The Lowdown

The day started early – really early for us. We had gone to bed at 10 o’clock, but were way too excited to sleep – because today was the day we’d get to meet our baby!!!
So, there we were – up and awake at 2:00 a.m. We talked about how great the day would be for another hour, then decided to finally get up and eat some breakfast, as we’d be picked up at 4:45 for our flight. Scott made us oatmeal in mugs (yum) and we watched CNN, hoping to hear the Bengals score (never did – who won??). We decided we liked our apartment quite a bit in Almaty and we hope we get to stay there again on our return. Not too large, but cozy with a HUGE sectional couch that both Scott and I could lay on to watch “Alias” and “Family Guy” episodes. Pretty cool stuff.

At quarter til 5, our driver, Andrei, came to pick us up. He’s a really cool guy with a Land Cruiser – plenty of room for all of our bags. We arrived at the airport, slightly groggy but with high expectations. Andrei and Dilnoza, our interpreter, weren’t allowed past security, so we ventured into the Russian speaking unknown territory to get our tickets, check our baggage and get on the plane to Uralsk. When we got to the ticket counter, we were told that we were overweight on our luggage (not a big surprise) and ended up having to go to a separate counter to pay our $50 overage fee. Could have been worse. It was only when were in line, waiting for our gate, that I noticed that our flight 877 to Uralsk was via Atyrau. Via Atyrau, you ask? Exactly. We had no idea either. We realized our plane had taken on some new layover or stop or something. Just what we didn’t want when we were getting pretty tired of traveling, AND wanted to get to Uralsk to see our son as soon as possible.

The bright side is that our airplane was a friendly Boeing 757. No boxes of puppies or vodka drinking games, for those who’ve heard (or lived) those stories. Three hours later, we arrived at Atyrau, a place probably near Siberia that can only be described as white. Someplace flat, cold, and white. We were all ordered off of the plane, walked across a freezing tarmac, and put on a packed tram to a one room, concrete block building 10 meters away. Inside the building, we all just stood and looked at each other. No coffee machines, no seats. Interesting, we thought. How much longer to Uralsk? Only 20 minutes later though, we were all allowed back on the warm airplane and we took off shortly thereafter for the 50 minute plane ride to Uralsk.

Once in Uralsk, we and our travel partners, Ann and Kris and Dan (who are super), were greeted by our interpreter, Assia, and several drivers. They took us to our hotel, which was nice and clean. Then we were rushed over for our meeting with the Ministry of Education, only to find out they were at lunch. So, we came back to the hotel, took a much needed nap, and headed back over to meet with the Ministry folks. They asked us each a few questions about what we do, where we live and how our family feels about adoption. They were very nice and it was very informal, and 20 minutes later we were on our way to the BABY HOUSE!!

On our arrival, right away, we all waited in the director’s office and they brought the babies in. That moment we will never forget. In came Aidan, in a little Tommy Hilfiger outfit (a stylish man already) in his kind caretakers’ arms. He is big for his age, solid, and just beautiful. He looked at us with big curious brown eyes and we held him close. He didn’t cry at all – just looked curiously at us and wondered where we had come from!! We all went to the music room – a small play room – with the babies and played with them for a half an hour, kissing, hugging and giddy over the joy of finally getting to hold our baby. It was the best moment of our lives, and it ended too soon! We are able to go back each day, in the morning and afternoon, to visit him. And we are counting the minutes!!