Rylie, Turkish Food, and the "Tree of Life"

Hi from Astana-
We had a great visit this morning with Rylie. When we got there, she was still eating breakfast. We managed to capture a few shots of Rylie's favorite caregiver feeding her breakfast. She was eating with her friend, Sabina, who will be going home to live in San Diego around the same time we come home to Phoenix.

After Rylie finished eating, we went into the playroom to hang out for the next couple of hours. We had a lot of fun today. We have noticed a recent "streak of independence" coming out in Rylie. She definitely knows exactly what she wants and if you don't have the toy that she wants, she will go and get it herself. She's figured out where all of the toys are kept....

Rylie also had a ton of fun on the indoor slide with Daddy. She loves to stand up on the top and dance and smile at Mommy. Rylie also loved playing with feet today. Not only her own, but she loved getting tickled in her belly by Daddy's feet. She lets out the loudest giggle, it really is so cute. Here's a shot from the tickling---

We also got our first family picture taken today! After our visit with Rylie, we went to lunch at a Turkish restaurant. It was really good. And across the street, we saw a store called "Phoenix" so we took a picture of Phoenix in Russian.

We then headed over to the "Bayterek"- Astana's version of the Eiffel Tower/ Washington Monument. Bayterek means Tree of Life. It was built when Astana became the capital of Kazakhstan. It is 97 meters tall to represent Astana becoming the capital in 1997. As you can see from the picture, it is designed to look like a tree, although it is often referred to as the ice cream cone or the lollipop. From the Bayterek, you can see the Presidential Palace, which is directly across a big grassy area- similar to the Mall in DC. In the spring, it is covered in flowers, but today, it was covered in snow.


The building in the distance with the blue dome is the Presidential Palace. The two gold buildings on either side are office buildings.

We were able to go up to the top of the Bayterek to get a better view of the city. This is the same shot from the top of the Bayterek. You can see the "Mall" type area in between the Bayterek and the Presidential Palace.Another shot from the top of the Bayterek. The building in this picture is "The Pride of Astana."

Up on the top level, there is an imprint of the President's hand. It is customary to place your hand in his and make a wish. Apparently couples come regularly on their wedding day to take a picture with their hands together in the imprint. Here is our picture- 4 1/2 years late!

So that's all from Astana today. We hope you are all well.

Love to everyone---