Don't let me get me.

So far today we have: eaten breakfast, napped, played with our five toys, lunch, another nap, played with our five toys, and now it’s almost 5 PM. My plan for the rest of the evening is: eat dinner, play with our five toys, and go to bed.

The only excitement for today is the delivery of a crib. I asked yesterday at the front desk for a baby bed. Naturally the receptionist only speaks Russian, so I mimed sleeping, and then pointed at the baby. The receptionist of course understood what I needed immediately and sent up a pillow. So, since I didn’t bring my Russian-English dictionary, I had to think of another route. I took pen and paper downstairs and drew my best rendition of a crib. “Ah!” she says, “tomorrow!” And indeed, a crib just arrived at our door. So maybe tonight I can sleep without worries of her rolling out of the bed (which she’s done once, I admit), and she can feel better having the usual confining four walls around her. This is also a positive development on the shower front, as in, I may get one! Finally I have a place to put her where I feel comfortable taking my eyes off her for a second.

Today has been, I would say, 5% better than yesterday. She is playing some on her own now, and I was able to be in the room with her today without holding her. I think a big part of our problem is boredom. These toys are not fun anymore! If she had more to play with and explore, maybe she wouldn’t require my lap so much of the time. Holding her all the time would be less of a problem if I could keep it up when we get home. But I can’t, so she must learn some independence. And if I’m in her eyesight 100% of the time (which I am), then she can be comfortable that I am not leaving.

She is, I’ve discovered, a dancing fiend. She loves Russian MTV, which doesn’t surprise me. Keith and I often saw it turned on in her room at the baby house. Maybe the songs remind her of home, I don’t know. But she dances, the patented baby knee-bend, and also shakes her head back and forth. It’s pretty funny.

I’m working with her on holding her own bottle or sippy cup. For being 12 months old, she isn’t used to doing much on her own. This surprises me, since you’d think at an orphanage they would want them as self-sufficient as possible. But she is a limp rag when I try to dress or undress her, and she has no concept of lifting pieces of food to put into her own mouth. She is starting to grab at the sippy cup, but lifting it high enough to get anything out is still beyond her. At least, though, we have a goal.

I got a phone call today from our original translator. I’ve been working with a different girl this second trip, and she isn’t nearly as good as our original one. He is wonderful at English, and so nice and easy to get along with. And he’s laid back – no issues with letting us go out, walk around, whatever. This other girl (at the ripe old age of 21) wouldn’t take me to the bazaar (where I’ve been many times before) because it wasn’t safe. She eventually relented, but only allowed me to go inside, no outdoor booths (which are my favorites!). Plus she charged me an arm and a leg for spending one hour in my company, whether I needed anything translated or not. So I’m glad to hear from Igor, and he’s taking us back to the bazaar tomorrow – and he doesn’t care which booths I go to. So finally, money will be spent! Souvenirs will be purchased! I promised Owen something good, and I need to deliver.

I was surprised at dinner with a visit from our coordinator. He said that Eva’s passport is done and off to Astana (the capital city) to be registered. He said I will have all original documents on Wednesday, when I fly to Almaty. I also have a 10 AM appointment with the SOS clinic in Almaty on Thursday. So that leaves only one hurdle in the way of my Friday morning flight – my meeting with the US Embassy. I am to call them tomorrow and try my best to get a Thursday appointment. If they are agreeable, then I should be home Friday night. If not, I’ll have to move my flight to Saturday. So, I will present my case the best I can, and if I can’t convince them, maybe hearing Eva screaming in the background will, because she is 100% sure to be screaming.