In Almaty

Picture is of Will waiting patiently at the Karaganda airport.

After spending Thursday evening and all day Friday in Karaganda, Will and I boarded a plane this AM for Almaty. Will has been such a good sport these last few days. He is very active and mostly happy - but VERY clingy, so if I took one step out of the room, he would cry and start crawling my way. I felt really bad for him the first night in the crib. I realized that this was the first time in his whole life that he was sleeping in a room with no one else. I'm sure the silence was deafening to him. He always cries for about 5-10 minutes before he falls asleep – just enough to make me feel awful.

It was -17F when we got to the airport, but a sunny, clear, beautiful day. The flight is about two hours long, and Will fell asleep as soon as they turned on the plane engines (and propellers – not kidding). He was pretty good the rest of the time, a little squirmy, but as was I. I had a backpack as my carry-on, and a man carried it for me to board the tram, then another man picked it up and carried it to baggage claim. It was really nice – and really out of character for these folks. They usually just go about their business not noticing anyone else exists.

We arrived at the airport and I had to wade through the sea of taxi drivers wanting my business. Nyet! One problem, there was no smiling face waiting for me! I knew our flight arrived early, but come to find out it had arrived 40 mins early! So I stood there with a brave stern face, but as I wondered if they were just late, or had they forgotten me…my nerves started to swell. Just before I panicked, Sasha came rushing in apologizing. He said he checked the flight and saw that it arrived so early – so he rushed over.

We made a quick stop to drop off the paperwork, then went to the Ramstore for some water and baby food, then on to the apartment. I gave Will some food, then put him down for a nap (yes, crying ensued, but now he is out). The plan is just to stay here tomorrow, then Sasha will pick us up at 9:30am. We will go get Will’s visa photos taken, then to the adoption agency (the Sisters) then to a medical exam. They take the information from the babyhouse and translate it into something I can take to the pediatrician in Atlanta. After that, we will go to Lufthansa to buy Will’s plane ticket. So that is all for now.