bloom. The statues are statuey. The resident swans and a pelican are now in residence as well, having successfully passed their checkup for avian flu and hernias. We would have liked to spend more time, but it was nap time so back to the apartment we went for another successful go at the sleeping thing.
Since the day went so well we decided to go out for dinner with her again. We met up with Kim and Ed and Joan at Dolce Vita and had a nice somewhat Italian dinner. Ed and Joan held Asella while we ate (hey, that works pretty well) and to avoid jealousy Asella ate some cherrios through her mesh strainer gnawy thing. The rising comfort level is becoming very evident, since tonight she tried to grab silverware and napkins and food off the table, where last night she was mostly wide-eyed and sedate.
Tomorrow Grant gets paroled and will join Kim for a quick 3 days in Kostanai before heading to Almaty where Kim’s dad is waiting to help escort the little guy home. We’re going to head over there tomorrow for a little orphanage reunion and what else, laundry.
That’s about it. A great day. Sarah and I are going to sleep in the same bed tonight, go to bed at the same time, and hopefully wake up after the sun rises. We hope you have a good day too.
One final note… We want to wish a big fat bon voyage to my parents, who leave for an African adventure tomorrow, possibly never to be seen again. Hope you guys have a great trip!!! You can keep track of the trip on their blog site:
www.eatenbyhippos.com
Happy trails! |
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| [Monday, May 8, 2006 at 9:23 pm] |
| Subject: Still tickin' |
| Mood |
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 awake |
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Good day. It has been a better day. Daddy took an Ambien and got a decent night’s sleep, while the wonderful angelic Mommy pulled the night duty. Asella slept in the crib from about 10 pm to 3 am, and after that she required holding. Sarah’s a bit tired. Tonight she gets to hit the sauce and I’m doing the graveyard shift.
Asella’s cold is a little better today, but she’s still having major issues. The most difficult one we’re dealing with right now is the not sleeping unless we’re holding her thing. We know this is a new thing because she slept in her crib all the time at the orphanage. It’s obviously a combination of the major upheaval, feeling lousy, teething, and the state of the Dollar vs. the Euro.
So, if anyone has any brilliant methods for getting a baby to fall asleep in her crib (without crying herself to sleep – doesn’t seem to work and she’s loud enough to be heard 3 floors down), please share. We’re all ears. She seems completely dead to the world, but the second we lift her away from our body or put her on the crib surface she goes ballistic. We cant figure out how she even knows what’s happening.
But enough with the lack of sleep and cold and all that flim-flam. Here’s the good stuff. In just two days we’ve noticed an increase in her consonant sounds, and she’s just developed a laugh that sounds more “adult.” It’s pretty funny. Also, she did take 3 crawl steps this morning, and though fussy about it, she’s doing well on her nap schedule. She’s also eating like a pig, which is no surprise I guess. We bought some potatoes and a carrot to boil up and mash. I think the carrot came from the Chernobyl region because it was about the size of my thigh.
An outing was in store today as well, so we got her dressed in pretty clothes and took a little walk around the block. Her body language indicates she’s excited to be out there, but still no noise or facial expression to speak of. Here she is with mommy on the playground swing in our complex.
Here’s daddy and Asella by the school.
And here’s the brave girl challenging a knight to a duel.
This last one was taken in between naps. She like us, she really likes us. (So much she can’t bear to be apart, even to sleep!)
We may try and go to dinner with people tonight if Asella is up to it. We’re feeling a little like shut-ins at the moment and could use a little company. Keep reading to see if a stinky diaper clears out the restaurant or whatever other form of mayhem may ensue. And yes, daddy is doing diapers. There’s only been 1 really fun one, and I was off grocery shopping at the time, but I’m sure I’ll get my fair share of those too.
Break time.
And we’re back. Now it’s 9 and Asella’s getting a bath before what is hopefully bedtime. We did go out and it was a success. It was nice to be out of the apartment and see some people. Asella was very well behaved and just took it all in. We do not see any babies in restaurants, so it was a novelty for all the other patrons as well.
The drool is getting very heavy, so teething appears to be a major part of her issues. Welp, she’s screaming again, so I’m gonna go. Goodnight. Let’s hope.
We’re now down to 6 more days in Kostanai, and a little over a week until we get home. Hoo-ah. Home stretch. Literally. Dosvidanya. |
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| [Sunday, May 7, 2006 at 8:16 pm] |
| Subject: We need grandmas |
| Mood |
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 drained |
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Switched at the orphanage? This is not what the brochure made it sound like. Hi folks. We’re exhausted. Shortly after the entry last night Asella decided to rapidly come down with a nasty head cold and can barely breathe through her nose. We were up all night while she tried to sleep, would not let us put her in the playpen, and generally was very fussy. Today was a lot of the same. She had her moments (see picture) and still wants to play every now and then, but she’s not a happy camper. On top of it, she’s teething and in a totally foreign environment. We’re not sure what the evening has in store for us, but we’re not optimistic.
So not too much to describe today. Sorry. Between us, we got about 2 hours of sleep, so the creative juices are not flowing. And she wont let us put her down (we’re trying to be mindful of our apartment neighbors.) Right now we’re watching Finding Nemo and Sarah is feeding her dinner. Some kind of rice goop.
Wish us a better tomorrow. Catcha later. |
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| [Saturday, May 6, 2006 at 8:48 pm] |
| Subject: And then there were three |
| Mood |
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 jubilant |
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WE GOT HER! After fulfilling the remaining obligation on her orphanage contract, Asella has officially left the building and begun her new life with her wacky parents. We started the adoption process in October 2004, and at long last the “process” is nearly complete. We could not have asked for a better baby or a more hassle free experience while here. Thanks to all stateside who helped make it possible.
Gotcha Day has been very exciting thus far as we cross the 8 hour mark since getting her to the apartment. (Sadly, Grant is sick and the orphanage wanted to keep him a few more days until he gets better. Kim’s Gotcha Day will be on Wednesday.) Here’s what happened:
Eugene picked us up at the ungodly hour of 7:45 am and we headed to the orphanage with all our presents for the people there and some cute clothes for Asella to wear whilst strutting her way out of the orphanage. (Nice duds courtesy of the incomparable Ms. Tahi.)
First we headed up to the nursery to give the caretakers their gifts and get pictures with all of them. All the staff showed up (even those on their day off or off their shift) which was really nice. They really do love Asella to pieces and they are very sad to see her go. We got presents from them as well, which was unexpected and very considerate. Asella got some lovely hand-knitted booties and a kazak purse for when she’s a little older. All the caretakers are wonderful women and we’re so fortunate that Asella spent the first part of her life with such caring individuals.
After round one, we headed downstairs to Irena’s office to give her a present and say farewell. Hugs and pictures and smiles all around, then back to the nursery so we could change Asella into her civilian clothes. Kim brought a cake for them and they invited us to join them for cake and tea. More pictures were taken, more staff came in and Asella was acting like queen of the orphanage, just eating up all the attention. Finally we said our last goodbyes and made our way outside.
We got back to the apartment around 10 am and Asella did an amazing job of not flipping out. She loves the full length mirrors on the wardrobe in the living room, so that helped settle her in and feel comfortable. We goofed around for about an hour and then she crashed hard in mommy’s arms, sleeping for about an hour. The change in scenery has not seemed to bother her at all, other than when she woke up from her naps and was a bit confused as to where she was.
We ate while she slept (so that’s how it’s going to be, eh?) and then made her a delicious lunch of fresh mashed potatoes, apple bits, and meat-like baby food jarred stuff. She seemed to enjoy it and gobbled it down like a champ.
Lots of firsts today: first drink from a sippy cup, first meal made by mom and dad, first exposure to stellar Canadian band Bare Naked Ladies, first diaper changed by mom, first exposure to the idiot box, and later, her first message to you all on the blog – she really wants to push the buttons.
After lunch we played around some more, mom filed her nails and Asella continued to make herself at home. We’re a little shocked about how well behaved she is, especially since she’s fighting off a cold. But hopefully all the indications about the perfect nature of this kid we had at the start are correct and she’ll be an angel until sometime around age 12. If we sleep through the night, we’ll be nominating her for sainthood, or a People’s Choice award.
And now, a word from the baby of the hour, your friend and mine, Asella Claire.
Mjl klkljl.km, ,.Z /,KKM M N \P[‘
Okay, so it isn’t going to win the Pulitzer, but give her a break, she’s only 8 months old. And her afternoon nap was only 20 minutes so her mind is probably not as sharp as it could be. But I digress.
Right now Sarah is making us dinner while I type one-handed. (There appears to be some sort of child-thing occupying my other hand.) We’ll probably stay in through lunch tomorrow and try going out for dinner Sunday night. Should be interesting.
So now what: We’ll travel to Almaty on Sunday the 14th (we’re hanging round here while the final paperwork such as passports and birth certificates are processed) then we leave the 17th at 3 am for an exciting 24 hours of airplanes and airports. Woo! Almost done.
There you have it. Our life just changed dramatically. I think I need a nap. Good day.
-The Strauses |
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| [Friday, May 5, 2006 at 9:29 pm] |
| Subject: The times they are a-changin' |
| Mood |
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 giggly |
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T-minus 15 hours until G-day. And things are all a-twitter at the Straus compound, west Asia division. We spent the morning getting the apartment as baby-proof as possible, and all afternoon looking at jars of Russian baby food. After weeding out the jars of horse and camel meat, we managed to get one jar of everything that resembled food that we would consider eating. Then we had to walk home with it. Fun.
I also had to spend the morning rushing around with Eugene doing some last minute paperwork to get the kiddos their birth certificates and passports. More fun.
Our little daughter was in a sparklingly good mood today, bouncing all over the place and generally enjoying a state of bliss. Hopefully this is a preview of the next 18 years. Grant on the other hand is a sick puppy and may not be able to leave tomorrow. (The orphanage figures it’s better to keep him there to recover, where they have doctors and nurses around the clock, vs. at an apartment with single parent Kim.)
It’s hard to comprehend that this was our last visit to the orphanage. We’ve been there everyday at 1 pm for the last 44 days. It’s the last time we’ll be in that hot room with her, making sure she doesn’t crack her head open on the table in there as she tries to stand up, keeping her away from the radiator, yanking her away from the window whenever the mean doctor comes in the room, and the very last day of wearing enough clothing for 3 or 4 babies living in an igloo.
I’m sure it will be even harder for Asella to comprehend what’s going to happen tomorrow, but we’re hoping her innate curiosity and easy-going nature will cushion the major upheaval that’s about to occur. We’ll probably hang out in the apartment all day, just to get her comfortable. Maybe put on one of the Lord of the Rings movies. That should keep her busy for awhile.
Tonight it’s back to the castle, to celebrate the end of our two-party system and the introduction of an independent. Sarah and I have been a two-some since January of 1992 (holy smokes!) and many of you are probably saying, “Well it’s about time you guys had a threesome!” Wait, that sounds kinda funny. Oh well. I don’t have to be mature until tomorrow, right?
So pass around the cigars and raise your glasses, cause we’re about to have a baby. In case you haven’t been paying attention (inconceivable), it’s a girl. And she’s wicked awesome. |
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| [Thursday, May 4, 2006 at 10:23 pm] |
| Subject: The news in brief... |
| Mood |
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tired |
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Hi folks. It’s very late and we’ve been out all day, sadly not doing anything very exciting, so this will be a brief entry. Sorry. Or conversely, you’re welcome.
We had lunch on our own today and I’m pleased to say that my Russian skills are to the point where I can order both Sarah and I a meal exactly to our specifications. Yes it’s true that we went to Knick Knack, where we’ve been many many times, and ordered the same food we always do, with a waitress who has served us countless times before, but still. Russian ain’t pig-latin. It’s hard. So yay us.
Weather is nice. We had our visit (Asella is the bestest, cutest, most adorable, etc., etc.) Sat in a car for 20 minutes while Eugene did stuff, went to Ed & Joan’s, did laundry, watched a few movies, ate dinner at 8:30, the end.
Tomorrow is our last day as a couple. Saturday we will be a tripod, or triceratops, or something else that starts with “tri.” |
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| [Wednesday, May 3, 2006 at 8:35 pm] |
| Subject: Are we there yet? |
| Mood |
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 hungry |
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It’s a beautiful day here in Kostanai, and yes, I’m reduced to speaking of nothing but the weather. Well maybe a few other things. This morning a cat was perched in the tree outside our window, 3 stories up. He looked quite content, dozing away in the morning sun.
Fun with babies! We took them outside again today, and while the same perplexed look and soundlessness occurred, Asella did flail her legs around rather emphatically. We took this to be a good sign of progress.
Her soccer education continued today as we worked on her goalkeeping skills. Though I was a bit dismayed by her response to Sarah’s chucking the ball at her head – she thought it was funny, and then tried to eat the ball. We’ll work on juggling and volleys tomorrow.
Here are some more pictures of Asella in various states ranging from demure to sickeningly adorable.
You’ll never believe it, but we went to a new restaurant for dinner. It was Quentin Tarantino themed, with the Pulp Fiction soundtrack on the stereo and posters on the wall. It was in a great location next to 2 construction sites and nowhere near any other stores, so naturally we were the only ones in the place. The food was pretty good and the bathroom had a very interesting poster featuring various shots from a “toilet cam.” I’ll leave the contents to your imagination. Nope, think worse than that. Worse. There ya go.
2 weeks to go. 75% done. Only a quarter left. Sarah just informed me that she misses burritos. Mmmmm… burritos. |
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| [Tuesday, May 2, 2006 at 8:07 pm] |
| Subject: Mmmmm.... Sandwiches |
| Mood |
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 satisfied |
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It’s now been 6 weeks, and I am officially out of material. The well has dried up. We expect Saturday will bring plenty of newfound inspiration, but until then I’m regressing back to my senior year of high school (and most of college as well), and will engage in the timeworn practice called “coasting.”
So today I offer up the following, a new parent Mad Lib, the shell of which was graciously donated by the Straus family of Albany, New York, and completed by the lovely and talented Sarah Straus. The title is: Preschool Prep
“You haven’t enrolled 50 Cent in preschool prep school yet?” my neighbor asked grossly, then added, “He’s already 2 years old, dear. The other little stars were enrolled the day they were brought into the cartoon.” Indeed, all the other kids on the block had prepared auditions for the Academy of St. Cartman Preschool Prep School for the Gifted and Fat. Jimmy from up the street was going to play “Eyes” on the piano. Hazel from around the corner was going to dance the balled “Mud Lake.” And Eugene next door was going to show the computer he built out of small giraffes. Excitingly concerned, I asked my son what he would like to do for his audition, and he responded by sticking a monkey up his nose. I think preschool prep is something we may have to forego unless the school is willing to accept a kid who sneezes monkeys.
How ya like them apples? There is one item to share with you today. Asella received her first soccer lesson, which mainly consisted of me sticking a soccer ball in her face while she tried to get it in her mouth.
Not a bad start for an 8 month old, but we still have plenty of work to do. Tomorrow I’m going to explain the offsides trap and the difference between a fair charge and shoulder to shoulder contact. Since Real Madrid is always on the TV here, we’ll have about a week for her to watch and learn to bend it like Beckham, finesse it like Figo, and shoot it like Solari.
Asella did have a very nice outfit on today (no, really, she did) and was very well behaved. I fed her about 4 pounds of ground beef an carrots, and she gobbled it all up like a champ. Though she did keep whipping her head around to look at people while I tried to give her the glass of milk, leaving her face looking like a milk council ad gone terribly awry. Our fine selection of music in the nursery today: Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall, Part II.” Hey, teacher, leave those kids alone. Asella got pudding because she ate all her meat. Sarah is ineligible to receive pudding. Mmmm… Pudding. |
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