Cool art by Leroy!

Here is a photo montage by the very talented Leroy Pacheco of our little Pasha in Santa Fe!

Life in Santa Fe

We have been home for two weeks and are doing great. We have recovered from the jet lag and are more rested. Pasha still sleeps 11-12 hours per night and eats like a horse! Here are some photos of Pasha with his sister, Maya, his grandma, Kackie, in his high chair that was used by his grandmother, mother, aunt and uncle...and on his first stroller walk with new friends, Theo Graeser and Maia Katz (and their moms!)

More pictures of Pasha at home

Here are photos of our "little dude" with his new shades, on his first hike in the mountains with his parents and his Aunt Susannah (thank you for the wonderful visit!), and getting busted after unrolling the entire roll of toilet paper and trying to put it all in the toilet!

We are home!!!!

We made it home safe and sound. It was a long 32 hours of travel, but we did it! Pasha did great. We made all our flights and everything was on time. It was a 6.5 hour flight from Almaty to Frankfurt , a 7 hour layover in Frankfurt (with a toddler and no stroller), a 10 hour flight from Frankfurt to Denver, an hour in customs in Denver (Pasha became a US citizen at 3:37 pm on May 15th when our plane landed in Denver- we celebrated by getting off the plane!), an hour flight to Albuquerque and an hour drive from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. We got home about 8:30pm last night! On our last flight from Denver to Santa Fe, all of us being extremely tired, we were trying to keep Pasha entertained so he wouldn't have a meltdown and ruin the flight for everyone. He did really well but was so tired that he literally fell asleep sitting up in my lap. He didn't cry- just all of a sudden stuck his fingers in his mouth and in five seconds was completely asleep- sitting up! Thank you so much to Maya, Jamie, Melisa and Kelly, for the wonderful clean home, good food, flowers and transportation that greeted us at home. Its WONDERFUL to be home. Love, Jenny, Grove and Pavel

Parting shot of Pasha- love that smile!

We leave our hotel tomorrow at midnight to begin our long journey home....27 hours later, if things go as planned, we will arrive in Albuquerque. Wish us good travel karma. Its a long trip home but we are ready. Best wishes and love to all!

Pasha on mother's day with his mama (and his papa)

Mother's Day in Kazakhstan

Here we all are at Panilov Park- a gorgeous, forested park in the middle of Almaty honoring WWII veterans. The church is russian orthodox and is made completely out of wood, and supposedly with no nails. It was a gorgeous day here and we all really enjoyed the walk!

In Almaty

We made it to Almaty and are enjoying it immensely! We are staying in a really nice hotel- the Hotel Kazzhol....we have a suite and Pasha has a crib. Almaty is a beautiful city with lots of trees and gorgeous mountains to the south. Pavel did great on his first plane trip- he was very busy the first hour (eventhough it was midnight), had to eat, smile and talk to other passengers, look out the window at the flashing lights on the wing, and then finally, after a good loud 8-10 minute cry, went to sleep for the last 1. 5 hours of the flight. Yesterday, we had his required medical exam- he is 20 pounds and 27 inches, and healthy. The guy is putting away unbelievable amounts of food. He is also crawling like crazy and walking as much as he can (with our help). He is very energetic! We have 3 days of just waiting here and then our US embassy appointment on Monday....then we fly late monday night. There is a business center here so we have some internet access....will write if anything interesting happens! Happy weekend!

Leaving Pavlodar!!!!

Well, the time has finally come- we are leaving Pavlodar. Seven weeks and one baby later, we are out of here! Its been a good 4 days with Pasha. He is definitely adjusting to life outside the baby house. He is very demanding and clingy- wanting to be held a lot, eating a lot and sleeping a lot! We are tired, but happy. Not sure how much internet access we will have over the next 5 days in Almaty, but will post here if we can. If not, we will talk to you soon once we are back in the good old USA on the night of May 15th! Maya is picking us up, so thank you Maya. Thank you to all for all your love and for checking our blog! We are very excited to come home and see every one. Here are a few photos of us at "home" and the beautiful tulips Grove bought me when we brought Pasha/Pavel home. Lots of love! Jenny, Grove and Pavel

Its May 4th and we have Pasha!

Today was a wonderful day! We brought Pasha home from the baby house. The boy left the place naked- with only the diaper and clothes we had brought him. We took gifts and cakes and flowers for the care takers, doctors, and the director and her staff. We also drank champagne and they toasted Pasha, his new parents and his new life in America. The caretakers cried when they said good bye to him and when they toasted him. It was a sweet and emotional good bye. Meanwhile, Pasha seems estatic. He is very, very happy and has been playing and laughing all day like he has been here his whole life. He has crawled all over the apartment. We put him in a borrowed play pen for a nap, and he talked to himself for about 10 minutes and then slept for 2.5 hours. Hgh e mrf 555555555555555555bn m,mn He is helping me type right now. The previous sentence was all his! Smart, huh? He has yet to “freak out” at all and is just a totally happy and hilarious little boy. He makes all kinds of sounds and says a lot of “da da da da da”…. We’ll be here in the apartment for 5 more days and then we leave for Almaty. He is such a joy! The top four photos are all at the baby house- from the top:some of the staff with me and Pasha; Grove, Pasha and I in his room after we put his new clothes on him; me ready to leave with Pasha, and Grove signing the book letting us officially take him out of the baby house. The fifth picture is us in the car. Much love from Pavlodar…..

Pasha's first day at "home".....

Mr. Happy: Pasha's first bath at home!