Big day

Today is our 14th day visiting, a milestone, and we are moving ahead step by step.
Yesterday when we were riding in the car I asked Almira if she thought we'd go to precourt with the other 2 couples and she said she didn't know. When we got to the baby house she had papers for Marie and Tomas to sign, but none for Susan, and then she left for the notary. We both were worried, especially Susan, who had an anxious afternoon. When Almira came for our afternoon visit she had papers and we signed them in the car and filed them on the way to the baby house. We told her how worried we'd been and she apologized. What a relief!!! We could have precourt tomorrow.
Two more good visits. We got him a new toy, a cube that comes apart with shapes that fit through holes, a bit of a challenge for all of us. We were playing with it when the local social worker came in, beaming, and said she hoped we would be very happy and we said we already were. Almira said that Sultan is already saying some English; green, blue, cat, meow, good boy, up, car. Susan is persistent on the language front.
She reached into her pocket for a tissue to wipe his nose and he was very curious about what was in there. She started to wipe his nose and he backed away quickly and gave a snort, resolving the issue. Just like his dad. I'm so proud.

Lunch with Marie and Tomas at a place just down the street. We had traditional Kazakh food, noodle soup with meat and veg, meat dumplings, all reminiscent of tukpa and momos from Ladakh. Three tables and packed, order at the counter and bus your table, my kind of place. We also found the big market and will go back when we have more time to explore.
Both couples with kids leave today, one for Almaty and one for an apt. We'll start a yahoo group. We move to an apt tomorrow which we share with Marie and Tomas. Cheaper but no laundry service or free breakfast or internet or workout room. We'll stay there till we finish court and then go to Almaty for the rest, while we get a passport and physical for Sultan.
I think all the good vibes and prayers are working so thank you all. We've really enjoyed all the comments and appreciate them even more.
On a very sad note, one of the couples at the hotel who came 4 days after us and were adopting a child with CP, lost the child when the parents wanted him back. Sad for them, but maybe better for him.
peace
love