10/17/04-A lazy Sunday afternoon...

It’s Sunday, so we only went to the orphanage once today. We got to go a little longer. We went in early because they needed the vans to take four couples to the airport for their journey home. (In the words of Mary Jo, “Lucky dogs!”) Apparently, it was quite the trip as there were 4 couples, 8 children and a lot of luggage. I think it was overwhelming for the drivers and the people at the airport. It is a little quieter in the hotel now with no babies around.

We got word today that we are not moving into the apartment tomorrow. They said Tuesday or Wednesday. They didn’t give us the reason. We’ll ask tomorrow. It was a bummer to hear, but we’ll go when it is ready.

Because we were early, Jack was still asleep when we got there. So, Grace got a little more attention. In fact, four of the six kids were still asleep, so she got a lot of attention. She had just awakened herself, so she was still getting her bearings. I am pretty sure this girl is not a morning girl. I think Jack will be.

We did more playing today. They seem to be getting more engaged with us, at least for 10 month olds. Jack was playing with his teething ring with his Mom and started to imitate what she was doing. Grace was trying to stand more. She pulled herself up at one point and worked to stay standing. Not bad for a kid whose medical report from two weeks ago says “cannot sit-up on own.” She actually held my hand and took some steps. I can see her building her muscles more each day.

As I’ve mentioned before, I see more attachment happening with Jack. Where before he would crawl around looking for things, he now comes to the two of us for attention. You can see this in the both of them in the second video today as they each were crawling all over Dad.

After we left, we’ve had a lazy afternoon. I ran to the store to get some essentials and then came back to whip a killer batch of pasta and sauce. Let me quote my wife, “That was the best meal I’ve had since I got here.” Heinz pasta sauce – who would have thought a good old Pittsburgh company would come to our rescue in Kazakhstan. Then we sat down and watched the first disc in “Angels in America”, which we bought before left. I think I like it, but I’m holding my full judgment for after we finish the second disc.

Check out today’s pictures – Not as many as I’d hoped as some did not come out.
Video 1 – Grace crawling and Jack hanging next to Dad
Video 2 – The kids attack Dad