We had a fantastic time at the birthday party last night and we have the photos and grogginess to prove it. I'm going to let Jim write eloquently about it later since he has that gift. I will just say here that it was a big party, about 120 people, that was equal parts banquet, circus, variety show and disco. The people we met were fantastic and we felt like part of the family. We hope to run into some of our new friends around town before we leave and have plans to get together with Slava and his family a few more times before we leave Taraz.
The town square is being scrubbed in prepartion for Women's Day and the street surrounding the square has been blocked off so we can actually cross it without taking our lives into our own hands. It is pretty quiet today as it is an official holiday. A few people have set up booths that I assume are for taking photos. They are very ornate and most of them feature a large yellow chicken (?) and they have little couches for mom and dad to sit on for the photo as well as ride-on vehicles, mainly motorcycles, for the kids. I'll take a photo soon and post it so you can see what I mean and I'm sure we'll have the booth owners take photos of us as well.
Saw Alex this morning and he is as cute and smiley as ever. We have figured out his cues for "I'm tired"--mainly he gets fairly vocal, and rubs his face in your chest. He likes us to rub his back as he looks over our shoulder and then you have to pick the exact moment to move him to the 'football hold' across the front and then he falls asleep. Very cute.
I'm at the internet cafe so can't post photos from here. I decided to get out while Jim took a little nap. Plus, it is fun to be among the locals. And at a dollar an hour for internet access you can't go wrong!
Sunday, March 06, 2005
A Tour Of The Baby House
NOTE: Ran out of time before we could post all the photos...more coming soon. Now we're off to tonight's anniversary party!
Today we got to the baby house and were able to go up to Alex's room, which he currently shares with 4 other babies. Since it is Sunday the schedule is a bit relaxed and we got there as they were about to feed Alex. We got to wander around a bit and take photos of his area so I'll let those do the talking...
The large playroom where the babies have 'free time'. To the left of the mural on the back wall is the kitchen area for the babies and to the right is the bathroom.
The sleeping room. Alex's crib is to the right in this photo, behind the plant and below the a/c unit. There are ten cribs in the room but only five babies at this time.
Playpen--all the babies lie around and grab at toys strung on the ribbons. That's Alex on the left. We didn't recognize him at first due to his very feminine clothes!
This is Alex with one of his nannies.
And this is how they feed the babies--bowl under chin and shovel it in. The entire feeding took about 2 minutes. He didn't eat all of it but I don't think he was able to take a breath the entire time, they go that fast.
We got to see his medical chart and on 2/22, his 7 month check-up, he weighed 14 lbs. 4 oz. and was 25 3/4" tall.
We only had one visit today as it was Sunday and everyone takes it easy. We are fortunate to be able to visit on Sundays and have it count toward our 14 day bonding period as there are other baby houses that won't allow visits on Sundays. We are even more fortunate that the three-day Women's Day holiday won't affect our visitation schedule. Instead of our second visit, Vera and Medet took us on a tour of three mausoleums that are nearby. Very beautiful and the view of the mountains was wonderful. As usual, today was sunny and dry, very mild. The weather is great!
One week down, three to go!
Today we got to the baby house and were able to go up to Alex's room, which he currently shares with 4 other babies. Since it is Sunday the schedule is a bit relaxed and we got there as they were about to feed Alex. We got to wander around a bit and take photos of his area so I'll let those do the talking...
The large playroom where the babies have 'free time'. To the left of the mural on the back wall is the kitchen area for the babies and to the right is the bathroom.
The sleeping room. Alex's crib is to the right in this photo, behind the plant and below the a/c unit. There are ten cribs in the room but only five babies at this time.
Playpen--all the babies lie around and grab at toys strung on the ribbons. That's Alex on the left. We didn't recognize him at first due to his very feminine clothes!
This is Alex with one of his nannies.
And this is how they feed the babies--bowl under chin and shovel it in. The entire feeding took about 2 minutes. He didn't eat all of it but I don't think he was able to take a breath the entire time, they go that fast.
We got to see his medical chart and on 2/22, his 7 month check-up, he weighed 14 lbs. 4 oz. and was 25 3/4" tall.
We only had one visit today as it was Sunday and everyone takes it easy. We are fortunate to be able to visit on Sundays and have it count toward our 14 day bonding period as there are other baby houses that won't allow visits on Sundays. We are even more fortunate that the three-day Women's Day holiday won't affect our visitation schedule. Instead of our second visit, Vera and Medet took us on a tour of three mausoleums that are nearby. Very beautiful and the view of the mountains was wonderful. As usual, today was sunny and dry, very mild. The weather is great!
One week down, three to go!
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