Tuesday, March 4, 2008 continues....

Afternoon visit and Celebration Dinner



Relaxing with my Mommy





Aaawww







Our "little" family. These days it is easier taking our family picture while he is eating. It is pretty much the only time he is willing to sit still with us.

Someone must have told Lincoln that we had a successful court hearing before we got there because he seemed to be happier than normal when we arrived. Our visit was wonderful. We played a lot together. He practiced is walking and standing up on his own some more. We finally got him to understand that he can pick up a cheerio and put it in his mouth all by himself. The babies in the orphanage are never allowed or should I say not given the opportunity to explore eating on their own. Pretty much every toy he picks up goes right into his mouth so we thought it would not take him long to understand if he picks food up he can put it in his own mouth. We have been showing him this several times now over the last couple weeks and it was not till today that he realized wow yes I can do this myself. The cheerio did not always make into his mouth but he kept trying patiently to do it himself and he can now. Again we are so proud of him that he continues to develop and catch up with other kids his age.

After our visit we were taken to the Lancelot restaurant to celebrate our successful court hearing with the rest of the adoptive families in town. This restaurant is known for their good tasting kebobs. They sell plenty of other items on the menu but since we were told how wonderful the kebobs were everyone ordered them. They came in beef, chicken, pork or lamb. Eric and I both got the beef and we both thought they were great. We don’t know what they marinated the meat in but it was yummy. It was definitely the best cuts of meat we have had here in Kazakhstan. The new proud Papa’s Eric & Joel indulged in several carafes of vodka. Gen & I both were delighted to learn they had Malibu rum at the bar so we both ordered a rum & pineapple cocktail. Mixed drinks are a very rare fine in Aktobe. We both completely enjoyed our beverage. We were going to order a second one and I thought maybe I should ask how much they cost, so I did. They were fairly small drinks and they cost a little over $11 each. We both thought that was a little steep in price so we ordered beers after that. But I have to say it was worth every penny to have a little “taste from home” drink here in Aktobe. The night was lots of fun with all of our new friends.