Bonding - Days 3 & 4 - Sunshine, Roses & a few Thorns!!

Friday/Saturday - 3rd/4th November 2006

Communication Problems:
Although we have managed to buy a phone card we cannot get it to work in the hotel… Although we have found out the hotel has a business centre for internet it has only one computer which is very slow….
Although we have found a place 10 minutes walk away called Pizza Blue, which allows us to use our laptops and has wireless connection it is sooo slooow and temperamental.
Sometimes it works, more often it doesn’t.

After getting our medicals today Aine and I needed to get them off to Dr. Jenista. It was to be Saturday before we managed to get them off. Elena, our coordinator met us in the lobby and accompanied us to the Baby House. We arranged to meet with her afterwards to discuss any problems or questions we had.
Alex had a welcome for us today and we were told we could bring him outside as the weather is beautiful, sunny and not cold. Of course they wrap them up so well and we need to go shopping!!! All the clothes we brought which are not many are too big for him – the 6-9 months are way too big. I guess he is only a 3-6 month size. He weighs 6, 600g, is 64cm long, and his head circumference is 44cm. He loved it outside – I was the photographer and he sat on his daddy’s lap watching all that was going on around him. They have a nice little playground right in front of the home.

Got to see Aine & Alex’s baby. They will call him David Andrew. He is almost 7 months old and almost the same weight as Sasha. He looks so healthy.
View of Ust-Kamenogorsk from the 10th Floor of the Hotel Irytsh!




We could only stay outside for a short while so brought Sasha back in and played with him. He loves the little ball, and links and the photo album that has Darrelle and Elena’s picture in it. We took lots of photos and Aine took a real nice one of the three of us which we managed to send to Darrelle and Elena. They are getting on fine and had a great week with Maureen and the Dooleys. Maureen sent some great photos of Elena and Odhran dressed for Hallowe’en. What a pity I had to erase them as they took up too much space in my inbox. Poor Declan did not even get to see them.

Our afternoon visit was fine. Sasha is giving us lots of smiles, seems placid and pleasant. He can pull to standing if you hold his tiny hands, and would kick away from Declan to get across to me. He can get to where he wants by crawling, although it is not a real crawl but he has the idea. They said he is very active and likes to eat – wonder where he is putting it.

Tonight we found a restaurant, went searching again called the Pancake House – well we don’t know what it is called but we had a lovely meal there. Ordered P-va bolshoi (large beer). They don’t seem to be big on wine here. I will try to learn a new word in Russian every day now that my head is beginning to function again. So far I know: Dos-vi-daniya – Goodbye – Paka
Spasibo – Thank You
Pajolsta – Please or /You’re welcome
Frites – Chips – where did that come from/
Masla – Butter

Of course that is just the phonetical spelling – we have to rely on Sue to read the menus, explain ourselves to people and help us with our shopping!!! Speaking of shopping there is a large supermarket across the road from the hotel. It stays open for 24 hours - just like at home!!!!

There are a lot of American couples here:
Kate & Brent – adopting Aida, 1 yr old on Monday and will be called Ruth.
Janna & Michael and their 6 yr old, Briann adopting a 7mth old boy – going to call him Keehan.
Joanie & Nick from Texas with her mother and 9yr old daughter & 8 yr old son adopting a 10 month old called Igor.