We're Finally Home!

It's hard to believe, but we made it home!
I can't believe how amazing Rylan was on the planes. He's definately a traveller - or he was just so excited to get out of Kazakhstan.
We left for Moscow on the 19th at 3:30 am. Our friends from the U.S. woke up to see us off, we'll sure miss them. What will Rylan do without his personal entertainers at his beck and call?
The flight was less than 2 hours long, and soon we were on the hour long ride to the hotel (traffic was light on the weekend). We had a great time - exploring the area of Old Arbat - going shopping, touring Red Square. Most exciting of all though, was dinner at Mcdonald's. I don't eat there very often at home, but after 2 months, a quarter pounder never tasted so good!
I was worried about the flights home - 3 planes, 2 layovers, and 23 hours of travelling in total. TO make things even more interesting, while feeding Rylan and hour before we checked out of the hotel, I noticed a hole in his bottom gum where a tooth was making it's way out! Perfect - a teething baby on a 23 hour journey. BUt we were so surprised at how great he was! Why couldn't he have been so happy and relaxed at the hotel in Uralsk?
The flights were relatively stress free. Except for the leaky poop incident on the flight from Frankfurt. Now the airplane bathrooms are small enough, but try changing a baby in there who has poop all the way down his leg to his foot, with the bonus of some wicked turbulance at that exact moment. It's a good thing Rylan saw the humor in that situation, although I wasn't laughing as hard as he was!
During our stop in Toronto, my best friend Tanya surprised us by meeting us at the airport! I couldn't believe she did that - it was wonderful to see her and get to introduce her to Rylan (although he slept most of the visit).
Our homecoming in Winnipeg was incredible - a hugh Welcome Home sign and our families and good friends there to greet us (well, more like meet Rylan, but we did manage to get a bit of attention too!)
It's been great having family stop by and help entertain Rylan while we try and unpack and get organized. Rylan is adjusting to a new routine surprisingly well (so far). He doesn't know whick toy to play with first, and is definately not bored with his new surroundings.
It's hard to believe the past 9 1/2 weeks have changed our lives forever. Now we can enjoy our time as a family together at home!

I wish I had known three weeks ago, how many hours of entertainment an open suitcase could provide!

Our FIrst Family Vacation!!

Rylan has been such a good boy this week, we've decided to take him on a little trip - to Moscow! Rylan's passport arrived - finally - and now we can leave the country!
We leave tomorrow morning for Moscow, and will spend 4 days there (because the Embassy isn't open on the weekend). We'll leave for home Tuesday, and take 3 flights (flying for over 15 hours) to arrive home next Wednesday!
I'm not sure what the internet access will be like in Moscow, so this may be the last post for a few days.
Thanks to everyone who has posted comments and emailed - it's helped us through this journey. I'll let you know how the trip home goes!

Reality Check

Now I'm sure that many of you have been thinking "Stacey and Dave have been living in a hotel in a foreign country for almost 9 weeks now. That must be so glamorous!!" Well, I'm here to tell you that there are some great things. I haven't made a bed in over two months, or cleaned a toilet, or washed a floor. There are always clean towels brought to us every morning. I'm sure Dave will jump in at home so that I can continue my break from toilet duty, right?
However, I must admit, the past 3 weeks, living in a hotel room with a baby - has not been as exciting. (I can't believe we've had him with us for 3 weeks!!). First of all, Rylan thinks he calls the shots around here, because we don't want to be evicted. So instead of letting him scream when he doesn't want to sleep, we cater to his new sleeping routine. Let me explain - it's time for Rylan to nap or sleep for the night. We close the drapes, and shut off all of the lights and the television. Dave and I lay on either side of him on the bed, and pretend to sleep. Well, I pretend to sleep, and Dave actually falls asleep. Rylan talks to himself, rolls around, eats his feet, and is amused by his hands until he gets tired and falls asleep. I poke Dave, and he checks the time. We wait a few minutes to make sure Rylan is really asleep, then quickly scoop him up and into the crib. Now, the hotel room has the main room with the bed and the crib right next to it, and the bathroom. Once Rylan is in the crib, Dave and I sneak into the bathroom, shut the door, and finally get some alone time. Today, for example, we ate a bag of potato chips, and they were so good! Get your minds out of the gutter - it's hard to eat in front of Rylan, because he gets upset he can't be eating too!
So you see, it's not all glamorous. Don't be jealous. You too, can always sneak a bag of chips into the bathroom at your place to experience our excitement!

The Sign Says It All

Need I say more? All of these delays are Kacca!

Got Dave A Job Too!

I got to thinking, if I'm going to run my own business, then it's only fair that Dave work too. We don't want to put all of our eggs in one basket, so to speak, so I went out and found him a job. We went to the local fire station number 2, built in 1815 - after all, he's interested in that at home. The captain spoke enough English to get us through the interview process. There wasn't even a driving test involved. Once Dave confirmed that he could help wash the captain's car in the back parking lot, he was in! Apparently the only thing Dave has to brush up on is his card playing skills. And he's already looking forward to April 17 - a big holiday where all of the firefighters get the day off. I asked what happens if there is a fire in town that day, and the captain laughed and shrugged his shoulders.
Rylan didn't pass the height requirement, so we're still looking for something for him to earn his keep with. I'm trying to think of a job that requires testing how loud he can scream, just to hear his voice, or eating his feet - those are skills Rylan has acquired these past few weeks. Any suggestions?

Angry Rylan

Rylan is mad that we aren't coming home yet.