Going Home Day 02
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Like clockwork, Gabriel turns to check on me at 6am this morning. He cracks a smile and I immediately acknowledged him with a kiss. He’s getting more comfortable in his new sleeping area. I hate to break the news to him that it’s only temporary. He’s been through so much. I reassure him at every chance that Papa and Mama aren’t ever going to leave him.
We started the morning wrestling Gabe to take his bottle with formula. Children here are given kefir which is fermented yogurt. Before all the moms out there give me a hard time about weaning, the kefir given at the orphanage is not available at the stores. Well, Gabriel won the wrestling fight and we gave him the apple cereal instead. It’s really breaking my heart. He is so skinny and can really benefit from the formula but I cannot stand force feeding him either. I put some formula in his afternoon snack and he ate it. I’ll have to get creative with his other feedings too.
Aside from eating, he has adjusted really well in his temporary home. He loves his Labrador stuffed puppy that Grandpa and Lola gave him. He copies us when we say “arf”, his sounds like “ar”. He also gives his puppy kisses. His nannies gave him lots of kisses so he knows how to kiss. He’s discovered the textured wallpaper in our living room and he also gave that a kiss.
Gabe has been sticking to his nap and sleeping schedule. We are absolutely happy about that. We can always tell when it’s nap time because he starts sucking his index finger and thumb. He uses his left hand to cover the other. I think he used this tactic to hide his habit from the nannies. All we do is take him to bed when he starts doing this, lay next to him and he is out in 5 minutes.
Today is Kazakhstan New Year. In town, there is a festival going on. Gabe and I could not partake in the festivities because it was drizzling and cold. Joel did go with Ben, Karla, Agnes, Eric and Bayan. He took tons of pictures that we can share with Gabriel later.
Paka!
Going Home Day 03
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Gabriel has been making great progress with his formula. This morning, he took most of it with less fuss than usual. It’s a great sign that he’s getting more comfortable with us.
He woke up early today, at 5:15 AM, but that was because he slept early.
It’s Easter Sunday today so Happy Easter to everyone! To celebrate, we dressed up Gabriel. We wanted to take him outside for a walk in the park, but it was a bit too cold for him. This was supposed to be our last day here in Aktobe, but we decided to spend a couple of extra days here because Gabriel’s passport will not be ready this week.
Agnes, Ben and Karla decided to come by and say hi to Gabriel today. Agnes, Sasha’s mom, wanted to see Gabriel before we leave. Ben and Karla made Gabriel some mashed potatoes to try and get him to eat a bit more. I have to say that we are truly lucky that we’ve made great friends here.
Paka!
