Monday Rainy Day!

Thought y' all would like to see what the neighbors building looks like. This apt is right next to us by the Hotel Skiff.



Welcome to the Hotel Skiff! Home Sweet Home for the 3 weeks! It's the best Hotel in town...Petro only has two. It has a swim pool/fitness center, beauty salon and a full service restaurant with one English menu. Also, security guards too. Our room is very big and comfortable. We love having the chamber maids come to give us fresh linens & towels. Did I tell u they have laundry service too. FULL service here!This is our dear "Valentina" our translator...our connection to the people of Kazakhstan. She speaks English beautifully and has been to the US several times...Quincey,MA and the Cape.


We would be lost without her!!! Dave and I are very lucky to have Valentina all to our selves. It seems to be a very slow time here in Petro for adoptions and we are the only family here.
Valentina has been working for the last 10 years for the adoption agency and before was an English school teacher. He husband is too an English teacher @ a private city school.


They have a 15 year old daughter who attends the school. I am trying to have her come to Nantucket to be our summer mother's helper. We shall see??




We woke up this morning to rain and alot chillier than before. Autumn is in the air! Saw on Sunday, some ladies trying on Fall/Winter fur lined coats. They are getting ready for the cold weather.


Dave and I had another GREAT day with our little guy. The Baby house was very quiet again today, it was also the holiday so.....not many if any other than us visiting.


We had an inside playdate today...Rain! We were all invited to play up stairs in the music room!


A very large pink room with a puppet theatre stage, a home made "Yurt" by the ladies from the Baby house and a Big boom box. The three us us had a fun...tummy time, singing time, and just playing. Note..we were the only ones there. This is a home for children under the age of 4...right? It is the most quiet place...no sounds or crying and laughter. The walls are really sound proof. All the care givers are so kind, loving and gentle and LOVE what they do!!!


Heard it will b e colder in the am on Tuesday. We will be meeting with our adoption coordinator "Svetlana" to go over details about our adoption and court date. She lives in Almaty...the former capital of KZ about a 4hour plane ride south of us.

Tuesay is also the first day of school for the children of Petro. Hope to see and get some pix of the kids all dressed up!

Have a good one..til next post!

Sunday Holiday in Petro

All aboard! Doesn't this look like a fun ride?

Here are some performers...in Russian costumes singing traditional songs. The lady costumes remind me of my Polish heritage.

These Lovely girls were waiting to go on stage to preform. Don't you love the bright yellow?

They were so cute to watch and pretty too!

Lunch time!

This is one our favorite restaurants walking distance from the Hotel.

Lamb kebabs with home made french fries like "in and out". Served with a spicy red dipping sauce. Can't quite figure it out...ketcup ,A1 sauce, worchershire???? I must write to Gourmet Magazine for the recipe!!!!

Leith's lunch Pork kebabs with rice. I am playing it safe with most food.

Dave and I enjoyed our Sunday together! We had a lazy start knowing our afternoon was going to filled with "Constitution Day" festivities the holiday which was taking place this Sunday. Sorry,I need to brush up on my Kazak history for you.

The celebration took place on Constitution Ave.....which is a very long pedestrian walk way thru out the city. The DPW guys were working pretty hard several days before in preparation.

This avenue is lined with tall full trees , lovely flowers, benches and shops and restaurants and again it a short walk from our Hotel.

The day was a day for ALL. Families old and young and the outfits the people were wearing that were not preforming were very fancy to very basic and plain. The ladies of all ages love to wear high heels and tight jeans. The older ladies..(grandmas)that are" chic" do love their hair in the Henna color wash and other odd colors too.

All the children wear hats of all shaped and sizes. Very cute! Buggies/strollers are in an abundance but the most popular means of transportation for the Little ones ( 1& and up )are the ride on bikes with stirring wheels,baskets and horns. Must take a few pix.

Over all we had a nice day with out our dear friend "Valentina" our translator. We did very much miss our guy!!! I wish we could have had him with u!!! Our next visit is this morning..Monday so I must get ready.

Will post about today's adventure when I can.

Happy Monday to all!

Crazy Post!

Sorry all..... for the "mixed up / upside down "last post. ...Saturday's sleep time. I was trying to post too much and got confused.
This blog thing is ......trial and error. Enjoy the pictures and our adventure!

Saturday's sleep time!

The House speciality: Lamb stew with a very yummy carrot and rice. They piece of bread is there home made fried dough...like a donut but no sugar. In fact it comes out HOT from the kitchen. I am eating one now...cold with jam...it's almost like Nantucket Bake Shop donut.

These are lamb and pumpkin dumplings served with a side of sour cream. The dough was delicate and the filling flavorful.


This was our window decor....a wooden shade that David liked very much.
Mama Leith inside one of the many dinning areas. The painting behind the wall is very much what one would see in Uzbekistan.
Well that was our Saturday. Stay tune for more adventures! Sunday should be interesting for us...no translater and no babyhouse visit.

The Russian Theatre behind us and two Kazak warriors.

After our sight seeing, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch @ the Uzbekistan restaurant.

Sorry, I didn't post yesterday....Mama Leith was very tired and Baby Kinney #2 is getting bigger and taking my energy away. Had to rest and take it easy.

Well, everyday is a new day! Don't know what to except when we arrive @ the Babyhouse in the am. Our little guy again, didn't sleep so well and had a bit of a fever...so breakfast was already given to him....we all think he is teething...he already has 2 bottom ones and is 7 months old...it comes with the territory. This am took him outside for our 1st buggy ride which of course he fell a sleep for our whole 2 hour visit. At least he had some fresh air. Dave and I enjoyed the sun and of course watching our little one sleep. The mosquitos today were bad driving us ALL mad!!!

We watched the 3-4 yrs old kids and their caregiver play on the P.G. exploring nature and having a dance party with music from the caregivers cell phone...some had talent and others Not! Too cute for words. I wish I had taken photos.

Valentina took us after our" sleep time visit "to see some of the historical sites of Petro.

Playday 3

Welcome to the Baby House in Petro!

The drive way to the compound.


What a great day we all had today!
The little guy was feeling so much better...back to him self again.
A good night sleep is a magical thing!
We have lucked out again on the weather. There was more life today @ the Baby house
with bigger kids playing outside and the little tiny babies (under 6 months ) outside too in the buggys wrapped up tight napping w/ bug nets protecting them from the bugs. The bugs are every where...flying around eating sweet young skin.
Dave and I continued with the schedule, morning breakfast, 2nd layer of clothing and hat.
The little guy just loves to watch the trees moves and touch the leaves.
I became friendly with one of the lady cooks ....she was carrying a big bowl of fresh cabbage and we made a foodie connection. Before you knew it..I was in the kitchen taking a tour and smelling ALL of the wonderful home made fresh food for the children and staff. I wish I could eat there too. Apple broth, chicken soup, minced ground meat ( for babies) , a big pot of beautifully smooth and Velvet mashed potatoes, and of course a colorful salad of diced up finely
tomatoes, cabbage, and cucumber ( puree for 12 months and up).
We received good news from our state side DR. that the little guy is good health for a baby that is under care @ the Baby house. This makes us very happy!
Valentina took us today after our visit.. to the Kazakhstan gift shop. What a wonderful place to see all things Kazak. The traditional dresses, hats and outfits are very colorful and beautiful.
We are truly enjoying our time here in KZ. I am taking it easy in the afternoons...napping and just veggingand of course eatting ice cream! Dave is reading, napping and using the fitness room here @ the Hotel.
Hope all is well on the island and everyone is still enjoying the last days of summer.

Playdate 2

The Babyhouse's sauna and pool house for the children.

Play time @ the play ground!



Come play!

Got Milk?

The Kazkhstan milk "bubba" with out nipples.

Breakfast all gone!

Semolina cereal,fruit puree,chopped egg yolk,fruit juice

Hi All!

Dave and I were so excited for our 2nd playdate with the little one!

It started out fine..washed hands and picked up the little for his breakfast and got the BIGGEST smile from him!!!! Off we went to the table and chairs to enjoy our morning food. The little was soooooo hungry we had to feed him fast!!! He had not sleep well the night before and woke up early from his morning nap 1 hour . So by 10am he was starving. As you can see breakfast was gone! Playtime began....layered the guy with outside clothing which included a pink hat to cover his ears again. He didn't like that because, it was way to small for him! Off we went to the outside. The little one held by David...just loves to watch the trees in the wind. He is not to fond of the sun and was becoming fussy and along come diaper change duty we thought...back inside to change and play BUT, ended up with nothing in the diaper ...just air and a very unhappy baby!

Since he just has started solid food and is getting use to it. The Doctor came in to check on him and said he was fine but, his tummy was tight. Quickly right after, in the arms of the Dr. he fell a sleep.

Guess what playdate #2 over in 1 hour.

We are hoping he will feel better in the morning. So much new excitment for a little one.
Valentina our translater took us around the city and did a little shopping and had lunch @ a yummy Russian place. We will be dining there again and it's walking distance from our hotel.

We will see what the morning will bring. The weather has been great. At least there isn't any snow. Petro is having a nice warm spell and evryone is still enjoying the summer weather.

We hear in the evenings the children next door playing in there play ground! lots of laughter and fun going on...playing in the dirt, with stixs as guns and running around.

Well, time for bed

Good nite to all and all a good nite!

First playdate !

Yesterday was our first 2 hour play date with the little. A very exciting day and not knowing what to expect ...we had a great time. Our time is 10-12 ...just in time to give our little one his morning breakfast and playtime after.
Our day began by seeing the playroom ...where all the other 6-12 months play. There in the HUGE wooden play pen was our little one with a cup in hand beating the wooden slates to get out. He wanted out and wanted to play with us!!!!! All of the other children (4x) were happy to stay and watch us...but one little girl who just cried...cried...cried. I don't think she like us and change in the room.
Kazakhstan breakfast for our little: semolina cereal, puree fruit of some kind, chopped egg (not sure if it was just the whites or yolks) and fruit juice served in a porcelain mug.
Well our little one just started eating solid food....and I wasn't FAST enough for him..he ate it all up and loved drinking from his mug with help from me. This of course all takes place while sitting om my lap. Dave was in charge of cleaning off his face. Think it will be Dave turn next.
Playtime was next.....it was a nice day with a touch of wind so....we bundled up the little one with a hat to cover his ears put on another layer of long sleeve clothing to off the playground on campus. We all enjoyed the fresh air! The little one enjoyed playing with the silky scarf, Trot.Trot to Boston, and laughed alot when air was blown to his tummy.
As play time came to end...Dave and the little one snuggled in the chair...so peacefully.
What a GREAT morning!
Looking forward for the next one.
Alles gutes! All is well!

Leg two and three down! We are here!

Hi All!
We are finally here in Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan!!! It has only taken us 20 months to get here!
Our flight to Astana went as planned...the 5.5 hour flight was not as comfortable as our last. Oh well. When we arrived @ the airport...we were greeted with 2 ladies in Doctors coats, face masks and a thermo heat gun...taking everyone temp. It was strange @ the time but it was mid nite by then and I thought I was dreaming/seeing things. We were greeted and whisked off w/ our translated and driver/bodyguard to our Fancy airport hotel....NOT! By this time I was sleepwalking out of the airport down an semi dark alley veryveryclose to the airport and then came upon our Hotel for the night. Some thing like Motel 8 but light on. We had a quick rest and off again in the am for our little flight to Petro. only this time 1 hour 10minutes. Arrived at the Petro airport and this time we had to have our temps taken the old fashion way under the arms with glass thermometers. Well the Kz government is very concerned about the H1/S1 flu out break.
With all that behind us, we had a very busy first day in Petro. Checking into our hotel, Meeting the head Ministries of Education . That went very well but I was asked alot of questions about our adoption since I am 6 months pregnant. I am the first lady to adopt while pregnant I was told by her. She wished us well and off we went to collect our Social Worker and headed to the Baby House to meet the Director and Drs. and to meet some children who are available to adopt. We did meet our little one !!! He is soooooooo cute and very good natured. Liked David alot! What a day that was!! Didn't think it would be packed fill and alot to take in!
I will share more info on the little one once we clear our medicals and know every thing is okay.
Will post again very soon about our 2nd meeting with the little one.
It's nap time for Mama Leith.
Paka..Paka.. Bye..Bye..

Leg one down!

Guten Morgen to all! Good morning!

Dave and I made safely to Frankfurt, Germany! A great ride on the plane....we were upgraded to business which made a HUGE differance. I guess my belly helps!
We have enjoyed the airport hotel ...just steps away from the airport and only have been relaxing..sleeping and eatting. Love those Nurenburg sauages w/ kaut!
Off to breakfast and then Leg #2 will begin today...Frankfurt to Astana 5.5 hour flight w/ a sleepover @ the airport hotel in the capital of our little ones counrty. On tuesday will be our final Leg #3 to Petropavlosvk.

Alles ist gutes and bis nextes mal.
All is well and till next time.

The proud parents to-be. xoxo

Ready for take off!

Hi All!
Yes, we finally got our travel dates!!!!! We are leaving the island on this friday 21 st of Aug. and take off on saturday night the 22nd Aug. @ Logan ( Boston ) for the 1st leg of our journey to Frankfurt, Germany. WE will be staying the night and relaxing and then off AGAIN on Monday the 24th the 2nd leg of journey to the captial of Kazakhstan...ASTANA... an over night and then 3rd leg of journey to the northern part of Kazakhstan to the city of Petropavlovsk. We will be staying in Petro for about 3 weeks! Dave and I will FINALLY get to meet our little one! VERY EXCITING time for us!
I am now 6 months pregnant and have gotten the clearance from my team of Drs. to travel...but, they would like me back home ASAP.
Dave has been busy with last minute work stuff and getting every thing in order for our trip.
Our 1st born will not be coming home with us on our return trip....we must wait for all the paper work to be finalized so......it will be a very HARD WAIT for us...within 5 week waiting time we think if not sooner.
We are planning on updating the blog as much as possible pending computer connections @ our Hotel Skiff in Petro. So, please stay posted. We will be also checking our e-mails too.
Will post again some time soon and sending love to all from HOT, STICKY Nantucket.