Home Sweet Home

(The photos are of Sammy and Ruby fighting over the last Cheerio, second is of Samuel sleeping on the floor of Biz Class on our last flight)

At last, we are home and settling in.

The trip home was a bit grueling.  29 hours from hotel to home...very little of it was spent sleeping.  Samuel couldn't seem to get comfortable in the plane and only slept a few hours on each flight.  I was lucky to have a business class seat, so there was plenty of room on the floor for him to sleep or play.  Thankfully, I sat next to very nice people who were patient and helpful.  Fortunately, even in his distress, he was at worst fussy and never hysterical.  I was exhausted, but kept my cool.

The funniest moment of the return trip was me pushing my luggage through customs in Atlanta. Picture this: baby strapped to the front of me, backpack on my back, pushing a stroller with my carryon in it and pulling a luggage trolley with my 3 huge, heavy suitcases on it (about 150 lbs total).  It was a sloooooow walk from the baggage carousel to customs, then on to rechecking the bags for my final flight check in.  I had to push the stroller with my thighs by taking shuffling baby steps as I pulled the luggage trolley with my arms twisted behind me.  FINALLY, a young man stopped to help me for a few yards, but that was AFTER I walked 50 yards or so, visably struggling, sweating and dishelved.  So much for southern hospitality!

My friend Susan has been here all week and that has been a godsend.  She has been the perfect 'wife' to Samuel and me.  We are adjusting nicely and usually get out once a day for an errand or visit.  Samuel is still sleeping a lot, but then again, so am I.  I was in bed by 8:15 last night!!  I forsee a whole new life for myself that involves pajamas and TV from bed (no comments from those who know that is what I use to do pre-baby...just a few hours earlier!!!)

Samuel loves Ruby and giggles everytime she walks by, licks his hands and cheeks and wags her tail over his face.  Ruby, on the other hand, is quite curious and a bit jealous.  She manages to sneek into any space that is between me and Samuel.  She is also quite envious of his toy supply and does seem to be a bit puzzled as to why ALL toys on the floor aren't hers.

We spent the 4th of July with my parents at the beach, enjoying a relaxedday with lots of friends.  My parents are very excited about Samuel and took turns playing with him and holding him.

Thanks for all the calls, emails and visits.  As the days progress, the baby-viewing will continue.  Just give me a call!

Lots of love, Sharon and Samuel

BTW- He became a US citizen the day we arrived!

 

 

 

The trip is winding down

My time is coming to an end here in Kazakhstan.  31 days down and 1 to go.  We went to the US Embassy today, had our exit interview and received Samuel's passport, new birth certificate, adoption documents, immigration papers...we are ready to fly home. Soon as we pass through immigration in Atlanta on Weds, he will be a US citizen!   It has been an amazing trip.  Just the development  I've seen in this little boy over the past week is enough to amaze you. Imagine going off in a van with me, a vitural stranger, one day and a mere 8-9 days later be connected as mother and son.   Samuel was thought of as 'weak' in the baby house...he did get lost of colds and coughs and was underweight and not very active.  In fact, I had to plead to the judge after the adoption that Samuel was sick and need medical attention back home.  Well...if the judge could see him now, she would see that he has blossomed and is quite healthy.  He has gained a couple of pounds in the last few weeks, perfected his crawling, pulled himself up on every imaginable apparatus, giggled his heart out, splashed in a bath, shown his first true signs of love for me, shown his first true signs of anger at me (I get that they are connected), and grows a bit feistier and loving everyday.   Tomorrow, we take a quick tour to the nearby mountains to see the splendor of the area, then head out on a 3:20AM flight (yes, A.M.), early Weds morning.  It only take 25 hours to fly home...isn't that special????   Thank you all for being on this journey with me.  I have really felt all the love and support through your comments and emails.  I am so lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life, and Samuel is so lucky too.   Lots and lots of Love, Sharon & Samuel

Playing our way through the days

We are passing the days by playing the time away.  All is well here.  Over the past few days we have stuck pretty close to the hotel.  We alternate playing with eating and sleeping.  Samuel is sleeping GREAT!  That's my boy!  We play a few times a day with all the 4 families here together, jamming into one hotel room, nicknamed Hurrican Alley.  The maid staff deserve medals after we depart...squashed cheese, cookies, spilled milk and apple juice, not to mention the occasional accidents of pee and spit up.   Today we went to the Embassy approved doctor in order to complete a medical evaluation of the babies and medical forms to turn over to the Embassy before they will process the visa.  The Doc says Samuel seems pretty darn healthy and he has gained over 2 pounds in the past few weeks.  He is up to a whopping 16 pounds now.  Still pretty small for an 11 mos. old, but excellent progress with my love and attention. :-)   It appears that all our paperwork/passports/visa will be completed by Monday afternoon, one day early.  Unfortunately, there is only one flight out the next day and it is overbooked so we are staying until Wednesday morning and will arrive home sometime next Wednesday afternoon.  You can't imagine how good it feels to know that I'll be home with Samuel in a few days.   Today, we tried the swimming pool!  Samuel liked the water, but was a bit timid about the whole thing.  In shallower water he did kick his feet and splash around.   Tomorrow we are heading to the Natural History Museum and a bit of shopping.  The days are passing quickly, but I CAN'T wait to get home.   See you soon, S&S

POV: Samuel

Hello everyone!!  Samuel here. Things are going pretty darn good here with my new Mom.  She has a few things yet to learn about taking care of a nice baby like me, but she is coming along jusssssst fine.  She is feeding me some yummy food, changing my poopy diapers, playing with me with my new toys and putting me down for some good sleep.  I've been sleeping like a baby these past few nights since everything is going so well. :-)   I'm getting used to my new name.  I like it, especially when it comes with a smile.  I'm still a little confused since she also calls me; Sammy, Sam, Samu, Sam-alicious, Buddy, Pumpkin, Muffin, (sometimes Pumpkin-Muffin!), Mister, Buttercup, Boy-Boy...and many other versions.  Mostly, I'm just getting used to her voice. I guess she can call me whatever she wants, as long as she doesn't call me late for dinner!   Speaking of dinner, she thinks she is pretty good at shoveling the food in but not quite as quick catching it when it comes right back out.  What does she expect?  Trying to sneak some  'goodforyou' foods into my cereal.  Barf-y! My, my.   I've been practicing my babbling and gurgling.  My mom doesn't understand my language real well yet.  A few days I go, I was being perfectly clear ..."mmmma,mmmma,mmmma".  She got all excited and goofy thinking I was calling Mama.  I thought I was making it perfectly clear that I was asking for food...as in 'mmmmmmmm,mmmm, mmmm' finger licking good. Oh well, she'll learn!   My new favorite activity is bath time.  Boy-oh-boy, I like the water.  She says that I'm a world class splasher and  I'm not too humble so I'll agree on that point.  I hope that I can explore and improve my skills as I get older.   I've been working on my crawling skills also by exploring the hotel room.  I'm not real fast yet, so this room is perfect for me.  I don't quite sit on my own yet, but my standing with support is getting super-dooper.   My new clothes are quite amusing. I'm used to wearing all sorts of funny clothes at the Baby House. They dressed me sometimes in pink with flowers and always mix and match prints.  But now something new is going on ... yesterday, I was wearing a puppy t-shirt, giraffe socks and I have lions on my shoes.  I feel like a billboard for the Zoo!  But I can't say much for my mom's wardrobe. She wears the same shoes everyday!  Doesn't she have more than one pair of shoes???? Sheesh.   My mom has been telling me about my new life and new friends and family back home in Sun Deego... or Sandy Eggo, or is it Sundy Lego????  Can't quite tell, but sounds good.  She has talked a lot about a certain 'rooooooooobbbbbbbeeeee'.  Whatever 'rooooooobbbbbbeeeee' is it makes me giggle when she says it and hands me a little stuffed golden dog toy.  She also shows me a picture of a golden furry creature with it's tongue hanging out.  Wonder if that is this thing called 'rooooobbbbbbeeeeee'??  Bet that tongue is good for slopping up spilled Cheerios!!   She has told me all about my new room and my family, especially, Seby and Michi.  She has also talked a lot about all my family and cousins and all the 'special' new aunties I'll have.  Sounds like there are lots of them to come on over and babysit me :-)))))  Also, she really smiled when she said there were lots of girlfriends waiting for me like: Katie, Jeffy, Michi and Lizzie.  Also, Lilly and Sam, Seana and Megan.  How about Lauren, Jessica and Melissa???  And Eva, Karli and Kasey.  Zoey, Michaela, Lyndsey sound really fun too.  Of course, I'm eager to play with the boys too...Jackson, Chris and Mike and my 'hood boyz, Daan and Zack.  It'll be real neat to meet my super-special friends, like Sarah, Aliya, Jamie, Grace and Emily.  I know there are more, but my growing brain can only remember so many.   Time to go and teach Mom some of my new tricks.  It's a big job, but somebody has got to do it!   Toodles, Samuel

It's official! (and I'm exhausted)

At 12:45pm, Thursday, June 16th, I became a Mother and I now have a son, Samuel Alisher Payne.   The court process was fine, but a little nerve-racking when you are standing in front of a judge when you don't speak  the same language.  We are well briefed ahead of time and our translator translate for us, but still I was a nervous wreck.   On Friday, we went back in front of the judge to request the waiver of the next 15 day "waiting period".  Fortunately, we knew this was a reasonably foregone conclusion, but the prosecutor did say "no" to all of us, but the judge overruled. Yeah!   Saturday afternoon, we picked up the babies and started the rest of our lives together. We had brought their caregivers a going away outfit for them in the morning and two empty bottles.  When we arrived at 5pm, Samuel was all dressed in his Old Navy finest with 2 bottle ready to roll with his formula.  We made our goodbyes to the caregivers and took one last look around.  It seems so hard to believe that these little babies will never remember their stay here.   Things were going along JUST fine until we got to the airport and found out that our flight was 3 hours delayed.  Plus, we arrived an hour and half early.  The terminal is sparse and there is no A/C or open window, so it was a rough few hours.  Fortunately, our coordinator, translator and another couple that are a few days behind us in their schedule were there to relieve us of the tired babies and help us with our luggage.  It was quite a feat to pull two gigantic rolling suitcase, a carryon and a baby in a Snuggli. Samuel did quite well, but was a sweaty mess in the Snuggli, plus has been running a fever, so we gave him some Tylenol and walked him to and fro.   It was packed flight with no leg room and no place to put our carryon's, so wrestling to get the bottle and chew toy were quite a challenge.  Samuel did pretty darn good, only fussing a bit and had no problem with the descent with the bottle in his mouth.   We finally checked into the Hyatt around 2am. This Hyatt is a little piece of heaven after roughing it for the past 3 weeks.  Samuel finally fell sleep on the drive to the hotel, but awoke around 2:30am, crying and scared.  It was the most heartbreaking moment of the trip. He looked around, eyes wide, pushing me away, as if crying, 'where am I and who are YOU!".  A big bottle later, he was happy as a clam and played in his crib until 4am before sleeping a few hours.   Needless to say, no one slept well.  Although he has had 3 nice naps today and was fast asleep by 7:30pm tonight, I don't expect him to make it through the night.  This has to be tough on him and I'm ready to make him feel better.   You'll be proud to know that I've changed about 5-6 diapers, but am still really slow with that and dressing him.  The caregivers at the Baby House were speed experts.  He is drinking tons of formula, and nibbling a few bites of my food.  It seems that his fever broke today, but he is still coughing a lot so the doctor at the Baby House gave me some medicine for him.   We got strollers today!  Our BIG outing was a 15 minute walk to the supermarket, lunch and return.  Samuel slept part of it and had his first lunch out a restaurant, squashed Cheerios and few bits of my fish and potatoes.  All the babies seem a bit food crazy and grab for everything and anything off our plates, so it is quite interesting to watch our group eat together,  The aftermath of the table and floor are best left to the professional clean up crew.   I'm a little stressed and a little tired, but really doing quite well.  We are learning how to communicate with each other and I'm learning how to take care of him to meet all his needs.  He really seems pretty easy going and is able to put himself to sleep after a bottle and a few minute of fussing.  He had his first bath tonight (forgot to bring the camera into the bathroom for photo-op) and he LOVED splashing  the water and chasing his water toys around.   It's 8:30 and I am ready for bed.  Wish us a good night sleep.  Catch up in a few days.   xoS   (Photos are of leaving the Baby House, his first night sleep with me and out outing in the stroller (can't say he loved being in thestroller))

Message from Alisher

Hi!  My name is Alisher, and I understand that I am going to be adopted today.  I don't know what 'adopted' means, but it seems like it might be a good thing. I would like to tell you a little about my life up until now, since I have a feeling my world is going to change very soon.

I was born on July 30, 2004 in the Maternity Hospital, where I lived for for 6 weeks.  I moved to the Baby House of Ust-Kamenogorsk on a warm day in September.  Boy, it is a nice place!  There are lots of nice ladies to take care of me.  I must be special, because all the ladies have to take turn changing my clothes, feed me and hold me.  They said that I was a little weak and sad when I came to stay, but they gave me some extra attention and I got stronger and happier every day.

I live a two room suite.  One room is for sleeping.  It is dark and warm...perfect for my 3 naps a day and my good night time sleep.  About 12 other babies are there with me too.  Sometimes they cry when they go to bed, but I'm pretty quiet in my crib.  I've learned to rock back and forth on my hands and knees to settle myself down.  The second room is sunny and bright, with lots of window and funny cartoon characters painted on the wall.  We get to play in two big playpens in the middle of the room.  The real tiny babies play in their own seperate little cribs.  In this room, they feed me and change my clothes and the doctor comes to check me out.

There are about 150 children in my building.  Sometimes, there is a lot of noise.  It is good to hear all the children playing and having fun, but sometimes they are sad and lonely.  The kids here are young...babies up to 5 years old.  When they get to be 5 years old, they move down the street to another Baby House and start going to school.

The last 2 weeks something different has been happening in my life.  It has been exciting!  I was put in the arms of a nice lady 2 weeks ago.  Boy, was she smiling at me.  I've never seen anyone smile so big.  I wasn't sure what to make of her...she smelled different and looked different.  She took me upstairs to the big kids playroom.  I had never been there before.  She got out some neat, new toys and she made me giggle.  Maybe she is OK.

She has come to visit me everyday, twice a day.  When she comes in my room and I see her, I smile and kick my feet.  I'm happy to see her.  For the few days I was sick and didn't feel good, she still came to visit me and play with me.  She took me outside for a few walk and showed me the birds and the trees.  I hope I learn more about outside.  She walks me throught the cool hallways of the Baby House, showing me all the pretty murals of birds and butterflies on the walls.  She has a bunch of nifty toys in that bag she brings every day.  I wonder what else is in there?  She even wipes my face when I drool and spit up. Oopps! Two times, I bonked my head on the floor and started to cry and she picked me up and held me.  That made me feel better and I stopped crying.  She makes my laugh and giggle every day with her funny smiles, toys and raspberries on my belly and neck.

I don't how what being 'adopted' means, but if it means more love and fun like I've been getting for the past few weeks, count me in!

Chat again soon after I figure this all out,

Alisher

Message from Sharon:  Adoption court hearing is in one hour, 11am, Thursday, June 16. We should get a decision around noon. This afternoon we'll have a little party at the Baby House with the familes, celebrating the adoption and one our baby's First Birthday.  Tomorrow we go back to court to ask for the next 2 week waiting period to be waived.  If all goes as planned, we'll fly back to Almaty on Saturday.  I'll try to post on Saturday.  If you don't hear from me until Sunday, know that everything went as planned, I'm a Mom and I'll be back in contact after I get back to Almaty.  :-)  I've gonna be a MOM in a few hours.  Wow!

Passing the time

We are going great.  Each visit is something I really look forward to and feel sadder and sadder to leave everyday, knowing I won't see him for hours and hours. Samuel is doing great, although the Doctor is a bit worried that he is still weak from his cold last week and wants me to keep him mellow for a few more days in order to strengthen him up for the trip to Almaty.  He is a love muffin, regardless!

Our group of families (now 6 families) are really enjoying being together.  It is the saving grace to being this far from home.  One of the families goes to court today to adopt Sean, the little boy in the 3rd photo with Samuel.  He is a cute as can be and is going into a very lovely, warm family.  We are all excited for them today, but tonight they will fly home without the baby for 2 weeks, then return to finish the paper work and bring little Sean home in early July.  Much longer process for them then us.

Time is blurring a bit here.  Not too much to remind us of home other than a Pepsi, Fanta or Coke.  We did discover Baskin Robbins a few days back and I've accidentially stopped in 4 times so far :-)  Their pineapple sherbert is a little slice of tropical heaven.  I've been finishing a book every few days and watching lots of the DVD's I brought.  We heard someone speak English at breakfast the other day...that was a treat and we all found ourselves eavsdropping just to hear a Yank speak!

Gotta go catch the van!

xoS