Only One Picture Today :(

Here is Stephen chowing down on some bread before we left today :) We don't have many pictures because we tested our videocamera today. We are still trying to figure out how to download the file now. We are going to get it though if it taked all night!!! Tomorrow is our little man's first birthday and we want to capture it on tape! We are really excited! We went to the bakery today and picked up a cute cake and some "sand cookies" (thanks for the recommendation Michelle!) for all the children. We can't wait!!!

Today, a representative came from the Ministry of Education. She basically represents our son and his well being. She asked us our age, how long we were married, if this was both of our first marriages, how many children were shown to us, if we liked this baby, did we see his medical records and are we okay with them and if we had any questions. It was painless :) Stephen is sooo good every time someone comes in the room. He is basically mesmerized by anyone new and just stares at them and listens. One step closer to having our little man forever!!!!

More pictures of our little man...

"Hey Mom ~ they are about to feed me. Do you wanna watch?"
"So if I press here it makes music!?!"

"Aaahhh...sometimes I just rest with Mommy. Daddy what are ya doing?"

"I love when Mommy lifts me up in the air!"

Stephen gets more comfortable with us each day. There still is a big difference though when he is with the caregives in his room where he is comfortable. Today when I handed him to one of the caregivers when it was time to go he watched our every move. He is too adorable. He has this really cute coy sideways look that he gives us that is priceless! He also licks everything new to him. Today he licked my wedding ring and Daddy's watch :) He is such a good boy.

We went out for lunch today to a Chinese restuarant. The food was REALLY good. They brought a basket of these rolls that were fried on the outside and the dough was sooo soft inside. Yummy! We also had great conversation with out driver and translator. We exchanged information about life in the US and life in Kazakhstan. It was really nice to hear how similar our lives are. Can you believe car insurance is only $15.00 a year for full coverage here!?!?!!! Wow!

Copy Cat :)

Stephen copied Daddy today whenever he would stick out his tongue! Too cute! It is frustrating being confined to a room that is 8x13. We can tell after a while he is thirsty and sometimes they give us juice or water, but not much. It is REALLY hot in the orphanage so we are hot - I can only imagine what he feels like with all those layers of clothes on him!

We signed the papers today that say we want to adopt him! It felt really great to sign on the dotted line - although nothing is official until the judge declares us his parents. Yesterday, we gave Alma his new name for the paperwork: Stephen Joseph De Lorenzo :) Thursday is his first birthday! We are going to bring a cake, but I am not too sure if they will let Stephen eat some. Sveta said that just us and the caregivers eat the cake. Perhaps they will let us give him a banana?!? A birthday banana - lol.

We are currently visiting him once a day for an hour and a half. We asked today if we can see him twice a day now that he seems to be feeling better. We do not know the answer yet. It is hard to only have that little time with him. When you consider that along with the fact that you are confined to a tiny room and can't feed him anything you just want to scream.

A few people have been asking how long we have to be here. Well, there is the two week bonding period first. Then it takes about a week to go to court. After court there is a fifteen day waiting period. Once that is over Stephen can come back to the apartment. Last, it takes about 17 days to complete all of the final adoption paperwork including a new birth certificate, a passport for Stephen, the SOS clinic examination and the Embassy exit interview. So we still have a ways to go :(

Another Fun Day with Stephen!

Stephen loves to clap hands!

One of the other boys in Stephen's group stopped at the door to visit :)

He is too funny...he always puts the pacifier to the side of his mouth...he is teething.

He enjoyed this ball today

He found Mommy's tongue fascinating to touch and watch!

"Dad can I fit this ball through here?"

"Hmmm...I don't think it fits."

"Daddy you should take the mask off."

"Another picture!?!"

"Thanks Mommy ~ I was thirsty."

A GREAT DAY WITH STEPHEN!

"Hey mom...I like this pacifier better! Thanks!"
Stephen loves this toy...he likes the music! He tested each of the star-shaped rings by tasting them :) He has four teeth ~ 2 on top and 2 on the bottom.

Thank God! Daddy had fun with Stephen today! He let daddy hold him and play with him!

We had a GREAT day today!!! Stephen only cried for a minute at the beginning, but then he was fine the restof our visit! We got smiles and giggles and interaction. He has a good grasp, he tracks with his eyes and understands basic cause and effect. His legs are very weak so we have to work on that. He is VERY alert to sounds. He loves music! Unfortunately, I can't tell if he is "dancing" or continually rocking. The rocking worries me...anyone have advice on that???

Daddy had the best time today! Stephen allowed Joe to hold him without crying. He played with him and Joe got giggles too! He is one happy daddy today :) Stephen is soooooo cute I culd eat him up! He stared at me a lot today with a lot of eye contact. They didn't have him dressed on ten layers of clothes today - lol. We can't wait to see him tomorrow!!! I hate leaving him there :(

Our Second Day with Stephen :)

Sleeping angel ~ we can't seem to keep him awake...perhaps we are boring him? That is Sveta in the background. We have to wear masks since he is sick.

We are not half asleep...just a bad picture :)

Today was a little better for Stephen (Stas). His chest sounded clearer. We even got a few giggles out of him by playing peek-a-boo! I can't help but think he will never feel better if they keep putting four layers of clothing on him! And that hat - uuugghh! They won't let us sit on the floor or near windows and doors because they think this is what makes him sick.

We got some information about his birthmother today and his medical history. His birthmother was born in 1975. She left him at the maternity hospital and that is all they have about her. They told us he was born premature, but then said he was born at 36 weeks gestation so that doesn't make sense. His birth was natural...not cesearian. He came to the orphanage at three months old. He has been sick about five times with bronchitis. His muscles are weak since he has been sick and has not had a lot of exercise and 1:1 attention. They said he eats well and sleeps well. He can crawl and sit up, but not always pull himself up to stand. He weighs a bit over 14 pounds...he has actually lost close to 2 pounds from being sick!!! The twelve month clothing we brought is big on him.

The sadest part today was that he was rocking to sooth himself :( I know this is common, but it is so sad. He still did not want much to do with Joe :( Daddy knows it will take some time. He fell asleep in my arms again today. We hope we can get him to stay awake a little more each time. It feels like heaven rocking him in my arms though!!!

At Last!!!

Our first picture as a family!!!
Sleepy boy...they gave him some medicine and it knocked him out

Sleeping in Mommy's arms


He cried until they gave us his bottle :)

It was a crazy morning for sure! We were supposed to be picked up at 9:30 am. By the time 9:50 rolled around we were pretty concerned and frustrated. We had been up since 4 am and couldn't sleep. At 9:30 am we were standing at the door with our coats in ready to go and feeling soooo anxious - today was not the day for them to be late. Finally, Alma called and said to meet her outside in three minutes.

When we got to the orphanage we followed everyone into an office and sat down expecting to be asked questions because that is what we were told to expect. Before we knew it...one of the caretakers came in with Stephen. He looked so tiny and he was all dressed in pink with a bonnet on! The little cutie is sick...he has an upper respiratory infection. He did not cry initially. He seemed kind of surprised by all the people looking at him. And then ... he starting to cry and cry. Every time he looked at Joe he cried some more :) The ladies told us he was not used to strangers and especially men. They took us to a small room so we could spend time with him. He continued to cry until one of the caregivers brought in a bottle. He seemed pretty hungry/thirsty. She also brought some medicine and gave him that. Not soon after he slowly fell asleep in my arms.

It is hard to see him so sick and uncomfortable. They said he has been sick a lot. I am sure it is because they do not have the proper medical resources...so he continues to get sick. The director also said he needs to exercise his legs. He is not walking yet. He seems so tiny compared to the pictures we have seen.

We are so happy to finally have seen him. We can only see him once a day because he is sick. We had to buy masks too. Hopefully, he will warm up a little more each day. We can't wait to see him again in the morning!

One More Hour & Some Pictures

View of the river and mountains from our apartment
A mosque in the center of town

Front entrance of the mosque

A fountain in front of the mosque

We Will Meet Our Son in the Morning!!!

Our coordinator, Alma, just came by the apartment and told us we will go the orphanage at 10:00 am...our driver and translator will pick us up at 9:30 am. We are sooooooooo excited! Alma explained everything to us and is very nice. She told us to take pictures each day and we also need to keep a journal with one entry each day that is about one paragraph. I can't believe it is finally happening!!!

We are still adjusting to the time difference and we are feeling off schedule. I am sure there won't be much sleep tonight :) So everyone in the US...check the blog in the evening for pictures of our first day with Stephen!!!

Some More Pictures

Living Room
Some goodies from the supermarket. It feels strange needing a translator to go food shopping with you! And...as if it isn't fun enough to have your hubby with you ~ our driver, Boolat, now tells me what he likes too - lol! :)

A version of Cheerios?

See the cute refrigerator...it is about four feet tall.

Not sure this over would do Thanksgiving justice.

At least it is private :) This toilet is a very sophisticated and temperamental system! We spent nearly all night trying to figure out how to stop it from running and keeping us awake :)

Our Apartment in Ust-Kamengorsk

This is one side of the living room. As you can see we are unpacking :) Messy already!
The bathroom...very interesting set up. Happy we have a washing machine!

One side of the kitchen.

The kitchen table.

Looing into the kitchen from the foyer.

There are a few more...like the toilet, but I am having some computer trouble. Overall, it is okay...not in American standards, but better than we expected. I am going to try and get those other pictures posted asap.

We went to the grocery store. They have a lot of "typical" items just like the US. We picked up a few items like pasta and sauce, bread, cheese, pudding, yogurt, water and Green Tea for Joe :)

The worst part was the flights. Lufthansa had good customer service and no delays or problems, but you are squished in like a sardine! There is no leg room at all. It is exhausting just getting on and off planes for 24 hours.

Nigmat was very nice and explained everything in detail. Our translator here, Sveta, is very sweet and our driver, Boolat, is very upbeat and outgoing. We are very happy about this since we will be with them 7-8 hours a day!

We will meet our coordinator, Amagul, tomorrow night. Unfortunately, we are not going to the orphanage until Thursday because we can't go without her. She is stuck in Astana right now :(

We Are Here...but barely awake

Hi everyone! We made it here (barely). Let me tell you that this trip is truly the hardest journey we have ever taken and that is wothout delays or lost baggage. Things went smoothly, but it is EXHAUSTING beyond words. It is 11:30 am here on Tuesday. We left Sunday night from Newark airpost at 9:20 pm. We landed in Frankfurt, Germany and had to scramble to get our flight at 12:20 pm. We landed in Astana first to refuel and then headed for Almaty. We arrived in Almaty at 1:15 am and met with Nigmat and a translator. We spent the rest of the night/morning in the airport waiting for our flight to board for Ust-Kamengorsk at 7:20 am. When we arrived in Ust our driver, Boolat and our translator Sveta were waiting to take us to the apartment. All I can say is CULTURE SHOCK and ONLY those people who have been here can understand. We ran around getting phone cards and groceries and now Joe and I just want to sleep for the rest of the day. We may go to the orphanage tomorrow, but it is not 100% because our coordinator is stuck in Astana right now. I'll right more when I am rested :)

ZERO...BLAST OFF!

OMG! I guess I will be blogging from either Germany or Kaz next time! I have butterflies in my stomache and I am officially sooooo nervous and excited. Please pray for a safe journey :)

Okay, okay...here is the Cabbage Patch Kid :)

Here is a little onesie I picked up at Old Navy today. I also bought a Moma's Boy onsie, but the pic is not coming out so great.
Here is the CPK holding the Who Loves Baby? photo album!