22 months old today

Today started much like every other day. Breakfast, play time, snack, snack, snack, lunch, nap. We had planned on a morning walk, but we were a little late getting ourselves together, so we postponed that until after Max's nap. As usual, he continued his obsession with food (today was the worst and most frustrating day yet). We contacted Dr. Staat at Children's Hospital International Adoption Center because we were getting very frustrated with it all. He wants to eat all day long and we are going to let him even if it makes him sick. The experts all agreed and we are on board. So now, any time he starts to get fussy because of no food in front of him or because he crawls into the kitchen and cries, it's snack time!



We did get out for a walk this afternoon. We went to the farmer's market around the corner from the soccer stadium and got some bananas, apples, and a watermelon. We didn't really consider that we were going to have to lug all of this back to the apartment and up 12 flights of stairs. Yes, the elevator is STILL on the fritz (maybe you can tell, we're getting kinda ticked off about it)!! We also went to this other park that is across the street from the soccer stadium. We forgot the camera, so no pictures of the sculpture garden (though we posted one of those way back in May) or the life size chess board with big metal pieces or yet another fountain. We did stop for, you guessed it, snack time! Animal crackers were on the menu for this stop. While we were having snack time, we got to see the President's motorcade (we think) drive by on their way to the stadium. When we passed the stadium, there was A LOT of commotion and we could hear someone addressing the crowd. We also saw lots of policemen out on the streets. When we saw the motorcade, it all made sense. Today must be the day they are celebrating Aktobe's 14oth anniversary. The motorcade was pretty cool. Four or five police cars led the way with men shouting through their loud speakers. There were also some vans that had soldiers inside holding their rifles armed and ready. There were five or six nice black cars and a couple of ambulances, followed by a few more police cars. They were all on their way to the stadium where President Nursultan Nazarbaev was addressing the crowd. There were people lining the street to hear him even though they couldn't get inside (pretty impressive). He is beloved by the people of Kazakhstan. He's been their leader since the country gained independence in 1991 when he won the election with 91.5% of the vote. The parliament even changed their constitution to allow him to remain in power. Here's a picture of a stamp with his likeness.

We stopped at the market to pick up some water, bread, and of course ice cream. Since today Max turned 22 months old, we celebrated by giving him some chocolate ice cream (we assume) for the first time ever. He loved it. He got to enjoy it after his dinner of grilled cheese and watermelon. But really, it was after bath time. It was horrendous yet again. He never stopped screaming, but we think it really tired him out because he went down tonight better than ever. We don't expect that to be the norm however. The good folks at Children's also confirmed our suspicions about his sleep issues, so we do not expect these to be cleared up after only a few nights. They said that he is having insecurities about whether we will still be here when he wakes up and that these issues may take weeks or even months after we return home to get better. But we'll take the easy bedtime routine when we can get it! He was out in about 15 minutes tonight. (Of course the fireworks down at the stadium started as soon as we were leaving the bedroom, but he slept right through them and they went on for a good 20 minutes)

Here are some good photos of Max in his jammies playing a little bit before bedtime.

We thought it would be nice to answer some of the questions that people have been so kind to leave in the comments section (we LOVE those comments and check for new ones all the time...keep 'em coming!).

Laura Holland asks...

"Scott, did he say "Dada" when he gave you the ring?? Is he picking it up that quickly??"

He did, but he says "Da" or "Dada" pretty much whenever he wants us to hand him something or if he wants to hand us something. I resist the urge to think he is really addressing me. He is responding to his name more and more though, so that's progress.

"Was he puzzled with your trip to the park? Do you think he has been outside much/at all?"

Pretty much anytime we have been out of the apartment, whether in a car or in the stroller, he has been a little freaked out by all the activity, but he usually relaxes after a little while. We do not think he was outside much at all during his time at the babyhouse.

"Any chance of shaving some time off your trip since custody started on a Monday??"

No.

"Are you almost out of your American food stash or are you still good?"

Our supplies are dwindling. I brought 10 tuna pouches with 10 mayos and relishes and I ate the last one today. We do have over a dozen ramen noodles left, so that's good. Our Easy Mac supplies are in decent shape as is the supply of Cheerios (thank goodness). I am almost out of Ravioli and we're down to one can of LaRosas's spaghetti sauce. We're also down to about half a jar of peanut butter (surprisingly, Max did not care for peanut butter, so maybe that half a jar will last through Almaty). Anyway, it'll be a sad day when we eat the last of our American food.

"What's your weather like?"

Very mild, but occasionally rainy (like tonight).

"Did you eat all 4 Maxi-bons at one time?"

Of course not, but we could.

"Were they wearing Kazakh costumes for the Constitution Day celebration?"

It was tough to tell from our bedroom window.

"Did you get any on tape? Did they play dombras?"

Nope. And dunno.

"Have you done any good shopping? Do they have dream quilts and rugs everywhere like in Almaty or is it not really geared for tourists the way Almaty is? Do they have cool Russian stacking dolls everywhere? "

Not really. We are going back to the Sulpak market next week, but we plan on getting most of our keepsakes and things when we get to Almaty. There just doesn't seem to be too much of that sort of thing here in Aktobe. I can't imagine that they get a lot of tourists here.

"Have you eaten Russian "pancakes" (like crepes)? Have you eaten Borscht?"
Nope. And nope (beet soup? I think not)

Margie Geisler asks...

"Okay, the chant was eerie on the video clip. Did it sound eerie to you in person? What does the chant actually mean? Is it a prayer?"

No, the chant does not sound eerie in person, it's actually kinda cool. It is a prayer called the Salah. An obedient Muslim is supposed to pray this chant five times a day: dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and nightfall. That chant comes over the loud speaker at the top of that minaret and if our windows are open, we can hear it in the apartment.

Mrs. Brian Bradley asks...

"Tell me about his Gap shirt. Is there a Gap over yonder or is that shirt you brought him?"

That shirt was a gift from a coworker of Jenny's (thank you, Marla George). We brought a number of outfits on the first trip and they dressed him in those clothes on some of our visits. There are very few "American type" stores, although we have seen an Adidas store and a Benetton store down the street. But those kinds of places are few and far between here in Aktobe.

Mom Louis asks...

"Did the Baby House give you some kind of schedule that he has been on? Like when he takes a nap - what time he eats?"

Yes, we got his schedule well before we got him, but we don't believe all that was on it. For instance, they had several periods of the day listed as "outside walking". We never saw kids outside (although Jonathan and Shannon saw it a couple times).

"Did they have lights on at the Baby House all the time?"

We don't know, but we asked Natasha about it after that first bad night falling asleep. Natasha didn't know either.

"What size clothes does Max wear?"

Max wears a lot of 12-month size shirts and they fit him pretty well. 12-month pants only fit him however if they have an elastic waist or a drawstring. If they just have a button (like the jeans and khakis we brought), then they fall off because his waist is so skinny and he has no butt to keep 'em on. He would have crawled right out of the jeans when Jenny put them on him.