One minute you’re on top of the world

Today Chloe had her official medical visit before she’s allowed to leave the country – her first exam if you will. She passed. Mama and Papa are so proud. Let’s hope she shows the same aptitude for tests when it comes to the SATs (*mamawhisper* and MCATs *mamawhisper*). Actually it was just a quick check up and check out to assure the U.S. Embassy that she wasn’t bringing anything funkier than her dancing back to the states. She was very good with the doctor and in fact, for the most part, she’s extremely charming when we’re out in public. I’m learning that she saves all of her attitude for us. Thanks.

[Shout out to Rob, Ellen and Max: another couple that we befriended while in Kokshetau. While their process is quite different from ours, their schedule is similar and we saw them at the doctor’s office with Max. He and Chloe seem to have hit it off – Rob caught them holding hands, but I put a stop to that nonsense tout-suite. You can check out their action at allaboutbabybotsford.blogspot.com]

After the doctor, Dima (our superb driver) took us up the mountain to the ski resort. Along the way, we passed some of the super wealthy parts of the city (I hear that the locals refer to it as “Poor Man’s Valley”). The difference between this and Shchuchinsk is immense. I’d compare it to Beverly Hills and Flint, Michigan. Kazakhstan seems to be well on it’s way to adapting all that capitalism has to offer.

Lunch was at a café on the mountain and it was one of the best meals we’ve had here. The Russian salad was fresh, the Solyanka soup was hot and topped with a cool dollop of sour cream, and the lamb and chicken kabobs were very good too. I also had 50 grams of vodka because Dima said it was the Russian custom. After lunch, Mee, Chloe, and I rode the ski lift up to approximately 3100m. It was absolutely one of the most stunning places I have ever seen. There was snow on the mountain but it was warm enough for us to be comfortable in our spring jackets. The air was clean and crisp, the view astonishing, and at this time of year there are very few people on the mountain on a Monday. Everything was calm and serene, even baby.

When we got back to the apartment, we put Chloe down for a quick nap (probably too quick) and then walked back to the Tsum store to get some last minute souvenirs. This time, I thought that we would ditch the stroller and use the Baby Bjorn (like a back-pack for baby, but she rides in front). Bad idea! While we avoided the pain of carrying the stroller up and down stairs, after a long, full day, the restrictive nature of the Bjorn was just too much for Chloe. We made it to the Tsum fine, even did some shopping without any problems, but then, just before we left, PUBLIC MELT DOWN FOR BABY!

This was our first PMD4B, and I’m sure it won’t be our last, though that sure would be nice. I’m just hoping we can avoid a PMD4B on the plane – this baby’s got some lungs! Adding to the stress of a fussy, grumpy baby (which is plenty) is the sense we have that the local people are thinking, “Those Americanski come here for our babies and they don’t even know how to care for them.” I’m sure that we’re just feeling self-conscious since everyone here has been very nice, and no one has said anything that would make us feel uncomfortable. That’s just how we are. Plus there’s the fact that it’s true.

Parenting trick #1: The power of Cheerios. Good God, these things are like baby crack. She is happiest when she has one in her mouth, one in each hand and she can see that you have another one ready for her. We haven’t even left the country yet and our baby is becoming American J