Uh, can someone give me a hand here...I think she's going to eat my head...

Manshuk (our interpreter), the proud Mommy, and Sammy in an outfit that we will blackmail him with for years...

Sam's current home...Baby House #1

Phillipich (our driver), Manshuk and our chariot!

Another great day with Sam... he recognizes us now and greets us with a big smile.  We are happy with how quickly he learns.  He seems to be mastering the art of stacking rings on that ringstackything and is learning that its more fun to play with grown up toys like cameras and backpacks than baby toys.

This afternoon we went on an outing and walked several laps around the Baby House.  Although the weather was in the low sixties/high fifties, Sam was bundled up in his winter woolies.  Babies are dressed very warmly all throughout the year and his caregivers made certain he'd stay warm in his pink snowsuit!

Our driver Phillipich is quite the character.  He has a twinkle in his eye and a mischievous smile.  Darrick speaks just enough Russian to get him into trouble, and Phillipich seems to think that Darrick understands him.  When Darrick doesn't understand, Phillipich's volume goes up and up until Darrick concedes.   People drive like banshees here, and our translator told us that no one really knows the rules.  Fortunately we're in good hands with Phillipich.

Our interpreter's name is Manshuk, who shares a  name with a Kazakh war heroine from this area who held off the Nazis single-handedly in WWII.   Manshuk is triple-majoring in English, French, and Italian and hopes to work as an interpreter after university.  We enjoy her sense of humor and appreciate her help in navigating us through this adventure.

Sam seemed a little overwhelmed with this afternoon's exploring.   He saw many new things, such a bird narrowly escape becoming dinner for the cat that roams the grounds, pigeons, cars, a dog, and a bicycle.  He felt rain on his face, and sat in a car for the first time in his short life. What a world there is to explore, little one...