This kid sure is smart!!

“Ta Ta!” in Kazakh means “This one!” and that is how he selected this toy in the outdoor play area.

Today was Day 4 of Bonding with Batyrhan and when he was brought into the room to see us, he had a small smile upon his lips and when I opened my arms and encouraged him, he plopped right down on me. Then when Gary said “Give Daddy a hug!”, he went right to him.

He seems to have a sinus infection and I have been wiping his nose regularly but I believe he needs an antibiotic because of what is going on in there. I will have to speak to someone about this, though I would hope they already know. He was very happy and content with us, and because we have a new translator (a young guy in his 20s) who left the room during our bonding time, we made it a very mellow quieter time this day. We also brought banana Puffs (Emma and Eden’s favorite snack as babies and even now) and more of the wafer cookies. His schedule is such that he eats every four hours but there is an 8 hour block in between lunch and dinner during which he is only fed juice (apple compote) and cookies, which is not enough, I would think, to sustain him for so long. Not to mention, due to the schedule of watching over 8 children, they only allow 15 minutes for eating. Fifteen minutes! No lingering and whatever is not eaten, it’s just time for the next activity. Keeping such a routine is of the essence here to make things work smoothly, but it doesn’t always benefit growing children who need the nutrients.

Yesterday when Batyrhan got restless after our busy playing, we assumed he might be hungry and gave him a wafer cookie. This gave me the opportunity to sign for him “EAT.” He giggled quite a bit at this strange thing I was doing. Today, he mimicked my sign when we did it while eating Puffs. You will see it on the video. Pardon my high pitched exclamations — Gary said, Jeez, you sound like you just discovered America! I know he was essentially just mimicking but I just think American Sign Language is so important for pre-verbal children and I always dreamed of doing it with my boy. I know Batyrhan is very smart – he mimics and responds appropriately and today, he did a shape sorter very very well. He seems to really enjoy toys that *do* things, with sounds, lights, activities, things to put in and pull out. He seems to like this discovery. Much of the toys I brought, not knowing the child we’d meet here, were babyish. I brought with me rattles and teething toys. How was I to know that it would be an almost 2 year old who would steal my heart?

Each day finds us receiving more and more eye contact from Batyrhan.

Batyrhan is intrigued by sticks and pulling them from the snow. Yesterday, he tried to eat one.

Christmas decor decorate the front entrance of Baby House #3

Major baby proofing will be mandatory once at home as he can get restless and wild at times, though I wonder if its just typical boy stuff. I never had to baby proof anything in my house with my girls! He can play very quietly with toys for a while (ring stacking, gum ball game, stacking cups), but when he appears to be bored or restless or hungry, he seems to need more stimulation with toys and will go from one to the other and will practically pounce on them, but in fact he might be overstimulated but it presents in this manner. He’s a quick mover! I have a feeling he just doesn’t know what to feel and gets a little wild as he can’t express himself. A cookie the past two days while sitting on our laps has calmed him during these times, which usually occur about 1.5 hours into our visit. He might be tired and overstimulated and just not know how to express it. In fact, today we found out that right at 6 pm after our visit with him it was time for his bath time. Though he goes to bed at 9pm here, he is probably read for the bath and settling into his late dinner. Our play times are likely more than he has ever received one on one.

Batyrhan seems to prefer Daddy over me, though goes to both of us with ease. I think it’s all the fun silly daddy things that Gary does — he lets it all out and it cracks me up. You would think I’d be annoyed after all the angst Gary gave me in getting to here, and I do tease Gary about this, but in truth, I couldn’t be more happy because when Gary sees Batyrhan looking up at him for more tickles and then falling back against his chest, it is visible that I see Gary’s heart opening up more and more.

Is it possible to love another child not born from you? Undoubtedly and most definitely yes. Do I feel love already? I think what I feel is a warmth in my heart and an excitement to see him daily. Perhaps like an extremely new romantic relationship, when you know love can blossom. I know there is so much more inside of us and so much more inside of him that will be broken open slowly. Right now I feel maternal towards him when I feed him, dress him to go outside, direct his attention towards an activity and wipe his nose too. I feel that I am his mother and there will be no one in the future who will love him as I do. I hold him in my arms (when he is still!) and look down at his face, so different from my own, but yet he doesn’t feel different from me. His face is so pleasing to look at, his eyes bright, his skin soft, his teeth adorable and his dimple irresistible. Yesterday when no one was in the room, including Gary, I kissed him hard all over his cheeks and his cheeks were squishy and it felt very natural.

I am so happy to be adopting him, so grateful for this union that was made, and so eager to experience us all together as a family. I am also grateful for this chance for me and Gary to establish ourselves with him before Emma and Eden take over and become his little mommies.

The bonding period, and our early afternoon walk inhaling the leaded fumes and smog in the air, must really knock Gary and I out. Each time we walk in the streets and inhale quickly during the brisk walk, I feel more and more nauseous. The smell is like inhaling fumes from a back of the bus — so between that and the higher altitude here in Almaty, I am not always feeling well (Thankfully my stomach is doing just fine so far!). I might just have to wear a medical mask in the streets soon. We missed dinner yet again having had such high hopes to try out these wonderful sounding local restaurants. Coming back from the baby house after 6 pm, we zonked out and fell asleep at 7:30 pm and slept through the whole night and got up at 4 am. We have only eaten dinner ONCE since being in Kazakhstan, no wonder why our breakfasts are so calorie and protein laden. It’s like we are bears hibernating. We snack a bit during the day but it’s the dinner time hour that has us falling asleep. There are so many restaurants I want to try – like Mamma Mia’s and Safron (Middle Eastern) and American Bar and Grille. I hope today is more successful for us in eating.

Speaking of eating, here is the video: Please pause my playlist to hear it properly.