Turn the Page (Official Bonding Days 7, 8, 9 & 10)

Visits with Alia
Alia continues to be her cheerful yet serene self. I had thought about the name Serena for her at one time. She certainly is that.

The hospital has allowed us to buy formula for her. I didn't even know this was an option, but am happy that she is able to get the extra vitamins and minerals. The nurses put the formula in the same bottles with the same nipples as the keffir. Keffir is thick, formula is not. It comes out way quicker than it used, but she sucks on the nipple with the same intensity. Half the time it sounds like she is drowning. Jennifer M had warned me about this a while ago and now I completely see what she meant. Her solution was to put some rice cereal in to thicken the formula. I am not sure if this is an option at this point, but we will have to try to remember this when she comes home.

Scott has been doing a series of exercises with Alia the last couple of days. She seems to enjoy her little work-out. As I wrote in the previous post, her legs and arms have gotten so much looser. She cannot sit without assistance, but seems to be getting closer to doing that. I do think we have a ways to go in that department.

Alia turns to look at us when we call her name. When Scott is reading to her, he asks her to turn the page and she consistently reaches out to try to do that. We came in one day and the nurses had put a rattle that we brought with us in her crib, so it is nice to know that she has something to play with while we are gone. We came in another day and the ball was in there as well. She easily grabs the rattle now.

As many of you know, these visits are generally more of the same every day. We are further limited by having visitations in an almost empty hospital room. We would love a change of venue at this point, but we still have a while to wait.

Luca wanted to know when Alia would be home. I said hopefully by Halloween. He asked what she would dress up as. I asked him if he could think of a small moon that orbits Jupiter or Saturn. He, of course, had to say, "Well, what about a small moon that revolves around Uranus." I said fine . . . what's a small moon that revolves around Uranus? His reply: Belinda. So, I said maybe Alia can dress up as Belinda. And what will Luca dress up as? Uranus, he replied. Can anyone out there make a Uranus and Belinda costume for me? Please?

Life in Kokshetau
We have internet! I guess that's really the big news here. Something unidentified happened to cause us to lose it. Scott shut everything down in a certain sequence this morning and - VOILA - communication is restored.

I missed talking to Luca. He and my mom tried to call while we were disconnected. They left a message on Skpe. Instead of disconnecting, Skype continued to record. So, I heard my mom and Luca talking and he said, "But I don't want to skip it. I don't want to skip talking to them. My stomach is getting all jumpy because we are skipping it." My chest still compresses and I get weepy when I think of the message. That was the hardest thing about our internet crisis. It's funny how I think I am going to miss so much by not checking my email for a couple of days, but then I check it and, look, things went on! The planet continued to spin.

In absence of the internet, I have done some other things like a bit of meditation. One can't have too much peace. I continue to read Eat, Pray, Love, which is actually a good book to read while traveling since it is a travelogue of sorts. Last night, I sat and talked to the other couple for a good while. Imagine - talking instead of typing :)!

We went out to eat at a restaurant called Pyramid Pizza a couple nights ago. Kazakh pizza is not too bad! I really did not know what to expect. We went with the other couple and their interpreter. It was nice to get out and blow off a little steam.

Most meals are eaten in however. This is a good time of day. We all have a beer or two. M and I cook something up while C & Scott work on the computers or talk. Then, we all sit down at our little kitchen table and share a meal and lots of stories. Afterward, C usually does the dishes and the rest of us go read or watch DVDs or just sit.

Our experiments in the kitchen continue to go well. We have made Lebanese lentils and rice with a cabbage salad (link is similar to what we did) and a roasted tomato & eggplant pasta with a green salad. These two dishes were completely improvised - we did not follow a written recipe. I am a recipe girl - I am LOST without a recipe, so this was pretty big for me. The pasta dish was simple, yet surprisingly good. We have also had vegetable soup.

All four of us go through about a can of Kracks a day, so don't think it is wholesome food 24/7. I really think they have Pringles beat.

Our interpreter took us to a book store after our visit today. We bought 5 books for Alia. Three are in Kazakh, Russian and English. They are about the seasons, animals and Kazakhstan. The other two are in Russian - one is Kazakh folk stories and the other is the Russian alphabet. Two of Scott's colleagues speak Russian, so we hope they can translate or come over and read the stories to Alia.

Scott continues to take his walks in the afternoon. He has gotten some great photos. I will leave you with one that demonstrates Kazakh ingenuity (yes, those are plastic water bottles linked together to serve as a downspout).