A Cozy Christmas

Hi All!

As we were in the car driving home from the airport when we got home from Kaz, Rinat said “Can we go get our Christmas tree and decorate it now?”  As exhausted as we were that first week home, I couldn't disappoint my little RinCakes.  It took us a couple of days to get to it, but decorate we did.  We did the whole shebang- tree covered in ornaments, stockings hanging in a row (including one for Bubby that Rin pilfered from the tree), nutcrackers lining the mantle, the Christmas village for Rin to play with- all of it.  We even had snow to make it feel like it really truly was Christmas.  We don’t get a lot of that around here and we enjoyed it to the fullest.

Rinat did not just want to decorate the tree, it was literally everything.  I can't count the number of paper chains we made and the feet of garland strung around the furniture.  And he would cut shapes out of paper and tape them to the wall for decoration.  And he kept asking for more and more wrapping paper and I was getting sort of annoyed until I asked him what in the world he was doing and he informed me that he was wrapping gifts for Aibek.  He was literally picking out some of his favorite toys and putting them under the tree for his new brother.  My heart went from annoyance to love for this little guy. 

Rin and I did some baking too which is always a hit.  We only baked for ourselves this year (sorry friends and neighbors, nothing for you!)  but it sure was fun.  We made yummy spice cake muffins with apples, raisins, and carrots with sugary icing drizzled on top.  I didn't get a photo because they got eaten pretty much as soon as we made them.  Good stuff and absolute perfection with a warm cup of hot chocolate.   

And then it was off to the 'Burg to visit Peter's fam where they always do it up right.  There are cocktail parties, fancy dinners, decorations out the wazoo, too many presents to even fit under the tree, family and all of the pleasant chaos that comes with that many people all in the same place at the same time.  Rinat was so incredibly excited for Christmas this year and he was filled to bursting with questions about it all.  He wanted to know: How does Santa see our stockings because it’s nighttime when he comes? Does he have a flashlight or does Rudolph help with his nose?  And if Rudolph helps, how does HE get in the house? Down the chimney like Santa?  Where is Gigi/Mar’s elf? Will I still get presents if I am crying when Santa is at the house? (Of course I asked why would he be crying) Because I don’t want to sleep and I just want to see my presents and I am going to be sad that I can't go see what he brought.  It was neverending.  But it just made me so happy to see him so happy and excited about it.  I feel like he's gotten a little shortchanged in the last few months because of everything that has been going on and I was so happy to have it all focused on him for a while.

 And after telling me no for weeks, he finally decided that he wanted to go and see Santa in person and tell him what he wants ("But doesn't Elf tell him at night?  And didn't he get my letter anyway?").  And my outgoing, loud, fearless boy sat on his lap and was completely silent.  We actually had to prompt him to talk to Santa.  But he got the job done and I got some cute photos out of it- done on the sly by my super photographer hubby.

And on Christmas Eve was the big shindig for the family.  Rinat was very excited about the party.  He even told me "Mommy you look pretty in your fancy dress" and greeted each of our 'special guests' at the door.  He ran around like an maniac with the other boys, ate way way too much fudge, and ended the night by passing out in the super cool fort designed by Uber Aunt Kate and Uncle Dayson- architects of course.  Except rather than visions sugar plums, I am pretty sure he had visions of legos dancing in his head.  And he was not disappointed in the morning. 

Santa came and it was all about knights this year.  He got a Legos castle (Big Boy Legos!) and a knight costume.  And little knight figures.  Knights Knights Knights.  We love knights.

And a whole lot of dinosaurs too.  He got a Dino Dan field guide from Auntie Ann, Playmobile dinos from Gigi and Mar, and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? book and PJ's from Kate and Jason. 

And then after all of the excitement of it, we headed off to Peter's Dad's for more of the same.  Yes, more.  There were hugs and laughs and a cozy lunch by the fire.  Gifts for my boys and lots of playtime with Grandaddy and Nana and my Rinat was a happy happy guy.  As we visited with everyone, the snow fell and the world began to turn white again.  What a Christmas.  There was just one little thing missing.  But that's for another post.  This one is all happiness.  

Love to all and more on the 29th,  -m

The Long Long Journey Home and OURS, finally OURS

Hi All!
Well, we’ve been home for two whole weeks now. I can’t believe how s..l..o..w..l..y.. it has gone by. I feel like it’s been absolutely EONS since we left Kaz. Below is a bunch of stuff that I wrote in the last two weeks but never posted. Most of it was written in the middle of the night when I was unable to sleep so I hope it actually makes sense. Jet lag sucks. But I just wanted to get it on the blog so I don’t forget a single second of our wonderful trip. And then at the bottom is what everyone wants to see- photos of our Sumo. The appeals period has run out and so now our son is ours always. No take backs, no changed minds, no anything. He is ours and we are his forever. It is a little anticlimactic since we are not actually with him today but he is always in our thoughts. We will see you soon little Sumo. And then I promise we will never have to leave you again.

*Wow, that was one long trip home- 42 hours to be exact. Oxana and Julia’s dad picked us up on Saturday morning, Natasha came by to say one last goodbye and she gave Rinat a goodbye gift. It is a picture encyclopedia with words in English, Russian, and Kazakh. I told her that I would be studying it while I was gone so I wouldn’t need Oxana to translate when I come back to pick up our Sumo- Haha. Russian’s hard. And I don’t know that I can even begin to try to speak Kazakh. Maybe one day. Anyway, we piled all of our 9 bags into the trunk and under our feet and headed out to the airport. Along the way, we saw some really beautiful churches, mosques, and a Muslim cemetery none of which I got photos of. It didn’t even occur to me actually. I guess I was so tired and distracted about the trip ahead. If we had more free time while we were here, I would have loved to visit some of them but maybe next time we’ll be able to. But I was also distracted because Oxana told us about the town where Sumo comes from. On his birth certificate, they are changing the city to Karaganda and his parents to us to make the process easier, but in reality he was born in a small town a little ways outside of the city. Oxana said she has been there before to get something signed and it was a really nice little place. But she said it was like soviet times there, nothing modern at all but kind of old in a cute way. The root word of the city’s name comes from ‘mining’ and that is, of course, their main employer. Maybe his father works in the mines? I will have to learn some more about the town when I go back.

So Oxana dropped us and made sure the flight was on time and then we told her she didn’t have to stay and wait with us. We’re pretty self sufficient. So we gave her one last hug and said goodbye. I will, of course, see her again when I come back to pick up Sumo but it was a final goodbye for both Peter and Rinat (who flat out refused to hug her despite his absolute adoration of her). And as she walked out the door, I waved goodbye, turned around, and started crying. It was that kind of crying where your breath keeps catching and no one can understand what you are saying and trying to talk just starts it all over again. I felt like it was the final moment of our trip and I was so sad to have it over and also a little relieved at the same time. Despite the lack of hot water and the ever accumulating dirt, and having to keep Rinat entertained and behaving somewhat, and being out of our comfort zone in general, I was so so sad to have it over with and I couldn’t stop crying for a good long while. It just kept coming. Even the boys who had been following Rinat around playing the ‘stare at the foreigner game’ stopped following Rinat around to stare at me for a while. But then it was time to check in and head to Almaty and I was able to get it together. The flight was just fine and Rin was an angel of course. Astana Air is the one who hands out candy on the flight and so he was happy. He gets this look on his face like he knows he’s getting away with something that he shouldn’t when he picks a candy from the basket that the flight attendant offers. The lady even tried to give him extra and he said no. That’s my boy.

Although we technically had 13 hours in Almaty, we didn’t really have much free time at all. After driving from the airport, we had to pick up one of the coordinators and drive to the notary to get something stamped. As usual for people from Kaz, they were super nice to Rinat and the lady let him make a ‘passport’ for Bubby complete with notary stamps and the holes that they use to thread the notarized papers together (no staples allowed in Kaz). He was really cute and happy that they were indulging him. Then we stopped by the apartment and only had about 7 hours to fill. So we went to dinner at Line Brew for one last shashlyk, pelmeni, mushroom soup, a giant omelet for Rin, and some apple streudel. And we took a chilly walk around on the way home. He absolutely loved all of the deep snow they had and it was torture trying to keep him from rolling around in it since he didn’t have on snow pants. I have to say that Almaty was absolutely picturesque in the snow. The branches of the evergreens were weighed down with it and there were blinking lights everywhere with 2011 on them. The lights lining one of the main streets were especially amazing. Every single street light had flashing blue lights and then the street had 2011 in lights hanging overhead across it. Gorgeous. Oxana tells us that the big holiday is not Christmas (since a good portion of the country is Muslim of course) but New Years. Everyone gets new clothes and spends a big night out. I get that. I do love Christmas but I think that New Years just offers so much hope. Instead of focusing on what you need to buy for who and how big many strings of lights you need for your tree this year, it gets you thinking about what you want out of the next 12 months and offers a new beginning for everyone. Everyone gets a clean slate. I am so happy that this year will bring our little Sumo to live with us. It is going to be a big change for all of us but we are really excited about it.

After dinner, we spent a few hours relaxing at the apartment playing sumo wrestling and snoozing off and on until we were picked up at 1am to head to the airport. The long flights home were uneventful. Once again, Rin proved to be a very patient traveler. I mean, we sat at a table drinking coffee and eating breakfast (yummy German sausage of course) for literally 4 hours in the Frankfurt airport. I was even starting to get cranky and antsy but he uttered not a peep of complaint. He is not the easiest child in the world to raise but I have to say that he is an excellent traveler.

And since we got home, he’s been pretty darn good too. We got home Sunday evening and he was raring to go to school Monday morning so off he went to see his friends and teachers despite being up since 4am. Then on subsequent days he got up at 2am, 4am, 5am, 4am, and finally 6:30- whew. Back to normal. And while he was busy catching up with friends at school, I have been busy with errands. I have gotten Christmas gifts, and tried to get some things ready for little Sumo’s arrival. He is always in all of our thoughts and I cannot wait to get the call to come and pick up his cute little self. Rin mentions him every once in a while out of the blue. Sometimes he tells me about all of the things he is going to teach him. Sometimes he’ll just say out of nowhere that “Sumo has a cute face. He is even cuter than Bubby.” (a big declaration from him). And sometimes he will tell me about all of the things that he can do that Sumo can’t do yet, “Sumo doesn’t know how to say Mama yet. He only knows how to make Hot Dog Lip.” I know he is going to be jealous of his new brother and annoyed at having to share and frustrated when he knocks down the perfect train tracks that Rin just spent an hour making but I know that he will eventually come to appreciate all of the fun and joy that he brings to his life. Rinat’s never ending lament is “But I need someone to play with me! I’m all alone!” as I am trying to get dinner made or the clothes folded and I am always happy to tell him that he will soon have a permanent playmate. He always corrects me and tells me that Sumo might not be able to play football quite yet (or trains or blocks or whatever) but that he will when he gets a little bit older and he is so right.

So, things are good. We are getting ready for Christmas- gifts bought, tree trimmed, house decorated, and my cousin even put up lights while we were away (which Rin was super excited about). The only thing missing is our other son. But oh what a wonderful 2011 we will have.

And so here is our little Sumo whose official name is Aibek Howard Leggett. His first name is pronounced ‘EYE-bek’, his middle name is my maiden name, and he will turn one year old on December 29th. Although we are sad to have to be apart from him on such a milestone, we are most definitely going to make up for it once he gets home. I cannot wait to hold his warm little body again and smother him with kisses. 2011 is going to be a good year. A really really good year as we get to know our sweet little 'Bek'.

Isn't he the cutest?  I'm completely smitten.  I'll post more photos soon, I promise. 
Merry Christmas!
-m

Bittersweet

Hi All-

So I told you all the outcome of court, but I thought a little rehash of our last day in Karaganda was in order so here goes…

The day started when the phone rang at 8am. My first thought was that it was Oxana calling and there was a problem with our court and what in the world was going to happen because we were leaving the next morning to go home? Thoughts were flying through my head about how we were going to have to make yet another trip- ugh. But my fears were soon set aside when I heard Peter saying it was our friend, Diane, calling to wish us good luck at court. What a great way to start a really stressful day. It was so sweet of her to call us all of the way from Canada where she has been waiting patiently to come pick up her little sweetie, Tienna, from Sumo’s room. Tienna is Rinat’s absolute favorite baby in there (yes, even more so than Sumo) and we hope to all get together again sometime soon. We chatted for a while and then I realized that we only had an hour before Oxana picked us up for court and I still had to shower- aagghh! My stomach turned to butterflies and I said I quick thank you for calling, jumped in the shower, and frantically tried to make myself look presentable. Suit, makeup, dry hair, speech. Done. And I had 10 minutes to sit down and have a cup of coffee before we left.

Oxana picked us up and we headed over to the courthouse to wait for our turn with the judge at 10:00. The courthouse is a little past its prime and was under construction so the only place to wait was the lobby right where you entered the building. It would not have been such a big deal to wait by the door if it hadn’t been so darn cold. And when I say cold, I mean like negative degrees Farenheit cold, blowing smoke cold, frozen nose cold. Not kidding. Rinat was hungry and wanted to have a snack but he couldn’t eat because his hands were too cold to take his gloves off. That cold. We were waiting downstairs with all of the other people (our entourage alone was made up of 9 people) and every single time the door opened, a blast of freezing cold air came blowing in. Nothing like worrying about frostbite to take the edge off my nerves. All of the comings and going were actually quite comical after a while because every 3rd or 4th time someone would come in or go out, the doorknob would fall off the door and fall on the floor and the poor person would have to find all of the pieces and try to stick it back on. That happened a few times and then the door started locking every time it closed. People would be pounding and pounding for us to let them in but of course we couldn’t open it from our side either. I wonder how many of them just left thinking court was closed for the day? There was even a big group of police that got locked inside with us. And then the doorknob to the old court room (now an office) fell off and literally everyone in the lobby started snickering. It was funny. And it helped the time pass. And before we knew it, we were told to come upstairs to see the judge. But I didn’t have time for nerves because I was more worried about Rin being good. We left him with Natasha and some toys to play with in the hallway and walked into the judge’s office. Since the courthouse is under construction, they are making do with the space they have and so we met with the judge in his tiny little office. So there were now 10 people stuffed in there- judge, prosecutor, our lawyer, secretary, social worker, someone else that I still don’t know who they were, Dr Ludmila, me, Peter, Oxana. It wouldn’t have been a huge deal but Oxana had promised me that I didn’t need to change out of my giant arctic snow boots and into heels because he would never see my feet because we would be standing behind a large wooden half wall. Not so, Oxana, not so. But really it didn’t seem to matter to anyone but me.

The court process began by the judge asking if we trusted the court to make a decision to which we responded “Da.” Then one of the people spoke that the purpose of our case was our petition to adopt our little Sumo. Peter and I then stood and Peter gave his speech- always eloquent, always confident (although he did stumble a couple of times), no crying this time- then the serious looking prosecutor asked some questions, and then they told us to sit down. No speech for me- WOOOHOOOO!!!!! After that, the nerves were gone. Dr Ludmila spoke for us and I felt myself smiling when she talked about the change in him already and that she was sure he would have a good life with us, the social worker spoke for us and attested that all of his papers were in order and that there was a letter of refusal signed by his biological mother, the prosecutor asked some questions that were very easily answered, the judge asked some questions none of which threw us. Then the prosecutor made a speech saying that she could find no reason that he should rule against us and she proposed that he rule in our favor, and we were told to wait in the hallway. We came out and were just hanging out and talking, the nervous laughter coming out of me no matter how hard I tried to be calm. All of the people, prosecutor, secretary, lawyer, social worker all came out to check out our cute little Rin and say hi. And then, in just a few minutes, we were called back into the little office and his verdict read. He, as you know, ruled in our favor and said that as long as there are no appeals in the next few weeks, we can adopt our sweet Sumo. I had been pretty upbeat and relatively calm during the proceedings, but as Oxana translated his words, I found my eyes welling up with tears. I am not one of those people who can easily hide it and so I got a funny look from Oxana and then Peter looked at me and put his hand on my back and I got myself together again before I started sobbing in front of our entourage. And then we got to go out in the hallway and tell Rin that he was going to have a little brother. It was one of those moments that I will remember as one of my happiest until I am old and grey.

We were finished relatively early and so we hopped into the car to go see our son. Almost officially our son, just a couple more weeks. He, of course, had no idea whatsoever what was going on but he was happy to see us. One of the French ladies, I, said that he was sobbing this morning when we weren’t there and she had given him some love and played with him and he stopped. Rip my heart out. I have a feeling he’s going to be doing a whole lot of crying in the next month while we’re gone. Poor nannies. The nanny who just came back from vacation told us that she remembered him as the big cry-er of the room. He was the youngest in the room at that time too (a month ago). She said that he had the crib by the door into the sleeping room and they had to move him because he cried any time someone walked in or out or even when someone walked past the door when it was open. Now he is all the way over at the end of the row, tucked away from the comings and goings. And right next to three of my fave babies, P, Ch and Tienna, so I always gave them a little love at naptime or found them a toy to play with in the morning while they waited for BFast. But I think it’s so funny that the nanny said what a big cryer he used to be because he really doesn’t cry all that much anymore. I mean he does cry sometimes but it’s not every second thank goodness- well, until I get home. Dr Ludmila had told me that she had seen a big change in him since we came but I thought she was just being nice. But no, it’s true, he loves us already. Yay us. Anyway, we had about 30 minutes with him before it was time to put him to bed and it was a wonderful way to celebrate.

Since we still had gift bags to make, things to pack, cleaning to do, we ate lunch at home. Then it was time to come for our... sniff... very last… sniffsniff… visit with our boy before leaving him for a month. It was a good visit and I was OK. I thought I would start crying a few times when I got lost in thought but I held it together. It was really hard to say goodbye to our little guy. But, to be honest, it was almost harder to say goodbye to some of the other kids. I know that Sumo will have a good life with us and I will do my best to take care of him. But I will never know what happened to them and never know if they found happiness, if they are alive and well, it they have love in their lives and it just made me so sad. It was really really hard. I gave them all a kiss and a toy to play with and then walked out. I didn’t actually start crying until I was in the car driving out of the Baby House gates. And yes, it was not tearing up, it was full-on, tears coming down my face, crying. Not just for our little Sumo, but for all of the babies. Rin is used to it by now and just sort of patted me and gave me a kiss without saying a word. I love my sweet boy. Peter was in the front seat, chatting it up with Oxana so he didn’t see me. He, of course, was fine as always.

And so for our last hurrah (and to keep me from dwelling), we decided to walk over to City Mall and have one last meal at Assorti and one last go at the Jungle Park. As I said before, it is ridiculously cold there. I mean, I had Rin in so many layers it was like that movie A Christmas Story. He could barely move. But let me tell you, it was 100% necessary. It was so cold that I would just start coughing the second I went outside. I swear my lung muscles were cramping up. And as we walked over, Peter kept telling me that his boogers were frozen but after a while I realized it wasn’t boogers, it was our nostril hairs. And I had tucked my face into my coat and so all of my hair that was not covered in hat or coat was also frozen by my breath. And my knees were hurting like an old lady’s. And the eyebrow muscles were cramping too. I have never been cold like that before. The walk home was not quite as bad, as we were helped along by a giant beer and I actually stopped to marvel at the teeny tiny little spakly bits of snow that were falling that looked like someone was throwing glitter from the sky as they drifted down through the streetlights. What a great way to end our trip. It was a long, sometimes hectic, sometimes frustrating, but nonetheless amazing time in our lives and I am so happy that I got to experience it- especially with the two (almost three) people I love the most.

Love love love to all,

-m

Oh, and I will be putting up all the cute photos of him that I have been saving up when he is officially, no take-backs, legally ours in a couple of weeks. Believe me, he’ll be worth the wait. And then some.

And the Verdict Is...

He said YES!
Yup, we went to court this morning and he ruled in our favor.  Barring anyone appealing his decision in the next couple of weeks, I will be heading back over here to pick our little Sumo up in about a month when all of his paperwork is done.  I will add details when I can but I just wanted to let everyone know that there were no issues with court and we are all set to leave for our epic journey home starting tomorrow morning.  YAY!!!  And, unbelievably, I didn't even cry.  Well, not much anyway.
Love to all, -m
Oh, and did you check out the weather over here.  -7 degrees.  Yup, did you notice that negative in there?  And we're getting ready to walk over to the City Mall for one last hurrah at Assorti and the Jungle Park.  Brrrr...

Beauty in Karaganda

Hi All!
Today was one of those unbelievable, beautiful days that I have been waiting for since we got here. We woke up to a good 4 inches or more of snow blanketed over the ground and the trees and then it snowed all day long- sometimes giant fat flakes fluttering down slowly, sometimes sharp little bits of snow blown around by the wind, sometimes the sun would shine through and make it all glitter. In short, it was like a fairy land. And today is the first day that I have not seen a single woman in stilettos. Common sense has taken over here in Karaganda.

And we had a good day today- the last full day with our little Sumo. He was giggly and snuggly and lovey. It was a good good day. I did start getting a little nervous about tomorrow and our big court appearance but I know it will go OK. It has to, right? And anyway, I have packing to distract me from it. And gift bag making to do. And an almost 4 year old to make snow angels with. And Fashion TV to watch. I have no time to worry. OK, so I am a little bit nervous. I wouldn’t be human if I wasn’t, right?

But aside from that, I am busy trying to get ready to go home. I feel like there might be a little bit of culture shock to contend with when we get back. And most definitely some jet lag. But we are eager to get back to our lives no matter how hard it’s going to be to leave. And I am especially torn about leaving since I know this will likely be the last time we will do this. I will not have the chance to just live in a foreign country for a month anytime soon while doing something so life changing. I am just trying to suck all of it up that I can. When I come back to pick our little Sumo up, it will be such a whirlwind and I will only be here in Karaganda for a day or two and then down to Almaty which I am not as familiar with for a few days and then back home. So I am trying to get just as much out of this experience as I can. And I want this to be something that Rinat remembers for the rest of his life.

Speaking of Rinat, he is his usual difficult, loving, and funny self. He had us all playing Circus at the restaurant where we went for lunch. I was the princess, Peter was the strong man, and Oxana was the lady who hung from the streamers. And Rin was the circus police who told us when to come out. He is funny. And boy does he like to be in charge. We were talking one day about stereotypes and I asked her what the Russians said about the Kazakhs and viseversa. I won’t tell you those, but everyone seems to agree that the Tatars are strong willed. I will have to second that. And as difficult as he is to deal with sometimes, I respect him for standing up for himself. I think it will serve him well when he hits the teenage years. And as for Sumo, I think I will have to learn a whole new set of parenting skills to deal with whatever his issues are as he grows up. Only time will tell and they will both keep me on my toes in their own way.

Off to obsess over tomorrow…Love to all, -m

And I apologize for the lack of photos but our internet is acting up. I will have to add them in when I get home. And if I haven’t responded to emails, that’s why.

Elf in Kaz

Hi All!
So we have a visitor in our apartment- Elf has come to Kaz. Have you all heard of Elf on the Shelf? Well, the little elf that lives at our house at Christmastime found us here in Kazakhstan and is watching Rinat to report to Santa how he’s behaving and is telling him all of the things that Rinat would like Santa to bring him for Christmas. I am hoping he will make Rin behave in court on Friday.

Speaking of which, I have got to write my speech. I’m so nervous about it. Thankfully, we have been told to keep it short but I am not the best at giving speeches. The writing part comes pretty easily, but the speaking part not so much. I remember asking for the judge to let us adopt Rinat and I was crying and couldn’t read my notes so I had to wing it. But we must have done OK because let us bring Rin home to live with us. But I truly feel like our time here has flown by. We have only two days left. Thursday is a regular day with visits in the morning and afternoon, Friday morning is court and afternoon is our last visit with our sweetpea. It will be so bittersweet- hopefully we will get a yes from the judge and will celebrate that but at the same time we will be saying goodbye to our little man for a long long time. I am anticipating lots of tears- both happy and sad. Then on Saturday morning we fly to Almaty, have 14 hours to fill, then begin our long journey home at 4am on Sunday. I am exhausted just thinking about it.

Today was pretty uneventful. Same old thing. Loving on babies, getting puked on, entertaining Rinat… It was good. I am going to miss all of the babies. I love all of them and hope they can all find a family. Some in particular I am hoping will be adopted. When we leave on Friday, it is also the last time I will get to play with any of them and I will always wonder where they are in the world and hoping that they have someone to love them.

Love to all, -m

The Monster

Hi All!
I woke up not feeling super fantastic. Nothing major, but it makes me so sad to not be able to make the absolute most of my last few days. I even ended up staying home with Rin in the afternoon rather than go to the BH. I know, can you believe it? But I’ll make up for it by going the next two days in a row.

But the day was OK too. We started our day by playing Fashion TV with our boy who insisted we dress up and walk the runway while he directed. And I don’t know if I mentioned the snow. We got a couple inches overnight to go on top of the slushy snow from yesterday and it is so pretty. I just loved driving through the city and having it all covered and shimmering in the sunshine. And, of course, we had to promise Rin some snow angels later. Maybe it was the weather or something but Sumo’s hair was sticking straight up in the air. I mean, it was enough to rival Rinat’s at its best. I love it. That soft fuzz that brushes against my chin as I hold him is pure heaven. And I hold him a lot. He insists on it. Now if only I could make it smell the way I want it to- but soon enough, right?

Rinat’s doing well too. His latest thing is to blame any and everything on “A monster did it.” Tonight I heard a clatter in the bathroom while he was taking a bath and I went in there to find Peter’s razor on the floor. I asked Rin what happened and as usual, his answer was “A monster did it.” But this time he elaborated and told me “He came out of drain, slithered through the bath, climbed up the side, reached up, and threw it on the floor.” All I could do was laugh. I love that he has a sense of humor and creativity.

Love to all, -m

Big Wigs in Karaganda

Hi All!
They are having the OSCE summit in Astana in a few days so they have closed down the airport here in Karaganda for all of the diplomats fly into and then drive them to Astana for the event. I think the airport here is bigger or something? In any case, there were police officers located on every single street corner this morning. Seriously, I kid you not, every single one. The BH is located pretty darn close to Nursultan’s residence here and so they were especially thick there. As a matter of fact Oxana was not even allowed to drive onto the property to drop us there this morning. She was stopped the second she turned into the driveway. She actually yelled at the police officer “But I am going to the Desky Dom (BH)! I need to get through!” She’s fiery little bugger when she needs to be. He told her it didn’t matter and to move along and she apparently told him that she was in fact not moving but that she was dropping us here and she would go find a place to park. I was actually afraid he might stop us from entering the grounds but, although he gave us a weird look and seeming to consider it, he left us to our business. Poor Oxana had to find a ‘yard’ to park in at one of the apartment complexes and then walk over. Always nice to have a little excitement to wake you up in the morning, right?

Little Sumo was cute as always. Our little punkin’ turned 11 months today. His doctor says he is not gaining weight but it’s probably because he’s been getting so much exercise with us. And one of his top teeth is coming in too. In the middle of our visit today, I started counting up how much time we have left with him. I have 6 visits which equals only 12 hours left to hold his warm little body. Yes, I am counting my time with our son not in weeks or days but in hours now. It makes me so sad. Every time I think about it, I get teary. I told Rin I was sad today and he suggested we stay here with Sumo and Peter go home to work. I might consider it if our visa wasn’t up on Sunday.

I was the one who stayed home with Rin today for naptime and nap he did. A few minute after he hit the sack, I looked outside and there were giant flakes coming down. I was really tempted to wake him up but then common sense took over and I let him snooze. But it was still going on when he woke up and he was so so excited to see it. We snuggled on the sofa and watched The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and ate popcorn while we waited for Peter to come home and we could go out and play. When we got out there, the snow was actually half slush and rather than snow angels, he made some mud angels. But there were no old ladies to yell at him this time so I let him just go to town and he was a happy boy.

I forgot to mention yesterday about how obsessed Rinat was with this one guy who was doing the vaulting on the horse who split his pants. They took 3 volunteers ‘from the audience’ (not really) to try it out and attached them to a cable in case they fell off. The first man was obviously just a regular man who really was a volunteer, the second one was one of the guys selling stuff outside and was an almost pro at it, and then the third guy made it really funny for the kids and he would almost fall and then climb back on and then almost fall off the other side and then get back on and then he split his pants and then finally stood up on the horse while it was galloping. Rinat could have cared less about him standing, he just was worried about his pants. “Who’s going to fix them? Does he have another pair? Will the circus people have a lady to sew them? Will his Mommy do it at home?” He is still asking about that guy’s pants today. It’s cracking me up.

And can we just talk about the weather for Friday for a second? High of 1, low of -13. Yup, that’s NEGATIVE 13. Well, maybe it will help me not sweat my fanny off in court because I’m so nervous. Let me say it again- a high of 1 degree. ONE. Yikes.

Keep warm! Love to all, -m