FAQ

So the latest question most asked online is, how are we communicating. So here's the best answer I can give (Susan talking/typing here).
Having grown up with a brother who was deaf, it was a family effort to teach words and pronunciation at every turn. Probably to excess if you were a fly on the wall, but it seemed to do a good job then, and it seems to be doing a great job now.
Since the beginning, I have talked to Sultan about colors, naming yellow, red, blue and green, over and over again. Eventually, he started parroting me, but without apparent comprehension. Also we taught him "car" early on,since he had a matchbox car we gave him the first day, and there were two small riding cars in the playroom at the babyhouse. He learned then to point up to the top of the cabinet, where the cars were kept and say "car". It wasn't until we got here to Almaty, and he had a new matchbox car in hand (this one especially saved for the trip home- and it has literally not left his hand since, with the exception of falling out while sleeping- again thanks Mary Billings!- I owe you a separate email). Anyways, it wasn't until we got here and saw more cars on the street, in books, on tv, etc., that he seemed to have one of those Helen Keller moments that a word means something. And he GOT it- CAR. Also known as "machina". So I know one word there. We've, of course, worked a lot on the words and actions around pee pee and caca, and you know that whole story. Anyways, to shorten up the tale a bit- he can do shapes, thanks to a baby toy we picked up- circle, triangle, oval, square, arrow, "plus sign" (Cut me a break, I don't know the names of all these shapes either! I suppose I could have gone with "cross", but that sounded too religious), trapezoid (not kidding), etc. Some of them he can remember on his own, some he parrots me. He can do Mama, "push the button?" (mostly for the push-button toilets), "put on shoes" (always left at the door when entering inside, and a signal that we're now going outside), "tap", which in Kazakh is book and so it's now "tap, book". I also have a picture dictionary with 1000 kids illustrations, sort of like a Richard Scarry book, and he can say "apple", "juice", "banana", "key", "cool!" and a ton of other things. There's so much he can also say: the sounds of most farm animals, in place of their actual names, and so much more. He also understands about 1000 times more than he can say. He understands "close your eyes",turn off the tv, time to eat (this, often with our shared ASL sign for eating), "where's your/Mama's/Daddy's (back)pack?",etc. We think he's not going to have a problem once he's really immersed in a life filled with other kids, Sesame Street, NPR on the radio all the time, etc.
there are times when he earnestly looks at me and says... something I have no idea what it is. Mostly I motion for him to show me, but sometimes it's just not possible, and I feel like a typical American, expecting everyone to understand me, while I have made next to no effort to learn the native tongue. But whatcha gonna do? Anyways, communication is remarkably good, and I'm grateful that Kyle hasn't gone bonkers hearing me say colors for the one millionth time. Though he did admit that "Cool!" (me saying it, not JSW), has nearly pushed him over the edge!
It's been fun. This is what I would have enjoyed if I had become a teacher, like I sometimes wanted to be.
Love to all,
S (& K)
PS. A minor note- is that one big disappointment

in not coming home on time was that Susan's brother Whitney, one of Sultan's many namesakes, had made a plan many months ago to come to the Cape when we'd be safely back with boy in tow. Of course, our departure kept moving back and back, and then it appeared we'd JUST miss him, arriving a day or two after his scheduled departure. So what did he do? Drop bucks to extend his stay to see us, and now that slim window of overlap just closed. Not the end of the world, but still a disappointment. Still, it's not a grandmother problem, or anything serious, so we're extremely grateful for that!
xoxo