Today was a good day with Darina. She was very spunky, energetic, and full of cuddles for us. We heard that Darina's paper work has been corrected and so it should be resubmitted to the judge that will be handling our case either today or on Monday.
Here in Kaz the heat is controlled by the government and is usually on till the end of May. Since this has been a very warm April, they must have decided to turn it off earlier which means that we have no more heat in our apartment...YAY! It feels so much nicer in here now!


It's hard to get Darina to look up from her coloring book so Dada had to put a sticker on his nose to get a smile out of her.


Later we did some climbing outside which Darina hadn't been interested in doing for a week or so. It was nice to get her outside and walking around.


Cuddling on the swing with Mama.


More fun outside. Again today was very warm...too warm for a huge jacket and hat in our opinion...but we don't want to get in trouble with the baby house so we bundled her up!


Playing House :-)

No New News...Just Some Photos :-)

Whenever we go outside Darina wants to walk away from the baby house. In this picture we have to tell her that we can't go in that direction now but hopefully we can real soon.


Lately, Darina only wants to stay outside if there are other children outside too! Normally she's content watching, but today she wanted to play along side of them.

Darina was real comfortable with Mama watching the other kids play in the icky dirt.

With Mama looking around outside.

The other children loved to run through this maze, so Darina thought she'd give it a try.

In the "gym" there was a new piece of equipment. This one has a ladder, a rope ladder, and a rope. Darina loved when Mama or Dada swung her around on the rope like a swing.

The task before here... climb up the ladder!
Success! Once she got to the top (with plenty of help) she enjoyed looking down on us... and of course looked cute while doing so.



She loved it when Dada would trace the pieces from her animal puzzle, but because she needs to see everything she would take the piece away every few seconds, examine the progress, realize that we're not done yet, and kindly put it back in place to be finished. She also liked to trace the puzzle pieces herself and, to my amazement, did a pretty good job following the general shape.

Still Waiting...

As our coordinator and the judge were going over paper work for court they noticed a few dates in Darina's paperwork that didn't line up. They need to correct these mistakes which means that we can't get a court date until this is done. Please pray that this gets done by then end of the week. PLEASE PRAY!
Today was another great day with Darina. She is such a doll. It is difficult for us to watch as she process through all these changes and deals with the confusion of
transitioning from a life in the orphanage to a life with us. It's getting harder and harder to hand her back each night knowing that no one will be giving her goodnight kisses or reading her a bedtime story. As good of an orphanage as this one is, children belong with families. Families that are there at all times not just from 10am-6pm.
Anyway, we are sorry that all our pictures don't change much from day to day but our life at the baby house doesn't vary much. Enjoy!


She just can't get enough of playing with stickers!


Darina is such a champ at using her sippie cup now. Chilren at the baby house use bottles until they are 8 months old and then go straight to using normal cups. The sippie cup was a very foreign object to her at first but now she's got it down!


This is a monumental moment in Darina's life. She watched her first Disney movie today. Finding Nemo!


Since Darina started walking independently a few weeks ago, she has decided that she much prefers to be carried everywhere. Our last few trips outside she has refused to get out of her stroller but today she was on her feet and ready to explore.


The swing is not her favorite thing but it makes for a cute picture :-)


Dada took Darina's hand and taught her how to write her name..AVA


Darina and I watched a few videos from some past visits with her. We also show her videos of her friends and family back home as well as her new house in Ladera Ranch. Her favorite video is of Zoe(our dog) and Jake(my parent's dog) playing.

A Wonderful Day

We’ll admit that the last 4 or 5 days at the baby house have been a bit rough for us and for Darina. We are all going a little loopy from all the time spent in the visitation room. After not seeing Darina on Sunday we were anxious to see her today but we came at a time when her group was getting dressed to go outside and she was the only one not going (since she was waiting for us to come.) She was not happy about being left out and was inconsolable for the first 10 minutes we were with her. We took a deep breath and prepared for “one of those days”. Although the first visit was a little rocky, our second visit was one of the best we’ve had since meeting her. She was all smiles, very cuddly, and again amazed us with how far she has come in the last month. Today we brought out a puzzle that we played with for the first time many weeks ago. When we introduced the puzzle to her she just kind of looked at it and needed our guidance to even know how to pick up the pieces. Today, Darina completed the puzzle independently and did so rather quickly (she knew we weren’t going to let her color until the puzzle was finished). She is such a beautiful girl inside and out and we are so excited to bring her home!
We are currently making dinner and waiting for our coordinator to call with any news on the court date. We will post again later if we hear anything.



She had so much fun playing games with Dada today. She laughed non stop.


More laughing...told ya


Eating a very messy snack! James and I might be the only ones who think this picture is cute.


She is such a sweet cuddler...melts my heart.

Letterneau's Top Ten Plus One

Top Eleven Signs that you've been in Kazakhstan too long...

11. You recognize Russian pop songs on the radio

10. You have to do spring cleaning at your apartment

9. You no longer flinch when your driver is driving down the wrong side of the road

8. You are considered regulars at the coffee shop and pizza place

7. You run into people you know while walking around town

6. You aren’t alarmed when you hear excessive honking on Saturday afternoons…it’s just a wedding party leaving the mosque.

5. You think 40 degree weather feels nice

4. You aren’t surprised when people make no effort to avoid bumping into you.

3. Your local market saves large water bottles in the back for you

2. The sound of dial up internet makes you giddy

1. You are following the NHL playoffs

HAPPY SUNDAY!

Hopeful for Court Hearing Next Week

Well, It's just boring old me this time. This post wont be nearly as entertaining as James' from yesterday but I'll give you the facts. We didn't hear of our court hearing on Friday like we were hoping but our coordinator thinks we'll hear on Monday and that our actual hearing will be next week. Yes, we've been waiting a long time and are ready to get home but worrying about it doesn't help the situation move any faster so we are just trying very hard to stay patient and positive.

Tomorrow we don't get to see our little sweetie which always makes for a rough day but we are going to play games with friends in the afternoon and then going to dinner at night.


Darina wishes you all a happy weekend!


Debuting my new hair cut. I was very afraid to get my hair cut here but it turned out just fine!

A Day in the Life...

Disclaimer: The blog entry you are about to read is the sole responsibility of James Letterneau, hereby known as "aforementioned blog entry writer." The spouse of the aforementioned blog entry writer, Kari Letterneau, is the regular blog writer. She has loosened her reigns and lowered her expectations for today's blog in order to allow the aforementioned blog entry writer his "15 minutes of fame." Kari Letterneau bears no legal responsibilities as they pertain to today's blog entry.

Today, you faithful readers, will experience a day in the life of Darina, from the perspective of Darina, as witnessed by the "aforementioned blog writer" and his spouse.

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9:30 AM: "I wonder where those kind, loving people are that come to play with me twice daily? I was told that they will be coming a little early today because there's a concert in the music room that I was invited to attend. I'm all ready in this pretty dress that my caretakers put me in, which is by far the cutest thing in which they have dressed me in some time!"

9:45 AM: "The concert started 15 minutes ago and I'm certain I sent back my RSVP with "yes" marked... "

10:00 AM: "They are here, they are here! I know this because all the other kids in my group chant "mama, dada" whenever they enter our room. Let's go to the concert!"

10:05 AM: "Wow, there's a lot of kids putting a show on for us. There kinda my age! Who are these other people watching? Oh well, I don't care, I'm just going to sit with my Dada and watch (although I don't call him Dada, I tried once but I'm keeping him in suspense until a time when he least expects it)."



10:15 AM: "That was the last song already? That was fun. Let's go play with these other kids."



10:16 AM: "OK, I'm done now. Can we go play now? More specifically draw and color and play with stickers and cuddle and watch Baby Genius DVDs, and cuddle, oh did I say that already?"

10:28 AM (in Visitation Room): "Actually I'm kinda cranky and tired. I'm gunna cry until I get cuddles. Yay!!! Mama will cuddle me! Let's sit in this scary big stuffed chair thing and watch these DVDs."



10:29 AM: "Are we really watching these SAME DVDs over and over and over again??? Can't you bring something new for me?"

11:00 AM: "OK, I'm ready to color and play with stickers and draw and color and play with stickers, then color more on a different page and then put a sticker on top of another sticker, and then put one sticker on Dada's forehead and giggle, then put it on my nose and giggle again."

(A note from "aforementioned blog entry writer: we have not yet taught the lesson on run on sentences, so think of the above, and any future offenses, as a stream of consciousness.)

11:25 AM: "I'm hungry and tired. Can you take me back to the place where they feed me and let me sleep? Although I prefer to be with you guys cuz you love me, those people actually feed me and let me sleep."

11:30 AM: "Thanks! See you later. I'm thinking "Baka Baka" as I wave to those nice people... who better come back this afternoon after my nap!"

3:20 PM: "Hey, hey, hey! I was sleeping nice caregiver lady! And hey don't put me in that bath tub! Or try to blow my nose! No... I don't want to go potty! Are we done here?"

3:25 PM: "Ahh ha! They came back. I'm sooo happy! Hey, Mama's hair looks shorter. Anyway, let's go play!"

3:30PM: "Back in this room again? I'm kinda cranky and fussy. I'm just gunna cry for a little bit. Teach them to wake me up from a nap!"

3:40 PM: "Hey that's feel kind of good when you rub my hands. This isn't so bad having people who love me and cuddle me and touch me and kiss me. Thank God for Mamas and Dadas."



4:00PM: "Can't we go outside? We can! YES!!!"



4:30 PM: "OK, I'm ready to go inside. Hey, let's go inside! CAN'T YOU SEE ME POINTING?? Oh phew, they saw. Let's go inside..."

4:45 PM: "Let's color and draw and play with stickers again! Oh, oh, oh... and bubbles!"



4:46 PM: "Don't I look like an angel in this photo?"

5:25 PM: "Chase me! C'mon Dada, c'mon Mama.. chase me! Give me woobies! Tickle me!"

5:35 PM: "Oh wait, I'm Tired. Let's just lay here...."

5:40 PM: "Chase me! C'mon Dada, c'mon Mama.. chase me! Give me woobies! Tickle me!"

5:45 PM: "Wait Dada is packing up and Mama is saying it's time to go. Now that I think of it I am kinda hungry! Can you take me back now? And come back tomorrow?"

Another Day, in Pictures...

We started the day by watching Darina in her swimming lessons again and then took her into the exercise room where James built a big tower out of the soft, block-like, objects in the room. Darina had a great time climbing all over them.


Our sweet girl is finally starting to run out of patience for my excessive picture taking so we got a lot of the side profile today.


Next, we played with stickers and one got stuck on her nose!

James read her a story which, to my surprise, she listened to very closely.

Time for Bubbles!

Since we have the oldest cell phone in history, I played snake while we waited for our ride to lunch. This was a favorite game of mine when I got my first cell phone back in HIGH SCHOOL!


The sky was just so blue and beautiful today that we couldn't resist! Plus, it matched my sweater.


Don't let her cute face fool you, this girl knows exactly what she wants and has no problem letting us know it!


Someone was painting the outside of the baby house and Darina was very intrigued.

This little princess decided that she doesn't like when her feet touch the ground :-)

This picture just makes me smile.

Fun time before we have to say goodbye for the night :-(

This is our friend Peggy and her brother Kevin. Peggy and her husband, Jan, are adopting a little boy from the baby house. Jan is back in Belgium where they live so Peggy's brother came to stay with her for a few weeks. We met them for dinner tonight at Classic Pizza.

After dinner we went to their apartment to play games. Jan was on the phone so I took a picture...Hi Jan!

Love to you all from Kazakhstan...Goodnight from the Letterneaus :-)

Swimming and Stickers

James was a super Dad today and worked very hard with Darina on her sticker book! She loved playing with stickers almost as much as she loves coloring.


Today Darina had "swimming lessons" which is really therapy that strengthens her muscles and encourages her to use her right hand and leg more. No swimsuits are required for swimming at the baby house :-)


On our daily stroll outside we ran into Darina's new group and her caretakers.


You will notice that Butterflies is spelled incorrectly on her pant leg. Baby clothes in Kaz are mostly from Japan or China and often have misspelled English words on it.

Family Photo

This is our friend Emma who volunteers at the Baby House and who has worked with Darina for the past year.

Darina is introducing Emma to her new stickers

As much as we love our driver, Ilyia, he is consistently about 15-20 minutes late to pick us up or drop us off. So...with our spare time we take silly pictures of ourselves and of dogs...

We have proudly learned about 40 words in Russian since we've been here. Dog in Russian is "Sabaca" and "Eat" in Kazak.