It's great to be home!

We arrived at Miami International Airport on Saturday, November 17, 2007. Madi is finally home!!!!

She had quite a reception at the airport! Everyone was so excited to finally meet the little one they had seen in soooo many pictures! It was a wonderful arrival.

Madi did really well as far as the travel! She slept for the entire first 7 hour flight and for some of the 2nd 9 hour flight. She fussed a little bit at times, but no crying :-)

It's great to be home!!!

Our Last Day in Almaty

Finally, a day without rain! Our last day in Almaty was a very nice day! We went sightseeing around town with our driver, Andrei.

We went to a park dedicated as a War Memorial.

There was a beautiful Cathedral in that same park.

Our little Madi slept like CRAZY today! We hope that doesn't mean that she won't be sleeping on our flight home...hmmmm.
Andrei took us for a drive to the mountains. Very beautiful. Very cold!

It is almost time for us to go to the airport!!! Yippppeeee!! Although we are not really looking forward to our long trip, we are so looking forward to finally being home together with Madi!!! We can't wait to see everyone at home and Madi can't wait to meet you all!!!

And so it all began...

Video clip of Alex and Madi

It was another rainy day here in Almaty. The bad thing about that is that we have not been able to see much of the city. The good part is that it has given us tons of time to just hang out with Madi and play! It's nice to have so much free time to bond with her. Today was our appointment at the Embassy where we were given Madi's paperwork so that we are able to leave Kaz and enter the US with her as our daughter! We now have Madi's birth certificate listing us as parents and Madi's Kazakh passport. She is automatically a US Citizen.

You all are not going to believe this, but we did not take a single picture today! It was just one of those things. We took the camera when we went out to the Embassy, but left the camera battery back at the hotel. With all of the things you have to take when you go out with a baby, it's a miracle we made it out at all. I had forgotten what it was like...remember the diapers, wipes, rash ointment, bottles, formula, water for mixing the formula, baby food bottles, spoons, bib, burp cloth, extra outfit (just in case), pacifier, pacifier holder...the list goes on. Now add to that our passports, money, documents...

So, because I knew some of you guys would be sending me HATE MAIL due to the fact that there are no new pictures on the blog today, I downloaded a short video clip! I hope it works, it's my first one. You should be able to view it by clicking on the arrow. The first time is plays it pauses a lot, but if you play it again, it runs more smoothly.

Tomorrow is our last day in Almaty. Our flight back to Miami leaves at 4am on Saturday, Almaty time, which is 5pm, Friday, Miami time. I do plan to post one more time before we head back. Hope you like the video of Alex and Madi enjoying some 1-1 sister time.

Rainy Day in Almaty

It just so happened that our friend Marina, from Astana, is in Almaty this week for an exam. It was great to get to "hang" with Marina again. We all went to dinner together. Here we are in our hotel lobby before dinner.

Alex and Madi play in front of the mirror. When we were in Kaz with Madi before, she really had very little interest in her reflection. That has definitely changed and now can't seem to get enough of herself. She finds herself quite amusing!

She has a way of getting what she wants...

Today we went to the "Mega Mall". It was raining outside and there was not much else we could do on a cold rainy day. We ate at an Italian restaurant...yes, very different from what we otherwise have been eating in Kaz!

These pictures show how our little Madi knows how to get what she wants. Oh, boy, are we in trouble or what?
She likes carrots, but we knew that already from her days at the babyhouse (which are forever gone, yaahhhhh!)




AND she really LOVES cauliflower! NOT!!!!!



And this is what happens when she doesn't like something.
Like I said, she has a way of getting what she wants. Remember that song?

Big Sis...Little Sis

No Words Necessary.

Medical Clinic

It is a requirement that babies be seen by the International Medical Clinic here in Almaty and they must submit a report for the US Embassy before going home. Today was Madi's appointment at the clinic.


We were worried because she had to have a blood test. Right before they came to draw her blood she fell asleep. Awwwwww. Guess what? She slept through the whole thing, fingerpricking and all!


The doctor at the clinic (he was British) said she was healthy and certainly looked well nourished :-) Madi is now weighing 21.3 pounds at 9 months old!

Off we go to Almaty...

This is what happened the minute we got on the plane on our way to Almaty.



Our sleepy baby fell asleep before the plane took off and slept until we landed almost 2 hours later! We are hoping this is a good sign for how our 20 something hour flights will go...ha,ha,ha!


Madi is like a queen in her throne at the Intercontinental Hotel in Almaty!
She is her usual happy self. So far, so good. Not one tear has been shed. She started to get a little cranky after the flight and before we got to the hotel. We fed her a bottle of formula right in the car! She was happy as can be after that. Yes, Madi fits right into our crazy and busy lives!

Can you believe it...Madi is crawling already! We discovered it while Alex wsas playing with her on the bed at the hotel. We are in for one wild ride! I wonder what Sam and Kiara are going to do when they see her. For those of you who don't know, Sam and Kiara are our 90 something pound labradors! What I am wondering is, who should be more afraid of who? Sam and Kiara, if I were you, I'd enjoy your last few days of peace and quiet!
It's been an incredible day!!!!! One of the happiest days of our lives!
I gotta go spend some time with "my girls" now.
See you tomorrow.

The BREAK OUT!!!

Alex does her first official big sister duty and helps change Madi's clothes for the big Break Out! Finally, Madi is breaking out of the Babyhouse today!



Our family of 4 makes the big exit!

Madi seems to enjoy her car ride. We have to head straight to the airport and fly back to Almaty. Today we flew into Astana at about 2:45pm and our flight back to Almaty was at 6:45pm. That did not leave us any time to do anything in Astana. That is just as well since it was VERY cold in Astana today...to the tune of 18 degrees Farenheit! Yes, I know, just like in Miami!

Madi and her Daddy staring at eachother in the car.

Yes, I know, another Daddy's girl!

TOGETHER FOREVER!!!

When Sisters meet...

What an incredible feeling it was to see Madi again and know that we will be together forever from now on!

Madi seemed to recognize us after just a few seconds. We all cried just a little bit...tears of happiness, of course!

Do you think Alex's smile can be any bigger? She is totally in love with her new little sister and the feeling seems to be mutual.

Our first picture as a family of 4.