The Start of a New Week in Kaz

We are all so excited … Owen and Cearra have a new cousin!! Mackenzie Nicole arrived (and in a hurry – no time even for her mom to get an epidural) on January 27th. Word from Wisconsin is that everyone is doing great, and that Mackenzie is a little angel. Jeff, Kris, Sam and little M, we are sending you all our love and joy from Kokshetau and can’t wait to meet the newest addition to the Kaufmann/Mommaerts family!

Meanwhile back in Kaz, the Mechems have moved into our new home, a one bedroom apartment on the 4th floor of a Soviet-era building. Interesting architectural details include molded and “woven” ceiling tiles that look like a cross between plastic and Styrofoam, French doors, an enclosed balcony, and some really beautiful doorknobs (the proceeding commentary brought to you especially for Alison!). We have a nice size living room with plenty of floor space for Owen to play once we get custody of him (which will hopefully be Feb 13th after court). Three of the four burners on the stove work and Oleg is trying to find a microwave for us. There is an unpleasant smell here (and also in the Children’s Hospital) that reminds me of cigar smoke, we think it may have something to do with the heating. Radda told us when we bathe we must “turn the hot water on and get wet, turn it off and soap up, turn it on and rinse” because there is only a small water heater in this apartment. Of course if we want a shower instead of a bath we first have to figure out a way to rig up a shower curtain as we don’t currently have one; it’s a good project for the day.

Our visits with Owen continue to go well and we feel like we get to know him (and vice versa) better each day. For example yesterday we learned that the boy can make quick work of a teething biscuit. When offered one he grabbed it right away and ate it like a pro. Of course he didn’t want anything to do with his bottle when the caretaker brought it in a short while later; lesson learned … bottle first, cookie later. We were told we could bring him any food we like, so we may also try some rice cereal.

Owen was in a mellow mood for most of our visit which was fine with us. We just cuddled him and played quietly with him on the blanket, and near the end of our time he fell asleep on Bob – so sweet. He did wake up when we put him back in the crib and he definitely was looking sad that we were leaving; it was so hard to walk out the door. I’m sure that once we are gone he settles himself down and naps, but we are left to spend the rest of the day and night looking forward to seeing him again!