The Last Monday?

Today’s post will be quick, short and sweet and dare we say uneventful and boring? As any new parents can attest, sometimes the days fly by – seemingly filled with activity – but resulting in the final analysis with nothing to really show for the efforts. Today was just that sort of day. We spent the morning hours playing with our little one. Apparently this requires far more hours than the original budget had accounted for and is far more exhausting than one can really plan for. But is an absolutely wonderful experience to “get lost” in. Where the time goes, who can really say? All that we can offer in explanation is that we are completely thrilled that we are able to spend this time with the young Miss Zoe Yerkezhan.

By the way, the name “Zoe” is still somewhat foreign to us (and her), and we have achieved a type of compromise by now referring to her by the pet name of “Yerkie”. Somehow this fits her personality entirely – she looks and acts like a Yerkie. Hopefully, we will manage the transition to her now “true” first name (it says it on her birth certificate) within the not-too-distant future. And hopefully the transition will not be too painful.

Anyway, while this is going to sound repetitive, it was another glorious, sunny Spring day in Almaty. So this afternoon we bundled up our little one (recall, in Kazakhstan four layers is considered Summer wear for toddlers – and the “locals” are not above reprimanding those not following the “rules”), and headed for the WWII War Memorial and Zenkov Cathedral in Panfilov Park to take more “posterity pictures” with our beloved Zoe (okay, our beloved Yerkie too). Of course, our walk intersected with naptime, so she managed to spend a good portion of this walk – and the pictures – asleep in the carrier. The main purpose for these pictures is more to show her that she was actually “there” rather than to judge the aesthetics of the actual photographs. Quite thankfully.

And boring parents that we are, those activities took the entire day. Sorry that there is nothing more exciting to show for our energies other than the photographic proof of our day’s venture. Hopefully something more will come our way tomorrow to justify our “readership”.

P.S. Many of us have been following the ongoing travails of Catalina and Calin on their quest to adopt two children in Petropavlovsk. Apparently they have managed to hit yet another snag on this adoption quest. We hope that all outstanding issues may be resolved quickly and satisfactorily. Our thoughts, best wishes, and prayers continue to be with them.