The Little Cutie

Today the care-takers put a "Queen Elizabeth" hat on Olivia. She looked so cute, now if she could just get "the wave" down she could look very regal while she rides around in her "carriage".

How Hot Is It?...

Well they did not bundle the kids up today when they spent time outside in the morning! The care-takers also brought out buckets or tubs of water for the kids to splash around with. We do not know what the official temperature was. Our translator told us in the morning that the projected high was 38 degrees Celsius. Our thermometer on the balcony read 43 degrees in the afternoon. The last two days here have been rather warm.

More of Olivia's Baby Room

We can't say enough good things about these women who dedicate their lives to take care of these children at the orphanage. We can not imagine spending every day caring for these children that have such an un-certain future. Perhaps that is why they are so happy to see just one of the kids get a "forever mom & dad".

Just this morning we were walking around the orphanage grounds with Lauren and Olivia and suddenly a boy about three to three and a half years of age came up to Dawn and pointed at her saying "Mama?" with a questioning look on his face. It will be a while before we can forget that image. Or perhaps we never will.....

Lauren's New Friend

Lauren has made yet another new friend. There is an old retired man that works at the orphanage as a gardener. He has taken a liking to Lauren. He picked her an Iris flower the other day and some Daisies. We brought them home to our apartment and put them in a glass on our kitchen table. They brightened up our apartment quite a bit. Through our interpreter, Dinara, The Gardener explained to us that Lauren has "authorization" from him to pick any flowers that she wishes to pick.

The heat has been "stifling" the last two days and yesterday Lauren's new friend asked us through sign language if it was OK for him to spray Lauren down a bit with the garden hose. We gladly gave him the go-ahead and the two of them had a great time.

Olivia's Baby Room

These are some of the ladies that work as care-takers in Olivia's Baby Room. They always have a smile on their faces and they are always warm and welcoming. We feel good knowing that these are the people that have been taking care of Olivia and that these are the ones that will be taking care of her in our absence while we wait to come back and finally bring her home.

Another visit to Lauren's old Baby Room

One of Lauren's former care-takers, Natasha (seems to be a common name here...) came outside in the morning to meet Lauren. That afternoon we visited Lauren's old baby room again and Natasha showed Lauren all the babies that live there now.

Big Sister Duties

Lauren is handling her responsibilites as The Big Sister well. Yesterday during our visit with Oliva Lauren pushed the baby stroller around the orphanage grounds.

Boats & Thrones

Lauren had a fun-filled evening at the amusement park. She loved driving the "bumper boats" with Natasha. After finishing Lauren was ready to take her clothes off and jump in for a swim...

We will definitively have to pay this park another visit before we leave Ust-Kamenogorsk.

Bouncing

The amusement park had the biggest "bounce-house" that Lauren had ever seen. This was by far her favorite. It was nice for parents too, taking a breather on a bench nearby. 200 Tenge for every 5 minutes of bouncing. And a cold beer for Mom & Dad. Lauren got to bounce until Mom & Dad finished their beer. She had a wonderful time. Kazakh beer is pretty good too....

Horses & Violins

Lauren got to ride two carousels today ---- one was a collection of musical instruments. Lauren of course chose her favorite, the violin. She did however inform us that when we return to the amusement park she wants to ride the trumpet next....

The traditional carousel was actually a beautiful old fashioned antique carousel that would probably be worth a fortune in the U.S. The Horses went up and down like they used to in the "good old days".

Today was a beautiful, sunny day with a slight breeze and temps probably around 80 degrees.

Old Friends & New

Today we spent the evening at an amusement park in Ust-Kamenogorsk with our old driver, Semyon, from when we were here adopting Lauren in November/December of 2005. He brought along a friend of his named Natasha who speaks English and was able to translate for us. Natasha is attending Law School and is about a year away from earning her Law Degree. Our old translator, Lena, is in the hospital due to give birth to her first child any day now.

Lauren had a GREAT time at the amusement park. Just what she needed. The park reminds us of an old-fashioned amusement park from many decades ago. We had a great time too. We wish we had Olivia with us already. Soon....

Happy, Happy, Happy...

We can't resist showing off more cute pictures of this adorable little girl. Olivia always has a smile on her face and a sparkle in her eye.

Lauren was the same way when we first met her two and a half years ago and to this day she is still quite the little "Miss Personality".

Olivia's Baby Room

This is Olivia's baby room. It is on the second floor. These are two of her wonderful care-takers. Most of her care-takers are calling her Olivia and pointing at us saying, "Momma, Pappa". They seem so happy to see these wonderful kids find their forever families.

Today they were telling us how Olivia waits for us in the morning and then her face lights up when she sees us. We so wish we could take her home after court. It will be so hard to leave her and then wait four weeks before we can come back for her. But... we also have a three year old and her needs to consider in all this...

Rainy Saturday

It rained today and as a result the temperatures cooled down significantly. This has been the coolest temperatures we have had since we arrived in Ust-Kamenogorsk exactly two weeks ago. The temperature on our thermometer on our balcony read 15 degrees celcius early this evening. That's what? In the 60's? Whatever it is we are LOVING it. Except for the fact that we had to spend our visits with Olivia inside both times today. Lauren, being the outside type, got a little "wound up" and kept climbing up in the window to see if by any chance the rain had stopped.

Just Like Big Sister

Friday was Day 11 of our visits with Olivia and tomorrow, Saturday, we will have been in Ust-Kamenogorsk for two weeks. On Monday, May 26th we can petition for a court date.

We had two nice visits with Olivia again. She tried on Big-Sister's hat. Then Olivia noticed that Lauren was checking out the plants in the visitation room and promptly pushed her way over there in her walker to check them out herself. She's only 8 months old and she already wants to do whatever Big Sister does.

Old Baby Room

Lauren brought with her some chocolates for the care-takers in her old baby-room. They all remember Lauren and were happy to see her. Word has gotten around that Lauren is back and a lot of the care-takers have already looked her up and shown her around the place. Yesterday we had a nice visit in Lauren's old baby-room.

Still SO Cute.....

Mommy, look! I can attempt to crawl and drool at the same time. Wow! I bet you can't wait to bring some of that home!!!

Now... if you bring me outside I'll be "Suzie Sunshine". I LOVE being outside. I can never get enough of it. Before you guys I don't think I had ever seen the outside.....

Singin' The Blues...

Lauren has always had an ear for music. So... we bought her a harmonica to play. It is now an "OUTSIDE toy". We don't know if she is celebrating having a new sister or if she is "singin' the blues" because she has a new sister...

Still Cute...

It is very easy to get a smile from Olivia. She is so content and easy-going.

Olivia LOVES being outside. She will have that in common with Lauren. If Lauren could decide she would sleep outside. We see a lot of camping, hiking and exploring the outdoors in our future. The Pacific Northwest is the perfect place for all that with our Mountains and the Pacific Ocean nearby.

Lauren

Lauren has no recollection of this place. She seems to have no idea of how the orphanage relates to her. This is really not surprising since she was just 8 months old when she left. Lauren "prisses" around the "Baby House" like some type of tourist. Word has gotten around that she is back and various care-takers come and get her and show her around the place. Some of the care-takers are a bit concerned that Lauren might be cold in her short-sleeved outfits. After all.... it is only in the 90's outside....

"Little Blue-Eyes"

"Little Blue-Eyes" got sleepy towards the end of our morning visit today and ended up falling asleep in our lap. She is so comfortable with us and we are so comfortable with her. It just feels right, as it has since the very first day we met her.

All Smiles

Olivia was all smiles today during both of our visits. She is becoming so animated and lively and she obviously recognizes us immediately when we arrive for the visits. It will be hard to leave her behind for four weeks after court before we can return here to Ust-Kamenogorsk to pick her up and finally bring her home.

Balancing Act

Lauren has started staking her claim to what she feels belongs to her --- namely her Daddy. It is OK for Mommy to hold Olivia, but if Daddy tries to pay her any attention then Lauren quickly moves in. Of course the more Lauren hangs on Daddy the more Olivia wants a piece of the action...

After two daily visits Daddy is exhausted. Just wait unitl Olivia arrives home to Fox Island. That will be interesting....

Afternoon Outside

It was beautiful outside today and both Olivia and Lauren were enjoying the sun and the slight breeze. The truck that Lauren is sitting in belongs to one of the many play grounds they have at the orphanage. We see a lot of the children out in the play yard in the morning time. The truck is one of Lauren's favorites.

We bought a stroller for Olivia beacuse she loves being outside and it is too hot to always be holding her. She loves her stroller and her big sister. She can't take her eyes off Lauren.