Washer Translated!!!

Robertson, hearing about our plight with our washer was kind enough to translate the terms on the picture of our washer and send them to us! How cool (and thoughtful) was that? Thank you!!!! We can now navigate our washer....ahhhh...how we take for granted the simple things in life!

I know a lot of you were VERY concerned that we would be unable to get our clothes washed. Now you can be at peace, we will not be smelly when we return to Miami!

More pics of Madi

Doesn't she look adorable in hats?
Thanks again, Tia Jackie!

Day 6 with Madi

I just want to eat her up...here I am biting my lip so that I don't bite her cheek!



Today I got to feed Madi again...well, sort of.
Yes, she is eating the same potatoe and meat dish.


And drinking tea from a cup!







This is why I said that I "sort of" fed Madi today. Madi was too interested in laughing and playing when I was trying to feed her. Not much eating going on....so the caretaker basically took over and force fed her a bit. Even she gave up after a few more bites. The other mom here said that Madi now knows she is going to Miami and is trying to slim down so she can wear her bikini on South Beach! I think that's EXACTLY what is going on!

Babyhouse pictures

This is the room where the babies are fed and where they "hang-out" when their soon to be parents are not here.
Lots of toys and very cheerful! We play a bit with the other babies while we wait for our babies to be brought out.




These next 2 pictures are of the playroom where the adoptive parents play/bond with their babies. Right now there is only Sabina's mom and us. We have heard that other families are coming soon.

Dinner out!

Tonight we went out to dinner with another mom who is here in Kaz to adopt her little girl. She has been a life-saver for us! She has helped us tremendously in more ways than I can express. This afternoon she tooks us for a long walk around town and showed us a few different things to do/places to go in Astana. It was a beautiful night with a gorgeous full moon. Thanks to her we had our first actual dinner that was not pizza, pasta(cooked in our apartment) or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! It is a little intimidating to go to a restaurant here without an actual recommendation or guidance because a lot of the restaurants don't have a menu translated into English. Even with the English translations, it's interesting to try and figure out some of the items. Horse meat is a standard dish here. No joke. I, for one, am not thinking of experiencing that one! Call me unadventurous, call me unsophisticated...I don't care, Iam not going there!
The restaurant was very cool looking and close to our apartment. We sat outdoors in the large booth you see in the picture. Awesome experience. The food was good too!

Day 5 with Madi

This is where we change Madi every day. The routine goes like this: We get to the babyhouse and Madi is usually finishing up her lunch. We change her diaper and her clothes. (The nannies here take very good care of the babies. No diaper rash on Madi, nor another little one whose Mom we have met here.) Then we go to the playroom with her and hang out there for the next 2 hours.

At the end of those 2 hours, which seem more like 2 minutes, its time for Madi's nap. This is where Madi sleeps along with several other babies. She does use a pacifier to sleep!

It breaks our hearts when we have to lay her down in her little crib and leave her there. She doesn't complain. I still want to cry every time. I can't wait until we can take her home with us!!!

Day 4 with Madi

First time Madi goes outside of the babyhouse.

First time Madi rides in a car. We are on our way to get her passport picture taken!
One step closer to bringing her home!

Hi Alex!!! I am very excited about having a great big sister like you!!!

I can't wait to play with you!!!!

Daddy LOVES to tickle Madi...and Madi seems to really like it too!

Let's do our laundry!

Jose tries to figure it out with his handy dandy translator...except...it doesn't have the Russian alphabet! See the look on his face when he realizes this!

PLEASE, HELP US!!!!!
Does Anyone know Russian?

3rd Day with Madi

Hey Tia Jackie, don't I look cute in the outfit you got for me?

First Feeding by Mommy & Daddy

She was being very defiant when daddy was feeding her...hmmmm...knows too much already!

This is it guys: the meal given to our 7 month old daughter without a single tooth!
Tea, meat and potatoes.
It's no mystery why she has those chubby cheeks!

We are finally able to post!

Okay, so what we have is a dial-up connection and all of the instructions/buttons on the web pages are in Russian, but hey, who is complaining??? It is taking me an awful long time to post because I often hit the wrong button. I am going off of my memory as to what the web pages look like and where the right links are in order to navigate around. Why didn't I take Russian instead of French in High School and college?? Oh, well, at least we are able to post now! Yipppeeeeee! We can't wait for you to see Madison! Below are the first pictures we were able to post. Hopefully more to follow tomorrow.

More Smiling Madi

Madison thinks it is really funny when her daddy tickles her ear and neck!!!

This is Madi when you tickle her inner thigh! Funny girl! She is not going to be able to stand pedicures...too ticklish...just like her Mom!

Smiling Madi

This is our smiling Madi!
These pictures were taken on Tuesday, our second day with Madison.

She likes to Play Pat-a-cake!!

Meeting Madison

These pictures were taken in the moments we met Madison for the first time! She was such a sweety! She smiled at us right away, although she did look back at her caregiver (the one who brought her in to us) before going with us. It was as though she was asking her caregiver if it was okay to go with us. Then the caregiver said that we were mama and papa (translated for us by our translator who was there) and Madi came right to us. We spent a few minutes with her there in that office and then we went into the playroom with her for about an hour to play. We have a video of the first moments we were with her! We have already watched the video a few times...okay, maybe more than a few :-)

We are in Kaz!

Sorry it has taken a few days to post. As I write this we are at an internet cafe because they have been unable to set up our internet connection at the apartment. They will try again tomorrow. At the internet cafe everything is in Russian! Even the instructions on our blog are in Russian. I just wrote a very long post and then hit the wrong button...because I had no idea what it said because it was in Russian (getting the drift?) and everything was erased....augghhh! We don't have much time because our driver is about to pick us up...no, it's not as glamorous as it sounds...we have a driver because otherwise it would be a disaster and our wonderful agency knows that! So, we have a driver. Okay, enough about that. What you all want to hear about: Our Madison!

Madison is doing GREAT! She is just a little buddah baby, soooooo chunky! She has the best disposition! Just like her mom! HA! She just smiles and coos and laughs constantly! She is soooo very sweet! We get to spend 2 hours a day with her at the babyhouse. Those 2 hours fly by! Today we were able to feed her! That did not go so great as we made quite a mess! They give her mashed potatoes and ground beef...and she has no teeth...not a single one! She also drinks tea...yes, they give her tea...from a CUP!!! Not a Bottle! She slurps away from her cup and makes these cute sucking noises...not very polite, but we will teach her some manners when we get home. AND give her a bottle, or two!

Madi rolls around from her belly to her back and visa versa! She is not yet crawling, but soon she will be. She sort of pivots around to get stuff around her. She loves they toys we brought, particularly the musical ones! She does not yet sit up by herself, but almost...she can stay up for a second or two. I have even seen improvement in that since we arrived. Today was the 3rd day we were able to visit with her.

I have so much more to say, but we don't have too much time today. Promise to fill you all in soon!

We miss you guys so much already! Alex, I miss youVERY much and I love you incredibly!!!!!
I tried to post pictures a few minutes ago and the computer shut down. I will try again after sending this post!

Love you all!
Jose and Lizette

We leave to Kaz today!

It's after midnight...so it's Saturday. We leave to Kaz this afternoon. So many mixed feelings. I can't wait to meet Madi, to see those cheeks and hug her tight! BUT I am so sad about leaving Alex!!!!!!! This is going to be a tough day! I will try not to cry, but I have a feeling that I won't be able to hold it in.

We are packed and ready to go. 4 big suitcases and 3 carry on bags between the 2 of us. One of our suitcases is a little plump, sure we will pay extra for that one! We TRIED to pack light!!! But, really, how light can it be when we are taking our own coffee maker, peanut butter and tons of toys???? Not to mention winter clothes!

I am going to miss my daughter! And I can't wait to meet my other daughter!!!! See what I mean? Mixed emotions. How could it be any other way?

The next post will be from Kazakhstan! It might be a few days before I can set up our internet connection, but as soon as I do, I will be sure to post!

Love you guys!!!

Less than a week to go

Well, it's Sunday night...no, actually it's almost 2am, so it's Monday morning! The weekend flew by and although we accomplished a lot, there is still so much to do. We have been lucky enough to find some VERY kind and generous people who have either already been through this process or are also still going through it. They have helped us tremendously in our preparations. Their advice and tips on everything from what kinds of toys the kids like to what to get as gifts for the orphanage and court personnel, to what is or is not available in Kaz... just sooooo much information has been shared with us. I am amazed at the overwhelming generosity of people we have never met, people we know only through the Internet. If you are reading this blog and are one of the people I am talking about ....Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Our agency, World Partners Adoption (a/k/a WPA) has also been wonderful and I have been told by everyone who has used them in the past that they are particularly FANTASTIC when we are in Kaz. So, we are extremely happy with our choice of agency. I really do think it makes a huge difference when adopting from Kazakhstan that you have a great agency. SOOOOOO happy that we do :-)

I may not get around to posting much this week, unless there is some new development. I will probably post again right before leaving to Kaz...for a whole month...I am going to miss all of our family and friends so much. But most of all I will miss my daughter, Alex, like crazy!!! Did I already say that in a previous post? I'm going to go cry now!

TRAVEL DATES...and SOON!!

It was confirmed today...we travel to Kazakhstan on Saturday, September 22nd! We fly into Almaty arriving on the 23rd at about midnight. On the 24th we have a meeting with our in-country coordinators and then fly to Astana that same day. I am not sure if we will meet Madi on that day or the next. OMG, I can't believe it is finally here! As it stands right now, we will not be returning to Miami until October 22nd...yes, 4 weeks away from home, away from Alexandria. I want to cry. I am going to miss her like CRAZY!!! We have never been away from eachother that long :-( I wish she could go with us!!!! She will be going for the 2nd trip, which should be about 2 weeks after we return.

We are going crazy with all the travel preps, paperwork for our visas, packing, gifts, making sure our bills are all paid before we leave...the list is too long to detail here.

Gotta run...will update again soon!

Everything looks good on the Medicals!

We are overcome with happiness! Last night we spoke with Dr. Bledsoe, an international adoption specialist, regarding Madi. Dr. Bledsoe reviewed Madi's pictures and medical report. She said that Madi is doing great, her growth is right on track, she looks alert and engaged with her environment. There is nothing on her medical that causes her any concern whatsoever. She also spoke very highly of our adoption agency and adoptions from Kazakhstan in general. Dr. Bledsoe was just wonderful. She was very sweet, extremely informative, supportive and open to any and all questions. We talked for about 40 minutes! She repeated that no question is too silly or too small to ask her. She will also be available if we have any questions or concerns while we are in Kazakhstan. We loved her! Of course, she also gave us incredibly great news about Madi's health so how could we not adore her??????

Limiting access to this Blog

Since yesterday, after receiving our referral and posting her picture on the blog, I changed the blog so that it is not accessible to the public.

This blog will now only be accessible to our friends and family due to certain restrictions and rules that we must observe until Madison is deemed to be our daughter by the Court in Kazakhstan.

In order to access this blog, your email address has to be added on a list of permitted viewers. If someone you know would like to access our blog, just email me with their email address and I can add them to the list! If you are viewing this blog as a guest,without establishing a google account, you will not be able to continue to access it after the next few days. Email me directly if you have any problems logging on in the future. But, the bottom line is that you have to establish a google account (it's free and quick to do so) in order to view our blog in the future.

Thank you for understanding (or attempting to understand) this crazy world of international adoption!!!!

We have a daughter!!!!!

Today (actually yesterday, since it is now after midnight) we received our referral. We are totally in love with her already!






















We have decided on a name.
Her name will be Madison...Madi.
That was one of the 4 names we were considering. Then, today, when we received her referral information we KNEW what her name would be, since her given name is Madina...or Madi. Can you believe it? Coincidence? Fate? Destiny?

Madi is 7 months old; she was born on February 4, 2007.

Just look at those cheeks!
Are those the cutest lips you have ever seen?
Am I sounding like a completely biased Mama already?

Alexandria is VERY excited about her little sister. She can hardly wait to meet her and she's not the only one who feels this way! Jose and I are also absolutely ecstatic!!!!

Now, the next step is to have the medical information we received reviewed by an international adoption specialist. Then, assuming all is okay, we formally accept the referral and then we
wait for travel dates. We will hopefully be traveling soon, within the next month or two. The sooner the better!

Today has been an emotional and extremely happy day! I can hardly believe it finally happened. We finally know what our daughter looks like. For those of you who have had biological kids, it's like the moment they are born and you finally see their little faces. Different circumstances here, but same feelings inside! Now we can't wait to meet her in person!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Longer than expected

It seems that with adoption everything ends up taking longer than expected. At least that has been our situation and most others I have encountered. The part of the process that we were told would take 4-6 weeks...the part we are going through now and are at the 6 week mark...will be taking 6-8 weeks and maybe more :-(

This means that we probably will not hear anything for another 2-4 weeks at the earliest. Boo hoo. I am not the most patient person to begin with, so this is not easy for me to deal with. However, because I am completely and utterly powerless in this situation, I will have to make the best of it and focus on the millions of other things that I have going on right now! But, secretly...not so secret now, is it?...I am still hoping we will have her home by Christmas...although with each passing day that becomes more unlikely. Boo hoo again. But you know...IT IS ALWAYS DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN!!!

The Flag of Kazakhstan