The sound of the other shoe

For anyone who has been checking for the other shoe to fall, here it is. The entire family is home and safe and sound and not sleeping very well.

Since our last post, we visited the U.S. Embassy which went very well. Chloe pretty much charmed the pants off everybody working there. As a matter of fact, one representative of the US government “jokingly” threatened not to approve our visa because she wanted our baby for herself. They never even noticed her small pox. Oh well, at least it wasn’t large pox.

That night, we returned to the apartment and started packing for home – no small feat as we needed to strat-a-mo-gize for the twenty hours on a plane with baby. It’s a real puzzle trying to figure out what goes in carry-on bags versus what can be stowed away in the check-in bags.

Baby was a pretty good flyer. For most of the first leg, she slept away in the bassinette that attaches to the bulkhead. When she wasn’t doing that, she was doing what she does best, wrapping random bystanders around her little finger. She sure can turn it on for airline staff and passengers. [Mee interjects here: Ok, I know it’s boring to listen to other parents go on about their kids but really. No, really. Even the Frankfurt security staff were cooing and plucking her out of my arms – to “help” us move through the line more efficiently (or so they said). It’s quite an experience to watch stern German faces go all melty and gooey while staring at your chest – where the baby was hanging on the Bjorn, of course. I guess Pamela Anderson would know what this feels like. She’s got a couple of kids, doesn’t she?] To be truthful, it’s kind of embarrassing. We will have to have a talk with her when she turns eighteen.

At some point during the Frankfurt to Chicago flight, Chloe decided that being a sweet little girl had yielded all the possibilities for amusement that she was interested in milking and here was a good opportunity to try out some alternate moods. The one she landed on was the “super fussy, nothing will make me happy, you guys aren’t doing it right” mood. I’m afraid that she is cute enough to pull it off. Look out, Chicago. Note: This mood may have had more to do with the load she was smuggling than anything else.

During our flight from Frankfurt to Chicago, Chloe’s delightfulness steadily declined with each of the ten hours we were in the air. The effect of this decline on her parents was compounded by the worst flight service of all of our trips related to this adventure. It’s not to say that we experienced any one major disappointment, but rather a collection of missed opportunities to be competent. [Mee again: This was pretty much isolated to one neglectful and at the same time unnecessarily adversarial flight attendant, I’m not too polite to say. Lufthansa take note: you’ve got egg on your staff, and she stinks. Worse than Chloe’s messiest diaper.] When Chloe wasn’t fussing, she was really, really cute. In fact, there was this older German woman who kept looking over at our baby like she thought Chloe’s name might actually be Gretel. A little creepy. Another grandmotherly type stopped by to pick up a Lufthansa postcard from the display next to Chloe’s bassinet. For her airplane postcard collection, maybe? Nice try, old lady. We know you eyein’ up our cute baby. And who could blame you, really?

When we finally arrived in Chicago, we not only had to go through customs, but immigration as well. It was there that it hit me, Chloe is not only becoming our daughter, but she is becoming an American. Something about that struck me as fantastic. Our ‘lil nibbler – an Americanski.

We were picked up at the airport by our friends Jane and Esther. Most people may not realize how nice a gesture this was, because most won’t ever smell a family of three who haven’t showered in nearly two days. That’s right. We stank! I’d crapped my pants somewhere over Nova Scotia but when I went to change them, the flight attendant rudely reminded me that the seatbelt sign was still on (it had been on since Scotland).

Last thing, we walked into our quiet little house with our sleepy little baby and nearly collapsed. Wow!

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

If a birthday falls in another country, does it make any noise?

Today we took a quick walk around the neighborhood where we’re staying. It’s very nice, kind of a wealthy area. Dima, our driver, says that it’s the old arts area that’s experiencing a revival. There are designer boutiques here (including a Baby Dior shop with a creepy window display), fancy restaurants, and very many expensive European autos. The apartment buildings are clean and nice looking and there are trees lining all the streets.

Other than taking a walk, we really didn’t do much though yesterday I bought these fantastic looking weenies wrapped in bread and tonight we ate ‘em up along with some Kaz brand Pringles. Turned out to be a pretty nice birthday dinner after all.

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. An odd thing, we have been so consumed with all that is going on, I didn’t realize it was my birthday until we went to bed and I looked at the clock 11:59PM, 04/16/06. One minute of birthday left! That was plenty.