If ever you thought that the adoption phase was over once you got home and settled into your own routine as a family, all it takes is one quick outing with a black-haired brown-eyed princess to remind you that your life will never be the same again. I'm not sure I realized how big a billboard would sit atop my head reading 'Ask me about my child?'.

I don't - at this point anyway - find it overly obtrusive, or inappropriate, but I was certainly a little more than taken aback at how readily conversation would be directed my way because of our little energy ball. Granted we were walking in and out of stores catering to babies and thus the number of new/young families was higher than the general population might otherwise suggest, but that said, I quickly realized a need to be ready at a moments notice to have questions come my way regarding Aitugan - questions such as; How old? Is it a boy or a girl? What's her name? Oh that's unusual, where is she from?

Again, these are all well intentioned people I suppose, though I am struck with the feeling that it my previous life(before children), I would never have approached a stranger and child with such questions without some context of familiarity - which apparently being a fellow parent is. I assume my Parenting Guild membership card must be in the mail.

So these first few days at home as a family - terrific! She has really coped exceptionally well, and given the amount of change thrust upon her, she has been nothing short of stellar. As you can see in the photos from the other day, she and the dogs have become fast friends, with they far more curious about her than she is them at this point in the new relationship.

One of our boys in particular (Daouda) has taken to following her endlessly, to the point of wanting to sleep near her as she sleeps, and whining and barking if he is kept out of the room she is in. He is just so intrigued with her, and for us to say anything disparaging about that would certainly be calling the kettle black.

We have made several forays into the world since arriving in Maine with Aitugan. The first was a quick trip into Boothbay Harbor to have dinner. The next day we took Aitugan out in the Ergo Carrier for a walk through the woods behind the house, and then went into Freeport to check out some of the baby retail outlets, and then yesterday took her into Portland and wheeled her around in her stroller.

All of these trips are more to get her accustomed to the various modes of travel and personal restriction that comes with them than they are sincere missions of necessity. The car seat was a bit of a fuss, but nothing worse than we expected. The stroller (Bugaboo Frog) took some getting used to as she seemed a bit removed from us and a bit shell shocked by the lower than normal vantage point wherein legs occluded her line of sight, though within an hour or so seemed relatively at ease.

The Ergo Carrier has been a lifesaver since day one. We introduced her to it back in the baby house, and found it indispensable when we got her home to our apartment in Astana, mostly for rocking/walking her to sleep. At the Hyatt in Almaty we also found the Ergo was a great way to include her on little errands and she continued to see it as a calm and safe place. Here at home it continues to be her preferred way to remain with us, though it can get tough on the back after long periods, and so we are trying to enter the stroller into the mix for those times that warrant the effort to bring it along.

We have a glider chair in her room that has helped to calm her and lull her into sleep, and for naps we use her crib in her room, though at night we have her sleep in between us in our bed. She continues to love bath time and has become quite fearless about putting her mouth in and either drinking water or blowing bubbles.

She goes through sections of her day now where all she is interested in doing is grabbing our fingers and walking around the house. It is certainly exciting for her to have so much control of her motion and direction, though it takes a toll on our backs to remain leaned over for as long as she hopes we would.

It has been marvelous to catch up with family and friends and to once again reunite with the piles of mail that accumulated during our time in Kaz. It is also wonderfully liberating to once again enjoy the personal freedom of maintaing our own schedule and fulfilling our own transportation needs. Ah - Home!

Things here are busy as one might expect. More Later. Take Care.