Good Weather!

Saturday’s are bittersweet for us. We are glad to cross another day off, but a little sad that we won’t be visiting the big man the next day.

Today brought beautiful weather. 70 and not a cloud in the sky. We get to the baby house at the usual time and see that everyone is outside working to keep the property surrounding the house (including wonderful playgrounds) in shape for Summer.

We are to take Wyatt outside for the first half of the 2 hour bonding period. He was a bit overdressed, but not the usual snowsuit, so no complaints. After about 20 minutes, we were approached by the caregiver that was upset that we weren’t wearing masks when we visit him. She was upset because although he was clad in winter wear complete with adorable snow boots and stocking cap (read toboggan in Kentucky), he was not wearing a scarf. So our apologies to Wyatt for risking frostbite and hypothermia.

After the hour o’ sweatin’ outside, we went into the play room….it was probably 80 degrees in there, but at least no snowsuit was required. Wyatt played very well today. According to the other caregivers, he had eaten in the morning, his first morning meal in 2 weeks.

Wednesday is our last day of bonding. At that point, our coordinator is able to begin working with the authorities on a court date. In Astana, standard procedure is for court to take place no sooner than 10 days following the official bonding period. After court, a 15 day waiting period, then to Almaty for a visit with the US Embassy where they will process Wyatt’s citizenship paperwork. Roughly 3-5 days after arrival in Almaty, we will depart for Amsterdam. From Amsterdam to Detroit. Upon arrival in Detroit, Wyatt will become a US Citizen and then on to Lexington…we may never leave home again.

After the babyhouse, we came home for a couple of hours before departing for an interesting restaurant. The restaurant was very nice, had about 8-10 tables and a large window which looked out into the horse riding ring. That’s right; at this restaurant one could eat and ride horses without leaving the property. The meats at this place were cooked on a hibachi-type grill (one for the restaurant, not per table). It also had a firing range where our coordinator took Jason to fire off a few rounds with a Soviet rifle (never once hit the target, but it was an experience nonetheless).

En route to the restaurant, our coordinator pointed out the car in front of us. The car had Minnesota license plates…long drive, eh?