Natalya

This is her! Natalya was given the thumbs up this morning by my international adoption doctor, and by this time next month she will be my daughter. Born on October 18, 2006, she is 17 pounds and is ? (I forget) inches long. Natalya was a good weight when born, but now she is a little skinny. The caregivers say she is so long that she is destined to be a model J More importantly, she is an inquisitive and happy little girl. When I arrived at the babyhouse this morning, all of the kids in her room were still in their cribs, but she was the only one standing and she let out a laugh when the caretaker and I walked in. Actually, I think she fancies herself a little bit of a clown—she likes to act silly and crack herself up. She has a funny, almost-toothless smile (I keep thinking she looks like my grandmother without her dentures!), wispy blondish brown hair and big brown eyes. And she is always checking out what is going on with the other kids, what they are doing or what toy they are playing with. Even when I was feeding her lunch, she still wanted to know what was going on with the others. By the way, I haven’t settled the issue of her name yet. Natalya is a name I like and had briefly considered months ago, so I may keep it or incorporate it into her full name, but that’s going to have to wait for now-- only one major decision per day!

All of the families are now in one large room for visitation. We head to the babyhouse twice a day, from 10am to 12pm and from 4pm to 6pm. Everyone spreads out a blanket to establish “their” play area, but by the end it is a little bit of a shambles as everyone moves around. There are 7 babies 14 months and younger, 3 two year olds and a 5 year old boy, plus 4 other children who traveled to Kaz with their parents to meet their new sister/brother, so it can get pretty hectic. In between sessions at the babyhouse, we usually hit the nearby shops for baby gear or to get groceries. (We just came back from a store actually that is like a Best Buy, but bigger and with triple the selection, and when you buy something they actually test it for you in the store before you leave to make sure it is in working order). The downtime is also computer time and if you are very lucky, nap time. Sleep is the thing I miss most about home!! I am sleeping about 4 ½ hours per night so far. I am so exhausted you would like a full night’s sleep wouldn’t be a problem but by 3:30am or 4am, I am wide awake. I am told that it takes about a week to settle in, so I am looking forward to that day. The hotel is comfortable; my room is pretty big and overlooks a pretty park. There is a bowling alley, so another couple and I took advantage of that last night—it was the perfect way to shake off a pretty stressful day. Sunday all of the families are going to the circus, which should be fun.

More tomorrow!