April:
Hey folks. Thanks for all the messages and e-mails1 Keep 'em coming, we live for them. Today was great. During the morning visit we all hung out in the central courtyard so Kai could play with the toddler groups on the new playground. They all played really well and it was our first chance to really interact with some of the other kids. There is one little boy, Adlyeet (not sure if that's spelled right) who we met last year when we were here. He has a new mommy and daddy who had to go home for 2 weeks for work (don't even get me started on family leave in the States, it's a travesty), but they are retuning here August 10th to take him home forever. He is so cute and so excited and we are really happy for all of them.
I can't tell you what a difference the playground has made in these kids' lives! It is so amazing. This is our second year as donors to the project and I want to encourage all of you who are interested in giving money to a cause that has tangible, real life results, to go to WPA's website and give as generously as you are able.
Rowan was a little overwhelmed by this morning's visit amidst all those energetic toddlers, but she loved being held as always. This afternoon we left mom to have some privacy at the apartment and we practiced being a family of four with no help. It was a relaxed and lovely afternoon. Kai played in Aida's car and we blew bubbles. He talked a lot and was generally being a ham. We had been asking him questions like "Are you Rowan's big brother?" and "Is this baby Rowan?" because we had been introducing him to her pictures and video back in the states. At one point today we asked him "Kai, who is Rowan?" hoping he would point to her. Instead he looked right at her and said "my sister!" you could have bowled us over with a feather. We could not believe it. He still isn't that interested in her, but he doesn't seem to mind that we are holding another baby and ocassionally tries to shove her bottle in her mouth or force some toy or food on her. It's cute.
We went to the Green Market to get some fresh food for dinner. We wanted to bake a chicken. We got one, but it was one of the lastr 2 available and it was pretty lean. It must have been one hell of an athlete. The fastest chicken in the barnyard, if you know what I mean. I guess you need to get there in the morning if you want a plump bird. It was still tasty though. OK, I need to get some more sleep tonight, so this is where I leave you.
Love to you all
Zach:
Hi all. Another couple good visits with Rowan today. She's very shy still, espcially with me. But each time we see her, she opens up a little more. April manages to get her to laugh. She's fascinated with Kai. Her eyes follow him around constantly. He seems to be taking things in stride.
I was so afraid that he would have a hard time with the whole situation, sharing our affections with another. There will undoubtedly be jealousy at times - they will be siblings after all. But I'm glad to see no signs of outright rejection of her by him. We are paying him a lot of special attention and I think he's actually having a great time.
The neighborhood is hopping as usual. Plenty of kids outside playing with sticks, teens listening to terrible pop music, cellphones, old men talking. Just a typical sunday night here in Taldy.
Molly made food tonight. She's been a great help and is plenty of fun to travel with. Yep, chillin' with my Mo' in law...in Kazakhstan.
Erica, we forgot your email, please drop us a line with it! Sorry about the skunk. We smelled it before we left, even looked under the porch where the dogs were looking. I wasn't expecting a dead one though. Glad you're having fun. Love to the animals.
Have a happy everybody. We're thinking of you.
Zach
