Vacation in Cape Cod

This was Zhanna's first vacation and taste of the ocean! She is definately going to be a traveller!

Zhanna turns one!!

Zhanna celebrated her first birthday with her own cake--and thoroughly enjoyed it!
She is growing up so fast. She is now able to sing EIEIO and Llalalalalalalal with Elmo. She has begun to walk, although most of the time she lacks the confidence to walk without touching a hand.

We're home!!

We are finally home. Thank you again for all of the emails and support along the way!!

Happy St Patricks Day

Happy St
Patricks
Day!!










Hello! Happy St Patricks Day from Kazakhstan! This is Zhanna with her new shamrock shirt that Grammie made for her. We will not be having corned beef, but will be having plenty of cabbage tonight for dinner (not Zhanna---she is having turkey with potatoes and pumpkin...baby food is much different here!). We found another new store with traditional Kaz food, and decided to try some more dishes. Most of the food here begins with cabbage--salads, sauerkraut, stuffed, fried, in rolls, etc.... It probably is not the same reheated in the microwave, but still tastes great!
We went for a long walk today, the weather was beautiful. The ice on the sidewalks is still about 6 inches deep, but slowly melting. It was 34 F here today. I'm getting better with the stroller--4 wheeling across the ice---and Zhanna is much happier with her pink hat that does not cover her eyes.
We have our tickets in hand now to fly to Almaty on Sunday. There we will have several appointments and possibly some shopping time. I'm trying to teach Zhanna some of the joys of shopping, but the snow suit can be an obstacle to the fun. Spring is celebrated here and in Eastern Asia on March 22, but in Russia it is celebrated on March 8--same day as "Women's Day".
Tomorrow we will pack--yahoo!!--should be easier going home. Most of the clothes I brought for Zhanna were too small and I donated them to the orphanage, as well as the large bag of diapers I brought in size 2 ( she is a size 3). I also brought some food, formula, and other things that were heavy but will not be going home. Hopefully no overweight luggage fees this time!!
More tomorrow--hope everyone had a great St Patrick's Day!!

PAPA'S Birthday

Happy
Birthday
Papa!!







HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!!!!!!!!!!
Hello everyone!! Today is Thursday---less than a week until we are home! Every day I sing "Going to America" by Neil Diamond (I think) to Zhanna. We are all so excited to be coming home. Today is Zhanna's grandfather's birthday. We will miss the birthday party he is throwing for himself, but we can celebrate again when we get home.
Tomorrow Tamara and Lena will be here at 10:30am to go over the final paperwork and give us the passport, adoption papers, and new birth certificate with my name as mother!! I took advantage of Zhanna's nap today and left her here with my mom. I went to the next street over and bought some food from an older woman on the corner. There are many "street vendors" on the busier streets, selling homemade foods and milk. I had some difficulty in communicating with the woman, but finally ended up with 1/2 kilo of fresh pickles for 60 Tenge (approx 50 cents) and 1/2 kilo of salad with carrots and sauerkraut for 40 Tenge (approx 31 cents). I also bought some dumpling type things for dinner. I'm getting brave with the food--- even ramen noodles get old after a while!!
Tomorrow is St Patricks Day, and Mom brought decorations from home and made a shirt for Zhanna to wear with shamrocks, so stay tuned.......

Rosa and
Zhanna!




















Technical
difficulties!











Hello everyone!! Finally got confirmation on our flight to Almaty and then to the USA--we are leaving at 4:10am on Wednesday March 22 and will return on the same day due to 11hours of time change. I'm ready to begin packing! Tamara called to ask if we wanted to stay in the hotel in Almaty or the apartment. We are opting for the hotel--hopefully to be able to watch BBC or some type of world news so I am back in the loop of the world. Time also for someone else to cook!! It will only be two nights, and breakfast is included. Quite a spread they have for breakfast--kind of like a big brunch buffet.
Today was cold and snowy, so we decided to spend a quiet afternoon at home in the apartment (LOL) and relax. It was a very long day--the jigsaw is almost finished--only the hard pieces are left! We have also been attempting to follow a French soap opera dubbed in Russian. Not actually quite as difficult as that may sound.... just wonder who will die next.
Mom is attempting to make pizza for dinner out of a flat bread and powdered spaghetti sauce. We have been eating traditional Kaz food from the deli counter at the grocery store, but really need a break from all of the cabbage (LOL)!!!
The picture is Rosa with Zhanna from yesterday. Rosa is the director of the orphanage. She is a very busy lady, as the orphanage houses 120 children, all under the age of 4 years old!!
Well, we will write more tomorrow or the next day as our schedule allows (LOLOLOLOL!!!)

The
patriotic
look!!







Hello all!! Today is Tuesday---according to all calculations our last Tuesday in Karaganda. We will be leaving on Sunday to fly to Almaty. On Monday, Zhanna will have a physical at the SOS clinic--don't know what that stands for--at 12noon. On Tuesday at 10am I have to meet with the people in the Embassy for some type of interview to finish all details of Zhanna's visa to come to the USA!!! We will need to change our travel tickets when we get to Almaty, so if there is room and availability we will be leaving here early Wednesday morning....very early...for a 4:10am flight. We are all very excited!!
Today we went to visit the orphanage so my mom could see where Zhanna was raised for the past 8 months. We met with many of the caregivers and staff of the orphanage--who said Zhanna has really changed in the past 6 weeks. She is much more verbal--not with words yet, but constant babbling and laughing. We went to the baby store yesterday and bought 3 walkers to donate to the orphanage, as some of theirs were worn. We delivered them this morning. The babies in Room 2 were so excited...something new and different for them to explore ( and argue over!!).
As you can see, we attempted the patriotic look for the picture of the day. The flag is Kazakhstan's national flag, and the doll is the "Matrushka" which opens up to 5 littler ones inside.
We should be finalizing our plans on Saturday when we meet with Tamara and Lena for the final paperwork and to get the birth certificate and Kaz passport for Zhanna. She will have dual citizenship with a Kaz passport and an American passport until she is 18. Well-- that's all for now--not too much happening. Mom and I are fighting to see who gets to do the dishes and laundry every day---anything to pass the time!!!
Hope to see everyone SOON!!!!