She was deservedly exhausted by the time 4pm rolled around. Without warning, during her daily exploration of the playroom, she headed for the door and just kept going. She crawled down the hallway, took a left, and continued on to the fish tanks some 50 feet away.
She used several of the stuffed animals to climb up into a stand, and from there we lifted her up to the aquarium to ponder the white, black, and gold things that dance for her on the other side of the glass, and to marvel at the thing that spits out bubbles.
When the fascination wore off, we placed her back on the floor and she headed back to the playroom, finally giving up just a few feet from the door. To our knowledge it was the first time she has ever been able to carry out such a journey of choice, and though temporarily drained by the experience, she none the less had to appreciate how proud of her we were.
Another new thing introduced today was a pacifier. We have seen them used by the caregivers, and thought that it might help sooth her as she tires towards the end of our visits, and it certainly did seem to work.
She wasn't much interested in using it in the traditional way - preferring instead to chew on the hard edges of the handle - though she most assuredly knew what it was and responded favorably with sleepy eyes and a quiet fixation.
It was reassuring to see her respond in that way to something and we are encouraged to think that the flights may not be the complete nightmare we imagine that they will be. Time will tell.
At one point during our visit today, Aitugan asked how much longer we had before her nap and I told her to try and figure it out. She seemed to have a hard time with the hands and I assume she must be more used to digital clocks.
These last two photos are of Aitugan with Dina.
Dina is the Coordinator for MAPS(our adoption agency) here in Kazakhstan and is the one who processes all of our paperwork and who arranges the various official meetings, visits, phone calls and correspondences that must be made on our behalf to keep the process on track and moving forward, and for that we are grateful.
Take Care.
3 comments:
Dina was our coordinator, and it is nice to see her again in the photos. Please pass along our warmest regards and include a special hello from Olivia who will turn 5 on November 26.
Who are your drivers? Ulan and Baurjan (spelling?) were our faithful and punctual means of transportation. At the time, neither one spoke much English, but my husband, Tom, resurrected some high school French and was able to communicate with Baurjan much to our consternation and delight. In a way, this was emblematic of our experience - it wasn't what we necessarily expected, but the results were just fine!
Aww I just love the pictures. She is so cute.
Sandi
Hi Morrison's:
Aitugan is absolutely beautiful. We adopted our little boy Jonathan through MAPS last year and also had Dina and Baujan. We miss them both very much so if you would, please say hello to them from the Drake Family in Iowa. We love reading your blog and are so happy for you and your daughter. Your stories are so familiar it makes us wish we were back there again! Enjoy your time there. Once you are home it will seem as though it flew by as hard as that might be to believe right now. We loved everything about Astana, the wonderful people at the baby house and our special friend Dina. She is the BEST! Take care.
Maggie and Bryan Drake
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