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.

We've decided to stay!

Since it's one delay after another, we've decided to just buy a little place of our own and stay. I'm looking into starting my own business, and giving the little babas a run for the money. All I need to do is set up a t.v. tray, put a bowl of sunflower seeds on it and sell them by the shot glass full. I could also sell individual cigarettes from packs, individual matches, and push out individual pieces of gum. You see these ladies on every street corner, but what amazes me most, is the number of people walking by who actually stop and buy these things. I'll leave the jars of ?jam to them. Maybe I'll get creative and sell individual squares of toilet paper since I haven't seen that yet.
Rylan's passport arrived Thursday night, but then the real drama begins. The man who was supposed to take it to the Consulate in Astana on Friday is apparently in jail, and the airline he owned went into receivership 2 days ago. That means Rylan's passport did not leave Uralsk yet. We had hoped to fly out of here on Wednesday, but since even if it gets to Astana Monday, there are no flights back until Wednesday night. And everything has been delayed or screwed up in some way, so it's too risky to plan to leave then. So unfortunately, we won't be leaving for Moscow until next weekend at the earliest, and home - well - maybe the following week.
We spend as much time as we can outside, because it's a lot more interesting than the hotel room. Grandma and Baba will be proud of me - Rylan's packing on the pounds and his hair is growing! I'm sure by the time we get home he'll be walking and have his driver's license.
Hopefully this coming week will bring better news.

Still Waiting

Delay after delay - I am so frustrated! We're still waiting for Rylan's passport to return - it was supposed to be here Tuesday, and it's Thursday evening - still nothing. Once it returns, it has to go to another city for some stamp from the consulate, then back to us. So, we're here for another week. It's so hard - there are families that have arrived after us - from both the U.S and Canada - who have already left. This entire process we've had to be patient, but I'm tired of it. I sure hope we get some good news soon, we all need it!

Look for the positives

Well, we're still waiting for Visas and Rylan's passport, and have no idea when we can leave.
I hear there is still a lot of snow and cold temperatures at home. I wish I had packed more summer outfits because the daily temperatures of around 20 degrees Celcuis in the sun feel even hotter than that. In fact, we have to limit our walks because Rylan gets too hot. Just thought everyone at home would appreciate that.

I've decided to go back and post my favorite pictures we took of Rylan during our visits at the baby house. I can't possibly post all of them - there are about 500. The card in the picture is from his cousin Livia, who wanted to make something for her first cousin.

Well, it's only taken a week, but we've figured out who calls the shots in this family - and it's Rylan. Last night he had his first full blown temper tantrum. Apparently he disagreed with the fact that he had to go to sleep. There was a lot of screaming, leg kicking, arm flailing, and head shaking involved. And then there was Rylan.... Dave's still looking for the snooze button on him, but so far, no luck. It wouldn't have been so bad if we were home, but in a hotel with other guests at 11 pm, it's not that funny for mommy and daddy. I gave in and put him on our bed, and he settled instantly. Then he rolled onto his stomach and started to play. Just to rub in in, he would look at the crib and shake his head no, then return to playing. It didn't take long for him to crash after that, and to the crib he went. I'm telling you, I'm counting the days until we are home. There will be different rules at home, for sure.

We received good news yesterday - the medical was approved in London. Today we had to go and notarize some more forms, and pay for our Visas into Russia. On Monday our coordinator will apply for our Visas. We should have a better idea by mid week when Rylan's passport will be ready, and then we can try and arrange for our tickets to Moscow. It finally feels like things are moving forward!

Nine Months Old

Today Rylan is nine months old. It's hard to believe we met him more than a month ago - he's made a lot of progress developmentally since then. He doesn't flop around like a fish any more, and can sit unsupported for periods of time. Today is also one week since we got custody of him (although I find that hard to believe - it feels so much longer)!
We're still waiting for his passport to be processed. We also need approval of the medical from London. Once that comes, we can apply for our Visas to Russia. Then, once we get our Visas, we start the journey home!

Murphy's Law

The internet across the city was down again all day Tuesday. So we missed being able to say Happy Birthday to Grandma Carlson. So it's belated, but Happy Birthday!
We've had a learning experience of sorts - apparently we've changed Rylan's diet too much, and it wasn't agreeing with his little tummy. Poor guy was not happy for days, and neither was mommy. We finally had the doctor from the baby house come and see us at the hotel, and she gave us some suggestions to try. I'm crossing my fingers, because he slept well last night - maybe we're on the right track now. In our defense, nobody told us not to try the baby food with chicken or beef in it - that may be the problem.
I can't wait to get home - it feels very isolated when we can't just pick up the phone and ask someone for advise. Here's hoping the remaining paperwork gets done quickly.