The Plane and Being Home

Anelya in the hotel, just hours away from leaving Kazakhstan

Well, I am not sure how much time I will have to write this, so I wanted to tell you about the plane and immigration. Anelya was completely amazing on both flights. On the first flight we didn't have a bassinet, but Dad and I were sitting in two seats alone on a side aisle. It worked out really nicely. Anelya was full of beans the whole way, didn't cry at all and basically wanted to bounce and sing the whole way. It was very funny. She did sleep for a stint on the first flight, as you can see here. Changing her on the plane was a breeze, which is good since she pees more than any other creature alive!

Very busy on the plane!

ZONKED!!!

I have to say, our experience flying with KLM was stellar. The staff could not have been nicer, more accommodating, or better in any sense. Unfortunately, when we got to Amsterdam, my stroller was not waiting for us at the gate as promised. We asked the flight attendant about it and, before we knew it, the entire flight crew, including the pilots were helping us. KLM crews travel through the airport together. They could not have been nicer. No one seemed annoyed that they were waiting and helping us instead of going home. It probably helped that I had my baby carrier and really didn't care. I told them, "Are you kidding? This is not a big deal. I just finished a 2 year adoption process. I think I can handle a lost stroller!"

Well, they were unable to figure out what happened, but suggested we ask the transfer desk. I just want to say that the flights were about $1200 cheaper per person and, while we had a 10.5 hour layover on the way there, travelling back with Anelya we only had a layover of under 3 hours. We asked the transfer desk about the stroller and after spending several minutes talking with us about the adoption and Kazakhstan, were able to confirm that the stroller was indeed checked to Boston and that we could pick it up there. They were also SO NICE!

Anelya was naturally the main attraction on flight #2. Two rows of people were congratulating us and some people even cried with us when the plane landed and Anelya became a US Citizen. Anelya slept a lot during the second flight, but Dad was really on hardcore grandpa duty, as I was not feeling well at all. I think I was just exhausted from the two trips to and form Asia in a week, from being a new mom, and the emotional release of it all being near it's end. I actually threw up several times during the last hour of the flight. I was like "Uh oh, swine flu," until I realized that it was a stress reaction which disappeared once we were through immigration.

When we got to passport control, we were sent to aisle 11. However, the man working in aisle 12 saw us and waved us in. He was about my age, quite cute and clearly VERY sweet on Anelya, who was fast asleep in her baby carrier, all dressed up for her homecoming. You could tell her just loved processing this kind of paperwork and said, "Congratulations and welcome home. You must be so excited!" He then started to explain where we had to go downstairs and then said, "You know what? I will take you down there." So, he left all of the foreigners in the line and took us down to the immigration office which was full of people waiting to be processed. He asked his colleague if he could take our case and he said, "They will have to wait with everyone else." So, he disappeared, and then reappeared a few minutes later. It turns out he went up to close his station, came down and processed Anelya's paperwork himself, only to go back upstairs again when he finished. I admit it, I have a crush now ;-) Luckily, Anelya woke up to thank him and smiled at him and he was a pile of mush. HAHAHA. Dude magnet.

We walked through the doors and saw about 20 people waiting with a "Welcome Home Anelya" sign and pink balloons. We were all bawling. Anelya recognized Baba right away and reached for her! My sister was there with her two boys, a high school friend, EF friends, and my god mother. It was just so special. By this time, I no longer felt like I was going to throw up. I think the stress of it all released when we finally made it through those doors.

Surprisingly, Anelya did not protest when I strapped her into her car seat. She fell asleep for almost the whole trip home. By the time we got home, I could barely stand up. Luckily, Mom is staying with me for a few days and helped me with Anelya during the night. She slept, but she is on Kaz time still, so she woke up hungry and wet. In all, she was excellent. Gunnar, however, wanted to be up there with her and barked all night. GRRRRR.

This morning I formally introduced her to the boys.

She played in her new Baby Einstein jumper...

She ate a good breakfast of baby rice cereal and peaches, along with some carrot/apple nectar watered down and fortified by me with her multi-vitamin and Vit D. She loves her high chair. I have to give her her own spoon since she saw Kalamkas feeding herself and wants to be just like her!

We both took a 3 hour morning nap and then woke up for lunch. Hoovie came over and I fed her some sweet potatoes, ground turkey, and broccoli, which she loved. She is starting to understand that she can tell me when she is full now. At the baby house they had to just stuff it all down their little throats. So now she spits it out or shakes her head "No No No" when she is done.

Her upper respiratory infection seems to be gone. She has had an awful cough, but it seems to have subsided now that we are out of smokey Almaty. I have top quality air filter from work in her room, which I am sure helps too. I have a raging sore throat, but it is going away with the help of a tincture from work.

After lunch, Mom, Dad and I took Anelya for a walk in her stroller downtown. It was just a short walk, but so fun to get her out in the fresh air and walk around. We had our matching red Patagonia fleeces on. Mine's a pullover, hers is a bunting. She fell asleep in the car on the way home and I took her upstairs and put her to bed about an hour ago. I will wake her up in an hour, in an attempt to get her on our time zone.

In short, my baby rocks and I am a pile of exhaustion. I will continue to update the blog and within the next few days I will post more pictures and videos from Almaty.