1 April 09

Happy April 1st!!!!! Spring is here in Kazakhstan. As we write this we're enjoying Russian beer and it's taking 4 people to make Irina's fresh squeezed OJ. And one of them is a man.

This morning Laura went to visit Arman by herself. Irina didn't have a fever when she woke up but we wanted to let her relax for the morning and be sure her fever didn't come back. Arman was laying in his crib and was excited to see Laura this morning. He was very hungry and enjoyed his breakfast. He has gotten more patient when eating and it's great to see him taking his time and chewing his porridge rather than scarfing it down. We started to play with some new toys we bought for him last night and then a doctor came to take him to get his daily shot (maybe anitbiotics?). We played for awhile and then the music teacher came in. We went over and sat near the piano and Arman mostly stood up by himself, holding onto one of the walkers. I had to keep watching him because every once in a while he started slapping the head of the baby who was in the walker. He laughed each time one of the caregivers or the music teacher brought him something to touch like the cat, rabbit, or drum. Today she had a xylophone, which the babies were very interested in. It was very hot in the room today, especially in the area that we usually spread our blanket out in, which is in front of the window. The other family took their baby outside and after I saw that they made him wear a very heavy snowsuit, I decided not to ask if we could go outside. The doctor came to get him for his breathing treatment (Nebulizer) and I got to take him down and give it to him. He sat patiently like he was used to sucking on the mouthpiece. Our translator let him watch a music video on her phone when he got antsy and he was mesmerized by it. It is amazing how fast the time flies by!

We all met up for lunch at the Karaganda Cafe, where there is wi-fi we can use and the people are nice. After lunch we all went back to the baby house, which was like a sauna. Irina was excited to see Arman-she calls him "my baby." Arman needs to develop his leg muscles so we put him in a walker on the floor rather than the carpet. We were amazed that he could scoot around the room. He enjoyed going from Kevin to Irina and was excited to be mobile. It's fun to watch the babies interact. Arman didn't let the other babies push himself around and it was like bumper walkers for awhile. His masseuse came to get him and Kevin is frustrated that he doesn't know how to ask for a massage in Russian. I am sure this lady could work out any kinks he has in his back! We played for awhile, though we wished we could go outside without the snowsuit. We took him for his afternoon breathing treatment and he did not like it one bit. He was crying monster tears and wouldn't calm down until it was over. Then he settled down immediately. As soon as we got to the room we had to put him in his crib for his nap.