The Cottage

The front - I think this used to be some high official's house. I have to check on that.

Scott in the dining room enjoying some beer (not sure what it is - it has a sun on the label) and internet.

The kitchen, home of the forbidden washer.

View of living room/dining room from the kitchen.

Stairs and door to 1/2 bath

Upstairs bath - Kaz baths all seem so spacious.

Our room - very comfortable and roomy!

Another view of our room.

Me waving at Luca (and you too) in the living room.

Not shown: the second bedroom (we may have roommates arriving today) and the TV room all on the 2nd floor.

We have everything we need here thanks to the families who were here before us and the team here. We also have wireless!!!! We have added our contribution to the household - a french press - because coffee is oh so important.

We are very, very grateful!

Fussy Feet (Bonding Day 3)

If Alia could speak I think she would say, "I just want to be held!"

When we arrived today she was HUNGRY, but we had about 1/2 hour to wait for her bottle. We tried to distract her with a little tummy time (she doesn't seem to mind it - Luca hated it), some books and a little massage and stretching. Thanks for the reassurance on the stiffness and suggestions for exercises. I recall reading about it, but wanted to be sure. My brain is still a little foggy.

She didn't cry for the bottle, however, she looked very concerned and distracted. When it arrived, Scott fed her and it was gone in 5 minutes flat - no exaggeration - a full Kazakh sized bottle in 5 minutes.

After the bottle, I thought she would play for a while. Perhaps we wore her out with the stretching and massage. She just wanted to be held and walked and swayed (I am trying to remember the 5 S's from Happiest Baby on the Block). She fell asleep, then woke up when I tried to give her to Scott. We repeated this all over again with the same results. Finally, Scott got her back to sleep and she laid on me and slept so hard. And, that was about it. Oh - we did hear a new noise today. She giggles and makes a very subdued fuss noise. Today, she made more of a conversational sound. It was pretty cool. I was echoing her yesterday. I wonder if she was doing a little echoing of her own today.

We play music while we are there. A colleague of Scott's gave us a lot of classical music before we left. Bach seems to be appreciated. I have my Nano as well. We listen to Baby Einstein, Elizabeth Mitchell (if you haven't heard her, please check her out - awesome!) and Cowboy Junkies today - mellow music for a mellow day.

When we arrive on the hospital grounds my pulse starts racing and I get nervous. It is the funniest thing . . . I just get so excited to see her. When we leave her in her crib (she cried yesterday and today), I want to throw up. I get into this post-visit funk.

To remedy that we went out by ourselves today! We survived! It was only a trip to the Next Store (supermarket or "pick-up store"), but it felt good. When I was paying, the check-out woman said something to me in Russian - "Nyet Russki" I said. She said, "Oh" but continued speaking to me in Russian. The total was about 3000 Tenge and I gave her 4000. It seemed to have to do with that. I wonder if she wanted me to pay closer to 3000. I didn't have that anyway.

I believe I successfully located lotion. I wrote it out in Russian before we left. I also believe I found conditioner. I surreptiously opened the bottle and squeezed a little out. I didn't want to get busted by the grocery store "police".

We are confused about whether our bonding has officially started. Our in-country team in Almaty seemed to think that we would not start officially bonding until Tuesday because of the Constitution Day holiday. However, we signed the intention to adopt papers on Friday. So, it seems that we are on Day 3. I would love that. Things would be AHEAD of schedule! Should I even say that out loud for fear of tempting fate?!

Covert Laundress

Shhhhh! Don't tell anyone I did some laundry last night! I snuck into the kitchen, carefully made note of all the dial settings on the washer so that I could set them as they were. I removed the one towel waiting in the washer and figured out where the detergent went. Then, I looked around to see if anyone was watching. When I believed the coast was clear, I pulled the knob and the washer started chugging away - music to my ears.

We are supposed to let Luba (cleaning lady) wash our clothes because the landlord thinks that the people who were here before us broke the washer. When we arrived, the landlord and interpreter were showing us around the cottage and we ended up in the kitchen where the landlord went on a 10 minute diatribe in Russian. After all that, our interpreter looked at us cooly and said, "It would be better for everyone if Luba did the laundry." Hmmmm. Is that all she said?

I couldn't help myself! I am a laundry nut and I like to do things myself. When a friend of mine and I visited some relatives in Germany for a few days, my great-aunt begged us to do our laundry. No way, I repeated over and over . . . I will wait and sit in the crowded, steamy, stinky laundromat in Berlin thank you very much. And, now I really don't want Luba to do it. I want to do it.

I got a little carried away with clothes packing minimalism. I brought exactly 2 pairs of pants (1 pair of yoga pants and 1 pair of jeans). I brought more tops/sweaters (maybe 10 in all) thinking that I can just wear the same pants, but mix up the tops. But, I really only want to wear the same pants twice - so I want to clean them every 4 days or so. I don't want to ask Luba to do the laundry every 4 days or so! ARGHHH!

The cycle finished in about 1/2 hour or so. I took the clothes out, carefully replaced the towel crumpled in the drum exactly as it had been before, left the door slightly ajar, and reset the dials. I hope that I did everything right!

I guess I am going to have to take a chance . . . keep tempting fate that I will get caught washing our clothes one of these days in the surreal world of Kokshetau, Kaz.

She likes books! (Bonding Day 2)

Today we had our first full visit with Alia.

A blonde-haired little boy snuck into the visitation room just after we arrived. He was probably 2 or 3 (?). Scott played peek-a-boo with him for a bit and he didn't want to leave. Our interpreter came in and shooed him out. She told us he was headed to the orphanage in Tschuchinsk. Since this is a hospital we don't see any of the other kids. We hear them sometimes, but we don't see them. Alia stays by herself in the visitation room during the bonding period.

She is such a sweet girl. The only sound she makes is a giggle! When we arrived, she greeted us with a smile, but seemed tired already. She does seem to have a bug - congested and a little warm. We changed her into the clothes we brought - we are asked to provide clothes and diapers during the bonding period. We also gave her a little baby wipe bath.

We showed Alia the toys we brought today - a book and a doll. She was not so interested in the doll, but the book - she was fascinated by the book. Scott read it to her, pointing at the pictures and she carefully, quietly followed his finger with her eyes. She was a little fussy, so Scott walked her back and forth until she fell asleep. He then gave her to me and she slept on my chest for about 20 minutes until a nurse brought her bottle. It was so amazing having that little being with us snoozing away.

She sucked down a pretty large bottle in no time - it looked like it was larger than 8 ounces - maybe 12? They feed the babies warm keffir, a fermented milk that is like liquid yogurt. That's it. Babies don't have solid food or even cereal until they leave the hospital.

After a burp or two, she was ready to play for a while. She sat in my lap and we read the book again. At one point, I swear she pointed just like I was. She does not sit up, but wants to very badly. If we are not holding her she wants to be vertical. She rolls over and sort of pushed up on her side today. She is a little stiff. I thought I had read that babies are often stiff because they don't get out of their cribs a lot. Is that true? We have been stretching out her arms and legs and hands whenever we get a chance.

Scott can really get her giggling. He lifts her in the air or tickles her and she loves it. The visit was over before we knew it. We had to leave her in her crib all by herself. She started fussing when we laid her down, but we had to leave. After visits are probably the worst time of the day for me . . . between the jet lag and having to leave her . . . it's hard.

We haven't gone out on our own yet. We may walk down to the "Pick-Up" store later on to pick up a few more things (hence, the reason our interpreter calls it the "pick-up" store). We went yesterday, but I discovered I bought liquid soap instead of lotion the hard way. I am a little itchy today :). I also bought 2 bottles of shampoo instead of 1 bottle of shampoo and 1 bottle of conditioner. Grocery prices are pretty similar to the U.S. - maybe a bit cheaper. Name brand diapers seem a little more expensive, but that's about it.

And, yes, we were followed around by some store employees a bit. It didn't bother me as much as I had thought it would.

Generally, we can get the same or similar stuff as we can at home. So far, I only wish I had brought a few envelopes for sorting stuff like money and a cardigan to wear around the cottage.

The jet lag is okay. I have been getting up around 5 or 5:30 a.m. and pretty much crash in the afternoon. Today, I feel better than yesterday though. Getting up early is actually great because we can Skype with Luca right before he goes to bed.

Okay - now I am rambling. Do svidaniya!

Understanding the Process (Bonding Day 1)

The hangman puzzle is solved. Thanks for playing :).

So, Kokshetau it is. We are about 186 miles north of Astana. See map - right above Shchuchinsk and below Petro. It looks like we are not that far from the Serra clan in Kostanai which is northwest of us. According to Wikipedia, Kokshetau (meaning "blue mountains") is the administrative center of Akmola province. We are 30 miles from Burabai or "Kazakhstani Switzerland" and are at the end of the largest power line in the world!

Typically people travel here from Almaty via Air Kokshetau, but they aren't selling enough tickets right now and are out of jet fuel, so service is suspended. Instead, we flew into Astana and made the rest of the trip by car.

Astana rises up out of the flat, empty earth like the Emerald City. It is the new capitol of Kazakhstan and most everything there is only 10 years old. Our coordinator said there are lots of "banks and shops." Because it is so new, it doesn't seem to have the buffer of a ring of suburbs that most large American cities have. It seems to go straight from city to empty flatlands. I imagine that this is what some of the large cities in the Middle East look like.

Outside of the city, the landscape is flat and prairie-like for quite a while. There is very little that gives structure to the terrain - no billboards or exit ramps or fences or gas stations or hotels or anything. There is the occasional Lada parked at the side of the road with the driver selling jarred stuff - maybe honey? - and random livestock roaming free (again, no fences) or being herded by Kazakh shepherds (?). As we got closer to Kokshetau, I saw more trees and stands of birchs . . . and steppes, lots of beautiful, undulating steppes. We only drove past one town during the entire 4 hour car ride.

And, we did see a rainbow when we drove through the entrance to the city. What an amazing sign.

This morning we got up pretty early (5 ish) and Skyped with my mom and Luca. Skype helps a lot, but I have gone through these intense times of missing him so much. I know time will pass very quickly and we will be back home with him before we know it.

We had our meeting with the official from the Ministry of Education. He was pleasant. Our interpreter said he was in a good mood today. Basically, he just wants to check adoptive parents out. He asked questions that ranged from "Who is going to be the next American president?" (seems he is rooting for Obama too) to "What is the weather like where you live?" to "Do you have a preference for the ethnicity of the child?". At times, I felt like he was pulling questions out of the air . . . saying to himself, "Hmmm. What should I ask them next?" He also asked what we thought about the Georgian conflict. It seems both our interpreter and the official believe Russia is getting a bad rap in the American press because Georgia really started the conflict.

After that, we went over to the maternity hospital. Kokshetau may be the only city who keeps babies in the maternity hospital, not in a baby house (orphanage). So, our visits actually take place in a small room in the hospital.

The baby we hope will soon be our daughter is not named Saskia (Luca was pretty disappointed, but compromised by saying that Saskia will be her nickname). We really did consider the name, but we like her given name which is Alia, which means lofty, sublime, exalted. We thought this was the perfect name for the daughter we have been waiting for and also a way for her to stay connected to her birth country.

When we met Alia, we were greeted with an open-mouthed smile (very much reminds me of Shannon's Alexa) and giggles. She is such a sweet, sweet child. She could care less about any of the toys we put in front of her today. She just wanted us to hold her. I remember both Karen and Catalina writing about focusing on emotional needs before worrying about developmental issues. They were both speaking in reference to older children, but this seems to make sense for Alia as well. In the hospital, she does not have a lot of one-on-one time with nurses, so it makes sense to give her this before anything else. Alia is fascinated by Scott. I held her for a long time while she studied his face. She is very observant and alert. She loves to be lifted into the air . . . the "lifter" is rewarded with the best giggles. But, she can also be very serious. For the first part of the visit, we talked to her, held her and played a little. She got worn out pretty quickly. I had to remind myself not to get too crazy with the stimulus. The rest of the visit Scott or I held her and walked back and forth in our little room. She fell asleep for a little while in my arms. I forgot that babies double in weight when sleeping!

It really seemed like she has been waiting for us - maybe that explains the rainbow.

We will visit her every day from 10 am-12 pm. In a few days we plan to ask if we can stay longer. After 14 days of visitation, we can petition for a court date. I think we also have pre-court. We are making 2 trips because of Luca and because I am teaching this semester. There is a pretty significant wait between the request for the court date and the court date (roughly 3 weeks).

Hopefully, we will return by the beginning of October for court with Scott's mom. A good thing about this region is that immediate custody is often awarded after court. We will still have the 15 day waiting period, but actually get custody of Alia while we wait. After court, I will go back home and Scott and his mom will finish the process. Maybe we will all be together by Halloween. We can only hope.

I would love to show you a full photo of this little munchkin. I really would, but I can't. She is not our daughter yet - we still have a long way to go. Thanks so much for the great comments and checking on us - it means so very much.

Amazing

After we drove through the gates of Kokshetau, I looked out the back of the car window and saw a rainbow - no rain in sight, just a few clouds. So, here we are . . . at the end of our rainbow. Amazing.

Touchdown X4

"Toto, we're not in Kansas (actually, Illinois) any more."

No, we're in Kazakhstan!!!!

This is the first photo we have taken. With any luck, "Saskia" will be nestled in this crib before long. It has been a whirlwind of travel, so I haven't even thought to get the camera out. We arrived at our destination a few hours ago - 4 flights, one car ride and 33 hours after leaving our house.

I wouldn't trade the car ride here for anything. It was absolutely amazing . . . surreal, actually. I kept thinking of Dr. Zhivago and Dreams of My Russian Summers by Andrei Makine (which actually makes a lot more sense to me now).

We meet the Minister of Education tomorrow morning, then we meet "Saskia"! I can hardly stand waiting any longer.

Hopefully, we will also get to Skype with Luca before we go. We haven't talked to him for a few days. Being away from him has been the hardest thing to deal with so far. Scott was doing a pretty good imitation of him by asking for pancakes this morning. I miss my boy.

I'll post tomorrow and let you know how everything goes.

P.S. I have been playing a little game of hang man with the titles of the blog posts (since 8/20). If you look hard at the blog archive and are a little dyslexic, you might be able to figure out where we are.

ETA

Here we are in lovely Concourse C at O'Hare. Scott sang the "Duty Free Shop" song from Seinfeld when we walked by.

So far, so good. Granted, we are only in Chicago. Our 40 minute flight was smooth and uneventful and early!

I have developed an alternative theory about why people get sick in Kazakhstan. It isn't because of the new germs, it is because by the time you get there, you are running on empty. I got exactly 4 hours of sleep last night. I was making pancakes (only got to 57!) and finishing up work for my classes. Also, I have had zero appetite, which is really unusual. I have not been eating much at all. Don't worry. I have lots of reserves :)!

We should arrive in Almaty at 11:20 pm (Kaz time) tomorrow (which is our tomorrow morning - I am getting the hang of the time change thing). Not sure if I will be able to post.

Next stop Frankfurt!

Havoc

n.
1. Widespread destruction; devastation.
2. Disorder or chaos: a wild party (or a trip to Kazakhstan) that created havoc in the house.

Photo to follow . . . when I find our camera :).

Seeking Experienced Pancake Maker

For the last few years, Luca has eaten pancakes with some sort of berry jam and a banana almost every morning for breakfast. The alternative (which is not preferable for our boy) is Honey Nut Cheerios and a banana. Luca is really healthy - he rarely gets sick and if he does it is a runny nose (knock on wood). I attribute this to the daily banana.

Anyway, the pancakes aren't purchased at the store. They are homemade . . . blueberry with buckwheat or whole wheat pastry flour for nutrition. I make large batches and freeze them. Over the next 2 days I want to make 23 days worth of pancakes which adds up to 69 pancakes, hence the title of the post.

Help :)!

53 hours until take-off!

Kindred Spirits

Meet Wedge (short for Wedgehead) & Wedgina (short for little Wedgehead). Wedge already has a boy to sleep with and cuddle, but Wedgina is waiting patiently to meet her kindred spirit.

Thanks, for Wedgina, Kami . . . "Saskia" will love her!

OH! So that's it.

Since we received our travel dates, my feet haven't touched the ground. I feel like I am barely here. I was speaking to one of my grad students today and he said, "You are in a liminal space." AH! That's it!

He is right and now I feel okay because I can name it and wikipedia can define it:

"Liminality (from the Latin word līmen, meaning "a threshold"^[1]) is a psychological, neurological, or metaphysical subjective, conscious state of being on the "threshold" of or between two different existential planes, as defined in neurological psychology (a "liminal state") and in the anthropological theories of ritual by such writers as Arnold van Gennep, Victor Turner, and others.^{[citations needed]} In the anthropological theories, a ritual, especially a rite of passage, involves some change to the participants, especially their social status.^[2]

The liminal state is characterized by ambiguity, openness, and indeterminacy.^{[citations needed]} One's sense of identity dissolves to some extent, bringing about disorientation. Liminality is a period of transition where normal limits to thought, self-understanding, and behavior are relaxed - a situation which can lead to new perspectives.^{[citations needed]}

^{How long does this last?}

Keeping Healthy

A Day of Prevention
We have put off immunizations and requests for medication until this week. Today, we got our first Hepatitis A & B and Diphtheria/Tetanus. Hepatitis A needs 2 weeks to offer full protection . . . hopefully, we won't have any problems. I may be able to get typhoid from my general practitioner. That needs to be taken over the course of 6 days.

CDC also recommends rabies - no thanks!

My GP has prescribed Cipro and a sleeping pill to help with the jet lag. We also have melatonin, so we are pretty much covered for sleep :). The international adoption doctor also prescribed some things to take along for the baby as well as syringes in case anyone needs injections or blood draws.

A tip for those who haven't traveled yet - go to your county health department for the Hepatitis series & Diphtheria/Tetanus. It was $77 for those shots. From what I have read and heard, travel clinic are much more expensive and insurance does not always cover these shots.

I have talked to people who have gotten shots and not had any problems. I have also spoken with those who skipped them all together and were fine as well. My thinking was I didn't want to take a chance.

It does seem like the Cipro is really important. I have read about a number of PAPs who have gotten sick - sinus infections, stomach "issues", even food poisoning - and the Cipro seemed to knock out whatever ailed them.

Less than a week until our encounter with germs halfway around the world!

P.S. Thanks for all of you who left comments for my "Roll Call" post. If you haven't let me know you are still out there - please do. Thanks!

Drum Roll Please!

Dossier #2 is DONE! I just returned from a jaunt to lovely Springfield, Illinois (I waved "hello" for you, Barb!) - home of our State Capitol and, more importantly, the Secretary of State's Index Office. Exciting stuff, I know! It was kind of a nail biter because you just never know if a document will be rejected for some random reason that only makes sense in the world of notaries and the state government.

BUT, alas, all 7 documents were Great Sealed without incident. I counted the staple sounds from the cubicle just so I wouldn't be surprised. While I was waiting I was reading Pema Chodron's The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times. She was instructing me to accept what is . . . to accept that the universe is constantly in flux . . . the only constant is change. . . to anticipate things is pointless. And, yet there I was trying to anticipate what was coming next by counting staple clicks. The irony. I have a lot to learn :).

While I was waiting, a young woman came in . . . breathless and confused. "Is this where I get something Apostilled (she pronounced it "A - post - eled")?" She explained it was for Thailand or South Korea. She wasn't sure yet. I wondered if she is at the beginning of her international adoption journey. I also wondered if I should correct her pronunciation of Apostille :). I felt like such a veteran . . . the symbolism of her at the beginning and us nearing the end was not lost on me.

On the drive home I got all choked up when I realized that we will meet the child who will hopefully be our daughter NEXT WEEK. I guess now that we have the papers, diaper rash cream, microfiber towels, Clif bars, syringes, melatonin, and all that other stuff, I am beginning to realize that this is really real (the multiple use of real is intentional).

Don't forget to let me know if you are still out there (see below). I don't mean to sound harsh with the "deleting" and all. I was just looking through my permissions list and wasn't sure who some people are and if they are still checking in.

Safe travels Darlene & Dennis and Regina & Milo!

Roll Call

We are approaching our 100 person quota so I need to purge if possible. If you are still reading, could you let me know by leaving a comment? This way I know that you are still around (thank you for sticking with us - it has been a long haul). I won't delete you if I hear from you.

Thanks!

Reflecting on Kazakhstan Adoption

I have read list serves and stalked Kazakhstan adoption blogs for a while - more than a year now. I have seen a lot of families come home with their kids. I have also seen a lot of families withdraw from the Kazakhstan program and a few come home without children. When I first subscribed to the Kazakhstan_Adoption list, the DeLorenzos were in-country and going through what looked to be living hell. After losing a referral from AIP before they even traveled, they began bonding with a child and his mother returned. They started bonding with another child and he became unavailable for some reason. They returned without a child. There were more families who came home without children after them.

There has also been this spectre of pending legislation that would limit adoptions for parents who are over 50 and singles. And, there was the suspension in March . . . and, now the requirement of Hague compliance for agencies before September 15.

Commonwealth has closed its doors leaving so many families devastated. And, it looks like several Children's Hope International clients have been informed that their dossiers have been returned from the MFA because they requested a particular gender in their application. Is this limited to this agency? Is it because the agency submitted too many applications? Now, more families are struggling with what to do next.

I know some choose adoption before going the biological route. Lots of families also look to adoption after they have had problems conceiving or gone through loss. To have to go through additional loss - an agency closing its doors or coming home without a child - is heartbreaking. It is unfair. Do governments see this? Do they see individual families and their struggles? Do they see the children whose futures hinge on having a family who will love and take care of them?

The last couple of days I have been thinking about the families that didn't make it or are struggling with the process and I am sorry. I just want to tell you that - I am so sorry. I hope you find your way to your child soon and that the joy you experience then erases the pain you are feeling now.

It's All About the Technology

Being certain that we can communicate while in Kazakhstan has become a bit of an obsession with us. If Luca was going with us, I doubt it would be such a priority. We want to make sure we can communicate with him once (or twice!) a day. That is going to be a trick in and of itself because of the time difference and his military-like schedule :).

The abundance of communication devices & accessories makes my head spin. So, here is what we are taking/doing:

• Computer loaded with Skype: From what I can gather, where we are staying has wireless capability, so all we have to take is our laptop. I have heard about Skype from other PAPs for months. We finally had all the equipment we needed to use it and downloaded it a few days ago. IT IS AMAZING! It is basically chat that can also include video. We can buy a phone number and call landlines (people that don't have a Skype account). I chatted with Tricia in Kostanai yesterday morning. It worked so well. I also received messages from Susan yesterday afternoon when I was offline. Luca and I have chatted with Scott while he is in his office. The video capability is the best. This is how we will communicate with Luca and my mom and others. Scott has tried using a couple of headsets to no avail - we may just use the speaker in the computer.
• Cell phone: We are renting a cell phone in Kazakhstan. We will be able to receive calls from the U.S., however, we won't be able to make them. We will only be able to call out in Kazakhstan. This phone will be used if my mom needs to get a hold of us at times outside of out Skype "dates". It also may be used to communicate with the in-country team.

Can that be it? After all this talk and thinking we are just taking a cell phone and computer! Of course there are also the extra batteries, headsets (?), cords, etc. We also have our digital camera and a video camera.

Other Stuff

Visas arrived just now! I did not know what to expect. I assumed that a visa is a separate piece of paper. Isn't everything in international adoption a separate piece of paper? My heart sank when I opened the FedEx envelope only to find our passports. Then, I started flipping through and buried on pages 21 & 24 were our visas!

Tickets are purchased.

Travel insurance has been purchased. Scott took care of this yesterday - he found out that the people who run the company have adopted themselves - once from Kazakhstan.

Scott also placed a big order with Amazon a couple of days ago - things like microfiber travel towels, extra battery for the computer, power strip, money belts, passport lanyard, etc. He also ordered a Magellan Eurosurge protector.

We have almost all of our paperwork - just missing my notarized medical form. My doctor's office does not have a notary. I used a traveling notary last time, but she is recovering from surgery and is unable to drive until next week. I am trying to get my doctor to meet me at our credit union . . . to no avail yet. I am calling her again today.

I started working on a detailed schedule for Luca and the house - details, details. Pretty amazing how many details make-up our everyday lives! I am now started to understand why I am exhausted at the end of the day.

I think things are coming together.

UPDATE: My doctor's office called and they have located a notary to use. The last piece of paperwork will be notarized on Friday! What a relief! Now I can go to Springfield for Apostilles on Monday. Last night, I felt like I hit a wall . . . today I feel like the clouds are parting. Almost there!

(L)ots (O)f (I)nspiration

. . . to get the rest of trip things done. YES . . . we have it . . . the last piece of the puzzle.

WE HAVE OUR LOI*!

*LOI=Letter of Invitation from the Kazakhstan government inviting us to Kazakhstan. We can now apply for our travel visas which are required for entry into the country.

(Almost) Fabulous Five

We still have a few more weeks until Luca is officially 5. Here are some photos from a celebration we had at my parents' cottage.

Luca is ready to be a big brother. He said he will help feed her, but certainly can't cook! He also wants to know if babies can meet and love each other because we have new friends who have a 1 year-old daughter. He seems to think "Saskia" and Piper will hit it off. I think so too.

A Gifting We Will Go

After thoroughly experiencing my feelings of frustration, I decided it was time to go shopping.

I ordered a scarf for one of the higher end gifts. I also ordered 10 spa sets for the caregivers. I will add some tenge (or dollars?) to the spa sets that way I feel like I have all bases covered (thanks Amy & Karen for letting me know that this is okay). I need a couple more $20 gifts, something for the driver, interpreter, and the judge.

These storage cups seem like they would be good for the driver. Do you think we should wait and buy him something there?

I may just order a bracelet and necklace from etsy for the other $20 gifts.

I know people say not to spend too much time on this, but it is hard not to!

No visits from FedEx today. I am a little frustrated with them because they changed their system and tracking is a pain in the butt!

Later: Okay - so I think I have ordered almost all the gifts. We may wait to buy a couple there (driver & some chocolates to add on to an existing gift). I ordered 3 bracelets and a pen/pencil set for the judge from www.etsy.com. Making some progress . . .