Milestones and disturbing images

The Millers, who are now bonding with a new infant girl instead of a toddler girl, gave us 3 little outfits they had gotten for Valerie. We tried them on Lena, and she looked very cute in all of them. In Angel's family, the rule is that "if you have a tally-wacker, you can't go" or you can't do this or that. Not understanding this rule, Dub wanted to try on one of Lena's dresses, so he did. See frightening picture below. If perhaps you are thinking we should let him get in touch with his "feminine side", sorry, not happenin' here. When we made him take the dress off, he cried real tears and was very, very upset that Lena got 3 new things to wear and he got nada. We had planned for 2 boys, so we already have a bunch of stuff for him!


The disturbing image. Sometimes he likes to wear Mommy's shoes.

Lena was in very good spirits all day today. No pouting at all. Who knows what's going on in their little heads.


Lena in her new romper.


The dress of the day, since there have been no "Stockings of the day" all week!

Today - and allow me to mention here that the weather was simply beautiful today and please forgive our incessant whining over the hot weather - Vera and Mit took us to see several "historical places", mostly muslim mausoleums, including the mausoleum built for the 11th century bride (Aisha-Bibi) who died of a snakebite on the way to her wedding. The Khan was so overcome with grief that he built a wonderful mausoleum on the grave of his beloved and also one for his nursemaid. That's the ancient legend here in Taraz, but the mausoleums are real. These were discovered half-destroyed, and reconstructed this past spring. Outside the mausoleum, all over the 2-3 acre property, are roses, roses, roses, and more roses. The Kazakh people, not to mention the climate, are very, very good for roses. When we first arrived, we thought that most of the "gardens" around the city and at Umit were a bit run down and overgrown. Now that they have embraced the arrival of Spring/Summer, everything is simply beautiful. If they knew they could sell roses for $50/dozen to Americans, a few people here would be very wealthy from the sale of roses.


Just one of thousands of huge roses.


This picture does not do justice to the mass of roses around this property and all over Taraz.


The mausoleum of Aisha-Bibi.


Mausoleum for Aisha-Bibi's groom's nursemaid.


The Taraz city gate.


The Talaz river. Taraz used to be named "Talas" after the river.

As for our latest milestone, we will leave Taraz two weeks from today, on June 16, to spend another 2 weeks in Almaty. We got our tickets from Taraz to Almaty for the June 16-17 overnight Spanish Train ride. THANK YOU GOD!! On June 16, we'll get custody of Lena & Dub, spend a few hours at the hotel and in downtown Taraz, and leave for Almaty at midnight. No telling what the kids will do on their very first train ride: be scared, be excited, sleep...who knows?

It's very strange to wrap your mind around the fact that, other than maybe a visit or two to a doctor, these kids have never seen anything outside the grounds of Umit Baby Home! EVERYTHING they see will be completely new to them - car ride, hotel, ice cream in Taraz Town Square, train ride, Almaty, apartment, McDONALD'S in Almaty, an airplane ride, and airport...the list goes on and on. We think sometimes we're on an adventure, but these kids are about to embark on something so totally new to their little minds!!

Second visit with D&L was lots of fun in the "sand box" and "Stalin's Slide". The "sand box" is really 4 planks around a pile of dirt...hard dirt. They still enjoy poking at it with a stick, except when one flung dirt into the other's eyes, which happened several times. Stalin's slide is just a ladder up to nothing, with no slide. So Daddy made due and did "READEEEEEEEE?!?!? JUMP!!!" and caught Lena & Dub as they "jumped" off Stalin's plank. OK, so I picked them up real fast, tossed them about 3 inches over my head, and brought them down, then sent them around to do it again. It truly is the little things that make kids excited.


Dub was imitating Daddy from across the "playground".


Stalin's slide, aka the ladder to the short plank.


That's our Dub, bein' the little boy that he is.


The dirt box. Even little girly-girl Lena likes it.

So, after a short break with Seinfeld and "The Incredibles", it's time to start Season 3 of "24". Woo hoo! Day 2 of 15 is in the books. We leave 2 weeks from today. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it IS a train...the Spanish Train!

Blessings,
Kevin, Angel, Dub & Lena