day 7 ...pink baby!

can't believe we've only been here a week...what is it that makes it seem SO much longer? at least jetlag is over and we're all sleeping well. guess we can enjoy that for three weeks and then brace ourselves for the return home!

today's visit was great! we got a little smile from Babes on his way in - yeay! i really wasn't expecting that. and when i say little, you really do have to understand that i mean little: the corner of his lip turns up. if it turns up enough, we get to see his prize-winning dimple. it's the cutest thing EVER. but more and more i recognize the curled lip as a smile.

there are times, however, that he forgets himself and smiles fully, letting us see his little teeth, like today when rob did the "drop" - i mean, what kid doesn't love that? i'm sure we'll get more and more of them, but they are definitely on his terms, not ours.

so they had him dressed all in pink today. now, this should have been disturbing--but i have to say, Babes looks really good in pink! much better than the navy blue he's been in most other days. unfortunately i have a lot of navy blue waiting for him at home. (hmmm...i do need t stock up on some 18 mo old clothes, as i think they'll fit him better, hmmm....) 

yesterday on our afternoon outing we bought him a cute little book with animals and animal sounds. 0ur big surprise today was when he was playing with the book, and we were just kinda quiet, watching him bemused himself with the book. then suddenly he started making sounds with each page. oh!!! he hardly ever makes any sounds, so we were just wide-eyed, looking at each other and smiling, trying not to let him see that we had noticed so he wouldn't stop making noises. so cute! he forgot himself once again. :-) very encouraging. he really does love toys that make sounds. hmmm yay for us, seems lots of battery operated toys are in our future.

we had to laugh today when we noted that NONE of the battery operated toys at the baby home still work; we envision the haggard caregivers rejoicing in the coffee room whenever another battery-operated toy goes silent.

we gave kisses today, and we think he gave us kisses back. his version of this is leaning in a little when we come close and letting us kiss his lips. hey it doesn't sound like much, but it's progress. we gotta get in all the kisses that we can cuz it seems the dreaded masks are waiting in the wings...(no! NO!!!!!!!) sigh, i'm afraid it's inevitable; one of these days they will make us wear them...ugh. so goes life in the BH in wintertime.

so our assessment is that he likes us increasingly. oh, Babes, won't admit it, but we can see it! ;-D
i can't wait till tomorrow. (and isn't Babes a better blog name than Little R? i think so.)

w/out more adieu, here are some photos for your viewing pleasure...

the baby home got a new sign, it seems. me with our new translator, Aya. she's a sweetie.  

  at the B hockey game with the gang with the Coles and FLeggetts ;-p may the best team win; unfortunately that was clearly NOT Ust.

 

choosing yummies with Aya at our favorite bakery (rayna! you're drooling!) 

 Aya was free for the afternoon so we snatched the opportunity to have her take us shopping. we were looking for a shirt for rob and boots for me. ended up with some books for Babes and boots for me, but NOT the sexy, fashionable kind i had in mind. ;-p however, after cold feet Friday afternoon and literally sliding in my shoes all the way home from the hockey game, functionality has won over:

i am wondering whether i will find these to be cool or ugly once i get home. either way, i can always say "i got these boots in Kazakhstan!" and how many people can say that?? 

please note the fur liner and rugged rubber soles. ;-p 

we ate chinese last night - very yummy. not quite Chinese as we know it, but then, they'e closer to China here, soooo, who knows...

Max learned to use chopsticks. sort of. he's so cute and fun to have around. what a great kid. we're all hoping our kids will be doing as well as he is two years after coming home from Ust. :-)

Dinara, our dear translator from last time, is coming over this afternoon to see photos of Babes and go with us to supper. we've kept in touch over the months, and we're really looking forward to seeing her. i guess this is one of the rewards of our having been here twice; deepened relationships over time. next weekend we're hoping to go see the school where she teaches English. 

otherwise, the days are pretty much the same: BH visit in the morning, hang out in the room or wander through the town in the afternoon, supper with the gang in the evening. maybe we'll get to bowling one of these nights. 

i found myself really missing our friends in goshen and our family last night and this morning. even though everything is going well and we are so grateful for the friends we've made here, i suppose we just miss those who know us best. missing getting ready for christmas. missing going to church today...missing that fellowship.  it's good to again be reminded of how important it is--of what a privilege it is to be able to worship God with other believers. this morning we sang songs together in our room - we had just a little bit of church right here together, rob and me. ;-) 

nevertheless, we thank God again for his favor towards us on this trip; we cannot and do not take it for granted. and little Babes is so special; having him in our family will be so worth all this.