Daniel's Birthday Parties!

Daniel turned one year old on Monday (5/12). Here are a few pics from 2 of his parties! His 3rd (and final) one will be this coming Sunday.





Daniel looks a little "too comfortable" behind the wheel! It won't be long before we have to start hiding the car keys!



Daniel loves his new cousin Kailin! Daniel came in second place (not bad for his first race)!! He is also a very good sport as he applauds Kailin's victory!



Daniel is enjoying his birthday cake with mom! If you look at the picture just to the right of the balloon, you will see just how much Daniel has grown since the first day we met him (2 1/2 months ago)!! Did I mention that Daniel loves to eat!?



Daniel received many birthday presents but I think he liked the bows the best!



On Monday evening, Patti and I had our own little birthday party for Daniel. As you will see, he loved his cupcake!!









We hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Some Pictures Of Daniel!!

Daniel is doing great! Here are a few pictures that we have taken in the past couple of weeks!



This picture was taken on the steps of the Shapagot baby house. This was the first time that he had been outside since he was brought to the baby house when he was just 5 days old. We could tell he was scared but he felt much better once we made it to our hotel.



This is Daniel meeting his great grandfather. Daniel's middle name (James) was our way to honor his great grandfather.



Here is Daniel sitting in his high chair displaying his approval of his first taste of real food! He just loves scrambled eggs!! Actually, he just loves to eat!! We haven't found anything he doesn't eat yet!



Here is Daniel after eating some apple sauce! If he could have, I think he would have given us a standing ovation but instead, we had to settle for an enthusiastic applause!!



Here is Daniel just chillin' out in his new swing! When we first put him in there, he's not so sure what it's all about. After a few minutes, he starts kicking his feet so he can check out his new shoes!



Here is Mom showing Daniel his new slide!



He loves his slide! When I was a kid, we had to throw some dirt on it to make sure we made it all the way down! Before Daniel starts playing on it on his own, we need to tape some sandpaper to his butt before he finds himself in the neighbor's yard!! Yikes!!

We Made It Home!!

We spent a quiet weekend in Almaty. We made it outside a few times but due to my bronchitis, we mostly spent it in our room. We stayed at the Uyut Hotel (right next door to the Hotel Kazoul). The 2 room suite was well worth the extra money. It gave us some room to spread out and even have some comfortable furniture to sit it! We spread out a blanket on the floor for Daniel and he was able to roll around and enjoy his toys! For those of you who haven't traveled yet and will be staying at the Uyut in the future, the hotel's restaurant is just horrible! Go to next door to the Hotel Kazoul, it's very reasonable and the food is very good! There is also a bakery just down the block that is very good!

The flights home were very long but Daniel did fairly well. He was a little fussy from Amsterdam to Detroit but after hearing some of the other families stories, we were very lucky. Daniel slept for about 4 hours out of the 30 hours that we were traveling. We all were just exhausted by the time we got home.

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I'm sorry I never finished this post. We did make it home on April 21st. We have both been very sick since we returned home and have been very busy with Daniel. Patti came down with a terrible stomach bug the first few days that we were home and is now trying to get over a cold. I still have that same case of bronchitis that started 2 days after we left for our first trip! I've been to the doctor but nothing seems to help. I have to let it run it's usual course.

I was kind of hoping to "ease into" the whole taking care of the baby thing but unfortunately, due to Patti's illness, it didn't work out that way. Thankfully, Daniel took it easy on me! I learned fast on how to do diapers, making his meals and the right mixture of Kaz formula to American formula. Just when I was getting the hang of it, Patti decided to change things on me so I'm back to being pretty much clueless!

Daniel is such a joy to have around!! He has adjusted unbelievably well! He sometimes has trouble with his afternoon nap, but I think he just hasn't trained us well enough yet! He sleeps very well through the night although he did get up pretty early this morning (10 AM)!! He usually goes to sleep between 9:30 - 10PM and sleeps until around 8:30 AM.

Daniel has learned so much in the past 2 weeks! He knows how to wave and to clap and is really quite proud of his new accomplishments! Whenever he starts to fuss because he is hungry, I start clapping and he follows suit with a huge smile on his face! This usually buys us about 30 seconds as Patti makes a dash for the kitchen! His favorite foods are scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes and ground chicken.

Daniel has met most of his extended family already. It takes him about 10 minutes to warm up to all the new faces but he is fine after the new toys start appearing! I can't believe how many new toys and clothes he has accumulated in such a short time! Patti just smiles and reminds me that his birthday is just a week away (5/12)!! I think we're going to need a bigger boat!