We also played in the plastic house for a while. Rylie loves to sit on the floor with Mommy and play with some of the little balls from the bin of balls. She also loves to look through the tunnel to try and find Daddy. Today when she was looking, Daddy caught a picture.
As some of you know, Rylie is not a fan of the bottle. Apparently she has convinced some of her caregivers to spoon feed her liquids. Today we had a little heart to heart with Rylie, after trying 3 different types of bottles. We are happy to report that the sippy cup was somewhat successful. You had to know that if there is one child in Kazakhstan who prefers to consume her liquids from a spoon, we would find her!
Many of you have asked us about the inside of the Baby House. Rylie's room has six babies, including Rylie. There are always 2 caregivers in the room- we think there are a total of 5 or 6 who rotate in different shifts. Rylie's doctor is also there full time. Her group has what is basically like a suite. There is a bedroom area, where each child has his or her own crib, a playroom area, which has six highchairs along the wall, a bunch of toys, and some super sized playpens. This is where the children are for the music class and any other recreation. Off of the playroom area, there is a kitchen and a bathroom/ changing area. Each child has his or her own cubby in the bathroom with towels, etc.
This is a picture of the playroom area for Rylie's group. This is not the playroom where we have our visits. 
Down the hall from Rylie's group's suite is the playroom where we have our visits. This is a picture of the room. It isn't a huge room, but big enough for a few families for a few hours. It is the Saturday visits with 6-7 families when it becomes chaos. You can't really see much in this picture, but on the other side of the room is where the little house Rylie likes to play in and the bin of balls are.
Two interesting facts to share with all of you....
The 1st First Lady of Russia was Naina (Yeltsin) and the 1st First Lady (current) of Kazakhstan is Sara.
The traditional cure for the common cold in Kazakhstan is to have a shot of vodka with pepper and then pull the blanket over your head.
That's all from Astana. We hope you are all well.
Love to everyone---
6 comments:
She is so cute and so delicious!! I love the facial expressions. I am glad that the Sippy Cup worked . She will get used to it , you'll see.
Thanks for all the pictures of Rylie's living areas. What does the rest of the complex look like--the part where the older children are? Also, what kinds of things do the babies and the older children need? There are a number of us who would like to send clothes, toys, money--whatever. We are very grateful for the wonderful love and care that Rylie received there.
We miss you all, but your pictures, e-mails and skype calls have made a huge difference. Stay well and do not feel the need to drink the vodka and pepper.
Love, Mom (and Dad who is sleeping)\aka Rylie's Nana and Pa...
Hi, What a bundle of love you have. Rylie must be quite the persuasive little character along with the caregivers having hearts of gold. I am happy to hear that your negotiations worked and that she is using a Sippy cup. She will probably end up liking the independence of it. Rylie's living area is amazing. It is very clear how much they love and care for their children. A community raising children who are loved. The rooms are so cheery. I enjoy getting the history lesson. This last one makes it seem like this match was definitely meant to be! Take care. Stay well. Hugs and Kisses. Love, Aunt Raggedy
We adopted our son from Astana when he was almost 1. Not only did he not use a bottle, but it skoffed at the sippy cup, preferring the open tea cup!
After a couple months at home he caught on to the sippy cup.
Hello from Philadelphia (one of us anyway, Uncle Bob is in Phoenix on business and decided to stay 36 extra hours so he could attend cousin Jordyn's birthday party). Last we heard, Jordyn was making him a very large take home bag! Hope all is well and we love the pictures. Keep them coming!
Now as far as sports teams, Rylie can route for whomever she wants but just not on the day the Eagles play the Redskins! Stay warm, enjoy the beets and love to you all! Tanta Debbi
How ironic that you would find the most independent baby in Kaz! She's soooo cute! I can't wait to get my arms around her and give her a big hug :-)
The pictures of the baby house are awesome. It seems like such a cheerful place. Good thing you painted such a bright playroom at home! :-) I am sure she will appreciate seeing the baby house pictures when she is older to understand how loved she was during her stay there.
Tell Rylie that Micah and Jordyn love rolling the ball to each other, too. They are looking forward to her joining their game!
Miss you!!!
Love,
Bethany, etc.
Hello! Thanks for all of the adorable pictures of Rylie. It is so much fun to see her in action. Also, it was great to see the baby house after hearing about the attentive care that Rylie receives there. Hope you had another nice day with her. Thinking of you.
Love, Hannah
PS I am not going to weigh in on the football debate because I know in basketball there is no competition when it comes to our Hoosiers.:)
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