Day 5, Sunday visit

Today we only had one visit with Erlan. It was another great visit. He was all over the room today. He threw his blocks at Daddy (see the picture!) He stacked his blocks. He pounded on the cute kid in the mirror. He kicked the blocks (on purpose). He played with his book.

Erlan will let Ben tickle him and play peek-a-boo with him, but he will not let Ben hold him. He cries if Ben walks over to him. Cry is the wrong word. It’s more of a high-pitched fake cry.

Erlan does not know yet if he likes being turned upside down. He giggles for awhile, then he gets upset. His little brain just hasn't quite figured out what it means when adults play with him.

Ben gave Erlan banana again today. He still loves it. About half-way through our visit, Ben asked Erlan if he wanted a banana. Erlan clearly responded “Da”. Ben asked again, and Erlan said “Da” again. He got the banana. (Da means yes.)

Erlan knew that the banana was in a plastic bag by our backpack. He walked over to the bag to try to get the banana. He backed off when we said “jak” (no). Here are a couple of pictures of our sneaky banana boy.

He then decided to test his limits. He kept walking over to the door to walk out. I told him “no” and “jak”, but he kept going. I’d go get him, and he’d give me the biggest smile. It was very hard to be stern with him when he gave me the big smile. He then wanted to be picked up. I figure that he’s about 2 years behind on hugs and kisses, so I indulged him. :-)

Today, he gave me a spontaneous hug. I almost missed it b/c I was trying to take pictures of the funny face that he was making as he was throwing things to Daddy.

When the nanny came to get him, she saw the book of farm animals that we brought for him. She sat down, went through the book, and told Erlan the Kazakh names for the animals. She made some pretty realistic animal sounds (an especially good goat). She then had Erlan shake Daddy’s hand and Mommy’s hand. I need to ask Bayana her name and ask to take her picture. She is always so nice to us.

The new room we are in is some sort of gymnasium. It has two hanging ladders. Erlan discovered them today. He enjoyed pulling them and banging them together. He figured out that if he feel down he could use them to pull himself up.

Out on the town

After our visit, we went to a mall with the two other American couples and Bayana. The mall has an indoor component and an outdoor area. We ate at the mall food stand. We had crepes and beer. Ok, Ben had beer. I still don’t like it.

Bayana then took us all over the indoor mall in search of an outfit for Erlan. The mall was very warm. Ben was about to melt into a puddle. We finally found an outfit and then we headed outside. We found another outfit outside for about half the price. Erlan will finally have some boy clothes! I still want to find some shoes for him. Here's a picture of the outdoor market to end the post.