Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch

A few people have been asking about an update from home, so here you go! Cam is doing very well - we are all tired from the time and schedule shift, but doing great. Cam is adjusting to the pups, and getting the run of the house and all the love and attention he can take - and then some.


Cam loves his jumper seat, and it saves our laps from bruising & injury. We just hope he doesn't wear it out too quickly. Wish we'd have had one of these on those LOOONG flights home.




What's that pink thing wiggling around in your mouth, mom?
Maybe if I grab it, we can pull it out and see what it is. OK, don't move...





How big is Cam? He's SOOO big!

Not very big compared to the highchair, but that will change! He's gone from 16.5 lb to 19 lb in about 4 weeks! Not bad.





I give up! I'll eat the greenbeans, OK? I already ate the carrots, just like you asked! JEEZ






OK old man, you think it's funny making me look like Billy Idol, but I'll get you! You've got to fall asleep sometime, and then... kazam!!!

Home again, home again, jiggity jig!

We made it. One heck of a long day, but all in all it went very smoothly. We were picked up at 4:15 a.m. Wednesday in Almaty (6:15 p.m. Tuesday on the east coast) and went to the airport. We nearly lost our luggage because the lady who checked us in put tags on the bags to Detroit, but no further. We caught the error and had it righted. We flew 6.5 hours from Almaty to Amsterdam and landed across from the gate we needed to fly to Detroit. So, we literally walked across the concourse and got in line to get on that flight. We were almost the last ones on that flight due to the arrival time of the flight from Almaty, but that was fine - less waiting for us. We flew 8 hours from Amsterdam to Detroit, went through immigration, Cameron became a US citizen, went through customs, re-checked our bags and found our gate for the flight to Cleveland. We had a couple of hours to wait, but spent it relaxing and Cam managed to nap a bit. The flight to Cleveland was short and we touched down ahead of schedule around 5:45 p.m. Wednesday. All of our bags (and their contents) made it to Cleveland and we went home!!

Cameron did very well on all of the flights. He was energized on the first one and only napped about 30 minutes. However, he got a 2.5 hour nap on the second flight and also was more relaxed. He was asleep in his carseat before we even got home and we took him straight up to his crib where he slept until midnight. We were up a few times with him throughout the night, but all in all, he did fine. He's down for a nap right now and hopefully, we'll be able to establish a routine here in the next few days once he figures out night and day (we'll be working on that too!).

We're very grateful for a safe and successful journey home and also for the wonderful little boy whose life we will get to share. Thanks to everyone who has followed our travels and for all the good wishes and support. You have all helped us so much!

More Almaty Pictures

Brent and Cameron on the cable car.


One of the views from the top.
Sunset over Almaty.


Zenkov cathedral in Panfilov Park. It is made entirely of wood and not a single nail was used. It was built in 1904 and was used as a museum during the Soviet era. It was returned to the Orthodox church in 1995 and they still hold services here.




There were some serious chess games going on in the park around the cathedral. The older men are here daily playing.



The WWII memorial to the Panfilov heroes.

Another part of the memorial that flanks the large one above.

Almaty, how we love thee!

We made it to Almaty on Sunday and Cam did very well on the plane. We hope this is indicative of how things will go on Wednesday.

We took care of some paperwork once we got in and came to our apartment - which is absolutely wonderful. We feel like we've stepped into an IKEA catalog - a very contemporary and tasteful interior. It's bright, cheery, and centrally located. The water isn't stinky and we actually have a shower (we haven't had a real stand-up and don't get the whole bathroom wet shower since we left home). The only downside is the trek up to the 5th floor, but it's well worth the sore legs.

Yesterday afternoon, we went took a cable car to Koktyub, at the top of a foothill in the mountains that surround Almaty. When we got up there, we discovered a beautiful parklike setting. There were some peacocks and chickens in a mini-zoo, a place for kids to play, sidewalk vendors selling souvenirs and 2 restaurants. We ate on the deck of one of the restaurants and watched the sunset. Very cool! Again, many people around us found Cameron to be enchanting and he was happy to oblige everyone with smiles and giggles.

This morning, we went to Cam's medical exam and he was issued a clean bill of health by the international physician that saw him. He's up to 8.56 kilos (18.8 lbs.) and 72 cm - which means he's put on another kilo since we took custody and he's grown 2 cm since he turned 8 months.

We checked out the Almaty version of the Tsum Store after the exam and bought still more souvenirs. We're still in the process of figuring out what to do with the afternoon once Cameron wakes from his nap.

Tuesday is the appointment at the Embassy and then we get ready to head out.

Tonight's Top 10

Please take no offense. We have enjoyed our time here and we are very grateful for our beautiful baby boy. However, we got punchy one night this week and came up with:

You know it’s time to go when…

10. The guys at the internet café give you your own admin ID so you can print Sudoku puzzles at will and quit bothering them in the middle of “Doom”.
9. You’ve bitten into several cheese filled pastries only to discover that the filling is goat cheese.
8. Walking your dogs everyday seems like a shorter walk than the one you average daily here.
7. You’ve determined that the mark on your neck will be permanent because you’ve clotheslined yourself with the clothesline running through the middle of your apartment way too many times.
6. You yearn for a meal that doesn’t include red meat and some sort of potato.
5. You miss fast food – anything that takes less than an hour to prepare, at home or out.
4. You’re tired of playing Frogger crossing the street – and losing.
3. The yellow tap water just isn’t as appealing as it used to be.
2. The decision whether to shower is a tough one and the biggest one you’ll make all day.
1. You have an appreciation for a toilet that accomplishes something when it flushes.

Friday / Saturday

We really have very little to report. We spent yesterday trying to get Cam to eat and to sleep. He doesn't seem to care for the baby food anymore and his schedule was off all day with the naps. In between that, we packed. Yippy!

Today, we're tying up loose ends, buying stuff we want to bring home and packing in between naps and again, convincing the kid that the food we serve isn't so bad. Fortunately, he still likes the formula, but this morning he wasn't all that enamored of the cereal with blueberries - and he LOVES blueberries (or at least that's our assessment based on past experience). We had another utility person visit this morning. Fortunately, Cam was awake so she didn't wreak havoc there. We were able to call Nastia who talked to her. Turns out she wanted payment for the garbage pickup for the building. Sounds like the landlord for the building has our apt. listed as his for all the bills, hence all the door visitors.

We're off to Almaty tomorrow. More from there!

Drop goes the lightbulb

Today was a day like most except that we went out to dinner with Nastia, our interpreter, at Rainbow, a restaurant that's about 2 blocks from our apartment. Good food and it was nice to talk to someone whose last name isn't DeWitt.

Brent and Cam went for a walk this afternoon and Buffy stayed home for a power nap. Included here is a mural they found on the side of a building.

As Brent and Cameron were enjoying a banana together in the kitchen this afternoon, a lightbulb (which had been on only nanoseconds before) dropped out of the ceiling and onto the table. Not sure how that happened. Of course, none of us were wearing shoes at the time and there was glass all over the place. No injuries, but that ended the banana-eating extravaganza. We just needed to make sure we got Cam away from the mess before he decided he wanted to touch it. Bad idea. BTW, we will not be replacing the lightbulb before we leave!

Thursday pics

The boys hangin' on the couch.
Here's the mural / frieze that the boys found on their walk today.
Cam standing at the chair in his jungle jammies which will soon be retired (they're too small already!).
Brent and Cam stunned after the lightbulb dropped. Notice the base of the bulb by Brent's right hand.

No rest for the weary

Poor Cameron is TIRED.  He awoke last night around 1:30 and then didn’t get back to sleep for an hour or so.  Brent was on duty and ended up putting him in bed with us.  Cameron then tossed and turned (and whacked Brent in the face not once, but twice, while tossing and turning) and eventually got comfortable.  We can’t say the same.

 

He got up around the usual time (6:45) and we started the day.  He took a decent morning nap and then the afternoon one turned into a mess.  He slept for 30 minutes and then was up.  There was no way he was going back down.  Believe us, we tried!  We gave up and tried again a couple of hours later.  Sure enough he fell asleep quickly and had been down for about 20 minutes when Natasha stopped by with our passports and tickets to Almaty.  That doorbell ringing woke him up.  Brent got him back down again after much struggle, and we thought we were out of the woods; then, the utility person who’s been knocking on our door over the past several weeks started ringing the doorbell and pounding on the door in earnest, so we had to answer this time.  There she was, walking around the apartment, talking very loudly as if we are hard of hearing instead of linguistically challenged (Brent’s hunch that she was from the water dept was correct, she wanted to read the meter) which of course set Cam off again, and we never recovered that nap.  Since he’s had so much sleep trouble, we put him down ‘early’ at 9:00, and he gave Buffy a lot of problems going down.  It’s 10pm now, and he’s fussing in his sleep a little.  When we say fussing a little, we mean letting out a fairly loud scream every 30-40 minutes… if we’re lucky, he doesn’t wake himself up.

 

The good news is that we know we are leaving this town at 8:20am, Sunday.  We have the tix to prove it.  The bad news is, rumor has it that the aircraft they use on Sunday is an aging Soviet plane.  Right now we don’t know if it’s the turboprop or the old jet – we were shooting for the Boing 727 on Thurs or Sat. Oh well…

The wait is over

We had our first spill of blood today. We have been placing chairs on their sides to block Cameron into the living room. Well, he thinks it’s great fun to pull up on them and stand there. He’s able to sit himself back down 90% of the time, but today, he decided to do a face plant on the chair on his way down and split open his lower lip and he may have injured one of the new upper teeth, but he wouldn’t let us look at it. Buffy tried to put ice on the lip and he freaked out. In fact, once Brent was out of the shower and able to come to the rescue, he looked at Cam and said to Buffy, “Does he want to come to me?” and at that same moment, Cam reached for him to get away from the crazy woman with the cold stuff. We did manage to get some Orajel on his upper gums and that seemed to quiet him down fairly quickly. Once the bleeding stopped, he was fine. In fact, he was back to putting blocks in his mouth, etc. Hopefully, we can get a look at the tooth tomorrow (certainly, that will traumatize him), it too was bleeding – though we’re not sure if it was his tooth or the gum nearby.

The other event of the day was a trip to the notary to sign a Power of Attorney so that the paperwork we need can be completed and we can get the heck out of Dodge! Still no word on whether we’ll leave Karaganda on Saturday or Sunday, but we’re giving our coordinator the cash for the plane tickets tomorrow, so a decision must be imminent. The next stop after this is Almaty.

Oh, and as of midnight tonight, we’re officially a family of three! Aleksandr Mikhailovich Danilov (a.k.a. Cameron Aleksandr DeWitt “Cam” “Cam-man” “Camster” “Cameroni” “Sasha” and “Sashka”) is recognized as our son by Kazakh law. Though we’ve thought of him that way since May…

Pic of the day

Cam at the chairs - before the fall. Poor little guy.

Calling all experienced parents...

Does anyone have great tips & tricks for trimming little baby fingernails? Our little wolfman needs a manicure before the villagers come with pitchforks & torches, but naturally won't sit still for it. Mom even resorted to exposing him to BBC World in an attempt to bore him into a glassy-eyed trance, but it only worked for 3 fingers.

Help!!!

10 Days and Counting

Assuming our leave-taking of Kazakhstan is on schedule, we should be out of here in 10 days! Yahoo!! Today was quiet. We followed our usual routine and our travel partners came over late in the afternoon and their little guy played on the floor with our little guy. We all then went to dinner and went our separate ways so that the tired kids could go to bed.

We heard a rumor today that we will find out tomorrow when we actually leave Karaganda for Almaty.

That's it. Really, it is. We didn't even take pictures today. How sad is that?

Thanks to everyone for the emails the past few days. We know we're in the home stretch, but it really helps to hear from you and to have something to talk about other than what fruit to put in Cam's cereal. Night, night.

Cameron the Crab

Yes, it’s true. Like his mother, Cameron is crabby when he doesn’t feel well or get enough sleep and today that was the case in both areas. We think his intestines weren’t outputting all that he was intaking which thus caused problems before, during and after mealtime. By 6:30, he had had a record # of full diapers. Hopefully, we’ll be in better shape going forward. Thank goodness for peaches and apples!

On the sleep front, he didn’t get as much as he should last night and then opted for short naps today. So, an early bath and early bedtime are on the agenda for this evening.

We did head to the park for an afternoon stroll once we determined that he wasn’t going to sleep anymore and that he wasn’t interested in eating. There was a group of elderly people there performing on the stage. There was a vocal group as well as a couple of dancers (including a belly dancer) and a band that played. As the band played, the elderly people in the audience got up to dance – mostly women with women. It was pretty cool! We also did a lap around the lake. We took a break and sat on the walrus (see picture) and Cameron ate some fruit and veggie puffs.

Now we’re struggling with what to make for dinner. Looks like spaghetti. We may be eating a lot of that this week.

Cam’s accomplishments: He’s getting better at the pointer finger / thumb dexterity thanks to the fruit and veggie puffs. Also, he’s figuring out how to sit back down after he pulls himself up. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. Did we mention he’s not happy unless he’s standing? That’ll be fun on the plane ride home. Oh yes, and we’ve seen a lot of head shaking meaning “no”. Sometimes he means it and sometimes he’s kidding, at least that’s what we like to think!

Sunday pics

Here are the pics to go with the story above...

Brent and Cam resting on the walrus.

One of the soloists.



Anyone know what kind of bird this is? We've seen them quite a bit around here and don't think we've seen them before at home. Mom B.? Dad D.?

Complete Boredom Sets In

We've been dealing with spurts of boredom right along, but we are definitely bored now. Buffy has read all of the books she brought, Brent is tired of being cooped up and walking around the same places (when he's not cooped up) and Cam even seems bored with his toys!

Buffy still did not feel well today, so we spent most of the day at home, which didn't help the boredom situation.

We did venture out after a while to the internet cafe to see if the guy there would sell us a CD so that we can take the photos that we've stored on the laptop and store them. Given all the security stuff that's going on right now with flying, we don't want to lose the pictures. While at the internet cafe, the guys there started talking to us verbally and using some translation software. They were very nice and one of them even told us about how his grandfather had been exiled here in 1917 by Stalin.

Other semi-interesting news... Brent has gotten hooked on a Russian soap opera. Every weeknight at 10, it comes on and he's tuned in. Neither of us is exactly sure what's going on, but we recognize some words and it is a soap opera, so plots aren't that hard to discern.

Also, we learned from our friend Janet at home that there's a boy scout troop here in Kaz for a jamboree. The Plain Dealer is covering it, if you're interested in reading about their adventures.

We're in the home stretch. Hopefully, we're still on schedule to depart here in about 10 days.

Buffy's turn

Not sure what's going on, but today Buffy isn't feeling well. She's running a bit of a fever and the stomach is a little off. So, Brent and Cam went for a couple of walks and Brent and Cam made pierogies for dinner.

No other real news to report, except that Brent answered the door when someone knocked at it today (we were told not to answer unless we knew who it was). There was an older lady with a clipboard standing there. She said something in Russian and made a gesture that he took to mean that she was asking about our water. He didn't have too much of a clue about what she asked other than "toilet" and "bill". He called one of the interpreters and let her know so that they can contact the landlord.

Cam using his brush on the turtle's head.

Cooking together. Cam was paying a lot of attention.

All Through the Night

Yes! He slept all the way through the night last night! Of course, turning on the portable heater in the bedroom and making Brent sleep on the couch might have helped. Our apartment is somewhat cool and we’ve tried various things to make sure he stays warm, but the heater last night probably did the trick. Brent was stuck on the couch due to his coughing which we think also was a culprit. Either way, he slept until 6:45 and we rejoiced. We also attempted to cut fingernails today. The attempt during his nap wasn’t too successful, but Brent was able to do the job during the waking hours.

The rest of the day was fairly unremarkable. We did some shopping and met the couple from France (and their children) for dinner. It was great interacting with people who aren’t us. And, we have a free place to stay when we’re next in Paris. Woohoo!

Ah yes, and we were without running water for a good bit of the day. However, it has returned later in the afternoon and we were able to get dishes done and bottles washed!

Wed. pics

At long last, we have an internet connection that will allow us to upload pics!

The boys on our walk today.


The pipes that are used for "central heating" throughout Kaz. People don't control the heat in their homes, it's provided for them by the government. Apparently, there's a big boiler station somewhere outside of town and all the pipes run from there. As a result, you see pipes everywhere - even in the park.

The Karaganda soccer stadium.



The Cam-man eating his cereal while sitting in the turtle. It was the first meal in many where he didn't squirm and complain (he's been stuck in one of our laps for meals). He discovered that he can bite down on the spoon and Mommy will react. Note the cereal all over his face!

Say "Ahhhhh..."

So Brent was still feeling a little 'off' this morning, so he called Nastia at 9:30 and made an appointment to visit the clinic. Nastia read off the symptoms he had written down for her; a thorough Q&A by the doc; there was a brief exam; a prescription was written, and we headed off to the pharmacy. It was unclear what the diagnosis was, but basically he is working on strengthening his immune system for the next 15 days, an expectorant to loosen up his chest, and overdosing on vitamin C.

That done, he came home and laid low the rest of the day, until we took a walk out by the soccer stadium this afternoon before dinner. It was a little overcast today, it drizzled half-heartedly for part of our walk, but it was nice for everyone to escape the confines of the apartment for a little while.

Now we have landed at the apartment again, and Buffy is busy making dinner (yum), and we've got a 54kb connection (awesome).

The Charmer

Well, we seem to be getting back to something resembling normalcy. The boy had a decent night, though we were still comforting his cries. Buffy actually felt rested and Brent is back in his role as Daddy. We think we narrowed down the food poisoning to a tomato from Saturday's dinner.

We ran some errands this morning and the Cam-man apparently was charming the ladies. Two ladies outside the grocery were making eyes at him while we waited for Daddy to go find an errant sock. Then while in line at the grocery an elderly woman also was enchanted by him. After feeding the little guy, we went out to dinner at a restaurant about a block away (The Line Brew) and apparently, Cam impressed our waitress who made faces at him from across the room. Look out Lakewood!!

We were also surprised at how well-behaved Cameron was at the restaurant. We have now been 3 places with him and he has comported himself stupendously - especially for someone who doesn't have a high chair to sit in. We know we're dancing with the devil and it's just a matter of time before there's a restaurant incident - probably when we get home so that no one will believe us.

More tomorrow. It's closing in on midnight here and surely we'll be up at some point before we see morning light.

Monday - only 2 more in Kaz after this one!

Brent spent most of the day in bed. He had 3 pieces of “toast” that I made in the skillet (we don’t have a toaster) and a bowl of rice and a fried egg. He said that now he knows how Jake, our stomach-problem prone Collie-Shepherd, feels – he had the same bland diet.

Cam and I did the usual routine – breakfast, play, nap, lunch, play, go for a walk, nap, dinner, play, go for a walk, play, go to bed.

Thought it might be helpful to see some pics of the apt. Since I can’t manage to get on the internet at home longer than a few minutes, I’m at the internet café with the high speed connection, so I’ll take advantage.


The outside door to the aparment building. The steps need some work. As does the driveway; and the building; and...












Going through the door of the apt. bldg.












The hallway outside the apt. We're on the first floor (which is great!). Our door is the one in the corner. Outer apartment doors are 1/8" plate steel, a big metal door that you use a skeleton-like key for - there is another door just inside. Very warehouse-like.

The sawhorses are not permanent fixtures.






The kitchen. It's at the end of the hall when you walk in. That's the frig in the corner. To the right of the chair is the door to the bedroom. The line you see is the one we brought to hang clothes. Looks like it needs tightened up again, huh?








A view of the kitchen from the bedroom. The white appliance in the corner is a washing machine and on the counter is the hotplate where we make the food magic happen.









Inside the washer. Soap goes in the slots up top and there's a button on the metal part inside to open the drum for the clothes. It's quite a contraption. Very quiet though... perhaps due to the fact it is working so hard (not).

Yellow water stains are typical in Karaganda; it's not us, folks. You should see it when you draw water for a bath (we did that once - just once).

More apt pics

The key to the apartment.






Walking through the door from the hallway. The LR is on the right, the bath is on the left and kitchen is straight ahead.











The bathroom. That's the hot water tank over the toilet.













The bathroom from the inside. Brent stood on the back of the tub to get this shot. It's actually smaller than the one we have in Lakewood. We'll never complain again. (Well, we'd like to think not)










The living room. Again, the line we hung to dry clothes in the foreground. Yes, the chandelier really is that bright.











The living room from the corner shown in the previous picture. The thing in the corner is a drying rack that came with the apt.

If it's not one boy, it's the other

We laid low today. Maybe tomorrow we’ll go do something.

Highlights of the day:

A walk around the neighborhood in Cam’s new stroller.

• Cameron has figured out how to pull himself up to standing in his crib, and he’s quite proud!
• When we were rolling the ball back and forth he would catch it (that’s not new) and then release it to send it back to Brent. He doesn’t have the whole “roll it back” motion yet, but he released it and tapped it to go back. We’ll see if it recurs again tomorrow.
• Bath #4 went well. He bathed by himself in the turtle tub without any problems. He really enjoyed splashing.

Non-highlight of the day:
Brent has been feeling ill again. He thought he was coming down with another cold (and maybe he is) and his stomach has been bothering him all day. Well, shortly after Cam went down for the night, Brent started vomiting. We think it’s food poisoning, though we don’t know what the culprit is. Cam was very disturbed by what was going on (things are pretty easy to hear in a small apt) and he was very concerned about Daddy. I got Brent situated and then got Cam situated. It’s safe to say that we’re all ready to go home.