New Years is a big holiday here! We have heard fireworks going off since we arrived! People spend the New Year celebrating with family because they believe that who you ring in the New Year with is who your year will be filled with. They drink champagne, cook big dinners, and celebrate! This is the year of the cow. Gulnara, our coordinator, stopped by our apartment yesterday afternoon and gave Davis a chocolate Grandfather Frost (which look like Santa Clause) full of chocolate, a bottle of champagne, and a cow candle for New Years. She said she was sorry that we have missed all of the holidays in the US.
No wild vodka drinking at bars for us. We, of course, had a quiet New Years. We made chicken fried rice which was a big treat, drank some red wine which tasted like the two buck chuck and had some champagne that tasted like sparkling apple juice (although it sounds good it was not)! We were in bed by 9:00 only to wake up at midnight to what we thought was a war! I think everyone in Kazakhstan was lighting fireworks off. Car alarms were going off, people screaming and the sky was lit up at all ends. Davis woke up crying because he was scared. I guess I forgot to mention it was New Years Eve and there would be fireworks.
We were only able to see Leah once today because of the holiday. It is getting harder and harder to come up with ways to entertain her (and Davis). We are not allowed to put her on the floor since she catches colds easily, so we must play with her on the couch only. This doesn’t really allow us to spread out and let her move around. We are not allowed to bring her fruit puree or vegetables. For that matter, they won’t even allow a teething biscuit! I am only allowed to bring in some apple juice. I have stopped putting the vitamins in the juice because she wasn’t drinking a lot of it. Instead we were squirting it in her mouth. We think it might be upsetting her stomach because the past 2 days she has been rather fussy. We will try not giving her any tomorrow and see how she is.
It snowed here today. Davis enjoyed seeing it. We put bread out on the window sill for the birds.
4 comments:
Happy New Year! In Kazakh fashion, your 2009 will certainly be filled with the smiles and love of your two children. How perfectly fitting that you were able to celebrate the holiday together.
I can't even imagine trying to just play on the sofa. Would never have worked with Brady, he was too active!
Very nice of Gulnara to bring you holiday gifts. I think the holiday celebrations continue for at least the next week! Enjoy the festivities!
Happy New YEar! Giving Leah eye contact, talking to her, cuddling and giving her Davis to watch and play with is stimulating her in so many ways. If I think of any fun things to do, I will email them to you. Good luck, hang in there, and enjoy your new start with your family. Hope you have lots of sunny days!
XOXO, Lynne
Happy New Year!! May it be filled with all the happiness in the world.
I wish it would snow here :). It is very cold currently, but no snow.
Vance & Brenn would have a time with only a couch to play on - could you imagine??
Lots of love - Kristin
You can only play on the couch? Yikes! How is that even possible? Zahria would have gone mad! Z didn't want to cuddle or anything, she just wanted to explore and scoot. Argh! :)
Gulnara seems like such a tough cookie, and she is and that is why we are glad that she is on our team, but she is also a very caring woman. So nice that she brought you gifts. While I was there she brought me a beautiful Kazak Rug and tons of yummy chocolate and candy (that I later found at the indoor market.)
Happiest New Year!
Christy
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