We're taking the train

We will not be posting tonight or tomorrow. We are taking the train to Almaty. It's a 42-hour train ride, which leaves at 8:00 pm tonight. Erlan is feeling better. We will tell you about the train ride as soon as we get settled in Almaty.

Day 44

Erlan awoke this morning with a big smile. He was so happy to see us. We were equally happy to see him. While Erlan was well rested, neither Mama nor Papa were. Erlan is an active sleeper. Not only was he all over the bed, he was all over the room.

Last night, Ben discovered Erlan on the floor. We figured that he’d fall out of bed, so being pro-active parents we placed pillows on the ground to break the fall. We didn’t hear a thud, so we were pleased with our pillow placement. Congratulations all around!

It turns out, though, that Erlan sits up in his sleep and crawls off the bed. He didn’t fall of the bed, he carefully crawled out of the bed and sprawled out on the floor. Not on the pallet on the floor, just on the wood floor. We tried several times during the night to keep him in bed, or at least on the pallet, but he always returned to the wood. (During his two naps though, he hasn’t moved.)

In part, he may have slept on the wood b/c it was the coolest place in the room. Our room was a toasty 82 degrees, which is only 20 degrees higher than Ben and I are used to.
We had to keep the windows closed, because the dust here is very bad and Erlan seems to be allergic to it. Even though we are on the sixth floor, the dust accumulates very quickly--to the point you can feel it blow across you when you sleep.

Erlan was so good today. He ate the food we gave him, even the carrots that we mashed into his mashed potatoes. He really enjoys carrying around books. His favorite is one about Delta Force that our friend Joel gave to us. He especially likes to take that book to the toilet with him, which makes me giggle every time I see him do it.

We are fearful that Erlan is coming down with the chicken pox. He has some of the symptoms, but they could also be symptoms of something else. He’s running a fever of 102 with a runny nose and watery eyes. At this point, we’re waiting to see if the red dots appear.

We did get some very disappointing news today. We will have to be in Kaz for a week longer than we planned. Something slowed down in regards to paperwork for Erlan’s passport. We really have no clue why the process slowed down, just that it has.

We have decided to return to Almaty as quickly as we can. Even though the apartment rent will be more expensive there, it will be cheaper for us to stay in Almaty than in Aktobe. We would like to take the train to Almaty. We would have our own private cabin, and we could see the country-side. It’s a 42-hour trip, but we think it would be worth it so that we can experience something of this country besides city life. This is, of course, completely contingent on Erlan’s health. Our international adoption Dr gave us the green light to make the trip.

(A note on our IA doctor for those of you preparing to travel. We used Dr. Skurkovich out of RI. He has been AWESOME. He is super responsive. I have emailed him twice about Erlan since we brought him home. Dr. Skurkovich returned both emails very quickly… the last email was returned within 30 minutes. He was also very easy to reach and responded very quickly following the initial medical report. I would use him again, and I recommend him highly.)

I didn’t take many pictures today (n=2). Ben was gone most of the day, and Erlan and I were busy hanging out. We did get a cute video of the boys playing.

Day 43--Erlan comes home!!!

Erlan is home now and taking a nap with Daddy! What a glorious day!

Today started like a normal visit day. We were picked up at 9:45 for our 10:00 am visit. Ben went to get Erlan from the nannies, and they had a present for Erlan. :-) Erlan's nannies gave him a traditional Kazakh hat, a picture, and a painted spoon. Our favorite nanny, Nazipa, also had her daughter write a note to us in English saying that she wished us much happiness.

Erlan's nannies are terrific. They were kind women, and they clearly cared for Erlan and he cared for them. Nazipa cried when she said good bye to him. Erlan cried when Nazipa put him down for the last time.

By 11:00 am, our paperwork was ready and we went to the head Dr.'s office to sign Erlan out. By this point, Erlan was crying. I think he understood that he was leaving his home. The head doctor wished us happiness and health. We thanked him for the care he provided to our son and gave him his gift. The head doctor told us that the staff really liked our family b/c Ben helped with the chores.

Shortly thereafter we went outside to meet Ceric. Erlan screamed when he saw Ceric. He screamed when we tried to take a picture. He screamed about half-way home (it's about a 5-minute trip). We met the Spanish translator Ainura outside of our apartment, and Erlan was calm while we chatted with her. (She speaks English, Spanish, Russian, and Kazakh!)

Erlan cried when we got him in the apartment. I walked him around and showed him all of the rooms (n=5). We showed him his toys. He started exploring the apartment, and he was happy whenever he looked around and saw us. We were given lots and lots of smiles. :-D



Here are a couple of pictures from lunch and a video from lunch. Erlan is an incredibly messy eater. You'll notice that he is fully clothed on Mama, but minus one shirt on Papa. A short time later he was minus two shirts. :-) This was the first time we fed him lunch, so we were very happy when he ate the soup that we made.





Now Erlan is asleep with Papa. We had to lay down with him b/c there is absolutely no way to kid-proof this apartment. Erlan cannot be left to his own devices---who knows what havoc he'd create.

This has been an amazing day, and we're only half-way through. We're so happy Erlan is home with us. :-)

Day 39 thru 42

Sorry about the lack of posts. It has been a busy few days in Aqtobe. I'll give the highlights of the past few days.

Day 39


We had two very good visits with Erlan. We hung out in the playroom and walked around outside. Erlan discovered dirt and grass today. He enjoyed inspecting the dirt. He then got brave and ventured into the grass. The grass is actually pretty sparse here. The soil is very sandy.

We went to our friend Agnes' for a b'day party for her son Sacha. We hung out with Agnes, Sacha, and our friends Carlos, Rosa, and Maria. I think Sacha had a lot of fun at his b'day party. I know we did!

Day 40

Again, two great visits with our boy. More time in the playroom. More time outside.
We were able to snap one of the few smiles that we've gotten out of Erlan when he is outside. Ben played peek-a-boo by lifting Erlan over a concrete wall. The nannies were working outside again on this day. Ben helped them carry leaves to the burn pile. I think he made himself very popular. By the end of our visit, they knew his name.

Bayana took us out for kabobs so that we could enjoy our last meal before we get Erlan. As usual, we had a great time with Bayana.

Day 41

On Sundays we only get one visit but Erlan made the most of it. He managed to pee on all of his pants and to pee on Daddy! The first accident was entirely Ben's fault. Erlan was sitting on the potty, but everything wasn't inside the potty so that was one set of pants.

Later in our visit, Erlan ran to Ben, said "up", sat on Ben's lap, and peed! Ben later commented that he thought Erlan needed the toilet again cause he was doing a funny little dance while messing with toys.

From this little event, we learned two things: (1) in Kazakhstan, if a baby accidentally pees on you, it means you will be rich. (This has happened to me many times in my life and I'm still awaiting my riches.) (2) Kazakhs with psoriasis will wash their skin and hair in the urine of a baby (under age 1)... it is supposed to relieve the dry skin.

Day 41

Our last day!!! WOOHOO! We brought our gifts for the nannies today. I think that they liked the gifts. We also brought small gifts for the other children in Erlan's group as well as a big gift (a stroller/tricycle combination) for his group.

Erlan was acting a bit oddly today. We're not sure why. The nannies have been telling him that he goes home with us tomorrow. Maybe it is more than he can process and it scares him?

We had dinner with Agnes and Sacha. French fries from Alanya--my favorite!

We can't wait for tomorrow!!!

Day 38

Today was yard clean-up day at the orphanage. All of the nannies were out working in the yard. Ben spent about 30 minutes helping out while Erlan and I watched him. We saw Erlan's favorite nanny, Nazipan, outside, and she tossed Erlan's ball with him a couple of times. One of the other nannies said to me (in English), "Your father helps us. He's good!" :-)


Erlan tried out the merry-go-round today. You'll see how seriously he took the experience from the pictures. We took some video, but it is hard to watch. The merry-go-round is in serious need of WD-40 and the squeak on the video is horrible. So, sorry kids, no video today.


Here's a picture of Erlan having Daddy help him practice on the stairs. We cannot walk by those stairs without Erlan practicing on them.



Here's a couple of pictures of Erlan trying on Daddy's sunglasses.

Day 37

Erlan said another word today! He said, "Dog." He loves watching the stray puppies and their mom that live in the orphanage yard. We discovered that we can distract him from a tantrum if we start talking about the dogs. He's always willing to go look at them.


Erlan also got a new toy today. Nadia's mom, Rosa, gave him a little bunny with a pull string. Erlan loved it. Nadia gave it to him as soon as he came into the room. Erlan played with it for 15 minutes, at least. It even distracted him from his usual goal of going outside. He's playing with the toy in the picture. This picture was snapped right before Erlan sent the bunny into the two large stuffed animals that you can see in the background. Fortunately for Erlan, Nadia rescued the bunny from the stuffed animals... maybe I should have said fortunately for the stuffed animals...

The nannies are really worried about chicken pox. They told us again today that Erlan doesn't have it. The doctors are checking him every day. Bayana, our translator, told us that the doctors check him first. Everyone wants him healthy so he can go home with us!

In other good news, our friend Agnes brought her little boy Sacha home. We visited the two of them today. He's adorable. He's such a big boy. He's in an 18-month top and he'll turn 1 tomorrow! He really liked Ben.

And in more good news, our friends Gen, Joel, Gabriel, Kami, Eric, and Lincoln get to go home tomorrow!!! We're very happy for them. We miss hanging out with them in Aktobe.

In today's video, Erlan is dancing with Bayana. Erlan had a great time. Bayana played American music, but I didn't know any of it. I guess I'll have to turn on some top-40 stations instead of my beloved NPR so Erlan can listen to the tunes he seems to like. Fortunately for me, he also seems to like the Hank Williams Sr songs that I sing to him. :-)

Day 36

Our afternoon visit started with one of the orphanage doctors and one of Erlan's nannies swooping into the playroom, taking off Erlan's shirts, and checking him for chicken pox. Chicken pox is going around the orphanage. Fortunately Erlan's spots were nothing. My fingers and toes are crossed that he can experience this childhood ailment once we get back to the States (if he experiences it at all).

We were able to go outside today during both visits. This is good news since Erlan allows us about 15 minutes in the playroom before he grabs his shoes and wants to leave. If we don't go outside, he spends his time looking out the window. Not sure what he saw when we snapped this pix, but he looks fascinated!

When we do go outside, Erlan likes for me to carry him and he almost falls asleep in my arms. He's done this during all of our outdoor adventures. I think he's skipping naps.

Erlan also practiced his climbing skills today. Nothing makes Mom or Dad move faster than these practice sessions. He's got such a big head that he's a bit top heavy and has a tendency to tumble.

In today's video, you can see Erlan's started babbling again. No idea what he's saying but he sure likes saying it. :-)