In Almaty!
We made it to Almaty with no problems. I was stressed out the whole, turbulence filled plane ride here because I just knew he would get sick but everything was fine. We are worried about the long flights coming up later this week though! He didn’t understand waiting to board the plane and asked for the plane every 30 seconds or so. He was PUMPED getting on the airplane and taking off, but was bored & restless during the rest of the flight. It’s going to be a loooong trip home!!
We have to take him to a medical appointment tomorrow and then we have an exit interview @ the Embassy on Tuesday. We want to leave ASAP, but there aren’t a whole lot of flight options. Right now we are on hold for a flight on Wednesday that has an overnight stop in DC and if that doesn’t work, we won’t be able to make it home until Saturday. We are still working with the travel agency trying to firm everything up.
We’re staying at the Hotel Kazzhol and have very nice accommodations, including A/C! I’ve visited tons of hotels throughout my life, but today I figured out the absolute best thing a hotel can do to accommodate families – have a pool! They have a beautiful, indoor swimming pool here and Ry was very happy to kill a couple of hours down there! The restaurant is fantastic and I’m worried we will gain back all the weight we’ve lost by eating here for a few days! They have specialty Swiss ice cream which is absolutely delicious.
After we got to our room, some of the staff wheeled a crib into our room. We tried to tell them that we didn’t need a crib – Ry could sleep in once of the Queen beds, but it was lost in translation. We just let them set it up and told Ryland he didn’t have to sleep in it. He almost cried and told us he wanted to sleep in it and put his stuffed bear & dog in there! We’ll see how tonight goes, but it looks like he wants to sleep in the crib!! I’ll definitely get pictures if he does! At least he can’t fall out of the crib – last night he fell off the couch and Dust found him sitting on the living room floor half awake & very confused. Dustin told him everything was OK and laid him back down and he was out like a light!
Ry’s little suitcase has not left his side for about 24 hours. He even took it with him to the bathroom this morning before we left the apartment. I think he was so afraid that we would leave all of his stuff behind!
posted by The Stone's @ 8:31 AM
9 Comments
9 Comments:
He'd better be careful!! That smile is going to crack his cute little face!! SO excited for ya'll to be making you trip back.
Love ya'll!!
SO wonderful to see that your adoption is moving forward! And to see photos of your cutie! He looks like he is having a great time. All the best!
Pools are definately a must with kids and hotels. It was something we always liked before, but now it is a must. One more week. Hang in there you are almost home.
Yay, you are getting closer to home! He will get his energy out in the pool when you get home. I hope the planes you take will have good movies. Can you try and get him a few new toys for the planes? Our hardest was in Frankfurt on layover, Nicholas tried walking away from us while we were waiting. But you have had more time to earn trust and improve communication than we had.
That is one happy looking kid!!I feel excited just looking at that picture! Congratulations on making it this far. You are so close now. Enjoy Almaty and the pool!
Lou Ann & Lexie too
Like Katherine, our hardest part of the trip home with Lukas (3 1/2 at the time) was a long layover in Frankfurt. We had custody of Lukas for only 10 days before flying home. 2 hours into the last flight he got up and was ready to get off the plane. I think he slept all of about 4 hours on our 30 hour trip.
Lukas was the same way with his suitcase. He wouldn't let anyone else pull it and he wouldn't let it out of his sight.
If you end up leaving on Wednesday with the overnight stay in DC let me know. We flew in and out of Dulles and live about an hour a way. You are more than welcome to stay with us (we have 2 big dogs). I'm sure Ry and Lukas would have fun together.
ahhh... he's so cute!! such a SWEET smile!! :)
SO thrilled you are ALMOST home... :)
The look on his face sittitng in the window seat is priceless! Enjoy Almaty and wish you a great trip home!
Glad to hear you made it to Almaty relatively trouble-free. Our fingers are crossed for your coming days of processing. May they be trouble-free (they won't, this is Kazakhstan, but one can always hope!).
While the Hotel Kazzhol was a little out of "our neighbourhood", during our prolonged Almaty experience, we did get together with several families passing through Almaty who stayed there. However, if you turn right out of the main door, head under the "arch" to the main road (Gogol), turn left on Gogol & cross to other side of the street at one of the underground intersection walkways, in about 5-10 blocks you will come to a large area of "outdoor" (will be covered in tarp right at this time of year) food vendors (traditional Kazakh shashlyk, plov, breads, a few restaurants for the locals, etc.) plus a large grocery store which is open late. All are very good places for food and supply purchases. And good places to find things for Ry. And there are also numerous outdoor parks in the vicinity with playgrounds to let off steam in that neighbourhood.
Best of luck with your last few days - the final curtain call is almost upon you.
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