Pictures From Astana

Olivia is doing great. She is crawling all over the place and just yesterday she started pulling up to her feet. She recognizes us and gets really excited at our arrival, which makes us really happy. She loves playing with the other baby whose mom visits at the same time. Yesterday, Olivia became fascinated with the door to the play room. Here is a picture of her peeking out of the room. I just had to go out and take her picture.

Today we took her to get passport pictures. It was a short drive, but we figure Olivia has not been a car since her birth. She was very quiet and observant. The big trucks scared her a little, but mostly she was just curious about the world she has never seen. This is a picture of her trip to the photo store. Don't get upset about the lack of car seat. They don't use car seats here at all. Most cars don't even have seat belts.

Some of you asked for more pictures, so here are some good ones.

This is the view from our apartment. Astana is a pretty modern city. We have enjoyed it, but we'll be happy to come home. Our apartment is on the 12th floor on the "left side" of the city. We are in the area where a lot of construction is going on. This view shows the older section of town where less construction is happening. But if you look closely, you will see cranes above the buildings.

Tomorrow is our court appearance. We will petition the judge to give us a positive decision for the adoption of Olivia. We both will give speeches in front of the court and answer questions posed by the judge. We are really nervous, but excited for this to be final. After the decision, David will come home. I will wait here for the required waiting period and visit Olivia every day. Thank you for keeping up with our story and sending comments and e-mails. I look forward to reading what you all have to say. I miss everyone at home.