Friday, August 29, 2008

Fourth Fab Friday!
















I can't believe it...this is our FOURTH Friday in Kostanai, and they have all been pretty FAB! We had a wonderful visit with the lil Miss, and then went to see the Kostanai museum. It was open today, and very interesting. The museum lady taking our money (all 130 tenge for admission for 3 of us) told Tatiana that I was a "very beautiful woman." Awww..bless the sweet woman with poor eyesight. :)

Joe is back in Florida! He arrived late last night, after being stranded on the runway for an hour in Philly! Florida is HOT and humid right now...while I just had to shut the window in here because I was chilly. :) Just another sign that we are RIGHT where we are supposed to be right now. We miss Joe a lot, but we know that when he comes back for court, we will be 2/3 of the way done before we can bring our lil princess home!

Leeza was tired today. She was fussy a few times, but not a big deal. Sean, however, was losing his patience with her fussiness and would just tell her to "get over it." Thank goodness she has her sweet mommy to comfort her because big brother is kinda "harsh" sometimes! Get over it indeed...
She fell asleep on me in the ergo...I LOVE THAT! Can I just tell you how much I love my ergo???!!! I did soooooooooooooooooooo much research on carriers, and I am so glad that this is the one I ended up with...tis a perfect match for Leeza. I was telling her all about our neighborhood and the park today-she was so excited about it she fell asleep. :) We tried to get video today of her "singing" while I had her bouncing on my legs singing all kinds of songs. It was really cute! However, when we would put the camera on her, she would stop. Ugh! We finally got some, but the video is very looooooooong and I am not sure if I can download the video on here but I will try! The new caregivers are really sweet...since Aigul left, there was another lady that I was kinda scared of. However, now that she knows us, she is very friendly and smiles at us now. I wish I spoke more Russian...but mostly Tatiana is with us and she can translate. I really love Tatiana...she is so sweet and easy going and fun to be around.

We took showers right away this morning just in case they turned the water off again! They are doing a lot of work on the apartment right below us, but they did not turn the water off today, at least not while we were home. We still don't have hot water, but since we have the boiler, we have hot showers, and that's all that really matters! I wouldn't even know we ran out of hot water, except for the fact that when I try to wash dishes in hot water, it doesn't work.
The first day we used the boiler, the water smelled HORRENDOUS. It was like taking a shower in our sprinkler system..totally smelled like sulphur water. Sean was gagging..I was laughing. I don't think we smelled though, but maybe it's one of those things that you can't smell yourself...I don't know!
Tomorrow is "Constitution Day" in Kostanai......lots of celebrating in Central park. Perhaps we shall have a kebob and do a jig with our fellow Kostanai'ins.

16 comments:

Sandi said...

Look at all those adorable pictures. Tatiana looks beautiful as always.

Glad to hear you had a fabulous Friday and yeah you get to celebrate a holiday :)

Have fun at the carnival.

sandi

Matthew Ruley said...

She keeps getting cuter. Hey do you want another Ergo? One for each car or one for the car and one for home?

Matthew Ruley said...

Do you need a stroller?

dnd82001 said...

Hi Susan,
Missed checking in every day so thought I try and catch up - wow oh wow she is a real beauty and Sean is the perfect big brother!

No other place I'd rather be right now then in Kaz - it's all good!!

Stay well and keep in touch!!

Darlene

Karen, Glenn, Allie, Max, and Sam said...

We're giggling picturing Sean doing a jig with his new friends in Kaz during the holday celebration (brings back memories of him dancing around in that video from Disney World -- I think that's where it was...) It is so great to see that you have all settled in to your new apartment and your routine without Joe, and good to hear that Joe is home safe and sound. If he's busy at work right now, that time will fly by. When we were home between trips, we were both jammed at work and our five weeks flew by in a flash! He'll be on a plane and reunited with you all before he even settles in at home.

I love those wooden toys that Leeza is playing with in a few of the pictures. Max loves his wooden trains and wooden toy tool box. Very retro. :-)

Karen said...

More fabulous photos from the fab trio.

Holidays are big over there—it seems every other day there's a new one. Do you think there's some "official" in Astana whose sole purpose is to come up with new holidays all day long? LOL (If so, then I want that job.)

Joby and Marla said...

I look forward to seeing your pictures each day of the wonderful time you are having bonding with Leeza.

It seemed like not too long ago, I was still getting my dossier together & reading your blog & Angela's. Ya'll were struggling thru the wait and the uncertainty. Now ya'll are bonding & I am struggling thru the wait & the uncertainty. Ya'll give me such hope that soon it will be my turn.

Watching your journey makes me feel soooo hopeful!!!!

Thanks!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I am kind of excited to hear about the holiday carnival! It looks like Leeza has just fit in perfectly to your family...Sean, I enjoyed the 'crap' story from the other day. Very nice. Glad to hear that Joe made it home safe and sound. You too, will be home before you know it!

Heidi

John & Jenny Morgan said...

I am glad Joe made it home safely!

Joyce said...

Glad to hear that things are going well, even without Joe. I am glad he made it back to Florida and that all is well. Lezza is beautiful as always, as is her Mom. Hi to Sean!
Grandmama Kaz/Joyce

Miranda said...

Glad to hear Joe made it home safely. Leeza is beautiful as always!

Jennifer said...

Oh I love it! It sounds like so much fun!

4 weeks already! Wow, time flies. That explains Leeza's looks though- oh my! She is so different than when you first met her. Not only do her eyes sparkle, but she seems definitely more just older- maybe just the confidence with which she presents herself now. If that makes any sense for a baby! :-)

I'm glad Joe made it home safely. He has been on my mind occasionally. Well ok, mostly you knowing how much you miss him!

Oh yeah, and I love my Ergo too! I see the people with the Bjorn's and I just wince. :-|

Our Family of Bloggers said...

Glad Joe is home safely. And yes- you are exactly where you are supposed to be. I'm jealous of the cool breeze. I guess that is what AC is for, right?
Love the picture of Leeza playing with your bracelet, and the top picture of the three of you from yesterday's post. That didn't show up last time I checked.
Glad she loves the Ergo. We're big fans here, just sad we didn't know about it before Kaz!
Can't wait to hear about your holiday celebration!

Bill & Khadine said...

Leeza looks like she's already grown some from the first pictures you posted. She is such a cutie pie! Everyone looks so happy!

Khadine

Trudi said...

Can't wait for the holiday report - it sounds like fun. And Sean, once again, is SO GOOD for Leeza with his succinct "get over it". And she so adores him - the pictures where she looks at him so adoringly - the best. And you silly Mom you - you ARE beautiful inside and out. Look how your love has transformed your daughter in four Fridays. She gets it! The ticket taker at the museum even gets it! As Sean would say "DUH". And we'd all back him up (as usual)

Anonymous said...

Pink is Leeza's color! She looks so cute! Susan- you are one hot and skinny Momma!! Hope y'all had a great weekend. XOXO