Our First Full Day Together

Ahhh… it’s a good morning here in Almaty. We’re all feeling rested and refreshed today.  Yesterday we figured out the key to Almaty… it’s simple really: stay inside during the hot, hot, hot afternoon and go out after the sun goes down.  Yesterday for lunch we went to Mad Murphy’s Irish Pub. I know it doesn’t sound very adventurous but I was curious. Is there truly an Irish Pub in Kazakhstan?  Yes, it’s an Irish Pub. Jesse ordered Fish-n-Chips and a Guinness.  After walking in the heat we came back to the hotel for our family afternoon nap, and didn’t go to dinner until almost 8:00p.m. For dinner we went to Coffeedelia. The Lonely Planet Tour Guide gave Coffeedelia rave reviews and now we know why.  It’s a great coffee house / fresh deli with free Wi-Fi.  The frapaccino that Jesse ordered would make the people at Starbucks nervous… it was delicious!

Griffin is an active participant on all our excursions.  He enjoys his time in the stroller as we’re walking, and seems to take in the sights and sounds of the city.  He also enjoys all the food we give him… everything! We’re not sure if he is making up for a few missed meals or if he just really likes the new flavors and textures he’s getting.  (Daddy here – Lana, I bet he will really like our homemade Guacamole!).  

The only time he’s looked completely shocked was in the car ride to and from the SOS clinic. It was probably too much stimulation for him to process so quickly, but he still dealt with it well.  At the clinic we found out that Griffin is ~20 pounds. He’s so light but seems to be average height.  His legs and arms are tiny.  Most of the 12 month shorts we brought for him to wear are too big, because he has no butt to hold them on! He’s wearing 12-18 month shirts.  I think most of his 20 pounds is on his head – the boy is in serious need of a haircut.  He has so much hair and some of it is still tinted pink from the medicine they put on it almost 8 weeks ago.  My OCD issues are struggling with the hair… I’m so temped to cut it.

I’m not sure if Griffin remembered us from Shymkent 6 weeks ago.  Jesse thinks he saw a flicker of recognition (a bit if a grin…).  While I didn’t notice signs of recognition, I fortunately didn’t see signs of fear or anxiety either.  It has taken a couple days, but now he’ll smile when we get him from his crib and he’ll reach for us to pick him up.  Last night we had a new first -- we gave him a real bath. Jesse got in the tub with him, and at first he was scared, but by the end of the bath he was completely relaxed and loved the scrub down with baby body wash.  I think he’s starting to realize things aren’t so bad.