In the home stretch!

Let's see if this will post. We were still having trouble posting and I just gave up on Blogger for awhile! I know our family and close friends are up to date, since we have kept in touch via email and phone calls.
Things are going well. We finished our 14 bonding days last Sunday and are now awaiting court which should be on 4/2 or 4/3. We have been told that this judge never waives the appeal period. We will go home after court and then one of us will return in 3-4 weeks to get Brogan. We hate to have to leave him, but are also anxious to get home to Bryson as we miss him so much. It really makes you feel torn as a parent! We decided not to use the escort option. It sounds complicated to arrange and we just feel responsible for his safe trip home to us.
We haven't gotten sick - even after all the babies had colds and fevers, and have been comfortable. Just getting a bit bored at this point. We look forward to our visits with Brogan, but that is only 3-4 hours out of our days.
We did get to enjoy the Kazakh New Year festivities last week and have been to a restaurant to sample some very good traditional Kazakh food. We took a walk down at the beach. The Caspian Sea has very clear water and I collected some sand and shells to bring home for Brogan.
They also took us to see camels. A horseman was herding them to their daily grazing area and we caught up with them and took some photos. Some of the places we have visited have also included a Mosque and an Orthodox church. The fresh produce is awesome here and the bread, cheese and ice cream are good too! We have shopped at a fresh fish market and another excellent meat market. But I must admit I'm looking forward to some good old American food - a grouper sandwich sounds so good right now!
The people here have all been reserved, but polite, and we have felt very safe the entire time.
The weather is warming up a little. We have had more rain than I would have thought, but the last few days have been sunny and nice. We were able to take Brogan outside this afternoon for the first time - I think he liked it from all the smiles we saw! I think it was the first time he has been outside since he came to the baby home after he was born.
I will post again soon once we go to court!

Day 5 of bonding period

Sorry I didn't post sooner, we had some issues with Blogger, but got it straightened out now.
Brogan Joldas is doing well. He has started to relax when I hold him and he will now lay his head on my shoulder a bit and "hold" me back a little. Also, he fell asleep in my arms for the first time yesterday! That was awesome! Previously, he would get a bit fussy if I tried to hold him when he was tired. He would always easily fall asleep on the floor, always on his left side sucking his left thumb. I tried holding him up against me in that same position, rocking him a bit and patting his back and he fell asleep without any fuss. He did it again today.
We are learning some of his cues and can tell when he is getting tired or hungry. We have been feeding him warm cereal (looks just like plain grits!) in the morning. I bet they just introduced solids recently as it is like feeding a 6 month old. Today they put more in the bowl and it was thicker, so it was a little easier. He is sooooo active and wants to explore everything he sees!
We have been able to make him smile and laugh a little. He really like doing "The Wheels on the Bus" on the floor yesterday and today - he just stared at me and smiled! Bryson liked that too when he was little.
We have fallen into a routine. We go to the baby home at 9:30am and again at 2:30pm - each visit is 1 1/2 to 2 hours. He always falls asleep at the end of our visits. We put a picture of us and one of Brooke and Bryson in his crib for him to look at.
We ate lunch on Wednesday at the Marriott - it was good, but too expensive and we won't go there again! Tonight I think we are going to dinner with our translator and coordinator before our coordinator returns to Almaty for about a week. She will return a couple of days before court to help us prepare. She said not to worry about court that it will be fine. Just to be honest and repeat the same information that is in our dossier. It looks like we should be returning home on 4/7 - I had our flight changed to that date. Then it will be about a month before Brogan can be escorted to FL or one of us can return to get him. We are somewhat rethinking the escort - just wondering if it will be easier for one of us to come back to get him in Almaty rather than trying to coordinate the whole escort scenario!
Tomorrow we are going to see camels after the afternoon visit.
Also, we were told this morning that because the babies have been sick (just a little cold going around, but Brogan has been fine) that they only want one family to visit in the AM and the other family in the PM! That makes no sense to me at all, especially because Brogan is not sick and when we visit we have him in a completely seperate room from everyone else! In fact, I would love to take him outside to get some fresh air. He is always sweaty in the TON of clothes they keep on him. We cheated a little yesterday - since we are pretty much alone with him during our visits, I lifted his shirts (2 long - sleeved) and wiped his back and the back of his neck with a baby wipe and blew on him - he really smiled. I can't wait to get him to FL and let him "be free" in just a T-shirt and barefeet. That baby home is so stuffy with the heat cranked up like it is! I just have to bite my tongue. I don't want to upset or offend them by expressing my disagreements with what they want us to do. Just grin and bear it - the goal is just to get him home with us ASAP!
I want to thank all our friends and family for the emails and posts! It is so great to read them and feel the support and encouragement! It makes the days easier!
Take care everyone!

Aktau

Boy is this different from Almaty! Just dry and brown desert meeting the sea. It is a pretty good size city and we are in an apartment with basic modern conveniences such as washing machine, full kitchen including microwave, iron, cable TV with FOX news and CNN in English. The store is big and I realized I brought alot of stuff I could have just bought here - oh well. They have 2 shopping malls. It looks like you can buy pretty much anything you need around here. There is an Irish pub called Shamrocks about a block from our apartment with English menu. We are definitely not "roughing it"!
We have met our baby boy - Joldas is his name and we are going to use that as his middle name. It means "friend" in Kazakh is what we were told. He is 13 months old and his head circumference is great- perfectly normal, but his weight and length are small as to be expected. He has been there since birth and does have some delayed motor skills - more like an 8-9 month old baby. But he is so bright-eyed and curious! He cried the first 2 times we visited with him, but just briefly. After that, he hasn't cried at all the last 2 visits - he recognizes us now. And today we got him to laugh when we tickled him! Everyone at the baby house is very nice and helpful. It is clean and bright. But we have seen all the babies doing that rocking back and forward motion and one baby was repeatedly banging his head against his crib. It is also eerily quiet in there - except close to feeding time! Everything you read about in the books was right before my eyes in regards to the "orphanage behaviors" of the babies. It is really sad. You wonder why volunteers don't come in just to visit and play with them. They all need to build muscle strength in their legs.
We have been told our court date should be 4/3 or 4/4. Also we can have an escort back to FL instead of having to do a second trip - we certainly did not hesitate to take them up on that!
Now we just spend some bonding time and get through the next 2-3 week. I feel like finally we are in the home stretch after all of the preparation and waiting over the last year!
Will post another update soon.

Sights in Almaty

Today we went to a park in the city that is a WWII memorial and has a beautiful Orthodox church. Then we went up into the mountains to a large ice rink and it was snowing - it is positively gorgeous up there. Hey Scott - this is the site for the 2011 Winter Olympics!
After the trip up into the mountains we saw the circus (camel rides outside for the kids), drama theater, universities, and then ate at Mad Murphy's Irish Pub. English menu and English speaking staff. Wonderful food also! Definitely would recommend it if you are missing American food and voices!
Now we are back at the mall internet station and will rest up for our 8AM flight tomorrow for Aktau. We are going to go directly to a renovated apartment (not the Marriott - too expensive!). It has a kitchen, laundry, microwave and should be great! Then we can finally unpack and get settled.
Will post again from Aktau!
Steph

We have arrived in Almaty!

We arrived around 1:30am this morning in Almaty. The trip went very smoothly and really wasn't all that bad but we are definitely tired! Our translator met us at the airport and took us to a very cozy little hotel. There are only 12 rooms, but it has been renovated and is actually very nice - the beds are very comfortable. After we ate breakfast at the hotel (was included with the room cost) our translator and driver came and took us on a driving tour pointing out some sights. We also took a cable car up the mountain to a park - it is very pretty here with the mountains and snow.
We are now at an internet station in a shopping mall and it is very cheap to access the internet this way! We are going to eat here and then go back to the hotel for the evening and get plenty of rest tonight. Tomorrow we are going to the museum and then we fly on to Aktau Sunday morning. Our translator actually travels there with us. So far the people have been nice and many do speak a little English.
We definitely feel safe and comfortable. I know many family/friends seemed concerned about where we were going in relation to the proximity to the middle east, but there is absolutely nothing that feels middle-eastern about Almaty - the people are mostly Asian, but speak Russian and the appearance of the city is more Russian or European. So don't worry !
Will post an update again soon!
Steph

Definite travel date!

The embassy had our visas today!
We will get them via FedEx tomorrow and leave on Wednesday (3/7). We will arrive at 1:45 am Friday in Almaty and then travel on either that same day or the next to Aktau, the city we are adopting from.
I'm just running around doing the absolute last minute details, but we are as ready as we will ever be!
Please keep us (and Bryson) in your prayers for a safe and speedy trip back home in about 3-4 weeks!
Steph