Greetings from Almaty.

Yes we made it, and yes we are all fine. As everything is, internet service is very expensive at the Hyatt, and so we are using internet cafes to check email. Without our usual systems and Macs in place, I'm not sure we will have new photos up before we get home, though to be sure, we are taking them, so bear with us.

Aitugan continues her defiant sleep patterns, refusing to sleep more than 5-6 hours at a time at night, and napping only an hour or two a day, and most of it when we are carrying her to and from the supermarket/internet cafe, so not exactly great times for us to sleep as well. Once we are back at the hotel, she is all for being awake, even if her best version of awake includes rubbing her eyes, yawning, fussing and crying.

We have taken to putting her in the carrier that we have(Ergo Carrier) and walking laps around our floor. Fortunately the Hyatt made sure to utilize as little interior space as possible and therefor has a ten story high center column that is open to a skylight dome with rooms set up in rings around the perimeter. This creates great visual entertainment for Aitugan to peer over the railing and look down upon the dining and lounge areas below complete with a piano bar, full sized yurt, and fountain.

The Hyatt really is quite a visually appealing hotel from the inside, though the exterior and grounds, at least at this time of year, sure don't strike one as a 5 star hotel. Among the inside attractions is a wonderful pool area. Again it is too bad we are not able to post photos at this point - but we will when we are able.

We took Aitugan to the pool last evening for her first swim, and she loved it as we expected she would. Of course KJ - being prepared for eveything - brought a special suit for Aitugan to swim in at the hotel. It is essntially a neoprene wetsuit cut such that there is a brief bottom that goes over the diaper followed by a 'shorty' style body suit with velco along one side. It could not be simpler, and provides nice buoyancy and warmth. Aitugan seemed to love every bit of her time there and we will definitely do it everyday until we leave.

So leaving - we won't know until tomorrow afternoon when exactly our US Embassy Interview is, but it seems quite likely to happen Monday such that we should be cleared to fly home Tuesday morning. Yesterday we had her medical exam and HIV test performed, and all seemd to go just fine.

We are hoping to meet up tomorrow afternoon with another couple from Rhode Island who are in town completing their adoption. It will be the first time that Aitugan will have had the opprtunity to interact with another child in more than a week (since she left the Baby House, and though we are happy for that, we are perhaps more excited to meet Jennifer and marshall and share experiences and just reconfirm our sanity.

We will leave you with that for now. KJ is strolling around the mall carrying a near sleeping Aitugan and so now we will trade off and she will come and check her email. I hope that everyone at home is well and that the holidays are providing a time to be with family and just to take time for each other. Take Care.