We hope you are all doing well. We have had a good couple of days here in Astana. Yesterday's visit with Rylie was great. We got there and her other favorite caregiver was feeding her. This is the caregiver that always says, "Yum Yum Naina" to try and get her to focus on eating- she gets really distracted looking to see what all of the other babies are doing. It is probably much cuter in reality, than it sounds- so trust us, it is very funny. We were happy to have caught it on the camcorder yesterday. Here is a picture of Rylie and the caregiver- we haven't quite gotten her name down yet. I'm sure you won't be surprised to know that this is the other one who spoon feeds Rylie all of her liquids!
After she finished eating, we had a great time hanging out in the playroom. Rylie has had a lot of fun playing with the other 3 babies in our visitation session. Rylie has been crawling really well and been really active lately. We played with our usual favorite toys- the stacking cups, keys, the bin of balls, the plastic house, the slide, and read our favorite book- Are You Ticklish?
After our visit we went to the Mosque. There are a number of mosques here in Astana as almost 50% of the country is Muslim. The country prides itself on its acceptance of all religions and has many landmarks throughout the city recognizing the different religions and embracing the many cultures. Here are a few pictures of the main mosque in Astana. Like the synagogue, it is only 3 years old, even though the architecture makes it appear to be much older. 
Today we also had a great visit with Rylie. She has been really, really verbal for the past couple of days, which is great. We think she just discovered that not only can she babble, but she can scream. It was pretty funny this morning, she kept screaming, and then laughing. She's also still blowing raspberries a lot. She seems to blow raspberries when she is concentrating on something- like crawling or catching a ball being rolled to her. It is pretty funny to watch.
Today, as usual, we spent a lot of time rolling the ball back and forth. Rylie gets so excited when she sees the ball!
We also spent time reading Rylie's Mirror Me book, which she loves. Rylie gets very excited to look at herself in the mirror and her eyes get huge. It is pretty funny. 
And of course, we spent time in the bin of balls and playing with the stacking cups! 
During our visit this morning, our translator was reading us some of our court papers that she had translated about the whole adoption. Rylie was squealing and babbling and smiling a ton, so we definitely think she's on board for the whole thing!
We wanted to wish everyone a happy and healthy Thanksgiving. We hope that wherever you are, you are enjoying a good meal with good company. While we wish we could be in either Phoenix, Philly, or Palm Springs, we are happy to report that we are going to be spending Thanksgiving at the Astana InterContinental Hotel. They are having a full Thanksgiving dinner, so we will be going with two other couples. Needless to say, we are very excited for a good "beet free" meal!
And Michele- this preview is for you, since I know how much you like the coming attractions section of the blog! On Saturday night we are going to a professional hockey game! We are really excited and we got our tickets today. The funniest part of the whole thing- each ticket was about the cost of a banana. (Bananas are really expensive here and hockey tickets are really cheap at 200 Tenge a piece- about $1.60!)
Love to everyone---
9 comments:
Happy Thanksgiving !(well almost Thanksgiving!!!)
We love the pictures and the Rylie episodes, and we are very thankful that you all found each other and brought her into our lives. Can you see that we are a bit excited?
We love you sweethearts and miss you all, but we know you are both doing something really incredible as you wait for Rylie. We are glad that you will be having that wonderful meal on Thursday, too.
Be well! Love, Mommy and Daddy/aka Rylie's Nana and Pa
(Sara--Can you tell which emotional one wrote this?)
Hello Sara and Adam,
This is Kjersten and Steve from the Astana afternoon group. Sounds like Rylie is having a good week. It's so much nicer in the playroom when it's not bulging with eight families, isn't it? Although the company is always fun.
We didn't know about the Thanksgiving dinner at the hotel tomorrow. Would you mind if we joined all of you? You can call us at our apartment tonight or tomorrow morning. The number is 22-13-77. (We tend to stay up late.) Or you could email me at oumou99@yahoo.com. If we don't connect, then hope you have a great time and we'll see you again Saturday morning.
Have a good evening!
-Kjersten & Steve
Hi,
Happy Thanksgiving - enjoy the dinner and company. I continue to enjoy the Rylie report and your travelogue. A wonderful way to start my day. Stay well. Take care. Hugs and Kisses. Love, Aunt Raggedy
Happy Turkey Day Turkies (or, in the case of Adam in Astana, Tofurkey)!
I think Rylie gets cuter every time I see her. From the looks of those cheeks, I have a feeling she will love celebrating Thanksgiving with her family in the US next year.
Sara, I have to tell you I laughed out loud when I saw the picture of you reading the mirror book to Rylie. It looks like her eyes get big just like her Mommy's do when looking in a mirror! Also, I can hear the exact voice that goes with that facial expression :) Its a really pretty sounding voice of course!
Thanks for the upcoming attractions. I love that the hockey ticket cost as much as a banana. Wouldn't the citizens of Kaz be shocked if they came to the US and tried to buy a banana and some hockey tickets!
Love, Michele
Great hearing your voices on skype and seeing how engaged Rylie is with the two of you who are such wonderful parents-to-be. Enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner and we will be thinking of you in P.S. Give her a big hug for us!! Much love, mom & dad
Happy Thanksgiving! We are enjoying your blog and feel very excited for you.
Love,
Josh and Patricia
Hi again - we are in PS and of course, between grandma and zadye, and the other members of the fam, Rylie has been elevated to rock star status - her photocopied pictures already posted! Hope you had a good Thanksgiving. Cheers
Happy Thanksgiving!!! That is so nice that you will be able to celebrate thanksgiving in the hotel -- will they be showing the Macy's Day parade!?
And as your SLP friend (or perhaps one of your SLP friends?!?) I am very happy to hear that Rylie is babbling up a storm -- I am sure she will carry her mothers ability to talk and talk and talk:)
And I agree with Michele on her comments about Sara reading the story!
Be well... and enjoy your turkey or tofurkey!
love, eve:)
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hope you enjoyed your meal at the Intercontinental! Just wanted to let you know we are thinking of you today. Loved the last post and I agree with Michele and Eve on the mirror book reading.
Love, Hannah
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