Halfway Point

Today marks our halfway point in our bonding process. Seven days down, seven days to go! We had another good day with Wyatt. We started off bouncing from room to room...first the playroom but there was a caregiver playing with 3 kids, so off to the hall, then back to the playroom, then to the music room. After settling in the music room we played as usaual. He is really working those legs. Still moving like an inchworm, but wanting so badly to stand up. He'll get in a crawling position and then straighten his legs. He can balance for a minute and then boom...okay, lets try it again! He's cracking us up with new noises and expressions everyday. Today we were able to see where he sleeps. We included a picture of his name (in Kazakh) on his crib. He sleeps in a room with 3 other children. The caregiver was not thrilled about showing us this room without us wearing masks as she was afraid we were going to infect the other children with germs (who were not in this room), but did anyways. She talked the whole time and didn't seem very happy, but I guess sometimes it's a blessing we don't know Russain! There is also a picture of his group name included today (the flower). This is outside of the door where the children are while they are awake. There are two large cribs (about the size of 2 kitchen tables put together) with a bunch of toys inside them and hanging above them. There is also some carpet space where we've seen caregivers playing with small groups of kids and couches where they feed the babies. There is a little changing room, bathtub and kitchen prep area attached to the room as well. After the baby house we went to a mall and ate at a cafe called the Maxium Fast Food. We all had pida (pronounced pita). It was a bread crust with spiced mean and cheese in the middle. Kinda like a pizza, but shaped like a boat. Okay, maybe not the best description...but it was good. And cheap! We are champs at finding the cheap food! We carrying over those skills we learned in college. After that, we came home to relax, watch some tv and maybe sneak in a nap. Decided to stay in for dinner and then went on a long walk including a trip to the Ramstore. We didn't want them to think there was something wrong, since we are there everyday! Now, it's time for some Will and Grace reruns and sweet dreams.

FYI for those soon to travel to KZ: Visa is much more widely accepted at stores and ATM's than Mastercard. You can find Mastercard ATM's and merchants, but not as readily as Visa.

Russain lesson for today:
Da = Yes
Niet = No

Law and Order

Sorry no post yesterday. Let’s sum up last night…phone line was dead, cable was out, ATM was out of service and somebody rang our doorbell for 10 straight minutes around 9:45 pm. Now for today: the cable man came and fixed the cable, the phone man came and fixed the phone, I went to the ATM and assume it was being fixed due to a woman with a hefty duty bag putting something into the ATM and a man with a good sized gun standing in front of her, and no strangers at our door. It gets better by the minute!!

Oh, wait, as I type, the doorbell has begun to ring. Jason answered (as it’s been a revolving door of repairmen all day). This time, it was 2 detectives from the police wanting to know if we are foreigners (1. Isn’t that obvious? 2. Really wish we wouldn’t have answered the door, but thought it was another repair guy and its only 3PM) So, when we figure out that its not a repair man, we dial the translator and hand the phone out the door. The men want in the apartment, but Jason won’t let them in (in fact won’t crack the door more than the inch it takes to pass the phone out). The wonderful translator fixes whatever the men want (turns out there are looking for a man who has at one point used our address; which we don’t even know, as his). Whew, that’s enough of that!

We had 2 great days with Wyatt. Both days he’s met us with smiles which makes us all feel great. It definitely shows the effectiveness of this bonding process. We see him from 10-12. For the first hour he is gung ho. Getting into everything, giggling, talking, playing, etc. At about 11:15 he hits the wall. Usually a big yawn is the dead give away. Yesterday, he fell asleep while Michelle was holding him at about 11:45. Today, he made it the whole day, but was fighting his sleep hard. It is so obvious that he has Mom wrapped around his little finger already. He has learned who to whine to and gives a “I knew you’d pick me up” look as soon as she picks him up. Mom is a sucker!!

Tonight, we went to a café called Shymkent with our friends from Massachusetts. The restaurant was very good and very inexpensive. After dinner, we crossed the street (which may sound like its not a big deal, but to the contrary, its like human Frogger) and went to Corso, a very nice coffee bar for 4 cappuccinos. Jen and Peter are wonderful people and we are excited to meet their son Medet who promises to be the Red Sox next big fan.

As a side note, we picked up some more groceries today:

1. Milk is not refrigerated. Instead it is “Ultra Pasteurized.” It expires in 2007. (Refrigerate after opening)
2. There is a refrigerated milk product, but it happens to be carbonated, and according to Jen and Peter it is very, very nasty.
3. Eggs are neither refrigerated at the store nor washed before packaged. That’s right, warm eggs at the grocery with whatever the chicken left on them.

Lazy Sunday

A relaxing, yet fun day today. Earlier in the week, we invited our coordinator and translator to come to our apartment today so we could cook them lunch. They’ve never had Mexican so we took it upon ourselves to give them their first experience. Yes, two Americans in Kazakhstan cooking Mexican. The meal consisted of beef and chicken fajitas, chicken quesadillas, black beans, tortilla chips and salsa, and apple pastries for dessert. It was a hit. After about 2 hours of eating and chatting, we called it a day and made plans to meet at 9:45 tomorrow to see our boy. It was still a little chilly today, so we decided to stay in. After about 4 episodes of Sex and the City (we’re now at the end of Season 4) it was time for dinner. Out comes the Mexican for round 2! Full again, we decide to play some cards. Rummy and then War. You read it right…war. Jason made a crazy comeback to win the first game of war that either of us has ever finished. From there we moved on to checkers. Michelle forfeited that one. Enough is enough! We look forward to tomorrow when we can see the big man once again. Today marks our 3 week anniversary of being here…we are shocked at how fast time has gone.

Day 3 April 8

Today we woke up to snow and cold, cold wind. We went for a short walk before our 9:45 pick-up this morning. It was FREEZING!

Then on to the Baby House. We were waiting in the playroom for Wyatt this morning and a woman from Atlanta and her mother from Chevy Chase, MD walked in. They were visiting their 9 month old daughter Isabelle.

Wyatt came in first and we began our play date. A few minutes later, Isabelle was brought in and Wyatt and she couldn’t (or at least didn’t) take their eyes off one another. Both babies were on the floor and Isabelle made her move and crawled (at seemingly light-speed) over to Wyatt “the Ladies Man” Schlafer. They just stared at one another (or at least one another’s toys). They played very nicely for a few minutes and then Isabelle broke some unwritten (but evidently VERY serious) rule by wanting Wyatt to share (or give to her) his coveted teething-rattling-reflecting Frog toy. This was the first woman to break his little heart.

Although he played well and seemed to enjoy the additional company, it was evident to everyone that he was a bit jealous of his mom and dad’s time. Whenever she came near us (note that neither of us ever touched her or showed her any affection) he was sure to place a hand on one of us as if to say “your mine”. It was heartwarming.

The caregivers told us that he is still not eating before seeing us. In fact, according to them, he was staring at the door waiting for us prior to our arrival. Tomorrow will be a long day for him…and us.

After the visit, we came home for a short rest prior to meeting Jen and Peter (family from Boston) at the Bowling Alley for lunch and a couple of games of cosmic bowling, complete with LOUD, disco-type music. Fun times.


Today’s Russian lesson:
Zdrastvuite; Hello
Pazhalusta; Please

April 7 Photos

Bonding Period Day 2

Today started as many other have here in Kazakhstan. A couple of trips up and down the river walk at 8 AM. Then picked up by our translator and coordinator in the white Mercedes (a lot of nice cars here in Astana) and on to the Baby House (Departure time: 9:45 AM; Arrival time: 9:55 AM). Regardless of the day’s activities, our driver has been on time every day that we’ve been here (this is contrary to what we’ve read the experience of others has been, and we are grateful for the wonderful service provided to us).

First, we unshoe ourselves (a custom when entering any house/home including this one), then hand over our coats (which our interpreter calls “undressing”) to a very friendly Kazakhstani woman who serves as the receptionist and cloak room attendant. After that, we sign a log book evidencing our presence for the day and head up to the play room where we wait for one of the gracious caregivers to bring our boy to us. On our way to the play room, we poked our head into the Music Room where the 3 year olds were assembled. We quickly (although inadvertently) caught their attention. They began saying “Mama, Papa”. We kept moving, but we left a piece of each of our hearts there in the doorway.

Today, Wyatt was incredible. He spent the first few minutes waking up for the day, and then he took off. He was jumping (on all fours; of course) across the floor for his toys (he loves any teething toy; anything that’s not a teething toy, soon becomes one). He stands (with assistance, but bears 100% of his own wait). He loves to bounce himself from a stand to squat and repeat. With about 30 minutes left in the visit, Michelle discovered how to make him laugh. She’d tickle his stomach (which he learned to anticipate) and he’d belly laugh. It was incredible.

After visiting Wyatt, we went to the Notary Public to complete some paperwork, then to a new grocery (new to us, not newly constructed) and then back home (Russian for home: Duh Moy which sounds similar to Des Moines).

We took the coveted frozen chicken (which has been very difficult to find regularly) up to the freezer and then left for lunch.

We walked (just the 2 of us) to the Russian Restaurant. Michelle got an appetizer of pickled things (pickled tomatoes, pickles, and sauerkraut), and goulash. Jason got goulash as an appetizer and Russian pancakes (which are more like crepes) stuffed with ground beef and mushrooms. We each had a glass of water, requested the bill in Russian (which somehow was understood) then walked to the café in the mall for dessert and cappuccinos.

Since then we’ve come home (no running water in ½ of the apartment; unfortunately it was the more important ½, but it came back on a few hours later) and watched a couple of episodes of “All in the Family” (per Jason’s request) and “Sex and the City” (Michelle).


Today’s Russian lesson:
Duh Moy; Home
Spa See Bah; Thank You

Photos from Official Day 1

Selection Process

On the way to the baby house the first day, we stop by the Ministry of Education and pick up a representative of the Ministry. It’s our understanding that a representative must be present when families first meet their child. For us, this woman was wonderfully friendly.

Upon arriving at the baby house, we waited briefly outside the Director’s Office (full of anxiety). A few minutes later, we were escorted into the office. In the room was our translator, coordinator, the representative from the Ministry, the Director of the Baby House (who is often referred to as the Head Doctor), and the two of us. The Director and the Ministry rep. talked for about 5 minutes (which seemed like an hour). Our translator kept reassuring us that they were discussing other business and that we were not a topic of their discussion.

Minutes later, the Director called up to a room and down came a caregiver with a little boy. We each held the boy for a couple of minutes, but neither of us felt as if this boy was meant to be our son. He didn’t seem very healthy or alert and the Director told us that we should expect this of children from an orphanage and that they’d give him a massage and feed him and present him to us again. Our guts told us that although he’ll be a wonderful addition to someone’s family, he wasn’t right for ours. We communicated this via our translator and stood in the hall while another woman (from Spain we were told) entered the Director’s office to select her little girl. She selected the 2nd girl brought to her. We were then invited back into the Director’s office.

In came 2 care givers, one behind the other, each carrying a little boy. We turned to one another and in unison told one another that we wanted to hold the 2nd of the 2 boys. I’m not one who typically subscribes to love at first sight, but this was different. A second after laying eyes on him, we both knew that this boy was family.

Michelle held him for a second and then Jason approached him. He screamed bloody murder and didn’t stop for 20 minutes. Everyone in the room was so supportive, reassuring us that this reaction was a good sign. An indicator that he recognized that we are different. In fact, Jason may have been the first man that he’d ever interacted with.

After a LONG, break we returned and the break made all the difference. As you can see from the photos, this boy is no longer the screaming, crying boy. We are one happy family.

Astana

If there is any curiosity about what we’ve been doing since we’ve been here, it can probably be summed up in a couple of words: eating, walking.

As far as eating is concerned, we’ve had the following types of cuisine since we’ve been here:

Korean; a very inexpensive café that had wonderful food (don’t go without a translator as they don’t have an English menu and offer dog as an entrée)

Russian; this place is about 2 blocks from our apartment and is extremely tasty, offers an English menu, and very inexpensive (we’ve been there several times on our own) Our lunches have been about 600-1000 Tenge per person ($4.65-$7.75US/person) and we’ve never been without buying beer.

Pizza; in the mall a block from our apartment; good plate sized pizzas, English menu (but sausage means bologna and smoked sausage is more like polish sausage) Accepts Credit Cards. Pizzas range from 600 Tenge to 1000 Tenge each and feed 2 comfortably ($4.65-$7.75)

Pancake House; actually in our apartment complex (although we didn’t know this for nearly 3 weeks), lots of variety of pancakes and soups, no English on the menu. Lunch for 4 today was 2300 Tenge (about $17US total)

Kazakh; this place is called Buhara (Boo-hah-rah) and represents the cuisine of Eastern Kazakhstan. This is were we first tried horse. We’ve been here a couple times. It is reasonably priced (lunch for 4 was around 4000 Tenge/$31US)

American; on the 2nd floor of Astana Tower (accessed via the lobby of the Ramstore). “Neighborhood Grill). All English menu, filled with American/British bankers and construction workers. Has Diet Coke. Reasonably priced (don’t remember how much) and accepts credit cards.

Georgian; a block from our apartment (to walk you have to cross the Republic Avenue, which is synonymous with attempted suicide). This place is VERY good, but relative to the other restaurants/cafes we’ve enjoyed, its quite expensive. Lunch for 4 was around 9300 Tenge/$70US


As far as walking/running is concerned, about 50 paces from our front door is the river that divides Astana. We live on the side of the river with a wide/paved walking path which bustles with people all day. Families with babies, business people commuting to work, etc. A day hasn’t passed that we haven’t walked up the river at least twice.

On the other side of the river is a park with lots of trees, more paths, and park benches. There is also a small amusement park (similar to a fair, but permanent). There is a path that leads from the river walk though the amusement park to a wonderful sitting area with lots of benches and people relaxing, roller blading, biking or taking their little ones for walks.

The weather improves everyday, which makes our days pass quicker as we can explore more of Astana on foot.

We're Here

Wow, what a trip. Thirty six hours of planes and airports. A nap and a shower have never felt so good. We set a new napping record with a 4 hour nap! The travel was pretty uneventful, which is a great thing. Only one delay on the flight to Astana and we think that was becuase of fog. Our coorinators were waiting at the airports for us here in KZ which was so comforting to see.
When we first got here (Astana) our coordinator and translator met us at the airport and took us to our apartment. We are very happy with the apartment. It has a washer and microwave and is located right down town. We can walk to many shops and restaurants and to the jogging trial (yipee!!). They showed us around the apartment and left us to rest and shower. They picked us up this evening to meet another woman who is here (will be leaving next week) and to go to church with them. From there, we went to the Ramstore (grocery) to pick up some food and I-cards for the phone and internet. After getting everything home and settled, our translator and coordinator left for the night, and we ate some dinner (rice pilaf with meat and veggies with meat). We are now trying to wind down to get some rest for the big day tomorrow.
We are getting picked up tomorrow morning to go to the Ministry of Education and then the Baby House. This is the day we have been waiting for so long for! With this comes an array of emotions...excitement (we're meeting our baby), nervous (will we know which is meant to be ours), and anxious (I wish tomorrow was here!).I'm sure it is the range that any first time parents go though, but that doesn't settle us too much. Tomorrow night, this time, I think our stomachs will be much more settled. Till then, the excitement will carry us through.

Travel Day 1

We sit here in the 2nd of our 3 hour layover at the Detroit Airport before heading to Amsterdam. We both were filled with anxiety for the last 2 days as we ran around Lexington collecting last minute "necessities" for the trip.

After we got checked in at LEX, we both felt our stress levels plummet and the excitement finally has set in for the two of us.

Thank God for small airports. Bluegrass Airport does not have a scale with which to weigh luggage at the Northwest counter so, no overweight luggage charges for us.

I'm sure this won't be the case on our intra-Kazakhstan flight, but we've heard that luggage overage fees are far less significant in KZ than in the US.

We've also learned that our flight from Detroit to Amsterdam is equipped with OnDemand music, video and game equipment as well as power ports for laptops/DVD players. This should make this 8ish hour flight seem a little shorter.

We hope to check in again from Amsterdam tomorrow morning upon our arrival there. In the meantime, Go Cats!

Itinerary

The following is our itinerary from Lexington, KY to Almaty, Kazakhstan:

Friday, March 17
Depart Lexington 2:35PM Northwest Flight 5888
Arrive Detroit 4:10PM
306 Miles

Depart Detroit 7:05PM Northwest Flight 54

Saturday, March 18
Arrive Amsterdam 9:05AM
3,920 Miles

Depart Amsterdam 2:10 PM Northwest Flight 8417/KLM Flight 409

Sunday, March 19
Arrive Almaty 2:00 AM
3,265 Miles

Good Friends

The Village staff helped us celebrate the adoption with an Open House yesterday. People popped in and out all day to wish us well and generously give to the adoption and baby Schlafer. Thank you to all that contributed and Anna, Kelly, Andrea and Brittany for organized and hosting it. From there, it was a girls night enjoying the last Saturday before becoming a Mom.
Todays list of to do's is book plane tickets and create lists of to do's for the next 5 days. Friday's big to do...Leave for KZ! 5 more days...

Special Delivery Shower

A special thank you to those who have been showering us with gifts. Grandma Peggy hosted a "Special Delivery" shower in which family and friends from all over the country sent gifts through the mail. Peggy did a wonderful job creating handmade invitations. We received many wonderful and generous gifts. Thank you to everyone!! Gifts from this shower continue to arrive.

For those of you interested in the procedural end, I (Jason) who am in charge of the procedural dealings of this deal for the Schlafer's (Michelle's a lock for the emotional president of this family), I'll attempt to explain from my point of view what has occurred in our lives over the past week.

Wednesday, March 1: Andrea (our adoption coordinator extraordinaire in Chicago) calls to inform us that our Letter of Invitation is being processed and should be ready to pick up by Erken (our adoption coordinator in KZ) by Friday the 3rd. If not Friday, then most likely Monday.

Friday, March 3: We talk to Andrea who informs us that Erken has been to pick up the LOI and it isn't ready. The letter itself is ready, but the government had yet to assign the necessary numbers to each letter.

Monday, March 6: Andrea calls us again to inform us that Erken has been back and the gov't still has not assigned the necessary numbers.

March 7-9: Repeat Monday the 6th only add some emotion, stir, serve in a chilled glass with Olives.
During this stretch, I take all of our notarized documents (updated medical forms for each of us, copies of our doctors' current licenses, psychiatric evaluations, copy of the license of our psychiatrist, copies of our passports, etc, etc) to the county clerks of Jessamine, Fayette, Boyle and Franklin Counties. At each County Clerk's office the clerk (or its designee) signs a form certifying that the notary is indeed a valid notary.

After my treks around the Bluegrass, I headed to the State Capitol to the Secretary of State's Office. At the Capitol, I somehow ended up in a rally against the governor's platform of making the Commonwealth a 'Right to Work' state. Yep, me and 5000 Union representatives from around the state. ANYWAY, I met with one of the Secretary of State's designees and had each document Apostilled. The clerk at the SOS office told me that she is basically looking to see that the County Clerk's designee is registered to sign on behalf of the Clerk.

Friday, May 10: Got the great news (which you can read about below), contacted the bank to order some more crisp Ben Franklins, a travel agent or two to find out how best to give the airlines a couple of month's pay, and off to FedEx to send off our application for travel Visas from the Consulate of Kazakhstan in NYC.

Now, we are both exhausted. We shall get some sleep tonight, but with a travel date of next Friday, our days of sleep are no doubt numbered. Thanks for reading.

"It's a Beautiful Day"

Wonderful news...we received our LOI (letter of invitation) today! Andrea called the school around noon today and we have been on cloud nine ever since. We will be leaving for Kazakhstan a week from today. The feeling we have today is indescribable and I'm sure it only gets better from here.

Waiting for the LOI this past week was the most difficult time we've had. It was 7 days of constant emotional ups and downs. Waiting by the phone, checking emails, stalking poor Andrea (sorry Andrea!!), and going crazy wondering when we would get the good news. Our friends and family put up with some major moods (Okay, more Michelle's than Jason's!) and we thank you for your support.

Our posts will become more frequent as our travels begin. We can't wait and hope you will enjoy the journey with us.

March Madness

What a weekend. It all started at 3:00 pm Friday when Andrea called to tell us we will most likely be traveling in March. I can't begin to explain how excited we are! That evening, my parents and the Williams (long time family friends) came in for the weekend. Saturday was the first ever baby shower for Baby Schlafer. Thank you to Kim, Sarah and Beth for putting it on and to all of those that attended. It was a blast. Today we checked out the packing list and went to Sams, Babies R Us, Old Navy, Target and Meijer to complete it. Since then we have been washing clothes, pacifiers, dishes and bottles. Then yes, putting them straight into the suitcases. I can't believe it. It is actually time to think about what to pack. Next month we will be meeting our baby. We can't wait!!!

On to the MOE

Had a great update today! We are through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our dossier is now in the Ministry of Education. February starts the baby fun with a Kazakhstan family lunch in Kenosha WI and the first baby shower on Feb 25. Wow, reality is sinking in. Baby Schlafer, we're getting ready!

Dossier Update

Last night we got the good news that our dossier was enroute to Kazakhstan to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Hopefully we'll be on our way to Kazakhstan in a few months and home by the beginning of summer.

Thanks to all of you for all you do for us.

Off to the Big Apple

We got great news on Friday. Our dossier is translated and should arrive at the Kazakhstan Consulate in New York on Monday. We were pleasantly surprised at how quickly translation went. Now we're looking at about 6 weeks (plus a week for the holidays probably) in New York and off to Kazakhstan.