Happy Day ! Happy Family!

Proud parents ...Papa David and Mama Leith with

Dr. Rimma from the Babyhouse. She is the BIG Cheese!!

We can't thank her enough for all what she has done for our little guy and all the other children of Kazakhstan at the Babyhouse. Dr.Rimma has been @ there for 39 years and still growing strong! Her wish came true today!!! Alexsei has a family !!!!

The proud Kinney Family!

Happily ever after!!!!

This photo was taken right after court which favored us to be Alexsei parents.

Please note...Alexsei is under the weather with a cold ..hence the hat indoors.

Our little snuggle bunny!!!!

Please welcome with joy....


ALEXSEI MILES KINNEY


born on: January 16, 2009


Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan









Our beloved first child of the Kinney Family!!!


We have waited for a a very long time to finally meet our dear sweet son!


WE LOVE YOU!



Thank you to all the wonderful people....Karen, Svetlana, Valentina, Dr. Rimma and the judge and many more who made this dream come true for David and I.

This journey to become parents has been an unbelievable experience that we will never forget and will treasure it till we die!

We have very much enjoyed Kazakhstan....meeting many new friends, learning about both the Kakzakh culture and Russian , and seeing the sights of our sons birth place of:

PETROPAVLOVSK.



As we say good bye...PAKA..PAKA in the morning ,we will always remember how kind , loving and caring the people of Kazakhstan are!!!!



Dave and I are off to Astana ..the capital city for 2 days of sight seeing before returning on our long journey back to the" far away island "

of Nantucket...30 miles out to sea.

Alexsei is not joining us on this trip...sadly. He will continue to stay @ the Babyhouse for another 3-5 weeks til the paper work is finalized. Papa Dave will meet Master Alexsei in the city of Almaty and finish up with more paper work, US visa, passport and health check up.

Then the two Kinney guys will make their way home back to Mama Leith.

I wish I could join them...however since I am due in Nov 2009 with Alexsei's sister I need to stay home. I will be waiting with open arms!!!!

Thanks to following our blog and hope to continue with up dates.

Move over TOP CHEF! Watch out Iron Chef! There's a New Chef in Town!

Here is the wonderful Russian Head Chef @ the Babyhouse with Mama Leith and her gifts!

This nice women is so kind and loving and is a very HARD worker. She works long hours and puts her magic to good use!



Today's Lunch!

Lazy mans stuffed cabbage.

The smell from this pot was like my Grandma's cooking! It's puree of roasted chicken, with minced up/ finely chopped and sauteed....cabbage, onions and rice.

Because, it is served to the children....no outer shell of steamed cabbage leaves.

All what is missing is a fresh loaf of rye bread and some home made butter!





This is the center piece ...the main attraction in the kitchen.

The stove and ovens. There are 2 ..one looks like a cutting table but it has a warming temp. table top and the the oven/stove.

It is very clean and organized in here! A great place to work!

Day of Thanks!

THANK YOU! For your kindness and caring. David and Leith Kinney and of course Alexsei!

As you can see....ALexsei ha been busy with Mamas help shopping and wrapping all the gifts for the sweet kind ladies @ the Babyhouse. It ended up being around 24 gifts total.

A Big shower of LOVE and THANK YOU for taking GREAT CARE of him while he was waiting for his FAMILY!!!
The new Kinney family hope-to-be on Friday...walked around the Babyhouse passing out thank you presents...to the wonderful ladies in the kitchen, who prepare the most good looking and best smelling food I have seen to about 70 children in the Babyhouse. It's ALL HOMEMADE too. Unbelievable!!! The two care givers in ALexsei's room will help out passing out there gifts. His room has a total of 9-10 ladies day and night shifts. I have taken a few shots of them and will post very soon along with our ALEXSEI!

Alexsei's bag is packed and he's ready to go...when the time comes! He will meet his PAPA/Daddy Dave in southern KZ in ALmaty some time in the next 3-5 weeks after our court date. The Kinney boys will have a GREAT BONDING time in the city doing what needs to be done before they come back to the US. SOS Clincic and US Embassy paper work.

If you happen to see......2 very handsome and cute father and son .....blond blue eyes pair

in the city or @ the aiport....that's my BOYZ!!!!

Wish them lots of luck and safe travels!!!!!

Soup Time! Hungry anyone?

Look at this!!! Isn't this beauitful? Don't you love the fresh dill on the Borsht soup?

Yes, this is Borsht soup but with NO beets in it. It's a tomatoe base with lots of carrots, celery, cabbage, and potatoes finely chopped...some times comes with pieces of meat too.

I have enjoyed this soup when it's been cold out side. Need to look up recipe on line in Russian soups.

Thought y'all would enjoy the fancey table setting @ the Russian restaurant.

It's open for lunch and dinner..we seem to be the only people ever eatting lunch out.

The dinning room was ours!!

Okay....next soup! This one is my most favorite! It comes from the Turkish Pizza place

"Donner Cafe". I have eatten it @ least 4 times this trip!!!

I believe it is a yellow split pea and wheat soup. The best part of eatting this one is squeezing fresh lemon juice on top! I have tried to do some research on line about Turkish food and found a red split pea soup recipes for brides- to- be. It is supposed to nourish the bride.

If any one knows and or has a good yellow pea soup recipe send it to me.

Babies and More Babies!

Thought you would like to see a modern ride to the Hospital. There are some really old army style ones too but, haven't been able to take a shot.

Mama Leith in front of the enterance of the Baby Hosptial in Petro.

Welcome to the Maternity Hospital in Petro. It is a Huge Hosptial that serves the Northen Region of Kazakhstan.

We came today, as we are finishing our sight seeing list. Our dear Alexsei was born here in January 16th, 2009. I wanted to see where our little guy was born!

As we arrived and parked I noticed one of Alexsei's Drs. from the babyhouse...coming out of the building with 2 new little babies. They are off to there new home @ the Babyhouse!

When we said hello, the Dr. that It was time for me! We said oh....NO!! Just visiting today.

Gosh I still have another 2.5 months left. I was sure in the right spot! I have never seen so many prego ladies coming and going!

We have several busy days ahead of us.....before we leave Petropavlovsk. It has been a wonderful time here and we have loved meeting and seeing the people here!

Our court date is for Friday and then our last visit with our guy Alexsei and saying good bye to ALL the staff @ the Babyhouse and thanking them for ALL what they do! The caregivers are so wonderful !!! Caring and Loving and Kind too!!!!!!

Will post again soon!

Love to all!

13th Anniversary!!!

Outside seating @ one of our favorite spots! The Ubekastan restaurant.

We had a yummy lunch again...lamb w/ rice and those fried dough balls.
The happy couple on their 13th Anniversary luncheon.


Every man needs his chocolate! Isn't this funny?? A really thick piece of chocolate w/ almonds..like a CHUNKY from home.
WE just loved the packaging!

Woke up today, to sun and the temp was quite warm! It was to rain all day but, Mother earth knew it was our Anniversary. 13 is our lucky number!!! So much has happened since last year!!
All GOOD! The future looks GREAT! What more can we ask for? WE are still in love, have our health, Alexsei will be ours very soon and his sister is coming in November. One BIG Happy Kinney family!!!

Our visiting days with Alexsei are slowly coming to an end...Friday will be our last day. We also have court and hope the judge will grant us custody of our little guy.
Dave and I will get a chance for a few days to spend some time in the capital of KZ...ASTANA...to see the NEW sights before taking the long journey flights home.

Sending our back-to-school greetings to all ....who will start school very soon!
Love from Petro!

More to see!

Charge!!
Inside again the King's receiving room. A very grand place!!

This room with all the multi colored rugs was the dinning room. The rugs were so beautiful!!! It makes you want to go rug shopping. The other pieces of furniture were the "dowery" chests. The wood detailing was very pretty.

The King !
Abylai-Khan

1711-1781

Sight seeing in Petropavlovsk

The wise King of Petro...receiving his guests in 18th centry.

This room in his residence was really cool to see in person. All the beautiful rugs, furs, and many other treasures. This room was the place to be!
The ladies entering the beautiful private residence of the 18th centry King.
This buidling has just been renovated the last 2 years and the building was dedicated by the now president of Kazakhstan: Nazerbaev.

The Kinneys going to church. This cathedral is a Russian Orthodox church and it is the oldest in Petro. The city was named after the two saints: Peter and Paul...Petropavlovsk.

With help from many donations the church was having alot of out side renovations...it was very hard to take a full pix of church.

Inside ...the ladies had to cover up their hair with scarfs. The walls and ceilings had the most beautiful paintings of religeous scenary.

Kazak Hospitality

We were invited on thursday by a local family to join them at a nearby lakeside retreat for a feast, Kazak style. The parents of our very own Nantucket connection, Yershan, invited us and their close friends for kabobs and traditional Kazak dishes. Guests included the head of northern Kazakhstan's customs police, a former Kazak wrestling olympian, and high-ranking police. Lots of eating, laughing and funny comments regarding communism, democracy, and the KGB. Former Pres. Clinton was definately the most popular of US politicians. Big laughs after Leith asked why they all could get off work on this particular day during the work week.

In the early afternoon, we started with a most traditional Kazak meal (including horse prepared several ways: roasted, sausage and smoked...think good pot roast). Many toasts were made in our honor and they were very supportive of our adoption and Leith's pregnancy. We ate in the log cabin while it rained lightly. Delicious. We finished eating, the rain tapered off, then we strolled along the lake and rested on some swings.

Not long after, we began round 2. Chicken and lamb kabobs on the outside BBQ under a great outdoor firepit/picnic area. Honey cake and tea to finish. We had to head back to Petro, about 20 min. away, to get Leith back to bed before she was completely exhausted, so we unfortunately missed the evening sauna. Overall, a great experience that we will not forget.

Calling all children blogger viewers!!!

NOW PLAYING @ the Petro Movie Box...

G-FORCE!!

Russian M&M's

Hello to Wesoly, Holly, Rourke, Beck, Austin, Ali, Luke, Allie, Teddy and Max,

And any one else I might have forgotten...

David and I would like to invite any or all of you to the night @ the movies!!!

Please ask your parents permission first. The night will include.....movie tix, snacks , russian candy, ice cream and any thing else yummy.

Should be a fun night of fun!

PLEASE NOTE: the 4x flights to get to Petro are NOT included. Please also have your passports up-to-date..you eill need a Visa to enter Kazakhstan.

Hope y'all can join us on this Saturday night ...6PM.

Babyhouse Donations

The Babyhouse is looking for donations. They are in need of some simple things like:

Bandaids, Neosporin, and Desitin (baby fanny cream)

If any one wants to help...Dave will be returning back to KZ in late Sept/ Oct and can bring the items with him to share @ the babyhouse.

Thank You!

September 1st... Autum has arrived in Petro!

A new outfit for our Master Kinney! A gift from "Timor's"grandma.

When u eat this......you go to heaven or have a heart bipass!

Pigorgi (sp?) friend dough meets mashed potatoes. Just really yummy! They are made with other fillings too...cabbage, liver, meat . Had to have one to try.



SNACK ATTACK!

Mama Leith and Baby #2 were hungry for more Russian/Kazak snacks!

The chips are quite good..like bbq...my chocolate milk gone! Haven't tried the Tea cake yet..looks good..chocolate coverd yellow cake w/ apricots. We all know TWIX taste good...aren't they cute in MINI size!!



WE woke today to....CHILLY weather 50s? The rain has gone but it brought the cold chilly autum air!

Thank goodness I have 1 pair of cahmere soxs with me! We are doing our layering thing.

As, I mentioned school started today in Petro for ALL the kids big and small. Sorry, don't have any pix of girls w/ BIG bows in their hair. WE did see many of them and even 2 at a time!

The young boys were ALL dressed in there Sundays best...suits to yes, we even saw a tux!!

Today was a very social day for us Kinneys. First babyhouse visit...went well and fun. The babyhouse was back to it's busy place today. 2nd,shopping for our little guy...he needs 2x warm outfits to wear plus and outerwear snow suit/hat...things he will be leaving the babyhouse in when he is released and bought to Almaty to meet up with Daddy Dave...some time in late Sept/Oct.

We had a quick lunch @ Donner Pizza and off to meet our lawyer"Svetlana" about court dates and sign lots of papers.

After all that, we hosted a mini get together with our Nantucket/Kazak friend :Yershan..(Timor's dad) Mom. We met her and her husband back in August on Nantucket ans we wanted to them here in Petro. The family has a busines here in Petro and goes home to Astana on the weekends. Grandma gave us that good looking outfit for our little guy! She is sooooo sweet and kind and showerd me with lots of love and hugs!! We are planning on spending more time with them before we leave to go home .

Finally, meet up again w/ "Svetlana" and we have Great NEWS! We have a court date and it is Sept. 11th, Friday...Aunt Sara's birthday

Dave and I are in GREAT hands and we have been told. We are still the 1st couple to come to Petro for adoption while being pregnant! We are the trend setters!
Wish us luck! If all goes well we will returning to Nantucket several days after. The sad thing is our little guy must stay here in Petro another 2-4 weeks. We will then get the okay to come back to fetch him and return to his NEW home!

Busy..busy..busy day!

Sending love to all!

(please note my spell check isn't working so...I am not a good speller and sorry for my mistakes)