Saturday, October 18, 2008

Tick Tock


[Scott here - Hi Everybody!]

Well, it's been a long wait, but it has now been 15 days since we went to court to adopt Alia. We haven't heard anything, so we have to take that as a good sign that no one has come forward to challenge the adoption and that Alia is now legally our daughter!

I apologize for not posting to the blog earlier but...well, I guess I'm just not as into keeping up on the blog as much as Angela. I apologize to some of our regular readers looking for an adoption-related blog fix, but hey, I've been changing diapers and fixing formula for two weeks!

Honestly, the last two weeks taking care of Alia have been wonderful. She's a tremendous little girl. It's amazing to see the progress she's made since we first met her at the Baby Hospital. When we first picked her up, her hands were just frozen, balled up, little fists. And her muscles were so atrophied it took an effort on our part to straighten her arms and legs. And she was silent - made not a sound. She just watched - watched us with an intensity you couldn't imagine from a 6 month old baby. The depth of her stare was striking, with her dark eyes following us wherever we moved around the room, studying every feature of our faces.

But within a few days, her muscles began to loosen up more and more as we did little stretching exercises with her. We brought in toys - stacking cups and a rattle - and she started to grasp them in her hands. And she started to talk. She'd coo and giggle when we'd play with her. She'd smile at us from the crib as we entered the room every day. The progress we saw in her was remarkable.

Now that we've had her here at the cottage with us the last two weeks, those changes have continued at a rapid pace. She now grabs onto everything! Trying to talk to Angela and Luca on Skype with Alia in my lap is a distinct challenge since Alia thinks that the usb cord to the headset is a toy to be played with, pulled on, and put in her mouth. Kind of hard to talk when a baby is trying to pull the receiver out of your hand, or slobbering on it.


Overall, her motor skills are developing really well. She's a strong kid! She can roll over without any trouble, and is trying her hardest to crawl. She just can't seem to get the timing down. She'll push with one leg, but she isn't lifting her belly up, so nothing happens. She does push with her arms, so she tends to move backwards. We have also been putting her in the walker for a little while each day (someone was kind enough to leave one here in the cottage along with A LOT of toys), and she is starting to discover that she can put some weight on her legs. Not pushing herself around yet, but I don't think it will be long. She also sits up on her own, which she could not do when we brought her home from the hospital. She just couldn't balance, but she's doing very well at it now.


And her vocal abilities have...improved, to put it mildly. She is babbling, cooing, gurgling, squeaking, and laughing all the time. However, having discovered her voice, she is also learning how to use it to get our attention when she wants something from us. She is certainly not shy about letting us know what she wants and when she wants it. I fear that this may be a pattern that will continue through her teen years.


My mom has been a tremendous help with Alia. I cannot say enough about how helpful and good natured she's been about everything. I guess 'smitten' would be the best way to describe how mom feels about Alia. It's very gratifying to see how happy she is for Angela and I, and how much she enjoys Alia. I'll post more about mom specifically in the future, but I'm very glad that she agreed to come along and help.

We'll be in Kokshetau another week, and then it's off to Almaty for medical exams and paperwork. I'll try to post more frequently over that time.

14 comments:

Angela said...

A great post by Dad! Thanks. And we are very, very lucky . . . today I feel truly grateful. She's ours and we're hers! Looking forward to being all together!

Alysa said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!! She is ADORABLE! I love those cheeks! And so young! I'm so happy for you! What a beautiful addition to your family!

Sounds like she has blossomed so much since you came into her life. Wonderful, wonderful times. Won't be long before you are all together and Luca gets to meet his little sister.

Looks like I'll probably miss you in Almaty by a couple of days, but am looking forward to more pictures and more posts about your beautiful daughter.

Stacy said...

Wow, she is beautiful! When Scott was describing her and how she was tears were rolling down my face thinking about how I know exactly what he is talking about. My how they thrive with just a little love! She is gorgeous and reminds me alot of Haven. with that dark hair and light skin. Congratulations again!!!

Chris and Heather said...

SHE'S BEAUTIFUL! I love those cheeks, so cute. I am glad everything is going well. I hope we can meet in Almaty as we will be there the same time.

Diana said...

She is just adorable. Huge congrats and best of luck with the rest of your trip!

April said...

She is beautiful! CONGRATULATIONS it sounds like Alia and Dad are doing great and that Alia has really come along way in a short period of time! All great news.

"She is certainly not shy about letting us know what she wants and when she wants it." All I can say is "welcome to parenting a girl" They are different animals, but just a much fun!

I'm very excited for you guys, for Luca and for Alia. I hope the next week or two fly by and you are all home together before you know it. Congrats again. I'm so very excited and happy for you.

April

Joby and Marla said...

She is beautiful!!! I am so happy for your family!!!

It won't be long & she will be telling all of you what to do & how to do it. Girls are great at expressing themselves!!!

Congrats!

Sandi said...

Congratulations. Tears running down my face as I see your beautiful daughter. What a beauty. I can't wait until you can get home to Angela and Luca, that reunion will be awesome.

Thank you so much for posting, and I must say I am so impressed at how well you are doing and taking care of your daughter. She is one very lucky little girl.

Sandi

Kim said...

SHE IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Congratulations on officially becoming a family of four!

Jodi said...

She is beautiful! Love those Kazakh cheeks!! Congratulations and all the best to your new family of four!

- Another Kokshetau Mom

Jennifer said...

Thank you Scott for such a great update! I love it! She is so darn adorable!

Isn't it amazing how with just some good old fashioned TLC from parents (and grandma!), she thrives?!

I know I said this in the last post, but I love those cheeks! And that little chin, oh my gosh!

Congratulations you guys.

Susan said...

I am so proud of Scott. Joe never did a blog post, nor will he ever. He did comment though when he was home and we were here.

I am so happy for you guys. What a blessing that he and his mom are there taking care of her.

I already said this, but i can't wait to hear how fast she develops once she meets her super smart big bro....watch out.
she will be the science whiz.
She is truly gorgeous. :)

xoxooxo
susan and leeza
(joe and sean too)

dnd82001 said...

What a precious little beauty!!!

Congratulations!!

Continued blessings!!

Darlene

marsrob said...

What a joy to read dad's post! Glad things are going so well, it all sounds so wonderfully exciting! And how wonderful that your mom is with you. Just AMAZING.