With Brian, Vanessa, Liam and Brian's mom, Judy. Emil had taken April and Grace back for a nap.
Zach:
Hi folks. Been too exhausted to post recently. We've been biding our time the last couple days, trying to stay busy so time will pass at a less agonizing pace. We are almost done with all we have to do. Tomorrow we have Grace's medical exam at the clinic. Friday is the final office meeting and the US embassy to get Grace's Kazakh passport and visa to travel to the US. She's not a US citizen until we clear customs in Boston.
Yesterday we aimed to meet up with the Calders, a family from California who just arrived to adopt from a town near here. We missed eachother on the phone so Emil, April, the kids and I went to lunch at this outdoor shashlik (shishkabob) place. A few minutes after ordering, we heard our names being called. The Calders recognized us from our website and just happened to be out on a stroll. We were in their neighborhood it turns out. Serendipity at its best.
We met up with them again today at Murphy's, the Irish pub that has a great fenced lawn with a playground (a safe one) for kids. We talked all about adoptions, work, politics...drank beer. Finally Grace had to nap so Emil took April and her back to the apartment. We're very happy to have met the Calders - and Brian's mother Judy who is braving the long trip. It was a much needed bout of outdoor relaxation.
Two more days. One more night. We leave the apartment for the airport around midnight friday night to catch our 3:30 AM flight to Frankfurt. All flights heading west leave early to catch connecting flights in Europe. It must be done.
Almosty forgot. Grace is able to pull herself to a standing position with the help of a chair, couch, etc.
A couple minutes later, Kai caught the big rubber ball with both hands! That's him celebrating his achievement in the above photo. Looks like all he needed was to be naked. Them pesky clothes.
More news that my sister Jenny will appreciate. Kai ripped a monstrous fart while we were getting him ready for bed time. Then he grinned from ear to ear and laaaaaughed!
We'll post again before we leave. Hope everybody's well and thank you for the emails and posts!
Zach
