Happy Easter!

Just wanted to post a quick note to say all is well in the Hill Family. Leah is adjusting wonderfully. Everyday we see an improvement in her adjusting to Milon, Davis and being away from me. She loves Greta (the dog) the most. She will leave the room at any given time to crawl after her! She is now starting to explore the various rooms in the house and even played with Davis in his room for 15 minutes! She sleeps and eats like a champ! She even gained half a pound in 1 week! She is now drinking from a sippy cup and only wants food that she can eat by herself.

We are having a combination Welcome Home party/Happy Birthday party for Leah on the 25th. Her birthday is actually the 26th but it works out better to have it on a Saturday.

I love having two children! My day is very busy and there is no time for boredom! Hmmm...do I see a third in our future??? Maybe another little miracle??

With much thought, I have decided to make the blog public. I learned so much from reading others blogs and would like to be able to share our story to help other adoptive parents.

Some Pictures!

Everyone is doing much better around here. Leah is full of smiles, crawling around after Davis on the floor, and getting braver every day to explore the house without needing me. Last night, she even let Milon carry her inside from her carseat and didn't start whining until she saw me, but I was carrying her bottle which is what she wanted! She was very excited to see him when he came home from work and played with him on the floor for awhile. We are taking babysteps until she is comfortable but I would imagine after this weekend she will have warmed back up to him. Thankfully, he has Friday and Monday off to spend time with her.

Leah is obsessed with Greta. She will even leave the room I am in to go find her. She loves her to kiss her face and the dog is totally happy to get the last bit of food off!

Both kids are going to bed at 7pm like clockwork and waking at 8am! Who says this is so hard!

Davis is in love with Leah. Yesterday, he gave her all her bottles, fed her yogurt (wow, what a mess) and would break off cheese to feed her. He was so worried about her choking that I could hardly see the pieces of cheese he was breaking off! He has to come with me to get her out of her bed after her naps. The 2 of them giggle and make funny faces and sounds all the way to the grocery store in their carseats. It's really cute to watch Davis turning into such a wonderful big brother. And I didn't realize how lonely he was!

I have finally sort of caught Leah's pig face on camera. Here is it below. She loves to make this face at you and will continue to do so until you do it back to her!

One More Update...Still No Pics

Leah had started to run a fever on Saturday along with increasing irritability. On Sunday, she still had a fever and I knew something was not right. I called our pediatrician but they would not see her on Sunday since she wasn't an established patient. I took her to UNC's Pediatric ER and at the time her fever was 104.5! They ran a bunch of tests and diagnosed her with a urinary tract infection! They gave her a shot of an antibiotic to get it in her system fast and we have one for 14 more days to take. They said she should be feeling better in 2 days. Whew! They also did a chest xray, stool sample for parasites (which hasn't come back yet) and whole series of blood tests. They are concerned because she only weighs 15lbs but said she could flourish in the next few months and have an explosive growth spurt. So far they see no reason for her lack of weight gain and think she could just be malnourished. It also could be parasites, but the test hasn't come back yet. They were exceptionally surprised with how active and developmentally on target she is and said that is a great sign.

Today is my first day alone with the 2 of them! Yikes! It is 7:50am and both are still sleeping! I am hoping she wakes up feeling better. Gotta run and get something done before they wake up!

Home Sweet Home

We made it home safe and sound. I am not going to sugar coat the trip home, it was awfull!

I woke Leah at 11:30pm the night of our departure. She only slept 1 hour on the first flight which lasted 7.5 hours! She pretty much cried the rest of the time. Thankfully, we were on the same flight as Elise and her daughter Sabina. Elise and I were able to talk and help each other out! We then had a 4 hour layover in Frankfurt which Leah didn't cry as long as I didn't put her in the stroller. I had to at times in order to get through the airport. Elise and I stopped at a coffee shop and chatted over coffee and the kids did pretty good. The flight from Frankfurt to Chicago was the worst! Leah only slept 1 hour on am 8 hour flight. I spent most of the time in the bathroom with her trying to get her to sleep! I didn't want the other passengers to be annoyed by her crying! She would fall asleep but her eyes were like slits were she wasn't secure enough to really fall asleep. People on the plane were exceptionally nice. They helped me out best they could. There were a few girls from Bulgaria who didn't understand she was just adopted and has some separation anxieties who tried to take her from me to give me a break. They quickly learned that wasn't an option! She finally fell asleep in the Chicago airport and slept until we landed in RDU.



Milon, Davis, Gigi and Poppa, Grandpa, Chris, April and their 2 kids Ryan and Carson met us at the airport. Leah was excited to see the kids and sat on the airport floor smiling at them. Carson (3) says to his mom and dad "Mommy, I want a baby like Davis." We all got a chuckle.



Leah went to sleep about 11pm and woke up at 1am. Went back to sleep at 2am and slept till 1pm! Then had another long nap in the afternoon. She went to bed at 6:50 and woke up at 8!



We woke to a beautiful sunny day, high of 74! Ahhh, to be home again!

Leah is terrified of Milon. She cries if he gets too close to her. We are starting small by having him stand beside me while she eats. Every few bites, he would put a piece of ham in her mouth. I am not sure she realizes he is doing this. Then he would give her the bottle of juice. We sit and all play on the floor and she if great at making funny faces at him, clapping hands, etc. She is still afraid that he is going to "take" her. Hopefully, each day this will get better and better.

She loves her highchair, had a huge lunch of ham and cheese and had a bath with Davis. She is a little afraid of the dog, but mainly becausee Greta is determined to give her big wet kisses on her face! Although, she crawled out of the room after Greta, so go figure but when Greta returned she got scared. Then Greta laid down across the room and Leah crawled back over to her!

She doesn't mind the carseat like I thought she would. We took a trip to Target and she did great. She loved sitting in the shopping cart also, and I have a feeling it is because it faces me! When she is in the stroller, she can't see me!

I am glad it is all over and excited about the furture. Davis is already making plans for him and Leah to play hockey when she wakes from her nap! I will post pictures in a few days!

That’s All Folks!

Well I can officially say I did it. I can’t believe I stayed in Kazakhstan for 6 full weeks! Two of which were spent all alone with Leah. I have never really lived alone before much less in a strange country!

At times, living here was harder than you can imagine. Especially with Davis sick. I was so worried about him and knew the doctors in Aktobe were not western trained doctors. There were times I didn’t think I could take one more day. I thought what have I done! Leah was crying when I left the room, Davis only wanted me because he was so sick. We pressed on, and things worked out.

My time alone with Leah was valuable and I will cherish this time. She has been a trooper through this life changing event, and it shows the amount of love and care she has received in her early months of life.

Living in Kazakhstan has helped me appreciate everything I have. It has also taught me how to live simpler. It has shown me how proud I am be to be an American! It has also given me a new appreciation for home and my family and friends. Like Dorothy says on the Wizard of Oz, “There is no place like home.”

This process was flawless from an adoption standpoint. I give my adoption agency and the in-country staff credit for having everything go so smoothly. I wish Kazakhstan, as a country, had a different process for adoption, but that is beyond anyone’s control.

Words can’t even express how much I want to get home! I can’t wait to see Milon, Davis, my family and friends. I have missed everyone terribly!

Now, one last hurdle…the airplane ride home! Once we enter the US, Leah will officially become a citizen of the United States!!

So, with all of that being said, I have some new vows to put forward:

I vow to never complain when the temperature dips below 30 degrees
I vow to never complain when my dryer shrinks an article of clothing
I vow to never complain about carrying my groceries from the garage to my kitchen
I vow to never complain about walking in high heeled shoes out to dinner
I vow to never complain there is nothing on TV
I vow to never complain about being bored at home
I vow to never complain about being hot inside my house
I vow to never complain about linoleum, as long as it is not peeling
I vow to never complain when I am on a long line at Target
and finally, I vow to never complain about the airplane ride to California!

Now we can finally start the beginning of our new life…life with 2 kids. I am sure it will be difficult at first as we all adjust to this new life. It reminds me of a saying from my favorite movie Hope Floats “Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it's the middle that counts the most. You need to remember that when you find yourself at the beginning. Just give hope a chance to float up.”


See you on the "other side" my friends!

The End is Near

I am already starting to worry about the 19 hour plane ride home. Leah is very active, let’s just call it that. There is no grass growing under her feet! I have tested Benadryl on her and it didn’t seem to make her sleepy. Think babies can take Ambien? Valium? Just kidding. Well, really I am not. I got a taste of what the flight was going to be like from the 15 minute car ride home from the mall! She couldn’t sit still! I do remember Davis being like this also and was always jealous when I saw a mom sitting with a quiet baby. I just thought one out of my two children would sit still! I need to switch my focus to Milon’s advise. “Think of it like childbirth, it will eventually end.” Good advise, but I say “Where’s my epidural?”

Leah woke up with a new tooth this morning! Hmmm, could this explain some of the whinning we have been having lately? We shall see, although I she has 25 more to go!

Today we went to the Green Market with Kate, Elise and her 3 yr old Sabina. The Green Market is full of small shops and fruits and vegetables. I bought a couple toys to occupy Leah on the plane home. We then went to the Zoom Store and Kate helped us by some souvenirs. Leah let Kate hold her today without crying! She was actually smiling and laughing with her. Yeah, she is already starting to become more secure. Elise’s new daughter Sabina is a total gem. She is always smiling and sits so well in the stroller! She is really a very sweet girl and makes me want to adopt a 3 yr old! She just said goodbye to all of her nannies and friends yesterday morning! I can’t believe how well she is doing with all of the new sounds, faces and experiences she is having.

This is my last full night in Almaty! I went to the grocery store today and picked up a bottle of wine to celebrate and will have pasta and watch Sex and the City!

Angel Vs Devil

This is what I have been feeling like lately. The devil telling me "Susan, you have been away from home for so long, you deserve to leave early...even if it's 1 day and more expensive. Just do it!' Then the Angel saying " Yes, but you have spent so much money already, how bad is staying 1 extra day?" Then the Devil says, "Yes, but that flight gets you home when Davis is still up so he can pick you up from the airport." Angel says " Yes, but the earlier flight doesn't have 2 extra seats beside you." Devil says "Yes, but Elise is on that flight so you will have someone to fly to Frankfurt with."

Okay, enough with that...see where I am going.

Well my friends, the devil has spoken and I shall listen. I am leaving early! Yes, I will arrive in RDU at 7:40pm! It does mean that i have to be at the airport at midnight but who cares, I will be heading home!

Something funny happened last night around 2am. I have been sleeping with 2 pillows and grabbed one to turn over. Next thing I know the pillow broke in half and feathers spilled everywhere! I had to turn on the light and carefully take the covers off and the sheet to contain the feathers. I grabbed the camera to take a picture because it looked like I had killed a chicken in my bed! In one picture below, the other half of the pillow still has the pillowcase on it in the top left hand side!

We went for a walk today and Leah has a new habit of pulling off her hat. She pulled it off while we were walking and dropped it without me seeing it. I noticed that the hat was missing when we got back to the entrance of the apartment, raced back along our tracks to see if I could find it. Literally, it had only been maybe 2 minutes from the time I knew she had the hat on, till I noticed it missing. I traced back the steps and the hat was already gone! I was so upset because this is the same hat I had been taking all of her pictures in at the babyhouse. I wanted it for a keepsake! I will have to run out to Children’s Place and see if they still have one when I get home.

Leah is a Christina Aguilara fan. She is into the music videos! I was flipping through the channels and heard one of Christina’s songs. Leah crawls over to the TV and stands up and starts singing with her! So I then left the music channel on and she entertained herself for 30 minutes! That is how much this child loves music!

We met up with Elise who adopted her daughter Sabina who is 3 yrs old. What a sweet and cute girl! We went to the Ramstore Mall and killed sometime looking around and had dinner. We got pizza and Sabina loved it! She ate 2 slices! Her mom and I shared war stories, personal stories, and mommy stories. Leah only sat still for 2 things. To chew on my watch, and eat a piece of bread. I am glad I didn't look down until after I had finished eating because there was a roach eating bread that had fallen on the floor. YUCK! We are meeting up with them tomorrow which will be fun.