On Our Way Home

Everything went well at the Embassy this afternoon. We got Jenya's Kazakh passport with a US Visa in it- how exciting! Her passport photo is so adorable. We just had Pomodoro's again for dinner since we knew we really liked it. Now Jenya's taking a nap and mom and I are going to pack. We just can't wait to get home again with our little girl. I know Daddy is missing her like crazy!

I hope to continue this blog, although much less frequently, to keep anyone who wants to stay updated on Jenya's progress and photos. It will also be nice for her to see one day! Thanks for following along :)

Our Last Day (Hopefully)!

Well, the Embassy appt is today at 3pm, and we haven't heard anything otherwise, thank goodness. It's about 2 hours from now. We can't wait! Then we can finish packing and head home! We miss Daddy and the rest of our family so much :(

I got a couple of questions about Jenya's size. She is definitely only in 12 month clothing right now. I tried 18 month stuff on her but they were too big. She looks so much bigger than she is!

I know, the headband episode was awful. I definitely need some help from April and Kennedy in that department. But if she is ever in a workout video, I'll offer to dress her, that's for sure! Check out the pics of the animal velour sweatshirt we put her in yesterday. She didn't seem to like it very much when we put the hood up. This doesn't bode well for Halloween! And the looks we got from the people here were funny. I don't think they dress their children up as animals here, that's my guess. They were all very intrigued :)

See you all soon!!

Jenya's New Backpack

We found this cute little mouse backpack in an underground toy store on our way to the grocery store. Usually kids toys and clothes are really expensive here, even more than at home. But this was a bargain at 600 tenge ($4)! She loves to look at herself in the mirror wearing it, it's so cute. If you're wondering what an underground toy store is, it's just a shopping area under the main streets of the city. Instead of crossing the streets, you go underground through a tunnel to get to the other side.

Headband Pics

Embassy Visit Cancelled Today!

A big thank you to Kathy at the agency for recommending that we build in an extra day just in case something happens with the embassy appointment! We should have been able to leave tonight if all went well, but we booked the flight for early Tuesday morning just in case, thank goodness we did. Apparently the passports still weren't ready for today, but we're told that everything will be all set for Monday, so please just say a prayer for us. We really want to come home Tuesday!

Even though today is not the happiest day for my mom and I, Jenya has been a superstar. Laughing and smiling all day. But I guess that's what happens when you get 10 hours of sleep! Lucky girl. We got her a little headband when we went out shopping yesterday, but as you can see in the picture, mommy doesn't quite know how to put it on yet. Poor Jenya's little ears are sticking out!

Once again, pics not loading, will try later :(

Pics for the Last Posting

Night Out at Pomodoro's Cafe

Jenya got her first restaurant experience last night when we went out for Italian food at Pomodoro's. Isn't it funny that we have the same restaurant in Catskill? We had great pasta dishes, but they were spicier than we expected, so Jenya didn't get to eat with us. And trying to explain that we'd like a small dish of pasta with plain sauce for her was just too difficult! But she's loving any and all foods that we give her, thank goodness. She's really good at feeding herself, but still learning how to hold her own bottle to drink.

My mom had the best wake up call ever this morning. Jenya fell asleep between us around 9:30pm last night and then at 7:15 this morning she woke my mom up by patting her hands on her chest with her face right in my mom's face! Nonna just loved it! By the way, I was still sleeping and missed all of it. We do wonder how long she had been awake before she woke my mom up though! Enjoy the pictures of our night out and of Jenya and her Nonna in the hotel room :)

Actually, having a hard time uploading pics right now, so I'll try again later. Sorry!

Second Day Together

We are having another great day with Jenya! Even though I didn't sleep more than an hour last night. At least Jenya got a good 9 1/2 hours in! I hope she continues this once we're home. Today we took a long walk around the city until both Jenya and Tyler fell asleep. My mom, Catherine and I were wishing we could be pushed around in a stroller too, it must be so soothing for them.

Last night Jenya got her first bath and she loved it! I was so worried she would be scared of bath time because she isn't accustomed to being bathed that way. Usually they stand the babies up in a sink and hose them down with a sink sprayer. But she had a fabulous time, and I didn't even have any bath toys to give her! I wish we had captured some pictures, but my mom was busy videotaping it, so at least Rick can see her first bath when we get home :)

Italian food tonight- we can't go wrong with that!

Our First Day!

Today has been the most amazing day of my life! Jenya is finally here with me and we are having to greatest time together. I'm so glad to say that she remembered me! And she was so happy despite the long day of travel. We'll all probably sleep well tonight. I wish I could write more but I'm extremely tired from the long day we've had. Jenya's already been to her first doctor visit, and she's very healthy! By the way, she is walking, as much as I was hoping she wouldn't be so that Rick and I could teach her. But there's so much more she will learn from us. Right now, she's trying to help me type, and doing a fantastic job with her letters. Actually, she keeps canceling me out of the post, which is making it that much harder to finish it! She's just so adorable. Nonna can't get enough of her - watching everything she does and thinking it's so darn cute. It's just about time for bath and bedtime, so hopefully we'll post more later. But here are a few pics from today. They aren't the best because we were spending so much time playing with Jenya that we didn't think about taking pictures. But don't worry, Nonna did get great video of Jenya pulling up in the car and reuniting with me again. I can't wait to show you all!

We're Here in Almaty!

Just a quick update to let you know we are safely in Almaty. The flights were great, thank God. Right now we're enjoying a nice cup of coffee at an outdoor coffee shop with free wifi. It's so nice here and I'm glad my mom is enjoying it so far too. We have to wait until tomorrow morning around 10am to see Jenya, which will be around midnight by all of you. But we will post as soon as we can!

Jenya's New Room

I can't believe it's been weeks since I last posted on the blog, but things have been crazy. Mostly, though, it was hard for me to get back on the blog while I was at home without my daughter. I've missed her terribly. Rick feels the same way, that these last few weeks home have gone by so slowly! But there's good news - we travel back to Kaz in 2 days! When I say "we" I mean my mom and me. I'm so lucky to have a wonderful mother who is willing to take this extremely long trip with me. She is really excited to meet her granddaughter, and I think the girls will have a great time together in Almaty. We'll be sure to keep you updated.

My family and friends gave me the most incredible baby shower the weekend after I got home. I barely had to go out an buy anything for Jenya because I received so many beautiful gifts. I am so thankful to have such wonderful people in my life, and now in Jenya's life. She is a blessed little girl.

I've posted a couple of pictures of Jenya's room that we've finally finished getting ready. Thanks to help from my mom, dad, Kyle, and Kelsey, that is! I couldn't have done it without them, so thank you guys so much! She'll be sleeping in her new crib in less than two weeks, which is unbelievable. Speaking of sleeping, I'm off to bed myself. I'll post more from Kaz in a few days :)