Fishing

We went for a walk today, to the river in the back of the baby house. Mostly we spent our time swatting mosquitoes and trying to convince Mia to go the same direction as the rest of us, but I did have time to snap this picture of some guys fishing. I couldn't help noticing the factory of sorts, just upstream. Hmmm... not sure I'd eat any fish I caught there. The factory turns out to be a heating plant. They use a lot of "central heating" here, which means they force heated air to homes through big above-ground pipes. The pipes themselves are really ugly things that seem to be everywhere. Pictures of those to come soon.

Ants

Here's a picture of Mia playing with some ants. She was very excited.

Lots of happy news

Linda here.

What a day. I woke up this morning and said today is the day. I drank 4 cups of water and waited. Yea! A nice poop. I felt I willed it. What a sense of accomplishment. I don't how most people travel, but for me the system shuts down.

The temperatures are getting warmer and the air is getting dryer. The sun is up early and goes down late. We are really into our routine now. More Luke Skywalker stories in the car. I also worked on the blanket I am crocheting - yes, I am conquering the car ride. We spent an hour with Mia before Tucker's massage. It was just fantastic that we were able to have this happen. Mike has written more about it and he took a wonderful video.

The day we arrived in Kokshetau - 9 days ago - we were told about the 60th anniversary of the baby house celebration coming this June 1st. In a conversation with the director I offered Mike as the official videographer. She was thrilled. I also thought how nice it would be to interview the staff. Today we were able to interview the massage therapist of 21 years (I don't have her name handy), Kunpash - the speech and language pathologist, and the music teacher (also don't have her name handy). It was so wonderful to have dedicated people really share on the video. Sveta also translated.

Tucker took a wonderful nap today due we suspect to his massage, then we took our walk to the green market. Mike wrote about Tucker's Spiderman shirt find. He really has an amazing eye when it comes to finding anything Spiderman.

Later this evening I took Tucker downstairs in the common area to play on the jungle gym. There were about 8 local girls playing a very strange version of jump rope. One got brave and asked whether I spoke English. Within a minute all the girls were surrounding me trying to ask questions. They were not the least bit shy. I said "ne punemayo" (I don't understand) a lot, but we amazingly got a lot of things across. All of the girls were Kazak except the most talkative one who is Russian. They range in age from 5 to 15. The 10 year olds were the most inquisitive. The fifteen year old asked if I spoke German. When Mike came out I sent her over to him. Four more girls joined the group and there was lots of broken English and Russian. They are very excited that we will be here for awhile. I hope they take to Mia when we bring her home to this apartment. I am sure they will. So much for keeping a low profile. They all know where we live.

One more thing... We expect to meet up for Shashlyk (kabobs) with the Luca family, who've been here in Kokshetau for a few days now and are just getting over their jetlag.

Random thoughts...

Mike here.

I wasn't going to write anything more than what I captioned the pictures below with, but I'm waiting for the "Tucker Massage" movie to upload, so I have some time...

In my mind, the past couple of days have seen a big difference in Mia's interactions with us -- me, in particular. Linda says that my "big, booming voice" puts Mia off sometimes, as well as my furry beard and general bigness. They don't see too many men here at the baby house, and having to suddenly be friendly with one of them must be quite a shock to a little girl's system. So I'm trying to no try so hard and let her come to me. Lately, things have taken a turn for the better. She wants me to pick her up, and doesn't shy away or actually lean away in my arms. Makes me feel like a Daddy. She still has trouble answering the question "where's Papa" (in English OR Russian), but we're making progress. No problem with "where's Mama?", by the way.

We also saw a little bit of brother-sister conflict today, which I think is a good sign. They're both very spirited people, and I look forward to them "working it out"... again and again...

Oh... one more thing... We've been bribing Tucker with "finding a Spiderman T-shirt" at the green market, to keep him interested. Today, we stopped at a T-shirt booth, and I looked intently for a while to find something Spiderman-ish. We were about to move on, when I haphazardly mentioned to Tucker what I was doing, and it didn't take him more than three seconds to spot a blue Spiderman T-shirt all folded up, half buried on the top row. He pointed right at it. So, 300 Tenge later (that's about $2.30), we were on our way.

Enjoy that movie. It's a little long, but should make you feel very relaxed...

Tucker Gets a Massage

When we learned a few days ago that massage was a regular part of the childrens' lives, we asked if we could watch a massage in progress, and they were very happy to do so. In fact, we volunteered Tucker as the subject. At first, he was slightly reluctant, but as you can see in the picture, he warmed up to it pretty quickly. The entire massage was about 20 minutes long, and concentrated on his legs. We learned that all the children below one year of age get a massage every day (every day!), and after that they get it "as needed" -- usually on a schedule of 10 days on, two weeks off. Tucker, since he was born so premature, received massage every day the whole time he was at the baby house. Linda and I have regrets that we weren't aware of this, and that this has not been a regular part of his life since coming home with us. We plan to change that. We videotaped the entire massage today, and plan to work this into his life right away, somehow. By the way, today was the first day Tucker stayed asleep as we arrived back at the apartment. Coincidence? I think not. Papa's turn next, please. Check for a new link at the right, for a video.

Bed Number 7

Mia has slept in bed number 7 since she was big enough to (it was a crib before that). Here's a picture of brother and sister in that very bed.

Got Yogurt?

We bring Mia (and Tucker) a drinkable yogurt every day. She loves the strawberry ones.

Quick update on 'Bacca

Hi. Mike here.

I'm not going to write much because I just posted some pictures along with a long letter from Linda (slight exaggeration). Scroll down for all that.

But I did want to mention that, while we refer to Mia as "Mia" here in the blog, and to each other, we are pretty regularly calling her 'Bacca when we're with her. The name "Mia" is confusing to her right now, because it sounds too much like the Russian word for "my" or "mine." "Bacca" is actually her nickname already -- it was before we arrived -- so it's easy for her, and for us. We'll see. But that's how it sits right now.

...also I wanted to mention that I can't BELIEVE I didn't go back for the picture of the slaughtered horse (head and all) sitting on a push cart, out in the open air at the green market. Once in a lifetime shot. ...hmmm... maybe not just once. I won't miss it again.

Dandelions

Mia's play group was outside today, and there was great fun to be had in a field of dandelions outside the baby house.

Tucker the Big Brother

Tucker is very loving to his little sister. And very protective. Sometimes I'm not sure Mia knows what to do with that.

Mia flits

Mia doesn't really walk or run. She glides. Or flutters. Here's a good example.

Tucker the Warrior

Tucker had a big meltdown at the green market today (it was ugly) when he couldn't have the toy(s) he wanted. There was so much to choose from, and I don't think we did a good enough job of telling him what the limits were. He wanted everything he saw. But when you get right down to it, his favorite toys are sticks. Everything is either a sword or a "light saver" (he loves Star Wars, though he's too young to see it). We also bought him some rope today -- his request. We played with it for an hour, pretending it was Spiderman's web. Anyway, here's a picture of Tucker with two of his favorite toys.

Bread and Meat

Linda here.

I woke up in a sweat. Someone pulled the canvas car like cover off the creature. It was a giant spider, actually two spiders and one was coming after me it was about 2 1/2 feet long and 8" wide. I woke up. That's what I get for telling a Luke Skywalker story set on planet arachnid.

It has been a busy day. We headed out at 8am. I unlocked the two enormous doors. Twice I turn the key on the first door and four times I turn the 4" key on the second two inch thick solid steel door. I still haven't gotten used to the sound of that door opening. We walk down the four flights of stairs. I usually need to carry Tucker as I haven't left enough time to let him do the walk on his own. Mike is the pack horse and is carrying the camera bag, food bag and tour/book bag. It was a windy but beautiful morning.

Tucker requested a Luke story as soon as we got in the car. This is the second day I would not get to sleep on the ride there. I must be a good Luke Skywalker storyteller. Tucker is always mesmerized. Today's story was set on planet Crochet that was populated by the life form yarn. A menace had invaded the planet. The menace - mothra - was eating away at the population. Luke Skywalker had to be called in.

I have been encouraging Tucker to help me with these stories. He usually says "no mama you say it". Today he surprised me. I had worked out a nice solution to the mothra menace. Chewbacca was loading the coccoons onto the Melenium Falcon to tranport them to planet New Zealander. There the mothra, when metamorphized, would feed off of the excess wool of the large population of sheep. I was about to tell of this wonderful symbiotic relationship about to form, "so Chewbacca loaded the cocoons onto the ship..." then Tucker chimes in "and he made a fire and burned them". Hummm...

Yesterday we arrived in time to watch music games. Four barely two year olds toddled into the music room. Four hoops were set flat on the floor about 6 feet apart from each other. Six small bean bags were placed in two of the rings. The first two children walked up and were instructed that when the music started they were to pick up a bean bag and run it over to the ring six feet away and drop the bag then run back for the second and so forth. Well, it was the funniest thing to watch. The music teacher began playing the accordian and the caregiver would coach the first two. Bean bags were flying everywhere. We couldn't stop laughing. They soon picked up on what was requested and there was a winner.

As I write this Mike is ecstatic over the chance to watch a championship soccer game. He has watched soccer every night. I have to admit even I got into this game between Milan and Liverpool. Liverpool won in penalty kicks.

Today Tucker had an opportunity to act as big brother. A younger little boy was taking a ball away from Mia. Tucker walked up to him and said "you be nice to Mia". It was pretty cute. Mia is wanting to be held a lot - she is not hugging but she is playing with our faces, pulling ears etc. She is also very proud of her mama and papa and will let every adult that comes near know that this is her mama and papa.

The same little boy that took the ball away from Mia told his caregiver that he fell in love with us and wanted to steal us away from Mia to be his parents. He is a cute little blond boy with brown eyes built to play baseball. I hope he finds a home soon.

We met with the director yesterday and she tells us that Bakka's personality is the opposite of Tucker. I am not sure what that means, but I think it has to do with her obvious strong will and scream when she doesn't get her way. Tucker was always much more serious.

I expect the screaming will pass. The children do all sorts of animated things to get attention in the baby house. One little girl makes clown faces at us constantly. It all makes sense considering their environment. The ratio of caregivers to children is 1 to six. You can only give so much individual attention and they really do do a wonderful job.

If you are vegetarian or sensitive about animals you may not want to read this and the next paragraph. Mike has been writing about the green market. We went again today. We were happy to be introduced to the second floor in one of the main buildings yesterday. It is laid out such that when you get to the top of the stairs the sausage meat vendors are directly ahead. To the right are the dried fruit and nut vendors and to the left is a large area of vendors who sell raw meat. I will get back to the raw meat. To the back right is an area with baked goods including bread. Yesterday we found our favorite loaf of bread - it costs .18 U.S. (25 tenge). This bread has no preservatives so you need to buy a loaf every day. Yesterday I was caught up in the visual spectacle of all this and I didn't notice, but today I could smell warm raw meat as I was walking up the stairs into the building. The images of animal parts lying out on tables with vendors sitting or standing behind came right back to me. Today I didn't want to look at the enormous cow livers in a metal bowl, the duck feet or what I found most disconcerting, the animal heads on display next to the cut up body parts.

In a way the head of the animal on display seemed a way to honor the animal that was sacrificed but well... anyway I didn't want to linger. We left the building after buying a loaf of bread and youghurt. As we walked out of the building I saw large pieces of meat being unloaded from the back of a vehicle. On the ground was a horse's head. It was time to leave the green market for today.

Mike is after me to get off the computer - his turn. I must put in a good word for what a good daddy he is. Oh, that's right I have to get off the computer ... next time I will write more on that.

Rough Day for Tucker

Mike here.

Today was sauna (bath) day. We didn't get to see Mia until a bit later than usual, so we ended up watching "game time" with some of the younger kids for a while. Tucker got restless pretty quickly, but it was only for a little while.

Then we met with the Director of the baby house. This meeting was much different than our visit two years ago. We were rookie parents then, and the whole experience was brand new. Plus, we had a lot of questions about Tucker at the time. We had very few about Mia today. We talked about how different the two children were. Mia's "temper" is well-known. We've only learned about Tucker's recently. Tucker got even more restless during this meeting, and I ended up entertaining him out in the hallway. It was then that Mia finally came out. I brought the two of them back into the director's office. At one point, I asked Mia (in pretty good Russian, apparently) "Do you want to go outside now?" Both Sveta and the Director were amused at how Mia looked at me, a bit taken aback, and said "Da."

Ultimately, our time with Mia was fun after all. She seems to be getting more and more interested in us, and trusts us more and more -- especially Linda. She definitely has a mind of her own, though, and she's not shy about telling us to "stay a little further away," or "let me do it myself," or "help me now."

After our visit, we went to the National History museum, here in Kokshetau. It's a small building with about five rooms of exhibits, ranging from ancient archeological stuff to modern politics. There was information about natural resources, geography and geology, wildlife of the country, and various important wars -- including the lineage of the infamous "Khans," and World War II. Our tour guide was very gracious, and Sveta was very kind to translate everything she said. The visit was interesting, but difficult for Tucker. Linda and I tag-teamed him and we basically just got through it.

Between the waiting time with the younger kids, the time with the Director, and the museum, it was a tough day for Tucker. We'll try to make tomorrow a little more fun for him.

Play time at the baby house

Today was "sauna day," so while Mia was getting her sauna (bath), we waited in the music room, and were able to watch some games with some of the younger kids. It was quite entertaining.

Tucker and Mia share...

A magic moment where Tucker and Mia share some drinkable yoghurt. Actually, I think Mia was negotiating a swap. She was successful, and ended up getting the better end of the deal.

Adventures at the Green Market

Mike here.

It's interesting to me that, at least for me, while our trip is all about Mia, more and more of my thoughts are about Linda, Tucker, and me, and our interactions with people and things around us than it is about the one to three hours we spend with our daughter.

For example, I think I've mentioned before that places like the green market make me feel terribly claustrophobic in general -- especially when everyone's staring at you, you can't find what you want, you can't ask for it intelligently, and you don't know what people are saying when they tell you things. Linda thrives on this. Today, however, I had fun. First of all, we all walked. No stroller this time, as Tucker seems to be getting dependent on it, and it's very inconvenient in the tight and chaotic quarters of the green market. Most of the time he was quite well-behaved, and was constantly on the lookout for the toy stands -- particularly for anything that had anything related to Spiderman on it. they know who Spiderman is here, incidentally -- but you have to say it in a very thick Russian/Kazakh accent to recognize it (sounds a little more like "Speieydyedrmann"). At one point, he was very insistent that we turn around and look at something he's spotted across the aisle, and it turned out to be the one-square-inch corner of a towel sticking out from a towel about a dozen down in a tall stack that happened to have a pattern that looked a little like Spiderman's uniform. We had to convince him it was a false alarm before he'd proceed peacefully.

For me personally, facing my trepidation about the green market has been a matter of accepting my fate -- that this is going to be not only our best source of food and goods, but our best source of entertainment as well. Describe the green market, you ask? Very difficult. I would LOVE to walk through it with a video camera, but I feel like it would be far to invasive. We might even run the risk of having the camera confiscated. Perhaps I'll purchase a disposable still camera just for that purpose... Hmmm... Anyway, it's essentially a big permanent flea markey. There are booths that sell just about everything. I remarked today that it's like what Donna Childers (a teacher I work with) says about Wallmart: "If you cain't find it here, you don't need it." There are people selling right out of the backs of what look like containers (the kind that come off of ships). There are people selling electronics, bulk foods, household goods, clothing, mechanical gear, raw materials... Anything you can think of. Prices are much cheaper here than they are at the "Viola Market," which is our other usual source of such things. Of course, it's much more of an adventure because you have to find it. We've met some very friendly people, though -- I think Linda will mention them in her post for today.

Linda also mentioned the five Kazakh men sitting next to us at the table in the "restaurant" we visited today. Were we not pretty hungry, I probably would not have set foot in the place with the three of us. But ultimately I felt safe because there were women and other kids there at first. She wasn't exaggerating about the amount of beer and vodka at the next table. I also noticed a custom that I used to engage in with friends -- that of never pouring your own drink -- a sure sign that there was a bit of drinking going on. One curious thing that happened is that at one point all six of the men left, and we thought they were gone. I thought this curious because their beers were only half gone (though the vodka was empty). However, they all came back about 5-10 minutes later. It's as if they all went to the bathroom together or something (do MEN do that here instead of women?). I might have guessed that they stepped out for a smoke, but I suspect they'd have lit up at the table if that were the issue. A mystery for now.

At one point, some very intimidating men walked in. One guy especially looked like somebody in a Jeanne-Claude Van Damm movie: piercing gaze, very fit, almost bald, bit of a fu-man-chu mustache, muscle shirt, and a tattoo on his arm. He ended up sitting at the table right behind us, which meant we shared a double-wide bench for a little bit. For all I know he was a dentist or an accountant or something.

The bottom line is that, though much of this feels adveturous and oh so daring, it's normal life here, and I really think we're quite safe as long as we don't do anything stupid.

It's also been a source of entertainment, as I've mentioned, to learn more of the language. Especially important in lowering the stress factor is learning some of the numbers. In particular, it's important to know the prices and weights that come up the most often. Since 130 (now 131, actually) Tenge is one dollar, the numbers are generally pretty big, too. For instance, the Shashlyk (kabobs) and Piva (beer) that we bought today cost us somewhere around 730 Tenge (that's syem-dyisyit triestat). Or, since most products are sold by weight, and you have to ask for them as such, it's inconvenient for everyone to just hold out your hands and say "about that much." Better if you can say "250 grams" (dyeste pidisyat) or "half a kilogram" (polovina kilagramm, or pol-kilo). Just this little bit of communication goes a long way. Especially recognizing the numbers when people say them makes you a little more confident, and makes you feel like you're not getting cheated (though, again, I have never really felt that way yet).

Anyway, be sure to scroll down, as usual, to see Linda's blog and new pictures!

"Hello" and "Thank You"

Linda here.

We travelled this morning without Sveta, our interpreter. She was off with the Talls on their drive to Astana where they would catch a flight to Almaty and then back to the states. They left Kokshetau at midnight last night and will return in two weeks.

We arrived at the Baby House at about 10:30am this morning. As we were getting out of the car I said zdrazdvuyte (hello) to the driver. He looked at me askance. I realized I said the wrong thing. I meant spaciba (thank you). Ooops! He laughed.

It was haircuts all around for Mia's group today. Two ladies were there with scissors and clippers. The children seemed quite used to this. We took Mia into the music room. She went for the apple juice, Tucker's Amsterdam hat, and the bag with food in it right away. She was her usual happy self. At one point Mike was pushing her on the wooden horse when she started shouting something in Russian. Mike wasn't understanding so she shouted over "mama, mama" and repeated the same words as she said to Mike. I repeated what she said in Russian (having no clue what she meant) and Mia then looked over at Mike as if to see yes, do you understand now.

Tucker is doing so well. This trip is really quite an adventure for him on so many different levels. It is quite a balancing act at visiting time as Tucker needs just as much if not more attention than Mia. He lets us know when he is not getting what he needs by acting out. We are staying fairly on top of it but sometimes it catches us unawares. He was quite a wrestler today - he pummeled us when he needed attention but I was on top of it. I pulled out the Spiderman cards, bought at the Astana airport for 200 Tenge ($1.50) and we had a great time playing match while Mike entertained Mia.

Kunpash was there today, the speech therapist, and she wanted to talk to us about Tucker's development. As soon as Sveta arrived we looked for Kunpash. Of course other caregivers including the director gathered round wanting to hug "Takhir, Takhir, Takhirka". Tucker would have none of it and hid behind my or Mike's legs. This feels so ungrateful to me, but Tucker is not quite four and doesn't understand. We will be taking a lot more pictures this time of the caregivers. I know he will appreciate them when he is older. Tucker did ask to have his picture taken with Sveta who he has become quite fond of, it was very sweet. I think Mike will be posting that one. Kunpash is to the right.

Sveta took me to the post office on the way back to the apartment and it reminded me of ours in the states, always a line. Mike took a nap this afternoon and then we headed out to the market. The green market is a large outdoor bazaar. A conglomeration of individual stands. anything you could want you will find at the green market - well, we are in KZ, not the states. We met two Uzbek guys selling great looking meat patties a couple of which we bought, also we bought Spiderman stickers for 80 Tenge (about 50 cents) and found wonderful kabobs and beer.

We took a leap of faith when we found the kabobs as we were quite hungry. The barbecue was outside but you had to step inside to get a seat and order. We didn't think about it but for a second as we had been looking for a kabob stand since we arrived. The room we walked into would have reminded you of someplace out of an Indiana Jones movie - sparse fluorescent lights, dirt floors - the 5 Kazak men sitting across from us were drinking 5 beers and two good size bottles of vodka. We spent about 730 Tenge on the kabobs, beer and orange soda for Tucker.

We are used to getting lots of looks here but people give an extra quizzical look when they see Tucker. He tends to be an ice breaker though. Women look at him and say "Kazak" we say yes, then they point out in sign language how much he looks like Mike.

On our way out of the market a woman behind the dried fruit stand immediately said "thank you" as we walked up. She let us know it was her only English word and was quite thrilled to use it. She was able to use it again after we bought some apricots and raisins. Perhaps I will go and teach her some English words and she can help me with my Russian. Dosvidanya (goodbye)

Mama Papa yakoodovadania-something

Mia is beginning to enjoy spending time with the photo books -- on her own terms, of course. Here's she's saying something very important that we can't understand -- except that it starts with "mama papa"... THAT we understand.

Sveta and Kunpash

Here's a picture of Sveta (holding Tucker) and Kunpash with Tucker. Sveta is our interpreter, denmother, guardian, and protector. Kunpash is the speech therapist at the baby house, who was very close to Tucker when he was here. Tucker asked to take a picture with Sveta, and we took the opportunity to also get a shot with Kunpash (he hasn't quite warmed back up to her just yet).

Dva Piva

Mike here.

Quick note to remind you to scroll down to see Linda's recent post, and a picture of the kids (love the sound of that) on the swing. Also, some new movies posted on the sidebar to the right of this page.

"Dva Piva" means "two beers," by the way. A 1/2 liter beer (about 16 ounces) costs about 50 cents. And it's good beer. The Vodka, incidentally, costs about a buck for 0.7 liters.

Luke Skywalker

Linda here.

Today was court date for the Talls. Anne and Jerry are very excited to be parents to Valentina (3) and Nicolai (18 months). Yea! We are very excited for them.

Our schedule today was to leave for the baby house at 8:45 am. I had planned to sleep through the road trip as this is my way of coping with the awful drive. Well, Tucker would have none of that. He is going through a very strong superhero phase. All roads lead back to superheros. He had lots of questions about Star Wars. Since I have seen the movies my fair share of times I was full of interesting facts. This lasted quite a while, me answering all the trivia questions, but Tucker was not satisfied with my response to "what happened to Luke?" When I said that part wasn't written, he said "no, mama -- you say it!" So, after the story of Luke's daughter Sarah, and the lost pendant that held the "Force," we had to move onto Sarah's son, Brendan, and the evil walrus on the planet Valvoline. The evil walrus traveled to the planet to capture all the cows. There is not much to see on the roadsides between Kokshetau and Tchuchinsk but I did manage to pull in cows, oil products, horses and apples. When we got to the Baby House I was finishing up a story about goats.

We did not have Sveta today as she was at court with the Talls. Mia came out in the clothes that I brought. She is just barely a 3T and will fit in 2T. Thank you Mary Bracey for these. I had brought 3 pairs of shoes with us size 6, 7 and 7-1/2, silly me. She is wearing a 12 -- for 12 centimeters -- tiny feet. I won't be buying shoes for two weeks, though. Considering how many raisins and cookies she eats when we visit I am sure she will be a size 16 when we bring her back to the apartment.

Mia loves her picture book. She points to mama and says "mama," - the same with papa and Tucker. What a wonderful mimic she is. I read the names on the cards and she repeats them, ball, sock, hat, bear etc. I love the eye contact I get and she loves to be held -- of course, only when she WANTS to be held. Mia puts up her arms and says something in Russian -- I don't know what as I am watching the arms go up. She likes to push in my cheeks and play with my lips. We play funny games.

We opened up the piano and Tucker started picking out the Darth Vader theme song. Go figure. Mia had fun picking away as well. Kunpash, the speech therapist came in. She was so happy to see him. He had been her favorite two years ago. Tucker is not comfortable with affection from those he perceives as strangers, of course this is good, but it felt sad that the caregivers were not remembered.

Pure Joy

I've tried several times to get this picture to post. Hopefully this time. No need to say anything about the picture itself, is there?

Day 4 - Playing on the swings, and other stuff...

Day 4

Wow. Day 4. I feel like we've been here forever, and it's only just begun. I've been writing in my personal journal about I'm beginning to have the occasional mild wave of panic about being able to do this for another 40 days or so. I tell myself to take it one day at a time, and enjoy it. We've settled into our routine. For Linda, the actual travel was the worst part at first, but at this point both she and Tucker have learned to sleep through most of the trip, despite the road conditions (oh man -- stay tuned for movies on the way). I've never had trouble dozing off.

The best part of each day, of course, is our visit with Mia. Today's visit consisted mostly of playing outside with the rest of the kids. We already recognize a lot of the kids from our last visit, and are starting to recognize others. We have pet names for a lot of them.

Mia loves to swing, and Tucker felt very protective and possessive of her today. He followed her everywhere, sat with her on the swing whenever he could, and started talking about not wanting to leave her about halfway through the visit. There were tears at the end again, but Linda limited that with a clever distraction ("hey Tucker, let's watch the movies Papa took!").

Another new development is that Mia is a screamer. She's VERY vocal, and when somebody takes something of hers, or when she wants something and isn't getting it, she screams and jumps up and down stamping her feet like you wouldn't believe. I guess she has to assert herself somehow -- she is one of the smaller kids. She's very assertive. Usually gets her way, too. Should be interesting.

Also, we have not met with the director of the baby house yet. This is where we are able to ask questions about Mia, and about what we can possibly do for the baby house in terms of donations. We won't really have any questions for her, since we've already spoken to the pediatrician, and gotten several versions of her story from various people. We know more about her history than we did of Tucker's. We also hear that the Director will be very excited to see Tucker -- have we mentioned that he's quite a celebrity around the baby house?

The most stressful part of the trip for me is shopping. When you can't read almost anything, and can't speak or understand the language hardly at all, it's very difficult to buy the simplest of things. You'd be surprised how much horse sandwich meat looks like ham or roast beef. To make things worse, the markets that are available to us regularly all have all the things behind the counter, so you have to ask for them. So basically, when we've had to do real shopping (more than just "point and grunt", Sveta comes with us to interpret. She's awesome.

Anyway, I'm entertaining myself in the evenings with trying to learn as much Russian as I can. I don't really know how to go about it except to write down a word at a time and then use it. Mostly, I want to understand what Mia is saying, and for that I need Sveta again. Mostly today we heard "Minya Gadai!" (or something like that), which means "Push me too!" Heard that from ALL the kids while on the swings.

I should mention that I'm dealing with a slight cold right now. Just a sniffle that goes beyond what I recognize as allergy symptoms. And I was a little more tired today than I should have been. Should be no real problem, though I will be sleeping in the living room tonight in an attempt to keep from passing this on to Tucker or Linda.

Speaking of illness, it turns out the baby house has several massage areas set up. For the children. Massage is a regular part of their lives. They have special massages for certain illnesses, too. For instance, we hear that part of the massage routine for congestion involves hanging them upside down. Hmmm. Hadn't thought of that -- though it's already a regular part of Tucker's playtime (with me). We want to make time to observe one of the massages. I'd especially like to find out about that congestion routine, since chest colds can be particularly uncomfortable for him.

Don't know if we've mentioned the other American couple that's here right now. We've been traveling to Tchuchinsk with them, though their trip is almost over (at least the first part (they're doing their trip in two parts). Their court date is tomorrow (Jerry and Anne Tall, adopting Nina and Nikola). Woo Hoo!

I'll be posting movies to our personal web site, I think. Can't do it too much, because we use a dialup connection and it takes a long time to upload. So, sorry, but the movies will be as small as I can make them.

That's it for now. Da Zaftra! ('till tomorrow).