One Year Ago Today....

It was a year ago today that we met this little boy.

We knew that this kid would change our lives, but we had no idea that we hit the jackpot, the lottery, and the Publisher's Clearinghouse all in one shot.  Our journey has been amazing.  Erlan is everything we ever imagined our child to be and more.  He's cute, funny, and smart.  He charms everyone that he meets.  He is Ben's mini-me, and he's got my sweet tooth.  

He has grown more in the past year than we thought possible, going from a baby to a toddler on the verge of being a little boy.  

We are incredibly blessed to have him in our lives.  

25 Random Things about Kazakhstan

"I completed a 25 Random Things list and it made me think of things I’d never forget about Kazakhstan. So, I thought I’d send this to my friends who have had the luxury of spending time in Kazakhstan. List the things you’ll never forget about your trip(s) to Kazakhstan and pass this onto your friends who have been there (and back to me!)."  

Ok, I will refrain from writing the entire list about Erlan except for the first one.  

1.) The first day we met Erlan. He was wearing a light blue outfit. I thought he looked so small and looked like Ben. We fell in love with him immediately.  

2.) Gen & Joel, Kami & Eric, Agnes, Bernadette, Rosa y Carlos. It was nice to meet people who became our friends.  

3.) Bayana and Ceric. I hope I get to see them again some day.  

4.) Camcas! Ben ate them daily for breakfast.  

5.) Erlan's nanny telling us (on Erlan's last day in the orphanage) that we spoiled him and he used to go tell them that he needed to go to the potty and now he just wet his pants. The other nanny just looked horrified.  

6.) The day Ben asked the nannies if we could borrow a coat for Erlan. Bayana told him how to say "May I borrow a coat please?" in Kazakh. Ben hurried upstairs and repeated the phrase. He came back down with a coat reporting that the nannies had burst out laughing when he said it. When Ben later repeated his new phrase for Ceric, Ceric burst out laughing. Turns out Ben had said something along the lines of, "May I borrow a coat old woman!"  

7.) Arrested Development. I bought the series to take with us to Kaz. Neither of us had seen it before, and we were immediately hooked once we started watching it during our layover in Almaty. Now I can't watch the show without thinking of Kaz.  

8.) Celebrating Kaz New Year, going into the Yurt sponsored by Bayana's university, and making toasts with our friends (keep the cognac coming!)  

9.) Meeting Gabe, Lincoln, Sacha, Gaia, and Maria. I hope they know the joy that they have brought to their parents.  

10.) Getting Regina's email asking about Milo. We were so excited that the Ruopoli's were wanting to adopt him.  

11.) Hanging out with Agnes, Sacha, and Agnes' parents in Almaty.  

12.) Taking the train to Almaty from Aktobe. I'm so glad we did that and saw the countryside, even though Erlan had the chicken pox.  

13.) Practicing Spanish with Carlos y Rosa. Who would have thought that I'd be able to dust off my college Spanish while in Kazakhstan.  

14.) The incredible diversity of people that we saw and met in Almaty.  

15.) Walking up to Kok-Tobe and being passed by a bus on our way up.  

16.) Ben helping the orphanage staff during their clean-up days and being told by one of the nannies (in English), "Your papa is a good man."  

17.) Being in Aktobe when the snow melted. It melted so rapidly that there was water everywhere. The potholes were actually small lakes.  

18.) The shoes that Kazakhs wore! They wore gorgeous, impractical shoes that could not have kept out snow, water, or cold. They stared when they saw our boots.  

19.) Giving an interview for Kazakh television. This is not something we wanted to do. The head doctor showed up in the playroom during our visit and asked if we wanted to give an interview. We did not but really couldn't say no. We were asked about adopting from Kaz, why we chose Kaz, and how hard was the process. We told them we thought that Kaz had a rigorous adoption process. We like the mandatory bonding process and though it good for the kids. We also said the process was very difficult. [We were later told by Katya (our interpreter in Almaty) that it was translated that the Kaz adoption process was very easy, much easier than adopting in the US.] We were very close to the end of our appeals period. We spent those last days on pins and needles hoping that the interview would not bring one of Erlan's long-lost relatives out of the wood work.  

20.) The cheese and meat ladies at our local market. Every time we walked in, they would yell, "Ben!" I felt like I was in the Kazakh version of Cheers.  

21.) The pedestrian avenue in Almaty. It was such a nice place to hang out and walk around with Erlan.  

22.) The Russian Bathhouse in Almaty. I still have had my share of naked people.  

23.) Taking walks with Erlan and Ben around the grounds of the orphanage trying to avoid the other children. It was heartwrenching every time we saw them. The little girls would yell at Ben, "Papa! Papa!"  

24.) The children we couldn't bring home with us. There were three little girls that always tried to catch our attention. I would have happily brought them home with us. I still think of them and wonder how they are doing and if they've been adopted.  

25.) Erlan's favorite nanny, Nazipan. I wish that I would have thought to give her our email address and our blog address so that she could check on him when she wanted to. She brought a gift bag for Erlan on his last day with traditional Kazakh items for him when he is older.

Erlan's Birthday Bash

Erlan officially turned 3 on Feb 2. We had a small celebration on Feb 2. Aunt Amy brought donuts over and we lit candles and sang Happy Birthday. Erlan just beamed as we sang Happy Birthday to him. He blew out his candles and was just pleased as punch that 3 adults were making such a fuss over him.

We finally had his real party today. We were supposed to have it last Sunday, but we had to postpone b/c Erlan had the flu. We wanted to have a major celebration since this is the first time anybody has celebrated the birth of the best boy in the world (just ask him)! So about 50 of our closest friends and family came down to our local bar to celebrate Erlan. In case you're thinking, that's a lot of gifts; we requested that no gifts be given. Erlan has more toys and games than we know how to handle. Sometimes I think that toys magically appear at our house. Don't worry though, he did get some gifts--we're not heartless. :-)

Yes, we had Erlan's 3rd b'day party at a bar. Ben's brother and sister own it, so it was all on the up and up. Erlan loved his birthday party. He realized that the celebration was for him. He was delighted when everyone sang to him. At one point, he hid his face. It was almost as if he was overwhelmed.

We played games, including one we used to play at my b'day parties. We had the kids sit on a balloon. The first one that popped it got a prize. I used to love that game, and the kids still did. I didn't count on them continuing to pop the balloons once the game was over. I jumped everytime a balloon popped.

We also had the kids throw ping pong balls into a cup being held by an adult partner. Whoever got the most in the cup won a prize. The adults were on the honor system since the kids only had two balls to throw multiple times. Erlan teamed with Uncle Dave. They were a great team, but only made about 10 in the cup. The winners were Gav-man and Kati who both managed to make 20 ping pong balls into a cup.

We borrowed a couple of Wii's from generous relatives (thanks Amy and Stacey!). These were a huge hit with the kids, especially the older "kids."

Aunt Amy made Erlan's cake. She made a train cake. The pictures do not do the train justice. It was awesome (and tasty). She is beyond creative. The kids were fascinated by all of the different cars. By the end of the party, most of the cake was gone and the track had disappeared.

Erlan simply had a great time at his party. He was worn out and sugared up by the time we went home. He managed to make it until his normal bedtime, but he was asleep within minutes of his body hitting the pillow.

Happy Birthday little boy!

Keep Believing

I have referenced Ben's friends Angie and Brian in a different post. Truth be told, I think of them as my friends since I follow their blog faithfully. Also, I heard lots about "little Angie" and "Angie and Brian" before I ever saw the blog.

About a week ago, Angie wrote the post that I feared would come: Brian's cancer has progressed to the point that it no longer makes sense to continue treatment. At the age of 36, Angie has begun dealing with end-of-life care for her husband. At the same time, Angie continues being a mom to her two young boys. I guess part of what amazes me about Angie is how she is able to write moving, poignant, and inspiring posts in the midst of such personal tragedy.

You may have noticed the new widget on the side of my blog. A fund has been set up for Angie and her boys. There are many times when we hear stories like that of Angie and Brian and we want to help but don't know how. The gadget is there in case you want to help monetarily. I am sure Angie, Brian, and the boys will take all of the prayers, positive thoughts, and/or good mojo that you can send their way. If you attend church, please add them to your prayer lists.

If you haven't been to Angie's Keep Believing Blog, please check it out. (Here's the address in case the link doesn't work:
www.aboneill.blogspot.com )

When you read Angie's blog, you'll see what an amazing person she is. Ben says that Brian is just as incredible and that the two of them compliment each other well. They have handled this difficult journey with grace and love. I hope their blog touches everyone else as much as it has Ben and me.

Erlan's latest tricks

• Erlan continues to amaze us. I wanted to list his latest and greatest (so in a year I can remember--time is simply flying by!)
  
  As soon as Erlan wakes up, he runs to his room to pick out his clothes. He likes his clothes and likes to pick out his own outfits. Somedays he picks out clothes that match, other days are just funny. (Yes, he still joins us at 2:00 am....)
  
  Erlan does not like to be wet. He gets very wet when he helps with dishes. He runs upstairs to change. He also does not enjoy being naked. If a shirt comes off, it better be b/c he's taking a bath or going swimming; otherwise, it's upstairs to his closet.
  
  Erlan knows the alphabet and can identify all letters except K and N... I guess he has a mental block. He loves to play the alphabet game at Starfall.com
  
  Erlan can count to 10 and can identify numbers 1 to 10. He loves to shout out numbers in Wal-mart. His favorite counting game is the duck shoot game at ictgames.com (If I weren't so lazy, I'd find the links for you.) We're starting to work on 11 through 20.
  
  He's using two or three word phrases more and more frequently. The first phrase I heard was, "No more eggs!"
  
  He loves to go with Daddy to feed cows. "Cows feed!" He helps Daddy fill the buckets and he tries to carry the buckets.
  
  Erlan can work the mousepad on the computer. Ben taught him this today, and he's actually pretty good at it. (I'm not thrilled to have even more competition for the computer!)
  
  Erlan requested a bowling party for his 3rd b'day. We had just been to his cousin's bowling party and Erlan loved it. When Ben and I were talking about his party the next day, Erlan tapped my face and said, "Mommy! Ball!" Then he made a bowling motion with his hand.
  
  Erlan likes to sing "Happy Day to You!" (Happy Birthday to you!)
  
  He said his own name for the first time to day. Until now, he has referred to himself as "You."
  
  Erlan loves to throw balls (and whatever else he can find). He's actually pretty good at it. He also gets in trouble a lot for throwing things in the house.
  
  Erlan loves Baxter. He has figured out how to put Baxter into his kennel (a handy trick) and how to take him out (a not-so-handy trick--Baxter is having trouble with the whole concept of potty training so he needs to go outside as soon as he is let out of his kennel.)
  
  Erlan has figure out the lock on the door and likes to go in and out of the house. So far we've gotten around this by locking the screen--he'll probably figure that out next week.
  
  Erlan loves to read. His favorite book is Goodnight Moon. He is delighted that I have it memorized and he can turn the pages himself. He also likes the Sandra Boynton books.

I'm sure I will think of more. In a month it will be a year since we met him. I cannot remember a time without him. He is our miracle.

Wiped-Out Wednesday

Erlan woke up bright and early. He tried to rouse the girls. He pulled the blankets off of the girls, he yelled, “Out! Up!” It was to no avail. The girls continued to sleep.

We woke up to snow. Schools were closed. Berthoud Pass was closed. It’s a good thing we weren’t planning on leaving today. We spent the day at the condo. We hung out, watched movies, and played games. If you do not have the game Snorta, you really need to buy it. We had so much fun playing it. I worked some, but it didn’t get in the way of the good time.

We hauled Erlan’s skis out and pulled him around the parking lot. The girls pulled their skis out too, but they figured out that the parking lot wasn’t nearly as much fun as the slopes. They did enjoying pulling Erlan around.

The girls have kept each other entertained. They spent today playing with Hannah Montana dolls, making videos on Kenzi’s camcorder, and playing homecoming queen. “Is there only one homecoming queen?” They also spent a lot of their time playing with Erlan.

Tomorrow, we will hit the slopes one more time. We plan to take the girls up to Mary Jane and take the greens back down.

Hitting the slopes

Everybody hit the slopes of Winter Park today. I am thankful that I am still able to snowboard after 5 years. I’m also thankful that my muscles are sore and that I’m alive. :-)

Winter Park has wagons for families to use to haul gear and kids around. Unfortunately, the wagons weren’t out today. We improvised. I seriously doubt that Samsonite thought that their roller bags would be used to haul kids around ski parks.

We enrolled Erlan in ski school today. I think that he really enjoyed it. They did take him out to the bunny slope. He caught Amy and I watching him. You’ll see him turn around and stare at us in the video. Before we shot the video, he was looking at us and finally yelled, “Mommy?” I waved. I was afraid that he’d start crying, but he didn’t.

We saw him again on the bunny slope in the afternoon; however, the instructor had FORGOTTEN him! Ben figured this out after watching Erlan just standing there, not interacting with the group. The manager had the right attitude saying, “This is totally unacceptable.” The instructor who forgot him told Ben that he was disrespectful to her! She forgot our kid and was concerned about respect. She had 4 kids in her group and couldn’t do a head count.

Kenzi also enrolled in Level 2 ski school. There were only 4 kids in her group. She went through Level 2 and Level 3 today! She is ready for Level 4 instruction. Her instructor managed not to lose her and said Kenzi did a great job. She’s now ready for easy blues! Kenzi was very proud of her accomplishment.

Keely psyched herself out b/c of the lift and would not enroll in ski school. She said she would hang out with Granny Jannie at the lodge. After watching all of the skiers, she finally said that she’d go on the lift IF Amy would hold her hand. Amy bought her a pass and took her up the lift. Once Keely got on the lift, she said, “You’re right. This is like a roller coaster!” She made it down the hill with only minor falls. She really enjoyed herself. Unfortunately, I have no video of her on the mountain today. She and Amy went one way, and Ben and I went another. By the time that I made it down the mountain, I was too tired to go back up to get pictures. Ben was going to go, but we ran into the aforementioned incident with Erlan and the ski school.

Here are some more pictures from the lodge at the end of the day.