Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner of Champions (Bonding Day 4)

Visit with Alia
This is the bottle that holds the keffir that Alia eats 3 times a day. She eats it in 5 minutes, I swear.

When we arrive we strip her down to her diaper and do a little baby massage and exercise. Jennifer M sent me some great suggestions for physical therapy. A good thing about the hospital is that there isn't anyone around watching us or reprimanding us for taking off her clothes or opening the window or letting her sleep. We can pretty much do anything we want to. She tires pretty quickly of the exercises, but seems to enjoy them for a while. We really have to do something to distract her because we come about a 1/2 hour or so before the bottle. I can see the quiet desperation in her eyes - bottle, bottle, bottle is running through her mind (in Russian of course).

The feeding is almost a nonevent because it happens so darn fast.

She slept some - little cat naps - while we walked and swayed her around. She woke up long enough to play around with this rattle we brought. It has little beads inside that shake around. We showed her how she could grab it and she did! She was clearly doing what we showed her.
She also grabbed at a book we were reading. The books we brought are all bathtub books - vinyl and spongy and light - she clenched a page in her fist and looked like she was trying to turn the page. This is a big deal for little Alia - she hasn't really grabbed anything yet - I don't think she knows to.

Today when we left she was half asleep. I didn't hear her cry until we were almost out the door.

Ready for my rant? It is depressing to have to leave her every day. I know there is wisdom to the bonding period . . . I can't imagine walking in there and walking out with her when she doesn't know us one bit. But, this 2 hour a day stint seems cruel. I know this is what we signed on for, but I don't like it at all.

Life in Kokshetau
Today is Constitution Day (Kazakhstan's Constitution is only 13 years old!) and the first day of school. All the boys wear suits the first day! I loved seeing boys of all shapes and sizes walking around in their suits. The girls wear black and white and those massive Russian bows - the bows are so absurd that they are cute.

Former Soviet countries sure love their oversized head gear - the police hats are huge and so are the nurses' (closer to chef hats). They also love their uniforms. I teach a section on Russian woman artists from around the revolution. A lot of them designed uniforms. I think uniforms represented where you worked and solidarity with whom you worked with and the government. I can see the uniform theme carry over in the more traditional grocery stores - the ones that have 4 places to check out. I walk into those places and feel daunted - where DO I check out with what and why can't I pick up my own laundry detergent?

We walked to Gorky Park this afternoon. It was crowded because of the holiday and kids were just out of school. There are some rides in the park - a ferris wheel, this crazy thing that spun two people upside down and back again, and some others. There were also lots of food stands.

We have not eaten out yet. Do you know we are vegetarian? Yes, the vegetarians go to the country whose national dish is horse sausage. I am sure we can find something to eat in a restaurant, but we have been enjoying our meals at home. Last night, I made pierogi & roasted carrots. It was actually pretty good - the pierogi were awesome. We still don't have huge appetites - maybe still jet lagged?

Happy Labor Day!