What more needs to be said?



Alright we'll say a little more.

I felt remarkably better this morning, not normal, but not cold/flu like as I did yesterday. We began the day by shopping for a new cell phone as we lost ours the other day. KJ contends it was stolen while I cling to lost, either way it is seemingly forever gone and now has been replaced by a red and white version of its former self.

It is a simple Nokia and cost us right around US$65 by the time we got a SIM card(service carrier and phone #). I purchased the original phone (same model) in Uganda a year ago for roughly the same price.

A cell phone is a wonderful thing to have here especially since our apartment phone has no answering machine. Incoming calls are free and so anytime our coordinator, translator, driver, or friends call us it costs us nothing. Folks back home could also call us on our cell phone but as iChat is free, simple, and allows us to see each other as well as talk in real time, paying for a call seems outdated.

The Baby House Playroom was a desolate place today, as we were the only three there. One of the groups of children at the Baby House is experiencing a wave of Chicken Pox and so all the children in that group are quarantined in their suite of rooms and not allowed to mingle with other groups. Fortunately the family was able to visit with their child still, though I would assume that they will not be back in the playroom any time soon.

The Belgian family was also not here today and I assume it is because either they or their daughter were sick. As you might imagine things cycle around from child to family and back again quite frequently, and I think only leaving the Baby House altogether fixes any of that.

Aitugan is still growling through congested lungs, but seems otherwise healthy. She was very giggly and silly today, and I think that to some extend it was because, as we were the only ones in the playroom, her mom and I were a bit more animated and goofy as well.

Aitugan reeled in delight upon discovering that her whole hand could disappear inside dad's mouth.

Mom, Dad, Daughter - it is surprisingly easy to transition to using these terms, though I still can't use them unintentionally. That will come in time. Tomorrow marks the completion of our first month together, as we began our visits on 01 Nov.

Barring Aitugan's coming down with the chicken pox and being unable to fly because of it, we should be past the halfway point of our in country adoption process. That is exciting. Take Care.

It looks like we can add water to the list of things she likes!









I had to sit out today's visit with a cold, but hopefully won't miss too many more days. As KJ was by herself with Aitugan, there was not much opportunity for photos during the visit, but as you can see, KJ got quite a treat when at the end of the visit, Aitugan was given a bath.

From all accounts, she loves bath time. I know how excited this makes KJ, as she has always hoped that our daughter would enjoy swimming at the YMCA when we get home.

I am simply giddy to think that she can grow up a water baby, spending her summers in Boothbay out sailing on 'Kazmosis', the Rhodes 18 she doesn't even know she has.

One step at a time I know, but a dad can dream. Take Care.

When we arrived today, Aitugan was still asleep in her crib and so we were able to go in and watch her sleep for a minute before she was woken by her caregivers. Unfortunately we had dropped our camera bag off in the playroom prior to coming to get her such that we were not able to get a photo of it.

We noticed last week that the side rails of her crib had been raised to their highest setting as our little angel now stands every chance she gets. It was about a week ago that she first started showing signs of figuring out the footing required to move from kneeling to standing, though initially she needed to grasp something like a finger and get a little pull up.

Over the next several days, she got better and better to the point where last saturday she crawled up behind a parent and grabbed hold of the back of her knee and pulled herself to a stand unassisted.

We have since seen her do it so many times and on so many surfaces that it hardly seems worth noting except to say that she can do it at will. She no longer needs her hands to pull, though depends on then for balance such as when she crawls to the mirror and stands up.

The next transition will be for her to gain the ability to maintain a stand without leaning forward. At this point, once she starts going backwards, she's like a tree crashing to the forest floor. We recognize that this is a dangerous stage and that it requires constant vigilance, for she is likely to climb to a stand at any moment

I have already begun to mentally walk through our house in Maine imagining all the things now within her reach and wondering where we will put it all when we get home. Hopefully we still have some of the boxes around from the move such that - just as one would do in anticipation of a flood - we can just repack the lower three feet of the house. Hurricane Aitugan!



Aitugan is also becoming quite vocal and her favorite sentence so far is Da da da, uh da da da, uh da da da. It is really cute and she just keeps going with the same pattern again and again. It seems to have no meaning at this point, but she seems to like the way it sounds and enjoys making her mouth move in exaggerated ways while saying it. First words may not be far off. Dada perhaps?




As the photos show, we are still a ways away from seeing her hair lay down.

It may be a while before Aitugan sees her dad clean shaven again, though she did not seem confused by the new look. As for the new look, it was just part of looking respectable before the Judge.

So the Judge, I'll tell you upfront that it all went well and that as of 8am Eastern time, Aitugan is officially on track to become our daughter. Now it is just a waiting game as we make our way through the formal 15 day appeal period.

It is my understanding that the only possible derailment in the process now would come from a birthparent stepping forward, and that likelihood seems incalculably minute.

So that is the short version. The more detailed account tells of us arriving at the court this morning for our scheduled 10 am appearance only to learn that the judge had been summoned to meetings at the Supreme Court Offices here in town and would not be seeing most of her cases.

We were told that we were one of only two that she would try to make time for, and we were instructed to return at 5pm. We arrived ready to go at 4:30 and waited for the judge to show until 6. At that point we were told that the meetings at the supreme court had run long and that not only would she not be able to hear our case today, but she had cleared her schedule for Tuesday as well.

This was difficult news. Now it seemed that Aitugan's release from the Baby House would be pushed back at least two days and that would mean it would become all but impossible to make our flight home on 28 Dec.

As I stated above, everything worked out today. So here's what happened.

We had left the courthouse and were getting ready to get into our car and head home when Dina got a call that the meetings at the Supreme Court had recessed for dinner and that the judge was getting in a cab to come back to the courthouse to hear our case.

She arrived at 6:25, and by 7:00pm she had made her decision in our favor of our adoption. It was a welcome relief, and a fine way to end the day. So we leave you with that and hope that you all have a fine day as well. Take Care.




It is remarkable how quickly children begin to resemble their parents.

On Sunday, KJ and I joined Yana and her boyfriend Sergey to go a hockey game here in town. Surprisingly hockey is not terribly popular here in Kaz, though as it was the Astana Snow Leopards against the Russian Bears, the was a decent turnout.

In a noteworthy break from the norm - based on the relative expense of everything else - the tickets were less than two dollars a piece. Seating was general admission and we found ourselves in the first rows near center ice.

I may be incorrect, but while the game was entertaining, the level of play seemed below what I would have expected and I feel that a division 1 hockey program such as BU(go Terriers!) could have at least held their own if not won. As it was, Astana held on to win 2-1.

Yana is the 19 year old niece of our translator Elena's landlord. Got that? She is a student here in Astana studying English and German, and when she heard that Elena was working with an American family asked if she could meet us to practice her English. She was a delight.

Her English is very good, and she is very energetic, engaging, and determined. We hope to do more things with she and Sergey iin the coming weeks.





Russia takes a last minute time out and decides to pull the goalie as they had done successfully earlier in the period during a power play situation when, skating 6 on 4 they were able to get their only goal of the game. This time around they were unable to make anything happen and the game ended 2-1.



The ref signals the end of the game, and the Snow Leopards take the ice to celebrate.





Yesterday was a perfect day for a nice sled ride up the frozen river. With the adjacent bridge under construction since we arrived, the freezing over of the river has made it easier to access the new part of the city on the other side of the river.

KJ and I walked across for the first time today and journeyed over to the Mega Mall to get a USB printer cable so that we could print photos of ourselves with Aitugan to bring to court on Monday. We are told that both the Judge and the Prosecutor will each hold on to several photos to keep with the court proceedings.

Court was meant to have happened at 10 am today, though when we arrived, we were told that the Judge had been called to a meeting with the Supreme Court, and that our hearing was now scheduled for 5pm. We would very much like to believe that this will be true, though as is often the case, nothing is certain until it is in the past.

If we do in fact have court today, our timeline is still in peril because of the week long holiday that Kazakhstan will begin just days after we are scheduled to take Aitugan out of the Baby House.

If all goes to plan, we will have court today and the judge's decree will be ready on 12 December. With the decree in hand, we proceed to the Baby House to once and for all take custody of our daughter and then we have what is typically a 3-5 day process of obtaining her passport and exit visa from the Kaz Government here in Astana.

In our case we will have until Friday 14 dec to attempt to get everything taken care of here in Astana or else wait here until government employees return to work. We are told that that day will be sunday 23 Dec, though in my mind it seems unlikely that after taking more than a week off, things will resume on a Sunday.

Once in possession of her documents, we must then fly to Almaty to fulfill the US embassy side of things which are mainly medical testing and assessment. The US embassy will be closed from noon of the 24th until the morning of the 26th, and though we are told that everything can happen in 2 days, again it feels close to the wire with that.

Our flight plan at this point is to fly out of Almaty early in the morning of friday 28 dec. We have looked into flying a few days later, but with the holidays, the only things available were single seats in the middle of 4-seat rows, not exactly ideal situations for such a long journey with a baby.

For now we will hold on to the hope that it will all work out for the 28th, and failing that will come home somewhere in January when we are once again able to book seats together. Keep your fingers crossed. Take Care.

Today is day 24 of our process and as of this moment we have spent a grand total of 42 hours in the company of our daughter, but until this morning had yet to ever see her sleep.

And so it was that on this fine morning, in a noisy playroom full of parents and children, that Aitugan rested peacefully on Kjersten's chest with heavy lids and expertly placed thumb for what would easily qualify as our personal record.

Being gently rocked, and with Kjersten speaking quietly into her ear, Aitugan's most obvious vital sign - the sucking sound coming from her mouth - eventually faded into an angelic calm, and, with eyes closed, our daughter drifted off in the new found safety and security of her mother's embrace.

It was a beautiful moment.







Lest we forget, today's visit was not all smiles, giggles and exuberant moments. Yes our little angel has more than her share of fussy; often flowing from laugh to cry and back again without so much as stopping to take a breath. How does she manage? I don't know.

It is all part of the magic and mystery that we all possessed once upon a time. The tempestuous, if fleeting, innocence that is the hallmark of new life. Take Care.

Happy Thanksgiving







She'll have the fish...



Being, as it was, Thanksgiving, six of us (adoptive parents) decided to go to the most expensive hotel in Astana to celebrate together having heard that they were putting on a traditional Thanksgiving spread. How wonderful, for we would not have guessed we would find Turkey and Cranberry on a menu here.

As you can see from the menu, this was not to be a casual mix of bread, bird, and berry. When first we arrived, we were seated, and given regular menus. Well this was not our hope. We then explained that we had heard of a special Thanksgiving menu and after some shuffling and back and forth to the kitchen, the special menu was presented to us.

We passed the single menu around, and after discussing the seemingly non-traditional starter courses, asked if any substitutions would be allowed, only to be told that the Chef felt that it was important to stay true to 'American history' which in his view made any deviation unacceptable.

So we talked amongst ourselves and decided that most of us would still go for the special menu (at $50+ per person), but to our incredulity, upon trying to order, had it explained that the Thanksgiving menu wasn't available on Thanksgiving.

What! How can such things be? We were then shown that - as printed on the top of the menu - Thanksgiving dinner was to be served Friday the '23th', in keeping with American history one must presume.

In the end we all ate well and agreed that, on most occasions, a good story is worth more than a good meal anyway. Take Care.

Lately Aitugan has been making great strides towards standing on her own. Several times now she has managed to crawl up to this ball, get herself to her knees and then stand all by herself, though most times she still needs a helping finger to pull up on.





She still loves the mirror and has no trouble moving between locating things in the mirror and then finding them behind her.



She delights in things like the slides in the playroom. Anything that involves counting adeen, dvah, tree (1, 2, 3 in Russian), gets her wound up. She springs her legs to the count and anticipates the action of 3 with a big grin. It is very captivating. I like to think she is daddy's little girl, though KJ would probably disagree.



How could I ever deny those eyes!



As the photos lately have begun to show, everyday she seems more and more relaxed in our presence. Today especially, she stayed calm and engaged for the full two hours of the visit without ever going to that fussy/tired place. It was a real joy.





Lastly, Aitugan would like to wish her Uncle Jamie a Happy 38th Birthday. Take Care.

As we have said before, Astana is all about creating interesting architecture and green space. This is the Pyramid of Peace that stands at the center of a large planned park just across the river from the Presidantial Palace.

When the city plan is complete, the Pyramid is to become the center of the city, but at present represents the southern edge of what has been completed.

The entry shown here is one level underground. There is a second level below that, and 6 levels above ground. Inside the building is a set of diagonally traveling elevators that move between floors, as well as grand open stairways.



The theatre shown here occupies the central portion of the pyramid on the lowest three floors. We hope to see the Opera Aida here on 01 Dec when it will be performed by a group from St Petersburg.



The dome of the theatre takes the shape of the central sunburst emblem of the Kazakhstan flag. In the daytime, light from above radiates through the outer fingers and as you can see, there are thin wedge shaped fingers that can be made to cover the windows if necessary.



Here you see the main atrium and in the center of the floor you can see the glass windows that are part of the theatre dome below.



To say that this is a large space would be too meager a statement. Each edge of the pyramid is 62 Meters long, and this atrium is roughly 20,000 sq.ft.

As you can see, there are several floors of office space, exhibition halls, and meting space that exist between this inner pyramid and the outer one.



Taking one of the diagonal elevators from the Atrium floor to the top of the inner pyramid, you enter this section of wrapping walkways that lead though a 'winter garden' up to the cone of the outer pyramid.



The window glass of the lower part of the cone is has a blue film with doves on it, while the apex of the pyramid again replicates the Kazak sunburst.





So here are a few shots of our little angel enjoying her favorite book about dogs. I will keep this section short and sweet today as both Aitugan and I were tired today during our visit.

It is quite cold again today and the wind has been whipping all afternoon leaving wind chills well below zero. We again are in a stretch of days with highs in the mid teens, and lows in the low single digits. The forecast tells us to expect to see snow showers throughout much of the next ten days. Time will tell if that is to be true. Take Care.

Yesterday was a lazy day around here, and hopefully everyone out there had a nice Sunday as well.

I awoke early today to listen to the Patriots/Bills 'game', and found that my brother Jamie had set up his computer in front of the TV in Chicago so that I could watch the game live on my computer here in Astana. Thanks Jamie!

So after a little Monday Morning Football, the afternoon of course finally brought another visit with Aitugan. Due to some unexplained loophole in logic, the space between Saturday's visit and Monday's visit appears to grow exponentially as the weeks go by.

As you can see in the photo below, our little 'Tugy' has a rash on her cheek. We have seen it come and go during our time here, and have been told that it is caused by an intolerance to sugars. This latest outbreak seems to have been triggered by a cold syrup she was given to help relieve congestion in her chest.

Who knows whether this 'sensitivity' is fleeting or permanent, but for the time being she has been getting soy-based formula and a somewhat special diet to help minimize her reactions. Apart from our interpretation of their proclivity towards hyperthermia, the babies are well cared for and looked after.



In preparation for court next Monday morning, we have begun to make an effort to get a few shots a day of the three of us, as one thing the judge will want to see is photographic evidence that we visited Aitugan together on multiple occasions.



Aitugan was feverish and tired for much of our visit, and today, far more than we have seen in the past, was happy to lie on her back, be comforted by her parents, and enjoy the company of her new friend Almaz.







The fever also meant that at times she was not always the happy baby we most often portray. It could have been that she was not feeling well, or perhaps just that she realized that her good friend Berik(pictured below) was spending his last afternoon with her here in the play room.



We will miss you Berik and we wIsh you and your family a safe journey home to Germany and many wonderful years together. We hope you will keep in touch. Take Care.

Here are some shots from the circus this afternoon. It is challenging shooting an indoor circus without a flash, but we did the best we could. There was of course more than this, but not all of it had adequate lighting and/or interest. We'll talk more about the circus later - for now it is off to bed. Take Care.