Leeza and Mom..figuring it out!
Meet Kelly..
Kelly and her hubby Doug, hail from Maine, and are adopting a sweet lil boy who just turned 8 months old. He is ADORABLE!
Here is Kelly, holding Leeza, her hubby Doug, behind Leeza, and Natasha, who is adopting Ermick, one of our very favorites in Leeza's group from day one!
Sean dubbed him "Lil Man" cuz he is just a laid back dude. We are so happy to see him with his momma..he has changed so much since she has met him. That power of love never ceases to amaze!
Make new friends, and keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold
Doug wanted to get a shot of "just the girls"
We were so excited to be invited over to Natasha's for dinner last night. Natasha hails from Vermont, and owns 2 businesses. She is an engineer and has invited us to stay at a lil cabin she owns on the lake so we can take Sean skiing! She lives about a 15 minute walk from our apartment. The plan was to meet Kelly and Doug at 6:15 and walk to Natasha's, since I don't quite know the way. I fed Leeza dinner first and she was on the potty when I called Kelly to confirm the time to meet.
Leeza would like to injerject and say ENOUGH OF ME ON THE POTTY MOM! GROSS!
However, because Leeza is so amazing on the potty, and so cute on the potty, it's my job, as her mother, to talk about it. Sean warned her on the first few days we met her that HER MOTHER WOULD BE EMBARRASSING. Well, it starts early sweetie..sorry! Plus, so much of our schedule depends ON the potty, it's only fitting that it's a big part of our blog. This is her life story, after all...
I do apologize for the "feminine" shot, I don't know how to block it out or put an X on it like Regina does...(no photoshop) but it was such a cute picture..so I hope I did not offend anyone...
Anyway, I digress. Leeza did her business, so off we went, all dressed up in one of our other new dresses, to Natasha's for dinner. The great thing about going to Natashas and Kelly and Doug's is that we don't have to lug any toys because they already have them! Natasha is an impressive cook-we had cheese, and pita bread with some olive oil dipping sauce that she made. Leeza enjoyed the bread and cheese.
Dinner was this meat marinated that tasted like filet mignon, and zucchini, and cucumbers and tomatoes. She also made these yummy strawberry cocktails. AMAZING! I am doing ok here in Kostanai, I don't cook, but I have friends who do! SCORE FOR SUSAN!
We left about 8:30 since Leeza was getting tired. Kelly and Doug walked me home since it was dark! They have their precourt hearing going on RIGHT NOW, and I hope they get a quick court date!!! They are such wonderful people and one more reason to Praise God for blogs, or we would not have hooked up here at all!
Leeza is napping right now, and I captured some cute shots of her this morning.
Here she is watching "That Baby DVD" with lots of dancing and singing, and eating cheese and crackers in her walker. I am so glad she likes cheese now!! Now, we just gotta teach her to drink from a sippy cup! I cut the hole bigger so we'll see if she can figure that out!
Question for those of you who have done this before about Almaty: We head there next week. We hope to get Leeza's passport either this Friday (wow, that's tomorrow already!!) or Monday. We could not get flights OUT of Almaty until Oct 21st (that super cool 3:20 am flight)
So, I want to try to stay here as long as we can since we have such a sweet set up.
However, we will probably be in Almaty the end of the week and during the weekend. Do we stay in a hotel or an apartment? Our agency doesn't have a crib or playpen like we do here, so that part of me wants a hotel, BUT, I also need to have access to boiling water and a microwave to make Leeza's porridge, warm up her milk, etc, and I am not sure if hotels have that? I suppose she could sleep between Joe and I an apartment bed, but she is such a squirmy sleeper I'd worry about her falling off but I guess she'd be ok with just the two of us. I can easily buy bananas and stuff for her to eat, but worry about a hotel and if they'll have a hot pot or something to boil water. I welcome any and all opinions! Thank you in advance!
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23 comments:
Such cute pics of her on the potty! Of course any pics of her are cute! How nice to be able to hook up with some other families. I'm glad all is well and will keep Joe in my prayers as he travels.
Cute pic's!! Isn't it funny how "potty talk" is a common ground with parents? LOL WE always compare notes on that one. :)
In Almaty-it depends on which Hotel it is if they have a microwave. When we were there for Jabari we stayed at Hotel Kazakhstan(not that great) & they had a fridge but no microwave. I will say that most of the staff will get you anything you need for a baby. We did have a crib for him which was nice but other then that it wasn't that "nice" a place considering how nice it looks from the outside.
Sounds like you had a great supper! I'm glad you're enjoying time with new friends there and hope that you'll see them again back in the US - perhaps in Vermont! If it weren't for my Southern roots and nearby family, I'd probably move to Vermont. I've never even been there, but it looks so beautiful in all seasons.
As for Almaty - I liked staying in an apartment, but unlike Leeza, Roxana was not mobile (but she did manage to somehow get under a chair one time). Are playpens very expensive there? You might save enough money by staying in an apartment to buy one. If so, you'd have the best of both worlds: space for Leeza to play, a playpen in which she can sleep, and a kitchen in which you can "cook" (boil water)!
I love the potty talk, aside for the fact that my guilt grows daily as I change diapers. :-) I am still in shock over your stories and experience ... if (when!) we go back a second time, I am going to make an even bigger effort to cook, enjoy the town, etc. I thought we had a fantastic time, but compared to your stories, we were hermits! :-)
So, Almaty. We weren't crazy about our apartment, but we did love having a kitchen. We were missing all of the necessary "baby" things, so you might remember that we finally pulled the mattress from the bed, tossed it in the living room, and Max slept between me and the couch, which kept his "rolling away" capabilities in check. If we had to do it again (which I hope we do!), I would stay in an apartment again, but I would push harder to ensure that we had more basics, such as a phone and the internet. I think we would still be fine knowing that we could get by without a crib and a high chair. On trip 1, we stayed at the hotel Kazzoul, and we commented once we were in the apartment on trip 2 that we would have had serious claustrophobia if we had Max in that hotel room on trip 2.
Hey CHickpea, Did your blog run out of space? The comments were on the other page. :) Can you call the hotels to see which will let you pay for a microwave? I am with you, I'd stay at your set up as long as possible. Leeza seems to really like it! THat is awesome you are making such good new friends. The picture of "just the girls" shows all of you just beaming with true happiness. What a great shot of some amazing, huge-hearted women. :) And yes, geez mom, would you please give poor Leeza some privacy??? Love ya!
Well, when we got to Almaty, we tried 2 different hotels. Totally hard to do. One time we plugged in the hotpot that Marina loaned to us and blew out the electricity in our room and other rooms. and their heat sucked. So we were cold, but then Aila was too cold. Anyways, we finally moved to an apt. It was SO much better for millions of reasons. You can try to create a make-shift crib. Or maybe you can borrow a pack n play or something? Or maybe you can sleep with her better than we'd expect? Anyways, I get why you want a crib, but if you're going to stay for longer than 4-6 days, I'd do an apt. SO much better that way. xoxoxox
If you want to buy a playpen/pack n play at a kid store, maybe you can donate it before you leave? Maybe it is cheaper than we think?
Glad to hear everything is working out so well for all of you!! Leeza is adorable!!
In Almaty we stayed at the Hotel Kazzoul (you can ask for a suite with more space) and the people that worked there got us everything we needed. They even have a breakfast buffet, and Keira actually ate at that...pancakes, fruit, eggs..they had a lot of choices. The people in the restaurant will go out of their way to help you out, so I am sure they will boil water for you. And they had a crib waiting for us when we got there. They were really great.
About the sippy cup...we had a problem with Keira using a sippy cup because she was used to those little glasses and mugs. So I got an older child's (18+ months)sippy sports bottle and took out the valve inside. This way, she got her juice free-flowing, but it also has a cap to prevent leakage.
Love following your blog. Best of luck in Almaty.. You'll love it there!
Anne Minnick
Are your ears ringing? You're leaving a comment on my blog at the same time I'm leaving one on yours. Freaky Friday (for you anyway—ha, ha). Love the potty poses. Also great to see all the company you've got going on right now.
We stayed at the Hotel Kazakhstan for 6 days—we had a small fridge that was jammed with snacks and liquor. It had an internal "counter" which kept track of how many times we opened the door (Garrett was opening non-stop so we had to duct tape it) and then when we were checking out they tried to charge us for it. (I finally made them understand that we didn't consume one thing, so they took the charges off.) There was a crib in our room, so we took out the mattress for Garrett to sleep on the floor between our two single beds. Not sure about a microwave but we did have problems with appliances blowing out on us. In the end, I would've preferred an apartment, but that wasn't an option for us.
On the positive side, you'll love Almaty. It's such a lovely city to explore. Please wish Joe a safe journey, what a trooper—three times he's making this trip. He must really, really love you. :-)
I love the feminine shot! Her facial expression is so darn cute!!
I don't have any advice on the apartment versus hotel. We stayed in an apartment with all the above. (Minus AC and high speed interent like in Petro- ugh!) The crib is definitely a plus though!!
Sounds like you are having the time of your life and making some lifelong friends. What a powerful experience!
I'd recommend an apartment in Almaty if you are going to be there more than a few days. If you do stay at a hotel, we liked the hotel Tien Shein for the little time we stayed there on our first trip home without Milo. They had a mini-fridge and microwave. You can buy a hot pot kettle for cheap. I think they also had cribs, but I'm not sure.
Good luck!
We stayed in an apt. and put Berik on a pallet in the living room and put pillows all around. He was fine. We loved the fact that we had a washer and all the kitchen amenities vs a hotel. You'll like Almaty its fun! Potty talk rocks! lol! Gena, Jaimie and Berik
we stayed at the hotel Kazakhstan in Almaty and they had cribs and also the restraunt downstairs let us use the microwave. I love the pictures! Leeza is beautiful!
Adorable pics! Rylie just woke up, so I have to run, but we loved our hotel- Astana Int'l Hotel. They had a junior suite that was perfect- had a refrigerater and hot pot.
XOXO
We had an apartment and liked it! Nick slept on the floor well. We did have a pac-n-play avail but he would not use it....offended I think, he was three, afterall!
She is just so darn cute!
OMG she is just the cutest! I cant wait to meet her in person. Will she be trick or treating in FL?
Susan, I love reading your posts!! Leea is getting more beautiful everyday. I can't believe you are on the down side and almost heading home!! WOW time flies!! Anyway about Almaty we were there for 8 weeks and stayed in an apartment the whole time. We loved it, it had all the conveniences of home (well maybe not that many but you know what I mean). I know you can get a pack n play at the green market if you need a crib or playpen. It would be something you could donate to "future" adoptive families. Just a thought. So excited for you guys, you must be dying to get home to FL!!!
So tonight the kids did homework, ate spaghetti and then we dragged the whole crew to Hannah's basketball game. I am going to miss having Sean here. He has an incredible sense of humor and I am so happy you let me get to know him. He has a heart of gold and has made me belly laugh, he's a great person!!! You're on the home stretch my friend, and then another chapter of your beautiful story will unfold. Lifting you up to the Lord---xoxo
I'd go for the apartment ;-) I stayed at Hotel Tien Shien (spelling?) and it was nice enough but EXPENSIVE ($200 ish USD a night). Crib was extra, and no elevator. Mine had a fridge but that was it - no microwave or coffee maker. I moved to an apartment ($80 USD a night) with all the amenities. Much better. But it depends I guess on how long you're there - a night or two is no big deal but any longer I would go for an apartment.
Almaty is great, you guys will enjoy it. I can't believe you're on the final leg!! wow!
Shannon
Absolutely love the pics!! I can't believe you're getting ready to come home!! I can't wait to meet Lil Leeza Grace - I feel I already know her!! Stay safe and best of luck in your upcoming travels!
YEA! Almost in Almaty! So excited for you! We are right behind you! Our in-country team really steered us away from staying in a hotel - expense, maybe?
Love the potty photos - might as well gather embarassing evidence early :)!
You two have quite the social life!
If you stay in a hotel, you can always purchase jarred baby food that is oatmeal with fruit, etc. to feed her for breakfast. And I imagine that the hotel restaurant would give you boiling water and heat something up for you. If it is too much longer than a weekend you might be more comfortable in an apartment.
Susan,
I think one of the reasons that Almaty was so tough on us (besides R being sick) is that we were crammed into that little hotel room with no room for him to crawl on the floor, so he was confined to the crib for safety. The crib took up any of the extra room in the room and we had little room for all of our stuff, too. The food situation was tough until I went out and bought a hot water pot for less than $20. Then I was able to heat water for the bottles (and to clean them) and heat up water to warm the baby food jars in (versus using a microwave which wasn't available). I also ordered mashed potatoes from room service to add to the baby food meal. Breakfast was a big buffet so there was food for him there also. Long story short, you can make it in a hotel, but I think an apartment would be a better situation overall. The Hotel Kazakhstan was nice, but EXPENSIVE and the rooms were small. Also, when the electricity went out, we were on the 15th floor for a walk up! If you need to go to a hotel, look for a tea kettle before you leave Kostanai and bring it with you. I hope that helps!
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