Day 13 and 14

Day 13 - Sunday

Monte is watching birds fight on the National Geographic channel. I am watching some old TV episodes on Hulu. Monte asks me, “What are you doing?” about every 45 minutes. It is a slow day in Almaty but I think we need this day to reflect and rest after 2 weeks of continuous activity and high emotions.

We think about Nina Deanna and what things will be like when we get her home. We’re not experts in child development but it seems her development is more like a 4 month old. We knew from our training that children develop at a slower rate when institutionalized. The rule of thumb is that the children are 1 month behind for every 3 months in the institution. Nina seems right on target with this estimate.

She has been in a 7-month slumber and we signs of her awakening each day. More smiles, more activity. We look forward to more progress this week. My belief and prayer is that she advances quickly once she gets home with us.

Day 14 - Monday

Now it is Monday and we start the last week of our first trip. Four more days of bonding with Nina before heading home to await our court date. Elmo makes his triumphant return to the baby house today. The temporary ban has been lifted and he behaves himself.

There is not a lot of excitement but Nina is in a pretty good mood today. This is the first time she has picked something up on her own and made use of it. It is the teething ring which is coming in handy at this stage.

I caught some of this on video. When she is tearing through the house with Nick and Natalie, we will think back to these simpler times.





As usual, Nina tolerates her exercise and our silly talk for about an hour before she is ready to rest again. Mommy feels really nice. Daddy needs to give the camera a break.



That's better.



After her nap and a bottle, we head back to the apartment for the day. It is cold and rainy. It looks like our routine of heading out for our daily meal is in jeopardy. I have crackers and ramen noodles. Monte has tea and peanut butter bread. It is feeling like the first few days all over again. We will try to head out a little later. In the meantime, we will sit here and ponder the significance of our paper towels that have flowers and weightlifters on them.

His and hers? Fresh and strong? Hmmm.