All is Well

Hello loyal blog readers! All is well over on this side of the world. Our vacation at the lake was awesome, and I can't wait to post pictures. We're in Kazakhstan now, and all looks on track to pick up Jonas's visa today and fly out tomorrow. We'll be back home in Colorado on Saturday night! The internet at the hotel stinks, so this post is the best I can do for now. Lots more posts and pictures to come!

Happy Nooruz

Today is a big holiday on this side of the world. Nooruz is the Persian New Year, or the start of Spring. Today was a gorgeous and sunny day to celebrate. We walked down to Ala-Too Square, the main area in Bishkek, and met up with Mary to hear the music and watch the dancing.

It was quite a production with the songs, costumes, choreographed routines, and the crowd. And I guess different performances go on there all day long (we're at the hotel right now enjoying nap time!).

Jonas was a little wary of all of the people and excitement, so we walked around away from the crowd and held him close to let him know he was safe.

Mary bought him a balloon, and he loves those! So on our way to lunch, he felt comfortable enough to get down and run around a bit once there weren't so many people. He had a blast banging the balloon and then eating some samsa and lepyoshka for lunch before we headed back to the hotel for a nap.

Because of the holiday, we can't head up to Kazakhstan until later next week to get Jonas's visa (the embassy is closed), so we're leaving on our first family vacation tomorrow. We're going to visit Lake Issyk-Kul, the second largest alpine lake in the world. I'm not sure we'll have internet access for a few days (or I'm too cheap to pay for it if it's not free), but we'll have lots to share when we get back. Happy Spring from Kyrgyzstan!

Our Little Kyrgyz Cutie

Yesterday morning, we visited the US Embassy in Bishkek. Zack, Jonas, and I had a short interview there in order to finalize some immigration paperwork. Jonas charmed all the embassy workers, waving and smiling, and several of them commented on how happy and well-adjusted he seems already. That was good to hear! I think his cute sweater vest outfit helped his cause.

Jonas has his very own Kyrgyz passport, which he'll get to keep as long as we keep it updated. He'll become a US citizen as well upon landing in Los Angeles next week, and we can apply for his US passport after getting his citizenship papers in the mail.

We had a great afternoon together, after the much-needed nap time. Jonas was in a super-good mood, babbling and laughing and being silly. We had so much fun with him.

Zack played him some ukulele tunes and let him strum a bit. Of course, he has the attention span of a two-year-old, so that didn't last long. And if you're wondering why our kid is always running around in just his diaper on the bottom, well, it makes changing him easier, and after a lifetime in the orphanage of having to wear tights, two pairs of pants, and socks on top of shoes on top of socks (seriously), we figure his legs and feet need to breathe!











It started to rain after nap time, so we were stuck inside the hotel room. So we introduced Jonas to the very necessary kid skill of fort-making! After moving some chairs, suitcases, and blankets, we had a pretty cool tunnel and fort.

Jonas had a fun time playing with his stacking cups in there and crawling from one side to the other. We crawled in there with him and quickly realized how much harder and more uncomfortable it is to play in forts once you're in your mid-thirties!

After another ordered-in dinner of lagman from Faiza, it was off to bed after another wonderful day with our son. He was as tired as we were, and we all passed out quickly after one last reading of his farm book, complete with animal sounds provided by him. He loves to "arf" like a dog, which we hope is a good sign for when he has to meet Molly!

Learning on the Job

So this post is mostly just a bunch of pictures to show you what we've been up to lately, but along with that, I thought I'd mention a few of the things we've learned in our first few days as parents. The pictures are not necessarily related to the lessons!

1. You can't just walk out the door to go somewhere. Leaving your hotel room involves preparation...bib, diaper, wipes, treats, child carrier, etc. 

2. Nap time is sacred. It's a great time to get things done (like blog entries!), it keeps your kiddo from being ornery later, and you want to kill anybody who messes with it, like our coordinator who called a bit ago or Zack who just loudly opened a bag of candy.

3. Full-sized toilets are apparently terrifying. In the orphanage, Jonas was potty-trained in that they'd put him on a little toilet every few hours and he'd go to the bathroom. So we thought we'd be okay bringing some Pull-Ups as back-up and nighttime wear. Well, he won't go near the toilets at the hotels at all, so we're doing Pull-Ups full-time and had to buy some diapers today at the store.

4. On a related note, Pull-Ups are not the ideal wear for going #2. Let's just say, a bathmat may or may not have been sacrificed in the cleaning of the first poopy Pull-Up incident. Don't ask!

5. Items that are off-limits (lotion, remotes, important papers, cameras, etc.) are infinitely more fun to try to play with than real toys.

6. Tag-teaming is crucial. People who can do this parenthood thing alone must be some kind of saints or have boundless energy or something, because I couldn't do it. Even the simplest thing like taking a shower would be hard to do.















7. Life is planned around food. When the next snack or meal is and what and where it's going to be determines the schedule. Instead of perusing menus for what you'd like to eat, you immediately start searching for what your son can eat. And you have to ask for a highchair!


8. Child carriers are saviors when you're walking around town. Your hands are free, your kid can't get lost, you're working on bonding and attachment without even trying, and nap time can even be started when you haven't arrived back at the hotel yet.













9. Being thrown into the world of parenting a toddler is exhausting, but when you see your little boy's adorable smile or hear his infectious laugh, it's all worth it. We love you, Jonas!

















10. Totally unrelated to parenting, but I wanted a #10 and also wanted to share...squirrels in Kyrgyzstan are totally weird. They have pointy rabbit-like ears!

What's in a Name?

Disclaimer: I wrote the post below awhile ago and saved it. Don't go thinking I had time to write this with a toddler! Here's my view at the moment:

Well, now that our boy’s name has been revealed, I wanted to explain why we chose the name Jonas Shukhrat for him. Shukhrat was obviously his original Kyrgyz name, so we just moved that to his middle name. It was important to us that he keep a part of his culture and identity before joining our family. But what about Jonas?

Well, several years ago, Zack and I were talking about my favorite book, The Giver. Zack pointed out that the main character’s name, Jonas, would be a good name for a boy. I had never thought of that before, but I definitely agreed, and it’s been on my “naming back burner” ever since then. When Zack and I discussed names one night in Krygyzstan on our first visit, we each shared our favorites. I liked a few of the ones Zack mentioned, and then I shared a few of my runner-up choices with him. When I said that he might be able to guess my top name choice, he was able to correctly guess that it was Jonas.

In The Giver, Jonas saves his community from “Sameness” and lack of feelings and love. As I taught when I used this book in several language arts classes over the years, Jonas becomes the “Jesus figure” in the text. He is the specially chosen one who takes on the suffering and pain of the rest of community so that the others can be “free.” This was the original utopian/dystopian novel, way before The Hunger Games and others that have since become popular. It’s always been my favorite book to teach to middle school students, and I’ve probably read it at least twenty times.

I’ve met the author, Lois Lowry, twice. When I was teaching in Dallas, I took some students to meet her, and I still have the picture of us all with her at a bookstore. A few years ago, I saw her speak at a literary conference in Denver, and I had her sign my well-loved and well-worn copy of the book with the inscription, “For Jonas,” hoping that I would indeed someday have a Jonas to give the book to! Last year, the long-awaited movie version was released, and I was there on opening night (though it was not nearly as good as the book).

Anyway, the book is definitely not the only reason I love this name. When we got back to the hotel after our first day of meeting little Shukhrat, Zack described our son as a “peaceful soul.” Imagine my surprise when I was researching meanings of various names I liked and realized that Jonas means “peaceful being”! It’s a variation of the Biblical name, Jonah, which in Hebrew also means “gift from God.” I think that’s quite appropriate!

Speaking of the name Jonah, my friend Eileen and my Aunt Jean guessed that name in my “Name Game” post! They’ll be receiving some Kyrgyz chocolate for being as close as anyone could possibly imagine. I was shocked to read their guesses. Nice work, ladies! I do like how his name comes from the name Jonah. There are lots of cute kid clothes and items with whales on them, and it reminds me of how we swam with dolphins (kind of like whales, right?) on the day he was born.

Surprisingly, I’ve never taught anyone with the name Jonas. I’ve never even met anyone with that name. But it’s easy to pronounce and spell, and I like how it’s masculine and not too short or long. The only thing I don’t like about it is that people might think of the Jonas Brothers when they hear it, but I’m hoping their popularity will die out in the near future and it won’t even be an issue.

Anyway, the name conversation Zack and I had that night in Kyrgyzstan kind of morphed into talking about the surgery he would need and then falling asleep, so we never officially finished our talk. But the next day, when our coordinator asked if we were ready to fill out the paperwork with his name, and I started saying that we weren’t quite sure yet, Zack made it clear that we were indeed ready. He thought Jonas was a good fit, and we signed papers the next day. And that’s the story of how Jonas was named Jonas!

Our First Shamrock Day

Some people call it Gotcha Day. I was planning on calling it Adoption Day. But I think we're going to call it Shamrock Day instead. It's the day we took our son Jonas out of the orphanage forever to become part of our family, and we'll celebrate every year on St. Patrick's Day.

When we first showed up to the orphanage yesterday afternoon, Jonas seemed to recognize us after a bit and be happy to see us. Everyone there told us he had worn his shirt with our pictures on it lots of times and always pointed at it saying "Mama" and "Papa."

After changing his clothes (into a shamrock shirt of course) and getting and giving kisses to his caretakers and friends, it was time to go! It was important to me (symbolically) that he walk out himself versus us carrying him. So we each held a hand of his, and he happily headed out into his new life.

Once outside the orphanage gate, Jonas started to get a little scared. I don't blame him. There were cars whizzing by, people he didn't know, stray dogs, and he wasn't sure what was happening to him.

He cried a bit, squirmed a lot, sucked his thumb, and generally wanted cuddled and held tightly. And no, there are no car seats in Kyrgyzstan! At times he seemed interested in what was going on outside the car, carefully watching the animals and people we passed. But then you could see his expression change as he seemed to realize that we weren't just playing some game that would end at lunchtime. He looked like a sad, lost little boy.

Once we got to the hotel, everything changed. Our happy little Jonas was back to stay. He loved getting airplane rides from Daddy. Actually, he loves anything to do with Daddy. Zack's iPhone and iPad are now two of his favorite toys. Jonas kept putting on the huge hotel slippers once he saw Zack put some on, and it was pretty cute watching him try to walk in them.

Jonas liked reading some of the books we brought. He really liked the sheep in his St. Patrick's Day book. He makes all sorts of noises and says some words in Russian, but we've already got him saying "uh oh" in English. Check out that shamrock shirt!

We ordered in some lagman and a samsa from Faiza for dinner, while our hotel made Jonas some porridge with bread and green tea. We tried to keep his diet the same as it was at the orphanage for his first day, and he normally had that meal for dinner.

This kid loves his stacking cups. He'll stack them over and over again, and he likes moving things out of the way to line them all up in a row. I'm pretty glad I packed those! He's also so good about putting them away when he's done.

After putting Jonas in his Notre Dame pajamas (Go Irish!) and brushing his teeth, it was time for bed.

We read one more book, Happy Adoption Day!, and then we all passed out. I think we were all exhausted after such an emotional day.

Jonas slept pretty well. He was kind of squirmy, sometimes ending up completely sideways, but he cuddled close to us with his blanket and doggy. Several times during the night he would reach out and rest a hand on me, almost as if to make sure I was still there and not leaving. We're not leaving you buddy-not ever again!

Picture Dump

Wide awake with jet lag-it's 2:22am here. Jonas is fast asleep between us. I thought I would use this chance to picture dump some favorites from my phone that I haven't been able to share online until now. Enjoy!